sambucky + “clue”, perhaps?
further adventures in the mr. and mr. smith au. i know i said there wasn't more. i lied.
content warning for a mention of canon-typical medical experiments relating to an infant
None of the movies ever talk about the boring part of spywork. For every infiltration mission and black tie gala, Sam has learned, there's days of poring over data, digging through transcripts and ancient records and trying to find the one little clue that makes the whole search worthwhile.
With all five of them digging through files and case notes, it still takes until late afternoon for one of them to find an answer, buried in a twenty-three page report of the results from a six-month checkup. Sam really only clocks it because he was there for Cass's six-month checkup, driving Sarah into town on a rare visit home. There are all the usual details in the report, but there's also a section labeled 'reflexes' that far outstrips any checkup that Sam has ever heard of.
A little decoding by Nat and Bucky reveals that they were testing the extents of Jack's sensory perception, along with his speed and reaction times. There's a section at the bottom of the page that makes Bucky's jaw go tight when he sees it, and no one stops him when he tells them that he's going to go check on Jack. It's only when Bucky puts the report down that Sam sees a section under the reflex tests labeled 'healing factor.' There are no results in the section, just a reminder to test at a later date, but Sam still feels like he's going to be sick.
Bucky still isn't back downstairs by the time Steve and Nat and Yelena leave for the evening. Sam doesn't know Yelena particularly well, but she hangs back for a moment as the others leave and points to a floral arrangement on the coffee table.
"They had this at the florist by your apartment," she says. "Someone ordered and did not pick it up. I thought maybe I should bring a housewarming present, so..."
"It's beautiful," says Sam, and means it. It has peonies and gardenias, white and pink like the ones that grew in his mother's garden his whole childhood.
"I thought you would like it," Yelena says. Then, after a moment, casting her gaze up to where Bucky disappeared an hour ago: "I don't think he should be alone."
"I know," Sam says. "But I don't know how good he is at letting himself not be alone."
"Probably as good as you are," says Yelena, turning for the door. "What is the proper thing to say here? Thank you for not kicking me out even though I'm your husband's partner and he lied to you for so long?"
"That'll do," he says, around the hysterical urge to laugh. "Thanks for helping, Yelena. And for the flowers."
She nods at him before slipping out the door, and in spite of the rain outside, the house is much too quiet in her absence.
Sam should tidy up, probably, or at least figure out what to do for dinner, but instead his feet carry him up the stairs and towards his bedroom, where he hears the quiet sound of Bucky's voice, and below it the whimpering cry of a baby.
"I know, buddy," Bucky is saying, his voice gentle. "I know it's loud and rumbly. It hurts in your teeth, right? Or your tooth, I guess."
There's a quiet little sob, and a flurry of murmured nonsense from Bucky.
"I know," he says again. "It came out of nowhere, huh? I'm sorry. I know it's bad, but you're safe here, okay? You're safe with us, I promise."
Sam's whole entire heart is lodged in his throat as he peers around the doorframe to see...an empty room? He looks over his shoulder confusedly, like maybe Bucky and Jack will materialize in the darkened room across the hall, but then he hears another hiccuping sob from his own bedroom.
He steps in, looking left and right before he realizes the door to the walk-in closet is ajar, the light turned on. He rounds the door and finds Bucky, sitting on the floor in a nest of blankets with Jack settled against his chest.
"The thunder woke him up," Bucky says, something defensive in his posture as soon as Sam appears. "It was worse by the windows, so I thought..."
"No, it was a good call," says Sam. "Is it easier for h- for both of you in here? Quieter?"
"A little, yeah," says Bucky. "I have practice filtering things out, but it'll still be new for him. Too much stimuli is bad for anyone."
Sam glances up at the bright fluorescent light in the closet. "I'll be right back," he says, and ducks out again.
He finds what he's looking for in the nursery and plugs it in just out of Bucky's line of sight, reaching up to flick off the light switch as he does and filling the space with soft, orange-y light from the small nightlight that Sam had put in the other room.
Jack makes a quiet noise that could be anything, but Bucky's quiet sigh of relief is audible. "Thank you," he says, his voice soft.
"Wait, is this why you hate the recessed lighting in the apartment so much?" asks Sam, before he realizes what he's saying. "I mean--"
"Kind of, yeah," says Bucky. "The lamps are better."
They're both quiet for a moment, thinking of the home that they share and the stupid, precious debates that have colored the last four years of their lives. From his spot on Bucky's chest, Jack makes a soft noise.
"I'm looking for new apartments," Bucky tells Sam, when he finally speaks again. "You can leave my name on the lease as long as you need, but I just figured I should- I figured it made sense, is all."
"You don't have to leave," Sam says, instead of please don't go. "That's not- I wasn't even thinking about that. You don't have to."
"Yeah," says Bucky, sounding tired all of a sudden. "I do."
Sam wants to protest, wants to tell Bucky that he has to stay, actually, because how will they find their way out of this if Bucky just up and leaves? But then he thinks about the file, about how part of HYDRA's attempts to break Bucky involved lying to him every day, about every detail they could think of, just to leave him unmoored. He thinks about the four years where he was so desperate to keep Bucky safe from what he did at work that he lied to his husband day in and day out.
"If that's what you want," he says. "Who am I to stop you?"
Bucky doesn't acknowledge his words with more than a nod. "The storm's getting closer," he says instead. "We'll probably have to close that door, so if you want to step out..."
But something stubborn kicks up in Sam's chest, quiet and determined. He turns to the door, but closes it instead of stepping through, then crosses over to the stretch of wall where Bucky sits with Jack and squeezes in beside him. It's not the most comfortable position. He has to brace his arm on his knee, because he's wedged between Bucky's solid frame and a wall, and Bucky has always run hot, so Sam is immediately over-warm in the pullover that had seemed so sensible an hour ago.
There's an exasperated sigh from Bucky, but Sam refuses to acknowledge it, turning his attention instead to Jack, who's turned his head to face Sam, his brown eyes wide and attentive.
Sam holds out a finger, sweeps it gently over Jack's chubby cheek.
"You're okay, baby," he murmurs, as Jack reaches out and grips his sleeve in a tiny fist. He hears a soft exhale, watches Jack move with the rise and fall of Bucky's chest. "You're safe here, I promise."
Beside him, Bucky lets out another shuddering breath. Sam keeps his eyes on Jack.
"I'm sorry no one was there before," he says, bowing his head to kiss Jack's hand. "But you're not alone anymore, and now you're safe."
Jack coos again, blinking sleepily at Sam. If there's a spot or two where a tear has fallen, just above where Jack's head rests on Bucky's shirt, Sam pretends he doesn't see it.
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