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swan-of-sunrise · 1 year

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Part III)

Summary: (Y/N) takes a trip down to Delacroix to check in on Sam days after the international incident in Latvia, and their joined by an unexpected but welcomed guest.

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 5.6k

Warnings/Disclaimers: Disclaimer for a frank discussion of racism/bigotry

A/N: We’re in Delacroix for this chapter, so be prepared for lots of Sam and Bucky shenanigans! Thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoy!

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Part III) May 2024 Delacroix, Louisiana (Previous Chapter)

The first time (Y/N) had ever visited Delacroix, she was a down-on-her-luck twenty-six year old on the brink of spending yet another Thanksgiving by herself; her relationship with her parents was strained – it always had been, if she were being honest, but that year stood out as being particularly bad – and not even her brother’s pleas for peace could make both sides forgive and forget for the sake of the holidays. Her co-worker down at the VA and new roommate Sam kindly extended her an invitation to spend Thanksgiving in Louisiana with his family and town and after many assurances that she wouldn’t be a burden to them, she finally agreed. True to Sam’s word, his family and the entire small community of Delacroix welcomed her with open arms, and (Y/N) experienced the best Thanksgiving all because of their kindness and selfless generosity. Because of her flourishing career and various superhero-related incidents, she wasn’t able to visit as often as she wanted to since then but in the years following the Snap, she made it a point to regularly check in on Sarah Wilson and her two boys; she owed it to Sam’s memory to ensure that his family was doing okay after he Vanished and in the wake of losing her own daughter, it felt good to know that her emotional support was helping Sarah to take care of AJ and Cass.

“…shocking testimony on Capitol Hill ended with Walker being formally discharged from the Army and stripped of both his military rank and the title of Captain America. The ruling comes as the result of Walker’s shocking murder of an unnamed and unarmed member of the Flag Smashers on the streets of Riga, Latvia, recorded by several witnesses and posted onto social media for the world to see. According to several attendees within the closed hearing, Walker entered into a heated debate with one of the Congressional members when he attempted to cite his partner Lemar Hoskins’ tragic death to rationalize his unjustified actions and blamed the government for shaping his beliefs, but the council did not rescind their decision. No word yet on if Walker has surrendered the shield-”

(Y/N) switched her rental car’s radio to a grainy station playing Zydeco and sighed in irritation. “Nice to hear that the government’s taking responsibility for their own dumb-ass actions…”

Two days earlier, (Y/N) and Steve switched on WHiH just as the news broke and watched the uncensored video of Walker’s unprovoked actions in absolute horror. They kept calling Sam and didn’t stop until he finally picked up the phone and assured them that he and Bucky were safe, and then he explained how Walker got his hands on the Flag Smasher’s stolen super-soldier serum; he went on to tell them that he and Bucky confronted Walker after the murder and forcibly took the shield away from him, and he informed them that because the government stepped in they were benched until further notice. Six hours later, Sarah called and asked (Y/N) to come down to Delacroix out of concern for her brother’s mental health; after a brief discussion with Steve and ensuring that her husband, her daughter and their dog would be safe while she was gone, (Y/N) booked the first available flight to New Orleans.

When she finally reached the Wilson’s house, she parked behind Sam’s truck and pulled her duffel bag out of the trunk before heading up the driveway. She smiled when she saw her best friend repairing a fishing net alongside his nephews and their mother tuning up some equipment at the porch’s small table, and she called out, “Looks like Uncle Sam roped you guys into doing his chores again!”

“Auntie (Y/N)!” AJ and Cass exclaimed, jumping down from the porch and running across the lawn to give her hugs; she laughed and hugged both boys back as Sam and Sarah made their way over to them. “I got an A- on my English report!”

“And I won my class Spelling Bee!” AJ excitedly added.

“Good job, guys! I guess we’ll have to celebrate with the sweet treats I brought and some video games later, huh?” (Y/N) asked and glanced up at the older woman while the two boys did a celebratory dance. “If it’s okay with your mom, of course.”

