Snarky ColdWinter #2

[fist_of_hydra]

The team had been arguing for a while now, and getting nowhere. They'd narrowed Savage's location down to Italy in September of 1944, but couldn't get any farther than that. James thought he had a pretty good guess what Savage wanted - this was where HYDRA had most of their facilities, and the Red Skull would be the perfect ally to Savage.

The only people who would have any further intelligence about Savage's possible movements were the Allied or Axis forces. Neither were going to hand the information over to a bunch of strangers. Ray wanted to play dress up and march in, pretend to be an officer and demand the information. Sara wanted to go in at night and steal it. There were half a dozen other ideas floating around, and all of them were bad. Quite a few of them were likely to get them shot at.

Ray might be onto something, though. At least, if you turned your head and looked at the idea sideways. Trying to march in and claim to be an officer nobody in the camp had ever seen was asking for a swift visit from the MPs.

Marching in and claiming to be an officer everyone in the camp had seen was another matter.

James had been lurking by the doorway, as was his habit, rather than sitting around the table with the others. He hadn't been contributing, so he was able to slip out without inciting comment. Once in the hall, he strode toward the fabrication room. "Gideon. Do you have any footage or photos of me in uniform in this time period?"

"Of course, Mr. Barnes."

"Good. I need a copy made, and make sure it looks worn and used. Can you do that?"

"Certainly."

"Then do it." James strode into the fabrication area, where a uniform was already synthesizing. He paused, looking at it, and rubbed a hand over the scruff on his chin.

Five minutes later he strode back toward the main room. It felt odd to be back in this uniform. Gideon had even managed to make it smell right - which was to say, like blood and gunpowder and harsh lye soap. Even stranger was not feeling his hair brushing against his cheeks and neck. He hadn't had short hair since HYDRA took him, and he found he already missed it long.

This wasn't him, anymore. It felt like the ghost of Bucky Barnes was riding his shoulders, and the weight was pressing him down.

"...are we supposed to do, walk in and ask them nicely?" Sara was saying, her tone full of exasperation as she threw her hands up at Ray.

"That's exactly what we're gonna do." James rose his voice enough to cut through the babble. Everyone turned to look at him, and most of them did a wide-eyed double-take. He raised an eyebrow at them. "It's just a matter of the right person doing the asking."

Comments

[fist_of_hydra]

James cocked his head, uncertain. His eyes scanned Len's expression, searching for some clue what the fuck he was supposed to do, here. "How are you an asshole? You're right, I shouldn't have made a big deal about it."

That wasn't how they worked. It wasn't how he worked, it's not like he'd ever said it before. Might never say it again. It had just... felt necessary, in that moment.

[coldlenny]

Len gritted his teeth. It was hard enough to ask the first time for James to give him another chance to make it right. He couldn't ask again. "Forget it," he murmured, and flashed a careless smirk, leaning in to steal another kiss.

[fist_of_hydra]

And apparently, he'd just made it worse instead of fixing it. James knew his lover well enough to realize that if it really didn't matter, Len would be laughing it off with a sly pun and a joke. The smirk he managed was rather spoiled by the tension in his jaw.

So he put his heart and soul into the kiss, pouring on the heat to try to thaw Len's tension. His partner might love the cold, but there had always been heat to spare between them.

As their tongues tangled, he ran his hands up under Len's sweater, sliding over the bumps and rough patches of scars, ghosting over the untouched areas, seeking out the places he knew Len liked to be touched. When they were finally forced to come up for air, he muttered, "I do, though. Love you. So you might hafta put up with hearing it once in a while."

[coldlenny]

Len relaxed slowly as James touched him so skillfully. He knew the other man was trying to distract him, and he tried to allow it, but the effect was spoiled slightly by James's next words. His shoulders twitched slightly, but he knew he couldn't screw this up again.

"I love you, too," he whispered. "You deserve someone who can hear it without being a jerk about it."

[fist_of_hydra]

The thrill of hearing it, properly and deliberately, was nearly overwhelming. James breathed out hard, nuzzling at Len's jaw. "Yeah, but you're my jerk. I promise I won't get mushy on you too often. I just... needed to say it."

Because after all this, knowing that Len would choose him, as he was now, over his former self... it was something that always gnawed at him, the certainty that he was somehow less than he had been. Less charming, less handsome, less desirable.

