Rose shuddered in her sleep, the very barest amount of awareness returning to her as she absently stretched underneath the sheets. She wasn't terribly certain what had woken her, but she found herself more than a little annoyed- both by the interruption in the first decent sleep she'd had in a week and by the fact that her bed was now mysteriously empty. She had a vivid recollection of passing out between her boys, pressed between their naked bodies like a Rosie sandwich. Grunting unhappily, she wiggled restlessly, hoping in vain that she would come into contact with a wall of warm, super soldier flesh. When that didn't happen, she groaned sleepily, forcing her eyes open so that she could scan the room. She'd only just gotten accustomed to the dark when she saw it, limbs locking up as terror froze her in place, her heart racing as it pumped ice water through her veins.

She knew why she'd woken up now.

There was someone standing at the edge of her bed.

No- not someone….something.

It loomed down at her, bulbous head nearly scrapping the ceiling as it regarded her. Its arms, impossibly long in proportion to the rest of its emaciated body, rested sedately on the comforter, talon-like claws glimmering wetly in the faint moonlight. Despite the threatening nature of its hands, her eyes were continuously drawn back up to its head, some animal part of her unwilling to lose sight of the predator's eyes- almost like if she could somehow see them, she'd be able to predict it's next move- maybe escape? She wasn't sure. She just had to find its eyes- she had to see-

Only there weren't any.

It didn't have any fucking eyes.

It was just a smooth expanse of black, oily skin. She couldn't make out a nose or ears either. It was like looking at an onyx globe, nearly perfectly unblemished but for the strange seam at the very bottom. She only had a moment to wonder at the strange line when it abruptly shifted and parted, perfectly white, shark-like teeth appearing as it grinned down at her. She wanted to scream or run or fight or just anything- anything but lay where she was, frozen and trembling as a monster loomed over her. She must have made some sort of noise because the creature suddenly chuckled, the noise surprisingly smooth and deep, unsettlingly pleasant despite its horrifying appearance.

"Rosie…Are you finally awake?" She could only shake in response, eyes impossibly wide and leaking terrified tears. The grin on its face widened, a dark tongue appearing to leave a shining trail across its gleaming teeth. "Excellent. I must admit, I was getting rather bored just watching you sleep." It shrugged, arms shifting until it was half crouched on the bed, joints rattling and popping with every lazy movement. Its claws danced playfully across the cotton, sharp points easily tearing the sheets and leaving an oily residue in its wake. She thinks she must have blinked because it was suddenly perched on the bed, long limbs stretched out like a gargoyle balanced on the edge of a church.

Its mouth was right next to her face.

Hot, rancid breath rolled over her neck, goose bumps appearing in its wake. Despite her best attempts, her eyes slammed shut, her brain doing its best to hide from the horror looming over her frozen form. The creature tutted at her, a strangely tacky hand coming up to cup her cheeks.

"Now, now, Rosie- we can't have that, can we? You need to open your eyes." When she only squeezed them tighter it snarled, the sound nearly shaking the bed underneath her. The pleasantness disappeared from its voice, an angry, almost serpentine hiss underlying its words. "I said open your eyes! Do it, Rose. Do it or I'll peel off your eyelids myself." She let out a breathless sob, eyes slowly unclenching to focus on the creature above her. Seemingly pleased with her compliance it released its grip on her face, fingers tracing down her cheek, the sharp digits leaving a wet trail on her skin.

"Good…good…I have so much I want to show you, Rosie. You're a very hard girl to get ahold of, you know? I was hoping to catch you alone but….I just got impatient." The grin on its face reappeared as it shifted, deliberately allowing the blonde to peak past its body.

She'd been so focused on the creature that she didn't notice the lumps on the floor.

She's confused for a moment, mind not processing the masses of flesh and blood pooling across the carpet. It's only when she sees a clump of golden blond hair and one gleaming, silver eye that the reality slaps her. Grief hits her like a sledgehammer, her heart tightening in a vice before it shatters in her chest, a strangled, agonized scream escaping her as tears pour in earnest from her eyes. The creature wiggled gleefully at her sound of pain, shifting again to block her view and forcing her to stare into its gaping smile.

"Terribly sorry about that- I know how fond you were of them. Your Steve, at least put up a decent fight." It wiggled a gleaming claw in her face, seemingly mocking her with it. "Your Bucky didn't even wake up."

