[ walker brought in an entirely different layer of complications that sam had hoped they wouldn't have to face. being disappointed by the government is something sam always manages to forget is normal. this feeling of his country, letting him down. that's so normal that he almost forgets there could be a different option. except that steve showed him there could be another option, and now sam feels like his every day is an exercise in reminding himself that he can't trust america. couldn't before, and still can't. not when - when given the chance - they create and assign men like john walker. kids, like john walker. and sam couldn't possibly let himself feel guilty for that, but that doesn't make it any easier to swallow, either.
but he can deal with this, first. he can meet sharon's contacts and they can figure out where to get the serum and he can stop this first. then he can worry about the implications of john walker, captain america. god, even his name sounds similar enough to fit the role.
bucky closes his eyes. has that kind of tension in him that comes around when he talks about his time as the winter soldier. sam almost feels bad about it, but the part of him that knows what it is to talk about trauma, who has done this dance before with different soldiers, different wars, knows it would be worse to shy away from it. so sam just stays casual. doesn't let the memory of what happened, or the stress of the situation at hand, change anything about his tone or breathing. bucky apologizes, and the tone is flat, so sam snorts back in response. shakes his head. they both know they're beyond that. hell - sam ended up on the raft just to help bucky. but a part of him is...what? touched? a part of him clocks the apology. is appreciative of it. even if it doesn't matter anymore. ]
Yeah, well. Apparently you made a good enough impression.{ another joke, another comment made with levity. it's what is easiest between them, really - bucky's flat tone. sam's insistence on smiling in response. when bucky starts trying to place sharon, sam simply waits. lets him work through it until he gets to the right answer. his brows are up, waiting for him to get there, and when he does sam huffs out a kind of laugh, nodding. ] Can't imagine anyone with Peggy Carter as an aunt wouldn't end up in some kind of government job with a gun.
[ and then, for a few moments, everything is okay. sam makes eye contact with bucky, reaffirms for him that yes, he trusts him, and that tension leaves bucky in a single exhale. sam finds himself smiling a little at the moment, confidence seeping back into him like warm breeze.
and then the moment is gone. tension is back. they've entered the bar, and there are others - people not with them, that sam catches. bucky must also, because he steps between sam and the door. he frowns, confused for a moment, looking to the back of bucky's head before he can try and adjust. be cool, trust him, it's fine. even if he can't really see who they are, he trusts bucky. even if the two steps bring a questioning look up to him.
still, sam plays the part. looks like he and bucky are just members at the bar. two people, who happen to be here together. ] What's happening, Buck? [ low, just under his breath. sam decides to go for the glass, now, looking casual, taking another sip. ] Did he bring backup?
[ walker is an unsurprising product of something that’s failed them both. (the government recruited armin fucking zola, a man who gleefully tortured him, to do science for them and nobody saw that hydra thing coming?) and the thought that sam wilson, who should have known better than bucky even - a different perspective that he’s not blind to even if bucky is not connecting every dot, thought for a second to put faith in it and trust that a man like john walker wouldn’t get created seemed like a personal insult. it’s not sam’s fault. but he should have known. steve and sam both - stupid fucking idiots putting faith in things they shouldn’t. he’s so tired. but he won’t rest. not until it’s right.
he’s listening, carefully. composing himself in the best way he can. sam’s breathing stayed even - did he notice? sam snorts in response to the half-assed apology and he wonders if it meant anything to him. probably not. never will. all in the past and it’s too little, too late. sam probably thinks he doesn’t need to apologize for anything anyway because sam’s an idiot. ]
The bar was really low, huh? [ it’s an easy dynamic they have, have had for years. conversations that consist of witty little remarks with the driest of execution. do they like each other? not really but they certainly share a similar sense of humor. and respect each-other. he appreciates the patience and not having it shoved in his face how hard it was to find a bit of information. he rubs his brow with a thumb then drops it, letting out a huff of a laugh. ] Geez, that’s depressing. I hope one of her relatives turned to art or something.
