Guess what time it is? It's time for another sad one. Sorry. Requests are still greatly appreciated so... *shrug*

////

Bucky pulls the fridge doors open and takes a peek inside, then frowns.

"Steve," he calls over his shoulder and the blonde walks over.

"Hmm?"

"You have no food," Bucky pouts a little, looking back at him.

"So translation, I have no food you'd like. So no sweets, nothing premade and microwavable, so no," he interprets.

"S'like you could read my mind," Bucky hums, closing the fridge and pulling the freezer open.

"I don't have any ice cream either," Steve comments from his spot on the couch, where he'd wandered to while Bucky searched around.

"Since when?" Bucky whines, closing the freezer with a pout. He shuffles over to the blonde and sprawls out on his lap. "Steve," he whines, pouting up at him.

"I have food, Buck. Just go make something."

"But I don't wanna," he whines, sitting up a little and pressing his face into Steve's side. The blonde wraps an arm around him and kisses the top of his head.

"Fine, fine, how 'bout we go out, then? My treat?" Steve asks and Bucky looks up at him, a smile resting on his face.

"Sounds good, Captain," he hums, sitting up properly. Steve smiles softly at him and Bucky smiles back.

"Right, then, Sergeant. You should probably go get some clothes on," he muses. Bucky was still in only his pajama bottoms from earlier that morning. "And put a shirt on," Steve adds with a teasing smile. Bucky merely smirks.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that. Find anything distracting, Stevie?" He purrs, wetting his lips briefly. Steve's gaze flickers to his lips quickly before meeting his eyes again, he was trying to hide his blush.

"You're a fudging flirt," he huffs and Bucky arches an eyebrow.

"Was that a swore I sensed, Rogers?"

"Nope. Fudge is not a swear word," Steve says, crossing his arms and pointing his chin up. Bucky rolls his eyes.

"Sure it isn't. You used it in place of one, though. Money to the 'Shut Up Stark' Jar," he says smugly, putting his hand out and gesturing for some money. Steve pouts as he pulls out five dollars and slaps it into Bucky's hand.

"Hate you," he sulks and Bucky tuts as he puts the money in the jar. If Tony got enough money he agreed not to say anything for a week. Everyone was saving up for that one moment.

"No, you don't."

"No," Steve agrees. "'Cause you're too cute."

"Hmm, just cute?" Bucky croons, leaning in close to him. Steve looked at him and Bucky smirks coyly at him before wetting his lips again. He knew Steve hated that.

"Buck..."

"Captain," he purrs. Steve shakes his head as he pulls the brunette in for a kiss, his fingers curling in his long brown hair. Bucky hums and kisses back sweetly, his hands on Steve's sides. He pulled away slightly then rested his forehead against Steve's and closed his eyes.

"Still a flirt. Like the good old days," Steve murmurs and Bucky smirks a little before pressing a light kiss to his lips.

"That's me, doll," he hums with a wink before sauntering off to get dressed. Steve smiles to himself and shakes his head again. He gets up and grabs his keys then his wallet, slides these both into his pockets, then pulls on his brown leather jacket.

"C'mon, Buck!" He calls up after a minute or two; the brunette was usually a fast dresser. After hearing no response Steve went to the bottom of the stairs. "Buck?"

His heart stopped and his blood turned to ice in his veins at what he heard next.

"Steve!" Bucky screamed, it sounded more like an anguished sob than anything. The blonde darted up the stairs and burst into Bucky's room.

"Bucky?" He calls when he doesn't find him there. He grabs his shield and yanks it onto his arm, heart racing. He stepped into his art room and looked around. His papers were scattered on the floor, but Steve froze when he saw Bucky.

"Get out of here!" Bucky hisses, he was close to tears, and that's what terrified the blonde the most.

"No. Where'd they go?" Steve answers, taking Bucky's arm, and the brunette was trembling.

"I don't-" he froze and his eyes widened at something he saw behind the blonde. Steve whirled around to face the man, armed with a rather large gun. More men filed into the room as Steve picked them off, one by one. They appeared from almost nowhere and Steve, for a brief second, lost sight of Bucky. That's when he lost him.

"Bucky?" He shouts, ducking under a fist. He didn't see him anywhere and he was starting to panic. His heart beated erratically in his chest, he noticed the men getting up and surrounding him, he tried to find Bucky, but it was too late.

