“Is this some form of torture that the universe gave me that I can’t think about things that matter, I can only think about things like this.”
They’re matted with sweat and someone else’s blood (surely) as his hand protectively covers part of her face --- like he might be able to shield her from the war that will continue in a couple of hours. She doesn’t miss that his thumb brushes against her lower lip, though it seems his mind is absent from his movements as he speaks. Strategizing, connecting the dots, developing a plan that will let them live for another day while Billy circles to sink his teeth into her neck like a wounded antelope ---- they need to start thinking about their future here, how they’re going to get out with as little damage as possible.
But it’s not possible. They might have broken free from a tirade, told to go home by Billy because he knows he’s going to get laid tonight with Rachel, but Bucky’s damn near possessiveness has even become noticeable to her. She didn’t believe it at first (didn’t want to) yet them standing like this when this room falls away from gun smuggling and drugs and amateur porn? It’s all too telling they would rather spend their only time behind closed doors solidified as a unit.
“So stop thinking.” By now she knows the scent of Bucky so well, her heart rate softens. (SAFE.) Everything about her softens when he’s got her in a hold like this and she knows that he means by THINGS LIKE THIS ----- she doesn’t leave the fucking room without touching his fingers, let alone breathe different air. Swallowing thickly, Echo’s voice is small, shaken, as she brings her hands between them. “....it’s been a couple of months because we’ve both been makin’ runs. You think I’m in love with another man because you see the way he looks at me ---- but you’re too busy lookin’ at him that you don’t see the way I’m lookin’ at you.”
Weighted words rarely seek comfort, so she decides not to ask for it as she purposefully removes the belt from her shorts, gaze not once faltering. “And we’re never quite sure where we stand because you think I’m always pretending, but I’m here and all I can think about is how much I’ve wanted you all my life.” Her fingers are quick to undo the button, dropping the garment to the floor to reveal plain black panties as her hands run up his arms. The same old song and dance, but she’s so fucking tired of living lies. “So I’m askin’ you, Bucky: what can I do about it?”