A dom/sub relationship? Steve thought as he flipped his laptop open. When he arrived back at the apartment, Bucky wasn't there. But he closed his door behind him and locked it anyway. Steve couldn't help but be slightly embarrassed by this all and couldn't even begin to imagine what Bucky would think if he walked in on him researching this kind of topic.

He didn't even know where to start. He typed "dom/sub culture" into his search engine.

The first thing that came up was Maste Nak and my submissive slave Tay\ DomSub. He could already tell by the title this was no good. Must be what Natasha was talking about when she said the movie didn't do justice to the culture.

However, the second site read: Dominant/Submissive Guide.

He went through the site, there wasn't much to read, but it gave him a general idea. Nat was right, it's not just about sex. This was an entire lifestyle that people adopted. He read about Dominants/masters/mistresses and submissives/slaves. He learned about safe words, which he actually enjoyed the idea of. Maybe saying a color would be easier than expressing feelings for Bucky.

Of course when researching something like this, you can't exactly filter through the sexual parts very easily. He just had to read through it and get a better understanding. The dominant was the caregiver, and gave orders to the submissive. The submissive followed the orders and dedicated most of their time to the dominant.

Steve liked the idea of Bucky spending more time with Steve, although he probably wouldn't admit it out loud to him. He didn't was to smother Bucky.

Steve spent some time going through some more sites and soaking up as much information as he could until he heard the door to his apartment snap shut. It caused him to jerk sense he hadn't even heard it open. Bucky was quiet, even to a super soldier.

Steve snapped his laptop shut and grabbed his phone off the bed. He had two messages waiting for him. He checked the one from Bucky first.

Bucky: On my way back. Do you want anything?

Steve frowned. He wasn't trying to ignore Bucky. The second one was from Black Widow.

Nat: Learning anything helpful?

He sighed and began to tap at his phone.

Steve: I don't know… Bucky will never go along with this.

The phone buzzed nearly right away.

Nat: You don't know that Steve. You haven't even tried.

Steve could hear Bucky putting some things in the fridge. He must've gotten some food. He's been trying new foods lately which is a good sign Steve thinks.

Steve: How would I even bring something like this up?

Nat: Well there's options for that….You could start by giving him a few simple orders. Like chores, if he does good reward him. If he is defiant, punish him.

Steve shook his head as he read the message.

Steve: But I don't WANT to punish him Natasha…

Nat: Have you learned nothing? Not all dominants are sadists. You might not WANT to, but it also might be what's best for him.

Steve: You honestly think what's best for him is to sit on his heels and address me as "sir" while I bark orders at him?

Nat: Again…. It doesn't have to be like that. Every relationship is unique Steven.

Steve: Friendship* watch it.

Nat: See? I told you you're a good dom.

Steve rolled his eyes and shoved his phone in his pocket, making his way to the door. If he was going to do this, he was going to be honest with Bucky. And straight up. He wasn't going to try to sneak it into his life.

Bucky was putting some plums up as Steve entered the kitchen. Steve noticed Bucky was buying foods that were supposed to help with memory and focus, but he didn't bring it up. He thought it might embarrass Bucky. Then he remembered some of what he was reading in his room. Some subs need to be embarrassed from time to time….

"Are those foods helping any?" Steve leaned against the entrance to the kitchen, gesturing at the last plum in Bucky's hand. "For the memories."

Bucky stored the last fruit and looked down at the ground, not saying anything.

God damn it Rogers, you can do this. For Bucky.

"James answer me" Steve said in a strong voice. It may not be traditional punishment, but Steve knew Bucky didn't like going by his first name.

Bucky looked up to Steve, confusion on his face. But he complied. "They seem to be helping." He answered shortly. But it was more than Steve got in months.

Steve was surprised, sure. But this was working. He had to continue. He made his way to the island counter in the middle of the kitchen and sat at one of the two bar stools. Bucky watched him intently the whole way.

Steve gestured towards the seat next to him, reminding himself that he had to reward Bucky. He made an effort to make his voice sound caring and alluring. "Sit down Bucky. I need to talk to you about something."

Bucky ruffled up the bag in his hands, throwing it across the room and into the trash and slid up on the stool next to the familiar man. He met his eyes and waited for Steve to start.

Steve was nervous and shaking, and he hoped Bucky didn't notice, because he had no idea what he was doing.