The realization that it's their blood on its hands rips the first real scream from her throat.

She can feel it drying on her face, the sensation finally forcing her hands to move as they twitch restlessly at her sides. The creature cackles, talons coming up to clap delightedly, the movement spraying more blood across her cheeks. She screamed again, fingers spasming as she fought to bring them up to protect her head from the gore. Finished with his macabre celebration, the monster planted its hands on her shoulders, the digits surprisingly warm against her clammy skin. It leaned forward until its mouth just barely brushed against the flesh of her face. The creature inhaled deeply, savoring her scent as it leered down at her.

"Come now, girl- what did you think was going to happen? Did you think you were going to get a happily ever after? You know better." It hissed, claws shaking her shoulders in an unexpectedly gentle manner. "You don't get to be happy. You don't get things like love. You're mine. I own you. You may think that those boys 'saw' you- but they don't know what I know." It shook her again, a growl vibrating in its chest as it leaned down to lick one of the tears sliding down her face. She screamed again at the sensation, hands finally rising to smack weakly against its warm, muscular chest. Her abysmal attempts at fighting only egged it on, the growl rising in pitch as it snarled at her.

"You're a weak, pathetic, ugly little whore, Rose! You try so hard to be 'good' and 'strong' but you're still that little sniveling bitch begging for her life in piss soaked jeans!" It shook her again, a third, unseen hand coming up to caress her cheek. She paused in confusion at the sensation, brain trying to process the incongruous stimuli. Before she could really process it, the creature continued, its words sparking the beginnings of rage in her chest. "The world might think you're hot shit now, but you're still that same misshapen sack of flesh you've always been. They're dead, Rose! I ripped them apart and bathed you in their blood and you did nothing!" This time she snarled at it, her flailing gaining strength as her anger mounted, her skin beginning to flash rose-gold underneath its grip. One of her hits connected with its face, the creature jerking back with an odd hiss before it surged forward again, hands locking tightly around her upper arms as it screeched in her face.

"Love is a dream, Rosie! And your life? Your life is a nightmare! And it's time to wake up!" Letting out a final scream of rage, Rose slammed her head forward into the creature's face, disorienting it enough for her to wiggle out from underneath it and roll off of the bed. Aphrodite's memories guiding her, the blonde scrambled until her back was pressed into the corner, hands rising defensively as she blinked blearily, attempting to scan the room as her eyes danced oddly.

There was a minute click and then the room was abruptly bathed in light.

Steve and Bucky were both sitting on the bed, eyes gazing at her with an equal amount of caution and concern; the former was clutching at his steadily bleeding nose, attempting to put pressure on the cartilage without hurting the tender tissue.

Rose could only gape at the both of them, her brain skipping as it tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

I don't….what?

They were dead…weren't they?

They were- I saw it! Felt it! Their blood was on my face!

wait- that monster…

Realization washed over her like a tidal wave, the combined relief, embarrassment, and grief renewing the shaking in her limbs. Overwhelmed, her hands dropped to her sides as she collapsed on her bottom, chest heaving as she struggled to hold back tears.

Finally truly awake, she recognized the creature- or rather, the demon, for the familiar nightmare that it had been. It was an unholy amalgamation of a Xenomorph and Jack Skellington, a combination of the two things that had terrified her as a child. When she had been too young to understand what exactly "cancer" was, the demon had been her physical representation, a creature she could put a face to as opposed to some abstract concept.

She'd named it "Can'Seer".

He had been a staple of her childhood and adolescence, haunting her sleeping hours and terrorizing her dreams. He'd disappeared for a while, but had recently crept his way back into her mind, insidiously slithering in and hiding in the shadows, waiting for her to close her eyes before sinking his claws into her skin.

It had just felt so real.

She'd felt the bed shake- felt hands on her body- felt their blood on her face

There was something red on her hands.

Mind reeling she glanced down at the speckles of blood on her knuckles, struggling to compute the crimson stain. Trembling renewing, she did a quick survey of the room, the ringing in her ears still drowning out the concerned questioning of her lovers, both slowly making their way off the bed. It's when she finally looks at Steve again, that the pieces finally click into place.

She'd hit him.

