Chapter Text
Bucky couldn’t believe he had let Sam talk him into something like this. Puppies. He had fought aliens, gods, HYDRA, sorcerers (or wizards without a hat apparently) but he’d never thought he’d succumb to tiny balls of fluff. Bucky was a fan of animals, sure, but after everything that happened, he didn’t feel like he could bring himself to own something as innocent as a pet. But Sam gave him that look— the one that made it almost impossible to say no— so he agreed. Just to see that toothy smile he would always give Bucky right after. It tugged at his heart, and in the right way.
Now he sat in the passenger seat of the car, Sam in the driver's seat.
“Dogs or cats?”
“Huh?”
“C’mon Buck. Dogs or cats?”
“Probably cats.”
“Really?”
“They’re calmer. I like dogs, but they can be a bit much for me sometimes.”
“Yeah, I get it. Definitely dogs though.” The rest of the car ride was filled with friendly banter. Bucky enjoyed it. With so much happening, he hadn’t really allowed himself a genuine hangout with one of his friends. So when Sam reached out, he felt a bit relieved despite being against it.
By the time the car came to a halt in the parking lot, the two men were starving. Bucky shoved a twenty into his pocket for a later snack and opened the car door, sliding out and putting his jacket on. His boots crunched against the snow in sync with Sam’s as they both trudged towards the door to the shelter. Sam sped up his pace a little to beat him to the door and hold it. Bucky noticed and did the same, just a little faster. Sam sped up even more.
Eventually the two men were both running to the door, but Bucky being a super-soldier, got there first. He held the door open for Sam with a smug grin plastered on his face.
“What a gentleman,” Sam grumbled, and Bucky let out a chuckle.
The room inside was much warmer than the outdoors. The entrance had a wet floor sign that stood over puddles of melted snow. Sam approached the register.
“Hey, I believe we have a volunteer appointment for 5:30?” Sam’s voice was confident and had a nice low hum to it. Bucky could listen to it all day. He took a seat in one of the plastic chairs, zoning out.
He snapped back when he felt Sam tugging on his arm.
“Let’s go, we don’t want to miss it ‘cause you can’t stay awake.”
“Those chairs aren’t comfortable enough to fall asleep in anyway,” Bucky replied, stretching his arms over his head and following Sam.
“Buck, look!” Bucky looked to Sam’s point of interest, eyes widening slightly at the sight of kitties. So many of them. The two men approached the glass window, looking at all the different cats.
“Maybe you should get one.”
“I don’t think that’d go very well, they seem like a lot of work…”
“Figaro’s pretty low maintenance, I think the worst part is when the litter box starts to stink...” Bucky’s nose crinkled slightly at the mention of a litter box. That was another reason he didn’t want to own a cat.
Then, his eyes landed on a specific one. It had a beautiful white coat that stood out from the rest of the cats. It was resting, breathing slow relaxed breaths. Bucky had stopped paying attention to Sam’s rant about caring for Figaro. Then, the cat opened one of its eyes, looking right at Bucky. Its eyes were a beautiful bright blue, similar to his own. He tilted his head slightly, and the cat did the same. A smile spread across Bucky’s face, a warm fluttering feeling in his heart.
“Anyways, enough about cats. Let's go.” Sam began to walk off, forcing Bucky to part ways with the beauty of a feline that he had just met. His eyes lingered on the cats for a moment, before he followed behind Sam.
It wasn't long before the two of them pushed through a set of double doors. There weren't many other people in the room, just a family of four with two little children. They were sitting on the outer ring of a circular mat, so Bucky and Sam did the same. Shortly after, a woman entered. She held a friendly smile.
“Hello everyone! Welcome to…” Bucky tuned her out. She was clearly using a high voice to make the children feel welcomed, and it kind of annoyed him. He was just here to make Sam happy, that's all.
Bucky zoned back in a couple of minutes later when he heard the click of a gate being opened. He turned his head to the sound when he saw it. Puppies. So many of them. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, while a large smile spread across Sam's face. The puppies came tumbling towards the group. Bucky froze as one, a small golden retriever pup, practically flew straight into his lap. It let out small yips and yaps as it pawed at his chest, jumping up and licking his face. He could hear Sam laughing at him as he sat there in shock.
“Sam,” Bucky started, before another puppy jumped onto him. He fell back with the sheer excitement of the second puppy, and the others took that as a chance to crowd him. Within seconds, he had five puppies climbing all over him. Sam was laughing hysterically. He accepted his fate as a new dog bed, not even trying to sit back up. One of the puppies nudged at his bionic arm, so he began to pet it. It flopped into his hand, barking repeatedly.
