Lies and Empty Promises

betrayal

A/N: words: 1680. yall i am so sorry for these horrid updates my life is like a lot rn and im very lazy so not a good combo aha. anyway, enjoy!

The boys were at school. Sarah was at work. It was 9:30 in the morning. It was Valentines day. Sam repeated those words over and over in his head. He normally woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night, and in fairness, he did. He got one, woke with a start, and ended up falling asleep a little while later. And then, he got another one.

First, it was Riley, and Steve, and Nat, and his parents. They all looked scared, more than scared. Sam didn't know what to do, he was trapped. He wanted to tell them he was sorry, he wanted to just- he wanted to know that it'd be okay.

Then, he woke up.

He fell asleep again, thankfully.

Not for long.

He saw Sarah. He saw the boys. He saw Rhodey. He saw Bucky. This time, he wasn't trapped. But they were out of reach. Each time he tried to get closer, they'd slip away. Bucky especially. And the boys. They all slipped away into darkness, until Sarah was the last one. "I'm sorry." he said, because he didn't know what else to say. He was sorry. "Not that it makes a damn difference. You left us. In a way, it's like you betrayed us." Sarah said, and then she was gone.

And then, Sam woke up.

It was like his mind was trying to play tricks on him, like it knew exactly what it was doing. So, Sam kept reminding himself that the boys were at school. And that Sarah was at work. And that it was 9:30 in the morning. Well, a minute has passed. So, 9:31 in the morning. And, it was Valentines day. The last Valentines day Sam actually celebrate, he and Bucky spent the entire day watching rom-coms that Sam practically begged Bucky to watch. But before that, they took a walk down by the docks, and Sam pointed out every bird species that he saw, and Bucky just rolled his eyes, a fond smile on his face nonetheless.

But, as the sun set-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We, uh, danced He went out and bought vinyls, like old, old vinyls." Bucky hated this. Bucky hated this, Bucky hated this. Did he mention he hated this? Yeah, he hates this with a burning passion. Raynor noticed he was, as she so kindly put it, significantly more pouty. So, she asked what was wrong, because that is her job, and Bucky stayed silent.

And he stayed silent.

And they both stayed silent.

Until Raynor talked. "James, you're going to have to be a bit more talkative." But James did not want to talk. This had nothing to do with the pardon, firstly, and secondly, does Bucky look like the type of person who would spill his heart out to Raynor? No, no he doesn't. But when she said:

"Is it about Sam?"

It switched something on in his head. Bucky was bound to spill over sooner rather than later. So he did. He briefly explained why he was so upset. "I-" he sighed deeply, "yes." Bucky said, finally.

So, fast-forward to now, as Bucky finished explaining the day that felt like centuries ago, he saw that the notebook that was normally opened and ink filled was now closed, and he got Raynors attention. "Sam was important to you, wasn't he?" Raynor questioned, and Bucky scoffed. Yeah, thanks Sherlock. "Yes." Bucky answered bitterly. Raynor made a face and nodded. "James, you need to reach out to him."

Bucky shifted in his seat, averting his eyes from Raynors. "How were you, you both, when you were... together?" she asked, and Bucky sighed.

"We were happy."