( semi-open ) love is a many splendored thing

[samlicker81]

Who: Everyone who signed up for SHIPPING
Where: All around Wonderland! See below for specific locations.
When: Tuesday, September 9, evening
Rating: PG13 just to be safe, but if anything gets steamy (she hopes it does), I can up the rating.
Summary: Becky sets Wonderlanders up on blind dates. Also, will be image heavy.
The Story:

You receive a letter under your door sometime on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 9. This letter will be addressed to you in fancy script (Becky's best attempt at calligraphy) from a "secret admirer." You might be wondering, but it isn't February! What's with all the romantic nonsense? Well, my good friend, romance can be celebrated on more than just one day out of the year. That day happens to be today. The letter will ask you to meet your secret admirer at 6PM at a designated location. You'd best not be late! A night of romance (and perhaps even intimacy) awaits you! At least, she hopes so...

Comments

[assembles]

[Steve shifts in his seat quick enough that the bread goes sailing past him. His reflexes have only been sharpened in the past couple of years, and the reaction is instinct more than anything else.

He chuckles, but it's not completely genuine. Like the wind's been taken out of his sails. Bucky had just been joking, but Steve considers what he told Natasha -- about how difficult it was to find someone with shared life experience.

Part of it is that he hadn't quite moved on from the past. He's been trying bit by bit, but then he'd encountered the Winter Soldier and that had pulled him right back into it. When's Steve ever going to have the chance to settle down with someone? That answer is probably never.

He grabs for another piece of cooked meat and chews idly on it as he searches for a reply.] It's not so bad, is it? I told you fondue was good.

[disassembles]

[ He can see the moment Steve's demeanor changes from joking to brooding on something. Bucky runs back over what he just said, but he highly doubts that Steve could have taken it for anything but a joke. It's not the kind of thing Bucky would ever say with any weight behind it, because it's frankly not true. Anyone who doesn't see how special Steve is has gotta be blind in all the wrong ways.

He knows he's missing a step here, that Steve is worrying something deep down. He takes a skewered piece of meat out of the pot and leans back in his chair, watching Steve to see if he'll come out with it for once, or just try to cover up the silence. He doesn't even pretend to take that comment at face value. ]

What is it, Steve?

[assembles]

[Every single time.

Not that it's a surprise that Bucky can read him like a book with giant font. When you've known someone for that long, it becomes instinct more than anything else.

The thing is that Steve's not sure if he can even explain what it is. Chances are that no matter how he says it, it's going to sound immature or like he's making something out of nothing. Then again, this is Bucky. Somehow, he'll get it.]

It's not like I haven't made friends. It's just... sometimes it's hard to relate. Or there's this disconnect. I don't know how to explain it, exactly, but... [Chances are that Bucky's felt it himself, here.]

[disassembles]

[ Steve might not be able to explain, but Bucky has felt something like it too. He's always been outgoing - he's made friends easily, even here. Sometimes the disconnect he feels between himself and other people is inconsequential, no deeper than a crack in the sidewalk. They're all away from home, all in danger of losing each other. It makes it easier to remind himself that he's not alone.

But even still, other times, it doesn't seem to matter. It's the little things that do it, and suddenly it's like the floor gives way beneath him, and there's an icy chasm between him and something he's never going to reach again. ]

I know. [ He says, when Steve trails off. ] Yeah.

[ He takes one of the skewers of meat out of the pot, his expression a little pensive, focused inward. ] Look, give yourself time. You're still settling in... eventually, you're gonna be okay.

[assembles]

[The way Steve sees it, he's had plenty of time. If he thinks critically about it, he's pretty sure he'll only feel settled when he's back home and he's found Bucky and they're on their way to putting everything back together.

Maybe he could have moved on without him, and to some extent he had, but now that he knows he's out there it's an entirely different situation. And the whole thing is made even stranger when he remembers that Bucky is also right here with him.

He's going to cherish these days for as long as he can.

So Steve nods and a smile tugs at his lips as he turns his attention to the other fondue pot -- the one that's got melted chocolate in it.] You ready for dessert? [Because the time for serious discussion has passed, and Steve would rather not dwell, but try to enjoy himself instead.]

[disassembles]

[ Bucky looks like he's going to argue for a second, but in the end he just shakes his head and lets Steve change the topic. They ought to try having a decent not-date, and Steve has been eyeing dessert since they started.

Bucky idly takes another skewer out of the pot. ]

What if I'm still workin' on dinner?

[assembles]

[It's not like there's anything wrong with the entree portion of the meal. The broth is good, the meat is good, but nothing can really beat dipping things in chocolate. Steve wouldn't say he has a sweet tooth, but there are certain things that are just too good to pass up.]

Then go right ahead, but I'm digging into this.

[He grabs for a marshmallow first and coats it in chocolate, then pops the whole thing into his mouth. Once again, he makes a sound, something that can only be called a moan because it's just that good.]

You're missing out.

[disassembles]

You should be ashamed of yourself, Rogers, startin' dessert before your...

[ Steve has the audacity to moan around a marshmallow, which looks completely ridiculous and sounds equally as obscene. Bucky loses the tail of whatever he was going to say, but he manages to catch himself pretty quickly when Steve gets chocolate running down his face. ] Aw Steve, come on, you're making a mess.

[ He leans in on instinct and brushes a thumb against the corner of Steve's mouth to catch the trail of chocolate sauce before it drips down to the table. He's got the side of his thumb against his own lips before he even has a second thought about it, and the chocolate sauce gets a quiet humm of approval. ]

[assembles]

[Steve laughs when Bucky leans over to wipe off his face, because he feels a little bit like he's being mothered. He shakes his head.] Look, it's impossible not to get this stuff everywhere. [But given how good it is, Steve doesn't really mind that much.

Bucky takes that chance to sample a little of the sauce himself, and while it's probably not quite the same given that it had been on Steve's face, he seems to enjoy it all the same. Steve smirks.] See? I told you it was good.

[So he doesn't hesitate to go for another dip, picking out a strawberry this time.]

[disassembles]

[ Bucky takes a strawberry and dips it into the pot, letting the chocolate run off a little before he takes a bite. He'd thought he could prove Steve wrong pretty easily, but he makes an annoyed sound at the back of his throat when a little warm chocolate runs down the corner of his mouth. He still remembers when he only had the one nice suit, and even now that he's got as many of anything as he wants, it's hard not to fret over getting things on his fancy date clothes.

But it is, admittedly, really good. ] Did I argue with that?

[assembles]

[Despite all of Bucky's effort to make sure that he ate the food cleanly, it doesn't work out for him, and Steve fails spectacularly at holding back a laugh. Not a complete jerk, despite what Bucky might think, Steve pulls his own napkin off of his lap and hands it over.]

I don't know who put this all together, but it hasn't been half-bad. [A few more bite-sized pieces of dessert and fruit dipped into chocolate, and Steve has to admit that his appetite's been sated. He takes the time to clean it all up as best he can, and then slings an arm around Bucky's shoulders as they make the climb back up to the seventh floor.]