Chapter Text
Bucky sat in the car, deep breaths going in through his nose and out through his mouth. It wasn’t until the third one that Steve finally looked over and gave his friend a sympathetic look. “Don’t,” Bucky warned. Steve nodded once and looked away, more than aware of Bucky’s current state. Bucky didn’t need the pity. He was tired of it. He’d been receiving these looks for over a year now. The last person he needed them from was Steve.
Steve waited patiently while Bucky composed himself. When it seemed like too much time had passed, Steve suggested that they could come back another day. “No,” Bucky replied. “Let’s get this over with.” He got out of the car and sniffed the air; it was different on this side of town – cleaner almost, and that lightened something in his chest that he hadn’t realized was heavy.
Steve led the way into the animal shelter, Bucky in tow, his head tilted downwards. The loose strands that had fallen out of his bun fell in front of his eyes and he wiped them to the side in a nervous attempt to keep his mind busy from being in public. It was the first time since his last therapy session a few days ago and, at his therapist’s suggestion, he decided it would be a good idea to get some kind of pet to help in his recovery.
The movement of his shiny left hand near his face caught the eye of the lady behind the desk. She leaned around Steve and simply looked at Bucky. It wasn’t a look of pity, which Bucky was grateful for, but something inside him stiffened when she narrowed her eyes. He squinted back, ready to be on the defensive.
Steve took in the exchange and glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Do you guys uh,…know each other?”
The lady didn’t look away from Bucky, which unsettled him further. “Dog or cat?” she asked simply.
This caught him off guard. “What?”
Her face relaxed and she chuckled lightly. “I’m assuming you guys are here for you,” she nodded towards his arm but didn’t comment further.
“Uh, yea,” Bucky replied, now feeling incredibly awkward and self-conscious. He couldn’t tell until it was too late that a blush was creeping up onto his cheeks and he wasn’t sure if it was a good thing. He hadn’t blushed like this in a long time.
The lady, whose braided red and blond hair Bucky just now seemed to notice, glanced at Steve and then to Bucky once more. “Dog or cat?” she repeated.
Bucky shrugged, honestly unsure of which he would prefer. The lady smiled, catching Bucky further off guard, and he definitely noticed his blush deepening then. “Come on with me to the back and we can see if any of them warm up to you,” she said. She started walking around the counter towards a door off to the far left and looked back, saying, “I’m Natasha.”
Bucky followed her to the door and glanced back to Steve. “I’ll just wait here,” he said. The last thing Bucky saw before the door closed behind him was his best friend smirking.