I Don't Need New Friends

24. Touch Starved Dinosaur

"Jesus, I'm a mess." As soon as he was able to pull himself together, Bucky loosened the death grip he had on her. "Some protector I am..." he tried to force a smile as he looked up at her, desperately trying to hide his humiliation at breaking down in front of her.

"You might be a mess, but at least you're a hot mess." Zoe joked, trying to help him deflect. "Nobody should look this good with red puffy eyes, you asshole."

"You flatter me..." he was able to joke back. "...do you want me to go back to my room so you can get some sleep?"

"I'm up. Wanna put more 'Blue Planet' on?" Zoe grabbed the remote. "Go wash your face and we can mellow out to some BBC greatness."

"Are you sure? I hate that I'm ruining another night's sleep for you." He got up out of bed. "I can watch downstairs."

"Get yourself cleaned up, drink some water, and come hang out with me." She instructed. "You're not the only one feeling shitty right now..."

"Oh god, I'm sorry. Are you okay? I forget that you're still new to threats and lockdowns." He said, embarrassed. "I didn't even think about that, I've been so wrapped up in my own shit."

"Hey, it's not a contest, remember?" She chided. "Honestly, I'm not even thinking about that nonsense. No, it's the stupid migraine, that's what I meant. If anything, it's actually a welcome distraction for me to have you here, so I don't focus on how miserable I'm feeling physically." She smiled at him. "Worrying about you is quite therapeutic."

"Well, as long as it's therapeutic..." he was finally starting to relax again. "...can I get you anything?"

"Would it be weird to borrow your metal hand again?" She asked shyly, not wanting to make him feel obligated. "It really did the trick earlier."

"Absolutely. Be right back." He walked into the bathroom and ran his hands under cold water for a few minutes. When he came back, he sat next to her and held his hand out for her to place on her head. Because he was on the left side of the bed, he had to reach over to get to her head. It was awkward, but he was willing to do it to help her feel better after what she just did for him.

"May I?" She asked, as she pulled his right arm around her and rested her head on his solid flesh shoulder, placing his left hand on her head. "Is this okay? I'm not overstepping by essentially curling up on you?"

"This is fine. As long as you're comfortable and my cold hand helps." He smiled down at her and tried not to sound too eager. "Are you going to try and get some sleep?"

"Not sure. It hurts more to lay flat right now." She told him. "If you get uncomfortable, feel free to move. I'm just appreciative of the extra chilled vibranium right now." She sighed and snuggled closer, soaking up the relief and ignoring her own self-consciousness. "That was very sweet of you to run it under cold water."

"No problem." He breathed, trying to wipe the grin off his face, thankful her head was lowered and unable to see him. This was the most prolonged physical contact he had (other than sex) that wasn't combat in ages.

They both fell asleep at some point. When Zoe woke up, she froze at the realization of where she was. Somehow, she and Bucky had laid down during the night, arms wrapped around each other. Her head was on his chest, and he was sleeping soundly. Unsure of how to handle the situation, she decided her best course of action would be to just go back to sleep.

A few hours later, he woke up from the most restful sleep he could remember. As he got his bearings, she shifted in her sleep, snuggling closer and rubbing her foot against his leg. The contentment was almost too much. Dr. Raynor had mentioned how he was "touch starved" from his years of captivity. He understood the concept intellectually, but now truly understood what she was meant, as he was soaking up the feeling of basic human connection, trying to savor every second. Wondering if he would ever be this close to Zoe again, he placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and whispered a simple "Thank you." He laid there listening to her breathing and basking in her warmth until she woke up an hour later.

"What time is it?" She croaked in her morning voice. "Has Sam checked in yet?"

"It's 0930." His morning voice was a much more alluring rasp. "No word from the marshmallow yet."

"Do you need me to get off you? Please say no, you're reaaaalllly cozy..." she chuckled and burrowed into his chest.

"I'm good." He grinned from ear to ear. "How's your head?"

"Perfect. You saved me again." She nuzzled her nose into him and giggled. "My dinosaur hero."

"Hmm...keep calling me a dinosaur and see what happens..." he poked her playfully in the shoulder.

"Oh yeah?" She picked her head up to look at him, only to look away immediately. "Holy fuck, nobody is supposed to be this attractive first thing in the morning...and I've got cotton mouth. Will you excuse me?" She slipped out of his arms and scurried to the bathroom so she could die of embarrassment.

He chuckled and ran his hands over his face. Looking at his phone, he realized he had let the battery die again. It was a bad habit he was trying to get better about. "Can I plug my phone in?" He called out to her and scooted over to her side of the bed.

As soon as he plugged it in, a flurry of urgent texts, voicemails and alerts popped up from Sam.

"Hey, my phone was dead. What's going on?" Bucky asked when Sam answered.

"The SUV was found behind the mall early this morning, on fire, with 3 dead teenagers, all shot execution-style." Sam reported. "Nothing spotted on camera at the house, but I'm doubling the cars in the area. You guys okay?"

"We're fine. Nothing of note." Bucky's blood ran cold. "Any message or warnings with the kids?"

"Just this." Sam sent a photo of the burning car. The flame pattern on the hood vaguely resembled the old Hydra logo. "Looks like your old friends mean business."

"Fuuuuck." Bucky groaned.