It was a credit both her determination and efficiency, Natalia decided, landing this particular job. Interim secretary to James B. Barnes, one of Stark Enterprise's top and most valued minds, thanks to his impeccable engineering background and creative vision. Alas that Barnes wasn't much of an administrator; he'd rather be hunched over a drafting desk scribbling designs for whatever new gadget was burning in his cranium.
But she had other reasons in fighting for this particular position, reasons other than the great benefits package, upscale location, and two-weeks paid vacation without even having to pass a ninety-day trial period. And the main of those reasons was portrayed in one of the very few photographs that sat atop her still-new boss's moderately cluttered desk.
The photo was of a little girl, between two and three years old, sporting long dark ringlets, startlingly blue eyes framed with thick black lashes, dimples in her cheeks, and a bright, true smile. James Barnes' daughter, Rebecca Grace. Named for his youngest sister, Natalia knew, only child of a single, but absolutely doting and loving, father.
The slender redhead gazed at it now, gently smoothing her thumb over the little girl's perfect, pale cheek, and felt her heart skip a bit. But it was very nearly seven-thirty, and the department would be coming alive soon, and Barnes had a habit of showing up earlier than everyone else. But his coffee and breakfast waited in their customary spot, and "Natalie, Miss Rushman" smoothly replaced the framed photo just as the elevator doors chimed open and the father of her one and only child stepped out, wrangling his overcoat and his briefcase at the same time.
She met him at his office door, automatically holding her arms for both as she nodded in greeting. "Good morning, sir." The coat she hung on the rack near the door, and the briefcase she placed gently beside his desk. "You've a nine-thirty conference call with Mr. Stark about the new design, I believe he had some questions about metal integrity versus cost effectiveness. Then there's your interview at one; a replacement for Ted who quit last week."
Appearing every inch the professional secretary she'd crafted herself to be, Natalia gave her devastatingly handsome boss - and the father of the daughter she'd never met - a warm yet professional smile, and inquired, "Anything else I might do for you, sir?"
Bucky actually likes Natalie a lot. More than a lot. More than he ought to, considering she's his direct report and he ought not be looking at her as anything other than his executive assistant. He's always been too busy to pay much attention to women and, besides, having Dot leave had been hard on him. He's just glad Rebecca was too young to remember it. All she remembers is him and he has to tell her the story of her mother someday, yes, but he doesn't have to tell it any time soon.
"No, no. Hopefully the guy for Ted is good," he says. He gets a little distracted sometimes when Natalie talks and now is one of those times. She has a perfect body and she dresses well for it - professional and poised and not one hair out of line - and her hair is deep red and has the kind of curls he wants to sink both hands into. None of these things are relevant to their jobs.
"Did you have anything else for me? Otherwise, go get your breakfast and clear out until people actually start working. I think we're in a race to see who gets here first every day."
"His name is Martin Cavenaugh," she reminded him, making a note on her portable Ibook. "I've emailed you his resume and credentials, I'll put him in the conference room when he arrives." She made another note. "Company is couriering your dry cleaning this afternoon, it'll be home when you get there." She scrolled down, reading silently, then added, "And Rebecca has a doctor's appointment this Friday at...eleven-thirty, don't forget."
Seeing him putter around his desk made her arch an eyebrow, and since this too was part of their routine, "Natalie" stepped directly in his path, placed a small hand to the lapel of his already-rumpled suit jacket, and deftly plucked his reading glasses from the breast pocket of his shirt, handing them over with a bright smile.
"Looking for these?"
Then she was off again, informing him that his coffee was on his desk and to message her if he needed anything else, and then, thank God, she forced herself to calmly leave his office, gently pulling the door closed behind her. And allowed a brief moment of melancholy sorrow for herself; this had to be the craziest stunt she'd ever pulled.
Bucky works for a few hours, drafting this and that, and when it's time for his conference call he's still walking around the office and working while he's speaking. He and Stark work out the price offsets for the new design and Bucky agrees to keep tweaking it. He works through lunch so that when the interview comes in, he can take that time and not lose any on his projects.
Martin turns out to be fine, if a little boring, and he sends him through to Natalie to start setting up paperwork through HR. He eyes the clock and it's getting dangerously close to when Rebecca gets out of school and while he knows plenty of dads (and moms) use daycare, he hates using it for Rebecca. Every day he wants to be the one to pick her up at preschool and can't because of work. Today, he decides he's going to have something different done. He pokes his head out of his office, glasses balanced on his nose.
