The café is nearly empty. No surprise at 3 o'clock on a Thursday, especially two days after Christmas. But the stillness of the place feels odd and a bit off-putting as they sit alone in the corner, quietly arguing about what the rest of their day holds.
"I don't understand," Tessa contends, staring down at the torn-apart croissant in front of her. "You don't want to see where I work?"
Bucky rolls his eyes at her and places some more quiche onto her plate. "I know where you work. I used to live in the tower."
She slides the plate away to the center of the table and reaches instead for her nearly empty coffee mug. "But I have a new office. And it's huge. And you've never seen it."
He looks down at the plate, then back up at her, his eyes flicking in a silent but serious command to eat that. She knew this was going to happen. She knew he shouldn't have come along with her to her doctor's appointment this morning. She knew that he'd take in every little thing that the doctor said and make it into a huge deal.
Nutrition. Blech. Her problem wasn't what she ate. It was just… "I'm not hungry."
Bucky lets out a labored sigh and shakes his head. "Why are you always so damn stubborn?"
"I'm not being stubborn. I'm just not hungry," she insists.
He gives her a get real stare and says, "You're being stubborn about taking the advice of a doctor who isn't you." Tessa flops back into her chair, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling like a petulant five-year-old. "What did she say?" he asks with an airy sort of impatience.
She narrows her eyes at him. "I think you're focusing on the wrong things. She said that my leg looks good and I'm cleared for physical therapy."
"And she also said that you're going need to eat better and get more protein to build back up the muscles."
"And," she interrupts, leaning forward and dropping her elbows to the table. "She said that my kidney function is great."
"She said 'good', not 'great.' And you're still anemic and she thinks it's because you're not getting enough iron in your diet."
"She thinks," she snipes with an arrogant flip of her hair.
His gaze hardens with frustration as he continues to drive his point home. "How much weight did she say you lost? Just over the last six weeks?" Tessa continues to frown, her jaw ticking as she slowly averts her eyes. "And that's just since you left the hospital. Doesn't even touch the past six months… the past year." He continues to stare at her, waiting for her to speak, to react in some way other than by idly chewing at the inside of her cheek as she sulks in front of him. "I don't get it," he says after a long moment, his voice echoing a bit through the otherwise silent café. "You know this is a problem. I've been telling you it's a problem. Dr. Hammond is saying it's a problem. You're a doctor, Tessa. You damn well know this is a problem."
Her head dips, eyes dropping to her lap, as she says, barely a whisper, "I know."
"So eat the damn quiche!"
She looks up at him with sad, apologetic eyes. "I'm not lying when I say I'm not hungry. It isn't…" Her lips pull shut as she struggles to think of what to say. "I'm not trying to…" she tries again, before giving up with a huff.
He reaches out and takes her hand, absently pivoting the emerald ring back and forth on her finger. "I know you're not trying to do anything. And I know that you've got a lot on your mind right now, and that's what's got you all in knots. I get it. But, baby, you gotta eat. It's just that simple."
She looks over at the by-now-cold quiche and frowns down at it. "If I eat it, can I show you my office?"
He leans back with a sigh. "It's freezing out. And I don't think you should be traipsing all over the city on crutches."
She gives him an incredulous look – "It's two blocks away!" – before reaching out and slowly pulling the plate over to her. "You just don't want to see Tony," she taunts, scooping a piece of food into her mouth.
"That's a safe bet," he issues out softly, lips perking at the corners when he sees her stick her fork back in for more. He watches her closely for a long moment, studies the sallowness of her cheeks, the jut of her chin made more prominent by her thinned face. His expression gradually melts into a deep frown as he begins to think about how they got here… and how much further they have to go. "Did you call Xavier?" he asks once she pops in the final bite of quiche.
She nods and swallows. "Saturday morning. I told him I'd be there by eleven."
"Okay," he says, hesitation clear in his voice. He looks up at her and gives her a tight smile. "Eleven on Saturday."
"You don't have to come," she tells him gently. "Really. I can do this on my own."
He shakes his head emphatically. "Nope. Not on your own. That's what we agreed to. We're in this together," he says, eyes bouncing down to the engagement ring on her finger then back up to her bright green eyes.
A small, almost shy smile rolls over her features. "Okay." She takes one last sip of her cold coffee and starts to rise from the table. "Come on," she groans, awkwardly shifting her weight as she positions the crutches beneath her arms. "Let's go see my new office."
