Steve awoke in the middle of the night to an empty space beside him on his queen sized bed. He sat up slowly and felt the spot where Bucky had been lying what seemed like only moments ago. It was cold.
"Bucky?" Steve called, climbing out of bed and throwing on a robe to cover his bare torso. "Bucky?" He called again as his looked around his small New York apartment for his friend. Ten minutes had passed and there was still no sign of where he had gone. Steve was so distracted with looking for his friend that he almost missed the slight draft that had managed to squeeze in through the balcony door. He was certain that he had shut and locked the door before going to bed last night, but since then it had been opened. He carefully opened the door and was greeted with a blast of chilly October air. There were still dozen of cars passing on the street below, but it was considerably more quiet than it was during the day.
"Bucky?" Steve asked, glancing around, but not seeing any sign of him on the balcony or the fire escape. He was about to go back inside to continue his search when his eyes caught the glint of moonlight hitting metal. On the roof two stories above his head, he could see the faint outline of his friend. Within a minute Steve had scaled the fire escape and was seated beside Bucky on the edge of the roof. They sat in silence for while, both observing the city that was still alive with people, even at this ungodly hour.
"Do you ever have nightmares?" Bucky finally asked. He turned to Steve and there was a dark sort of sorrow in his eyes. Steve hesitated a moment before nodding.
"Every once and a while," he said slowly, "I'll have nightmares about that night." Steve's mind brought back the memories from that fateful day on the train. He was reaching out his hand towards Bucky, but the handle broke before he could grab onto him. He saw his life long friend fall into the ravine while he could only watch helplessly. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to push the memory back down. "Did you have one?"
Bucky nodded slowly and pulled his knees into his chest. He looked so vulnerable at the moment, so different from the soldier that Steve was used to seeing.
"I—I dreamt that I was back in HYDRA's lab. The men, they were poking and prodding me." A pained looked flashed across his face. "Like I was...some sort of animal." He buried his head in his hands, but not before Steve saw the tear trace its way down his fave. His heart broke for his friend. Bucky had been through more than anyone should have to go through. Steve didn't think twice about grabbing his friend's hands. The metal prosthetic was cold again his skin, but the flesh hand was warm.
"You're safe now," Steve said, staring into Bucky's broken eyes. "I won't let anyone ever hurt you again," he promised as he leaned in for a kiss. Bucky's lips were soft against his own and when he pulled away, a slight smile had appeared on Bucky's lips.
"Thank you," he whispered as he rested his head on Steve's shoulder, both of them silent and still as they watched the city until the sun rose hours later.