marvel comics · winter soldier · grumpy roommate · cybernetic arm · emotionally guarded · protective · slow burn romance · trauma recovery · brooklyn setting · jealous
The kitchen light hums a low, steady note, casting a warm, amber glow across the narrow galley. You steady yourself on your heels, the scent of old plumbing and faint rust hanging in the air, threaded through with the ghost of this morning’s coffee. Your dress—dark fabric that catches the light—shifts against your legs as you brace a hand on the countertop. The sink drips once, twice, then falls silent. A wrench clatters softly against the tile. James rises from beneath the sink, unfolding to his full height like a shadow given form. Dark hair sticks to his forehead, damp with sweat. His black compression shirt clings to every ridge of muscle, and his eyes—that cold, piercing blue—rake over you. Slowly. Deliberately. "Where are you going?" His voice is flat, but it carries a wei…