But now Len had seen him both ways, and James came out on top.

"Guess I'll just have to make it worth your while to put up with it." Gripping the material of Len's sweater tightly in both hands, James tore it off, exposing his lover's chest. One of the best things about being on the Waverider was that he no longer had to worry about whether he was allowed to destroy clothing, because Gideon was always happy to make them more.

[coldlenny]

Len drew in a breath and ran his fingers over James' back, slipping his fingers up under his shirt and scraping his nails over the skin. "And I'll try not to get spooked next time," he said.

There was never a contest. He loved James for who he was, not for who he could be, or who he could have been.

Then he hissed as James ripped his clothes off, throwing his head back a moment later and laughing. "Why would I want anything else?"

He punched James in the flesh shoulder, then wrapped his arms around him and dragged him down roughly into a kiss.

[fist_of_hydra]

Humming his approval, James plundered Len's mouth and resumed his earlier exploration of his lover's body. Losing his Enhancement, however briefly, made everything feel and taste and smell so much more intense, almost like it had when they'd first given him the serum.

He already loved the taste of Len, but now it was intoxicating. He knew the map of his lover's scars by heart, but he was learning every bump and ridge all over again. At this point convincing his arm it was overheating was all but reflexive, and he pushed the boundaries harder than he ever had before. Frost formed on the metal, a line he usually refused to cross.

Tonight, for this, even the ice couldn't bother him.

After all, without the ice, he'd never have met Len. And now that he'd chosen it for himself, rather than having it forced on him, he found he was more at peace with the last seven decades of his life.

[coldlenny]

Len hissed again when that chilled arm touched his skin, such a contrast to James' usual warmth. His eyes popped open and he looked, seeing the frost and realizing that James was pushing it even further than usual. He gave a deep, wordless rumble of gratitude, and settled into the bed, luxuriating in the contrast of heat and cold and allowing James to take the lead.

He really did think he was lucky to have scored a guy like James - not anything he would have expected, or thought he deserved.

[fist_of_hydra]

In James' opinion, Len deserved a lot better than him. But James wasn't going anywhere and would never give up Len without a fight. Not even to himself. Especially not to himself.

He had to be careful, he didn't want to stress the system so much the arm broke down, especially after he'd just gotten it back. But he was damn well going to push the limits.

Trailing his hands up, he tweaked the fingers of both hands over Len's nipples, then travel on to his shoulders. He slid his left hand over to ghost his fingers across the other man's jaw, then wrapped them carefully around Len's throat. He was careful not to apply any pressure, but the threat was there, and it was all about trust.

[coldlenny]

Len drew in a breath as the hand closed around his throat. At one time he would have spooked, but by now he knew that if he truly did want James to stop something, he would. And so the threat was thrilling rather than terrifying.

He let out a soft groan as if it were with the last of his air, though he continued to breath normally.

"That's it," he whispered breathlessly.

[fist_of_hydra]

The way Len opened up for him, only for him, always blew James away. This man who was so cautious and closed off, never showing any more of his true self than he had to, was willing to let James see all of him.

And James loved every inch, every flaw and scar, every rough patch and hard edge.

With a growl he leaned in and kissed Len again, fierce and relentless, cutting his breath of in an entirely different way from the threat of his hand around the other man's throat.

[coldlenny]

And Len loved the seemingly untamed savagery of him, tempered by a gentle and kind heart that endured no matter the horrors that he'd experienced. James was the strongest person that Len had ever known - something to aspire to, rather than to reject in favour of the younger model. And through that strength, that indomitable spirit of goodness had never truly been broken.

Len couldn't trust someone who didn't truly earn that trust, and he trusted James.

He groaned again, drinking down that fierce kiss and writhing under James' weight as if trying to buck him off. But he didn't kick or punch, didn't truly fight him, only allowed himself to feel the incredible power of the man who Len finally truly knew would never abuse that power.

[fist_of_hydra]

They matched each other so fucking well in a way that shouldn't have worked at all. James hoped he never stopped appreciating that fact, never took it for granted.

Finally he had to move his hand or risk causing damage to Len's throat from the intensity of the cold. He replaced it with his mouth, licking and biting at the icy skin, his hand moving south with clear intent.

