DECADES OF LOVE ☾ bucky barnes

1 | to give or not to give

"Hey, by the way, how was your mission?" Keela asks, trying to make conversation to distract herself.

"Same as normal." Sam replies. "But Torres found something new called Flag Smashers."

"Horrible name if you ask me." Keela comments.

Sam chuckles. "Yeah, apparently it's a new thing; bad guys giving themselves bad names."

"So, who are they?" Keela questions.

"People that think the world was better during The Blip. They want a world that's unified without borders, so you can see why a lot of people are into that." Sam explains. "Torres is gonna track them and let me know if anything else happens."

Keela raises a brow. "You aren't going to deal with them? Shocker."

"I haven't heard of them until now, I need to know it's something serious." Sam tells her.

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The brunette stands amongst the crowd of people, eyes glued to the stage ahead of her. Rhodey is right beside Keela and is dressed in his old uniform that links him to the U.S. Army, posture straight as his stands proudly and listens to a fellow friend of his. Sam stands before them all in his navy blue suit with a heroic photo of Captain America right behind him, the shield laid out on the floor beside the podium he speaks at. He's currently giving out a speech for the people that are willing to listen, one that's called thought and planned out — he went over and over it in the car with Keela.

"Steve represented the best in all of us. Courageous, righteous, hopeful. And he mastered posing stoically." Sam begins, earning light laughs at his last sentence. "The world has been forever changed. A few months ago, billions of people reappeared after five years away, sending the world into turmoil. We need new heroes, ones suited for the times we're in."

Keela frowns as she listens to the words she's heard many times on the journey to this place. It seems to have more effect on her this time due to the fact that it's being broadcasted live to many people, let alone having an audience in the room as well. This means that if he happens to go back on his decision because he regrets it, he won't be able to.

Captain America, before leaving for good, gave up the shield and passed it down onto a person he trusts will use it for good and deserves it after everything. That person is Sam, the Falcon. Sam has the shield, he's been chosen to carry Cap's legacy. Though the man thinks otherwise, Keela believes with her whole heart that Steve made the right decision and that Sam is worthy and deserved that power.

"Symbols are nothing without the women and men that give them meaning. And this thing..." Sam continues, reaching down and picking up the shield to which he stares down at. "I don't know if there's ever been a greater symbol. But it's more about the man who propped it up, and he's gone."

Keela purses her lips at his last two words, eyes dropping down to the dull ground located beneath her feet. Rhodey only nudges her arm gently with his elbow in order to grab her attention, flashing her a small smile in hopes to provide reassurance. She only returns it to let him know that she's okay.

"Today, we honour Steve's legacy, but we also look to the future." Sam finishes as he glances over at the massive poster. "So, thank you, Captain America. But this belongs to you."

A chorus of claps erupt through the large room they stand in as people watch Sam pass the shield over to the government, giving it up to prove he meant the words he said in his speak. He watches them place the prized possession into a special glass container as he takes a step backwards, blinking a couple times to hold back the tears. It's evident that Sam's beginning to question if the decision he made is right, wondering if he's failed Steve in doing this.

The audience soon begin to disperse off in different directions as the speech is over and the event comes to an official end, a few staying to talk to one another. Keela and Rhodey only make their way over to Sam as he walks off of the stage, beginning to speak to one of the men as he gets thanked for giving up the shield. She can only stare at him in slight disgust, in disbelief that they managed to convince Sam to handing them the shield like that when he's already feeling vulnerable.

"How's everything been for you guys?" Rhodey asks, trying to make conversation and to just check up on them both.

"Same as how you last saw me." Keela replies. "I'm still getting help, just from different people this time."

"At least you're not totally alone." Rhodey states, motioning over to the man beside them.

"Yeah, I don't know how I got stuck with this loser of a bird out of all the Avengers." Keela jokes.

"Hey!" Sam exclaims. "But yeah, when I left, my sister and nephew's were babies, then I came back and they're little men. It's crazy, you know?"

"You should bring them out to D.C. sometime. I'll teach them how to fly." Rhodey tells him. "You know, the right way."

"It's crazy to think that nobody's gonna be carrying the shield." Keela says.

"We went for seventy years without anybody carrying it when Steve was on ice, so I think we'll be alright." Sam assures.

"That was a different time, Sam." Rhodey reminds, pausing. "Why didn't you take up the mantle?"

"When Steve first told me about the shield, the first words I said were 'it feels like it belongs to someone else'. And that someone else is Steve." Sam explains.

"The world's a crazy place right now." Rhodey says. "People are... Well, nobody's stable. Allies are now enemies, and alliances are all torn apart. The world's broken. Everybody's just looking for somebody to fix it."

"I know the feeling." Keela mumbles, a small sigh leaving her mouth as she stares over at the shield.