The Fisherman’s Blues
Bucky keeps his eyes glued to Jane as she talks quietly about whatever comes to her mind and he mostly just listens. At one point, Jane wants to ask Luke about soda since the man mentions he makes his own beer, and Bucky tells her that the process is different from distilling alcohol. Naturally, Jane thinks otherwise and continues almost rambling to make her point. Bucky – and Luke as he comes and goes – listen to her almost amused, wondering if someone had ever lost an argument with her, or finished one. He sips on his fourth? Fifth? beer slowly, feeling a pleasant buzz but not nearly as drunk as he would feel if he had started with one of the coloured bottles behind the bar.
Bucky hears a barked out laugh, and he glances with the corner of his eye to find two women a feet away from him. Both who had been glancing at him since he sat on the bar even before Jane arrived.
An hour ago, Jane implied that he could go with one of them, Bucky had retorted pointing out how the men had reacted when she entered the bar. Both said no. And when Jane finalised the small conversation about that, he almost felt bad for the poor bastards in the corner. After all, Jane looked... Irresistible. The summer dress hugging her body just right, short enough to show enough of her legs as she crossed them turning her body to him, but long enough to keep him wanting to see more, her brown curls brushing her back as they danced freely when she moved, and the strap that kept falling off her shoulder, almost like daring him to reach out and touch her. The room is crowded now, the air feels hot and heavy, and her skin is glowing with a thin layer of sweat, it mixes with the perfume in her skin and hair, and Bucky reaches for a rebel curl that falls on her forehead moving it aside. Jane stops her rambling, and Bucky takes his hand back regretting the action. Her lips quirk upwards and she puts the strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'm going to ask anyways" Jane says, almost breathless from talking so fast.
"Mm?" Bucky asks.
She chuckles, "You weren't here" she shakes her head softly and take a final sip to her drink.
"I'm here" Bucky says apologetically, "You want to ask Luke, go ahead"
"Ask Luke what?"
The man comes back from behind the bar with a drink in his hand. The same one Jane had been drinking before, and leaves it infront of her offering a charming smile that makes Jane’s cheek blush as she reaches for the glass. Bucky almost rolls his eyes annoyed, Luke notices it and chuckles, winking at him before turning his attention back to the woman.
"Do you know how to make soda?" Jane asks.
Luke looks at her apologetically, "No, sweetheart " Jane nods, "They do in Roseburn"
"Really?" Her eyes light up, and when Luke nods she smiles brightly, "Roseburn" she turns to Bucky then, "Good to know"
Luke smiles and leaves when the women on the bar call his name. Bucky glances at them, and Luke quirks an eyebrow at him when he catches him looking their way. They are beautiful the both of them, the one that catches him staring has red hair above her shoulder and Bucky is reminded of Natasha. She offers him a smile and wink, but he doesn't return it, instead clearing his throat and looking back at his lukewarm beer.
"You didn't tell Luke about Arcadia?" Jane asks him quietly, "About the Slums or the Pit…"
He looks at Jane, "No. Why?"
Jane shrugs, "I thought he would ask about what happened to you" she continues, “Since you said he knew you”
Bucky shakes his head, "It's not something I would have answered anyways" he takes the glass to his lips.
"Why?" She tilts her head in a cat like manner, "Do you consider it... Uncomfortable?"
Bucky chuckles, licking his lips, "More like... Personal"
"You told me about it" Jane retorts.
"I told you after...” He frowns, “When did I tell you?"
Jane stares at him for a few seconds, "When we were drinking... On the couch in Arcadia"
"Right" Bucky nods, remembering that morning, "You wanted me to tell him about those too?" He chuckles emptying the glass this time.
Jane rolls her eyes, "No" she says, "I guess you are right, it's personal" Bucky hums, "But you told me"
"I did"
"Why?"
Bucky looks at her, "You wanted to know" he says after a few seconds.
