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coffeecatsandcandles · 3 years ago

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*let’s see if these tags work*

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𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐈𝐈- 𝐔𝐧𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥

widow!dad!teacher!Bucky x f!teacher!Reader (ft. Rebecca Barnes and other friends)

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: Mention of death, gossip, rumors, therapy.

If you like this series, please consider donating to my ko-fi!

Monday was an entirely new monster. On Friday, gossip had flown around the school about how you’d scolded James for yelling at one of your students. Now, completely new rumors were flying around the school. Turns out, Kate did talk. And she talked a lot. Before second period, there was already talk about your “date” with Mr. Barnes on Friday night at Cesario’s, in which Kate was your server. In third period, a brave student asked if you and Mr. Barnes were dating. You simply ignored the question, getting him to go back to his work. During fourth period, you received an e-mail from the principal for a brief meeting during your planning period.

Oh god.

You tried not to drag your feet as you made your way to your boss’s office, and you caught sight of James also making his way there. Your heart was racing now- she knew about your dinner with James, and she was going to ask questions. Lots of questions.

Carol Danvers was a former Air Force pilot- after getting hurt on the job she retired early to pursue an education career, working her way up to be principal after many years teaching astronomy, biology, and even physical education for a while. She seemed to have a soft spot with you as she did most of the feminine teachers, but you knew you couldn’t sweet-talk your way out of this. She didn’t have any favorites- she was stern and unapologetic.

Taking a seat next to James in Carol’s office, you looked to the blonde woman across the desk for any sign that you weren’t in trouble.

“Okay, let’s just cut to the chase, you both know why you’re here.” She said bluntly. You and James nodded in response. It wasn’t like you were scared of Carol- or at least, you weren’t- but you valued your job. “There’s too much talk going around and I’m getting lots of e-mails from teachers because the kids won’t shut up about whether you two are dating or not.”

Both you and James started to respond at the same time, cutting each other off before even speaking. James backed away, letting you speak, but you wanted him to go first. It was overly polite, and it was clear there was something there. You couldn’t help but notice the way Carol was looking at both of you, like she was analyzing everything and making her own judgements. By the looks of it, you and James could both deny forever, but she wouldn’t believe a single word. Carol was spectacular at reading people, and the most obvious thing between the two of you to her were your embarrassingly obvious crushes on each other.

“We- I made a mistake on Friday,” you started, “I scolded him in the hallway, I was rude and I wanted to make up for what I did.”

“I’d hardly call it that,” James interjected, “just so you know, Carol, I deserved every word that came my way from her.”

“Okay,” Carol said, “so are you dating or not?”

“No,” you and James said at the same time. Thank god, at least you were both on the same page.

“Alright then,” she said, “I guess we’re done here.” She stood to open the door for you and James, noticing the confusion on both of your faces. “Look, it’s not a big deal if you are. There’s just some paperwork- and as much as I know these kids like to lie, I have to take every accusation and rumor seriously. Neither of you are in trouble.”

You tried not to make your sigh of relief obvious as you said your goodbyes to Carol. Even when you were in school, it was unlike you to have to make a trip to the principal’s office. The only time you did was if you were being picked up early by a parent. It wasn’t like you to get in trouble, and today was the closest you ever wanted to get.

“Can you believe her?” James scoffed as you walked together to your classrooms. You remembered his was on a completely different hallway, but he stayed with you, as if he felt the need to walk you to your classroom after that fiasco.

“I know,” you scoffed back, “Us? Dating? Yeah, right.”

“I’m glad you agree.” He said. You found yourself standing outside of your classroom with James towering over you. You liked how tall he was compared to you, how his head almost reached the top of the doorframe. “All the kids are starting to sound like Becca.”

“Is she still on the whole ‘I wish she were my mommy’ thing? I hate to bring it up again, but I really think you should-“

“I scheduled an appointment with a therapist for her.” He interrupted your train of thought, and it struck you how he’d actually listened to you. “I’m sure it’s not just you, one of these days she’ll probably come home calling Mrs. Parker her mom. She just doesn’t have a lot of women in her life. It’s always kinda been just me or Steve.”

“I’m sorry, James. I really am.”

James gave a sad smile, avoiding the sentiment completely. “Do you want to get some coffee after school? I can bring Becca along. There’s this place we go to all the time, Luce Café. It’s not far from here.”

“Do any students work there?” you joked.

James smiled, “Not a single one. Becca and I are regulars.”

“Then that sounds perfect.” You said, smiling back. Though your moment was cut short by the sound of footsteps approaching your classroom. Checking your phone, you noticed that your planning period wouldn’t be over for another ten minutes. You turned and were greeted by your waitress from Friday night and one of James’s students, Kate.

Kate had a plan, and she was going to go through with it no matter how ridiculous it sounded. “Hi. So, I have a pretty random question for you.” She was looking directly at you when she said it, and it struck you as odd. Kate wasn’t your student- you didn’t teach many seniors.

“Of course, Kate.”

“I’m sort of struggling to find a topic for my senior project- I know I want to do something on archery, and I was thinking of doing all the math that’s involved in it or maybe the history behind it?” she looked at James for the latter part, “but then I figured, it’s my project and I can do whatever the hell I want- oh, sorry.” She corrected her little slip up, though you didn’t care enough to scold her for it.

“I think that sounds like two great topics,” James said, sort of catching on to what Kate was trying to do, “But if you want to learn more about archery, isn’t that more of a topic for Coach Barton? Neither of us are as skilled in it as him.”

“Sure, he’s good at archery,” Kate reasoned, “but it takes someone like you two to really know and have an unbiased opinion on the sport. Maybe we can all learn a thing or two!”

James was sure he could tell what Kate was doing. According to James, Kate was trying to test if you and James would even want to be in the same room together after Friday, or how quickly you would agree or deny mentoring her together. What if you agreed, and Kate just gave the school more information on this relationship between the two of you? If you denied, would it only fuel the fire too?

“I guess I don’t see a problem with it,” you started, James shooting daggers with his eyes at you.

Before he could object, Kate excitedly continued. “Perfect! Are Mondays after school alright? I know you two aren’t in charge of any clubs or anything.”

You looked to James. He seemed stressed, and you could understand why. Now every Monday, he would either have to show up late to every meeting to pick up Rebecca, or ask Steve to go out of his way to bring her to the high school. He could hire a sitter, but there wasn’t a person he trusted as much as Steve to have Rebecca in their care, plus the hassle of going through the interview and screening process which called for time he didn’t have. He knew Steve wouldn’t have a problem with it always basically dropped everything to care for her, but James also knew Steve had a life. He dated, he had a job, he had hobbies. He wasn’t a parent, he didn’t need to be one half the time for him.

But for some reason, despite all the stressors, James really wanted to do it. Not for Kate- it’d been a long time since he cared this deeply about a student. Sure, he wanted all his students to succeed (though it may not have shown), but Kate could’ve done this without him, or even with another history teacher like Mr. Lang.

James promised himself that this would be the last time he would take advantage of Steve’s flexible schedule. He’d ask him to do pick her up and stay with her for no more than two hours after school, and he’d be there to take her from him and take her home. He hated asking Steve to do this, no matter how often Steve told him that he didn't mind; that Rebecca's cuteness alone was a great way to pick up women when he took her grocery shopping. It made James feel less than, like he wasn’t capable of doing one simple thing that every other parent made time in their schedule to do. But he couldn’t help that the elementary school dismissed their kids almost an hour before the high school did, and James couldn’t ask them to change their entire schedule just for him.

“Sure. I guess it’s fine with me too.” He finally said.

Kate smiled, “Awesome! We can start next week! I’ll let Ms. V know I picked you two as my mentors.” She referred to Ms. Van Dyne, the English teacher who was also in charge of the annual senior projects. Every senior had to do one, on some topic they were either passionate about or planned on pursuing as a career. Kate walked away, presumably back to class.

“Look at that, a first-year already mentoring a senior? You don’t see that often here.”

“It’s not like I’ve never taught before,” you playfully scolded, “I take it you’ve done about a thousand, right?”

James looked at the ground, “Actually, no. In all my years here I’ve only done two and it was-“ he internally cringed at the memory. It was before Rebecca was born, before his wife had died, before he became a complete grump. “-a long time ago. Kids hardly pursue history and if they do, they usually ask Scott to be their mentor. He’s a lot cooler than me.”

You were about to object when the bell rang, meaning students would start piling into your classroom any minute. “I’ll see you later.” James said, backing away and soon getting lost in the sea of high schoolers leaving their classes to go to their next ones.

Wait, did that mean Kate wanted to meet today?

Before you could chase her down, you already had a few freshmen piling into your classroom, some of them stuck on a project that’d been due in their previous class. If you left them alone, they’d probably wreak havoc on your classroom and turn it into a custodian’s worst nightmare.

Meanwhile, James started to wonder the same thing. He’d have Kate in his next and final class of the day- but now he took this time to relax. It was now his planning period, and he usually kept everything up to date. He didn’t have any extra lesson plans to make, any papers to grade, or any extra worksheets to print. He was completely free for the next hour.

Knowing Becca was out of school and Steve had picked her up, James decided to take out his phone to give his daughter a quick video call. He hated that it’d just become a habit for him to be a grump- he didn’t want his daughter to ever feel like she wasn’t good enough for him. She was perfect no matter what she did- it was him who needed the attitude change.

“Hey,” Steve said, clearly in the car.

“Hey… let me say hi to my daughter before you get in a wreck.” James joked.

Steve lightly laughed, handing his phone to Rebecca in the backseat. Her face lit up James’s screen; her unmistakable smile- wiggly bottom tooth and all- got even bigger the second she saw her dad on Steve’s screen. “Hi Daddy!”

“Hey sweet girl. How was school?”

“Good. Mrs. Parker is showing us cursive.”

Already? James felt his heart strings tug a little. It felt like just yesterday Rebecca couldn’t even spell her own name. She’d often spell it with one C instead of two.

Rebecca noticed the silence and spoke again. “Are you okay, Daddy?”

Furrowing his eyebrows, James answered hesitantly. “Yea.. yea I’m okay. I just miss you, Bec.”

“You’ll see me later!” Rebecca laughed. It occurred to James that maybe he was being a little clingy. Becca let out a tiny gasp, remembering what she made at school. Apparently, it could not wait another couple of hours. “Wait, Daddy look!” she pulled out a drawing from her notebook. It was of a butterfly- big pink wings with green and purple polka dots. On the righthand corner in blue crayon, the drawing was signed “Rebecca B.” in a handwriting James once knew to be big and sloppy, but had now gotten slightly smaller and neater. When had she learned to fix that? How much had he been missing?