Though her entire identity was contrived, the work wasn't, and it took a good bit of her concentration to actually do the job she'd angled to get. The days consisted mostly of triaging Barnes' schedule, managing meetings, and whatever other little errands needed to be done in order to keep him focused on project management and the procurement of the next huge market of tech to come out of the department.
She was just sending off Cavanaugh's forms to the upper HR floor when the inner office door opened, and she glanced up from her laptop screen to see her boss's head around the door jamb, those reading glasses perched so adorably on his nose. She knew he only wore them when he was sketching or drawing, and was more often than not prone to leaving them hooked on his shirt collar or shoved up atop his head, instigating a full scale search of all premises to locate them again.
But she lifted her eyebrows politely, rising from her chair and coming around her desk at his call. "Of course, sir. What do you need?" Inexplicably, she found herself suddenly itching to push those stray locks of dark hair out of his face, curve them behind his ear and let her fingertips drift over that high cheekbone... Focus, Natalia.
"Go pick my kid up from daycare? I'll write a note," he says, leaning back into the office to write out a neatly-scripted note to explain that Natalie's his secretary and she'll be bringing Rebecca back to Stark Tower this afternoon instead of her going on to daycare. He signs it and hands it over.
"They shouldn't ask you anything but if they do, just put them on the phone with me. I'll have my cell on me and I'll answer it. Her special codeword is ladybug. They make you set one of those up. I think I told you to put it in my phone, actually, because I sure as hell don't remember where it came from."
That's the honest truth. He grins at Natalie, hoping to sweeten the deal.
"I'll let you have Friday off. And Monday. Yeah, Friday and Monday. You can have a long weekend. Please? I just want to see my kid before the sun goes down."
Yes, she remembered setting up the codeword when Rebecca started going to this daycare, just a short month ago. The little girl had just turned three, and had been so excited to finally be going to "school", just like her Daddy went to work every single day. And every time Natalia saw her beautiful little face, her heart wanted to break into a thousand scattered pieces.
But this was part of the job, to keep both her daughter and her daughter's father safe, and more importantly, alive, so the redhead steeled herself, forced a professional smile, and nodded. "Of course, Mr. Barnes. I'd be delighted to." She took the note, adding, "But I don't need the extra time off, really."
Natalia picked up her cell, sending Hogan a text to bring around the car. "And if you're going to be working late, we'll pick up something for supper, or we can have something delivered, whichever you like, sir."
"Have something delivered," Bucky says. "And make sure to get something for yourselves, too. We'll all eat up here."
He thinks it'll be nice and he doesn't mind spending a little extra time in the office if he can bond a little more with his daughter and with Natalie. Is it selfish? Yes. But he does like Natalie and he wants to see her as much as he can; it's not fair to anyone but it's there and he can't help himself.
"Is that all right with you, Miss Rushman? Please tell me if it's out of line."
"Of course, sir." It was the automatic answer, and she made a mental note to do just that, but paused when she heard his latter words. Was he...flirting with her? ...surely not. Their relationship was strictly professional; she'd done her absolute best to make sure of that. --regardless of her own feelings, which she did very well to keep buried under the calm, professional veneer presented to the rest of the world.
But she felt that façade slip, just for a split second, thought she believed she recovered well enough. "Oh? Oh." Natalia gave him a small smile, shaking her head lightly. "No, sire. It's perfectly fine. I'd be--delighted." Even if she'd be on pins and needles the entire time.
"Delighted makes it sound better than it might be. I had better roll out my best," Bucky teases. He realizes he's flirting with her and he knows he needs to stop; the last thing he needs is for his assistant to file a harassment claim against him when he's just bumbling through a crush.
"Sorry, Miss Rushman. I didn't mean to offend if I did. It just...rolled off automatically and I shouldn't have said that. I'll be more professional in the future."
The sheepishness she heard in his voice tickled her amusement and Natalie laughed softly. "It's fine, sir, I promise." She shook back a stray curl, lips tilting in a sweet smile. "You never offend me, you know that." He was such a sweetheart, and Stefana had broken that big gentle heart into a thousand pieces. It was just...unfortunate that she might end up doing the very same thing.
The wiser course would be to pull back, remain professional, and move along, but goddamnit, she simply couldn't. Not with those big blue eyes gazing at her, hoping to receive something, even the smallest scrap of affection. Natalia could no more resist that then she could walk on the moon.
