Untangling a Memory

Pasta and meatballs

The mood in the apartment improved significantly over the next week. Bucky had taken a big leap forward in following Sam's suggestion and allowed himself to be vulnerable when his usual inclination would have been to withdraw or to run. And it had turned out positively. Natasha had been understanding and supportive, seeming to know exactly how much he needed her to reach out and back off. Bucky thought she may have learned this through her experience dealing with her own history (even if he didn't really know what that history was, just that it was troubling like his).

Natasha had also made leaps and bounds since Bucky's nightmare and her own the night prior. When she saw Bucky's withdrawn behavior, she recognized her own tendency to do the same. But she thought about the girl in the dream, who kept showing up day after day even when she thought she had burned all the bridges with the Soldier who had returned to being cold and shut down. Now, she pushed herself to do the same thing- be there for him when he struggled to trust anyone else, even himself.

So, after that night, they built on the foundation of the friendship they had developed since Natasha had returned, spending more and more time together.

In other big news on the week, Natasha had finally moved into her specialty walking cast and was off the couch and back to sleeping in her room. She had asked for a reclining chair to be put in her room, knowing that getting into and out of the bathtub to sleep in was nearly impossible and sleeping alone in her bed again was still not something she was ready for. Her ribs were also improving dramatically, where she could use her muscles around her rib cage without too much aggravation.

Bucky was appreciative of these improvements not only for Natasha's sake, but because she was becoming increasingly restless as she had remained immobile. Her having little bits more freedom allowed her to get around more while still permitting him to stop her or slow her down when she was doing too much. He was patient, but stern with her when she tried to go beyond her physical limits. While she would get agitated and grumble at him, she thought it was sweet how he took care of her.

On a random Tuesday, Natasha indelicately hobbled into the kitchen on her walking cast and a crutch, and plopped herself down at the counter on her usual stool. Bucky was already in the kitchen, pulling out different ingredients from the refrigerator, getting ready to make dinner for both of them. He had taken over this practice since Steve had left and enjoyed the ritual of it. It gave his days structure and developed a skill that required precision. Natasha, of course, also appreciated his daily cooking, as he had become quite adept and she was stilled turned off from PB&J sandwiches after her week distancing herself from the apartment.

Bucky was getting started early, as it was only around 4pm as he continued to pull items out of the refrigerator placing them neatly on the counter. Natasha was very interested what could possibly take him so long to cook, her anticipation growing at his methodical pile.

"What's on the menu for tonight?"

Bucky closed the refrigerator door and swung around to face Natasha, placing his hands on the counter on either side of the stack of ingredients. "Pasta and meatballs..."

Natasha's green eyes grew wide with excitement. This was a favorite of hers when Steve made it and she knew he had been teaching Bucky before he left. She thought to herself that Bucky had probably continued to practice while they were away.

A sly smile grew across Bucky's face as he continued, "...and you are helping."

Natasha's expression dropped in distress. "No." She said it definitively.

"Yup, it's about time. You are off the couch and we need to keep giving you things to do. Plus, it's high time you learn how to cook something. PB&J isn't cooking."