Author's note: In the last few months,Unicorn of Castiel has been constantly sat in front of me, writing Bucky story after Bucky story. Unfortunately, just as I was about to join the party, dreaded exam time started, so it has taken me way longer to write this than I'd hoped. To be perfectly honest, I've no idea what this has turned into, but I hope you all enjoy it all the same. Reviews are very much appreciated :)

Dedicated to: Unicorn of Castiel – you waited long enough :P

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or Marvel-stuff.

"Can I have some of these?" Bucky asked, holding up a packet of Jammy Dodgers with questioning glance.

"No," Sam sighed, replying for what felt like the thousandth time.

As soon as the pair had walked into the small supermarket around twenty minutes before, Bucky had wasted no time in picking up every item he came across and attempting to gain consent from Sam to add it to their shopping.

"These?"

"No."

"These ones?"

"No."

Sam took a deep breath to try and avoid punching the other man in the face. It had become clear very quickly that Bucky actually had no clue what half of the things he was picking up were, he was simply doing it to annoy Sam.

"You heard Steve earlier – get essentials and come back. Last time I looked, Jammy Dodgers and – what even are these? - had not been classed as essential."

Bucky gave him an uninterested glance and turned back to the brightly coloured packets once more.

"What about these? They look weird – who'd even come up with putting orange jelly on top of a cake anyway?"

"Still no," Sam said once again, picking some of the biscuits Steve generally had for breakfast off of the shelf and popping them in the trolley.

Bucky huffed and put the packet down, clearly disappointed that Sam was choosing not to oblige him. Although it had started out as a joke to annoy him, Bucky had shortly realised that during the duration of his 'other life', as he had taken to calling it in his head, he had actually missed out on a lot. Even after living for so long and in so many different places, half of the things he had looked at in the store were completely alien to him, which made him feel somewhat downhearted.

Sam continued to push the shopping trolley down the 'cake, biscuit and cracker' aisle, picking up a few other things on his list, before moving towards the fresh fruit and vegetables. He took a backwards glance at Bucky, who he noticed was no longer at the side of him, pestering him with things that they didn't need.

The Soldier was stood, staring at the shelf, wearing a melancholy look on his tired features. Sam knew that look all too well. Readjustment to normal life was always hard, as Sam knew from personal experience, but he could only begin to imagine Bucky's troubles. Coping with changes of a different time, especially after years of torture and agony, was almost incomprehensible.

Sam sighed slightly. He walked back to where Bucky stood and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, dude," he said, steering the other man away from the shelves and back towards the next aisle.

Bucky seemed to break out of his little reverie and immediately went back to looking at the products.

Sam could see that he didn't actually want him to know he was in pain – they still hadn't really confessed to even being able to bear each other's company, so they weren't exactly ready for spill-the-contents-of-your-soul kind of talks. Still, Sam wasn't selfish; he'd help where he could.

They approached the stacks of fresh fruit and vegetables that stood in baskets positioned in the middle of the open space at the far end of the supermarket.

Bucky raced off down the right-hand side of the aisle, as Sam grabbed a paper bag, in which he then placed a selection of apples and oranges, which were 'always necessary to have around', as Steve had put it.

He always kept an eye on Bucky, though, as he wasn't sure whether the other man had stopped playing his game or whether he was suddenly going to have a bunch of bananas thrust into his face.

As he moved a little further down the shelving, he saw that Bucky was staring intently not at bananas, but at the stack of plums neatly arranged in the crate.

Sam watched as he reached out his hand to pick one up but seemed to think better of it, and let his arm fall down at his side. He took a sideways glance at Sam before turning and walking slowly away from him in silence.

Sam stared at him as the other man moved on, a little puzzled at his sudden change in attitude. He looked down at the pyramid of fruit and wondered why they had led to such a dramatic change in Bucky. He glanced back over at the Soldier, but the other man was impossible to read.

Sam smiled slightly, before deciding to act. He grabbed a paper bag from those hanging up above the towers of fruits and placed several of the plums, which Bucky's silence and strange change in mood implied that he wanted.

As he placed the items into the bag, Sam started to realise that Bucky's mind was clearly much more complicated than he tried to let on around the winged-Avenger. He hoped that maybe one day, he would be able to understand Bucky, and Steve (as he still didn't always understand his actions either), as those two knew each other.

Sealing the bag, Sam noticed that Bucky had only made it a little further up the aisle, so Sam pushed the trolley up to him, and placed the bag of fruit into his arms with a grin.

"You can have those."

He continued walking, leaving the Soldier stood behind him. With his back to him, he didn't get to see the soft look of gratitude that crossed Bucky's face, before he smiled and quickened his pace to catch up with his friend.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me some feedback- (Gin has gotten way more reviews than me and I need to try and be competitive :P) Despite this, if you haven't already, do go check out their work because they are a great author and have a billion Bucky stories waiting to be read :)