Sarah smiled and nodded. “As long as you two make your beds before the school bus gets here and stick to your bedtime tonight, then it’s all right with me.” Both AJ and Cass ran back into the house to complete their chores and the two women shared a tight hug. “Thank you for comin’ so quickly, (Y/N),” She murmured before pulling away and gesturing towards the house. “I’ve gotta start packing their lunches, so I’ll let Sam show you to your room.”

Her best friend shot his sister a suspicious look that went ignored as she passed by and he shook his head in disbelief. “She’s a very sneaky person.”

“No, she’s a Wilson,” (Y/N) corrected, giving him a smile and wrapping her arms around him. “She knows when people need help and does whatever she can to get it to them, just like you.” Sam sighed and slowly relaxed into her embrace. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, but maybe later.” He pulled away and mustered up a smile for her benefit as he took her duffel bag from her and slung it over his own shoulder. “I guess I know why Sarah was changing the sheets in the guest bedroom last night. C’mon, Booksmart, we’ll get you settled and I’ll fix you up some breakfast.”

After (Y/N) freshened up and changed into clothing more suitable for the humidity of Louisiana, she came downstairs and sat at the kitchen counter eating the scrambled eggs and toast Sam cooked while the Wilson siblings discussed the ongoing issues concerning their family’s boat.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t wanna tell you last night when you were lookin’ all sad puppy dog in the rain,” Sarah patiently explained as she finished packing her sons’ lunches. “That’s why I gave (Y/N) a call.”

Sam sighed. “It was a rough day.”

His sister glanced away from the brown paper bags she was filling to look over at him. “You mean with Isaiah Bradley?”

“And what they did to him.”

Sarah exchanged a brief glance with (Y/N). “You wanna talk about it?”

“No,” Sam replied, his thumb thoughtfully stroking the rim of his coffee mug while he looked down. “I’m trying to figure out what it all means.”

“Okay, well, we’re both here for you…but as far as the boat is concerned, bottom line is that Mr. Dinh backed out.” Sarah pulled two Tupperware containers out of the refrigerator and packed them into bags. “I don’t know what to do; parts alone on that thing are gonna eat up most of what we get back.”

“Listen to me: don’t worry. I’m gonna fix the boat.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be off saving the world?” Sarah demanded while Sam rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Why are you back here bothering me?”

He took a seat at the kitchen counter beside (Y/N) and replied, “‘Cause my family’s well-being is a part of the world.”

(Y/N) arched a knowing brow at her best friend. “So, you’re waiting for a lead?”

“…And the government stepped in and took control and kind of benched us…”

Both Sarah and (Y/N) chuckled and when AJ and Cass entered the kitchen with their backpacks, Sarah handed out their lunches and passed two extra bags over to Cass. “Please make sure Bennett and Elling each get one. Okay?”

“Okay!”

“All right.” Sarah gave her sons a bright smile as they headed out the back door. “Bye.”

“Have a good day at school, guys,” Sam added with a small wave.

“See you later, alligators!” (Y/N) called after them and once the screen door closed behind them, her smile faltered and she looked up at Sarah. “Bennett and Elling?”

The older woman nodded. “Bennett and Elling’s dad cannot get up before noon. Kids keep showin’ up hungry but are too proud to ask for any help.”

(Y/N)’s heart clenched in sympathy for both boys while Sam gave his sister a proud smile. “And you’re like Mom, feeding every kid in the neighborhood.” A strange expression suddenly crossed his features and before either woman could question him, he asked, “How many people still owe Mom and Dad something?”

“All of them. All that’s left, for sure.”

A smile slowly spread across (Y/N)’s face as she realized Sam’s idea. “In that case, it might be time for you two to call in a few favors…”

Sam reached into one of the kitchen cabinets and pulled out their address book. “I’m gonna fix this damn boat.”

He left the kitchen in a hurry and while he started making phone calls from the other room, Sarah shook her head and smiled. “A real man of action. I still don’t know how you lived with him all that time in D.C. without goin’ crazy.”

