She was sitting on the couch, legs tucked underneath her as rain started to fall outside that Sunday afternoon. The large window in Steve's living room cast great natural light over everything, which in Tori's opinion meant it was a nice place to sit down with a good book. Her hair was pushed over to one side as her black, thick-rimmed reading glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. Her favorite oversized college sweater sat on her frame and cotton shorts were hidden underneath. A small mug of tea sat to her right, the minty aroma wafting up to her nose and bringing her to a calmer place in her mind.

Steve sat opposite of her, sketchbook and pencil in hand, looking out at the view he had through that massive window. He had a great view of the city, which only improved when the sun went down. Sitting comfortably in his sweat pants and plain t-shirt, Steve was trying to find new inspiration for another painting. Tori had been bugging him for the last week to not fuss about her and go back to his usual routines. She playfully demanded a painting, complaining that soon the walls in her shop were going to go bare.

Nothing outside was grabbing his attention. With a storm on the horizon, it wouldn't have been wise to venture out of the loft and into the city to find a subject or scene to sketch. Rain and paper never mixed well.

His eyes followed various droplets that landed on the window. They raced towards the bottom, picking up speed as they connected with more and more raindrops. He silently found himself rooting for one particular cluster until his view was obstructed by Tori. It was then that he took a good look at the girl in front of him. Her mouth was curved up in a small smile as she read her story, which changed to a line accompanied by a furrowed brow. Her hand moved toward her mouth as her eyes started to move faster along the page. She turned it quickly, completely absorbed in the story before her. Her hair was illuminated nicely by the overcast day outside. Her straight locks fell over her face and were soon pushed aside as she shifted in her seat.

Immediately Steve's pencil began to sketch what he saw. He wanted to capture everything from the quirk in her eyebrow to the way her hand held the book. He saw the fire of intrigue in her eyes behind her glasses and the curiosity in her tensed shoulders.

Silence had settled over the two for almost an hour. It wasn't until there was a loud crack of thunder and the power going out that either of them were pulled out of their individual worlds.

Tori soon saw a small light emanating from Steve's phone, hearing a chuckle from the man in question.

"What is so damn funny?" she asked, slamming her book shut.

"Your face," Steve managed to get out. There were notes of surprise and shock written all over Tori's expression. Coupled with her glasses and her messy hair, he couldn't help but laugh at the wildness of her look.

A couch cushion immediately went flying towards him as his laughter started to settle.

"Well, what do we do now?" Tori asked.

Steve stood up, clutching his sketchbook and pencil, and walked towards his room. "Let me put this away and I'll go pull out a propane stove. Might as well eat."

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

One dinner and a check-in call from Sam later, the two roommates were ready to turn in for the night. Tori was exhausted after cleaning the shop earlier that day and she could feel the ache in her bones.

She found comfort in her bed that night, sleep coming much easier this time than most. Lost in a dream, she felt that this had been the most peaceful sleep she had had in months.

Until another rumble of thunder and loud crack echoed through the loft.

Tori immediately shot up. Her breaths were as deep as the ocean and her heart was pounding louder than a bass drum in her ears. She looked towards her window and could see flashes of light through the curtains. The rain had picked up since she had fallen asleep. For a moment, she was reminded of her childhood when she had created a rain stick with her mother. The sound of beads rushing from one end of a hollowed tube to another mimicked the sound she heard now almost perfectly.

But there was another sound.

A muffled voice interrupted her memory which set the hairs on the back of Tori's neck on end. She waited a moment, hands braced on the bed, for the noise to happen again.

And it did.

She pulled her covers off in a rush and stuck her head out of her bedroom door. "Steve?" she called out.

There was no reply.

Tori walked into the living area to see if anyone was there, but she was alone. Looking out the window, she tried to see if there was anyone causing a ruckus in the rain. The streets were dark below her with no sign of movement aside from the rain that was coming down in almost sheet-like formations and the few cars that dared venture the streets of New York at this ungodly hour.