Jane breaks their stare off before she chuckles, shaking her head softly as she takes a sip from her drink. There is a slice of pineapple on the rim of the glass, and she reaches for it, taking it to her mouth and sinking her teeth into it. Bucky stares at Jane’s lips for a few seconds as she licks them slightly, and he curses himself and his libido for making a simple action something that it clearly isn't. Sensual.
He realises that they are too close, and he moves away half an inch, wanting to move further but not being able to.
Jane looks at him, "You also said" she starts, leaving the rest of the pineapple aside, "that they called you the Winter Soldier because no man could survive you"
Bucky nods, and his eyes fall on her lips again, "People liked it, it caught on" he says.
Jane’s lips curve up slightly, "What about a woman?"
He looks at her in the eye, "No women fought in the pit" he answers, almost dumbly.
Jane smiles, shaking her head like she regrets asking that. She then chuckles, and looks at him almost embarrassed.
"That was a poor attempt to...” She pauses looking for a word, “I don't know, tease?"
For a second his brain doesn't seem to process and understand, and he frowns slightly. Jane sees his expression and her smile wavers, a frown crosses her face before she looks back at her glass, her cheeks turning pink as she chuckles nervously.
"Tease" Bucky repeats, "As wanting to get to me or with me?"
Jane looks at him and this time she is confused, "What's the difference?"
In a split of second Bucky decides to test the waters, moving closer that half inch shrugging nonchalantly, "You either wanted to make fun or flirt"
Flirt. The word Jane was probably looking for seconds ago but couldn’t find.
Her cheeks turn a shade darker, "Oh"
Indeed.
"And how... How would that be flirting?" She asks slowly, "hypothetically speaking" she adds.
A smile pulls from his lips, "Hypothetically?" He leans back on his stool, one hand behind the stool Jane is sitting and the other tapping his fingers on the bar, "You would be asking me if I could... Or would take you"
"Ah" Jane nods, "I see"
Jane looks pensive for a second. Her finger playing with the rim of her glass almost distractingly while she looks lost in thought.
"So which one would it be," Bucky pushes further, and Jane looks at him in the eye, "In this hypothetical situation?"
Jane smiles softly and seems to actually consider it for a second. Bucky feels something recoil in his insides, the thrill of whatever is happening between them making his heart race. He is excited. Specially because Jane doesn't look like she wants him to stop, but like she needs him to press even further, almost like she is daring him to continue. He reaches for the strap of her dress, that had thankfully fallen off her shoulder again, and hooks his finger under it caressing her skin with his knuckle, before he slides it over her shoulder. The action is followed by her eyes, before her honey brown eyes and blown pupils stare into his own. Her lips part, and when she is about to answer, the song that he had barely been paying attention to changes to a different one, and there is a thunderous applause mixed with cheering coming from every corner of the room. It breaks the spell they are both under, Jane looking around with a confused look on her face, and Bucky feeling like he was left hanging somehow.
"Hey, Buck" Bucky glances at Luke, "That's your mother"
"What?"
Luke didn't pay attention, leaving the bar to join the fishermen in the corner as they all start hugging eachother, and the rest of the bar stands from their seats. The music is not coming from the jukebox, but from the speakers in every corner of the bar, a familiar melody and an even more familiar voice as the woman starts singing, and everyone in the bar follows her.
I wish I was a fisherman
Tumblin' on the seas
Far away from dry land
And its bitter memories
"Everyone knows this song" he hears Jane say, and when he looks at her she is smiling.
"They do" Bucky nods, looking around again.
That's your mother. Bucky remembers her smile, the lighting falling on her as she sung about the fisherman wanting to escape from the pain land brought him. Steve and him hiding underneath the bar for Luke not to catch them, and once he did, Bucky and Steve darting out the bar, Winnie laughing mid-song because she knows it was her son’s idea.
