IT TOOK THE young super soldier some time to fully accept the situation. It had been 13 days since the U.S government unveiled John Walker as Captain America, which for Y/N was 13 days of trying not to even look or listen to anything about him.

Good Morning America showed an interview with Walker in the morning from the night before. Y/N didn't bother watching it for obvious reasons, but Maggie did so in secret.

She heard John mention Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers when asked about how he sees himself and said he isn't like them. That was true. But what irked the teenager was that he didn't bother naming Y/N, the rightful owner of her grandfather's shield.

Later that day, the Romanoff-Carter family was in the backyard of their home. Nikolai was playing basketball with Maggie on the court they had built recently while their parents paced around surveying the open space.

"I was thinking of putting a fire pit here." Y/N said as he crossed his arms. "What do you think?"

"I was thinking of a nice fountain. Maybe one where water comes out of the frog's mouth." Natasha replied.

"That's...weird."

"Fine. How about a playset?"

Y/N pointed at the basketball court. "Nikolai's just fine with that."

"Only if you want him to live and breath hoops for the rest of his childhood."

"Is there a problem with that?"

Natasha chuckled and lightly slapped him on the arm. "We have a ton of space. Wouldn't hurt to build something for him. I had a swing and everything back in Ohio."

Y/N nodded. "All right. That'll be on the list. Along with my fire pit and your weird frog fountain."

Suddenly, they heard the gate leading to their backyard open. They turned around to see who had arrived and to their surprise...it was Sam Wilson.

"Sam!" Nikolai exclaimed as he dropped the ball and ran toward the man.

With what seemed to be a folder in hand, he still opened up his arms and hugged the boy. Sam rubbed the top of his head.

"Hey, little man!" Sam got on a knee. "You're fast! You got some super speed I don't know about?"

"No. I just run fast." He answered.

"We better watch out for you." He said with a chuckle before standing up and looking at Maggie. "Same goes for you. It's like you get taller every time I see you."

"You're exaggerating." She chuckled as she hugged him. "It's good to see you, Uncle Sam."

Y/N and Natasha walked over to greet their friend and fellow Avenger. He smiled at them.

"I hope I'm not intruding on family time." He said.

"Oh, don't worry about it, man." Y/N replied. "You know you're welcome anytime."

"Yeah, what he said." Natasha added, then looked at the folder he was holding. "What got there?"

Sam looked at the item. "Uh, something I actually need to talk to you guys about. Do you have a minute?"

Natasha looked at her husband. Y/N glanced at Maggie and Nikolai before looking back at Sam. "Um...okay."

The redhead turned to her children. "Will you two be okay out here? While we talk to Sam?"

"Oh, sure. Don't worry." Maggie answered as she glanced at Nikolai, who simply nodded.

"Great. If you need anything just come and find us inside."

And with that, Y/N and Natasha went inside the house with Sam following. They entered the living room and settled at the dining table nearby. Sam took a seat and put down his folder.

"You want something to drink? A beer? Y/N asked his friend.

"I'm okay, thanks."

Y/N pulled out a seat for Natasha, who nodded in appreciation before sitting down. Her husband was always a gentleman. The super soldier didn't sit down and decided to stay standing beside her.

"I need you guys to see this." Sam opened his folder and laid out some of the contents from inside.

The first thing was a photo of a young man with a bruised face. Natasha picked it up and examined it.

"Poor guy. What happened to him?" She asked.

"He's Joaquin Torres. A colleague of mine. He was trying to tail some group in Switzerland but got attacked by one of them during a bank robbery."

"They got him good." Y/N chimed in as he also looked at the photo in Natasha's hands. "Did he have backup? Why tail this group?"

"They're a sort of anti-nationalist organization. They call themselves the Flag-Smashers. They're trying to get things back to how it was before the Blip. The group's attacked before so Torres was trying to get inside." Sam explained before taking out another photo.

