#winged!sam

For @samsseptember Samtember 2024 Day 26: Lovers

Rated M | 3.2K words

Turned out that Sam's wings didn't only appear under moments of extreme stress.

He found that out the hard way.

Eeeee this is my winged!Sam fic. Was trying to get it done for an event after so many delays but way too much anxiety for the muse to set in 😔 still! An excerpt I’m very proud of is the moment that the Winter Soldier lays eyes on him:

Sam has a clear path towards the Soldier. And though Steve’s screaming into his earpiece, “Sam, wait! I’ve got him!” he can see that the Soldier’s eyes are locked on Sam, his eyes bright even in the shag of his hair.

He tries to block Steve’s voice out as he prepares to make impact.

So, I've been thinking about posting a series of masterlists for a while, since I've sort of been accruing a variety of fics lately, so I thought I'd start with my SamBucky Fantasy AUs 🥰

So, HERE IS THE LIST, BY LENGTH:

1) Golden is the Sun (M, 41,221) - "Sam has seven days to find a spouse out of hundreds of suitors before he becomes king. He has no clue how he's going to choose a spouse, let alone run a city-state. But at least he's not the biggest mess at this week-long event. That title goes to the very entertaining James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes."

Golden is the Sun is the beginning of my "If We Are Celestial Bodies" series and just a really fun story filled with elaborate outfits and sublime forces of nature, all wrapped up in a subversion of the Arranged Marriage AU. Some might even call it a Democracy AU 😂

On the Way Down by BewareTheIdes15 on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. The Winchesters have been subjected to a lot of things in the name of hunting, but the result of a spell-gone-wrong on their latest case is still pretty high on Dean’s weird scale. While their father is out searching for a way to undo the magic, Dean’s stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, trying to deal with his bitchy teenage brother and his own increasingly un-brotherly feelings toward him. Who’d have thought Sammy growing a pair of giant bird wings would be the least of his problems?

To Rise We Must Fall by innerglow on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Sam wants to find Dean after he goes missing from his bedroom post 9x23. But when Sam does find his Brother, Dean is not as he used to be. Sam wants to fix Dean, but Dean proposes a different idea. (it has been a while since I read this, but I don’t think there is any penetrative sex) 

Jensen’s Angel by anon on LiveJournal. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Angel!Jared being kidnapped and kept in cage by group demons. One of them is Jensen, he’s fascinated by beautiful and terrified winged creature…

Winged!Jared Verse by pianoforeplay on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. In which Jared sprouts wings and Jensen is intrigued.(no penetrative sex)

Consoler of the Lonely by dizbil on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. In a society where angels are assigned to young humans and raised to look after them, Jensen is an eight year old who still hasn’t picked his angel. He is uncomfortable with the idea of owning someone, no need to mention he would have to separate another kid from his family. That was until the day his parents carried him to the adoption center and Jensen saw him, little and scared, so goofy, his name was Jared. He only had one wing and was sure nobody would pick him. (warning: at the very end, Jensen asks Jared to top him, but it does not happen during the story)

In Fine Feather by naktas_cat on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. When Jared changes into his priorly unknown wereform for the very first time, he is convinced that all his dreams for the future have just been dashed to the ground. He’s proven wrong.(no penetrative sex)

When You Came Out of the Dark by jackles67 on Ao3. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU. Jensen doesn’t really know why he told the guy who’d been basically harassing him that he’d go out with him. And now they’re at the opening night for some circus freak show that the guy seems to think qualifies as a proper date location. Jensen’s just itching to leave until they enter a room where the ‘freak’ on display is a winged man, beaten and bruised. Jensen can’t seem to get the man out of his head.(no penetrative sex)

Winging It by lejf on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Dean’s not sure how they got from Sam being speared by a harpy to Dean coming all over Sam’s wings, but hell, he’s not complaining.

Grey Like Stormy Skies by brokenlittleboy on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Sam wakes up one day with a dull pain in his shoulder blades and it all goes downhill from there. When things come to a head, though, Dean’s there to take care of him, in more ways than one.(no penetrative sex)

Unruffled by Nutkin on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Sam starts growing wings, and Dean really likes them.

Supernal by dreamlittleyo on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Even knowing he was special, there were a lot of things Sam never expected his destiny to include. An impressive wingspan used to be on that list.(no penetrative sex)

If My Wings Should Fail Me by grammarglamour on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Sam accidentally wishes himself into a set of wings.

