rain meme for marriageable

[ostavil]

( It's been a few weeks since he'd met Daphne trying to clear debris from the big storm that basically wrecked all of September and there's another storm coming down but at least this time it's rain and not sticky lorasses or something even more unpleasant. It's not the best weather but he's still glad he managed to get the roof and sides back onto his house before it came up; being outside in this is not his idea of a good time.

That's why he's incredibly confused when there's a blurry figure outside in this weather. There's a crack of lightning and he can see a little more clearly - it's Daphne, soaked through her sky-blue dress and her hair plastered to her head. He throws his door open and motions her inside. He had rebuilt his house a little bigger than he'd found it but it's still small so they'll be close but at least she'll be dry. )

Why are you walking around in this? You could have called or something.

( It's not said with admonishment or anything like that. Daphne's a grown woman and perfectly entitled to walk around in the rain if she wants to but she looks smaller, somehow, with all her clothes dripping with water. She doesn't even have a hat. Damn. )

Comments

[ostavil]

( Bucky stands up instead and slips his arm around her. There's clearly more going on here that needs to be talked about but maybe it doesn't need to be talked about right now. He can assure her of one thing though. )

If you want something with me, you can have me. There's stuff you can do in the bedroom that isn't the one act, Daphne, and I showed you one of them. Besides, I like you more than just the physical. I'm fascinated by you. It didn't change.

[marriageable]

[ She steps further into his embrace, coaxed by the warmth coming off of him. Even the metal arm cannot diminish that warmth.

She peeks up, her eyes plenty sad. ]

Is that it? Fascination? [ She’s been desired many times over, she realizes that now. Fascinated men for years. ]

[ostavil]

No, that's not it. Maybe fascinated was the wrong word. Any time I see you, my heart skips a beat. I feel like the man I was before I went to war. I felt like maybe I could have something good - I feel like I could have something good. I feel like I can trust you with my secrets and you won't hurt me with them. I can be soft with you, Daphne, and I can never be soft.

( He squeezes her lightly. )

You'd rip my heart out if you never spoke to me again. I don't know if I've expressed it well enough or anything but...that's how I feel.

[marriageable]

[ Tears gather in her eyes. When he finishes, with a sharp inhale on her part, two spill over. She reaches to cup his cheek with one palm, rubbing the stubble with nothing short of fondness. She steps closer still, hoping he’ll lean down toward her. ]

Well, I could not do that. I may be cursed, and occasionally unkind, but I am not cruel.

[ostavil]

( Bucky leans into the touch and closes his eyes, enjoying the feel of it. Honestly, this is better than the rest of it. He hasn't had anyone care about him in entirely too long and it feels good to know that Daphne does. )

If you're cursed, so am I. I've thought I was cursed for almost a hundred years.

[marriageable]

[ She presses her forehead against his once he’s close enough, soaking in the full strength of his attention. ]

Do two curses break each other?

[ostavil]

Mmm, bet they do. I don't know a lot about curses but I know that there's no curse that would keep me from trying to be with you. I'm not a man who gets scared of curses.

( He chances a kiss, the lightest one he can manage, and pulls his lips away to speak again. )

Are you a woman afraid of curses, Daphne?

[marriageable]

[ A kiss she reciprocates, pressing her lips to the corner of his own. With a weight lifted off her chest, her arms move to slip around his neck. No, she suspects he charges straight into curses. ]

If I am, will you hold my hand and weather the storm with me?

[ostavil]

I will. No questions asked. I'll even stop wallowing in guilt for you and that's the biggest promise I've made a woman in my life.

( He says it with a bit of a tease but he means it utterly - if it means he can have something good in his life, he's willing to let go of the bad he's done. )

[marriageable]

[ With further passion, she kisses him again. ]

No more wallowing, then. It’s settled.

[ostavil]

( It's a hell of a kiss and it knocks him off kilter before he leans into it fully but once she breaks it to speak, he feels himself wanting to start it up again. )

Did you still want to go or do you want to stay a while? I'm good with either - my house is your house.

