Ironstrange/Stony/Stucky (Closed)

Talk to me(Stucky)

Steve slid from the warmth of his bed and padded quietly to the bathroom. It was barely six in the morning, but Steve had been slack on getting in his morning runs lately. He'd had to start squeezing them in in the afternoon and it was just too hot. The sun was always in full swing by mid-day, whereas right now, it wasn't even up. Steve threw cool water in his face to help him wake up before brushing his teeth.

Just as he was finishing up when he heard a loud clatter from the bedroom and Bucky's voice call out meekly. "Steve?"

"Hey, you alright?" Steve asked stepping into the dark room to find Bucky picking up the book he kept on his side table.

"What are you doing up so early?" Bucky asked. He almost sounded out of breath.

"I was gonna go for a run, you sure you're alright?" Steve reached down to pick up the last of the books.

"Don't go," Bucky spoke quietly.

This alerted something in Steve. Something was wrong. He'd known this man since they were kids.

"Buck, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just too early to run and I thought you started running in the afternoons," Bucky shifted slightly away from Steve. A tell-tale sign something was definitely wrong.

"Hey, look at me," Steve reached over and lifted Bucky's chin. "What's going on?"

"The bed is cold, I want you to lay with me," Bucky put on a fake pout.

"Come on, Bucky, I'm not stupid," Steve huffed. The two had only been dating a few months and they were still getting used to everything but one thing they'd never had to struggle with in the past was trust. However, it seemed like lately Bucky wasn't as trusting of Steve.

"Damn it, Bucky, talk to me," Steve snapped. He hadn't meant to, but he didn't understand why Bucky was so reserved now.

Bucky's hand clenched.

"You're hiding something, what is it?" Steve demanded his arms now crossed over his chest impatiently.

Bucky dropped his eyes as if in shame.

"Please, talk to me. You know I'm here for you, no matter what. To the end of the line, right?" Steve lifted Bucky's chin so they were face to face.

"Of course, I'm just...tired. Enjoy your run." Bucky offered a smile before rolling over in bed.

Steve's jaw clenched. He knew things had been hard on Bucky since the whole Winter Soldier thing, but it's like Bucky was pulling back more now that they were actively together. It hurt Steve.

"I love you," Steve sighed as he reached for his keys and phone.

Bucky pulled the covers up over his shoulder, tightly. "I love you too."

Steve ignored the feeling in his gut telling him to stay and make Bucky talk. He would just get upset and that wouldn't accomplish anything. A run would help clear his head.

-

Bucky puffed out a breath as he lifted himself up above the pull up bar. He had tied weights to his ankles to help him weight more. He had found working out to be a good distraction when Steve was gone during the day. He had a meeting with shield that day and then had promised to help Peter train at the compound. He had called after to invite Bucky to have dinner with the two of them, but he chose to stay behind. He knew Steve would be able to tell he was having a rough day. He tried his best to keep it from Steve, but the blonde knew Bucky too well, so he started to avoid him as best as possible on those days. He'd woken to find Steve gone from bed and he'd panicked. Steve hadn't run in the morning in a while and it threw Bucky off to find Steve missing. He'd reacted quickly, knocking into the pile of books on his side table. Of course Steve had been concerned and Bucky, desperate to keep the nightmares at bay, had asked Steve to stay.