“That’s so pretty, love.”

“Can you give it to Mommy?”

It was a strange request, but upon a few conversations with Becca’s soon-to-be therapist, James learned that it would help Becca in her grieving process for him to let her draw pictures, write letters, and look at pictures of her mother. James was accumulating little things around the house of his wife’s and putting it on the mantle in their home so Becca could see it whenever she wanted. “Sure, we can put it on top of the fireplace.”

“No.. not Mommy… Mommy!”

It took him a second to figure out what the hell his daughter was saying. Then it all connected. The butterfly drawing, the insistence and way she couldn’t distinguish the difference between the two women anymore. She wanted you to have the drawing, not her actual mother.

“Bec, she’s not your mom. She’s just someone I work with.”

“But she’s nice to me and she loves me. She’s kind of like my mommy.”

It was times like this where Steve wanted to interject, but he knew he wasn’t his place. He was a babysitter, not Becca’s dad. But he knew what he saw when he first met you. He saw a woman James was falling in love with, and someone that Becca already loved immensely, whether James wanted to admit it or not.

Resist, James told himself. She’s just young and confused. She doesn’t know what she’s saying. He couldn’t be upset with her anymore. He was doing that too much recently- Steve was starting to look like the superior guardian, he could tell.

“Hey, do you wanna go to Luce’s later?” James asked, completely changing the subject. His daughter’s face lit up at the idea of downing a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, a very obvious but silent yes from his child.

He said his goodbyes and promises to see her later, catching the kisses Rebecca sent his way and hanging up.

His planning ended before he knew it; he was too busy stressing over seeing you again because he now had the image of you as a mother in his head. If only, he’d think. Coming home with you, you resting your head on his shoulder as you all watched a movie in the living room, feeling his hands run through your hair as he kissed you…

No, there had to be some sort of biological or psychological explanation for this. You were attractive, young, motherly towards his daughter, and his friend. That didn’t mean he liked you like that, right?

Snapping himself out of his own daydream, his brain started working ahead of him the second he heard the bell ring for the final class of the day and shortly after, saw Kate walk into his class along with a few other seniors for U.S. History. “Kate… your project. Are we meeting today?” He sounded rough. Like he’d just been harshly woken up out of a beautiful dream.

“No… I haven’t prepared anything yet. Next week.” The teenager promised, sitting in her desk. A few of her friends eyed her weirdly and one even snickered. James ignored it, not wanting to call attention to how unusual it sounded for Kate’s mentor for her archery project to be a history teacher, nonetheless him.

Why was James relieved? He still promised to see you after school today. Maybe now the two of you would get the chance to talk about whatever the hell this project was going to be about. Or maybe James could make a move. He moved it to the back of his mind for now, focusing only on his lecture- where a record five students started to doze off. Normally, he’d wake them up and give them detention, but today, he urged himself to think how you think.

It’s the last class of the day, and if he remembered correctly, at least one of those kids had gym class the period before. They were still kids. Worn out by the day, exhausted and trying to cram so much knowledge from one day in their heads.

He had to admit, your way of thinking did save him a lot of stress. He’d talk to them after class- make sure they’re okay.

James taught U.S. History to his seniors as you taught Geometry to your sophomores, and soon enough the dismissal bell rang and every student in Westview High School left their classrooms and made their way to the front of the school to be picked up by parents, the side of the school to be picked up by the bus, the student parking lot to go to their cars, or leaving through the back of the school because their house was close enough to walk. Some left in groups, others waited for their siblings, some left alone. But within thirty minutes, the school was practically empty.

You never stayed after school for longer than an hour most days, and you didn’t plan on changing it. You knew one day there’d be a meeting, workload, or classroom decorating session that would keep you longer, but for now, you enjoyed being off at a relatively early time, especially since there were some teachers who stayed for hours after without getting paid. Mr. Laufeyson, the theatre teacher, was a prime example. He’d stay for hours in rehearsal with the drama kids working on the school play they’d take to competition. You noticed a few of your students in the cast, you figured it wouldn’t hurt to go see it.

There was a light tapping at your door. You looked up to see James, sheepishly waiting for you. He looked small, as if he was burdening you wish the reminder that you promised to go out for coffee with him and Rebecca.

“I’m ready whenever you are,” he said, a small, crooked smile making its way onto his face. One he just couldn’t hide anymore- not when he was around you.

“I’m almost done. I’ll be one second.” You said, returning the smile, “Is Steve meeting us there?”

“Sort of,” James said, “He’s dropping off Becca and then heading to a meeting.”

“What exactly does Steve do for a living?” You didn’t want to intrude on Steve’s personal life, as you hardly knew him, but you found yourself wondering that a lot. Steve spent a lot of his time with Rebecca and seemed to have the perfect stay-at-home dad schedule.

“Real estate,” James said, eyeing how shocked you looked when he said it. He liked how your eyebrows furrowed and your head tilted. He thought it was cute. “Half the homes in town exist because of him. He’s busy sometimes but not too much.”

“Oh,” was all you could mutter. Finishing up your planning for the next day, you logged out of your computer and grabbed your coat.

“What about you?” James asked suddenly.

“What about me?”

“What’s your life like outside of here?”

It was a loaded question. For as long as you could remember, your life surrounded every single student you had. In every grade. Even the more troubled ones, you still managed to show a genuine interest in them and make it to games and competitions their extra curriculars had. When you taught elementary, you talked with their parents about the big, bright futures they had ahead of them, and you meant it every single time. There wasn’t a moment where you weren’t thinking about ways to make your classroom fun or let parents know that their children were exceptional. In all honesty, it felt like you didn’t have a life outside of teaching.

“I get it, don’t worry,” James said, noticing you were lost for words, “the burnout is… intense. If it weren’t for Becca I probably wouldn’t do much outside of here either. When you have a kid, they take up your entire schedule. Outside of here I have sleepover duty, soccer practice, and now therapy. On top of trying to learn how to keep up with all the new things she likes.”

“She’s playing soccer now?” you smiled.

“Yeah. Started about two weeks ago.”

“She didn’t mention that at dinner on Friday.”

“She was just so excited to see you I guess she forgot. And it took a while for her to warm up to it- she wanted to take swimming classes but they were full.” There was a stillness in the conversation before James spoke again, clearly apologetic. “I’m sorry, I feel like every time we talk it’s about me. I don’t want you to feel like I don’t care what’s going on in your life.”

You laughed as you made your way to your car. “No, it’s not an issue. Really. I like it.”

“And besides Steve- who knows all my drama- I don’t really have anyone to talk to.”

“Me too,” you said, “I guess that’s why I didn’t really know how to answer your question. My life is centered around my students, coffee, wine, and whatever the most popular TV show is. It’s not much, but nobody’s ever really asked me about that stuff. The stuff no one really cares about.”

Your backside was pressed against the driver’s door as you leaned against your car. James kept his distance, but was still relatively close. It was weirdly intimate, like you were just on a date.

“I care about that stuff.” James said, “And I’m not just saying that.”

Before you could craft a witty response, James pressed his lips against yours in a quick kiss. It caught you off guard and was something you didn’t expect- at least not today- and James mistook the shock on your face as disgust. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I did that-“ he started rambling, trying to save himself and your friendship by backtracking and trying to forget the last five seconds of your lives.

“Hey, James. It’s okay.” You said, cupping his face in your hands and looking at him. Your eyes, the softness of your palms- it all calmed James down so much. “I promise. It’s okay.” You hoped you were sending the right message.

You hadn’t meant it’s okay as ‘I forgive you because I know it won’t happen again.’ You wanted to make it clear that you wanted it to happen again. And again, and again, and again. Just the half-second of his lips on yours wasn’t enough. You wanted more.

Slowly, you leaned in again for a deeper, intentional kiss. The kind of kiss that put every romance novel you’d read and every movie you’d seen to shame. The kind of kiss that said finally… this is what I’ve been waiting for.

It was okay. Everything he felt, every time his heart fluttered when he saw you, every time he made himself better because he heard your voice in the back of his head. It was okay. It was more than okay.

“I’ll see you at Luce’s.” you said, unlocking your car and failing to hide a big, cheesy grin on your face.

“Yeah. I’ll see you.” He closed the door for you when you got in, dumbfounded at how he just stood in his tracks, watching you drive away. In awe at your beauty, in awe that he got to share his first kiss in seven years with someone as perfect as you.

The phantom pains James felt where his arm used to be hadn’t occurred since you started working at Westview High. You were finally starting to feel like your life was going somewhere, regardless if he had a child or not. And you loved her- you loved Rebecca so much, it just seemed too perfect to be real.

As you made your way to Luce’s, you couldn’t shake the smile. This would lead to a long, adult conversation about relationships in the workplace, not to mention the fact that he had a daughter, which came with a whole new, even bigger set of responsibilities for you to take on- but you were ready for everything this would throw at you.

Because James Barnes was worth it. You knew that for a fact.

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coffeecatsandcandles · 3 years ago

Text

HOWD I POST THIS BY ACCIDENT SEIFHSDKJFHWGFHSKUG THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE POSTED UNTIL SATURDAY S

ENJOY IT I GUESS

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐕𝐈- 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: Minor angst, lots of fluff! I may get sappy abt this series later lol.

One Year Later

James stared blankly at the drawing Rebecca had given him to give to you. This was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. She’d been upfront about most of her artwork and gifts, giving them directly to you herself. But this was different. Rebecca begged her father to give it to you, as she was too shy to give it to you herself.

The drawing itself wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, and it was in fact rather colorful. You and Rebecca were drawn with a purple crayon, holding hands in a bright green field of pink and blue flowers and surrounded by red butterflies.

But in Rebecca’s handwriting, in big pink letters, was “Can I please, please, please call you my mommy? Or mom, whatever you are okay with. If you don’t want me to, it’s ok. I still love you.”

James knew this wasn’t new. Becca loved you, and you were basically her mom. He was just harshly reminded of the last time Becca had tried to call you that. It was tough to grasp, and a part of him still had trouble letting go of his late wife, but he knew it would be good for his daughter.

He found you at your desk, in the home office you two shared now that you’d completely moved in. You were hard at work creating lecture slides for your students. James couldn’t help but think about how adorable you looked as you were so extremely focused that you didn’t hear him come in. Turning to him, you almost jumped at how unexpected his presence was. “Hi,” you said, smiling once your initial fright melted away.

“I have something for you. It’s from Bec,” James said, watching your head perk up. You were just the most precious thing in his eyes.

