Title: Vertiginous
Fandom: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Rating: G
Length: 284 words
Content notes: Missing scene
Author notes: Thanks to china_shop for beta. <3
This is my 25th posted work to this community. \o/
Summary: After they've acquired the wings, it makes sense to test them, balancing the risk of discovery against the chance that they don't work.



After they've acquired the wings, it makes sense to test them, balancing the risk of discovery against the chance that they don't work. Steve recalls the look on Sam's face when he first—reverently, tentatively—picked up the wing pack. It reminds him of the moment he first held his shield again in this new century, the relief that here is this one thing, this grounding connection to who he is.

They find some farmland bordering on a forest. Sam's been in the back seat, tinkering with the goggles, checking the webbing on the harness and muttering under his breath about dust and quartermasters without a clue, but once out of the car, he's got the room to spread the wings out and check them thoroughly. Steve can't take his eyes off them. He wants to run his fingers through the blades, even though they look like they'd cut his fingers. Sam's normally open and expansive gestures are condensed and focused on the task at hand. He wants that focus from Sam on him. He grabs a bottle of water from the bag Natasha handed him before she drove off, saying she'd be back in an hour and fifty minutes, and swallows the contents to combat the rising heat.

"All right!" The wings fold up silently, and Sam is on his feet, neatly putting tools back into their case. The small touchpad he's been tapping slides back into the depths of the pack. "Had to do a hard reboot in the field a few times." He grins at Steve, and Steve feels giddy with anticipation.

"Time to fly." Sam starts to run, spreads his wings and with a whoop, leaps into the sky.