Then she heard the voice again.

Her head shot towards the end of the hall - it was coming from Steve's room.

She quickly jogged towards the noise and opened the door slowly, holding her breath unknowingly as she entered.

Steve's room layout wasn't much different than Tori's. The bed was in the middle of the room with the window opposite from the door. The dresser was immediately to the left of the main entry. The only difference was that Steve's room was decorated with art pieces and pictures that made the space feel much more homey than hers.

Her eyes were drawn to the figure that was sleeping before her. He was moving around a lot, eyes shut, face glistening with sweat. Another loud crash of thunder lead to a loud shout from Steve as he latched onto one of the pillows that were in arm's length.

"No, Buck, no!" he called out.

Tori raced over to Steve and kneeled down next to his bed so she was level with his face. His eyes were shut tight and his brows were pushed together. His jaw kept clenching and unclenching and his cheeks were rosy.

She placed one small hand on his cheek, and the other on one of the hands that was squeezing the pillow like a vice grip.

Sam had told her only once about a time Steve had gone through this - a night terror - but she knew that there had been many. It was worse once he and Sam had come home from tour and they were living together in an apartment near NYU. All she remembered Sam telling her was not to wake Steve up if she ever found herself in the situation. The most she could do was just ride out the episode and hope Steve either went to sleep peacefully or woke up enough to realize what was going on.

Slowly stroking his cheek, Tori could almost see the fear and anger slipping away from Steve's expression. His face had started to untwist itself and his hand relaxed slightly as her fingers made their way between his. Every so often he whimpered or muttered something else, but Tori just continued her process of trying to calm Steve down. Minutes felt like hours as she watched Steve go through a series of emotions. He muttered Bucky's name again, a few tears straying from his eyes.

Another loud crash of thunder made Tori jump unexpectedly.

It triggered Steve again.

This time Tori could feel the vice grip change from the pillow to the wrist of the hand that had been stroking Steve's face. She was pulled up to him as he shot out of bed, his eyes boring down into her as if she was not a friend, but an enemy.

The look he gave her almost made Tori recoil like a small child inside. The blue eyes that she usually found comfort in were icy and piercing her like daggers. Steve's breaths were ragged, nostrils flaring as he stared down the person in front of him. Eventually Tori turned away, unable to handle this ferocity that she didn't know lived within her friend. She whimpered at the tightness of his grip.

"Steve," she whimpered softly. "Steve it hurts…"

Another bright flash drenched the room in light.

Tori dared to look at Steve's expression once again and saw that he had his eyes shut tight. When he opened them again, the gentleness she remembered had returned.

"Tori?" he asked, baffled by the situation they were in. Noting the fear in Tori's face, he looked at what he was holding on to and immediately released his grip.

She pulled in her hand and protected it with the other, all while still looking at Steve to make sure he was actually back with her.

He tried to reach out for her, the words not coming out to ask if she was alright.

She immediately pulled away against her own will, cursing herself for her reaction.

"I'm…I'm so sorry…" he stammered out. He couldn't look her in the eye. Steve felt ashamed. Not only had he gone through one of his episodes in front of Tori, but he had hurt her in the process. "L-Let me get you some ice."

"No, Steve, wait -"

He was already out of his room and heading towards the kitchen.

Tori shook her head at herself before walking calmly out of Steve's room, not wanting to make any more sudden sounds as the thunder rolled on overhead.

She could see that a candle in the living room had been lit. It cast a low, amber glow along the walls. It was enough to be able to see where she was walking as she entered.

Peering around the corner into the kitchen, Steve's back was to her as he leaned over the sink. Another roll of thunder made him visibly tense, the muscles in his back rippling as the sound permeated into his memories. A small sniffle came from before her. Steve's hand ran through his hair as he took a few deep breaths.

