Till the End of the Line: Our Now | Stucky Fanfic

Chapter Five

Bucky's standing in the doorway, hunched and heavy looking.

"Buck?" Steve asks, voice hoarse. "You alright?"

He walks in and closes the door without a sound. "C-Can I sleep in here?" he asks softly, making his way towards Steve's bed. He's still trying to make himself look smaller. Oh, he's embarrassed...

"Yeah, sure." Steve slides over, making room for the ex-assassin. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

Bucky nods and climbs into bed, but stays over the covers. "You've made that clear."

Steve gives him a small smile and lays back down. "Good. Night, Bucky."

There's silence for a long moment, before Bucky whispers, "Night Steve."

The next night, Steve's reading some best seller that Sam recommended when the door creaks open again. He glances up and smiles. "You're just the person I need right now," he says quietly.

Bucky pauses. "I am?"

Steve nods and shifts to give Bucky room in the bed. "I'm reading this book Sam wanted me to read and it's brutal."

The brunet shuffles over and climbs into bed, looking more like a lost child than a man who just turned one-hundred not too long ago. "What's it about?"

"These two kids with cancer. Apparently it was pretty popular when I got out of the ice, but I was so busy catching up on history that I didn't get to delve that deep in pop culture. Anyways, it's a good book but I'm almost through with it..." Steve shakes his head. "I don't think it's going to end well."

Bucky raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Did you really expect a book about kids with cancer would end well?"

Steve shakes his head. "Yes, because unlike you Mr. Grump, I have hope."

He rolls his eyes before his face takes a more somber shape. "Can I sleep in here again?"

"Please? I don't think I'll be able to be alone once I finish," Steve chuckles.

Bucky gives him a thankful smile, like he knows Steve's just making up something to take the pressure off of Bucky. Like he knows what Bucky's really going through.

It starts to be a routine, where Bucky crawls into Steve's bed with a quiet "Please?" in the middle of the night. Sometimes he says it was just a nightmare, other times he says nothing at all. A few nights he'll just stay up and talk about the good ol' days, but he mostly just asks Steve questions about his day and work, anything that'll keep him distracted.

After a few weeks of Bucky sleeping with Steve, the captain's starting to get concerned. He's not worried about Bucky's stability (okay he is, but that's not his focus right now), but rather what Steve will do in his sleep. There's been plenty a night where Steve finds himself waking up with Bucky's name on his lips, sometimes in a horrible scream and others in a sensual moan. He doesn't want to freak Bucky out with either option, but he also has no control over his subconscious.

He's also enjoying sharing a bed far too much for platonic friends. How anyone thought they were straight boggles Steve, because there's no way he can spend every night sleeping beside Bucky without falling for him all over again. Everything in him hums when he wakes up in the middle of the night, body restless and bursting with energy, only to find the comforting heat of Bucky's body seeping through the comforter.

Eventually, Bucky stops sleeping on the covers and starts sleeping under them. Their legs end up tangled together and more often than not, they wake up curled around one another. Steve's always embarrassed, mumbling apology after apology to his best friend while he tries desperately to politely leave. Bucky's just confused.