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Sam drummed his fingers on his thigh as he sat in the SUV waiting for Bucky to get them checked into the lonely roadside motel. He was annoyed. No, he was pissed. Everything about today had gone wrong, and it wasn’t getting any better. The missing scientist who had stolen government secrets had been armed and waiting for them. They had walked into a trap and taken a beating. The scientist was in the wind, and they needed a place to get patched up and rest.
Bucky had insisted on going inside to pay and that had been the final straw for Sam. Being left in the car like a recalcitrant child. Or more accurately, a battered and bruised black man in a rural area.
“We got the room on the end,” Bucky said when he got back into the vehicle. He drove them down the row and parked in front of the last unit.
It wasn’t too late and the lack of lights from the adjoining unit indicated they probably didn’t have any neighbors. In fact, the whole establishment seemed half empty.
“You know that shit ain’t gonna fly again,” Sam told Bucky when he took the keys out of the ignition. “You might have missed a few things while you were under, but we’re allowed to sit anywhere on the bus, eat at the lunch counter, and believe it or not, go inside and check into a motel.”
“Fuck you, Sam,” Bucky muttered. “You know going in together would have drawn too much attention, considering how we both look like shit.”
“Any reason I couldn’t have gotten the room?” Sam asked with an edge to his voice.
“You know the reason as well as I do,” Bucky replied, refusing to engage Sam’s desire for a fight.
“Yeah, cause a beat up white man can go anywhere, no questions asked, but if it’s a black man, he’d already be calling the cops.”
“Sam,” Bucky sighed. “We already got ambushed once. The last thing we need is word getting out as to Captain America’s exact sleeping location. Can we please go in now?”
“You still don’t get it.”
“Of course, I get it, Sam. I know exactly why you’re pissed, and I don’t like it either, but I can’t do both right now so pick your battle.”
Sam could feel that anger start to bubble up, but another look at Bucky had him taking a deep breath. They had both taken some hits, but Bucky had gotten the worst of it. Sam had assumed he was all right because of the serum, but he was looking a little haggard. Sam was still hurting as well, but he’d managed to get some rest while Bucky had been driving. He’d twisted his right ankle, so Bucky had taken the lead in getting them to a safe place to recharge.
He didn’t bother answering Bucky. He just got out of the truck and limped towards the door.
Bucky got out as well and unlocked the door before heading back to the vehicle and grabbing their bags. He dropped them inside the doorway before picking up the ice bucket and heading back out.
Sam took a seat on the bed. The room wasn’t anything special, but it looked clean, cleaner than some of the rooms he and Bucky had shared. He hoped there was good water pressure.
He started stripping off his suit and was in his t-shirt and boxers by the time Bucky came back. He went into the bathroom and grabbed a small towel and came back to the bed.
“Here.” Bucky motioned to his leg and wrapped the makeshift ice pack around his ankle.
Sam hissed as the cold hit his skin. His ankle had been throbbing for the past two hours, and he was eager for the numbness the cold would bring. At least the swelling wasn’t too bad.
“Where else?” Bucky asked.
“This is it.” He could clean his other cuts and scrapes when he took a shower. Some painkillers and sleep, and he should be ready whenever Torres called with a lead. “What about you?” he asked, trying to see what was making Bucky look so rough.
Bucky didn’t answer but went back to their bags and started pulling out bottled waters and some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches they had brought along. They had learned to bring easy to carry, high protein foods along as Bucky’s metabolism needed the extra calories. He placed a water, sandwich, and bottle of painkillers on the nightstand within Sam’s reach.
“Thanks.” He hadn’t missed the fact that Bucky hadn’t answered his earlier question. He could see the bruises on his face, but that was all. He’d changed out of his gear to check into the motel, so he was covered well in his clothes and ball cap.
“All right, since we seem to be having trouble tonight with how this whole partner thing works, now is when you be straight with me about what’s going on with you.”
It was impressive that Bucky could achieve that level of ferocity with his glare when he looked so pale. “I’m fine.”
“Humor me.” Sam noticed Bucky wasn’t eating or taking off any layers. “Okay, strip.” Sam started to get up only for Bucky to protest. “Nope. You took care of me and now it’s my turn.”
“You need to stay off that ankle.”
“Then come sit here,” Sam snapped, immediately regretting his harsh tone. He and Bucky didn’t fight. They bickered and riled each other up, but they didn’t fight. And no matter what tone Sam took, Bucky never snapped back. Once Sam had realized this, he tried to make sure he didn’t cross any lines. He was still going to speak his mind, but he wasn’t going to be an asshole about it.
“It looks worse than it is,” Bucky muttered.
And with those words, Sam knew that probably wasn’t true.
Bucky took off his outer layers, his jacket, gloves and ballcap. His movements were stiff, and Sam wondered how bruised he was. He was about to tell him to take off his shirt when he noticed Bucky’s hair. “What the hell?”
He scooted closer and grabbed Bucky’s head tilting it towards the light. His hair was caked with blood. Bucky let out a hiss as Sam probed his scalp to try to find the wound.
“Ow!” Bucky tried to jerk away, but Sam tightened his grip.
“Stay still.” He tilted Bucky’s face towards him and looked into his eyes. His eyes were clear and tracking, but he looked exhausted. “Headache?”
“Yeah.”
“Stay here.” Sam got up, despite Bucky’s protests and limped to the bathroom where he got a wet washcloth.
“Sam. I can wash it out in the shower.”
“You know head wounds can be tricky. There’s a lot of blood stuck in your hair. I need to see the wound and see what we’re dealing with before you pass out in the shower.” Sam started dabbing the cloth in Bucky’s hair, trying to clear away the blood. Bucky was obviously tender as he kept flinching away from the touch. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“Just leave it. It’s not like we can do anything about it,” Bucky grumbled.
