Coastal Living - Captain America Fantasy AU

"I don't get a say?" Buck stared at them.

"You were definitely just voted off the island to go mate with the fish," Calla drawled.

"Then that leaves you and Stevie all by yourselves, since Vince doesn't care about sex, and I dunno. Steve's kinda 'meh' right now, but I /know/ him," Buck arched a brow at Steve.

Calla was chewing on another bite of danish so she purposefully wouldn't be able to respond to that, then she picked out what Steve had said before when she swallowed, "What kind of health problems? You seem beyond healthy yourself."

River blinked at Bucky for a moment as she thought about it and shrugged. "Do you want Gups?"

Steve wanted to bury himself in sand or at least figure out a way how to melt down on the floor when River asked that question. Instead, he focused on Calla's. "I had a bunch of problems. I was sick a lot, and I had asthma, it's not so bad now that I live closer to the coast. I have a bad ear," he pointed at his right. "So sometimes I'll mishear things here and there. I also had a bad spine, but that was fixable with a /lot/ of time." He paused. "But I wasn't sick for a long time and after Erkisine gave me a booster injection, it sped up my magic and I was able to heal a lot faster. I still have some left over issues, but...I think they're getting healed too. My ear wasn't as bad as it used to be for an example."

"Oh?" Calla perked a bit, finding all of this intriguing, "We established yesterday that River was a mermaid which gives her water magic by default. What kind of magic do /you/ have?"

Bucky answered River instead, "I want kids in the future, but I know I'm not in the right frame of mind right now for it. They're adorable, but at the moment I'll keep them at a distance."

River nodded. "I keep thinking I want them, but then I'd change my mind. I could if I wanted to, there's really no problem but..." She shrugged. "I don't have the right partner."

"I'm a plant elemental. My mom was one before me." Steve pursed his lips together.

"That explains a lot about you." Vince mused. "Plant elementals are well sought out for because they support...well...everything. Fire, winds, earths, even water." He nodded at River. "No wonder you two caught on like houses on fire. Plants also support magic users...so you're in a bit of trouble there, but...not like...you know....actual magic users."

"Sometimes I don't feel that lucky." Steve admitted honestly.

"I don't think anyone with any type of magic does." River murmured. "It's more of a curse than it is a help."

"River? Were we going to go to your favorite shop?" Buck asked, taking the topic wheel and spinning it hard back around. He'd finished both long johns and he stood up, snatching up his shopping bags from other stores, "I'd love to see it. I'm not ready to go home yet."

"Isn't that surprising? Steve must be really proud of you, there, Buck," Calla smiled, feeling her stomach twist. They'd covered several things and she wasn't sure how she felt right now, "While you two go off, I think it's my turn to stay back and chill in one of those lounge zones outside. What'll you do, Vince? Go with River and keep an eye on her since she's talking Guppies?"

"It's not overly severe, so I don't think I'm needed. I can fuck off." Vince said kindly as he polished off the cinnamon roll. "I'm a text away though if things go hairy. Buck, that means if she starts wandering off and making you weird, just...steal her phone and let me know. I can take her from there."

River's cheeks turned a dark red and she murmured softly underneath her breath as she stood up. "We'll go shopping for you." She promised to Bucky. "Sorry if I'm acting a bit...off kilter."

"That's alright," Buck was reminded of Vince asking him if he knew anything about a mermaid's heat. Shrugging, he hooked his arm with River's, "Lead the way, missy. I couldn't even tell you where half the stores I went to are."

Calla watched as they left, and she wadded up the wax paper her danish had been on since she was finished with it, "That got really awkward really fast. I'm very sorry, Steve. The smell of sweet food's kinda of getting to me now I've eaten, so I'm going to go find one of those lounges..." she stood up, grabbing her bag and hooking it over her shoulder, "Of course, you're welcome to come with, unless you have your own agenda. Vince, you know I'll never say no to you."

