Steve felt bad the instant the boy flinched - of course he'd be expecting something other than comfort, after eight months of what had happened to him. He was about to pull his hand back when Bucky touched it; that made him relax a little, and hope that maybe Bucky could get over what had happened to him, maybe he could put it all behind him, because the last thing Steve wanted for this boy was for him to feel afraid of people for the rest of his life, given what had happened. He had learned a lot about PTSD, since he'd woken up in the 21st century, and although he still didn't understand a lot of it, he knew it could happen to anyone, not just soldiers - and what Bucky had been through was nothing short of traumatic.
"It's nice to meet you, Bucky," he said, glad to see the other man smiling, though maybe it was just the painkillers shining through. It actually took him a minute to realize that Bucky was flirting with him - he had exactly zero experience with males flirting, though plenty of females had tried it. He just... wasn't expecting it, but he could (and probably would) write it off as those same painkillers - especially given the Corey that Bucky had just been asking for. "No, it's - okay," he said, a little haltingly; he did pull his hand back, probably feeling far more embarrassed than Bucky, a slight hint of a blush tinging the bridge of his nose, but he fought it with everything he was worth, because that was absolutely not professional. "Look, you've been through a lot. You're pretty much allowed to say anything you want," he said, trying to offer a smile, though he was still feeling pretty unbalanced. "At least, until you're off those painkillers. Which I hope is soon." But it might not be for some time. "But you have to know, no one is going to hurt you here. You're safe."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2014-06-04 06:29 pm (UTC)"It's nice to meet you, Bucky," he said, glad to see the other man smiling, though maybe it was just the painkillers shining through. It actually took him a minute to realize that Bucky was flirting with him - he had exactly zero experience with males flirting, though plenty of females had tried it. He just... wasn't expecting it, but he could (and probably would) write it off as those same painkillers - especially given the Corey that Bucky had just been asking for. "No, it's - okay," he said, a little haltingly; he did pull his hand back, probably feeling far more embarrassed than Bucky, a slight hint of a blush tinging the bridge of his nose, but he fought it with everything he was worth, because that was absolutely not professional. "Look, you've been through a lot. You're pretty much allowed to say anything you want," he said, trying to offer a smile, though he was still feeling pretty unbalanced. "At least, until you're off those painkillers. Which I hope is soon." But it might not be for some time. "But you have to know, no one is going to hurt you here. You're safe."