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Rosemary was jarred awake from her slumber hours later by the sound of screaming. She was sure it was Bucky, and it sounded like he was in pain. Grabbing the handgun out of her nightstand, she rushed through her small apartment, checking around every corner to make sure no one was there.
She burst through his door and hurried to him, figuring out immediately that he seemed to be having a nightmare.
"Bucky!" she called his name as she approached him, unsure of what else to do. He didn't wake; only continued to thrash about and scream like he was being arracked by some unseen force. "B-Bucky!" she called again, reaching a shaking hand out and placing it on his chest.
He woke at once, his bionic arm throttling her throat and pushing her against a wall across the room.
"B-Bucky," she sputtered his name under his hold and watched as realization seemed to wash over him. His crystal eyes softened and he released her at once, gently grabbing her arm to steady her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, sounding small and far away.
"It's okay. I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do," she told him, mad at herself for the fact that tears had risen to her eyes.
"You didn't do anything wrong," he told her, releasing her arm and crossing to perch on the edge of his bed.
"I... I'll just go, then. Let me know if you need anything," she said, taking steps toward the door, her hands instinctively rising to her neck, running her fingers over the skin that still felt hot from his touch. She was sure it would bruise.
"You don't... have to go," he mumbled. She turned, looking at him where he sat in the small sliver of moonlight coming in the window above his bed. His dark shaggy hair shrouded his face like he was trying to hide from her and she could clearly see the beads of sweat rolling down his bare back, presumably from the dream.
"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at him questioningly. He just nodded, motioning to an armchair in the other corner of the room.
Ignoring his motion, she sat beside him on the bed, seemingly surprising both of them. Bucky lifted his head, looking at her. His eyes shone in the dim light and he looked desperate. It broke her heart.
She lifted a hand, making sure he could see it as she went, and placed it on his right arm. He reached for the hand, taking it in his and squeezing it.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, and he was almost immediately shaking his head.
"No," he whispered, and she nodded." Just stay, please," he pleaded, sounding small. She nodded again, leaning on his shoulder gently. He leaned his head on top of hers and she closed her eyes, hoping she was helping.
"I'm not sure how much a, y'know, super soldier actually needs to sleep, but I do need to," she whispered a while later, surprised when he snorted out a short laugh.
"You can go back to your place if you want," Bucky told her quietly, and she shook her head.
"I can stay if you want, just get out of the way," she told him, her heart swelling just slightly when she saw the smirk slip onto his lips for just a moment before he composed himself again.
"Oh," he mumbled, standing so that she could arrange herself up against the wall in the bed. He lay down beside her, making sure to maintain the distance between them.
She propped herself up on an elbow, looking at him. His eyes fluttered to hers and there were so many things she wanted to ask him. She hadn't expected to feel so attached to him so quickly. She hadn't expected for him to seem so... sad.
"What?" he grumbled, obviously detecting the questions in her eyes.
"Do you... have nightmares often?" she asked, not sure where else to start.
"Almost every night," he said, confirming what she'd suspected. "I get to ask something now," he said, and she nodded, shrugging. "How the hell did you end up in the FBI?" he asked, catching her off-guard. Her face must've shown her slight offense because he quickly added, "you're too nice."
"I... I wasn't FBI until superheroes and enhanced people started becoming just as common as average people. SHIELD was compromised and more agents were needed everywhere. I just so happened to end up in the division I did because quite honestly they probably thought I'd be shit anywhere else," she said honestly, and Bucky looked at her like she was joking.
"Are you always so hard on yourself?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"I answered your question, now it's my turn," she said, and he nodded. "Is Steve the only one that knows you're actually just a teddy bear?" she asked, laughing as she did so. Bucky laughed with her, jokingly putting his bionic hand around her throat again but not squeezing. The hand fit the nasty bruises that already sat there perfectly and he lowered it at once, his mood obviously shifted.
"Hey," she whispered, putting a thumb under his chin and raising it until he was looking at her. "It's not your fault. I know you didn't mean to hurt me," she whispered, closing the gap between them and scooting closer to him until their torsos were pressed up against each other.
"I don't know why I like you so much," he whispered, making her cough out a laugh. He sounded genuinely confused and it was actually adorable.
"I don't know why I like you so much either," she admitted, making him smile. He raised his flesh-and-blood hand up to her cheek, running his thumb over the corner of her mouth. "Bucky?" she questioned his name quietly, watching as his bright eyes found hers. "We... we can't do anything. I... you're my... you're my job," she said, stumbling over herself at every turn. Bucky nodded, leaning into her until his lips were a fraction of an inch away from hers.
"I know. I'm your job and you wouldn't want to compromise that," he confirmed, his eyes hot as they studied her. His hand found its way to her back, grabbing the bottom hem of her t-shirt and fiddling with it idly.
"I wouldn't... we can't," she said, breathless. He nodded, pulling up on the hem of the shirt until he pulled it over her head and tossed it aside.
"We can't," he confirmed, leaning into her and kissing her passionately, his arms snaking around her back and pulling her close to him.
She wrapped her own arms around his neck, happily giving in to him.
