In the Dark

Moving In

"He's perfect!"

Sofia laughed. Peggy was right; Bucky was absolutely perfect. "Are we interviewing anyone else?"

"No," Peggy replied. "I mean, it would be fair to do so, but why should we waste our time when we've already found the one?" Peggy stated matter-of-factly.

Sofia hummed as she grabbed her purse, taking her phone out and seeing a missed phone call from her mother.

"Don't forget that you have that red carpet on Thursday," Peggy reminded her as she made her way out of the conference room. "Let me know when you get home, please!"

"Alright," Sofia smiled. "Bye!"

Once Peggy was out of the room, Sofia called back her mom and waited for three rings before the line was picked up. The busy background noise brought a small smile to her lips. Ever since her mother retired she had been spending most of her time in the kitchen. There was always an abundance of food at home due to the long hours making Sofia wish she could visit more often to have a home-cooked meal.

"Mami!"

"Hola," her mom answered cheerfully. "How's mi niña? Did you find a new-a new... como se dice—"

"Bodyguard?" Sofia chuckled, leaning her elbows against the table in front of her. It was often that she knew what it was like to know the word in one language and not the other. "We just finished interviewing him a couple of minutes ago."

"Y qué piensas de el? Is he like Phil?"

"No one compares to Phil, ma." Sofia frowned. "But this guy... he's perfect! Almost a little bit too perfect."

Her mother hummed on the end of the line. "Viejo o joven?"

"Joven," Sofia bit down on her lip. She knew what was coming.

"Maybe your future boyfriend, no?"

"Ama!" Sofia cried, covering her face with her free hand. "No! That's my bodyguard. We're supposed to have a strictly professional relationship."

"Ah, pero you and Coulson could be best friends? I didn't hear anything about professionalism back then. Was it because he was old?"

"Ma, he's married with a family. I'm not a home-wrecker. Besides, Phil was more like a dad to me. He had been there for me since I was still a young kid,"

"Y como se llama?"

"James."

"James," her mother repeated much like when Sofia found out his name. "Espero conocerlo pronto."

"Maybe," Sofia said. "If not, you'll see him in paparazzi pictures."

"Que paparazzi pictures ni que nada! You know, your birthday is coming up soon and we would love to have you come home. A lo mejor te puedes traer a James."

"I don't know," Sofia mumbled. "I might be busy." It wasn't like Sofia couldn't make time in her schedule to go and visit. Her family didn't live too far away, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"You're always busy." Her mom replied sadly. Life was way too short and she never saw Sofia anymore, other than pictures and interviews. It was like Sofia wasn't even real to her.

"I'll call you and let you know if it clears up, okay? I gotta go." Sofia sighed. "I love you, ma. I do. I'll see you soon."

"I love you, too. Cuídate mucho."

Back at the hotel, Bucky kicked off his dress shoes at the edge of the bed, falling on top of the uncomfortably sturdy mattress. He sighed as his body slowly relaxed. He hadn't realized how tense he was, even if the interview went smoother than he expected.