Tori walked a little ways into the kitchen. "Steve?" she called softly, not wanting to scare the soldier.

A few moments of silence passed before he replied, "I'm sorry." His reply was meek, sadness laced within it as he sniffled once more, and tugged at Tori's heartstrings. He sounded as if he was a small child who had been scolded by his parents. It wasn't his fault. Tori knew that. What she wondered was if Steve understood that?

She walked a few more steps, the pitter patter of her feet echoing through the space, until she was standing behind him. Slowly, Tori's arms wrapped around Steve's waist as she pressed herself into his back and closed her eyes. She held on tight to him. There were no words that she could say that could make Steve feel better about what had happened. Maybe, she thought, her actions could express herself better.

Tori could feel Steve tense slightly at the initial contact. After a few moments it melted away, one more large sigh escaping his body as his head sunk a little lower.

Steve pulled away from Tori's embrace, leaving her arms feeling empty and her body cold, and disappeared down the hallway once again. He soon returned with a small towel and opened the freezer to pull out an ice pack. He walked over to Tori and held his hand out to her. He didn't want to scare her again by being too forward with any actions.

She placed her wrist gingerly in his palm, some of the purples and blues starting to show even in the dim light. Tori could see Steve's jaw clench as he placed the ice in the towel, then placed it on her wrist.

"Take that off in about 15 minutes," he instructed with a sigh, then turned to walk back to the hall.

Tori quickly reached out to Steve and tugged on his shoulder.

He turned to her, one eyebrow raised and his eyes still damp.

She set the icepack on a nearby counter and brought her uninjured hand up to his face once more.

His eyes instantly closed in comfort as his face moved towards the warmth of Tori's hand.

She slowly brought the other one to sit on his neck, the residual coolness from the ice pack sending a small chill through Steve's body.

"What are you feeling?" she asked softly, the pad of her thumb stroking Steve's cheek.

He looked down at her and could immediately feel her protective gaze trying to get through his shell. It was a loaded question to answer, and he had never openly shared these particular feelings with anyone aside from Sam in years. He had always wanted to leave the war stories back where they had come from. Now it seemed that they had well and truly found a place in his home.

He reached out and wrapped his arms around Tori, his face surprisingly burying itself in her neck in his venture for comfort. Steve felt arms hang onto him as she pulled him as close as she could muster while standing nearly on the tips of her toes. He lifted her to him and he could feel her pulse - strong and steady.

Tori could feel Steve's breaths on her neck, and he could feel hers. It was at that moment that she became very aware of the situation - Steve had no shirt on and sweatpants, she had on one of his old shirts and her short cotton sleep shorts. She tried to ignore it as much as she could. The two had never been in such close proximity to one another for this long in their entire lives. This was a different kind of close than what had happened earlier that day. This was more than either one knew how to handle. It was intimate and new. She had to push the thoughts out of her mind, though, as she comforted her friend. He let out a deep sigh that sent a shiver down Tori's spine that she couldn't control.

She could feel Steve tighten his grip when he felt it.

"You want to talk about it?" she whispered to him, her breaths tickling his ear and nearly causing him to tremble again.

"No…maybe…I'm not sure…"

She nodded. "Doesn't have to be now. Or ever." Tori pulled away while Steve set her down, hands still on his shoulders, so she could look at Steve. She could see his eyes were slowly reddening, tears falling as his hands remained on her waist. "Just…you can talk to me about anything. Any time you want, I'm always gonna be here for you, okay?"

He nodded, a small smirk of appreciation glimmering across his face.

Tori returned the smirk. She hesitantly let go of Steve and grabbed her ice pack from the counter.

Steve began to walk back down the hallway, Tori acting as his shadow.

When he walked past her room, he felt a small tug on his hand. Steve turned to see a Tori looking up at him with an unsure face.

"You…you can stay with me tonight…if you want."

