Gravity - B. Barnes

-12-

Kat jolted awake, covered in sweat and flailing, kicking to get unwrapped from the blankets holding her down. Max. His hands were around her throat and she couldn't breathe. As much as she tried, her chest wouldn't expand, her throat felt tight, her heart was pounding. She clambered back on the bed, sitting up and knocking over a glass of water she didn't know was on the bedside table. She heard it shatter and a deep voice shout her name.

Bucky grabbed the door jamb to stop himself as he slid in the hallway, cracking the wood with his grip and pivoting into the bedroom. "What happened?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes, tipping her head back on the headboard and trying to breath with little success. The ringing in her ears didn't stop her from hearing the rasp of the air in her constructed throat, making her panic only increase at the desperate situation. She clawed at the neck of the sweatshirt she wore, trying to make room to breathe while knowing full well it wouldn't do anything.

"Breathe, Kat. You have to breathe."

She could feel Bucky hovering, afraid to make a wrong move. It'd been two days since her birthday, and while Bucky had refused to leave the apartment, he'd also stayed just out of reach. She had seen the guilt and fear drowning him every time she looked at him, which only made her worried and desperate to prove she was fine, not wanting to hurt him. She'd put on the best front she could, but everything hurt and Sam's constant hovering made it nearly impossible for her to convince Bucky she was fine.

This? This was the last thing he needed to see.

Kat opened her eyes, wide with fear, to find Bucky's matching hers. For the moment, the guilt was gone. He was just scared...terrified. She reached out and fisted his shirt with one hand in desperation, pulling herself upright, snatching his flesh arm in her other hand in a death grip. She locked eyes with him, hoping he could read her pleas for help there, before grabbing at her chest and tilting her head back in a feeble attempt to open her airways.

Bucky didn't know what to do. As her body shook, her breaths ragged and desperate, he was frozen. He'd tried to touch her in the hospital, to comfort her, and he'd scared her. Did he dare? Well, she was already holding him and she was already gasping. He couldn't make it worse.

Finally, his metal hand came to rest on her back and Kat tried to hold back the instinctual flinch for his sake. The ringing in her ears was worsening as she heard him faintly say, "Deep breaths...Kat? Can you hear me?"

She nodded.

"Good. Come on, doll. Breathe with me."

She shook her head, and Bucky grasped her shoulders. She was so pale, and she swayed as he held her upright, the room seeming to spin around her.

"Shit. Okay, uh...hang on, pisicuta." Bucky scooped her up and she didn't fight him, still gasping like a fish out of water. He rushed her to the bathroom and climbed into the shower, lowering her feet to the floor before turning on the cold water.

The shock to her body made her gasp reflexively, and Bucky cupped her face, his own full of desperation.

"Breathe. Please, Kat. Come on. Breathe." He demonstrated a deep breath, hoping he could somehow will her body to respond by the simple action.

She let out the inhaled gasp and felt the constriction inside her chest loosen marginally. She tried to suck in another breath, a tight gasp more than anything, but it was deeper than the first. She kept her eyes on Bucky's face to keep herself grounded and focused. She could do this. She had to. For him. One more breath and the rasp to her breathing seemed to ease.

"Good. Keep going. Keep breathing."

She grabbed his arms with her hands and nodded, taking more breaths until they began to even out. Once it was coming easier, she collapsed forward onto Bucky in sudden exhaustion.