Serenity

            The telltale signs of early dawn woke me the next morning. I was still on the sofa, still curled under the blanket, and Bucky was still my pillow, though I was snuggled on his natural arm instead of his chest.

            No wonder I’d been plagued by some fantastically vivid wet dreams last night, I thought hazily to myself as I stretched.

            My back was to Bucky’s chest, and his metal arm was across my body, effectively pinning me against him though he kept most of the weight off my body by buttressing his elbow close to me. It meant we were pressed together closely, but I wasn’t about to complain.

            My bladder, however, had other ideas.

            I shifted my weight to roll my body, or at least I tried to shift my weight but ended up getting nowhere. When I wiggled back a bit, my butt ground against Bucky and I froze.

            He was hard. Very, very, hard.

            I shifted again, trying to gain a bit of literal wiggle room but it was no use. I hated to wake him but I didn’t have a choice. Nature calls.

            “Stop wiggling and go back to sleep,” Bucky growled behind me, pulling my body against his. He actually pressed his hardness into my backside and groaned. “You were having some pretty good dreams from the sound of things.”

            I felt my full body blush. “Oh my God, Bucky,” I cringed, though I laughed softly to mask my embarrassment.

            “Mmm,” Bucky hummed darkly behind me, his voice a rich baritone, “I might have heard that a few times while you were sleeping, but you should say it again just to be sure.”

            I screwed my eyes shut though I continued to laugh at his teasing. I didn’t doubt the truth of his words though. I’d had some positively wicked dreams last night and he had a reoccurring starring role.

            “Shut. Up. Bucky,” I said, elbowing him lightly with each word. “You have to let me up…I need to go to the bathroom, jerk.” I was still laughing as I chided him, so my admonishment was toothless.

            “Fine. Go,” He quipped, finally releasing me. “And take your SpongeBob socks with you.”

            When I rounded the sofa, he jumped over the back making to chase me to my bathroom. I darted down the hallway though I knew I’d never make it if he were seriously after me.

            “No Bucky! No, no, no,” I repeated as I glanced over my shoulder. “I need to go—“

            I ran into a wall.

            A Steve shaped wall.

            Bucky’s ridiculously good reflexes meant he stopped short behind me, though I had maybe two inches between myself and either super soldier.

            “I think I had a dream about this last night,” I blurted, nearly snorting at my own inside joke.

            Bucky growled behind me before not so gently slapping my backside.

            My eyes rounded at the loud smack and I grabbed my backside before turning to fuss at Bucky. Steve looked quickly between both Bucky and myself, clearly not sure how to react.

            “Ow,” I complained, though, honestly, it didn’t hurt.

            Much.

            Bucky narrowed his eyes at me, his sultry yet stern expression hinting at some promised punishment.

            I swallowed as I broke eye contact with him, dropping my head to hide my arousal as I turned back around to face Steve. Bucky put his flesh arm around my chest and across my shoulders, dragging me flush against him and away from Steve.

            It was crazy possessive and very dominate. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Bucky seemed almost jealous.

            “Save it for the club, guys,” Steve chided us, “your e-vites just came through. You’re in.” He held up his tablet to show us the display.

            I gasped as I looked at the fancy images. Serenity looked pretty darn swanky.

            “Wait,” I said as I quirked my brow, “did you of all people just say ‘e-vites’?”

            “What? I know things,” Steve balked.

            I laughed out loud at his expression. “Awe, you old guys are so cute with your boiled food and big band music,” I said as I patted Bucky’s arm, signaling him to let go.

            “Go ahead and laugh it up, sweetheart,” Bucky said as he released me, stepping back to give me some room, “but we aren’t the ones wearing those SpongeBob socks.”

            We all looked down at my feet then, prompting me to cross one foot over the other.

            My poor socks were certainly the butt of many jokes lately.

            “You have a point,” Steve said as he lightly nudged my foot.

            I stood up straight as I readjusted my ponytail, making my way to my bathroom. I turned to walk backwards so I could yell at them before ducking behind the door. “You guys are just jealous they don’t make these socks in freakishly giant, super soldier shoe sizes.”

            “Hey, briefing in an hour, Z!” Steve yelled, prompting me to grunt back as I made my way through my room.

            I turned on my shower, finished my morning routine, then took the hottest shower of my life. With any luck, we would be in Dublin soon and this mission would be in the books not long after that. I wondered if I could score some time off overseas. Maybe take a couple of weeks to roam around Ireland and figuratively lick my wounds.

