Tempt
When Darcy was a little girl, Jane’s parents, her Uncle John and tía Luci, took them both on a trip to Colorado. They were both maybe four. To this day, that was their absolute favorite vacation. Uncle John told them the story of the Little Dipper. He said that slaves who were escaping through the Underground Railroad called it the drinking gourd. They used the constellation as a guide to their freedom. Since then Jane was stuck with her heads in the stars.
Jane had long since called the Little Dipper by it’s correct name, but last year, when she’d come to visit the kids, she took them outside and explained to them the story they’d known since they were girls, and why it was important. And the kids absolutely adored her for it.
Living in a small town outside of Houston in middle-America, was no different than living in any other small town, she supposed. Everyone knew everyone, that was a given. But growing up, she and Jane did experience a fair amount of prejudice because they spoke two languages, and they ate a fair amount of frijoles y tortillas,that were homemade and not store bought, in their diet. She and Jane used to beg their mamis to buy tortillas like the other kids. They did so once. It was the worse experience. No more store bought tortillas for their famalies.
But their mother's experiences the prejudice more so when they moved to America as kids. The freedom America promised far out-weighed the negatives according to their grandparents. It took two generations for that to be so it seemed.
At least until her divorce. For all she knew until 6 months ago was that she had been living the American dream. Jane too. But some dreams were actually nightmares, and while hers turned out to be, Jane seemed to be thriving in hers.
Jane had come a long way from discovering Ursa Major for the first time as a child. She hoped New York would afford her the same gift.
She glanced down at her phone as she stopped the car at a stop light in the small New York town a couple hours from their final destination. A text from Nick told her he wasn’t happy with Isabella not responding to his texts. She sighed and put her phone away. She’d have to let it go. Isabella was a teenager and well able to understand her mind and her emotions on the matter concerning her father. She had told him time and time again that she would not force their children to communicate with him, nor would she discourage it.
Divorce was something that she never had emulated for her. It simply wasn’t done in their family. Her tía Lupe put up with an abusive, drunk until the day he died, because heaven forbid a divorce sends you straight to hell. Her divorce hadn’t come out of nowhere, that was for sure. As the kids grew older Nick worked more and more. His excuse was college. That was a lie. They had saved up plenty for their kids’ college.
She had begged and pleaded for more date nights, and conversations, and just being together as a family in general. A late night at work a week had turned into three, and then he was barely having supper with them. The pregnant mistress was the icing on the cake. Still, Darcy assumed, she could put up with an absentee husband. God knows this divorce wasn’t easy on her, especially when she had to tell her parents. But the fact that he was so blasé, and so open and disgusting as to let everyone know, but impregnating a woman who wasn’t his wife, that his marriage and marriage vows meant nothing to him, that was the icing on the cake.
When Jane was dating Donald Blake, and was considering marrying, Darcy had had nothing bad to say about marriage. She had Isabella and Mason, Sofia hadn’t been born yet. They had a nice house, with furniture. They wanted for nothing. She’d been excited for Jane to join the club! But now, if Jane were to ask her, Darcy would have to be honest. Guard your heart, it’s not worth it. Obviously she had gotten something good out of the marriage, her children. But to Jane, she knew, that simply wouldn’t be enough.
When Jane dated Thor, Darcy knew, Jane came close to walking down the palatial aisle. She still wasn’t sure what went wrong there. She also knew there had to be some merit to the rumors that Jane was in fact dating another Avenger, which wouldn’t surprise Darcy one bit. But if she was, Jane wasn’t talking. And to be honest, Darcy couldn’t blame her The scrutiny Jane faced dating Thor alone was enough to make anyone nauseated. If Jane was dating an Avenger she supposed it would have to be Captain America. Jane had a type, blonde hair, blue eyes. Tall, broad shouldered, all-American looks, drop dead gorgeous. Darcy couldn’t picture her with anyone else.
If so Darcy wished her the best of luck. It'd be a cold day in hell before Darcy dated an Avenger, especially with her kids. Of course her mother had hinted, “Mija, make sure you always, always wear your lipstick and rouge.” “Mija, are you eating? Men don’t like the sticks.” “Mija…” “Mija…””Mija…”
It wasn’t that they weren’t good men, obviously they were. But the thought of dating again made her sick. She took vows, ‘to death till us part,” and she’d failed. Jane had told her that under no circumstance was she to blame herself. Darcy wasn’t so sure. Maybe she should have tried harder. Maybe she should have built a better home. Maybe she should have worn those heels to that benefit. Maybe she should have pushed extracurriculars a little less, and travel a little more.
