The sun had just been rising over the mountains when the quinjet had left Slovakia, but with the time difference back to New York it was once again dark upon their return.
None of the team had slept with the mission at the Hydra base the night before and even Steve was stifling a yawn, whereas Clint, whom Bucky had exchanged greetings with upon boarding the jet, was actually sat with his head tilted back against the jumpseat and his eyes closed.
Katherine appeared to be equally tired, though she seemed to be trying to stay awake for his sake, jerking slightly each time she came close to nodding off with her head drooping on his shoulder.
Bucky had spent the journey to New York largely silent, with Katherine's hand held in his own. He had mixed feelings about returning to Avengers Tower; on one hand he would be with Katherine again, whom he had missed dearly, but on the other he was not as optimistic as Steve was that Strucker and his base in Sokovia apparently represented the last of Hydra.
In fact, he knew for certain that there were still several safe houses and lower ranking, but still powerful, Hydra goons out there - he wondered if he was being selfish in returning before knowing for certain that it was safe for Katherine, but knowing that she was willing to endanger herself by venturing into Hydra bases without his say had swayed him.
His musings were interrupted as the lights of New York appeared below them, sprawling out vast and bright as far as the eye could see.
The quinjet touched down on the top of the tower and the mechanisms drew it inside the building. Bucky grabbed the small, black backpack that he'd taken from his safehouse and glanced at his motorbike, which had been stored at the back of the jet; he then shrugged and decided to simply leave it there for now.
"Right, everyone go get some shut-eye," Steve ordered as they made their way towards the elevator, the whole team appearing tired and weary. "We'll have a meeting to discuss Strucker and Sokovia at midday."
The others made their way to their own areas of the tower, whereas Bucky and Katherine went with Steve down to his floor. Steve mumbled a goodnight to them and headed off to his room, while Bucky followed Katherine into the large bedroom that they had briefly shared all those months ago.
"I'm gonna take a quick shower before bed," Katherine said sleepily, her fingers clutching his jacket to draw him down and press a brief kiss to his mouth before she headed off into the bathroom.
Bucky looked around the room, noting how it was at once both familiar and alien. The furniture was all still the same, but the painting on the wall had changed and the bedding was different. There was also now a desk in the corner, one that had two computer screens on it. Katherine's belongings were scattered around the room, her laptop on the bedside table with her reading glasses on top of it and her pyjamas folded on the bed.
His gaze moved to the other side of the bed, the side that had been his when he'd stayed here before, and he noticed a notebook and pen on the bedside table. He crossed the room and picked them up curiously; he found the notebook empty and realised that Katherine must have left it there waiting for him, despite not knowing when or if he would return.
Holding the evidence that she had indeed been thinking about him during their separation, he looked around the room once more and noted several other things; a pair of gloves on the chest of drawers, men's clothing that still had the labels attached in the wardrobe beside her own and, finally, a black and white photograph of him and Steve from the war stuck to one of the computer monitors.
He took the picture and gazed down at it for a long moment, studying it carefully. His hair was cut short with just a faint shadow of stubble lining his jaw and his smile was wide, but it was still recognisably him despite the marked changes between him and the man in the photograph.
The bathroom door opened, making him glance up and then freeze as he stared.
Katherine emerged wrapped in a towel, her skin pink and damp after her shower. She'd tied her hair up into a high, messy bun to stop it from getting wet, but tendrils that were moist from the steam had escaped to curl around her face and neck.
Katherine smiled at him, looking almost shy. "All yours," she said quietly, waving a hand towards the bathroom and yawning once more. She gestured towards the large bed, her cheeks pinkening even further, "I'll just, uh …"
Wordlessly, Bucky nodded once and brushed by her to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He exhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to control his body's reaction at the thought of her in bed, waiting for him.
Things between them had gotten heated back at the safe house, unexpectedly so, and he hadn't been prepared for it. Now that he had the time to stop and think, he found himself deeply hesitant about taking things further physically with Katherine despite how much he wanted to.
It wasn't that he doubted his feelings for her or lacked the desire - far from it - but he was both unsure of what she expected from him and acutely aware of his superior strength, worried that he might hurt her.
There was also a voice in his mind that he distinctly recognised as the Bucky Barnes from the forties telling him in a disapproving Brooklyn accent that he still hadn't even taken her out on a date.
