Flashback
Clementines P.O.V
"Come on Sam" I tease as I run past him again, Steve a few yards ahead of me "you guys have been doing this for the past year, we get it! you're faster than me" Sam groans as he slows down. I skid to a stop and jog back to him "you okay?" I ask rubbing his back as he wheezes. He gives me the thumbs up "Clem it's your birthday and you've made me go running! I just wanted some damn cake" Sam groans as Steve joins us, a wide grin on his face "you okay pal?" I shake my head smiling. Sam straightens up and rolls his eyes "come on man, I'm done running. Let's go get some birthday breakfast." he huffs walking away from Steve and me. I chuckle looking up at Steve "maybe we should let him beat us?" Steve rests his arm on my shoulder and shakes his head.
"Steve, seriously just try it" I beg, holding my cup up to him. Steve takes a whiff of the contents before finally taking a sip, his face lights up as he takes another sip "that's good, what is it?" I take my cup back before he can gulp down the rest "it's a caramel macchiato, I told you you'd love it" I exclaim. Sam sits down opposite us, a giant stack of pancakes on his plate "carefully Sammy, you'll choke" I scold as he shovels another forkful into his mouth. Steve leans over to me with a smile "this is why he can't outrun us" I burst out laughing as Sam glares playfully at us. He sets his fork down and crosses his arms over his chest "fine, then I guess I'll have to return your birthday gift" he threatens.
Over the last few years, Sam had become one of my best friends. He was my family. He and I shared the same kind of relationship that Nat and Clint shared, that Steve and I shared. The Avengers are my family but Sam and Steve were the ones I shared the deepest connection to.
"Oh yeah, you wouldn't dare" I tease back, Sam chuckles pulling a small red and black velvet box from his pocket, a beautiful white bow on top. He sets it on the table and pushes it towards me, I raise my brow at him "what's this?" I ask softly, lifting the box into my hands. Sam smiles "well, you love the necklace that Steve got you, so I figured I'd get you something similar" my hand automatically feels for the dainty silver necklace that hung around my neck. Steve had bought me it after we fought against Loki. It was a small silver pendant, shaped and designed to be a mini version of his shield. A reminder of our friendship.
"Sam, you shouldn't have" I whisper, he smiles brightly at me "I wanted to. Happy Birthday Clem" I open the box to see a small pendant shaped like his falcon wings. My heart exploded. "I love it Sam. Thank you" Steve unclipped the necklace from my neck and helps me slid the new pendant onto the chain. Two reminders of my two favorite people in the world.
Present time
Clementine's P.O.V
John ran.
He grabbed the shield and ran from the crowds of people, away from all the cameras.
"Come on" Sam rushes, nudging me away from the gruesome scene towards the direction John had gone. Bucky stalked ahead, taking off in a sprint to find him. His whole body stiff with anger. I took one last look at the bloodied body, squeezing my eyes shut before sprinting after Sam.
We followed him across an old train platform before he slipped into an abandoned warehouse, filled with forklifts and machinery. John dropped down to his knees, his head in his hands. Bucky nods to Sam as we slip in and walk towards him. I take a few extra steps towards him "John?" I call out softly. John lifts his head to look at me, he stands up and makes his way over to me "you should see a medic Clem, you don't look so good" he mumbles looking over at my bloodied side. John starts to pace, almost circling me as he does.
"Stop, Walker" Sam warns, John huffs turning to face him "what? you saw what happened, you know what I had to do. I killed him because I had to. He killed Lemar" he shouts, his voice echoing off the walls. Bucky steps forward shaking his head "he didn't kill Lemar, John. Don't go down that road. Believe me, it doesn't end well." he tries to reason. John grits his teeth and spins on his heel to look at Bucky, pointing his finger at him "I'm not like you" he growls out. I move to stand directly in front of Bucky, John's eyes shoot down to me and they soften "look we don't want anyone else to get hurt John" I murmur.
"If you explain what happened they may consider your record" Sam adds cautiously, taking deliberate steps towards him. John stares down at the floor, the shield clutched tightly in his hands. Sam glances over at me with sad eyes before looking back at John "but John you gotta give me the shield man."
