#i mean i couldn’t NOT address the soldier boy shaped elephant in the room

[himbovillains]

@awkwardcourage liked for a starter from an oc.

hey, has anyone ever told you that you look like soldier boy? it’s a regular question in his bar, one that he’s getting pretty sick of hearing, especially when you take into consideration the fact that he hasn’t got a single superpower whatsoever. and it’s only gotten worse since news of the attack on vought tower, to the point where he’s considering closing his bar for good. he’s even taken to speaking in lightly french-accented english again, despite swearing off ever doing so again, in the hopes that it might further differentiate him from the disgraced supe.

the sound of the door opening has him looking up from where he’s cleaning glasses, halting his movements as he does so. fuck, should’ve locked the damn thing. he sets down his towel, giving the newcomer a slightly apologetic look. ‘ sorry, i’m closin’ for the night. ’

[cazimagines]

Oblivious

Request from anon: Hi, I really enjoy your writing, particularly your Zemo fics! I had an idea for one that basically follows the while y/n joining Sam, Bucky, and Zemo through Madirpoor and Riga. Only despite Zemo’s flirting, y/n doesn’t really do anything about it or even notice until y/n along with Sam and Bucky witness Walker (New Captian America) murder a flag smasher in the street. They all go back to the safe house and y/n is like, in shock. “Captian America just killed someone” is all y/n can really say. And Zemo is able to calm them down. Maybe the romance can start then?

Word count: 3.4k

Author’s note: This one-shot can be multiple parts, if you would like to see a sequel please say! If I do decide to write a sequel though it will take me a while as I’ve had a lot of requests, please check out my master list to see what I have coming up next and if requests are currently open or not

Masterlist

(Please check out my master list to see what I will be writing next and if requests are open or closed)

Cross-posted to ao3 under the same username

Heels clicked along the pavement as you sashayed along the road, approaching the men before you, two of which you know fondly. The other one, however... not so much.

They all stood close together in a circle, obviously discussing something important but at hearing your voice call out their heads turn towards you, a smile appearing on Sam and Bucky’s faces as they see you. “Long time no see boys,” you say, stopping a few feet away from them to lean on a wall.

They both walk over to you, Bucky pulling you into and hug then followed by Sam hugging you tightly. “Thank you for agreeing to help us out y/n. I know things haven’t been easy for you,”

You fake a smile at Bucky, one you hoped he wouldn’t see past resting your arm around his shoulder. “Anything for my friends,”

He was right, though. These times haven’t been easy for you, especially after Steve Rodgers left. Captain America had always been your idol, ever since you were a little kid you aspired to be just like him. You collected all the Captain America merchandise along with your brother Phil, always arguing with him who owned which toy of his. Meeting Steve had been a dream come true for you. He was the person you were closest to. He helped you come to terms with your brother’s death and whenever you needed help; he was there. You two stuck together through the thick and thin. That’s was how you got to become good friends with Sam and Bucky. You and Steve have always had a complicated relationship, though. You two liked each other and tried to see if you could be something more, but it never seemed to work out. Then Thanos happened. You, along with half the universe, were dusted. For you it was as if you had simply blinked however for Steve it was five years without you. You barely got to see each other again before he went away for good. You couldn’t hate him for it, you understood why he did what he did. He was always telling you about the ’40s, about his childhood, about her. You just wished you weren’t so connected with him. Seeing him there, old, dying. It broke your heart. But times move on. You can’t live in the past as he did.

Your eyes focus on the man behind Sam and Bucky and you frown, pulling your arm away from Bucky. A man you never thought you would see again was staring right back at you.

He stood a few feet back, knowing he wasn’t welcomed in the warm reunion of friendship. He clasped his hands, unsure what exactly he should do right now, feeling awkward, but as he looked over at you his eyes twinkled with recognition. Now you had been interesting to him. You weren’t a super soldier like Steve and James. Yet you certainly could hold your own against them. He had seen when he had first activated James. No, your strength and fighting abilities were down to your own human powers and he admired that. You were one of the few avengers he might have had an inkling to like if the Sokovia attack never happened. Still, it wasn’t as if you were to blame for it. The people who were to blame had suffered for it. You were merely the pawn in the giant game of chess. Perhaps he could grow to like you, after all, he could admit you were certainly tempting to him, the way your body was shaped excited him, the way your neck was shaped made him want to brush his fingers along it and your piercing eyes felt like they could look into the darkest corners of his soul.