It was of one of the Flag Smashers. The large man wore a black mask with a handprint painted on it.

Sam continued. "This guy attacked Torres, and he stood out the most out of all them."

"Why?" Y/N asked.

"He was...very strong. Too strong." Sam said before letting out a sigh. "I think he was some form of the super-soldier serum."

Y/N raised a brow as he picked up the photo. He looked at it further as he held it in his hand. "Are you sure?"

"Torres said he handled a group of cops with ease, even sent one flying a few yards. And with Torres...he basically treated him like a rag doll."

Y/N exhaled as he put the photo back down. Natasha looked at it next.

"I thought the serum didn't exist anymore. Y/N, Steve, and James are the only ones I know of that have it. And Y/N was born with it." She said.

"That's why I need to look into this more." Sam replied. "And I need your help. These people need to be stopped before more of them get the serum."

"Our help?" Y/N asked.

"Yes. Aside from...well...not many Avengers being available, you two are who I trust the most."

Y/N nodded. "What have you found so far? Got a location?"

"I pinpointed them in Munich. I have a flight there later today." He answered.

Natasha looked at him. "Even if we accept, who's taking care of the kids?"

"Right." Sam sat back and sighed. "It's still a trip knowing you have two. I've only been back for seven months."

"Clint?" Natasha turned to Y/N and asked.

"I don't know. It'd be such short notice. Especially flying from or to Missouri." He replied. "Rhodes left for an assignment overseas. Banner is...wherever he is."

Natasha sighed and shook her head, thinking for a moment. Yelena would've been the one to call, but that wasn't possible at the moment.

"You go with Sam." She told Y/N. "Go check it out and get a feel for it."

"Are you sure?" He asked. The man was willing to turn down the mission to wait for the right time for her to join, but the redhead knew this had to be done as soon as possible.

"Yeah. I'm fine staying back and conducting my own research on these people before I go on the field." She replied.

Y/N nodded understanding and agreed with her plan. Natasha stood up and caressed the side of his arm.

"Just don't die on me before I do, all right?" She added.

He chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."

Natasha smiled and kissed her husband. Sam just sat there in silence, arms crossed and bobbing his leg up and down as he looked away.

"Besides, you two should be fine." Natasha continued as he turned to Sam. "You've done missions together."

"Yeah. Like that one in Lithuania where..." Y/N started to think back and began to mutter. "...I was kidnapped."

"And that's not gonna happen again, right?" Natasha asked them in a tone as if she was their mother.

"Nope. No, ma'am. Never." Sam answered.

Y/N frantically nodded. "What he said."

Natasha chuckled as she started to walk away. "I'm gonna go check on the kids."

Y/N and Sam were left alone at the dining table. Sam stood up and gathered his things.

"Ready to do this?" He asked him.

"As I'll ever be."

"Look at us. Captain America and the Falcon."

Y/N rubbed the back of his neck. "Sam...you know I'm not—"

"I don't care about what they're saying on the news and who they're parading on there." Sam interjected. "To me you are. Even without that shield. All right, brother?"

Y/N didn't want to contend with that statement. He honestly appreciated that. It made the super-soldier even more glad that Sam, one of his best friends, was alive again.

"All right."

• • •

AT THE MILITARY BASE Y/N held the duffel bag containing his Freedom Fighter suit and gear. His Taskmaster armor was still heavily damaged from the battle last year and he hadn't gotten it fixed yet. Maybe he'll take a trip to Wakanda soon and get it taken care of.

He stood by a wall that had a poster of John Walker as Captain America. Y/N had a plain expression as he gazed upon it. Sam, who was also joined by Joaquin Torres, walked up to the super-soldier.

"Seems like a good guy. Any of you guys met him?" Joaquin asked.

"No." Sam replied in a stern tone.

Y/N simply shook his head. Joaquin turned to him and smiled.

"Lieutenant L/N." He greeted. "It's an honor to meet you."

