#sorry not sorry it really ended up as more of a foxholebros thing but i still tried to keep it focused on steve and sam in particular

[griseldabanks]

Let Me Count the Ways ask game

Requested by @katarena

Fandom: MCU Characters: Steve and Sam Prompt: "Don't EVER scare me like that again!"

When the rainy season came to Wakanda, it hit hard and fast. One minute, Bucky eyed the clouds gathering on the horizon and said they needed to get the goats to their shelter. The next thing Sam knew, they were running through rain that pelted them like a thousand tiny daggers, the wind driving right into their faces as they hustled towards the goats' enclosure.

The sky tore in half with a blinding streak of light, and Sam could feel the very ground under his feet trembling in the rumble of thunder that followed. Sam's heart skipped a beat, and all of his senses came alive at once.

Under fire.

Assess danger.

Recover casualties.

Find shelter.

Heart rate ramping up, Sam vaulted over the fence, trailing behind Steve and Bucky, who had sprinted ahead of him. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, rain lashed against him from every direction at once, but Sam felt calm. He was made for days like this.

The three of them herded the frightened animals toward their shelter, a small cave in the cliff that rose above the meadow. Sam mimicked Bucky's calls as best as he could, adding in a few of his own words of encouragement as he waved his arms at the herd, occasionally heading off a goat that tried to bolt away from the rest.

Finally, they reached the cave and the goats trotted into its welcome shelter. Bucky stood by the gate, counting them as they passed him. As Sam herded the last few towards him, Bucky looked up grimly. “We're missing one.”

As if on cue, a plaintive maa sounded behind them. Sam turned to find Steve walking towards them, carrying one of the smaller goats in his arms. “Got it!” he called. “I think its leg is hurt—“

The world went white. The very air split in two with the loudest thunderclap Sam had ever heard. He stumbled backward, losing his balance on the slick grass and falling into a mud puddle.

Sitting up again and blinking to clear his vision, it took Sam a moment to realize what he was looking at.

A brown lump of fur lying several feet away, not moving.

Steve, flat on the ground. Not moving.

Sam scrambled to his feet, even as Bucky charged over to Steve's side. They each grabbed one of Steve's arms and hauled him into the shelter of the cave mouth. Another deafening thunderclap echoed around the cave as they laid him down on the ground.

Tendrils of smoke or steam curled up from Steve's body in several places, his shoes little more than blackened scraps and his hair standing on end. His eyes were closed. His chest wasn't moving. Sam couldn't find a pulse.

With a curse, Sam barked out, “Help me get his shirt open.”

Face pale as death, Bucky reached out with his one hand and yanked Steve's shirt right off his body. The dog tags Steve always wore around his neck were hot to the touch and gave Sam a shock of static as he hastily pulled them off. They'd left a shiny red burn mark on Steve's chest. Right over the heart.

Clasping his hands together, Sam knelt at Steve's side and started chest compressions. “Bucky—breathe for him.”

“What?”

Sam glanced up. Bucky's eyes were wide with terror, staring at Steve as if paralyzed. But they had no time for fear. Not when Steve's life was in their hands.

“Listen to me,” he said, crisp and clear. “I need you to open his mouth, hold his nose closed, and breathe into his mouth when I tell you. Can you do that?”

With a start, Bucky snapped out of his trance, nodding quickly and doing as he was told.

The minutes inched by slowly, but each one that passed only made Sam more desperate than ever. This wasn't supposed to happen. He'd been in this position far too many times, but never with Steve. Steve was...indestructible. Nothing short of the Winter Soldier should have been able to bring him down. And the Winter Soldier was breathing directly into his lungs.

Come on, Steve, don't do this. Don't you dare. He needs you too much. I need you too much.

Thunder crashed overhead. Steve's eyes popped open as he let out a horrible, wonderful retching cough. Sam hastily rolled Steve onto his side as he vomited onto the ground.

“Steve!” As soon as Steve was finished, Bucky wiped off his face with the end of the cloth he wore over his left shoulder. Anyone who had seen Bucky in combat would be astounded to see how gentle his movements were as he helped Sam shift Steve to a more comfortable position, bundling his ruined shirt under his head as a pillow.

With a groan, Steve passed a hand over his eyes. “Did I...pass out?”

“You got struck by lightning, you idiot!” Bucky snapped, grabbing Steve's hand and pressing it against his forehead, knuckles white.

Now that the danger was past, Sam could feel the adrenaline subsiding again, leaving him feeling shaky and queasy. He slumped back against the wall of the cave opposite from Steve and Bucky, suddenly tired down to his bones.

The next flash of lightning made Sam jump, though he tried to pass it off as merely shifting his position. “Don't ever scare me like that again,” he said. “You're not allowed to die. Not on my watch.”

He was shivering so hard he had to clench his teeth to keep them from chattering. He wasn't sure if it was because he was soaked to the skin, because of the adrenaline, or because of the thunder. Maybe all three at once. This rotten day had turned into a complete nightmare.

Sam let his eyes slide closed. They should call for help as soon as the storm passed—maybe with one of those bead things, if Bucky had one. Steve needed to get checked over in a hospital. He might be a supersoldier, but being hit by lightning was no joke.

Another roll of thunder, and Sam's heart seized. A bright flash. Steve on the ground. As if felled by a single bullet, plummeting through the air, ripped away from him forever as he crashed to the ground—

“Sam. Sam!”

He cracked his eyes open again, and found both Steve and Bucky watching him. He got the sense that they'd been calling to him several times already.

Steve beckoned to him from where he lay, head pillowed in Bucky's lap. “Come on, Sam, get over here.”

Sam didn't even try to stand. He crawled over and stretched out as well, resting his head on Steve's warm stomach. It moved steadily with every breath Steve took. And even though the ground was hard and rocky, Sam found he could breathe easier too.

Steve put a hand on Sam's shoulder. “Thank you, Sam. You saved my life.”

“Yeah.” Sam's instinct was to make some sort of quip, something to lighten the mood. But the words evaporated on the way to his mouth, and all he could do was grasp Steve's hand in his, tightly enough that he could feel the life pulsing through Steve's veins.

Still here.