He tries to argue against it, cites all of the reasons why they really should just head back home. But of course he gives in. Somehow, yet again, she manages to get her way. "You should've been a lawyer," he mumbles as he blows hot breath onto his gloved hands, the cold wind whipping through his coat as they walk the city streets. He glances down to see that she's not even wearing gloves, her white knuckles bare as she holds tight to the crutches. He rolls his eyes at her foolishness for the umpteenth time today. "I don't know how you're able to talk me into everything."
"I don't know either," she says, already sounding a bit out of breath. "But speaking of that, we're going to the New Year's party."
He stops in his tracks, irritation clear on his face amid his bright cheeks and wind-burned nose. "Why?"
She laughs – less at his question and more at the childlike tone it's asked in – before marching on towards the Tower. "Because it's a party," she throws over her shoulder, ducking into the alleyway that leads back to the new employee entrance.
He follows quickly and helps her peel her ID from her pocket when it becomes abundantly clear that her fingers are utterly numb. "But… we just got back home. I thought we could have a quiet New Year's… just us." He badges in and ushers her into the building, stopping short when she turns just inside the doorway and lays a chaste kiss on the tip of his frozen nose.
"We can do that," she says to him, her voice low despite there being no one around to hear them. "But first, we should go to the party. Just for a little bit." She starts for the elevators, Bucky trudging despondently behind her. "I don't think anyone actually expects me to stay all night anyway. But… it's a party!"
He sticks close to her side as she navigates the halls of the new medical research floor – or floors really. They bypassed the first one, Tessa explaining quickly that the two labs on that level are off limits to any non-essential personnel. He's got to admit, the whole thing is really impressive. Just a few short months ago this place was a gutted remnant. Now there are secure passageways everywhere he looks – storage and small labs and offices. There's odd machinery humming in various rooms along the corridors, hidden away behind slightly tinted glass. And there are dozens of people bustling around in white coats, each of whom takes a brief pause in their frenetic scurrying to nod at Tessa as they pass by.
"They all know you?" he asks, a hint of wonder to his voice as he turns and follows one young man with his eyes.
"Well, most of them already worked here before." She tosses a deprecating glance at him as they pull up to a short corridor. "You just never came to see me in the lab, so you never met any of them."
"The lab is your playground, not mine."
She moves to the door at the end of the short hall and swipes her badge. "I've gone down to the gym to find you," she snipes. "Hell, I've even ventured out to the track."
"Yeah, but that's 'cause you just can't stand to be away from me," he teases, broad smile faltering when he follows her through the door and gets a look at the office.
Tessa lays her crutches against the giant mahogany desk and clumsily pulls herself up to sit atop it. "So?" she asks, positively beaming as she flings her arms wide. "What do you think?"
He raises his eyebrows appraisingly as he slowly looks around the room. It's about twice the size of her last office in the tower – and her office at the compound now. And it lacks the sort of familiar coziness that those two rooms always held for him, complete with the old broke-down sofa and scent of stale coffee. This room smells like new carpet with a hint of fresh paint. But it is impressive, especially the massive built-ins filled top to bottom with books and trinkets he didn't even know she owned.
His eyes land on a small grouping of framed photos on one of the shelves.
"Yeah," Tessa utters, watching as he moves closer to investigate. "After the accident, Pepper sort of took over in here. She made sure everything was put away, and then she decided to decorate."
He leans in to look at the pictures. "Yeah, I was pretty surprised to see that there aren't any half-unpacked boxes lying around." The first picture is one of Tessa and Natasha, smiling like drunken, beautiful fools in what looks to be a low-lit nightclub. He sniggers a bit at the sheer cuteness that shines through former-assassin Romanov.
He looks over to the next and, without thinking, pulls it from the shelf. It's an old black-and-white of him and Steve… one of many taken on a day when the Howling Commandos allowed the press to come in and document a day in the life. The two men are laughing at something – probably joking about how ridiculous and phony the whole thing was. As though the press would ever really be let into the goings-on of the Commandos. He lightly brushes his thumb over the gleeful faces of the young men, a small smile spreading across his own face as a familiar warmth pools in his chest.
"That's one of my favorites," Tessa hums in his ear.
He starts just a bit, so lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't even realized she'd moved over to him. He gives a short laugh as he wraps his arm around her waist. "I don't totally remember that day," he says. "But I do remember people telling us how to stand… and not to look at the camera."