[ for a moment, everything is fine. then it’s not - but he has something very clear through the danger to anchor on, if just a little. a small fraction of calm. but it matters. things are easier knowing the person next to him doesn’t think he’ll slip up. trust is one of the hardest things in the world to come by. what he once had in abundance - a whole teams worth of comrades, friends was stripped down to one person that believed him and everyone willing to back that person up. then two people. (Three? Did Natasha believe him? He’ll never know...) now, back to one. one that just removed doubt that the number was zero. he has to keep that trust.
he distinctly remembers telling sam he wasn’t allowed to call him “buck” - he couldn’t care less that it was ignored right now. ]
No, that’s not it. We’re going to have to move. [ low, whispered. zemo is still over there. sam isn’t armed. the crew starts fanning out to search. tension is tripled.
the person currently in charge or under the soldier’s protection must be armed at all times. if the handler or person under the soldier’s protection is not armed, a weapon will be provided by the soldier even if the soldier must relinquish a weapon to do so.
bucky twists on the heels of his feet to turn face sam straight on and takes a step forward to put them close together. he leans forward in a motion that can look far too casual, a flirt. a hand running over the front of sam’s very nice jacket. pretending to smooth it out - a knife slipped out of bucky’s left sleeve and passed to sam. his head cocked in a way that still blocks the view but sam can peek and look. a blade tucked in a front pocket in one motion. a discrete slight of hand. he pats the spot after so sam can feel it - know what he did. yup. just two people at the bar together. who happen to be together. in madripoor, anything goes. ]
How close to that guy did Zemo say you looked again?
[ sam had made his decision some time ago, and while each and every moment leading up to that speech at the smithsonian had been a practice in questioning himself, he'd come to the conclusion that it was for the best. symbols were dangerous. symbols were heavy. symbols, if given too much power, could be just as damning as the men they tried to put away. that's what sam had been afraid of, that's what sam had been trying to avoid by putting the shield away. he'd just assumed he'd have a little more time before the us government chose to disappoint him again. and maybe there had been a part of him that thought things would be different. maybe, a desperate, hopefuly part had thought that the blip had changed anything at all.
he should have known better. he does know better. but he's also been a cog in the military complex machine for far too long than to be surprised by his own disappointment. john walker is a mess for another day. one step at a time. ]
You had good references. [ do they like each other? that's really the question, isn't it? because there are a hundred fights sam could be fighting right now. wars upon wars from both ends of his life. but does he like bucky barnes is a question he hasn't even, really, asked himself. the man infuriates him. frustrates him to the point of wanting to toss everything out the side of the plane. but he's thankful he's here all the same. is comfortable in this back and forth, if nothing else.
the ghost of steve still hangs heavy, between them, over them. sam cannot outrun the memory of the advice he'd given steve that day, even if it had come with only partial information. he's the kind you stop. it's an added weight to the stack of things sam goes to sleep guilty about, every night, but what else is new. ] Every family has a black sheep. Plus with the Carter name? I'm sure acting was right up their wheelhouse. [ sam is still laughing a bit to himself at the image - he didn't know sharon, or peggy for that matter, beyond their importance to steve. he'd sat at that funeral for steve, noting the overlapping circles of names. of people, that the carters seemed to touch. maybe he could have paid better attention, but his focus had been pulled, and sam's not sorry for that.
and then there is the shift. sam sees the tension slides out over bucky's shoulders like a new suit, a jacket slipped on over him. he says we're going to have to move in the kind of voice sam recognizes as dangerous. he's on edge too, now, aware of his lack of weapon. aware that zemo is all the way across the room. he opens his mouth to ask what bucky sees, how many are there, what's the plan, but that is when bucky turns.