He handed you the drawing, and you smiled at it before reading the words. He watched your expression change as you read- first in awe of the drawing, then melting away to focus on the words, then blank, as if in shock.

You looked up at him finally, your eyes surprised at both the note from Rebecca and the fact that James just stood there, calm. “Really?”

James nodded once, “She’s a little shy right now.”

“Are you okay with this?”

“Are you okay with it?” James asked back.

“James, it doesn’t matter what I think. If that’s not something you want, then-“

He cut you off with a kiss to calm you down. “It does matter. I’m tired of putting Rebecca’s happiness on the backburner. If you’re okay with it, then I’m okay with it.” He kissed you again, “She needs a mom.”

You smiled, nose pressed against his, “Where is she?”

“Her room.”

With James not too far behind you, you made your way upstairs to Rebecca’s bedroom, gently opening the door to find her giggling softly and hiding under her sheets. “Becca,” you said softly, sitting on the edge of her bed and trying to get her to come out from under the covers.

“No,” she teased, the giggling slowly coming to a stop. She knew what you were here for, and she knew she couldn’t control your answer. But what she could control was if she could see your face or not.

You knew this behavior- you saw it all the time when you taught Kindergarten. She thought she was in trouble for asking you such a big question. The last thing she wanted was to see you get mad at her for asking. And sure, it also might’ve been a rather embarrassing situation for her to be in. She was putting herself out there by asking you, a little bit of shyness was to be expected from an eight-year-old.

But you weren’t mad at her for asking, you couldn’t be. Gently, you tugged at the sheets again. You were okay if she didn’t want to look at you, but you wanted to see her cute face. “Were you serious about what you wrote?”

James watched from the doorway as Rebecca looked down at your hands, fidgeting with the engagement ring on your finger- that her daddy had so graciously put there just last week- to continue to avoid eye contact.

“Becca, look at me, honey,” you said tenderly, finally getting her bright blue eyes to meet yours, “do you really want to call me mommy?”

Reluctantly, Rebecca nodded.

You smiled, watching as Rebecca’s anxiousness faded at the sight, “Becca, I would be so honored for you to call me your mom.”

The little girl gasped excitedly, any nervousness in her body gone for good. James continued to watch from a distance as his daughter engulfed you in a hug. This was the life he’d been dreaming of for so long. He was beyond excited that in a few short months, he’d get to call you his wife. He often found himself sitting and reflecting on the life you two led together, and has admitted so many times since that giving him a second chance was one of the best things to ever happen to him.

He unearthed his late wife’s things not too long after rediscovering them, unsure of what to do with them and needing help. The day he came home from a meeting to you putting together a chest near the front of the house, telling him it would be a memory chest- that was the day he knew he wanted to marry you.

Together, you and James organized what was left of her things, throwing a few old things out, like the expired makeup, with his permission. You loaded the chest with the boxes of home videos, some of her old clothes, an old blanket James had hidden away, and everything that his wife left and kept it in this safe, open area. James hung up pictures on the wall that it occupied, and you topped it off with a vase of white chrysanthemums. The finished product was beautiful- it even made you feel like you knew her, too.

“Now Becca can come here whenever she wants.”

“Not just Becca,” you said, “you can, too.”

That evening, James searched for engagement rings online and found one that was perfect for you within a few days. If this was how you made your students feel too, he was grateful that someone like you was able to be his partner. Maybe he was a little jealous too, but only because he wanted you all to himself. When he proposed, you both broke down afterwards, feeling the overflowing love between the two of you and knowing that you’d found happiness again. That you never wanted to let go of this feeling. It was scary for you, so you knew it had to be even scarier for him to fall in love again. But when you did, you knew you were going to be okay.

“So, if you and Mr. Barnes have a baby, would they be born without an arm too?” one of your students, Eli, had asked once the lesson was over. The class had free time, and instead of talking amongst themselves, they decided to ask you questions about your recent engagement.

“Who’s your bio teacher? Mr. Stark? I ought to call him and tell him what you just said to me. It doesn’t work like that.”

Eli shrugged it off, a few of the more science-inclined students filling him in.

They asked you all kinds of questions- when the wedding was, if you were taking his last name, if you were already pregnant and just hiding it from everyone until after the wedding. All of which you just laughed off. You liked their imaginations and how they always craved a good story.

At the end of the day, you were visited by Sam, who’s classroom was only a couple of doors down from yours. You knew he wanted to do a joint lesson with you, but also took the time to catch up. All the drama and your busy schedules kept you from talking to each other.

“All I’m saying is I better be invited to that wedding, no matter how small it is,” Sam said, “I’d give anything to see James Barnes all happy. I just can’t picture it in my head.”

“Well, consider yourself invited. A guest of honor, even,” you joked, “and he’s so sweet. He’s amazing, and he’s such a good dad, too.”

Before Sam could respond, you spotted James opening your classroom door, his smile turning into confusion at the sight of Sam.

“Hey honey, we were just talking about you.” You smiled, getting up and kissing his cheek.

Sam also got up, but only to exit the classroom. “Well, I’ll give you two some privacy. Probably got a lot of wedding planning to do.” He laughed, you playfully rolled your eyes in response.

“You ready to go?” you asked, going over to your desk to grab your bag.

“Who was that?” James asked.

“James, Sam has been teaching here just as long as you have, I don’t think he’d appreciate-“ you looked up, cutting yourself off as you noticed he wasn’t paying attention to what you were saying. In fact, James was only watching Sam walk away, as if he were hunting. “Oh my god, you’re jealous.”

James whipped his head over to you, immediately defending himself. “I am not,”

You laughed, “You totally are.”

“Well, I mean, you see any guy talking to someone as pretty as you, you can only assume they have one thing on their mind.” He made his way over to you, protectively wrapping his hands around your waist after closing the classroom door, giving the two of you some actual privacy.

“Okay… so if the tables were turned, and I saw you talking to someone like Ms. Sokovia-“

“Mrs. Maximoff is hardly a threat, she’s married. Besides, that’s different. All your kids like you, all of the faculty thinks you’re perfect, I just want them to know that on top of that, you’re mine.” He kissed you once, resting his forehead against yours.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” you said, “I’m yours, and I’m always gonna be yours. Also, Sam is engaged. So you’re worried about absolutely nothing.”

James smiled, “Let’s go get our girl.”

“And some pizza, I’m starving.”

“Cesario’s?” James offered, watching your eyes light up.

“That sounds perfect.”

“Mommy, I need help.” Rebecca asked, pointing at the word search written on the kid’s menu. She was having trouble finding the word ‘MUSHROOM’.

Your heard leaped a little, so did James’s. “Here, go row by row and find an M. Then look around it to see if you find a U. If you don’t, just go on to find the next M and do the same thing.”

A familiar face greeted you at the table, and you and James found yourself surprised, as if you didn’t know she still worked there. Kate smiled upon seeing the two of you together.

Before Kate could properly greet you, Rebecca gasped in excitement. “I found it!”

Kate laughed, setting down your straws and napkins. You smiled up at her, knowing James still felt too awkward to say anything. “Congratulations, Kate. I bet you’re so glad to be done with high school.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” Kate laughed, “And I should be the one saying congrats, I heard about you two getting engaged! That’s so exciting!”

You smiled as you noticed Kate sneakily try to take a look at the ring. You saved her the trouble and showed it to her yourself. “Do you know what you want to do now? Is college in your plans at all?”

Kate shrugged, “I don’t really know. But I guess I could be a matchmaker, yeah?”

You and James looked at her blankly.

“Okay… I totally set you guys up. I wanted the two of you to be my mentors because I could just see the fireworks between you. And now you’re engaged, because of me!”

The poor girl seemed so excited and proud of herself, you didn’t want to just knock her down and crush her confidence.

James clearly didn’t have the same concern, “Kate, that’s very nice. But I liked her long before-“

“You know what?” you interrupted, trying to signal to James to just roll with it, “You really did. And you did an amazing job, we owe you one.”

“No worries,” she pretended to act humble, “but I wouldn’t be upset at all if I got a wedding invitation in my mailbox one of these days.”

You shared a polite laugh with James, allowing the conversation to move forward so Kate could take your orders.

“I finished! Look Mommy!” Rebecca pointed at her completed word search, every word found (almost) completely on her own. You smiled, kissing her forehead. You knew she was going to take every chance she could to call you that, but you didn’t mind one bit. You didn’t realize how much you’d love her calling you ‘Mommy’ until it happened. At first, you worried you were upsetting the dead- you were sure if the tables were turned, you’d be absolutely pissed if you found out another woman was letting your daughter call her ‘Mom�� while you were gone. But after a while, you were just overcome with the feeling of calmness, as if it was James’s wife- a woman you never met- telling you she was okay with it. You saw her photos differently now; there was a new sense of kindness and understanding in her eyes, as if she were looking at you instead of a camera. You couldn’t help but feel like you were connected now, and you silently promised that you would always take care of her baby.

“What was that for?” James scoffed as Kate walked away to ring in your orders.

“Just let her think she did something.” You said. James still managed to be a little grumpy sometimes, but in a much tolerable way now. It was actually pretty adorable.

“Well, maybe she kind of did-“

“Shh… don’t say all that. A seventeen-year-old didn’t set us up.” You cut him off with multiple tiny kisses until he allowed himself to relax and smile a little. That was always your way of getting him back to his happy self.

“You’re something else, you know that?” he smiled down at you, your arms draped around his shoulders as Rebecca moved on to a maze game on the kid’s menu. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” you teased, rubbing your nose against his.

Despite the long, painful road it took to get here, James considered himself the happiest man in the world, and it was all thanks to his perfect girls.

It was simple, it was gentle. Life itself was more tolerable now that you had each other to point out the good that was still left in the world. James Barnes didn’t believe finding love again was possible, then you came along to prove him wrong.

Now he had this beautiful little family to call his, and he couldn’t be happier.

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coffeecatsandcandles · 3 years ago

Note

AHHH your most recent one shot for parent-teacher conference is so heartwarming. May I ask, what would Bucky’s and Becca’s individual reaction if they found out that y/n’s preggo?

Surprise | Parent-Teacher Conference

➵ 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 | You fall sick one day, and the possibility that it could be something more than a little cold occurs to you.

➵ 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | widowed!dad!teacher!bucky barnes x teacher!reader

➵ 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | talk of pregnancy and fertility, a bit of a time jump so Rebecca is twelve, this is the PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE universe, refer to my masterlist if you have not read it and are interested! Sickness (talk of nausea and periods but nothing graphic). Mostly fluff.