"It's Carter now." Y/N clarified and smiled before shaking his hand. He looked at the patch on his suit. "Lieutenant as well, huh?"

"Yes, sir." Joaquin replied.

The three started walking away toward the stairs. Sam spoke to Joaquin.

"Thanks for doing this on such short notice."

"Yeah. No sweat. I'm just finishing up the checklist. You'll be all good to go once you land in Munich."

The trio walked down the stairs when a sudden booming voice shouted at them. Well, mostly toward Y/N.

"Shouldn't have given up the shield."

It was Bucky Barnes.

"Ah. Hey, Buck." Y/N greeted back as they made it to the ground floor.

"New haircut?" Sam greeted the man as well.

Bucky ignored Sam and kept looking at Y/N as they walked.

"This is wrong." Bucky said.

"What's wrong?" Y/N asked.

"You know what I'm talking about." He butted.

Y/N could tell he was angry about something...and he knew what that something was exactly. Seeing Bucky in that mood paled in comparison to how he was a couple of months ago when he last saw him, with Barnes being caring and trying to be cheery around Maggie and Nikolai.

Bucky continued. "You didn't know that was gonna happen?"

"No, of course not." Y/N replied. "You think I didn't feel some type of way when they marched him out there with my dad's shield and called him Captain America?"

"This isn't what Steve wanted."

"What the hell do you want me to do? Call the government and tell them I changed my mind?" Y/N scoffed. "That's not gonna work. Be well, Bucky. Sam and I got work to do."

"You had no right to give up the shield, Y/N." Bucky shot back.

The young super soldier stopped walking, which Sam came to a halt as well. Sam looked at Bucky and feared that it would lead to a heated argument between the two. "Buck—"

Y/N spoke up and interrupted Sam as he faced Bucky. "Hey. You're not gonna come here and tell me what I was supposed to do. Okay? What's done is done. It's over, Bucky."

Bucky stood quiet. Sam decided to chime in. "Besides, we have bigger things to deal with now."

"What can be bigger than this?" Bucky asked.

Sam pulled out his phone and showed him the picture of the Flag-Smasher that assaulted Joaquin. "This guy. His connections with rebel organizations all over Eastern and Central Europe."

"And he's strong." Y/N added. "Too strong."

"And?" Bucky arched a brow.

"Well, he's been connected to this online group called the Flag-Smashers." Sam replied. "Now, Redwing traced them to a building somewhere outside of Munich. So that's where we're going."

"Well, I don't trust Redwing." Bucky said as they started walking again.

"You don't have to trust Redwing but I'mma go see if he's right. Because I have a feeling they might be a part of the Big Three."

"Big Three?" Bucky asked.

"There's a Big Three?" Y/N questioned too.

"The Big Three." Sam reiterated. "How do you not know them? Androids, aliens, and wizards."

"That's not a thing." Bucky said.

"That's definitely a thing."

"No, it's not."

"Every time we fight, it's one of the three."

"So by that logic...Loki was a wizard? Or an alien?" Y/N asked.

Bucky chuckled. "You're saying he was Gandalf?"

"How do you know about Gandalf?" Sam asked him.

"I read The Hobbit in 1937 when it first came out." He answered.

"So you see my point."

"No, I don't. There are no wizards."

"Doctor Strange." Sam brought up.

"I'm pretty sure he's a sorcerer." Y/N rebutted.

"Aah!" Sam let out a chuckle. "A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat. Think about it. I'm right. I just came up with that. It's crazy." He laughed before speaking again.

"But that's not the point. These guys aren't magical. They use brute force like you two, the star-wearing mimic and the incredibly annoying guy with the staring problem."

Y/N chuckled at his remark before walking with Sam toward the airfield where the plane was. Bucky began to follow.

"I'm coming with you." Bucky spoke.

"No, you're not." Sam rebutted.