Realising that he had been woolgathering for some time, he stripped off the tactical clothing he'd been wearing and stepped into the shower, absently noticing that the toiletries she had bought him were still waiting for him where he'd left them. It was the first time in months that he'd been able to wash in anything more than a low-pressured trickle from old pipes in the safe houses he'd frequented and for a long moment he luxuriated in the pounding warmth on the tight muscles of his shoulders, the hot water washing away the sweat and grime from the mission as it sluiced over his chest.
He then grimaced and set his jaw before turning the temperature dial to cold in an attempt to quell his persistent state of arousal; while it worked in dulling his erection, the icy jets also bought back chilling memories of his time with Hydra, grisly images flashing to the forefront of his mind and straining his control.
Bucky stayed in the shower for some time, gradually turning the heat up higher as he grappled with his mind, locking the images and memories away once more.
He eventually turned off the shower and got out, only to realise two things; first, that he had been in the bathroom for quite some time now, and second, that he had not bought anything to wear to bed into the bathroom with him. Getting fully dressed in his tactical gear once more seemed foolish, so he simply pulled on his boxers and roughly towel dried his long hair.
Still feeling slightly hesitant about what Katherine might expect or want from him, he emerged from the bathroom only to find that she had fallen asleep, unsurprising given how exhausted she was and he had been in the bathroom for nearly forty-five minutes.
One corner of his mouth curled up into a fond smile at the sight of her. She had clearly been waiting for him, asleep half sat up with her head tilted back against the headboard and her reading glasses askew, her laptop balanced precariously on her lap above the covers. Her long hair was now down around her shoulders, wavy from where it had been tied up in a bun, and her rosebud lips were slightly parted as she slept.
Still suppressing a smile, Bucky rescued her laptop from its imminent fall to the floor and put it on the bedside table. He then gently tugged the glasses from her face, being careful not to wake her, and left them atop of the computer. Turning off the bedroom light, he made his way to the other side of the bed and slipped beneath the covers, savouring the familiar scent of her on the bed sheets.
Knowing that she would be uncomfortable if she slept half sat up as she was, he drew her down and into his arms as he had done dozens of times before when they'd shared a bed. She fitted against him easily and naturally without waking, her head pillowed on his chest while he lay on his back. Her hand came up to curl around his metal shoulder and one of her legs entwined with his as she continued to sleep.
Bucky sighed deeply and closed his eyes, savouring the familiar, comforting weight of her against him after having been without her for so many months. He could feel the softness of the cotton t-shirt and silk pyjama shorts she wore against the skin of his bare chest. The summer night was hot, almost uncomfortably so even with the windows of the tower cracked open to try and tempt in a breeze, but nevertheless he basked in the warmth of her body curled against him.
Nightmares had once again come thick and fast while he had been away without her beside him to temper them and he had grown used to only getting brief snatches of sleep in the past few months.
Now, however, he got the sense that he would sleep deeply and well now that Katherine was back in his arms where she belonged.
Katherine inhaled a deep breath as she woke, turning her face into her pillow with a faint, sleepy groan. After a long moment she raised her head slightly, blinking in the morning sunlight streaming in through the large windows. She smiled at what she saw.
Bucky was fast asleep close beside her, laying on his stomach with his arms wrapped around his pillow. His face was tilted towards her with his hair loose and tangled around it, some of the jagged strands falling into his face. His eyes were closed and the corners of his mouth pulled down into a frown even in his sleep. He was dressed in just black boxer shorts with the duvet pushed down around his waist, exposing the smooth, muscled lines of his back to her gaze.
Her eyes travelled down the ridge of raised, red scar tissue where the metal of his arm met flesh; she was tempted to reach out and trace the line with her fingers, but knew better than to touch him unexpectedly while he was sleeping.
In fact, it was so rare to actually see him asleep since more often than not he would wake before her when they'd been in the cabin. The fact that he hadn't so much as twitched when she woke and shifted meant that he must be very tired indeed. Looking at him, she noted again the dark shadows under his eyes, speaking of weeks of sleepless nights.
She simply gazed at him for several minutes. Her heart felt impossibly full as she watched him sleep, happy to have him back beside her once more. She knew full well just how deep her feelings ran; to say that he had utterly changed her life would be an understatement.
Slowly, so as not to wake him, Katherine eventually started to get up from the bed with the intention of heading to the kitchen. She carefully pushed the duvet off herself and scooted towards the edge of the bed, trying to shift the bed as little as possible so as not to disturb him with the movement.
She thought for a second that she had made it, until a metal arm snaked around her waist, dragging her back and tucking her firmly against a warm body.
