Detox (CA:TFA Bucky Barnes)

[RiversD]

Daisoku asked for some Bucky over on my drabble thread, but, well... this felt a little long to try and pass off as a drabble, so here it is. A little clichéd, but such is life. I'll try and get some winter soldier stuff done at some point, honest...

Title: Detox

Fandom: Captain America: The First Avenger

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please don't sue me, Disney.

Summary: His experiences in Hydras labs left Bucky's body a little confused.

Authors Notes: This is badly edited, but if I don't finish SOMETHING soon I'll go insane, so....

The night after his extraction from Hydra’s labs, Bucky’s body went haywire. To be fair, he’d been increasingly twitchy all day. Steve should really have seen it coming, but, well… busy day. His first inkling of how bad this was going to be came when Bucky collapsed against him outside the mess.

His friend had tried to insist that he was alright.

“I’m fine, Steve, one of the boys was passing round some homebrew, that’s all. I just need a minute…”

But none of that changed the fact that he couldn’t get control of his own legs. Steve carried him back to his bunk.

“Bed at 10?” Bucky had joked as Steve took his boots off for him. “C’mon, Steve, when did we become senior citizens?”

The joking only lasted for another hour, though. By that time the shakes had set in properly, and Bucky was too tired to try and deny his discomfort any longer.

“I should report this.” Steve told him, adding his pillow on top of Bucky’s own. “Get you to see one of the medical boys.”

“You really think there’s anything they can do? Besides, I don’t want them poking at me on top of everything else. It- I-” His lips moved on their own for a few moments, as though the words were caught in his throat.

“Bucky-”

Bucky’s head snapped back up at the sound of Steve’s voice. He blinked hard and forced a smile.

“Steve, don’t take any more dignity from me than you have to, eh?” he muffled a cough against his forearm.

“Yeah, alright.” Steve agreed. He took a seat on the end of the bed.

“What? Didn’t think I was going anywhere, did you?”

Bucky laughed, but stopped smiling as the laugh gave way to a series of harsh coughs, brisk and tearing.

By midnight he was struggling to draw enough breath to fuel the next fusillade.

Coughing gave way to sweats, as though his body was trying to void itself of something, but didn’t quite know what front it was being attacked on. And through it all, Bucky seemed to become more and more lost. He would lose conversations, trains of thought- he started to forget to finish his sentences. Steve felt like he was talking to someone half-asleep, at best. As the night wore on, he began to feel half-asleep himself.

The sneezing started at around 3am.

“ItSCHH! IESHH!”

It was the same again- the overwhelming impression of a body trying desperately to defend itself against something it couldn’t identify. Before long, Bucky was gasping for breath, each burst of sneezing winding him all over again.

Steve could only watch as, over and over again, the vacant stare of pure exhaustion gave way to the twitchy expression and shivering breaths that preceded a fresh attack.

“ISSSHT! Hh..hh..ETSCHH! ischi!”

Bucky’s nose had taken on a nasty, raw look. With an angry little noise, he reached up to claw at his face, but Steve caught his hand, not quite trusting him not to injure himself. When Bucky moaned in frustration, Steve settled for gently rubbing the side of Bucky’s nose himself. Bucky didn’t seem satisfied, but he did stop flailing about. At least, until he was overtaken by three more sneezes, harsh and unforgiving.

“Heh’ISSH! Huh…KRSHHeue! ETSSCH!”

His sneezes were getting wetter, the last two sending a visible spray into the air between them.

Steve pulled open the drawer beside the bed and reached for a fresh handkerchief. He put one arm across his friend’s body and pulled him tightly in to Steve’s side, effectively pinning Bucky’s arms. He hated himself for restraining Bucky again while he was this confused, but he didn’t see another way to help. With his free hand, he brought the handkerchief to Bucky’s face and dabbed at the drops of moisture clinging to his early-morning stubble.

Bucky’s nose flinched at the touch, and Steve caught the next sneeze with the cloth.

“HI’ESSCH! nn…”

“Shh, it’s ok, Bucky. Blow.”

To Steve’s surprise, Bucky obeyed without question.

“Hey, you alright?”

Bucky didn’t answer. His eyes had the same blank look they had had in the facility, where Steve had torn him free from that bed. This wasn’t just tired distraction- Bucky’s eyes seemed focused, but on something only he was seeing, somewhere in the middle distance.

“Bucky? You in there?”

Bucky’s muscles had gone taut beneath Steve’s fingers. He tried again, and while Bucky seemed to register his presence this time, it wasn’t comforting. His voice took on a hard edge of fear, tinged with a desperate defiance.

“B- Barnes. Sergeant…”

“Wh- oh. Um. Bucky, it’s okay. You’re not in the lab anymore.” Steve hurriedly loosed his grip on Bucky’s arm, and moved to give him space.

