affliction

ninety

Beth's POV

I slowly begin to wake up, my body feeling irrationally hot. I feel arms wrap around me tighter and Bucky grunts. "Stop moving. It's early."

I laugh into his chest. "Can't help it. I'm hot as shit."

He snorts out a laugh, rolling us over on the carpet and hovering above me, looking down at me with a smirk. "Yes, you are."

I roll my eyes at his joke, shoving him off of me and back onto the floor. We had sex pretty early on in the night, so we showered and then decided to turn on the fireplace and watch a movie in the living room. We both stayed naked, letting the fire, blankets, and shared body heat keep us warm. We didn't mean to fall asleep there, especially not with the fire lit. Thankfully, the house didn't burn down and take us with it. I was so tired that I'm honestly convinced being burned alive wouldn't have even woken me up.

I sit up, tearing the blanket off of me and going over to the fireplace. I squat down beside it, turning the gas valve off and watching the flames go out instantly. I stand back up and turn around, looking down at Bucky who has yet to move from the floor. "Up. I'm hungry."

He holds his hands out towards me, beckoning me back to the floor. "Down. I'm tired."

I roll my eyes at him, but decide to cave. Instead of moving to lay with him, though, I straddle his hips, the only thing now between our naked bodies is the thin throw blanket at his waist. I grab the hands that are still trying to get me to lay down and pull on them, sitting him up in front of me. I don't even give him a chance to form a rebuttal before wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pulling him into a hug. He instantly responds, tightly wrapping his arms around my waist and laying his head in my neck.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, just simply enjoying the company. It's when I rub my thumb against his metal arm that I finally decide to speak. "I'm proud of you."

"For?"

"You always keep your arm hidden from everyone in public. I was already proud of you yesterday morning when you decided to go out without your gloves, but then you ripped your sleeve off." I laugh a little, remembering the moment. "At first, I'll admit, it was pretty funny that that's how you decided to show the kid your arm, but when I really thought about it, it was actually really out of character of you. You weren't even checking to see if anyone was staring. We went through another hour of that place and you didn't even so much as glance as anyone. I'm just," I sigh, "-proud. Really proud of you."

His arms squeeze me tighter. "I didn't even think about it, if I'm being honest."

"You shouldn't. It's badass, no matter the history of it. You should have it out more."

He hums out a laugh, kissing my shoulder. "Thanks, baby." He leans back just enough to where our faces are in front of each other's. "Just know, the same goes for you."

Confusion clear on my face, I say, "That makes no sense, I don't have a badass metal arm to flaunt."

A smirk grows on his lips. "No, but you do have a wonderful ass that you're welcome to have on display any day."

I hold back my laugh, deciding to scold him instead. I unwrap my arms and shove his shoulders back, his body plopping back on to the carpet. I stand from my spot and begin to walk back towards the bedroom. "And here I was trying to be heartfelt."

He laughs loudly, his nose scrunching. "No, wait! I'm sorry, come back."

I turn my head away from him so he doesn't see my growing smile. "Nope. Get your ass up."

He doesn't reply, not even a groan. Just as I turn to look back down the hall and see what he's doing, I hear loud footsteps barreling towards me. I immediately turn back around and run full speed towards the bedroom, squealing as I go. I take a quick right into the master bedroom, slamming the door behind me and throwing my body up against it. He laughs loudly as he tries to push the door open, my back holding steady against it. "Jesus, I forget you're strong now."