"Where do you think you're going?" Bucky asked her without opening his eyes, his tone mildly disgruntled and rusty from sleep.
Katherine grinned at this sleepy display of possessiveness, turning in his arms so that she was facing him. "I was going to go and make us some drinks," she explained quietly, gazing at him.
Bucky opened his eyes and blinked at her, his wintery eyes more blue than grey in the morning light. He hummed slightly and then reluctantly released her, turning onto his back with his metal hand beneath his head as he reclined on the pillows. "I've not had a decent cup of coffee in months," he admitted, still not sounding completely awake as he closed his eyes once more.
"And whose fault is that?" Katherine asked teasingly, enjoying the sight of him so lazy and relaxed in the morning light and more than a little amused that he was willing to let her go if it meant he was compensated with coffee. Unable to help herself, she leaned forward and pressed a brief kiss to his mouth, drawing back as he tried to deepen it.
"I'll be right back," she said, smiling as she slipped out of the bed before he could grab her once more.
Barefoot, she padded to the kitchen and found a pot of coffee already on, suggesting that Steve was up and about somewhere.
She pondered on having Bucky back in the tower as she waited for the kettle to boil to make her own tea. Things had changed between them; everything that had been unspoken and implied, both by their own words and the comments of others, was all out in the open after their side trip to the safe house and they were practically a couple without ever having been out on a date or even properly talked about their relationship.
That wasn't to say that the change was unwelcome, but Katherine still found herself slightly bewildered about where they would go from here, especially since Bucky didn't exactly have an 'average lifestyle,' so the ususal rules didn't apply.
She had tried to wait up for him the night before while he'd been in the bathroom, half wanting to talk to him and half wanting to pick up where they had left off in the safe house, but had been so tired that she had fallen asleep before he'd emerged from his shower.
She actually found herself glad that Bucky had put the brakes on before things had gone too far in the safe house - the squalid conditions aside, once she'd had time to reflect on what she wanted on the flight back to New York, she found that she didn't want to rush this. Old, lingering insecurities from the ex-boyfriend who had cheated on her numerous times had risen and she wanted to take the time to make sure they were both comfortable with this change in their relationship.
With their drinks made, she made her way back to the bedroom, quietly entertained at the domesticity of bringing a man coffee in bed.
Bucky turned his head to look at her as she pushed the bedroom door open with her foot. He was still reclining on his back among the pillows and tangled duvet, wearing just a pair of black boxers. She wasn't quite used to seeing him like this; it had been the tail-end of winter when he'd left and he'd always worn t-shirts to bed as well as long pyjama bottoms - still, she wasn't exactly complaining at being treated to the sight of his chiselled torso.
He sat up as she approached the bed with a mug in each hand and reached out to take them from her, putting them on the bedside table beside him to cool and freeing her of her burden.
Katherine climbed back into the bed and was immediately pulled back into his arms. She felt him sigh in contentment as she settled against his side, curled into him with her head pillowed on his bare chest. His body was warm against hers, his arms wrapped tight around her.
After a long moment of quiet, comfortable stillness Bucky's flesh hand started to wander down her back, clearly more awake now. His fingers slowly trailed their way down her spine, moving downwards, over the curve of her backside and down the back of her thigh, only to pause just before her knee and travel slowly up again.
Katherine caught her breath as she felt him hardening against her hip, feeling his chest rising and falling with slightly quicker breaths as his hand moved over her body.
His fingers travelled along the waistband of her pyjama shorts, brushing the narrow strip of exposed skin of her lower back between her camisole and the shorts.
There was a moment's pause, then Bucky suddenly moved. He rolled her onto her back and shifted so that he was half above her with his weight braced on his metal hand, a bright, expentant look that fairly took her breath away in his eyes.
He lowered his face so that his mouth hovered teasingly above her own, drawing back scant millimetres as she tried to raise her lips to his. Their noses brushed as he purposefully drew out the moment before a kiss for several long seconds, before finally pressing his lips feverently to hers.
Katherine almost immediately parted her lips, allowing Bucky to deepen the kiss with a faint groan deep in his throat. Her hands were exploring his arms, shoulders and torso, finding the metal of his arm to be almost as warm as the rest of his skin after having been in bed.
She moved so that she was laying completely on her back, spreading her legs so that he was able to move between them as they kissed, their bodies pressed together with him supporting himself on his arms above her.
"God, what you do to me, doll ... " Bucky rasped against her skin, moving to kiss her throat as she tightly gripped his shoulders.