“It’s probably because I counteracted his unique brand of crazy with my own.” (Y/N) took her empty dishes to the kitchen sink and went about washing them as she continued. “If fixing up the boat helps get his mind off everything he’s been through these past few weeks, then I’m all for it; let him channel all those feelings into something productive instead of letting them boil up inside of him.”

“The only problem with that is that until he’s ready to face those feelings, he’s gonna get in my way and mess around with things he knows he doesn’t understand.”

(Y/N) shrugged. “Well, that’s when you fight dirty and just push him off the side of the boat.”

Sarah laughed and as both women chatted while they worked on packing up lunch orders for Wilson Family Seafood, (Y/N) was pleased to see the stress momentarily leave the older woman’s eyes.

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The next day, (Y/N) joined the Wilson siblings and over half of Delacroix at the docks to help them repair Paul & Darlene; Sam had gone through his family’s entire address book and spent the day calling in each and every favor that he could, but even he seemed a little taken aback by how much of his community showed out to assist him and his sister in their time of need.

“Thank you so much for coming, Ms. Paddy,” (Y/N) smiled at the older woman standing before her and gestured towards the fold-out table further down the pier. “There’s coffee and fresh-baked banana bread for volunteers, and Sarah’s around here somewhere with a list of jobs and tasks that need to get done.”

“I’ll do anythin’, so long as it helps out those Wilson kids. Their mama and daddy did so much for this community before they passed, you know, and all while raisin’ themselves a couple of angels.” Ms. Paddy returned her smile with one of her own and patted her arm. “It was good seein’ you again, sugar. You give that husband and sweet baby of yours my best, you hear?”

After (Y/N) assured her that she would and she left to find Sarah amongst the crowd of volunteers, she headed over to where Sam stood beside a group of fishermen and their truck. “Check it out, Booksmart!” Sam excitedly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pointed at the wrapped machinery sitting in the truck bed. “Carlos and Tommy here brought a new diesel engine for us!”

“Sam, that’s amazing!” (Y/N) gave her best friend a hug before turning to the pair of fishermen. “Thank you guys so much!”

Carlos chuckled and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Hey, look, word goes out the Wilson family needs help? Well, we got a bit of usefulness in us.”

Sam beamed in happiness. “How do we get it off the truck?”

Before any of them could answer, the engine was easily lifted out of the truck bed and placed on the pier by none other than Bucky; the super-soldier dusted off his hands and adjusted the black glove he wore, seemingly unaware of the fishermen gaping in awe after witnessing him single-handedly lift a two-thousand pound piece of machinery. “You’re welcome.”

As the fishermen moved to help unload another truck, Sam shot (Y/N) a questioning look and she raised her hands in defense. “Don’t look at me, Birdbrain, I didn’t call him.” They both approached the bed of the truck as Bucky placed a sizable case onto the tailgate. “So, what brings you down to Delacroix, Bucky?”

“Just dropping this off. You can sign for it and I’ll go.” He patted the top of the case. “I called in a favor from the Wakandans.”

Sam exchanged a look with (Y/N), but the tell-tale sound of a burst pipe interrupted whatever he was going to say. “Sam!”

The three of them turned to see Sarah pointing to a pipe onboard the boat spewing concentrated steam into the air; Sam jogged over and boarded the boat, reaching for a wrench to try and tighten the pipe’s loose bolt but unable to see through the thick steam. With an exasperated sigh, Bucky followed after him and climbed over the edge, but not before giving Sarah a small wave. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Sarah replied with an uncharacteristically bashful smile that quickly dropped when she caught sight of the knowing smirk on (Y/N)’s face.

“Hold on, hold on…” Bucky guided Sam out of the way and took the wrench from him. “You gotta go up!”

The super-soldier succeeded in tightening the bolt and stopping the leak, and Sam stared at the pipe as he tossed the wrench down onto the open toolbox. “Why didn’t you use the metal arm?”

“Well…I don’t always think of it immediately. I’m right-handed.” Sam chuckled at that while Bucky took in their surroundings. “So, this is the boat, huh?”