Winged!Jared Series by zubeneschamali on LiveJournal. Jared/Jensen. J2 AU.  Even in a world where extraordinary mutations are increasingly common, being born with wings makes it difficult to lead anything like an ordinary life. When Jared uses his extraordinariness to save Jensen’s life, he changes both of their lives irrevocably. (nothing explicit beyond mutual masturbation, but avoid the last, full length story, Darkest Before the Dawn, as that is top!Jared only)

How Far I’ll Go by jasmineisland on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. This story is finished even though it is not marked as such on Ao3. Sam is desperate to save his demonic brother and will do anything to do it. But Dean doesn’t want to be saved, he likes being a demon and fights Sam evey step of the way. When he breaks free and attacks Sam, the younger Winchester is forced to fight his own dark side in order to save them both. The result leave Sam changed beyond anything either Winchester has ever seen before and help comes from an unlikely source to help save him.(no penetrative sex and it is not clear if their past relationship had any switching)

No Angel by zionsstarfish on LiveJournal. Sam/Dean Wincest. Sam gets cursed; Dean gets a lot of cardiovascular exercise. (no penetrative sex)

Landslide by setissma on LiveJournal. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Uh. Sam gets cursed, Sam and Dean have a lack of knowledge of basic avian anatomy, and there’s one pissed off demon and some hot makeup sex. Spoilers through AHBL, but this isn’t really compliant with S3. (no penetrative sex)

Sam is worried, and not for the reasons he should be. His human, theone he’s guarding, is perfectly fine. Steve is a picture of health,has grown up tall and handsome. He’s far from the fragile, sick boyhe was in his childhood. Which required a lot of energy and Samallows himself to be proud of that.

So that leaves his other problem.

Anthony Edward Stark.

As a guardian angel, Sam is entrusted with guiding Steve Rogersthrough life, protecting him from dangers. And he’s done it, hassheltered Steve from the moment the boy had been born and keeping himhappy, keeping him safe.

And then one day, Steve had encountered Tony. It was just a briefmeeting, nothing that should have influenced Steve’s life further butSam had been unable to forget Tony.

Mostly because this man had no guardian angel.

It’s not like every human has one; in fact, it is not unusual formost of humanity to go through life without a holy being guidingthem. But Sam has met Tony and he can’t help but think that this manprobably needs ten guardians.

The reason he thinks so is because he has left Steve’s side a fewtimes after this first encounter, had looked for Tony and he foundthis boy was prone to getting into accidents. There was always ascratch, a bruise a cut on him. Even with only 13 years, scars werealready littering Tony’s hands.

Sam had found out that Tony was also the only son of a man with a lotof influence – and he’d witnessed Tony almost getting kidnappedmore than once.

So really, Sam thinks Tony needs a guardian.

He only can’t do anything about the fact that he has none.

So instead he’s been steering Steve, has used his energy to changeSteve’s paths slightly until he and Tony had become friends. It’s abenefit for both of them, Sam thinks to himself. They both need afriend; they both need the other.

Tony and Steve complement each other. They have become each other’sanchor, each other’s strength.

It’s great to see them together, thriving.

It’s everything a guardian angel could wish for for his human.

So what is this feeling Sam gets every time he sees them together?It’s like a stab in the chest, a kind of subtle pain coursing throughhim whenever he sees Tony smiling openly at Steve.

Sam watches them one day, watches Tony laugh and lean into Steve’sspace and he wishes, suddenly, that this easy, beautiful smile wouldbe all for him.

.

The last thought bothers him, even when he sits outside of Steve’swindow and stares up into the nightly, starry sky. He’s an angel. Heshould not feel jealousy. He especially shouldn’t be jealous of thehuman he’s guarding. He actually shouldn’t feel humanly emotions likethis at all.

Sam sighs. He wraps his wings around himself and looks down at thesleeping city.

Steve is happy. That is what matters.

But Sam, angel or not, thinks of Tony’s soft smiles, his laughter.Thinks of how relaxed Tony seems when he is with Steve. He thinks ofall that and there’s that stab of jealousy again, that brief longingfor something Sam knows he can’t have.

It will probably get him in trouble.

That is for sure.

.

It really gets him into trouble.

Sam blinks at the world when the black finally fades and he feelssomething else than agonizing pain. It’s still the same world and yetcompletely different.

He wonders if this is how humans feel – and then barks out a laughbecause he knows that now, doesn’t he?

He is human.

His back feels strangely vulnerable but he doesn’t have the heart tolook behind and see for himself that his big white wings thatcontrasted so beautifully with his dark skin are really gone. It’sweird not to feel their weight. Kinda like he’s exposed a weaknessfor everyone to see and poke at.

Sam gets to his feet. His legs are more wobbly than expected; hesuddenly thinks of how he can’t remember the last time he actuallystood on his feet because he didn’t need to, always had hiswings to hover over the ground.

It’s weird to be human.

Sam casts a look up into the bright, blue sky. Watches clouds fly byand doesn’t know how to feel. He got punished. Him being human, boundto earth, is supposed to be punishment for having cared too much forsomeone not in his charge.

But it doesn’t feel like punishment. Sam doesn’t regret asingle thing, doesn’t feel sorry or lost or desperate over havingbeen cast out from Heaven.

Because, in a way, they only helped him.

He smiles to himself, dark eyes finding the skyline of the city andhe knows that somewhere in these streets, Tony is wandering.

Sam doesn’t feel sorry or lost; he feels happy and hopeful and readyto take on this challenge.

He can take care of Tony now like he’s wanted to since he first sawhim.

Now, he can be Tony’s guardian angel.

Riley falls to his death and Sam, despite his wings, is powerless tosafe him.

In the blink of an eye, he loses the most important person in hislife. His best friend.

