Hardly Hidden - (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) - Steve/Bucky

[darkness-is-the-light]

You will never stop me. Never. *Evil Laugh*

No, seriously, I’ve come back again. I’ve been craving some more sick Steve, so, I decided hey why not write another one shot? Well, here I am. You’ve probably had enough of me, though. Anyway, there’s no actual plot to this story. But… there is a lot of self-pleasing in here. *cough* Tons of sneezing. *cough*. I hope you enjoy!

***

“Huh’PSHHH!” Steve Rogers snapped forward into the handful of tissues again, moaning softly.

“Bless you,” Bucky Barnes murmured, “That hurt, didn’t it?”

Steve nodded, rubbing at his sore throat, expression pinched in pain.

“How long have you been sick?”

“Few…” The blonde cleared his throat, “Few days,”

“Why did you wait to tell me—or should I say, have me find out—this morning?” Bucky questioned.

Steve shivered, tugging the pale blue blankets closer to his frigid skin. “I didn’t… Huh’PSSHH! … Huh’PSHH!”

Bucky opened his mouth to bless the other man, but closed it when he watched his dazed expression. Steve seemed to have drifted off into another universe, nostrils twitching every few seconds. Moments later, he took two hitched breaths before launching forward with three uncontained sneezes. “Huh… Huh’PSH’iew! Huh’TSHH’iew! … Huh’PSSSHHH!” The last sneeze embarrassingly loud, drawn out, and forceful, his body shook violently in sync with the sound.

“Christ,” Bucky mumbled, “Bless you,”

Steve took a moment to catch his breath, “Sorry,” He apologized, voice thick with congestion.

Bucky reached over to the tissue box, pulling a few out and handing them to his sniffling friend. “Blow your nose, I can barely understand you.”

Flushing, Steve quickly grabbed the tissues, bringing them to his pink nose. Turning away, he blew quietly but was getting no relief, forcing him to give long, hard blows.

When he finished, Bucky said, “That’s one hell of a cold, Steve.”

“It sounds worse than it feels.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow at the other man, “Are you sure?” He questioned, “You sound horrible,”

“Stop worrying so much, Buck,”

“I can’t help it,” Bucky shrugged, “I worried about you back when we were kids, I’ll worry about you now. Even in this new century.”

“Will… Hgnnxt! … Hgnxxt!” Steve pushed his fingers harshly up against his nostrils. “Will you ever let me worry about y… you for o-once?” He managed to get the rest of his sentence out before stifling another sneeze.

“Heh… Hgnxt! … Hgnxtt!” The sigh of relief afterwards was raspy, causing him to cough.

“Stop holding them back like that,” Bucky scolded, “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“I-I’m s… Huh’PSHH! Sorry,”

“Don’t be sorry, just don’t do it.”

“You didn’t answer my question,”

“No, I will not let you worry about me, it’s not your job.” Bucky explained.

“I always will,”

“I know.”

“Do you remember that time I had the flu and you caught it?” Steve asked.

“Yes, I do,” Bucky said, “I remember not being able to get out of bed—or barely move—for a week.”

“And how you got angry at me?”

“I wasn’t angry at you, I was angry at my immune system for betraying me.” The ghost of a smile was on his lips.

“I don’t understand why you’ve dealt with me all of these years.”

“You’re not supposed to,”

“Why?” Steve questioned, nostrils twitching ever so slightly.

“If you did, I’d be useless.”

“You… Huh’PSSHH! You could never be useless, to me at least.”

“For once,”

“What?” Steve was shocked, “I’ve never found you useless. You’ve always been there for me, and I’m grateful for that. Most people would’ve left me a long time ago, but you, you’ve stayed with me all of this time.” Steve said.

“I was only kidding, Steve,”

“I know…”

“No, you didn’t, you should’ve seen the look on your face.”

“I want you to know that I care about you. More than you would want me to, I assume.” Steve admitted.

“Friends are supposed to care about each other. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be friends.”

“You’re right,” Steve agreed.

“Now, get some sleep,” Bucky patted Steve’s back softly.

“Alright,” Steve obliged, closing his eyes.

“Goodnight, Steve,”

“Goodnight, Bucky,” After a few minutes, the super soldier drifted off to sleep, next to Bucky’s side.

***

As the night carried on, Bucky had kept himself awake in case Steve needed him. The harder the man fought, the faster the inevitable came. By the time of three o’clock, Bucky was sound asleep, sitting up in the bed beside Steve. Hours later, his peaceful slumber had been interrupted.

Steve stirred gently, turning over to face the wall, “Mmm…” He hummed.

Bucky hadn’t found his mumbling alarming, it wasn’t uncommon for Steve to talk or make noises in his sleep. The man had recalled his friend talking on about Peggy once before, apologizing for being in the ice for seventy years.

Steve moved his head downward, so that it was no longer resting on the pillow. “Bucky…” He mumbled, “Bucky,”

The brunette shook Steve’s arm gently, “Wake up, Steve,”

The Captain thrashed against him, “Bucky!” He nearly shouted.

“Steve,” Bucky called sternly.

The blonde pushed him away harshly, making Bucky lean backward, almost falling back. “Bucky… No!” He shouted, bolting awake. His blue eyes darted frantically around the room, searching for the enemy.

Bucky put a gentle hand on Steve’s forearm, causing him to jump; startled.

“Hey… It’s alright,” He soothed softly, as if approaching a wild animal.

Steve inhaled a sharp breath, slowly releasing the tension from his body.

Bucky noticed a slight glimmer in the other man’s eyes, seeming to be caused by tears. “You’re okay, it was only a dream.”

Steve gazed at the blankets, “I… You…” He couldn’t seem to articulate what he felt.

“It’s alright, Buddy,” Bucky said gently.

A few stray tears slid down Steve’s face, landing on his lap.

“Come here…” He mumbled, pulling Steve into a gentle hug.

The two stayed in that position for as long as Steve needed it, tears continually dripping down to Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky didn’t move, except for rubbing Steve’s back with his good hand. He didn’t need words to understand what Steve had been through. The unspoken words told much more.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Sophie83540

[RemedyBane]

Oh my gosh! This is perfection!!! I love this! Steve and Bucky's relationship in this is soo cute! Please continue!

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

:bounce: :bounce:

How I do love these twoooo~

Excellent job!

[Dye]

Absolutely amazing job, Steve's sneezes were spelt so perfectly.

and damn, that dream at the end. I love me some whump ;w;

[beatlelover22]

I'm pretty sure I died somewhere in the first few lines! Oh my god, this is so good, I don't even know where to begin! First of all, I love the way you spelled out his sneezes and the circumstances surrounding them. Also, the way Bucky was worried Steve would hurt himself by stifling! Awww the whole thing was just adorable!!

[Salamander]

Wow, I really enjoyed this. These two are the sweetest and you write them really, really well. They do read like old, old friends who are very comfortable with each other while still tentative and shy about some things. And the sickness was delicious of course. Thank you so much sharing with us x