დ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | დ 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | დ 𝐤𝐨-𝐟𝐢

Rebecca had been begging for a little brother or sister- she wanted a brother, but she wasn’t going to complain if she got a sister- and you kept telling her that you weren’t sure if you and James were going to have another baby. You weren’t really planning on it- sure, it came up in conversation a few times, but you always just thought that Rebecca was enough. If you never ended up pregnant, you’d be okay with that because you had Rebecca. Maybe having kids just wasn't something you ever thought of, especially after teaching kindergarten. But Rebecca, your angel student whose father was a dream, was the one to change all that.

You had been more tired than normal. At first, you blamed it on your schedule change after changing your part-time university position to full-time. But then, you woke up and felt terrible, like you couldn’t get out of bed. It was rare for you to miss a day of teaching, and you especially didn’t want to make the wrong impression with your boss, like you couldn’t do the job you’d been begging to have for years. Luckily, she was understanding and wished for a speedy recovery.

James assumed you’d caught a bug, and he was adamant about staying home with you to take care of you.

“No, honey. Don’t stay home. Aren’t you starting your World War II unit today? I’ll be okay, I promise. I just need rest,” You said, voice groggy and head pounding.

“Alright, but you call me the second you need me, okay? I really hate leaving you all by yourself when you’re feeling like this.” James said as he made his way out the door, looking back at you every other second.

“I’ll be fine, trust me.” You giggled at his protectiveness. The idea of being pregnant hadn’t even occurred to you yet.

“Goddamn college kids, getting my wife sick,” you heard James mutter to himself. The seriousness in his tone made you laugh even harder.

Then you really thought about it- none of your students seemed sick. You hadn’t been around anyone who had been sick recently. That confused you even more- where in the world did this illness come from? You were always on top of your health, not feeling this bad in years.

You were deep in thought when you realized- you were late.

You’d been so busy with the transition part-time to full-time, you hadn’t even thought about it. It could’ve just been stress…

Or…

With a newfound energy, you sprung out of bed and grabbed your shoes. Finding the nearest pharmacy was the only thing on your mind.

Just to be sure, you thought.

It was kind of funny, you assumed the first thing you’d buy with your first paycheck with a new salary was going to be a nice dinner with James and Rebecca. It’d be your treat, maybe even a dessert to take home.

Instead, you bought the most accurate pregnancy test the pharmacy had to offer, along with a snack or two to hide the fact that you were buying a pregnancy test. What if a former student or co-worker were to see you? You’d never hear the end of it from them.

The denial of being pregnant soon faded into an excitement. You were almost hoping for it, despite not being prepared in the slightest. It was something Rebecca had been wanting for months now, her asking you at least once a week if you were going to give her a baby brother or sister. The kind of adamance only twelve-year-olds had.

Your phone buzzed as you sat on the bathroom floor, waiting for results. James’s name appeared on your screen.

I’ll ask Steve if he can take Bec home from school later.

You began typing immediately.

No, don't worry about it. I’m feeling a lot better.

You saw the typing bubble appear- you awaited for your husband’s response.

Are you sure? He won’t mind.

Before you could craft your response, your timer went off. Taking a deep breath to ease your pounding heart, you prepared yourself to see your results. You tried closing your eyes and talking to yourself, counting down from ten to help. A technique you used with your kindergarteners years ago, it still sometimes worked with you.

Ten, nine, eight…

It’s fine. Whatever happens, whatever results I get, it’ll be okay.

Seven, six, five…

If there’s no baby, I’ll be okay. If there is a baby, I’ll be okay.

Four, three…

I’ve wanted this, Rebecca has wanted this. James is such a great dad, he’d be so happy.

Two…

But if I’m not, it’s not the end of the world.

One.

Look. Just look and see for yourself. Whatever it says, it’ll be okay.

Your eyes opened and adjusted for a second, allowing you to read the tiny word.

Pregnant.

For the rest of the afternoon until you had to leave to pick up Rebecca, you were daydreaming about growing your beautiful family. You were pregnant- and still in some disbelief that you were actually going to have a baby with James.

As you drove to her school, you thought about Rebecca. How excited she was going to be once she found out. It’d have to be a while, just to be on the safe side. But still- you knew she was going to be over the moon.

Rebecca hopped into your car, strapping herself into the backseat. “You’re not sick anymore!”

She noticed.

“Yeah, it just went away. Dad wanted Uncle Steve to pick you up, but I told him I was feeling better.”

“Mr. Parker said that starting next week we’re going to be learning about planets. He said that earth has tectonic plates.” she said, proud she pronounced the big word correctly.

You smiled. When you heard a former student of yours was going to be Rebecca’s seventh grade science teacher, the last person you expected was Peter Parker. He’d grown to be a nice young man, and he hugged you with excitement at that first parent-teacher meeting, remembering you immediately. He’d changed drastically since the last time you saw him- he used to be the student in the back of the class with his hood on, and you were never sure if he was paying attention during lectures. He proved you wrong though, as he never got anything below an A on his tests.

The hood- he never took that thing off, that is, until after James yelled at him that one afternoon. And you yelled at him back.

The student who brought you and James together was all grown up now, and it excited you and made you feel ancient at the same time.

“Well, how about we make some cupcakes when we get home? After homework of course,” you said.

Rebecca beamed- baking with you was one of her favorite things to do, but it was only saved for super special occasions. After nodding, she pried. “Did something happen?”

“Why do you ask?”

“We never bake unless something happens. Something good.”

You thought about it, and she had a point. The cookies you made when you got the university job, the cupcakes you made on your fifth wedding anniversary, hell, you even made a blueberry pie when James got tenured at Westview. “I’m… I’m just… glad to not be sick anymore.”

Rebecca squinted, as if she didn’t believe you. “Alright, mom,” she teased, “but only if it’s strawberry cupcakes.”

“What other flavor would they be?” You smiled and winked, soon pulling into the driveway of your home. James must’ve arrived not too long ago, as his car was in the driveway.

Upon entering the home, you found James already started on dinner: a simple spaghetti with meat sauce, and some homemade garlic bread.

Smells you used to love… until now.

That first waft of ground beef with garlic put your stomach in knots. Nausea suddenly hit you and it felt like the room was spinning.

But you had to act like everything was okay, because if James or Rebecca suspected that something was wrong even for a second, the whole surprise would be ruined.

“Yes! Garlic bread!” Rebecca exclaimed, setting down her backpack in the front room and running to give her father a hug.

“Hey sweet pea,” James said to Becca, who was now nearly at his shoulders.

Your mouth was salivating, and not in a good way. Trying to wipe the sweat from your brow, you spoke. “Hey, don’t forget your homework. Otherwise, no cupcakes,”

Becca returned to her backpack, pulling out a textbook and folder. She then made her way to the kitchen table to start her work.

James found you, wrapping his arms around you and kissing your forehead. Every soreness and nauseating feeling you had before finding out about your pregnancy came back then, only ten times stronger.

“You okay?” James asked, noticing you were in a cold sweat. You really took for granted those few hours where you were feeling alright.

You could feel your stomach churn, knowing that things would take a turn for the worst if you didn’t say something right now.

“James,” you croaked, trying to muster up the strength to talk, “I need to lie down,”

Within a millisecond, James was guiding you to the couch, his hand on the small of your back in case you lost your balance.

“What’s wrong? I thought you were feeling better,” he asked as he laid you down, his voice low. The kind of tone he rarely used. A tone that said, Becca can’t hear this, we don’t want to scare her.

“Oh, Jamie,” you whined, your voice low, “I wanted to surprise you after dinner, and then I took one whiff of the spaghetti and I felt like I was going to vomit.”

James furrowed his brows, “Surprise me?”

You didn’t like that you couldn’t have that magical moment in telling him; that you just had to be too sick to stand up. But you remembered your wedding vows.

That no matter what, James would always be there for you, in sickness and in health.

“I’m pregnant,” you whispered.

James’s eyes widened. “You’re what?” he asked, trying to keep his voice low. Almost like it was a protective instinct, He rubbed his nose against yours, pressing his forehead against yours to be as close as possible- like he was guarding you and the baby from the world.

“That’s why I’ve been so sick. I took a test and it was positive,”

Instead of responding verbally, he kissed all over your face. Breathy chuckles and teary eyes emerged from both of you. For a moment, you’d forgotten all about Rebecca, who was sitting at the kitchen table not too far away.

“Oh my god,” James muttered, clearly emotional. He wrapped his arms around you, continuing to kiss all over your face and then your stomach.

James was ecstatic- he’d always wanted another baby. His wife had talked about wanting a big family, and though he was a bit anxious about the whole “becoming a father” ordeal at first, after Rebecca was born, he realized that he loved being a dad. Rebecca was his whole world, and you were giving him another baby who would also become a huge part of him. And though he didn’t want to make predictions or bets, he was hoping for another girl.

“What is going on?” Rebecca laughed, unsure of how to react to this sudden burst of excitement from her parents. The twelve-year-old set down her pencil and looked curiously at her parents, still cuddling, laughing, and crying on the couch.

You shared a look with James. Was it too early to tell her? What if there was a shift in her behavior and she no longer wanted a sibling?

You figured, Rebecca had been wanting this for so long. The least you could do was tell her as quickly as you told James.

“Becca- I found out why I’ve been so sick.”

“Why?” she asked.

You glanced at James, just as excited as you. “We’re having another baby,”

Rebecca gasped, leaped up from her seat to engulf you in a hug, “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” She exclaimed.

“Easy,” James said to Rebecca, worried her hug was too forceful and tight.

“I’m so excited- I’m finally going to be a big sister,” Rebecca said, and you noticed the happy tears begin to brim her eyes.

“I’m excited too, and hey,” you said, pulling away from the hug briefly, “I don’t want you to think that I love you any less than I love this baby. You’re my baby too, and just because I’m not your real mom doesn’t mean that changes how much I love you, okay?”

Rebecca nodded, returning to the hug and pulling James in. Your perfect family was growing, and you couldn’t be happier.

The feeling of warmth overtook you. Though you were a little anxious of what the future held, you knew you could do it, because you had your husband and daughter by your side. You knew they would go to the ends of the world for you, and now this baby- and that made your heart soar, to know you were bringing another person into the world that would be just like them.

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coffeecatsandcandles · 3 years ago

Text

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐕- 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫

widow!dad!teacher!Bucky x f!teacher!Reader (ft. Rebecca Barnes and other friends)

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: Angst, grief, chapter focuses mostly on James and Rebecca.

