there is nothing for me - t - darcy/bucky - chapter two
title: There is nothing for me (but to love you)
series: project phoenix
category: thor/captain america
genre: romance/friendship/humor
ship: bucky/darcy, bucky & darcy & steve (friendship)
chapter rating: pg-13/teen
overall rating: nc-17/explicit
polyvore: darcy's outfit
word count: 5,678
summary: (au) It's 1933 when Darcy Lewis meets a couple of boys that will change her whole life. It all starts with a skinny, sickly boy playing hero; where it's headed, she could have never guessed.
previous: chapter one,
There is nothing for me (but to love you)
-novel-
II.
Darcy's head fell back as she laughed, taking Cherry's hand and swinging around the dance floor with her, ducking under the taller girl's arm and swinging her hips to side as her heels rocked in the opposite direction. Smiling widely, Cherry gave Darcy's hand a yank and pulled her in close, one hand falling to Darcy's rounded hip while she linked their fingers together and moved them around in a large circle, and then dipped her down in a half-moon twist, pulling Darcy up easy.
With flushed cheeks and a bright smile, Darcy happily swayed in her friend's arms.
"You got an audience, Darcy-doo," Cherry told her, winking at her as she raised a thin, drawn-on eyebrow for emphasis. She maneuvered them across the floor, closer to the edge, leading back to the bar. "They're cute, too. Mismatched if I ever saw two people, but I wouldn't kick 'em outta bed if they asked me over."
Darcy frowned in confusion, but then Cherry was spinning her out, releasing her hand just in time for her to go careening away and right into a firm chest, a pair of arms circling her quick. Whoever caught her gave out an 'oof' as her body pushed him back a few inches, but he got his feet under him easy enough.
"You all right, doll?"
Swallowing tightly, she tipped her head back to see herself in, none other than, Bucky Barnes' arms. He had a nice chest, she found herself thinking absently, before giving her head a shake.
"You're not all right?" he asked, brow furrowed as his eyes dropped low and he ran a hand down her back. "She spun you pretty hard. You twist an ankle or somethin'?"
"Ain'tcha gonna introduce me, Darcy-doo?" Cherry's sultry voice interrupted.
Relieved, Darcy pulled back abruptly from Bucky and moved to stand next to her friend. She didn't like that swooping feeling in her belly. Never in her life had she ever had a problem with any cat catching her tongue, but for just that brief moment, staring up into concerned blue eyes, she couldn't come up with anything to say.
"Since when do you have any trouble introducing yourself?" Darcy asked, grinning over at Cherry.
"Well, with fine company like you're keepin', I thought I'd try bein' polite for once." She winked, her dark lashes looking impossibly long. "Now, who's the handsome one? Introduce him first." She thrust a thumb at Steve, who seemed to choke on his drink, spitting the straw out and wiping his hand on his pants before he thrust it forward for her to take.
"Steve Rogers, ma'am."
"This is the sweetheart I told you helped me out last week," Darcy explained.
For a moment, Cherry's lighthearted expression wilted away. She'd been more than a little upset when she found out the trouble Darcy had found herself in and even offered to walk her to the diner herself, each and every Saturday. Darcy loved her for it, even if she didn't plan on taking Cherry up on it. She was an independent woman, and no way was she letting some crumb* ruin that.
"So you're the knight in shinin' armour, huh?" Cherry gave Steve's hand a tug. "How about's a dance from the hero?"
"O-oh," he said, his eyes darting up toward Bucky, who was grinning at him, nodding his chin toward the dance floor encouragingly.
"I, uh, I'd like that," Steve agreed to Cherry, letting her pull him out onto the floor.
Smiling, Darcy chuckled under her breath. "She'll be a handful for him. She'll probably dance him right into bed."
"Good for him," Bucky said, leaning back to rest his elbows on the bar behind him. "So, this is where you come to every Saturday, huh?" He took a look around the room. "This is better than what's hoppin' in Manhattan?"
She turned to him, head tipped. "You don't believe me?"
"Hard to believe anything in Brooklyn's got it better than Manhattan… Thought you folks were supposed to have it good out there." He put a hand to his chest rather mockingly. "Poor folks like us are only supposed to dream about what you got."