“I’m just going to assume you’re not thinking clearly because your head has been bleeding for the past few hours. Wounds need to be cleaned, Buck. And don’t think for a minute that if it’s deep enough, we won’t be doing stitches or looking for a hospital.” Fortunately, Bucky stopped fighting him, and Sam was able to clean the hair enough to see the gash. “Damn, man. That’s a nasty cut.”
Bucky reached up to feel it only for Sam to slap his hand away.
“I’m going to tend to it, and we’ll check it again in the morning. I think your body can handle this once we get it cleaned up. Where else?”
“Just bruised, Sam.”
So, pain reliever cream for both of them tonight. It put a heavy medicinal smell in the room, but damn, they’d put that cream on before going to sleep and wake up with significantly less soreness.
Sam combed his fingers through the damp strands, pushing them away from the cut so he could see what he was doing. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
“We’re both banged up.”
“Yeah, and you’re running around getting ice and taking care of me while ignoring this.”
“I would have dealt with it after you were done. The serum is going to work overnight. I could have just washed it in the shower.”
“Not unless you want me in there with you,” Sam muttered as he kept trying to clean up the blood. Of course Bucky would get a hard to see head wound while he was growing his hair out.
“With an offer like that, guess you’re not mad at me anymore.”
“I wasn’t mad at you.”
“Coulda fooled me.”
Sam stopped messing with his hair for a moment. “Ok, I guess I did take that out on you. Sorry.”
“Nah, you were right to be upset. I’m sorry. I thought I was doing what was best for the mission. I was worried about Captain America being compromised.”
“Uh-huh. It never crossed your mind?”
“Of course it did. It does all the time now since you’ve taken up the shield. I’m always worried about who may want to hurt you and that includes narrow-minded racists who hate you because the color of your skin. It wasn’t a consideration for me, but I realize that’s a privilege I have.”
Having now seen Bucky’s injury, Sam could understand why he was pressed to get them off the road. And there really weren’t a lot of options around. He didn’t like it, but he could understand it. “Hey, I appreciate you making the effort, and you made the right call. But even if I’m mad, that doesn’t mean I want you hiding any injuries.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it from you.”
“No, it’s just on your left side where I wouldn’t see it in the car and then covered with a ballcap. And bruising doesn’t make you this tired and wiped. This is pretty deep, and it bled a lot. It’s not going to be completely healed by morning.”
“No, but it won’t hurt as much.”
Sam frowned in sympathy as he tried to get a closer look. He’d cleared away most of the blood so he would be able to see the gash, but there was still a bit of matted hair closer to the scalp. “All right. You fell after taking this hit, didn’t you?” Sam asked
“Yeah,” Bucky replied. “Knocked me off my feet and into the dirt.”
“Figured. There’s dirt in your hair. Stop moving.”
“Stop touching it then. Little bit of dirt isn’t going to hurt me.”
“So, what? You’re just going to let this thing start healing up with dirt and whatever else in it?”
“If it was up to me,” Bucky snapped, “I would’ve already taken a shower.”
“Oh, okay tough guy, so you think you can get in the shower and stand to run your fingers through this and put soap on it when you can’t even handle me dabbing at the hair around it. If you would stop squirming, I can get the last bit of blood out. I need to flush the wound, and if I do it with the blood still stuck in your hair, it’s just going to flow into it. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” He pressed the washcloth to a patch of hair closer to the wound only for Bucky to let out a small hiss and twist out of his grasp.
Sam appreciated Bucky’s restraint and was glad to not be on the receiving end of a super-powered fist. But he could tell Bucky had reached his limit of allowing Sam to poke around.
“Easy,” Sam said with his hands lifted in the form of an apology. “You can take a shower but leave the bathroom door open. I’ll be sitting right outside.”
“Will you leave me alone if I agree?”
“After I apply the medicine, yes.”
“Fine, but you have to get off that ankle and put that ice on it before it melts.”
Sam agreed even though the little bit of icing he did earlier had helped. He didn’t want Bucky going back out to get more so he dutifully rewrapped his ankle. He went ahead and ate his sandwich while Bucky was in the bathroom. He listened out for him, surprised but glad that he actually left the bathroom door open. He heard him shut off the water and thought Bucky might have actually pulled it off, most likely due to sheer stubbornness, but he got his shower.
“Sam.”
It was faint, but Sam still heard him. He limped over to the bathroom, taking care to keep his full weight off his right leg. He stepped into the doorway and saw Bucky with one hand braced against the sink while the other hand gripped the towel around his waist. He looked as if he was three seconds from toppling over.
“I’m here.” Sam wrapped his arm around his waist and led him back over to the bed. ‘Here, lie down.” Sam helped him get settled, making sure to keep the towel in place while he gave Bucky a quick once over. The bruises didn’t look to bad and some of them were starting to fade. “Open your eyes for me.”
“Just dizzy,” Bucky mumbled, but he still opened his eyes. “Headache.”
Sam stared into his eyes. They were red and a bit watery, but Sam didn’t see anything of concern. He reached up and gently raked his fingers through his wet hair, making a soft shushing sound when Bucky tensed up.
“Easy. I’m just looking.” Bucky had done a good job of washing his hair, and Sam was able to get a good look at the wound. Yeah, no wonder Bucky was about to keel over. Sam couldn’t imagine how painful it had been to have soap and water running across his scalp. “Think you can stand it if I put some first aid cream and gauze on this?”
“Maybe in a minute. Can you…,” Bucky trailed off.
“Yeah.” Sam sat on the other side of the bed and took Bucky’s hand in his. In a little while, he would try to get Bucky to eat something and maybe take a painkiller to see if it would dull the sharp edges. But for now, they were just going to take a minute.