Short Hours and Pillow Shapes
"So, ya'll up for watching my other movie tonight, or any other suggestions?" Vic asked them as the elevator doors opened onto their floor.
"No, a movie sounds fine," Steve said, giving a look over at him with a simple nod. He had agreed to let Steve ease his way into the conversation, as he had put it. He'd taken a bit of scolding from him after the 'moving in' dinner surprise he had sprung on the two of them, but after asking Steve if he was happy with the end result, Steve had smiled and dropped the topic. He never really had a problem with rushing into some things. "So, how was your first night sleeping here? Any problems?"
"No, I slept the same as usual," Vic said heading over to the fridge, already not liking that sentence. Was three hours really usual?
"When we came to wake you for breakfast, we saw that you were already gone, so we were worried that you hadn't been able to sleep," Steve said taking a seat at one of the stools. "Knowing that we were all up late, we thought you may have slept in a bit. Have you always been an early riser?"
"Yeah, I don't normally sleep too long anyways, but it's a bit better, nowadays," Vic said, taking a water bottle from the shelf and leaning against the cabinet to talk. Bucky remembered her mentioning that last night, as one of her 'move-in reasons' at dinner. He walked over so that he was standing near the island, but he didn't want to get to close to Steve so that it didn't seem like the interrogation that they were subtly trying to do.
"Have you always slept for such short amounts of time?" he asked trying to sound casual, but he was already feeling a bit uncomfortable, like he was not going to like how this talk came out.
"Yeah, even when I was little, but it was much worse then, just over an hour a night. My parents were always complaining since I would keep waking them up during the night because I would get bored," Vic told them, taking a drink of water, but she seemed to have slightly hesitated, leaving something out, and not going any further with her explanation. So far he noticed that she did not really like to discuss her parents, but they would not rush her. Maybe after they had been together for some time she would tell them what all may have happened between them. "But it has gotten slowly better over the past few years, an hour at a time, so now I'm up to about three hours a night."
An hour at a time? Over the past few years? Bucky had to take a deep breath to calm himself, but after hearing that comment, he knew the question that he had to ask. Could they really be this connected?
"Would your sleeping habits have gotten better around the week before you were in the hospital?"
Vic had been lifting the bottle for another drink, but her arm froze as she looked at him.
"Yes…that was the second time it had gotten better. How did you know?"
Steve then turned his head to look at him, giving him a curious look, to which he just tilted his own head as if the answer should be obvious, since he had already managed to figure it out. When Steve's eyes widened, he knew that Steve had finally figured it out.
"Was the other time a couple of months before the alien invasion of New York?" Steve asked turning to look back at Vic, but since he had asked the question, he had to know.
"Yes," Vic answered a bit hesitantly, then she sighed and dropped her head. "Another strange connection, right?"
"It looks like it," Steve answered. "The first time your sleep increased was probably around the same time that they found my body frozen on the ice sheets in the Arctic and I was revived. They described it as a similar state to that of hibernation sleep."
"I remember when they announced on the news that you had been found alive. They didn't go in to details as to when it had actually happened, but by the time they had let the world know, I was already sleeping an extra hour a night," Vic said, while her eyes seemed to focus on Steve. She then turned to him, asking, "Alright, then. What about the second time, the one you mentioned with the hospital?"
"I was released from cryostasis for the final time about a week before the Helicarriers incident where Steve and I fought."
"Cryostasis? You mean like the kind they have in sci-fi movies?" Vic asked putting the water bottle onto the countertop in front of her. He had hoped to wait a little while before having to bombard her with all his history, some details that he was still trying to deal with, but with the strong connection that the three of them had, they needed for her to know.
"Yes, for the most part. When I was a captive of HYDRA's, working for them as the Winter Soldier, to keep my programming from failing and my memories suppressed, one of the things that they would do was put me into a chamber that would freeze me. The cryostasis also prevented my body from aging, which was probably the only benefit I received because I am able to be here now, with the two of you. I would sometimes go years between them letting me out for short amounts of time, completing a mission, and maybe some additional training. When they were done, I would be put back under. This went on for seventy years, until the Helicarriers incident, when Steve was able to start my memories to emerge, and also take down HYDRA so they couldn't put me back in," Bucky explained to her with as much calmness as he could muster, not wanting to scare Vic, who seemed to be processing the information.