Ever since you declared your relationship with James, he’s been acting rather distant. It was as if you’d both gotten what you wanted, and now you were just partners, living the boring, domestic lives you’d wanted with each other. You wanted it to feel more than that, but you weren’t sure exactly what it was that made you feel like that.

You would you stay with him overnight a few times, you sometimes drove to work together, and Rebecca was now aware that you were dating her dad, but nothing felt magical anymore. You were sure it would’ve if you hadn’t been rushed into it all, giving you and James more time to play around before stepping into a regular, normal relationship when you were both ready. Now you felt like you had been pushed into playing house with him instead of gradually and carefully like you wanted.

Not to say that it didn’t all feel good- it did. It felt great, most times. Even without the sex, and despite him being distant, James was still a wonderful partner. The days you woke up next to him and cooked breakfast with him were your favorites.

When it came to the sex, James found his stride again. After the first time where you let him finish instead of you, he rediscovered the art of pleasuring a woman. There were countless times where you and James made love that felt sweet and romantic, and other times where you experimented with things that were more rough. You couldn’t complain about the way he was treating you, or the way he made love to you, but something still felt off.

There was just that feeling- that icky feeling in your core that made you feel like you were intruding on something that was already established. That feeling that made you wonder why James was being so distant, maybe he felt it too. He never really talked about his wife, though you wanted to encourage him to. You just weren’t sure how to open up that type of conversation with someone you’d just started dating. ‘Hey, I know you’re dating me now, but do you mind telling me about your dead wife?’ None of it felt natural. It felt intrusive, if anything.

But you still cared about him so deeply. And you could tell he cared about you, too. The glances you’d sneak during dinners, the way he kissed you in private, he knew how to make a woman feel loved. And Rebecca loved it too. You tried to keep the PDA to a minimum around her, but she’d giggle and squeal at the occasional kisses you’d share in front of her. You’d even gone as far as having a day with Rebecca, which consisted of shopping, getting dinner, and lots and lots of pictures. Your phone was full of pictures of the three of you, and so was James’s.

Two months of dating and you’d managed to ignore the occasional icky feelings. James did the same. He’d push away those feelings of wanting to distance himself because he really liked you. He didn’t want to ruin this, no matter how abruptly it all happened.

But ignoring those feelings didn’t last long. Eventually, they resurfaced.

It started small- he stopped kissing you as often as he did. It usually was a string of at least a dozen spontaneous but passionate kisses throughout the day, the first one always being while the two of you woke up. Then the morning kisses stopped, and eventually you were lucky if you even got more than one in the day.

Then he’d make excuses for not spending lunch with you. He was behind on work, had a student making up a quiz, wasn’t hungry. You were left in your classroom all alone during your lunch periods, eating the lunch you made together.

But what drew the line was how he felt about you and Becca. At first, he was absolutely obsessed with the two of you, knowing you were glad to fill the role of Mom for her. The girls’ days, the way she absolutely adored you, the matching pajamas you bought for the two of you- it was all so beautiful. But when things actually got serious, he took on the parent role. He wouldn’t give you a chance to calm Becca down if she was throwing a tantrum or help him with the hard stuff- it always had to be him, as if he didn't trust you to help. Even when you tried, he’d always say, “It’s okay, I got this.” You couldn’t help but feel hurt when he did that. You were in this too, you wanted to help him be a parent. Becca needed you, too.

Then the dance had to happen. The fucking dance.

“Mommy-Daughter dance? People still do those?” James asked, setting down the flyer Rebecca had given him when he picked her up from school. Of course Rebecca didn’t explicitly ask you, but you knew she wanted you to go with her.

“I think it’s cute. It’s a chance for moms to get together and hang out with their daughters. Didn’t they have a Daddy-Daughter one?”

“Yeah, but Bec and I didn’t go. I wouldn’t be caught dead at one of those things.” Sure, James loved his daughter unconditionally, but he would rather spare himself the embarrassment of standing by a table of snacks with other clueless dads as their daughters jumped around together to whatever Top 40 song was playing.

“That’s where you and I are different, that sounds like fun to me,” you teased, kissing his cheek and trying to keep the conversation light. You could tell he had a bad day, whether it be from his students being too wild or the phantom pains on his left side he told you about. “I might go with Bec, we’ll see if I can.”

“Why? You’re not her mom.”

James definitely didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did. He didn’t even know how he meant it, he just said it and instantly regretted it.

You turned to face him, clearly hurt, “Ouch?”

Shit. It was too late to dig himself out of this one. He’d already offended you, there was no way he’d be able to redeem himself. “I just mean- you don’t have an obligation to go. What if Becca doesn’t want to?”

“Then we won't,” you stated, “What the hell, James? You do realize I care about Rebecca, right? I wouldn’t just ignore it if she wanted to go. We are a team, remember? I’m the closest thing to a mom-“

“She has a mom.” James said, his eyes stinging.

“I know she does,” you tried lowering your voice to keep the conversation calm, “I just thought it’d be fun, that’s all. I’m sorry if I crossed a line.” You lowered your head, avoiding eye contact with him. You knew he could be grumpy, but you always thought he’d spare that side of him for you.

“No, don’t be sorry. I had a rough day and I’m just taking it out on you. I’m sorry.” James took in a deep sigh, wrapping his arms from behind you as you sat at the kitchen island.

His hold was comfortable on you. You wanted to just forgive and forget, but it bugged you too much to ignore. “Do you really think that about me? That I’ll never be her mom?”

James was silent- he feared telling you the truth. At least the truth phrased in a positive way- you’ll never be her mom because you didn’t give birth to her, but you could do everything in your power to be as close to a mom as Rebecca could get. No- why was he having such a hard time calling you Becca’s mom? Or at least, her stepmom? Every time he found himself close to saying it, all he could hear was his wife in his head.

You were taken back by his lack of response. Defeated, you spoke again. “Okay.”

“No, I just-“ James rushed to find words. He could tell he was losing you. “What if one day we end things and then she gets confused? She’s gonna think another mom just up and left her.”

“When are you gonna stop thinking that? I want to stay in this. Do you? Because if you don’t then I’ll leave. Right now.”

Before the logical part of James’s brain could process what you’d just said, the stupider, reckless part of his brain was speaking for him. “Fine.”

Tears welling up in your eyes, you stared at him blankly. “Just like that?”

“I know what’s best for me and my daughter. And if you don’t think you’re the fit, why bother staying?” God, he couldn’t stand seeing you cry.

Shut up, he wanted to yell to himself, shut up, shut up, shut up and apologize. Hold her, she’s the only woman who’s seen you for you in a long time.

“Did you not hear everything I was just saying? I do think I’m a good fit. I think I’m perfect for Becca, actually. But clearly you don’t think the same thing, so I’ll just go. I’m sorry I have to do this to her too. She doesn’t deserve it.”

James watched you walk out of his apartment, giving him ample time to apologize, but he remained still. As much as he was internally screaming to move or say something, he couldn’t. James did nothing but watch you walk out of his house and out of his life.

The following month wasn’t any easier. Daily, James dealt with a tantrum from Becca. Her therapist told him this was a new, scary transition for her. One minute she had you, someone who was like a mom to her, then the next, you were gone. The meetings that occurred every other week turned every week, most of those meetings consisting of Rebecca crying over how much she missed you.

The meetings where James was able to sit in were harder than the ones where he could wait in the lobby. Having to hear Rebecca tell him basically everything he lacked as a father broke his heart into a million tiny pieces and made it unrepairable.

James was also in therapy. He talked to his counselor about losing his wife, dating you, and eventually, the breakup.

“Do you think there’s still a part of you that thinks your wife will come back?” His therapist’s words struck him in a way he never expected.

For the first time in years, James found himself willing and able to cry. He sobbed during that therapy session, knowing his therapist was exactly right.

He was still waiting for her to come back.

Despite being in that car, knowing what happened.

Despite having gone to her funeral.

Despite the fact that it'd been over seven years. too

At her funeral, at every birthday party Becca had, he didn’t let himself fully cry. When Rebecca asked him questions that tugged at his heart strings, he didn’t allow himself to cry. Finally feeling emotion and letting himself do what he’d been holding back for years felt better than anything he could’ve imagined. He always felt the need to put up a wall around others- let them know he was stern, harsh, and didn’t cry. But that didn’t always have to be the case, especially with a young daughter. Crying is okay, crying helps.

“Here’s what I think you should do,” James’s therapist, Dr. Banner, said as his sobs died down, “If you have any old pictures or old videos of her, look at them. Allow yourself to look at her and say goodbye.”

James almost didn’t want to- he knew how badly it would hurt. But he had to admit to himself that he was pushing wonderful people like you away because he wasn’t truly over the death of his wife. Though there was somewhat of a relief to know he wasn’t in a relationship, he couldn’t deny that he missed you. He still couldn’t stop thinking about you, even after knowing you were avoiding him like the Plague.

That evening, after Rebecca went to sleep, he went down to the basement of his home, which was the one area of his home he neglected. Cobwebs and creaky floors took over the area, but James was only here for one thing.

He kept a box of his wife’s things hidden down here, in an area Becca would never find, if she even dared to go downstairs to the scary basement.

Old clothes, expired makeup, and photos and home videos- all the things he kept for himself instead of adding it to the mantle for Rebecca. Her college graduation photo, the cherry red lipstick she wore almost every day, even old documents with her signature that James had found after her death. He kept it all here and almost forgot about it. There was the occasional day where he really wanted to talk to her and came down here, like a grave, to get some kind of fulfillment. The kind that only a grown-up could understand, which is why he'd never told Rebecca about it. He couldn't imagine her understanding wanting to keep a seven-year-old tube of mascara. She couldn't understand that it was important because it was hers, a small piece of her everyday life- proof of her existence.

He figured, Dr. Banner’s advice couldn’t have been tooterrible. He grabbed the box of home videos and made his way back upstairs.

James watched as the DVD player buffered for a second, attempting to recognize the disc.

Then, there she was.

“I look terrible, don’t film me,” she smiled, looking shyly away from the camera. James remembered this, though a part of him knew the video would be short. Her voice had the power to ease every wound in his heart. He'd missed it so much.

“Come on, you look beautiful.” He heard his own voice, almost unfamiliar as he sounded much younger.

She blushed at his words, though still continued to try and hide her face. She held a newborn Rebecca in her arms. This had been the day they brought Rebecca home from the hospital.

“Honey, I haven’t showered. I don’t feel like myself, I probably look ridiculous.”

