Bucky is writing when she starts rubbing his shoulders. He hopes he can finish this memory before she does that thing where she drapes herself across his back and whispers in his ear what she wants him to do to her.
He doesn't make it to the end before she's sinking her fingernails into the flesh of his chest through his t-shirt and saying, "Can I convince you to tie me up this time?" She likes to be held down a lot, and Bucky doesn't mind, really.
***
"James, you don't look like you're enjoying yourself. What's wrong? You usually love it when I'm on top." Bucky manages a smile. Sex is a great way to ground himself after a series of flashbacks, he just needs a few more minutes for it to really work.
***
"I'm sorry," Bucky says. "You know how my memory still doesn't work so good all the time."
"It doesn't seem like such a hard thing to remember to tell me. I know you're trying but it makes me feel like you're hiding things from me."
"I'm sorry, I'll do better, I'll make sure I tell you next time." Bucky answers, trying to convey sincerity so that the conversation ends.
***
She turns away in disappointment. Bucky wonders why he can't get these things right for her. It's not fair to her when she's done so much for him and been so patient.
***
Natasha posts a photo of the two of them with their arms around each other after a mission on the SHIELD intranet misc board. It shows the pile of Hydra goons they'd killed behind them. It gets several dozen upvotes and three separate people comment with "you're so cute together!" Two people comment on the number of goons. Bucky remembers how he'd wanted to finish up so he could get back to the field base and get the blood out of his hair.
***
"You and Natasha are so wrapped up in each other and don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you, but it's nice, just you and me sometimes, ya know?" Steve gets up and starts clearing the coffee table. Natasha hates sleeping alone.
***
Bucky is doing so much better. Natasha is so proud of how far he's come.