𝐙𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐇━︎━︎S. Wilson ✓︎

𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
DON'T LOSE HOPE

WHAT WAS HE SUPPOSED TO say? That was the only thing that entered his mind. Out of everything she could have possible said to him, that wasn't one that he was expecting. He had heard it before, Willow being the one to tell him that the outcome would be a possibility. Even Skye had told him that her death was coming closer and closer, and yet as she asked him to make that promise, he couldn't help but deny it. He refused to believe that the only way out of this was to kill Skye. If that was the case, then why did he agree to it?

     "I promise," he had said, "but it won't come down to that."

     She had looked at him then, admiration shining in her eyes for the man that had made her heart skip a beat. She rubbed a thumb across his hands and forced a smile and a nod, because she knew that Sam wouldn't accept anything else. "Okay."

Now, Sam sat in the room that the Avengers usually met in. He was alone, the silence echoing around the walls and bouncing in his head, making it hurt. He didn't know what to do. He was struggling to come up with a plan to save her, to save the woman he adored. The woman he had grown so fond of. The woman, he realized, he loved. He wouldn't stop, he refused to. He forced himself to stay up all night, reading book after book, website after website, hoping that maybe somewhere out there there was a conclusion that wouldn't end with Skye being killed. He hadn't been able to find anything, not a single thing, and now he was sitting there with his head in his hands, the last bit of hope he had draining slowly from his body.

He didn't have to look up to know who had entered the room. Though, he did find himself doing a double take to make sure that it had been who he thought it was. Of course, he was right. Steve Rogers stood there, looking down at the man that was quick to become his best friend. His eyebrows were furrowed in worry and concern, and it made Sam lift his head and drop his hand, staring straight ahead of him and avoiding Steve's eyes. Steve didn't say anything, sitting down at the table and look at Sam for a few moments as if he were examining him before he spoke.

     "Sam, are you okay?"

     He wasn't expecting that. Sam turned his head to look at Steve, his jaw clenching for a moment before he forced it to relax and instead focused the anger on bawling his hand up into a tight fist and taking a deep breath. "How can you ask me that?"

     "I'm not talking about what's happening with Skye. I know that you're not okay in that corner. I'm talking about right now. In this room. Are you okay?"

     Should he lie? Tell Steve that he was fine, that everything was fine, that he was handling the situation with Skye perfectly and that they had it under control. Or would Steve see through it? Of course he would. He was Steve Rogers, the man that worried about his friends and could tell when he was being lied to. So, he opted to speak the truth. "No. No, I'm not. I'm angry. And frustrated. I haven't slept in weeks. And with Skye, I want to help her but I don't know how. I've tried to research, tried to understand what Rosalynn and Bruce are talking about, but I come up empty handed." He paused for a moment. "Steve, she's fighting a losing battle. She's going to die, and I promised her that I would be the one to kill her if it came down to it."

     "Sam, you're doing everything you can." Steve started calmly. "I was talking to Willow the other day, and you know what she said to me?" Sam hummed in question. "She said that she's never seen Skye more happier than when she's with you. Even with an impending doom resting on her shoulders, with you by her side that just seems to fade and she becomes someone she's never been before. You make her happy, Sam. You make her laugh and smile, even when death is around the corner. You being there for her, being a friend, a shoulder to lean on, that's more than anything she could ever hope for. If you keep doing that, and it comes down to her death, just know that you meant more to Skye than anyone else."

     "Do you think we can save her?" Sam asked.

Steve looked at Sam for a moment, he didn't show his hesitation. He knew better than to do that. He could see the hope fading from his friends eyes, but he wouldn't let it. If Sam believed that there was a way to still save Skye, then Steve had to believe it as well. He had to make sure that Sam believed it too. Not just for his own sake, but for Skye's as well. Skye was counting on Sam to be her light in the dark, and he couldn't be that if all the hope that he had was being ripped violently from his grasp. Steve put a small smile on his face as he looked at Sam before he nodded his head.

     "I do," he simply replied. He stood up, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder as he did so. "But, you can't give up, Sam. Because if you give up, then so will she, and the ending to this story will not be pretty. Don't lose hope." Giving him a small squeeze on the shoulder, he nodded once more to Sam before making his way out of the room, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts and Steve's words.