She'd struck one of the men she loved- hard enough to hurt him. Hard enough to make him bleed. His blood was on her skin and it was her fault. It was like her dream only it was worse because it was real and she'd done it- she'd hurt him, his blood was on her hands, she'd hurt him- she loved him and she'd made him bleed

Her face crumpled in on itself, the color disappearing from her cheeks as she sucked in great heaving breaths. All of the warmth fled from her body, replaced instead by fragile ice, cracking and shaking apart and taking her stomach with it. Saliva flooded her mouth as nausea punched her in the gut, the ringing in her ears rising to a fever pitch as she scrambled for the bathroom. She just barely made it to the toilet before she was throwing up, broken sobbing punctuating the almost uncontrollable heaving. The blonde was vaguely aware of warm hands pulling her hair back and settling between her shoulders. A tender, baritone voice whispered to her, though she struggled to understand it over the fading ringing in her ears and a high pitched keening. It sounded almost like a wounded animal, but there was a rhythm to it- like it was speaking or rather chanting something over and over.

The ringing finally faded, and she realized that the noise was coming from her.

"I'm sorry- I'm so sorry- I love you- I didn't mean to- I hurt you- I'm sorry-" She broke off with a whine, gagging and fighting back the urge to vomit again. The hand settled between her shoulders began to gently rub her back, Steve's cooing finally starting to make sense as she came back to herself.

"Baby doll it's okay- I know you didn't mean to hit me. I'm okay. It's already healed." When she whined again she felt him frown, his own guilt bleeding into his voice. "If anything I'm sorry. I shouldn't have touched you." There was an irritated scoff and the hand holding back her hair tightened minutely, Bucky's voice echoing acerbically in the tiled space.

"Yeah no shit, Steven. You know better. You're lucky our girl already popped you in the face or I woulda done it for her." Bucky frowned down at her, taking in the pallor of his girl's face and the tangled mess of her hair. He'd done his best to rescue the locks, but there was definitely some unsavory chunks mixed in there. Silently decided that a shower was probably in order, the brunet pushed his boyfriend out of the way and scooped the still trembling blonde into his arms. At Steve's hurt look, Bucky rolled his eyes, adjusting Rose in his grip so that he could get the massive shower turned on before addressing the other man.

"Don't just lay there- Rosie needs a shower and you need to go change the sheets." He took in the dried blood crusted on Steve's face and chest and winced, quickly altering his plans. "Never mind." The petite woman was quickly but gently shifted into the Captain's arms, her elfin hands coming up to latch around his neck with an almost desperate gentleness, her desire to hold the man warring with her anxiety over accidentally hurting him again. Steve felt her hesitance and responded by pulling her closer into his bare chest, pressing a tender kiss to her sweat damp forehead as Bucky finished laying out his plan.

"Both of you are going to shower while I change the sheets." The brunet sighed, eyebrows furrowing as he took in the wretched expression on his blonde's faces. "Then we're talking about this. In depth." Rose just sniffled in response, nuzzling closer to Steve as she resigned herself to explaining her night terror.

Bucky's therapist had suggested talking about his dreams could help mitigate them, and the brunet had hesitantly agreed. To his surprise, it had helped, and the former assassin had dragged Rose and Steve into the post nightmare ritual. She'd given her fair share of comfort and listened when old wounds were opened and aired out, providing commentary when it was asked for and her love when it wasn't. They'd shared, sometimes in terrible detail, the horrors that haunted their sleep and she did her best to listen and just be there for them- and they'd done the same for her in return.

None of her nightmares had ever been this bad before though, nor had they left her feeling so raw.

-_-_-_-Page-Break-_-_-_-

Rose watched the hot water as it trailed down their bodies and made its way down the drain, doing her best to just savor the moment. Her mind was blessedly empty, exhaustion and resignation leaving her nearly comatose under the spray. She knew they were supposed to be getting cleaned up, but she found herself content to just exist for a little while, her ear pressed up against Steve's chest, the slow beat of his heart settling her frayed nerves.

Steve found he wasn't in that much of a hurry either. He'd gotten the worst of the "mess" out of her hair and decided that just holding is girl was the best way to go.

She'd scared the shit out of him.

He'd woken up to her moaning in bed- not particularly unusual given their girl's penchant for climbing them like very grateful trees. What had been unusual was the pitch of it. He'd turned over, fully expecting Bucky being creative, and had instead found the other man watching Rose with concern, hands hovering over her eerily still form. She'd been flat on her back, eyes wide and unseeing, tears making tracks down her terrified face.

