The party was in full swing. There were close to two hundred guests. Howard was right at home, entertaining a gaggle of women by the pool deck. The Jarvis', after dinner had been served, had been given the rest of the night off and had disappeared to their rooms. Peggy was nowhere in sight and Bucky had long lost track of her. Bucky himself was leaning against the balcony rail overlooking the gardens, enjoying some time to himself.

Earlier, when all the guests were still arriving, Howard had forced Bucky to stand alongside him and greet the "important" guests. They ranged from scientists, mechanics, big company owners, fellow millionaires, S.S.R. agents and women. Bucky did his job and smiled like the good little assistant that he was, but inside, he hated it. Almost everyone knew who he was and almost everyone just had to ask questions. Needless to say, Bucky booked it out of there as soon as Howard gave him the all clear.

He was happily taking a sip of his champaign when he noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Rosie was standing just a little to the left of the pool deck. She was wearing a deep purple dress and had pinned her curls back into a fancy up do. Her eyes were roaming the yard, as if she were searching for someone and Bucky felt his heart beat quicken.

Without him realizing it, Bucky made his way off the balcony towards Rosie, when she saw him approaching, her eyes lit up like stars and she made her way towards him.

"Hello, Rosie. I didn't expect to see you here. It's a nice surprise." Bucky grinned. His smile faded however, as he recalled his last encounter with Rosie.

"Mrs. Jarvis told me to come." Rosemarie answered, barley reacting to the nickname. "You over paid me and I need to return your money." She said as she handed him his four dollars.

Bucky was a bit taken aback. "Was that the only reason you came?"

"Yes. Now if you'll excuse me." Rosie said as she made to leave.

Bucky didn't want to let that happen and he grabbed her hand. "Why don't you stay? It's not every day you get invited to a party at Stark's mansion."

Rosemarie tried to find an excuse to leave, but one look at Bucky's puppy eyes had her agreeing to stay. "Alright. But only because it's a Stark party."

Bucky grinned. "Of course, that's the only reason." He winked.

Rosie found herself blushing despite herself. This was not a date and she did not like him. She had just come to return his money to him and now they were spending time together as friends. Yeah, that's it.

"So," she said, "what have you been up to? I see you've gotten some sun."

Bucky laughed, remembering his sunburn. "Howard gave me the day off, so I spent it swimming. And apparently, getting burned."

Coming up with nothing to say to that, Rosemarie nodded but stayed quiet. Bucky decided to turn up the charm.

"So, I'll bet you've never had a tour of one of Stark's mansions before." She only answered with a raised eyebrow. "Really? When?" Bucky asked, surprised.

"My father is friends with the man who built this estate. He gave my father and I a tour before Stark bought it."

"So, do you like architecture?" Bucky asked, realizing he didn't really know all that much about Rosie.

"Actually, I do. I want to design buildings one day, but they don't exactly take women." She replied, scorned.

He grimaced. "I'm sure if you can prove your worth, someone will take you. Times are changing. There are more women in the work force than ever these days." He remembered his first job hunt after the war, seeing more and more women hired to do what would've been previously considered man's work.

"As lovely as that is, I would still have to go to college for architecture, and that is something my father doesn't want to pay for."

"Huh." Bucky said awkwardly. Rosemarie took pity on him.

"If you want to give me a tour, I would appreciate it. I would love to see what Stark has done with it."

Bucky's face lit up. "I'd be happy to." He said as he offered her his arm. Rosemarie gave him a small smile of her own as she linked her arm with his.

X-X-X

An hour later found Bucky and Rosemarie back on the pool deck. The party was still going strong, but at least Howard and his gaggle of girls had moved elsewhere. Bucky was swelling with pride from all the things he'd managed to learn about Rosie.

She loved to design things, had a knack for organization, hated waking up early and yet loved cooking breakfast foods. She also had an older brother who had fought in the war. When Rosie mentioned that he'd actually gotten to meet the Captain America though, Bucky stayed quiet.

Rosemarie, for her part, learned a little bit about Bucky. She was already half in love with Becca just from hearing Bucky gush about "his kid sister." Rosie was a bit annoyed when she discovered that he now knew more about herself than she knew about him.

"So," she said as they finished their tour, "I think you owe me an explanation for why you overpaid me and then made me chase you down."

"Um," Bucky muttered with wide eyes. "You caught me off guard. I realized that today would've been my friend's 27th birthday. I'm sorry I ran out on you."

"Did you lose him in the war?" Rosie asked. That was the story with more than half of the guys she knew.

"Yeah. He…uh," Bucky paused, not sure how much he wanted her to know about Steve and Captain America. He didn't want her to see him differently. "Well, he took down an enemy plane. He's been listed as MIA ever since." Steve was dead, that Bucky was sure of. He should've been listed KIA, but Peggy refused to update his file.

"Well, I'm sorry you lost him." Rosemarie patted his shoulder.

"Thanks." He nodded. "Are you sure I can't tempt you into a dance?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.

Rosie's laugh was like sunshine. "I'm going to have to decline that offer. I actually should be on my way home."

"Alright. Let me walk you to your car."

"I think I can handle it on my own, James." Rosie made to go.

"I had a nice time, Rosie. We should do this again sometime." Bucky smirked.

"Do what? Wander around Stark's house?"

"Go on a date." He answered as if it were obvious.

"This was not a date!" Rosemarie couldn't believe she was getting flustered.

"It kinda was, Rosie." Bucky's smirk turned into a grin.

"No, it wasn't. it was an evening where two adults engaged in friendly conversation."

"Well, we should "engage in friendly conversation" more often."

"Goodnight, James." Rosemarie declared as she walked away, not wanting to give into his silly games.

"Goodnight, Rosie! I really enjoyed our "friendly conversation"!" Bucky hollered after her.

Rosemarie hid a smile as she rolled her eyes.