“Why is he out of prison?” you snap, bringing Zemo out of his trance

Sam turns to scowl at Bucky as you all turn to Zemo, who awkwardly smiles. “Bucky thinks we need him,” Sam mutters

“Why would we need him!” you exclaim, crossing your arms and shooting Bucky a glare.

“I am invaluable,” Zemo explains with his hands, his eyes unwavering from you as he answers for Bucky.

“He hates super-soldiers, therefore he will help us in getting to Karli,” Bucky says, stepping in front of your eyesight trying to explain himself.

“That also means he hates you, Buck,”

All of them freeze as you address the elephant in the room. Bucky grits his teeth and steps back, averting your gaze as you and Sam stare expectedly at him but he doesn’t respond so Zemo takes his opportunity to step closer to you, now only a few feet apart.

“I can assure you, getting rid of Karli and her super soldier friends is my priority. Not James,”

You clench your jaw in anger as you look at Zemo. He tilts his head, the side of his lip curling up slightly, hoping you’d take a chance on him. Sighing, you turn to shoot one more look at Bucky.

“Steve wouldn’t have liked this,”

Later you sat across from Zemo on his private jet. All of you sat in uncomfortable silence as you flew to Madripoor. Sam and Bucky did not seem as close as you were to both of them. They both just sat on their respective sides and looked out the window. Zemo had a book on him which he seemed very preoccupied reading, yet there were moments where you could feel his eyes settle upon you. Ignoring his inquisitive gaze, you choose to follow in Bucky and Sam’s lead of looking out the window and daydream the rest of the trip away.

Your mind trails back to Steve. You wondered just what Steve would have thought about you teaming up with Zemo. He would have understood, wouldn’t he? It was the best option you had. Ah, but he had always been such a stickler about the rules. Breaking a criminal out and helping him avoid the law wasn’t very patriotic of you. Yep, he would not have gone through with this plan, he would have found another way that worked. But none of the people here were him. He choose not to be here. You knew you had to let him go.

“Champagne?”

You pull your eyes away from the window, coming back to reality as you see a bottle of champagne in Zemo’s hand and an empty glass in his other hand. He already had another glass full beside him as he looked at you expectantly.

“No,”

“Sure?”

“What part of no do you not understand,” you snap harshly glaring at him then back out to the window

“My apologies,” he says, pursing his lips together as he looks down at the empty glass. He glances over to Sam and Bucky but they both shake their heads as well so he hands the glass and drinks back to his butler and sighs as he opens his book again.

The tension between all of you sticks around as you arrive at Madripoor. Zemo had provided you a tight-fitting dress to ‘appear the part’ of your allice, and it showed off a bit too much of your chest than you liked. It was too bright for you, golden and sparky, cutting off at your upper tight, and had a very low v cut. You try your best to pull it down to cover you some more but to no avail. Begrudgingly, you leave the plane to meet up with the rest of them.

“My my y/n, the dress suits you,” Zemo says, smirking as his eyes trail up and down your body as you walk past him taking a straight beeline towards Sam and Bucky.

“How long will this mission take?” you ask, already feeling the cold air nip at your skin.

“Few hours at the least. I’m sorry that you have to do this, y/n”

“Hey, I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to help you two,” you mutter as you hear a car pulling up behind you

“Not exactly this though,” Bucky grumbles, glowering over at Zemo who motions to the car that had arrived. Zemo opens the door and waits for you to get in however you walk to the other side of the car and get in. Bucky chuckles at Zemo’s annoyed expression as he instead gets into the side, which Zemo held open.

During the mission, Zemo kept getting uncomfortably close to you. Occasionally his hand brushed against your back as he moved past you, or his hand would bump into yours slightly, lingering against yours longer than normal.

You knew why he was doing this. Because of Steve. He knew how close you and Steve were, everyone did. During the fight between Steve and Tony which Zemo had helped cause you stuck by Steve every second. Now that Steve was gone, Zemo was trying to rub that in. Trying to irritate you on purpose. You would not let him get to you.

During the meeting with Selby you stood off to the side with Sam and you were feeling pretty good about yourself that the mission was going well until Sam’s phone rang. You tried to keep cool while also giving Sam the wtf look as to why he didn’t put his phone on silent. You hung out hoping things would go okay, but today wasn’t your day.

Shelby got gunned down in front of you, and the mission was ruined. Running in heels wasn’t ideal, but you had to make do. You followed Sam and Bucky as Zemo split up from you, running off somewhere else. Eventually, you kicked off your heels, believing running barefoot would be better than dealing with the agony of heels.

