Happy Family

The silence in the room was palpable.

Steve had been unprofessional, cursing at Tony’s sister in front of not only the woman herself but as well as the new Marketing Team. A picture-perfect image of what Steve was already painted by the woman in front of him. A satisfied smirk was on her lips.

This had always been her plan that much Steve had come to realize when it comes to her. She wanted this to happen, to see him falter, to fold under pressure, to make a complete embarrassment of himself in front of everyone, in front of her team, and in front of Tony that was slowly but surely losing faith in him.

“Steve.” Bucky had brought him back out of his thoughts, the reassuring smile on his face finally allowed him to calm down, to think more clearly, and to understand what needs to be done.

“I’m sorry. That’s unprofessional of me.” He said, ignoring the smirk that landed on the woman’s face instead of turning to the team she had brought with her. “That is uncalled for.”

With a slight tilt of her head, she was expecting more from him but he will not be giving her the satisfaction anymore. Not this time and not even Tony could stop him from making it.

“Please remember your place, Ms. Stark. You work for us, paid by us. You are just the lead Marketing Manager and I am the President of Stark Industries, not you. Had it not been for your brother, you would have been kicked out of this meeting room and in this company the moment you opened your mouth and spewed lies.”

The shock that laced her features was a satisfying sight to see, Steve could admit at much. At least he got to one-up her even just this once. Arms crossed against his chest, he watched her, watched for her to say anything that would put her in a worse position than she already was with him.

“I know you hate me because I took your spot. But you need to understand that Howard chose me for a reason and not you. Act like an adult and live with those decisions instead of acting like a spoiled brat.”

Just like that, he watched you gape and walk out of the meeting room. It had ruined the entire schedule for him knowing this would need to be rescheduled, but it was a sight to see her lost for words and walking out with her tailed between her legs.

“Let’s just reschedule when everyone’s level-headed.” Tony had muttered standing up and escorting the rest of Y/N’s team out of the meeting room.

Every single one of them giving him the stink eye before leaving and Steve really could care less about them at this point. A headache he needed to deal with for the rest of the months to come. With Natasha excusing herself, patting both his shoulder as well as Bucky’s, he was left in the confinements of the room with two of the only people he felt the most vulnerable with.

“She’s got spunk, I’d give her that.” Bucky acknowledges, back resting against the chair and turning his slate-blue eyes towards him. The sparkle Steve was all too familiar with and an idea he wanted nothing to do with. “I can really see Tony in her, a better and hotter version if I’m being honest.”

Here it goes.

“What have you searched about her?” Ignoring Bucky’s words, Steve inquired Maria Hill, the only woman he could trust the dark secret of his that isn’t Bucky. He wanted control and knowing every dirty little secret of hers was the best way to control her.

“Top of her class in Harvard. President of the Debate team and was always thought to pursue Law School but dropped out on the first year and started working for her father’s company.”

That’s dirt. As small as it was, for now, it is still dirty he could use against her.

“Why?”

“My contact hasn’t gotten back to me about that part. But rumors around campus had said it was a family problem. But Howard was still alive at the time. Maria died before she even started College. Nothing much about Tony happened during those times.”

That was enough for him. That little detail he could use, in whatever form he deemed fit for the situation. If she was going to play dirty, well she chose to face the wrong man.

The memories of his time in SHIELD still haunts him, the betrayal that lingered in Peggy’s eyes the moment she finds out about his betrayal. The secret he never thought would be the reason for his tarnished name and the open secret in the industry he worked his ass to be a part of.

“You got to ease up on the girl, Punk.” Bucky pointed out. “We don’t really know what happened to her. The poor girl wasn’t even able to go to her father’s funeral and Tony’s too much of a prick to invite her to his own wedding.”

“It’s her fault. She chose not to be a part of those moments in her brother’s life. It’s got nothing to do with me or why she’s acting like a bitch.” He brushed off, caring less about Bucky’s failed attempt to guilt-trip him.

“You’re hopeless sometimes, Punk. You know that, right?” Bucky released a sigh before standing up and leaving him alone with Maria. “I’m gonna go and apologize for you, you owe me a date in Coney Islands.”

“I always owe you,” Steve muttered even with Bucky already long gone.

“You know, James is right.” Maria pointed out after a brief pause. “You’re just digging an empty grave when it comes to her.”

“I know.” He admits, “but I can’t go just go down without a fight.”

“This isn’t SHIELD, No one can use your relationship with Bucky against you.”

“You don’t know that, Hill.” Steve sighed leaning his back further into his chair. Mind already boggled with how they would make this project successful when introductions were taking more than one meeting to finish. “I know I can never forgive myself for putting Peggy and Bucky in such a situation, SHIELD and Starks Industry would always put what happened against me.”

“You should start now, Boss. Ms. Carter and James already did.”
~
It didn’t take Bucky long to find where she was. In her office with most of her team. A gentle knock on the door before opening it, everyone’s eyes had been on him. Glaring daggers at him and the less than stellar look in her own features. Steve’s words had hit a nail and it shows in the way she was fighting herself from either crying or screaming from the looks of it.

“I came to apologize.” Bucky was quick to explain his presence. “At least for Steve’s behavior, but can’t say much about whatever your brother had done to make your life a living hell.” He added with a tense smile on his lips.

