Rose starred at the cake sitting in front of her like it would bite her. Objectively speaking, the slice of chocolate cake looked appealing- hell, it looked down right decadent. The slice was as big as her head, moist, fluffy chocolate layered with rich, gooey fudge. It was food porn in every sense of the word. It had been made almost exclusively for her- part of yet another impromptu party, this one thrown by Darcy. She desperately, desperately wanted to try it. Despite her desire, however, she just couldn't.
She thought that her hesitance had two probable causes.
The first, was her long ingrained instincts. As a rule, Rose generally avoided baked goods- mostly because she was allergic to just about every damn ingredient used to make them. If she so much as thought about flour her throat swelled up. It had been better for everyone if she stuck to the fruits and vegetables that were safe for her to eat. As such, her brain is screaming that if she so much as tastes a single molecule of this cake, she's going to end up in the damn hospital.
The second, and much larger issue, is the shape of the cake it had been cut from.
Across from her, Darcy gives her a maniacal grin, eyes shooting between the slice of cake and Rose's conflicted expression. When the new goddess doesn't immediately dig in to the slice, a theatrical pout appears on her face, navy blue eyes batting ridiculously as she whines at her.
"Rosie, come on- the cake isn't going to murder you." She pauses, nose wrinkling as she eyes the blonde speculatively. "At least, not anymore it won't." Rose scowls at her, waving the fork she's been clutching in her general direction.
"Maybe I'd be more excited to eat this if the cake wasn't a penis cake." Darcy let out a delighted cackle, waggling her eyebrows "suggestively".
"It's a cock cake- alliteration is important. Besides, what 'Congrats on the D' party is complete without a cock cake?" Before Rose could do more than sputter at her, Darcy continued. "Don't get shy on me now, Rosie-Posy. You spent close to a week as the filling to a super soldier sandwich. This is definitely not the first man missile to cross your lips." Her eyes sparkling with humor, she finishes, "Though it is probably the largest."
Shows what she knows.
She's clearly never seen Steve naked.
Rose figures she must have accidentally said that aloud because the brunette's eyes suddenly light up, an unholy, gleeful cackle escaping her as she all but collapses from laughter. Her cackling is only made worse when, seconds later, Steve appears next to her, eyebrows raised in amused confusion.
"I thought I heard my name. Did you call for me, baby doll?" Darcy positively howls, eyes darting between the "cock cake" and the rapidly expanding blush on Rose's face as the blonde desperately tries to backpedal. Steve gives her an "innocent" look, sidling up next to the much smaller woman and placing a tender hand on her lower back, gently boxing her into the kitchen island she'd been sitting at for the last 15 minutes. Despite her embarrassment, a small smile was working its way onto her mouth, periwinkle blue eyes sparkling as she watched her friend laugh delightedly.
Steve's just happy to see her smile.
When he had helped plan this little party (something he would deny till his dying day- mostly because it was supposed to be a "Welcome Back" party), it had only been with that goal in mind. They'd spent nearly a week wrapped up in the bungalow, exploring each other and causing thousands of dollars' worth of property damage. However, they'd inevitably had to return to the "real world" (mostly because they'd run out of food). This return also meant the return of "real world" problems- namely how they'd explain Rose's Ascension without actually explaining her Ascension.
Athena, of course, had already figured that bit out.
The explanation they had gone with was that Rose had been exposed to Terrigenesis during their beach trip- thus explaining her physical changes and super soldier-esque enhancements (along with any other abilities that popped up). As far as explanations went, it was probably the best and least complicated they had. It was also one that no one would blink an eye at back at the Compound. Inhumans had become common enough that they had entire protocols set up to handle them- protocols that Rose had to follow if they wanted to keep up with their cover. Most of the protocol was based around physical examinations and an entire gamut of tests- none of which Rose had really minded. If anything, she found the medical tests strangely soothing, something familiar in a strange, new world.
What she hadn't appreciated was the mandatory 5 days in quarantine.
Before she'd met Darcy, she had gone entire weeks without touching another human being. She hadn't realized how much she'd gotten used to being touched- how much she craved it- until she was locked in a Hulk-proof box in virtual isolation for nearly a week. By the end of the second day she'd just felt off, cold and jittery down to her very core. Her boys and her friends had, of course, come to visit her (you'd be hard pressed to find Steve or Bucky anywhere else), but the feeling had just gotten worse. By the end of it she had felt like crawling out of her damn skin, itchy and fragile in the most off-putting way. As soon as she's freed she latches on to her boys like a damn baby possum, jittery and over sensitive like she was going through withdrawal. She spends the rest of the night either curled up in one of their laps or sandwiched between them (clothing optional), savoring the feel of their skin and the beloved, familiar heat of them. They do their best to comfort her, but the forced isolation combined with the plethora of medical exams puts their girl in a rut they can't seem to pull her out of, the echoes of the worst parts of her past combining with her conflicted feelings about her body to make her borderline morose.