“This is it.”

“It’s nice.” Bucky shuffled his feet and took a deep breath before asking, “You want any help?” (Y/N) smiled to herself when Sam gave him a relenting nod and led him towards the boat’s cockpit, and she made herself appear busy winding ropes when the super-soldier stopped to check Sarah out. “I’m Bucky.”

Sarah looked up from her clipboard and clutched it against her chest as she sweetly smiled at him. “Sarah.”

“Sarah…” Bucky tested out her name with a flirtatious grin on his lips and (Y/N) was forced to bite her lip to keep from laughing when she caught sight of Sam’s less-than-pleased expression.

When both men disappeared into the pilothouse, (Y/N) whistled low and giggled at the older woman’s flustered state. “Mm-hmm, it’s that Brooklyn charm, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“C’mon, Sarah, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you! He may be an old-fashioned gentleman but those big, bright, beautiful blue eyes were most definitely staring right at your-”

Sarah lightly smacked (Y/N)’s arm with her clipboard while (Y/N) laughed and followed after the two men. After doing away with his jacket and the glove he used to cover his vibranium hand, Bucky went to work helping (Y/N) sand the deck and scrape wood rot off the boat’s wooden surfaces; the super-soldier was a good working buddy, although she caught him distractedly practicing knife flips with the tools on more than one occasion, and he still managed to get on Sam’s nerves by using his enhanced strength and vibranium arm to easily complete his own tasks, which was to remove the rusted rail shear-line and repair the old wiring. While they worked, both men unconsciously relied on (Y/N) to ease the awkwardness born in the wake of their short time in Riga and while it felt a little like babysitting at times, she was just glad that they weren’t at each other’s throats anymore.

“You know, I never really saw the appeal of drinking beer after a long day of work…” (Y/N) took another sip of her beer and sighed as she rested her head against Sam’s arm. “But goddamn if this isn’t the best way to unwind.”

Sam hummed in agreement, but most of his attention was focused on the large metal case they’d brought onto the boat; they both suspected what its contents were and while (Y/N) thought it was wonderful that the Wakandans had made him new wings and a suit to match, she could see that Sam was still conflicted about taking the mantle of Captain America. Their focus was drawn away from the case when Bucky heaved a sigh and got to his feet.

“Well, gotta catch my flight tomorrow.” The super-soldier downed the last of his beer and set the empty bottle down onto the deck. “Get a hotel room for the night. Crash, you know? Then, I’ll have to get a ride to the airport…”

Sam snorted in amusement. “You’re just gonna set me up like that, huh?”

Shrugging noncommittally, Bucky tossed his jacket over his arm and gestured towards the dock. “I don’t wanna make it weird for your family.”

“Just stay here,” Sam insisted and (Y/N) hid her surprise as she finished off her own beer. “The people in this town are the most welcoming people in the world. They don’t care if you wear small t-shirts or if you have six toes or if your mom’s your aunt.”

Bucky chuckled. “Okay, I get it. I mean, you know, the people are nice.”

“But don’t flirt with my sister.”

“No.”

“’Cause if you do, I’ll have Carlos cut you up and feed you to the fish.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes and set her empty beer bottle down as she stood. “You’d better not let Sarah hear you talk like that, Birdbrain; I hear she’s got a mean right hook.” After giving her grumbling best friend a pat on the shoulder, she looped her arm around Bucky’s and led him back up onto the dock. “C’mon, we’ll take my rental and get you settled up at the house. We’re having Sarah’s homemade jambalaya for dinner, so I hope you brought your appetite with you.”

“Sounds delicious.” Bucky bit his lip and tried not to smile as he continued. “So, Sarah seems pretty nice…”

“She is. She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s a damn good businesswoman and an even better mother…and she may or may not have a secret thing for one hundred and six-year-old super-soldiers.” (Y/N) grinned at the blush beginning to color Bucky’s cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a delicious dinner of homemade jambalaya with cornbread and a laughter-filled evening in which (Y/N) unsuccessfully attempted to teach AJ and Cass how to dance the Lindy Hop, everyone decided to call it a night and head off to bed. A brief text from Sam cut (Y/N)’s bedtime skincare routine short and she crept across the hall to his room, where he was sitting up against his headboard and staring unseeingly up at the ceiling; he asked her if they could talk about Isaiah Bradley and the shield and when she readily agreed, he waited for her to make herself comfortable on the comforter across from him before finally opening up to her.

