The text message said, simply, "ok"

If it had been any other person, any other time, Bucky would have been confused. He would have texted back, "what?" or "I don't get it"

But not this message.

No, Bucky perfectly understood the message that had his phone buzzing at 3 in the morning that October.

This was his permission.

He could finally ask Carter out.

He grinned down at the message, blue light glowing on his face.

The smile on his face fell though, a minute later.

Holy shit. He could ask Carter out.

How was he going to do this?

"I need advice," Bucky said, setting a decaf black tea in front of Natasha.

The redhead looked up at him, "With what?"

She popped the top off of the take-out mug and sniffed at the liquid, "I miss coffee."

Bucky sat down, "I will bring you a contraband Columbian roast if you give me advice."

Natasha's eyebrow raised, "Contraband coffee, huh? Against Clint's wishes."

Bucky shrugged, "No offense, but he doesn't scare me."

"He doesn't scare me either," Natasha laughed, "But sometimes I do like to listen to him."

Bucky threw his hands in the air, "Alright, I'll bring you that coffee ice cream you like so much. Just help me!"

"Otchayanno," Natasha clicked her tongue, "Interesno." (Desperate. Interesting)

"Natasha, I don't have time for this," Bucky groaned. He didn't want to wait too long to ask Carter out.

Natasha gestured at the files surrounding her, "And I am, technically, working on SHIELD's time. So, really, I don't have time for this."

Bucky resisted the urge to smack his head against the table, "Natasha, I will personally reimburse you for your time."

Natasha crinkled her nose, "I want you to promise me you'll babysit when Clint and I want to go out after the baby is born."

"What?" Bucky sighed, "I'll do one night!"

"Skryaga," Natasha pouted, but agreed. (Cheapskate)

"Good," Bucky nodded, glad their bargaining was done, "I need help figuring out how to ask Carter on a date."

Bucky did not like the evilly mischievous smile that spread across Natasha's face.

"A date!" she practically cackled, "This is your first date in almost 100 years!"

Bucky grunted. While that was technically true, he didn't actually want to verbalize it.

"Oh my god!" she rubbed her hands together, "I still can't believe you didn't let me help you. I'm a good matchmaker!"

"Steve told me all about your efforts," Bucky grinned, "But I managed to find this one all on my own."

Natasha tilted her head, "Not exactly. I mean, Liam and that dog did most of the work."

"I kept talking to her!" he protested.

"Semantics," Natasha waved her hand, "On to the date. Is it going to be casual or fancy?"

"I...don't know?" Bucky said slowly.

"You are not helping me," Natasha leaned back in her chair and rested her hand on her stomach, rubbing slow circles, "Is she they type who would like a fancy dinner. Or a hot dog in front of the park?"

Bucky thought for a minute, "Well, she'd probably like both. But I want to make our first date special. What was yours and Clint's first date?"

Natasha grinned, "We were sent to capture an arms dealer in Greece. Clint got stabbed and knocked out. I was shot. It was fun."

"You're crazy," Bucky shook his head, raking a hand through his hair. Maybe going to Natasha for help was a mistake.

"Maybe I am," Nat grinned, "But you still came to me for help."

"And you haven't helped me yet," Bucky pointed out.

"Just ask her. I'm assuming she won't say no if she likes you. Besides, you're not going to like, hire a sky writer," she shrugged, "The actual asking isn't important. It's if you two get along."

Bucky didn't answer, so Natasha leaned forward and rested her chin on her palm, "Do you get along?"

Bucky nodded, "We do get along. I like her a lot."

Natasha grinned, "Well, there you go. Just ask her."

Bucky pushed his chair away from the table, deep in thought.

"Dobro pozhalovat," Natasha called after him. (you're welcome)

"You didn't help!" Bucky laughed, calling over his shoulder.

"You still owe me a night of babysitting!" she shouted back.

Bucky waited outside of Carter's apartment building.

He nervously tapped his metal fingers against the brick wall.

He was going to do it. He was going to ask Carter out.

Why did he feel like he was going to throw up?

Back in the 40s he was good with girls. Dates every night practically, women following him around.

But now? He could talk to Carter. But she seemed like the only one.

He'd tried to make connections with other women over the years, but nothing seemed to work.

Maybe it was the arm, or his diminished social skills, but he wasn't the ladies' man he used to be.

Or maybe he just hadn't found the right woman.

Carter came down the steps of her building, eyes on her phone screen and one hand looped around Bart's leash.

Bart started barking when he saw Bucky.

"Hey, crazy dog, shush. That squirrel is not scared of you," Bucky could hear Carter laugh.

"I don't know," Bucky said, "He's pretty menacing."

Carter grinned, "Yeah, if you're a dust bunny."

Bucky knelt down to rub at Bart's stomach. The dog flopped onto his back and let his tongue loll out of his mouth.

Carter shook her head, "He totally loves you. Bart doesn't fall asleep on the sidewalk for just anyone."

"I'm honored," Bucky laughed, "How are you?"

"Exhausted," she smiled, giving Bart's leash a little shake to get the dog to wake up, "Kindergarteners are like the Energizer Bunny on crack."

"Liam's loving your class though," Bucky said, "He thinks Miss Carter is the greatest."

Carter's eyes softened and she blinked, "Really? Aw, well I love the little munchkin too. He's so smart. He can read and write his name and count to six! Not all of my kids are that advanced."

"That's all on Kit. She's a psychiatrist. Big on education. Although Steve's no slouch himself," Bucky said, walking down the block.

"I can't wait to meet them at Parent's Night!" Carter laughed, "I'll be gushing about that smart little boy all night!"

"They'll love that. Steve has a million pictures of Liam on his phone and Kit is constantly videotaping things."

"They must be great parents. Liam is such a happy kid," Carter said, pulling gently on Bart's leash to get him away from some plants.

"Yeah, they are," Bucky paused, "Come on a double date and meet them."

Carter stopped in her tracks, "What was that?"

Bucky frowned, "Uh, will you go out with me?"

Carter smiled, amused, "That is so not what you said the first time."

Bucky laughed nervously, "Yeah it is."

Carter grabbed onto his arm, the metal one Bucky noticed, "Oh no! I heard you Barnes! You asked me out on a double date!"

Bucky winced, "Okay, so I asked you out on a double date."

Carter tried to hide her smile, "You are such a dork!"

"Okay, so what if I am?" Bucky smiled, "Are you going to come on the double date or not?"

A/N: The long awaited Bucky and Carter first date story is here! Wahhooo!

So, first order, Natasha's Russian translations, in order, are "Desperate," "Interesting," "Cheapskate," and "You're welcome."

I loved writing the interaction between Nat and Bucky…Nat is especially fun to write.

This one is going to have, I think, two more chapters to it.

I have outfits for both couples up on my Polyvore account (pstdk), a poll open for Baby Girl Rogers' name on my profile, and my Tumblr (thewintersoldierdisaster) is always open for discussion and prompts

Enjoy! =)