He'll Be Okay

Request for Poppy

A/N: So I watched TWS just the other night so I know a little more about Bucky, but I've only watched it once and I don't remember anything about him from the first movie.

So I'm kinda basing this on a mix of the first battle where Steve finds out that it's Bucky but Bucky doesn't recognize him, and the final battle between Bucky and Steve but without Steve falling into the water. So Bucky kinda knows him and Steve refuses to fight so they're both hurt and confused but alive.

You sat on the bench next to a very disheveled Steve, running a hand down his arm in an attempt to comfort him. He clearly hadn't slept since he'd brought Bucky in for healing.

"He'll be fine," you assured him as he rested his head in his palms. He nodded slowly, as if trying to believe you but being unable to. You knew how worried he was for his long-lost friend.

Steve came rushing in, trailing a bloodied and bruised Bucky behind him. He dragged the unconscious soldier to the infirmary, where the nurses tended to his wounds before contacting you to look him over when he awoke. As SHIELD's psychiatrist, you were called in whenever a patient underwent a traumatic experience – and being frozen for 70 years after being reconstructed by Hydra and then recruited to work for Hydra certainly counted as a traumatic experience.

Steve was still in his uniform, so you presumed there must have been a battle, most likely between him and Bucky. Steve gave you the simplified explanation – he'd been fighting Bucky in disguise when his mask fell off and Steve realized who it was. Bucky hadn't recognized him and instead continued fighting. Hurt and confused, Steve refused to fight, letting Bucky use him as a human punching bag. After a while, Bucky began regaining bits and pieces of his memory, and Steve learned what had happened to him.

"So he survived all those years ago?" you whispered in surprise. Steve recalled memories of Bucky every now and then, sometimes with happy excitement, other times with hurt and sadness. They were happy stories, mostly, but you knew how much Steve missed his supposedly fallen friend.

Steve nodded slowly, just as surprised as you were, though there were many more emotions rumbling through his body. He took a seat on the bench outside of Bucky's hospital room, after a lot of pushing and insisting from you. You'd given up on trying to make the super soldier rest while his friend was being tended to, so you opted for letting him sit outside and wait.

Bucky awoke shortly after the nurses finished bandaging his wounds, so they called you in to speak with him. You smiled at him as you looked over his chart, taking a seat in the chair beside the bed.

"Do you know your name?" you asked.

"James Buchanan Barnes," he replied gruffly, his voice rough from always wearing a mask.

"And your nickname?"

"Bucky."

"Do you have a best friend?"

He paused. "Steve Rogers. The man who saved me."

You smiled softly. Steve would be so thrilled. "Do you know what happened to you?"

He groaned. "It's blurry."

"Tell me what you remember. It's alright if you forget a few things."

He nodded. "I thought I was dying. I lost my arm, I lost my team. (1) I didn't know what to do. Hydra found me, gave me a new arm. I didn't think I had a choice. Then they wiped my memory so they could use me like an emotionless robot to do their bidding."

"And they continuously wiped your mind whenever a memory of your old life emerged?" you concluded, based on the information you'd been given.

He nodded.

"Do you know SHIELD?" you asked.

"I was trained to believe that SHIELD was the enemy," he sighed. "I was always sent to destroy their agents."

"You're at SHIELD Headquarters now," you said softly. "You're in their infirmary. We're the good guys, even if we do some bad things. You're safe here. Hydra can't get to you."

He nodded again.

"Get some rest. I'll be by to check on you later." With that, you left, heading outside to check on Steve.

"I talked to him," you told the super soldier. He turned his head slightly, still resting on his hands.

"And?" he asked softly.

"He remembers you," you smiled. "He called you his best friend, and the one that saved his life."

He smiled softly. "Anything else?"

"He knows what happened to him, how Hydra used him," you replied, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "He understands that we're the good guys now."

He nodded slowly, leaning against you. He let out a sigh, exhaustion appearing all over his body, wearing him down.

"Go get some rest," you whispered. "He'll be here when you wake up."

"Will you?" he asked softly, almost inaudibly. You weren't sure if you heard him correctly.

"Get some rest," you repeated, kissing his forehead and standing up, pulling him up with you.

You swore you saw sadness in his eyes, but you mused that it could just be the exhaustion. He nodded and turned around, heading to his room.

The next day, you got dressed and headed straight for Bucky's room to see if there had been any changes. With patients as high-maintenance as he was, you had to check on him every day, usually multiple times a day.

The sight that greeted you as you peered through the window of his room made your heart swell and a smile claim your lips. Steve was seated in the chair you had used when asking the soldier questions, and Bucky was awake and chatting with the other super soldier. Steve was smiling, meaning that his friend still remembered his identity and what had happened to the both of them.

You knocked on the slightly open door, not wanting to startle the pair. Steve turned to face you, the bright smile still plastered on his face. A soft smile also painted Bucky's face, leading you to believe that their conversation had been pleasant.

"Hello boys," you greeted cheerfully. "I'm just here to check Bucky's progress."

"I remember more," he informed you, his voice no longer raspy.

"Oh?"

He nodded. "I remember more of my life before Hydra found me."

"That's very good news," you smiled.

The regular nurse then knocked at the door, coming in to check his vitals and ensure that he was healing properly. You motioned for Steve to follow out into the hall to give the two some privacy.

"I told you he'd be okay," you smiled. A startled gasp escaped your lips as he pulled you into a hug, burying his face in your neck. You wrapped your arms around his neck with a soft smile.

"Thank you, for everything," he whispered.

"You did most of it," you noted. "You saved him, you brought him to us, and you came to check on him."

"You talked to him and told him what happened," he argued. "You helped him remember."

"You helped him remember," you countered. "You told him who he was and who you were and that sparked his memory."

He gave you a hopeful smile, glad that he helped. You then noticed that his arms were still around your waist and yours around his neck.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. Your eyes fluttered closed – you couldn't deny that you'd been dreaming about this moment.

He pulled away and rested his forehead on yours, still smiling at you. "Thank you again."

"Anytime," you replied, pulling him closer and pressing your lips to his.

(1) As I said, I don't remember anything from Captain America 1, so I'm not sure what happened to him until Hydra got him. I just know what the flashbacks said in TWS.