Isaiah Bradley, an African-American soldier who enlisted in the Army just as the Cold War was beginning to take form, was one of hundreds of Black servicemen to be unknowingly turned into test subjects and experimented on with various recreations of Doctor Erskine’s super-soldier serum; the men were told that they were being administered tetanus shots and when it became apparent that the version administered to Isaiah was the most successful, an entire troop of Black soldiers was given the same version and sent out on dangerous combat missions as the Korean War raged on. While operating in Korea on Hydra’s behalf, Bucky first encountered Isaiah at a bar in Goyang in 1951 and their vicious fight led to Hydra considering Isaiah to be one of their most dangerous threats.

“God, it’s just like the Tuskegee Study.” (Y/N)’s stomach churned in horror as Sam silently nodded. “In 1943, Steve volunteered to be one of the SSR’s lab rats and he knew all the possible risks of receiving the serum. But those poor men…”

“If you think that’s bad, just wait until you hear what happened next.”

Around that same time, the other men in Isaiah’s troop had been weakened by the supposed successful super-soldier serum and were soon captured by enemy forces. The Army was planning on authorizing an Air Force strike on the POW camp in order to hide the ample evidence of illegal experimentation and the attempted recreation of Doctor Erskine’s lost work but when Isaiah caught wind of their plans, he single-handedly infiltrated and liberated the camp. He brought every single one of his fellow soldiers back to their base, but the imperfect serum running through their veins began killing them off one by one and for disobeying direct orders, Isaiah was imprisoned for thirty years.

“Steve once disobeyed orders and liberated almost four hundred men from one of Hydra’s POW camps, and they tried to award him a Medal of Valor.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and tightened her arms around her knees as she struggled to keep her anger in check. “The Army might not have gone through with their planned airstrike, but they killed those innocent men all the same. And they didn’t just lock Isaiah up for disobeying orders, those bastards locked him up to keep their illegal experimentation going. That’s what happened to him, isn’t it? They kept experimenting on him for those thirty years?”

“Not just the Army. No, the CIA and even Hydra took samples of his blood to try and replicate the super-soldier serum.”

During his incarceration, Isaiah wrote letters to his wife Faith but his captors never sent them and they even withheld the letters she’d written to him; she’d apparently been told that he was still fighting in Korea and once the conflict was drawing to a close, she was incorrectly informed that Isaiah had been killed in action. Faith passed away while Isaiah was imprisoned but in the 1980’s, a nurse took pity on Isaiah and faked his death, helping him escape the facility he’d been kept in and even gifting him all of the letters they’d withheld. He relocated to Baltimore and lived in anonymity, raising his grandson Eli and mourning the life that had been taken away from him by those who refused to accept a that there could ever be a Black Captain America.

(Y/N) was struggling to hold back her tears by the time Sam finished his story and when she spotted the grief in his reddened eyes, she wordlessly scooted across the bed and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. She always thought that she had a handle on the many atrocities of America’s past, but then she’d find herself learning about yet another barbaric incident and go right back to square one; it’s no wonder Isaiah became embittered and pessimistic about what the shield represents, she thought as she buried her face in the crook of Sam’s neck, his life has been nothing short of a nightmare because of it.

“He said that he didn’t want his story to be told to the world because he’s afraid of how people will react but (Y/N), we’ve gotta tell his story. He and every one of those Black men who died so that the government could try to recreate that goddamn serum…they all deserve to have their stories told, and this country needs to be held responsible for what it did to them.” Sam pulled away to look at her, his brown eyes still tinged with red but filled with a newfound determination. “And I’ve got a few ideas about how to do it. How much goodwill do you think you have with the Smithsonian?”

