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It’s late when Kate gets back from her latest Tinder date, if you can even call it that. He thought it was a date, but she knew it was just a hook up. They met up for drinks at a local pub a few blocks away. Kate denied any food he tried to order, knowing that it would just make it into more of a date than it was. It wasn’t very long before she convinced him to go back to his place.
He was a nice guy named Blake. Good looking, polite, someone you could take home to your parents without a worry. He even asked her to stay the night afterwards. She felt bad doing it, but she lied and told him that she had to be up early and left. Kate knew there wouldn’t be a second date, but she didn’t want to tell him that right after sex.
“Kate, you’re home late.” Ellie steps out of her room to see what the noise in the living room is. Kate and Ellie have been best friends for 10 years and roommates for 3.
“Sorry to wake you up.” Kate apologized as she flopped down onto the couch.
Ellie shakes her head and sits next to Kate. “It’s fine. How was your date?”
“It was ok I guess.” Kate sighed. “He was nice, but not what I’m looking for.”
Ellie noticed the light hickeys on Kate’s neck. “I really wish you’d stop using Tinder for only hook ups. I worry about you.”
“I’m being safe Ellie. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Ellie grabs her friends’ hand and squeezes. “You can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what exactly?” Kate challenges.
“This. Using random hook ups to forget him.” Ellie pleads. “You can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending it’s him.”
Instead of responding, Kate puts a throw pillow over her face. She knows that Ellie is right but will never give her the satisfaction of saying it. “Did I tell you that I have to work the Stark party again this year? I tried to get out of it, but Jeff told me that they requested that I be there.”
“You must’ve made quite the impression last year.”
“I’m sure I did, but it wasn’t a good one. I don’t know why they would ask for me specifically. It was a total shit show last year.”
**************************************************
Kate was so excited when she was chosen to be part of the wait staff team for Tony Starks Christmas party. It was her first big party after spending the last couple years working mostly small and some medium sized parties. Opportunities like this only went to the best of the best.
She spent extra time making sure her uniform was pressed and was fitting properly. Her hair and makeup took her an extra 2 hours due to the extra care she put into it. By the time she was done, she felt and looked like a million bucks.
Being the newest member of this team, Kate was nervous when she got to Stark Towers. To her relief, they welcomed her with open arms and showed her the ropes for working a large party like this one. It was easy enough, walk around with either a tray of finger food or champagne flutes. To start off, they assigned her to the food trays only until she was able to get the hang of it. The beginning of the evening went well. She went through a few trays of food with no incidents.
Later in the evening, they switched her to drink trays. Kate questioned if she was ready for this, but Jeff assured her that she was. Trusting his judgement, she went in with the same confidence she had all evening. With her back straight and shoulders back, she walked around like she was born to do this.
Once she had an empty tray, Kate collected some empty glasses on her way back to the bar area. She hadn’t noticed that the rug she was approaching had bunched up a bit. Her string of good luck ended when the tip of her shoe caught in the rug and she felt herself falling forward. Not having time to save the glassware she was carrying, she braced herself before she hit the floor.
Instead of the impact she was expecting, she found herself suspended in midair as the sounds of shattering glass filled her ears. She opened her eyes and saw the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes looking back at her.
“Are you ok?” He asked as he helped her back on her feet.
“Y-yeah, I mean…. yes, I’m ok.” Kate stuttered. She used his arm to help steady herself and noticed that it didn’t quite feel like flesh, but more like metal.
A fellow team member was close by and had already radioed for someone to come and clean the broken glass. “I’m terribly sorry for this sir. Please accept my apologies. Someone is on the way to clean this up. We will deal with her accordingly.” The smile fades off his face when he turns to you and hisses. “Get to the kitchen and don’t touch anything.”
“Right away.” Kate mumbled as she turned and walked away. Her eyes were already tearing up from embarrassment when she walked into the kitchen. Jeff was already waiting for her in the kitchen and he looked angrier than she’d ever seen him. After a lecture warning her to watch where she’s going and to not inconvenience the guests, she was sent home. The incident would be looked into and he would get back to her.
Grabbing her coat and bag, Kate let herself out the back service door and walked around to the front of the building. “Well at least I wasn’t fired, at least not yet.” Kate muttered to herself as she dug though her purse to see how much money she had. Joy! She had $1 left to her name and no subway pass. She didn’t want to walk the 10 blocks home, but she didn’t have a choice.
Wrapping her coat tightly around her, she starts walking and thinking about the mystery man. She had never seen anyone like him. It was crazy, but she instantly felt safe when he held her. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear the footsteps running up behind her until they were too close.
Wondering how she was going to sprint in heels, she heard a familiar voice. “Wait. Is everything ok?” Kate turned around and saw the mystery man who caught her. “I hope you didn’t get in trouble for what happened.”
Kate shook her head and tried to remain professional. “Please don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I should go, I wouldn’t want to keep you from the party.”
Turning to walk away, a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. “It’s too late for you to be out here alone, do you live nearby?”
“I don’t, but I am able to handle myself. Thank you for your concern.” She just needs to get away, Jeff is going to kill her if he finds out about this.