they're suddenly very, very close. sam is a bit taken off-guard by it, a glass on one hand and now bucky all but along his front. bucky leans forward and sam's heart-rate spikes, distant thoughts of um.....what.....? creeping somewhere through the confusion. but then bucky's hand is on the lapel of his jacket, and some thing is slipped inside. sam is watching bucky with probably more concern than is necessary, until bucky's head cocks to one side and sam gets a glimpse of what bucky is reacting to, and oh. oh. suddenly, sam doesn't mind the proximity nearly as much, and in that moment of understanding comes an easy shift back to...what? flirtation? bucky's hand is still on sam's chest, and distantly he wonders if he can feel how fast his heart is beating. ]
I saw the picture myself - pretty damn close. [ and then sam smiles, something sly and fluid and in character., as his eyes come back to bucky's. there's an echo of steve, somewhere in the back of sam's had. and then she said public displays of affection make people uncomfortable. if they could only see them now. ]
We can't take them without causing a scene. [ his voice is low, but the expression on his face is still a part of the act. his body language leaning towards bucky, rather than away. just as bucky planned, after all. two people at a bar together. who happen to be together. together, in the same way that sam keeps watching bucky's face, there being something inherently coy, no matter his words. no matter how much his heart is beating, not just because of the newly introduced danger. but that's for another time, too. ] Can we get the contact out of here before they notice?
[ ready to follow captain america into the jaws of death? hell no. symbols can overshadow people behind them if left unchecked. zemo is someone who puts words to this thought process. notes there's flaws that get forgotten with symbols. the pedestals they get put on. that's why it's so important the symbol is someone responsible in charge of it. bucky is used to going to sleep and waking up in a different era. the blip was nothing to him. he did that for years and years and years so what's five more? so he cannot possibly understand the level sam is going to unless he lets go of the symbol and looks at the person that's supposed to hold it. right now he's having difficulty seeing past it. ]
Outdated ones. [ sam can be infuriating but that's part of his odd sort of charm. in a masochistic sort of way, he likes being called out on his shit. does he want to slap sam across the face? a little bit. but he's here and he's not having the worst time of his life. entire trauma being brought to the surface and his crumbling unstable mental state aside, he is outside socializing with people. proud of him, therapist? every rule is broken but whatever. what else is new. ] An actor in there wouldn't be surprising. [ there's a visual in his head. something recalled of margaret carter, director of shield, lying through her teeth thanking the men beside her for wonderful contributions. he remembers being angry about how her red lips, viewed from the sights of a rifle, were in a convincing smile. acting like everything's fine, there was no history she despised, and continued shaking hands with the then-aged scientist bucky has the face of branded into his head. acting. one of the men next to them has his head jerk back with a stream of red after she moves out of the way. evidence to frame someone else in place, the soldier then returns to a place under her very feet, filled with far more rage than before and has it stripped from him why.
twelve. seven on the right, five on the left but they're fanned out. too far apart and covering too much ground to just slip past without being noticed. he sees one nod to another. bucky gets even closer than before, feigning a half-smile. a corner of his lip bit to be inviting while his eyes are too alert, too aware of the room. sam doesn't immediately roll with this right away and it's almost funny to see the shock and confusion. charming in it's own way. he hopes nobody saw it. they have an act going and it buys time. he can hear thumping and isn't sure if it's the music, his own ears pounding from getting ready to take action - to hurt someone or if it's sam's heart he's feeling speed up through his hand becoming audible. ]
That's unfortunate. You couldn't have picked a different doppelganger? [ bucky states, left arm moving and being rested on sam's shoulder. two behind. very close. one is looking their way. the other is getting close enough to be within arms reach. a gloved hand is on the back of sam's neck. sam is leaning in. bucky leaning back. ] No. If Zemo gets to him while everyone's distracted, we can still get the intel. [ he noticed zemo started moving the second bucky stepped closer to sam. the dance floor abandoned. he has no idea where he went but it's presumably to reach their contact.
bucky has them chest to chest, a hand on sam's hip. posture for an intimate dance. his eyes flicker to sam's lips then behind him. the closer man, readying his weapon. sam and bucky, looking like a kiss about to happen. wouldn't that be something? to give something that wasn't pain right now? the hand on sam's neck moves up to the back of sam's head, as if to push forward and connect them. instead it's used to deflect a bullet.
all at once that tension building up snaps. the entire club erupts. the hand on his hip moves to the shirt and yanks him behind him before being removed from his person. the glass is taken and smashed into the face of the shooter. their table is grabbed and swung like it's a hammer into the second man, denting on impact. ]
mobile tagging means if you see typos, no you didn't
[ sam doesn't want to be that symbol, and that's the heart of his issue. he knows what it's supposed to stand for, in the modern view of the ideal. steve rogers had been everything america needed in the midst of world war two. had been everything america needed, again, with the attack on new york. steve rogers has been captain america, and now steve rogers was gone. sam was content with his place in things, now that he was back to existing. he was content with his falcon wings and his contacts with rhodey and working with the air force again. but john did not deserve that shield, that both he and bucky would agree on. he just wasn't sure - yet - what to do about it.
