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When the elevator finally arrived, Bucky stepped in and watched the doors close on the office. Another day over.
He silently willed the elevator to go straight to the underground parking garage instead of stopping along the way, so he wouldn’t have to share with any employees. They always acted weird around him since he was the CEO, and he wasn’t interested in forcing a smile.
He made it seven floors before the elevator stopped.
A young man boarded.
“Oh, hey, Mr. Barnes. Looking good.”
He glanced at the kid from the corner of his eye. “What floor?”
“You already got it.”
Bucky let himself relax since there was no awkward tension or wide eyes for him to endure.
The kid seemed perfectly at ease when he asked, “Any plans for the weekend?”
“Just home.”
“Same. I basically hibernate until Monday morning.”
Bucky smirked. They had that in common.
Bucky didn’t have to think of anything to say to that because the elevator squealed and grinded before coming to a stop. An alarm sounded.
“Well, shit.” Peter grimaced.
Bucky sighed and pressed the call button.
“Maintenance,” someone said.
“Hey, Rocket,” Peter interjected before Bucky could demand assistance. “We’re stuck here. It’s Peter.”
“Yeah, yeah. I see that, genius.”
“How long?”
“Could take a while. We're swamped.”
“Seriously?” Peter sighed, glancing at Bucky with a timid smile. “Mr. Barnes is in here too. Does that mean anything to you?”
“Queen of England could be in there, kid. It’s gonna take time.”
“Thanks.”
“Guess we gotta wait.”
“Like I said, I don’t have any plans, so an hour isn’t gonna kill me,” Bucky joked.
“Hey, you hungry? I have snacks.” Peter offered.
“I’m good.”
Peter sat on the ground cross-legged and pulled out his phone.
“How was your day, besides this?”
Bucky sat too. “Awful.”
Peter grinned. “Mine was whatever. I’m an intern, so I just grabbed coffee all day.”
“Intern?”
“Yep.”
“You don’t act like an intern,” Bucky admitted.
“No?”
“You speak to me like a normal person.” Bucky knew he intimidated everyone with his prosthetic arm, his status at the company, and his ‘resting bitch face’ as Sam put it.
“Oh.”
Peter added, “I don’t plan on being an intern much longer.”
“You’re quitting?”
“No,” Peter corrected. “I want to be hired permanently.”
--
Bucky got more information out of Peter while they waited for Rocket. He decided Peter was definitely an asset. He would hire him first thing Monday. He’d never met someone so smart and refreshingly candid, and someone who didn’t stare at his arm like he was a freak.
Bucky took a chance after Rocket rescued them.
“If you’re doing nothing, maybe you’d want to—"
“Yes!” Peter blurted. “Wait. Like a date, or…?”
Bucky froze. “I—If you want it to be. I’m hiring you anyway.”
“Holy shit, seriously? Thank you, Mr. Barnes.”
“Call me Bucky.”
“Okay,” Peter agreed with a smile. “I can definitely do that.”