“Let me call you a cab then. It’s the least I can do.” He flags down a cab in record time and opens the back door for you. “By the way, I never asked you your name.”
“Oh…it’s Kate.” She can feel her face burning up and hopes it too dark to see it.
He smiles at her as he introduces himself. “I’m James.” He turns his direction to the cab driver and hands him a $50. “I need you to take my friend here home safely. Keep the change as a tip.”
Before Kate has a chance to thank James, he shuts the door and the cab starts to pull away from the curb. She makes it home safely and warm thanks to James. Ellie is still awake when she walked in and she’s confused as to why Kate is home so early. Kate sits down with a glass of wine and explains her whole evening to her roommate.
“Wait, wait, wait. You said his arm felt like it was made of metal when you touched it? Was it his left arm?” Ellie sounded like she was going to jump out of her skin.
“I think so. I wasn’t paying attention at the time. What does it matter?”
“Oh my god!” Ellie screams. “Do you know who that was? It was Bucky!”
Kate looks at Ellie like she’s lost it. “Did you not hear me earlier? He said his name was James.”
Ellie rolls her eyes and pulls out her phone. Kate watches her type for a moment before turning the screen towards her. Kate’s face goes pale as she sees a picture of her mystery man and reads the name under the picture. James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. “You mean, that’s the James I met tonight?”
Kate tunes Ellie out as she starts going on about the Avengers. It was bad enough that she inconvenienced a guest of Tony Stark’s party, but she inconvenienced one of the Avengers. When Jeff found this out, she was sure to lose her job. Excusing herself, Kate stands and starts to get ready for bed. She falls asleep thinking about Bucky and if she’ll even have a job in the morning.
**************************************************
“I was so lucky that I didn’t lose my job after that.” Kate remembers her boss telling her that someone from the party spoke to him and made sure they understood it was an accident. She was pulled from any medium or large parties for the foreseeable future. It sucked, but at least she still had her job.
Her sanity on the other hand, that was questionable. After that party, she wasn’t able to get Bucky out of her head. Anytime she closed her eyes, she could see his blue eyes staring back at her. She tried everything, distracting herself with work and hobbies and meditation to name a couple. She started to date more to try to replace him in her thoughts. When that didn’t work Kate gave up dating all together, opting for random hook ups instead. No matter what she did, how many men she slept with, her mind went back to Bucky.
“Just because you changed the subject, doesn’t mean I’ll stop bringing it up.” Kate stared at Ellie, she normally doesn’t sound so serious. “You can’t keep doing this, sleeping with men to make you forget. It’s dangerous.”
“Ellie,” Kate whines “I’ve had a bad day, don’t start.”
“Kate, I’m worried about you. I know you want to forget him, but there’s healthier ways to do it.”
Kate stands and waves her arms. “I know, I know. I’m going to bed.” She leaves Ellie on the couch worrying about her friend.
**************************************************
Kate wakes up the day of the Stark event and is nervous as hell. She decides to tone down her look from last year. She chooses a more subdued look for her hair and makeup and opts for a shorter pair of heels this time. She meets one of her co-workers outside her apartment building and they carpool together to Stark Towers. You can cut the tension with a knife when she gets there. There are some new faces there, but the people that remember her from last year send the nastiest glares in Kate’s direction. They talk amongst themselves, asking why she’s there and who she had to sleep with to be there. Kate keeps to herself and wonders right along with them why she’s there.
Understandably, she’s on food tray duty for the whole night. She’s assigned to an out of the way area of the party and told not to stray from that area. Jeff isn’t happy that Kate is there, and he doesn’t try to hide it. He tells her that if she hadn’t been requested specifically, she’d never see a party like this again. Kate understands all the hate she’s getting, after last year she wouldn’t want herself there either. She’s relieved that she’s in an area where she can do the least amount of damage.
Kate spends the first few hours of the party barely interacting with anyone. At most, she sees some people passing by to get to other parts of the party. She can’t stop thinking about why she’s even here, no one in their right mind would want her here. Her foot slips on the waxed floor and she stumbles but doesn’t fall. She congratulates herself on not falling, but winces when she puts weight on her right foot.
“Great. I just twisted my ankle.” She mutters, trying to find a way to walk so that she’s not limping.
The earpiece she’s wearing beeps and Jeff’s voice comes through. “Kate, I’m going to regret this, but I need you to head towards the main party. It’s busier than we thought, and I need you to cover a break.”
“Jeff, I twisted my ankle. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go out there.” Kate replies.
Jeff lets out a huff in frustration. “I don’t give a shit. Just get the fuck out there.”
“On my way.” Kate responds. She keeps trying to walk without limping and isn’t doing a great job. She knows this is a bad idea but figures if she stays out of the way it won’t be so bad.
She’s out in the main area for about 5 minutes before her ankle gives out on her. Before she can stumble too far, she feels a pair of arms around her.
Kate looks to see who caught her and locks eyes with Bucky. “We need to stop meeting like this.” He smiles as he helps her stand upright and notices her not putting weight on her right foot. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“I’m sorry. I hurt my ankle a little while ago and it just gave out on me. I’ll be on my way now.” Kate tries to get away before Jeff sees her talking to the guests.
