Bucky’s therapist thought it would be a good idea to help him assimilate into society if he went out a did activities. Of course, each of these events had to be chaperoned and that meant Steve since he was released into his custody. Today Steve had decided that they were going to the walk to the local animal shelter for some pet therapy. Because apparently in the future petting mutts would erase all the death and destruction that he had caused for seventy years.
"Bucky?" Steve’s voice penetrated through the dark spiraling thoughts in Bucky’s head as he looked up at the Star Spangled Pain in the Ass.
"Yeah, Pal?" Bucky managed to smile at the nickname.
"You know we are here not to get a dog right? We are just visiting." Steve looked over at Bucky with a worried gaze and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, doll I know.’ Steve blushed at being called doll, making Bucky smirk. ‘Besides I ain’t too keen on having to take care of a mutt anyway."
Steve rolled his eyes “Don’t think I forgot about that raggedy beast of a dog you tried to keep when we were kids Buck, because I remember.”
Bucky didn’t even have to think hard about the memory Steve was talking about as a picture of a black scruffy dog flitted through his mind. “Don’t lie Stevie you loved Rags as much as I did.”
"Nobody loved that mutt as much as you Buck,’ Steve paused as he opened the buildings door. Instantly the chaotic noise of the shelter surrounded them making both soldiers flinch at the loudness. ‘I am going to go check in with the receptionist you can go ahead through if you want to."
As Steve walked away, Bucky wanted to grab his hand and make him stay. Since waking up and becoming himself again, letting Steve out of his sight was not an option. Most days Steve was the only thing keeping Bucky in line and not doing something crazy in this new and unfamiliar world. With a deep breath to calm his nerves, Bucky pushed through the double doors leading into the dog kennels.
Row upon row stood before him, each enclosing a wiggling body of unwanted canine. Looking through each cage at the hopeful faces made Bucky frown, each animal barking as he flinched away from the cage door as the dogs jumped towards him, too excited to stay down. It wasn’t till Bucky got to the back of the building that he saw her.
She was small, probably the runt of her litter Bucky thought to himself. The pup continued to sleep as he took a step closer to the cage, when she didn’t show any signs of waking he crouched down in front of her. She seemed pretty healthy for a shelter dog, there was no fur missing and her face was free of any scratches. She had a black face with brown accents around her sleeping eyes. The rest of her body was grey with flecks of black along the sides. In Bucky’s opinion she was cute, so why was she all the way back here?
He whistled, trying to stir her from her nap. Eyes immediately sprung open, showing brilliant green. The little pups tail began to beat back and fourth as she began to sit up.
"Hey puppy, c’mere doll,’ when the pup moved closer thats when he saw it. Instead of four functioning legs this dog only had three. Bucky fell back in shock, scaring the pup as she retreated to the back of her cage shaking. Buck slowly began to move forward, this dog was just like him. He looked down at his metal arm, the arm that had caused so much pain and death. Bucky closed his eyes and shuddered, just then something wet moved across his metal arm. Bucky’s eyes snapped open to see the little pup had hobbled across the cage and was attempting to comfort him through the bars of her cage.
Bucky stuck his fingers through the bars and ran it through the pups soft fur. “Good girl, doll” He stood up and unlatched the cage door. As soon as he sat down and got settled in her cage, the puppy hobbled up to his lab and laid down. Bucky couldn’t stop smiling as he was both his hands through her fur. Chuckling as she let out a sigh of content before snuggling closer to him.
When Steve comes and finds the two of them twenty minutes later, dozing in Doll’s cage, he just sighs and pulls out his phone. “Hey Tony. No Bucky hasn’t gone on a crazy Russian rampage. I was wondering how you feel about having pets in the tower.”