Out of nowhere came a small, heavy round-ended stick. Steve grunted and fell to the ground the first time it smacked into the back of his head. The second time it all began to look fuzzy and the third time everything slipped away.

////

Bucky pulls against his restraints, growling with the effort, but whatever mesh it was made out of it was made to keep him under control. He couldn't even manage to break his metal arm free. He tried not to panic. He was somewhere cold, somewhere remote, and he was all alone. Bucky swallows and strains some more.

His eyes widened and he gasped a little into the muzzle that they saw was necessary. Steve was brought in by several men, who chained him to the wall opposite. Bucky swallows hard, his eyes fixed on the blonde.

////

Steve slowly raises his head off his chest, he heard a faint ringing in his ears and his head felt like putty. He was disoriented so he kept still while he waited for the world to stop tilting underneath him. Once the majority of the dizziness went away he opened his eyes and blinked several times. He saw a blurry shape in front of him and focused on it, willing the image to become sharper. When it did, he immediately wished it hadn't.

"Bucky," he says worriedly, instantly going to push off and get to him. The brunette was muzzled and tied up, he had been forced onto his knees and his hands were behind him. The blonde is stopped and he looks around. His wrists were clasped to the wall and he had been chained up. He figured that was a little too far.

"Buck, you okay?"

The brunette merely looked at him, his eyes wide. This was the man that Steve had seen quite a lot during the Winter Soldier ordeal; this wasn't the Winter Soldier, or Bucky Barnes, this was a boy trapped in a weapon, a terrified boy, and Steve had seen that look many times.

The door clanged open with a bang and Steve looked up then glared, trying to get free again even though it was pointless and he knew it. There was a man he didn't recognise with one man that he did.

Dr. Faustus tucks his glasses into his pocket before walking over to the brunette and kneeling beside him. Bucky tried to press against the wall but there was only so far he could go. Faustus lifts his chin and tilts his head from side to side, examining him. Rumlow watches silently from the sidelines, sometimes catching Steve's eye. Whenever this happened he smirked a little. His face was horribly scarred; his eye was ruined on one side, it had been burnt or shredded to pieces.

"What're you doing?" Steve demands, tugging against the thick chains with all of his might. Faustus ignores him as he drops Bucky's chin again and straightens up. He nods at Rumlow.

Rumlow lazily walks over, twirling a knife in his hands, and Steve felt his heart stop for a second time that day.

"Get the h*** away from him," Steve growls, he makes eye contact with the brunette, who swallows thickly. "Get the h*** away from him!" He yells as Rumlow teasingly traces the knife edge around the edge of the muzzle, he nicks Bucky's upper lip. Rumlow smirks at Steve before turning to Faustus and raising an eyebrow.

"Go ahead," Faustus invites, gesturing to the brunette. He smiles, good- natured, at Bucky before walking out, closing and locking the door behind him.

"I swear to God, Rumlow-"

He freezes when he sees Rumlow raise the knife, saw the fear in Bucky's eyes. His eyes widened.

"No, no, leave him alone!" He shouts, his voice had begun to tremble and Rumlow merely smirks as he drives the knife into Bucky's side. The brunette cried out and Steve tried thrashing, he tried to get free but he couldn't.

"Stop it, stop it! Hurt me instead, kill me, for the love of God leave him alone!" Steve cries, cursing Rumlow when there was no response. Bucky was screaming and Steve was trembling like a leaf. This lasted for more than two hours and Steve had almost lost his voice. His face was streaked with tears, Bucky's face as well, the brunette was panting and pale.

"Just leave him alone," Steve begs in a hoarse whisper, the brunette had sunk down to the floor, whimpering, his blood was everywhere and Steve felt like he was going to throw up. "Please."

"What d'you say, Winter?" Rumlow asks, yanking him up by his hair. Bucky looked barely conscious, even barely alive; Steve swallows thickly.

Rumlow shrugs and goes in for another cut when the door bursts open. Sam, Nat, and Wanda were all there. Sam grabs Rumlow and slams him hard into the wall, his grip tight.

"Still alive, then, kid?" Rumlow taunts and Sam jerks his knee up into his stomach, and Rumlow gasps for oxygen.

"You have no idea," he puffs.

Nat went over to Steve while Wanda helped Bucky to his feet.