He hadn't bolted awake so quickly since the ambush in 44'.

Rosie had had nightmares before- things that woke her up crying or scared. None of them had been like this one. They'd done everything they could safely think of to try and wake her up (shaking the bed, talking to her) and not a damn thing had worked.

Then she started screaming and "safety" flew out the window.

Putting his hands on her had been incredibly stupid, but he'd panicked. She'd sounded so terrified, it was like they were standing on the beach all over again, magic come to rip her away from him in a shower of blood and foam. He'd had to hold her- had to make sure that she was really there, that she wasn't going to be pulled out of his hands again- he couldn't do it again, couldn't taste blood and sand and tears and be too slow, too late, again-

The punch had been a little expected (Lord knows Bucky had taken a swipe or two when his nightmares had been bad), allowing him roll with the hit to mitigate some of the damage.

The head-butt had been decidedly unexpected, and definitely broken his nose (not that he would ever tell Rosie that).

He'd watched her hide in the corner, slowly coming back to herself. He'd watched terror turn into confusion, then turn into grief and panic.

He'd watched her heart break right in front of him, and felt his break right along with it.

Now, standing under the water with her, he forced himself to shove his own heartbreak aside. Something was tearing his girl apart and the sooner they got to the bottom of it, the sooner they could finally sleep. Sighing to himself, Steve glanced down at the petite woman half dozing in his arms, taking a moment to admire the way the water streamed down her body and clung to her lashes, highlighting her curves while making her skin glow like burnished rose gold.

She would have been the very picture of aquatic beauty, were it not for the lingering tracks of tears down her cheeks.

The moment now passed, Steve raised a tender hand and caressed her face, gently rousing the blonde from her half doze. When he had her full attention, he gave her a small, private smile, his affection for her so strong that it was almost painful.

"You awake, baby doll?" Rose gave him an exhausted nod, unconsciously leaning into the hand pressed up against her cheek. Steve gave a pleased hum, the sound vibrating through his chest and tickling Rose's skin. "That's good. Do you think you can stand? It's not that I don't enjoy holding you, Rosie, but we need to wash your hair and I can't do that with one hand." The blonde frowned, silently assessing herself before giving him another nod. She felt kind of like an overcooked noodle, but she didn't think she was going to tip over and take out the shower door on her way out.

Again.

After some careful maneuvering, Rose was finally standing in the shower- though still pressed up against Steve as close as she could get. She sedately watched him wash her hair, enjoying the feel of his hands gently running through the long locks, the combined sounds of their breathing and the beating of the water soothing her into an almost hypnotic state. Once she's finally clean, Steve attempts to wash himself down but finds the soapy cloth quickly intercepted by the much smaller woman. She doesn't say anything when she takes it, or even when she starts to wipe the more stubborn spots of dried blood off of his face and chest but, none the less, Steve understands what she's saying.

It's an apology.

Every pass of the cloth, every tender brush of her hands- all of it spells out her sorrow and regret, her grief over causing him harm. He's already told her it wasn't her fault and he meant it, but both of his loves wear guilt easily and comfortably and nothing he says will change this fact. Instead, he lets her try and absolve herself of her imagined sins and, when she's finally done and the water runs clean, he presses a soft kiss into the crown of her hair, silently granting her the forgiveness she thought she needed.

-_-_-_-Page-Break-_-_-_-

When they're both finally cleaned and clothed, Rose sits with her boys and tells them about the darkness lurking in her head.

She tells them about the demon she created in her childhood, trying to cope with a reality too terrible for most adults to handle.

She tells them how disgusting she feels, the stain from an actual monster's touch leaving an indelible mark upon her skin.

She tells them about her guilt over her disgust because he hadn't really done anything to her, had he?

She tells them about her rage- how she wishes she'd killed him herself, and how that realization horrifies her.

She tells them about her loneliness.

And, when she's finally done, she tells them what truly terrifies her.

Curled between her boys, the golden light from the bed side lamp casts dreamy shadows across the room. She feels like she's in a world of her own creation, cocooned in safety and heat, her voice soft as she whispers her confession.

