The Wedding Singer

3. Sucker bet

Edited for typos

" Ah whiskey, mothers milk" Nancy laughed sipping from her glass moving to sit next to Bucky. "Sorry Barton" still laughing she glanced at Bucky and his impassive face. "Or would you rather I sat somewhere else?" she asked moving slightly away from him so she could look him in the eye. Barnes simply placed a hand on her thigh keeping her sitting next to him with a measured look.
"Vodka and whiskey?" He asked.
"You definetly think I drink too much" she laughed, for a moment Nancy grinned at him and felt herself relax. Maybe he wasn't as serious as she had thought.
"So how do you know Nat?" He asked quietly.
"She was one of my instructors before I washed out of SHIELD. Please change the subject". Nancy kept her eyes forward as she spoke hoping he would stop his questions. Barnes heard her heart start beating faster and quietly watched her.

"Are we playing games tonight?"
Clint asked as Stark returned, Nancy was disappointed to see Pepper wasn't with him. But she sighed in relief to herself. If they played games hopefully the spot light wouldn't be on her.
"Peppers staying with Morgan she's a little too excited at seeing Nancy all day tomorrow" he explained putting the emphasis on all day and looking at his cousin over the top of his glasses.
"I can do all day with the kid."
She replied mildly nodding. "I can take her to a few bars..." the look on Tony's face started her cackling. "Or the zoo or park?" She corrected quickly. Tony nodded and shook his head in mock despair at his teasing cousin.
"She's been learning the piano just so she can play with you" he warned. "Your old squeeze box is in the music room."
"She said. I did promise we'd play together so I'll do that tomorrow. I'm surprised you didn't just give her the concertina" she grinned making the hand movements for her concertina.
"I don't think Pepper or I could have coped with that."
"So no violin lessons?" She laughed remembering how Tony had bribed her to switch to the piano as a little girl.
"Truth or dare Nancy" Sam Wilson called and she shrugged curiously at her cousin who nodded encouragingly.
"Err dare?" She looked sideways at him.
"Kiss Bucky like you did last night." Sam sniggered. Looking slightly shocked she turned to her cousin who just raising an eyebrow and gave a slight nod. She wordlessly turned and kissed Barnes long and deep. Feeling his arms enclose her as she did so.
"Thank you" she smirked as she pulled away running her tongue over her lower lip she held her hand out. Without her looking at him Stark dropped a hundred dollar bill into her hand.  "Wilson, Clint's right you are very predictable" For a moment Barnes didn't know if he should be offended or not. Then Nancy turned her attention to him.
"Well that's burgers on Tony  tomorrow night if your interested?"  Barnes nodded and wisely stayed quiet as she tucked the 100 in her pocket.
"Is anyone else invited?" Wilson demanded hopefully and smirked as both replied in the negative in unison.
Nancy watched as they played various drinking games declining to take part in the majority claiming the alcohol was bad for her voice until eventually she found herself falling asleep.

"She's definitely asleep" Rogers chuckled as he whispered peering at the sleeping woman. Bucky carefully moved the singer from his shoulder onto the sofa and they all sniggered  quietly as a soft snore escaped. Tony shaking his head in amusement at his cousin looking exactly the same as Morgan did when she was asleep. Carefully he took out his phone and showed the gathered group a picture of Morgan in exactly the same position and took a photo to show Pepper.
"See if you can get her to her old room without waking her" Nat suggested and carefully Rogers picked her up and looked extremely awkward when she cuddled into him and muttered under her breath. Only Steve was close enough to hear her mutter Buckys name.
Bucky followed Steve to help as he laid the girl on the bed. She turned in her sleep a hand moving to the ratty bear on the bed. The two super soldiers just stood for a moment watching her sleep. Then quietly Steve moved around the room finding a glass and filling it with water from her kitchen and placing it by the bed. Barnes went into the bathroom and found some headache tablets which he put by the glass. He stopped and looked at the picture Clint he been so interested earlier. Sighing he followed Rogers out as they quietly they left closing the door behind them.

"You ok?" Barnes asked as he found Barton leaning in the balcony staring into darkened city and he shook his head.
"She's been through so much and Nat and I should have done more to protect her. She was engaged to Laura's brother and he went over board making her run and we stood by and let it happen." As he spoke he drank the whiskey he had poured himself and dwelt on the guilty feelings he was currently feeling.

Nancy stood in the bathroom doorway and slowly opened the cupboard under the sink swallowing as she saw the first aid kit still in the same place. Her blood still on the case. She lent down and pulled it out opening it quickly and looking at its contents. It was still only half full and unconsciously she touched her leg where she had sewn it up after one of Daniel's many attacks on her. The scars still very much in evidence. Swallowing she thought about when she had tried to talk to Nat about it and she had sneered at her for not liking a bit of rough sex. Slowly she stood up and threw the kit in the bin adding a new one to her shopping list. She didn't want Tony to know how much she had been used by Daniel or deal with Clints guilt over everything. Swallowing she moved back into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed.  The time was coming when she would have to tell Pepper everything that happened and she was dreading it. All she knew was she had run from Daniel and he had tried to force her back to him. Tony had managed to avoid her having all the details. This was something they had agreed on Pepper would be devastated if she knew and Nancy didn't want that for her.