The idea of not being alone after that particular night terror was probably one of the most welcoming ideas he had heard in a while. He was a little taken aback by her suggestion. There was a shift in their relationship that seemed to make itself more apparent during the month that she had been there. Things felt more comfortable and more awkward all at the same time.

But tonight, he wanted comfort. He wanted to not feel alone. He wanted her. Anything after this would be decided later.

A glimmer in his eye told Tori that the last wall Steve had always put up to her seemed to be slowly coming down.

She arranged all of the pillows on her bed so that she could sit up comfortably. When she set the ice pack down and got positioned, she patted her stomach with a smile and said, "I shall be your human pillow for this evening."

For the first time, Steve cracked a smile. "I'll be fine with a normal pillow."

"What, too good for my accommodations, Steven?" she teased. "Come on, I promise my belly fat won't bite."

Steve rolled his eyes as he crawled into Tori's bed and gingerly rested his head on her stomach. He stared at the ceiling as lightning continued to flash across the walls, thunder rolling in behind it. The rumbles were less frequent now, signaling that the storm was finally starting to leave the city.

He could feel one of Tori's hands start to play with his hair and the other rested on his chest. The motions were soothing to him. For the first time after one of these terrors, he truly felt as if he might be okay. The memories that haunted him were almost pushed away by this sense of comfort that he found with Tori.

And he felt at ease.

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

It wasn't like his friends to not answer their phones.

Sam went over to Steve's apartment in concern. He had gone to stop by the gallery and found that it was closed with no note or sign to indicate the disruption in usual business hours. When he went to the coffee shop, the workers had said that Tori hadn't stopped by yet for the day.

After knocking several times, calling both people once again, and knocking a few more times, Sam decided to use the key he had been given "in case of emergencies".

The only thing out of place at the apartment was a candle that had been burnt all the way down to the holder with a puddle of hardened wax being all that remained.

"Hello?" he called out. Sam was cautious as he stepped into the room.

He treaded softly down the hall to Steve's room and pushed the slightly ajar door all the way open. Blankets were out of order and Steve was nowhere to be found.

Sam quickly made his way to Tori's room and peeked in slowly.

The tension he held in his shoulders quickly fell away as a small smirk graced his lips. He was too tempted to take a picture of the scene before him.

Tori was leaning up against a mountain of pillows, sound asleep with her mouth slightly open, while Steve was nearly sprawled out on top of her. His head was resting on her chest and one arm was reaching over her stomach to the other side. It had found its way to Tori's hand and their fingers were interlaced with one another, Tori's other hand resting on Steve's back.

When Sam walked into the room further, he could see there was a large bruise on Tori's left wrist that needed explaining.

He froze when he saw Tori's eyes flutter open, her brows furrowed in confusion when she saw Sam.

He put up a finger to signal for her to wait, then typed a message on his phone and showed her the screen.

Gallery was closed. No answer from you guys. Used emergency key. What's going on?

She mouthed the words "night terror" to him and he nodded in understanding.

Tell him to come see me at the VA office later. I'll take care of the gallery.

Tori nodded and smirked in appreciation as Sam left the room. She looked down at the sleeping man before her, relieved that he had finally gotten a good night's sleep. She wondered how long it had been since his last terror, or how severe they could get in comparison to last night's episode. A pang of sorrow hit her as she ran her fingers through Steve's hair.

It wasn't fair that he had to go through this. It wasn't fair that any soldier would have to endure such disruptions in their every day lives after doing so much to protect their country, families, and friends. What's worse was imagining when Steve had to go through this alone, or how anyone in general had to go through this alone.

She was brought back to reality when Steve squeezed her hand before letting out a small snore.

A small smile escaped her lips as she closed her own eyes and tried to get a few more hours of sleep.

Hello All!

Hope you enjoy this one-shot! Let me know if you'd like to see it become a full-fic. I have several scenes already written but nothing to tie them together.

Thank you for the support!

With Love,
sparrowlina