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"It's a club sandwich, actually, and it has turkey and swiss and bacon in addition to that ham," Bucky says, grinning at her. "So there, you were wrong. I won the bet so you have to buy me a drink. You can't do it right now, I'm not drinking today, I'm trying to keep that off the radar right now, but I'll call in that drink in the future."

God, he has got to stop flirting with her. She's taken and she sort of works for him. With him? It's just not wise even if she is gorgeous and smart and has the kind of voice that makes him want to do things.

"So, other than me, how has work been?"

To her absolute horror, Natasha realized she was reaching across the table before she could stop her arm from moving, and she gave Bucky Barnes a small thump on the back of one tattooed hand. "I was half-right," she told him, undeniably cheeky. "So there."

Reining in that involuntary desire to flirt with this man, Natasha sat back in her chair, grasping hold of a safer topic. "I agree, you definitely need to curtail your relationship with alcohol, Bucky Barnes." And bit her tongue. Again. Natasha! she screamed at herself. Stop this madness!

But then he asked about work, and she sighed internal relief. "Oh, not too bad. Thankfully, I'm only working with two other clients, besides yourself." She couldn't discuss details, of course. "I try to keep no more than three at the time. Not enough hours in the day for any more than that."

God, it seems like she's flirting back with him and Bucky just can't fucking help himself. He's really into it and he wants to keep flirting with her, work her up and ask her on a date and not just to Gino's through the back alley so the photographers can't see her. Goddamn it.

"Oh, so I'm taking up someone's spot in your schedule, huh? Better kick me out so you can get someone real hopeless in."

He ducks his head a little and smiles. "But I'll try to keep away from the bottle just for you."

Thankfully, she was able to bite back any innuendos before they escaped this time, and Natasha chuckled softly, ducking her head a little. "I saw both of them on Friday," she assured him. "And their next appointments aren't until tomorrow." She almost said something along the lines of, I kept today clear just for you, but managed to swallow that before it could roll off of her tongue.

Rescue arrived with their order, and Natasha busied herself with her salad, resolutely keeping her eyes off of her handsome companion, focusing on the delicious chicken and vegetables on her plate. The food was good, the service complimentary, and with her mouth full, she couldn't wade any further into those dangerous, dangerous waters.

Bucky, too, can't keep from flirting with her so he decides that stuffing his mouth full of food is a good idea. He tries to be polite about it, at least, and when he finishes half his sandwich and is on to fries he thinks he can manage to speak without getting himself in trouble.

"Oh, well, if they're not seeing you until tomorrow then we've got plenty of time to eat at least. I'd hate to be keeping you from something important. I'm not touring right now so I have more downtime than I'm used to."

"Mmm," she agreed, swallowing her bite. "Mr. Wilson said that you and the band were starting work on the music videos for your latest album releases. That's pretty exciting, isn't it?" And Natasha had to admit, the camera absolutely loved Bucky Barnes. When she'd first agreed to take him as her client, she'd done her research, which included listening to some of his music and watching the videos for those released songs.

And honestly, she'd been thankful she'd been alone during that little interlude, because, grown woman that she was, even her cheeks had flamed at some of the choreography in those videos. She could absolutely see why Barnes' fanbase was so popular; the man cut across the screen like a primal god of sex and rock-n-roll. That dark hair, always tousled, those bright blue eyes, and that sculpted body no doubt garnered all of the attention wherever he went.

That he hadn't been mobbed here was even a miracle.

"I've never been on the set of anything, myself," she remarked. "I can only imagine the hustle and bustle, the noise, and everyone so busy it's almost ridiculous."

Well, he tries to keep it to jeans and t-shirts when he's just out and about and leaves the leather pants for the stage and for the set. It's not exactly comfortable wearing those things all day. Still, Bucky knows he looks good and he isn't going to be shy or self-deprecating about that.

"Yeah, we're working on videos for the new singles. It's annoying, filming, but the visual medium really hits home for some of the demos so you have to give the people what they want. Apparently my fans are female. I figured with metal I'd have more male fans but...can't account for demographics, huh?"

"Oh, judging from Twitter, I'd say you have a healthy male following, too." Natasha chuckled and shook her head; reading some of those Tweets had been...amusing, at the very least. "They're very, um, active, when it comes to defending you. They're loyal, at least." In all actuality, it had mostly been the press who'd taken issue with the altercation at Angel's Share.