Finally, meeting back up with Zemo, you were ready to have to fight your way out of this mess, but then someone you didn’t think you would ever see again appeared. Sharon Carter. You two weren’t exactly buddy buddies. You got along for Steve’s sake, but it always felt like a sort of rivalry between you two for his attention.

“Y/n,” she says, finally addressing you

“Sharon,” you say back, feeling the awkwardness seep back in. Sharon didn’t seem bothered however, she even kindly let you have some new clothes and shoes which were much more comfortable than the ones Zemo lent you and more your style.

Walking back into the main room you see Zemo sitting down, once again drinking, Bucky sitting down as far away from Zemo as he could get and Sam standing at the side. You choose to stand by Sam.

“Hey, y/n, you doing okay?” Sam asks as you walk over.

“Better than other days. What are we waiting around for?”

“For Sharon to lead us to a party where she can get the information we need,” Zemo answers for Sam, peeking over at you. You ignore him.

Sharon comes back in and tells all of you not to get in trouble while you are out at the party.

“Trouble,” Zemo jokes, and he once again glances over to you, raising a glass and winking at you as he downs it.

Following Sharon, you head into the party. It was to show off the art pieces she had got a hold of so you thought you might as well look at them as you were unlikely to see any of these genuine pieces again. You could see however Zemo following you. He tried to be sly by checking out the other artworks near you, never exactly where you were, but you could tell because every time you moved to a new place soon enough Zemo would suddenly appear there as well. He leaned into one of the artworks, pretending to study it closely, but the corner of his eyes would flick over to you.

Groaning in frustration at your new stalker, you decide you had to lose him in the crowds. Swaying your body, you enter the dancing crowd and jump along to the music, letting yourself go. You could feel your excitement growing with the crowd as you danced, but with one quick turn around there, you saw him.

Zemo had now entered the crowd and was dancing along to the music as well, pumping his hands in time to it. As you stared at him in disbelief, he notices and takes that as an innovation to dance over to you.

“Dancing is fun, right?” he asks as he claps his hand to the music

“Why are you doing this!” you exclaim glaring at him.

His eyebrows furrow as he looks at you, “I don’t understand what you mean?”

You huff in annoyance and storm away, going to find Sam and Bucky leaving Zemo alone on the dance floor. He watches you go and sighs, moving away from the dance floor. It had been a long time since he last got to socialize with anyone and he was trying with you; he wanted to know you more, but he didn’t want to push you too far either if you were uncomfortable with it.

The next few hours felt like a blur to everyone. Sharon found out where the doctor was and you found out a bit of information before Zemo choose to shoot him. Then the whole place exploded, and you had to fight for your life while Zemo hijacked and car to pick you up. Now you were standing outside the safe house.

Zemo opened up the doors, and with his arm motioned for you to go in first. You roll your eyes at his extravagance and storm in, looking around the place. It was simple, but you could still tell that it was all designer, expensive to Zemo’s tastes. You sit down on the sofa while Zemo instantly gravitates towards the liquor cupboard.

“If you drink so much you won’t have long left to live” you mutter as you watch him pour some whiskey. His head shoots up as he turns sidewards to look at you, raising an eyebrow.

“Concerned about my health now?”

“I’d rather have you not pass out during a mission, at least till you are no longer of use to us then you can drink yourself to death for all I care,”

“Ah concern for the mission, yes you avengers folks are all the same. The mission takes precedence before anything else,” Zemo says, grabbing his glass and walking over to take a seat on the sofa opposite you.

You give him a cold hard stare crossing your arms. “What do you mean by that” you hiss

He tilts his head, smirking as he sees how riled up you were getting. “I’m simply observing that you have to put your mission before human lives. I know from how much I studied Steve-”

“Don’t bring Steve into this!” you exclaim, leaning forward, baring your teeth at him.

Zemo pauses for a moment shocked, he pulls his head back to observe, his mouth slightly ajar as his eyebrows cast down but realization dawns across his face.

“Ah, you and Steve, you two were an item,”

“It wasn’t like that” you murmur, jumping up from the sofa and pacing around the room to try to alleviate the agitation you felt, your nails digging into your arms as you wrapped them around your body in comfort.

“But there was something,” Zemo replies, watching you pace around the room then looking into the glass bitterly, his grip on it tightening.

You turn your back to Zemo to stare at your reflection in the mirror, seeing the tears swell up in your eyes.

“Why are you bringing this up? Why do you keep trying to annoy me Zemo, what purpose are you getting from this apart from some sick sadistic pleasure?”