            I clutched at my chest. This was going to be hard, much harder than I’d initially thought yesterday. I often had the best clarity while showering. It was my sanctuary. Standing in the hot spray, I realized something terrifying. My crush, my harmless infatuation with Bucky, had morphed over the last eighteen months or so from something superficial to something substantial. I’d come to know him, and in that time my feelings for him had grown.

            I sighed. Oh God…I think I might be in love with him.

            The realization had me sagging against the cool tile for a moment as I continued to clutch my chest over my heart. Crimeny, this was such bad timing. Then again, love rarely comes by at an opportune moment.

            I blew out a frustrated breath and gathered myself. I could squash this down and deal with it later. I was great at compartmentalization.

            Squash it. Lock it up. Deal with it later.

            I finished up in the bathroom and readied myself for the mission briefing.

            We would arrive in Dublin Friday. Which meant in just over twenty-four hours we would be one step closer to stopping this kingpin in the making.

            Serenity’s membership was odd. Participants were members for one weekend at a time, and normally the wait list was long. We’d been pushed through thanks to some string pulling and serious monetary donations.

            Bucky and I learned we would be visiting during some sort of equestrian themed party night, though our outfits had already been secured.

            “I hope you get assless chaps,” I said to Bucky in a serious tone, causing even Steve to lose his composure.

            Bucky’s jaw dropped marginally, though he laughed out loud at my jibe. “I see how it is,” he replied coolly, “so eager to see my ass already.”

            Sam clapped his hands, still laughing. “Oh my God, I hope he gets assless chaps too…and I want pictures, baby girl. I’m gonna make me some Christmas wrapping paper out of that shit.”

            “Can I get a roll of that too?” Nat asked casually.

            Steve shook his head, “Okay guys, settle down. That brings up a good point.” He looked around the table. “As you know, there are no cameras in this place, and sneaking anything in will be next to impossible…security has been tightened after the incident.”

            He glanced at Nat. She looked irked but she knew it wasn’t their fault the mission was altered. These things happen, this was fieldwork, and you better roll with the punches.

            “The big green incident,” Bruce chimed in, sighing heavily.

            “Don’t,” I said sternly to Bruce. “Everyone is here, around this table, and that’s all that matters.”

            “She’s right,” Steve agreed. “And we’ve made the necessary changes to the mission. We can still do this, and T’Challa and his people are counting on us.”

            We all nodded somberly as Steve explained how security details had been modified. No cameras extended to any electronic devices, and I wondered about Bucky’s arm. Apparently, the vibranium wouldn’t trigger a metal detector, and the components and power sources within his arm were an odd mesh of organic and inorganic compounds meaning Shuri was some kind of medical genius and had supplied Bucky with a freaking amazing prosthetic.

            She even sent a cover skin for his arm. It fit the entire arm and shoulder area like a glove, apparently, and connected across his chest just under his right arm.

            It was good thinking, because that metal arm would have been a dead giveaway as to who we really were; almost as bad as Bruce’s green moment.

            Nat and Bruce explained that there were no cameras at all within Serenity, and that staff members were strategically placed to ensure everyone followed the rules.

            “You may not realize it, but you’re always being watched,” Natasha said, purposely holding eye contact with both Bucky and myself. “Not everyone is a guest. They have staff on the floor mingling with members.”

            “You’ll need to keep your eyes open, remember details, and report back once you’re in the hotel,” she said, mostly directing her attention to me.

            I was the least experienced field agent after all. Technically, I wasn’t even a field agent. I was a science and technology agent, though I did do fieldwork from time to time. I was way more comfortable inside a lab than I was on assignment. I was only covering for Natasha in Wanda’s absence, presumably she and Viz would have taken this assignment.

            Mission briefing wrapped up in time for lunch, though I was too nervous to have much of an appetite.

            “Hey,” Bucky called after me as we were leaving the boardroom. “You mind helping me with this thing?” He asked, holding the cover Shuri sent.

            “No problem.”

            Fifteen minutes later we had a problem. A big problem.

            Bucky stood in front of me in his bedroom, shirtless and looking ridiculously good. We’d managed to place the cover over his arm. It was a bit like trying to put on stockings, but the skin itself seemed to adhere and grab at certain spots. Bucky said it felt like the cover was connecting with sensors in his arm, probably enabling him to hide the vibranium without compromising the function.

            Once the cover was in place, I stepped back and gaped. Holy hell, it looked like skin. The cover blended seamlessly; his arm, his shoulder…even across his chest where it connected under the opposite arm. It even had the nuances of human skin, with a smattering of dark hair and freckling almost tattooed in, and texture, lines, and ridges filled out the rest; there were even fingernails and knuckle ridges on his hand.

