You Will Remember Me

Frostbitten Nightmares

BB

Bucky found he liked having Clint around. He joked and laughed and made the overall atmosphere lighter, and he could understand Bucky in a way others couldn't, not even Steve. It comforted Bucky to know that another member of the Avengers had had a similar experience.

Bucky's eyelids had become heavy, and his movements sluggish. He knew he should go to bed, but he also knew that sleep would bring nothing but nightmares. It was a miracle he had even slept when he was at Sam's house, though he still had suspicions that he had thrashed and yelled and that's how the blanket ended up at his feet.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed too, Stevie." Bucky announced.

"You sure you're okay in that room? We can switch until Stark gets back and he can fix it." Steve offered.

"No, I think I'm okay." Bucky replied, casually looking around. "But what are those stairs for?" He asked, nodding to the metal staircase in the corner of the kitchen.

"Those lead to the next floor. There's another bedroom, a kitchenette, living room. And an old piano. But there's not a lot of stuff up there furniture-wise. It's not even painted." Steve replied nonchalantly. "I suppose we could fix it up and you could live up there, if you want. You'd have to come back down here to get to the elevator, though."

Bucky thought about it, though there wasn't much thinking to do.

"Sure!" He said happily. He liked the fact that he could live just above his best friend and that if he needed him there was easy access, but if he wanted to be alone, he had a floor all to himself.

Not to mention the piano.

"Alright, I'll let Tony know in the morning. Now go get some rest, Buck. You deserve it." Steve said, giving Bucky a pat on the shoulder before Bucky walked back to his room. He heard Steve take a seat back on the couch and pick up a book. Bucky closed his door with a soft click. Usually, he didn't like to shut his door at night (if he remembered right), but he didn't want Steve to walk by and see him awake.

Though Bucky was exhausted, he was afraid to sleep. He walked to the window and stared out at the view. They were on the 20th floor, and the view was spectacular. The busy city glowed below him, and he watched normal people go through their normal night lives.

Bucky sighed. He wished he could live a normal life, wished he could have just lived out the rest of his back in the 40s. But then again, Steve would probably have died within a few years and he would've been left alone anyway.

The doctors had said he was probably only going to live into his early 20s, maybe (and it was a big maybe) 30s. It was a miracle he had even lived to be as old as he was, but god he was a fighter. The same spirit that drove the punk to pick fights every other day was the same thing that kept him alive through all the times Bucky was afraid he would lose him.

I guess things aren't so bad, then. Not anymore. Bucky thought. At least he was back with his old friend.

With those thoughts filling his mind, he fell back into the soft mattress. It felt weird, being on something so soft. He had refused to take Sam's bed back at her house, and they sure as hell never had anything this nice at HYDRA.

After tossing and turning in the bed for a while, he found it was too quiet to sleep. There was always the constant hum of some machine to lull him to sleep at HYDRA (during the few times it wasn't chemically induced), and now it was dead silent.

"Might I suggest some soothing music?" A voice quietly asked. Bucky nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked around for anyone in the room, but saw nothing.