Bucky was walking home from work when he heard the oh so familiar voice of one Steve Rogers shouting from the alley way he was passing, threatening to fight someone. Bucky stopped for a minute, cursing under his breath when he heard the sound of something crashing into some trash cans. His instincts took over and he rushed into the alley, pulling the guy off Steve and kicking him away, muttering for him to pick on someone his own size before pulling Steve up gently.

Steve wiped his bloody nose, "I had him on the ropes."

Bucky chuckled softly, shaking his head, "Sure you did pal, c'mon let's go get you cleaned up." he put his arm around the shorter man and walking home with him, trying to remain calm about this.

As soon as they got home Bucky sat him down and got a washcloth from the bathroom, gently wiping up his wounds, saying as he did, "You can't keep gettin' into fights like this Steve, you know that, you'll get seriously hurt one day an' I don't think I could deal with that."

"Buck, I had a perfectly good reason to this time-"

"Steve," Bucky cut the blond off, "You always have a perfectly good reason but you can't keep getting hurt like this when it's preventable, I care way too much about you to keep lettin' you hurt yourself like this." He looked at Steve, tears starting to well in his eyes, "You're my best pal Stevie, God knows what I'd do if you got hurt-"

This time it was Steve cutting off Bucky, putting his cold hands on Bucky's cheeks and pulling him into a soft kiss impulsively. Bucky shut his eyes, melting into the kiss, a couple of tears dripping down the taller boy's face.

After a few moments Bucky pulled back slightly, knowing that Steve would need to breathe. "'m with you 'til the end of the line Buck, I promise," Steve said, kind of breathless, panting softly

"Thank you Buck, but I can get by on my own."

"The thing is, you don't have to, because I'm with you til the end of the line pal." Bucky put his hand on Steve's shoulder, squeezing it gently, this being the most affectionate gesture they could do in public. "Move in with me?" He asked quietly now, looking the smaller boy in the eyes.

"Fine," Steve said like it was a burden on him, the small grin on his face giving away the fact that he was joking, "But I ain't shining your shoes, you can fuckin' forget that."

A few hours later, Bucky and Steve are lay in their small pillow fort, right beside each other. Steve had cried a few times since they'd gotten back to their new apartment, but Bucky wasn't going to call him out on it, he didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. Whenever he cried, Bucky would simply scoop him up into a hug and hold him close, whispering reassurances until he felt better. He loved Steve and he'd always be there for him, hell he'd promised Steve's ma on her deathbed that he'd look after Steve, he definitely wasn't going to go back on it.

That night Steve and Bucky ate dinner and slept in the small safety of their pillow fort, their arms wrapped around each other, holding both of them close, as if they let go they'd lose the other, Bucky's chin resting on Steve's head, Steve gripping the back of Bucky's shirt, his legs wrapped around the taller man's waist, his skinny arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders.

Steve was sick. Again. It wasn't like he could help it but it scared the shit out of Bucky, especially when he insisted that he was fine, but Bucky had to work so he had no choice but to leave Steve alone all day, hoping his boyfriend would try to be responsible.

Bucky stepped into the apartment quietly, hoping Steve was asleep singe he'd gotten in late, slipping off his jacket and shoes.

"Buck, 's that you?" Steve asked, his voice quiet and hoarse, coming from their shared room.

"Yeah, you said you'd be asleep by time I got back Stevie, did you at least eat some dinner and take your meds?" Bucky asked, sighing softly to himself and walking to their room, holding another small bottle of his medicine, "I picked up some more on my way back from work." He placed it on the nightstand and sat down on the bed beside the blond. He took note of the half-full bowl of soup beside the bottle of medicine on the nightstand.

"I tried Buck, 'm fine really." Steve coughed quietly and Bucky shook his head. "You didn't have to buy me some medicine, I'll live," He said quietly. Bucky shook his head, moving to kiss Steve's forehead gently as Steve said softly, "Can you cuddle me? I missed you."

