~ Marvel ~
Stucky
———

Tony gripped Steve's shoulders tightly, trying to keep the blond from busting down the door to Bucky's room. He and a few other Avengers who were awake were attempting to calm the Captain, but the screams and cries absolute of terror coming from the other side of the door were proving to be too much.

"Let me in there! He needs help!" Steve said desperately, struggling to rip himself free of the billionaire's grip. Each scream that came from the room felt like a stab to the heart and he knew he couldn't take it much longer. He couldn't just sit back while his best friend and lover suffered like that. "He's having nightmares!"

"Yeah, and he could possibly hurt you!" Tony argued, starting to sweat from the effort of holding the super soldier back. He gave Natasha a side-glance to see what she thought, but she just shook her head.

The red-head flinched when one scream jarred a disturbing memory and shook her head again to rid herself of the negative thought. "Tony, Barnes is in pain. I don't think keeping Steve out here while we wait for things to die down is the right thing to do. He's the only one who can get close enough to help him."

Peter nervously shuffled his feet, almost feeling like he was going to cry the more he listened to Bucky suffer behind the closed door. "M-Mr. Stark-" He began, but was cut short by a glare from Tony.

"You aren't even supposed to be up this late!" Tony snapped, his gaze cold for a second before he realized what he had sounded like and deflated a little. He sighed and reluctantly let Steve go, staring at the floor for a moment before looking at the blond. "Go help him. Stay in there if you have to."

Steve remained silent, clear blue eyes focused on Tony as he nodded. He swiftly turned on his heel and entered the room without hesitation, his heart nearly shattering as he was met with the full force of Bucky's screams of terror. The brunet was thrashing and jerking on his bed every few seconds, his fingers tangled in his long hair as he wept and cried out.

Steve couldn't bear it any longer.

"Bucky! Bucky... Buck..... it's okay, it's okay." Steve soothed, kneeling down beside the bed so he wasn't infringing on Bucky's space too much. Trying to restrain him right now would only cause more distress, he needed to calm down. The blond gently stroked the former assassin's forearm, trying to coax him to let go of his hair. "You're okay, Bucky. You're okay. It's me, Steve. Remember me?"

Bucky was tense before he slowly relaxed under Steve's touch, his chest heaving with each breath he took. He was drenched in a cold sweat, his stormy blue eyes wild as he stared at Steve. "S-Steve...?" He managed to shakily say, his voice hoarse from screaming.

"Yeah, Buck. It's me. I'm here."

Bucky was silent for a moment before his chest heaved with a silent sob. "Oh God, Steve..." He wept, fresh tears spilling onto his cheeks. "The n-nightmares... they won't s-stop..."

"Shhh..." Steve soothed, climbing onto the bed and carefully laying down next to Bucky. He gently pulled the brunet close to his chest and let him sob into his shoulder, using one hand to rub circles on his back. "Shh.. just let it all out, Buck. I'm right here. No one's gonna hurt you." He whispered, pressing his cheek against Bucky's head. It hurt so much to see Bucky like this, no one could ever understand.

"How do you deal with m-me...?" Bucky stammered between sobs, tightly gripping Steve's shirt. "I'm nothing b-but a burden..."

Steve frowned a little, continuing to rub Bucky's back. "Don't say that..." He whispered, planting a gentle kiss to Bucky's head and hugging him closer. "I love you so much, Buck. It's my job to take care of you when you're hurting. You mean the world to me, it hurts me to see you suffering this way.." A twinge of guilt sprang up in his heart. It almost felt like this was his fault. If only he had tried a little harder to save Bucky from falling that fateful day... "Please don't think you are a burden.... I don't think you are and I never will." He kissed the brunet's head again, nestling his chin in the soft locks.

Bucky stayed silent after that, his sobs eventually dying down to small whimpers and whines. Steve continued to rub his back until he heard his breathing beginning to become more heavy, indicating that he was falling asleep. The poor thing was definitely exhausted after all of that.

Seeing that Bucky was now clinging to him like a sloth, Steve decided to just sleep there for the night. Hopefully he didn't have another nightmare, he deserved all the sleep he could get.