"I think I'd really like to see your best, Mr. Barnes," she teased right back. "I'm sure it's beyond impressive, too."
"It would have to be somewhere other than the office, unfortunately. This venue leaves something to be desired," Bucky admits, laughing a little. He knows his cheeks are pink and he looks away. He hopes the tan he has keeps it from being terribly obvious. He has feelings for Miss Rushman that aren't professional and he accidentally showed them.
"Best get going to pick up Rebecca. She'll be happy to see you. She likes you," he says. "She told me you were pretty. I agreed but then reminded her she was the prettiest girl in the whole world. Sorry, Miss Rushman, but I have to keep my princess happy. I'm sure you understand."
"Oh, I don't know," Natalia mused, idly twirling that wayward curl around one finger as she looked her boss up and down. Slowly. "You could probably make anyplace look good, Mr. Barnes." She nibbled on her lower lip lightly, not missing the soft flush beneath his darker skin, and it thrilled her, just enough.
But he was right; Happy had texted her that he was waiting downstairs, so she should stop playing with fire and get back to work. Right? Hearing Barnes' revelation about his daughter, however, had her lifting her eyes in bemusement and shaking her head as she slipped into her overcoat. "Be back soon," she promised, fleeing just as soon as it was professionally acceptable.
Thankfully, the Care Center wasn't too far from Stark Enterprises, and the little Ladybug was indeed overjoyed to see her father's friend Mr. Happy and his pretty secretary, Miss Nattie. Rebecca tumbled into Natalia's arms for a huge hug and a sloppy kiss, sharing one with Stark's driver, too. Then it was off to the limo after gathering up her small backpack, coat, and Binky, the stuffed unicorn toy she insisted on carrying about everywhere.
"We're going to see your papa at his work," Natalia told the little girl as they drove. "He's missed you terribly, Becca-Bug, and said we could even get hamburgers and milkshakes for dinner!" Rebecca squealed delight and bounced in her carseat, not realizing just how much her mother's heart was constricting, simply being near the little girl.
Bucky loves spending time with his daughter and when she shows up at his office, he's so happy that she immediately runs to him and throws her arms around his neck. He scoops her up and spins her around the room for a moment before giving her a good, long snuggle and finally setting her on her own two feet again.
Dinner is simple enough, shakes and fries and burgers, but he's starving from missing lunch and is desperately trying to get his toddler to eat enough; do they all pick at their food like this or is it just his daughter?
Some six weeks after the gala, Natalia awoke in semi-familiar surroundings, stretching as her muscles twinged pleasantly, glancing over to see the other side of the large bed already empty. But she heard sounds coming from the kitchen; apparently her lover was making either coffee or breakfast, which meant she didn't have to leave the bed right this second.
The sheets were well-stirred, and she nestled beneath their softness with a lazy little smile. This wasn't the first time she'd woken in her boss's bed, and she doubted it would be the last. Following the gala, things had more or less just happened, and their relationship took a hard left from professional to very, very personal. Not to the detriment of the work; both of them were corporate professionals and wise enough to keep their off-the-clock activities on the downlow, but then there had been Rebecca to consider.
Natalia had been adamant that her presence in James's life not disturb the little girl's routine in any way, shape, or fashion, and only agreed to "sleep over" whenever Becca Bug spent the night at her aunt's, grandparent's, or friend's house, not wanting to have to try and explain the delicacies of an adult relationship to a inquisitive three-year old. And this weekend, James had arranged for his daughter to stay with her namesake, her Aunt Rebecca, leaving Natalia free to indulge in her boss's lavish attention for two full days.
Still listening to the minute sounds of a large man in a relatively small kitchen, the redhead chuckled softly to herself and shifted beneath the draped sheet, pulling Bucky's pillow into her arms to cuddle until he returned.
Breakfast in bed is a little too much but he's already got tea and toast and pancakes on a tray so he brings them in and sits on the edge of the bed, grinning at Natalia as he does.
"I brought a little of everything," he says, grinning at her. "Because I figured last night had you hungry. Besides, we have plans for the rest of the day too, I hope. Becca's gone for a while."
And he's so grateful for it. He has loved this time with her even though it has to be carved out in hours here and there.
