Chapter 7
"Hey, wake up, asshole. It's your watch."
Steve opens his eyes, finding Sam kneeling over him and looking exhausted. The Captain yawns and sits up, stretching his limbs before nodding to his friend. "I'm up—thanks man."
Sam grunts sleepily in response. He walks over to the tent he set up before nightfall and crawls inside, zipping up the flap and closing himself off from the world.
Steve rubs his eyes and yawns again, shifting his position so he's leaning with his back pressed against the driver's side door he fell asleep in front of and stares into the darkness of the night. Since Hydra is after them and they have no way of knowing when they're enemy could appear again, they decided to stop in a clearing for the night and sleep in shifts. Sam had the first watch and Steve has the second. Technically, Bucky has the third, but Steve is going to take his shift. Bucky is still in the early stages in recovery and he needs as much sleep as he possibly can, especially since he's having nightmares and/or fitful sleep five nights a week.
The Captain sighs heavily. He knows the recovery process is long and hard, but he wishes he knew a way to ease Bucky's pain. He hates feeling helpless when the people he loves are suffering and there's nothing he can do. He sighs again. At least Bucky is starting to remember more about their past—he even addressed Steve by his name, which he is hoping is a sign that Bucky is starting to become more comfortable with him and Sam. Hell, Bucky even agreed to let the two of them take the first watches while he sleeps. That thought brings a smile to Steve's face. If that's not a sign of the beginnings of trust, then Steve doesn't know what is.
He shifts his position to rest more comfortably against the car, when the vehicle starts shaking. Confused, Steve moves away from the car and watches it for a few minutes before something clicks in his mind. Bucky claimed the car as his own after Sam expressed interest in it, which brought a smile to both his and Steve's faces about the game Bucky started playing. Though, Steve thinks Sam suggested it on purpose so Bucky would have a better chance at getting some rest (even though all three of them are soldiers and the ground would suffice). It takes him a another minute before he realizes that Bucky might be having a nightmare—that's the only explanation for the vehicle moving like it is.
With that thought in mind, Steve opens the backdoor and slowly climbs in, hating the fact in order to fit inside he has to half hover over Bucky, who's stretched out across the backseat, rolling from side to side and letting out stressed whimpers. Steve places his hand on Bucky's shoulder and his eyes immediately fly open, looking wild and frightful.
"Who are you?" Bucky asks his voice laced with panic.
Steve's heart breaks and he mentally prepares himself in case Bucky lashes out. He opens his mouth to speak but Bucky cuts him off.
"Wait—you're Steve . . . right?"
"Yeah," Steve says, unable to keep the smile off his face. "I'm Steve."
"Steve," Buck repeats slowly, which is a signal that means he's starting to calm down and remember where he is. After a few moments of silence, a small smile crosses his face and Steve counts this as a victory.
"What happened?" Bucky asks as a look of confusion passes over his features.
"You were having a nightmare," Steve explains gently, running his hand along the length of Bucky's right arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Bucky shakes his head and Steve immediately drops the subject. The past few times Steve has asked if he wanted to talk, Bucky shuts down all conversation attempts. Steve's not going to force him—Bucky will come to him when he's ready to talk.
"Okay; go ahead and try to get some more sleep," Steve says. He climbs out of the car as Bucky curls in on himself again and yawns. Steve quietly shuts the door and spares a glance a tent, surprised that Sam didn't wake up. Bucky sounded loud to Steve, but he was sitting against the car with enhanced hearing. Steve carefully moves into the same position he was before, resting the back of his head against the cool metal of the car door and keeping his eyes peeled for any movements in the wilderness.
Thirty minutes later, the backdoor opens and Bucky slides out looked rumpled, his clothes wrinkled and hair sticking up in every direction. He's wearing a frustrated pout on his face and it takes everything for Steve not to ruffle his hair and call him adorable. Bucky closes the back door and crawls over to Steve. He curls himself against Steve's side, wrapping his arms around his waist, and throwing his legs over Steve's lap. Bucky yawns and fits his head in the crook of Steve's neck before immediately passing out.
Steve smiles fondly and slips his arms around Bucky, turning his gaze back to the woods. Bucky doesn't have another nightmare that night.
By Steve's calculations, it's around nine in the morning when the tent starts shifting. Steve turns his head, watching as Sam unzips the flap and climbs to his feet with a grumble and stretching his limbs. He yawns and scratches his stomach before meeting Steve's gaze. Sam's sleep muddled eyes shift between Bucky and Steve for a moment before a grin crawls over his face.
Steve raises an eyebrow, challenging him to say something while instinctively curling his arm tighter around Bucky, who shifts closer.
Sam only grins wider before turning and wandering into the woods, quietly whistling a tune that Steve is unfamiliar with (he'll later discover that the song is "You and I (Nobody in the World) by John Legend).
"Sam, I just got a text from Nat. It looks like coordinates," Steve says, looking up from his phone.
Sam pauses from packing up his tent and walks over to his bag, pulling out his GPS and tossing it to Steve. "Here, punch it in," he says.
Steve catches the GPS one handed (his left arm is still curled around Bucky, who hasn't moved since he joined Steve in the middle of the night. Bucky is awake and has been for the past hour, quietly looking around at the woods and watching Steve mess with his phone). Steve boots up the device before punching the coordinates and smiling. "I think Natasha came through with us on the safe house. These coordinates are for the middle of nowhere Massachusetts."
"Yeah, that's my girl," Sam says with a proud smile.
Steve doesn't know how long the two of them have been together and the only reason found out because Natasha came to him and said if any harm came to Sam, she knew eighteen different ways to kill him with a pencil. Steve proceeded to ask Sam about it, who would only tell him if Steve confessed about his past romance with Bucky ("I want the details, Rogers—all of them okay? I don't want any of that sugarcoated shit," Sam had said. When Steve didn't spare any, Sam took his previous statement back with a hurried, "Spare some, spare some! Jesus, y'all were some nasty ass punks.")
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's head out," Steve gently moves Bucky's legs from his lap and uncurls his arm from around him, grabbing the GPS and his phone before standing when he feels pressure on his shirt. He looks down curiously and fights back a smile. Bucky's metal fingers are curled into the hem of his shirt. He looks a little embarrassed and surprised by his actions, which makes it even harder for Steve not to grin.
The Captain sits back down and Bucky releases his shirt and blinks at him. Steve gives him a small smile. "Do you want me to sit with you?" he asks gently, listening to the sound of Sam opening the trunk and shoving his tent back inside with a grunt.
Bucky furrows his brow and Steve can see the gears of his mind working, waiting patiently for Bucky to speak. "Please?" he says after a few moments of thinking.
Steve nods his head and smiles wider. "Of course," he says, which causes Bucky to smile. He shifts and opens the backdoor, nudging Bucky into the car first.
Bucky crawls in and Steve follows, shutting the door behind him. Once Steve is settled in the seat behind the driver's, Bucky immediately comes back to him, slotting himself against Steve's side as if it's the only place he ever wants to be. Steve wraps his arm around Bucky and holds him close, not missing Bucky's contented sigh.
Sam slides into the car and Steve looks up, meeting his gaze in the rearview mirror. Sam is wearing a smile, seeming pleased that Bucky is so relaxed and calm right now especially with the imminent threat of Hydra looming over their heads. Sam's smile turns into a grin before he breaks their eye contact, starting up the car and driving off.
A/N: If you haven't already done so, you should watch the video for John Legend's "You and I (Nobody in the World)." It's not only incredible, but it's so moving.