"You dream about me a lot since last Saturday, Barnes," she replied, mouth curving up teasingly.
He chuckled, good and low, and ducked his chin down for a moment. Licking his lips, he turned to look at her, and Darcy would be a no good liar if she said she didn't feel the heat of his gaze right down to her toes. She bit her lip and willed herself not to shiver, turning her gaze instead to the half-empty glass Steve had been sipping at. Picking it up, she finished it off, blaming it on the heat of the speakeasy and the exercise of dancing with Cherry for why she felt so parched suddenly.
"And if I did, what would you say? " Bucky wondered, staring at her profile.
"I'd tell ya to keep dreamin'," she offered back, looking over at him from the corner of her eyes.
His mouth curled up on one corner; the kind of smile that promised all too much. "Happily," he said.
Darcy took a seat on a stool and turned so she was facing the dance floor, one leg crossed over the other.
Steve didn't look like he had any idea where his feet should be going, but he sure did look happy, smiling widely up at Cherry as she took no offense to his poor dancing skills, instead leading him around whichever way she was going and telling him just how to do it, their hands still twined.
"Your girl's a good one," Bucky said, looking out on the dance floor with affection.
"Cherry's sweet as honey…" she agreed, "until she isn't."
He arched an eyebrow back at her.
Darcy shrugged. "Girl like her, she likes who she likes and won't apologize if she doesn't. She knows what she wants and she isn't afraid to get it. Never known anybody as confident as her."
"Not even you?"
Darcy scoffed. "Cherry and me, I only wish I was strong like her. She left home when she was younger than me, made her own way, didn't matter who told her she couldn't. She does what she wants and she's happier for it."
"So what's stoppin' you?" Bucky wondered, head tipped curiously.
"Maybe one day… When I'm done school. Get a ticket to somewhere else, far away from home, never look back." She smiled then, shaking her head. "Enough about that. What are you doin' down here? All my Saturdays, I've never seen you or Steve crowdin' the bar."
"Maybe you just never noticed us before," he said, turning to face her, elbow resting on the bar as he waved a finger at the bartender to fill up her empty glass.
"Steve, maybe. He's small, easy enough to blend in, especially on a busy night."
"Not me?" He grinned at her, eyes washing over her face, and then he reached over and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, letting his fingers skim down her neck.
"Don't go stroking yourself too hard, cowboy. I would've noticed you because Cherry would've had you eating outta the palm of her hand ages ago."
He chuckled. "That right?"
"Yeah, that's right," she told him, sitting a little higher and picking up her topped up glass.
"Maybe her hand's not the one I wanna be eatin' outta…" he told her, stepping a little closer, enough that her knee was pressed to his thigh.
Knocking back the rest of her drink, Darcy looked up at him. "Shame…" she murmured, hopping down from the stool, tipping her head back to see him when she found them nearly chest to chest. "She's got nice hands." With that, she turned on her heel and walked out onto the dance floor.
"Darcy," Steve said, excitedly. "Look, I'm gettin' the hang of it!"
"I'm impressed, Rogers. You mind if I cut in."
"Of course," he said, offering Cherry's hand to her.
She laughed, shaking her head, and took his hand instead, drawing it over her shoulder and pulling him further onto the floor.
Cherry merely smiled at him before she walked off back to the bar, waving a hand to fan her flushed cheeks.
"All right, let's see those moves," Darcy said, turning to face Steve once more.
He swallowed tightly. "I'm not great," he warned.
"You don't have to be great. You just have to have fun," she assured, moving her hips good and slow, getting a feel for the song before she sped herself up, her shoulders moving along, too. Taking Steve's hands up, she encouraged him to move with her. And slowly, he started to get the rhythm, looking up at her every few beats to make sure he was doing all right. But when all she did was offer a smile, he started to get confident. He was a little too stiff, his steps a little too uncertain, but the excitement in his eyes told her he was loving it, and that was all she cared about. She didn't care if he was the best or the worst dancer on that floor. The whole reason she visited the speakeasy each Saturday was because it was fun, and she wanted him to feel the same.