"So, this happened to you many times over the past twenty-six years..., didn't it?" Vic asked, faltering a bit with the time for some reason, with her face starting to clench up a slight bit, not like she was frightened, but more like she was sad.
"Yes," he simply said.
"Was it usual for you to have been out of cryostasis for no less than two weeks before having to go back in?" Vic asked.
"That was the standard time for me to be operating, as they called it, when I was released. When a mission was completed in less than two weeks, they would have me training, in either combat or on weapons, sometimes with new technology which had been invented, until the full two weeks had passed. How did you know?" he asked, trying to think if he had ever mentioned the timeline to Steve.
"There have been times over my life when I would have spans of extended sleep, by getting an additional hour of sleep. They would always last at least two weeks, a few times a bit longer. But, it never stayed around until the past few years," Vic then looked over at him, trying to see his expression, which had slowly gone to a frown as her words were spoken. "Is it possible that every time you were allowed out, that I was feeling the effects of you being awake? And that once both of you were unfrozen, that my own sleep was affected so that I'm now sleeping around three hours a night?"
"It would seem so," Steve answered, leaning forward onto the countertop as if he needed the support. Bucky could see that he too was not happy at learning about this. "But Victoria, there's something else that we actually wanted to talk with you about, concerning your sleeping habits."
"Is this going to be good or bad?" Vic answered trying to put a small smile on her face, given the depths of the recent revelations.
"Not bad," he responded, not sure if she would take what they were about to tell her as being good.
"That sounds a bit ominous," Vic said, looking over at him before taking a long drink of her water.
"When we went to your room this morning looking for you, we noticed all of the pillows that you have on the bed. Is that also a normal thing for when you sleep?" Steve asked.
"Yes, I've always slept better with them. When I'm traveling, if I can't have the additional pillows, I may sleep my normal amount of hours, but I will wake up many times during that time. That's why when I finally decide to live in a city, a couple of good pillows are always one of the first things that I buy," Vic said looking between the two of them.
"Have you ever noticed how they seem to form something?" Bucky couldn't help but add, a bit eager.
"Two walls. Or at least that's how I've always thought of them. Why?" Vic asked not seeming to have figured it out, just like he had guessed this morning.
"Have you ever considered that they may represent the two of us?" Steve asked a bit more dignified that he probably would have spit it out.
The look on Vic's face showed that it never had even occurred to her. She just stood there, leaning on the cabinet as she began shaking her head no. After another moment, he watched as her face suddenly turned a bit red, which he was finding out was not normal, and that it seemed to take a unique topic to embarrass her, which this definitely qualified as. He watched as she looked to her left and then to her right.
"Excuse me," Vic said, before suddenly dropping down to the floor behind the counter, hiding from the two of them. He looked over at Steve, who had a very amused look on his face from her stunt. As he started to walk over towards where Vic was, Steve also stood up so that he could make his own way over.
Coming around the island's cabinet, he saw that Vic was sitting with her back against the cabinet, her knees drawn up with her arms wrapped around them and her head buried, hidden between them, similar to how he had been last night. He walked over so that he was once again on his side, her left, and slid down the cabinet so that he was sitting next to her. Steve did the same maneuver of her other side, his side. He was really liking the idea of having a side when it came to Vic.
"I…I mean we…we didn't mean to embarrass you, Victoria. But, when we saw the shapes of the pillows, that thought just came to us. The fact that you don't sleep long normally, that we just figured out. We had no idea that your sleep was linked to us like that. But, we wanted to talk with you about trying something that may help you get into a better sleeping habit, if you are willing to listen," Steve told her in a soft, calm voice.
"I think that I already know what ya'll are going to suggest, now that you brought up the shape of my pillows," Vic said not lifting her head at all.
"We know that this is all very new to you, for all of us really, but, if there is the slightest chance that with us being near, you while you are sleeping, will help you get into a longer, better sleeping habit, wouldn't it be worth trying?" he asked hoping that he had been as tactful as Steve would have been. Right now, he just wanted to take her into his arms, carry her into the bedroom and just lay down next to her, holding her tight, hoping that they were right.
