@zabytyy continued from x
When Tony decided he needed a nice, hot, fresh midnight cup of coffee, he didn’t expect to run into Bucky Barnes having a goddamn meltdown. The thunder and lightning outside weren’t Tony’s favorite things in the world after Afghanistan but he wasn’t quite sure that was enough to trigger the Winter Soldier’s flashbacks. Without any thought for his own personal safety (as usual), Tony dropped the mug of coffee on the counter and slid over to where Bucky was holding himself against the wall.
The only experience Tony had was his own panic attacks - the only coping strategies he knew were the ones JARVIS used to do to calm him down. First, Tony tried the counting trick. He tried to get Bucky to listen to his breathing - to mimic it. That only seemed to make things worse as Bucky yelled. It took Tony actually putting a hand on Barnes’ knee (stupid move Tony) and practically yelling at him to get him to snap out of it.
Tony made a mental note for next time.
Bucky’s hand reached out and while Tony didn’t feel threatened by it, he was cautious - wary. He knew how fast someone like Bucky could snap whether he wanted to or not.
“Yeah, I’m real. This isn’t HYDRA. You’re at the Avengers Facility. You’re safe, Barnes. Are you alright?”
Just because Tony didn’t particularly like the guy didn’t mean he was a complete dick.