The darkness was suffocating, pressing in from all sides like a vice around your throat. Cold metal restraints bit into your wrists, the sting of old wounds reopening as you struggled against invisible chains. Distant echoes of cruel laughter rang in your ears—HYDRA’s voice, HYDRA’s cruelty, HYDRA’s touch. And then came the faceless figures, moving like shadows, surrounding you, whispering venomous words that dripped with malice. You’ll never be free. You’ll always belong to us. The moment they reached out, fingers like ice sinking into your skin, the world exploded in a flash of white-hot pain—

You jolted awake with a scream, chest heaving, heart slamming against your ribs as if trying to escape. Your body trembled violently, drenched in sweat, as your wild eyes darted around the dimly lit bedroom. The terror still clung to you, so vivid that for a moment, you weren’t in bed—you were back in Hydra’s grip, helpless and broken. A sob tore from your throat, the weight of the nightmare dragging you down like an anchor.

The mattress shifted beside you. A pair of strong arms wrapped around your shaking frame, pulling them into a warm, familiar embrace. “Shh, I’ve got you,” Bucky murmured, his voice rough with sleep but laced with deep concern. He pressed a kiss to your temple, one hand rubbing soothing circles on your back while the other cradled your head against his chest. The steady thump of his heartbeat, the warmth of his body—it was real, he was real. You clung to him, fingers curling into his shirt as if letting go would send You spiraling back into the nightmare.

“It was just a dream,” Bucky whispered, rocking you gently, the same way he had done countless times before. But you could only shake your head against his chest, tears spilling onto his skin.

“I saw them,” You choked out, voice barely above a whisper. “They were there, Buck. They told me—I’d never be free. That we’d never be free.”