Steve decides that a gathering with all of her friends might just be enough to pull her out of her funk- something to remind her that she wasn't alone anymore.
Darcy being Darcy, takes his idea and makes it her own.
Steve thinks that, if it had been anyone else, a "Congrats on the D" party would have been borderline bullying. As its Darcy, everyone is instead hopelessly amused- mostly because of the sheer amount of effort she put into it.
In addition to the "cock cake" the brunette had created a massive streamer, the title of the party emblazoned in rainbow letters, an eggplant emoji bracketing each side of the exclamation. There's penis shaped confetti and balloons, all of her decorations more at home in a bachelorette party than in what was supposed to be a "welcome back" party.
Rose had been shocked and embarrassed by the theme of the gathering for all of two seconds. Then, despite her best efforts to be angry, she'd started cackling, laughing so hard at the sheer ridiculousness of her life that she'd ended up having to sit down. Darcy had taken the opportunity to drag Rose into the kitchen to show her the absolutely massive cake she'd made for her- at which point the blonde had admitted to never having actually eaten cake before.
As offended as Darcy had gotten, you would have thought you'd insulted her child…Or Pedro…Or Pedro's child (assuming he'd had any before the shelter snipped him and ended any future lines of the House of Pedro).
This had led the brunette shoving a slice into her hand, demanding that she try it- waiting to cut the cake be damned- and Rose's impromptu staring contest with a confectionary good.
It also currently led to her absolute shit of a boyfriend acting like the bridge dweller he secretly was, trying to see how many fascinating colors she could turn while trying backpedal her way out of explaining what exactly she'd been talking about. Desperate to shut herself up, she finally shoves a bite of the cake into her mouth.
Immediately, her mind goes blank.
It's just…It's so fucking good.
She makes a breathless, almost wounded noise, eyes rolling as she slowly pulls the fork from her mouth, cheeks hollowing as she sucks the icing off of the prongs with an obscene sounding pop. She savors the fluffiness of the cake, the icing melting on her tongue like a sugary cloud before letting out a little whine when she swallows, disappointed that the bite was gone.
What little of her brain is still functioning very helpfully reminds her that she still has almost a whole slice left.
Disappointment temporarily abated, she makes an airy, joyful noise before fully digging into the cake, moaning ecstatically after every bite, eyes closed as she blissfully wiggles in her chair. Far too quickly, she finishes the whole slice, her fork hitting the plate with a sad clink.
It's only then that she realizes that the room has gone completely silent.
Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Rose blinks and turns to face the rest of the room, curious as to what exactly had elicited the stunned silence. What she's met with are a sea of blushing and amused faces- the most shocking of which is probably Darcy. Her usually unflappable friend is a brilliant red color, eyes slightly glazed with her mouth just the slightest bit parted as she rapidly glances between the empty plate and Rose's confused face.
I wonder what's wrong with her?
….Please tell me you're joking.
What?
You basically performed fellatio on a fork- I mean it was definitely justified, but still.
Well…this is awkward.
She can feel a blush swiftly spread up her chest and neck, finally heating up her face with a near burning intensity. Before she can even begin to apologize Pepper, who'd been (surprisingly) kicking everyone's ass at Super Mario Smash Bros, speaks up, face pink but looking terribly amused.
"I'll have what she's having." Tony, who's seated beside her, looks immensely proud at the reference, waggling his eyebrows at Rose while pressing a beaming kiss into his girlfriend's hair.
"I'll say. Do you and the cake need some alone time, Rocky?" Rose scowls at him, tightening her grip on the fork in her hand while silently arguing with herself over the merits of stabbing him with the instrument. Any thoughts of homicide are cut off when the hand resting laxly on her back abruptly tightens, sharply pulling her back into Steve's body.
For the second time that afternoon, her mind goes blank.
Steve is hard- ridiculously so. He'd known he was in trouble after that first bite, all of the blood in his body rushing south so quickly he was honestly surprised he didn't pass out. Every bite afterwards had been the best kind of torture, every breathy whine and ecstatic moan hitting him like a punch in the gut, liquid heat running through his veins and tightening his skin in that pleasant, familiar way. By the time she was done he'd had to resort to using the petite blonde as a human shield, lest his asshole friends catch sight of his not-so-little "problem". He can tell that Bucky is having a similar "problem", the former assassin going startlingly still in the middle of talking to (read: annoying) Sam, silver eyes darkening to a near pitch black. The brunet had taken the distraction Rose had created and slowly made his way over to them, flipping Natasha off when the red head gave him a subtle thumbs up, an amused smile just barely appearing on her lips.