A smile slowly started to spread across her face at her best friend’s implication. “Enough for me to convince them to add an entire room to their Captain America exhibit. Just give me a week so that I can write up everything you told me and make a phone call to Rhodey; if the Air Force was involved like Isaiah said they were, then he might be able to find some buried files we can use to corroborate Isaiah’s story. Once everything’s squared away with the directors of the Air and Space Museum, I can have Greg get me into contact with The New York Times; I’ve written op-eds for them before, and I have a feeling they’ll be interested in running a story like this.”

“Thank you, Booksmart. I really owe you one, don’t I?”

“You don’t owe me a damn thing, Birdbrain. Except…” (Y/N) trailed off and her eyes flicked over to Sam’s dresser tucked beneath his Louisiana University pennant, where nearly a dozen framed photographs were neatly organized across its surface. There were several photographs from Sam’s childhood – vacations with his parents and Sarah, cookouts, family gatherings and graduations – but many of them were more recent; Sam and (Y/N) working at the VA’s front desk together, a family portrait of Sarah and Henry with their infant sons AJ and Cass, a selfie that Natasha and Sam took with Steve and (Y/N) at their engagement party, and a group photograph of the Avengers they’d taken after Tony and Natasha’s funeral. Sam Wilson’s entire life was on display on that dresser, all the successes and failures he’d experienced and all the lifelong connections he’d made along the way, and as she looked at the framed photographs, she knew in her heart that there was no one on Earth better suited to carry the mantle of Captain America. “Knowing what you know now about Isaiah Bradley and the history of Black super-soldiers in America, promise me you’ll reconsider what to do about the shield? You don’t have to make a decision now or even ever, but just take the time to think it over on your own and without anyone telling you what they think you should do.”

Sam pursed his lips and nodded. “I will. We should probably get some sleep; you’ve got a long flight you’ve gotta catch tomorrow, and I’ve got a water pump to take apart and fix.”

“Sarah’s going to kick your ass if she finds you messing around with that water pump,” (Y/N) lightly scolded but smiled at the mischievous grin on her best friend’s face. “But I guess that’s why you’ll be getting up bright and early, huh?”

“You’re a very perceptive woman.” He pressed a chaste kiss onto her forehead and his smile softened. “G’night, (Y/N).”

“‘Night, Sam.” After giving Sam one last hug, (Y/N) left his room and returned to hers. She crawled into bed and stared up at the ceiling for a moment before reaching for her cell phone and FaceTiming Steve; when her husband’s tired face appeared on her screen, she felt a surge of guilt and sighed. “Damn, I forgot about the time zone difference. I’m sorry for waking you up-”

“Is everything okay, (Y/N)?” Steve interrupted, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes as he started to sit up in bed. “You look upset.”

“Everything’s fine, sweetheart, it’s just…Sam told me more about Isaiah Bradley and what happened to him, and I…” Her voice caught in her throat and she blinked away the fresh wave of tears. “I just really needed to see you and Carina.”

Steve’s expression softened with understanding. “Okay, sunshine. Cari’s sleeping right now, so why don’t I let you see her for a minute and then I’ll play the piano for you until you fall asleep?”

(Y/N) nodded and after he crept into Carina’s nursery to show her their sleeping daughter, he closed her door and sat himself at the small piano in their living room, cursing under his breath as he struggled to lean his cell phone against one of her writing awards on the piano’s lid. When he finally succeeded, he sat back and hovered his fingers over the black-and-white keys and she quietly spoke. “I love you, Steve.”

“I love you too,” Her husband gave her a gentle smile; she longed for nothing more than to have his arms wrapped around her but until she returned home to Maine the next day, she’d have to make do with the comfort of his loving gaze. “Sweet dreams, baby.”

