Steve paces the living room, muttering to himself while he waits for Bucky to pick up.

"Oh, come on," he huffs as it goes to voicemail again. Hanging up, Steve slings on a jacket and shoes before heading out, checking his watch.

It was a warm night in Washington, D.C., where he and Bucky lived. Steve had no idea why or when he left - he was just gone, the front door left open.

Now it was midnight. Steve was worried sick, and he couldn't reach him.

////

He spends an hour looking for him, and finds him sitting on the railing over a bridge. Steve's heart clenches as he races over, forcing himself to keep calm.

"Buck?" he speaks, ready to grab him. Bucky turns his head and gives a brief wave of his hand. He swivels to face Steve, his back to the water. Steve feels his shoulders tense. "Can you get down from there?"

Bucky shrugs indifferently, not moving. Steve reaches out and takes his hand, then pulls him to his feet. Bucky avoids his gaze.

"It's midnight, where the h*** were you?" His voice comes out harsher than he'd intended. Bucky lifts his hands into the air and lets them drop against his legs.

"It was too cramped in there," he mutters to the ground. "I, uh, I had to get... I had to go for a walk," he finally says, looking at him.

"You okay?" Steve watches him worriedly. Bucky opens his mouth to talk, makes a half-smile instead, and shakes his head.

"I'm fine," he says half-heartedly, absent-mindedly running his thumb over his lip. He goes quiet, lost in his own thoughts, before looking up at him suddenly. "Let's paint the town red."

Steve raises an eyebrow. "Buck -- it's after midnight -- "

"I'd be impressed if you keep an actual sleep schedule," Bucky drones, looking out to the water. "Besides," he adds, glancing over at him. "It's quiet."

Steve nods, resting his forearms on the cold metal railing. "Right," he murmurs, seemingly to himself, thinking. He nods slowly and straightens up again. "Okay. Lead the way."

"H*** no." Bucky scoffs. "I'm following you." Steve gives him a look and Bucky shrugs, gesturing onwards. "Lead on."

////

It was peaceful at night, surprisingly; few cars zipping along the roads, monuments, for once, not surrounded by tourists. They were free to do what they normally couldn't.

Bucky flops onto the grass and drapes an arm over his forehead as he stares up at the dark clouds puttering across the black sky.

Steve joins him, slightly awkward - they hadn't done this since they were kids, and the familiarity of it made Steve miss the old days.

Bucky closes his eyes, frowning slightly. Steve looks at him briefly before staring up at the trees, swaying in the breeze.

After a while, Steve nudges his arm. Bucky stirs, rubbing his face and propping himself up on his elbow, twisting to face him. "What."

"Don't fall asleep out here. We can go back home if you want to," Steve speaks, looking at him. Bucky waves a dismissive hand and hides a yawn, sitting up.

"Just resting my eyes." He gets to his feet and begins stretching, getting an idea. "Hey Steve, wanna race me to the end of the field?"

"Why?" Steve stands beside him, hands on his hips.

"Might energize you, old man," he teases and that works a smile onto Steve's face.

"You're older than me, Buck."

"Barely." Bucky stares ahead to where he wants to go, willing the anxiety that hasn't stopped pumping through his system to work in his favour.

He wanted calm. He wanted to be okay. He wanted to run and run and never stop; not until his lungs were burning and he had something else to concentrate on besides the thoughts swirling fast around his head.

He barely hears when Steve calls go. He takes off like a shot, arms and legs pumping up and down. He runs faster and faster, his legs screaming at him to stop, his lungs barely getting any oxygen.

There and back, back and forth; he couldn't tell where Steve was. Not until he felt him grab his wrist, bringing him to an abrupt halt. Bucky was gasping for air. He'd lost track of how long they'd been running.

"Buck, you won like five times in a row," Steve pants. Bucky leans over his knees, relief overcoming him. For once, he wasn't focusing on the negative thoughts in his head - all he felt were his muscles aching.

"Wanted... to give you a... fair shot," Bucky breathes, straightening up again, chest heaving. Steve regards him strangely before sighing and shaking his head a little.

"Okay. Should we head back now?"

"Yeah," Bucky says absently, looking to the sky again.

Steve sits down in the grass and looks up at him. "What's going on?" he asks quietly. Bucky hesitates a second and plops down beside him.

"It's just -- it's too stuffy in that apartment and my head is just -- " He purses his lips. "Anxiety," he sighs and Steve nods in understanding.

"I'm sorry," he says. Bucky shakes his head.

"S'okay. So -- I just don't want to -- you know."

"I understand. We can stay out a bit," Steve assures. Bucky smiles thankfully and leans back on his hands.

They stay out talking for hours, until Bucky's almost asleep. He folds over and rests his head on his arms, glancing up at Steve.

"Thank you," he says quietly, offering a small smile. Steve nods, rolling onto his side to face the brunet.

"Don't worry about it. It'll never be a problem with me, okay? I'm with you until -- "

"The end of the line," Bucky murmurs, smiling tiredly. Steve does as well, rubbing his face briefly. "Let's head back, yeah? It's super late."

They walk back in comfortable silence. Both too tired, they collapse onto the couch at four in the morning, personal space the last thing on their minds.

When Bucky inevitably wakes up once more, he tenses and goes to get up, but realises he's being squished under the blond. Steve's head was on his chest. Bucky relaxes again and hesitantly pulls him closer so he doesn't roll off of the couch. He closes his eyes again.

There was no way Steve could possibly fix him. It wasn't up to him - it was up to Bucky to see if he wanted to continue.

And God, he did. He wanted to get through his problems, beat them back, and live happily, not so pressured and full of anxiety and self-doubt.

Because he deserved life. He deserved to feel happy. And if anywhere, that was with Steve - at least, for him. Everybody had someone in their lives, their other half; Bucky was thankful to have met his.

He was thankful. He could do this.