Even now her excuses sounded like nonsense, but the blame game was still the same. Should she have listened to her mama a little harder on how to please a man? The what ifs would always be there, Darcy supposed, clear and present was her future, and that of her kids.
She would have so much to do when she got to New York. She’d have to get her family settled without a husband. She’d have to get them signed up for school. She’d have to see what Jane would need from her as her assistant. She’d have to get Sofia use to a new time zone and a daycare, which none of her children have ever been to before. She’d have to get use to a new city, with different markets, stores, and people. She wasn’t sure she would be able to do it.
But if there was one thing, or person, Darcy knew with absolute certain she could lean on, it was Janie Margarita Rodriguez-Foster. Because of the two of them, Jane could throw a mean right hook.
Nick found that out when he appeared in a Buzzfeed article on how not to be a husband. Of course he sued, but Jane had money, and he actually ended up having to pay her.
Steve was in a decidedly worse mood, than he was during his run with Bucky this morning.
Of course that could have something to do with the fact that Bucky and Sam were involved in an all-out prank war, the latest of which involved Sam waking up to pink hair. At least it was semi-permanent this time. And really it was payback for the pink-dyed combat boots that Bucky had to utilize in the quinjet during their latest adventure.
Steve figured that once Bucky got settled with a dame that it would discontinue, but it seemed Nat and Jane were encouraging the assholes.
He guessed that if he ever got a dame, the right one, that he would hope she would be encouraging as well, at least to a point. But damnit, he was aging twice as fast running interference in between those two punks.
He walked down the corridor that led to the war room, and his office. At least he wouldn’t have to file a report to Hill this time. Unlike the time that Bucky fired live rounds at Sam because Sam placed an EMP targeting Bucky’s arm.
Bucky claimed self-defense.
Sam claimed temporary insanity, especially after the sniper took down Redwing.
There was a time, not even that long ago, that Steve would have given anything for his two best friends to like each other. And now they liked each other well enough to try to irritate each other on a daily basis. Not that they didn’t have their good moments. Usually during a mission, they bonded over Steve’s theatrics, or self-sacrificing bullshit. But when the world wasn’t being threatened, the pranks began.
Sometimes they even got Tony in on them, and then it became an even bigger headache. Tony almost always included him.
Steve turned into his office. There were a stack of papers on his desk that needed to be delivered to the Pentagon over their most recent visit to the Ukraine. Steve wasn’t one to procrastinate, so they were all ready to go for the mail person who would be by later.
Hill always left a list of threats they were watching on his desk each morning, and he was grateful for it. If Maria deemed them necessary to watch out for, then he knew they were important.
The X-Men prevent a terrorist attack in a Southern Illinois airport. Isis is claiming responsibility. Al-Qaeda is too.
“How can you want to even take responsibility for something as terrible as killing people, or even attempting to kill people,” Steve thought.
Thank God for the X-Men. It meant that the Avengers didn’t have to do it all alone.
Senator Stern is trying to sue Bucky for a metal fist to face, when Hydra first fell, six years ago, Maria wrote. Personally, I think we should let Bucky get another hit in.
Steve had to agree. Stern was a piece of crap. He treated Tony like crap for years, and if that wasn’t enough, he was as much a handler to Bucky as Pierce was. Steve would’ve personally loved it if he could see Stern’s face plant into Bucky’s fist before he knew that Hydra fell and was arrested. But no amount of searching could lead to the actual footage, and Bucky didn’t remember much.
Tony and Jane are up to keynote speak at this years Ted Talk, and need extra security measures because it’s Tony and Jane.
Steve’s gut churned.
The last keynote Jane gave, led to Bucky setting the place ablaze when a total dumbass decided he’d risk his life and put a hand on her ass. Bucky and Jane could say they weren’t dating all they wanted, but Steve and all of the others saw it differently. Bucky was another level protective over his girl.
Pepper’s heels clicking on the ground were all it took to announce her presence.