His mouth moved painfully slowly down over her collarbone to the swell of her breasts, kissing his way along the neckline of the camisole she'd worn to bed. He made no move to touch her further and she arched her back to encourage him.
Fully hard, Bucky thrust his hips against her core in response to her pressing herself against him. It was an instinctive, seemingly involuntary movement since he then forced himself to be still. His kisses on her collarbone faltered as he drew back and held his weight off her with trembling tension, his eyes still closed as he caught his breath.
"Hey … look at me," Katherine said softly as he hesitated, frowning up at him in concern. "Bucky?"
He didn't immediately meet her eyes and she took his face in her hands and waited until he eventually opened his eyes and raised his gaze to hers. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly, sensing that something was wrong.
Bucky took a deep breath, still cradled between her thighs.
"I'm … worried about hurting you," he eventually admitted, a single crease between his brows to evidence his concern as he continued to hold his weight off her.
He then shook his head slightly, his eyes at once conflicted and dark with desire. "I want you so much, but you're so small, so breakable, and with the serum and my arm …" He trailed off and took a deep breath. "I just need to be sure that I'm in control."
"We don't have to do anything," she said earnestly, worried that she had pressured him into something that he wasn't comfortable with after what had happened between them in the safe house. "There's no rush."
He nodded, looking slightly relieved, and then lowered his mouth back to her neck. He pressed a soft, open mouthed kiss to her pulse point.
"Just this then," he said against her skin, drawing the line of what he was comfortable with. "For now."
She nodded in turn and he drew back slightly, giving here a small crooked grin that nearly stopped her heart. "Besides, I still need to take you on that date," he pointed out with a glimmer of amusement.
Katherine laughed delightedly at his old fashioned manners, looping her arms around his neck. "You won't hear me complaining," she said with a grin, still laying beneath him. "Tonight, after the meeting?"
"It's a date," Bucky agreed with no small amount of satisfaction.
He kissed her lightly once more and then rolled off her, sitting up to pass her the mug of tea on the bedside table as easily and naturally as if they'd been waking up together for years.
Katherine grinned at the domesticity of being sat in bed and talking quietly with mugs of tea and coffee in their respective hands, savouring this small moment of intimacy before they had to get up for the day.
Bucky tapped his metal fingers on the tabletop and surpressed a sigh as he impatiently waited for the meeting regarding the attack on the base in Sokovia to end, it now being well into the afternoon.
He was not happy with the idea of working with a team, still preferring to go in alone, but recognised that in returning to the tower with Hydra still out there meant joining up if he wanted to be involved.
He was used to being given orders and following them, or, more recently, simply acting on his own initiative as he'd attached Hydra bases and safe houses, and so now found himself unconfortable with the team dynamic that he had scorned when it had first been suggested to him months ago.
Sitting in on a committee meeting and discussing tactics as a team was not exactly his style, even if it was Steve leading the meeting.
And considering that said tactics seemed to consist of landing the quinjet in the far woods, taking on the perimeter guards, getting as close to the base as they could before they lost the element of surprise and then simply giving them hell, he was not sure why the meeting had lasted for so long.
He was anxious to return to Katherine, who hadn't been involved in the meeting, it being only for those who would be in the field tomorrow.
With the conversation deviating on to how Bruce would be involved in the mission, whether or not it would be a 'code green,' as they dubbed it, Bucky allowed his mind to drift.
He thought back on the relaxed morning he'd shared with Katherine, savouring the intimacy of having woken up with her once more. Having her in bed against him had filled him with contentment, though he still had a lingering worry about Hydra and whether or not he'd made the right decision in choosing to return.
That said, even this worry was not enough to dispel the sense of satisfaction of having her in his arms again, especially with their burgeoning physical relationship. His caution over hurting her had stopped things from becoming too heated so far, and so he'd been forced to see to himself in the shower once again lest he come to the meeting with lingering arousal.
"Got something better to be doing, Marco?" Tony Stark asked, noticing his preoccupation and rudely cutting across Steve as he tossed what appeared to be a blueberry into his mouth.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Bucky replied without looking at him, not having warmed to Stark despite Katherine having become good friends with him - probably something to do with the unassailable guilt he felt whenever he looked at the man, reminded of his parents.
"Likewise, Cap," Clint added, checking his watch. "Can we wind this up?"
"Sure, we're about done," Steve said, looking only mildly annoyed at his briefing being cut short. "You all know what you're doing. Wheels up at 0600 hours tomorrow morning."
