Prompt by classics_love on the LJ Comment Fic comm: Author's choice, any het pairing, "Will you be the big spoon?"
The first hint Bucky had that Maria was just as strong as he'd always suspected but not nearly as content with her emotional isolation was when she hesitated before settling in to sleep, hand hovering an inch above his, and asked, "May I?"
He hadn't the faintest idea really of what she was asking but he knew the right answer and nodded.
She rolled over, back to his chest, and pulled his arm over her hips until she had arranged him satisfactorily as the big spoon, then sighed contentedly as she snuggled in closer. She had been anything but gentle or hesitant in rearranging him, and he found himself hiding a grin in her shoulder.
"Shut up," she said crossly.
"Didn't say anything, doll."
Maria sighed, less contented and more annoyed, and tightened her grip on his hand. "Good night."
Bucky knew the right answer to that one too. "Good night, ma'am."