Sam Wilson does what Steve does - (justslower) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-01-18 17:57:00 |
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It being winter, the outdoor basketball courts were buried under several inches of snow. Fortunately, the gymnasium at the community centre had open practice nights, and it was there that Ash waited for Sam, idly bouncing a basketball that had seen better days. He was excited to have his former guardian back. Sam had been a great guardian, and Ash had missed him when he was gone. He loved living with Katniss and Johanna and Prim, but he was always aware that he was the only boy in a houseful of women - a direct inversion of what he was used to. It would be great to hang out with another guy. *** Sam was a little surprised to hear that he’d been in town before and didn’t remember it, but Steve assured him that was a fairly common occurrence. It wasn’t any weirder than anything else he experienced, so he mostly just shrugged it off. Finding out that he’d taken in a teenager while he was here wasn’t a huge surprise. Sam always was the kind of guy who wanted to help other people and the kid seemed cool so far. It took him a few minutes longer than he expected to find the gym, so he was almost late to meet Ash. “Hey, sorry, man,” he said, offering an easy smile. “Still haven’t managed to figure out where everything is in this town yet.” *** “It's okay,” Ash assured him. He looked over his former guardian; yep, still the same. He wondered how much time had passed since he had last been here, or if any time had passed at all. It was hard to tell: he didn't look visibly different. And since Ash knew about the phenomenon of people coming back without prior memories, he didn't take it took personally when Sam looked at him without much recognition. He just hoped Katniss would never do the same. He stopped bouncing the ball so it wouldn't be a distraction. “You settling in okay otherwise?” *** Even though it didn’t make much sense, Sam felt bad that he didn’t remember the kid. That had to be tough. He remembered how difficult it was for Steve when he realized that Bucky didn’t remember him. Not that he imagined he had that kind of bond with Ash, but still, the concept was difficult to imagine. “Getting there,” he said with a nod, taking off his coat to reveal a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. “I think I’m going to be working at the Boys Club.” *** “You’d be good at that,” Ash said, remembering how Sam had connected with him so easily when he’d been lost and worried that no one would take him. The boys would be lucky to have him on staff. Twirling the basketball between both hands (he wasn’t nearly good enough to balance it on a finger), he nodded at Sam’s outfit. “Looks like you’re ready to go.” *** Sam grinned. “I’m always ready to go,” he said. “While we play, you can tell me a little more about this place.” He figured it would be beneficial to get some information from someone that wasn’t from his world. He jogged out onto the court and took up a defensive position since Ash had the ball. *** Ash had natural athleticism and a style of play that was very similar to Sam’s - not surprising, since it was Sam who'd taught him to play beyond the basics of PE. But he was rusty, and it was easy for Sam to steal the ball from him. Ash took it in stride and set up to be on the defensive. He was here more to spend time with Sam than to win...not that he'd ever won against the man. “Anything in particular you want to know?” *** Since Sam didn’t know the kid well, he went a little easier on him than he would if he was playing against the other Avengers. As he dribbled and tried to advance past Ash, he considered what kind of questions he had. The problem was that there was so much here that was beyond his comprehension that he didn’t even know where to start. “Well, tell me about you,” he said, figuring that was a good place to begin. “Where are you from? How long have you been here?” *** “Most recently, England,” Ash replied, keeping his eye on the ball as he talked. A few times he made an attempt to take the ball, but wasn't able to succeed. His accent supported his assertion, though. It was a hybrid of Midwest and Received Pronunciation, with the American side stronger. “Been here for a little over a year. I met you early on, when you were working for social services and my foster family decided they didn't want to host a refugee after all.” *** From what Sam gathered, that was a common thing around here. He figured once he got a little more settled in, he would take in a kid in a similar situation so it didn’t surprise him to hear that he had done exactly that in the past. “Where’d you go after I left?” he asked, hoping that someone else had stepped up. It seemed like most of the other refugees here were good people. *** “A lady named Johanna took me in,” Ash replied distractedly. He wasn't good enough at basketball yet that he could really talk and play at the same time, but he could hold his end of a conversation if it was casual enough. “She's nice; I'm still there.” Now that he was 18, he'd be able to move out, but he hadn't said anything and neither had Johanna. He liked living there and being close to Katniss. Besides, there was no way he'd be able to afford his own place right now. *** Sam thought that name sounded familiar. “I think she’s friends with some of the people I know from home,” he said. She must be a good person if she was taking in kids who needed a place to live and his friends liked her. “What was your home like?” By now, he’d learned that not everyone came from modern places like this. *** “Pretty similar to this,” Ash said. He kept an eye on the ball as Sam moved, hoping to steal it from him as he approached the hoop. Ash was tall, but Sam had better arm reach. It would be a challenge. “Even the history’s the same. But the town my family's from doesn't exist here.” *** “So strange,” Sam said, shaking his head a little and losing his concentration enough that Ash was able to get the ball away from him. “Damn, I got distracted.” He tried to steal the ball back, but wasn’t successful. *** Hah! Ash managed! Feeling the thrill of his accomplishment, he quickly wound his way around Sam and leapt up to dunk the ball into the hoop. Remember the tip of the wrist technique Sam had taught him, Ash made a clean score. “Yes!” He pumped his arm in the air. Ash wasn’t usually the showy type, but he thought that deserved some celebration. *** Sam grinned. The kid definitely had some skills and he recognized that technique as one he routinely used. “Nice job,” he said. “No more taking it easy on you.” |