[AU] a piercing comfort it affords

[from_the_outside]

For such a busy morning, the afternoon and evening prove remarkably quiet. Sharon's tired to her core, but she finds it just as difficult to rest as Bucky does, when she tries to cajole him into a nap. He only shakes his head at her, acquiescing to rest on the couch without actually sleeping.

She doesn't ask why. She's listening for the sound of Iron Man's repulsers just like he is.

But nothing comes, even after she's called Ross to update him and learn that the JTTF translators and analysts had come to the same conclusion she and Bucky had: that Zemo planned to impersonate him and set a bomb to spark a manhunt for the Winter Soldier.

Ross sounds grim as he tells her they'll need to find some more permanent solution to the power outage problem, then hangs up after he's extracted a promise from her to check in as soon as she learns anything.

Dinner is a quiet affair. Jet lag has her by the throat, but she can't sleep until she hears back from Steve and knows for certain that Tony won't be crashing down on them again.

If he does, she needs to be ready.

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

He cups her cheek with the hand she's captured, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone.

"I don't think so," he murmurs, "but I can stay here with you and read or something while you rest."

[from_the_outside]

"Mm."

It's an agreement, sort of. "Go make coffee if you want some. I'll have it in a bit."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky leans in to kiss her, then gets to his feet.

"I won't be long," he promises, and snags his pack on the way out.

[from_the_outside]

She mumbles something incomprehensible and slides into the warm spot he's left behind once he's out from under the covers; she puts her arms around the pillow and pushes her face into it, then falls back to sleep breathing in the scent of his hair.

[nerves_of_ice]

He throws on clean clothes, stashes his pack in the guest room he'd used on the first visit, and makes his way downstairs to the kitchen. Bucky sets the coffee brewing and takes the opportunity to do a security check of the house and immediate grounds while waiting.

Nothing suspicious shows up. He hadn't thought there would be, not really, but hadn't been able to keep himself from checking... not that he'd tried very hard.

He's back inside by the time the coffee's ready. Bucky downs a quick cup, then pours a refill and looks upstairs, thoughtfully.

After a moment, he fixes another the way Sharon likes it, just in case the aroma wakes her, and carries both upstairs.

[from_the_outside]

It's not much time, maybe about as long as if she'd hit 'snooze' on her alarm, but her internal clock – utterly bewildered from the way she's been skipping through time zones – doesn't let her drift too deeply back into sleep.

She shifts as Bucky comes back into the room, eyes slitting open as she smells the coffee.

Which presents a conundrum: go back to sleep and let the coffee get cold, thus wasting the cup he made for her? Or get up and drink it fresh?

Dilemma.

[nerves_of_ice]

He can practically read her thoughts on her face, and manages to stifle the urge to laugh.

"If you don't want it now, don't worry. I'll drink it, it won't go to waste, and there's more downstairs when you're ready," he promises.

[from_the_outside]

"We'll see," she says, sleepy, and shifts back in the bed to leave room for him, if he wants to sit back down.

[nerves_of_ice]

He sets both mugs on the bedside table and settles carefully beside her, then leans over to kiss her hair before picking his coffee back up.

[from_the_outside]

Once he's settled, she stretches out alongside his legs and wraps an arm over his thighs, setting her head in his lap like a cat asking for a caress.

"Smells good," she says, voice still muzzy with sleep. "Everything look okay down there?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Everything's fine," he assures her, resting his free hand at the back of her neck. "All quiet."

[from_the_outside]

"Good."

Her eyelids are still heavy; she lets them slip closed, even as she slowly comes more and more awake. "This place is good for that. Usually."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I can see that," he murmurs, sipping at his coffee. "I like it here, just so you know."

[from_the_outside]

That gets a smile, warm and pleased and a little surprised.

"Good," she says, after spending a moment trying to wrangle the unruly crook of her mouth. "I like having you here."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Let me guess," he says, one corner of his mouth quirking up at the sight of her smile. "Unexpected from a city boy?"

[from_the_outside]

"Unexpected from you," she tells him, still smiling. "You just don't offer an opinion on things very often."

She rolls over under the sheets to look up at him, tired but pleased. "I'm really glad you like it."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I know." Something about his tone shades a little rueful, although it stays light. "You could say I got out of the habit."

[from_the_outside]

"We'll just have to ease you back in, then."

She pillows her head on his leg and looks up at him, that smile still playing around her mouth. It's turned a little teasing, now. "What else do you like? Let's see... coffee."

Her mouth quirks. "Good food. Dancing."

[nerves_of_ice]

"You're batting a thousand so far," he tells her.

[from_the_outside]

"... Baseball," she adds, grinning.

"What's something you don't like?"

[nerves_of_ice]

A subtle, faint tension threads through him, even as he tries to prevent it. Bucky takes a moment, choosing his words carefully, trying to make sure that there's no stake to what he offers up - trying to avoid the traps hidden in his own mind.

"Too-strong perfume," he settles on, after a second. "The powdery flower kind that makes the air so thick you could cut it with a knife."

[from_the_outside]

"Good for me to know," she says. "Thought I don't like that really strong, flowery stuff anyway."

She sits up and reaches across him for her coffee, takes a sip, then leans in to give him a coffee-and-cinnamon flavored kiss. "Great start."

[nerves_of_ice]

He slides his hand up into her hair as he returns the kiss, slow and lingering. When it breaks: "Good morning," he says again, a hint of teasing in his tone now.

[from_the_outside]

"You like mornings," she says back, grinning. With his hand in her hair, she can't pull away; not that she'd want to.

"Like a crazy person."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I probably am a crazy person," he points out. "So sure, that works."

He kisses her again, quickly, then lets her go.