Flashes of being strapped to a chair danced behind Bucky's eyelids. The torture…the insanity…the pain. HYDRA operatives had held Barnes and a good deal of the 107th hostage for a decent portion of the war, it was very lucky that they made it out alive. At least he guessed he was lucky. He was breathing and there was a beautiful blonde angel laying by his side; a blonde angel who would have wept for him had he not come home in one piece. Yet, there was a part of the sergeant that would have preferred returning to his lover in a wooden box; peaceful, happy…the Bucky Steve had fallen in love with. Now he was a damaged good. He was riddled with fear and night terrors that could wake the devil. He hated that he woke Rogers in the middle of the night with his screaming, it wasn't a bit fair for the man who'd waited four whole years for his return. This wasn't what he'd imagined life being like for the two of them, Steven deserved better. That being said he couldn't help being grateful, especially as he felt those tiny little arms lovingly envelope him in the middle of the night.

"Buck, wake up. You're only dreaming…you're safe, you're home. You came back to me, Bucky, open your eyes." His voice was soothing, soft as silk and full of more concern than the soldier thought he was worthy of. His body jerked, eyes popping open as the tremors began to calm and petite hands used the bed sheets to dab way his perspire. Bucky sat up and Steve reached over to the nightstand to turn on their lamp. Buck was pale, sweaty…frightened. Nothing broke Steve's heart more than the pain he saw etched into those beautiful blue eyes.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to do that again." Steve sighed.

"How many times have I told you, you don't have to apologize." Bucky sighed heavily and reached out to tenderly caress the side of Steve's face with his thumb.

"Oh but I do. This isn't right, you shouldn't have to put up with me, it's not your problem. We have enough to worry about with your…" Bucky trailed off, not wanting to rehash the fight the two of them had been having off and on that week. Steve immediately felt guilty, Bucky had been having those terrors more frequently ever since he'd found out about PRENCYGAN. PRENCYGAN was a new experimental drug that had just opened up for human trials in an attempt at curing anemia, and though Bucky was very adamant that Steve had been coping just fine with his anemic issues, Rogers wanted to have one less health concern to worry about. It was a wonder he'd survived to adulthood with all that ailed him, he wanted to keep things heading in that direction.

"Bucky, really, I'm okay. I've been taking it for a few weeks and so far I feel great…no gills, no horrible side effects. You don't have to worry so much." James ran a hand through his messy brunette locks and seemed to mull it over for a few moments. How could he stop worrying? Steve was all he had. He decided to prevent an argument with his beloved and moved in for a kiss instead. This was the one thing he valued most about having survived the war…the taste of these sweet, pouty lips. Steve tasted like caramel apples, it was intoxicating. Their lips collided sweetly, chastely, their tongues massaging each other and exploring the familiar territory. Steve tried to rough house a little, though Bucky was much stronger and made it his priority to slow him down.

"Easy, tiger." Bucky uttered breathlessly as they pulled away. Steve whimpered, his lips kiss-bruised and begging for more. Steve's baby blue eyes were lust blown…it had been so very long since either of them had been with one another in any way, much less sexually. Bucky knew that look well, it was the very look Steve had given him when he'd taken his virginity before the war. Buck had been with a few girls before, but Steve had been pure when he allowed the slightly older male to take him. Bucky knew his own strength, knew he had to be careful. Stevie was so fragile.

"Make love to me." Now how could he resist that? Steve blushed up his cheeks as he said it, goose-bumps littering his body as Bucky leaned in to pepper his neck with kisses and bites. Bucky's firm, strong arms held Steve in place as his lips raked up and down the smaller man's torso after having ripped his button down pajama shirt open with one harsh tug. He took a small, perfect nipple into his mouth and earned a gorgeous moan from his Steve. Those bright blue eyes rolled to the back of his artist's head and Bucky smirked as he ran his hands down the remainder of Rogers's body. He was gentle with Steve, though his touch was urgent as it massaged the hardening boner beneath Steve's trousers. Rogers grabbed fistfuls of Bucky's shaggy hair, pulling their lips back together as hungrily as his strength would allow. Buck could feel his own dick becoming erect as the feeling of Steve's tongue against his sent electricity through his body. He allowed his counterpart to push him back into the pillows of the bed, Steve straddling his waist as if he were the dominant partner, though this was only because Bucky was afraid he'd hurt him the other way around. Steve's smile was so bright as his eyes met Bucky's own, and it warmed the soldier's icy heart more than the other would ever likely know. He couldn't help kissing that adorable expression right off of his face.