John slowly lifts his head to look at us, his eyes flickering between Bucky and Sam "Oh, so that's what this is? You almost got me" he smirks, voice full of bitterness, I shake my head at him "you made a mistake" Sam states, trying to defuse the situation. Bucky moves to stand next to me "you don't wanna do this" John warns baring his teeth at us. Bucky glances at Sam and me, I brace myself for what was to come next "yeah, we do" Bucky breaths.
John moves first, pouncing towards Bucky, using the shield to deflect Buckys punches. John pushes Bucky back as I launch myself at him, landing a few punches to his face before dropping down and swiping his feet out from underneath him. John lands with a thud, he swings the shield up and I hiss as it connects with my face, twice. I fall back against the metal railing, blood filling my mouth "fuck" I spit, wiping my sleeve against my lips.
John smashes the shield against Buckys head, forcing him to his knees, he raises the shield again but I take my chance and tackle him. My body collides hard with his and I land on top of him, I kick my foot out and pin his arms down "we could have been a great team. Captain America and America's dream girl" he grits out against my face. I heat up, using all the fire my veins to burn his body. He groans in agony as the heat starts to penetrate his suit. "I'll burn you to death, John, please don't make me. Just give us the shield" I grunt as I press hard on his arms, trying to force the shield out of his hand. Suddenly one of his hands springs free and tangles its self in my hair, he slams my head to the side, colliding my skull with the concrete. Black spots dance across my vision as I roll off of him onto my stomach.
I force my eyes to stay open and drag myself up to my knees, I could feel the blood oozing down the side of my face and neck. John kicks Sam to the ground before throwing the shield at Bucky, pinning him to a piece of machinery "why are you making me do this?" he growls out, slamming Bucky into the electric cage across the room. Bucky's arm lights up with electricity as he hits the floor, knocked out.
Both Sam and Bucky are down, and Johns stalking towards me, I growl as I lift my hands forcing them against his chest as I duck under the shield. My hands burn through the material on his suit "John stop. Give me the shield" I sneer, as he swings the shield at me.
"It's mine" he roars, knocking my hands away from his body. I focus on starting a fire at his feet, the flames soon engulfing his foot and he cries out in pain. John slams the shield down on the flames, putting them out "you think you're so clever. you'll pay for that" he snarls stalking towards me with the shield raised. Sam lands in front of me, his wings out "this isn't you, John" he states, John tilts his head at us "we could have been a team" Sam shakes his head, and John charges at us.
The shield lands in the middle of the warehouse, Sam and I share a look as I dive to my feet and rush towards it. Suddenly I'm tackled to the ground, Johns above me, his helmet long gone. I force his hands away from my neck and smash my head against his, bone-crushing under my forehead. Sam swoops in colliding with John, they both roll across the ground "I am Captain America" John growls, his hand tearing the wings from Sams suit.
"Get up Clem, come on" I whisper to myself, blood coating my face and filling my mouth, my eyes closing involuntary. I shake my head and roll on to my side "No!!!" John bellows as Bucky and Sam snapped his arm, taking the shield. I watch as they throw John back against the floor, all three men falling to the ground with force as the shield lands in the middle. Bucky grunts pushing himself up onto his knees, grabbing the shield as he stares at it for a moment, and then drops it down next to Sam. Bucky then turns towards me, his eyes darken as he approaches me.
I stand up, hissing as my head spins. His hands reach out to rest on either side of my face as he inspects the damage, he clenches his jaw as he glances back at John "I'm okay" I whisper, hoping it offers some kind of reassurance. Bucky looks back at me, his hand fists into my sleeve as he walks me out of there. Sam following behind us.
......................
My hair was finally blood-free, it's only taken three hot showers to wash away all the blood and ease some of the stiffness in my muscles. I changed into a massive hoodie Sam gave me and a pair of black jeans, my hair thrown up in a messy bun. Bucky and Sam were in the foyer, the tension suffocating as I jog down the stairs.
"The GRC is conducting raids to try and find Karli, but so far they've only found her followers. She's gone, we'll never find her" Sam informs us. Bucky leans against the staircase, his back to me as I reach the bottom. "We can't stop until we do" I mutter as I brush past Bucky, my arms crossed over my chest. I glance over to see the cuts and bruises that litter Bucky's cheeks, his eyes sweep my face before his jaw clenches and he looks away, a scowl on his lips as he watches Sam.
