YN shook the rain from her coat as she pushed her front door open, sighing as she blinked the water from her eyelashes. It had begun pouring on her way home, soaking both herself and the bags of groceries in her hands.
YN dropped the bags on the counter, glaring at them as they sagged pathetically. Starting to unpack them, YN whistled under her breath, trying to keep her mood from dropping with the temperature in New York.
The T.V. was playing in the living room, and YN shook her hands as she geared herself up to step into the room. She heard muffled snoring, which put a tiny smile on her face, causing her to step around the wall and face the old man on the sofa.
YN sat on the edge of the couch, biting her lip as she stared at her brother. The woman felt her chest grow tight as she took in his wrinkled features, what used to be taut, chiseled skin, was drooping with age. Growing uncomfortable with her emotions, YN stuck her foot out and kicked his leg, forcing a smile as he blinked his eyes open.
"You were snoring." YN commented, dropping her gaze to her fiddling fingers.
"I don't snore." He retorted, grunting softly as he re-situated himself on the couch. "Did you get the groceries?" YN nodded, still not returning her eyes to him. "How are you-"
"What are you watching?" YN interrupted him, slipping into her usual chair and sinking low in it. Picking up the remote, she heard her brother sigh in defeat, shifting again on the sofa he rarely moved from these days.
She flicked the channels quickly until the sounds of chanting caught her attention and a marching band started blasting a familiar tune. YN stared in shock as a blonde man ran onto the screen, holding a nausea inducing shield.
"Ladies and gentleman, your new Captain America!"
"What the fuck?" YN said quietly, her eyes widening as they turned to her brother, the blue-eyed man sending her a sad smile. "Did you know about this?" YN glared at him, getting to her feet. "Did you fucking know about this, Steve?"
Steve nodded, receiving a range of profanities from his sister. "Sam turned it over, YN. It was out of my hands."
YN scoffed, throwing the remote at him, which he caught with ease. Even with age, the super soldier was still just that, a super soldier. "Yeah, you really made sure of that, huh?" She muttered, storming from the room as Steve called after her, not moving from the sofa even though he longed to move like he used to. "I'm going to call Bucky, he's either fuming or devastated."
YN slammed the front door behind her, stepping back out into the rain and descending the steps with ease, her increased coordination making sure she didn't slip. She jogged down the road, her eyes searching for somewhere she could take cover, refusing to go back into the suffocating apartment she'd just escaped from.
Lifting her phone to her ear, YN tapped her foot as she waited, shielded from the rain by a pergola outside a closed antique store. She cursed under her breath as it went to voicemail, automatically hitting redial, knowing Bucky was probably ignoring her on purpose.
"YN." Bucky said firmly, the woman sighing sadly as she recognized the tone of voice.
"Hey, Buck." YN whispered, swallowing over a lump as she tried to shake away her own emotions for the sake of the brunette on the other end of the phone. "How are you?"
"Did he know?" YN's bottom lip wobbled at the question, pressing her back against the cool, wet glass of the shop window. "YN?"
YN screwed up her face, gladly knowing Bucky couldn't see her. "Yeah," she choked out painfully. "He knew."
"Fucking Sam, I'm going to kill him for giving that shield up-"
"Bucky," YN chastised, shaking her head as she sniffled. "This is not Sam's fault." She sniffed again, knowing the other super soldier heard it, but thankful he didn't comment on it. "Are you going to visit us this week?" There was a long beat of silence as YN waited for an answer. It grew longer and YN nearly pulled the phone to her face to check he hadn't hung up on her.
"Is he getting worse?" The small voice made YN sink down against the window behind her, the woman pulling her legs to her chest to keep her sobs from leaving her mouth.
"I think-" YN sucked in a breath, the sound wobbling through the line and making Bucky clench his teeth. "I think... he... he-" YN sobbed, pressing her forehead to her knees as she tried to regain control of her emotions. "He hasn't got long, Bucky."
Bucky swallowed audibly as YN finally stopped her crying, her eyes squeezing shut to stop them from leaking anymore traitorous tears. "I can't come this week, sweetheart. I'll try make it up the week after."
YN knew that seeing Steve pained Bucky as much as it did herself, but she also longed for different company, or, as guilty as it made her feel, someone else to take on the load of looking after the elderly man, even for just a few days.
"Okay," YN nodded, schooling her tone as much as she could. "No worries, I'll talk to you later."
"YN-"
"See you, Buck." She stopped him, ending the line before he could finish. Pocketing her phone, she looked around the streets of downtown Brooklyn, noticing the rain had come to a complete stop. Swallowing down a whine of pain, YN started her trek back home, knowing she'd step through the door and pretend the conversation she'd had with Steve never even happened.
---------------------------------
"Shouldn't have given up the shield." Bucky called out, catching up to Sam as he descended the stairs.
"Nice to see you too, Buck." Sam retorted with a roll of his eyes.
"This is wrong."
"Hey, hey. I'm working, alright?" Sam turned to Bucky, crossing his arms defensively. "So, all this outrage is going to have to wait." Bucky scoffed. "Is YN alright?"
"What do you think?" Bucky snapped, leaning forward. "Tell me you didn't know this was going to happen."
"No," Sam frowned, looking offended. "Of course I didn't know that was going to happen." Sam sighed, looking to his feet for a split second, debating even saying his next few words. "You think it didn't break my heart to see them march him out there and call him the new Captain America?"
"This isn't what Steve wanted, Sam." Bucky returned, disregarding the falcon's words without a second thought. "This isn't what either of them need right now."
"Oh, my God." Sam groaned. "So, what do you want me to do? Call America and tell 'em I changed my mind? Huh?" Bucky glared at him, making Sam laugh. "Yeah, right. Go away, I have bigger things to do with right now."
"What could be bigger than this?" Bucky frowned, grabbing Sam's arm as he tried to turn away. "This guy. His connections with rebel organizations all over Eastern and Central Europe, and he's strong. Too strong."
"And?"
"Well, he's been connected to this online group called the Flag Smashers. Now, Redwing traced them to a building somewhere outside of Munich." Bucky screwed up his face comically, nearly making Sam chuckle.
"Well, I don't trust Redwing." He said, crossing his arms.
"Well, you don't have to trust Redwing," Sam returned, mirroring Bucky's posture. "But I'm gunna see if he's right." Bucky sighed tipping his head back as he relented. "Hey, do you think YN would co-op with me on this?"
Bucky nearly let out a loud laugh at the suggestion, shaking his head and raising an eyebrow. "Don't you think she has a little too much on her plate, looking after her elderly brother? Plus, she's retired."
"Clint was retired?" Sam shrugged, pointing a finger at his colleague, smirking when Bucky frowned. "C'mon, don't you think we should just ask? She used to love this stuff." Sam grabbed his phone from his pocket before Bucky could react, his fingers dancing over the keypad and pressing send quicker than Bucky could grab it from his hold.
"What did you do?" Bucky growled, snatching the phone and bringing it to his face.
Want a couple of visitors? - SW
Bucky glared at the falcon, agitation growing in his stomach the more he smiled. "I already told her I couldn't visit this week."
"Awe, you blew off seeing them for me?" Sam gasped, walking away from the fuming super soldier. "That's sweet, Buck."
**This is a Sam Wilson Fic, but if you prefer Bucky Fics please head over and read Perfect Alliance or A Lesson in Hope!!