Hey little mama

Ain't gotta ask me if I want to

Just tell me, can I get a light?

Roll you up and let it run through my veins

'Cause I can always see the farthest stars when I'm on you

I don't wanna ever come down off this cloud of lovin' you

"Steve, come here," Bucky whispered with a summoning curl of his finger. "Did you know about this?"

His friend gave him a curious look at both his question and in wondering why he was being so quiet and suspicious, reluctantly marking the page in his book and setting it on the table next to him. He stood from the couch and crept over to where Bucky was standing at the window that looked down over the gym where you were finishing your evening workout. "She's exercising, Buck," Steve answered flatly, "thought that looked pretty obvious, but yeah, I knew about that ever since I put her program together."

"Thanks, smartass, I got that. No, listen. Do you hear her?"

Now you got me hopped upon that pusher love

So high I'm on the ceiling baby

You're my drug

So gon' and be my dealer baby

Roll me up

'Cause all I want is you, baby

Steve humored him and closed his eyes, focusing his attention on what he was hearing even though it was through thick glass and a floor away. If it hadn't been for their super soldier auditory sense, neither of them would have even noticed you. "Hmm, that's nice."

"Nice?!" Bucky gasped. "Nice? No, Steve, that's not nice. It's amazing. I had no idea that she could sing like that. She keeps to herself so much when we aren't on a mission that I guess I never really paid much attention..." his voice faded to a gentle murmur as he was lost in the sound again. He watched your movements as he listened, finding a new appreciation for your skill that he hadn't had before, and a growing interest in making up for lost time in getting to be closer to you.

Now hey little mama

I love this high we're on too

And I know that your supply

Won't run out anytime soon

You gave me a taste, now I know that there's no getting off you

I don't wanna ever come down off this cloud of lovin' you

"Well, I get the feeling that you'll be paying a lot more of it now, hmm?" Steve grinned, landing a firm slap on his back. "Should I warn her dad first?"

Bucky's eyes grew wide and he silenced, turning with a gaping mouth at Steve before looking back down to you and at his friend again, "hey, it's not like that. I don't think so, anyway. Well, maybe it is..." He cocked his head slightly and considered what it was that he was feeling right now, and he honestly had no idea. The sound was soothing to him, like nothing else had been for his stress since he had joined the team, and he immediately felt unwilling to let that get away. "You think Barton would be pissed?"

"If you made the moves on his daughter?" Steve chuckled darkly. "Come on man, you've run from your fair share of angry fathers in your day. You telling me that you're scared of Clint now?"

"With aim like that? Hell yeah I'm scared."

~~~

Since you came around

I've been living a different life.

And I don't wanna come down

From this love I got on high.

People call me a user, but I want you

To go on and use me too.

Nothing else will do.

All I want is you, baby.

Now you got me hopped upon that pusher love

So high I'm on the ceiling baby

You're my drug

So gon' and be my dealer baby

Roll me up

'Cause all I want is you, baby

You paused for a second, glancing at your watch with a groan at the realization that you still had another fifteen minutes before you could be done, cursing Steve Rogers' name aloud for making such a grueling session for you. It was a reflex to look up towards the window where you knew that he'd be sitting close by, but the sight of Bucky there watching you threw you off track and allowed the punching bag to swing into your face with a loud smack.

"Son of a..." you hissed, pushing yourself up quickly from the mat and searching the upper level again, now seeing that Bucky was nowhere in sight. "No, no, no," you murmured, ripping your earbuds out and tossing them aside, scurrying off to gather your belongings before he could make it there and insist on checking on you. The loud zip of your bag closing gave you a few seconds of feeling secure that you had made it, but as soon as you had the strap over your shoulder, your stomach dropped at the sight of him standing in front of you when you turned to the door. "Jesus, Buck! You scared the crap outta me!"

"Are you okay?" he asked without an apology, reaching his hand up to your face to turn it gently to the side. "Did you get hurt?"

"No...no, I'm fine," you stammered, pulling from his grip. "Thanks for checking, but I...I need to go."

"But you weren't done. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt-"

"It's fine, believe me. I'm ready to be done. I think Cap has a secret plan to kill me with that stupid workout."

"I should show you what he put together for me," he scoffed. "If that's not a plan to kill a person then I don't know what is." The two of you stood silently for a moment, looking at each other with the discomfort hanging in the air between you starting to feel suffocating. You hadn't ever spent more than a few minutes alone together, and that was on a mission, so this was completely foreign. "I uh...I heard you singing."

"You did?" you gasped, suddenly mortified. "How? You were upstairs?"

He smiled coyly and turned his head with a point to his ear, "I can hear your heartbeat if I concentrate enough."

"Right," you nodded in understanding, "I forgot about that. Must be hard."

"Not when I hear something like when you were singing. I've never heard you do that before."

"I usually don't unless the tower's empty. I didn't think anyone would notice down here but maybe I was louder than I thought," you shrugged. "It helps to keep my mind straight when things get too heavy around here."

"Me too."

"You sing too?"

"No," he replied with a sudden shyness, "I mean...listening to you just now felt really...calming. I haven't felt like that in forever, and something in your voice just caught me. I have to admit, and don't tell Steve or he'll be all over me about this," he warned with a weary smile, "but my head's been a mess since I got here and I haven't had more than an hour or two of sleep each night."

"Buck, that's not healthy."

"I manage," he sighed, "but yeah, it's not ideal."

Again, the silence between you hung heavily and you both looked away awkwardly. Bucky took a few steps back and pushed his hands into his pockets when he didn't know what to do with them, feeling like they weren't even his and only making him more nervous. His gaze dropped to the floor when it all became too much, but he couldn't bring himself to leave just yet.

"Could you sing again?" he finally asked quietly.

"Now?" you perked up, taken aback that he would ask and now terrified that you would have to do it. Singing was something that you had done alone and for yourself, and it only brought panic now to think that he would purposefully want to hear you. "I don't know..."

"It's okay," he hurried to cover. Now his anxiety was getting the best of him and the last thing he wanted was to make you uncomfortable and not want to even talk to him at all. "You don't have to. I'll go so you can finish...I'm sorry. Just forget that I ever said anything, okay?" He turned and practically tripped over his own feet to get to the door, silently praying to himself that you wouldn't try to stop him before he could make his escape, but he had no such luck.

"Bucky, hold on." When he stopped and turned back, you steeled your nerves and decided that no matter what you were feeling right now, if you could help your friend, then it was impossible to say no. "When you're ready to sleep tonight, you can call me. I'd like to try to help, if you think it will. I'll sing whatever you want."

"You don't have to do that, (Y/N). I shouldn't have asked."

"Sure you should have. If it makes you feel better and if you think it will help you sleep, then that's what I'm going to do." Taking a leap of faith that you could do it, you pushed up on your toes to reach him, leaving a small kiss on his cheek. When you pulled back, his face was flushed and a little smile curled at the corners of his lips. "Call me when you're ready."

