The long drawn out silence in the room had become unbearable.
Natasha closed her eyes and inhaled slowly in an attempt to alleviate the built up tension in her rigid muscles. The air in the room was thick with heavy and seemingly hidden emotions but also so empty and almost stilled by the lack of something Steve refused to believe he'd never get back.
The past week had been hard. Rumors of screams coming from the captain and soldiers shared apartment at night were running rampant. The past few nights being the worst and by the look of the poorly hidden bruise on Steve's jawline maybe also some the most violent.
Any form of improvement had suddenly stopped and at some points ceased to be. The look in the soldiers eyes as someone entered the room was almost deadly.
Natasha saw the way he searched her body for any trace of a weapon. His eyes had lingered on her vitals for an uncomfortable amount of time.
She closed her eyes and counted to five before slowly looking further towards the other two men in the room.
Steve sat a good foot away from the Soldier, looking rugged and exhausted. Over a dozen files were spread out over the coffee table in front of him.
The Sargent looked no better. The dark shadows under his eyes were pronounced and at the very least unhealthy. His gaze shifted around the room as if he were following a phantom and for all they knew, he was.
This abruptly stopped when Steve cleared his throat. The soldiers eyes flew to the captain as the slightest hint of concern flitted across his face. Natasha could see a sliver of fear in the mans normally murderous gaze. The lack of movement in his shoulders hinted that he had stopped breathing entirely
Steve continued reading the paper in his hand completely unaware of the other mans shaken expression.
Natasha took note of the ex assassin reaction and kept a discreet eye on him in case of any negative reaction. Especially anything physical.
Moments later Steve clears his throat once again and it turns into a cough.
Within a second Bucky knocked the papers out of the Captains hand and pushed Steve back against the couch hard enough to almost tip the antique piece of furniture onto its back. Bucky jammed his metal hand behind Steve then turned the mans head so that they were face to face.
Natasha was mid vault when the Captain motioned for her to stand down. She stopped abruptly, staying perched on the back of the couch, ready to jump and pull Steve away if need be.
The Captains expression softened as he looked back to his friend. The look on Bucky's face wasn't empty or angry. He was missing his regular neutral expression and instead looked concerned and slightly afraid. The pair sat in silence for what felt like hours until Steve took in a deep breath. The hand at his back pressed in harder as Bucky looked down at the other mans chest and then back up to his face. Steve took another slow breath before speaking.
"Buck" he says softly, as if speaking too harshly would break the calm. The only response given is another quick glance down at his chest.
"Bucky.." he tries again, this time a little louder "Bucky, whats wrong?"
The room is held in silence but this time for only a minuet.
The Sargent started making out what Steve thought to be is the beginning of an S sound before quickly glancing down at his chest again then back to his face.
"... Sit up."
"Like this?" the Captain sits up a little straighter.
"Yes.." the soldiers face looks almost pained for a brief moment "..Is your chest... tight?"
"No.. It.. It feels fine Buck." The look of relief on the Captains face was absolutely infectious "I'm okay, Bucky."
".. You're not sick.."
"No.. No I'm better now. I'm alright."
For the first time since she's met the soldier Natasha thinks she sees the ghost of a smile on his face as he nodded and pulled away from Steve, scooting as close as humanly possible to the arm of the couch.
With a sigh of relief she came off of the couch and moved to sit in the chair nearest the Captain. He gathered up the documents from the floor and put them back in their folder along with the rest of the papers soon after.
"Was he checking your breathing?"
"Yeah" Steve smiles down at the table
"So there's something there."
The smile on Steve's face is brighter than anything she'd seen in ages. The tired look in his eyes is gone along with the slump in his shoulders. For the first time in weeks he seems genuinely happy as he looks over at Bucky who is now almost asleep beside him.
"Yeah.. He's too stubborn for there not to be."