Nightingale (Sequel to Solider Boy)

Forty-One

"Nightingale!" Bucky's voice ripped at his throat as he woke up in the dark apartment, heart slamming in his chest and cold sweat dripping down his face. He blinked, the room coming into focus and Bucky began to calm down, though his entire body was still shaking.

"Bucky?" Steve's groggy voice reached him and Bucky scanned the darkness and sure enough, Steve's outline came into focus and then his sleepy face. His hair was stuck up on one side-he'd been asleep until this point. And once again, Bucky's nightmares had woken him up. 

"Sorry for waking you," Bucky muttered, running his head through his hair which was sticky with sweat. His heart began to slow down in his chest, but it was still way too rapid to be within normal limits. 

"It's fine," Steve yawned, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "It was about Mel again, wasn't it?"

Bucky groaned, still hearing the bang of a gun and a sticky sensation of blood on his hand. "Yeah. It was." 

"You want to talk about it?"

Honestly, the answer was no, but Steve would worry if he evaded the question. "Same as last night and the night before that," he replied dully. 

Bucky's nightmares had taken a new pattern for the last  month, ever since he'd heard Melody had been shot. He'd hoped after hearing she was awake that the dream would stop, but now, two weeks later and it was still going strong. The dream was always the same. Some blank space, usually a long hallway with Melody's voice echoing around him, he'd try to get to her and once he did, she collapse, bleeding out from a bullet to her heart. 

"Bucky, she's going to be fine." Steve sighed, looking over his shoulder to face him. "You know that. She's been out of the hospital for a week now." 

"I know." 

"You alright?"

"I'm fine," Bucky lied. "Go back to sleep." Steve had taken to staying with him over the last few weeks, in case Sharon called with an update about Melody. It wasn't exactly a comfortable arrangement but Steve never complained once. Bucky had to wonder what he did to deserve loyalty like that after all the things he'd put Steve through.

Bucky pulled the covers a little farther up, suddenly cold. Dream or not, the fear was still pretty real. It had almost been a reality. "Go back to bed, I'll see you in the morning." The bed frame creaked as Steve got up and soon, Bucky heard the shuffling of blankets and then the steady sound of his breathing. Steve was asleep but even as Bucky shut his eyes, he knew he wasn't going to sleep. The image of Melody's bullet riddled chest was still imprinted on the back of his eyelids.

***

Bucky inhaled the rich smell of his coffee, the mug warm in his hand. As he'd predicted, he had not been able to fall back asleep after his nightmare. Steve was still knocked out on the couch, not that he was surprised by that. His constant string of nightmares woke both of them up almost every night. Bucky was used to it, but Steve had no such claim. 

Thank God for whoever invented coffee, he thought, swallowing a mouthful of the hot, bitter liquid. It didn't taste that good but it certainly woke him up and for that he was grateful. He needed to stay awake during the daylight hours if he ever wanted to have any hope of sleep at night. Maybe if he was worn out enough, he'd be too tired to dream. That wouldn't be so bad. A few hours of pure exhaustion for several of restful sleep.

"Bucky?" Steve yawned and stumbled off the couch, bags under his eyes and his hair a complete mess. "You awake?"

"No you're talking to my ghost," Bucky replied, "you want some coffee?"

"Is that a question?" Steve groaned, making his way into the kitchen and grabbing a glass from the sink.  Filling his cup, he yawned again. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long, ten minutes maybe." Bucky took another sip of coffee, the caffeine spiking his veins and speeding up his heart. They sat in silence for a while until Steve spoke up." 

"I was thinking, the other night after you woke up," Steve looked down into his coffee. 

"Yeah?"

"If Sharon ever finds out that you knew....about Mel, she..."

"Might actually kill me?" Bucky finished. "Well she can take a number, I have bigger things to worry about." He drained the last of his coffee and stood up. "I'm going to take a shower-." 

The shrill ring of a cell phone cut Bucky off and he glanced at the smooth screen to see an small photo of Sharon Carter gracing the screen. Instantly, he sat down again, whatever Sharon had to say was more important than a shower. 

Steve tapped the screen. "Hey, Sharon-."

The agent's panicked voice cut across Steve. "Mel's missing."

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