Chapter 14
After they untangled themselves and got off the floor, the first thing Steve did was call Sam. MIB protocol was strict and anyone who knew about individual alien identities had to be cleared by the department.
Not that Steve was worried, Bucky knew aliens existed and his information had already been saved in the database. If anything, this was a formality so Sam could keep the records updated as accurately as possible.
"So what I'm hearing is- you disclosed top secret information to an abduction victim that has a phobia of aliens. Technically, it's not illegal but still pretty damn stupid, Steve, " Sam chided and he could almost see the agent shaking his head. "Are you okay though?"
"Yeah he didn't freak out too badly, " Steve grumbled and flashed a grin at Bucky when he came into the bedroom, flopping down beside him. "All things considered, he took it pretty well."
Bucky rolled his eyes, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout, "I'm fine, Wilson!"
Sam grunted, "Tell him I'll be down there tomorrow with documents he'll need to sign. And Steve?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful. Please, " he stressed with a heavy sigh. "I'm glad you got it off your chest and everything but he's been through a lot."
Of course, Steve had assumed that this wouldn't magically wipe away the decades of pain Hydra inflicted and he'd be willing to wait years at Bucky's side if it meant he'd eventually be okay.
"I know. Don't worry about it, if anything happens I'll call," he promised and hung up soon after.
Lucky laid at the end of the bed, curled up around his favorite tennis ball with his tail wagging as Bucky brushed his thick coat.
Lately, Lucky's been shedding everywhere- on the couch, the beds, the rugs and Bucky's spent the last week grooming the dog instead of vacuuming three times a day.
And even though Bucky would complain every time he had to clean out the hairy brush, Steve was sure that he enjoyed it too. It seemed to calm him and Lucky would enthusiastically wag his tail whenever Bucky gave him a little pat on the head.
"Sam said he'll need you to sign some stuff but other than that, we're fine, " he told him, rolling over to plug his cell into the charger before it died. "I uh… assume you have a few questions?"
Bucky snorted, still combing Lucky, " Yeah. Of course I do. I mean, you're an alien and you aren't from here but you have this huge cabin and I guess I know why you're out here all alone now."
Steve fidgeted, dwarfed in one of the sweatshirts Bucky let him steal with his knees drawn up to his chest.
"I told you that my ma left me the cabin," Steve reminded him. Everything he told Bucky had been true and the only thing he neglected to tell him about was his origin.
"How'd you meet her?"
Steve hugged his knees closer, watching the human give Lucky his usual pat once the grooming was finished. A smile slipped onto his face when Bucky looked up to catch him staring.
"I crash landed like you," he explained and remembered the overwhelming sense of terror that had quite literally paralyzed him when he first woke up in Sarah Roger's cabin. "I was so scared but she took me in without hesitation. I ended up changing my form to honor her but… Earth is very different from my birth planet."
Bucky tilted his head, "So your body is like this because you changed it?"
He nodded, puffing out his chest a little. If there was anything he was proud of, it was the fact that he had successfully transformed himself to her image regardless of his defects.
"Stevie, you're serious?" Bucky frowned, leaving the bed to put Lucky's brush away. "But Tony looks human and he's fine."
Steve rolled his eyes at the mention of Stark, "Tony's race can easily switch their forms and he'll change it everytime he lands on a new planet," probably to relate to the natives but more likely because he's a shameless show off. "My race can only change their form once. It's irreversible and considered to be the highest compliment we can give."
Would it be nice to have organs that worked properly? Yeah but he knew the risk of changing on a foreign planet and he's lucky he lived through the transformation at all.
"So you were just… traveling through space and crashed?" Steve was relieved to hear how calm Bucky was as they spoke.
He was leaning against Steve's dresser, arms shoved in his sweater pocket and he didn't look like he was about to bolt anytime soon.
"I wasn't wanted there, " he faltered- Steve hadn't thought about his birth planet in a long time, all of it seemed like a lifetime ago. "So I left. There wasn't anywhere to go but…away."
Suddenly, Bucky was next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and climbing under the blanket. He didn't have any socks on and (being the little shit that he his) Bucky pressed his popsicle toes against Steve's warm legs, grinning unapologetically when the blonde cried out in surprise.
"Sorry," but he didn't sound sorry at all, "You're all warm and toasty," he murmured, snuggling closer. "Your birth planet sounds like it was full of jerks. They had no idea what a catch they had."
Smiling, Steve tilted his face to see the teasing glint in those stormy grey eyes- heart achingly beautiful like always.
Steve hummed, "I'm glad they were jerks because it gave me the chance to meet you."
Watching closely, he could see the moment when Bucky's pupils began to dilate- growing dark and causing Steve's mouth to dry up. They were so close, noses near enough to touch and it'd take no more than a second to surge forward and claim those pink lips.