“Fine, I won’t record my gorgeous wife and my adorable daughter,” James complied lightly, setting down the camera. James could’ve sworn he stopped recording, but by the looks of it, he hadn’t. The camera was perfectly facing the nursery James remembered he’d spend all weekend working on. A soft pink with white accents, straight out of a fairytale- he was so proud of his work. “Come on, in case you were wondering what I was up to all weekend.”

“James… I thought we agreed on green. It’s calmer than whatever this is.”

Suddenly, James and his wife were in frame again, obvious frustration on their faces. “What? She’s a baby, does it matter?”

“It does to me,” she said, taking a moment to smell her surroundings, “and why’d you have to do it so late? It smells like paint in here.”

“No it doesn’t,”

Rebecca started whining in her mother's arms, seemingly worsening the situation. “See? She already hates it. I’m not letting my daughter sleep in a room that smells like this.” She walked out with baby Rebecca in her arms, James chasing after her.

“Baby, come on,” The camera must’ve died shortly after, because there wasn’t much after that.

James found himself laughing and crying at the same time. He missed her so immensely that he’d forgotten little things like this. Little arguments that made them them. Her personality- the way she was so vibrant.

That was who Rebecca was. She didn't know it, but she was her mom. In every single way.

“Is that Mommy?” James heard a little voice ask from around the corner. He turned to find his daughter standing behind him, carrying a blanket.

“Yeah,” James answered, wiping up his tears. He hadn’t expected her to wake up, but he wasn’t going to send her back to bed. “Do you wanna watch?”

Becca nodded. She climbed onto the couch as James put in another disc, one labeled “Wedding”.

Both James and Rebecca were greeted by a video of her getting ready, a bright smile on her face as she put on that same cherry red lipstick she loved.

When James returned to the couch, Rebecca climbed onto his chest and laid there, eyes fixated on the screen.

“See, your mom was super shy, so we had to be sneaky when we filmed her.” He said, bringing his flesh hand to her hair and petting it.

“She looks like a princess,” Rebecca said.

“She looks like you.” James smiled, watching Rebecca’s eyes light up as her mom continued to be on screen. It had cut to the party now, to a slightly drunk Steve giving his best man speech. “Doesn’t Uncle Steve look different now?”

As James’s eyes remained on Becca, he watched her expression change. At first she was happy to see her mom, dad, and Uncle Steve on screen. Then her face had fallen to a small frown, and James watched her eyes well up with tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong, bug?”

Rebecca just dug her face in James’s chest and started to cry. “I want Mommy.” She whined, snot and tears staining her father’s navy blue shirt.

“I know you do, baby. I know it’s hard-“

“No, Daddy. I wanna talk to her. I wanna hug her and eat dinner with her. I want a Mommy.” That was the first time James had ever heard Rebecca actually use her words to tell him why she was crying. She had become so well-spoken, it was almost like his seven-year-old was better at having an adult conversation than him. “I know you’re my Daddy and that should be enough for me, but I want a Mommy too.”

James felt the waterworks coming again. But instead, he let them go. He didn’t try to hide them anymore. This time, he welcomed them as he held Rebecca, consoling her and crying with her. And it helped. He didn’t want her to think he was some emotionless monster, that it was okay to have these feelings. If there was one thing James realized he wanted Rebecca to know, it was that it’s okay to feel.

After a while, the sobs died down, and Rebecca had fallen back asleep on her dad’s chest. He carried her back to her room, kissing her forehead before turning everything off and heading to bed himself. Though he was tired, he laid awake thinking about everything he’d just heard and seen.

He also thought about you.

How perfect you really were for this family. How he needed you, and so did Rebecca. He was wrong to shut you out, knowing there was no way in hell you’d take him back.

How even he and his wife had their issues, despite how perfect he made them seem.

He gave you big shoes to fill and impossibly high standards. Of course you couldn’t compete, he made it impossible for you to. You were so good to him, so patient with Rebecca and so loving. He struck gold with you, and he scared you away.

No, he had to get you back.

He sat up abruptly, thinking to himself, ‘What the fuck am I doing just laying here?’

He looked at the time. 9PM. It wasn’t too late, Steve could still be awake.

James sighed in relief when Steve picked up. “Steve! You gotta come over, I need you to watch Becca.”

“Is she okay? Are you okay? Is someone hurt?”

“No, Steve, we’re fine, I just- I made a huge fucking mistake. I need her to forgive me, I need her to take me back.”

And Steve knew exactly who James was talking about. “It’s about time, punk. I’ll be there in ten.”

As soon as Steve arrived to his home, James bolted out the door and to his car, looking at the time and praying you’d still be awake. He needed to let you know that he was wrong. That he was stupid for putting that pressure on you and that he should’ve known- of course you weren’t his wife, you were you, and that should’ve been good enough for him.

He remembered which apartment was yours, knocking on the front door and waiting. He saw a window he presumed was yours, which was dark, and almost gave up. But when the light flickered on from inside, he felt his heart flutter in his chest. The sound of you unlocking the door only heightened his excitement- he felt like a little kid on Christmas morning.

You opened the door, and James couldn’t help but marvel at your beauty. This was the you he always wanted to see- your most beautiful, authentic form. The you that was more maternal, a teacher, she was wonderful too, but this version was by far had to be his favorite.

You squinted at him, unsure if he was actually there or if this was just a dream. “James? What are you doing here? Is Becca oka-“

Before you could even finish your sentence, James had leaned in to kiss you, taking his time to remember every muscle your body made as it moved closer to him and every touch that lingered on his skin from your hands.

He pulled away, examining every angle of your face. “I love you.”

“James-“

“Please, just hear me out for a second. When someone dies, you kind of get this feeling like… like they never did anything wrong. You don’t want to think about it or bring it up because then you look like an asshole. My wife, I always tried to keep this perfect image of her for Rebecca, and as much as I loved her, she wasn’t perfect. She made mistakes. I’m sorry for thinking that we had to be like that. I want you, and every flaw that comes with you. To be honest, you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. So if you’ll give me a second chance…” James felt tears begin to brim his eyes, “I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose anyone again. I’m sorry.”

You felt yourself beginning to cry to. How was this the same grumpy man who never talked about his feelings? This was the most honest and genuine you’d ever seen him, and it broke your heart into a million pieces.

“You’re not going to lose me.” You said, “I love you, too.”

Leaning in to kiss him again, you wrapped your arms around him in a tight embrace. An embrace he needed. You felt him let out a quiet sigh in relief, as if he was letting go of every stressing feeling that had a hold on him. Like he was finally starting to show his true colors, unafraid to be vulnerable.

James Barnes kept his heart buried deep, deep down in his chest to keep it from getting harmed again. You were in love with a man who was completely broken. But he stood before you, making do with the pieces he found on his own and giving you a second chance to help make him whole again.

And you were so proud of him for it.

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coffeecatsandcandles · 3 years ago

Text

taglist cont.

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐕- 𝐂𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞

widow!dad!teacher!Bucky x f!teacher!Reader (ft. Rebecca Barnes and other friends)

Word Count: 5.5k

Warnings: SMUT (18+ minors DNI), sub!bucky, complicated emotions.

If you like this series, please consider donating to my ko-fi!

You sat at a small table at Luce’s Café waiting for James to show. A part of you worried he wouldn’t, that maybe the kiss was too much- even though he was the one who leaned in first.

There was no denying that you already missed him after the kiss. You wanted- no, needed- to see him again. After a kiss like that- there was no wonder there had already been a woman to find him and lock him down. She was lucky- well, in most ways.

The harsh reminder of his past hit you every once in a while. He was married to this woman. Not dating, not engaged, not divorced. Married and in love. With a daughter. It hit you that the only reason you were even sitting here, about to have coffee with him and Rebecca after having just kissed him, was because of a tragedy.

You couldn’t even imagine how he felt. You hoped it was excitement coupled with the initial relationship nerves. But to have already lost one woman he was in love with must have hurt him tremendously. Maybe he needed therapy as much as Becca did.

You stopped yourself from thinking that. The last time you suggested that, he wasn’t too happy.

Noticing Steve drop off Rebecca with James through the glass doors of the café, you prepared yourself. Did he want to talk about what happened right now? Or was he going to ignore it and expect you to ignore it too?

Rebecca caught sight of you almost immediately, running to your table and hugging you, practically leaving James in the dust. You watched as he ordered a coffee for him and a hot chocolate- with extra marshmallows- for Rebecca.

“Hey sweet girl! You didn’t tell me you’re playing soccer now!”

“I am! Daddy wanted me to do a sport. I wanted to swim but they wouldn’t let me. But my coach- her name is Miss Maria- she’s really, really nice and she’s helping me kick a goal!”

You quietly laughed at how talkative she was. You wondered if she was like this with James.

“You have to let me know when your first game is.” You said, noticing James make his way to your table and pulling up another chair for himself.

James raised his eyebrows at you as he sat, almost suggesting something. But you weren’t sure what. “Hey Bec,” he leaned over to his daughter, “look, the chalk wall is clear. This is your chance!”

Becca gasped at the sight. Luce’s Café had a wall in which customers- mostly children- could write on with chalk. Kids drew little doodles, couples wrote little notes to reach other like Ashley and Jeff Forever, and other people just wrote kind notes. Every time James and Rebecca came to Luce’s, they were upset to find that there were too many doodles and no space for Rebecca to draw anything. Now, having the board just recently be cleared, Rebecca had an opportunity to doodle. The seven-year-old ran to the bucket kept on a small shelf, grabbed some orange chalk, and began drawing a flower.

“She’s so little,” you commented, noticing how small Rebecca really was. You noticed she’d gotten taller, that was a fact, but overall for a seven-year-old, Becca was still fairly short and thin.

James waited, admiring you as you admired Becca. He waited for you to face him, welcoming every detail of your face. It was too early to say a lot of things yet, but not too early for him to think them.

You’re so beautiful.

I want you.

I love you.

I need you.

But James smiled, noticing that you were finally looking back at him and there had been a moment too long of silence. “Hi.” He said, admiring the way the corners of your mouth perked up in a smile at the simplicity of his words. Of the moment.

“Hi.” You said back. So little was said, but at the same time, so much. You said it with your eyes. With your smiles. With the way James’s hand was starting to reach for yours.

Before James could respond, he received a notification on his phone, the screen lighting up and showing a standard blue iPhone background.

“You actually use the background from the settings?” You wanted to talk about the kiss, but you needed to ease into it. This was good- playful.

“Yeah, is that a problem?”

“There’s nothing personal- how is someone supposed to know it’s yours?”

“Nobody has my phone but me.”