They were well into a second song before she asked him, "So what brought you out here, anyway? Didn't take you two for dancers."
Steve's brows hiked. "Oh, uh… Well, it was Buck's idea. Thought it'd be fun."
She hummed, unconvinced. "Yeah? You two go to a lot of speakeasies?"
"Not a lot."
"Any?" she asked.
At his grimace, she laughed to herself, shaking her head. "Why, Steve Rogers, is this your first speakeasy?"
"What gave me away? My footwork or my clothes?"
It was true, he wasn't dressed up like most of the other men, but then, Steve's clothes seemed to always be too big on him, making him look out of place anywhere. She gave his shirt collar a tug and said, "These need a good seamstress… And you need to eat more."
He shrugged, shoulders hunching a little. "Not a lot to eat where I am. I manage fine though."
"Sure you do." She raised his arm up and spun under it, her heart warming even more for him when he grinned at her. "You wanna do it again?"
"Can I spin you this time?" he wondered, raising his arm up without her help.
She happily spun under his raised arm and then let him pull her in, arm wrapped around her waist, and spin her back out, much like Cherry had earlier, only he didn't let go, and he was much more careful. When she moved back in toward him, she let her hand settle on his shoulder. "You keep this up, you'll have a line of girls waitin' to dance with you," she told him.
"Yeah, right out the door," he joked with a snort.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't be so hard on yourself," she told him, tapping his shoulder. "I've only met you twice and you're the sweetest guy I've ever known."
"You think?"
"Absolutely." She nodded. "Cherry's a hard one to impress, and I can tell she likes you."
Steve turned his head, searching Cherry out, and found her at the bar, talking with Bucky.
Darcy followed his gaze, biting her lip a moment as she watched Cherry smile up at Bucky, stirring the straw of her drink. Darcy had seen her flirt with more men, and women, than she could count. Truth be told, she thought it was just how Cherry was. She would flirt with a door if it swung her direction. Sometimes it was harmless, sometimes she wanted more, it could be hard to tell until the end of the night, when Cherry made her decision on who she was taking home with her.
"Wouldn't worry about it too much. Buck's a flirt, but he's been talkin' about tonight all week…"
Darcy's eyes fell back to Steve. "And why would I worry about that? Cherry and Bucky can have all the fun they want together."
Steve's mouth ticked up on one side. "So, you're sayin' you don't like Bucky? You two seemed to be gettin' close by the bar, before you came and asked me for a dance."
"No offense, 'cause you two seem like stand-up guys, but I don't know Bucky. He's got a nice face, and that's fine and dandy for some girls, but I'm not looking for a pretty face. I'm not looking for anything." She turned her attention away from Steve and instead to the other dancers around her.
"Hey, I didn't mean to overstep," Steve apologized. "It's just a rare thing that any dame doesn't take to Bucky right off. He's… one of those guys, y'know? All the dames like him."
"Not like you, y'mean?" She turned back to him, frowning. Releasing his shoulder, she caught his chin and raised it up. "You want a girl to look past Bucky and see you, you need to make 'em."
He stared at her searchingly for a moment and then nodded. "You, uh, mind if we go back to the bar then? I… wanna see if maybe Cherry wants to take another spin."
Darcy grinned at him and leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek. "Good, and if she doesn't take you up on it, there's a pretty dame just down the bar who's been watching you dance. I think she'd take you up on the offer if you asked."
Steve's head swiveled to see, but she squeezed his shoulder.
"Don't look!" she laughed. "You'll see her when we walk over." Hooking her arm with his, she turned them to face the bar and started back toward Bucky and Cherry. "You see her? Pretty red read with the pink lips."
"She was lookin' at me?" Steve asked skeptically.
"What'd I say, huh? Chin up."
He glanced at her, but he raised his chin a notch like she said, and Darcy nodded.
He half-smiled at her and she squeezed his arm.
"Look who the cat dragged back," Bucky said, reaching over to clap Steve's shoulder. "You were lookin' good out there, punk. Didn't know you had those kinda moves."
"Yeah, well, I had a good teacher," he answered, nodding his head at Cherry.
