Taken. (A Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes story)

Chapter 4

One month later

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Over the course of the next month, Bucky had gained over half of his memories from before the war. He was in pain almost everyday, though. He'd lie in Steve's bed or on the sofa, groaning. But it didn't matter how much pain it cost him, Bucky wanted to remember his old life with Steve. He'd managed to stay indoors for the most part, too. Only going out early in the morning for his run with Steve and to shop for clothes. Bucky had managed to gain back almost all the weight he'd lost thanks to Steve's strict diet, a minimum of four meals a day and a thirty minute workout in the gym down stairs. He could now lift two hundred and fifty pounds easily. When Bucky looked in the mirror he liked what he saw, he no longer felt embarrassed and shy walking around the shared apartment without a shirt.

"Hey Steve, do you want to watch a movie?" Bucky asked walking out of the bathroom, his sweat pants slung low on his hips and his hair dripping with water from the shower he'd just taken.

"Sure, what do you wanna watch?" Steve looked up from the book he was reading.

"Does a romantic comedy sound good to you?" Bucky asked as he sat down on the sofa after hanging his damp towel on the back of chair.

"Lets see what Netflix has to offer." Steve said as he picked up the remote and tried to remember what Tony had taught him several months ago. It took almost half an hour for them to figure it out, Bucky had never seen a Wii before and Steve had only ever used it twice in two years.

"Ooh, put that one on!" Bucky shouted excitedly, pointing to the movie Love Actually.

"Okay, okay. Calm down." Steve laughed at his overly excited friend. He pressed play and Bucky quieted down, shifting slightly to get more comfortable. Bucky couldn't find a good way to sit with his feet tucked up so he stretched them out over Steve's lap. "Comfortable?" Steve laughed again.

"Yes. Very." Bucky said turning his attention towards the movie that had just started.

***

"That movie was amazing" Bucky said, looking away from the T.V. and over at Steve. "What should we watch now?"

"I have a copy Marley & Me that Tony let me borrow, do you want to watch that? It has a dog on the cover so it should be pretty good, doesn't look like it'll make me an emotional wreck, it's not like they'll kill off the dog." Steve said looking at the front cover of the DVD case.

***

"Why would they do that?!" Bucky choked out around his sobs.

"I hate this movie." Steve said, tears cascading down his face. "Why would they kill off the dog, why didn't they kill off the wife. That wouldn't have hurt nearly as much as this."

"I'm getting a beer, I need to feel like a man again." Bucky got up and stalked to the fridge still sniffling.

"Get me one too, I'll just drink the man tears away." Steve said, stretching out on the sofa and wiping his face on the back of his hand.

Bucky came back with two opened bottles of Michelob Ultra in his hand. He gave one to Steve and set his on the side table after taking a swig. "Move your big feet." Bucky said as he picked up Steve's legs by the ankles. He sat down and put Steve's feet across his lap.

Several hours and more than several beers later Steve and Bucky were lying side by side on the floor.

"It sucks we can't get drunk, huh Buck." Steve said as he turned his head and looked at his friend, in the low light light he looked surprisingly handsome.