Bumpin' at the Beach: A Surreal Stroll | A 36-week pregnant man casually strolls along the beach, showcasing his prominent baby bump. His loose linen shorts and white tank top are perfect for this sunny day. With each step, he leans forward slightly, feeling the cool breeze against his skin. The turquoise water sparkles under the warm sun, creating a stunning backdrop. Surrounded by soft white sand, he enjoys the peaceful moment as the day's golden light paints everything in a warm glow. It's a time full of joy and excitement, looking forward to the new adventure ahead. As he walks, he feels a connection to the beauty of nature and the magic of life blooming within him. More images are also available at https://mpregstuff.com.
Lake Cleveland in Idaho is a serene spot, embraced by forested hills and dotted with stark, skeletal trees rising from its tranquil waters. There's a timeless beauty here that beckons nature lovers and dreamers alike.
A/N: A gift for @jessalyn-jpeg, that was also beta read by her.
Word Count: 1.9k
And away, and away we go!
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Even with a plain, battered ball cap covering up hair that brushed along the tops of his shoulders, as if he was hoping it would somehow make him inconspicuous, you took notice of him. After all, how many men came alone to an aquarium? How many still could be transfixed by the shark exhibit for hours, sitting on a bench looking up at the tunnel, or leaned against the railing as he peered into the lagoon below? And how many of those men would return day after day, no matter how long he had watched the sharks the day before?
“You know we have a membership,” you told him on his eighth consecutive visit. “Probably cheaper at this point.”
He didn’t say a word, just tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion.
“I mean, if you’re here every day. Might as well. Save yourself a few bucks.”
“Oh,” he said, clearly startled that anyone had picked up on his habit. “Uh…”
“It’s a hundred for the year. Unlimited visits. Come as little as five times a year, and it pays for itself. Come more often than that, and it’s a steal.”
“Is there a payment plan option? I’m uh… it’s weird to explain. I have the money. It’s just a…”
“Budget thing?” you guessed. “Totally get it. Yeah, we have payment options. I can have today’s ticket count towards the pass if you like. Then the bill is monthly, but you can pay it off sooner if you like.”
“Uh, yeah, that’d be great,” he said, giving you a small smile, and laying a twenty dollar bill down.
You pulled open the little drawer that held the passes, selecting one that specifically had sharks on it for him, before scanning it into working order. “Here you are,” you said, handing it over along with his receipt.
“Thanks,” he nodded, turning the card over his hand, the smile still rooted in place. “Sharks, cool. Thanks again…” his eyes flickered down to read your name tag, “Y/N.”
“Enjoy your visit.”
It came as no surprise to you that, after he nodded politely at you again, he headed straight to the shark exhibit. It also came as no surprise to you that he was still there when you made your rounds to clear the aquarium of visitors for the night.
“Sir, we’re closing in ten minutes. So if you wouldn’t mind making your way towards the exit.”
“Oh, is it that time already?” he asked, rising slowly from the bench. You took notice as he stretched out his right arm, but didn’t feel the need to do so with his left.
“Unfortunate, I know. See you tomorrow, sir.”
“Bucky,” he said.
“I’m sorry?”
“My name. It’s Bucky.”
“See you tomorrow, Bucky.”
“See ya tomorrow, Y/N.”
~~~
Four more days of visits, each started with Bucky handing you a twenty dollar bill to put towards his pass, and ending with the two of you bidding each other farewell until the morning.
On the fifth day, out of habit, he walked up to your window, the twenty dollar bill already in hand. “Oh, you’re all paid off, Bucky.”
“Oh… Right… Sorry, force of habit.” His cheeks flushed a soft color of pink. “See you later I guess.”
“Send the sharks my love.”
“Will do.”
As you watched him walk off, you caught sight of the stack of flyers beside you. “Wait!” you called out to him, grabbing one of the flyers.
“Hmm?” he asked, coming back to your window.
“Here,” you said, sliding him the flyer. “We’re hosting a lecture on shark migrating habits.”
“Oh, that’s cool. Is it soon? I haven’t seen anything put up about it.”
“No, it’s happening next month. We just got the flyers this morning. Figured you’d want to know though.”
“Well, thanks for the heads up.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Bucky turned to go visit the sharks, but at the last second he turned back around, a shy look on his face. “You wouldn’t happen to be going to this would you?”