"I'll go into that bookstore that I was looking at," Steve answered apologetically. "I hope you feel better and that your friend's alright. I think that talking about relationships kind of set her off. I know the tides have been weird and I'm sure that's not helping her in the slightest." He stood up and walked with them to the entrence of the store. "I hope we see each other sometime again, Calla."

Vince watched him go and before wrapping an arm around Calla's shoulder. "I have to admit he's not the worst pick you could've gone after."

Calla's throat tightened and she heaved a heavy sigh, leading them somewhere to sit, flopping down once they found a spot, "I feel like it's more 'lust at first sight' than love, since that's unreasonable. This isn't a goddamn Disney movie. Plant? That's cool, though. I didn't get to tell him that. At least he's versatile. God, Vince. He's fucking /taken/ and not /interested/. It's not right and I'm trying to keep that distance and be respectful," she pouted with a slight scowl, before it changed and her brows furrowed instead, "River...River, though...I'm worried. Steve's right, tides are fucked up. I mean, that storm was freaky yesterday. She's interested in Bucky, we got that covered, and Buck's interested in her at least enough. She doesn't talk about Guppies unless it's Heat time and I respect that Buck's also trying to keep that distance, but River might not let him if she's basically drunk on hormones."

"Whoa hey, hey hey." Vince murmured softly. "Look. When I ran into Steve and River, the first thing they did was both stare at your asses. Steve was looking at /you/ Calla. River was looking at Bucky. Bucky and Steve probably are already discussing or had discussed what to do about an open relationship. They would've shut me down if I pressed for more or I was in the wrong." He positioned his arm around her shoulder and brought her close against his chest, letting her feel some sort of comfort. "The worst River's going to do is drag him baby shopping and demanding to know what she should name the gups. I honestly doubt she's going to do anything sexual with him because she herself would admit it fast and furiously that she's not ready for Gups, even if her heat tells her that she is." He smiled sadly. "It's a freak heat, I'll admit that right now. She was doing just fine until we started talking about relationships. I think River's getting a bit...scared. With the tides fucking up, she's gonna worry about population and what she can do to contribute even if it is on a subconscious level."

"He was...looking at me?" Calla murmured softly, "I was focused on Bucky and the food he was picking out. I don't think he knew, either." She chewed on her lip a bit, and lowered her voice as much as she could, curling closer to Vince, "Do you think the weather crap has to do with /them/? I mean, I haven't heard of anything lately, but that could just be it. They probably went quiet so they could stir up something big and flashy."

"I have no idea. It's possible or maybe it's just the way the world's turning." Vince sighed as he leaned back. "We'll know for certain if River freaks out and actually does decide to let her hormones take over and go mate with some unsuspecting sailor. Or we'll know when tragedy strikes. Something horrible always comes in threes. River would say that anyway."

"That's true...so its just a waiting game now," Calla hummed and decided to relax. If things weren't as one-sided as she thought, maybe things would turn out okay.

~*~

What about this one?" Bucky asked as he pulled one out from a rack and held it up under his chin. It was a burgundy type color and he thought it went well with his dark jeans.

"I like it, it's a nice shade of red." River mused as she looked at it and then looked at him. It would go well with the type of body, at least that's what Vince would say. "You should put it in the keep pile." She smiled. "If you like that color, then we'll find some more darks to go with it. Is it /just/ purple and red that you're after?" She gave him a slight look. "I oddly find you more attracted to black."

"That's why I didn't mind it when Vince said you'd turn me goth if I wasn't careful. I love black as much as I like red, though...I feel as though it makes Steve upset when I wear it, so I compromised with myself to just wear dark colors in general but not completely black, unless it's an undershirt for a button-up. I can get away with those. You wore one, remember?" he smiled playfully at her, placing it in the hand basket the store provided, then continued around the circle rack.

"I remember." River smiled warmly. "I still have to give it back to you. It's in the washer so that it won't have my sea-salt smell on it." She hummed as she went through the rack, eyeing the different shirts curiously. Sometimes she picked one up, and then put it back. Sometimes it didn't make it too far off the rack before it was immediately placed away, horrifed by the color or the idea of Bucky wearing. "Maybe." She said after a moment as she remembered that there was a conversation to be had. "Why would Steve be upset with you wearing black? I mean, as long as you're not trying to be a lolita boy or anything like that, I can't see why he'd be horrified. Unless you wear make up with that? I mean scary make up...not eyeliner and the natural look."