It was Zemo’s turn to jump up from the sofa, hurt you could ever think so lowly of him, his eyebrows furrowed as he speeds over to you. He stands beside you, getting a lot closer to you than you would like. You turned your head away so he couldn’t see the tears threatening to fall.

“Do you think that bad of me? Y/n we may not have had the best first impression but know that it is never my intention to irritate or upset you,” Zemo says, trying to move even closer to you, but he moves a step too far and you back away.

“Just leave me alone, Zemo” you whisper, then run out of the room to find a bathroom to let everything out.

Zemo watches your form leave, angrily clenching his jaw, knowing he pushed it too far. The vein in his neck twitches as he grabs an ornament by the side of the mirror. Holding it in his hand, he observes the glass figure, a dove, then chucks it into the ground in rage, feeling an inkling of satisfaction at seeing it smash into a thousand pieces. He grabs more ornaments, at that moment not caring how much they each cost, just enjoy the release of anger he felt every time he smashed one.

-

You could hear the blood in your brain roar through your ears, the feeling of your heart hitting your chest in shock as you stared down at Lemar’s dead body.

Your eyes flicker to John’s who knelt beside him, trying desperately to wake him up, but you knew it was hopeless. Lemar was gone. Your eyes flickered around the rest of the room, Karli and her friend realising how bad they have messed up were already running away from the room. Bucky and Sam looked at each other as if knowing what was to happen. Your eyes finally land on Zemo’s. John had tried to arrest him, but you were able to stop him. Zemo was still useful though you hated to admit it, it wasn’t long however till the Dora Milaje would find him.

You feel a hand brush against your shoulder and snap back into reality, “We need to leave, now,” Zemo whispered in your ear, pulling your arm to make you move.

Gathering your senses, you let Zemo lead you out of the building as you hear a crash from above. Running out into the road, you and Zemo catch up beside Sam and Bucky and watch the disaster unfold.

There was John, in Cap’s uniform, holding Cap’s shield above that man.

Steve.

Steve’s shield.

You feel a scream tear from your lips as you watch John Walker bring the shield down, penetrating the man’s chest, staining it in blood. Tears leak from your eyes as you attempt to rush forward, to try and stop it, but arms grasp onto you, pulling you back.

“NO” you repeatedly cried, trying to worm your way out of the grasp, but they gripped you, refusing to let go. Your knees gave out and you sink to the floor, collapsing in the arms of the person who held you, your head buried in the fur part of their coat as they held you to their chest.

You kept sobbing, shaking as the image replayed over and over in your mind.

“Captain America just killed someone,” you whispered, unable to say anything else. The arms which held you picked you up, quietly shushing you, and carried you down a road, back into the safe house.

They tried to put you on the sofa but you clung to their body, not believing you could survive without their support, so they settle on lying down beside you on the sofa.

They turned you to face their body as their arms draped around you, gently rubbing circles into your back. Burying your head into their chest again, you let the sobs wail out as your chest ached from breathing.

“Captain America just killed someone,” you whisper again to him.

“That wasn’t Steve, y/n, Steve would never do something like that,” he murmured, his accent soothing your nerves.

“But it was his shield Zemo. The very thing I had idolized for so long,”

“A shield which by now no longer belongs to him. He was never Captain America y/n, what we just saw proved that. They will give the shield to someone better,”

You sniff, trying to prevent the snot from coming out of your nose as your bloodshot eyes look up into his, “Really?”

He gently smiles at you, taking his hand off your back to push a strand of hair that was hanging over your eye away.

“Yes, they won’t make the same mistake twice,”

Zemo’s words brought more comfort than you could have ever imagined. His embrace brought you warmth and you could feel yourself slowly stop shaking as he held you. Looking away from Zemo in embarrassment, you instead choose to snuggle your head back into his chest, hearing the rapid beating of his heart which lulled you to sleep.

Tags: @sinister-sleep @cable-kenobi @faustlyaccused @chipster-21 @icarusinstatic @yallgotkik @montypythonsholysnail @bunniwritesx @checkurwindow @huntheimpossible @jayxkelsi @avgravy @prestigious-tea @aloyssiac @hannahbal-the-fannibal @alainabooks143 @jokerprettyprincess @plumsandkiwis @latenightartist-author @e-barba @flutterskies @wonderwoman292 @there-goes-thefighter @multiyfandomgirl40 @freyjasamael @ineffablebean

[zestyemby]

Untitled Sam Wilson X Reader

So, this is my first attempt at writing and writing a fanfiction. Ony one other person has seen it and it is because of her that I have decided to post it. @writingtoforgetreality was super supportive when I sent it to her a few weeks ago and it took a lot of courage to post it. Hope you enjoy.

