Dark room was quiet and only a steady breath could be hearable when a man entered. More like, he sneaked in, remembering how to stay unspotted and keep a very low profile... but this mission was very easy. Steve was deep into his slumber, probably feeling safer here than anywhere else. Or maybe he was just tired.

He paused. So close to the bed, he just stopped and closed his eyes. Shapely nose inhaled slowly... his memory might had been blurry but his smell memory never vanished... the same smell of a man he remembered from very long time ago. So far into his own past, that it felt like another, unfamiliar life. A life that he had lost.

The smell had changed a bit since their ways fell apart, but the gentle core was there. It always reminded him of a slight vanilla mixed with cinnamon and a strong scent of something... manly, yet fragile. This is how his best friend smelled. And until recently, he never though how this aroma had become an anchor keeping the last human part of his soul alive.

Now, he wasn't sure what he was doing. The only thing that continued on ringing in his head, after the Halloween party was over, that he desires his presence more than ever. And this presence was there, available without much trouble... it made his head whirl and sent butterflies into his stomach. He knew what it meant.

Brainwashing and tortures probably destroyed some parts of his brain, they probably messed up his value system and violated the deepest instincts, but he didn't care. If he felt like he needed it, then so be it. Not like he had anything to lose. And that man in bed was his everything. A link to the life long gone.

A significant enough weight bent the mattress, when a well-built figure softly, yet a bit awkwardly slid under the sheet. He tried to be as swift as possible, but none of missions required sneaking into someone's bed. At least he could not recall that.

The breath broke down on its steadiness. Steven scooted over a bit to the right and mumbled a few contented vowels. Bucky froze with his upper chest still uncovered, eyes wide open and a confused smirk forming on his lips.

Did he remember? Did he remember cold nights from the past century? Did he anticipate that?

Bucky chased away a thought of Steve becoming angry and disturbed if he wakes up now. He licked his lips quickly and continued approach to his... friend. Soft moonlight gave away enough of contours to see that Steve was still lying on his back.

He always liked to sleep on his back... even if he started on his side or belly... recalled Bucky and this slow flashback gave him and unexpected wave of weakness. He shivered and pulled the blanked higher. A sensation of cold.

He closed his eyes and yelped quietly in fear. That cold... the cold of a fridge they kept him in. The fridge... He stayed still and took a few deep, calm breaths, desperately listening to Steve's. He needed to be here and now. Back then, when he was... back when he worked for someone else, he always welcomed the freezing grab of that chamber. It gave him peace and rest, taking away any pain.

Now it was a chilling black hole, freezing to the bone and deeper, sucking in all his humanity and everything that he regained after such a long time.

"Mhhmm..." A louder recognition from his friend.

Steven moved a bit and turned to his left side, so his face was so close to Bucky's... long-haired man couldn't believe how easy this was going.

The Soldier swallowed, unsure what to expect now. Reluctantly, he moved a bit closer to his friend, but he slid down an inch or two. He closed his eyes again and as if it was a leap of faith, he closed on Steve's chest. Nestling his head gently into a wide, warm space... and placing his metal arm onto Steve's waist... he stayed like this for something that seemed eternity, enjoying the moment of the most familiar smell and feeling tangled together. He was at home.

The room was dark and quiet. Two breaths continued to flow. One deep and steady, the other more abrupt but becoming longer and deeper...

Noises from the streets never got inside the room, only the full moonlight tried to penetrate through the blinds.

Bucky realized that even a cold touch of his arm through the sheets wouldn't wake Steve. He was afraid that he should had chosen the other side of the bed... but the other side was mostly taken by Cap and he reckoned, that he still used the best of possible tactics. He shot his eyes into barely visible ceiling, his thoughts drifting towards barely recognizable past, of him and Steve enjoying simple life-

"Bucky?" He heard sleepy voice of his friend.