"That's my mother"
Casting out my sweet line
With abandonment and love
No ceiling bearin' down on me
Save the starry sky above
Bucky smiles softly as the room starts to clap, dance and sing. The woman that looks like Natasha being dragged to the middle of the room by one of the fishermen, who kisses her cheek as she throws her arms around his shoulders. Luke is on the other side of the room, but he catches Bucky’s gaze and smiles at him, nodding towards Jane when he looks at him.
Take her out.
With light in my head
You in my arms
But Bucky doesn’t, shutting his eyes close as more memories crash in like the waves of the sea outside. Steve was all he had when Winnie died, he held his hand when they cremated her body on the beach, and he entered the sea as they scattered her ashes all over the water. So she could join the father he never met, who had been taken by the same sea just days before he was born.
“The fisherman’s blues” Bucky whispers softly.
Jane turns to him, "Did you say something?" She asks.
Before he can say anything, a man appears from behind him, and he offers Jane his hand. Jane blushes and smiles brightly, but glances at Bucky briefly, stupidly enough he shrugs and offers her a small smile, before the fisherman says something into Jane's ear and she looks at him, nodding softly.
I wish I was the brakeman
On a hurtlin' fevered train
Crashing a-headlong into the heartland
Like a cannon in the rain
With the beating of the sleepers
And the burnin' of the coal
Counting the towns flashing by
In a night that's full of soul
She is gone then.
The young man puts a hand around her waist, and takes her between the crowd. Bucky follows her with his eyes, feeling a sting of... Regret, as the man asks something and she puts her hands over his shoulder. It starts slow, he notices, the man moving side to side as if he's teaching her how to move, and then she falls into a rhythm with him seconds later, and she laughs when the man twirls her around and pulls her closer to his body.
"You slow?"
Bucky turns to find Luke next to him, leaning against the bar as he too stares into Jane's direction. He looks back at Jane again, who is still dancing with a smile of joy in her face.
"I'm cautious" he answers.
Luke snorts, "She seems like she's worth risking it all for"
I would.
I have.
Bucky makes his way through the crowd, moving between the sweaty sea of bodies and ignoring the loud chanting, until it's Jane who he has infront and all he can hear is the music.
The young man sees him, and smiles at him before he leans in and whispers into her ear.
"I guess he couldn't resist you either" He says.
Jane frowns not understanding what he is saying, until she turns around and finds Bucky standing infront of her. She is covered in a thin layer of sweat, her cheeks blushed and her hair sticking to her forehead and back, still Bucky's lips curve upwards and reaches for her, his warm hand settled on her waist pulling her towards him.
With light in my head
You in my arms
"You look beautiful" He says against her temple, before he leans back to look at her face.
Jane smiles widely and she spreads her hands on his chest, noticing he is starting to sway slowly. Bucky pulls her closer to him and Jane throws her arms around his neck, tilting her head to look at him. She hadn't noticed Bucky had tied his hair, a few strands of hair falling out of the bun, and she reaches to swipe one off his face. Bucky takes her hand and kisses her palm, before placing it on his shoulder.
They start moving accordingly to the music, not caring about the mass of bodies moving around them. He catches Jane off guard by letting go of one hand and raising the other with a twist, sending her into a spin. She lets out a breathless gasp that turns into a laugh as she twirls in a circle, clapping their hands back together when he stops pulling her towards him again. Jane smiles brightly gripping his shoulders for stability, and she leans in to leave a quick kiss on his jaw, before resting her head against his chest.
Bucky's chest shakes slightly as he chuckles, kissing the top of her head, and continuing to move from side to side, unable to wipe the blissful smile on their faces.
Well I know I will be loosened
From the bonds that hold me fast
That the chains all hung around me
Will fall away at last
If Jane had been hypothetically flirting with him while they were sitting on the bar, she would be asking if he would take her. Bucky was always so cautious around her, always looking over his shoulder like he was prey for her. Pulling back further when he started to feel like Jane was pulling him in, closing off when she was starting to figure him out. But Bucky wasn't as indecipherable as he thought anymore, for her he was an open book, written in a code she had already broken a while ago. At some point between a bottle of expensive bourdon and an old couch back in Glassmere, where he had been too tired of building up that wall and she slither into the cracks. Healing him at the same time she healed, and breathing air into his lungs while leaving him breathless.
