Tuesday morning started out like any other day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the sweet smell of coffee was invading Bucky's nose. With a groan, he threw off the blankets and dragged himself out of bed. After completing his morning routine, Bucky bounded down the stairs to investigate his breakfast options, fully prepared to ignore what day it was. His brilliant plan, however, was brought to a halt as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs. The grand foyer was covered in red, white and blue streamers. Balloons had been blown up and there was a crew of men decorating both the mansion and the extensive backyard.

As Bucky made his way into the kitchen, he found Anna ordering around the massive kitchen staff that Howard only used for special occasions. "What's all this about?" He demanded more than asked.

"Good morning to you too, Bucky." Anna replied, placing a steaming mug of coffee in his hand.

Bucky rolled his eyes. "Good morning, Anna. How are you this morning. Thank you so much for the coffee."

"No need to be so sarcastic." Anna reprimanded as if she were his mother. "Howard's having his Independence Day party tonight and you are very much expected to attend." She told him sternly.

"Why?"

"Because, you are Mr. Stark's assistant and potential buyers of his inventions will want to meet you, because it would make for good press, because Mr. Stark asked you to be there, and because I will never make you coffee again if you don't go." Anna crossed her arms.

"Ok, ok, I'll be there." Bucky raised his hand in surrender. "But I'm not making a speech and I'm not going to spend the night talking about Captain America as if he was only a hero and not a person."

"You're not expected to." Anna relaxed. "I'm afraid you're on your own for breakfast this morning." She informed him before turning back to her kitchen staff.

Bucky huffed and drank his coffee. He wasn't really hungry anyway. Despite wanting to be angry with Stark for not telling him about the party, Bucky decided it wasn't worth it. Instead, he went down to the workshop to help his boss like the good little one-armed assistant he was.

Howard, being Howard, was not in the lab. In fact, after doing a quick search of the mansion, Bucky discovered that Howard wasn't anywhere. Figures.

"Hey, Anna?" Bucky popped his head back into the kitchen.

"Yes? I'm quite busy."

"Have you seen Howard?"

"Edwin drove Mr. Stark out to New York City this morning. They should be back a few hours before the party tonight, along with Ms. Carter."

"So, what am I supposed to do all day?" Bucky asked with raised eyebrows.

"Mr. Stark suggested that you call your family and enjoy the day off." And with that, Anna went back to her controlled chaos.

Calling his family did seem like a good idea. He hadn't really made the effort to talk to his folks on a regular basis and it was only a matter of time before his ma came knocking. Settling into his room, Bucky picked up his bedside telephone and dialed the number he knew by heart. The line only rang twice before Rebecca's voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hiya, Becca." Bucky grinned.

"Bucky!" She shrieked, causing Bucky to jerk the phone away from his ear.

X-X-X

After a rather long call with his family (Bucky was glad Stark was footing the bill), Bucky spent the day lounging around the pool. He didn't really want to swim, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. Howard never really gave him an entire day off. Maybe it was time to fix that.

Bucky had spent about four hours in the pool and on the deck. He'd gotten pretty sunburned, but at last he wasn't so pale anymore. He was just about to head upstairs for a shower when Anna found him.

"Bucky! I've been looking for you." She called from the door. Bucky wrapped a pool towel around his waist and stood up to greet her. He only grimaced a little thanks to his sunburn.

"Hey, Anna. What's up?" He said as he approached her. He completely forgot he wasn't wearing a shirt and his scared left shoulder was on full display. Anna gaped momentarily at Bucky's left side before forcing herself to look him in the eyes.

"I just wanted to tell you that our guests are expected to arrive in two hours. You need to be cleaned and dressed by then." She said hurriedly.

Bucky frowned at her skittishness, but nodded. "Do I need to dress up?"

Anna nodded. "Nothing formal, but at least your Sunday Best." With that, Anna went back inside.

Bucky for the life of him couldn't figure out what had gotten into Anna, but he headed in to get showered anyway. Once he got to his room, he discarded his towel and left it on the floor, a habit he'd had since childhood. After he made his way into his attached bathroom and got a look at his reflection in the full-length mirror, he understood Anna's reaction.

His left side, particularly his stump, was covered in scars. Bucky usually tried not to think about it too much, but now, the scars were all he could see. He sped through his shower, not wanting to leave his scaring exposed for any longer than necessary. After he toweled off, he picked out a plain, red button up and a pair of slacks. Anna had said Sunday Best, rather than formal, so Bucky decided to forgo a tie. He couldn't manage to put one on by himself anyway.

After checking his hair in the mirror (it was a little longer than he used to wear it), Bucky made his way downstairs. As he stepped off the final step, the front door was thrown open and Howard sauntered in with Peggy Carter at his side. Bucky smiled despite himself.

"Hi, Peggy." He greeted. "Howard didn't tell me you were coming."

"It's nice to see you, James." She smiled. "How do you like working with Stark?"

"It's an adventure." Bucky smiled politely back. "How's the S.S.R. treating you?"

"Same as always. I do all the work and get none of the credit." Peggy said with a hint of scorn.

"I'm sure it'll get better."

The two made small talk for a few moments longer before Howard showed Peggy up to her room to freshen up. Apparently, she was going to stay for a few days. Bucky was surprised to find that he was happy about this situation. At some point, he began to consider Peggy a friend.

After Peggy disappeared upstairs, Bucky scampered off to the kitchen to help Anna (AKA, sample the food).

Are you guys ready for a party? I actually wrote the next chapter on the fourth of July like the nerd I am.

Thoughts? Comments so far? They give me life.