“I am, yeah. I got lucky in that they scheduled it after aquarium hours.”
“Cool… Would you maybe want to go together?”
“As a date?” you asked suggestively.
“Or as two people who share an appreciation for sharks? Whichever reason gets you to say yes.”
You gave a small laugh. “Yeah, I’d love to.”
~~~
Even though you’d seen Bucky daily for nearly two months, you still felt shy flutters in your stomach as you raced to change out of your work polo and khakis, and into something that felt more “first date” appropriate.
When you got back to the aquarium, you spotted Bucky outside waiting, sporting a long-sleeved red henley shirt, and surprisingly no baseball cap. “Hey, Bucky,” you greeted, walking up to him.
“Hey,” he said softly, a hand digging into the pocket of his jeans. “I was going to bring you flowers, but I thought that’d be awkward for you to carry around all night. So, I hope this is an okay replacement.” He took his hand out of his pocket, unfurling his hand to reveal a shark pin resting in his palm, no doubt something he picked out in the gift shop.
“It’s perfect,” you laughed, stretching up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his cheek, feeling the warmth that flooded his face. “Thank you.”
“Course,” he mumbled, trying to undo the pin with only his right hand. But undoing the pin without using his left hand proved to be difficult.
“Um, it might be easier without the gloves?” you suggested. “Or maybe if you used both hands?”
“Oh, to hell with it,” Bucky grumbled, taking the fingers of his left glove into his mouth, tugging it off to reveal a metal hand. Swiftly, he also took off his right glove, and got the pin undone.
“Wh-what happened?” you questioned as he attached the pin to your blouse, paying special care not to knick you with it.
“War accident,” he answered shortly, quickly putting his gloves back on.
“I’m sorry,” was all you could think to say.
“It was years ago,” he offered as a way of explanation, before jerking his chin in the direction of the aquarium doors. “Shall we?”
You linked your arm through his right arm when he offered it to you, walking into the aquarium and following the small crowd to the theater where the lecture was being held.
Quietly, you and Bucky sat side by side, his hand resting on your thigh as you both listened to the lecture. It was easy to tell when the lecturer said something that Bucky found particularly interesting because his fingers would squeeze into your leg. And anytime you stole a glance, his eyes were shining brightly, a soft smile on his lips. And anytime he caught you staring at him, he’d give you a small wink.
“The aquarium is so different after hours,” Bucky commented, making conversation as you walked out, hand-in-hand after the lecture. “More peaceful somehow.”
“Is that why you like the shark exhibit? It’s usually our quietest area. Certainly less crowded.”
“Nah, I like sharks because they’re misunderstood. Everyone thinks they’re killers. But, they’re just doing what they need to do to survive.”
“Something you can relate to?”
“More than I’d like to, that’s for sure.”
You looked around at all the guests flocking for the exits, an idea forming in your head. “You wanna see something really cool?”
“What’s this really cool thing?” he asked as he let you pull him away from the crowd of people and deeper into the aquarium. His excitement however died down significantly when you pulled him into the security office. “This was the really cool thing?” he asked skeptically.
“Shh,” you said, fixing your focus on the cameras, watching the aquarium empty. “Just wait.”
With a sigh, Bucky watched the monitors with you.
“Annnnd, tada!” you announced as there was a loud sound of the lights shutting off in the building with the exclusion of the security room.
“We’re alone in the aquarium?” he questioned with the same note of skepticism as earlier.
You grinned up at him, nodding. “We’re alone in the aquarium.”
“Can’t we get in trouble for trespassing?”
You pulled your work badge out of your purse, along with a set of keys. “Nope!”
Bucky gave a soft chuckle. “You’re a little troublemaker, aren’t you?”
“You wanna go see the sharks or not?”
“Lead the way.”
~~~
“So,” you started, your voice quiet as you both leaned against the railing, watching the sharks swim in the lagoon below. “Is you liking sharks because you can relate to being misunderstood related to your hand at all?”
“A little. And it’s not my hand. It’s my entire arm.”
“Your entire arm?!” you screeched, turning sideways to look at him fully.
He sighed, turning towards you. He pushed the sleeve of his shirt up to his elbow, and pulled at the collar of his shirt to show you how the metal went all the way from fingertips to shoulder. “Yup.”