bucky grumbles something about outdated references and sam nearly rolls his eyes. because okay, fine, yes. he was actually paying bucky a compliment. could he take the half-assed acceptance that sam didn't, actually, regret having him at his side? that he was actually starting to see the benefit in the two of them working together? because if sam is infuriating, bucky is on an entirely different realm of frustratingly annoying and sam is more than happy to explain why. ]
It got you through the interview, didn't it?
[ sam's carter connection had been sharon, but he can only guess at what bucky had known about peggy. what bucky had thought. he'd been there from the beginning, after all, hadn't he? someone steve would actually talk to? say more than just his captain america comments and a quick glance down to a photo he actually thought no on noticed? sam doesn't blame steve for holding onto an old flame. but there was so much more to the carters than any of them ever could understand, and sam's not sure steve needed to know or see into the levels that family reached.
but he needed to focus. they both needed to focus, but sam is pretty sure bucky is already there - counting bodies, calculating moves. and actually, sam is kind of depending on it, on bucky's tactical awareness of their movements. they're still close enough that each time sam takes a breath, he just about feels bucky's chest pressed against him. he's close enough to catch the smile and sam works to find his footing in all of this, but his eyes are only on bucky, as he's not sure it makes sense for him to scan the room. so he lets trust take over, lets bucky assess. it's still a bit surprising to feel bucky's arm rest on sam's shoulder, to feel the gloved hand on the back of his neck. he feels his cheeks heat up, but he is going to chalk that entirely up to the rising adrenaline of a potential fight. ]
Pretty sure the whole point of dopplegangers is you don't get to pick them. And it worked of us earlier. [ for a short while. but not long, and that's a whole different issue sam is going to have to deal with. for now, it's the contact, it's the unsteady feeling of having to trust zemo to already be moving and have caught onto the plan. sam's mind is starting to speed up, to try and keep up with the quick movements of bucky's eyes. ]
You think he can do it? [ he means zemo, he means the contact, but now bucky is closer still and his eyes are on sam's and okay, alright, the flutter in his chest isn't entirely the fight this time and sam is man enough to admit that. bucky's hand shifts to the back of his head and they're leaning in closer, sam's grin still present and cocky, like someone finally getting the one thing they'd been working towards. in that moment he realizes that yes, actually, he would kiss bucky. could, wouldn't mind. if they kiss. if this is what is about to happen.
that is when it changes - a snap of twine, a switch flicked. he hears the gunshot and feels the pang on the back of his head and then bucky is jerking sam out of the way. he goes with the yank, ducking down behind another table and emerging just as one tries to approach bucky from behind. sam picks up his own bottle, then, crashing it against the back of his head and reaching for the gun, turning back to where the most of the group was still collected.
avoid civilians he can't tell if he yells it at bucky or not, but the thought is there, and sam lets off the rest of the rounds of the gun only towards those he can immediately identify, before ditching the empty weapon and diving behind another table he'd knocked over in the process. ]
We need to leave! [ this one he's sure he yells aloud in bucky's direction, distracted by the gunfire pinging off the table he's hiding behind. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
but he can deal with this, first. he can meet sharon's contacts and they can figure out where to get the serum and he can stop this first. then he can worry about the implications of john walker, captain america. god, even his name sounds similar enough to fit the role.
bucky closes his eyes. has that kind of tension in him that comes around when he talks about his time as the winter soldier. sam almost feels bad about it, but the part of him that knows what it is to talk about trauma, who has done this dance before with different soldiers, different wars, knows it would be worse to shy away from it. so sam just stays casual. doesn't let the memory of what happened, or the stress of the situation at hand, change anything about his tone or breathing. bucky apologizes, and the tone is flat, so sam snorts back in response. shakes his head. they both know they're beyond that. hell - sam ended up on the raft just to help bucky. but a part of him is...what? touched? a part of him clocks the apology. is appreciative of it. even if it doesn't matter anymore. ]
Yeah, well. Apparently you made a good enough impression.{ another joke, another comment made with levity. it's what is easiest between them, really - bucky's flat tone. sam's insistence on smiling in response. when bucky starts trying to place sharon, sam simply waits. lets him work through it until he gets to the right answer. his brows are up, waiting for him to get there, and when he does sam huffs out a kind of laugh, nodding. ] Can't imagine anyone with Peggy Carter as an aunt wouldn't end up in some kind of government job with a gun.