"It's generally a depressing color, and Steve's...it's like Calla said. A yin-yang," he brought out his phone, "I did wear black cameo makeup on the field. I was a sniper, and in a special sub-division. I wore a black stealth suit instead of the usual heavy gear to blend with the desert backdrop. Killer in the daytime, but I tried to stay in shaded areas. At night it was like I was invisible, which is usually the time we'd go out for missions..." he found the picture he was looking for and showed it to her. It was a simple thing, him holding his sniper rifle up and head turned, looking off somewhere. His eyes were obscured by goggles and his face from the nose down had a tight mask. It was sunset and they were just about to head out. There was nothing incriminating about it, so he was good to keep it.

River blinked in surprise at the picture. She brought the phone a little closer to her so she could see that and blurted out. "That is really sexy." She wanted to groan. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She gently pushed the phone back towards him. "My mouth...it runs sometimes and I can't seem to get it to work with my brain. I know it's supposed to be dangerous, and you know absolutely scary. Which your mask is. But the rest of it...as hot as it is in the desert and what not, you look good with tight clothes. If your jeans have anything to do with it."

Buck blushed, but he grinned and put his phone in his pocket, "You're not the first to say that, River, so you're more than fine. My unit would always tease me, especially after Steve saw me in it for the first time. If we didn't have to play up that we were straight, he probably would've had me on the spot. I think you would've loved them. They were quirky, and accepting. We all parted ways after what happened, though. I miss them, but I know they're doing good for themselves." He looked at the piles they both had, "Speaking of tight fitting, how about I go try these on for you in the dressing room and give you a show?"

River's eyes widened and she happily shoved the pile towards him. "Go." She laughed. "It's a shame you'll have to use the store's music for your catwalk, but I think you can handle it."

Sure enough, Bucky tried on several shirts and found it was rather amusing watching River drool over him, "Like what you see?" he asked her, grin wolfish as he watched her look him up and down. A shiver rolled up his spine at the lust that was evident, and he vaguely wondered if he /really/ should be teasing her like this? He didn't feel this with anybody besides Steve before, and that worried him. As long as he didn't do anything, he supposed.

"I really, really do." River nodded as she looked at the clothes. She had to forcefully remind herself that A) he wasn't ready for Gups and B) Totally with a different mate. "I like the way the shirt hugs your torso, and the way it matches with the color of your jeans. Dark, but you don't look washed out. Pull your hair back a tad." She smiled when he did so. "I'd fuck you. Even with your hair down. I think Steve would too."

"He has and he probably would again," Buck laughed softly, wondering when he'd reach the point where he'd stop blushing at her comments, "I'll get changed back into my original, and you can tell me what you'd like me to keep. I'll wear them especially if I come to the mainland just for you," he promised with a wink and headed back to the dressing room, hearing her whimper softly under her breath.

When he came back out, he handed her the basket with the clothes, leaning close to her in order to see what she was looking at in particular, "I wish I'd found you earlier, you could've helped me basically redo my wardrobe," he joked.

River shuddered and smiled as she placed the shirt back, Bucky was so close to her, it made her very aware of his scent, of his breath. "I wish I found you sooner too." She barely glanced over at Bucky. "But I'm glad that you found me when you found me. I'm sorry if Vince made you uncomfortable with the whole "open relationship" talk. He...worries. Especially since apparently I'm...off the spring board again."

"I understand," Buck stepped back respectfully, though he did reach out and brush her hair from her face, "We should wrap up here and get you back to Calla and Vince. I really will need to hop on the internet and research mermaid heat, because I have no idea what's going on with you, and if my presence is hurting rather than helping..." he sighed and guided her to the checkout. Once he paid for the clothes, he was glad the main hallway around the mall was cooler than that store had been.