By the time he makes it over to them, Rose's brain has finally reset and her libido has come raging to the front of her mind, twerking aggressively in celebration. She sucks in a sharp breath, periwinkle blue eyes shooting wide as she unconsciously sags into him. He hums at the subtle increase in weight, sliding a hand around to rest on the curve of her waist, fingers teasingly brushing the skin just underneath her borrowed shirt. Every caress sparks against her, heat crackling along her nerve endings with the intensity of a small explosion, like she has fireworks underneath her skin.
To the average onlooker, it's an innocent enough touch- hell, two weeks ago Rose probably wouldn't have thought much of it.
Now she knows better.
She knows every callous and whorl on his fingers. She knows the bone deep strength and the aching tenderness these hands are capable of. They've touched every inch of her body, taking her to heights she's never imagined herself capable of before taking her apart in the most delicious ways. She knows what they feel like in her hair, on her breasts, and caressing her thighs.
She knows what they feel like inside her.
It's an innocent enough touch, but she knows Steve means it as so much more. It's a reminder of the things he can do and has done to her- a wordless invitation. She's ready to leave with him before he even says a damn word. He bends over her shoulder, pressing a kiss into her hair before whispering in her ear, his voice a baritone purr.
"Baby doll….why don't we get out of here?" She shudders, eyes fluttering as she struggles to not just slump bonelessly into him. She really wants to take him up on that offer (despite the fact that they've only been in public for about 15 minutes now)- but she thinks she may have finally found something just as tempting. Terribly conflicted, she pouts, her voice coming out a breathy whine.
"But…but my cake…" There's a sudden scuffle followed by and indignant yelp and then Bucky is sprinting past them, the absolutely massive "cock cake" clutched protectively to his chest. Steve smiles into her hair, eyes glittering mischievously, before abruptly tossing Rose over his shoulder. She barely has enough time to process the unexpected change in position when the blond goes tearing after their boyfriend, only just dodging the various pillow projectiles aimed in their direction by their "booing" friends. Rose lets out a gleeful cackle, shooting her friends a cheeky wave as they escape the common room.
Darcy responds by pegging her in the face with a pillow- something that probably would have hurt if the blonde hadn't been too busy laughing.
Once they're out of firing range, Rose sits up on his shoulder, shooting the blond man a look of mixed amusement and confusion.
"Not that I'm complaining- but why steal the whole cake? I only really wanted another slice." Steve smirks at her, reaching up to give her a teasing smack on the ass, silently reveling in her laughter and the way the little stinging contact made her squirm on his shoulder.
"Rosie, for what I had in mind? We need the whole damn thing." Rose finds that she's not confused for much longer after that. It turns out that Steve is called "The Man with a Plan" for a damn good reason.
The only thing better than chocolate cake?
Chocolate cake in bed.
-_-_-_-Page-Break-_-_-_-_
Rose hummed contemplatively, squinting down at the familiar piece of pink paper clutched in her hand. The moonlight streaming in through the windows in Steve and Bucky's room just barely illuminated the page, the rosy color of the paper nearly purple in the silver lighting. She knew she should probably turn on a light, but she was loathe to wake Bucky up. Steve, snoring on the other side of the mattress, tended to sleep surprisingly deeply (at least when he was at home). Her dark haired lover, however, was up and aware at the slightest sound. While he fell back asleep fairly quickly (usually), she didn't want to risk waking him in the meantime- which a light would no doubt do. As such, she'd had to make do with what natural light was readily available, all the while listening to the now familiar noises of her sleeping boyfriends.
Sleep, however, was just out of her reach.
When she had first Ascended, she'd joyously thought that her bucket list was about to get a lot longer. Despite this thought, the reality of her situation had pushed this thought out of her mind, her focus instead shifting to creating a believable cover story and then dealing with said cover story. Darcy's cake (as inappropriate as it was) had reminded her, again, of all of the new, wonderful things that her new life could be. It was the nagging worry that she would forget this fact yet again that now kept her awake.
