Discovery
Bucky had always been extra attentive when it came to Stevie. He'd always noticed little things that he knew nobody else did. It came with being her best friend after all. Whenever she'd been cold but fast asleep he'd gently wrap himself around her, pulling the blankets tighter around both of them, he noticed the way her brow sometimes furrowed when she was drawing, or the way she absently hummed little tunes as she worked on small tasks.
But for all the things he'd noticed back then and since he'd moved into an apartment with her now, he missed the most important thing of all. Stevie didn't sleep. It'd taken him quite a while to figure it out, in fact he was pretty sure he wouldn't have figured it out if he hadn't woken up to her absently running her fingers through his hair.
"Stevie...?" He'd mumbled softly, blinking up at her.
She'd blinked for a moment and looked down at him. Even in the dark he could tell she was blushing. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
His brows furrowed and he shook his head ever so slightly. "You should be asleep."
"Can't sleep, not tired." She said softly.
Bucky knew that was a lie, he'd always been able to tell when she was lying. He narrowed his eyes at her and frowned. "Stevie... what's wrong?"
The blonde sighed softly and Bucky cocked a brow at her.
"I'm scared okay...?" She said softly, looking at him sadly. "I'm scared I might not wake up again, I don't want to go through that again."
Bucky gently squeezed her, leaning up to press a soft kiss to her lips. "You will wake up, and I'll be right here every morning when you do."
He gently caressed her cheek. "Relax, please? And try to get some sleep... for me?" He asked softly.
Stevie nodded and for the night traded places with him, scooting down a bit to rest her head on his chest as she tried to get some sleep. Bucky hummed softly and gently ran his fingers through her hair, thoughts running through his head.
If Stevie was afraid to fall asleep then he'd have to find a way to tire her out enough so she could without problems. And so it began.