"Buck….I know this hasn't been easy on you." He started, darting his eyes around Bucky's face before setting them back to meet Bucky's. "And I think I know a way I can help. But I need your permission first."

Bucky remained quiet for a moment. When he realized Steve was waiting on him, he spoke up, quietly. "What do you want from me?"

Steve looked at the stone top counter, trying to find the right words somewhere hidden within its pattern.

After a moment, he struggled to begin, looking back up to Bucky, trying to seem cool and confident. Like a dominant would be. "I want to take care of you Bucky." He paused to view Bucky's reaction.

Bucky still locked eyes with Steve, and still looked confused, furrowing his brows tightly. "I already live in your apartment, I eat your food, use your money, you even let me borrow your clothes. What more could you possibly do for me?" His voice was low and controlled, not giving off any sign of emotion.

It made Steve more nervous. "I can do a lot more Buck." He began softly. "What they did to you…" He trailed off and shook his head, trying not to think about Bucky in pain. "It's natural that you're stuck right now. I would be worried if you looked like you could move on easily. They didn't give you much wiggle room did they? You didn't have to think much with them did you?"

Bucky noticed Steve's expression had hardened, like he was angry. "I was a weapon Steve. I can never apologize enough for what I've done."

Steve realized Bucky misread his words and let out a sigh. He considered for a moment, and let his hand reach up to Bucky's shoulder and rest there. Bucky looked at Steve's hand an then back to his face, trying to understand the reason Steve thought it was okay to touch him. He's never tried to touch him before…. Not since before he fell.

Steve continued, ignoring Bucky's expression. "That's not what I'm getting at Bucky. They fed you? Bathed you? Did practically everything you needed right? To maintain their weapon?"

Bucky still wasn't following, but wanted to see where this goes. "Yes. They maintained me."

Steve took another deep breath, trying to find his courage. "I think you need some order in your life Buck. You never go to bed at a decent hour, you have a terrible diet, and you don't say anything. It's not healthy. I'm concerned for you."

Bucky continued to study Steve's face, trying to figure out what he was implying. "And… you think… you could give me order?"

"Orders." Steve corrected.

Bucky looked back at Steve's hand as it fell of his shoulder and onto his own lap. "Orders?" he parroted.

"Yes, it will make things easier for you. I don't know if I can even explain it right." Steve sighed in defeat and pulled out his phone to call Natasha.

It rang twice.

"Hello?"

"Nat… I'm talking to Bucky. I know you told me not to tell anyone what you said earlier and I won't. But can Bucky know? I'm having a hard time explaining this….I went with the direct route." Steve looked over at Bucky who was listening in to the conversation next to him.

"The answer is yes, and before you ask just hand him the phone. I can explain it to him."

Natasha had a direct, confident way of explaining things. Steve admired that. She probably was an excellent mistress… He handed the phone over to Bucky. "It's Natasha. Please speak with her, she can explain better than I can."

Bucky was pretty comfortable with Natasha and wanted to know what Steve was on about anyway, so he grabbed the phone and place it to his ear. "Yes?..." he said quietly.

"Bucky Listen to me. I'm going to explain some things to you but first I need to know that you will be able to answer yes and no questions. Can you do that for me?"

Bucky considered, while taking his eyes off Steve and looking into his lap speaking even softer this time. "…Yes…"

"Good boy. Steve is going to be taking care of you from now on alright? All you have to do is follow his orders and be good. If he tells you to take a shower, you take a shower. If he tells you to eat the food he made for you, you eat the food. You have to trust him. This is good for both of you. It's called a dominant submissive relationship. You're going to be a submissive and Steve will be your dominant, until you're ready to do things on your own again okay?"

Bucky looked back to Steve. He looked nervous. He could tell Steve wasn't exactly thrilled about this. It must have been difficult for him to agree to this. Bucky is aware of how much easier it is to do things when Steve tells him to. Steve will ask nicely the first few times, but after a week or so with no food or rest, he will demand that Bucky take better care of himself, and he does without a second thought. That's what he was made to do. Follow orders. If Natasha thinks this could help the both of them, she might be right. And if will make Steve happier, Bucky is willing to try it.

"Yes." Bucky replies dryly.

"Good boy. You and Steve have to agree to each other's terms. Which means you have to make some terms right now with Steve. Let him know what's okay and what's not. Steve is very new at this, so you have to be patient with him. If you can only answer yes and no questions, let him know. I know he will take good care of you. Promise me you will try." It was an order, not a request.

