[ WWII AU ] what a night to go dreaming

[from_the_outside]

There's no doubt that things have shifted, a little, since the day they spent tangled up together in that sun-dappled cottage, tucked away in the trees behind the nearby town. The other Howling Commandos have, seemingly by silent agreement, stopped flirting so outrageously with her, though she's caught Jim and Gabe giving Bucky more than one fondly exasperated glance. She still dances with all of them, and enjoys their company, but they yield the floor to Bucky at the end of the night, and he's the one who, as she said she wanted, walks her back to her tent. 

And then there are their rendezvous' out in the field, where she still checks, each night, for a portal opening in the air. It never comes, but she spends hours there with him, walking and laughing and dancing under the starlight, stealing every moment they can together.

Aunt Peggy says nothing, but Sharon knows she can tell things have changed. There's a worried frown that lives between her brows, but she doesn't forbid her niece to see Steve's best friend, knowing it would only backfire.

Other things change not at all... like the morning tests Howard still makes them do. They're nearing the end of the sequence today, and she lets go of Bucky when Howard tells her to, careful not to linger. It's difficult to say what Stark thinks of his findings; he mutters to himself and snaps at his assistants, but all she can glean from it is that the resonance is still fading at a regular rate from her cells.

But none of them know why.

Comments

[from_the_outside]

"Be selfish," she murmurs, and leans up to kiss him gently.

"It makes me feel a little better."

[nerves_of_ice]

"You sure? Because I can be very selfish," he teases, as he tightens his arm around her waist and brushes the side of his thumb along the line of her pulse.

[from_the_outside]

"So can I," she promises.

Beneath his thumb, her pulse picks up, blood racing like a river. "I'm so selfish that I want to stay with you, even though I know it's going to hurt like hell later on. I don't want to hurt you, baby, but I don't want to let you go, either."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I don't want you to be hurt," he murmurs. Bucky leans down and follows the path his thumb is tracing with gentle, lingering kisses along her skin.

"But don't worry about me. Stay. As long as you're here, as long as you can, as long as you want-- stay with me."

[from_the_outside]

"I will," she murmurs back, tipping her head to give him access to her throat, her eyes closing.

It's such a bad idea. It's such a bad idea. But it's not like she has so very many good ones, ever. "As long as I can, Bucky. I'll stay with you."

[nerves_of_ice]

He keeps an ear out for any sounds that would indicate someone's approach and draws gently on her skin where the curve of her neck meets her shoulder, teasing her with the edge of his teeth and his tongue - not enough to leave a mark, but enough to be a silent promise before he bestows another gentle kiss on the spot, then leans up to kiss her mouth, equally gently.

"My angel," he whispers.

[from_the_outside]

She shivers at his kiss, at his soft words, and presses forward to hug him, her forehead nudging against the curve of his neck. He's warm and comforting and sweet and she is in major, major trouble when it comes to her feelings for him, but she just can't stop herself.

She doesn't want to. "We should get back," she murmurs. "Aunt Peggy will be coming to check in on me soon."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky smiles at her. "You're right about that. And we don't want to worry her. Come on."

He holds her close for a moment more, then draws back and offers her his arm again.

[from_the_outside]

She curls her hand around his arm and comes to walk by his side, strolling slowly back into the camp.

"Thank you for the company, Sergeant," she tells him, quiet, as they near her tent. "I'll see you in the morning."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Of course. Have a good night, Agent Carter," Bucky replies. "See you in the morning."

He waits until she's safe inside, then heads back to his own tent.

[marvel_npc]

Philips, unsurprisingly, is up and working, and he listens without comment as Steve and Peggy give him a brief report. "Too bad," he says, when they've finished. "I'll get the details from Stark in the morning. Thank you both."

Back out in the clear night air, Steve paces by Peggy's side, lost in thought. She's as quiet as he is, and he thinks they're both concerned about the same things, for different reasons. He wishes her a good night as she heads off to check on Sharon, then stays still a moment, looking up at the stars before he directs his own steps towards Bucky's tent, planning to wait there until Bucky returns.

He'll bunk there tonight, if Bucky lets him. Somehow he thinks his best friend might need the company.

[nerves_of_ice]

He takes a circuitous route back to his own tent after leaving Sharon, giving himself a little time to think. Bucky passes by the field, just out of curiosity, and watches from the shadows for a few minutes as Howard instructs the technicians in capturing some kind of measurements from the ground and air and even the tree. He makes sure to stay out of sight, so that Howard won't get any ideas.

Eventually, he makes it back to his tent. There's a dim glow inside, and when he ducks through the flap he's already expecting to see his best friend.

"Hey."

[marvel_npc]

Steve, sitting on the camp stool, looks up from his sketchbook and the doodles he's been idly drawing. "Hey," he says, studying his best friend.

Bucky looks tired, but otherwise physically all right. "How is she?" he asks, knowing where Bucky's priorities lie.

[nerves_of_ice]

"She's okay." He sits down on the end of the cot and starts unlacing his boots, loosening them enough that he can slip them off and tuck them under the end of the bed. "Pretty disappointed, of course."

[marvel_npc]

Steve nods, and turns his sketchbook over in his hands, worrying at it.

"How are you?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"I'm okay, too," Bucky assures him - or tries, anyway. He's pretty sure Steve can read him like a book. "Guilty. Relieved. And Howard's trick didn't zap me, really, so that's good, I guess."

[marvel_npc]

"It's something," Steve agrees. He's reasonably sure Howard knows Steve would never forgive him if he hurt Bucky in any way.

But he frowns, slightly. "Why guilty?"

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky looks up at him, a tired, rueful look in his eyes.

"I shouldn't be glad it failed. You know it, I know it. So, guilty."

[marvel_npc]

Steve watches him, aching at the expression in his best friend's eyes. "I don't think it's that simple, Buck," he says, gently.

"You've done everything you can to try and get her home, regardless of your own feelings. And I bet part of her is glad, too."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I know. And I'll keep trying. But..." He shrugs, casting about for a way to shift the subject without it being blatant, and comes up with something.

"Did you know she's got a magic camera in her stuff? It's about the size of my hand, and flat. The photos it takes are in the brightest color I've ever seen in a picture. It's amazing."

[marvel_npc]

Steve can't help his concern, but he bites back his worry and tries for a smile, allowing Bucky to change to subject.

"I think I saw something about that in the initial report," he says. "She showed it to you?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"She did," he confirms, with an amused smile. "She wanted a picture to remember me by."

[marvel_npc]

Steve chuckles a little at that, wry and warm. "I believe it. And now she's got one, huh?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"She sure does." Bucky shakes his head, marveling at the memory. "She just sort of held it up in the air, pushed something, and poof! The photo appeared right on the device. No film, no need to develop or anything."

[marvel_npc]

Steve's eyebrows push up and his mouth drops slightly open in surprise. "No film? It just... appeared? How the heck – "

He shakes his head, astonished. "Better keep Stark away from that thing, or he'll try inventing it a few decades too early."