“Captain,” she greeted. He nodded and she put a piece of paper in his face. “You have an interview with Access Hollywood over how the Avenger’s are working to help rebuild after the whole 'Thanos' thing," she smirked.
She knew he wasn’t going to like this. She also knew that he would not win an argument with her, which is why she delivered the news and not Maria Hill.
“I though Tony was-,”
“The last thing we need is Tony Stark giving an interview. It’ll turn into a press release about something he’s working on that hasn’t been approved yet. I love my husband Steve, but he doesn’t have a filter.”
“And yet you married him.” She gave a shrug and headed to the door,
“1600, Captain. Media room. And don’t even try to hide. I’ll get Barnes to carry you. That would be a sight.” And she was off.
Steve sat back in a huff. There were two women in this tower that could beat him in an argument, Pepper, and Jane. He had no idea why. Pepper was as intimidating as they came, he supposed. And anytime Jane opened her mouth he had to work so hard to keep up with and understand her, that his brain would fry.
“Yep, that’s it.”
And since there wasn’t much he could do, since Bucky had the stealth of a snake stalking its’ prey, hiding was futile. He set out to find Maria Hill to help him put his interview stance together. The Avengers took this rebuild seriously, and would continue to do so for as long as it took.
Yeah that was good. Maybe the USO shows were good for something… At least when he was in front of the camera.
Jane yawned as she checked her phone for the twentieth time in 30 minutes. Darcy was just a couple hours away, and in her excitement, she found she couldn’t concentrate on work at all.
She already had let Bucky come in and take advantage of her again, after not finding her in bed. Not that she was complaining. But she really needed to work!
Jane had planned a week off to help Darcy and the kids get settled. There was so much she wanted to do and show them. Jane didn’t have kids of her own, so she loved to spoil Darcy’s. Jane had no doubt, when the time was right, she might have a kid or two.
She had yet to find the one.
Was Bucky the one?
She supposed she was more attracted to him by the day. He was the dark kind of irresistible that she read about in those novels she snuck from her mom’s collection when she was home from college as a teenager on the weekend. Those blue eyes full of sin and yearning. The hair that made her want to run her hands through all day long. The body, the arms. The yumminess.
So this was why she was distracted.
Not because of Darcy, but because she had the libido of a teenage boy, when she thought of him, which was all the time now.
Why wasn’t she just giving into a relationship with him? The easier question was probably why did she want a relationship with him?
He never forced her into anything, like Donald.
She never felt like she owed him anything, like Thor.
When they’d met, they’d met in her lab. He was touring the facility, and genuinely curious over what she did. So she told him, which caused him to be even more fascinated, so much so that he actually kind of worked with her now. When he wasn’t busy saving the world.
And she liked him. He was quiet, with a gaze that would pierce her soul. He asked all the right questions, to make her think. He was smart. He was kind. He was…yum.
She had promised herself after Donald that she’d never date another blonde, blue-eyed guy, and then she did.
She promised herself after Thor that she’d never date another Avenger.
What was sleeping with Bucky Barnes saying about her willpower? He was like her mother’s tres leches cake, in the fact that you just wanted to keep going back for more. Only with Bucky you didn’t have to worry about the upset stomach and lecture afterwards.
Jane took a swig of water to calm her upset stomach.
She really shouldn't even be thinking about Bucky right now. She wanted to make sure her cousin succeeded here. She was the one who convinced her to pick up her life and move here.
But Buck also deserved her time. He was being so patient and understanding with her.
Was it any wonder why she had the world's worse indigestion the last month?
Isabella gasped when she first saw Avenger's tower. The big "A" on the side radiated power, and she had read somewhere that Tony Stark was heavily into clean energy, so that helped too.
"Mommy," Sofia said from her carseat in the back with a gasp. "Mommy is that our new house? It's so big? Is daddy moving in with us? I think it has room."
"No Sofi," Mason looked up from his game. "Dad is staying in Texas."
"But why," Sofia asked clearly upset.
"Because he loves Leah more than us, duh," he rolled his eyes.
"MASON CRUZ LEWIS," Darcy began.
"God twerp! Don't be a jerk. She's four!"
"ISABELLA!"
"Hey he said it, not me!"
