#and found

Chapters: 10/10 Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Maria Hill, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Alexander Pierce, Brock Rumlow, Dr. Raynor, Alpine the Cat (Marvel) Additional Tags: Mild references/implied hydra trash party, Past Abuse, implied/referenced past sexual assault, Self-Worth Issues, Brainwashed Bucky Barnes, Gay Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Recovering Memories, Panic Attacks, Therapy, Dr. Raynor is actually a good therapist, Bucky Barnes Has PTSD, Selective Mutism, Identity Issues, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, All of the Avengers are a good bro really, Good Cat Alpine (Marvel), Found Family, The Avengers group chat is pure chaos, Stark Tower, Bingewatching shows, Bucky loves Vampire Diaries, Slow Dancing, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, bucky is a disaster in the kitchen, Steve isn't much better, JARVIS tries to help in the kitchen and makes things worse, Angst, Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, Happy ending with room for a sequel Summary:

Steve and Bucky are discovered on the bank of the Potomac & brought to Stark Tower. From the beginning, everyone has one thing on their mind: Help Bucky. It’s going to be hard, but they're ready to give it everything they’ve got - and they’re the Avengers, so they’ve got quite a lot.

***

“Hey, Buck,” Steve says, his voice soft. Bucky lays on his side, pressing a cheek to the soft carpeting, wishing he hadn’t ruined all his blankets. He hates feeling cold and it’s a little cold in his room. “You don’t have to talk or come out or anything, but… I’m going to lay here, okay? All night. I’m going to stay right here so you don’t forget that it’s different now. So you don't forget that you’re safe. You’re not alone.”

Bucky doesn’t know what to say to that. Even if he did know, his tongue is doing that heavy-sticky thing again. Instead, he slides his flesh fingers under the crack in the door, barely able to fit the tips, and waits. A moment passes. Then Steve’s fingers are pressing right back.

And maybe Steve is right. Maybe things are different, maybe he is safe, maybe he’s not alone.

Maybe - just maybe - he’ll be able to get himself back after all, piece by piece.

♥♥♥

Poster’s note:

(Barbie on Commodore 64)

She used to believe

that she could find her Self

if she searched enough

beneath muscle and tendon,

under the tissue,

behind the bone,

or pressed deep

into electric matter

buried beneath

dreams and neurons.

But she was seeking

and digging

all wrong.

It was shattered into fragments.

Scattered in the dirt.

Gathered up in parchments,

strewn in straw behind barns.

And it could take a lifetime

but if she could find it

maybe then she could love it.

So she started searching

in the dust that scatters

from the moth’s wing at night.

In words and paper

pencil and pigment.

In the tears of strangers

and friends

and enemies.

In the moss on a cobblestone

and bark on the tree.

In the remnants of stars

and dew of the dawn.

To unearth her Self

from the corners

and the cracks

the open fields

and rusted gates,

clay in the earth

and marble on the headstone.

Gathering the fragments,

dusting off the dirt.

Reading the old parchments,

sifting through the straw

and spending her whole lifetime

because if she can find it

Tell me who I am

Why I am this way

And what have I done?

Give me a new song to play

I wish I knew

Because the truth is out of reach

And I can't seem to compete with you

I thought I could get through, but I'm still where I started,

I'm still where I departed,

I'm still stuck with you.

I thought I knew who I was

But not anymore,

I wish I knew