#whtwclf

❛⠀⠀you are not the unhappiest guy on the ship.⠀ ❜⠀ a pregnant pause as she pretends to consider.⠀ ❛⠀⠀well. the one with the meanest scowl. and definitely the one with the grumpiest attitude when it comes to physicals.⠀ ❜⠀ fingers skim his hand under the table, conscious there are other people in the science lab. ⠀ ⠀❛⠀⠀but you’re hanging out with me. ergo, you can’t be unhappy.⠀ ❜

it is as simple as that. she won't allow him to be grumpy. even if this means fighting demons, his included, bucky is expressly forbidden from becoming the unhappiest guy on the ship.

❛⠀⠀but, come on. i’m curious. what’s the first step in your plan to boost crew morale? a sing-along? dance contest? ⠀ ❜ ⠀ eyebrows lift as she leans closer, voice dropping to a mock whisper. ⠀ ❛⠀⠀a one man production of camelot? ⠀ ❜

“ i'll explain everything. please come back inside. ”

she feels like she's losing her mind all over again. one blank spot leads to two more, which lead to half a dozen --- it feels neverending. it feels, truly, impossible. natasha whips around to meet bucky's gaze, feels the tears in the corners of her eyes and has no idea why they're there.

" I don't believe you. " she doesn't know why. she doesn't have a reason not to trust him, does she?

her heart beats in her chest like there's a piece to the puzzle she's millimeters from connecting, and she hates it. " you're just going to lie to me again! "

they're a ten but . . . / @whtwclf

incorrect quotes / @whtwclf

❛ right, ❜ she hummed, low and amused, casting a glance back at him. ❛ you're not being strange at all. ❜ bucky had never been a many of many words. if anything, he seemed to treat speech like a scarce resource. for others, that might be enough, but not with her. she was too greedy for meaning from him, not to seek meaning in his silence, translate his repertoire of grunts into full sentences.

with time, she even mastered the art of teasing out an adverb out of him.

[ the winter sand soldier for irulan ]

your existence, my soldier, the princess thinks to herself.

hardly the only one whose gaze never rests on him for more than a second necessary, she is the only one whose complaint is personal. the stench of death which shrouds him in darkness, the dark swirling shadows nipping at his feet, begging for his attention, none of it repels the fair gaze. it if only were that simple. then, she could bend her head and whisper in the ear in trembling fear along with the courtiers who slinked away to the other side of the throne room when he entered, his horror a show for the masses.

instead, he draws memories from her. their root is intertwined, a tree of life, green with precious water, which cast a protected shadow over the gardens of her childhood. he is transluscent, to her eyes, a vision of her father appearing behind him. his loyal soldier, reminding her of all house corrino lost by his merely standing in front of her.

❛⠀⠀⠀that's a new excuse. never heard you try it before, ⠀ ❜ ⠀she says, wholly unimpressed with his attempt to dodge out of his promise. we'll do anything you want, starlight. that's what he said to her as enterprise docked on starbase one for repairs, tone low against her ear. she knew where he was trying to take her mind. a whole night, just the two of them, on earth. where she had a house with no neighbours, no other medical officers calling her to check on something, and no way for la'an to wheedle him into taking an extra shift because she didn't like the new recruit. a night, just the two of them.

and they were going to get to that. later. in approximately three hours, she was planning on letting bucky do whatever he wanted to her body ( that is what she wants ), but first they got a musical to watch.

❛⠀⠀actually, i think that's a good thing. now, i'm no expert or anything, but i'm pretty sure you are not supposed to sing along. it's not that kind of show. ⠀ ❜ ⠀ silk dress whispers against her body as she leans into his leg, one knee resting on the mattress beside his waist as she curls her fingers around his wrist to tug him up. ⠀ ❛⠀⠀it's one show. ⠀ ❜