Steve woke up with an aching chest. It wasn't really a surprise, since his condition was worsening each day. If not each hour.

He took a glance toward a digital clock, which sat on a wooden table nearby. It read 2:54 AM.

Well, he didn't sleep well..

He groaned, allowing his head to fall back onto the soft, hospital pillow. His head turned slightly, and he could see Bucky sleeping comfortably on the couch positioned in the further corner of the room, which was quite big.

Bucky's been there for him through thick and thin, and he'd hate for him to have to go through immeasurable suffering because of his death. Though, he does faintly remember a few memories of where Bucky had gotten injured. Unbeknownst to him, the younger version of Steve had watched it happen.

Steve paced back and forth through his and Bucky's shared apartment. It was 6:00 PM. Where was he? Bucky should have been back 2 hours ago. He had been convincing himself that Bucky was just running late, like he sometimes does, or someone stopped to talk to him.

Or it could be a lot worse-

No, he couldn't think that way..

Despite his multiple health issues, he was getting down to the choice to go outside and search for him. It was around 30 degrees, which was a little too cold for him, but with multiple large coats he should be okay.

Hopefully.

A few minutes later Steve was fully dressed. The coats looked huge on his thin-frame. If he could just fatten up some more he wouldn't be getting so sick. Thanks to his weak immune system..

He opened the door of the apartment, feeling the icy wind prick his face repeatedly. He stepped down the stairs silently, glancing around the dark streets once he reached the sidewalk.

Of course, Steve didn't really know where Bucky would usually go, but he decided that just searching as much as he could would be enough.

It ended up being about another 2 hours of searching. It was 8:12 PM now. The wind had picked up, and it felt like needles poking at his face. It wasn't comfortable at all. The temperature was bad enough as it was.

The streets were eerily empty, and there were only a few other souls in sight. Very few cars passed him.

Finally, he turned into an alley, where he could hear some aggressive arguing. He peeked around the corner, and his heart dropped into his chest. He could see Bucky, visibly mad, at another figure, who seemed to be much taller than him.

He noticed that the taller man had some sort of weapon in a holster at his side. It wasn't a regular weapon, for sure..

Not wanting to end up being chastised by Bucky for getting himself into another mess, he stood and watched nervously. He was hidden in the shadows. He could hear a few words from their exchange, sometimes full sentences if he listened closely.

"—No! If you think that I would ever tell you where he is-"

"You won't really have a choice, Barnes. I'll find him, whether you like it or not."

"I won't let you. You're going to have to go through me first. And if dying means you'll leave him alone, so be it."

Steve could instantly tell from Bucky's slightly panicked tone, that the conversation was about him. Of course, everything seemed to be about him these days.

He swallowed roughly and continued to watch silently.

"Alright then, soldier," the man snarled. He reached for the weapon, and instantly the argument turned physical. Bucky grabbed the man's arm and twisted, but the man, with surprising strength, flipped the shorter man over his shoulder and onto the cold ground behind him.

Steve's breath turned to a loud wheeze, but he instantly settled his breathing, already knowing the man must have heard him, but Bucky didn't, as he was busy getting himself back to his feet.

The tall man spun around, and Steve ducked behind the wall, breathing uneasily.

God, please don't hurt him..

Not Bucky..

The man walked closer to Steve's hiding spot, whistling casually, as if he were just taking a stroll.

Bucky spun around to face the man. "Hey! What are you doing?"

The man grinned. "It appears he has already decided to join us."

"Damn it," Bucky thought. "He came looking for me."

He didn't have time to reach the man before he reached behind the wall, lifting Steve up by the collar of his shirt. He squirmed repeatedly, breathing rate increasing.

"Steve!" Bucky shouted, eyes widening as he came to a stop just in front of both of them.

Steve was staring at him. Complete fear was plastered on his face.

"B-Bucky!"

He growled. "Let him go, you bastard!"

The man only chuckled. "On second thought.." He threw Steve onto the ground, hard. Bucky made a run for him, and surprisingly, the man didn't intervene when Bucky cupped Steve's face, making sure he wasn't badly hurt. He then turned and glared up at the man with pure hatred.

"What kind of hell is this?"

He didn't have time to realize the man had pulled out the weapon he had holstered to his side. It impacted his abdomen hard, sending him to the ground with a painful yell.