The group disbanded, heading their separate ways around the tower and Steve fell into step beside Bucky as they made their way back to his floor.
"What's got you so preoccupied?" Steve asked as they walked. "Is it the mission tomorrow?"
"No," Bucky said simply. There was a pause, then he glanced at his friend before elaborating. "Katya and I are going out tonight."
"I suppose you can now that she's cleared your faces from the system," Steve replied musingly. He then frowned slightly, glancing at him as they walked. "Do you need money or anything?"
Bucky actually laughed at that - more of a small, quiet chuckle really, but a laugh nevertheless.
"I've spent the past few months raiding every base and safe house in Europe and stockpiling the supplies," he told him in a tone of satisfaction, viciously amused at having been able to take this small revenge on Hydra. "I've got more than enough for Katya and I to live comfortably for a lifetime stashed away in various places and several thousand in both Euros and dollars in my bag; should be enough for a night on the town with my girl."
Steve chuckled at that in turn. "I suppose they owe you that much at least," he agreed wryly. He clapped him easily and familiarly on the shoulder as the elevator doors opened on his floor. "Have fun, you deserve a win," he said warmly, heading off to his office.
Bucky, meanwhile, made his way to the bedroom that he and Katherine shared. He pushed open the door and paused in the doorway, staring once again.
Katherine had been sat working at her dual computer screens in the corner, wearing her reading glasses, but she stood up when he opened the door, hurriedly taking off her glasses as she did so.
She was dressed as he'd never seen her before, wearing black heels and a dark red dress in the distinctive style of the 1940s. The bodice of her dress hugged the curves of her breasts, emphasizing her small waist and left the skirt to flare over her hips and then fall to her knees. Her long, dark hair had been curled and pulled back from her face, leaving the rest to fall in waves down her back. Her lips were tinted an alluring dark red to match her dress and her eyes were smokey.
His gaze wandered over her body and then settled briefly on the deep V at her neckline displaying her creamy throat, where the silver chain that he knew held his dog tags vanished down between her breasts, before lifting to her face once more.
She looked like an old fashioned movie star, all sultriness and glamour, and for a moment he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her.
"What do you think?" she asked nervously, smoothing her hands over the material of her dress and drawing his eyes briefly back down to the curve of her waist and hips.
He didn't reply.
Instead, he wordlessly closed the bedroom door behind him and slowly crossed the room until he was standing right in front of her. He stared down at her, his eyes still moving over her face and eventually settling on her dark red lips.
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and she blinked up at him, her lashes long and dark. "Bucky?" she said quietly, questioningly, since he'd still said nothing.
Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her without warning, leaning down to press his mouth ardently to hers and tasting the lipstick on her lips.
She swayed on her feet, her hands coming up to grip his shoulders to steady herself.
He drew back after a long moment, noting with no small amount of satisfaction that she looked thoroughly dazed, her pupils blown wide and her lips still parted.
"You look beautiful," he told her honestly, his voice hoarse. He leaned in again, his mouth just brushing hers. "So damn beautiful," he breathed against her red lips before kissing her in earnest once more.
It was Katherine's turn to draw back. "Keep talking like that and we won't make it out at all," she said shakily, giving him a wry smile.
Bucky shook his head.
"Nuh uh, darlin'," he said, taking her chin between his fingers and thumb. "Considering how long I made you wait while I was away, you deserve a night out on the town." He tilted her face up to his once more, pressing a single, light kiss to her lips. "Just give me a minute to change."
He released her with a small chuck beneath her chin and crossed the room to the wardrobe to change his shirt.
She stood at the mirror, fixing the lipstick that he'd smudged, and he was acutely aware of her watching him in the glass as he pulled the long-sleeved t-shirt he had been wearing above his head. He shrugged on a white shirt and buttoned it up, and then grabbed a tie. She came over to join him, lifting his collar and helping to tie the tie just as she'd done when they'd gone to visit Brooklyn.
Taking the time to grab his gloves and money from his bag, he turned to her and held out his hand, which she immediately reached out to take. "Let's go then, doll."
Sorry for the slight delay in updating, these last few weeks have been a bit manic!
Thank you for all of your kind words and condolences on the last chapter, I really appreciated it.
Big thank you to aunt-kia for betaing for me!
Hope you enjoyed this (rather fluffy, admittedly) chapter - next up, their date and the Sokovia mission!
Leave a review, my lovelies :)