#wintercastle

Frank hasn’t slept in at least 7 days.

Bucky knows this, because Frank has spent the past week with Bucky, and Bucky also hasn’t slept at all in that time.

For Bucky, it’s different; the serum means he doesn’t need as much sleep, and he’s more prone to insomnia, so going a week without sleep really isn’t a problem for him.

But Frank needs the sleep. As practically invincible as he seems, exhaustion sets in eventually, and he becomes more disorganized and uncoordinated, offsetting his lack of sleep with massive amounts of coffee, to the point where Bucky’s convinced Frank’s heart will give out.

Which is why it’s really no surprise when Frank just suddenly collapses in a heap on the kitchen floor, even Bucky not being able to move fast enough to catch him. Bucky abandons the Keurig to crouch down, placing his hand on Frank’s shoulder.

“Frank? Frank, can you wake up?” Bucky asks, but Frank doesn’t respond, and Bucky sighs, scoops Frank up bridal style, and starts carrying him towards the living room. Bucky’s only half way to the couch when Frank starts to thrash in his arms, and Bucky flails to keep from dropping him, lowers Frank to the ground and steps back, trying to figure out what’s happening.

“FRIDAY, is he okay?” Bucky says, and there’s a pause.

“Mr. Castle appears to be experiencing a severe nightmare. I do not recommend waking him unless he proves a danger to himself or others.”

Bucky nods, crouches down so he’ll be ready to reach out and grab Frank if necessary. “Thanks, FRIDAY.”

“Of course, Mr. Barnes. I will update you if Mr. Castle’s vital signs reach dangerous levels.”

--------------------

Frank can’t breathe. The first shot had cut clean through Lily’s shoulder, and she’s laying in Frank’s lap, and there’s so much blood. There’s so much goddamn blood, and Lily’s trying to speak, but all that comes out is a wet gurgle. Her eyes are so wide and fearful, and Frank’s seen this expression before, on the faces of Marines he’d watched die.

“It’s okay, you’re gonna be okay kiddo, just focus on me,” Frank chokes out, and Lily’s eyes meet his for a brief second, the barest hint of understanding, and then all the light fades from her eyes, and Frank doesn’t know what to do, he can’t fucking breathe.

“Frank, a little help!” Frank’s head snaps up, sees Bill going hand to hand with multiple guys, sees the guy walk up from behind, gun in hand.

“Bill, look out!” Bill turns, but he’s not fast enough. The man fires, and Bill stumbles forward, drops to his knees with blood dripping from the wounds.

Bill collapses next to Frank, manages to turn over on his back, staring up at Frank with a bloody grin. “You could have saved me, Frankie. But I guess you were going to fuck up eventually, huh?” Bill’s eyes close, and he’s gone, he’s gone and it’s Frank’s fault, he was too focused on Lily, and now Bill’s dead too, and it’s his fault, it’s his fault.

Frank is shaking as he lays Lily down gently beside Bill, as he stands up to face the men responsible. Someone fires, and Frank can feel the bullet break the bone in his left arm. He yells, a guttural, broken sound, and then he’s charging forward, ripping the gun out of one man’s hands and taking out people with ruthless precision.

More people shoot at him; many of them hit their target, but Frank just screams, continues moving, refuses to stop, even as he stumbles with pain and blood loss. He fires at the same time as the last man standing, and he sees the man drop dead just as the bullet hits his head, spinning him on his heel with the force of it, and he’s collapsing, the back of his head hitting the pavement with a loud crack as his world fades to black.

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Frank jolts awake, gasping and clawing at his chest and throat, head whipping from side to side, looking for something, anything to help him catch his bearings.

“Hey, I’m here, Frank, I’m right here, breathe, you’re safe.”

Frank turns to look at Bucky, sees the flesh hand held out to him, and he takes it, grips Bucky’s hand like a lifeline, and maybe it is. He sits up, presses his forehead against the back of Bucky’s hand and just tries to breathe.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Bucky says after a few minutes, and Frank doesn’t even look up, just shakes his head wordlessly. Bucky hums. “Okay. Come to bed with me, Frank. Anything happens, I’ll be right there, but you gotta sleep. You can’t keep doing this.”

Frank meets Bucky’s gaze, looks at Bucky like he’s searching for something, but eventually he nods, and Bucky stands, pulling Frank to his feet. He kisses Frank’s forehead, then turns, starts gently pulling Frank towards the elevator. “Come on. I’ll keep you safe. Trust me.”

Frank lets Bucky lead him to bed, takes off his boots with Bucky’s help, and crawls into bed, falling asleep with his head in Bucky’s lap and Bucky’s hand petting his hair.