“See? You can move, you’re safe. It’s okay. I’m here.”

This didn’t reassure Bucky as much as Steve had hoped. His friend’s fingers dug deep into the mattress, and he arched his back, straining against imaginary bonds.

“Bucky? Bucky, it’s okay, really. You’re safe, I promise.”

Steve didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to touch Bucky while his mind was… somewhere else, but he couldn’t just let his friend injure himself either. It was anyone’s guess which way things would have gone, had Bucky’s panic not been interrupted by a fresh sneezing fit, overriding the demands of his terrified brain.

“Hh’IESCHhh!”

The first sneeze took him by surprise, slamming him back against the mattress and sending up a plume of spray which settled on his chest like dew.

“EISCHHH!”

breaking his rigid posture, Bucky cupped both hands over his face, his body slowly twisting into a foetal position as the fit continued.

“hh’ISSSCH! ESCHH! …hh..hh…ISChoo! Eschheue! Itscch! Hh’ischhi!”

The sneezing faded into silence, But Bucky stayed curled up in his ball. His shoulders were still shaking. Steve risked taking up a perch on an unused corner of the bed. He kept talking, soft and slow.

“It’s gonna be okay, Bucky. I’m here. Steve, remember? I came and found you. And now you’re safe. Okay, Buck? Everything’s going to be-”

Without warning, Bucky’s arm shot out, and his hand clutched at Steve’s shoulder. Steve jumped a little at the suddenness of it, but he willed himself to stay calm and still. The tremors he could feel running through Bucky’s fingers were present in his voice too, as he felt his way haltingly towards the here and now.

“St-Steve?”

“I’m right here with you, Bucky. To the end of the line, remember?”

Bucky’s fingers clenched painfully tight. Abruptly he unfolded and flung himself across his friend. Steve barely caught him. They wound up in an awkward cats-cradle of limbs that was surprisingly comfortable, and not terribly stable. Slowly, they toppled sideways onto the bed.

“Whoa.” Steve bought a hand around to support Bucky’s head a little better.

“You alright, buddy?”

“Yeah.”

Bucky squirmed against Steve’s chest as though he was trying to somehow fuse them into one being. Steve half wished that was possible.

“Hh’ISCHH! Yeah. You n’me. I remember.”

[Dye]

oh

oH

OHHHHH

BABIES

UAUSGDHUFDHGFH POOR BABIES I'M GONNA CRY

THIS IS SO PERFECT OH MY GOD

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS I REALLY LOVE THE ROLE-REVERSAL OVER WHAT THOSE TWO USUALLY HAVE

AND AUGH IT HURTS ME WITH WHAT THEY DID TO HIM

OH BUCKY ;~;

[Anonymouse]

I love this. Bucky's body fighting against what the lab did to him and getting confused.

Bucky’s nose had taken on a nasty, raw look. With an angry little noise, he reached up to claw at his face, but Steve caught his hand, not quite trusting him not to injure himself. When Bucky moaned in frustration, Steve settled for gently rubbing the side of Bucky’s nose himself. Bucky didn’t seem satisfied, but he did stop flailing about. At least, until he was overtaken by three more sneezes, harsh and unforgiving.

“Heh’ISSH! Huh…KRSHHeue! ETSSCH!”

With his free hand, he brought the handkerchief to Bucky’s face and dabbed at the drops of moisture clinging to his early-morning stubble.

Bucky’s nose flinched at the touch, and Steve caught the next sneeze with the cloth.

“HI’ESSCH! nn…”

“Shh, it’s ok, Bucky. Blow.”

omg this is too effing sweet! Bucky

The tremors he could feel running through Bucky’s fingers were present in his voice too, as he felt his way haltingly towards the here and now.

“St-Steve?”

“I’m right here with you, Bucky. To the end of the line, remember?”

:wub: !!! This was beautiful! Always nice to see some Bucky/Steve.

[beatlelover22]

YESSSS more Bucky/Cap! I've been waiting on someone to write a fic This is so wonderful, I love it!!

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

What Daisuko said.

[RiversD]

adsfglh you guys. You're far too kind.

@Daisoku ... I'm not sure what one CAN reply to that. Thanks! I'm glad it worked for you.

@anonymouse Again, thanks so much!

@beatlelover22 Happy to oblige glad you liked!

@myownprivatesfc

tl:dr I love everyone in this bar thread.

[Deadsh0t]

“I’m right here with you, Bucky. To the end of the line, remember?”

OW, MY HEART. Right in the feels ;_;

This was so sweet. <3 I absolutely love Bucky as a character, especially in the Winter Soldier.

Awesome work.