Steve listens in silence, sick to his stomach. He'd give almost anything to be there, to be the one in the line of fire instead - but if he can't be the one, there's no one better than Sam to trust with Bucky's well-being.

"We trust you," he echoes, when Sam's glance slips to him, and makes it firm so that Sam will believe it. So that they'll all believe it.

"Besides," Bucky drawls, and Steve hears the faintest hint of teasing in his best friend's voice, "if you don't screw it up I promise to say something nice about your robot bird. That should be worth it, right?"

Sam's laugh catches them all by surprise, but it's like a wave of relief washing through the room.