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“I’m here for you.” Four simple words that he could have - maybe even should have - said to the man who had once been his partner. But a small, prideful part of Sam’s mind kept the words trapped behind his teeth. Bucky had made his bed - a little voice whispered in his ear - he could damn well lie in it.
Back when this all started, Bucky had sworn that they’d been blindsided by the announcement, that he and the others had simply done what needed to be done in the moment. He went on to explain that the so-called New Avengers were actually the ones in control of deFontaine now - and that this arrangement would let him, and the rest of the team make sure she stayed on the straight and narrow. Sam wasn’t thrilled, but he went along with it.
But here they were, over a year later, and it felt like nothing had changed. DeFontaine still had her sticky fingers in way too many pies and Bucky and his pals were living in that damned Tower and being treated like celebrities. They even had marketing agreements - Sam couldn’t even walk down the damn cereal aisle at the grocery store without seeing Walker’s smug face on the Wheaties box.
Turns out Sam wasn’t the only one bothered by that. The name “The Avengers” had been trademarked by a subsidiary of Stark Industries back in 2012 - and they weren’t too happy with the New Avengers horning in on their intellectual property. Sam had been tasked with breaking the news and it hadn’t gone well.
After hanging up the phone, Sam sat at his desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose to try to stave off a headache. “Uh, Sam?” Joaquin spoke up from behind him. “There’s something on the news I think you need to see.”