“Bucky,” you said to yourself. “As in?”
“As in the former Winter Soldier. Yup. Or as in James Buchanan Barnes, but people nowadays tend to not remember that part.”
“Holy shit… Wait. So you’re a fuckin’ Avenger, and you tell me that you spend your free time coming to watch sharks all day?”
“Well, sharks were originally the reason. Now, they’re just an additional perk.”
“I’m not following…”
“Well, I like sharks. Always have even before I could relate to them. But then I got a crush on one of the workers. And as much as I like to think I’m still here for the sharks, I’m also here for her.”
“Oh, you mean me?!”
“I mean I did ask you out on a date.”
“So you admit it.”
“Admit what?”
“That this is a date.”
“What else would you call it?”
“Oh, I dunno. Maybe two people who share an appreciation for sharks?” you teased.
Bucky laughed. “Alright. In my defense, I said that to make you not feel bad if you told me no.”
“What made you think I was gonna say no?”
“I’m me. The 100 year old with an extremely complicated past.”
“Mmm, then maybe I should let you in on a secret.”
“Oh yeah? And what’s that Miss Troublemaker?”
“I have a soft spot for the misunderstood.”
His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Saying things like that are gonna make me want to kiss you.”
“Saying things like what? Things that suggest I’m just as interested in you as you are in me?”
“Yes.”
“And what if that’s what I wanted? For you to kiss me?”
“Then I’d have to do this.” He stepped forward, his hands gently cradling your face as his head ducked down. You stretched upwards on the tips of your toes, meeting his lips halfway. Underlying the softness of the kiss was a strength you wanted more of. Somehow sensing that want, Bucky deepened the kiss, one hand moving to cup the back of your neck, the other dropping down to rest on the small of your back, pulling you in closer to him.
“That was one hell of a first date kiss,” you gasped when you broke apart, each of you breathless.
“You’re one hell of a girl,” he said, nudging your nose with his and drawing you back in for another kiss.
Being lost in the Alps wasn't ideal. It was cold and getting dark. Angela could barely hold onto Hampton, her right hand gripping his long fur. Her legs felt like they would give out soon, but the large dog was already carrying Parker. The two of them had barely managed to finish their recon mission. It had gone well until they stumbled across a giant, cat-faced lizard thing. They would be out rotting half eaten on the mountainside if it wasn't for Hampton. Parker had a broken leg and had deep gashes on her thigh. Angela had the same deep gashes across her abdomen. She held her side with her free hand, trying to ignore the feeling that it was the only thing holding her together.
Angela lost track of time, the only thing she noticed was how dark it was getting. The only thing on her mind was getting Parker to safety, and something in her knew the way. She felt a gentle presence in her mind giving her a nudge in what she hoped was the right direction. Something was guiding her, and Hampton seemed to trust her to follow it.
A ghost of realization washed over her when they reached it. She heard it first, the sound of water. Hampton had to stop her before she all but stumbled into it.
Angela couldn't see the lake, but she could smell the water and hear the gentle waves that hit the sand and pebble shore.
The second a hand touched her shoulder, Angela fell into someone's arms. She barely felt the warmth of the person as a sweet floral scent dominated her senses.
"My friend," She barely managed out. "She's hurt."
As she drifted off into unconsciousness, she heard a gentle voice say "So are you."
Angela woke in the dark. She could barely open her eyes, or move. Her body was completely exhausted, but she no longer felt any pain. Someone's hand caressed her cheek, and then her forehead. They moved to stroke her hair, which she realized was damp.
"Where am I?" She asked, her voice a little hoarse. Then she panicked. "Where’s Parker?!"
"Hush now." A soft whisper. Once again she felt gentle fingers running through her hair. "Calm yourself, little minnow. Your friend is well cared for, and guarded while she rests."
"Where-"
"You have entered tranquil waters, a sanctuary, my domain." He responded. His voice came through clearer now.
"This is a place of healing."
"Who are you." Angela demanded, unsuccessfully attempting to move away from his touch. Her body wouldn't budge.
"I am a friend," he spoke softly. Fingers caressed her cheek again, and then she felt lips, gentle against her own. She slowly slipped back into a restful sleep.
"Rest, little minnow." His voice slipped into her dreams, and he pulled her into his arms. "I'll take such great care of you."