“Buck, her foot looks swollen. Sit her down and I’ll get Bruce.” Kate didn’t even notice that Steve Rogers was standing with Bucky until he spoke.
She tries to protest but Bucky takes her tray and sets it on a nearby table and picks her up and carries her to a chair. She can feel eyes watching her and knows that there’s no way she’s leaving with her job. It’s not long before Steve and Bruce come back. Bruce introduces himself and asks if he can look at her foot. Knowing they won’t take no for an answer, Kate nods. Bruce removes her shoe and turns and squeezes her foot lightly while watching her reaction. She winces in pain with every squeeze. Bruce frowns, but is relieved that she can move her foot without too much pain.
“Looks like it’s just a bad sprain. These shoes probably didn’t help.” Bruce jokes as he tells her his diagnosis. “You’ll probably want to get an x-ray just in case, but you need to stay off of it.”
“I’ll rest when I get home later.” Kate says as she stands, she tries to walk away but is stopped by the sight of Jeff stomping towards her. “Fuck.” She mutters under her breath.
Jeff is glaring daggers at Kate but puts on his ass kissing face when addressing the rest of the group. “I apologize gentlemen. A member of my team shouldn’t be bothering you like this. I’ll make sure this is taken care of. She’s going to be terminated immediately.” Jeff reaches for Kate’s elbow and pulls her towards him. Kate stumbles and steps hard on her right foot and cries out in pain.
Bucky grabs her by the waist and puts her back in the chair while Bruce speaks up. “She wasn’t bothering us at all. She’s sprained her ankle and we were trying to help her.”
“I didn’t realize the situation. Kate, why didn’t you say something sooner? Let’s get you back to the kitchen to rest.” Jeff tries to play off that he’s just a concerned manager.
Kate realizes that no matter what happens, she’s not leaving here with a job so she may as well go out with a bang. “I did say something Jeff. When you radioed me and told me to come out to the main party. I believe your exact words were ‘I don’t give a shit.’”
Jeff starts to stutter, not knowing how to back pedal so that he looks good in this situation. None of them notice Steve walk away while Jeff is being confronted. “I suggest you leave and get back to work. Kate is staying here.” Bucky says to Jeff, his voice emotionless. The 3 of them watch as Jeff hurries away with his tail between his legs.
“I-I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have acted like that.” Kate starts apologizing. “I should have been more professional.”
Bucky lowers himself next to her chair. “It’s ok doll. That guy was an asshole anyways.” Kate feels him swipe a tear from her cheek, she didn’t even realize she was crying. “It took a lot of convincing for Tony to even hire him for this event again.”
Tony and Steve stride over to them before Kate can question what Bucky means. Tony looks to a nearby member of the wait staff and asks them to get their manager and bring him here now. Bucky is able to see that Kate is terrified, he squeezes her hand and smiles to try and reassure her it’s fine. It takes a few minutes for Jeff to get back to them. Kate thinks he looks like he’s about to shit himself.
“Mr. Stark, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Jeff’s voice quivers as he speaks.
“I’ve been told that you’ve ignored an injury in one of your staff, blamed them for things beyond their control and tried to lie about it. Is that correct?” Tony stays stone faced as he speaks to Jeff.
The colour drains from Jeff’s face. “N-No not at all. I simply didn’t know the extent of the injury. I’ve been nothing but professional.”
“So, are you saying that my friend Steve Rogers here is a liar? Because if he tells me he was a witness to this, I’m inclined to believe him.” Tony watches Jeff stumble over an apology. “I don’t want to hear it. You were lucky to even get this job. I want you and your staff out of here ASAP. Don’t worry, you’ll still get paid for the full contract since I’m telling you to leave.”
You all watch as Jeff becomes aware that he’s lost this battle and slinks away with his head down. “I’m sorry you had to hear that. Are you ok?” Tony asks you and you nod in reply. “I hope she’s worth it.” Tony winks at Bucky and walks away with Steve and Bruce following suit.
“What is he talking about?” Kate’s so confused at this point that she’s not even sure she’s awake. She has to be dreaming.
“I’ve been thinking about you since last year and I wanted to see you again. I didn’t want to use any of the tech here to track you down, so I convinced Tony to hire that asshole again and request that you were part of the team.” Bucky’s cheeks turned a pale shade of red as he confessed.
“You were the one that requested that I was here? I was so confused because last year was so bad.” Kate sees Bucky start to respond but she continues. “If anyone was going to make that request, I’m glad it was you. I-I’ve been thinking of you for the last year too. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head.”
Smiling, Bucky stands and holds his hand out. “What do you say we ditch the rest of this party? We can hang out in the common room upstairs and watch a movie if you want. I’ll get some ice for your foot too.”
Kate smiles back and takes his hand and pulls herself up. “I can’t think of a better way to spend the rest of the evening.”
Bucky picks her up and carries her to the elevators, being careful to protect her foot. “I can think of one better way.” He replies in a playful, teasing tone as the elevator doors close.