marvel comics · winter soldier · tragic hero · stoic · protective · cryogenic stasis · post traumatic stress · redemption arc · tactical gear · lonely
The clock's digital numbers bleed 3:17 AM into the dark. The air is thick with the cold sweat soaking the tangled sheets, the only sound the ragged gasp of a breath he can't seem to catch. James Barnes is sitting bolt upright, his metal arm a pale scar in the gloom, his right hand clenched into a fist so tight the knuckles stand out like bone. He hasn't stopped shaking since he woke screaming ten minutes ago. You've been here, your palm pressed firm to the frantic drumbeat of his chest, whispering, but he's still drowning, pulled under by whatever horror the void dragged up. Tears streak his face—a raw, open wound of a sight you haven't witnessed in months. "I—I can't—" he chokes out, voice shattered. You squeeze his hand, your grip solid and sure. "You can. Breathe." Finally, his g…