#whereisfalcon
So I was thinking, related to this post about what happened to Sam on the Raft:
How much does the rest of the world know what is going on here? How much does Sam’s family know?
What if Sam’s mom takes it upon herself to camp out in front of Stark Tower at first, to demand transparency from the only Avenger left publicly standing, to ask Tony Stark where is her son? What if, as the days since she’d last heard from him start to stretch, as it becomes obvious that the ‘controversy’ over the Accords was much bigger than they’re letting on, she gathers a whole following, she reminds everyone that the Avengers are people too, that they are citizens, and that their families deserve to know what happened? What if she learns (through some deliberate tip-off by Natasha or someone) that Stark isn’t the only one responsible, that Ross is the one she really needs to talk to, and she harnesses the media spotlight to start a march from New York to Washington, asking all the while, Where is my son?
What if, when Sam is finally out of the Raft, when Sam is finally safe in Wakanda (for a few moments, at least), he turns on the TV to find his mom, his family, his co-workers, and holy shit that is a lot of other people ranged behind her, all of them asking the same question:
Where is Falcon?
Just like that, Sam’s knees won’t hold him anymore and he collapses with a hard stop on the coffee table. She’s right there, in her five-foot-nothin’ glory and best Sunday dress, in a spot in Central Park that Sam recognizes is not far from Stark Tower. Her voice is that same stern-resounding tone that he grew up with, and Sam suddenly misses her so hard his chest hurts.
It takes a long moment for him to register what, exactly, she’s so stern about, for the scrolling words at the bottom of the screen to make sense. When they do, though, Sam’s heart hurts anew: Mama Wilson, his sisters, all those people, they’re looking for him. They don’t know why he helped Steve or refused to sign the Accords, they’re not even sure he’s alive. The more he listens, the more he realizes that they’ve been stonewalled at every turn but his family has been trying to get him a lawyer, a message, anything.
Sam takes a long, shaky breath and lets himself cry for a while, listening to his mother’s voice, letting her faith in him soothe over the places he let break to keep Steve safe.
When he’s done, though, he knows what he needs to do, knows Steve will help him ask for the resources he needs to make a statement to the press without giving himself away.
Sam won’t let his mama get all the way to DC without knowing whether or not he’s alive. And he’s done keeping the US Government’s secrets.