Modern Royalty

Nightmare

Chapter 6
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A few minutes later Bucky's phone buzzes and he looks at the text message. 'He's not here. He left, probably to the hunting cabin', Rebecca wrote and relief overcomes Bucky as he starts to smile. "Let's go downstairs, my father left the estate", he says and stands up. "You might want to wipe that dry blood away first", Steve chuckles and gestures to his own nose. "Good idea", Bucky grins and walks over to his bathroom.

He cleans the blood off and they leave for the dining room. "Hey, you okay?", Rebecca asks as soon as they enter and hugs Bucky tightly. He picks her up and grins. "Now I am, yes", he says and she chuckles. "Let me down", she grins, but he shakes his head and carries her towards the table. "Bucky, let me down!" Winifred enters the room, with Sarah and Joseph, and sighs. "James, put your sister down and sit", she says, but a small grin sneaks onto her lips. 'It's good to see him happy this soon after', she thinks. Sarah smiles and sits down at the table with her husband. Bucky easily pulls a chair back with his foot and sets Rebecca down on it.

"Many thanks", she chuckles. "You're welcome", Bucky grins and sits down in his usual place. Steve takes the seat next to him and they start talking until the dinner is served. A lot of bowls with many small cut vegetables, cubes cut out of different kinds of bread and meat. "What is it?", Rebecca asks curiously and looks at the food. "Three-cheese fondue", the chef says smiling and carries the fondue bowl inside. He sets it down and leaves again after everyone thanked him excitedly. "Well then, let's have some fondue", Steve grins.

After everyone is full they sit and talk for another hour, about everything apart from what happened just a while back. "So, how long are you going to stay?", Bucky asks calmly. "As long as you can put up with us", Steve chuckles and Bucky rolls his eyes. "We planned two weeks for now", Sarah says smiling and Winifred nods. They talked about it beforehand. "That's great", Bucky smiles and leans back. "But I'm going to go back tomorrow", Joseph adds. "We have to go somewhere", Rebecca says and bounces slightly on her chair. "Something...like going to a theme park." "That sounds like a good idea, but leave us some days to plan things out", Winifred grins. After everyone gave their suggestions they leave the dining room and Steve and Bucky go back upstairs. "What now?", Steve grins. "I know, it's not late, but I'm honestly thinking about sleep", the brunet says and shrugs.

"Actually, sleep seems quite good", Steve answers and hugs him briefly. "Well, okay. Good night, then", Bucky smiles and carefully pats Steve's back. "Good night, Buck", the blond says and they go into their rooms to get ready for the night. Steve quickly changes into a simple shirt and sweatpants and brushes his teeth. Meanwhile Bucky strips down to his boxers, brushes his teeth and wraps the blanket tightly around himself.

Three hours pass and Bucky fell asleep after just a few minutes, so far calmly sleeping. Steve twists and changes his position every few minutes, dozing off for a bit, but waking up again every time. He can't help to think about what Bucky told him about the nightmares, about what happened in the living room. He finally decides to check on Bucky and stands up.

He saunters over to Bucky's room and silently opens the door to take a look at him. He's breathing evenly and Steve is about to turn back, when Bucky sits up, covering himself with the blanket. "Can't sleep?", he yawns and Steve nods slightly. "I just-... wanted to see, if you were still awake. Sorry for waking you", he apologizes. "I wake up from the tiniest noise, it's fine. But why did you want to check on me exactly?", the brunet asks and smiles slightly. "I, uhm, wanted to ask, if I could stay over? You know, just tonight", Steve stutters and blushes faintly.

'How adorable', Bucky thinks and tilts his head to the side lightly. "Sure, crawl in", he grins. "We used to do this back then, remember?", the blond asks, huddling into Bucky's bed beside him. "Yeah, but I didn't sleep shirtless back then, so I'll just...", he mumbles and slides out of the bed before Steve can even react. Bucky quickly puts on a sweater and covers his hand with a glove before lying down again. "You really didn't need to do that", Steve chuckles. "But it's better like this, trust me", Bucky whispers and sighs. "Good night, Steve." "Sleep tight, Buck", the blond murmurs and they both fall asleep peacefully.

Pictures form in Bucky's mind in the early morning hours. People he knew, that died. People he killed, and the ones that almost killed him. Blood. Gunshots. Torture. He flinches awake with a yelp, but the memories won't leave. He starts trembling terribly.
Steve wakes up from James' movement and immediately turns to look at Bucky. His eyes dart around the room, fear and guilt clearly written in them. Steve grabs his shoulders and shakes him lightly. "Buck. Bucky, hey, listen. It's just a nightmare, get back here", he says insistently. Bucky's hands clasp around his underarms and suddenly Steve's right arm grows cold.

Bucky snaps out of it and stares at Steve shockedly. It takes him just a second to realize, that he's not wearing his glove anymore, but now it's too late to retrieve his hand. "Bucky... What the-", Steve mumbles but Bucky tries too keep him from looking down. "Just a nightmare, as you said. I'm okay", he says and grows increasingly nervous. 'Why now...', he thinks. 'It all could've gone so well.'

"You were shaking, Buck, I thought you'd have a heart attack", Steve says and this time Bucky can't keep him from looking down. The blond sees the metal glistening faintly in the darkness and squints to get a clearer view. "Your hand", he mumbles confusedly. He could've sworn that it had been normal just that afternoon. "It's...it's metal", Bucky admits, he's feeling sick. He hates talking about it, seeing it, anything that has to do with it.

"But...in the stable... It looked and felt normal", Steve stammers. Bucky retrieves his hand and stands up. "I don't wanna talk about it", he says coldly and goes to get another glove. When he turns around Steve stands behind him and grabs his wrist. "Why is it different now?", he asks. Bucky glares at him and forcefully pulls his arm away. He could easily throw Steve across the room, if he wanted to. "Leave me alone", Bucky grumbles, puts his glove on and walks into the bedroom again. "Could you stop walking away from me?", Steve asks, getting slightly mad at his friend.

"Could you stop asking questions?", Bucky retorts and turns around. "It is not normal, okay? What you saw was synthetic skin. I wear gloves to hide it. Is there any other way to make you understand, that I hate it?!" "I-...", Steve starts but is too startled by Bucky's anger to form a clear sentence. Silence takes place in the room and the brunet turns on the lights while Steve just stands there, lost in his thoughts and the situation. "I'm sorry", Steve finally says, quietly. "I was confused, please... I didn't intend to make you angry."

"I know", Bucky says and glares at him. His anger is easing, but he still doesn't like the topic. "How long...did you..?", the blond asks carefully. "Since the accident. I won't tell you any more. Not now", James answers stiffly and sighs. "Please leave." He opens the door and points into the hallway. Steve feels insecure, he shouldn't have asked. 'I just wanted to understand and help him', he thinks and sighs slightly.

"Okay", he mumbles and walks outside. "See you at breakfast, I guess..." "Yeah, until then", Bucky says and closes the door. He ambles to his bed and collapses on it. The brunet curls up and clutches a pillow tight to his chest. "I didn't want to be rude", he murmurs and pulls the blanket over his head. Steve plummets onto his bed and sighs deeply. He takes one of the pillows and throws it across the room, almost knocking over a vase.

He takes another and screams into it. 'How could I be so dumb? I should've noticed that he didn't want to talk', he scolds himself and finally lies outstretched on the bed, contemplating his reactions and trying to figure out why Bucky could have the prothesis. Did he lose his arm during the crash? But why is it metal?
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