A Feeling Of Normality [Bucky Barnes x Reader]

Part 2. Nightmares.

A/N: I know Bucky's apartment is way smaller in the movie and didn't have two rooms but please remember that this is a fanfiction. We need two rooms because I couldn't quite write what happens in this chapter if his bed is in the same room as the rest of his stuff is.

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After that day something had changed between the two of them. Though no more words than usual were exchanged, [Y/N]'s neighbor seemed more relaxed around her than before. It even happened that he gave her a slight smile when she called him 'late riser' or 'Mr. Undercover ', like she oftener did. He kind of liked that.
But something else had changed: he had trouble sleeping. There were days [Y/N] could see dark circles under his eyes and the blue-greenish color that she was able to catch a glimpse of every once in a while shone less than before. She even could hear him tossing and turning in his sleep during those nights. The walls weren't particularly thick as the whole block of flats was very shabby. Because of her powers, [Y/N] could perceive the trembling of the walls and the floor even more clearly.

The latter is just coming up the stairs after throwing away the garbage when just a few meters in front of her someone else walks upstairs. And even though that some is already around one of the corners, she recognizes them immediately. Because they wear the same outfit as usual. It's him.

[Y/N] increases her pace briefly and jogs up the missing steps to be at his height. "Hello neighbor" she greets him with a grin. "I almost didn't recognize you so far away from your door."

Just like during the last longer lasting conversations, the nameless neighbor sniffs briefly, presumably to hold back a grin, and continues walking without a word. But unlike at the beginning of their encounters, his body does not stiffen any further than it already was and [Y/N] can tell that he's feeling less uncomfortable around her. It's barely noticeable but he loosens up slowly. In [Y/N]'s eyes this is a good sign and even though he's not answering, she continues trying. "Am I not even getting a simple hello?"

Her neighbor is panting again and [Y/N] can tell by the tone of his voice that she seems to amuse him. "Hey."

"Phew" [Y/N] sighs in relief. "You got me worried for a second. Thought the isolation made you forgot how to talk."

"Would be helpful, wouldn't it?"

"To keep annoying neighbors away?"

He doesn't seem to be able to hide his grin any longer because the corners of his mouth are twitching upwards. At the same moment they reach their floor. "For example."

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Two weeks later, [Y/N] lies wide awake in her bed. Well, lying on a mattress on the floor to be more exact.
There were chunks of earth around her when she woke up this morning, proofing that she had used her powers while sleeping. [Y/N] hasn't used them since arriving in Bucharest and is accordingly still scared because she can't find out the reason for her using them in her sleep again. Staring at the ceiling and watching the ceiling fan rotate, she suddenly notices how the concrete floor and walls move again. Shortly afterwards, she can hear it again, the restless murmuring. Her neighbor - he's having nightmares again and she worries about him because even though they barely talk, she feels sorry for him. But like every other night he's having nightmares, she can just lie or sit in her bed and listen to him whine. Even now. [Y/N] sits up straight and tries to ignore the noises, knowing they'll stop eventually. But something is different this time. He's more restless and louder.

Suddenly, [Y/N] hears a scream.
Without hesitation, she jumps onto her feet and to his apartment. The doors are not locked. They never are. Not her or his. He has just as little a key as [Y/N] does which has already led her to suspect that he also only lives here secretly.
It therefore only takes a few seconds until she has opened the door and is inside the apartment. It's bigger than her one-room apartment but before she can take a closer look around, the neighbor screams again from the room to her right. [Y/N]'s hands tremble when she touches the door knob, closing the front door with her other hand before entering the bedroom, not knowing what awaits her there.

Unexpectedly, no one is threating the man but he's just having terrible nightmares. And whatever he's dreaming about - it's bad. His face is full of beads of sweat, he tosses and turns, his eyes narrowed in pain. As [Y/N] takes a closer look she sees that he wears nothing but a black sleeveless shirt and black sweatpants. He has kicked away the blanket a long time ago whilst tossing and turning. And just as [Y/N] bends down to wake him up, she sees it. His left arm is made of metal and has a red star on the upper arm.

Her heart is racing and she starts to tremble even more when she recognizes him. He's the Winter Soldier.

[Y/N] has heard of him. Everyone has heard of him. Especially everyone who has also been experimented on.
James Buchanan Barnes. Hydra's most successful experiment.

She should turn around, run away and get to somewhere safe. Because this man kills a person within seconds. The Winter Soldier is a killing machine.

But the man screams in pain again and that's probably what keeps her with him. The man in front of [Y/N] is not a killer machine or a thread. He's suffering and she just wants to help.
All her doubts and fears leave her when she kneels down carefully, wondering how all his screaming and tossing doesn't wake him up. "James."

"James" [Y/N] repeats but realizes that if his own screams don't wake him up, neither will her cautious voice get through to him. So she reaches out her hand, grasping his right shoulder to shake him. "James, wake up!"

James.
Bucky's eyes shoot open, his pupils are dilated. Still completely obscured by sleep and his dreams, he immediately reacts with defense against the unknown threat.

Everything happens so quickly. He throws himself on his back, his left arm rises and he wants to push the person away. His attack is blocked, however, so he props himself up with his right arm to sit down and reaches for the person with his left arm again. He catches her in the chest and pushes her down, throwing her on the floor. The ground shakes from the impact of [Y/N]. Bucky reaches out with his left arm to strike but feels something like a kick in his stomach that throws him forward headlong. He jumps straight back on his feet, his left arm already drawn to strike again.

"James, it's ok! It's me! Your neighbor! Daria!"

Even if it is hardly possible, Bucky's eyes widen even more and within a few seconds his whole body goes slack. The friendly neighbor next door is in a similar fighting position to him but when she sees that the Winter Soldies has calmed down, her posture also relaxes.
Bucky looks at her, not sure what to feel. He is surprised that she is here with him and he is scared. "Don't you realize that I could have killed you?!" he spats.

"Don't you realize you were screaming?" she answers but her voice is much calmer than his own, yet slightly raised.

Surprise is written on his face but his features relax, too as he's slowly proceeding what has just happened.