For it is by grace you have been saved.
The phone rang, and I smiled, looking over at it, knowing without turning it over who it would be. He always called me when he was away on a mission, when he could. I was still grinning when I finally reached over and picked it up, though years of practise kept the smile from my voice.
"Hello?"
"Hey baby, it's me." He sounded tired, and I bit my lip to hold back my giggle. I'd never giggled before I met him.
"Hello? Did I order a booty call? I don't remember, but then, they do all blur together sometimes," I sighed. His silence was so thick, I could feel it. I knew the way his face would look right now, how his brows would draw together over his eyes, his mouth thinning, but he didn't make a sound. No one could make silence quite as loud as him. I bit at my fingernails, smiling as I listened to his silence.
"Oh really?" he growled, after a long pause.
"Mmm," I rolled over in bed, staring at the ceiling above me. "Oh yes, but there's only one I keep waiting for."
"Yeah?"
"Oh yeah," I said, and now I knew he could hear me smiling. "I love you baby."
"I love you too. I miss you." Smiling sadly, I sat up.
"I miss you too. How's it going?"
"Fine. It's over. I'll be home in a couple of days," he said, some of the tiredness returning to his voice.
"A couple of days? Where are you?" He laughed at last.
"Oh, come on, baby, you know the drill," he said.
"Hmm," I said, flopping back down on the bed. "Then I guess you don't get to know where I am either. Or what I'm doing." There was a pause, then I distinctly heard the sound of a door closing.
"We were on a ship. Talk."
"A ship? Really? How inter—"
"Talk," he growled, and I laughed, letting the sound stretch then die.
"Well," I said quietly, "I'm in our apartment."
"Hmm..."
"And I'm in our bedroom..." I could hear him breathing, and closed my eyes, imagining he was beside me, instead of miles away. "On the bed..." I whispered, and I heard his long sigh. "And I'm waiting for you." His growl was the best sound I'd heard since he left.
"You're such a tease."
"You love me."
"I love you," he confirmed. "Do you love me?"
"Come home, and I'll show you just how much." His groan this time was a little less composed. "I'll see you soon."
"Soon. I promise." I laughed, made a kiss at the phone, and hung up on him. The darkness of the bedroom seemed a little lighter than it had done before. He was awful at calculating time zones, and probably had no idea he'd woken me, but I didn't care. I would give up sleep willingly to hear the sound of his voice. Still smiling, I rolled over, crawling back under the covers and holding the phone close to my chest as I closed my eyes.
.
.
Two days later, I shut the door to the apartment with a sigh, leaning back against the wood and fighting to stay upright. He'll be home soon, I reminded myself, as I dropped my keys into the bowl, and kicked off my shoes. Dropping my bag with a dull thud that made me wince, glancing apologetically towards the floor, and I moved forwards on gentle feet, padding towards the kitchen. But I never made it, because as I emerged from the hallway, I glanced left, as I always did, and froze. He was there. He was back, he was home, he was here. I threw myself at him, and he caught me, his arms holding me tight, pulling me close. I clung to him like he was life itself, my face buried in his neck, my breathing a little ragged.
"Shhh," he murmured. "It's okay, I'm back. I'm here. It's okay."
"I love you," I whispered, pulling back to look at him, my eyes scanning desperately for any bruises or new scars, until he caught my chin in his hand, and I looked him full in the face.
"I'm fine," he said, and his mouth quirked up. "And I love you too." And I kissed him.
.
.
It was several hours later, when we were properly reacquainted, sitting curled around each other on the couch, when the phone rang. I groaned, but pushed up from where I was leaning back on his chest.
"I can get it, you've been at work," he said, making a move to stand up, but I pushed him back down.
"And you've been off gallivanting," I smirked, liking the way he fell back beneath my fingers. "I can get it." And so I did, dancing across the room to pick up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hey, Grace."
"Jack!" I smiled. "Good to hear your voice, how are you?"
"I'm fine thanks," Jack said. "You?"
"Oh, I'm great," I said, turning to look back towards the couch, where he was watching me with dark eyes. Jack laughed.
"I take it he got back okay then?"
"Yeah, do you want to talk to him?"
"Please."
"Okay, just a second." I threw the phone across the room, and he snatched it out of the air with ease.
"Rumlow."
A/N: Short start, but I got a huge overdose of Rumlow-feels (which has never, ever happened before) from that tumblr post / quote from FG, so this happened.
Un-beta'ed, all mistakes are my own. Credit to all the amazing people at Marvel and beyond.
This may develop into more chapters, will see how it goes. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews make me happy, just in case you were on the fence...