"Yes." Bucky repeated himself.

"Bravo. Now hand the phone back to your Master." Bucky shuddered at the word master. It just didn't fit right. He would have to make sure that Steve didn't make Bucky call him that.

Bucky didn't bother to listen to anymore of the conversation after he handed the phone back to Steve. He got lost in his own mind trying to comprehend what was going on, and why he actually wanted to go through with this. To help him? To help Steve? There was something more than that….Something that stirred an old feeling in him… excitement… Bucky shook the thought from his head as he heard Steve finish with, "Yeah, thanks Nat. We'll come to an agreement now, before he runs away on me" he huffed and hung up the phone. He started to place the phone back in his pocket and looked up when he heard Bucky's voice.

"I won't run away… I'll try it." Bucky was looking down at his lap again, unable to meet Steve now.

Steve relaxed and his shoulders fell as he exhaled. "Well, I guess we should talk about terms. How much do you know about this stuff?"

Bucky spared a glance at Steve from under his eyelashes. "I know that you're supposed to give me orders, and take care of my basic needs for me until I can do it by myself. And I know that I don't want to call you master."

Steve tried to hide a smile at that last part and failed. He noticed splotches of pink beginning to hit Bucky's face as he tried to hide behind his hair.

"Sorry Buck." Steve placed a hand on Bucky's knee. "I'm just glad you don't want to call me master, I don't want that either. Steve is fine with me." He offered a crooked smile to Bucky.

Bucky shifted under Steve's hand. The feeling of 'excitement' rushing over him once more. "What about 'Captain'?" Bucky asked, unsure of himself.

Steve swallowed, and loosened his grip on Bucky's knee. "Is that what you wanna call me Bucky?" He spoke softly.

Bucky nodded, still looking into his lap.

Steve took his hand off of Bucky and rubbed the back of his own neck. "Alright, you can call me Captain or Steve. I don't see anything wrong with that. I was doing some research earlier about all of this… there's some code words that might be helpful for us instead of having to use so many unnecessary words. I know it's not easy for you to express yourself just yet. You're probably still trying to figure out who you are for yourself."

Bucky knew that Steve always had a way of understanding him. A blush sat on his cheeks still as he nodded to let Steve know he was listening.

"Green means you're okay with everything going on at the moment. Yellow means you're near your breaking point and we may need to back up. And red means you're at your breaking point and we need to stop. When I ask you what color, you tell me which one you're feeling okay?"

Bucky slowly lifted his face to view Steve again and nodded one more time, "Okay."

"Good job Buck." Steve smiled, remembering to reward Bucky. "Is there anything else you aren't comfortable with, besides calling me master?"

Bucky thought for a moment before he answered. His answer ran through his mind and made his face fall again but he still looked up at Steve with his frosty eyes. "You can do whatever you want with me."

Steve couldn't help but blush as he swallowed at the response. That isn't what he was expecting. Bucky barely said anything to him at all and now he hit him with this?

"O-oh. Okay well I'll be sure to keep asking what color you're at then…If you think of anything that you don't want me to do: touch you, say something in specific to you, if there's a…punishment that's too rough for you…" Steve struggled with the word 'punishment'. "I want you to tell me, understood?" Steve tried to regain his confidence again after the shake Bucky gave him. He wanted to be strong for Bucky… He really did want to take care of him.

"What about you?" Bucky spoke up finally. His head was raised towards Steve's again. "Is there anything you aren't comfortable with?"

Steve hadn't really thought about that. In fact, he might need some time to consider that.

"Bucky, do you want to go through the sites I looked at on this?" Steve ignored Bucky's question, not sure how to answer quite yet. Maybe informing Bucky was the best step.

"Is that an order?" Bucky asked.

"No, it's not. It's a choice. I'm here to help you but the goal is still to get you to survive on your own. You need to think for yourself when I ask you something." Steve repeated himself, stern this time. "Do you want to go over the research?"

Bucky didn't take much time to consider. "Yes."

Steve grabbed his laptop and went through his history to find the most helpful sites. They went over it for a while. Bucky had a greater understanding of their roles now, and thought he could do this. He thought he might even enjoy it. It didn't take long for Bucky to realize that people usually do this in a romantic or sexual way. "What does 'top' mean?" Bucky spoke up, scrolling through the current page, not looking at Steve.

