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"I know, I know, I'm sorry. Force of habit." She reached for James's hands, lacing her fingers with his. "I don't get a lot of time to date either, so we're both out of practice." She let herself drift close, close enough to smell the cologne warmed by his skin, and it flooded her senses, sending even more heat spiraling through her.

"It's fine, James. Promise. This can be our date, just yours and mine." Releasing one of his hands to pick up her clutch, Natalia gave him a little tug towards the door. "But we better get going, if we want to get started on it." Fashionably late only went so far.

Once they get to the Gala proper, there's plenty of people to see and plenty of things stronger than apple juice. Bucky opts for champagne and he nabs two flutes of it from a traveling waiter, offering one to Natalie as soon as he gets a chance.

"Better get it before it's gone," he teases, tipping his glass back and letting the alcohol tip down his throat. "I'll need a little if you intend to get me to dance. It's been so long since I've had a dance partner that I'll probably make you look bad out there."

He flashes her a brilliant grin, though, hoping she'll forgive him for any future dancing mishaps.

The champaghe was delicious, cold and crisp on her tongue, and she took a long sip in turn, smiling indulgently at her "date" as he endeavored to unwind a little. She didn't blame him in the slightest. But as soon as word traveled through the crowd that James Barnes had arrived, he did indeed get mobbed, just as she'd predicted, by well-wishers, investors, do-gooders, other high powered executives, and finally Tony Stark himself, sailing through the hoard with Pepper in tow.

"Buuuuckyyyyy!" Stark caroled, "just the man I wanna see. How're you? You look great. Where's your date? Oh, Natalie came with you? Smashing. God, she looks gorgeous, you dog you. But seriously. Marry that girl, Barnes, you know she's the best thing that's ever happened to you. Because if you don't, I might, hear me? Babe, what, don't look at me like that, I'm just sayin'..." And on and on he sailed, all but dragging his top engineer through the ballroom, leaving Natalia and Pepper to follow on a little more sedately.

"Just ignore him, Miss Rushman," Pepper smiled, nodding at a few acquaintances. "You know how he is." Natalia laughed, shaking her head lightly. "Oh, I do, Miss Potts. Don't worry, I know he doesn't mean anything by it."

Bucky wants to duck and hide when Stark finds him but really, there's no avoiding him here. He'd think that Tony had already been in the champagne except this is perfectly sober behavior, honestly, and being dragged out onto the dance floor is nothing new. Bucky follows, looking over his shoulder at Pepper and Natalie, and gives him a helpless smile.

"Are you planning to steal me as your date?" Bucky asks. Stark roars laughing at that and makes an attempt to spin him around the floor before delivering him back to Natalie.

"Nah. I'm not nearly the eye candy she is. Hey! That hurt, you know," he cries out, clearly in response to a pinch from Pepper, and Bucky doesn't bother stifling his laugh. He takes Natalie's hand in his own.

"Do you want to dance? We're here and all and otherwise I'll get all embarrassed."

"Sure, I'd love to." They might as well, considering they were already on the dance floor and the orchestra was just starting a nice, slow waltz. Leaving her clutch on their table, Natalia smoothed out her dress and took James' offered hand, letting him position them both with her hand in his and the other resting lightly on his shoulder.

"It's been a while since I've waltzed," she warned him, glancing briefly at their feet. "High school prom, in fact." She wanted to make him feel less self-conscious about his own too-long drought. "So apologies in advance if I spoil the shine on your shoes, James."

"When do you think was the last time I did it? Wedding," Bucky points out, easing her into the steps. He's always been a good dancer, though, and his muscle memory hasn't forgotten the steps. It's nice to hold someone like this and just be together. It's been so long for him that he's forgotten what it feels like.

"You're not bad at it, though. You're pretty enough that if you stepped on my feet I would probably let it slide." He pairs that with a soft laugh and eases his palm under her hair and lets long fingers splay against the back of her neck. "And you look like a queen, not a princess. Previous estimations were undershot."

"Becca-Bug is your princess," Natalia reminded him lightly, but her lashes drifted gently closed when she felt calloused fingertips smoothing over her skin. Somehow, they moved over the floor effortlessly, never missing a step. James Barnes was a natural, if quiet, leader, and it was instinct to let him lead her through the dance, oddly feeling more at ease right here than she ever had anywhere else.

The hand at his shoulder involuntarily moved to curl around his neck, her fingers incidentally toying with the sable strands brushing along his collar. "...but I'm glad you think so. I don't really have occasion to get dressed up like this very often. So, thank you, for asking me."

"Thank you for saying yes," Bucky says softly, sad when the waltz ends and gets replaced by something a little faster. He could have gone for that waltz all night. Well, he doesn't have a curfew and neither does Natalie so there will be plenty of waltzes to come if he just bides his time. For now, they can sip champagne and talk.

"It doesn't feel awkward," he admits. "I thought it might, since you work for me, but it feels like any date I've ever had. Any good date I've ever had. Thanks for that." His cheeks color a little and he laughs into his wineglass.

"I haven't had any dates in a while. It's nice. I should do it more often."

