Chapter 6
"I apologize, we don't usually have visitors at the sanctum. I hope you two don't mind bunking up." Strange said gesturing to the hospital bed Sam was laying on. It wasn't the best place to start a nest but he didn't care much, as long as his alpha was nearby. "In the meantime, you two can have the room but I'll be back to monitor his progress."
"Thank you, Dr. Strange. I know we don't know each other well, but if there's anything you ever need let me know." Bucky was so grateful that Sam was okay, he almost wanted to kiss the man.
"No need to be so formal, Stephen is fine. And I might just take you up on that."
"Well alright then, Stephen. Thank you, seriously."
"Oh and Barnes," Strange added stopping on his way out. "There's only a few of us here so you're welcome to make yourself at home. Just try not to get sidetracked."
His cryptic message fell on deaf ears. Bucky was far too busy to leave Sam, let alone make himself at home. He had a job to do and he was willing to see it through. They just had to wait it out for now, for however long that might be. But before he could do anything he had to update Sarah. She had been so patient over the past couple of days, leaving her own house so her brother could ride out his heat in peace. Not to mention allowing a stranger to attend to his needs. Bucky didn't how he'd ever repay her.
"You sure he's alright." She asked him, a note of worry still evident in her voice.
"Yeah, he's a little out of it but he seems much better now. Strange got him some medicine to help, it must be strong cause he hasn't even so much as frowned in pain."
"Well that's good. I guess I should come home then, get back to work and all that."
"You should know, his room is a mess. I tried to keep up with the cleaning but he was dripping like a faucet." He realized that probably wasn't the best thing to say to his sister, should've kept that comment to himself. "...sorry."
"I didn't need to know that, like at all. But it's cool, I'll handle that too. Just keep taking care of him. I'll see you guys when you get back."
Bucky took to nesting on behalf of Sam. He tried to make it as comfortable as possible but supplies were limited at the sanctum. He had to make do with the few pillows that were left in the room and the clothes on their backs. They wouldn't be getting much use anyway by the way things were going. Sam's pain had dulled out, but the burning want of heat still lingered. He latched onto Bucky as soon as he finished the nest, dragging him in beside him. Their scents mingled as their bodies join together, unashamed in their vulnerability.
Almost a week later and Sam's heat had only just begun to finish. Strange predicted he'd be fine in a day or two but that the encounter would have left him extremely exhausted. He offered to let them stay while he recovered but Bucky didn't want to impose any longer. Especially not when Sam was due to come back to his senses. He'd probably be furious with the way things went, kicking Bucky to the curb, maybe even doing the same with the ones that helped him as well. It worried Barnes, not knowing how he'd react. He just hoped they'd be able to move on from this, somehow.
In retrospect, it was a bit foolish for Bucky to hope they could move on or even find a sense of normality after the fact. They had already grown too attached, far less than a bonded pair but close enough to cause problems. Sam was so blissfully unaware as he spent his heat with him, scenting him, taking his knot, giving him an omega to protect. He might want to walk away after all is said and done, but his body will yearn for him as if his life depends on it. And Bucky's will do the same, the loss of an omega might even make him go feral. Neither one could go on without the other, they may be able to survive but that was no way to live.
By the time Sam came down Bucky had popped his last knot. He lied on top of him, still grinding down where they connected. The residual heat rolling off him in waves, enough to make Bucky sick with lust. If he hadn't been so present he might have given in, one last time for good measure. But Bucky had already seen his eyes, he knew he was there.
"How long have we been like this?" Sam asked quietly, looking down a bit embarrassed to see the state he was in.
"About 10 minutes, give or take."
"It'll go down soon though, right?"
"The serum makes it last a little longer, it might be an hour or two." Barnes supplied sheepishly, he knew it couldn't have been too comfortable for him to wait so long. But he couldn't help but savor these last few moments. "You should rest though, you've been at it for a week."
For some reason that made him clench around him even harder, a whole week hanging off this alpha's knot. "Really, that long?" He said lowering himself onto the soldier's chest.
"Well, a bit longer actually. It's been eleven days."
"Oh, that's- Man, I'm so sorry." As reality set in Sam couldn't believe it, he'd been out of commission for too long. Anything could have happened. He should have never even gone into heat in the first place. Those stupid super soldier pheromones were no joke.
"It's okay, I'm just glad it's over. You really weren't doing well."
"What happened?" He tried to ask before Barnes shushed him. "Bucky?"
"Go to sleep, doll. We'll talk about it later."
Only thing was that later never came. When he woke up Barnes had left the room and he was partially dressed. He must have been really out of it to not have felt anything. Even the sun had come up since, the light peered through the curtains illuminating the other side of the room. The rest of his clothes were there too, folded on a spare chair. He quickly collected them and finished dressing, hating the feeling of being so exposed in a foreign place. He couldn't remember how he got there or why Bucky had left. He thought he'd at least have the decency to wait for him.
Unbeknownst to him, Bucky had waited. For hours in fact, but he eventually got hungry and decided to get some food. Everything went fine as he left, he even took a moment to put some clothes on Sam. The deli down the street was near empty and he got a few sandwiches to share. But he ran into a familiar face on his way back. Someone no one ever expected to see again.