Pitter Patter || Bucky Barnes

chapter 3

You wiped a small tear from your face. 'This poor man' was all you could think of while reading the file. You were a therapist so you literally got paid to fix people's problems, but you had to admit Tony was right. This was going to be a challenge.

The amount of torture he has gone through was mind-numbing. Of course there was his physical pain, but as a therapist, all you could think of was his emotional and psychological pain. How was this guy still able to live? Not knowing anything about himself other than that he was made to kill people, seems a little barbaric. Hopefully he might know a little more after cyro, instead of being completely wiped.

Bucky's mind was in a state of routine. Even though he was only put in cryo, he was wiped out so many times that his brain was never in a stable state. Who knows what state he'll be in when he wakes up? He may have little to no memory of anything that has happened. You hope that he at least would remember going into cyro. But you didn't get your hopes up too high.

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It was seven a.m., and you started getting ready for the day. You took a shower and then brushed your wet hair so it would air-dry. You slipped into some black skinny jeans and a long-sleeve black tee. You looked it the mirror and just kind of stared for awhile. Meh. It will do.

You tip-toed quietly down the hallways, and everything echoed, so even your tip-toeing seemed loud. You took a deep breath and continued to the cryogenics lab. You opened the door and found Steve, Tony, and Natasha waiting patiently. You noticed all of their eyes facing one direction. Bucky.

You slowly snuck up to the case he was in. He was in a white tee and his hair was slicked back. You could see where his metal arm used to be. But the longer you looked, the more you thought about how peaceful he was. Dread filled your body when you realized that the peace was about to be shaken.

You turned back to Tony, who seemed to be waiting for my approval. You glanced at Steve, whose eyes never left the case. His face told me everything. Nat was watching Steve as well, her face full of concern. She was only there to comfort Steve, because we all knew he secretly needed it. You looked back to Tony, and gave him a small nod. Tony tapped his fingers and you heard a hiss. The pod started to fog up and your heart started to swell. You backed up a couple feet, just a little bit in front of Steve and Nat.

"Don't worry, your friend here won't wake up for a few more minutes. Once the cryogenic pod has been released, we'll put him over there," he said pointing a finger at a long white bed in the opposite corner," then he'll wake up." He glanced up at you to examine the expression on your face, your eyes never leaving Bucky's face.

The pod released a couple seconds later and the fog cleared. Bucky remained still, but you saw his chest begin to rise and fall. His eyes were moving beneath his eyelids, like you would when you were dreaming.

Tony crept toward Bucky and examined him for awhile. Steve hadn't moved. It had only been a year since Bucky was put into cyro, but he couldn't take it anymore. All Steve wanted was his friend back. He wanted that relationship he once had with him. But he was aware of all the pain Bucky had gone threw, and new his mental recovery wasn't going to be instant. That's what Steve's face told you.

"Hey muscles, could you give me a hand?" Tony said, looking back at Steve, with one of his shoulders under Bucky's.

Steve paused, but nodded slowly at Tony and put his shoulder under his amputated arm. Steve winced at the extreme cold, but in one swift move, Tony and Steve lifted Bucky and gently placed him in the bed.

You noticed Bucky started to move a little more. His fingers were twitching the tiniest little bit, and his face muscles were relaxing and tensing at the same time. The two backed away, with Tony looking up at me. Nat grabbed Steve by the arm, whispered something in his ear, and slowly made their way out of the room.

"Your turn (Y/N)," Tony said placing one hand on my shoulder. "There are multiple cameras in here, and we'll be in the room two doors down watching you. If you need help, just call."

Tony's voice sounded more genuine and reassuring than normal, which made you worry a little bit. What were you getting yourself into?
You took a deep breath as Tony finally exited, closing the door behind you. You paused, looking up at the cameras, and gave a small grin. You walked closer to Bucky and sat in the chair next to him. His feet were starting to jitter a little and you tried to relax yourself. He took a little while longer than expected to wake up, so you dozed off for a couple minutes.

The bed started to creek, and in an instant, it all went wrong.