"Your fans are also very protective of Mr. Rogers, too, I was impressed to notice. You two must really be very close. Yet he keeps a very low profile, somehow." She filtered through her salad, mentally congratulating herself for making safe and polite small talk.

"Do you have any interest in any other genre or music? Or is it only the harder stuff that appeals?"

"Look, Steve's pretty good at staying invisible. It's kind of a talent of his, actually. As far as music goes - yeah, I'd love to put out a stripped down acoustic album with love songs on it but it's not gonna sell. I'm not gonna sell that looking like this."

Bucky gestures to himself, the tattoos and the biker boots and everything in between. He's developed an image and it's not the kind of image people associate with something besides metal.

"No one is gonna want that kind of album from me."

One eyebrow went up. "How do you know? How can you know unless you try? You said yourself most of your fanbase is female, and trust me, any female would spend the money to listen to just you singing with your guitar."

She bit the rest off, because adding, Well, excluding me, would not only be impolitic, but a total and complete lie. Rather than continue down that dead-end road, Natasha said instead, "You're successful enough to afford one flopped album, James."

Another bite of salad, then she added, "And if it sells, then so much the better. At least you'd be doing something you want to do, right?"

Bucky draws absent little circles on the table with his fingertip while he thinks about it. It's something he'd like to do, something softer, but he doesn't want to fail. It's not so much about the money as it is about being liked but he doesn't know how to explain that to Natasha other than to come out and say it and that makes him sound like a little boy.

"I don't want to fail, is the thing. And it's not about the money. It's about me. It's about doing well. I don't want to fail at anything."

It's a heavy thing to admit, though, and he keeps his eyes down as he says it.

Natasha heard the change in his voice, saw the small circles drawn on the tabletop. She didn't respond right away, and when she did, her own voice was softer, encouraging.

"Hey." And a smile, just for him. "You have a wonderful talent, James. And an amazing voice. Anything at all that you sing would go platinum, I have no doubt whatsoever." She chuckled, impulsively reaching across the table to give his hand a brief, light squeeze.

"Believe in yourself, James. I do."

Bucky looks up and sees Natasha smiling and he knows he's in trouble. He's smiling back and he knows it's soft and sweet, not the cocky guy he can be in public. This path is treacherous but he guesses he's walking down it anyway.

"Well, if a girl like you believes in me, maybe I'll give it a shot. I'll have to write something, though. I don't have anything written for that kind of album, just more stuff for the usual."

She felt her cheeks heat from his offhand compliment - surely he didn't mean something like that, right? But his return smile caught the breath in her throat, just enough to be noticed. Drat the man, he had no business being so...so...sincere!

"I have faith," Natasha replied after a long moment. "You'll be great at it." And no, she wasn't stroking his ego simply because he was her client. She'd listened to his music, read through the lyrics, and was savvy enough to recognize true talent when she saw it.

"Then I'd better get to work and stop dawdling at lunch with redheads," Bucky teases, laughing softly. There was a way for him to have said that professionally and he hadn't so he is in a prison of his own making. He sighs a little.

"You can hit me when I do that, by the way. The...joking thing." Bucky isn't going to go and call it flirting because putting the name to it makes it real and he needs to not do that now.

"Yes," she agreed, glinting a little over her salad, "you better." She chuckled along with him, unconsciously liking how their voices blended together. She couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but there was enough resonance between their tones that it sounded...nice. Especially when they laughed at the same time.

Oh, God.

by some miracle, the waitress stopped by before she had to answer the rest, inquiring if they wanted take-home boxes or more drinks. Natasha thanked her, and declined; she doubted she'd have much of an appetite for the rest of the day. And she too needed to get back to work.

"I'll call you later," she promised, shouldering her purse. Then remembered to add, "--about the youth concert. That ok?"

"Yeah. The youth concert. Look, I'll be in contact, promise. Lunch is on me and the next one is on me too. I'll get you hooked on this place. You'll see."

Bucky grins at her and fishes out his keys before tugging on his helmet and heading back to the house. Writing is a process that's sometimes fast and sometimes slow but he's got two songs out before dinnertime. Of course he does. He shouldn't call Natasha but he does anyway. This is not appropriate.