She gave him a tousled sleepy smile when he returned, shifting over for a brief kiss. "Starving," she agreed, snagging a half-slice of toast. "Ooh, and you brought tea." Natalia wiggled around until she was sitting up against the headboard, sheet casually draped. "My hero." Taking her cup, she added, "I don't have to be at work until Monday morning," a twinkling tease, "so my weekend's free."
Natalia was just about to settle in for breakfast and kisses when the doorbell suddenly rang. A bolt of momentary fear ran up her spine; would HYDRA assassins ring the doorbell this early on Saturday morning? Probably not, but one would ring the bell while another circled around to slip in the back door. Which was why she threw on the dress shirt she'd peeled Bucky out of the night before and ghosted down the hall to the back door seconds after he headed towards the front.
She was checking the back porch stoop, the roof above it, and the entire backyard when she heard an unfamiliar female voice waft from the front of the house; "Good morning, brother dear! Becca Bug forgot her blanket last night, so here I am to get it. Bill has the kids distracted this morning, so I'm hoping she won't notice it again until I make it back to the house." A pause, then, "...Bucky, when did you start wearing nylons? And...why are they hanging off the corn plant?"
"Uhhh I guess the neighbors? You know laundry outside is a big thing now, getting back to basics. I'll just snatch those and run them next door." Bucky snatches the nylons down and wonders just how in the fuck they managed that. He stuffs them in his pocket and he gives Rebecca a tight smile.
"Yeah, I'll get her blanket and bring it down. Just wasn't expecting company this morning and I was all settled in for football and junk food. The place is a mess." It's not, because he's meticulous, but he doesn't really want them finding out he has a woman over right now.
Rebecca laughed, clearly not believing a word of it. "No, I don't want to wait outside, are you crazy?' She laughed and shoved past her large brother, shaking her head as she stepped inside her childhood home. "And it doesn't look too bad in here, even with a toddler. Look, I know where Becca's room is, I'll just run up and grab her blanket and let you get back to...whatever you're doing, all right?"
In the kitchen, Natalia stood absolutely still, hidden in the space between the door frame and the refrigerator. She recognized Rebecca, had met her several times at the office, of course, but didn't think that right now was the time to renew old acquaintances. James had tried to deflect his little sister, but naturally that hadn't worked, so the best thing to do was just keep out of sight and quiet.
But she couldn't help tensing when she heard the other woman's voice drawing closer. "Did you make breakfast? Any leftovers?"
"Rebecca, seriously, I just cooked for myself," Bucky says, following her through the house. Goddamn his sister is in fine form this morning. It's okay normally but right now he's a little annoyed that she's just walking into the house like she owns it when Natalie's here.
"Look, Rebecca, it's been great but I have someone over right now and I'm not to the meet the family stage so I'd really like it if you could just...make it quick?"
There. That's mostly the truth, isn't it? She already knows Natalie but she doesn't need to know that.
"Ha! I knew you were lying about those stockings, James Buchanan Barnes." Rebecca laughed like a younger sister did, sniggering at her older brother. She drifted back to the living room and the stairs, grinning like a fiend.
"But hey, I get it. Although I gotta say, I'm shocked you found the time to date, brother mine." She went up the first few steps, then paused, turning around to inquire slyly, "Is she pretty? A redhead? Does she know you're a hopeless sappy workaholic?"
In the kitchen, Natalia had to bite her lip on an amused snort.
"She's pretty and she's a blonde," Bucky says, eyes narrowing. "What's with the twenty questions, huh? If it goes somewhere, I'll introduce you, but right now you're interrupting some good sex and if I don't get back upstairs I'm not going to have a woman up there to worry about."
God, won't she just go?
"Mind Becca so I don't have to worry about her while I'm trying to have a date? Please? And call next time before you come over. I need a heads up."
Becca huffed. "I'm your sister, just in case you've forgotten, and anyone my big brother is serious enough about to bring home is what's with the 'twenty questions'." She stuck out her tongue at him, then turned serious.
"...does she know about little Becca? And is she okay with that?" A steely light lit in her eye; the little girl was just as dear to Rebecca as her own children, and if this tart currently sleeping with her big brother ever dared to hurt that child in any, any way...
"Rebecca, seriously. It's my fucking secretary," Bucky finally spurts out, utterly irritated by this point. "It's goddamn Natalie, she's trying to hide from you and I'd really like it if you left right now."
He rubs the bridge of his nose and exhales slowly, trying to calm down. "Yes, she knows about Becca, yes she's met her, no I don't know how serious it is yet, yes I would like to not get sued for sexual harassment, yes I would like it if you left so I could get back to my date."
