The World Keeps Changing

Chapter 24

I stirred when I felt Steve wake, and rolled over stiffly as I felt him pulling away. "Stevie..." I said in a groggy whisper.

He paused and smiled down at me. "Hey, Cookie, g'mornin'," he whispered warmly in return.

"Nooo... Not yet." I groaned softly. I reached up and entwined my fingers behind his neck, pulling him back down to me. "No fair always leaving while I'm asleep, Stevie."

He chuckled, letting me pull him down on top of me into a hug. "I have to go, darlin'." He nuzzled against my neck.

"I know," I whispered. "Always a world to save. I just wanted a few minutes before you do."

He smiled and his lips moved in slow kisses along my throat. "I think I can find a minute." His hand drifted down to my waist as he came back up to kiss me, slow and deep, enveloping me with his arms, cradling my head. My hands stroked his chest and neck, playing in the hair at his nape.

When he pulled away, he looked as kiss drunk as I felt. "I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of how good you feel in my arms, Cookie."

I smiled up at him. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to you wanting to hold me like this, Stevie."

"Then, I have a new mission. To hold you so much it feels strange when I'm not."

I chuckled softly. "Then, I'll look forward to you finishing this mission so you can start that one." I kissed him again, just as slow and deep as the first, like I could make sure he still tasted me on his tongue for days. We finally broke the kiss and he gave me a few reluctant pecks on the mouth before pulling away.

I watched him leave. Always a good view. Then, I started moving to get up to go to the bathroom and was reminded why they say the day after a marathon isn't the worst. It's the second day. I could barely move, my legs and torso were so sore and stiff. I tried to stay quiet, but a little groan escaped me as I climbed back on the bed and I looked up to see Bucky already turned toward me, watching me with his soft gray eyes. "Hey, Buck."

"Feeling worse today, sweetheart?"

I nodded.

"I'm sorry. C'mere." He held his arms out to me and once he could reach me he pulled me into the curve of his body. "It's okay, you have nowhere to be."

I sighed into him and he met my sigh with his own as I snuggled into him. "How do you fit so perfect right here, sweetheart?" He kissed me in the hollow behind my ear. "Like I was meant to hold you."

I chuckled. "Goddamn fool."

"I am," he answered as fervently as he did the first time he ever said it to me. "Your fool." Only he didn't whisper it. He said it with a heat and fervor as his teeth grazed the shell of my ear and then his lips trailed down my neck.

I turned in his arms so I could look at him face-to-face. "Bucky, please don't say that." I kissed him, so he didn't take my words as a rejection. "Especially after everything you've been through. You don't belong to anyone. You're absolutely one of my people, and I love you d-"

He took my hand from his face, holding it against his heart. "I know what you're saying. But all I hear, all I want to hear right now, is that you love me." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my fingertips. "Because I love you, I think for longer than I understood that's what I was feeling. I want to be with you." He kissed his way down to my palm, eyes never leaving mine. "Whether that involves other people or not, I understand I have my own place in your heart." His lips touched my wrist. He cupped my palm to his face. "I am your fool. Because I couldn't imagine giving... trusting myself to anyone else."