• • •

BUCKY ENDED UP coming with them anyway, despite Sam's objections. Y/N got up from his seat and strapped on his headpiece.

"One minute until drop off, guys." Joaquin announced he opened the doors of the plane.

Sam didn't respond. Bucky didn't either as the two engaged in a sort of staring contest. They both wore their respective attire, with Sam wearing his Falcon suit and Bucky having on a vest.

The Air Force veteran stood up and went over to the crate to pick up his earpiece. Y/N grabbed his as well.

"So what's the plan?" Bucky asked them.

Sam placed the earpiece in and simply grinned as he walked away.

Bucky scoffed. "Great. So no plan."

"Thirty seconds!" Joaquin yelled.

"Enjoy the ride, Buck." Sam finally spoke.

"No, you can't call me that." He shot back.

"Only I can." Y/N chimed in.

"You're close to not having the privilege anymore."

"Aw. Come on, Uncle Buck."

"I'm serious."

Sam chuckled. "Why can't I? That's what Steve called you."

"Steve knew me longer and Steve had a plan."

"Fifteen seconds to drop!" Joaquin yelled again.

"I have a plan." Sam said.

"I'm kinda in the dark too." Y/N replied. "Mind telling us?"

Sam smirked before immediately jumping out of the plane, activating his wings shortly after. Y/N shook his head and chuckled.

"Great." Bucky breathed out

"You got a chute?" Y/N asked Joaquin.

"We're at 200 feet. It's pretty risky."

Y/N sighed. "That's good enough for me, I guess." He looked at Bucky. "Don't break a hip, Unc."

Bucky scoffed as his nephew leaped out of the plane.

The young super soldier plummeted into the forest. He quickly took out his Billy-club and deployed the wire so it could wrap around a branch. He started to swing down, but the branch ultimately snapped. Y/N hit the side of another tree and fell onto the dirt below.

"Ugh..." He groaned. "How does Peter do this?"

He heard a whirring sound and Y/N looked up to see Redwing flying over him.

"Well, the kid has had practice, with him being a spider and all." Sam's voice came out of the drone. "You on the other hand..."

"Yeah, yeah." He got back up and brushed the dirt off of his suit.

"Go north. Bucky's on his way."

Y/N met up with Sam and Bucky in an abandoned warehouse. Falcon looked at the display on his wrist as Redwing checked out the area.

"You're doing that staring thing again." Sam remarked as Bucky looked ahead.

Sam continued. "They're in there."

"Is that guy here?" Y/N asked about the serum-infused Flag-Smasher.

"I don't know. His gang seems to be smuggling something though." Sam answered.

"Well, I think you could be right." Bucky replied. "But there's only one way to find out. I see a clear path, I say we take it.

Sam stopped Bucky as he walked forward. "We're not assassins."

"I'll see you inside." Bucky told them.

Sam chuckled. "Hey, come on. I'm just messing with you. Come back."

Bucky snuck through the dark hallway. Sam and Y/N stayed back while the former still used Redwing.

"Look at you. All stealthy." Sam spoke to Bucky through the comms. "A little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther."

"It's actually White Wolf." Bucky responded rather sternly.

Sam didn't expect a response. "Huh?" He looked at Y/N. "Did they give you a name?"

"No. They didn't really need to."

Bucky made it to the area and hid behind a set of shelves.

"All right, I'm inside." Bucky told them. "Therefore, way ahead of you. It's not great but very doable."

Bucky turned around, and to his surprise was already face to face with Sam and Y/N who were close behind the whole time.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Hello. How are you?" Bucky replied in a sarcastic manner.

"Good. Did we miss anything?" Y/N asked. "No? Nothing."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "All right. Let's go."

"No, wait." Sam stopped him.

"I got a vibranium arm. I can take them."

"Y/N's got a extendable stick and I can fly. Who gives a shit?" He shot back. "Wait. I want to see where they're going."

Bucky pointed ahead. "There's two people."