"I love you." Bucky whispered softly against his lips, only causing that beautiful grin to widen.

"I love you more." Buck smirked, copping another feel and threading his fingers into the band of Steven's pants.

"Care to test that theory?" Steve had missed this so much…not the sex, per se, but the carefree and loving demeanor written all over James's features. That was the Bucky Barnes that was here with him tonight, not the Bucky who was suffering and in pain. There was no one else he loved more in the entire world…he didn't have anyone else. Steve slowly unbuttoned Bucky's shirt and gazed at what lay beneath; thick sinewy muscles tight from war, rippling and glistening across his torso in all their glory. Steve kissed his chest gently as Bucky finally pulled his fingers downward and slid Steve's pants and boxers right off of him. Steve shivered at the cold air hitting his bare skin and eagerly followed suit, taking Buck's garments off and bending down to get a mouthful of that throbbing cock.

"Uh-uh, Stevie. You don't need to do that, we still have Vaseline left over from last time. Let me treat you." Bucky rummaged around in their bedside table for a moment, pulling out a small tub of Vaseline and beginning to rub it onto his dick with one hand while sitting up and holding Steve still with the other while he dove between his lovers legs. Steve immediately gasped, the feeling of Buck's mouth around his cock sending chills down his spine. Bucky hummed in satisfaction; Steve might have been skinny but his dick was the one thing about him that was not tiny. It filled Bucky's mouth to the tip of his throat and the soldier would have it no other way as he began to suck the appendage vigorously. The sound of Steve's whimpers mixed with the feeling of his own hand massaging the lube onto his dick was becoming too much, his already straining and purple bulge beginning to leak pre-cum. He groaned loudly put a halt to his masturbation, using his jelly covered hand to stick a finger into Steve's ass, who he was still giving head.

"S-Sweet lord…J-James!" Steve's body tensed at the intrusion, his practically virginal ass puckering with a slight sensation of pain. Steve and Bucky had had sex one time right before Buck had been deployed…so this was all still very new to Rogers. Bucky kissed him very softly, romantically; taking the tension and edge off as he eased another finger into his boyfriend. James couldn't tell if Steve was experiencing pain or pleasure, running his fingers through those tidy blonde locks in comfort just in case.

"All most there, Steven. I'll be inside you real soon, I promise."

*2012*

Back in the present, Fury was pacing around Tony Stark's lab anxiously. After weeks of convincing and pleading he had finally managed to get Stark and Bruce Banner on board with helping him right the past. Neither were certain exactly how they were going to do that, but considering that Steve's never becoming Captain America had meant that the Red Skull had gone undefeated and the world was on the brink of a HYDRA-lead World War 3, they had to at least try.

More was different about the present than Nick had originally anticipated. Tony and Bruce were the same, mostly, but Romanoff had become the most horrific dictator Russia had ever seen and was currently allies with the HYDRA infested Germany. Agent Barton had been sent to assassinate her and came back to SHIELD mutilated in a cardboard box…there was no such thing as the Avengers. Barton was dead, Natasha was horrendously evil, there was no word on Thor…and all Fury had was a metal man that didn't play well with others and a giant green rage monster. The one thing Fury felt good about was that out of all the Avengers, at least he was left with the two genius's.

"Any word on how the PRENCYGAN is affecting Cap?" Fury asked, looking over Dr. Banner's shoulder as he was running some form of diagnostics. PRENCYGAN was a drug he had developed himself, and unlike how it was being marketed in the 40's, it did not treat anemia. PRENCYGAN was an acronym that Tony and Banner had come up with themselves after Nick had finally convinced them that there was a better future out there that had somehow gotten fucked up.

