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“Bucky?” Sam asked softly, watching as his friend’s head bobbed a bit. “You okay?”
They’d been researching for a while now, pouring through files on Hydra, trying to dig up and then squash any remaining projects that might be out there. Sam was sitting in an armchair and Bucky had taken over his desk, for the time being. The man in question didn’t respond, and his chin continued to dip steadily towards his chest. Cautiously, Sam stood and made his way over there. Well, he was definitely falling asleep at the desk, if his drooping eyes had anything to say about it. Why he was falling asleep at Sam’s desk in the middle of the afternoon was another question entirely.
“Buck, hey.” Sam said loudly, unwilling to touch his friend for fear of startling him. Bucky jolted, clearly startled anyway, then turned to look at him.
“Find anything?” He asked almost automatically. They’d been asking that back and forth for a while now, so Sam wasn’t surprised that’s what he defaulted to.
“Yeah, I found you falling asleep sitting up. You okay, man?” He asked, trying to keep at least some of the concern out of his voice. Bucky scowled at the question.
“I’m fine, just gets boring looking at files for so long.” He turned back to the papers, glancing over the folder open in front of him. Sam wasn’t sure he believed that, but he nodded anyway.
“I hear you. Why don’t we take a break, grab a drink?” He asked, ignoring the fact that Bucky was nodding off again even as they spoke.
“Yeah.” He mumbled. It took him several seconds to stand, and a few more to follow Sam out of the room and out to the porch. He was hoping fresh air would do Bucky some good, ground him a bit. Looking through Hydra files had to bring up some truly awful shit for him.
“Beautiful day out.” Sam said, trying to keep the conversation light. It was windy, but nice. Hardly a cloud in the sky.
“Yeah.” Bucky agreed, looking around as if taking in his surroundings for the first time. He was sitting a lot closer to Sam than he usually did, and as the seconds ticked by, Bucky slowly began to lean against him.
“A lot nicer than New York, huh?” Sam asked, slinging his arm around Bucky’s waist, closing the remaining distance between them.
“Quieter.”
It seemed like today was going to be a “one word answer” kind of day, but Sam could work with that.
“You ever thought about leaving, maybe moving down here? I know the boys would love to see you more often. I would too.” He glanced at his friend as he spoke, and Bucky didn’t seem totally with it, but he did seem to be processing what was said. Sam continued. “You could just get away from it all for a while, relax for once. The city smog can’t be good for your elderly lungs.”
Bucky huffed a laugh, then let his head fall onto Sam’s shoulder.
“‘M not that old.” He mumbled.
“I know you’re not, only teasing.” Sam reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of Bucky’s eyes. He shivered openly at the touch, then sighed.
“You should think about it, I could help you find a place. Maybe we could room together, that is if you don’t get sick of me too quick.”
Whatever Bucky said next was completely lost to Sam. It was more of a sleepy mumble than any real words, but Sam nodded anyway. He could feel the man against him starting to breathe slower, more even. His heart, ever racing, was slowing down, and his body was relaxed for once. Sam would stay still for as long as he could, Bucky needed the sleep.
Sam could feel when the nightmare started. He’d been lost in thought, sitting on the porch for that last hour or so, entertaining whatever came to mind, when he felt Bucky shift against him. For a moment, Sam thought he was just adjusting in his sleep, maybe even waking up, but then it happened again. It was less of a shift to get comfortable and more of a jolt, he realized. Something wasn’t right. It was only then that it occurred to Sam that he was very much in melee range of the super soldier sleeping against him, who was having a pretty bad nightmare if the noises he was starting to make were any indication. Well, he signed up for this. Hopefully Bucky didn’t choke him out.
“Hey, Buck, you’re safe.” He soothed, reaching up to stroke over his hair. He’d seemed to like that, maybe it would help. “I’m right here, I’m keeping watch. No one can hurt you.”
The words seemed to settle him; the pained sounds he was making stopped, at least. He still shifted, as if struggling against invisible restraints, but he’d slowed down.
“I’ve got you, you can relax.” Sam promised. He finally stopped moving so much, sighing in his sleep and slumping further into Sam’s arms. Relief was written clearly on his face, which had previously been contorted in anguish. Sam scratched lightly at his scalp, further resolving to stay out on the porch until Bucky woke up on his own.
He had several more nightmares, Sam was starting to get why he’d been so tired earlier, but he was able to calm his friend back into peaceful sleep each time. Three more hours passed before Bucky stirred, not a frantic movement this time, but a slow, deep breath that indicated his return to the waking world. It took him a minute to get his bearings, and Sam pretended not to notice how reluctant Bucky seemed when he sat up and shifted away.
“Sorry.” He mumbled. “Did I fall asleep?”
“Only for a bit, it’s fine. You needed the rest.” Sam assured him, then paused. “Do you get nightmares like that a lot?”
“Fuck, I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Bucky asked, suddenly alert and checking Sam over for bruises.
“No, you slept right through everything. I was surprised you weren’t drooling.” He teased, which seemed to ease his friends' worries a bit. They settled into a somewhat comfortable silence before Bucky spoke.
“Yeah.” He said. “I get them a lot.”
Sam nodded, he’d thought so. “Is reading all this Hydra shit making it worse? I mean, maybe we-.”
“It’s fine, Sam. I’m fine. It doesn’t bother me.”
That was obviously a lie, but he didn’t press, just nodded.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Sam asked. “You need sleep, man. Can’t have you getting all grumpy on me.”
“I’m not grumpy.” Bucky scowled. “It’s fine, I-.” He paused, pensive for a moment.
“Anything at all, Buck. I’m here.” Sam promised, trying to encourage him to speak.
“Did you mean what you said? About New York?” He asked finally. Oh, Sam hadn’t expected him to remember that, seeing as he was mostly asleep when he’d said it.
“Yeah, I meant it. I can pull some apartment listings for us, if you want.” He offered. He’d meant it about Bucky moving closer, meant it about them being roommates. “Sarah could use the extra space with me gone, that’s for sure.” He laughed, but the idea of having Bucky so close, just a room away at all times… it did something to him that he wasn’t ready to think about just yet.
“I’ll think about it.” Bucky said finally, but when Sam looked over, he was smiling.
“Let me know.” Sam smiled back. “Ready to head in? You can take a nap if you want.”
“I just took a nap.” He laughed, standing and offering Sam a hand up. He took it.
“No reason not to take another one.” Sam shrugged, following his friend back inside.
“Wow, you’re so sick of me you’re trying to banish me back to the couch already? We haven’t even moved in yet.” Bucky teased.
“And you said you weren’t grumpy, look at you.” Sam shook his head, grinning. Yeah, this was going to be fun.