driftfleet | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Natasha Romanoff + you (+ maybe some Bucky Barnes)
Broadcast: Video
Action: Mostly no, but we could work something out.
When: Now

[The video feed start, focusing tightly on Natasha's face, the only visible backdrop a rather generic portion of cabin wall.]

So checking the date, seems like it's been a while. Nice to see everyone's back in the air. Hopefully in one piece. I see a few people have left.

Anyone want to fill me in on the important details? Or should we let sleeping dogs—

[The sound of a door cuts her off the, and Natasha looks up. Whoever she sees, her expression softens. She smiles slightly, lifting her chin slightly and turning her head to catch a kiss from some loser tall enough that only the lower half of his face makes it in the frame. The stubble on his chin and the shape of his mouth might be enough to identify him though.]

A lot of catching up to d—

[Suddenly the feed cuts out.]

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[Natasha half laughs, a sound more of relief than humor. Try as she might to deny it, she missed him. She missed him more than she even let herself realize until she could wrap her arms around his shoulders and smell him,, feel his stubble, return his kiss.

She missed him, and she'd been worried about him.]

I came as soon as I could.

[Her nose brushes his chin.]

'course you did.

[ He knows that she had no control of it, and it makes him feel a certain way that he's the first one she comes to see when she's missed so much. Then again, she's been killing two birds with one stone in here.

His fingers trail up her neck and to the side of her face, tangling in her hair. ]

[Can't blame her for trying to multitask. Natasha has her priorities in order, though. She sighs, in less of a rush than she expected to be when she actually saw him again.

Her hands wander over his body, though, half refamiliarizing herself and half checking for signs of injuries.]

You better not worry me like that again, James Buchanan Barnes.

[The name is a compromise with herself. Barnes seems too distant, and calling him Bucky just now seems silly.]

[ It's a good thing that he heals quickly, anything sustained on that damn planet are gone save for the remnants of a cut on his thigh that might end up scarring. He lets her explore, because goddamn he missed her. Bucky peppers her face with slow kisses- along her jaw, over her cheek and the bridge of her nose, her forehead, ending with her lips again. All of this should be a liability, but they've both consented to the risk, and the fleet seems like the safest place they're allowed this.

They've worked hard cultivating it, neither of them are keen on letting it die just yet. He's got a retort on his tongue, but the whole name gets his attention and his eyebrows raise. ]

You make it sound like I'm actually in trouble. I'll try not to, though.

[Natasha's heart flutters at the kisses and she turns her face up toward them, her eyes nearly closing as she lets them fall on her skin. It's silly and girlish, and it's also just what she needs right then.

Reassurance they're both still whole.

She smiles a little at his remark.]

You might be. [Her mouth opens a little then, trying to wrap around a thought—a feeling really—that she's not sure how to say. After a second and a half of silent struggling, she says:] Maybe I'm not entirely sure what to call you when I'm saying something like this.

[Like what.]

[ They're both whole, and they have each other. Neither of them are going anywhere so long as they have the ability. Honestly, he expects to be in some sort of trouble, especially with the previous planet and now his interruption. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind too much. He couldn't have helped himself if he'd tried.

The struggle is subtle, as are most things involving Natasha. He can see her questioning something, and he doesn't have to wait long for it. ]

I liked the way you said my name. [ She could tell him anything she wanted if he got to hear her say his name like that again. ]

I thought you were worried you were in trouble.

[His response helps, though, firming up something in her mind that kept slipping away from her before. She raises her hands, cupping his face between them and smoothing her thumbs across his cheeks.]

You know, I told Steve not to miss his chance with Peggy. That they deserved to be happy, and he shouldn't hold back because he was more afraid of losing something than of never having it in the first place. I didn't think—I didn't think of myself as the kind of person who'd do the same thing. Be afraid of losing something I was lucky to have in the first place. But when you were on that planet...

[This is ridiculous. She's fought aliens, robots and fascists, and this is what makes her feel vulnerable. She's committed too far to back out now though.

And he's sort of given her permission.]

I love you, James.

I like a little trouble.

[ It seems to find them, anyway. He leans into the touch, not taking his eyes off her. What Natasha is saying makes sense, and he knows he feels the same even if he hasn't taken the time to acknowledge that new and budding thing he's been hoarding like it may be taken away. A familiar voice in the back of his head echoes the words he didn't really believe was possible so long ago.

We're allowed to love. Maybe Jim was right and he can actually have this one, selfish thing without bringing it ruin.

Actually hearing someone else say it is..strange, but he doesn't hate the way it makes his heart skip a beat. He's quiet for maybe longer than he should, but they're stuck in this now. ]

I love you, too, Natasha.

[She never really worried he didn't, more afraid of her own feelings than his, but she wasn't so sure if he'd say it back. If he hadn't been able to, she wouldn't have been mad. She'd know why.

But hearing him say it is more frightening and more satisfying than she ever guessed.

For a moment, she watches his face. She's not even sure what she's looking for. Maybe just memorizing it.

Then Natasha goes up on her toes, moving smooth and fast as her arms circle his shoulders and she catches his mouth for an enthusiastic kiss, grateful and amazed and nervous all at once.

She is not a person who experiences joy often. Can't remember the last time she was delighted. There was always some sadness, some regret keeping her highest highs somewhere around the level of buoyant contentment. The regrets don't go away, either, but for the moment her happiness is great enough to push it back into the shadows.]

[ Until the words are out of his mouth, he's not sure he would have said it, either. He wants to be able to say it and mean it-- he does mean it, but it's such a new and vulnerable thing. The simplest touch could shatter everything, and Bucky is damn certain he's going to be the one that fucks everything up beyond repair.

There's silence, the only sound is their breathing and the ambient noises of the ship. Her eyes are on them and her expression is unreadable. He has a brief moment of doubt before all of it gets thrown to the side. His arms come up around her waist and returns the kiss, wondering why the hell he'd thought that this was it. Natasha is just as invested in this as he is, which may or may not be more dangerous.

He doesn't care. They can have this. ]

[It's a rush. For months now, this has been building, unspoken, too precious to put a name to, too delicate and too forbidden, too strange. Natasha had never intended it to be a secret, per se, but there has always been a specific vulnerability. The sense that if she put a name to the feelings Barnes stirred in her, she risked having it taken away.

She couldn't lose something if she never quite admitted she had it in the first place.

But that also meant holding back, never acknowledging the depth of her feelings or the resonance of the sympathy between them.

Now she molds herself against his chest, fitting as though made to be there, and if the shape of his body isn't new to her that doesn't lessen the way she savors it. Acknowledging her feelings and knowing, actually hearing, their return thrills her in a way she couldn't have imagined. It's all maddeningly licit. She can be normal, a woman in love with a man, who returns her affection.

It's intoxicating human.]

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