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    Summary

    Abruptly, Sam wonders how many people have put a friendly hand on Bucky in the last ninety-odd years. How many times did touch like this mean pain and suffering, instead of someone trying to take care of him? And it makes his heart ache, the thought of how much devastation and roughness Bucky’s been through, denied this kind of casual, compassionate touch that Sam doesn’t even think twice about offering.

    Experimentally, he pulls his hand back. Bucky makes this low whining noise that makes Sam put his hand back immediately. And then he watches the way Bucky leans into it, eyelids fluttering like he’s almost falling asleep like this. Doesn’t even seem conscious of it, like he’s gone somewhere else in his head while Sam’s patching him up. And it’s – Sam doesn’t know what to think, doesn’t know what to feel. Because this is Bucky, and he’s showing such terrifying vulnerability, and Sam –

    Sam can’t help but wonder if Bucky still expects pain every time someone touches him.

     

    (Five times Sam realizes Bucky is touch-starved, and the one time he really does something about it.)

    Language:
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