"Cap, you with me?" Nat frowns, waving a hand in front of the blonde's face. Steve doesn't answer, he was staring blankly at the floor. Wanda and Nat exchange a look before leading the two broken boys back the way they came. Nat climbs into the front of the quinjet and takes off.

////

Bucky was attended to the best he could be on the helicarrier. Steve sat beside him and help his hand.

////

Bucky was immediately brought to the med bay and Steve was promised he'd be able to see him when he was stable.

The blonde finds his way down to the gym. He wrapped cloth around his knuckles then stood in front of the punching bag. He huffs out a breath before starting to beat the filling out of it. He literally beat it until it threatened to burst at the seams. With each hit he seemed to get angrier, but sadder at the same time, and he punched it so hard it went flying across the gym. He stood there a moment, panting, before yanking the cloth off and walking back out.

////

"Sergeant Barnes is stable, Captain Rogers," a woman informs and Steve nods quietly.

"Thank you." He steps into the room, the faint beeps and clicks filled the air and all the machinery made it seem more stuffy. Steve knew Bucky would hate it here.

The blonde slumps down into the chair beside Bucky's bed and swallows the lump in his throat. He takes Bucky's hand.

He sat like that for a good hour until Bucky woke up on his own.

He blinks up at Steve then raises a hand to his mouth, relieved to find the muzzle gone. He swore he could still feel it pressed against his skin and he swallows.

"On your left," he croaks and Steve looks over at him. He reaches a hand out and smoothes Bucky's hair back, his hands were shaking and the brunette noticed.

"Hey," Steve wavers, his voice sounded thick and heavy with tears.

"'M alive."

"Thank God for that," Steve whispers, leaning down and kissing his forehead. Bucky doesn't answer, he closes his eyes. "How do you feel?"

Bucky cracked an eye open. The blonde was watching him worriedly and Bucky just wished he could be happy again that day.

"I'm- not good," he admits, looking up and blinking hard. "They muzzled me like they had all that time ago. They caged me up, they tortured me, I couldn't see you or get to you, there was so much blood-" his voice got lower and shakier the more he talked so he swallowed and fell silent.

"Please don't mention that. I thought you were a goner," Steve chokes and Bucky looks at him again. He was crying and the brunette realized how much that'd shaken him.

"I ain't going anywhere," he whispers, pressing a weak kiss to Steve's hand as he lifts their joined hands.

"I f****** hate Hydra," Steve mumbles and Bucky merely blows out a breath. He didn't care about the stupid swear jar at the moment.

"I know." Bucky swallows. Steve sits up and presses light kisses on his cheeks, his forehead, his lips.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get to you," Steve says quietly, he felt tears prick at his eyes again but he tried not to let them fall. "I'm so sorry, Buck."

"Hey," Bucky says, he cups his cheek. "This wasn't your fault. You did what you could."

"I could've done more," Steve mutters, tears sliding out against his wishes. Bucky merely wipes then away and kisses him gently.

////

It was a few months later when things were finally getting back to normal.

Bucky was making chocolate chip pancakes and Steve was sketching him without him knowing.

"Want one?" Bucky asks, turning to the blonde, who had paused mid-sketch. Bucky leans his head over the paper. "You're drawin' me?" He hums and Steve smiles.

"Yep. I'm really trying to capture that bed head, sleep in state."

"Well, I can pull it off fabulously," Bucky declares, striking a pose. His hair was a mess and he wore his japama bottoms and a tank top. Steve thought he still looked good.

"Don't need to tell me twice," Steve smirks and Bucky winks at him before turning back to the pancakes. The blonde went back to his drawing but then paused, his fingers rubbing of the thin paper. "Hey, Buck?" He asks quietly and the brunette notices the change in his voice, he looks back at him and tilts his head to the side. "It didn't scar, right?"

Bucky shakes his head. "No. You would've seen it. I'm fine, baby," he assures with a sad smile and Steve blows out a breath.

"Okay," he replies. Bucky kisses the top of his head.

"Don't worry so much," Bucky murmurs, kissing him again. Steve sighs and smiles up at him, to which Bucky smiles back before turning back to the pancakes.

////

Everything settled into place and they got a better security system. Agents were placed around them, living as neighbors, and Steve felt a little more relaxed. They would be fine.