Gold to Airy Thinness Beat

Chapter Twenty-One

Stephanie leaned against the wall of the training room and idly chewed on her lower lip. The room spanned an entire floor below the control center and was filled with all manner of standard gym style mats and punching bags and the like, as well as an added assortment of weapons up to and including a small firing range in the back.

It was currently empty but for them because, as Jim had pointed out, everyone else was sane and either in the process of going to bed or eating dinner like normal people in the Mess Hall.

"Quit your whining," Bucky said in response to the complaint. He slipped his shoes off and headed to the center of one of the mats. "This'll be over quick and you can get back to stuffing your face." He pulled his jacket off and loosened his tie, an action which caused Stephanie to straighten slightly on the wall.

He seemed to notice as he gave her a downright sunny smile before pulling his tie off and walking over to drop it and his jacket on a bench. With his back to her, the jerk, he proceeded to unbutton his dress shirt and then pulled that off, revealing a very close fitting white undershirt.

It wasn't as if Stephanie had never seen him in a t-shirt before but it had been a long time and she hadn't been in love with him them. Now she found herself nearly fixated by the movement of the muscles of his biceps as he folded the dress shirt and put it on the bench. At least she was until Dum Dum walked past her and cleared his throat pointedly, and with more than a little amusement.

Stephanie flinched in surprise and jerked her eyes away just as Bucky turned around to face Dum Dum who'd walked out onto the mat.

"You're up first, Dugan?" Bucky settled back on his heels, his hands raised in a defensive position. With his attention diverted, Stephanie took the opportunity to follow the line of his body from the top of his head down to his bare feet.

She was just checking his stance, honest.

"Yeah, why not?" Dum Dum responded, taking his hat off and tossing it off to the side. "How about we make it interesting? We lose and you're off-latrine duty for a month. You lose and Captain's Mistress becomes your official nickname. We'll even have them print it under your next photo so they'll stop calling you the Soldier." He grinned. "You did say you hated the name."

On the far wall Falsworth, where he was lined up with the other Commandos, called out, "I think we should call him Sergeant Pretty Boy."

"You're next," Bucky said, pointing at him. He frowned at Dum Dum. "That's what we're losing. What does the winner get, aside from the joy of watching you lot dig and fill in holes for the next month?"

"Well, I think that'd be obvious." Dum Dum said with a mischievous grin. He nodded toward Stephanie and her eyes widened as she realized, belatedly, what Dum Dum was doing. "The man who wins, be it you or the guy who ends up pinning you, gets a kiss from our very own Lady Liberty, with her permission of course."

Bucky went completely still and his face took on a set look that most interpreted as disinterest but Stephanie knew was somewhere closer to him plotting out how best to kill someone.

All the Commandos were staring at her, Dum Dum with a raised eyebrow, and Stephanie glared back at him. He was getting her back for turning on them in the Mess Hall. Bastards.

Then she glanced at Bucky and felt a brief burst of irritation at the look in his eyes. The thought of her potentially kissing someone else clearly bothered him, which bolstered the claims others had been telling her about him, and if that was true then it meant he could have talked to her as much as she could talk to him.

"Fine," she said shortly. Bucky's eyes widened and she gave him a challenging look. If he didn't want her kissing someone else, in front of him, he'd better get his act together and not lose. Besides it wasn't as if Dum Dum had specified, no doubt on purpose, that she had to kiss anyone on the lips and she trusted her men enough to know they wouldn't force the issue. If one of her men won, she'd give them a peck on the cheek. If Bucky won, and she had a sneaking position he would if her men had anything to say about it; well, that would depend on whether her courage held out...which meant he should get a move on.