"I... don't really know why I'm here," she stammers.
"Think of it as something like witness protection for you, and morale boost for him," Stark says helpfully, without looking up from whatever it is he's tinkering with.
The English lady sighs, then adds, "The Colonel thought it prudent to keep her close." She holds out a folder to Bucky. "Did she tell you she attempted to enlist with the ANC four times?"
"Five," Steph corrects with a huff, face reddening. She hadn't said anything because she was sure he'd tell her off. That it isn't safe, that her health's bad enough as it is for her to risk going into a goddamn warzone. And maybe for lying in her forms and claiming to be from Jersey, of all places. He'll see it now, in the copies of the forms in the folder. "And I'm an excellent nurse." Her bedside manner needs some work when it comes to regular patients, but it just might work for soldiers.
To her astonishment, the lady smiles at her. "Good. Cap and his merry men could use a field medic who's as mad as they are." She steps back and gives them both a knowing look. "You two should catch up. We'll handle the debrief."
"Steph is both stubbornly persistent and amazing at what she does. I'm not shocked she's kept trying to apply for the ANC even though I told her there would be plenty of men coming home who would need her help. She's just...built that way."
When the English woman says that the men can use a field medic, Bucky wants to protest. He doesn't want Steph anywhere near the front lines or anywhere near danger. What if she got killed by a stray grenade or a German spy? There's anything that could happen to her.
"Any way we can keep her in Switzerland and just have her consult? No offense, Steph, but I don't want you getting hurt. You're too...well, these guys know. I talk about you all the time."
"I think Steph should get to decide what she wants to do," Steph interjects, through the blush that has overtaken her face from hearing that Bucky talks about her all the time. She squares her shoulders as if bracing for a fight, before adding, "No offense, Buck," as an afterthought.
Howard whistles. "Well, damn."
"I like her," Peggy says approvingly. "So, what do you say, Miss Rogers?"
Steph blinks, surprised that she gets to have a say at all... then, seeing the helmet in Bucky's hand, realizes that they're bending over backwards for him. He's Captain America. Oh God, he's Captain America. Does he know what a big deal that is? How he's united the country and brought the people hope? Anyone would do anything for him, he only needs to ask.
She looks up at him, taking his hands and squeezing them. They're bigger, stronger, more calloused than she remembers, but instead of making her feel small, she feels a sense of purpose. This is what she's been born to do. "They probably just wanna hide me away so I don't get kidnapped and get you in trouble." She might be joking, as that was just a common plot in the romance dime novels she liked reading, but a part of her suspects that might be true. "But I wanna go with you, Buck. I know it's dangerous. But you'll keep me safe, won't you?"
"Of course I'll keep you safe. I wouldn't do anything else. It's just that...it's just that I might worry too much about keeping you safe and not have my head in the game."
Peggy shakes her head. "That's nonsense, James Barnes. You execute perfectly no matter the situation. Miss Rogers being present will not affect your ability to achieve goals and take out targets. You are diminishing her ability to take care of herself."
Bucky sighs and rubs his hand over his hair. "At least train her how to shoot, Peggy? Teach her to defend herself?"
Steph looks toward Peggy with a grin. "I like you too, Ma'am," she says, grateful for the vote of confidence. Though she does understand Bucky's worry. He's always been worried about her, long before they even got here.
She wouldn't have chosen differently had she known they were taking her here, though. All she's wanted was to be by his side, no matter how dangerous it might be.
Peggy agrees to train Steph, which is exciting, then herds everyone else out of the room, which is even more exciting. Finally some privacy.
Steph looks Bucky over, first to check if he's hurt anywhere, then to just, well, look. "I'm gonna need to get on a stool to kiss you now," she teases.
"Yeah, I got taller," Bucky says, almost sheepish about it. He had to bend down to kiss her to begin with but now it will be even more of a bend; it's a small price to pay. He reaches out and cups her cheek with his hand.
Since they're alone, he doesn't mind being affectionate, and he gives her a bit of grin.
"But you know what? Everyone's the same height when they're kissing in bed."
