Chp 1
She expected the air at the beach to be thick and heavy with salt and humidity, but instead it left her feeling as light as the seagulls soaring overhead. Fay let her head fall back, waves of copper hair brushing at her bared midriff. Natasha grounded her thoroughly when she let a suitcase crash down on her toe.
"Shit, Nat! What happened to all that training? Just for show?"
"No, it's for the body," Natasha called from where she dug around deep in the trunk of their rented minivan. As if ready to emphasize her point, her ass stuck out in the required beach attire of cutoff jeans. The minivan, while not their first choice of beach wheels like the baby blue jeep had been, was welcome once they realized their belongings fit neatly instead of hanging out the windows.
While Fay crouched down to nurse her toe and a clever plan at revenge for later, Natasha finished shoving the royal worthy load of things onto the gravel driveway. Fay frowned from her position among the baggage, not savoring the idea of hauling them all inside with her new handicap.
Natasha shoved her short cropped hair out of her face with gaudy sunglasses and squatted across from her sister. The wind fought to loosen her hair again and Fay grinned with delight as karma took over the task of retribution for her.
"Come on," Natasha slapped her knee, which did nothing to ease the howling complaints of her big toe. "Where's that…" she paused with all the subtly of a practiced spy. "Where's the keys?"
"Up your big ass probably." Fay let anger serve as her healer and stormed to the door with armfuls of luggage even Captain America would be impressed by.
Once fighting open the screen door, she claimed the first bedroom she came across not because her arms made vague threats to abandon her body, but because of the view—a clear window daintily surrounded by sheer white curtains offered a clear view right out to the open water. The bags collapsed at the foot of the closest twin bed as she collapsed at the window to shove it open and gulp down the unburdened air.
"Least I have the boobs to go with my big ass," Natasha called as she stomped into the room.
"Been thinking of that comeback the whole way in?" Fay adjusted the strap of her bikini top nonetheless to make sure her breast backed her up.
"Why did I agree to go on a two week long trip with my useless kid sister again?" Natasha grumbled.
Fay glanced over, unsure whether the words were meant as daggers or if her wounds were still too fresh to know the difference. Either way, she refused to let her thoughts linger. Drawing her tank top off and kicking away her thin skirt, she headed out back where she spotted a pool with a more appealing personality than Natasha.
She was half an hour into sunbathing and just entering burn territory when ice prickled down her spine. She lurched out of the reclined chair, barely managing to hold her undone top in place while she investigated. She may be humanly inclined like Natasha and blessedly skipped over for the spy gene, but she knew the gaze of a peeping tom when she felt it. After all, she did share a few of Natasha's admittedly handy looks.
With their neighbors vacant for the weekend and the sand unpopulated by nosey tourists, her gaze brought up no suspects. She was just heaving paranoia out through clenched teeth when a mass of muscle rammed her. The legs of the chair gave out and she rammed her open palm into Steve's chest to allow air back into her lungs.
He rolled off, choking on his own laughter. He had grown a beard since she last saw him, since the shitstorm also known as the worst day of her life. His blonde hair was long enough to tuck behind his ears and he had relaxed enough to let his muscles grow a bit leaner. But those blue eyes were the same, mischievous and challenging and asking to be black if he kept laughing at her like that.
Without a better weapon on hand, she hurled a flip flop at him, which he quickly used to fan himself. She pouted and he crawled up to squeeze on the now broken chair beside her.
"You missed me Doc," he declared.
"I'm not a doctor. Stop," she murmured.
They were both fighting for their breath back. Before Steve could address the gleam in her eyes, Bucky stuck his head out the sliding glass door.
"I heard two girls screaming," he said.
Fay had her reply ready of, 'That's about right,' but it dried like seaweed on her tongue.
Because she hadn't seen him since that day either. And she cut her eyes away before she could tear apart his differences as well.
"Help me unpack?" She grabbed Steve's hand before he could consent and hauled him past his friend and back into the safe confines of the yellow painted room.
Lemon mattresses added to the theme of summer sun and Natasha was blessedly gone. Her side of the room appeared somehow neater than when they arrived with her suitcases tucked away under the bed and all the belongings folded into the dresser drawers.
Steve closed the door and began tossing things into drawers since Fay was neither inclined to help or talk about the elephants trotting about the whole of southern California.
She pulled a loose dress on and knotted the bottom of it so that it swept only over her knees and allowed the dainty breeze from the open window to still lick its way up her legs. Steve cleared a spot big enough for him to sit down on the bed before propping his length of legs up on the remaining bags. Fay kept busy to avoid eye contact.
"How the hell have you been, kid?" he asked.
"Busy. Physical therapy. Shrinks. I've been meaning to call you."
"I should have." He shook his head.
When she tried to walk past, he caught her wrist and pulled her so that her thigh pressed to his. His fingers were rougher than she remembered. And more shaky.
"One little near death experience and we can't be best friends?" he asked. It was on a laugh but his voice dropped like she was pulling the ground from beneath him.
"I had to focus on me Steve."
"Sure kept up with Stark." Now that was sharp, a weapon he had spent months honing to a point.
"That was for me too." She answered.
His head dropped and she sighed, nudging him to the side. She squeezed in between him and her bathroom tote. He smelled of a life long lost and made her heart ache for the loss. This pain was different, dull and deep while the scar over her heart created a sharp burst of complaint every time she twisted wrong.
On a whim she pulled out her phone and typed out a one word text. Steve's buzzed in his pocket. When he read the message, he finally brought his soft eyes up to her and repeated it back, "Hey."
She grinned and reached out to ruffle his hair. "This style suits you."
"That's what the ladies tell me."
Just like that they slid back into their old roles.
When he went to unpack his own belongings, she shoved off her ass and strolled into the kitchen to find water to parch her now dry mouth. Nosing around the fridge as if awaiting her to discover him in a painfully posed position. Was Tony Stark.
"It's not stocked yet. You order out or go into town," she called.
Tony swiveled on a heeled shoe to throw dark lashes her way. "You actually showed."
"Wanted a break."
"From your break?"
"From everything."
He strode forward, tailored tan suit blending in seamlessly to the sandy kitchen. His hand pressed to the small of her back at the same time his mouth met hers. She sighed against him for a moment, darting out her tongue to taste the sweet mint and tang of mimosa.
Then she stepped back. "That includes you."
"Oh but its' all good nature and fun between us. Isn't that what this trip is about?" he moseyed closer, hips swiveling before his fingers brushed at her hips.
"You were part of my therapy Stark. Like the meds. And I'm trying to be better on my own, so if you could just not."
"This is about what happened?"
"Thought we agreed not to talk about it."
"Well I know Barnes did."
He watched her temper flare with amusement and she fought the urge to slap him for deliberately provoking it. That would only provoke him. And like she said, she was going cold turkey on all her old vices.
A crash came from upstairs.
"Tell me you didn't bring hammer for brains," she groaned.
"Had to have someone to warm my bed since you're refusing me, doll."