While Bucky had been throwing out the sheets (chocolate tended to stain), Rose had stumbled across her old list, resting innocently on Steve's nightstand. It had been painstakingly flattened out of the angry ball it had been made into, the wrinkles smoothed out by tender hands, and little notes had been doodled into the margins, Steve's neat, precise handwriting unmistakable. The sight had made her heart throb in her chest, her love a heavy, living thing under her breast. She had thought about making another list- of making a new, clean start- but the sight of her old one, so carefully maintained and lovingly commented on, changed her mind.
Her body may be different, but she was still Rose. The things she'd wanted before the ocean didn't suddenly disappear because she had different packaging. It felt like a disservice to herself to start a new list, like she was trying to make the "old" Rose disappear because she was ashamed of who she'd been- of who she still was.
Maybe, at one point, she had been.
She wasn't sure what she was now- but ashamed wasn't it.
The first chance she'd gotten she'd squirreled the list and a stray pen away, waiting for a quiet moment to add to the paper. Now, loosely draped in the sheets, her hair a tangled mess around her head and shoulders, she scratched away as quietly as she could, all of the things she'd longed to do, but been too caged by the limits of her body to accomplish, running through her head.
There were so many, in fact, that she hadn't written a damn thing.
Grumbling to herself, Rose shifted again, letting out a quiet hiss when her long hair got caught underneath her body. Internally cursing at the long locks, the blonde shifted as gently as she could, attempting to free herself to the best of her abilities. Rather than untangle herself, her maneuvering just made the knotting worse, every movement pulling tightly at her scalp. She'd just begun to contemplate hacking the mess off when she felt a warm, familiar hand slowly slide its way up her back, the unique callouses he'd made from firing various sniper rifles over the decades scrapping in the most delicious way against her skin. Gently, and with far more patience than Rose was currently capable of, Bucky untangled her hair, slowly but surely freeing her from her pinching prison. When he finally made it to the top of her head, Rose was all but purring underneath his hand, arching into the gentle ministrations while her eyes closed in relaxed bliss. Content with his impromptu brushing, Bucky lazily pulled himself closer to her naked body, pressing a half-asleep kiss onto her bare shoulder.
"Rosie, doll," his voice was a drowsy, grumble, barely louder than a whisper, "Why're you awake?" Rose scowled, perking up just enough to glare at the paper loosely clutched in her hand.
"I was trying to add things to my 'bucket' list but…." She trailed off, biting her lip in consternation before continuing, sounding lost. "There's just so much I want to do- I don't know where to start." The brunet hummed, running a soothing hand down her spine.
"I've never had a 'bucket' list, baby doll but…" He shifted, slowly adjusting until her back was pressed against her front, his head tucked into the crook of her shoulder. "When I first 'came back', there were a lot of things I missed- things I had to discover and rediscover. It was…it was overwhelming." He swallowed drily, nuzzling his nose into her hair while deliberately focusing on the here and now, unwilling to get caught up in the darker memories of those first tentative, desperate days of freedom. Grounded by the smell of her (peaches and something warm- like sunshine and cinnamon) he continued.
"I ended up paralyzed- so caught up in the endless possibility of it all that I just…I just stopped. Holed myself up in my room until I could 'figure myself out'." Underneath his hands, Rose listens enraptured, absorbing every detail of the "early days" that Bucky was usually so reluctant to talk about. He feels a smile unwillingly curl his lips, silver eyes crinkling slightly in remembrance. "Nat came and kind of kicked my ass into gear- made me realize that I was putting too much pressure on myself. What I needed to do, at least in the beginning, was keep it simple. A hot shower. A clean bed. Good beer. I didn't need to go through 70 years' worth of experiences on a deadline- I needed to enjoy the little things first." The petite blonde hummed, Bucky's advice running through her head and finally knocking loose some ideas. However, before she could start scratching at her list, the pink slip of paper was snatched out of her hand and placed back on one of the side tables. Rose finds herself squished up against his body, an indignant noise leaving her at the abrupt "manhandling". The brunet just shushed her in response, tucking her more securely against him before covering the more effectively with the sheet.
"You can do that in the morning. Sleep first." Realizing that any further attempts at "productivity" were probably futile, Rose gave into the aggressive cuddling, relaxing into his body and savoring the leather and spice smell of him. She's nearly asleep when he speaks again, his voice more of a growl than actual words.
"Oh, and baby doll? I'd make room for 'shopping' on that list. As much as I love putting you in my clothes, I think Darcy's got other ideas." Panic hits her like a bolt of lightning, hooded eyes shooting wide at his bland statement.
Oh shit…
I guess none of our clothes do fit….
I don't want to play dress up, damn it!
I get the feeling that we won't have much of a choice.
Maybe I can hide?
Against a goddess of the hunt, a technical genius, and a Natasha? Sure Jan.