Well, now the cat was out of the bag. Quick and quietly as a shadow, Natalia slipped up the back stairs to the second floor, and emerged at the top of the front staircase, a special pink blanket with purple stars in her hands.
"Good morning, Mrs. Ballard," she greeted Rebecca, coming down the stairs with Becca's blanket in her hands. "I...well, I apologize for the awkwardness, but I think this is what you're looking for, isn't it?" A soft smile, and she handed over the little girl's blanket, her professional aplomb apparent even in such informal attire.
Becca just blinked at her, then looked back her brother, totally croggled. "Um--er, hi, Natalia. And yes...it is, thanks." She took the blanket, still a little shell-shocked, but recovered enough to clear her throat, give Bucky a dark look, more for the attitude than the circumstance, and forced a smile. "Well. All right then. I guess...I guess I'll leave you two kids to it. Or...whatever."
Giving her brother a slap on the arm as she passed, Rebecca headed for the front door, saying as she went through it, "I'll call you...later."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dad!Bucky Au
But she had other reasons in fighting for this particular position, reasons other than the great benefits package, upscale location, and two-weeks paid vacation without even having to pass a ninety-day trial period. And the main of those reasons was portrayed in one of the very few photographs that sat atop her still-new boss's moderately cluttered desk.
The photo was of a little girl, between two and three years old, sporting long dark ringlets, startlingly blue eyes framed with thick black lashes, dimples in her cheeks, and a bright, true smile. James Barnes' daughter, Rebecca Grace. Named for his youngest sister, Natalia knew, only child of a single, but absolutely doting and loving, father.
The slender redhead gazed at it now, gently smoothing her thumb over the little girl's perfect, pale cheek, and felt her heart skip a bit. But it was very nearly seven-thirty, and the department would be coming alive soon, and Barnes had a habit of showing up earlier than everyone else. But his coffee and breakfast waited in their customary spot, and "Natalie, Miss Rushman" smoothly replaced the framed photo just as the elevator doors chimed open and the father of her one and only child stepped out, wrangling his overcoat and his briefcase at the same time.
She met him at his office door, automatically holding her arms for both as she nodded in greeting. "Good morning, sir." The coat she hung on the rack near the door, and the briefcase she placed gently beside his desk. "You've a nine-thirty conference call with Mr. Stark about the new design, I believe he had some questions about metal integrity versus cost effectiveness. Then there's your interview at one; a replacement for Ted who quit last week."
Appearing every inch the professional secretary she'd crafted herself to be, Natalia gave her devastatingly handsome boss - and the father of the daughter she'd never met - a warm yet professional smile, and inquired, "Anything else I might do for you, sir?"
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"No, no. Hopefully the guy for Ted is good," he says. He gets a little distracted sometimes when Natalie talks and now is one of those times. She has a perfect body and she dresses well for it - professional and poised and not one hair out of line - and her hair is deep red and has the kind of curls he wants to sink both hands into. None of these things are relevant to their jobs.
"Did you have anything else for me? Otherwise, go get your breakfast and clear out until people actually start working. I think we're in a race to see who gets here first every day."
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Seeing him putter around his desk made her arch an eyebrow, and since this too was part of their routine, "Natalie" stepped directly in his path, placed a small hand to the lapel of his already-rumpled suit jacket, and deftly plucked his reading glasses from the breast pocket of his shirt, handing them over with a bright smile.
"Looking for these?"
Then she was off again, informing him that his coffee was on his desk and to message her if he needed anything else, and then, thank God, she forced herself to calmly leave his office, gently pulling the door closed behind her. And allowed a brief moment of melancholy sorrow for herself; this had to be the craziest stunt she'd ever pulled.
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Martin turns out to be fine, if a little boring, and he sends him through to Natalie to start setting up paperwork through HR. He eyes the clock and it's getting dangerously close to when Rebecca gets out of school and while he knows plenty of dads (and moms) use daycare, he hates using it for Rebecca. Every day he wants to be the one to pick her up at preschool and can't because of work. Today, he decides he's going to have something different done. He pokes his head out of his office, glasses balanced on his nose.
"Natalie? Can you do me a favor?"
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She was just sending off Cavanaugh's forms to the upper HR floor when the inner office door opened, and she glanced up from her laptop screen to see her boss's head around the door jamb, those reading glasses perched so adorably on his nose. She knew he only wore them when he was sketching or drawing, and was more often than not prone to leaving them hooked on his shirt collar or shoved up atop his head, instigating a full scale search of all premises to locate them again.
