This is for myself, because I'm trying new things. Enjoy!

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"(Y/N), where are you?" Sam's voice garbled through your communicator. You panted as you ran through the woods dodging bombs and bullets as both rained down on your retreating figure.

"I'm headed for the Quinjet. The bombs are set, and we need to go, now!" you yelled back, barely hearing your own voice over the explosions.

"We're headed there now." Sam fell silent as you continued to flee the scene.

You cursed as a bullet tossed the dirt near your feet. "We're not doing this today." You drew your gun and started shooting you attackers as best you could while running away. "Sam, I need you and Clint over here with the Quinjet, stat. I can't take much more heat!"

"Legolas, you copy?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you at Sam's location," Clint said before going silent.

"I'm coming for you, honeybee. Just hang tight."

"Hanging as tight as I can without getting killed, Bird Brain!"

The whir of Sam's wings told you he was nearby. You were running out of escape space, backed into a cliff. There was no other way off.

"Sam, I'm gonna do something crazy. Can I trust you?"

"Seems kinda like you don't have much of a choice here, (Y/N)."

"Alright then, but don't say I didn't give you a fair warning."

You leaped from the edge of the cliff, plummeting to the snowy abyss below. The wind nipped at your cheeks as you fell, and adrenaline shot through your veins. The rush was exhilarating.

Warm arms wrapped around your torso, slowing your fall toward the ground. Sam looped back into the air and flew away to meet Clint at the Quinjet.

"What, you trying to imitate a flying pig?" Sam asked.

Your brow furrowed. "Is that supposed to be a joke or an insult?"

"Hey, news flash, (Y/N), you can't fly without outside help."

"Hey, news flash, Sam, I never asked."

"Do you want me to drop you?"

"Not until we reach the Quinjet, no." You smirked. "Besides, that's not very Captain America of you."

"Fair enough, honeybee."

Clint opened the back hatch of the Quinjet in midair, and Sam easily landed inside. As soon as the hatch closed itself again, Sam put you down. You slumped to the floor, what adrenaline you had seeping out of your body.

"Well, I'd say that was a success," Sam sighed.

"Too bad we can't watch the fireworks."

"Eh, fireworks are overrated anyway." Sam walked over and sat on the floor beside you.

You'd forgotten he was an Air Force veteran. He probably had some PTSD left over from his time there. You decided not to push the matter.

"Thanks, by the way."

Sam's gaze locked on you.

"For, well, ya know, catching me back there. I wasn't entirely sure if you would or not," you admitted.

"Why wouldn't I?"

You shrugged. "I dunno. I'm annoying? You might've expected me to rough it all the way back to HQ? You just didn't feel like it? There's a lot of reasons why you might not have caught me."

A moment of awkward silence passed between you two.

"Who hurt you?"

You stared at him. "What?"

"I said, 'Who hurt you?'."

"That's... Not relevant to the conversation."

"It is to me," Sam pressed. "I'm not upset, I just wanna talk."

You chuckled. "Well, no one hurt me, really."

"If no one hurt you, then why do you talk like I wouldn't have caught you just if I didn't feel like it? You're human, too, (Y/N)."

You didn't have an answer. At least, you didn't have a nice one. The truth honestly was too sad.

"You don't have to answer. It's just that I've seen you struggling with yourself a lot lately, and I don't like it. You're a good person, and it frustrates me that you don't see yourself how everyone sees you."

"Like... What, a narcissistic, annoying prick who always strives for the best and picks apart everything she does because she's not good enough?"

"For who?" Sam asked. "Who do you have to be so perfect for? Who makes you strive so hard for the best?"

You fumed. "It's none - " You stopped. He was right, and you knew it. Who exactly were you trying to impress? Whose standards were you trying to live up to?

"My... Myself." Your heart sunk. "I set my own standards. I try to be perfect for myself because I hate my imperfections. I hate my failures; they terrify me. I hate that I can't do and fix everything so that it's perfect. I hate that I try so hard. I..."

You fell silent.

"You hate yourself." Sam fidgeted with his fingers. "I know what that's like."

Your lip trembled as you held back your tears. You did; you hated yourself. From your looks, to your personality, to your flaws - you hated it all. So you tried to change it, but it never worked.

And he understood.

"What do you mean?" you asked.

Sam sighed. "I think we all have our moments where we hate ourselves. Mine was when I lost my buddy in an air raid. I couldn't do anything about it, but I should've tried to. I hate that I didn't. I don't want you falling into that same cycle of self-hate. You're too good for that."

You'd lost it there. Tears flowed freely down your face, your walls gone, and your will shattered. You were vulnerable, but that was okay.

Maybe... Maybe all you needed was to be vulnerable for once.

Sam grinned empathetically. "C'mere." He pulled your hiccup-wracked body into a hug. It was warm and cozy, and your cries quieted quickly.

You smirked to yourself. "Now I see why you help run a group therapy circle."

Sam laughed. "You pick up a few things here and there when you help others in their mental struggles."

"Sam?"

"Hm?"

You nuzzled into him, taking in every sensation. "Thank you, for everything. I appreciate it more than you know."

"Then that's enough for me, honeybee." He let a gentle smile grace his lips. "You're worth every bit of it."

---

Eeeeee, 1,022 words pre-post-scriptum. I think this is shorter than most of my oneshots, but I've never written for Sam before. He's such a cool character, and Anthony Mackie does such a good job with him. I feel like he'd be the guy giving the actual useful mental health advice because he's always helping in that group therapy thing, as shown in Winter Soldier. He's intense to write (hehe, self-projecting to the reader to the max, though), and I think I got across a message that everyone needs to hear.

You're worth it. Even if you think you're not, you are. There is always Someone who cares about you and loves you because He made you. You're special to Him, and that automatically makes you special to me. :D

Anyway, requests? I haven't been getting a lot. I'll take about anything, just no lemons or LGBT stuff because I don't write that. Thanks!