This has been a request from vherron14.

////

"Good to go? You took almost an hour getting ready," Steve comments as the brunet steps into the living room.

"What? I like dressing well," Bucky says defensively, crossing his arms.

"I ain't complaining," Steve speaks as he leans in and kisses his cheek. Bucky smiles a little and rolls his eyes.

"Suck-up," he mutters before kissing him. "Got the list?" he asks as they pull apart.

"Yep."

"Cool, let's get this over with."

////

The walk was short, which was good, because rain was just beginning to sprinkle down as they stepped into the grocery store.

"Gonna enjoy walking home in that," Steve sighs and Bucky shoots him a look.

"Maybe we'll miss it," he suggests as he looks over the grocery list. "Okay..." As he reads, he listens to the storm begin to rage outside, thundering over the building. Steve rocks on his heels, waiting for Bucky to finish.

Grocery shopping was always boring, but it was one of the times out of the week that they could actually see each other - they were always out on missions, or with other people, or Bucky was working the second job he'd picked up for fun.

Steve would always pick the little time he had with Bucky over anything else.

"Milk, eggs, cake mix... and kale? Really?" Bucky turns to Steve, making a face.

"It's good for you," Steve protests. Bucky rolls his eyes.

"Mm, nope."

They set off to find their goods. Steve mostly absent-mindedly follows along, distracted by the storm. So distracted, in fact, that he has to swerve to avoid a small woman pushing a cart his way. Bucky looks at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Watch the road, Stevie. We got civilians down and out and we don't want any casualties."

Steve stops in his tracks, staring at him. "What?"

Bucky regards him strangely. "I said, watch the road, Stevie." He studies him closely, stopping as well. Bucky steps over and grabs his shoulder.

////

"We got civilians down and out and we don't want any casualties," Bucky spoke, looking over at the Captain as he surveyed the scene.

Bombs exploded overhead, fast and sudden, the shrapnel raining down like bullets. Echoing of guns in alleyways, and screaming. Blood splattered the pavement like a horrific modern art piece, bright and violent.

Steve took a step back, overwhelming emotion threatening to take him down. Bucky barked the orders for the rest to scatter, gave Steve a worried glance, and ran off down the next side street.

Steve stood there for a second, trying to process it all. It was all too fast, too loud, and he couldn't breathe for a moment. Books thrown onto a massive pile in the middle of the city and burned, the flames engulfing the sky, smoke thick in the air.

He gritted his teeth and shouldered onwards, racing to finish his part of the mission. Dozens of civilians on the street, crying, begging. One grabbed his ankle.

"Please," they sobbed in choppy English. "Help."

There was nothing he could do. He tried to apologise, his German sloppy, his English somehow even worse. They were pulled away by another, and Steve had to retreat to avoid seeing the death take place.

The guns, the bombing, the noise was too loud, the people, the crying, and --

Steve ran. He ran through the city, adrenaline pushing him faster, until he reached the end goal. Bucky was the first one there.

Steve just stared at him, shellshocked. Bucky recognised the look.

He walked over wordlessly and pulled Steve into a hug while the city burned around them.

////

"Steve, calm down," Bucky says quietly, his heart beating out of his chest. He tries to ignore the people beginning to crowd around the two. Steve was still getting over the flashback.

PTSD hit them hard.

Steve was breathing hard, his hands shaking as Bucky held them. He blinks and focuses only on Bucky, trying to mentally ground himself in the moment. Bucky notices this and nods encouragingly. "I'm right here, Steve, nobody's gonna hurt you, alright?" He gauges his expression and continues.

"Steve, remember that night at Coney Island?" Sometimes diverting to a better memory worked. Steve was meeting his eyes, at least, his chest not heaving like it had been. "I wasted three dollars on a bear and we had to hitch a ride home?"

Steve forces himself to nod, sitting up. He hadn't realised he'd fallen to the floor; that must by why everyone was staring at them, right?

"Buck?" Steve finally speaks, his voice weaker than he'd like.

"You had a flashback," Bucky says, keeping his voice soft. "We're in the store."

Steve sits up straighter, face burning. The crowd was watching with bated breath, and he was hating the attention. Bucky turns to them and goes to say something, but pauses as Steve takes his hand.

"Let's just go," he mutters. Bucky helps him up and they shoulder their way through the crowd, Bucky ignoring their comments and Steve trying to.

////

"I'm sorry," Steve speaks as they trudge through the rain, lightning crackling in the distance. Bucky looks over at him. "I should be able to handle it now," he mutters.

"Hey." Bucky gives him a pointed look. "It sucks, but no one's blaming you. Okay? You can't control when it happens."

"Shoulda' taken precautions," Steve argues.

"We can't really prepare for these things, Steve." He studies him closely. Steve clenches his jaw. He never liked appearing weak, especially in front of the public eye. "It's okay."

"Bucky, I -- "

Bucky stops and takes his hands, then pulls him closer. "It's okay," he repeats in a quiet tone before kissing him. Steve kisses him back, his hands on his waist.

They pull away and Steve runs a hand through his brown hair, then closes his eyes. "Thank you, Buck."

Bucky smiles at him softly. "I'll always be here for you, okay? I love you."

Steve kisses him again. "I love you too."

They keep walking, and Bucky holds Steve's hand tighter than before.

////

I hope you liked it. :)