She was just getting out of the shower when her cell rang. Alex was off on maneuvers for the week, thank God, so Natasha answered after wrapping snugly in a large towel. "Hello? James? Everything all right?" Surely nothing else had happened, but why would he be calling this late in the evening? She'd given her number to Wilson, assuring him that it was fine to call at any hour, but so far, it hadn't been an issue.

"Did you lose your keys?" She knew her smile echoed in her voice. "Bail money? What did I say about the drinking, hmm?"

"Nope, got my keys and I don't need you to bail me out. I wrote two songs." Bucky says it like he's a little boy again, bringing a girl dandelions so she'll want to play on the swings with him. It's stupid and hopeful and innocent and a whole bunch of things he shouldn't be doing with a woman who has a boyfriend.

"I was thinking I could come by your office and play the next time you're not dealing with headaches. I mean, if you wanted to hear them before anyone else did?"

"Two?" That was remarkable. And she was genuinely surprised; she'd only meant for him to give it some thought, not to actually go home and write music! "James, that's wonderful! I'm...I'm assuming you're talking about the album we discussed at lunch, right?" Otherwise, why would he be calling her about it?

"I'd love to hear them, yes, please." It was hard to keep the happiness out of her voice, because he'd actually listened to her advice. And sounded so excited himself, if a little...well, shy. Before she could think about it, Natasha heard herself saying, "Well, I'm at home right now, and Alex will be out of town until the weekend...would you like to come over?"

Oh, God.

The second the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to take them back. But she couldn't, not without explaining why. And those were reasons that she didn't even want to examine herself. Damnit!

"Oh? Yeah, I can come over with my guitar and play them for you," Bucky says. "It'll be good to have the feedback, honestly, because I'll know if I need to change anything."

God, he feels like he's sixteen.

"Can you text me your home address? I can take the bike over, it's no big deal. I've got room to strap my guitar on."

Lord, she was in so much trouble. "Um...sure. Just...let the doorman know you're expected, and he'll buzz you in. I'm in eight-oh-four." After hanging up and texting her address with trembling fingers, Natasha dropped her cell and bolted for the closet, tossing the towel aside as she pyrooted through her clothes.

Half an hour later saw her dressed - for the seventh time - in a soft lavender woolen sweater and comfortable black yoga pants, and parked in front of her mirror, absurdly despairing over her clean face. Should she put on makeup? Style her hair? Her eyes were too bright, too green, against her pale skin, and her long curls hung in disarray down her back, still damp from the shower.

She dithered too long, because she'd only managed a little bit of blush and a single coat of lip gloss - scarlet locks still long and loose - when the doorbell rang, startling her out of her ablutions with a soft gasp.

Getting up to 804 hadn't been difficult and while the doorman had given him several questionable looks, he had let him go up without a fight. Not that Bucky would get in a fight with him - the guy looked like he could take about twenty guys out in a minute flat.

The door swings open and Natasha is in a sweater that's the palest purple he's ever seen and looks...nice. Fresh. Too good for a guy like him. Of course, he shouldn't be thinking about a taken woman and he is so that's never a good line of thought.

"Hey. Brought the guitar and the new pieces I wrote. You ever have a private session before?"

It was just unfair, how gorgeous the man looked windblown, casual, and grinning. Natasha could absolutely understand why the majority of his fanbase was female. And why a good chunk of the male fans fantasized right along with the girls. God.

"James. Hey. Um, come in." She stood aside to let him in, closing the door behind the guitar case. The apartment she shared with the Air Force pilot was spacious, elegantly furnished, tastefully understated. Not too many personal things; most of the furniture was themed to go together.

"...I haven't, actually." Natasha chuckled as she gestured him from the foyer into the living room. "Come to think of it, I haven't attended a real concert since college. Over ten years ago." She twirled a stray curl around a finger, oddly nervous. But smiling shyly. "...does that make me boring?"

"A little. But it makes you good at being a PR Lawyer," Bucky says, laughing softly. That shy little smile makes his stomach flip in somersaults and he knows he has to get it together before he does something that crosses the line and truly upsets Natasha.

He settles in a chair and pulls out his guitar. He'd gotten one of the acoustic Gibsons out for this and not his Fender, thinking the warm sound of the Gibson would be better suited for these songs.

"I'm still working on these so you have to promise to be gentle, all right?"

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