Chapter 15
"It looks a lot worse than it is," he assured Bucky as he pressed an ice pack to his jaw. "Barely even hit me, Buck. You've got a shitty swing when you're unconscious."
He glared at Steve, "This isn't something to joke about. I hit you! I actually hurt you…"
They were in the kitchen, Bucky had sat Steve on the counter and hurriedly applied an ice pack to his jaw that began to swell up. At first, he wanted to call Sam but Steve was quick to stop that train of thought.
"Nope. No. Not happening," he grumbled and took the cell phone out of Bucky's hand before he could find Sam's contact number. "I call him for emergencies. Emergency being an alien invasion or a fire, not a little bruise."
"This ain't a little bruise!" Bucky exclaimed, gesturing at Steve's jaw in dismay. "You look like you tried to catch a baseball with your face!"
A bit of an exaggeration, Steve had seen his face in the bathroom mirror and it while it did look like it'd leave a nasty bruise- it didn't look like half of his face was beaten in or anything.
After all, it was an accident and he told Bucky so.
"Doesn't change the fact that I-" He cut himself off and slumped against the refrigerator. "I'm so sorry, Steve."
That had to be the fifth time he's apologized since he's woken up and Steve's been trying to convince him that it wasn't his fault.
"I swear to the gods, if I hear you say sorry one more-"
"I just can't believe I hit you and you're not even worried!" He buried his face in his hands, shoulders weighted.
Steve shifted from his spot on the counter and sighed, "I'm not worried because you didn't hurt me on purpose."
Bucky looked up at him with a drawn face, eyes locking onto his jaw stubbornly.
"I'm worried…," he admitted from behind the long hair falling into his face. "What if the nightmares never stop? We won't be able to… you know."
Oh.
They wouldn't be able to sleep in the same bed anymore. Neither of them had put a label on what they were, there were no kisses or declarations of love but Steve knew something existed between them. Something much more than friends.
And sleeping in the same bed, even if it was JUST sleeping, wasn't something Steve wanted to stop.
"You seriously think this is going to keep me from cuddling you?" Steve asked and hopped down from the counter to walk over and pull him into a hug. "You must be out of your mind, James Barnes."
He huffed, "You're ridiculous."
Steve shrugged and pulled the ice pack from his face so he could hug the human with both arms, pulling Bucky closer so they could press their foreheads together.
"So what if I am? You're not getting rid of me that easily," he whispered back at him.
Warm fingers tenderly touched the angle of his jaw and smoothed over the cooled skin, "Didn't say I wanted to."
"Then don't push me away because of an accident," he pleaded quietly, locking his fingers behind Bucky's neck.
Steve's eyes slipped shut as Bucky shakily pulled his fingers away from Steve's jaw to trail down his throat. Shivering, Steve let out a breathy sigh and gasped when Bucky's metal arm wrapped around his waist to press their bodies together.
His eyes fluttered open slowly, he was overwhelmed by the sudden heat pooling in his gut and the sweet way Bucky's fingers curled around his neck to thread themselves in his hair.
They stayed like that for a long time, Bucky holding him close and Steve enveloped entirely in his arms.
Sam wasn't as forgiving.
Bright and early, the agent was knocking at the cabin door with the papers he needed Bucky to sign. They were still awake to answer the door. Last night they had decided to stay up and watch tv since Bucky didn't trust himself to fall asleep again and it showed.
"Wow, Barnes. You look like hell," Sam greeted when Bucky opened the door to let him in. "Let's get this paperwork done and I'll get out of your hair."
"Good morning, Sam!" Steve called from the kitchen, walking into the living room with a steaming cup. "I just made a cup of coffee if you-"
"What the hell happened to your face?" He blurted out without letting Steve finish, tossing his suitcase onto Steve's couch before tilting Steve's head to get a better look.
Steve rolled his eyes, batting Sam's hands away, "Nothing."
"So you just woke up with a bruise on your face?" His brows raised sarcastically and he whirled around to look at Bucky. "Did you do this?"
