Stormproof Hearts, Midnight Talk's
The storm rolled in just after midnight.
Thunder cracked sharp across the skyline, lightning flickering like camera flashes against the Tower's windows. Most of the team had gone to bed.
Harry hadn't.
Bucky found him on the floor of the lounge, back pressed to the couch, hoodie sleeves pulled over his hands, eyes locked on the window.
He didn't look scared.
Not exactly.
But there was tension in his shoulders. That quiet kind of stillness Bucky recognized in himself—the kind that came from instinct, not choice.
"You alright?" Bucky asked softly.
Harry didn't look away from the storm. "Yeah. Just... thinking."
Bucky sat beside him, careful, close but not crowding. "Too loud?"
Harry shrugged. "It's not the thunder. It's the quiet between."
Bucky understood that too well.
"Used to sit through storms in closets," Harry said after a while. "Cupboard, actually. Door locked. Thought the thunder might knock the walls down."
Bucky said nothing. Just reached over and took one of Harry's hands, blanket sleeve and all, and held it gently.
Harry let him.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't joke.
Just breathed.
In the silence that followed, Bucky pulled him into his lap, wrapped a blanket around them both, and rested his chin on the top of Harry's head.
Harry leaned in without hesitation.
"You always this good at being soft?" he asked, voice muffled.
"No," Bucky said. "Just with you."
"Good answer," Harry whispered. "You're definitely winning the cuddle chart this month."
"Was that ever in question?"
"I mean… Bruce has better tea."
"But I have better arms."
Harry smiled. "Accurate."
Meanwhile…
Elsewhere in the Tower
Tony stood on the balcony, arms crossed, watching the storm. Pepper joined him a moment later, silent until he handed her a glass of wine.
"You always brood with this much dramatic lighting?" she asked.
"Shut up, I'm parenting."
Pepper tilted her head. "Something happen?"
"No. That's the weird part. He's fine. Happy. He made cookies that might have chili powder in them and I still ate three."
Pepper smiled softly. "So what's the problem?"
"I love him," Tony said simply. "And that's... big. Bigger than I'm used to. I keep waiting to screw it up."
"You haven't."
"Yet."
Pepper leaned her head on his shoulder. "You love him. He loves you. The rest is noise."
Tony didn't reply.
But he closed his eyes.
And let himself believe it.
Back in the lounge, Harry was half-asleep in Bucky's lap, blanket tangled around them, thunder still rolling outside.
"You're warm," Harry mumbled.
"You're safe," Bucky murmured back.
And in the quiet between lightning strikes…
That was enough.