for dani

[semi_stable]

He still sleeps on the floor.

It isn't something that he's been able to shake, not since his military days. Real beds are too soft, and he could sleep too soundly there, if he managed to fall asleep at all. No, the floor feels more familiar to him, cold wood and a pillow under his head. Always vigilant, even in sleep.

Even though he knows that Darrow is the safest place that he's been in decades, in that no one is after him. He still can't seem to relax in his bed. Or maybe he just doesn't feel like he deserves the luxury of a soft bed and restful sleep, not after all he's done.

After a few hours of tossing and turning, he gives up and pulls on a pair of black joggers and a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, half unzipped with nothing underneath, because who is going to see him anyway? After putting on his sneakers, he grabs his keys and leaves his apartment, feeling too restless to stay in one spot.

He makes his way to the beach, walking along the line where wet sand gives way to dry and listening to the water slap gently at the shore, rushing as it recedes and does it all over again. The rhythm of it is a little soothing, and Bucky takes a deep breath and looks up at the stars as we walks.

Comments

[feelheld]

Somewhere in the back of her head, Dani still can't help wondering what the hell she's doing. She's never done this sort of thing before, hooking up entirely impulsively with someone she barely knows. At least he's not a total stranger, but even if he were, she isn't actually sure she would care right now. It feels good to think she might be wanted — for his interest to be apparent but without any sign of pressure. His hand wanders, but he doesn't push ahead, which is probably good when she doesn't know what ahead actually looks like. They're on the beach in the middle of a chilly night, after all, which has the potential to complicate things, or would if they decided to do more than this.

Right now, this is enough. Leaning into the kiss, she's a bit too preoccupied to say anything, but she can give him another indication that she's alright with where this is going, wordlessly answering the likewise unspoken question in his touch. With one hand, she reaches under the bunched fabric of her t-shirt, finding the warm hand he's rested against her side and gently guiding it higher. Even this much feels sort of startlingly public, but it's late, and it's quiet, and it isn't as if they aren't both still fully covered, though she sort of regrets now having put on a bra before she left her apartment.

Easy as it would be to start questioning where this is going, wondering if she's crazy for even considering that he might be interested in more, weighing what that would mean for her, she tries instead just to focus on him and where they are now. Anything else can wait.

[semi_stable]

At a certain point, it becomes harder for Bucky to think about anything other than how good it feels to kiss her, and how soft and warm her skin is under his hand. She's solid and real and it's easy to lose himself to the comfort that she's providing in the moment. They're two consenting adults, and the rest he can worry about later.

When Dani urges his hand higher, Bucky kisses her again, licking into her mouth as cups her breast, feeling the weight of it through the lace. As the kiss deepens, he gives it a gentle squeeze and then finds her nipple with his thumb, circling it slowly and feeling it tighten against the pressure.

The way that she reacts to things is a pleasure all its own, and Bucky knows that he's hard in his jeans, and he knows that she must feel it, too. He won't acknowledge it if she doesn't, he decides, and that's easy enough. He's more focused on the way she responds as he curls his fingers around the lacy edge of her bra and lightly pinches her nipple between the tips of two fingers.

These hands can still do good things, and he wants to use them to do just that.