Steve squirmed in his seat, a little uncomfortable. "Uhm, usually dom's are top. Not always though. A submissive can be top too. It's mostly for…intimate D.S. relationships. A top is the person who… well is on top during sex."

"And the bottom is the one that gets fucked?" Bucky didn't skip a beat after Steve finished his sentence. He looked up at Steve as he spoke, his eyebrows knitted together again.

Steve's eyes widened as he tried to regain himself yet again. "Well, yeah. Mostly. I mean, in Natasha and Sam's case, Natasha is a dominant but Sam is usually top. Natasha tells Sam what she wants him to do to her and he does it. But Natasha is top too sometimes. I don't really know. I try not to think about it. I work with them." Steve laughed a bit, trying to shift the mood.

It must not have worked because Bucky was still giving him the same look. But now his piercing eyes were running side to side on Steve's face as he worked something out in his mind. "Am… I a bottom?"

Steve felt the air leave his lungs as he struggled to breathe for a moment. "I-uh. Oh…uhm." Keep it together Roger's it's just a question. He needs to know he can be comfortable with you. Be in control. "I would never do anything like that to you Bucky. You don't have to worry about that. We're just following the non-sexual parts of this relationship."

Bucky frowned, and his face scrunched like it does when he doesn't understand why something is the way it is. "Why?" He asked shortly.

Steve froze for a few moments. "Well… because you're my best friend Bucky. I would never do anything that you don't want to."

"I told you that you could do anything you want to me." Bucky answered coldly.

Was he hurt?

"I… Is uhm… Is that something you need Buck?" Steve knew he couldn't hide what Bucky's words were doing to him. He was a nervous wreck. But he had to try to keep it together for Bucky.

"I don't know." Bucky was talking with more emotion now. Not much, if Steve hadn't lived with him, he wouldn't notice the change. "You're supposed to know what I need Captain."

Bucky's lips were at their natural state. A slight pout. His eyes were sad and all Steve wanted to do was make it better. Bucky trusted him, and he was right. Steve should figure out what Bucky needs. It's his duty as his Captai-er.. dominant.

"Bucky can I touch you?" the words left Steve's mouth before he could stop them. All he wanted to do was hug his best friend and let him know that he would figure everything out for him.

"Yes." Bucky answered in the same tone.

"Come here." Steve opened his arms and Bucky shifted off his tall bar stool to stand in front of Steve and lean into his chest. Bucky felt so nice on Steve. He felt like home. Steve needed to break the distance that was keeping him from Bucky. "All the way." He said softly.

Bucky didn't speak. He simply pushed himself up with his arms using the open parts of the stool and slid into Steve's lap. He wrapped his arms around Steve's neck and burrowed his face into Steve's shoulder.

Steve wrapped his arms tightly around Bucky. Taking in everything. It was the first contact Steve had with him since they're last fight together.

Steve spoke softly in Bucky's ear. "I don't really know Buck. To be honest with you, I don't know what the hell I'm doing. And it's not exactly like I'm experienced in sex at all either. I guess you're right, that might be something that you need. You always were flirt back in the day, and you always made sure to find me a girl too. If that's what you need, I can find you as many girls as you want. Ones that will work well with you for a night. Whatever you need to get through this."

Bucky didn't move. His voice hit the side of Steve's neck and it was mumbled. "Is it because of the hair? I can cut it."

Steve held Bucky tighter, not sure if he was hearing things. "Well, we do need to get you a haircut Buck. But I'm not exactly tracking. Can you tell me what you mean?"

Bucky shook his head and hid his face tighter into Steve's shoulder.

Steve sighed. "Can you try?" He rubbed his thumb in small circles at the back of Bucky's neck, the rest of his fingers tangled in his hair.

Bucky tightened beneath Steve, but spoke after a long minute of silence. "I want it to be you. Not some random braud. I've waited long enough to have the real thing."

Steve's heart promptly began pounding and he hoped that Bucky didn't hear it, but he did. Bucky pushed away from Steve, panic in his eyes. "I'm sorry Stevie… I've always cared about you. But it was the 40's and well, that wasn't normal for fella's to do with each other."

Steve froze in complete shock from Bucky's confession. "Did you just call me Stevie?"

"Er…I mean. Captain…" Bucky corrected.