Blowing out a cloud of smoke, Cherry stubbed out her snipe and turned to face him better. "Be happy to teach you a few more moves if you're interested…" she told him, smirking.
He held a hand out to her and Darcy happily released Steve's arm and stepped back.
"Maybe I'll surprise you and teach you something," Steve said as he led Cherry away.
Darcy grinned proudly at Steve's show of confidence.
"You do that?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow.
Darcy shrugged. "He's swell, he just needed a little push to remember that himself."
He frowned then, his brow furrowed. "You think I don't tell him that?"
She turned to face him, her eyebrows hiked. "He's your best friend. Not hard to see how much you care about him. But I imagine it's not easy, standing next to you in a crowd."
He shook his head, confused.
"You didn't hear it from me, Bucky Barnes, but you're handsome, and a little charming, and unless a girl takes the time to get to know Steve, he doesn't stand a chance."
"Only a little charming?" he replied, mouth twitching.
Darcy rolled her eyes. "It's balanced out with a healthy enough dose of being far too cocky."
He leaned over, grinning at her as he asked, "Maybe I'm just cocky enough, y'ever think of that?"
She looked up at him through her lashes. "Can't say I've been thinkin' much about you at all."
"Might have to fix that, doll."
"You can try." She turned on her stool to face the bar then, asking for city juice*. She was about done with the hard stuff for the night.
She could feel Bucky's eyes on her, watching her profile, and though she wanted to turn to look at him, at the very least because his face sure was nice to look at, she refused to give him the satisfaction. This was why her father always told her she was too damn stubborn, and why her mother said she was going to have a hard time convincing any man she'd be a good wife. She wasn't too worried about that, though.
"What're you doin' after this?" Bucky finally asked.
She turned her head and looked up at him. "Walkin' over to Merle's to catch a taxi in. Why? You offerin' to walk me?"
"Wouldn't want you catchin' trouble like before." He shrugged, pursing his lips as he cast his eyes out to the dance floor.
"If you're waitin' on a spin with Cherry, you might want to make it soon. I'm headin' home and she'll be pickin' her partner for the night any minute now."
He frowned back at her. "What makes you think I wanna dance with Cherry?"
She smiled, not the least bit bitter. "Everybody wants a dance with Cherry. And if you're lucky, she might just take you for a spin in her bed, too." Sipping at her water, she added, "Might wanna make your case soon, though, 'cause she's takin' quite the shine to Steve."
Bucky scoffed, shaking his head. "What kinda guy d'you take me for? Flirtin' with you and goin' home with her?"
"A natural flirt." She shrugged. "I told you, I know your type." She jutted her chin out toward their friends shimmying around. "You remind me of her, and that's not a bad thing. She's one of the best people I know. But Cherry's never gonna settle down with one person. She wants a taste of everyone. And good for her. She's safe, she knows what she's doing, and she shares a little love with a lot of people who need it. Nothin' wrong with that."
"No, there isn't," he agreed. "And maybe we do gotta few things in common. Maybe I don't always go lookin' for a girlfriend. But when I meet the right person, someone I wanna stick with, I will."
Darcy looked up at him, looking so serious, so sincere, and some part of her, located in an area of her chest she'd rather not think about, gave a little tug. But getting herself tangled up with Bucky Barnes was probably a foolish thing to do. Oh, she liked the flirtation, she liked the way he laughed and all the things his smile promised her, but she knew better than to hop on that train.
"Hey, Buck, Cherry's got a few records at home she wants to show me. You mind if I head out?" Steve suddenly interrupted, panting a little as he stood in front of them, half-grinning.
Bucky's serious face melted away immediately, replaced with that friendly grin he reserved solely for Steve. "Yeah, you go ahead. Have fun, all right? I'm gonna walk Darcy over to Merle's, get her home safe."
"Oh." Steve paused, his brows hiked. "Well, hey, we could all walk you over, Darce."
She turned to smile at him warmly and reached up to adjust the collar of his shirt, turning it down and smoothing it out. "Don't be dingy. Cherry's place is in the other direction. Bucky might not be as tough as you are, but I think he can watch my back."
His mouth turned up on one side. "Don't be too hard on him, he does try."
