Angel
Upon returning to the bedroom, Bucky sat on the bed. He kept his breath quiet so he could listen to Sam's voice through the wall. He was laying out rules for Zemo. 'Don't leave my sight for even a second' and so on. When he finally hears their footsteps retreat downstairs, he allows himself to lay down on the plush bed. Although he had used it as an excuse, he was incredibly exhausted and sore. He had half a thought to move to the floor so he would be able to ground himself and might save himself a nightmare, but the soft mattress welcomed him and embraced his broken, tired body. He fell into sleep swiftly as the party boomed rhythmically below.
Sam was honestly proud of himself for lasting this long. Considering he was dealing with the combination of exhaustion from today's mission, the headache inducing music, the sweaty, suffocating crowd, and Zemo's god-awful dancing, he thought the hour he lasted was pretty fucking commendable. But enough was enough. He just wanted to rest for a while before they had to move to whatever their next location would be. To be honest the meeting at Selby's still had him on edge. Seeing Bucky give up all sense of self preservation to follow orders and hardly react to being beaten on scared him more than he cared to admit. And afterwards...the way Bucky practically stared through him. He didn't look aware of surroundings the entire ride to Sharon's. He decided to drag Zemo out of the crowd to find Sharon. Zemo muttered something about 'living a little, Samuel’ but Sam just ignored him. He found Sharon chatting with the bartender and informed her that he'd be taking Zemo upstairs, and getting some rest. She patted him on the arm as he started walking away and told him she'd wake him if she found out anything important. With an appreciative nod he took to the stairs.
Zemo immediately retired to his room after climbing the stairs but Sam poured himself a drink from the bar cart and allowed himself a moment of relaxation. Within a few minutes he could hear Zemo's snoring through the walls. Figures, the guy's a murderer and still sleeps like a baby. A few more minutes pass as Sam finishes his drink and he's just about to pack it in for the night when he hears something. He stands up, alert, and creeps toward the hallway. It sounds like panicked breathing and muffled screams. He realises it's coming from Bucky's room and is worried someone broke in, managed to overpower him somehow when he didn't have his back. Sam opens the door, scanning the room for a threat but is met with Bucky's figure alone on the bed. His head snaps side to side, sweat cascading down his face. Nightmare Sam's mind finally supplies. He approaches quietly, not wanting to startle Bucky. He can just barely make out desperate apologies through the mumbling. He decides to put a stop to whatever is going through Bucky’s mind and reaches out a gentle hand to place on the man's shoulder. He hardly touches him before Sam finds himself slammed to the ground, a knife to his throat. Bucky shows no recognition in his eyes, just cold anger. It scares the shit out of Sam. "Hey, Buck.” he starts, "It's just me. It's Sam." Realisation floods Bucky's face and he scurries off of Sam, dropping the knife to the floor as he presses himself as close as he can into the side of the bed. Sam sits up so he can look Bucky in the face. Bucky averts his gaze but he can see tears in his eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Bucky is horrified at himself. He didn't want Sam to even know about the nightmares. Now he's seen them up close and almost got killed because of them.
“Nah, I was still up. Don't worry about it." Sam manages to keep his voice remarkably steady, but Bucky doesn't believe him. It must show on his face because Sam explains "Honest, I just got back with Zemo. He was out like a light but I stayed up to have a drink." Bucky relaxes a little at that. It seems like Sam is telling the truth so that at least alleviates the guilt he had about waking him up.
"Still... I'm sorry. I thought the bed would help after... everything tonight. That was a mistake." Bucky grabs a blanket and pillow off the bed and sets up a spot for himself on the floor. Sam understands what he's doing immediately. He's done it many times himself. He offers something he needed back then, but could never bring himself to ask for.
"Mind if I keep you company? Might help ground you if you need it." Bucky lets out an exasperated sigh but is silently grateful for the offer. "Fine." Sam grabs a second pillow and blanket off the bed and sets up a few feet away. Far enough so it's not awkward, but close enough to feel comforting. An angel, watching over a soul through the night.