For all of us who've seen the light

[punched_hitler]

Meme Thread Continuation
From: Here




"Seriously," Steve said quietly, trying to smile nonchalantly, even if he still felt a little on-edge. He took a breath, held, it, then let it out at the question.

"That's the long story part. The short answer is, we've both been on ice. In my case, it was unintentional. In yours - not so much." There. That was the simplest explanation, wasn't it? It was the truth, too, if not all of it. "Honestly, you weren't gone more than a couple of weeks before I... ended up taking a very long nap. I woke up a couple of years ago when SHIELD - that's what the SSR turned into - found me. By accident, it turns out."

He watched Bucky as he spoke, looking for signs that he should stop, that it was too much - or that he could keep going.

Comments

[punched_hitler]

At that, Steve couldn't help but feel utterly, utterly grateful to Sam. After that misunderstanding about Bucky... Sam hadn't had to believe him, even though Steve had absolutely been telling the truth. He and Bucky were friends, that's all they'd ever been. And Sam didn't have to help like this to support Steve - but he was, and, "That... would mean a lot to me," he said, closing the distance to squeeze Sam's arm (gently, of course), then letting his hand slide down so he could squeeze Sam's hand, too. "But I don't want you putting yourself in too much danger, either."

He glanced between Sam and Dr. Goss again. "I... I'm willing to let you guys do this, if you think it's best. But if it goes south... we find some other solution." Even if it was one Steve didn't like.

[make_it_hurt]

Sam nodded, "That's fair to me." He shrugged, squeezing his hand back around Steve's. "Why don't we get some dinner, and give him a little bit of time." Yasha was sitting on the bed, looking thoroughly shell-shocked, staring blankly at the far wall. It wasn't his usual thousand-yard stare, but something a bit more personal.

[punched_hitler]

Steve glanced through the glass - he hated leaving Bucky (Yasha, whoever) looking like that, even if it was a little better than the blank look he'd used to get. It was clear on his face that he was reluctant, but after a minute, he nodded. "Yeah. Okay." He was hungry, after all - although that was the case most of the time.

He did, though, glance between Sam and Dr. Goss, feeling the need to say, "Whether it works or not - thank you. For helping me try."

[make_it_hurt]

Sam and Dr. Goss both nodded and Sam started to lead the way up the stairs. "You need a shower, Steve. You shower and I'll see about ordering takeout." Sam knew Tony had mentioned something about that before.

[punched_hitler]

Steve tried to give Sam a playful smile at the not-so-subtle hint. "That bad, huh?" Well, he'd kind of been in a hurry to get down there, there hadn't been time to shower, even though yeah, he was feeling the dried sweat all over his body. But, "That sounds good. I'm starving."

Not that he wasn't always starving, as Sam had probably learned.