Prevention and

Recovery

Enforcement

Narcotic to

Create

Year-long symptoms

Given previously by the serum

And recreate the soldier who's

Nowhere to be found.

Because the super-soldier serum had been destroyed by HYDRA before it could be administered and the scientist had been murdered there was really no way of recreating the exact formula, however Stark and Banner had been able to concoct what they thought might have similar effects into a pill form.

Now, there was one thing and one thing only that was helpful about the HYDRA fiasco going on during this alternate present. HYDRA had hired a man by the name of Von Strucker to experiment with their own attempts at recreating the lost serum…and they'd had some very interesting side effects. There had been a young woman living in Illinois who had been kidnapped along with others in her family by HYDRA due to their Jewish faith. Most of her family was currently being held as prisoners of war in Germany and their capture was largely a political statement and promise of the beginnings of a new war. However, this girl in particular, Kitty Pryde, was separated from her family and sent to Von Strucker to serve as a new test subject. SHIELD was more than aware that Kitty Pryde and several other subjects' genes had been mutated by the serum, which was not working the way HYDRA intended, and luckily for Fury in particular Kitty had recently escaped.

Pryde had absconded Germany easily, as her mutant powers granted her the ability to walk through walls. She had turned herself in to SHIELD recently, hoping to be of use in the up and coming war and defense against what could only be described as the new Axis: Germany, Russia, and Sokovia. Kitty had one more gift besides walking through objects, and that was the ability to project a person's consciousness into the past. Because of Fury's concerns regarding Captain America, she had been sent right to him.

Projecting Bruce into the past every now and again in disguise as Steve's new medical doctor wasn't so hard for her and for the time being it was working. Their only issue right now was that she didn't have the strength to send anyone back further than 1945, which was after World War 2 had already ended. Despite being unable to redirect Steve's past enough to get him back into the war, the four of them were making their best efforts to create a situation where Rogers would become that hero anyway.

"How long is that test you're running going to take? We have to prefect this drug, Dr. Banner. So far there hasn't been any change in Steve at all." Fury barked, Bruce removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes wearily.

"Patience, Director. I'm trying to eliminate as many side-effects as possible. You should give him a physical yourself and then you'll see…it would be very easy to accidently kill someone with as many issues as this kid." This didn't make Fury's tension ease any and he sighed heavily.

"Well hurry. We are running out of time."

*1945*

Bucky had Steve on top of him, dick buried deep in his ass as he thrust in harder and deeper. His large arms were supporting Steve's tiny body and his tongue was lovingly exploring every inch of Rogers's mouth. Steve felt as if he might explode, a sweltering heat spreading throughout his groin like a wild fire. His small hands were pressed hard against Buck's chest for support as he grinded into his loves enormous manhood.

"B-Bucky! Ughhh I c-cant…!" A booming growl ripped through James's chest as he began to feel his own beginnings of an orgasm. He reached up and cupped Steve's face tenderly, forcing the smaller man to look him in the eyes, adoration plastered all over his face.

"It's okay, baby. Do it." Steve leaned down and captured his lips one final time, crying out into his mouth as he was flung into a mind blowing orgasm. They came simultaneously, Steve's cum exploding against Bucky's chest as the latter's hot white seed was spilling hard and deep inside of Steve's body.

"Shit!" Steve groaned, earning a surprised chuckle from Bucky as Rogers collapsed onto his chest, exhausted. He kissed his forehead and wrapped his arms around him tentatively.

"Language." Steve laughed too, but didn't bother apologizing, his eyes beginning to flutter shut in content. They had been up an awfully long time since Barnes had his night terror, so he was happy that his boyfriend was finally going to get some sleep. Buck held him like that, the rest of the night; holding him in his arms protectively and rethinking his stance on whether or not he was happy he was alive. Maybe he was wrong…maybe surviving the war was going to end up the greatest thing that ever happened to him. All he knew was that his entire world was sleeping soundly in his arms, and that was all he needed to fall in to a terror free and dare I even say happy, sleep.