"No they're not," she protests, purposely being contrarian because that's how they've always bantered. "And I wouldn't know, they didn't give me a room." Unless he'd told them she was staying with him?
She should probably be more weirded out by this whole thing, but she's just really happy to see him again. She'll deal with what this changes later.
"I don't think they'd assume we'd share," Bucky says, frowning a little. "I mean, we're going to, but I assume they'd at least try to keep up appearances or something. Doesn't matter. We're alone right now and I missed you."
Bucky opens his arms for her, welcoming her into an embrace. "C'mere and kiss me already, won't you? If someone walks in, someone walks in."
She shrugs. Maybe that English lady knows. Or there'll be an update later. What's more important at the moment is that they're finally alone.
She doesn't waste time, moving in to give him a hug, which feels weird now that he's even taller and bigger than her. But she's just glad to be able to hold him again. She'd been so worried.
"I missed you." They've been writing to each other often, but that doesn't compare to being physically present. "You gotta bend down a little though, I can't reach you to kiss you." Or maybe prop her on the table or something. If someone walks in, someone walks in.
Bucky puts his arms around her and lifts her up instead. He's strong enough to just hold her up, especially if she wraps her legs around him, and he kisses her deeply.
"I don't need a chair," he murmurs. "I'm stronger than you remember."
Someone could walk in, she knows, but she wraps her legs around him anyway, her skirt bunching up a little as they kiss. Okay, maybe she does want someone to walk in, if only to let the world know that she is his and he is hers. He probably gets a lot of fanmail as Cap, even if his real identity has remained a secret. The women back home have certainly fawned over America's new hero.
"You gotta be careful with my dress now," she teases. She threads her fingers into his hair, delighting at the chance to touch him again.
"Oh no. I'm sure Stark can buy you ten new ones in Switzerland on my pay," Bucky teases her. He gets paid plenty to be America's greatest hero and it isn't like he has anyone to share it with but her.
Still, he's careful when he pushes her dress even higher on her thighs and he wishes they could be somewhere alone, truly alone.
"Kissing you's not gonna be enough, you know that, right?"
He'd always liked spoiling her so she's not surprised that he wants to buy her all the dresses now. She's also not surprised that he wants to do more than just kissing.
"I know. I don't have anywhere to be, nobody's told me anything." So they can assume that she was supposed to hang out with him until someone comes to tell her otherwise.
She shifts to kiss him just below his ear, then whispers, "I gotta show you my new sketches," in a low, sultry tone. She'd done a lot of drawings since he'd left, but she didn't attempt to send any with her letters, not wanting anyone else to see them.
That distracts him but only a little, so he kisses her behind her ear and moves his lips down the column of her neck. He thinks it's a bad idea to get completely naked here where someone could walk in at any moment but Bucky can't help himself; he's missed her too much.
"Why don't you tell me about them while I try to figure out how we're gonna be together without arousing any suspicions?"
The noise is going to be difficult enough to conceal; she, at least, gets a little loud when she's in the mood. Those kisses certainly earn him an audible moan, and she tips her head a little more to the side to give him more skin to toy with.
"Well, I drew one every time I missed you and acted on it." Yeah, he can probably guess that's a lot of sketches. "Mostly my favorite views of you."
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"Think of it as something like witness protection for you, and morale boost for him," Stark says helpfully, without looking up from whatever it is he's tinkering with.
The English lady sighs, then adds, "The Colonel thought it prudent to keep her close." She holds out a folder to Bucky. "Did she tell you she attempted to enlist with the ANC four times?"
"Five," Steph corrects with a huff, face reddening. She hadn't said anything because she was sure he'd tell her off. That it isn't safe, that her health's bad enough as it is for her to risk going into a goddamn warzone. And maybe for lying in her forms and claiming to be from Jersey, of all places. He'll see it now, in the copies of the forms in the folder. "And I'm an excellent nurse." Her bedside manner needs some work when it comes to regular patients, but it just might work for soldiers.