The fact that she had felt every time he had been released out on a mission, out killing for HYDRA, infuriated him. She should never have felt such a connection. The fact that the soulmark seemed to be linking them so strongly was highly unusual. He wondered if it may have something to do with the different serums that flowed through each of them. That may be something to have Bruce look into at a later time, once they were ready to have the others know the extent of what they were finding.
"I'm not sure," was all that she said lifting her head a slight bit, resting her chin on her knees. He watched as she gave a slight chuckle. "Usually, when I get offered to have someone in my bed with me, sleeping is not what they are talking about."
At first, he found her comment funny, but then it turned to a slight irritation as he pictured her with other men. Vic must have sensed something because she leaned over and bumped into his shoulder, getting his attention.
"I've dealt with a lot of drunk guys over the years, and I've never taken them up on the offer," she responded, which actually made him feel a bit better. But now, he had a whole new category of questions that he wanted to ask her. Now was definitely not the time to seriously discuss any previous sexual encounters, he knew that without a doubt.
"But, would it be something that you would consider trying, even for one night, as a test?" Steve asked not seeming to be phased by her joking comment. He had expected that Steve would have made him do the actual asking, being too embarrassed to do it himself. "There is always a chance that it may take a couple of nights, or even being around us for a longer time, before you notice any change in a sleep pattern."
"As a test, it may not be that bad of an idea, especially since in two months, I'm going to hit my coma day, as I call it. Being here, with ya'll, maybe it won't happen at all," Vic said figuring that she would explain the strange term she had just used, especially since it did not sound good. He nudged her shoulder and tilted his head in her direction so that he knew that he was waiting on her to continue.
"Once a year, during January, anywhere between New Years and the end of the month, there is always one day where my body shuts down completely, and I end up sleeping all the way through an entire day. I've always done it, since I was young. The first couple of times when I was really young, it really scared my parents, thinking that I had died, but then, they left me alone and let me sleep. But when I got older, they figured it was due to the soulmark and…" she trailed off, not finishing her thought.
"And what Victoria?" Steve asked a bit sternly, hoping to make her answer, but he knew that her answer was not going to be good.
"And when they found me in my deep sleep, my coma, they would try and wake me up. At first it was simple stuff, making me stand, constant loud noises, but as I got older, they just became more determined."
"Vic, what did they do?" he asked as his anger began to grow at the thought of her parents possibly hurting her for something that was beyond her control.
"No, don't worry about it. It's in the past," she said, turning to look at him before turning her gaze to Steve. "So, this test would be just like having a sleepover, right?"
"Yes, we used to stay over at each other's houses all the time when we were young," Steve answered letting her change the subject, for now.
"I've never been to a sleepover. My parents would probably never had allowed it anyways, but I also didn't have any real friends growing up," Vic said sighing, before growing quiet as she considered the suggestion. They both sat there silently as they waited for her to come to a decision. "Alright, but let's try and keep it platonic for right now, agreed?"
"That won't be a problem," Steve answered with a smile, as the two of them, at the same time, turned to stare directly at him.
"What? You both just naturally assume that I'm going to be the troublemaker?" Bucky responded with just a bit more than a hint of sarcasm, while knowing that they were probably both right. "So, are we going to get to this movie, or just move directly to cuddling in the bed?" he asked with a playful devious grin and a wink to Vic, to which he only received a groan of amused annoyance. Definitely not like other dames.
"Movie, but let's get changed first," Vic said as he and Steve stood up, before both turning and reaching back down to each offer a hand to help her up. "You know…now we have to decide whose bed to try this test out in? What happens if it doesn't work and I'm up all night? It would just disturb the two of you."
"Well, odd man out has worked for us so far," he shrugged, holding his right hand out in a fist, ready to play.
"Why not?" Steve said, as he and then Vic both held out their hands.
He counted to three, and found that both he and Steve put out a one, while Vic was a two.
"Well, looks like we'll be testing out my bed again," Vic pointed out as the three of them walked down the hall, all of them having retaken each other's hands after completing the game.
"Tony would just love to know about us trying this test, but even I think that this may be left between the three of us for now, agreed?" Bucky asked knowing that Vic may end up joking about this, but he worried that if she became too uncomfortable with others knowing what was happening, that even if the test worked, she may put a hold on all of this.
"Yeah, agreed," Vic said.
"Definitely," Steve replied with a nod. "Five minutes."
