𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

two. ( the story )

𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐑.  ( B͟U͟T͟ A͟T͟ W͟H͟A͟T͟ C͟O͟S͟T͟ ? )

samuel thomas wilson was born in harlem, and raised in louisiana alongside his younger sister sarah. his parents operated a seafood business, called " WILSON SEAFOOD ", which sarah would eventually take over.

after a relatively happy childhood, sam decided to join the military, specifically the airforce. he was a pararescue airman. [  helping people seemed to be a theme from the beginning.  ] however, right before he was sent to afghanistan for his first tour, he & his best friend, riley were chosen to test the exo-7 falcon suit.

YOU'LL FLY LIKE A BIRD, they said.

and it was thrilling. sam could operate a plane, no problem, but something about flying in the open air, feeling the resistance of the wind against your face—it couldn't be beat. and riley felt the same way. the two would often, before missions, look at each other and be able to communicate without words... they were meant to do this.

[   and they were damn good at it too.  ]

they were so damn good, in fact, that riley & wilson were some of the most trusted men in the 58th rescue squadron. which is why they were sent on a night rescue mission, just the two of them.

YOU'LL FLY LIKE A BIRD, they said.

the night was cool, the sky was clear, and the wind was low. perfect conditions for flying. he and riley went over their plan. swoop in, find their guy, swoop out. plain and simple.

right?

a small nod and a few words was all that sam said to riley... all riley said to sam, every time they went out. it wasn't like the possibility of dying wasn't obvious to them. in fact, it was out for everyone to see, same as the sun in the sky. but it was distant. until that night, of course.

he would replay it a thousand times in his head.

an rpg, of all things, knocking riley out of the sky. knocking riley's dumb ass out of the sky.

"  nothing i could do. like i was up there just to watch.  "

flying didn't feel so good after that.

so, he left the air force. moved to dc. got hired at the department of veteran's affairs, with the hope of helping other soldiers with their ptsd.

running helped. if he couldn't fly away, he could run. one day, when he was at his lowest, a voice came out of the blue.

"  on your left.  "

sam was NOT the type of person to lose a race against a stranger, and so he began to run a little faster. except this guy was going fast. and not just fast, he was going FAST, and barely seemed to be out of breath. so, when they had a conversation after, he already kind of knew who the guy was, seeing as no one but STEVE ROGERS himself could run like that. they found solace in each other... a friend who, despite being decades apart in their service, understood each other.

but, when steve rogers introduces himself to you, it's not like your life will ever be normal from that point on. through a series of events, sam wilson became THE FALCON, donning the very suit that he had watched his best friend die in. and though he had held so much pain and guilt for so many years, the first time he used the suit again, stepped off the ground, flew in the open air, felt the wind against his face... he felt like he had a purpose again. sam wilson knew who he was. helping people was a theme from the very beginning, so it only made sense for him to join the avengers.

𝐀 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐑. ( A͟N͟D͟ P͟R͟O͟U͟D͟ O͟F͟ I͟T͟. )