His anchor.

Where he has loved to fly at first Sam now begins to hate it; startsto hate the fact he’s still alive while Riley will never soar throughthe sky with him ever again.

He starts to resent his wings.

Hates their colours, their strength, their span, everything aboutthem.

——–It doesn’t change, even when he meets the second mostimportant person in his life: Tony Stark.

Tony has an impact on his life in many ways; Sam loves him from themoment they see each other for the first time.

They hit it off from the start. They become friends and at one pointit changes, almost unoticed, into more. Suddenly they go out fordates. They kiss. They hold hands.

Sam hasn’t dared to dream of something like this.

——–

Tony’s own wings are no longer able to support him.

Afghanistan brought a lot of pain for the genius; the ARC reactor,having to watch a friend die, but most importantly, having his wingstaken from him.

Not literally, as they are still here, but metaphorically.

Tony will never fly again with them; they’ve been broken in manyplaces, the delicate bones growing back together crooked and bent.They’re mangled and no longer able to support Tony’s weight, nolonger usable to lift him off the ground.

It’s why Tony built the Iron Man armor, decorating it with the colourof his wings; red and gold.

He reclaims the skies with it, despite his broken wings.

Sam loves him fiercely, loves him so much he has no words for it.

But they never fly together.

Despite the fact that Tony’s built a flying suit or armor and Sam’swings they never once conquer the sky together.

Flying doesn’t feel the same to Sam. Not after he’s lost Riley.

He’s lost the joy for it the second Riley fell. He hates his wingswith a passion, hates that they carried him into safety wile Riley’sdidn’t.

Tony, on the other hand, loves them.

It’s strange for Sam at first, because he doesn’t understand it. Howcan Tony love his wings so much if they’ve never done any good? Buthe does and he tells Sam so every day. Through actual words, throughactions… in every way imaginable.

——–

“I just love their colour”, Tony whispers one morning, while he’scarding his fingers through the downy-soft feathers of Sam’s wings.“Deep red, like mine… and chocolate brown, like your eyes. It’sbeautiful.”

Sam doesn’t reply. He presses his face into Tony’s chest, hiding; hecan’t stand the praise, can’t stand such honest affection for thewings he despises. But Tony either doesn’t notice or he doesn’t care.

He just continues to card his fingers through Sam’s wings, sorts outthe few feathers that are out of order.

Somewhere along the line he even digs out a small bottle of scentedoil and spreads it with loving, careful movements all over Sam’sfeathers. At that point, Sam is already lying boneless on themattress, half asleep while Tony’s hands are all over his body.

He loves it, even though a small part of him whispers that heshouldn’t.

——–

Tony has a bigger impact on his life than Sam has thought at first.It happens gradually; there’s nothing major that is changing at firstbut looking back, Sam has taken big steps thanks to Tony being by hisside.

The first thing is that Tony made him forget his hate for his wings.

He’s showed him that there’s more; that there is beauty in his wingseven when Sam refuses to see it.

He shows him that he doesn’t have to feel guilty over Riley.

And that is probably the biggest achievement.

Suddenly, Sam finds himself looking forward to the moments where Tonywill sit down with a soft brush and a bottle of scented oil to takecare of Sam’s wings. Suddenly he finds himself craving the momentswhere Tony will asks if Sam wants to fly together before he puts onhis armour and takes off into the sky.

It happens gradually but it’s a change Sam notices eventually.

He finds he doesn’t hate it.

He finds Tony helped him forgive himself for Riley’s death, helpedhim find his love for flying again.

He finds that Tony is the best thing to have ever happened in hislife.

So the question to make it all final comes easily.

Sam goes down on one knee, brown eyes looking up at Tony with loveand affection.

“Will you marry me?”, he asks – and he feels confident to doso, because he knows the answer, even before Tony is throwing himselfinto Sam’s arms, whispering “Yes,yes, yes I want to, Sam- God yes” overand over again.

               "Sam. It’s okay, open your wings"

               Sam nods slightly, still a little dazed at his discovery, and moves his wings so there’s a gap just big enough for Cas to get close and help him to his feet.

               “I should have known, if a human was going to grow wings, it would be you”

—

               Cas gives him some time to process the morning’s events before taking him out a nearby field later that day so they have more space (Sam hasn’t said anything but his wings have been cramping all day, Cas can tell) and explains that rarely a person’s soul, when in regular contact with grace, can manifest wings of its own.

               He expects Sam to be angry at him for not telling him sooner. Instead he simply asks his wings look the same as Castiel’s.

               “Influence of the grace.”

               Sam grins, using an wing to pull Cas closer so he can kiss him

               “Then I’m glad they look like yours”

Winged Sam counts as supernatural powers, right? It does now. Because I love Sam with wings XD

Also sorry it’s late! I had trouble writing today. I knew what I wanted to do but couldn’t find the right words for it.

___________________

aaaahhhhhhhhhhh   Okay. Okay, first, yes, this does count. I’m with you, nonnie, winged!Sam going to count today. Second, this line, okay:

“I should have known, if a human was going to grow wings, it would be you”