            Shuri was some kind of Harry Potter skilled wizard. It’s really the only explanation.

            Bucky held up his hand, flipping it over from time to time to examine the new look from every angle.

            “I look normal,” he said softly.

            I dropped my arms to my sides, making a production out of hitting my hands on my hips. “You were never normal, Buck.”

            Bucky laughed before quickly lunging at me, gently capturing me with his now covered metal arm. He pulled me closer to his body, spinning me so that my back was to his chest. He extended his left arm in front of me, opening and closing his hand, encouraging me to examine it closely.

            “How does it feel?” he asked as I stroked his forearm before placing my right hand over his open left hand, mirroring him.

            “Different,” I said reverently. It felt like skin, just cooler.

            “Good different or bad different.”

            “Not bad,” I said quickly, picking up on his unease. “Just different.”

            We stood like that for several minutes, both of us touching each other easily.

            “How does it feel to you?” I asked. “I mean, when I touch you, does it feel different?”

            Bucky shook his head behind me. “Feels the same. It’s like I’m not wearing anything.”

            “Man she’s good,” I said, spinning so I could face him and examine the material that crossed his shoulder and chest area.

            I looked up at Bucky’s face, surprised to find his eyes on me rather than his newly covered arm. I stepped back a bit, feigning that I was trying to get a better look at the whole package when in reality I felt the need to put a bit of distance between myself and Bucky’s heated gaze.

            “Seriously Bucky, if you didn’t know what to look for, you wouldn’t even know it’s there. That’s crazy,” I whispered, awestruck. “Stay there, I’ll get Steve!”

            I dashed out of his room, thankful for the reprieve. Shirtless Bucky was too much for my lust-addled brain right now. I needed interference; I needed Steve.

            “Come on, Steve,” I said, grabbing his hand as I lead him out of the kitchen and towards Bucky’s room. “You gotta see this.”

            I dragged poor Steve behind me as he protested the loss of his sandwich. I knew from experience it was probably already gone. You couldn’t leave food unattended in this house; between Sam, Steve, Bucky, and even Bruce, someone was going to devour it.

            We walked into Bucky’s bedroom to find him standing in front of his mirror. His reflected eyes darted from his arm in the mirror, to my hand before meeting my own eyes in the mirror again. He arched an eyebrow.

            I knew exactly what that look meant; that look meant Bucky was jealous of Steve. That look meant he didn’t like the fact that I was holding Steve’s hand. Except I wasn’t. Not anymore. At this point, Steve was the one holding my hand.

            It was purely for support; Steve hadn’t seen Bucky like this since the forties.

            I used my other hand to gingerly guide Steve toward Bucky, finally freeing my hand from his. Bucky lowered his chin, giving me another look in the mirror. I smiled, secretly liking that he and I could have these wordless conversations now too. I was getting good at Bucky speak. I knew he would bring this up later, but I couldn’t figure out why that ignited such a fire in my abdomen.

            I’d never been the type of girl to get turned on by jealous guys before.

            Actually, I don’t think anyone has ever even been jealous over me. I mean I’m a glorified nerd, not a bombshell secret agent.

            Steve marveled at Shuri’s handiwork, asking Bucky a plethora of questions while I sat on Bucky’s bed with my legs crisscrossed and my elbows on my knees. I enjoyed watching them interact with each other; there was an easiness there that was exclusive to their relationship. They were obviously more than childhood friends; these two were brothers in almost every sense of the word. I smiled as I watched them. They were probably adorable as kids.

            “All right,” Bucky said, having finally had enough of the poking and prodding, “I’m taking it off. Don’t want to wear it out before I actually need it.”

            Steve nodded; grabbing the box Shuri had given him. “Hey, I need to send you guys the forms from Serenity. Your covers and other personal information have already been entered, but Nat thought you guys should go over your—“ Steve hesitated, looking uncomfortable, “limits and stuff together. Just in case they ask you about each other at the club.” Steve rubbed his hand across his chest. It was a nervous habit he rarely entertained. “And they might,” he added. “Buck, I’ll send it to your tablet.”

            “We can work on it now if you want,” Bucky said to me as he peeled away the cover.

            I shrugged and nodded my agreement. Might as well get it over with.

            “Thanks man,” Bucky said to Steve as he left the room, leaving me alone with Bucky.

            Bucky closed the bedroom door and I didn’t think anything of it…until I heard the lock click.

            I turned my head, looking at the doorknob then up at him.

