cowboysrappin

Sam really did enjoy his morning run. It helped to clear his mind of the noise, the world around him that cluttered his thoughts, so that he could focus on what was most important to him. Today, that just happened to be his own future and what that looked like now that his life had changed so much over the course of the past year. When he came home from war, he was broken, uncertain, and had no idea of how to live the so-called normal life anymore. Fighting was all that he knew, and the nightmares robbed him of sleep so often that he began to haze night and day together. Sleep had become a luxury and he wandered through his life confused and misguided. If he hadn't wandered into the VA building on what had been one of the worst days of his life back at home, there was no telling where he'd be right now. He would still be running, but it would be away from his future and not towards it.

It was strange to think that he was now doing exactly what had saved him, counselling others as they tried to heal from their own experiences, and honestly, it healed him even more. But beyond that and what the group had given him, was the chance to have a future with another person at his side, someone who understood him more than anyone there could. Because he wandered into that very building at that exact moment on that particular day out of all of the others, he met you.

Maybe today would be the day that he pulled together his bravery and asked you the question he never thought he'd ask anyone. Maybe it would be tomorrow, he wasn't sure. He was sure that he was going to ask you soon, and he had never been more certain of anything else in his entire life. There was no way in hell that he'd let anything take you from him now.

"On your left."

Sam snapped out of his own mind and skipped the slightest step at the intrusion into his solitude, ready to turn to whoever this guy thought he was and give him a piece of his mind about etiquette. When he looked to the left that was so rudely pointed out, he fell mute at who he was seeing, and suddenly it didn't matter so much that he was interrupted.

It was Captain Freaking America.

"Weird, didn't think he needed to run," he mumbled to himself, getting back to his thoughts. He had purchased a ring for you weeks ago, he just hadn't decided yet how to propose the right way. Sam wanted it to be perfect, as any man would at such an important moment-

"On your left."

"Uh huh, on my left. Got it."

Jesus, really? He knew this guy was a big deal, being an Avenger and all, but he was really chipping away at the respect that Sam was trying diligently to maintain. The road was completely open out in front of them and there was absolutely no reason for him to have to announce himself. It's not like Sam was running back and forth across the road to where Rogers would have to worry about knocking him over, so what the hell was this guy's play here?

Okay, back to it. At his current pace it would put him home for breakfast by 7am to meet you before you had to leave for work. He made it a point to be there each day since you had moved in with him a month before; it wasn't so much that he didn't think you could get up and out on your own, it was that he couldn't carry out his own day without seeing you first. You had become such a constant in his life that he couldn't imagine not having-

Footsteps again. Very fast footsteps.

"Don't say it!" he warned. "Don't you say it!"

"On your left."

"Come on!"

Sam kicked into high speed as best as his already fatigued legs would let him, but his lungs were burning with each breath and his side began to ache even after only a few agonizing feet. The Captain had taken a ridiculous lead again and was nearly out of sight, so he decided it best to just call it a morning and lay down before he died right there by the reflecting pool. He knew that the guy would be back around just to antagonize him more, so he should at least try to stay alive for it.

~~~

It was strange for Sam to not make it home from his run to say goodbye to you before you left for work, but he would get sidetracked here and there, so you figured that was the case again today. You waited as long as you could before you'd be late and in trouble with the boss again, but when Sam still didn't show, you sent a quick text and made your way out.

Missed you, had to go. Have a great day. Love you.

You were almost to the doors of your building when the reply finally came in.

Baby, I'm sorry. I've got a story for you when you get home. Love you too.

The next day, it wouldn't be Sam who missed you; you were the one to miss him as you had to leave early, receiving an urgent call that everyone needed to check in as quickly as possible. It wasn't a good sign of things to come, and no one would give any hints as to what was happening so that you knew if you had to warn Sam or not. Your work was risky enough for you, and you would never forgive yourself if he became caught up in it. He had served enough.

"Am I late?" you rushed to your desk, throwing your bag beneath it without care.

"No, I don't think so," the young man next to you whispered, looking as nervous as you had ever seen him. "They told us to stay here, and our phones and computers are locked down."

"Thanks, Cam," you smiled cautiously, watching your other teammate hurry in much as you just had, dropping herself heavily into her chair with a huff. "Hey, Sharon. We haven't heard anything yet. Do you know what's going on?"

"No idea."

"Great." Taking a minute to catch your breath, you began to set up your desk for the day, smiling to yourself at the sight of Sam's face looking back from the screensaver on your phone. He had been acting really strange the night before, but you figured it was just the continued fangirling of meeting Captain America throwing him off his game. "Oh, hey," you turned to Sharon again, "you'll never guess who Sam met yesterday-"

"Eyes up here. Whatever your op is, bury it."

Cameron nudged you to get your attention towards the voice echoing across the room, standing up with both you and Sharon as the rest of the agents followed suit. With every word spoken and no matter how much you couldn't believe any of them, you and Sharon had shared a look of knowing better than to argue, and to just keep your heads down until you could know more. She had confided in you when she shouldn't have, that she was ordered to guard a high-ranking official within SHIELD, but she had never told you who it was. She looked strangely reserved today, and she looked as if she hadn't slept at all. As soon as the picture ahead of you lit the room and when the unbelievable words were spoken, you put it all together as to why.

"Captain America is a fugitive from SHIELD."