While Steve softly played, (Y/N) felt her eyelids grow heavy and the sweet melody soon faded away as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, (Y/N) tossed her duffel bag into the trunk of her rental car and leaned against the bumper as she watched Sam and Bucky throwing the shield across the front yard, smiling to herself when she realized that they were actually talking things out. She said her goodbyes to Sarah, AJ and Cass earlier that morning as the older woman left to see what her brother and handsome guest were up to at Paul & Darlene and the children left for school; Sarah thanked her for being there for Sam and (Y/N) thanked Sarah for inviting her, both women sharing a meaningful hug before she hurried off to chastise her brother at the dock.

And to think, only a week ago they were at each other’s throats, (Y/N) silently remarked, pushing herself off the bumper as both men shook hands and started making their way towards her. “Ready to head out, Bucky?”

“Mm-hmm,” Bucky replied as he placed his backpack into the car’s trunk and shut its lid. “Gotta have plenty of time to explain the metal arm to the TSA agents, after all.”

Sam chuckled. “Makes sense to me. Thanks for the help, man, it meant a lot.”

“’Course.” Bucky smiled and clapped his shoulder before climbing into the passenger seat of the rental car.

(Y/N) wrapped her arms around Sam’s waist and smiled when he gave her a one-armed hug. “Take care of yourself, Birdbrain. If you need anything, anything at all, I’m only a phone call away. Okay?”

“Copy that, Booksmart. Have a safe flight.” Sam pulled away and flashed her his trademark grin. “Give Steve and the little cutie-pie my best.”

Getting into the driver’s seat, (Y/N) gave her best friend one last wave before switching the engine on and driving away from the Wilson’s home. The drive from Delacroix to Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport was a little over an hour long, so (Y/N) passed the time humming along to her Big Band playlist while Bucky silently stared out the passenger-side window; the super-soldier didn’t say anything until they passed through Chalmette and when he did, his words made her brows furrow in confusion.

“(Y/N), I’m sorry.” She glanced over at him out of the corner of her eye but remained silent as he continued. “I realized a while ago that I never apologized to you for my actions that day at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, so I’d like to do that now.”

(Y/N) opened her mouth to reassure him that he hadn’t hurt her, that the Winter Soldier was the one who nearly killed her in Berlin and not him, but she found herself closing her mouth as she considered the super-soldier seated beside her. While he never intentionally did the things he did as the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes still did them; it was his hands that committed those heinous acts for over seventy years and whenever he closed his eyes, all he saw were the lives he took played over and over on a never-ending loop. The only way to heal from those decades of trauma was to accept that while he wasn’t guilty of anything, it was still he who did those things and once he acknowledged that, he could begin to move on from his past as the Winter Soldier. The Certified Kick-Ass Counselor strikes again, (Y/N) thought to herself with an inward smile, happy that Sam had put his counseling skills to good work and that Bucky had taken his wise words to heart.

“I accept your apology, Bucky, and I forgive you.” She gave him a smile and he shakily released the breath he’d been holding. “Do you feel better?”

“Actually, I do,” Bucky admitted as he straightened up in his seat. “Would it be okay if I came up to Rockport to visit you three? Not until all this business with Karli and the Flag Smashers is over and done, of course…”

(Y/N) nodded. “We’d love to have you! Steve’s been dying to show you all the art he’s been working on, and I just know that Cari will want to see her Uncle Bucky again.”

The two of them fell into easy conversation that lasted until after she returned her rental car and only ended when she received a text as they made their way into the airport. Assuming that it was only Steve checking in before her flight, (Y/N) pulled her cell phone out to answer but was taken by surprise to see that it was a brief text from Sam.

Birdbrain: Can you send me the link to your workout playlist? I’m gonna need some good music to listen to if I’m gonna master using this shield 😉

“Something wrong, doll?”

(Y/N) shook her head and as her lips curved into a grin, she looked up at Bucky and held up her phone so that he could read Sam’s subtle decision. “Actually, Bucky, everything’s looking pretty damn good to me.”

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A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ziGMhEsAw833GQ9eV44nR?si=6dfead09c76848d5

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Stumblin’ In Book VII: “Superhero Snapshots” Masterlist

Stumblin’ In Book I: “The Winter Soldier” Masterlist

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