To her astonishment, the lady smiles at her. "Good. Cap and his merry men could use a field medic who's as mad as they are." She steps back and gives them both a knowing look. "You two should catch up. We'll handle the debrief."
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When the English woman says that the men can use a field medic, Bucky wants to protest. He doesn't want Steph anywhere near the front lines or anywhere near danger. What if she got killed by a stray grenade or a German spy? There's anything that could happen to her.
"Any way we can keep her in Switzerland and just have her consult? No offense, Steph, but I don't want you getting hurt. You're too...well, these guys know. I talk about you all the time."
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Howard whistles. "Well, damn."
"I like her," Peggy says approvingly. "So, what do you say, Miss Rogers?"
Steph blinks, surprised that she gets to have a say at all... then, seeing the helmet in Bucky's hand, realizes that they're bending over backwards for him. He's Captain America. Oh God, he's Captain America. Does he know what a big deal that is? How he's united the country and brought the people hope? Anyone would do anything for him, he only needs to ask.
She looks up at him, taking his hands and squeezing them. They're bigger, stronger, more calloused than she remembers, but instead of making her feel small, she feels a sense of purpose. This is what she's been born to do. "They probably just wanna hide me away so I don't get kidnapped and get you in trouble." She might be joking, as that was just a common plot in the romance dime novels she liked reading, but a part of her suspects that might be true. "But I wanna go with you, Buck. I know it's dangerous. But you'll keep me safe, won't you?"
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Peggy shakes her head. "That's nonsense, James Barnes. You execute perfectly no matter the situation. Miss Rogers being present will not affect your ability to achieve goals and take out targets. You are diminishing her ability to take care of herself."
Bucky sighs and rubs his hand over his hair. "At least train her how to shoot, Peggy? Teach her to defend herself?"
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She wouldn't have chosen differently had she known they were taking her here, though. All she's wanted was to be by his side, no matter how dangerous it might be.
Peggy agrees to train Steph, which is exciting, then herds everyone else out of the room, which is even more exciting. Finally some privacy.
Steph looks Bucky over, first to check if he's hurt anywhere, then to just, well, look. "I'm gonna need to get on a stool to kiss you now," she teases.
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Since they're alone, he doesn't mind being affectionate, and he gives her a bit of grin.
"But you know what? Everyone's the same height when they're kissing in bed."
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She should probably be more weirded out by this whole thing, but she's just really happy to see him again. She'll deal with what this changes later.
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Bucky opens his arms for her, welcoming her into an embrace. "C'mere and kiss me already, won't you? If someone walks in, someone walks in."
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She doesn't waste time, moving in to give him a hug, which feels weird now that he's even taller and bigger than her. But she's just glad to be able to hold him again. She'd been so worried.
"I missed you." They've been writing to each other often, but that doesn't compare to being physically present. "You gotta bend down a little though, I can't reach you to kiss you." Or maybe prop her on the table or something. If someone walks in, someone walks in.
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"I don't need a chair," he murmurs. "I'm stronger than you remember."
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"You gotta be careful with my dress now," she teases. She threads her fingers into his hair, delighting at the chance to touch him again.
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Still, he's careful when he pushes her dress even higher on her thighs and he wishes they could be somewhere alone, truly alone.
"Kissing you's not gonna be enough, you know that, right?"
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"I know. I don't have anywhere to be, nobody's told me anything." So they can assume that she was supposed to hang out with him until someone comes to tell her otherwise.
She shifts to kiss him just below his ear, then whispers, "I gotta show you my new sketches," in a low, sultry tone. She'd done a lot of drawings since he'd left, but she didn't attempt to send any with her letters, not wanting anyone else to see them.
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That distracts him but only a little, so he kisses her behind her ear and moves his lips down the column of her neck. He thinks it's a bad idea to get completely naked here where someone could walk in at any moment but Bucky can't help himself; he's missed her too much.
"Why don't you tell me about them while I try to figure out how we're gonna be together without arousing any suspicions?"
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"Well, I drew one every time I missed you and acted on it." Yeah, he can probably guess that's a lot of sketches. "Mostly my favorite views of you."