"Steve, no," Bucky whispered, "you can't leave me here with her. I'm not gonna know what to do."

The Captain laughed and gave his friend a supportive pat on the back, then grabbed his gear for the mission that was about to begin. "Buck, you took care of me for years, and this is too much for you? She has a migraine. The most she'll ask for is maybe for you to stop talking."

"Okay, yeah, but-"

Steve took a step back to regard Bucky for a moment, looking at him skeptically. "What's really going on? Why are you so worked up over this? You're the one who said that you didn't feel ready to go on a mission with us yet, so this is the job I'm giving you instead."

Bucky sighed and rubbed his cheek, looking at Steve and then down to his feet as if he were embarrassed. "It's just that...I haven't really talked to her much. I feel like she's avoiding me or something."

"She's not. She's giving you the space you asked for, remember? You told everyone to give you time to adjust. So...adjust." Steve gave a small nod and turned to join the team for takeoff, leaving Bucky to stand quietly, uncomfortably, and alone with you and with no idea of what to do.

"I'm not going to bite you, Barnes," you groaned from beneath a large pile of blankets pulled over your head. "Unless you're into that sort of thing."

"Um...well...I suppose..." he stammered, finally taking a few steps towards you.

You pulled your head out from beneath your cocoon and gave him a surprised look, one eyebrow raised suspiciously, "excuse me?" You laughed quietly, since any movement or loud noise sent a pounding through your head. "Sorry, you might have to buy me a drink first." You heard a chuckle come from Bucky, very quiet, but it was there. Satisfied that you had lightened the mood enough for him to relax, you buried yourself in the darkness of your blankets once again.

You could hear him sit down in a chair nearby and let out a deep sigh as he relaxed into it. He was close enough to keep an eye on you as he was directed to, but not so close as to make an uncomfortable situation for either of you.

"Do you get these a lot?" he asked so quietly that you almost didn't hear him. "The headaches?"

"Um, not too often." Once again you pulled your head from the cover you had built, peeking out with a squint to block the light from your vision. Any light that got through caused more pain and the muscles behind your eyes to tighten. "If they were just a headache, I could work through them, but mine get pretty crazy. I feel bad that it takes me away from my job. Like I'm not pulling my weight."

"Steve seemed pretty understanding about it. He was pretty concerned and wanted to be sure I kept an eye on you."

"I don't need a babysitter."

Bucky raised his hands and sat up a bit straighter in his chair, "hey, I didn't say that you did. I'm not babysitting."

"So then why have you been staring at me this whole time? What are you afraid of that I might do?" Despite the fatigue in your muscles and the waves of nausea that kept attacking, you pushed yourself up on an elbow to turn towards him. "You don't need to be here if you don't want to. He'll get over it."

"Hey, fine by me," Bucky huffed, pushing himself up to leave, "I know when I ain't wanted." He was nearly out of the room when the sound of you moaning and breathing fast caught his attention. He turned back to see you leaning over the side of the couch, your stomach finally getting the best of you.

"Okay, okay," he whispered, hurrying to sit next to you and pull your hair back, "I think maybe we can both agree that you're wrong."

"Not...the time...Barnes," you panted, trying to keep your stomach calm. "Not...the time."

Bucky sat with you for a few minutes, patiently waiting for you to settle down and get control of your breathing. Once you leaned back into your pillows and pulled your blankets up again, he stood and motioned to leave. "You can still call me if you need something." His voice was flat and calm, but when you looked up at him, his eyes were filled with concern.

"Stay?" you whispered, not feeling quite certain that your stomach could be trusted. "Just for a while...if you don't mind?"

"Sure," he shrugged, looking around the room as if he were avoiding your eyes, "is there anything you need? Have you eaten at all today?"

The thought of food made your stomach ache, and you could almost feel yourself turning a nice shade of green. You shook your head and swallowed hard at the thought of what food would do to you. "No, and I'll pass, thanks."

"Maybe if you ate something, your stomach would settle down." Before you could protest, he was gone and working in the kitchen. The sounds of him banging pans around echoed through the tower and made the pain in your head pound, but you figured it was the headache making the sound only seem louder. All of your senses became heightened during your migraine, but it was hard for others to understand how it felt if they had never experienced it.

You were just about back to sleep when you heard Bucky approaching, trying to walk as gently and quietly as possible. Even the small sound of the spoon hitting his metal hand resonated loudly in your head.

"Hey," he said quietly, "try this."

"What is it?" You took a quick smell of the liquid in the bowl he was holding, grimacing a bit at its strength. "Smells a little weird, Buck."

"It's a ginger root broth," he chuckled, turning the spoon towards you as he sat on the edge of the couch to face you. "It's good for nausea. And," he paused, pushing it towards you, "you can't take your pain medication on a queasy stomach, right?"

With a groan you sat up, pushing yourself against the back of the couch with your blankets still pulled up high, "okay, but if I throw up, I'm aiming for your shoes."

"Noted."

You made an attempt to grab the spoon, but your fingers failed you and it dropped down the front of your shirt. "Dammit. Sorry, sometimes my hands don't work right with these headaches. I get really clumsy."

Without missing a beat, Bucky grabbed the spoon and refilled it, then held it up for you to eat from. You looked at him confused and a bit skeptical, not making any motion to take it from him. "Well, go ahead," he insisted.

"You're gonna feed me?"

"If it's our only option, then yeah."

The first spoonful was a bit awkward, trying to be fed by someone else and not being sure how to feel about it. A few spoonfuls later you were actually starting to feel just a bit better and more comfortable with the turn of events. Once his concoction was gone, he set the bowl down and pushed himself back and next to you, arranging your pillows and blankets so you could be as comfortable as possible.

"Bet you didn't think this is how your day would end?"

"It's not so bad," he said with a small smile. "So, the team should be back in a couple of hours. Is there anything else that I can do for now?"

You really wanted him to stay longer, feeling bad that you had rejected him and snapped at him when he first came to help you. It was a long shot that he would stay, but you wanted to take the chance that he would. You didn't want him to think that this was who you normally were. Grabbing one of your pillows, you laid it on his lap and rested your head down. You could feel his legs shift uncomfortably for a moment, then relax as you settled.

"Is this not okay?"

"N-no," he whispered uncertainly, "it's fine."

~~~

"Hey." Steve gently tapped Bucky's shoulder, attempting to wake him up. "Buck," he whispered again, not wanting to wake you in the process.

"Hmm?"

"We're back. Everything okay?"

Bucky let out a sigh that turned into a yawn, rubbing his eyes and looking around the darkened room. "Yeah, we just fell asleep." Once his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, he looked down and saw that he was no longer sitting next to you, but rather laying on the couch behind you with his hand resting on your side and your head pressed against his chest.

"So, I'm guessing you don't need your distance anymore, huh?" Steve joked, but Bucky reached up to give him a small slap on the arm.

"Quiet, I don't want to wake her," he scolded with a harsh whisper. "And no, I think distance might be overrated anyway." Bucky waved his hand dismissively at Steve, settling back in behind you and pulling your blankets up to keep you warm as you slept.

Steve let out a quiet laugh and made his way to his room, pausing to look back at his two friends, finally about to see what he had seen all along. "You're welcome, jerk."