Eyes of Fire | Bucky Barnes

48

Bucky woke up and made quick work of his new and improved morning routine; he washed up relatively quickly — reminiscent of the rushed shower he'd taken when he'd done his service, as it was rare they had the luxury of time or... name-brand soap — and made it to the kitchen to start tea for the both of them: him... and his girlfriend.

Right as he finished pouring their cups, Uxolo came bustling out of her room in some rather fancy clothes; today, she had on a white top, a mustard yellow suit and white heels, with her freshly-detangled hair half tied up.

"Beautiful." Bucky said, the statement slipping out as soon as it crossed his mind.

She looked over at him, a small smile on her face. "Thank you, Bucky."

There was a dance to dating, and he hadn't danced since 1943. If Bucky remembered correctly, there had been a sort of push-and-pull back then, where the pair would refuse to outright compliment each other (at least right away), fluttering around instead with blazing glances and body checks.

Bucky much preferred this. If only to see her smile.

He abandoned his tea cup and shuffled towards where she was searching for something in her bag.

"I don' tell you often enough, do I?" He asked, crowding her space.

She finally paused her search and looked up at him, grinning fondly. "Of course you do, Bucky. Thank you."

"You are, though. Beautiful." He said again, nervous, and before his brain could catch up with his body, he had her face in his hands.

He hesitated, his words stuck in the back of his throat now that they were closer, but Uxolo didn't as she stepped closer until their bodies were flush and they met in the middle to press their lips together. Her lips were soft and pliant against his, even she wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth for his tongue.

He groaned as she moved against him, sweet and kind, swirled her tongue against his and racked her fingernails through the long hair on the back of his scalp.

She broke for air just to scold breathily, "Bucky,'"

He sighed deeply, caught, and shifted, snuggling up closer, nuzzling again and pressing a kiss to the skin above her collar. "It's strange, to want."

And to actually have, in return. went unspoken between them.

A small shiver went through Uxolo at that; "Was all that just a ploy to kiss me?"

Bucky snorted. "Kind of."

His breath was warm against her neck, and she was having to fight down an entirely different sort of wanting in order to keep the rest of this conversation light.

"Luck for you," replied Uxolo, pressing a sweeter kiss against his cheek. "I enjoyed it immensely."

Bucky chuckled, the sound rusty and a little painful. "I... enjoy you enjoying it, I think." He squeezed her closer and was rewarded with another kiss, on his lips this time.

"I enjoy you." He repeated; affirment, communication, something. Words were hard. This, though, kissing Uxolo was the easiest thing he'd ever done.

She smiled into the kiss, grin growing until it was difficult to make contact with her lips, all teeth instead.

"Where are you off to again?" He murmured absentmindedly, trailing his kisses away from her mouth and along the side of her face, making small patterns along her temple.

Uxolo laughed at the ticklish touches, prying away long enough to comfortably answer his question. "I have a meeting with some of the country's top scholars."

"Right," He said as he trailed a hand up and down her sides. He'd known — of course he'd known, there was no way he wouldn't tag along if he hadn't known where she was off to.

In the spirit of the Equinox, Uxolo and the sort of association of scholars she'd been a member of — since she'd started studying and practicing — decided to come together and share some things they'd learned in their respective fields. It was broadly known that the various lines of study intersected, crossed, and ran parallels to each other most of the time; it'd be no harm to come together and share various bits of information.

As studious as it sounded, the event was actually quite casual. There was always platters of food to be had during their meetings, the conversations largely taking place over shared stacks of seared meat and vegetables prepared by some of the farmers.

Uxolo had even briefly considered inviting Bucky to attend alongside her, but she was sure the conversations would be boring for anyone not in the fields. She'd bring him a wrapped plate of food instead.

"I'll see you when you're finished?" Bucky pressed the words into her cheek, arms coming to wrap around her waist in a hug. "Lunch, maybe?"

"Always." She smiled, squeezing with her arms wrapped around his neck. "Is that even a question?"