"Bucky!" Steve coughed and began to shake, crawling over to his downed friend, who was forcing himself up onto his knees.

"Come on, Buck...you gotta get up," Steve felt his voice shake, just now noticing the blood beginning to drip onto the ground from the wound.

Bucky took in multiple, shaky breaths. The man just watched in silence as Bucky failed to get up, only managing to get against the brick wall of the building, cradling an upset and scared Steve against his chest while he took heaving breaths, trying to recover.

The man laughed. "You can't protect him like that."

Bucky growled, tightening his grip on Steve. "I'd rather try. You're not going to hurt him."

He ignored the fact that his abdomen was pretty much a bloody mess and just slammed the pain he was feeling into the deepest part of his mind where he could forget about it. At least for now.

The man took a step closer. "Would you like to test that?" He pulled out the weapon.

Bucky swallowed hard and nodded. He lowered his head onto Steve's shoulder, hearing his small, hiccuping sobs. He whispered reassurances into his ear as he shielded most of Steve's body with his own. "Shh, I'm here. It's okay.." He lifted his head and stared up at the man with an, "I dare you," look on his face.

He looked back down at Steve, who was gripping his shirt desperately with his bony fingers.

When he looked back up, the man was gone.

"Huh?"

Bucky didn't loosen his protective grip from Steve until he did a full scan of the area. The man must have fled, strangely.

He then began to feel the effects of the wound, which was still bleeding. His grip on Steve loosened.

Steve lifted his head and looked at Bucky, then down to the wound. Bucky laid his head back against the wall, listening to his own labored breathing. He could feel himself shivering. Not from the cold, but from the extreme pain that was starting to take over his body. But he couldn't lose consciousness; not with Steve here.

"Steve.." He breathed in exhaustion, turning his head to the skinny kid next to him. He instantly met his tear-filled eyes and instantly wished he hadn't.

"W-We can't stay h-here," Steve stuttered, tears still flowing down his face. "Y-You have to g-get up," He tugged weakly on Bucky's arm, which completely shattered the man's heart.

Bucky placed his left hand on his wound, blood soaking between his fingers. He let out a small, pained gasp and instantly found himself squeezing Steve's small hand.

"I'm okay…" He muttered. He knew he wasn't, but he couldn't scare Steve even more than he already was. If that was even possible.

Steve caught on pretty quickly. "No you're not.."

Bucky coughed again and grinned, some blood dripped down his mouth. "Can't ever get a l-lie passed ya, can I..?" His head lolled to the side soon after. Another groan escaped his lips.

He could hear Steve's panicked breathing, and felt a hand press against his wound roughly. His grip on Steve's hand suddenly tightened extremely as he let out a pained gasp.

Steve instantly drew back, seeming to ignore how hard his friend was squeezing his hand. "Sorry-"

"'s okay.." Bucky murmured, on the verge of unconsciousness.

Steve got to his feet, once again trying to assist Bucky to his. He was trying, in all honesty, but his feet couldn't support his weight, and he tumbled to the ground and landed on his side.

"Bucky! Please, please- you have to get up," He tried again, but Bucky barely moved this time. His breathing was uncomfortably fast.

"Steve.." Bucky muttered. "'m sorry.."

"Shut up," Steve replied. "If you die on me, I-" He shook his head, and a gut-wrenching sob escaped him as he wrapped himself around Bucky. He pulled Steve back and cupped his face with his hands. "Hey," he rasped. "Steve, look at me."

Steve hesitantly moved his gaze over to his friend's face.

"I'm going to be okay, alright?" He wiped one of Steve's many tears away.

Steve nodded, but Bucky could tell he didn't believe him.

What a stubborn kid..

"I swear," He muttered, pulling his friend against him.

Steve blinked his eyes open again. He had realized that he had fallen asleep while recounting one of his worse memories from his past. Bucky was watching him with a smile on his face.

"Hey.." He muttered, remembering the condition he was in.

Bucky held up a bag of food. "Hey. Brought you some food. I guessed you'd be hungry, and the doctor said you could eat now."

Steve grinned.

"Oh, and Sam's coming to visit."

Steve's grin grew wider. "Finally, another visitor."

Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Shut up and eat your food."