~~~

Sam used to really love his morning run. Now he felt like he always had to watch his back for the appearance of Steve giving him shit for not running fast enough. It made it much more difficult to clear his mind and think about what he needed to when he felt almost nervous to meet the guy again. You were right, he had been fangirling just a little bit, but Captain America had always been his favorite Avenger since the group had come together a couple of years before. You gave him a hard time about it, joking that of course the walking flag was his favorite, but it was more than that. Steve just seemed like a genuine, nice guy, and those seemed to be rare these days.

So, when he got home on this morning, he didn't think twice about opening the door and letting Steve and Natasha into your shared home despite their beaten and scared appearance and the risk he was putting everyone in by doing so.

"I'm sorry about this," Steve said, "but we need a place to lay low."

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us," Natasha added.

You recognized the voices immediately, even from the other side of the house as you decided whether or not you would be going to work today. Being a part of a manhunt for Steve felt incredibly wrong, and even though Sharon had insisted that she was staying and playing along until she knew more, you were struggling with it too much and your poker face wasn't nearly as perfected as hers was. Now that the two most wanted people in Washington were standing in your kitchen, the choice to stay home had been made for you.

"Captain," you greeted with a tense smile, "Nat."

"(Y/N)?" she answered curiously. The alarms began to sound in her head as she put it together that they may have just walked into the perfect trap and that you were about to get promoted for the biggest apprehension in SHIELD history. "What are you...um, I didn't know that you were seeing anyone?"

"I usually keep my private life private. Too many occupational hazards."

"Yeah, obviously," she scoffed. "I think we should go, Steve-"

"No, Nat, stay," you urged, stepping closer with your hands raised, "I'm on your side, I promise. I'm not going to turn you in."

"Hold up, you all know each other?" Sam joined in, watching your conversation along with Steve, the two men looking equally nervous. "Babe, I told you that I met Cap and you acted like it was nothing."

"Well, he wasn't a wanted man then. But now that he is, things just got a whole lot more complicated, didn't they?"

"We don't want to cause you any trouble, (Y/N)," Steve began, but you stopped him.

"Well, we're a little past that already, don't you think?" You looked around the group and held your gaze with Sam for a moment, considering your next step. You could stay here and help them, or you could go to work and try to get SHIELD off their trail, but as Sam's features began to change as his mind raced, you had a new problem to deal with. "Sam Wilson, no. I know what you're thinking, and just...no."

"Yeah, and I can see that you're about to go in to work and risk yourself getting caught trying to hide them. Don't look so shocked like I don't know you, (Y/N)."

"I have the resources to do it, though."

"I have resources too," he huffed, looking to Steve and Nat to try to be better convincing.

"Oh, right, I forgot," you snickered, "readily available. You've tried to get your wings before, in case you've forgotten how spectacularly that went. I had to get a special concession from Fury just to get you probation instead of federal prison. You still owe the guy for that, so let's not push our luck, alright?"

"That was a misunderstanding, Cap," Sam tried, only to incite the first laugh from Steve that he had been capable of in days. "Hey, come on. They were really hard to get to, and I may have taken a wrong turn or two."

"How hard to get to?" Nat interjected, fully in business mode. "Steve, we could use anything we can get. If (Y/N) can infiltrate through SHIELD, we can take Sam-"

"No, I can't ask you to do this, Sam," Steve insisted, "you got out for a good reason. (Y/N), having you on the inside already puts you at risk."

"Captain America needs our help," you shrugged, "there's no better reason to get back in, and I never really liked my boss that much anyway. He's kind of a dick. Suppose now I know why."

Sam looked at you with a hint of pride in his eyes, but also an overwhelming sense of worry that the two of you had just gotten in over your heads for a man that at least he barely knew. It terrified him that you were becoming a part of this; he could handle it for himself, but if you were at SHIELD HQ while he was in the field with these two, he had no way to protect you. You probably didn't really need him to, but he would still feel better thinking that he could. The longer he looked your way, the more he talked himself out of arguing with you, and he finally turned to Steve and Nat and took the leap of faith. "The last one is at Fort Meade. Behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall."

Steve checked in with you first, seeing nothing but agreement, followed by a glance to Nat who looked as if she had done worse than that a million times over. The decision had been made, and apparently, he was outnumbered.

"Shouldn't be a problem."