 _______

Sam made his way up the drive with Bucky, discussing the situation with Karli after working on the boat. He hadn’t seen the cop car pull up earlier so seeing it parked behind Sarah’s truck made him furrow his brow.

“What’s up,” Bucky asked, not noticing the car right away. When he did, his expression mimicked Sam’s. The two exchanged a look before running inside to see what had happened.

“Sarah,” Sam called as he walked through the door, “Why is there a cop car in the driveway?” He entered the kitchen to see Sarah was leaning against the counter, arms crossed while she talked with the cop. There was concern written on her features and he immediately started looking around for the boys.

“Ms. Wilson, this is where she asked to,” the cop explained. “She said this is the safest place she could think of.” The tall man let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to hide whatever was going on in his head about the situation.

“I understand,” Sarah replied. She looked over to Sam when he walked in, frowning. “It isn’t the boys.”

“Then what is it,” Sam asked as he looked to the cop.

“I’ll,” the man cleared his throat, “I’ll bring her in and leave you to it.”

“Her?”

“Y/N was attacked,” Sarah stated as calmly as possible, “They said she is in pretty rough shape, but she doesn’t need to stay at the hospital.”

Sam’s brow creased at the information, trying to process exactly what was just said to him. Y/N had been a family friend since childhood. She helped Sarah out a lot after her husband died and even during the blip. To think that something bad happened to her, it tugged at his heart. “Attacked how?”

Sarah could see the gears turning in Sam’s head, and briefly glanced at Bucky to see if he was doing the same. The concern was written on Bucky’s face as the officer helped the petite woman into the kitchen. “Thank you,” she nodded to the man, receiving a nod in return before he said something about being in contact then leaving. When she looked at Y/N, she wanted to cry, seeing the state that she was in.

“Attacked how Sarah,” Sam asked again, a bit more forceful, not realizing that Y/N was standing nearby.

“Sam,” she began, trying to calm him.

“No Sarah,” he snapped, “I want to know what happened.”

“I wasn’t raped if that is what you are thinking,” the smaller woman behind him sighed. She saw how rigid both men got when she spoke and how uncomfortable Sarah became. “After closing the bar. They were there when I took out the trash. Kitchen staff found me by the dumpster two hours after the attack.” She was trying to stay calm as she spoke, her gaze practically boring a hole into the floorboards. “I’ve spent the past six hours at the hospital and I just,” her voice cracked, “I wanted to be brought somewhere safe.”

“So you came here,” Sam asked, not turning around. He didn’t want to see the damage that had been done. It was bad enough he could hear the pain in her voice having to explain what happened. There was no way he would be able to bear seeing that same pain in her emerald eyes.

“I can be gone tomorrow if,” she trailed off

“Sam,” Sarah sighed, seeing how Sam’s fist was clenched tightly, “It’s okay Y/N, stay as long as you need.” She walked by him to Y/N and gave a soft smile. “I’ll grab you a change of clothes if you want to go shower.” The two headed upstairs where Y/N locked herself in the bathroom while Sarah went searching for some clothes for her to wear.

 Bucky and Sam stayed in the kitchen, long after Sarah had left with Y/N. It was uncomfortably quiet and after about five minutes, Bucky had had enough. “Getting angry isn’t going to change what happened,” he pointed out.

“I should have been there,” Sam replied.

“You couldn’t have known.”

“But I could have stopped it.”

“Who is she?”

“Childhood friend. Been a big help around here with everything that’s happened. She helped Sarah raise the boys after the blip.”

“She’s cute,” Bucky chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

“Don’t go there Buck,” Sam warned.

“What? I’m just saying,” he defended.

Sarah returned to the kitchen with a frown on her face. “Sam,” she sighed, “I had to give her one of your sweatshirts. She didn’t want anything that would show her arms and I didn’t have anything.”

“Its fine,” Sam replied, hands on the counter now.

“She feels safe here because of you,” she returned to the stove, to the forgotten food. When Sam left the room, there was a silence before she spoke. “They won’t admit it, but they love each other.”

“Is that why he blames himself,” Bucky asked.

