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Bucky tosses and turns in bed after hearing thunder. Thanks to his years of service, he was a light sleeper, and on top of that, there were the nightmares. Bucky sighs and runs his hands over his face, feeling the slight tingle of his stubble. He turns in bed again, finding a comfortable sleeping position. Bucky closes his eyes, then a flash passes through his closed eyelids, followed by the sound of lightning striking the ground.
There was something about the storm he didn't like. Maybe it was the sound of the thunder, which reminded him of the wartime, or maybe it was the cold, which reminded him of the dark times he'd spent serving Hydra. He felt a shiver run down his spine just thinking about it.
Speaking of cold, he rubbed his hands and covered himself with the duvets, the room was an ice, he should fix the heater.
Bucky didn't like to sleep in bed, it was too soft, it looked like he was going to swallow it. That's why he got up, put on his slippers and left the room.
He went to the living room, putting some sheets and pillows on the floor, when a meow caught his attention.
“Alpine, go to sleep.” Bucky murmurs after lying down, seeing the kitten look curiously.
The living room was hotter than the bedroom and that was good, he felt more comfortable. Another thunder sounded outside, making Bucky look out the window. The storm was strong and it brought back memories.
They weren't good memories, no. They were memories of his time as a Winter Soldier. He remembered when he was sent to kill a man, file burning, and there was a civilian as a witness, and one of the rules of the office was; no traces.
He remembers leaving the place with his motorcycle in the rain, driving to the nearest Hydra base, another mission completed.
Bucky shakes his head slightly, trying to push away these thoughts.
Alpine invades Bucky's improvised bed, lying next to him, her little blue eyes attentive to the owner. Bucky smiles and passes his vibrannium hand behind the kitten's ears, receiving a purr in response.
Well, it reminds him of the day he met Alpine. It was raining a lot and he had just returned from a mission with Captain America. That's when he heard a snothing, trembling meow coming from a box inside the trash can. Bucky didn't contain his curiosity and opened the box, finding a puppy kitten all dirty and wet inside the box. He smiled, took the cat and said, "I'll take care of you," and it's been like that for the last two years.
He smiles, Alpine was a good kitten and came at the right time. Bucky sighs and puts his arm behind his head, his gaze going to the bookshelf, where a photo of him with Sam gained prominence.
Bucky can't help but smile, the way they met wasn't the best, but now... oh, now it was different.
Sam was the reason why Bucky woke up every day, it was the motivation for him to put one foot in front of the other, the reason why Bucky still believed in life.
He remembers, well, there was no way to forget but, yes, he remembers. It was a rainy night, that's when he arrived at Sam's house in Louisiana, he was crazy, he had drunk a little but he wasn't drunk - even because, that's impossible -, he knocked on the door of the house hard, a little restrained so as not to break, but still strong.
Sam had gone down the stairs in a hurry, wearing only sleeping shorts, his face confused as he opened the door and found James, soaked, with flowers in his hand.
“What the hell...?” Sam says and then Bucky extends the bouquet of flowers to Sam.
“I'm sorry for everything I said” Bucky starts. “ I shouldn't have acted that way, but I saw you with that girl and thought, I thought... wow, I thought about breaking your face.” Bucky says and Sam laughs. “I didn't want to admit it but... I was... I was...” Bucky stops and Sam encourages him to continue.
“Say it, it won't hurt.” Sam says with a quiet smile.
“I was jealous!” Bucky finally says. “Sorry, Sam, I know we agreed that this would be casual but I... I fell in love with you, Sam, I fell for this drug and I didn't even notice, because that's what you are; you're an addictive drug. I used it too much and ended up getting addicted and I don't hate you, no, Sam, damn, no, I love you Sam Wilson, I love you!” And then he kissed Sam.
Bucky smiles sleepily while stroking Alpine. After that day, Sam and Bucky were together, like lovers.
Bucky gets scared when Sam throws a pillow at him.
“You left me alone!” Sam complains scratching his eyes.
James smiles and makes room for Sam to lie next to him.
“The room was very cold.” Bucky apologized, seeing Sam lying next to him on the floor.
“And why aren't you sleeping?” Sam asks snuggling up to James.
“I was remembering...”
“Winter Soldier?”
“No. Just things of life; the day I met Alpine, when I said "I love you" to you, anyway.” Bucky says and Sam smiles.
“Did the storm help you remember these things?” He asks lying on Bucky's chest.
“I think so” Bucky says hugging Sam. “You are my light shower, Sam.” He whispers.
Sam smiles yawning and closing his eyes, feeling sleep beat him.
“And you're mine, Barnes.”