The Ex And The Soulmate

This was pre-Iron Man,

Steve showed us to the shower, Tony followed us. As Bucky and I walked to the stalls, Steve left but Tony stayed by the door. I guess I couldn't blame him.

The shower stalls were a good enough height that everything important was covered, but we could still see each other in the next stall over, but they were wide enough that you could only see their heads unless you really tried. The design was amazing.

I started to walk inside one but Bucky didn't let go of my hand. "Hey," I whispered. "I'm right next to you. You can see me the whole time, okay?" He nodded and let go of my hand.

I stripped in the stall and it looked like Bucky did too. The water was instantly hot and felt exceptionally perfect. I could see the dirt coming off of my before I even used any soap. I started with my hair, shampooing twice to make sure nothing was left. There was a comb beside the conditioner and I used it, taking extra time to get the little bits of tangles out. I heard a grunt from beside me and looked at Bucky.

He was not having such luck with his hair. I doubt they really let him take care of himself much there, and he put in shampoo, making the tangles more difficult. I could see him getting frustrated so I stepped out of my shower.

Tony started to walk towards me but I held my hand out to stop him. "Tony, do you think you could get us clothes to change into?"

He wanted to argue. I saw it all over his face, but he left anyway.

I walked to Bucky's stall and stopped right outside of it. "Can I come in?" He nodded, avoiding my eyes. "Here, I'll help. First let's rinse the shampoo out."

Bucky lowered his head and rinsed, his eyes closed as the water and bubbles poured down his face. How long has he been unable to take care of himself?

"Okay, I'll start with conditioner, it'll help with knots. I'll use my fingers to comb through first then a comb, if it hurts, let me know." I made sure to speak softly, he was in a new place, with new people, and now he and I were both currently naked. I don't think he could have been more vulnerable. He only nodded, keeping his eyes closed.

I took a good amount of conditioner and applied it to his hair, making sure the ends were fully saturated. I started using my fingers to run through his hair. He let out a sigh, how long has it been since anyone nicely touched him? I had so many questions for him.

"Okay, I'm going to use the comb now." I waited for a response before continuing.

He opened his eyes and looked into mine. "You didn't tell him."

I wasn't prepared for him to talk. "W-what?"

"That I can hurt you." He mumbled, moving his hand up to brush over my cheek. By the way it felt, likely it was bruised.

"I don't think prosthetics obey the typical laws of soulmates." I responded, leaning my head into his hand. It felt rough and scratchy, definitely needed lotion after this shower. "Besides, are you going to hurt me?" He shook his head immediately. "So then what Tony doesn't know won't hurt him." I smiled up at him and watched as his eyes softened.

He stared into my eyes a bit longer before closing his eyes, allowing me to continue with his hair. I combed through, starting at the ends, gently removing all the tangles and I began to hum. I don't even know what song it was, just felt... right.

This entire time I've felt so comfortable with him, ignoring how we were both naked and especially close. Not once did either of our eyes wander, making it uncomfortable or taking advantage of the others vulnerability.

Until it was time for him to rinse his hair out. He stepped back into the water. He used his hands to run through his hair, and the metal one got stuck.