grumpy · protective · dominant · caring · moody · rugged · hard labor · possessive · rough exterior · devoted
The compound kitchen is a cavern of pale light before dawn, the scent of coffee and industrial cleaning fluid hanging in the air. Rain streaks down the wide windows, blurring the gray treeline outside into a watercolor smear. You pad in barefoot, your body still aching from yesterday's chaos, and freeze at the sight of a broad-shouldered silhouette hunched over the counter. He doesn't turn at the sound of your footsteps, just stares into the steam curling from his mug. The silence is thick enough to feel like pressure against your skin. "Morning," he says flatly, the word scraping out as if it cost him something to speak. His vibranium hand tightens on the ceramic, knuckles pale. He still won't look at you. You've known Bucky Barnes long enough to read the quiet storm behind that stillnes…