"'course just give me a minute doll," Bucky said softly, getting up and taking off his work clothes so he could wear them again tomorrow before climbing into bed next to Steve and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy gently, his eyes scanning every little detail of him, committing them to memory because he worried every year, what if this was the year he lost him from the sickness? What if he lost the person who meant the most to him in the world. he'd be lost without him. His eyes scanned the smaller boy's pale face, his light blonde hair, his baby blue eyes, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek, whispering softly, "Get some sleep babydoll, I've got you, til the end of the line."

With those words Steve quietly shut his eyes, for once not protesting and falling asleep, feeling safe in Bucky's arms, staying peacefully asleep throughout the night.

Bucky had been back for a few weeks now and it was finally dawning on Steve, everything that had happened to him. He started to spiral after they were trying to decide what to eat for lunch and Bucky couldn't think of anything. Even though it was a small, trivial thing, Steve was shaken up. He felt like he couldn't breathe because the love of his life had been through such pain and suffering, all because of him, or so he thought at least, after all he hadn't jumped after Bucky, he hadn't caught him, he hadn't saved him, and now the man he loved had been mercilessly tortured. Steve grabbed onto the counter, gripping hard enough to crack it, tears threatening to spill from his tired blue eyes.

Bucky turned to him and his instincts kicked in to protect Steve in any way, shape or form. Steve had moved to sit down, leaning on the counter and trying to stop hyperventilating. Bucky crouched in front of him, saying softly, "Hey, focus on me ok Steve? I know you can do it, you're ok, I'm here, I've got you now." He took Steve's hand gently, feeling Steve's grip practically crush his hand but showing no reaction, gently putting the hand on his chest, saying quietly, "Breathe with me, I'm right here and I know you can do it just breathe with me." He exaggerated his breathing so steve could copy it.

Steve let out an incoherent string of rushed words and Bucky said softly, "Shhh, it's ok, you don't need to apologize or anything just try and breathe, you're going to be ok, I've got you til the end of the line." He knew it was just muscle memory what he was doing at this point, taking care of steve, making sure he was ok was something he could probably do in his sleep.

Eventually Steve managed to steady his breathing and Bucky gently carried him back to their room, getting him to spend the rest of the day in bed despite his protests.

It was a bad day. Steve could tell from the moment Bucky woke up, he clearly hadn't slept enough, he had most likely had a nightmare again. Although they weren't as frequent as they used to be, they still happened.

"Morning Buck," Steve said softly, gently moving to cup Bucky's cheek, worried about his boyfriend, "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine Stevie," Bucky said, leaning into the feeling of Steve's hand on his cheek quietly, "Just a little tired. I should probably run for a shower before breakfast though, can you come with me?"

Bucky was like this on his Bad Days, him and Steve were practically joined at the hip, not that Steve minded much, he just worried about him, especially when he got especially clingy, worrying that this could be a sign that Bucky wanted to bolt and was stocking up on affection.

"'Course I can, how about we go for a shower and freshen up and then you get back in bed and I'll bring in breakfast and we can have a relaxed day?" Steve suggested softly, getting up and offering Bucky a hand up, pulling him up when the cool metal hand gripped his own.

"That sounds good," Bucky said softly, walking into the bathroom with him. he took off his pyjamas and turned on the shower, climbing in.

Steve followed suit and grabbed the shampoo, asking softly, "Do you want me to wash your hair?" After a quiet nod from Bucky, Steve put shampoo on his hands, gently washing Bucky's hair and running his fingers through his hair carefully, trying not to pull on any knots. He helped Bucky clean himself up before turning off the shower and wrapping a fluffy towel around him, bringing his clothes into the bathroom for him, having pulled on some boxers and sweatpants quickly before returning to him. "Put some clothes on and get back in bed and I'll bring you some food sweetheart," He said softly, kissing his forehead before walking into the kitchen.

Steve made Bucky some pancakes and spent the rest of the day watching netflix and cuddling with him in bed, knowing that he was doing everything he could to make Bucky feel better because Bucky would do the same for him