The three of them broke up, each going to their rooms. He quickly changed into gym pants and a tank top, similar to what he had worn last night. He was still a bit amazed at how casually Vic seemed to be around his arm. But as he looked at himself in the mirror, he began to wonder if doing this test was a good idea for him.
What happened if he dreamed of something that made him swing out with his arm? There was a chance that he could hurt her, which rapidly became a major worry. If he ever did anything like that, even unintentionally, he didn't think he could deal with it. Maybe he should talk with Steve and just let him try staying in the bed with her tonight, just the two of them, if the Punk could even handle a situation like that.
Opening up his door, he saw that Steve's was closed, with Vic's being left open only a little crack, like she wanted to make sure that she was not shutting them out, he thought. He only had to wait a minute before Steve opened his door, so that he could motion for him to come into his own room. Once he was inside, Steve partially closed the door, leaving a crack similar to Vic's.
"Steve, I don't think that I should go through with this test," he started, his mind whirling with all the things that could go wrong. "What happens if I reach out and grab Vic while I'm sleeping? I could crush any bone that I hold onto. Or what if I dream of punching someone and my body duplicates the motion? Steve, I can't take the chance that I'll hurt Vic."
"I don't think that you have anything to worry about. Since you've been working with Wanda, the nightmares have stopped. It's been months since anything like that has happened, unless you weren't telling me," Steve said.
"No, they have stopped, but think about what could happen. We just found her, and I won't risk hurting her, or with a worst case scenario, both of us losing Vic when we just found her. If I ever did something like that..."
"I think that you are being overly paranoid. If I actually had a fear of something happening, I would say so, but I trust you," Steve told him, placing a hand on his shoulder in support. "I've watched over you since coming here and I've been concerned that you may have some type of relapse, but you have never shown the slightest troubling signs. Even yesterday in the parking lot, you recovered so quickly, probably thanks to Victoria's presence. I think that I was actually too scared for you. But now, I know you are fine, and I'm not worried, and I don't think that you should be either."
"No, I just can't risk it! When the movie's over, I'll leave the two of you alone and you let her know, alright?"
"No…that is not alright!" he heard from the door as it opened to reveal Vic standing there, probably having heard everything that they both had just said.
"Shouldn't this be my decision, since this test is to see the effects it has on my life?" Vic asked stepping into his room, her eyes never leaving his.
"That exactly what I'm worried about: your life. You don't know how many people I have killed with this arm, and I'm not going to risk adding you to that number!" he stated very firmly.
"So, what you are saying is that as soon as I have found my soulmates, that I should become afraid of one of them?"
"When it comes to this, then yes," he said flexing his arm making it calibrate on purpose.
"That is not happening! I've already told you...I know about your arm, I know that you killed people and, I will say this as bluntly as I can...I don't fracking care! The two of you may have waited a long time to find me, but you don't seem to get that I've waited a long time, too. Most of it being told how evil I was, as well as how horrible my soulmates would be. No matter how many times I heard it, I kept telling myself that no matter what, I would never be afraid of my soulmates. And now here you are, trying to prove my parents and everyone I grew up with that they were right!"
All he could do was stare at her as Vic began to yell at him. As he listened to her, thinking about what she was saying, he knew that she was right. He really hated the idea of proving her parents right about anything, after only hearing a few partial stories from her about them. He looked over at Steve, who had not spoken since Vic had entered the room. He was standing there with a sneer on his face like he had just won a war, one that Vic had actually fought. There was no way, between the two of them, that he could win this argument.
"I'm scared of hurting you," he simply spoke the truth, staring Vic in the eyes.
"Then we will get past it together," she calmly smiled at him, reaching out and taking a hold of his left hand. He adjusted his hold, knowing that he was not putting any pressure on her fragile hand. She then turned to Steve, who was now wearing a large smile on his face, happy at the outcome of the heated conversation. Turning him towards the door, they automatically adjusted themselves to be back on their sides of Vic. She took their hands, leading them out of his room and down the hallway. "You know, if you try pulling anything like this again, giving me this excuse, then I'm going to make you sit and watch The Lion King over and over until 'Hakuna Matata' gets stuck in that cute head of yours. Maybe that will help drill some sense into ya."
Author's Note: Mandie - I post both at the same time (also rated Mature). Look for a story called: 1983:Star This is also a completed story, being posted one chapter at a time.