The catatonic period is essentially over, though there are still episodes now and then.
Bucky is awake and relatively lucid most of the time these days. He's back to his old habit of barely sleeping at all, but his eyes flicker around the room now, taking in every detail, every sound. He's very much aware of where he is.
He's still restrained; this time with absurdly durable Stark-designed steel fiber straps that he has yet to manage to break through. Steve still hates it, but he has to bow to the necessity.
Bucky put a hole in a steel door during his first break-out attempt, and he's nearly taken off Steve's head once or twice since. Sam had a good point.
Still...
Bucky has become relatively calm in his presence, though he still shrinks from most of the others. He barely talks to Steve unless it's a fever dream, and most of the time when he does, it's just rambling in Russian... but he no longer screams, swears, or struggles to escape any time Steve walks into the room. It's progress.
From what they've been able to tell, when Bucky is coherent enough to think at all, he now views Steve as some kind of unofficial handler. Sometimes,when he's semi-conscious, he even calls him "командир" which apparently means 'Leader'. It doesn't always make their patient compliant, and he's still unpredictable and violent at times, but it's a sign that he remembers at least something about his friend. Some level of trust.
It's a start.