[marriageable]

[ Daphne smiles, the sort that reaches her eyes and crinkles them. Both of her hands reach to cup his face. ]

My mother would love you, James Barnes. And I adore you.

[ostavil]

Well, I can't ask for more than that. I adore you, too, Daphne Bridgerton. And hey - you're allowed to have any life you want here. I bet that means a lot more freedom than the stuff you've got going back home.

( He doesn't want to allude to it more than that but he wants her to know that she'll have freedom. )

[marriageable]

[ It is something she’s given thought before. She nods, but brightens as she gets on her toes, pulling him down to meet her mouth again. She’s a simple woman. What she wants right now is him.

It’s a heated kiss; she thinks she’s getting the hang of this. ]

[ostavil]

( Bucky is a little surprised the kiss is so heated considering how upside down things went earlier but he's not put off by it; he's the opposite of put out and he spans her waist with his hands as he deepens the kiss. She's probably the smallest woman he's ever been with in his entire life but that makes him want to protect her and keep her safe - even from him. )

[marriageable]

[ His hands overlap where they rope around her waist; something about that is deeply satisfying, her hindbrain going wild at the realization. Aroused, she pulls him closer with her hand in his hair, licking the inside of his mouth, pressing her front against his. ]

[ostavil]

( Bucky doesn't want to mess this up again. He thinks they're in a better place now that they've cleared the air but he doesn't want to go and get turned on and then make Daphne think he's after sex again after they just discussed how it's not about sex. And it's not. But he hasn't had sex in a long time and the earlier attempt had frustrated him a little even if it wasn't Daphne's fault at all.

Still, it's a kiss right now, and he nips a little at her lower lip with his teeth just to show her that he wants her, not enough to remotely hurt. )

[marriageable]

[ She likes that, letting him know plainly with an approving mewl; when she pulls away, her chest is rising and falling erratically, eyes glazed over, and tugs on him to pick her up as he had before. ]

[ostavil]

( Bucky thinks about asking her if she's sure but he thinks that qualifies as "not listening" and will just wind them right back around to the earlier argument. He's not going to try intercourse again without her specifically asking for it, though, and even then he's going to spend forever warming her up for it.

For now, it's easy to lift her into his arms but this time he does it by guiding her arms around his neck and catching her under her knees so she can wrap her legs around him. )

[marriageable]

[ Her legs wrap around his waist with surprising ease, heart skipping. Her weight seems to be nothing to him. She isn't sure how far she wants to go, but there is no real harm in exploring, is there? She doesn't think so, but she's been so naive already. ]

The settee? [ Testing. ]

[ostavil]

Fine with me. I do what the lady wants.

( When he sits, he sits and makes sure that Daphne is in his lap so she can still kiss and touch him as much as she wants. The kissing had been fantastic earlier, as had going down on her, so he wouldn't mind more of both. He doesn't necessarily need anything in return right now. )

You're the lightest thing I've ever held.

[marriageable]

[ She nudges her nose with his and gets comfortable in his lap. She wouldn't mind seeing him without his shirt again. ] Evidently you have not held enough babies.

[ostavil]

Nah, just my baby sister when she was born. Never had a chance to have children so I didn't get to hold very many babies.

( Bucky kisses her again softly. )

I'm not worried about those today, though. I'm just thinking about you.

[marriageable]

[ She melts against his mouth, carding her fingers through his hair. Her own is beginning to come unbound again. ] All I ever wanted was children. [ It's a confession. It feels silly to speak of, in light of what he's been through. Her own life wants seem trivial. ]

Is this how they are made?

[ostavil]

What we were doing earlier before it went sideways is how you make babies, yeah. It's supposed to feel good for both people, though. Now that I know the situation, that's not going to happen again. We can take things slow.

( Bucky doesn't want to lose her over the physical act. )