When Steve brought him into the tower, Bucky didn't expect any good to come from it. He figured he would be lucky if no one turned him in to Shield. He was shocked when he was offered a room on Steve's floor. He didn't question it though, and after a few months, he had begun to adjust to life in the tower. He had even developed friendships with people other than Steve. He spent most of his time with Steve, but he frequently went to the shooting range with Clint, and even convinced him to let him try the bow. Bucky also spent time in Bruce's lab, it was the perfect place to read in peace but still feel another human's presence. The soft sounds of Bach and Mozart was all that was needed between them. Thor was thrilled to have another sparring partner. Bucky loved to arm wrestle with the Asgardian, and they always had some sort of wager going.
Some things were still hard, like sleeping. He tried to fight sleep as much as he could. Anything to escape the nightmares, but even when his body gave out from exhaustion, the dreams still found him. More often than not, he found himself waking in Steve's bed, having dragged himself down the hall, needing comfort. Steve didn't get sick of it like Bucky thought he might. Steve was just happy that Bucky admitted that he needed him.
Bucky tried not to become dependent on him though. When he first came to the tower, him and Steve would go on runs through the park together most mornings. They would train and workout together, although Steve was adamant about not sparring. Bucky enjoyed working out and going on runs, so as he got more accustomed to this new life, he started going running by himself.
The sun was just starting to come up, the grass still showed the morning dew. This was Bucky's favorite time of day, it was peaceful and calming. He had been running for a bit and decided he would stop at the next bench he saw and take a break. About ten minutes later he came to an empty bench, as he sat down, he heard a small whine coming from under him. He stood back up and bent down to look under the bench and curled under it was a tiny black puppy. He reached out to pet the dog and it whimpered and started to shake. His heart broke for this tiny creature. He carefully picked it up to get a better look, the puppy was all black except for a white spot around its left eye, its eyes were both blue. It was obviously a stray, all skin and bones. It wasn't wearing a collar, and Bucky had determined that it was a girl. She couldn't be more than a couple months old. He sat her back on the ground and took his sports bottle out of his backpack. He poured some water into the lid and put it level with the puppy's head. She eagerly drank the water and Bucky wondered when she had eaten last. He wished he had brought some food with him, but he always ate breakfast when he got home. Bucky had always wanted a dog, and he knew it would be a tough sell to Tony, but he was determined to keep her.