Loose Ends

Aftermath

A/N: You'll be shocked to hear a warning for more sex...

******

Your POV

I dry my hair and fluff it to make it look presentable, and slip back into my dress. I note that Steve hung it up so it wouldn't wrinkle and that makes me smile just a tad at his thoughtfulness. I watch Steve get dressed, and it is honestly just as attractive as watching him undress. His boxers stretch over the curve of his ass as he bends down to grab his slack and the way he pulls the back up and around the swell of his bum makes me want to slap it. He does up his pants and I hear his voice break my reverie. "If you keep looking at me like that, there will be no night out, and you'll be twice as sore in the morning."

I moan softly. "Is that a threat or a promise?" I ask gently and watch him shake his head. He doesn't answer, but he does look at me and let his chest and arms flex. "Okay, okay. Wrap up those guns before you kill someone, namely me."

Steve smiles warmly and enjoys my appreciative glances as he pulls on his shirt. Bucky comes out of the bathroom, patting off his cleanly shaven face with a hand towel. I lick my lips at his clean, sharp jaw, and I can't resist the little noise the falls out of me. Steve smiles. "And here I thought you liked the beard." He chimes in. If I had my powers, I bet he would be considering shaving just to get that sound from me himself.

"I do." I shrug. "I guess my favorite flavor is super-soldier, and not so much the label. Cause you are both awfully hot."

Bucky laughs, and I feel a tug at my heart. I wonder if I hurt him with the beard burn comment. My body is sore, but it was more about the rigorousness than his beard. I don't want him to think he has to shave or that he hurt me. I walk up to him, wrapping my arms around him, still shirtless. I wonder if his heart rate is faster like mine. "Did you do that for me?"

He wraps his arms around me, the gentle touch feels good against me, and he descends to drag his smooth face against mine softly; I breathe out with a soft shudder. "You said I needed to be delicate."

I moan gently and kiss him quick and sweet when I say, "Thank you for thinking of my comfort I tell him. I love you; smooth face, beard, stubble, however you want it. Changing it up is fun, and you look good enough to eat." I touch his smooth face, and when I open my mouth to continue, he locks lips with me again. I was going to tell him that he didn't hurt me, that I was happy to have my thighs and skin chafe as a small price to pay for how good he made me feel, but I forgot how to speak when his tongue licks into my mouth, and he sucked mine into his.

"We have reservations." Steve comments, pulling on his supple leather jacket and breaking us apart. "And Bucky can't go shirtless."

I smile, letting my hands trail down his naked chest before stepping back. "Yes. Of course." I clear my throat and fan myself lightly. "I think I need some water."

*****

Fun. Huh. It's probably actually only been a week or two since the boys and I had a date. And the time in our room was definitely fun, but these past few days have been a respite from a living nightmare, and I just kept finding myself back inside my mind instead of enjoying my friends. The night is a blur of joy and terror. It was a good time, really, but somehow it was also filled with me falling into my head and someone pulling me back out again. Shuri and T'Challa are excellent hosts. Wanda, Sam, and Natasha all stayed to join the fun. Clint went home to his family a day or two after we came back, Tony was off to take care of business, and the Fury had promptly disappeared, but we still had plenty of people to make a party.

Dinner was delicious; Bucky plays with my feet under the table and relaxes when talking to Shuri a little bit. Sam doesn't tease him too much, and Natasha tries to make Steve blush at absolutely every opportunity. I stare down into my red wine, lost for a moment in the way the red liquid ripples up on the edge of the glass. It's deep and dark and reminds me of the ocean in my mind. Red waves, sliding around me- trying to burn me alive. I feel that fear grip me as I start to shake and very slowly set the glass down instead of taking a sip. I jump a little, heart-pounding all of a sudden as the light above me reflects in the surface of the wine, and for just a moment I think the lighting is back.