[ and then, for a few moments, everything is okay. sam makes eye contact with bucky, reaffirms for him that yes, he trusts him, and that tension leaves bucky in a single exhale. sam finds himself smiling a little at the moment, confidence seeping back into him like warm breeze.
and then the moment is gone. tension is back. they've entered the bar, and there are others - people not with them, that sam catches. bucky must also, because he steps between sam and the door. he frowns, confused for a moment, looking to the back of bucky's head before he can try and adjust. be cool, trust him, it's fine. even if he can't really see who they are, he trusts bucky. even if the two steps bring a questioning look up to him.
still, sam plays the part. looks like he and bucky are just members at the bar. two people, who happen to be here together. ] What's happening, Buck? [ low, just under his breath. sam decides to go for the glass, now, looking casual, taking another sip. ] Did he bring backup?
no subject
he’s listening, carefully. composing himself in the best way he can. sam’s breathing stayed even - did he notice? sam snorts in response to the half-assed apology and he wonders if it meant anything to him. probably not. never will. all in the past and it’s too little, too late. sam probably thinks he doesn’t need to apologize for anything anyway because sam’s an idiot. ]
The bar was really low, huh? [ it’s an easy dynamic they have, have had for years. conversations that consist of witty little remarks with the driest of execution. do they like each other? not really but they certainly share a similar sense of humor. and respect each-other. he appreciates the patience and not having it shoved in his face how hard it was to find a bit of information. he rubs his brow with a thumb then drops it, letting out a huff of a laugh. ] Geez, that’s depressing. I hope one of her relatives turned to art or something.
[ for a moment, everything is fine. then it’s not - but he has something very clear through the danger to anchor on, if just a little. a small fraction of calm. but it matters. things are easier knowing the person next to him doesn’t think he’ll slip up. trust is one of the hardest things in the world to come by. what he once had in abundance - a whole teams worth of comrades, friends was stripped down to one person that believed him and everyone willing to back that person up. then two people. (Three? Did Natasha believe him? He’ll never know...) now, back to one. one that just removed doubt that the number was zero. he has to keep that trust.
he distinctly remembers telling sam he wasn’t allowed to call him “buck” - he couldn’t care less that it was ignored right now. ]
No, that’s not it. We’re going to have to move. [ low, whispered. zemo is still over there. sam isn’t armed. the crew starts fanning out to search. tension is tripled.
the person currently in charge or under the soldier’s protection must be armed at all times. if the handler or person under the soldier’s protection is not armed, a weapon will be provided by the soldier even if the soldier must relinquish a weapon to do so.
bucky twists on the heels of his feet to turn face sam straight on and takes a step forward to put them close together. he leans forward in a motion that can look far too casual, a flirt. a hand running over the front of sam’s very nice jacket. pretending to smooth it out - a knife slipped out of bucky’s left sleeve and passed to sam. his head cocked in a way that still blocks the view but sam can peek and look. a blade tucked in a front pocket in one motion. a discrete slight of hand. he pats the spot after so sam can feel it - know what he did. yup. just two people at the bar together. who happen to be together. in madripoor, anything goes. ]
How close to that guy did Zemo say you looked again?
no subject
he should have known better. he does know better. but he's also been a cog in the military complex machine for far too long than to be surprised by his own disappointment. john walker is a mess for another day. one step at a time. ]
You had good references. [ do they like each other? that's really the question, isn't it? because there are a hundred fights sam could be fighting right now. wars upon wars from both ends of his life. but does he like bucky barnes is a question he hasn't even, really, asked himself. the man infuriates him. frustrates him to the point of wanting to toss everything out the side of the plane. but he's thankful he's here all the same. is comfortable in this back and forth, if nothing else.
