𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖛𝖊𝖑 𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖘

- 𝚙𝚜𝚢𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚒𝚜𝚝

"Hey (Y/N)?"
"Hey Stevie! What's up?"
"Listen... I know you might not be up to this... but I could use some help."
"Anything."
"Would you be able to see my friend. Like for counseling?"
"Uh..."
"Like you'd counsel him."
"Steve... I'm not a certified psychologist. I don't see how I can help."
"You did so much for me. Really. Just talking about my grief to you took loads of stress and guilt away from me. I think it could do the same for my friend."
"Yeah... if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna need to know who your 'friend' is."
"... The Winter Soldier?"
"What?"

You sat in a room at a desk. It didn't seem like a welcoming atmosphere. There was another swivel chair across from you. You watched the door impatiently, your leg restlessly shaking.
Then, the handle jiggled, and the door opened. The Winter Soldier, the infamous Hydra Assassin, walked in the room.
You had heard so much about him, expected so much, but he didn't seem very intimidating without a gun in his hand. Or any weapon, for that matter. Sure, he was tall and his t-shirt allowed you to see his toned biceps, but he didn't have the right look. His gaze was unfocused. His brow was creased. His seemed tired. He could use a haircut and a shaving. He appearance screamed 'homeless.' There was no evil glint in his eyes, no wicked expression. In fact... he just looked sort of... lost.
"James? Or Bucky? What... should I call you?" You asked awkwardly.
"Bucky," he grunted, closing the door and taking a seat.
"Okay Bucky. I'm (Y/N). Uh... do you want to start?"
"No."
"Alright then." You frowned. He didn't want to be here. You didn't feel like putting up with his bullshit. You were taking time out of your day to help him. "Listen. I'm doing this as a favor for Steve and Steve alone. If you don't want to be here, then by all means, leave. Cause I don't want to help someone that doesn't think they need to be helped."
Bucky looked shocked.
"You want me to... leave?"
"If you don't think you need help, I can't help you. You have to come to me of your own free will." He shifted, his shoulders straightening and his expression becoming more attentive.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Uh... thanks. Bye, I guess." You gave him a little wave and he stood up to leave.
"Hey Bucky?" He turned. "Don't tell anyone I let you leave. I'm not supposed to."
He grinned, and you were caught off guard by how handsome he looked when he smiled. This had to be a rare occasion. He didn't look like the kind of guy to grin easily–well, not anymore. His eyes–you couldn't tell if they were a sky-blue, or a stormy grey, or even a silver–lit up, and he appeared younger. Less haggard. It gave you a peak at the old Bucky. James. Before Hydra.
"Got it."

Every day for a week, Bucky would walk in, wait for the SHIELD Car to drive away, then leave with a polite goodbye. Until one day.
Bucky was about to leave when your phone rang. He looked back at you, and you picked up the phone. Your face immediately broke into a grin.
"Stevie!" Bucky froze.
"Hey, (Y/N). Do me a favor and put me in speaker."
"Sure thing." You pressed a button. "You're on."
"What the hell, Buck? You can't just stay for one goddamn session?"
"I don't need help, Steve." Bucky's flat tone led you to believe they'd had this discussion more than once.
"Just stay! Once! For me! (Y/N)'s nice!"
"Yeah? Well (Y/N) said if I don't think I need help, she doesn't need to help me!"
"Really (Y/N)?"
"I'm sorry Stevie, I just–"
"Both of you, shut up! You're staying for one session. No! Exceptions!" Steve hung up. You stared at your phone. Bucky sighed and dropped into the seat across from you.
You both sat in silence.
"I was young." You looked up. Bucky's eyes were trained on your phone. "When I met Steve. He's been with me for as long as I can remember. He's my pal. My buddy. When I went to Hydra I... I forgot all about him. It's amazing, what brainwashing can do. And... other methods."
"Can you... do you want to talk about it? The other methods?"
Bucky shook his head.
And so it went. Another week passed. Bucky would sit in silence until he felt it was okay to share something about his past. The two of you fell into a rhythm of when to say things, how much to say. Another week. A month. Bucky began to open up even more. You mentioned possibly shaving and getting a haircut as a joke. The next day, you barely recognized him. His hair was shiny and healthy, his face years younger with the loss of his beard. You felt your stomach flip when he grinned at you.
Soon, the two of you looked forward to the sessions. You would chat about not only the past, but about the present as well. Movies. Books. Music. Steve. Food. He developed quite a liking to Belgium waffles.
The more sessions, the more often Bucky would smile. Or laugh. Anytime you made him laugh, you felt a small burst of pride. Not many people could make the deadly Winter Soldier crack a smile, let alone humor him.
One day, Bucky came in, smirking.
"Oh god," you groaned.
He held up a DVD. Rocky.
"It's movie tiiime!"
"Movie time?"
"Every Friday. Every Monday will be a book read aloud. Read by you, of course. Tuesday will be music. Wednesday's I'll actually...talk, I guess. For Steve. Thursday's are food days. Endless desserts and Belgium waffles. Weekends are for day outs."
"Wait. Bucky. We don't have sessions over the weekend."
He flushed. He actually flushed.
"I know. And if you have better things to do, that's fine. I was just thinking... maybe, if you aren't too busy... we could go visit some historic places? Or libraries. Or parks. Or whatever. You know what? Forget it. It was a stupid idea anyway. I just–"
"Bucky, I'd love to."
"Really?"
"Really."

Hey all!! I'm thinking of making a part two of this. Thoughts?
Make sure to vote, comment, share, and request if you're feeling ~spicy~
Thanks for reading!! Bai ;)