"Hey, you got your sleeve back" Torres jokes looking at Bucky. Bucky rolls his eyes and pushes himself off the staircase. I raise my brows at him as he brushes past me towards the exit "are you off to take care of Zemo?" Sam questions as he sits on the table. Bucky glares back at him over his shoulder "wait! you're going alone?" I snap, glancing at Sam in disbelief. Bucky stops to look at me, his blue eyes searching my face before he turns and leaves. "So much for a team right? We're meant to finish this together" I yell angrily after him.
Sams's hands rest on my shoulder as he turns me to face him "What's our next steps Torres?" he asks, rubbing my arms reassuringly "Captain America killing someone on camera is like an international incident, so unfortunately the higher up people are taking over" Torres explains, I roll my eyes "they're taking jurisdiction" Torrese nods at me. I huff resting my forehead on Sam's shoulder. Torres spots Sam's broken Falcon wings in his bag "what happened to these?" he hikes the bag up onto the table. I turn my head so I could see inside the bag "is there anything we can do?" I ask, ignoring his question, rolling my necklace between my fingers. Torres shook his head "not really, Karlis a ghost. After everything that went down, she's laying low like underground low. She's got people everywhere helping her."
"And that's exactly why it makes sense for us to get involved, the longer we let her regroup the harder it's going to be to find her" Sam's right, we need to act now while she's vulnerable. I pull away from him "she's really good at this whole global movement thing Sammy" I mumble, fiddling with drawstrings on my hoodie "yeah, how'd these break?" Torres asks, running his hands over the damaged wings. Sam swallows hard looking away, I take his hand in mine and squeeze it. Torres clears his throat "anyway, all we can do right now is sit tight and chill. Sometimes there's nothing to do until there's something to do" Sam slips off the table and smirks at him "that's bizarrely wise." Torres smiles widely at us "I'm a bizarrely wise man, guys" I slap my hand on his shoulder "of course you are."
Sam chuckles as he grabs the shield and turns to me "let's get out of here, thanks Torres" I nod at him, tossing my backpack over my shoulder as I follow behind Sam "for sure! Wait, you forgot the wings" Torres calls after us. We turn to look at him, Sam's body stiffens "keep them" he breaths, grabbing my hand and walking away.
.....................
"Am I doing this right?"
Sam rolls his eyes at me "Clem, it's really not that hard. You tie these two pieces together and these two pieces wrap around the pole" I scrunch my nose up, watching him demonstrate again. I grabbed the two pieces of fishing net and began to copy him "how'd it go with Isaiah?"
Sam had gone to see Isaiah Bradley while I said at Sarah's helping her with the boys, Sam came back pretty late last night, clearly upset so I chose not to push the subject. "It was rough Clem, everything they did to him, I mean he was a hero" Sam rants, his hands working quicker as he spoke "they treated him like some kind of criminal, it's not right" I nod my head, picking up another fishnet "I know Sammy."
"Have you spoke to Buck?" Sam asks after a few moments of silence "nope if he wants to deal with Zemo alone, then so be it." I huff bitterly. Sam stops and stares at me with amusement, I glance up at him "what? Why are you looking at me like that?" Sam sits down opposite me, sipping his beer "I think Bucky felt he needed to do this alone, that it was his responsibility" Sam says softly. I nod my head slowly glancing out at the water "I know, I just want him to know that he doesn't have to face anything alone again. He has us" I whisper, watching the waves ripple against the docks.
Sam stares at me with a mischievous smirk "are you going to tell him how you feel? because I can't cope with all this sexual tension and longing gazes you're always giving each other" he exclaims, I raise my brows at him "what are you talking about Sammy?" I ask innocently. Sam scoffs at me and rolls his eyes "Clem, I'm no expert but it doesn't take a genius to see how the bionic staring machine feels about you, I thought you two were going to get it on in Madripoor" he says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at me.
I open my mouth to protest but Sam holds up his hand silencing me "there's always been something between the two of you Clem, whether you want to deny it or not. I knew it, Steve knew, we all knew it. You gravitate towards each other. You deserve happiness Clem, all you do is fight for everyone else."
He was right.
