Bucky wakes up on the couch after staying up late watching TV. He tried to sit up, but couldn't cause there was a sleepy kitty on his chest. Alpine looked so peaceful, Bucky just didn't have the heart to wake him.

"You're so adorable. I love you so much." Bucky said smiling and petting Alpine.

His phone goes off, signaling he got a text. It was from Sam, so Bucky immediately opens it. The text said, "Since you think cats are so cute...", and under the message was a selfie of Sam with one of those cat-ears and whiskers filters. Bucky couldn't help but giggle and blush at the photo. Then Alpine wakes up stretching across Bucky's chest.

"Good morning, Alpine, look what Sam sent me." Bucky said turning the phone towards the cat.

And that's when Bucky had an idea. He pulls Alpine close so that they're cheek to cheek and takes a selfie. He sent it to Sam with the message, "Alpine says, 'good morning'.". A minute later, Sam replies to the message.

🐦Bird-Brain🐦: Awww, so cute...and Alpine's handsome too.

Wait a minute....did Sam just call Bucky "cute"!?

"Nahhh, he's just playing around. There's no way he'd think I was cute for real." Bucky told himself.

Alpine lets out a "Mrow" which probably translates to, "Feed me, human!". Bucky fed his cat then continued texting with Sam, each text sending a smile to his face.

"Good lord, this human is hopelessly in love." Alpine thought.

"Hold down the fort while I'm gone, Alpine, I gotta go to my first appointment with my new therapist." Bucky said putting on his jacket.

Even though his therapy was no longer court mandated, Bucky wanted to continue to improve his mental health. His new therapist is named, Quinn Lucas. He heard they were a really nice person and a good therapist.

"Hello, Mr. Barnes. It's nice to meet you." Quinn said.

"Hi, Dr. Lucas. You can call me James or Bucky, I'm more comfortable with that." Bucky greeted.

"Okay, James, how have you been lately? How's your mood?" Quinn asked.

"Good some days, but other days not so much. Though, the bad days have lessened since I adopted my cat, Alpine." Bucky replied.

"That's good. Pets are a great way to relieve stress and anxiety, it gives you something to focus on. Plus the companionship is very satisfying." Quinn said grabbing a notebook.

"....C-can you not do that...please." Bucky said, his voice beginning to shake.

"Do what, James?" Quinn asked him.

"The notebook....can you please not write in it in front of me. It's just that...HYDRA used to use a notebook full of command words to control me. So...i-it really bothers me to see someone writing in a notebook like that. M-my last therapist kept doing that even though I told her it bothered me...I hated that she wouldn't listen me or respect my boundaries." Bucky explained looking at his lap.

"Of course, James, I'd hate to cause you discomfort. I'll just write down notes on my laptop instead, would that make you more comfortable?" Quinn said putting away the notebook.

Bucky nods, then Quinn grabs their laptop. They open up a blank document and type up the notes for the things that had been discussed so far.

"So, is there anything else you'd like to talk about? How are your personal relationships?" Quinn said looking up from their laptop.

"Well...I'm still having a tough time dealing with the loss of my friend, Steve...I really miss him, we were friends for so long...he was like a brother to me." Bucky told Quinn.

"I'm sorry for your loss. How have you been managing your grief?" Quinn asked Bucky.

"Well, I have gotten a lot closer with my friend, Sam. We talk and text a lot...and him and his family have kinda...accepted me as one of their own. It's been a long time since I've had anything close to a family....and I've made lots of mistakes...it just makes me wonder why they care and why they want me around." Bucky said picking at the fabric of his pants.

"No one has to have a specific reason to care about someone. That's the beauty of unconditional love, whether it'd be platonic or romantic. So, how does Sam's company make you feel?" Quinn replied.

"Safe...and comfortable. I don't know if it's just that I'm not used to having friends...but...I think I might be developing romantic feelings for Sam. Which just opens a whole other can of worms, especially considering what time period I'm from, and I don't think I have the emotional energy to talk about right now." Bucky said, rambling at the end.

For the rest of the session, Bucky and Quinn talked about other things other than his undetermined sexuality and his feelings for Sam. When he gets home, Bucky plops onto the couch with a tired sigh and closes his eyes. The sound of Alpine's collar tags jingling tells Bucky that the cat was making his way over to him. Alpine lets out a little high pitched purr as he jumps into Bucky's lap.

"Hey, buddy, how was your day?" Bucky said scratching Alpine's chin.

"I just sat around, licking my butt and thinking of ways to get you and your friend to become lovers. Ya know...normal cat stuff." Alpine meowed, though Bucky didn't understand him.

"Hehe, you're so cute, Alpine, I love you." Bucky giggled, holding Alpine by his armpits and kissing his forehead.

"I love you, too, human. But if you do that Lion King/Circle of Life pose thing to me, I will put one of my turds in your pillowcase." Alpine meowed.

"Aww, aren't you just a chatty little kitty, aren't ya?" Bucky cooed, giving Alpine more kissies.

Then he sets Alpine back into his lap and puts on a movie. For some strange reason, he had the desire to watch "The Lion King".