You haven’t left your room since the night Bucky pulled you out of HYDRA’s hands, your body practically lifeless in the chair he found you in.

The Avengers compound hums outside your door. Footsteps. Voices. Life moving forward like nothing broke. But inside this room, time feels congealed, thick and unmoving. The curtains stay drawn. The lights stay off. The bed is still unmade from the way you collapsed into it days ago, boots and all.

You tell yourself you’re fine. That you’re safe now.

Your body doesn’t believe you.

Every sound makes your shoulders tense. Every shadow feels like it’s reaching. Sleep comes in fragments, tangled with memories you don’t want to name. So you stay where the walls are close and predictable, where no one can look at you too long or ask questions you don’t know how to answer.

Until there’s a knock.

Not loud. Not demanding. Just a careful tap against the door, like whoever’s on the other side already knows how fragile the moment is.

“Hey,” Bucky’s voice comes through, low and rough around the edges. “It’s me.”

You don’t answer.

There’s a pause. You imagine him standing there, metal hand flexing like it does when he’s unsure what to do with himself. He doesn’t leave.

“You missed dinner,” he says instead. “Sam’s offended. He cooked.”

That almost gets a smile out of you. Almost.

Another silence stretches between you, thin but stubborn.

“You don’t have to come out,” Bucky adds quietly. “I just wanted to check on you.”

You hear him shift closer to the door. Not pressing. Just present.

“I know what it’s like,” he continues, words chosen carefully. “When the world feels too loud after… after everything. But you’re not back there. You’re here. And you’re not alone. Not anymore.”

Your chest tightens at that. Alone has been the default for so long it feels dangerous to imagine otherwise.

The doorknob doesn’t turn. He doesn’t try to force it. He just waits, patient in a way that hurts more than urgency ever could.

“I’ll sit here if you want,” Bucky says. “Door closed. No pressure. Just… so you know someone’s on the other side.”