"You were models for a day," she laughs. "Vogueing in the middle of a war." She shakes her head in amusement as he pulls away and sets the frame back on the shelf. "I love it."
"Now this one," he intones, pointing at the next photo. "This one, I love."
She looks at the three smiling faces – Steve, Bucky, and herself – standing in front of the Cyclone at Coney Island. All three of them have ruddy cheeks and red noses, a bit of cloudiness can even be seen in the corner of the photo from where Steve huffed out a hot breath into the cold winter air. "I've never thrown up into a trashcan and gotten frostbite within the same hour before," she says. "It was a magical place."
"Hey, I told you not to eat that third hot dog before getting on the coaster," he defends with a wry grin. He pulls her closer and nuzzles her neck, eliciting another small giggle from her as his stubble tickles her chin.
"One minute you tell me not to eat, the next you're practically shoving food down my throat." She leans back and lets out a dramatic sigh. "If only I knew then how fickle you'd become."
He trails a few lazy kisses down her neck before landing at her collarbone and giving a quick nip. She releases a short squeak and smacks him playfully on the shoulder. "Ow," he laments with a pout as he pulls away. He lets out another small chuckle before returning his gaze to the shelf and spying a picture of Tessa, Tony, and Bruce huddled together in front of a computer somewhere, each of their intent, focused expressions mirroring the other's. "Where did she even get these?" he asks, a bit bewildered. The one from Coney Island must've come from Steve since it was taken with his phone. And the old press photo was probably part of the Smithsonian's collection – hell, they may have even made that into a postcard for all he knew. But…
"I have my ways," interrupts his thoughts, the foreign voice causing him to whip around so fast he almost knocks Tessa over beside him. He quickly wraps his metal arm around her hip to steady her, looking up at Pepper as she glides into the room. A bright, lovely smile spreads across her face as she releases a light laugh. "Be careful, Sergeant Barnes. We're still hoping to get her back in one piece."
Bucky nods at the statuesque woman in front of him and prepares to say something in greeting, but he's interrupted by the awful intrusion of Tony Stark and his big mouth. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asks, eyes trained on Tessa as he sidles up next to Pepper. "You're still supposed to be on leave. Recovering. Are you recovered?" He raises a single brow at her, his assessing gaze traveling the full length of her body. "You don't look recovered."
"Tony," Pepper chides, giving him a little shove. She turns her attention back to Tessa. "I think you look wonderful."
Tony narrows his eyes. "You didn't really think you could get in here without me knowing, did you?"
"You've got all security on high alert, do you?" Tessa questions with a challenging raised brow of her own.
He simply smirks. "Always."
"So," Pepper starts again, her eyes enthusiastically bouncing back and forth between Tessa and Bucky, "what do you think of the place?"
Tessa offers a wide, grateful smile. "It's awesome. Really. Even if I hadn't gotten hurt, I wouldn't have had this place looking this good by now."
"Of course not," Tony scoffs. "You would've been busy doing actual work."
Pepper leans into him and angrily whispers, "Are you saying that I wasn't doing actual work by setting this up for her?"
He rolls his eyes dramatically. "I would never say that. I may have implied it…"
"We don't even have pictures like this in our apartment," Tessa interjects.
"Oh," Pep chimes. "Well, actually, you do. I mean, in your apartment here." She turns to Bucky. "I fixed it up a bit since you were there last. Made it more… homey."
"You didn't have to do that," he replies, struggling to keep the words from sounding ungrateful. But the truth is, "That's not really our place."
Pepper ducks her head a bit. "No, I know. But it is…" she trails off slowly, quirking her head to the side as she focuses her gaze on the glint coming from Tessa's left hand. "Is that…" she steps forward and reaches out to pull the hand up into the light. "A ring?"
"Oh God," Tony grumbles, smacking himself in the forehead and running the heavy hand slowly down his face. "Please tell me that's a joke."
Again, Pepper leans back to give him a quick slap – "Tony!" – before moving in and wrapping Tessa in a gentle embrace. She reaches out with her other hand and lays it atop Bucky's shoulder, gives him a firm squeeze as she says, her voice bubbling with sweet sincerity, "I'm so happy for you two."
"Thanks," Tessa breathes out, connecting nervous eyes with Bucky. They hadn't really talked about how to break the news of their engagement to people. But had they actually discussed who to tell first, well, Tony certainly wouldn't have made the list.