            “So we aren’t interrupted,” he said darkly yet artificially innocent.

            I lifted my chin once, though I narrowed my eyes at him.

            Bucky’s tablet chimed, letting us know Steve sent the forms. I leaned over to retrieve the tablet and Bucky slid onto the bed. He scooted up toward his pillows, then quickly dragged me from my position so that I was seated between his legs with my back resting against his chest.

            The entire thing happened so fast I barely had time to register my shift in position. I honestly thought I was falling.

            “What the hell Bucky?”

            I felt Bucky shrug behind me. “This way we can both see and you can use two hands on the tablet. It doesn’t pick up the vibranium.” He tapped the screen to show me.

            I shook my head once, though I didn’t argue. It actually made sense.

            We scanned through the form and I laughed when I spotted our names. “James and Elizabeth Bonham,” I said. “We got married. I’m guessing Steve didn’t pick the last name.”

            “What makes you say that, doll?”

            “Bonham? Isn’t that some famous rock-n-roll guy?”

            “Rock what?”

            I inhaled, prepared to give Bucky a crash course in classic rock then changed my mind. “Never mind.”

            “Or could be Tiny Bonham,” Bucky added.

            I blanked out. “I don’t know who that is, Buck.”

            “From the ’43 Yankees.”

            I lifted my chin. That actually made sense. “I still don’t know who that is, but it sounds plausible.”

            We scanned through our covers and personal history. Apparently, we were going to Serenity for our one-year wedding anniversary. We’d made our fortune in natural gas and oil fields in Indiana of all places, meaning James worked long hours while Elizabeth spent a lot of time and money at events like Ladies who Lunch and Bangs or Botox seminars.

            Things got pretty interesting, though, once we clicked on the following page. There must have been at least two hundred questions involving sex, sexuality, and alternative lifestyles.

            We were five questions in and I’d already had to click the About This Item link four times.

            “Bucky, I thought you would know more about this junk. Ladies man my ass,” I joked as I clicked the link one more time. We were quite the pair.

            “Hey,” Bucky protested. “I never seriously dated anyone, and the last time I was even with a woman half this stuff didn’t exist. I mean, why would anybody do that?” He asked, pointing to something particularly odd. “How does that even—Just why?”

            I laughed. “I don’t know, but that’s a hard no for both of us.”

            Several more clicks and we were well within more every day parameters for each of us. The questions were more or less what I would consider mainstream.

            “I think we should be more liberal with our yes’s here,” I said over my shoulder. “Like you said, we want them to think we are open to—“ I rolled my head forward, encouraging him to follow my drift without actually saying we want them to think we are open to having sex in front of everyone.

            My face blushed anyway.

            “You’re definitely an exhibitionist,” I jabbed. “Probably a voyeur.” I continued clicking items. “What about ménage?” I asked. “M/M/F or M/F/F?”

            “No,” Bucky said succinctly.

            “To which one?” I asked, almost certain he, like most guys, would be open to the whole one dude with two women fantasy.

            “Both. I don’t share.”

            I dropped my hand away from the tablet. His answer had surprised me.

            “What about you?” He asked. “I’m guessing you might be open…I’ve seen you flirt with Steve.”

            “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said as I turned to better face him. “I never flirted with Steve.”

            Bucky gave me a dark look.

            “When did I flirt with Steve?”

            “Sweetheart, you were just holding his hand not thirty minutes ago.”

            “Yeah, dragging him to your room so he could see you. I wasn’t whisking him away to my room for some afternoon delight, creeper,” I poked him in the chest to drive my point home.

            “What about this morning?”

            I shook my head, waiting for him to elaborate. When he didn’t I narrowed my eyes at him before speaking. “What about this morning?”

            “When you implied you’d had a dream about you, me, and Steve?”

            “Oh my God, Bucky! I was saying that to make you laugh because you were making fun of me for talking in my sleep. Steve had no idea what you and I were even talking about.” I huffed. “I did not have a sex dream about Steve.” I got all flustered. “But I’m probably going to now because you put it in my head!”

            Bucky picked me up like I weighed nothing, spinning me so quickly I had that feeling of falling yet again. When it was over, I was straddling his lap for the second time in as many days.

            “I think you like makin’ me jealous, doll.”

            He was still shirtless and I couldn’t stop myself from taking a peek or three.

            “Remember what I told you last night?” He waited a heartbeat before speaking again. “I’m in charge. The only name I want to hear rolling off this tongue at night is mine. Understand?’

            I swallowed, my lips parting to gulp down air.

            “Understand?”