“Still… let me see your photos. I’m sure there has to be one you like enough to see every time you go to unlock your phone.”

James’s camera roll was… rough. He didn’t have a lot on there. The most recent picture was likely there by accident- a screenshot of his alarm going off at 5 AM. There were mostly photos of Rebecca- either smiling at the camera or taken candidly as she played soccer with her team. The last picture he’d actually taken was of Becca on the field. One thing you also noticed was that there were hardly any pictures of himself. You tried not to snoop, but you ended up going way back, finding the first picture.

He was in it. So was his wife.

You almost felt a stab in your stomach at the sight. There he was, standing with his wife as she kissed him on the cheek. Their entire bodies were in frame and she was clearly pregnant with Becca.

Oh… right.

These was something serious you were getting yourself into. This wasn’t just some co-worker you were interested in, or even a divorced man with a child.

This man had lost everything. His wife. His arm. His hope. His belief in love. It was no wonder he was a grump most days- you’d probably be the same if you’d lost everything too.

They looked so in love. Both of his hands- still both flesh- cradled her belly and she had a big, bright smile creeping onto her face as she kissed him. It looked like they were at a wedding, both were very nicely dressed and she wore a cherry red lipstick. They looked so happy.

You set his phone face down, needing a second to process everything you’d just seen.

“Hey, you okay?” James asked, noticing your demeanor change.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You were right. Nothing on there.” Taking a deep breath, you picked up the phone again. “But I have an idea.” You called Rebecca over and pulled up the camera. “Bec, I’m gonna take a picture of you and your dad.”

“I don’t know-“ James said, clearly unsure of himself. He hadn’t posed for a picture with Becca in a really long time. He didn’t want to imagine what he looked like right now; to have this version of him captured in a photo didn’t sound ideal to him.

“Come on, Daddy! We never take pictures anymore.” Rebecca insisted, sitting on his lap. That just about broke James’s heart. To hell with it- if this takes him a step closer to being a better dad, he’ll do it.

You captured pictures of the two of them, coaching Rebecca to give her dad a kiss on the cheek or tickle him to make him laugh. You snapped a few pictures of him smiling. It was interesting- James never seemed like he smiled. He had visible frown lines and a wrinkle in between his eyebrows from furrowing them so much. He even sometimes had bags under his eyes. But the second he looked at Becca, all of it washed away. You got to witness it in real-time. You couldn’t even imagine the damage that would’ve been done if he’d lost Rebecca too.

Snapping yourself out your daydreaming, you pulled up the pictures you took, audibly fawning over how adorable they were. You chose your favorite and made it James’s new wallpaper.

“That’s really nice,” James said as you showed the new background to him.

“Now every time you open your phone, you can see your pretty girl.” You said, ruffling Becca’s hair as she giggled at the action. Becca still honestly and truly believed that you had no idea how much you meant to her. In her eyes, you were like a princess. Even better- a queen. A beautiful queen who treated all her subjects kindly and led her kingdom fairly. You were regal, you were near perfection to her.

Without giving it a second thought, Rebecca hopped off of her father’s lap to give you a hug. You were everything to her. She buried her face in your chest, breathing in the moment.

James swore he felt his heart melt at the sight. Both of you were a little confused by the action, but nonetheless, you savored the moment just as much as she did.

It meant so much more than just a hug to Becca. Above everything, she still wanted you to be her mom. To hug her like this every day, to tuck her in at night, to console her when she cried- all the things her dad did for her when he could, but she always missed out on from her actual mother.

You were only interrupted by the barista bringing two coffees and hot chocolate to your table, then Rebecca’s mind went elsewhere.

“Careful bug, it’s hot.” James warned as his daughter rushed to her mug, grabbing a spoon and twirling the liquid around to melt the marshmallows.

The hug caught you off guard, no doubt. Becca was such a sweet girl, you couldn’t even imagine her throwing a fit or acting up. But that hug- it meant so much more than appreciation. She lovedyou. You were the entire world to her, and there was nothing that could change that.

When you knew Becca wouldn’t hear you, you leaned over to James. “That kiss meant a lot to me.”

James gave a boyish smile, looking down at his hands.

“I want to keep seeing you, James. Even if it’s just the two of us, or if she tags along, I don’t mind. I really like you.”

James looked back up at you, grabbing his hand in yours and kissing it when he knew Rebecca wasn’t looking. He knew this meant keeping it professional at school, but it was worth it. He wanted you, and he’d do anything to keep you with him.

One Week Later

“Oh my god,” you whispered, trying to keep your volume to a minimum as James attacked your neck with small, soft kisses. You were propped up on the counter of the school’s desolate teacher’s lounge.

Westview High had six other perfectly fine lounges stocked full of vending machines, restrooms, printers and copy machines, and plenty of cabinet space. This one was smaller, nothing but an old dusty bookshelf and a bathroom with a busted toilet. No teacher spent their time in here. So, when James whispered to you that he wanted you right now, this seemed like the best option.

How did you even get here? Just a week ago you were having trouble admitting that you kissed him out loud, now here you were, risking your job for the feeling of him slamming you up against a counter and attacking your neck with breathy, passionate kisses.

It started off like any other Monday. The entire day was normal, helping your kids who were struggling and being particularly productive during your planning period. Then after school came. You and James had your meeting with Kate, and that was when everything shifted.

“So I found a few articles for you to reference in your essay; this one shows you how you can measure your draw length and kinetic energy. And this one actually shows you everything about bow weight and how that affects your shot.” You handed the articles to the teenager and she put them in her binder.

You and Kate looked to James, waiting for him to have something for Kate as well. “Oh- uh… I didn’t think I had to bring anything. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t have to,” you assured him, then turned back to Kate, “So, I’m hoping you’ll have that essay done by next week?”

“Yeah,” Kate said, “I will. You can proofread it before I turn it in to Ms. V.”

“Oh, I’m hardly the proofreader. I’ll give that task to Mr. Barnes, he’s a lot better at that than I am.”

That caught James off-guard. You complimenting him like that, it made his brain nearly go haywire. “Yeah… yeah, sure. I can do that. Definitely.” He nearly got lost trying to find words. Every time he looked at you, all he could see was your face inches to his, telling him that it was okay he kissed you. The softness of your voice and lips, the tenderness of your words. It drove him crazy, and he swore he saw you in his dreams.

“Okay, great,” Kate said, standing up and gathering her belongings, “Well, I’ll see you guys next week.” Before heading out the door, she turned to face you. “Thank you for doing this. Really, I would be completely lost if it weren’t for your help.”

The old James would’ve protested that he was trying to help too, but he saw how happy you looked when Kate told you that.

“Seriously. I wanted to challenge myself for this project and well, you’re just so smart. Math has never been my strong suit- all the numbers just get jumbled up in my head and it’s too much. Isn’t she amazing, Mr. Barnes?”

It was then that everything connected for James. Kate knew exactly what she was doing. She was a smart girl- a sweet kid, good grades, good friends. But that wasn’t enough, apparently. This seventeen-year-old wanted you and James to be together, and she was desperately trying to make it happen. He almost didn’t say anything back, in hopes of knocking her down a peg. But what she was saying was entirely true, and he didn’t want to bring you down for his own ego.

“Yeah. Westview High certainly struck gold.”

There he goes, making you fall for him again. You had to keep your composure, at least until Kate was gone. No- until you were out of the building. The school you both worked at.

Kate tried to keep her eyes from going wide at James’s admission, so she quickly said her goodbyes and made her way to the student parking lot.

James scoffed as soon as Kate was gone. “She’s trying to set us up.”

You nodded in agreement, laughing. If only Kate knew you two were already steps ahead of her. “Well, is it working?”

James stepped closer to you, cupping your face in his hands. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

He kissed you with such passion, it made you wonder if you’d ever feel anything this good again. Neither of you wanted to stop as the kisses got deeper, and it was James who made the suggestion to take this to the abandoned teacher’s lounge.

Now here you were, sitting on top of the counter as James skillfully tried to bring his hands under your slacks. “James- wait.” You said, grabbing his wrist before he could go any further. “We can’t do this here, you know that.”

“Nobody comes in this room. Well-“ James stopped himself from making an inappropriate joke.

“Let’s do this somewhere else.” You offered. You didn’t want to stop, that was certain. But you also didn’t want to risk anyone walking in and losing your job.

“Okay... My place, ten-thirty?” He rested his head on your lap, looking up at you. You never noticed how blue they were until he was looking at you like that.

“What about Bec?”

“She’s in bed by eight-thirty. She’ll be asleep.”

You thought about it. This was the best option. There was no way Steve was going to take Becca for the night for this- meeting. And it wasn’t like James could just leave her alone in the house. “Fine. But I’m getting out of there as soon as we’re done, okay? No sleepovers.”

James gave a fake pout, but understood where you were coming from. Imagine how it would look- both of you coming in to work tomorrow morning at the same time- and he couldn’t even imagine everything you’d have to bring with you if you did stay the night. Extra clothes, toiletries, makeup. It was better for everyone if you just left right after, as much as he didn’t want you to.

You hopped off the counter, gave James a kiss on the cheek (knowing to leave him wanting more), and waltzed out of the teacher’s lounge with a big smile on your face.

You spend the six hours you had nearly panicking, knowing your relationship with James was about to get even more serious, and maybe even a little more complicated.

The mystery was fun. You were just hooking up now, coupled with some other strong emotions from both of you. You eyed some lingerie that’d been sitting in your drawer for who knows how long. Was that too much? Was he expecting that? Who knows. You scrapped the idea and settled on a comfier underwear combination. Still sexy, but not too much.

James had texted you his address and you could hardly believe it when you arrived. It was a nice home. Too nice for a teacher and much nicer than your place. Steve must’ve given him some sort of leeway went selling it to him.

You opted to text him that you’d arrived instead of knocking or ringing the doorbell. Definitely not as romantic, but would keep Rebecca asleep.

James answered the door not at all how you’d expected. He wore nothing but a pair of grey boxers. You tried to keep your eyes from wandering there, but it was very difficult. He was in great shape, considering all he did was teach and take care of his daughter all day. You couldn’t say anything that would capture how you felt for him. You felt a fire within you and you just wanted to pounce.

So, you did.

Before James said anything, you connected your lips and began to strip off your clothing. “You don’t want anything to drink?” James joked, mumbling against your lips.

“No. I just want you.” You replied, letting him guide you to his bedroom where you stripped off the rest of your remaining clothing, leaving you in nothing but your bra and underwear.

“Just so you know,” James started, hands running up and down your skin, “I haven’t had sex since… before Becca was born.”

