Waking up in the middle of the night was never fun for anyone - especially not when your skin felt too tight and the silence too loud. That restless, anxious feeling always clung like static. Heavy chest, buzzing limbs. Sleep had never come easy for you but tonight it was worse than usual.

You tossed and turned for what felt like hours, tangled in the sheets and eyes darting toward every shadow. Something about the stillness felt wrong. There was no sound, no comfort, no warmth in the empty bed. It didn’t feel like safety, not without them.

Your heart was beating a little too fast and your breathing was a tad too shallow.

Quietly - socks brushing over the wooden floor and fingertips ghosting over the wall for balance - you slipped from your room and padded down the hall. The door to the master bedroom was cracked open, soft golden light from a streetlamp pooling through the curtains inside.

A soft snore - Bucky’s. A quiet exhale - Steve’s.

You pushed the door open wider. Steve was lying with an arm draped over Bucky’s waist, Bucky’s head buried in Steve’s neck.

You wrap your arms around yourself and walk in, trying to stay quiet even as the floor creaks. You crawl into bed, squeezing into the tiny space between the two super soldiers.

Bucky stirred first and wrapped an arm around your waist, letting out a deep exhale. Steve cracked an eye open, brows furrowing as he felt the way your body trembled.