But she lifted her eyebrows politely, rising from her chair and coming around her desk at his call. "Of course, sir. What do you need?" Inexplicably, she found herself suddenly itching to push those stray locks of dark hair out of his face, curve them behind his ear and let her fingertips drift over that high cheekbone... Focus, Natalia.
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"They shouldn't ask you anything but if they do, just put them on the phone with me. I'll have my cell on me and I'll answer it. Her special codeword is ladybug. They make you set one of those up. I think I told you to put it in my phone, actually, because I sure as hell don't remember where it came from."
That's the honest truth. He grins at Natalie, hoping to sweeten the deal.
"I'll let you have Friday off. And Monday. Yeah, Friday and Monday. You can have a long weekend. Please? I just want to see my kid before the sun goes down."
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But this was part of the job, to keep both her daughter and her daughter's father safe, and more importantly, alive, so the redhead steeled herself, forced a professional smile, and nodded. "Of course, Mr. Barnes. I'd be delighted to." She took the note, adding, "But I don't need the extra time off, really."
Natalia picked up her cell, sending Hogan a text to bring around the car. "And if you're going to be working late, we'll pick up something for supper, or we can have something delivered, whichever you like, sir."
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He thinks it'll be nice and he doesn't mind spending a little extra time in the office if he can bond a little more with his daughter and with Natalie. Is it selfish? Yes. But he does like Natalie and he wants to see her as much as he can; it's not fair to anyone but it's there and he can't help himself.
"Is that all right with you, Miss Rushman? Please tell me if it's out of line."
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But she felt that façade slip, just for a split second, thought she believed she recovered well enough. "Oh? Oh." Natalia gave him a small smile, shaking her head lightly. "No, sire. It's perfectly fine. I'd be--delighted." Even if she'd be on pins and needles the entire time.
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"Sorry, Miss Rushman. I didn't mean to offend if I did. It just...rolled off automatically and I shouldn't have said that. I'll be more professional in the future."
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The wiser course would be to pull back, remain professional, and move along, but goddamnit, she simply couldn't. Not with those big blue eyes gazing at her, hoping to receive something, even the smallest scrap of affection. Natalia could no more resist that then she could walk on the moon.
"I think I'd really like to see your best, Mr. Barnes," she teased right back. "I'm sure it's beyond impressive, too."
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"Best get going to pick up Rebecca. She'll be happy to see you. She likes you," he says. "She told me you were pretty. I agreed but then reminded her she was the prettiest girl in the whole world. Sorry, Miss Rushman, but I have to keep my princess happy. I'm sure you understand."
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But he was right; Happy had texted her that he was waiting downstairs, so she should stop playing with fire and get back to work. Right? Hearing Barnes' revelation about his daughter, however, had her lifting her eyes in bemusement and shaking her head as she slipped into her overcoat. "Be back soon," she promised, fleeing just as soon as it was professionally acceptable.
Thankfully, the Care Center wasn't too far from Stark Enterprises, and the little Ladybug was indeed overjoyed to see her father's friend Mr. Happy and his pretty secretary, Miss Nattie. Rebecca tumbled into Natalia's arms for a huge hug and a sloppy kiss, sharing one with Stark's driver, too. Then it was off to the limo after gathering up her small backpack, coat, and Binky, the stuffed unicorn toy she insisted on carrying about everywhere.
"We're going to see your papa at his work," Natalia told the little girl as they drove. "He's missed you terribly, Becca-Bug, and said we could even get hamburgers and milkshakes for dinner!" Rebecca squealed delight and bounced in her carseat, not realizing just how much her mother's heart was constricting, simply being near the little girl.
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Dinner is simple enough, shakes and fries and burgers, but he's starving from missing lunch and is desperately trying to get his toddler to eat enough; do they all pick at their food like this or is it just his daughter?
"Do you have children, Miss Rushman?"
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The sheets were well-stirred, and she nestled beneath their softness with a lazy little smile. This wasn't the first time she'd woken in her boss's bed, and she doubted it would be the last. Following the gala, things had more or less just happened, and their relationship took a hard left from professional to very, very personal. Not to the detriment of the work; both of them were corporate professionals and wise enough to keep their off-the-clock activities on the downlow, but then there had been Rebecca to consider.