"I love both of you so damn much- so much I feel like I can hardly breathe from it sometimes." She swallowed drily, doing her best to blink back tears. "There's this Greek myth that humans used to have two heads and four arms and legs- they were, as a whole, terribly powerful. Fearing this power, the gods split them in two. Now, each half yearns for its lost part, longing to be whole again. Love is just our way of finding that other half." She let out a shaky breath, resolutely focusing on the comforter while she finished her thought. "I might not be completely human anymore, but I think that might be true. When I'm with you both I feel like I've found pieces of myself that I didn't know I was missing. And, when you're gone? When you go into danger and I'm not allowed to follow? It kills me." At her last statement she gives up her battle with her tears, quiet sobbing escaping her as her boys wrapped themselves around her.

They let her cry for a moment, allowing her to vent some of her frustration and grief, holding her together when the pain threatened to shake her apart. Then, once she'd quieted some, Bucky spoke up from behind her, voice just as quiet as hers had been.

"Rosie, baby doll, I can't tell you how to feel- no one can. But I can tell you that your guilt? That's bullshit. Trauma isn't a competition. He cornered you. Put his hands on you. He scared you. Given everything you've been through, the fact that you were able pull yourself together enough to kick the bastard's ass is a damn miracle and I'm so fuckin' proud of you." The brunet broke off, blinking back his own tears to press a kiss into the back of her head. Steve took this as his cue to continue where he'd left off, reaching around to run a soothing hand down Bucky's flesh arm before pulling both of his lover's more securely to his chest.

"We can't tell you how much both of us wish we could have been here for you- angel, it's got to be one of my biggest regrets. What I don't regret? The fact that we killed him for you. As rightfully angry as you are, you aren't a killer, Rosie. A fighter for damn sure, but not a killer." Rose wanted to dispute him, but found that she really couldn't- he was right. At least for the most part. She was pretty sure that she would never be able to murder a man in cold blood- but not killing anyone period? Something told her that was an underestimation. Now decently composed, Bucky continued, his voice somewhat tight despite his best efforts.

"I know you want to be out there fighting, baby doll- sometimes you're so similar to Stevie its almost scary- but I got to tell you, I'm grateful that you aren't. We see and do a lot of terrible things, sweetheart. I know you want to protect us, but there's blood on our hands that's never going to wash away, and I'm glad that you don't have to deal with that. I'm glad that you're safe." Rose mentally screamed how desperately she wanted them safe- how she'd bathe in blood just to have them whole and home with her, but decided against arguing with the dark haired man, instead just nodding tiredly against Steve's chest. Sensing that the blonde wanted to argue, but silently pleased that she'd seemingly agreed (or at the very least accepted) their reasoning, Steve made eye contact with his boyfriend before continuing.

"I don't know much about Greek myths, Rosie, but what I do know is that I love you. You're just as much of a piece of us as we are of you." The two men conversed silently above her head, both noiselessly agreeing to begin moving ahead with what they'd been planning. After arguing quickly over the logistics, they finally came to a consensus, allowing Steve to continue his statement. "We could spend every second of the day with you and it would still be a second too short. You never have to wonder about our hearts, Rosie- they're yours. Even when we aren't here, they stay here with you. You are never, never alone." He raised a tender hand, cupping her cheek and dragging her eyes up to his. Once he could see the periwinkle blue of her irises he smiled, his affection softening the edges of his eyes and the tension in his shoulders. "We're with you till' the end of the line, baby doll."

Overcome, Rose involuntarily shut her eyes, her love sucking the air from her lungs and leaving her feeling both crushed and weightless at the same time. Her heart was a warm, golden weight in her chest, filling her up and sending blazing warmth and tender happiness through her body. Too happy to speak, she crushed them both closer to her body, savoring the combined cotton and leather scent of them while basking in the heat of their bodies. Infinitely lighter from sharing her burdens, she relaxes between the crush of their bodies, drowsiness tugging at her senses as she does her best to wrap herself around them.

She falls asleep between the two pieces of her heart, their love lighting up the dark parts of her mind and finally, finally allowing her to sleep.

`~`~`~Author's-Note`~`~`~

So? What did y'all think? I'm a huge horror fan so I'm curious if I wrote the scary bit well or not. Are we happy with the comfort? Favorite lines? Guesses on what the boys are up to? I love hearing from you guys! Review below!

PS: Just in case there's any confusion, the bold/italicized parts when Can'Seer is speaking are the boy's voices bleeding into her nightmare.