The idea was strangely thrilling.
"Oh, Stevie," Bucky whispered lowly, sending shivers down Steve's spine. "I can't imagine life without you now but that doesn't mean I like the idea of someone being an ass to you."
Steve nodded, eyes caught on Bucky's lips.
"Babydoll, I'm trying to have a conversation but it's hard to concentrate when you're drooling, " he teased and laughed as Steve blushed and quickly looked away.
"I wasn't drooling," he muttered, eyes fixed on his lap.
"Hey, I didn't say I didn't like it," and Steve's head whipped up so he could gape at him, floored. This was flirting, right? Bucky was flirting with him and it made his heart sing. "But I'd like to get this talk done with."
"Can't we just do it tomorrow?" He whined, still embarrassed. "I understand that it's going to take some time to get used to this… I don't expect you to suddenly like aliens."
"Yeah but I like you," he confessed, shrugging as if Steve's internal conflict had been for nothing. "And I don't always want to punch Tony, if I'm being honest."
They grinned at each other.
"You know," Steve whispered confidentially, leaning in close again. "I knew you secretly had a crush on Tony."
Bucky elbowed him, "As if I'd stand a chance against Pepper."
"Aw, Buck," he let his head fall back against Bucky's warm body. "Anyone would be lucky to date you. Pepper is a wonderful person but so are-"
"I get it, doll," he interrupted softly, leaning over Steve to grab the remote. Bucky took his time picking something to watch on the tiny tv Steve had in his room while Steve sighed, getting more comfortable in his bed.
But something in the way Bucky had said it made Steve feel like he didn't get it at all.
Falling asleep wrapped up in Bucky's arms had to be Steve's favorite feeling. Nothing else could give him the same sense of security and the steady sound of Bucky's heartbeat easily soothed Steve to sleep.
He hadn't meant to fall asleep on the human though, they were watching a Bond movie and his eyes had gotten heavier and heavier, eventually slipping shut as he gave into his exhaustion.
Not that he cared, the only thing he liked more than falling asleep beside Bucky was waking up the same way.
Except, he didn't wake up to sleepy smiles and the low, husky sound of Bucky's voice when he first says good morning. Instead, he was roughly shoved out of bed- squeaking in surprised alarm when he landed on the floor.
Shocked awake, Steve blurrily looked around the dark room. His eyes were still heavy with sleep and it took him a heart stopping minute to realize that the body thrashing on the bed was Bucky.
"Don't let them take me!" He cried out, eyes glazed open but not blinking. Bucky's legs were kicking at the blankets while his hands struggled to reach for something that wasn't there. "No! NO!"
Steve shot to his feet, dread wrapping around his chest like a viper- constricting him, squeezing his heart painfully.
"Bucky," it was little more than a gasp. His throat was tight as he approached the bed with extreme caution. "You need to wake up. Wake up, you're okay. You're safe now."
A brutal scream ripped through the room, ringing in Steve's ears as Bucky began to pull at his own hair.
"You're safe, Buck," he spoke loud and clear now. Steve couldn't freak out, no matter how horrible it felt to hear Bucky screaming himself hoarse.
He needed to pull Bucky out of the nightmare that was tormenting him.
"We're here at the cabin. You're safe, you're okay," bloody lines ran down Bucky's arms and Steve hadn't even noticed him scratching at himself.
Steve didn't give himself a moment to think, "Wake up!" Quickly, he grabbed Bucky's arm to stop him from hurting himself further- gasping when something bashed into the side of his face.
Instantly, Steve let go of him, hand flying up to gingerly touch the spot he'd been hit. His jaw throbbed in pain and distantly, Steve was aware that it was going to leave a mark since he bruised like a damn peach.
"Bucky," he choked out, jaw aching something awful now. "Wake up!"
He didn't dare to get any closer to the bed. Steve spoke to him from the doorway but not because he was afraid of Bucky. If anything, he was angry at himself for impulsively grabbing Bucky while he was asleep.
Bucky was going to be pissed.
A few minutes later, Bucky let out a loud gasp and jerked up to look around the room. His eyes were wild, everywhere and nowhere all at once until they fell on Steve leaning tiredly against the doorway.
"I didn't g-get to the chair this time," Bucky croaked, slowly looking down at his bleeding arms as if they weren't really his and it broke Steve's heart to see his strong soldier look so utterly lost. "What happened? What…"
He squinted at Steve, throwing the blanket off of his legs to rush over to him. Steve could tell the moment Bucky noticed the fresh bruise blooming across Steve's skin.
His face instantly darkened and his voice dropped dangerously, "Did I HIT you?"