It would have been great to try to woo her had it been you all on your own. But seeing two heavily built men on either side of her, and the other two women also trying their best to remain stoic even after the apology. This was harder than what he had actually bargained for.

“And I thought I would treat everyone to lunch, just as a welcome back to the company, but I don’t think it’s gonna be a good thing to do now.”

“Lunch is fine.” She finally nods, dabbing the side of her eyes with the tissue handed to her by the man with stark white hair. “Just know these two love to eat.” She points towards the two men.

“It’s on me, so it’s fine.” He brushed off eyes turning to everyone still looking at him, waiting for him to say anything else to further have them continue on with the death glare. “I was also hoping to talk to you in private.”

“No.” Sam, was the one to answer his request but he had watched her rest her hand on Sam’s shoulders as if to control him from saying anything else.

“Like what I had told Mr. Rogers. If this is business-related, then I think whatever you need to say to me, I think everyone has the right to know.”

“I don’t believe you know the whole story between Steve and Peggy, it’s not much of an open secret, but not everyone knows the details for the divorce.” He said, hoping this was enough, even at the expense of Steve, to have her trust him enough.

“Sam, please. Let me have some time to talk with Mr. Barnes, alone.” She finally insists and he mentally wanted to high-five himself for it.

It took her a little more convincing, especially the daunting Sam Wilson, before everyone gave the two of them the privacy he needed. The glare sent his way by every single one of her team was ignored, his focus had solely been on her, on what he could do to placate the situation and the brewing fued she has with Steve as the campaign planning continued on.

“Okay, so what do I know that isn’t the whole picture?” She questioned, arms crossed against her chest. The swells of her breast peeking from her blouse had momentarily caught his attention, but his was quick to move his eyes towards her eyes. A brow gently rose, waiting for him to continue on with what he had to say,

“Depends on what SHIELD already told you at this point.” He retorts back.

Of course Steve’s slate in SHIELD had not been the best, branded as a sellout for everything he had to do before jumping ship here. The secrets that not even Steve had been aware of. His role in SHIELD finally making the prominent figure during his tenure.

“Steve married Peggy Carter for the role he had in the company.”

“And I wouldn’t say you were wrong in that front.” He points out, but it was more than that. It was more with the things that had happened during the moment. “But Steve did love Peggy, it’s just Peggy never got over her own first love.”

Of course Bucky knew all of this. Knew what Peggy had hidden from Steve all those years ago. But he never had the heart to tell his best friend, it would only break his heart, more than it already had. The circumstance the had brought them here in the company was also a factor as to why he was yet to tell him the truth.

“So, Dad loved my mother just as much, but that didn’t stop him from being a womanizer or being married to his job when he was alive.” She snorts leaning her hips against the table.

Bucky’s eyes had momentarily lingered in her office. The power of interior that Tony Stark was capable of still surprises him even as years of working with the man. The office wasn’t the largest, but it was roomy, a home-y feeling with several pictures of her and the rest of her family. Even Tony and his own family was also posted on the wall. But among the pictures that he had noticed, it had always been her and Howard. The proud smile on Howard’s face as she had once again won what Bucky believed was a Debate contest when you were in High School. In every achievement she had made in her life, it was always her father with her, never her mother.

“You were never close with your mother?” He inquired making his way to one of the photos of the two of them in what had been the earliest moments of development of Stark’s legacy.

“Tony was closer to Mom, the true Mama’s Boy that always got what he wanted.” She snorts eyes following him in the photo he was also seeing. “Me and Dad always have this connection to the business. Dad said I was a natural at selling things even when I was young.”

Turning his attention back to her, the sad smile played even with her eyes still glued to photo.

“I’m sorry for how the circumstance happened with—us. With Steve, we never really wanted you to leave.” Bucky admits. “Steve didn’t want to either, but Howard had been admitant on him with the role.”

With her eyes now moving to him, there was something more that he didn’t know.

“I was trained since I was a fucking kid to be in the level you and Steve are riding on right now.” She snapped moving towards him until she was a fraction of an inch away from him. The scent of strawberry and vodka had somehow lingered in the air. “I love my job, I honestly do. But what he did fucked me over and made me question if I was even supposed to be given such a role in the first place.”

Moving away from him, he watched you slam your latop open.

“What hurts me so much is he chose Steve over his own flesh and blood. For what? I never even heard of him until I did my research, the mess he had been in SHIELD, the scandal he had placed the company in. My own father would chose a mess of a man to takeover instead of me.” Her voiced raised and it took everything in Bucky to remained where he stood and not comfort you or calm you down—or defend Steve in the process. “He didn’t just lose a daughter when he had made that announcement, he had lost all the trust and respect I had for him as the businessman I always dreamed of becoming all on my own.”

“That’s not how Howard—”

“Then what?” She cuts off. “Since you’ve been here, you’ve done nothing but try defending Steve and even Howard. Stop gaslighting into believing they had their reason. This company burning to the ground isn’t a good look for either of them.”

“Howard made a deal with Peggy.”

“What?”

Bucky knew this was the biggest mistake he could make, say things he knew he couldn’t take back anymore. Words he knew would screw everythin up before he could make the necessary changes to any of them. He was fucked, he knew it with the anger that continued to bubble in you.

“Get the fuck out of my office and don’t come back unless it’s about the campaign!”