"Yes, you should." But she knew he likely wouldn't; there were too many other priorities in his life. Which was fine with her, because the addition of another woman in their...weird little relationship didn't sit too well.

As the music picked up, they found themselves back at their table, sipping champagne, and of course the inevitability of work intruded in the guise of investors wanting "just a few minutes" of the brilliant engineer's time, so Natalia was left to sit and watch the gala go by, more than content to be left in the background.

Until a semi-familiar figure appeared at her elbow, smiling and bowing a little. "Evening, Miss Rushman," Martin Cavanaugh said, gazing at her. "Wow, you look...beautiful." She exchanged greetings; Cavanaugh didn't clean up too bad, either. "Would you maybe wanna dance?" he offered, a little hopeful, a little starry-eyed.

Well, James was busy with three of Stark Enterprises top investors, no doubt talking shop, and this probably wouldn't take too long, so she told him yes, and headed back out to the dance floor.

Bucky sees Natalie get whisked off by Cavanaugh and wraps up his conversation with the investors as politely as he can. He imagines they're through a dance and a half when he taps the other man on the shoulder and asks "if I can take my date back, please?" Cavanaugh yields and Bucky pulls Natalie a little closer than he'd done earlier. He's also had more champagne than earlier.

"Do you like him? Cavanaugh? Shit. That's probably something I shouldn't ask you," Bucky says. He's not dancing so much as holding her right now and he hopes Natalie only likes the other man in a polite sort of way and not as dating material. He's jealous over her, he realizes, and if he feels jealous then he ought to be honest about why he feels that way both to himself and to her. He owes it to them both.

A little surprised when James appeared behind Martin's shoulder, Natalia smiled at him and assured him everything was fine before once more fitting into her boss's arms as they moved around the dance floor. "Martin?" She glanced at the retreating engineer and shrugged her bare shoulder. "He's nice, I guess."

The arm around her waist felt a little more...possessive than it had the last time it'd been there, and suddenly Natalia couldn't help the teasing light in her eyes or the coy curve of her lips. "What's the matter, James?" An eyebrow slowly arched. "You're not...jealous of your new hire, are you?" Surely he wasn't. It was just a simple, friendly dance.

"You're my date," Bucky says, fully aware it sounds ridiculous out of context and it's not something he can really put into context because of their employer-employee relationship. He keeps his arm around her, though, and his hand splayed at her waist. He frowns a little in frustration.

"I know it's stupid," he qualifies. "But I asked you on this date and it's not...well it's not friendly even if it should only be friendly and I'm probably getting slapped with a lawsuit Monday but I don't care. It's a date. And you're my date. And I probably shouldn't have much more champagne."

Or any more, really, but it's so rare that he gets to go out that he wants to enjoy it.

Seeing the frustrated frown on his handsome face made her want to soothe it away. Perhaps he was more possessive of her than she realized. ...and here she'd thought this ridiculous tension between them had just been her own fragile nerves.

"...all right," she murmured, shifting a little closer. "All right, James. It's okay. I'll be yours, then." Natalia shook her head lightly. "Just yours." She gently smoothed stray hair away from his face, tucking it behind his ear.

"How about we get another glass of champagne, then get a little air out on the balcony, da?" They both needed a good dose of cold, head-clearing New York breeze. "--and maybe talk, a little bit, too."

Going outside to clear their heads sounds like a great idea and Bucky snags two more glasses of champagne before wrapping his arm around Natalie's waist to do just that. The city's beautiful tonight, as always, and he slips out of his jacket and drapes it over her shoulders.

"Gets cold up here on the upper levels," he points out. "The wind gets concentrated between the buildings and so it ends up being a lot gustier the higher you go. It's all science, you see. You can even design buildings around it, if you wanted to. I've done some designs that take it into account."

She burrowed thankfully into the soft warmth of James's suit jacket, covertly inhaling the scent of his cologne as she sipped her champagne. Natalia listened to the engineering lesson with a gentle smile, saying after he trailed off, "I know, I've watched you work on a few of them, remember?"

He had a sometimes-habit of calling her into his office to watch him sketch, as if he actually needed her input, considering his own genius when it came to any sort of design.

But she loved being up so high, able to see all the way to the Atlantic, despite the notable temperature difference from here to the ground. "It's beautiful out tonight," she mused, holding her empty glass in both hands and leaning lightly against the balustrade. "Such a lovely view."

"I always loved the city. Way over there is where we live," he says, pointing out toward Brooklyn. "Better view from here, probably, but you know I'm a hometown boy. Always will be." Bucky thickens up his accent a little and slings an arm around Natalie's waist.

"What's a good girl like you doin' with a bad boy like me, huh? Your Ma's gonna be mad when she catches us out here. Probably never let me see you again or anything. You wanna make it worth it, doll?"

It's something he'd have said in high school, maybe, or college, and he grins so, so bright.

Natalia stiffened only slightly when James slung an arm around her waist and involuntarily hauled her close, but she relaxed into his side and laughed at his cheesy Brooklyn drawl. "'Bad boy'?" she replied, a little sardonic. "You're not even close, Barnes." Really, he was such a good guy that he positively gleamed under the right light.

