Bucky woke first. He felt a firm pressure on his chest. Instead of alarming him, as this sensation would have before now, he was oddly comforted by it. He looked down and saw that Margery was still fast asleep, pressed firmly against his right side with an arm thrown carelessly across his torso and one leg entwined with his. His own arm was wrapped securely around her body, ensuring that her body was even closer to his.
Though the sensation was comforting, he was also aware of the proximity on a different level. He had not been this near to a woman in a very long time (not counting the women he had fought with, of course). Even during his brief years in hiding from the world he had stayed away from people as much as he could, forming no lasting relationships, let alone with women. And even before he had been made into a weapon, well… times were different.
Yet, here was a woman that was pressed against him. He was suddenly aware that her normal choices in clothing concealed something significant from his view during their wakeful hours. Warm and full against the side of his chest were her breasts, much bigger than he had realized and for the first time not contained within a high collared shirt. Her hair was down as well, and never before had he wanted the use of his other arm as much as he did then, such was his desire to put his fingers through the soft waves. She shifted in her sleep, her arm repositioning on his stomach and her body moving gently against his side. It was too much; he lay back on his pillow and concentrated on the ceiling.
God, she smells good. His rebellious mind supplied, despite his resolution to not respond to the body next to him. She's my doctor. Don't do anything stupid. His rational mind countered.
His body did not receive the memo apparently. He could feel his heart beat that much faster, his palm on her back became very hot suddenly, and his stomach muscles began to tighten. He could feel his body respond in a primal way to the nearness of her and he knew he had to move before she woke up and was embarrassed by their position and his arousal.
He moved carefully out from under her arm and dislodged his own. He watched as she shifted again to her back. He couldn't help but stare a moment as her nightshirt gathered in a way to reveal even more of her breasts and her stomach this time. Quick as possible he retreated to his bathroom and took a shower. A cold one.
XXXXX
Margery woke up and stretched. She had not slept this well in ages. This was not her bed though. She looked around the unfamiliar room and to the empty spot to her left. It was large and human shaped. Her mind was working hard to grasp the meaning of this. Then she remembered last night. Her hand flew up and hit her forehead.
She heard water running from the bathroom. She did a quick mental check of her body and confirmed that nothing had happened. I'm such an idiot! She berated herself. Crawling into bed with a patient, no matter if nothing sexual had happened was simply wrong on so many levels. The water shut off in the other room and she jumped from bed and fled the room in a heartbeat. If anyone had been watching, they would have sworn that she was the one with super soldier serum in her body, she moved that fast. She didn't want to be caught lounging in his bed still. She went to her own room and sat on her unused bed. She could still smell him on her clothes, a comforting manly smell.
She went to shower and get ready for the day. She would play last night off as well as she could. Despite her declarations of professionalism though, when she exited the bathroom and picked up her nightshirt and shorts, she did not put them in the laundry hamper. Instead, she placed them back in a drawer to be used another night.
XXXXX
The potential awkwardness of the encounter was surprisingly easy to get past. They entered their lab workspace and looked sheepishly at each other for a few minutes. It was Bucky who broke the awkward silence.
"At least you don't snore." And then he laughed.
Just like that, they knew where they stood again. The previous night was a moment of weakness between two humans. They could start their work again today without any tension.
And that was just what they did. Bucky had a renewed vigor and pursued all the questions and tests doggedly.
Margery thought that her revelation the night before had renewed the hope in him that he could rid himself of the fear of his own mind.
Bucky indeed, had renewed hope. But there was another reason he went after the goal once more. He would never admit it with any certainty to himself, let alone out loud; if he were cured, Margery would no longer be his doctor. It was that small glimmer of hope in seeing her like he did that morning again that motivated him.
XXXXX
Bucky was attempting to eat dinner one evening. Attempting, because every time he leaned down to take a sip of his soup, his long hair would fall into his face. He would then need to throw his head back and tilt it to the side in order to finish his spoon's circuit from the bowl to his mouth. It was a rather absurd thing to watch a man as large and as deadly as Bucky do.
Eventually Margery took pity on him. She leaned on her elbow, face propped up with her fist. She studied his hair and his face.
"You know," she began. "I think you could definitely pull off a man-bun."
He stared at her. "What?" he asked, looking utterly confused.
"Man-bun. You know, what men of the 21stcentury with long hair do. They put it up in a fashionable little bun on top of their heads." She fished a hair tie from her pocket and offered it to him. "Here, use this."
He took it gingerly in his right hand and began to clumsily pull at his hair. He attempted to put all of it at once within the grasp of the elastic band and pulled savagely at it. All to no end. Margery realized belatedly that the particular style that she had suggested needed two functional hands to create it.
She stood up and gently took the band from his hand. Standing behind him, she hesitated briefly. Then, she ran her fingers through his hair, pulling up the offending wild front portions, while leaving the back. She looped the elastic band around the portion of hair that she had collected and created a perfectly acceptable, slightly messy, bun. She smiled to herself as she rested her hands lightly on his shoulders and gave a small sigh.
He had gone rigid under her touch at first, unaccustomed as he was to non-violent physical contact. She had noticed the change of course, it was expected from a man like him. What she was not privy to was the fact that as she ran her hands through his hair, Bucky closed his eyes and smiled in a small and contented fashion. He inhaled deeply and exhaled at the same time she rested her hands on him. He could feel the small breeze that her sigh created on the back of his neck.
It was such a small gesture, but meaningful nonetheless. She felt happy that Bucky had let her that close to him and surrendered to her careful hands. He was happy that a woman like Margery felt safe enough with him to be so near to him without fear.
"I can't wait until I get my new arm. Otherwise, you'll be stuck doing my hair everyday." Bucky remarked.
She laughed a bit as she sat down to dinner once more. "Perhaps when you get it you'll do my hair instead."