Even when I first encountered the Winter Soldier on the highway in D.C, I thought he was the most attractive man I'd ever seen, even with his metal hand wrapped around my throat. Something about those cerulean blue eyes drew me in and set my body on fire. Bucky and I seemed to move in sync on the battlefield, with limited interactions and even fewer words exchanged between us, we moved around each other effortlessly from day one.
I look back at Sam, fiddling with the hem of my crop top "It doesn't matter Sam" I huff standing up. I grab the empty beer bottles and toss them in the trash "look, Bucky's a giant pain in my ass, but he's a good guy Clem. Don't tell him I said that." Sam states pointing at me. I cross my arms over my chest and stick my tongue out at him, Sam squeezes my shoulder and turns me around towards the house "come one, the guys are here to help. I called in a few favors, hopefully, we can turn all this around"
.....................
"It's so warm" I complain again, pulling at my black high waisted denim shorts "It's a bit cooler down at the docks, quit complaining" Sam teases as I follow his down the grass towards the boat "I don't know how we're gonna get it out" Carlos grunts as we approach him. The truck is full of supplies, all the equipment Sam would need to get the boat up and running "Carlos, Tommy this is amazing thank you" Sam gushes, patting both men on the backs. I notice the new moto engine on the back of the truck, the wheels almost crippling under the weight of it "how do we get off the truck?" Sam asks Carlos, his arms crossed over his chest.
Suddenly the engine is lifted from the back of the truck and hoisted into the air, resting on Bucky's shoulder as he carries it over to the side of the dock. I bit my lip as he turned to look at Sam "you're welcome" he sasses, I say rooted to my spot as Sam walks up the Bucky, who hadn't noticed me yet.
Bucky lifts a case from the ground and places it on the back of the truck, sliding it over to Sam "just dropping this off. You can sign for it and I'll go, I called in a favor from the Wakandans" he adds stepping back from the case. Sam glances down at the case before looking back at me, Bucky following his gaze. Before I can say anything, a loud hissing sound fills the air, I spin around to see one of the pipes bursting, hot steam blistering out.
"Sam!" Sarah screams in a panic rushing towards us, Sam pushes past me rushing onto the boat. Bucky takes the opportunity to deliberately brush his body against mine "Hi Dove" he breathes, lips brushing against my ear, a shiver runs down my spine "hi" I whisper back. I can feel his chest pressed against my shoulder "you look really good" Bucky mumbles so only I can hear, I turn my face towards him and hum "how was your solo mission? Did you take care of Zemo?" I hum, crossing my arms over my chest.
Bucky's eyes flicker towards my chest before shooting back up to my face, he clears his throat and nods. "No more solo missions Bucky, we're in this together" I lean up and press my lips against the stubble on his jaw. I smile to myself as I turn away from him.
Sam grunts as he tried to tighten the bolt, Bucky notices and strides over "Hi" he calls out to Sarah as he passes her, Sarah flushes at him causing a small giggle to escape my lips.
Bucky Barnes was too attractive for his own good.
"Hold on, hold on, you gotta go up" Bucky instructs, taking the tools from Sam's hands and twisting it upwards, tightening the bolts. "Why didn't you use the metal arm?" Sam asks casually, Bucky glances down at his metal hand and shrugs "I don't always think of it immediately, I'm right-handed" Bucky confesses.
I drown out the rest of their conversation as I help Sarah count inventory "we've got 56 of these, I'm not sure what they are but there's 56 of 'em" I chuckle ticking it off of her list. Sarah smiles nudging my side "he's staring at you, you know?" I glance up to see Bucky's eyes sweeping my legs all the way up to my eyes, I raise my brows at him as he shamelessly checks me out. I look back at Sarah "yeah, he's got a staring problem" I reply nonchalantly.
"Hi, I'm Bucky" He introduces himself to Sarah, who smiles clutching the clipboard closer to her chest "Sarah" she giggles back, Bucky glances over at me and winks "Sarah" he repeats slowly. Sam's eyes widen as he watches the interaction, steam almost escaping his ears. Bucky notices and his smirk widens, knowing he got the reaction he wanted.
"Well, I'm gonna get started on repainting the deck." I say awkwardly, lifting my leg to climb over the side of the boat, Bucky watching my every move. I brush past him and walk ahead, a little extra sway in my hips.
"So you're gonna sit there and flirt with my sister, then stare at Clem's ass?"