"All right, all right. Don't you have a pretty dame waitin' on ya?" Bucky sighed, but he was grinning good-naturedly.
"I do." Steve reached for Darcy's hand and gave it a squeeze. "It was nice seeing you again. I, uh, have a feeling I'll be seein' more of you soon."
"With dance moves like yours, Steve, it'd be a cryin' shame for you not to bring 'em on back next Saturday," she replied.
He chuckled under his breath.
Cherry appeared then, her arm sliding through Steve's as she winked at Darcy. "You need anything for the ride, Darcy-doo?" She was already reaching up to tuck a hand into her dress, but Darcy stopped her, fingers on her wrist.
"I'll be fine, Cher. Honest." She hopped down from her stool. "Let's walk out together. Bucky's gonna see me over to Merle's."
Together, the four of them made their way out, and Darcy grinned at Steve when the pretty red-head of earlier pouted a little at their leaving.
He rolled his eyes at Darcy, but smiled all the same.
Cherry reached for Darcy's hand as they stepped out into the alleyway and started toward the street ahead. "You sure you got enough for the ride in? You know you can always come home with me. I got that spare room you can sleep in, tell your parents you were at Chelsea's, they'll never be the wiser."
"Maybe some other night," Darcy suggested, glancing at Steve briefly. "Wouldn't wanna interrupt your record playing."
Beside her, Bucky snorted.
"Hey, there's always enough record playin' to go around," Cherry said, winking at her.
Bucky looked over then, brow raised. She worried, briefly, that Cherry had let too much out. While Darcy didn't have problems with her being interested in men and women, not everybody saw it that way. Her own parents would have some choice things to say about Cherry if they knew of her interest in women, and none of it would be nice. Darcy knew there were even some people who had been killed or severely beaten for liking the same sex. Even the idea that Cherry might face that one day broke Darcy's heart. Protectively, she glared up at Bucky, willing him to keep his opinion to himself.
He held up a hand and didn't say a word.
Turning back to Cherry, she said, "I think I'm all danced out. Thanks for the offer, but you two go on and have your fun." As they reached the mouth of the alley and paused on the sidewalk, she leaned over and kissed Cherry's cheek. "I'll see you next Saturday, huh?"
Cherry nodded, waved a kiss back at her and turned to lead Steve away, pulling him in close.
"You think he has any idea what he's in for?" Darcy wondered curiously.
"He's not as innocent as you think," Bucky said, scrubbing a hand over his chin. "But no, probably not."
She smiled. "She'll treat him good." Turning on her heel, she started down the road, tipping her head back to let the cool air breathe against her warm skin.
Bucky walked silently beside her. After a few minutes, she looked over at him, noticing the furrow between his brows and the set of his lips. A little pit of worry welled up in her belly, wondering if it was about Cherry and her not-so-subtle innuendo. "You got something to say, say it," she told him, a little more gruffly than she meant to.
He turned to look at her, seemed to consider it, and then plowed ahead. "Cherry… She likes girls."
Darcy shrugged. "She doesn't dislike 'em."
He stared at her a moment, his mouth turning up on one corner. "Doesn't offend me, if that's what you're worried about. Girl likes girls, boy likes boys, doesn't matter much to me."
Her shoulders loosened up then, the worry and fear that had been growing inside her dying an immediate death. "It doesn't?"
Bucky shrugged. "World's a pretty hard place to survive in, doll. You find a guy or a girl that makes you happy, ain't none of my business. You take happy where you get it, love who you love. And that goes for everything, doesn't matter if you're both boys or girls, black or white or any damn color of the rainbow."
Darcy stared up at him a long moment; it wasn't too often she heard that. "Then what had you lookin' so upset?"
He shook his head. "Just thinkin'… Cherry, she's a pretty dame… Not sure my, uh, handsome mug could compete."
Darcy bit her lip to keep from grinning too widely. "Probably couldn't."
He looked over at her, a little surprised at her candid response, but then he laughed, light and smooth.
"Good thing you're not competin' then, huh?" She picked up her pace, getting a few steps ahead of him, but paused as he reached for her, his fingers curling around her forearm.
