Where the spirit meets the bone. (Book 1 of the Illicit Affairs Series)

Chapter VII

"So, I've been thinking." your father started, fidgeting with some of the documents on his office desk. He had his assistant, Tonia, call you in for an urgent meeting in the morning. "That means trouble." you mumbled. He chuckled before taking a deep breath. "I'm stepping down." he sighed, "Pepper will replace me as CEO."

Virginia Potts, who your father affectionately called "Pepper", had been Tony's assistant for as long as you'd known her before being promoted to COO when you started business school. The decision had been controversial to say the least, since  the Stark Industries' board had fought hard to change Tony's mind. While it wasn't exactly an orthodox move, he had insisted there was no one else he would trust more to occupy the position.

Since you were staring at him without answering, he continued. "I've given my all to this company for decades and I need to get my priorities straight. I want to have time for myself and for my family." he explained, smiling softly at you. "Of course, you're right." you said, "Who will take her place?". Tony's smiled broadened. "Why, you, of course!" he exclaimed.

"You want to make me COO?" you breathed out, widening your eyes, "I'm still in school!". How were you supposed to manage that?

"I know this may seem sudden, but I've been thinking about it for a while. Doesn't it make sense for you to start now? This way, Pep will be training you and you could step up as soon as you and Andrew will have settled down." he explained.

Andrew would sure like that, you thought. Since the engagement had been announced, you had hardly heard from him aside from the wedding preparations. After all, what reason was there to keep wooing you after he had already secured the deal?

You stopped that train of thought immediately. It was mean to think of him like that. He loved you, you knew that even though he had never told you. He simply wasn't the affectionate type.

"That's... It's great, dad. Thank you." you said, trying to smile. You always knew you would take over the company, you had based your whole academic career on that, but you weren't sure how you felt about it now that it was becoming real.

"I'm glad you're on board!" Tony said, clapping his hands, "We'll do the official announcement at the Gala next Friday." You realised you wouldn't be able to argue when your dad's expression was that relieved. You had three days to prepare.

Tuesday was, as you'd come to learn in the last couple of weeks, the shop's closing day, which meant the gang would be hanging out at Bucky's. This time, however, you had been invited too.

"She's stuck in traffic, she'll be here in a while." Bucky announced, reading your text while leaning on the kitchen counter. "She should get a bike." Steve's voice came from the living room, where he laid on one of the couches. Sharon, sat on a loveseat with her hands working on braiding Nat's hair, nodded solemnly. "Buck can teach her how to ride." Sam snorted, earning a sour look from Sharon and a fist bump from Natasha, who sat on the ground between her girlfriend's legs near Sam's spot on the other couch. "How come you became an engineer? You would be such a great comedian." Bucky said while approaching the couch and dropping down beside Sam.

"Ignore them, Jamie." Sharon sighed, tugging one of the freshly-made braids to scold her girlfriend. In the short time you and Sharon had known each other, you had become quite close. She understood your reserved ways, something she could recognise from her past as well. She knew how it felt to be young and unsure of who you were. You hadn't told her much about your fiancé, but it had been enough for her to fully side on Bucky's team, even though he still insisted there was no such thing.

Before she had realised she was gay, her and Steve had been a thing. It had only lasted for a few weeks, but he had been the reason why she was hired at the diner. In that short time, however, she had realised why being with Steve had never felt right and they'd split amicably. That was probably the reason why Steve and her were such good friends, now.

That experience made it easy for her to recognise a loveless relationship when she saw one. She couldn't speak on Andrew's behalf, though she had jumped to some conclusions, but she was certain you didn't know you weren't feeling how you were supposed to, much like she hadn't known before.

Still, trying to forcibly make you see that would only worsen the situation. All she could do was lead you to the right path, but the decision would have to be your own. She had a plan to do that. The others could tease Bucky all they wanted, but he wouldn't make a move until he knew for sure.

That, however, didn't mean the teasing would stop any time soon.

"I'm sure she would love for you to be her teacher." Natasha said, ignoring her girlfriend chastising her, "Think she would call you "Sir"?".

"I'm betting on "Daddy"!" Sam hollered, cracking up. Before Bucky could smack him in the head, the doorbell rang. He chose to glare at Sam, instead, before shooting upright and heading to the door.

"Hi!" you greeted him as soon as he opened the door, raising up a shopping bag you were holding, "The cashier wouldn't sell me any beer, so... Cake?". Bucky opened the door wider and stepped back to let you in. "You didn't have to bring anything, doll." he said, leading you to the kitchen. "I wanted to." you shrugged before placing the cake on the counter. He cut out six slices, and you helped him bring them to the living room.

"I brought cake!" you said to the group, which cheered. "Good girl!" Nat exclaimed, mimicking a deep voice and smirking at Sam, who tried to hold back a laugh. You furrowed your brow, shooting a confused look to an exasperated looking Sharon. "Just ignore them." she sighed, though the corners of her mouth shot up.

"Oh, is that pistachio?" Steve asked, reaching out to grab the slice you were handing him. "It's my favourite!" you and him said in synch, laughing at the realisation.

Bucky groaned and tugged your hand, gesturing for you to follow him to the other couch. He sat down in the middle, selfishly making sure that he would be the only one next to you. "So, what are we doing?" you asked. You weren't able to hide the slight shiver caused by the November chill before Bucky noticed it and got a blanket from the backside of the couch and placed it across both of your laps. You smiled, feeling your cheeks warm up. "We were trying to choose a movie, but someone" Natasha explained, shooting a pointed look at Sharon, "keeps suggesting Pride and Prejudice.".

"It's the greatest movie of all times!" she replied with a tone that led you to believe the two of them had this conversation many times before, "I mean, Kiera Knightly!". Everyone except you groaned.

"Agreed." you mumbled low enough that they wouldn't hear you. Still, James did. "Come on, let's watch it." he chimed in, ignoring the others and giving Sharon permission to set it up while squealing with excitement. "Lights out!" she ordered. Steve immediately complied.

As soon as the opening credits started rolling, you reached your hand towards Bucky's, stroking the back of it. Immediately, he turned it so you could lace your fingers together. The whole time, Bucky fought against his instincts to not let your presence distract him from the movie. He wanted to have a proper answer once you would ask him about it. Still, his gaze often wandered to your barely lit face, taking in your beautiful profile.

When Mr Darcy flexed his hand, as if burned by Elizabeth's touch, both of you tightened your hold of each other's hand.

Bucky also noticed how you silently mouthed some lines. How many times had you watched this movie? He loved moments like this, where he could discover little things about you. Apparently, you knew every word from both of Darcy's proposals by heart. And the balcony scene, too. How much sweeter could you ever get?

Your eyes glistened as the end credits rolled, full of emotions. James liked how you were the kind of person who could still be moved by things even after having already experienced them many times before. He was that kind of person, too. Maybe you two would never tire of each other.

"Ok, Fast Five now!" Sam clapped his hands, shattering the atmosphere. Not even ten minutes into the movie, Bucky felt a weight settling on his shoulder. He turned to see you had fallen asleep. He fixed the blanket around you as best as he could before raising his arm to wrap it around your shoulders. You tucked your face into his neck, still blissfully unconscious.

When the movie ended and the lights were turned back on, Bucky glared at the guys and shushed them. If you had fallen asleep, that meant you needed to rest. They just smirked and left, turning the lights off again. Once the two of you were alone, he snuggled closer to you and allowed himself to fall asleep too.