[ Responsibility feels different, without Steve's presence in his mind. Sam honestly can't pin down how - is it heavier, the extra determination not to lose anyone else, is it bitter, the edge that Sam can feel that reminds him of the way he'd once lost his reason - but he tries not to dwell, tries to keep going, to focus on what's here and now.
He tries.
He uses his coping skills, he puts himself out there among the people he doesn't know as well so he has to fake it - he leans on the connections that are rooted deep in his mind when he forgets, when he touches the space where Steve should be and comes up empty.
Sam can feel the way Bucky starts to crack, the way both of their foundations shift over Steve's absence like sand, and he doesn't know if he -
But he tries anyway.
Most of the others are out exploring, out mingling, or maybe out hiding, but Sam hangs back in the relative privacy of their room in the apartments, settling himself more in their connection as he slips automatically into Bucky's personal space. ]
no subject
He tries.
He uses his coping skills, he puts himself out there among the people he doesn't know as well so he has to fake it - he leans on the connections that are rooted deep in his mind when he forgets, when he touches the space where Steve should be and comes up empty.
Sam can feel the way Bucky starts to crack, the way both of their foundations shift over Steve's absence like sand, and he doesn't know if he -
But he tries anyway.
Most of the others are out exploring, out mingling, or maybe out hiding, but Sam hangs back in the relative privacy of their room in the apartments, settling himself more in their connection as he slips automatically into Bucky's personal space. ]
( Stay with me for a bit? )