the ghost of steve still hangs heavy, between them, over them. sam cannot outrun the memory of the advice he'd given steve that day, even if it had come with only partial information. he's the kind you stop. it's an added weight to the stack of things sam goes to sleep guilty about, every night, but what else is new. ] Every family has a black sheep. Plus with the Carter name? I'm sure acting was right up their wheelhouse. [ sam is still laughing a bit to himself at the image - he didn't know sharon, or peggy for that matter, beyond their importance to steve. he'd sat at that funeral for steve, noting the overlapping circles of names. of people, that the carters seemed to touch. maybe he could have paid better attention, but his focus had been pulled, and sam's not sorry for that.
and then there is the shift. sam sees the tension slides out over bucky's shoulders like a new suit, a jacket slipped on over him. he says we're going to have to move in the kind of voice sam recognizes as dangerous. he's on edge too, now, aware of his lack of weapon. aware that zemo is all the way across the room. he opens his mouth to ask what bucky sees, how many are there, what's the plan, but that is when bucky turns.
they're suddenly very, very close. sam is a bit taken off-guard by it, a glass on one hand and now bucky all but along his front. bucky leans forward and sam's heart-rate spikes, distant thoughts of um.....what.....? creeping somewhere through the confusion. but then bucky's hand is on the lapel of his jacket, and some thing is slipped inside. sam is watching bucky with probably more concern than is necessary, until bucky's head cocks to one side and sam gets a glimpse of what bucky is reacting to, and oh. oh. suddenly, sam doesn't mind the proximity nearly as much, and in that moment of understanding comes an easy shift back to...what? flirtation? bucky's hand is still on sam's chest, and distantly he wonders if he can feel how fast his heart is beating. ]
I saw the picture myself - pretty damn close. [ and then sam smiles, something sly and fluid and in character., as his eyes come back to bucky's. there's an echo of steve, somewhere in the back of sam's had. and then she said public displays of affection make people uncomfortable. if they could only see them now. ]
We can't take them without causing a scene. [ his voice is low, but the expression on his face is still a part of the act. his body language leaning towards bucky, rather than away. just as bucky planned, after all. two people at a bar together. who happen to be together. together, in the same way that sam keeps watching bucky's face, there being something inherently coy, no matter his words. no matter how much his heart is beating, not just because of the newly introduced danger. but that's for another time, too. ] Can we get the contact out of here before they notice?
no subject
Outdated ones. [ sam can be infuriating but that's part of his odd sort of charm. in a masochistic sort of way, he likes being called out on his shit. does he want to slap sam across the face? a little bit. but he's here and he's not having the worst time of his life. entire trauma being brought to the surface and his crumbling unstable mental state aside, he is outside socializing with people. proud of him, therapist? every rule is broken but whatever. what else is new. ] An actor in there wouldn't be surprising. [ there's a visual in his head. something recalled of margaret carter, director of shield, lying through her teeth thanking the men beside her for wonderful contributions. he remembers being angry about how her red lips, viewed from the sights of a rifle, were in a convincing smile. acting like everything's fine, there was no history she despised, and continued shaking hands with the then-aged scientist bucky has the face of branded into his head. acting. one of the men next to them has his head jerk back with a stream of red after she moves out of the way. evidence to frame someone else in place, the soldier then returns to a place under her very feet, filled with far more rage than before and has it stripped from him why.
twelve. seven on the right, five on the left but they're fanned out. too far apart and covering too much ground to just slip past without being noticed. he sees one nod to another. bucky gets even closer than before, feigning a half-smile. a corner of his lip bit to be inviting while his eyes are too alert, too aware of the room. sam doesn't immediately roll with this right away and it's almost funny to see the shock and confusion. charming in it's own way. he hopes nobody saw it. they have an act going and it buys time. he can hear thumping and isn't sure if it's the music, his own ears pounding from getting ready to take action - to hurt someone or if it's sam's heart he's feeling speed up through his hand becoming audible. ]
That's unfortunate. You couldn't have picked a different doppelganger? [ bucky states, left arm moving and being rested on sam's shoulder. two behind. very close. one is looking their way. the other is getting close enough to be within arms reach. a gloved hand is on the back of sam's neck. sam is leaning in. bucky leaning back. ] No. If Zemo gets to him while everyone's distracted, we can still get the intel. [ he noticed zemo started moving the second bucky stepped closer to sam. the dance floor abandoned. he has no idea where he went but it's presumably to reach their contact.