What was left of the fake army uniform pants was gone a moment later, torn away along with the very period-inaccurate boxer briefs beneath. All James cared about was the skin that lay beneath, pale and scarred and beautiful. He ran his hand over Len's inner thighs, tracing abstract patterns that brushed against his straining dick every so often, but never long enough to do more than hint at a tease.

[coldlenny]

Len swallowed hard when James finally pulled the cold metal away from his throat. He lifted his hand reflexively, rubbing the chilled skin, but it wasn't burned or hurting, just very cold.

Then James was ripping the left of his clothing away. He gasped softly and spread his legs eagerly to the touch of James' hand. He cursed as the teasing drew out, and growled between clenched teeth. "Get on with it, already!"

[fist_of_hydra]

"Impatient," James taunted him, nipping sharply at his collarbone. "Make me, if you want it so bad. I'm planning to take my time." Despite his words, he finally ran his fingers over the length of Len's dick, wishing he could feel the contrast of heated skin against his metal fingers. He got a sense of pressure, but not temperature.

Len would feel it, though, and that was the important part.

[coldlenny]

Len groaned and thrust his hips upwards hard, gasping at the touch of cooled metal.

"James!" The cry was pulled involuntarily from his lips, and he immediately sealed his lips shut for a moment, startled by his own exclamation. Then he relaxed again, giving another heartfelt groan. "That's it, baby... that's right."

[fist_of_hydra]

God, he loved making Len lose control. There was nothing like pushing the heat between them until it broke his lover's cool.

"One of these days, I'm going to make you lose it completely," he promised Len, stroking slowly. It was a goal he'd had for a long time now, and a frequent threat. Even though he never quite succeeded, the fun was in trying.

Shifting down, he wrapped his icy hand around the base of Len's dick, then slid the tip into his mouth, sucking hard as he tongued the slit.

[coldlenny]

Len gave an involuntary yell as the cold of James' hand met the heat of his mouth. If James wanted to make him lose it, he was moving in the right direction. He writhed and cried out as James sucked hard, and then panted, almost hyperventilating.

"Fuck!"

[fist_of_hydra]

Bracing his other arm across Len's hips, James pinned him in place with contemptuous ease. He didn't want to risk hurting his lover as Len jerked and bucked against him, but he also didn't want to immobilize him completely. He enjoyed the reaction too much.

Taking his time, he bobbed his head over Len's dick, savouring the taste and feel of the other man.

[coldlenny]

Len strained against the incredible strength of his lover. With his trust unshaken, it was exciting to feel how nearly impossible it was to throw James off. He knew James would take care of him, in every sense of the word.

With no ability to move, Len writhed and gasped, giving throaty groans as James sucked at his cock.

[fist_of_hydra]

When he could feel the tension running high, Len's muscles pulled tight like strung wire and quivering with the need for release... James drew away, still holding Len down with his flesh hand, the metal one tightening just enough to keep him from coming.

It was amazing, the shit you could learn from the internet. James had been meaning to try this for a while, see how it would work on Len.

[coldlenny]

Len told himself that the only reason he didn't manage to stay quiet was because he knew no one could hear him anyway. But the truth was, he couldn't have stayed silent even if the whole ship had been clustered outside his door.

He yelled as the orgasm was choked off, arching his back right off the bed. "James! Fuck!"

[fist_of_hydra]

That was exactly the sort of reaction James had been hoping for. With a hint of a shit-eating grin on his face, he shifted up to nip at Len's jaw, tasting the salt on his skin from sweat, feeling the roughness from a hint of stubble.

Then he finally let the other man up, fully expecting he was about to pay for the stunt he'd pulled. Damn, it was worth it. "I fucking love making you sound like that."

That kind of declaration of love, at least, he could be pretty safe with.

[coldlenny]

Len shuddered and panted for a moment before he could open his mouth and actually make sense. "You...love torturing me?" He opened his eyes and gave James a pout that was entirely faked, the corner of his lips twitching.

[fist_of_hydra]

"Only the kind of torture that makes you sound like that." James' voice was half growl, as close as he ever came to the sort of lazy, satisfied purr Len did that always drove him crazy.

The pout was kind of cute, in a way. James nipped at the twitching corner, then sealed their mouths together.