Distressed // Steve Rogers

7 - History, Always History

Steve lay awake staring at the ceiling. It had been almost a week since Talia's first nightmare and she had hardly spoken to him since. The only time she would say more than hello to him was when he was soothing her out of another terror and with each one, it was harder to wake her. Sometimes the shower worked and other times he just had to hold her until she stopped crying. He didn't call Nat again.

He turned onto his side and watched her as she slept. She was exhausted. Her naturally pale skin only exaggerated the dark circles under her eyes and even in her sleep she frowned slightly. He said a silent prayer that she got one night of peaceful rest and pulled his pillow out from under himself, placing it on the floor before propping himself up on his elbow. Her breathing was deep, and in the dim glow of the light she had left on she looked peaceful. He noticed that her lips parted slightly and her hair had come loose from her ponytail.

Steve smiled as he watched her. In the week she'd been tucked away in his room this was the most calm she'd been and watching her he knew she wasn't a threat. He made a mental note to speak to Stark tomorrow about it.

Silence was broken as Steve dove from the sofa and crashed on the floor beside his phone.

"Bucky!?" he whispered.

"Why the hell are you whispering Steve?" Bucky laughed, completely unaware of Talia.

"Long story Buck." Steve glanced up at Talia and his eyes met hers. Removing the phone from his ear and covering it so that Bucky couldn't hear he got to his feet. "I'm sorry Runaway. I didn't mean to wake you. You okay?"

Talia nodded slightly and pulled the covers up over her shoulders before closing her eyes again and slipping back into a light sleep. He shook his head to clear his mind and made his way out of the room, pulling the door shut gently behind him as he lifted the phone again.

"So I'll see you then. Okay?" Bucky had continued on, unaware that Steve's focus was elsewhere.

"Wait Buck, I didn't get a word of that I had to leave the room and I took the phone away from my ear."

"What?" Confusion seeped through his voice. "Why did you leave your room?"

"Talia is in there."

"Yeah I'm going to need some more information, like who the hell is Talia and when did this happen and why didn't you tell me you'd met someone? I mean, damn Steve, I thought you were still hung up on Peggy."

Steve sighed as he ran a hand over his face. He was exhausted.

"It's not like that Buck. She's Nat's sister and up until the day you stormed out of here none of us knew she existed except for Nat, Stark and Banner. As far as Nat was aware she died eleven years ago so it's been a bit... tense here."

Bucky laughed on the other end of the line and Steve heard the fridge open. He'd gotten used to late night talks with his best friend over the last six months. Like Talia, Bucky was plagued with memories of the past that haunted his sleep and so Steve knew he was grabbing a beer and would now pull every blanket from the cupboard in the small Brooklyn apartment into the living room and onto the floor where he would try to sleep tonight.

"So why's she in your room then Captain?" He could hear the teasing in Bucky's voice and laughed.

"Because I'm keeping an eye on her, that's all Barnes. Now what were you calling to say?"

The two men spoke for a while longer. Bucky filled Steve in on how things were in Brooklyn, about the kids who ran up and down the small street Steve had grown up on just as they once had and how the neighbours had started to leave notes under the door to ask if Bucky needed anything from the store. In the week that he'd been gone Bucky had managed to make a friend - the blind old lady two doors down.