The biggest lies are usually the ones we tell ourselves, and Steve has been telling lots of lies, especially lately. That in spite of how he can’t stop chewing his fingernails bloody, the never ending nightmares chasing him out of bed, and the way merely seeing ice sends him into a panic, he’s fine.
But when his latest mission with The Avengers goes horribly wrong, Steve can no longer keep lying, not even to himself.
Diagnosed with PTSD and placed on medical leave, initially Steve is resentful, stubbornly refusing the idea there’s anything that can make it better. Until Sam suggests a Service Dog, and introduces him to James Buchanan Barnes, a fellow vet and trainer who swears one of his dogs can help, if only Steve can summon enough bravery to take a leap of faith and accept a four-legged companion in his life.
What follows is a long and winding journey of fear, doubt and self-recrimination. But also hope, acceptance and redefining what it means to be a hero, as Steve finally faces the issues that have been haunting him his entire life.
There is also a lot of fur, conversations with dogs, and a cross-country road trip, as Steve rebuilds his life and maybe, just maybe, falls in love along the way.
I've just posted the first two chapters of my latest Stucky fic, Eight Paws, Two Tails, One Heart. It's a shrunkyclunks story, where Steve gets a Service Dog to help him deal with some of the issues I think he might have struggled with after waking up in the twenty-first century. The trainer who gives him his dog is, of course, Bucky Barnes. If that's something that sounds interesting, I hope you'll think of giving it a chance. 🐶🐶🐶
