[ Steve will burn himself to the ground to keep the world warm, to light the way for those who put their faith in him, but Sam especially. From the moment he met him on the green just outside of the monument walk, something about the man stuck with him. Maybe it's that he radiates something good, something warm, and Steve has a knack for finding the light in the strangest places.
And it's that light he wants to spare, that he wants to kindle, because something tells him that the world is about to change around them. That everything is shifting, but the way ahead is muddy, the path dim.
It's when Sam pushes to stand that Steve actually laughs. He doesn't have the time to quip back a I'll remember that before the offered hand quiets him. He doesn't need the help, no, but so few offer it so openly, so honestly. Sam is a man that comes without expectations, that has no fine print other than the quiet demand of a pizza.
Gripping his hand, he pulls himself up to a stand, finding he looks down at him, a little awed, touched. It's the most honest expression that's seen Steve Rogers' face in months. The bend of a knuckle on his chest, the determination in his voice, the warm palm pressed against his own... it undoes something tight and bound up in his chest. He squeezes that hand with his own, but it doesn't stop his free hand from finding Sam's shoulder, a little high, but affectionate, settling at the juncture of neck and slope of a shoulder. He's sure he can feel the man's pulse beneath the pad of his thumb. ]
I should say you're crazy. [ A smile. A real smile, one that's filled to the brim with warmth, one that reaches the blues of his eyes. ] But I'd say I'm incredibly lucky you chose me. I don't know what I'd do without you, Sam.
[ He's been instrumental, of course, to their missions, to the journey to free Bucky, but it's more than that, isn't it? He doesn't have a name for it, not yet. ]
no subject
And it's that light he wants to spare, that he wants to kindle, because something tells him that the world is about to change around them. That everything is shifting, but the way ahead is muddy, the path dim.
It's when Sam pushes to stand that Steve actually laughs. He doesn't have the time to quip back a I'll remember that before the offered hand quiets him. He doesn't need the help, no, but so few offer it so openly, so honestly. Sam is a man that comes without expectations, that has no fine print other than the quiet demand of a pizza.
Gripping his hand, he pulls himself up to a stand, finding he looks down at him, a little awed, touched. It's the most honest expression that's seen Steve Rogers' face in months. The bend of a knuckle on his chest, the determination in his voice, the warm palm pressed against his own... it undoes something tight and bound up in his chest. He squeezes that hand with his own, but it doesn't stop his free hand from finding Sam's shoulder, a little high, but affectionate, settling at the juncture of neck and slope of a shoulder. He's sure he can feel the man's pulse beneath the pad of his thumb. ]
I should say you're crazy. [ A smile. A real smile, one that's filled to the brim with warmth, one that reaches the blues of his eyes. ] But I'd say I'm incredibly lucky you chose me. I don't know what I'd do without you, Sam.
[ He's been instrumental, of course, to their missions, to the journey to free Bucky, but it's more than that, isn't it? He doesn't have a name for it, not yet. ]