Welcome to the Neighbourhood

Chapter 9

MORE smut/sexual references throughout this chapter - plus references to PTSD/Bucky's nightmares

**

Dylan was in a deep sleep when she was abruptly woken by the sounds of something groaning in her bedroom. Her eyes flew open as her survival instincts told her to panic – What was that noise? Was someone there? She tensed up and turned over in her bed as her eyes scanned the room, adjusting to the darkness. Her mind still fuzzy with sleep, she freaked out for a moment and froze when she clocked the large figure laying next to her.

Then her brain caught up.

Barnes. Oh yes, of course.

It also explained why she was nude.

She was so used to sleeping alone that she'd momentarily forgotten about her new bedfellow.

Wide awake now and up to speed, she sat up as she realised the sounds were coming from Bucky. He was facing away from her so she shuffled closer to him.

"Hey...Bucky...you alright?" she whispered as she bent over him and tried to make out his face in the dark. She glanced at the time on her phone. 4am.

Bucky didn't respond but the sounds continued. Puzzled, she leaned over him again and then realised what was happening.

He was dreaming. Well, it sounded like a nightmare specifically. He was whimpering quietly, his body slightly jerking in his sleep.

Dylan felt a swell of affection and compassion for him, understanding instantly that this must be some sort of PTSD hangover from his past. She began to soothe him softly, whispering into his ear.

"Hey...Hey...Buck...it's me, Dylan. You're with me. It's alright. It's just a dream". She repeated it over and over, a stabilising mantra – like an anchor in a storm.

His moaning quietened slightly but still carried on very softly under his breath. She reached out and clasped his shoulder as she continued to repeat her pattern of words.

Suddenly Dylan was on her back pinned to the mattress. It all happened so quickly that it took her a moment to absorb what had happened. Bucky had woken up suddenly when she touched him, still in the midst of whatever he was dreaming about. His arm had shot up and flipped her over as he trapped her, caging her in under his heavy frame. In that moment she was foe. Threat.

She tried to speak when his face was in front of hers, reassure him that it was just her, but her throat had gone dry. Her breathing seemed to stop. It was as if she'd forgotten English. She was...frightened. She could see his eyes shining in the dark and they weren't like the eyes she knew so well. They were hard. Cold. Merciless.

Despite how time seemed to lose all meaning it was actually only a few seconds before Bucky came to his senses and was back in the room, realising where he was, who she was.

"Jesus, fuck...I'm sorry" he stammered as he leaped off of Dylan, firing off desperate apologies as he cupped her face and studied her closely for any signs of harm.

"Are you alright? Did I hurt you? Fuck. Dyl?" he said frantically. She could hear the agony in his voice.

Dylan exhaled deeply and turned on her side to face him, pulling herself into him and caressing his face. She was trying her best to not show him how heavily she was breathing, but knew he would've noticed.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Don't worry. Don't worry" she soothed as she held him. Maybe partly for herself as well as him. The image of his hardened, unfamiliar eyes popped back into her head but she shook it off.

"You were having a nightmare" Dylan explained gently. "It seemed like a bad one".

Bucky nodded as he panted, taking her hand in his. "They're not as frequent now but they still happen occasionally. I'm so sorry I scared you" he said regretfully.