"You only see two? Let me see what Redwing sees." Sam pulled up the display on his wrist that showcased many thermal signatures outside. "Oh, look at that. How many people you see now? One, two...Oh, here it comes again. Four. Five."

Y/N sighed. "All right. Five."

"So they're strong. Whatever. Let's just go." Bucky started walking away but Sam pulled him back. The sudden movement caused him to bump into the shelf, and two of the Flag Smashers turned around at the sudden noise. They ultimately brushed it off and continued loading the trucks.

Sam used Redwing to scan the inside of one of the trucks and saw somebody in it. "There's an eighth person. I think they have a hostage."

Bucky didn't respond and instead just started running. Y/N followed close behind as Sam activated his wings and soared out of the warehouse.

The Winter Soldier and Freedom Fighter used their enhanced speed to reach the trucks. Y/N ran past Bucky and made it to the first truck, while Bucky slowed down and started climbing the second one.

Y/N opened the doors and went inside, where he spotted dozens of crates containing cargo.

"Uh, guys? Looks like they're stealing medicine. Vaccines."

As he was looking through, he spotted somebody peeking their head out of a corner. They tried to hide as he stopped and looked ahead.

"Hi." He called out. The teenage girl stepped out from behind the crates.

"Y/N. Talk to us. What's going on?" Sam spoke.

"I found the hostage." He replied quietly before turning back around toward her.

The mere sight of the red-headed girl warranted his full attention. She reminded him of his daughter, Maggie.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

The girl just smiled, almost menacingly. Y/N arched a brow and tried to smile back, but what he didn't expect was for her to lunge forward and kick him out of the truck.

The sheer force of the hit sent him flying out and against the windshield of the second truck. He grabbed onto the top and held on.

"Shit!" He exclaimed.

The girl put on her Flag-Smasher mask. Before Y/N could climb back up, two more Flag Smashers grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up onto the top of the moving truck. The female leaped onto the vehicle and joined them.

She punched Y/N across the face. Bucky quickly climbed up onto the top and ran up to assist him, but the female spun around and kicked Barnes in the chest which sent him several feet back.

Redwing flew in and fired at the Flag-Smashers, but the teenager quickly jumped up and grabbed the drone. She broke it in half with her knee.

"I've always wanted to do that." Bucky breathed out before being kicked in the face and pulled back up.

Sam flew in moments later and kicked the female Flag-Smasher down.

She recovered and dodged a kick by him as they continued to fight.

Y/N broke out of the hold by the two Flag Smashers and elbowed one in the face before sweeping the legs of the other.

"Good to see the bird finally join the fight!" He exclaimed.

One Flag-Smasher from the other truck jumped onto the top and grabbed Freedom Fighter. Just like the two from before, he could feel that they were stronger than any normal human. He knew that they were infused with the serum as well.

Sam was being pinned down by another Flag-Smasher. Before he could stomp onto him, a shield hit the man in the chest before summoning back into the hands of who threw it.

In a helicopter above, John Walker and Lemar Hoskins dropped down and joined the fight on the moving trucks. Y/N finally broke out of the terrorist's hold and flipped him over the shoulder where he landed a kick to his face.

John Walker tossed the shield and dealt with a couple of more Flag-Smashers on his own before reuniting with Lemar. He dapped up his friend and looked at Sam, where he saluted.

"Sam." He called out. "John Walker. Captain America."

His friend greeted them as well. "Lemar Hoskins. Looks like you guys could use some help."

The trio ignored their greetings and continued fighting. A Flag-Smasher swung at Freedom Fighter, but Y/N ducked under of his punches before landing a push kick that heaved him off the truck.

Another one came from behind and grabbed Y/N by the shoulders where he pushed him down to the floor. He landed a punch but before he can hit Y/N again, he grabbed him by the collar and head-butted him.