Natalia had been adamant that her presence in James's life not disturb the little girl's routine in any way, shape, or fashion, and only agreed to "sleep over" whenever Becca Bug spent the night at her aunt's, grandparent's, or friend's house, not wanting to have to try and explain the delicacies of an adult relationship to a inquisitive three-year old. And this weekend, James had arranged for his daughter to stay with her namesake, her Aunt Rebecca, leaving Natalia free to indulge in her boss's lavish attention for two full days.
Still listening to the minute sounds of a large man in a relatively small kitchen, the redhead chuckled softly to herself and shifted beneath the draped sheet, pulling Bucky's pillow into her arms to cuddle until he returned.
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"I brought a little of everything," he says, grinning at her. "Because I figured last night had you hungry. Besides, we have plans for the rest of the day too, I hope. Becca's gone for a while."
And he's so grateful for it. He has loved this time with her even though it has to be carved out in hours here and there.
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Natalia was just about to settle in for breakfast and kisses when the doorbell suddenly rang. A bolt of momentary fear ran up her spine; would HYDRA assassins ring the doorbell this early on Saturday morning? Probably not, but one would ring the bell while another circled around to slip in the back door. Which was why she threw on the dress shirt she'd peeled Bucky out of the night before and ghosted down the hall to the back door seconds after he headed towards the front.
She was checking the back porch stoop, the roof above it, and the entire backyard when she heard an unfamiliar female voice waft from the front of the house; "Good morning, brother dear! Becca Bug forgot her blanket last night, so here I am to get it. Bill has the kids distracted this morning, so I'm hoping she won't notice it again until I make it back to the house." A pause, then, "...Bucky, when did you start wearing nylons? And...why are they hanging off the corn plant?"
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"Yeah, I'll get her blanket and bring it down. Just wasn't expecting company this morning and I was all settled in for football and junk food. The place is a mess." It's not, because he's meticulous, but he doesn't really want them finding out he has a woman over right now.
"You wanna just wait outside?"
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In the kitchen, Natalia stood absolutely still, hidden in the space between the door frame and the refrigerator. She recognized Rebecca, had met her several times at the office, of course, but didn't think that right now was the time to renew old acquaintances. James had tried to deflect his little sister, but naturally that hadn't worked, so the best thing to do was just keep out of sight and quiet.
But she couldn't help tensing when she heard the other woman's voice drawing closer. "Did you make breakfast? Any leftovers?"
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"Look, Rebecca, it's been great but I have someone over right now and I'm not to the meet the family stage so I'd really like it if you could just...make it quick?"
There. That's mostly the truth, isn't it? She already knows Natalie but she doesn't need to know that.
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"But hey, I get it. Although I gotta say, I'm shocked you found the time to date, brother mine." She went up the first few steps, then paused, turning around to inquire slyly, "Is she pretty? A redhead? Does she know you're a hopeless sappy workaholic?"
In the kitchen, Natalia had to bite her lip on an amused snort.
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God, won't she just go?
"Mind Becca so I don't have to worry about her while I'm trying to have a date? Please? And call next time before you come over. I need a heads up."
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"...does she know about little Becca? And is she okay with that?" A steely light lit in her eye; the little girl was just as dear to Rebecca as her own children, and if this tart currently sleeping with her big brother ever dared to hurt that child in any, any way...
"Has Becca met this chick, Bucky?"
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He rubs the bridge of his nose and exhales slowly, trying to calm down. "Yes, she knows about Becca, yes she's met her, no I don't know how serious it is yet, yes I would like to not get sued for sexual harassment, yes I would like it if you left so I could get back to my date."
He thinks that about covers it.
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"Good morning, Mrs. Ballard," she greeted Rebecca, coming down the stairs with Becca's blanket in her hands. "I...well, I apologize for the awkwardness, but I think this is what you're looking for, isn't it?" A soft smile, and she handed over the little girl's blanket, her professional aplomb apparent even in such informal attire.
Becca just blinked at her, then looked back her brother, totally croggled. "Um--er, hi, Natalia. And yes...it is, thanks." She took the blanket, still a little shell-shocked, but recovered enough to clear her throat, give Bucky a dark look, more for the attitude than the circumstance, and forced a smile. "Well. All right then. I guess...I guess I'll leave you two kids to it. Or...whatever."
Giving her brother a slap on the arm as she passed, Rebecca headed for the front door, saying as she went through it, "I'll call you...later."
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