Things had been rough enough when Sam found himself back on Earth after five years of disappearing from the face of it, thanks to Thanos. He’d missed a lot, his family’s business falling into shambles, his nephews growing older, losing friends and family. Finding his place in the world was difficult but he had managed it.
This time-traveling bit… well. Returning after those five years, he went straight to a battle with his colleagues, and a shit ton of allies from Wakanda and Kamar-Taj against the enemy. That was a simple walk in the park compared to showing up in Vallo ten years in the future. He was prepared to battle the wraiths, of course. He wasn’t, however, prepared to see familiar faces completely devoid of recognition for any of them, fighting against them as vehemently as possible.
It was like a knife straight into his chest when he had spotted Wanda.
With the danger relatively lower than before, Sam took the time to scout out the Outpost. He was no super soldier and the fight had knocked him around more than he would have liked to and he spent his first several hours there sleeping most of it off just barely taking in who was around him as they rushed to safety. Now, he stood, surveilling the safehouse, his heart breaking even more for how much of Vallo’s population was able to fit here. How many they must have lost throughout the years.
Support troops had been waiting when Caleb and Essek returned with their set of time travelers. The magic it had taken to go back and forth was a surefire way to attract Interitus’ forces, and even knowing they weren’t likely to win, they prepared. This was a big chance they were taking, there was a lot of support for it. Leaving a group of defenseless travelers to fend for themselves would be cruel, even for those whose mindsets were darkest.
Carol wasn’t very cosmic-powered these days, but she held her own. Her Kree blood still imbued her with enough strength and durability to take some hits. It wasn’t easy being out there – especially not when she saw Wanda; her heart would never not absolutely break when she saw her once-best friend – but it was worth it, knowing they had another chance.
She wanted to grab Sam the second they got back to the Outpost. He’d been gone nearly as long as Wanda now, and fuck, she’d missed him. Seeing him again – alive and well and a decade younger – made her want to grab on tight and never let go. But he had gotten hit hard and needed his rest; she decided to get some of her own, too.
Hours later, after napping with Marley tucked under her arm, head on her chest, she kissed her wife and daughter and went off to see if she could track down her old friend. She knew his hero complex would bring him here when his name made the list, but actually being here still couldn’t be easy to wrap his head around.
She stepped up beside him, nudging his shoulder with her own and smiling wearily up at him. “Hey, Cap. Been a while.”
“Carol.” He had seen her during that battle. Just a glimpse and it wasn’t close enough then to notice the differences. Besides he had just seen her before he had left his timeline. There was no sense of distance for him… but taking a good look at her now, he could tell the same couldn’t be said about her.
Sam knew very well how to read people and read his best friends even better. Even with abilities that would probably keep her looking young for a while, he could still tell she had aged some, more emotionally than physically. He turned to her without another word past her name and opened up his arms, giving her permission to hold him if she needed.
There was no hesitation, not for a second. Carol lurched forward and tugged Sam into her arms. He’d been gone over two years now, and she’d missed him every goddamn day. She and Steve especially still talked about him often; the Caps Club went on, even down a member, like they’d hoped he would have wanted.
“Really missing you around here, Wilson,” she said, teeth gritted against the tears that fell despite her best attempts to keep control. She gave him a squeeze, arms tight around his back.
Sam’s arms came around her right away and he squeezed her back. While they weren’t told any details, the gist was that they could travel to the future because they weren’t there, no paradoxes or anything like that to deal with. Not being around, he could take a guess at what must have happened to him. But the future looked far bleaker than he could have ever guessed.
After a moment, when it was obvious that Carol had gotten her fill, he pulled back to look at her, brows furrowing slightly. “What happened?”
This time, Carol hesitated, gesturing Sam over to sit on a slightly-crumbling stone bench with her. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to tell you,” she admitted. She hadn’t really asked for guidelines for this situation. She left that to the magic-types who had decided this was their best chance at getting a good shot in at Interitus – something they hadn’t done in a long time.
Of course, the tears in her eyes – which she wiped away roughly now with the back of her hand – would probably lead Sam to a few conclusions. And he was here, so he was seeing plenty that he was going to bring back to his time with him anyway.
So, with a sigh, she quietly said, “You died.”
Well. There were no words really to accurately describe how it felt to face your own mortality. Sam’s initial reaction was a sharp intake of breath. It wasn’t a novel thought to know you were not as strong as others. There was a moment in Sam’s life when he wondered what it would be like to take the super soldier serum but that wasn’t his way. He wouldn’t do what John Walker had done. Sam had already decided he would fight his way.
But for a brief second, he found himself thinking of that serum and how it would have turned out here in Vallo if he had had it. At least before he pushed the thought away, looking at Carol. Death didn’t hurt the departed as much as it hurt the ones who were left mourning.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry,” Carol insisted. “Steve and I… It’s been hellish without you, Sam. He beat himself up for a long time. Pretty sure he’s still beating himself up. We’re always losing people around here, and it’s always awful, but you?” She sighed, shaking her head. She could still remember the day it happened, and the icy cold that had spread through her with the news. “It was never supposed to be you.”
Sam shook his head. He didn’t want her to blame herself. Or Steve to blame himself. But was he surprised? Absolutely not. Hell, he would have been the same way. That’s the way it worked if you were a Big Damn Hero – you carried a lot of Big Damn Guilt. “You know I was never as strong as you two. I’d be more shocked if I had made it when you two didn’t.”
He put one arm around her shoulders then, stepping closer to press a kiss on her forehead. “I’m here now. Let’s see what I can do for y’all.”
Carol scoffed but leaned into him further, wrapping her arm around him again and squeezing. Sam might not have been as physically strong as her or Steve, but he had been strong in every other way that counted, in ways where they (she, especially) failed sometimes. With him and Wanda out of her reach, it was hard not to feel a tad unbalanced sometimes.
“Right now, what you can do is come with me to kick Steve’s ass at Gin Rummy.” She grinned at him, patting his shoulder as she pulled back. “Let’s do this Caps reunion upright.”