Breaking the Rules

Chapter 8

"Hello? Are you still with us?"

You snapped out of your musing and your two co-workers started to come into focus. Maria and Jarvis were standing next to you, both of them looked worried.

"You've been staring at the coffee pot for the past ten minutes," Jarvis said as he put a hand on your shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, she's not okay. She's sick," Maria laughed. "She's been bitten by the love bug!"

"The love bug?" Jarvis repeated, chuckling. Maria gave him a look, silently telling him to play along and his face took on a fake serious expression. "It sounds dreadful! Is there anything we can do?"

"Alas, no, my friend," Maria replied in a tragic tone. "The best we can do is hope that she'll pull her head out of her ass soon."

You rolled your eyes as you walked past her and returned to your desk. You had told Maria what had happened between you and Bucky. 'You're hopeless," she had said. She wasn't one to beat around the bush.

But she didn't understand what it was like to be afraid of intimacy. You pushed people away because being alone was easier than healing a broken heart and that was something she could never understand.

With an exhausted sigh, you plopped down in your chair while your co-workers were still goofing around.

"How long does she have?"

"Not sure," Maria said, shrugging, "she's been bitten pretty hard."

"Ha-ha, you two are hilarious," you grumbled, sinking further into your chair. "Can we go back to work now?"

You didn't wait for an answer. You put on your headphones and turned up the music as loud as you could stand it. Maria and Jarvis shared a look before they went back to work.

You tried to focus on your files, but your mind continued to drift back to Bucky. You couldn't stop thinking about him and it had been two full weeks since you last saw him. You still had his number saved in your phone under the name 'Buttface', but you were unable to press the stupid call button.

A balled-up paper landed on your keyboard, pulling you out of your thoughts. You raised your head and fixed Maria with a narrowed stare. She gave you a little smile and nodded toward the paper. With a sigh, you opened it up.

"There's a delivery for me?" you read aloud while you removed your headphones.

"Yeah, I just buzzed Happy in," she replied, laughing quietly to herself.

"Why are you laughing?" you asked as Happy entered the office.

"I have a delivery for Fartface!" he announced, walking over to your desk. "Are you Fartface?"

Maria and Jarvis burst into laughter and you could see Happy trying hard not to join them. 'Fartface' was the nickname Bucky had given you during the weekend.

"Yes, it's me," you grumbled. "I'm Fartface."

Happy snickered quietly to himself while you signed the delivery sheet. Maria and Jarvis were still laughing behind you. You made a mental note to kill Bucky.

"This is for you!"

You let out a little gasp as Happy placed a bouquet of pink roses on your desk. After muttering a quick 'Bye, Fartface', he left the room.

The room was strangely silent now. Your co-workers waited with bated breath for you to open the card. You stared at the bouquet, your heart pounding with excitement.

You knew it was from Bucky, he was the only one who called you Fartface. You took the card, took a deep breath and opened it.

I'm much more me when I'm with you. Thank you for everything x JBB