BOOK 3 of the ORPHIC Series
CHURLISH
/ˈCHərliSH/
marked by a lack of civility.
~~~~~
Lucille 'Lucy' Opal Baker finds herself in the 21 century sporting the title of Aunt while lugging along h...
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"What feels wrong sometimes ends up being right."
Wakanda, Africa April, 2016
JAMES CARDED HIS FINGERS through Alpine's fur as Lucy rubbed her eyes sleepily, a yawn escaping her lips. She let her eyes flutter open, gazing up at James. She found her head in his lap, with Alpine's tail smacking against her head. She pursed her lips, poking the cat so she would move. Alpine mewed lowly as she turned and licked Lucy's face.
She huffed, wiping the saliva off her skin. She let her eyes settle back on James. He was quiet, deep in thought as he focused on Alpine's fur. His lips were pursed, a frown etched onto his face. Lucy reached upwards with one hand, placing it on his cheek. He blinked profusely, snapping himself out of his focused stare.
He glanced down at her.
"Hey, sleepyhead." He said with a gentle look.
Lucy hummed softly.
"Hey." She leaned upwards, pressing a soft peck on his cheek.
He smiled at her as she sat up, leaning against the bed frame and letting her head fall on his shoulder. She grasped his metal arm, letting her fingers trace the metal plates to his hand. He let her turn his palm over, and she examined the plates lining his forearm.
James cleared his throat.
"Do you think they could remove it?" He asked quietly.
Lucy blinked slowly.
She moved her fingers over the metal plates again. She let her nail click against the surface, warmed by her body heat. He allowed her to, remaining silent as she thought to herself. She knew James was a formidable force with or without the arm—it gave him an advantage, of course, but he was still strong without it.
But. . .he'd never—he'd never wanted to remove it.
She supposed the arm made him feel marked by HYDRA, more so than the conditioning burned into his mind. Lucy had scars that healed over themselves on her back—that was what HYDRA gave her. But James. . .James had that metal arm, fused to his ruined skin.
"I think. . .Wakanda is capable of everything technological, so," she spoke softly in an effort to not wake Steve, "yes. They could remove it."
James let his metal fingers entwine with hers.
"Would it hurt?" His voice was even quieter now.
Lucy placed a hand on the scar hiding underneath his tank top. She carefully moved it, letting her fingers trace over the burn scars and the once molten metal. She gently pressed against the skin, feeling the metal plates undoubtedly welded to his skin.