“Probably. Growing up, her home life wasn’t good, but she never let that get to her. At least, that’s what we thought. She was over one night in high school and I could hear her crying in the bathroom. Turns out her daddy had started beating on her, but never anywhere anyone would see. I didn’t tell anyone; it would have made the situation worse. Sam found out though and he was furious. He didn’t tell her he knew, but he started showing her how to defend herself.”

Bucky had taken a seat on one of the stools by the counter as he listened. He could picture how Sam handled finding out what happened. “What happened to her dad?”

“Committed suicide after her mom died and she moved out. That was around the time Sam enlisted. He was the one who convinced her to move, he didn’t want her in that situation if he wasn’t there to help her.” She continued telling the story while Bucky helped set the table. “She’s had to live her life without him before, but he hasn’t had to live without her.”

“He did though,” Bucky pointed out, reminding her of when Sam was on the run after helping Steve help him escape.

“But he was out there alive somewhere. I’m talking about the blip.” The two finished setting up for dinner and bringing the dishes to the table. “Dinner,” she called. It wasn’t long before the boys were in their seats. When Sam and Y/N didn’t immediately show up, she frowned.

“Give it a minute,” Bucky said. He could hear the other two talking upstairs, in hushed tones. There wasn’t anger in Sam’s voice anymore, it was more concern this time.

“What?”

He didn’t respond as the two finally entered the room. Y/N was holding onto Sam’s torso as if it were a lifeline and Sam was supporting her. When the two sat down, he quirked a brow. “So, Y/N, right? I’m Bucky,” he gave a flirty smile.

“Nice to meet you,” Y/N replied.

“I heard you and Sam are good friends.” The way he emphasized the words good friends cause Y/N to frown.

“Yeah.”

 Dinner was uneventful and quiet, instead of its usual joyful tone. No doubt due to the situation they had found themselves in. Afterwards they opted for a movie, something to try and lift the mood. Y/N, Sam, and Sarah sat on the couch, while Bucky and the boys sat on the floor. The couch had space for at least five people, but they didn’t want to crowd Y/N. About halfway through, Y/N had shifted and had her legs draped over Sam’s. No one said anything.

“How about another movie,” Cass suggested.

“You and your brother need to get to bed,” Sarah replied. They didn’t argue and headed to their rooms.

“Another movie sounds like a good idea,” Bucky pointed out.

This time everyone was on the couch, though Y/N and Sam remained in the same position. It didn’t take long before one of them shifted, causing Bucky to glance their way. Y/N was now curled on Sam’s lap, his arms around her, one of her hands over his.

“Are we going to address the elephant in the room or,” Bucky began, only to be jabbed in the ribs by Sarah. “What?”

“Help me do the dishes,” Sarah said calmly as she stood up, practically dragging the super soldier with her.

When Sarah and Bucky left the room, it was silent, save for the movie playing. Neither Y/N nor Sam said anything, but they wanted to. It wasn’t until the sound of running water, that one spoke. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Well, no but,” Y/N looked at him, “you’re here so I feel safe.” She felt his arms tighten around her slightly, causing her to rest her head on his shoulder again. “It isn’t your fault you know. I’m still here because of what you taught me. They didn’t expect me to fight back, and I think I did enough damage that they couldn’t do what they had planned.”

Sam tensed at those words. Just knowing that there was a possibility that they were going to do worse to her, it made him mad. He gently kissed her temple, lips grazing the stitches. “That’s my girl,” he muttered into her hair. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to say it louder.

“Hey Sam.”

“Hmm,” he kept looking at the television, though not really paying attention to the movie.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” It wasn’t the first time the two had shared a bed, but it had been well over fifteen years since then. “I mean, Bucky should probably get the couch and it doesn’t feel right sleeping in Sarah’s bed.”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.”

 It was about two a.m. when Y/N woke up to the urge to use the bathroom. Next to her, Sam was sound asleep, at least, that’s what she thought. She was quiet as she got up, and even when she returned a few minutes later.

“You okay?”

The sound of his voice made her jump as she pulled the covers over her body. “Y-yeah, just had to use the bathroom.”

Just as she was shifting closer to him for warmth, he turned around. “Did I scare you?”

“I thought you were asleep.”

“Sorry.” He carefully pulled her to him, only to hear her let out a pained hiss. “Did I hurt you?”

“Just a little pressure on a bruise. I’m okay.” She could make out his features, barely, with the moonlight that streamed in. Giving a small smile she closed her eyes, ready to fall back asleep. It wasn’t long before she felt his fingers brushing over her hair, and his thumb rubbing over her cheek.

“I love you,” he whispered before kissing her forehead.

“I love you too,” she whispered back.