Pepper pulls away just in time for Tony to stride forward. He levels Tessa with an appraising stare. "Are you pregnant?"
"Tony," Pepper scolds, yet again.
Tessa just rolls her eyes. "Yes. He knocked me up and now my father's forcing us both into a shotgun wedding."
Tony narrows his eyes at her for a long moment, the ridiculousness of it causing a snort of laughter to spill out of her. He leans in close, turning his back to Bucky and whispering to her from the corner of his mouth. "You don't have to do this. Just tell me the safe word and I'll get you out of this mess."
She leans in as well and whispers to him. "Safe words are for pussies."
He pulls back and nods. "They are. They definitely are." Then, following a long, deep, steadying breath, he straightens his shoulders and turns to face Bucky. Extending his hand, he says, in the most Tony way possible, "If you ever hurt her I can – and will – have you killed." Bucky eyes his hand suspiciously, his own twitching at his side as he contemplates whether or not to accept the gesture. "C'mon, man," Tony barks at him. Tentatively, Bucky reaches out and the two briefly shake hands.
"Aw," Tessa croons mockingly. "This is the happiest day of my life." The moment the handshake stops, both men drop their hands to their sides and wipe their palms on their pants. She frowns down at the action and mumbles, "Yeah, that's more like it."
"Congratulations," Pepper enthuses, pulling Tony back to her side with a forceful grip. "When's the big day?"
Tessa's eyes go wide and she pivots to look at Bucky. "Uh," he mutters. "We haven't really gotten that far yet."
"Oh?"
"This just happened last night," he finishes with a crooked smile.
"Last night?!" Tony claps his hands together and laughs. "Holy hell… have you told people yet? Are we the first to know? I mean, I should be the first… obviously. But – "
"Please don't tell anyone, Tony," Tessa ekes out, a hint of threat in her voice despite the plea.
"Of course he's not going to tell anyone," Pepper says easily. "He would never do that. This is your super exciting news to share."
Tony just shrugs. "I'm not a monster." Then he looks back over at Tessa with a mysterious twinkle in his eye and he winks as he says, "But once they know, I'm telling the whole world that I knew first."
"You wouldn't be Tony Stark if you didn't," she says, reciprocating with a wink of her own.
Bucky clears his throat nervously and places a gentle hand on Tessa's shoulder. "Actually," he mutters softly, "Steve knows."
"Sorry, what?" she asks, craning her neck tightly. "How would Steve know?"
He swallows hard and braces himself for the ire just beginning to seep from her voice… and from her glare. "I told him," he breathes out guiltily, grimacing at the sound of Tony's riotous laugh.
"Ooo," he huffs. "Sounds like someone's in trouble."
"No," Tessa says quickly, spinning on him with wide eyes. "No, he's not in trouble." She tosses Bucky a glance over her shoulder as she says with a certain cloying quality, "How could I be angry at the most understanding man in the world?"
Bucky rolls his eyes, not at all surprised by this tactic. "Okay," he says. "What exactly am I so understanding about this time?"
She turns back to Tony. "I'm coming back work." He spouts a quick, sardonic laugh. "I am," she protests. "I'm cleared for PT, which means I'm expected to move. And…"
He holds up a single pointed finger, the mannerism deafening in its declaration. "If… if… I decide that you should be allowed back at work – and I'm not at all convinced that you should – there will be rules." Tessa nods eagerly as she tries to bite back a smile. "You start at part time. I reserve the right to kick your ass to the curb anytime I feel like you need a break."
"Absolutely," she agrees, nodding excitedly. "Start slow… got it."
Tony rolls his eyes. "Somehow I doubt that you do."
"Everything will still need to be cleared through HR," Pepper points out. "But if you are good to return, it's actually perfect timing. Dr. Vargas is planning to present his proposal to the board next Monday. It'll be the first from someone on your team."
Tessa's face falls. "What proposal?"
Tony waves a dismissive hand through the air. "Just an idea he came up with… you know, a proposal."
"Yes, Tony," she intones blithely. "I know what a proposal is. I'm just wondering how someone on my team managed to get one in front of the board without my knowing about it." She narrows her eyes at him, face suddenly stern. "Just how out of the loop have you been keeping me?"
He stares at her long and hard, seemingly thinking his way through an answer. But instead of supplying any sort of real response, he claps her on the shoulder, lets out a short, tight chuckle, and declares, "It's good to have you back, kid."