FLYBOY » sam wilson

four.

04 x those were the times

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'Oh, man. What did I get hit with?'

The first thing Tia did was go dumbfounded. For a quick second before shaking herself out of it. Her work ethics kicked in and she found herself rushing from the foot of Shaun's bed with his medical records and planting a comforting hand over his shoulder. If he remembered getting hit, then his concussion must have been eradicated. 

The young boy looked scared rather than weary. His eyes thinned with a wince when he adjusted himself back over the elevated mattress. He watched her catch his IV-fed wrist to the check if the flow had been disrupted and soon, checking his pulse. 

Tia knew Shaun from the abundance of tales Sam seemed to have about him. From training to be an Avenger and being a constant pain, the Patriot was equal parts a friend and foe in Sam's words. His lack of compliance and patience was the worst things to handle but on the contrary, Tia found it cute. 

Just to double-check about the concussion, she asked him in the gentlest voice she could muster. 'Can you tell me your name?'

'Uh, Rayshaun Lucas,' he swallowed hard as if he were worried he told the wrong answer. 

Tia withheld a smile when he looked away. There was nothing threatening about this boy. He seemed quiet, out of painful shyness, and kind of reminded her of her eighteen-year-old, roguish brother back home. Brown tufts of hair stuck out unevenly and his soft brown eyes watching her bustle around him; scared and lost. He must've not expected unseen company. 

'Tell me more about yourself,' she urged.

He opened his mouth only to flop it open. His eyes darted to the sealed wound on his belly, his good hand going to inspect the gauze. She saw a look of wrangled amusement flicker across his face.

'If it weren't for the hospital situation, I'd say you were asking me out,' he said wryly, a side of his busted lip kicking up to a grin. 'I would say yes.'

Tia raised her brows, interested. Sadly, she had to break the boy's heart. Pinching her lips into a sorrowful smile, she tilted her head. 'Funny, because you'd have to take that up with my boyfriend.'

'Damn,' Shaun's eyes widened in odious disappointment. With a quickly relaxed smile, he shrugged. 'Well, I'm from Crooklyn better known as Brooklyn. I'm fifteen. My mom is—holy shit, is she here?'

'She left to get some air,' Tia informed. 

'My mama is gonna whup my ass,' he muttered under his breath.

'If it makes you feel any better, she never said that,' Tia said and making Shaun smile in thanks again.

'What about Cap?' His eyes flurrying everywhere suddenly; worried. 'Is he okay?'

'Sam's outside with Elle,' she nodded with caution. When she realized the slow wince that came to the boy when he breathed, she knew she had to call in a doctor for a test. 

'You're on a first-name basis with them?' Shaun asked, surprised.

Tia bit her lip. How was she going to tell the boy, fresh from a day's worth of shut-eye, that she was in a relationship with the said captain? Unless she wanted to elevate his blood pressure and complicate things for the doctor who would soon come in, she would rather keep it to herself.