            “Yes. Bucky,” I emphasized his name just for him, smiling sweetly as I did it though I was being a bit of a smartass. I bit down on my lip, considering my wayward thoughts before committing to an outlandish idea that had just blossomed in my brain. “Yes, Sergeant Barnes, sir.”

            In the blink of an eye, Bucky had me on my back while he was poised over me, grinding his fully hard erection against my core. I nearly whimpered at the feeling. Last night’s make out session had been intense despite the fact that I wore thick jeans, but today I was clad only in thin leggings. I wasn’t even wearing any underwear. I could feel every seam in his black jeans as he moved against me, and the very hard bulge behind his zipper.

            “What’s your color, Z?” he growled into my ear as he nuzzled my neck.

            “Green,” I breathed the word. I raised my hips to meet Bucky’s grinding movement.

            “You weren’t trying to make me jealous?”

            “No,” I answered quickly. “I promise. When I’m with someone, I’m with him. Even if it’s a mission.”

            Bucky’s face clouded as his jaw clenched and unclenched and for a moment I thought he was going to argue with me. He looked angry, or even hurt. Or maybe he simply didn’t believe me.

            Whatever it was passed as he dragged his hand up the front of my shirt, not so gently rolling a painfully pebbled nipple between his fingers before speaking. “Just remember,” he said softly as he leaned down, “you are mine until this mission is over.”

            I didn’t have a chance to nod or acknowledge him because he crashed his mouth to mine in a possessive, dominant kiss. It was little more than a meeting of lips, teeth, and tongues, but it left me breathless and craving him.

            Once again I found myself flipped around, though he slapped my ass again before hauling me against his chest. “Now, let’s finish this list,” he growled against my neck as he held me in place.

            Thankfully, we were nearly finished. I could feel Bucky’s erection pressed into my backside. He was still fully hard and throbbing; I had no idea how he was even concentrating on the task at hand…I was struggling myself. I wondered what it would be like to taste him, and what he would do if I turned around and licked him from base to tip. I wondered just how far Bucky would go during this mission, just how far Bucky would let me go.

            “I think we’re finished,” I said as I ticked the last few boxes, sending the data to Steve. “That’s everything Mr. and Mrs. Bonham are into for their anniversary.”

            Bucky was quiet and made no move to release me.

            “I wonder what we will have to wear…I’m kinda nervous about that,” I said as I absently rubbed his knee.

            “Why?” It was monosyllabic and very Winter Soldier ’ish but I’d take it. Communication is communication, and I’d felt like he was shutting down on me for a while.

            I rolled my shoulder as I shrugged. “I’m not as confident as the rest of you guys. I’m normally hiding in a lab behind a computer. I’m not like Nat or even Wanda.”

            “What do you mean?” Bucky pushed as he leaned forward a bit, finally shaking off his funk.

            “They’re just…confident. Very comfortable with who they are. I’m—“ I huffed. “I mean, I wear SpongeBob socks, Bucky,” I turned my head giving him a lopsided grin. “I’m quirky as all get out, and I know it. I’m rarely comfortable in my own skin. I just wish I had a little bit of what they have…you know?”

            “You’re beautiful, Z,” Bucky said softly as he wrapped his arm around my middle, his tone and mannerisms finally warming again. “And you’re sexy as hell,” he laughed softly as he continued, “and for some reason the fact that you don’t even realize you’re sexy makes you even sexier.”

            “Bucky—“

            “And I actually like those damn socks.”

            I laughed out loud when he said that, and he hugged me to him before letting me go.

            “Thank you Bucky,” I said before kissing him softly on the cheek. Despite everything we’d done together in the last twenty-four hours, that single, chaste kiss seemed highly charged and oddly intimate. “You’re sweet.”

            He kissed my hand before fully releasing me. It was a tender gesture. “Yeah, well don’t tell anyone else. I don’t want to tarnish my reputation around here. I’m the only broody, dark assassin and I can’t lose my spot.”

            “You’re secret’s safe with me, Sarge,” I said as I unlocked the door, noting how his eyes darkened at my use of the moniker.

            I jumped when I found Steve on the other side, poised to knock.

            “Hey! I was just going to ask Bucky if he wanted to hit the gym before we leave tomorrow,” Steve said to me though Bucky made his way to the door to stand right behind me.

            I stood off to the side as much as I could to allow the guys to talk, but I did purposefully step back into Bucky’s space as he addressed Steve. For some reason I wanted him to understand I was definitely not flirting with Steve, and I didn’t think of Steve that way at all.

            “You guys have a good workout,” I called out as we disbanded.