Y/N threw the man off and stood up. A Flag-Smasher was about run up and attack Freedom Fighter, but a shield hit the incoming enemy and took him down. The shield flew back toward Y/N who caught it before John took it back.

"Glad to be of assistance, Lieutenant!" John quickly said before engaging another Flag-Smasher. Y/N just stared at the man before going to assist his friends.

Sam tried to glide up but was held down by a few Flag-Smashers. Y/N leaped onto the second truck and kicked one of them down. Bucky came in to help too as he quickly engaged in a fight with one of them.

A terrorist swung at Y/N but he dodged and landed a blow at his stomach. He dodged another hit and tackled the assailant, where he pinned him down and was prepared to shock him with his baton. Y/N jabbed the stick down onto him, but the Flag-Smasher used his strength to hold his wrist back before ultimately kicking Y/N off of the truck.

"Argh!" He grunted as he hit the pavement and rolled into the grass on the side of the road.

He slowly got up and looked ahead at the trucks that were driving off. Y/N unlatched the strap of his headpiece and took it off as he panted.

"Great."

Y/N walked down a dirt path in the direction of where the trucks were going. After a while, he saw two men in the distance. He knew that it was Bucky and Sam and it wasn't long until he reunited with them.

"Hey, man. You good?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. I've been thrown off a semi before." He replied, mentioning the time Ultron threw him off one in South Korea.

Bucky shook his head before deciding to change the subject. "Sorry about Redwing."

"No, you're not." Sam shot back.

"I truly am."

Sam laughed. "How about that girl that was kicking your ass?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on. I saw it."

"She was kicking his ass too." Bucky pointed at Y/N.

"Yeah, but we're talking about you." The young soldier butted.

Bucky scoffed. "You two are intolerable."

"For real though. She got some power to her punch." Y/N said.

"It must be something about redheads because they be kicking ass." Sam remarked, thinking about people he knew such as Natasha, Wanda, and even Maggie.

There was silence for a moment. Bucky was lost in his thoughts and Sam took notice.

"What's going on in that cyborg brain of yours?" He asked him.

"It's computing."

Sam chuckled. "You know what? I can actually see it. I can see the gears turning."

Bucky let out a scoff as Sam kept speaking.

"Oh, they're malfunctioning, shutting down. Yep, they're on fire."

"We gotta figure out where the serum's coming from." Bucky said as he ignored his joke.

Y/N glanced at him. "I had my doubts at first, but these folks definitely have the Super Soldier serum."

"We need to find out how the hell after 80 years are there eight Super Soldiers running loose." Sam chimed in.

Suddenly, a Jeep rolled up from behind the trio and parked in front of them. Inside was the driver, John Walker, and Lemar Hoskins.

"Well, that didn't go as planned, huh?" John remarked as he opened the doors for them to come in.

The trio ignored him and kept walking. John closed the door and told his driver to drive alongside them.

"Look, at least we know what we're up against now, huh?" John spoke. "And we're pretty sure it's one of the Big Three, so..."

"Aliens, androids, or wizards?" Sam asked.

"Pretty sure." John answered.

"There's no such thing as wizards." Bucky retorted.

"All right, then it's aliens or androids."

"Or Super Soldiers." Y/N told him.

"Shit. Super Soldiers, for real?" Lemar replied.

"Yeah."

"Wow. All right, well, then we got to work together." John said.

"That's not happening." Bucky shot back.

"I think we stand a much better chance if we all just—"

"Just because you carry that shield, it doesn't mean you're Captain America." Bucky decided to say what was on Y/N's mind...and his especially.

John scoffed. "Look, I've done the work, okay?"

Bucky stared at him. "You ever jump on top of a grenade?"

"Yeah, actually, I have. Four times. It's a thing I do with my helmet. It's a reinforced helmet. It's a long story, but..."

"And I'm sure you didn't fly a ship into the sea and save millions of lives doing so, right?" Y/N chimed in.