They stopped under a streetlamp, turned, face to face, only a few inches between them, his fingers gentle on her arm. She glanced down and then up at him, waiting for him to say something, do something. What that 'something' was she wasn't sure just yet. Maybe if she was like Cherry, she'd tip her chin up and wait for a kiss. Or maybe she'd push up onto the tip of her toes, wrap a hand around his neck, and pull him down for a kiss. But she wasn't like Cherry. And did she even want a kiss? Her gaze fell to his mouth curiously. He sure did have a pretty mouth. Frustrating too, especially when it curled up on one side like it was now. But kiss it? She swallowed tightly. Would it be soft and short? Or long and passionate? Maybe more than one kiss, maybe a succession of kisses, all building up to something more.
Bucky's fingers slid down her forearm, his thumb swiping over her wrist, and then his fingers dragged across her palm, only to slide between her own, folding them all together.
"C'mon…" he said, quietly. "It's gettin' late." He gave her hand a tug and then he was walking, pulling her along with him.
She looked down at their hands a moment. It wasn't like she'd never held someone's hand before. She held Cherry's hand all the time. Her daddy's too, especially when she was hoping he might buy her a new dress or take her out on the town. But this… This was different.
Bucky's thumb stroked down the length of hers as he asked, "This all right?"
She raised her chin to look at him, seeming, from what she knew about him, uncharacteristically uncertain.
"Yeah," she said, looking forward. "Yeah, it's all right."
She didn't need to see him to know he was giving her that smirk. And maybe it was a mistake. After all, he was making his intentions pretty clear, and she didn't think she wanted anything from him. Not leastways what he was thinking. Darcy didn't date. She didn't take boys home like Cherry did. Wasn't that she didn't like them; she liked 'em fine. But boys had expectations, like she'd one day stop being so loud and opinionated. And that just wasn't going to happen. Didn't matter how much her ma wanted her to just settle down and be a good girl.
They walked toward Merle's at a nice casual stroll, neither of them in a hurry. It was nice, she thought.
"So how'd you and Steve meet anyway?" she wondered, turning to look at him curiously.
He shrugged a shoulder, swinging their hands forward and backward. "Was about three years back… He was gettin' picked on. Some of the other kids. You grow up livin' a hard life, sometimes you take it out on other people. But Steve… He didn't deserve that. He was one of those people, y'know? Genuinely good. Can't figure out how it happened or how he stays that way, but he does… So, I told the other guys to get lost, helped him up, and we've been runnin' around together since."
Darcy stared up at him thoughtfully. She thought of how he'd intervened the week before, backing up Steve. Bucky, for all of his seemingly lighthearted banter that night, had looked a little more dangerous than Steve had. She'd chalked it up to the size difference, but now she was wondering if maybe it had more to do with Bucky being used to having to step in and stand up for those who couldn't. There was something tough about Bucky, something just a shade darker than Steve, and maybe she liked that. More than she should.
"Told 'em to get lost, huh? And they just listened?"
He turned, giving her that grin, a little dark and a lot knowing. "I'm a persuasive guy."
"Sure you are…" She snorted. "Bet you just flashed 'em a smile and they laughed it off. Never beat on poor little Steve again."
A muscle ticked in his cheek as he glanced away. "They tried… Steve, though, he'd fight a wall if he thought it was being rude to someone. Never found a fight he wanted to walk away from."
Helpless to it, a smile pulled at her lips. "Suppose he always has a good reason for it."
"World throws a punch at him, he thinks it's only right he throws one back. Doesn't matter that it never lands."
"Odds are, one day it will." She shrugged. "Or maybe the world'll straighten itself up and stop trying to knock him down."
"Sounds pretty optimistic, doll. You think the world's headed that ways?"
Darcy shook her head, absently stroking her thumb over his knuckles. "I think good people need to stand up a lot before the bad people learn to sit down… Those things that you said, about finding happiness, loving who you love, we're a long ways from that. Not because people don't deserve it, but because scared people do awful things and too few of us stand up and tell them what they're doing is wrong… So, do I think we're heading that way? Sure. One day. Maybe not in our time. But hopefully, one day, enough people will stand up and tell it like it really is."
