#musichowler

The Tumblr app is deleted off my phone for now, but I want to thank y’all so much.

*squealing* I have to say, this is probably one of my absolute favorite pairings from your Craskship Armada. It was...

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Thank you! It’s funny how that Short resonated with a lot of people, as did the Jack + Darcy 5+1 fic. I guess people just like the way I write Jack Rollins :D

He doesn’t mean to spy.  

Truly.

Bucky had showered off a rather intense workout, dressed and stumbled out of the locker room to find her there.  Rather than call attention to himself (interrupting would seem rude), he had pressed his back against the wall where he figured he would wait until the opportune moment to sneak past her presented itself.

He was still standing there.

Bucky would like to blame it on not being able to escape without notice but he is a highly trained assassin for God’s sake.  If he wants to leave without her being none the wiser, he can do it.  Knowing that, he is forced to confront the only other explanation: he wants to be there.  

He wants to watch Darcy.

He knows that she dances.  She has mentioned it about a dozen times; its her way of dealing with stress.  He just figured that meant bopping around to whatever Top 40 hit had caught her attention that week.  She has enough maniac energy for it (he has seen it on full display many many times).  So every time she had wandered off to dance he had pictured flailing limbs and singing on the top of her lungs.

This is different.

This is controlled.

From his vantage point, he watches her move.  Each roll of her hip, each swirl of her arm --- everything is carefully considered and performed.  He can see each muscle move as she does and it is mesmerizing.  Her body seems connected to the heart of the music, never missing a beat.  One would suspect given how the rest of her moves that her face would be a mask of concentration but instead she has a look of pure joy.  Here she is free to express herself.

He feels slightly guilty for watching.  His eyes are drawn to those hips as they jut back and forth in tight precision.  He tries his best to look away but in the end, his gaze returns.  He knows there is nothing sexual about what she is doing.  She is not trying to entice him (she doesn’t even know he is there).  She is simply enjoying herself and he feels like a dirty old man for being entranced by it.  

Darcy arches her back now, bending backwards at a near impossible angle (she’s flexible, something else Bucky knows he shouldn’t focus on but does anyway).  Her arms bend, her finger curl, her hair spills down like a waterfall and he thinks that should be a damn picture right there.  

Christ, if he keeps this up he’ll be in the kind of trouble that he’ll have to take care of himself.

He pushes back at those thoughts and retreats towards the locker room.  He feels foolish for hiding out but he knows it is safer than the alternative.  He sits on the bench, his mind replaying what he has just witnessed.  He never knew she had it in her.  In fact, he wonders just how much of Darcy Lewis people overlook on a daily basis.  More than she deserves, he decides and vows to change that.  

He waits longer than he probably needs to before he once again tries to make his escape.  He finds the room empty and can’t decide if he is relieved or not. 

Bucky doesn’t lay eyes on Darcy Lewis again for almost three days.  That is not by choice; he is not going out of his way to avoid her (although part of him feels as if he should).  The way this place operates --- he can be killing time one moment and wishing for it the next.  

When he does see her, she is nursing a bowl of cereal on the couch, her legs tucked under her.  He hesitates before sitting down next to her.  She spares him a glance before turning her gaze back to the television.  He has no idea what show is playing but he is sure she has tried to tell him more than once.

“The elusive Bucky Barnes,” she begins and there is a hint of a grin on her face.  “You guys beat up the bad guys, save freedom and all that?”

He can’t help but snort a laugh.  “Yeah, we did.”

“Score one for Team Us,” she says before she goes back to shoveling in cereal at an alarming rate.  He is beginning to wonder if she has the same eating habits as Steve.  He finds himself at the ready in case she chokes.

The silence that settles between them isn’t an uncomfortable one (he had expected it to be since he still feels like a peeping tom).  

Finally, she stands, stretching her limbs (her stomach peeks out from underneath the hem of her shirt and he finds his gaze drawn to it).  She looks to him.  “I’m going to dance.”  She is nearly out of the room before she speaks again.  “You wanna come?  You don’t have to hide in the corner this time.”

His eyes widen and his body goes rigid.  He can hear her laughter trailing through the hall.

He had been right --- there are a lot of things about Darcy Lewis that people overlook.  

I sooo wish I could be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

Time to burn the house down.

Of course you may! #2 for Bucky is yours! Thanks!