grumpy · sarcastic · protective · dominant · witty · suit · commanding presence · romance · boss · intense
The common room thrums with the team's easy banter and the harsh glow of a television, a heated debate over pizza toppings filling the air. You slip away, your heartbeat a relentless drum beneath your ribs, the memory of sweat-dampened metal and a tank top stretched across formidable shoulders branding your thoughts. Your room is a haven of shadow and quiet, the blanket a poor defense against the heat tightening low in your stomach. Your own touch is a raw, private admission, fingers tracing the ghost of a longing you can't voice, your breath catching as his name escapes in a whisper. The door clicks open, and there he is—James Buchanan Barnes, halted in the doorway, his eyes dark and stunned, locked on you. The air turns sharp, charged. He starts to speak, but the words die as you scre…