His gaze washed over with all the familiarity of a caress. "And maybe that hit'll land."
She smiled. "Maybe."
Up ahead was Merle's diner and, just for a moment, she couldn't help but notice that her feet seemed to slow down even more.
"Steve said he'd see me next Saturday… You planning on coming out to dance?"
"Depends…"
"On?" She raised a brow up at him.
"Your dance card all full up?"
They came to a stop on the same street corner they had the previous Saturday. She tipped her head to one side as she stared up at him. "For all I know, you're a terrible dancer."
"'Fraid I'll embarrass ya?" he asked, grinning.
Before she could answer, he gave her a tug, drawing her in close, until her stomach was pressed to his. He raised their hands, palms pressed together as his hand turned up, fingers folding between hers again. He wrapped an arm around her waist and swayed her to one side, her free hand reaching up to curl around his shoulder. They moved in a circle, taking small steps, dancing there under a street lamp, with no music but the sound of their breathing. His shirt was thin, the fabric like paper, and she briefly thought of Steve's overlarge clothes. Her own dress, a red wine color, was soft as butter. She could feel his fingers flex on her waist and wondered if it was the dress or touching her that made his fingers curious.
"You want me to twist you? Maybe dip you like Cherry did?" he asked her, his voice low, deep, and she bit her lip.
"No," she murmured. "I like it just like this."
His hand squeezed and then she was just a tiny bit closer, his chin resting against her temple, his breath skimming her ear. She swallowed tightly, her fingers smoothing over his shoulder and sliding up a little higher.
They stayed like that, moving to and fro, and later, much later, she would look back and think that was the moment that Bucky Barnes made such a mark on her life that he would never truly leave it.
She felt a little heady with him, lost in the feel of his hand around hers, in his fingers on her waist and his arm around her back. And then his fingers released hers, his hand sliding down hers until it was under her wrist. As he drew back, his hand swept over her back, smooth and slow. And then he was leaning down, pressing a kiss to the top of her hand. "So? I earn a place on your card for next Saturday?" he asked.
Her hand slid down his shoulder and fell to her side. "I'll see you Saturday, Bucky," she said, tugging her hand free and walking toward the diner, her heart a little louder in her chest than she'd be willing to admit.
"I'm gonna take that as a 'yes,'" he called after her.
She looked at him over her shoulder. "You take it however you like," she returned with a grin.
He smirked, ducking his head as he laughed under his breath.
And what a handsome picture that was.
He stayed there, watching her go, until she walked through the door of the diner. She was almost disappointed when she joined the taxi driver outside and found that Bucky wasn't still there where she left him, if only because she wanted one more glimpse before she'd see him again on Saturday. She imagined, if her mother knew, Irene Lewis would tell her that she was playing with fire. A boy like Bucky Barnes wasn't what she would deem future husband material, and so he wouldn't be worth the breath Darcy wasted indulging him. But Irene wasn't there, and Darcy had a habit of doing the opposite of what her momma told her to, anyway. She didn't know what she was doing with Bucky or where it was leading, but she did know that she liked dancing with him and she liked the way his head worked and, for now, that was good enough.
[Next: Chapter Three.]
Slang:
crumb - a fink, a loser by social standards
city juice - a glass of water
dingy - silly
author's note: I'm excited to see the response I got on the first chapter! Things seem a little slow-moving right now, but I wanted to give the beginning of Darcy and Bucky's relationship due attention before things expand outside of it and we start jumping bits of time. I had fun writing this. I love writing Steve and building up a relationship between him and Darcy. There's more on Darcy and Cherry's friendship next chapter and then we'll delve into Bucky's point of view, so that'll be fun. Hope you're all looking forward to it.
I'd love to hear your thoughts and what you'd like to see or how you see things progressing from here. I have it all planned out, but I'm curious if there's anything you'd like to see happen that I might be able to fit in. Not guaranteeing anything, as it could conflict with plots I already have in play or plan to write, but I'm curious all the same.
Huge thanks to: genki_geek, moonstar_sfu, sandy1024, spitfire2962, and phoenix_173.
Thank you all for reading! Please leave a review; they're my lifeblood.
- Lee | Fina