He looked over at Sam, who now had a puppy of his own in his lap. The family across from them had a couple, but it didn't compare to the five on top of Bucky. He felt another puppy settle in between his human arm and his side, curling up against him. The warmth of the small canine made him feel fuzzy. He looked down at it. It was the only one that was calm, and he related to it in a way. It seemed that everyone else around him was just so chaotic at times.
“I like this one.” He said, looking down at the sleeping puppy and putting it with his human arm, his bionic arm continuing to pet the puppy that had forced its little head into his palm.
“Yeah? I think it likes you too,” Sam chuckled. He watched as a puppy nuzzled into Sam’s neck. Bucky smiled, Sam’s genuine joy infecting him.
***
By the time the session ended, the sun had dipped slightly under the horizon and the two men were covered in dog fur. Bucky actually had a lot of fun, being crowded by adorable balls of fluff was pretty therapeutic. He and Sam had explored the shelter, looking at all the dogs before stopping by the cats again. The white one he saw earlier was now in a different section, still sleeping. Sam quickly moved on, but Bucky stayed.
“You coming, Buck?”
“Yeah, just give me a moment. I’ll meet you in the car.”
“Alright.” With that, Sam was off. Bucky looked at the cat.
“Hi, Mr Barnes!” A high voice came from behind him. He’d recognize that voice anywhere. He turned his head to the side to see a teenager staring up at him. He smiled.
“Hey, Peter.” The kid smiled back at him. His hair was fluffed up and messy, and he was covered in dog fur. He wore a red lanyard around his neck, which had a badge attached that read his name. “You work here?”
“Oh, well you know… gotta build up those community service hours for college, you know?” Truthfully, Bucky didn’t know. He was born in 1917, and those times didn’t have anything like whatever the kid was talking about. But he seemed to be enthusiastic about it, so Bucky smiled and nodded his head along like he understood. “Are you looking to adopt a cat?”
“I’m not sure, I came here with Sam to see the pups but…” Peter followed his gaze, looking at the cat.
“Do you wanna meet her? She’s very sweet, just a little grumpy… I can only let you see her if you’ll consider adopting her,” Peter said. He looked really happy to be able to help somebody, especially Bucky.
He thought back to Sam, who was probably waiting in the car wondering why he was taking so long.
“Sure.” The teenager smiled, leading Bucky to the door directly to the right of the kitties. He walked in behind the kid.
“Sit,” Peter said, and so Bucky did. He sat down in the chair by the door while Peter grabbed a key and began to unlock the area where the cats were. The boy disappeared into the room, and when he came back, he was holding a fluffy, white cat.
The cat seemed to be annoyed that Peter had disturbed her slumber, but the moment she saw Bucky, she seemed to light up. She let out a very loud meow, leaning forward and jumping out of Peter’s arms into Bucky’s lap before the kid had the chance to set her down.
“Slow down girl,” Bucky chuckled, his human arm reaching out. He ran his fingertips through her fur, his hand disappearing into her cloud-like fluff. The cat began to rumble, a low purr escaping her. She rolled over, revealing her belly to him and resting her eyes. Bucky stilled at the sudden movement, before continuing to pet her.
“I'll be right back, I still have some other stuff to take care of before I can head home.” Peter left the room, jingling the keys in between his fingers. The white cat glanced up at the sound, but closed her eyes again upon realizing it wasn't anything. She was basically melting into his lap.
“He was right, you are a sweetheart.” He cooed. Sam would never let him live this down if he knew Bucky was baby-talking to a cat.
Maybe five minutes later, Peter came back into the room. His lanyard was put up and he had a jacket on now.
“I'll take her,” Bucky started, before Peter could say a word. The boy paused, before rushing out of the room and coming back in with a couple of forms.
“Great! Just… sign some of these and you should be good to go.”
***
The cat, or Alpine as he had begun calling her, was tucked into his jacket. He pushed the door open, the cold air hitting him like a wave. Alpine shifted in his jacket, moving closer into his arm for more warmth. He walked to Sam's car, his boots crunching against the snow. It looked just like her fur, but she was much warmer.
Sam was sitting in the driver's seat of his car, typing something on his phone. Bucky opened the door to the passenger seat, making Sam look up.
“…Whatcha got there?”
“Nothing…” A couple of seconds of silence passed, before Alpine decided now was the perfect time to let out a very loud and long meow. Sam burst out into a fit of laughter, and Bucky couldn't help but crack a smile himself.