Sam dropped his head into his hands, unable to look at Steve. "I know, okay? You startled me, and I haven't been able to, well, indulge my instincts since we came to Wakanda. And- fuck, I'm sorry, Steve." He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. "Something just went wrong for a moment, and it's a shitty excuse, but that's all I got."

He couldn't blame Steve for being angry with him. He was mad at himself for allowing something like this to happen. He'd been so careful for so many years, and the one time things had gone wrong, he'd savaged his best friend. What if he'd killed him? How would he have explained that to everyone?

Maybe he really was the monster the Wakandans thought he was.