And on that fine and fateful day
I will take me in my hands
I will ride on the train
I will be the fisherman
Bucky puts a strand of her hair behind her ear before he buries his face in the crook of her neck. Pulling her even closer to his body, losing himself in her like a man being drowned by the sea, defeated by the waves swallowing him. He was finally surrendering himself to Jane.
With light in my head
You in my arms
Jane smiles soflty, closing her eyes at the seated sensation humming across her body when Bucky whispers against her skin. Yes. She grips his left forearm, and Bucky squeezes her waist in response.
"Bucky" Jane whispers against his ear, "I want to take you to Maraud”
Bucky leans back and stares into her eyes with a questioning look on his face. There could be something else Jane is implying. That she doesn’t want to stay in Cinders with Darcy, that she wants to go to the Freelands and stay with him because she wants him and nothing, and no one else. Just like Bucky wanted her. The voice deep inside his head not only tells him that is not it, it cackles cruelly at him for overthinking as always. And he decides to not make anything of it.
Jane stares expectantly, wanting Bucky to answer a question she didn’t even ask. She didn’t know how to, she just…
And then there is a loud crash, followed by a scream of "what the fuck?!", and barely two feet from them a fight breaks out. Bucky's warmth is gone, as he lifts his gaze to look around.
"I said your mom's a hoe!" A man yells.
The is a chorus of "ohs" and then everyone starts yelling at eachother. Bucky dodges a bottle and covers Jane, circling her wrist as he looks for the exit. The fight that had been brewing between the Ravangers and the fishermen sending the whole bar to a frenzy as some tried to leave and other wanted to join the fight.
"What is going on?" Jane asks.
"We should go" Bucky tells her.
A man in the corner rips his shirt off and jumps over another man, who is choking someone who seems to be laughing about it. Bucky scowls as Jane pushes him out of the away of two women pulling from eachother's hairs.
"Hey! This way!" Luke waves at them from the bar, pointing at the door behind him, "Buck!"
Jane feels Bucky pulls her towards him and almost picking her up from the ground with a hand around her waist. She throws one glance at the chaos ensuing in what was the dance floor. The jukebox playing an upbeat song as one man dances all by himself while his friends fist fight around him. Luke lets them escape through the back door, kissing Jane's hand and shaking Bucky’s before he lets them go.
"Until next time!" Jane tells him, as Bucky pulls from her arm.
It was dark outside, and Jane could hear thunder in the distance. Bucky leans against the wall behind him as Jane stands infront of him, both trying to catch their breaths. Bucky wipes his nose with the back of his hand, as he glances left and right, before he stares at Jane. A smile splits his face, before a sonorous laugh bubbles from deep inside his chest. Jane stares at him surprised, before she too joins him, laughing so hard her stomach hurts, and she leans against the wall next to him, resting her head on his shoulder as the laugh dies down, but the smile remain.
"Until next time?" Bucky snorts, "that was insane, I'm never-" he laughs, "I'm never entering a bar with ravangers in it"
"I was being polite!” Jane retorts, shoving him softly.
Bucky shakes his head chuckling, as he rests his hands on his knees. Jane puts a hand on his back and rubs as she glances around to see people starting to leave the bar, despite the brawl and the music still going on inside. She realises what she's doing a few seconds later, and takes her hand back, twisting her fingers infront of her lap. Bucky looks at her, glancing at her sky blue dress, it had been ruined by the many drinks thrown when the bar fight started and it was almost transparent where it was wet. Jane lets him stare, her chest going up and down as she still feels breathless.
He licks his lips, "We should go" he looks at the sky, "it's starting to rain"
Jane nods. Bucky straightens and looks around, and then Jane grabs his hand and pulls him outside of the alley, where more people are coming out of the bar while others try to take a peak inside. Despite the impending rain – and the drizzle that already started – plenty of people are still outside instead of looking for shelter in the nearby establishments, Jane walks with Bucky on her toes unbothered by the cold until she finds the way towards the hotel.
