Chapter Text
Steve was typing on his laptop when Bucky walked into their room. He was writing up a mission report from a couple days ago while speaking to Natasha, who had kindly dumped her workload on him too.
"If I'm gonna to write this properly, then you're gonna have to hang up. Can't have you distracting me now, can we, Nat?"
"I'm sure your boy'll sort me out if I'm getting too much of your attention," Natasha teased. Steve sighed, he knew he shouldn't have told her about Bucky. To be fair, he couldn't exactly hide much from her.
"I've gotta go, get this finished before the deadline." Steve said awkwardly.
"Boo, you nerd," the redhead said from the other end of the line, and Steve chuckled before ending the call.
"Hey, Buck," Steve said cheerfully with a smile plastered on his face.
"How does Natalia know I'm here?"
"Oh, she, uh, guessed?" Steve shrugged. It was more of a question than an answer, but Bucky just stared blankly at Steve, expecting a better explanation. Steve closed his eyes, threw his head back in discomfort and groaned. Sharply exhaling, he explained, "She, um, said she noticed something different about me? At first, she just asked me if I started seeing someone but I said no enough times that she believed me. Then she realised it was something more serious and asked me what had happened, so I told her. Nat's my friend I should've said something to her to begin with." Steve was just rambling now, not paying attention to his words, just Bucky's reaction, "I'm not exactly a good liar, I had to tell her the truth. Buck, you can trust Nat, she's a good person..."
"Exactly. The good people want to lock me up, take me away, I'm dangerous." Bucky interrupted, his voice cold and flat.
"Natasha won't tell SHIELD about you, Bucky, I promise." Steve moved from his position on the bed, going to engulf Bucky in a hug. Bucky's metal fingers twitched at the touch but the human hands went for Steve's back, pulling him closer. "I won't let her tell anyone about you, you're safe with me, Bucky," Steve whispered to Bucky, whose head was resting on Steve's shoulder. And Captain America and the mysterious Winter Solider were locked in a comforting embrace.
Bucky needed an occasional reassurance of safety, but Steve had to be careful. Bucky had been so starved of touch that he had become almost desperate for contact, but Bucky was wary even when they brushed past each other. He could snap at any moment and it could take hours for him to calm down and push away what haunted his mind. Steve dreaded to think about the content of the nightmares that constantly kept Bucky awake.
When Steve first found Bucky, it was like he didn't know how to sleep. He just passed out on the couch from exhaustion, only to wake up two hours later, screaming and afraid. Several times he tried to attack Steve, shutting himself away when he realised what he had done. It took weeks to persuade Bucky to sleep in a bed; Steve's bed, the warmth and softness helping provide a regular sleeping pattern, even if it was disrupted by nightmares.
"I need to finish my work," Steve whispered gently as Bucky sighed and nodded. They separated and Steve moved back onto their bed to continue writing the report.