crimson, [b.barnes daughter], marvel

2.

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The cool tiles of the bathroom floor did nothing to ease the heat of Bucky's skin as his knees buckled under him, the force jarring his bones. The hand gripping the counter too shaky to succeed in saving him from collapsing.

The tightness in his chest refused to relent, and each breath came in a gasp, a wheeze. They were a battle.

The child - baby? - continued to cry, the sound ringing in his ears. What should have sounded innocent instead felt like a harbinger of dread, and it wouldn't stop.

The humming grew louder as well, filling his head until there was nothing else.

And then, there was a voice.

"Bucky? Bucky, it's Steve. You're okay, you're safe."

He had yet to notice the stream of light that spilled into the bathroom until the voice flooded his ears, and the creak of the bathroom door.

Steve found Bucky on the ground, his back flush against the bathtub and his body hunched in distress from what he assumed another nightmare. His metal arm clutched to his chest as if to hold himself together. His eyes were wide, the blue of them stark with fear, and his breaths were wheezy.

"Hey, hey, look at me," Steve said, keeling beside him, hesitant as to touch him, "You're here, you're in the tower. You're not there anymore. You're with me."

When Bucky gave a chance to look into Steve's own eyes to assure the acknowledgement of his presence, Steve allowed himself to put his hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"Just a dream. You hear me? Just a dream?" Steve's voice softened from that of a panicked but stern one, now soothing. "You hear me Buck? You're safe, I've got you."

Bucky was still out of it, failing to notice that by now, Steve had dropped himself to sit right against the bathtub like Bucky had, arm sliding around his shoulder and pulling him in to reassure him that he was there.

Bucky's back and neck recoiled from its tense state, and he allowed his upper half to drop in Steve's lap from exhaust. He sat there for god knows how long with Bucky until he came to, his breath beginning to even out and the strict vice around his chest loosening.

He waited patiently until the tremors that racked Bucky's body calmed.

When Steve felt Bucky finally come to, weakly lifting his upper body back up to lean back against the bathtub, and his breathing hitched again, eyes rimmed red, "Breathe, Buck."

"Can't...it's too much," A small heaved sob tried to claw its way from his chest.

"I know. I know it feels like that now, but it's not. You're fine, you hear me? In and out."

Sure, at some point Bucky hated those words, the repeated syllables venom right to his ears, but it was when Steve had yet to loosen the attempted reigns on Bucky and yet to give him space.

Since then, Bucky had started to regain memories and was so much closer with the man. His words and the rhythm of his breathing in the background of Bucky's ringing ears had helped calm him, bringing him back to reality.

A few more minutes stretched on. "You okay?"

Bucky took a moment to respond, dry throat swallowing, "Mhm."