bucky has them chest to chest, a hand on sam's hip. posture for an intimate dance. his eyes flicker to sam's lips then behind him. the closer man, readying his weapon. sam and bucky, looking like a kiss about to happen. wouldn't that be something? to give something that wasn't pain right now? the hand on sam's neck moves up to the back of sam's head, as if to push forward and connect them. instead it's used to deflect a bullet.
all at once that tension building up snaps. the entire club erupts. the hand on his hip moves to the shirt and yanks him behind him before being removed from his person. the glass is taken and smashed into the face of the shooter. their table is grabbed and swung like it's a hammer into the second man, denting on impact. ]
mobile tagging means if you see typos, no you didn't
bucky grumbles something about outdated references and sam nearly rolls his eyes. because okay, fine, yes. he was actually paying bucky a compliment. could he take the half-assed acceptance that sam didn't, actually, regret having him at his side? that he was actually starting to see the benefit in the two of them working together? because if sam is infuriating, bucky is on an entirely different realm of frustratingly annoying and sam is more than happy to explain why. ]
It got you through the interview, didn't it?
[ sam's carter connection had been sharon, but he can only guess at what bucky had known about peggy. what bucky had thought. he'd been there from the beginning, after all, hadn't he? someone steve would actually talk to? say more than just his captain america comments and a quick glance down to a photo he actually thought no on noticed? sam doesn't blame steve for holding onto an old flame. but there was so much more to the carters than any of them ever could understand, and sam's not sure steve needed to know or see into the levels that family reached.
but he needed to focus. they both needed to focus, but sam is pretty sure bucky is already there - counting bodies, calculating moves. and actually, sam is kind of depending on it, on bucky's tactical awareness of their movements. they're still close enough that each time sam takes a breath, he just about feels bucky's chest pressed against him. he's close enough to catch the smile and sam works to find his footing in all of this, but his eyes are only on bucky, as he's not sure it makes sense for him to scan the room. so he lets trust take over, lets bucky assess. it's still a bit surprising to feel bucky's arm rest on sam's shoulder, to feel the gloved hand on the back of his neck. he feels his cheeks heat up, but he is going to chalk that entirely up to the rising adrenaline of a potential fight. ]
Pretty sure the whole point of dopplegangers is you don't get to pick them. And it worked of us earlier. [ for a short while. but not long, and that's a whole different issue sam is going to have to deal with. for now, it's the contact, it's the unsteady feeling of having to trust zemo to already be moving and have caught onto the plan. sam's mind is starting to speed up, to try and keep up with the quick movements of bucky's eyes. ]
You think he can do it? [ he means zemo, he means the contact, but now bucky is closer still and his eyes are on sam's and okay, alright, the flutter in his chest isn't entirely the fight this time and sam is man enough to admit that. bucky's hand shifts to the back of his head and they're leaning in closer, sam's grin still present and cocky, like someone finally getting the one thing they'd been working towards. in that moment he realizes that yes, actually, he would kiss bucky. could, wouldn't mind. if they kiss. if this is what is about to happen.
that is when it changes - a snap of twine, a switch flicked. he hears the gunshot and feels the pang on the back of his head and then bucky is jerking sam out of the way. he goes with the yank, ducking down behind another table and emerging just as one tries to approach bucky from behind. sam picks up his own bottle, then, crashing it against the back of his head and reaching for the gun, turning back to where the most of the group was still collected.
avoid civilians he can't tell if he yells it at bucky or not, but the thought is there, and sam lets off the rest of the rounds of the gun only towards those he can immediately identify, before ditching the empty weapon and diving behind another table he'd knocked over in the process. ]
We need to leave! [ this one he's sure he yells aloud in bucky's direction, distracted by the gunfire pinging off the table he's hiding behind. ]