Let Me Love You

Recovering

Bucky's POV

"So they're planning to what--create mutants?" Clint asks as Nick Fury briefs all of us for our upcoming mission.

"Seems like it. They're taking innocent people, children even, and testing on them." He sighs. "I doubt they're only doing it in one place so we'll have to send multiple teams to different bases." He explains, we all nod. "Stark you're with Maximoff and Vision going to the Malibu base since you're familiar with the building." He says, Tony looks down as he nods. "Romanoff, Barton, and Rhodey, you'll be going to the Texas base. That leaves Barnes, Wilson, and Rogers to go to the Washington D.C. base."

As he continues to brief each group for their specific mission, I glance over at Steve to see him nervously shaking his leg. I pat him on the shoulder and he quickly looks in my direction.

"You alright bud?" I ask quietly so I don't disrupt the others. He just nods in response. "She'll be fine. Bruce can take care of her."

"You'll be dispatching tomorrow morning. Get some rest." Fury announces before exiting the room.

Everyone leaves the room and enters the elevator, pushing the floor(s) that their room is on, while Steve pushes the floor to the sick bay.

"Steve." Natasha speaks up. "You really need to get some sleep. I don't think you've gotten more than an hour since Kate came back."

"I'm fine." He says, not looking at any of us.

"Cap, she's right." Sam places a hand on his shoulder. "We need you functioning if we're going to take down HYDRA tomorrow."

Steve sighs. "I just want to see her, then I'll go to bed."

The door opens on the sick bay level and I step out with him. "I'll make sure he's telling the truth." I tell the others, who nod before the doors close.

As we walk to Kate's room, Steve doesn't say a word to me. I notice his pace quicken as we get closer and do my best to keep up with him. He takes a deep breath before opening the door and taking a seat beside her.

Steve's POV

"Hey." I smile softly as I sit beside her. When she doesn't answer I turn to look at her and realize that she's asleep. I let out a shaky breath and press my lips together. I kiss the back of her hand before setting it down gently by her side.

"Let's go, punk." Bucky says from behind me. "She'll be right there when you get back."

He and I make our way up to our rooms, but I can't seem to fall asleep. Instead I stare up at the ceiling. Before I know it, I'm waking up the next morning and being rushed onto one of the quinjets.

Bruce's POV

"The others just left for their missions." Fury says to me on his way out. He glances through the window of Kate's room before turning to me. "She's got some hold on him, huh?"

"Steve? Yeah, he's barely left her side these past few days." I respond, typing away on my keyboard.

"Not the soldier," he turns back to look at her, "Tony." I furrow my eyebrows at him and he laughs. "He hides it well. He has to, who else would hold the team together?"

"But he's kinda the reason that all of this--"

"And he feels terrible for it. FRIDAY told me he hasn't gotten any sleep, he's been spending his nights in the lab working on anything he can think of to keep him busy." He puts his jacket on. "I worry about what'll happen to him if he loses her."

I raise my eyebrows in shock. I didn't know he still cared that much about her, we all thought he'd moved on. Fury must've left because when I come to my senses, he's no longer in the room. I check on Kate, realizing that she's still sleeping, and let her rest since she hasn't really been able to.