The rain didn't fall until after they find The Eye of The Sea. The receptionist, not Claire this time but a young man with a tag that reads 'Danny', greets them and says something along the lines of 'it's coming down hard' and Jane agrees, while Bucky offers a simple nod. The room is warm in comparison to the hall but still feels chilly when Bucky closes the door behind him, turning the lights on, and hurrying inside the bathroom to get himself and Jane towels to dry off. The rain starts falling harder outside, thunder and lighting joining this time. Bucky closes the bathroom door, and stares at Jane's back for a few seconds.
"It's like the sky is falling" He hears her say, she is looking outside the glass door separating her from the sea.
Bucky makes an agreement noise, and she turns accepting the towel from Bucky's hands.
"Heavy rains is what Catalean gets instead of snow"
He reaches for the hem of his shirt and pulls from it, which then is thrown inside the laundry basket on the corner of the room, and the shoes are kicked off under the bed. Jane observes all movement, drying her hair with the towel distractingly when in reality she feels mesmerised by Bucky's sculpted body, glistening with sweat now, the warm lighting from the room casting shadows on the muscles of his chest, abdomen, and when he turns around the ones in his back covered by the many scars.
Bucky feels Jane's gaze on him, the room feels completely quiet despite the breeze shaking the palm trees outside, and the waves crashing against the shore. The sea was so close to them, he thinks, wanting to ignore the fact that Jane wasn't even trying to pretend not to stare anymore. He is tired of pretending too, he thought he made that clear after their exchange in the bar. After he almost kisses her. When he turns to Jane she has her back on him, like she decided to give him privacy as soon as his hands started unbuckling his belt, and maybe she knew that he wasn't wearing anything underneath, and that she would see too much once he got rid of his pants. Jane too is nude underneath the sky blue summer dress she put on, and he swallows because he can see the wet fabric stick to her like a second skin. It hugs her body tightly, drawing every contour of her back to the swell of her ass. Bucky swallows, feeling his cock stir almost painfully.
"Help?"
Jane turns to look at him over her shoulder, and he realises she is struggling to reach for her zipper. He sees her take a deep breath in before he nods jerkily and walks towards her, his cock straining against his zipper, feet naked against the rug.
"I hope it isn't ruined" she says, looking down at her dress.
Bucky makes an agreement noise. Jane moves her hair out of the way for him, and Bucky's finger twitch as he reaches for the nape of her neck instead of the zipper.
"It would be a shame" He agrees quietly.
Jane lets out a shuddering breath, and he feels a rush of pride because he knows the effect he has on her. He wonders if she knows he's aroused, cock pulsing between his legs because of her. If she too feels the proximity affecting both of them instead of just him. So he lets his knuckles ghost against the nape of her neck, and he sees her relax to his touch.
"If so," He continues, finally reaching for the zipper, "I can get you another one"
A hundred. A thousand.
Bucky slides off the zipper slowly and to Jane it seems deliberate. He knows what he's doing to you, Jane thinks, he likes it. She makes an agreement noise, wanting to listen to the zipper sliding down and not her own voice. Bucky's fingers sneaking inside the dress just barely for a fraction of second. She almost whimpers at the phantom caress and she hopes Bucky just... Touches more, and she curses her throat for being too tight for her to speak.
"I'm going to take a bath" Bucky says suddenly.
He leaves the dress halfway off, and Jane holds it against her body for it not to slip off her. Before she can turn, she feels his lips rest against her shoulder, a quick peck she barely registers before he’s gone. His warmth leaves with him instead of lingering like it did so many times before, perhaps because this time she wanted it more. Jane stares at the bathroom door as he closes it behind him, and when he locks it, she lets out a shuddering breath while her heart runs a hundred miles an hour.