"Well...I haven't really...had the chance." He shook his head. "Look, it's 20 miles to the airport. You guys need a ride."

The Jeep stopped and so did Sam, Y/N, and Bucky. They looked at one another for a moment before finally deciding to join the duo in their vehicle. They drove down the road as the group started to talk.

"Okay, so we've got eight Super Soldiers on a bulk supply run. Why?" John asked them.

"They say their mission is to get things back to the way it was during The Blip." Sam answered. "Maybe they're just trying to help."

"If I gotta be honest, I don't know why they'd want to." Y/N cut in.

Despite the five years after the Snap having been spent with Natasha and his family, it was a pretty dark time that he would prefer not to go back to.

"We need to figure out where they're going. How did you track them here? The Flag Smashers?" Sam asked Walker.

"Uh, no, we didn't track them, we tracked you. Through Redwing." Lemar said.

"You hacked my tech?" Sam looked at them as he raised his tone.

"It's not exactly your tech. It's government property. We're kind of the government." John replied with a chuckle.

Walker explained how the Global Repatriation Council had been working for the last seven months in getting things back in order after the Blip. John and Lemar were there to help.

"If you guys joined up with us, we could—"

"No." Bucky interrupted.

"Look, I got mad respect for y'all. But you were getting your asses kicked till we showed up." Lemar shot back.

"Who are you?" Bucky asked.

"Lemar Hoskins."

"Look, we see a guy hanging out of a helicopter in tactical gear I need a lot more than Lemar Hoskins." Y/N told him.

"I'm Battlestar. John's partner."

"Battlestar?" Bucky scoffed before turning to the driver. "Stop the car!"

The Jeep stopped and Bucky got off shortly after. Sam and Y/N stayed inside but were preparing to leave too.

"Look, I get it. You didn't expect the shield to be back here!" John exclaimed. He sighed and turned to the other two.

"And...I'm not trying to replace Steve." He looked at Y/N. "I understand how much this means to you. I'm just trying to be the best Captain America I can be. That's it."

Y/N nodded, the man's words actually relieving him a bit. A part of him was glad Walker understood its meaning and that he wanted to do it right.

But then...John continued to speak. "It'd be a whole lot easier if I had Cap's wingmen on my side."

That didn't bode well for the two. They weren't just wingmen. They were partners, friends, and family to Steve Rogers. And in Y/N's case, his son.

"It's always that last line." Sam remarked as he left the jeep. Y/N was following close behind.

"Never has my father referred to me as a wingman." He said and gave a fake smile. "Take care of yourself, John."

They walked away, leaving John and Lemar alone with their driver. Walker tapped the side of the car and signaled to keep driving, which they did.

• • •

THEY WERE FLYING back to the United States. Bucky sat down with Y/N also being seated nearby. Sam laid down on a set of chairs.

"You guys all right?" Sam asked them.

They didn't answer. After a brief moment of silence Bucky decided to speak. "Let's take the shield. Let's take the shield and do this ourselves."

"Bucky. You know we can't do that." Y/N said.

"Why the hell not?"

"You want to beat him up and take it?"

"If that's what we have to do."

Sam sat up. "Do you remember what happened the last time we stole it?"

"Maybe." Bucky replied with a shrug.

"I'll help you in case you forgot. Sharon was branded enemy of the state while Steve, Nat, Y/N and I were on the run for two years." Sam explained. "I don't know about you, but I don't wanna live the rest of my life la vida loca."

"And I have a family to worry about. I can't be on the wrong side of the law, especially now." Y/N chimed in.

Sam nodded at his statement. He recalled how they all moved from place to place for those two years as vigilantes.

He leaned back against the seat and sighed. "We just got our ass handed to us by Super Soldiers, and we got nothing."

Bucky looked down at his hands, "Not entirely true."

Y/N and Sam looked at him with quizzical looks. Bucky got off the crate he was seated on and sighed.

"There is somebody that you two should meet."