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Bucky forced himself to sit down in the hard chair, agitation overcoming him. He tried not to squirm despite the extreme discomfort. Disinterested, he tuned out the majority of the support group meeting, only paying attention when he was forced to speak. He did not want to be there. It was Sam that had insisted that he come to the dumb meeting. Bucky only agreed to it to keep Sam from bugging him any further.
Sam had been attending these support group meetings for the few weeks since he and Bucky returned home from war.
Bucky lost his left arm to an explosion during that war, but it was now replaced by a metal one. He struggled to cope with the loss, and fell into a pit of depressive thoughts shortly afterwards.
Sam, meanwhile, had witnessed his friends' deaths in the war. He found openly discussing his experiences helped ease his trauma, so he recommended the group to Bucky, thinking it might help him as well. However, Bucky's stubborn nature made him determined to avoid the meetings at all costs. Sam somehow managed to drag him to this meeting with success.
After the meeting finally concluded, Bucky rose to leave. He scanned the vicinity, but couldn't find Sam anywhere even though they had sat together for the whole hour.
In an instant, he spotted Sam standing at the other side of the room, talking with a large, muscular man that Bucky did not recognize.
The man had bright blond hair and a strongly built body, his huge muscles popping out of his short sleeve shirt. From a distance, he seemed to carry a spark of energy as he spoke. Bucky was fascinated by him, but he could not figure out what about him lured his attention.
Once the blond man was temporarily distracted, Bucky crossed the room to talk to Sam.
Sam spotted Bucky walking over to him.
"Hey, Bucky," he greeted, "Sorry I ditched you, but I wanted you to meet my friend. He fought in the same war as us." He gestured over to the man that had been with him moments ago. He was now approaching them, bearing an expression of curiosity aimed at Bucky.
"Steve," Sam introduced, "this is Bucky. We met in the war. Bucky, this is Steve. I met him at this group few weeks ago."
Steve smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you, Bucky." His deep, booming voice bounced off the walls, its echoes filling the room. He stretched out his hand and offered it to Bucky. Bucky gratefully took it, Steve's oddly warm touch soothing him.
He was fascinated by Steve's eyes. They were a light, icy blue. They appeared far more vibrant up close, in contrast to the small, momentary flash of color he initially caught a glimpse of from across the room.
***
That night, Bucky lay awake, turning endlessly in his bed for several hours. He struggled to fall asleep, his busy mind instead trapped in an endless whirlpool of thoughts, all of them focused on Steve. He couldn't sort all the messy feelings out. All he was certain of was that he felt drawn to Steve.
***
The following day, Bucky hung out with Sam again. Sam brought up the support group, which made Bucky suddenly anxious.
"Are you coming to the next meeting?" Sam curiously asked.
"Yeah," Bucky replied, fearing his response came out too quickly.
"You really enjoyed it?"
"Yeah," he lied, feigning interest in the group. In reality, he found it incredibly dreary, but only agreed to go again in hopes of seeing Steve. Bucky couldn't get Steve off his mind, and considered the possibility that seeing him in person again might calm the restless dreams that were devouring his sleep.
***
Although the next meeting arrived before Bucky could mentally prepare to see Steve again, he still looked forward to it. Sam boldly entered the room. Bucky, on the other hand, trailed behind, his hands shoved into his pockets, keeping his head low as he resisted the temptation to look for Steve. All of a sudden, he cringed at a warm sensation settling on his shoulder. He turned to see Steve looming beside him, his hand lightly resting on Bucky's shoulder.
"Hey, Bucky," Steve eagerly welcomed. "Do you, uh, wanna hang out with me sometime?" He tried to maintain eye contact with Bucky, although his voice hinted at fear.
"Sure. Would tonight work for you?"
"Yeah." Steve pulled a piece of scrap paper and a pen out of his back pocket. He scribbled something and handed it to Bucky enthusiastically.
"That's where I live," he explained. He rapidly headed over to an empty seat before Bucky could think up a response.
Bucky sat down next to Sam, beaming with joy.
***
That night, Bucky drove to the address Steve gave him.
He managed to find his way around the apartment building. He found the apartment with ease. He knocked on the door, feeling nervous and excited simultaneously. He couldn't believe it was happening, that it was not a mere dream. He began to visualize a wonderful evening, but Steve answered quickly, snatching Bucky out of his short-lived fantasy.
"Hey," Steve briefly began. Before Steve could add onto his introduction, Bucky slowly stepped into the apartment. The lighting was meager, but he noted it was incredibly organized.
The men soon landed on Steve's couch. They quickly grew comfortable with each other's company, cracking jokes for hours, even sharing their experiences from the war for a brief time. Bucky felt lucky to be so close to Steve.
He and Steve scooted closer to each other as the evening progressed into night, eventually pressing their bodies closely together. They endlessly stared into each other's eyes. With no thought, Bucky leaned even closer towards Steve and kissed him.
The kiss was gentle, their lips just barely brushing together. Steve gently wrapped his arms around Bucky's back. His touch was soft and welcoming, making Bucky's heart flutter. He felt lighter and safer in Steve's embrace.
Bucky pulled away after a moment, but Steve still lingered, as if denying the kiss's end. His hands remained on Bucky's waist for a while after. He eventually managed to release his left hand, but his right stayed, now lightly caressing Bucky's metal arm.
They gazed into each other's eyes lovingly, but neither of them said anything.
***
Bucky visited Steve's apartment a second time during that week.
Steve greeted Bucky with a swift kiss on the cheek.
"Hey," a familiar voice bellowed across the apartment. "Is Bucky here?"
A figure appeared out of the dark hall. Bucky was shocked to see Sam. What the hell was he doing here?
"Don't worry," Sam explained, walking over to the door to stand next to Steve, "Steve told me all about you guys."
Embarrassment instantly swept over Bucky. He caught a glimpse of Steve's face, which was glowing bright red. He shyly smiled to Bucky.
"Sorry, Buck," Steve murmured, his eyes nervously refusing to meet Bucky's, "he forced it out of me."
Sam and Bucky heartily laughed in unison. Bucky headed over to the other side of Steve. He wrapped his metal arm around Steve's shoulders affectionately. Laughing again, he kissed Steve promptly on the cheek. For the first time since the war, he finally felt happy and confident again.