Oh. So he was very inexperienced.

“I mean, I still jack off and stuff,” he explained, sensing your surprise, “I just haven’t done anything with anyone in a really long time.”

“That’s okay,” you said, calming him with your words. You could tell he was nervous. It’d been a while for you too, but definitely not seven years. You laid with him on the bed, getting a few kisses in before straddling him. “I just wanna make you feel good.” You took off your underwear and unhooked your bra, feeling James’s cock harden even more at the sight of your naked body.

You didn’t know where this sudden dominating nature came from, but you liked it. It made you feel like you were taking care of him. The view of his body in between your legs made you want to writhe in pleasure, but you had to focus on his.

James slipped off his boxers, erect cock directly under you. You moved slightly, hearing his delicious moans as he wasn’t used to this kind of contact anymore.

You leaned forward, cradling his head in your hands, “It’s okay, baby. You’re doing so well.”

“Ah-“ James hissed at the feeling of contact again. He knew he’d be sensitive, but he didn’t imagine it being this bad, “fuck, you feel so good.”

“Just breathe,” you said, kissing his forehead as you heard him comply, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. There was also something you loved about making him act like this and he wasn’t even inside you yet that made you tingle all over.

You carefully and slowly sunk down onto him, nearly seeing white as the feeling of pleasure overtook both of you. You both moaned at the contact rather loudly, but you quickly put one finger to his mouth and the other to yours, winking slyly as you started to adjust to the fullness.

You raised your hips up and brought them down again, watching the blissed-out expression on James’s face. The poor guy looked like he was about to pass out from all the stimulation. It then occurred to you that this would probably finish just as quickly as it started.

Riding him slowly, feeling every angle in every thrust, you also relished in the contact. This was about him, at least this time. You had no problem with only getting him off and not yourself, he seemed like he needed it. And hey, you were fine just having gone this far. You’d get yourself off when you got home if it mattered that much.

“Doll, you keep doing that and I willcum. I want you do enjoy it too.” James managed to say in between moans.

“I am, Jamie,” you said, “don’t worry about me. This is about you.”

He gave another moan at your new nickname for him. It all felt so good, he wondered if you were even real or just a sexy figment of his imagination. “Just this once,” he said, grabbing onto your thighs to move you back and forth.

It felt like fireworks were shooting in your stomach, the way he managed to be so rough yet so gentle at the same time.

“You’re so fuckin’ pretty.” He said as he tirelessly moved you back and forth, increasing the pace. You got flustered at him talking to you like that. You loved the way it sounded- him calling you pretty while fucking you.

James seemed to stop with a jolt, all his stamina melting away within a few seconds as he came in an instant. “Oh god- oh fuck-“ he muttered, breathing heavily as he tried to keep his eyes open.

“It’s okay, baby,” you said, feeling the sudden calmness of the moment and embracing it, “it’s okay.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t last longer,” he started to apologize, both of you trying to adjust. You were still straddling his lap and he was still inside of you.

“Don’t be sorry. That was so good.” You ran your hands through his hair. It was soft, and you had completely forgotten about his prosthetic left arm until you looked down and saw it. You also saw the collection of scars that came with it, and you began kissing them gently.

“You didn’t finish.” He felt as though he could be nestled in you like this all day. Your walls were so warm and hugging him just right- and as much as he wanted to continue, all of his energy had drained out of him.

You perked your head up. “Hey. What’d I say?” you teased, toying with the cleft in his chin. There wasn’t a detail on this man’s body that you weren’t absolutely obsessed with.

James smiled, your eyes finally meeting his, “I’ll get you next time.”

Next time. You liked the sound of that.

You untangled yourself from him, both of you wincing at the loss of contact at first. James seemed to look away as you got dressed to give you some kind of privacy- as if you weren’t just riding him, fully naked.

After getting dressed, you and James began walking to the front door, doing exactly what you said you would do. As much as you didn’t want to leave- as much as you wanted to stay here and hold him while he slept and press kisses into his hair- you knew it was the right thing to do.

But you couldn’t help but feel this overlying question pick at your brain. “So, are we dating? What is this?” you asked, keeping your voice low and noise to a minimum. You didn’t want to blurt it out like that, but you wanted an answer.

James shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck, “I don’t really know.” he admitted, “I think you’re beautiful, I know Becca loves you. You’re smart, you’re sexy. I really like being with you.”

“I like being with you too.”

“You know, I kind of like the mystery of it all. At least for now.”

You sighed in relief. “Me too. God- I really like you, but I feel like we’d need a long talk before we go into anything more serious.”

James smiled, leaning in to give you another deep, beautiful kiss. You were just about to head out before a small voice stopped you.

“Daddy?” Becca stood a few feet away from you and James, rubbing her eyes and clearly coming out of a deep, deep sleep.

“Hey bug,” James said, keeping his voice at nearly a whisper, “what are you doing awake?”

“I wanna go to the park,” she said with a big yawn. It was so random, she had to have still been asleep. By the way James was interacting with her, this wasn’t new. You thought the seven-year-old had busted you, but now you weren’t even sure she noticed you were there.

“We can go to the park some other time, but right now you gotta go back to bed.” He gently picked up his daughter, her eyes drifting closed as her head rested on his shoulder. Your eyes were adjusted enough to the darkness to see that she’d also been carrying a teddy bear, as if she couldn’t look any more innocent.

Rebecca just tiredly mumbled something in response, clearly wasting no time as she fell back asleep in her daddy’s arms.

That feeling came again, that feeling like you were intruding on something very special. You were just standing there, watching James carry his daughter back to bed and just gave him a small wave goodbye in response. It was like there were two different versions of James. The hot, sexy teacher who’d have you in every way imaginable, feeling lightly rebellious as you made out in empty teacher’s lounges and snuck glances as you passed each other in the halls. Then there was James, the widowed, single dad who was hopelessly devoted to his daughter and giving her the life she deserved. That James didn’t have time for a lover. You knew his wife was long gone, but it still felt like you were intruding on his life- like you were some mistress that got in some fun with him before his wife returned from a long business trip. Like you were a piece that didn’t fit in the mold that James had set up for him and Becca.

James gave a wave goodbye, wishing he could kiss you instead, and watched you walk out of the house. He was grateful Rebecca was too sleepy to notice your presence, but he still didn’t want to risk questions by kissing you goodbye. It wasn’t like he didn’t want you to stay, he did. He just wasn’t ready to be bombarded with those questions from Becca. He knew eventually he’d have to answer them. But right now, he’d enjoy these moments where she was sleepy and unaware.

The next day at school, you received yet another email from Carol asking to speak with you and James. Your heart dropped at the request, though you wanted to assume something else; that this wasn’t about your relationship- or whatever this was- and it was about something else.

You and James sat next to each other, facing Carol at her desk as she stared daggers at the two of you. Her face remained neutral, but her eyes were examining your every move.

“You two are screwing.”

You and James were taken back by her bluntness, secretly wondering how on earth she knew but trying to deny it as much as you could. You’d done so well. You hardly talked to James on school grounds anymore, resorting to texts and late night calls since your first kiss.

“Come on, you’ve been ignoring each other for two weeks now. And I know every single one of my teachers like the back of my hand. You two just can’t ignore each other. Either you two are screwing, or something else happened and I need answers.”

You had to admit that Carol was right. You and James suddenly began ignoring each other on school grounds besides the occasional glance after the entire first month of school consisting of bickering, talking about each other, and classroom visits. James had since been much nicer to his students, not a single one of them failing his most recent test. He was going easier on them, even opening up his planning period for students to come in and make up work if they needed.

“Okay. Fine.” You finally said, James burying his face in his hands out of embarrassment. “Things changed between us and we-“ you looked for the word to describe this relationship you were in. You weren’t dating, but you weren’t exactly friends-with-benefits either. You both wanted more, but you weren’t exactly sure how to start that conversation. “-we like each other.”

“Okay. Things are clearly starting to get complicated, and I can’t have that.” Carol pulled out a form for both you and James. “I have our policy right here, ready for both of you to fill out, or to not fill out. I’m going to ask you both again. Are you in a relationship?”

You looked at James. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. Glancing at the form, you contemplated if this was actually something you wanted to pursue. You liked him a lot- there was no doubt about that. But this was a level you weren’t prepared for. This was a relationship that would be filed for your boss, your superintendent, everyone to know about. What if this all fizzled out after a year, then what?

James had the same fear, that this wasn’t as serious as he’d perceived it to be. This definitely wasn’t how he pictured this conversation going. He imagined it on a date he’d plan. It be you and him only, no Rebecca around to make things awkward. He’d take you on a picnic and he’d ask you upfront where you saw this relationship going. If you didn’t want it to go further than a few dates and occasional sex, he’d respect your wishes. But if you did want a real relationship out of this, he’d press his lips against yours, laying you on the picnic blanket as the sun kissed your skin. It’d be perfect. That’s how he imagined you becoming his partner. Not in his boss’s office or even as he was saying goodbye to you after some incredible sex.

But he wanted this. And so did you. To deny it any more would be painful.

“Yeah. I guess we are.” He said. Instantly regretting how he phrased it. You deserved more than ‘Yeah. I guess we are.’ You deserved a big, epic romance. Not something that sounded like a nonchalant decision. He’d beat himself up about it for a while after this meeting.

You signed the form and so did James, and just like that, you were now legally in a relationship.

“You guys know the rules. Same rules apply to you as they do to the kids. No making out in the hallways, keep it professional, you know.” Carol said, walking the two of you out of her office. “I’m glad we finally got this figured out. Congrats.” She closed the door, leaving you and James standing in the administration hallway.

“Well,” James said. Noticing your eyes gloss over.

This wasn’t how you pictured it either. It felt like a rude awakening- you couldn’t have your dream job, your dream man, and a dream relationship all at once. No, not everything could be like that.

“Well,” You said back, keeping the disappointed tears from leaving your eyes. You just got into a relationship- why were you starting to cry? Maybe because it all felt so rushed. You liked not knowing exactly what you and James were. You liked the glances and the secrets. Now it was gone. Coupled with your doubts, it felt like now you couldn’t escape it. You had the freedom of not knowing what this was before and just enjoying it- now it was on paper that the two of you were officially partners.

“Wanna come over later? I don’t really have to ask that in private now, huh?”

You forced a laugh. At least James was trying. You could tell. “Sure. I’d love to.”

He leaned in to give you a quick kiss on your forehead before both of you headed back to your classrooms.

This was a new, exciting relationship. Why did you have such a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach?

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