Fine Line (Bucky Barnes x OC)

At Arm's Length

It had only been a week, but Luna had already contemplated strangling Megan at least twenty times. Today's shopping trip with the perky blonde was the cause for about half of those impulses. Luna wasn't what you would call perky, so the time she spent with Megan was draining. If she was forced to choose between torture or female bonding, she was sure that she would fall to her knees and beg for torture over spending another second shopping or having 'girl talk'. She was honestly starting to wonder why Tony even chose her for this mission. He knew her personality was the complete opposite of what the mission called for. If he wanted someone who could fake being a bubbly, doe eyed housewife, he picked the wrong girl.

She was doing her best, but it was hard to keep her sarcastic remarks and murderous stares to herself. At least she had finally found neutral ground with Bucky. Luna had kept her distance from him as best as she could. Thankfully there hadn't been a repeat of what had happened the night they arrived or the morning after. After taking a day to get her thoughts in order, she felt more prepared to complete the mission. What she felt when Bucky kissed or touched her was a normal reaction. He was handsome and he was giving her attention that she hadn't experienced in years, but it was all fake. From their flirting to the way he held her close when they introduced themselves to Megan and Thomas.

Then there were the little moments in between the acting. The way he looked at her as if he were truly worried. The way he made her feel safe when he comforted her after they first met Thomas. The way he kissed her, even when he swore it was just practice. All the little things in between the lies they were weaving felt so real, but she told herself that they weren't. They were nothing more than fuel for their deception.

The agreement to put their differences aside was only because their feud was threatening to compromise their mission and their team. It was a necessity that was going well...as long as she kept her distance from him. It was easier to avoid him in the sprawling Avengers compound where she literally had multiple points of exit at all times if she needed to create space between herself and the old grump. Being confined to an eighteen hundred square foot house, however, was a challenge.

Sharing a bed made it damn near impossible to maintain any kind of boundaries between the two. Everything she had tried in order to keep them apart as they slept, had failed. Their bodies gravitated to one another as they slept and no amount of pillow or blanket walls had stopped them from finding each other during the night. Luna eventually gave up trying to cut herself off from Bucky as they slept, knowing that her efforts were fruitless. She would always end up tucked against him by morning time. That was the one form of contact that she allowed herself to have with him. It was the only form of intimacy she could have with him.

Luna walked through the downstairs, looking around the rooms for Bucky. He wasn't anywhere in sight, but she heard a faint creek come from upstairs and realized that he must be listening into the devices she had planted. Luna had managed to get Megan to invite her over for coffee while Thomas attended a 'work meeting'.She took the chance to place a listening device in his office, their bedroom, and the kitchen. They hadn't caught much in the few days that the devices had been active, but it was still early.

All she wanted was dinner and to fall into bed, but she couldn't let Bucky do all the surveillance. Before heading upstairs to relieve him, Luna walked to the bedroom and dropped her one shopping bag onto the bed. Her muscles ached and her feet were sore from walking around the mall for the last four hours. If she had any hope of sitting in a stiff chair for the next few hours, she needed to soak some of the tension out of her body. She had time to run a quick bath and relax for at least half an hour before she needed to be upstairs.

She ran the water as hot as she could stand, adding a small amount of sweet smelling bubble bath, and undressed then sunk into the steaming water. She audibly sighed as the warmth loosened her muscles and the pain started to seep from her body. Luna's eyes closed and she emptied her mind as she relaxed deeper into the water. A moment after her eyes shut, a loud knock sounded on the door.