Bucky's expression was pinched and he looked incredibly guilty, shifting his weight from foot to foot and shot Steve a quick glance.
"I told you it was an accident," he repeated.
"Steve, let him answer the question," Sam insisted, pulling his sunglasses off to glare at Bucky. "Did you or did you not bruise Steve?"
Bucky bit his lip, "I did but-"
"Because he's an extraterrestrial? Steve," he sighed. "I told you to be careful! Now look at you."
Steve crossed his arms, he knows that Sam's protective of his friends but him cornering Bucky made Steve's blood boil.
"He was asleep," he gritted out and poked Sam's chest when he tried to interrupt him. "He was having a nightmare and I recklessly grabbed him. His arm accidentally hit me and he's been apologizing since."
If anyone should be upset, it should be Steve and he wasn't.
"I have to report this," Sam told him and raised a brow when Steve groaned. "Just be happy I'm not dragging him out of here like I damn well should."
Well that just wasn't happening, Steve's done everything he can to keep Bucky beside him and a little bruise wasn't going to change that.
"You'd really make him leave?"
"My job isn't only to make sure Bucky is healthy, Steve. It's also to protect the aliens here on Earth." He tried to explain. "And more importantly, you're my best friend."
"Sam," Bucky nervously chimed in. "I really didn't mean to hit Steve and I was going to ask you about what Doctor Banner offered me when I went in for those scans."
Sam glanced at Steve in confusion, "What are you talking about Barnes?"
"The therapy, I mean," Bucky clarified uneasily. "Not the medication. Last night I hurt Steve and I don't ever want to do that again-"
"No, Bucky, I don't think you know what you're asking for, " Sam interrupted and looked down to pull something up on his phone. "This isn't traditional therapy."
Steve took a few hesitant steps towards Bucky, confused but pleasantly surprised that he wanted to try going to therapy. Whatever could help Bucky be more comfortable was worth trying.
"The MIB offers it but," Sam held out his phone for Bucky to take, "You're required to stay in a government approved facility."
"Like… live there?" Steve asked, watching Bucky swipe through some kind of slideshow with information.
Sam nodded, grabbing his suitcase to pull out a thick folder. He flipped through them, choosing a pink piece of paper to hand Bucky.
"The therapy offered is to help you work through the trauma of your abduction and as you know, the government considers that information top secret, " he continued with a wince. "Only therapists and buildings authorized by MIB are permitted."
"So he'd have to live somewhere else during the duration of his therapy?" Steve asked quietly, letting Bucky pull them both onto the couch to sit with Sam.
"It's protocol-"
"Fuck protocol," Steve shot back, ignoring the way Sam's brows climbed higher. "Why can't a therapist approved by you guys just come here?"
Sam rubbed a hand over his face, "That's not how this works."
He turned to Bucky, who's been staring down at the paper for the past few minutes. Steve bumped their shoulders together gently.
"What do you think?"
"It has to be a building the Men in Black approve?" Sam nodded as Bucky continued. "What about Stark Tower?"
Steve blinked up at him dazedly, "Tony's place?"
"Yeah, I'm sure he had to have it approved by MIB to own it, right?" Bucky said with a shrug. "Bat those baby blues at him, doll, and I'm sure he'll let us stay there for a bit."
Sam snorted, "He's been up my ass trying to get you two in his damn tower but Steve hates leaving this cabin."
Tony had tried to convince him when Steve first registered himself but he didn't want to leave his ma. After she passed, he couldn't leave because it's the only place he knew as home.
But now home has a different name.
"If you want to do this, we'll do it," he told Bucky with a confident smile he didn't feel. Steve's never been away from the cabin for more than a few days at a time and he isn't sure if he's ready to go back to New York City.
"We can't have another repeat of last night," Bucky whispered to him privately, ghosting a finger across Steve's jaw. "I need to do this and I want to."
Sam groaned, pulling out more files and folders, "This is going to be so much damn paperwork."