~~~

Only a few hours later, Bucky was sitting on the edge of his bed and on the edge of his mind, staring at his phone with your number ready to be dialed when his hands would find the will to move. His thumb hovered over the screen; just one tap was all he needed to summon you. He still worried that he had overstepped his limits, but he couldn't fight the need to hear you again. He couldn't fight it once his thumb tapped the glass and there was no turning back. He was definitely in deep when you knocked on the door and he let you into his room; it was a place of solace for him that no one else had been invited to.

"Okay, so...where do you want me?" you asked, waiting patiently by the door.

"Um...how about here," he offered, pulling a chair up next to the side of his bed. "Is that okay?"

"Your call." Taking the seat as he slid into bed, you waited patiently until he was settled, reaching over to turn of the beside lamp to darken the room around you. It wasn't just to help him fall asleep but to keep you from seeing each other; it felt as if the essence of anonymity would help to calm your nerves in an uncomfortable situation for both of you.

You began to sing quietly, continuing on until you could hear the shift in his breathing to a slow rhythmic pace; he hadn't moved for quite some time, so you began to lower your tone until it was a whisper, and then finally stopped. He didn't respond to the silence, and you knew that he was right; this was exactly what he needed. Giving him time to reach a deeper sleep, you waited in place for a while until you had inadvertently fallen asleep too before you had the chance to leave.

The rest wasn't meant to last long when you were jolted awake at the sounds of him calling out for you in a panic. You turned the light on and gasped at the sight before you, with Bucky sitting bolted up straight in bed, covered in sweat and his eyes glazed over as if he hadn't fully woken yet.

"Hey, Buck, I'm right here," you soothed quietly, cautiously climbing up to sit next to him. "You had a bad dream, you're okay."

"(Y/N)?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. I didn't leave."

"Oh...(Y/N)..." he whispered, trying to pull his mind into reality, "shit...I'm so sorry. I didn't...did I scare you?"

"Not at all. Come on, let's try again." You crawled onto his bed fully and lowered yourself next to him, holding out your arm for him but he sat steady and frozen in place. "I don't bite, I promise."

"Yeah...o-okay..." he agreed hesitantly, laying himself onto his pillow slowly, allowing you to hold your arm around him. "Is it weird?"

"It's weird that it's not weird," you smiled, stretching your other arm to reach the lamp and to darken the room again. Even before you began the song, you could feel him relax and sink into place against you; his arm draped over you as if it were natural to do so, and you didn't argue.

The next morning when the two of you woke, you had found your way under the blankets and were now the one wrapped within his arms. He had the longest night of sleep since his arrival to the tower, and he looked rested for the first time since you had met. He didn't release you right away, looking at you with an appreciation and gentleness that made you want to stay forever if you could.

"I owe you."

"No, you don't. I was happy to help, and I will again if you want me to."

"I do."

"Okay," you agreed softly, still watching him. The normally firm jawline and piercing eyes that you were used to seeing on the battlefield were gone, replaced by a softness that you couldn't help but want to touch. You wanted to know what his lips felt like, and it didn't escape him when your gaze lowered to them before making yourself look away.

Taking the chance that what he had seen was right, Bucky leaned in closer, stroking your cheek with his thumb softly to leave goose bumps covering your skin. You closed your eyes just as he was about to connect, but you were both shocked away by a loud banging on the door and a voice that paralyzed you both in fear.

"James Buchanan Barnes you had better get out here right now and tell me that my daughter isn't in there or I'm gonna bust this door down and shove that metal arm so far up your ass that you'll be able to wave every time you open your goddamn mouth!"