But she twirled lightly on her toes, spinning them both around to put herself right in front of him, both of her slender arms winding around his neck as they settled. She gave him a coy little smile, falling into his goofy teasing mode. "I think my ma'd be pretty mad if I let a catch like you get away."

"I think your Ma probably has good taste," Bucky agrees. She's so small in his arms and so much shorter than he is that he has to stoop down to kiss her but it's worth it. A crick in the neck is worth kissing a woman he's wanted for weeks and weeks and he makes the kiss brief before pulling away to look in her eyes.

"I...don't know if that was okay," Bucky says, frowning a little. "Was that okay? I hope it was okay."

There's lines getting blurred between Natalie and himself and he doesn't know which are good and which are bad.

She started to say something else pert, but before she could, James had lowered his head and just pecked her lips lightly, leaving her blinking up at him and more than a little surprised. Then she heard the worry in his voice and everything else just melted away.

"James," she said, rolling her eyes slightly, "it's fine. This is our date, remember?" Natalia threaded her hands through his shaggy hair, combing it back at his collar. "You're allowed to kiss your date, handsome." She quirked an eyebrow suggestively. "One might even say you're encouraged to, if you really want."

This was getting dangerous, but she couldn't help but be curious as to just how far they'd let things go.

"Gonna have to go to the chiropractor after kissing you, doll," Bucky murmurs, dipping his head to give her a proper kiss now. He's got permission, after all, so he parts his lips in an invitation for her to do the same and works a big hand through her curls.

"Always loved redheads," he murmurs, voice soft. "Always did it for me. Something about all that gorgeous red hair makes me want to do this all day." He thinks he could lay in bed and kiss Natalie Rushman until obscene hours of the night and, honestly, he can tonight if she's open to it. He has the bed to do it in.

This time, she rose up on her toes to meet him halfway, tilting her head and parting her mouth to kiss him properly, thrilled down to the core to finally have his taste on her tongue. But it ended far too soon, and James was then murmuring against her lips, soft, warm words that made her shiver, way down deep.

The hand in her hair was probably dislodging the pins holding her curls in place, but that didn't really matter, not just now. He could pull all of them out, if he really wanted. "...I don't have my usual heels on tonight," she whispered into his mouth. "Can't really dance in five-inch stilettos..."

The railing had a raised platform, so Natalia maneuvered them about so she could step up onto it, giving her a few more inches. The wind buffeted her curls around their faces, and she giggled softly, cupping Bucky's cheek in one small hand. "Better?"

The railing makes Bucky nervous and he wraps his arms around her tightly, making sure that there's no way Natalie can fall off. Maybe he's pressing her a little too tightly against him but he's not taking any chances - not with anyone, but especially not her.

She's at a good height to kiss though and he does that, thoroughly kissing her and tugging at her lower lip a little to be playful. God, it feels so good to even just hold her and it's been way too long since he's been with a woman. He especially wants to be with this woman.

She didn't mind being held so close; it gave her an even greater appreciation for the male aesthetic. That grey suit really did fit like a second skin, and she took enough license to verify that by letting her hands wander where they could reach as she exchanged soft, sweet kisses with the father of her one and only child.

But alas, they weren't the only two on this particular floor; there was still a very expensive party going on inside, and it wasn't too long before their little cocoon of intimacy was broken when one of the underexecs stuck his head out, cleared his throat a little nervously, and hazarded, "...Mister Barnes? Um, Mister Stark's looking for you. Something about those Japanese accounts? Those investors are here, and are wanting to talk to you...sir..."

Bucky sighs and puts his hands gently on Natalie's waist to help her down from the step on the railing. He doesn't want her to fall and she's wearing heels. He'd never forgive himself if something bad happened to her on his watch.

"I have to go talk to these investors," he murmurs. "But we have the room if you want to go back and order something to eat or drink. Or you can stay at the party, whatever you're most comfortable with. I'll come find you when I'm done, okay?"

Hopefully talking business won't take that long and he can get back to what he wants to be doing.

"I'll stay," she replied quietly as they headed back into the gala. "I don't mind waiting." Once inside, Natalia slipped out of James's jacket and handed it back, giving him a soft smile as she melted into the crowd, in search of her own alcoholic anesthetic. She needed it, after that little interlude on the veranda.

Pepper approached her a few minutes later, smiling benignly. "Glad to see you're having a good time, Natalie," she said, picking up her own glass of champagne. Natalia smiled back, grateful to have a chance to just talk to someone without having to navigate the conversation three sentences beforehand. "Likewise," she replied to the taller redhead, and the two women gently clinked their glasses together before taking soft sips.

"I'm glad you came with Bucky tonight," Pepper mused then, adding, "He's such a good man. And deserves a little happiness."

Natalia heard all of the sirens in her head begin to klaxon, but she forced her expression to remain pleasantly neutral and keep the panic off of her face. "He is," she agreed. "And he does." She spied their subject across the ballroom, standing with Tony Stark and a gaggle of smaller Asian men, gesturing animatedly as he spoke. And felt her heart give a silly little flipflop when she saw him glance up, catch her eye, and grin before going back to their conversation.

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