"Cold... so cold..."

Sam woke up with a start by Bucky's voice. He turned to his lover and saw that he was asleep and seemed to be having a nightmare judging by his agitation.

Sam rolled over completely and tried to wake Bucky up, gently touching his shoulder.

Even though Bucky was no longer the conscienceless killer of his years as a winter soldier, his reflexes when he slept were still sharp and it was dangerous to try to wake him up. Sam was now the only one who could touch him without fear of being hurt, which showed the level of trust between them.

"Bucky, wake up, you're having a nightmare."

Bucky continued to fidget and repeated, "cold...so cold..." and began to shake.

Sam was used to this kind of nightmare from Bucky, reminiscent of when he had been cryogenically frozen by Hydra. He pulled the fleece blanket rolled at the foot of the bed whatever the season, placed there especially for this kind of situation.

He turned Bucky around, pressed himself against his back, covered them both before wrapping his arms and legs around Bucky.

Bucky finally woke up, put his shaking hand on Sam's that rested on his abdomen and said in a hoarse voice, "Sam..."

Sam tightened his embrace and whispered against Bucky's neck, "I'm here."

"I know this is only a nightmare, but I'm so cold. The feeling of the doors closing on me. I..."

"Sshhh love... I know. I know it's not cold. But you feel what you feel. So try to focus on the warmth of the blanket and the warmth of my body.

"...kay."

Gradually the shaking stopped and Bucky's breathing slowed.

"Sam...thank you."

"I'll always be here to keep you warm."

Bucky turned in his arms, hugged him and whispered, "Not thank you for that, well yes thank you for that too, but thank you for putting up with all this, my nightmares and the rest."

Sam gently ran his knuckles over Bucky's cheek. "Bucky, it doesn't work that way. You don't have to thank me for something normal. We take care of each other right?"

"Yes, but I still feel like you do more for me than I do for you. "

"That's not true. Who has my back every time we're on a mission? You do. Who repairs and cares for my armor my suits every time we come back from a mission? You do. Who takes care of me like yesterday when we're off duty? You do. You're the only one I can confide my anxieties to, and who calms me after my nightmares, who I can talk to about Riley. And there's what you do that you think I don't know about..."

"What? I don't see what-" Sam put his finger to his mouth.

"I know that you often go and help unload the boat when we're here, that you play with the boys so that Sarah has some free time, that you make time to talk with Carlos almost every day when we're here to keep him company."

Bucky began to protest, "But that's nothing special and besides it's not for you that I do that kind of thing!"

"But it's special for each person you do it for, it's special for the dockworkers who can come home early because you took a load off their shoulders, it's special for the boys who love you very much that you spend time with them, it's special for Sarah who can breathe for a few hours, and it's special for Carlos who feels less alone. You take care of the people I love, even better, you make me happy by taking care of the people I love, isn't that taking care of me?"

Sam ran his hand through Bucky's hair before continuing, not waiting for an answer, "And tell me Bucky, are you doing all this reluctantly?"

Bucky shook his head vehemently, "Sam, you know I'm not! I love you so it's only right that I take care of you and I love taking care of you!"

"So why wouldn't it be the same for me? I love taking care of you. I don't need a strong man by my side all the time, I need a partner I can lean on and who knows he can lean on me when he needs to. Needing me when you have nightmares does not make you a weak man. So let me take care of you now, without worrying about the rest."

Sam kissed him gently before turning Bucky around and resuming their previous position.

Bucky took Sam's hand and brought it to his lips before whispering, "I'd like to say something else though. You know you're the only one who can make me forget my nightmares? Sam, you are the one who made me strong, when I was finally able to free myself, you are the one who showed me the way. That day in the clearing, when you told me how to make amends, it was you who gave me the keys to my true liberation and allowed me to stand and be my own man."

"Don't forget that you walked yourself on this path, don't minimize what you did, in the end the achievement is yours. Go to sleep now. Enough with the praises and the sap."

He felt Bucky laugh against his chest, "Aww Sam, are you embarrassed? That''s so cute!"

He gave Bucky's hand a little pat, "Idiot!"

"Yes, but I'm your idiot."

Sam mumbled in response and simply tightened his embrace.

A few moments later, feeling Bucky fall asleep against him, he whispered, "Sleep my love, I'll keep you warm."