Darcy took a deep breath. She needed to have patience. This wasn't easy on any of them. "Sofi. I'm sure you'll see your daddy very soon."
"But he not gonna live with us," she sniffed.
"No. I'm afraid not sweetheart. "
"Does he not love me anymore, cause I broke his computer?"
Isabella giggled and Mason rolled his eyes.
"He loves you sweetheart, he just has to focus on the new baby."
"Shoould have done more than break his computer. Should have broke his-"
"Bella," Darcy warned.
Darcy maneuvered the van into the parking garage and up to level six.
"Wow," Mason said, each level they drove past his eyes grew wider in wonderment. "We moved up, huh mom."
Darcy grinned. At least there was something they could be excited about. All of the furniture and dishes and toys and most of their clothes had been sent ahead. Tony was nice enough to cover costs. She got the feeling that the billionaire playboy was more than just that at heart.
Darcy parked the van and looked to the entrance. Jane was there holding hands with-
"Holy crap! That's the Winter Soldier, that's really him!"
"Language Mason."
Sofi giggled. "Look mommy, it's Auntie Janie!"
"Mom, he's like my idol," Mason continued. "He's like Iron Man and Captain America all rolled into one!"
"Wait...Aunt Jane is dating Bucky Barnes? Boy did I guess that wrong. I figured it was the Falcon," Isabella giggled.
"I figured it was Captain America."
Isabella giggled. "Oh mom."
They watched as Jane and Bucky exited their own little world and noticed the van parked. Jane's eyes grew so wide in her excitement they could see it from here. She squealed and ran to the van.
"Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" Sofia was the first one Jane broke free from her carseat prison. She lifted the baby into her arms and held her for all she was worth, all the while Sofia giggled and swung her legs.
"Auntie Jane, I bigger now!"
"I know. Oh my gosh look at you! And MASON!" Mason had made his way around the van and wrapped her waist in a hug after she put Sofi down. "You're getting so big! And Isabella," Jane exclaimed. "So beautiful! Oh my gosh. I missed you guys!"
Darcy watched amused and noticed Bucky staying back to give Jane this time. Her respect for the Avenger grew. Jane loved her kids, and for the first time in the last month when Darcy was questioning herself over and over about whether she was doing the right thing, a weight felt lifted off of her shoulders.
"What about me," Darcy teased from the side.
Jane wiped a tear and wrapped her in a hug. "Ay Dios, Darcinea," Darcy whimpered at the treasure nickname Jane had given her long ago. "Are you ok?"
Darcy clung to Jane closer. "I'm much better now. Are you going to tell me about tall,dark, and handsome back there?
Jane blushed. Jane never blushed.
"Oh... um-James," she motioned to the guy to come over. "This is my friend James."
"Call me Bucky," his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. Mason stood awestruck and Sofia held up her arms.
"Pick me up."
"Sofia," Darcy prepared to scold her.
"It's ok," Bucky swept down and sat her on his shoulder. "I was brought down to help with luggage."
Darcy laughed. He could probably carry all their luggage single-handedly. "If you can manage the Princess there, I'm sure we can manage the luggage. Mas, wanna pop the hatch?"
Looking at her son who barely heard her. "Mason, honey? Come on and help."
Bucky and the princess met them at the elevator when they emptied the van and locked it, having to duck in order to avoid Sofia bumping her head.
"You're really strong," Sofia said.
"Duh, he's really strong," Mason rolled his eyes and Bella smacked him in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"
"She's four, duh!"
"You keep saying that!"
"Because you keep forgetting!"
"Children," Darcy warned and Jane giggled at something Bucky leaned down and whispered in her ear.
The elevator opened and Bucky and Sofi exited first. Followed by Jane and Darcy, and then the children. Jane was pointing out each apartment.
"Clint and Laura live in that one. Nat lives there. Steve is right in this one. There's Bucky and there's mine-"
"So close and conveniently located," Darcy whispered her tease and Jane blushed again.
This was going to be fun.
Steve exited his apartment prepared to head down for his interview when the group passed. Bucky had a child on his shoulder. There were a couple more kids and a woman...
On Jane's arm, with the most tempting figure he'd ever seen on a modern woman, with killer curves, and a laugh that shook him.
Yeah he was screwed alright. And he hadn't even seen her face yet.