Quill, Parchment, & Ink

Title: Swinging Celebration
Characters: Ariana Barton/James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes, Steve Rodgers, Darcy Lewis
Fandom: Avengers 2012
Series: Assassin Baby
Written For: angelskuuipo
Prompt:
Summary: Ariana just wants to spend time with her boyfriend and their friends on his birthday.
Rating: R
Spoilers: my series
Warnings: language, tempers
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.
Second Disclaimer Despite being fanfiction, this is MY work and I do not give anyone or any other site permission to republish this story under my name or any other without my authorization.
Author's Note: This was supposed to be a birthday present for angelskuuipo, but I fail at getting it finished in time. And honestly this isn’t even the story I planned to write for her, but the one that was labelled as my fail file. So yeah. Thanks to dragonydreams for the quick beta read and the title!


Twenty-one years after the attempted Chitauri invasion



Ariana Barton set her bow case down next to her chair and dropped into it. “Let’s get this over with.”

The SHIELD agent opposite her raised an eyebrow. “Are you in a hurry, Agent?”

“Avenger,” Ariana corrected. “And I don’t appreciate being called in when you don’t have everything ready for me.”

“We just have a slight delay on when you’re being released on this,” the agent told her.

“Then I shouldn’t have been called in. Especially today of all days.”

“Do you have somewhere you’d rather be? Something that’s more important than National Security?”

It was Ariana’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Don’t try to quote National Security at me. One of my babysitters was Captain America. Believe me when I say I was raised red, white, and blue, and apple pie. And even the Captain wouldn’t be happy to be called in with limited resources.”

“You’re an agent of SHIELD, albeit in a limited capacity. You serve at our suffrage. You’re required to…”

Ariana popped to her feet. “I am not an agent of SHIELD,” she said in a low voice. “I am an Avenger. We haven’t worked for SHIELD since…” She frowned. “Since Captain brought Jamie home. The first time.” Reaching down, she scooped up her case and slung it over her shoulder. “So unless you have the job ready for me… I’m outta here. I have plans.”

She was halfway out the door when the man spoke again, “Ms. Barton, if you leave, you’ll be forfeiting whatever you think…”

“Sir, it is my boyfriend’s birthday. Honestly you can go jump off a cliff.” Slamming the door behind her, Ariana headed towards the street.

Ariana banged into the apartment she shared with James, still muttering about the stupidity of SHIELD. Pulling up short when she noticed him on the couch, she glared when he said mildly, “You’re late. And you’re not dressed.”

Her gray eyes raked over his sprawled form, not sure if it was the position or the clothes; things he most likely hadn’t worn in over fifty years that had stopped her. Her gaze took in the fitted slacks, starched white shirt, and suspenders, one side up over his shoulder and the other hanging loosely. He was sprawled insolently on the sofa, watching her over the Stark tablet in his hands.

“Fucking SHIELD fucking called me in on your fucking birthday,” Ariana answered.

James just widened his blue eyes at her outburst, but from the direction of the spare room came the admonishment, “Language.”

Ariana spun towards the voice, sticking her tongue out at Steve, who was exiting the bedroom in an outfit similar to James’s. He pulled his own suspenders into place as she replied, “Don’t language me, oh captain my captain. I’ve heard your mouth when you go all solider.”

James snorted. “That’s not solider, doll. That’s Brooklyn through and through. Now go get dressed.”

Ariana threw one hand into the air, clearly giving up on discussing it, since the other was occupied with her bow case. “Fine. Whatever.” She stomped into the master bedroom, not quite slamming the door behind her.

It only took her a matter of moments to shimmy out of her tac pants and shirt and into the teal dress James had picked out before attacking her hair. She loved the dress, the puffy sleeves didn’t draw attention to her arms, which were strong and muscular from using the bow, and the two buttons in the front gathered the bust and enhanced it. She adored the way the skirt flared around her legs when James twirled her. She’d been surprised when he’d said he wanted to choose her dress, but he had an eye for the right style and color so she didn’t argue. After a few minutes she gave up on the exercise in futility of curling her hair since the curls just wouldn’t settle into the Victory curls that James remembered and simply pulled it back.

When Ariana re-entered the living room, Darcy had arrived and the red head grinned when she saw the former intern and now PR wrangler. Crossing the room, she hugged her friend, pulling back to admire her dress. The older woman wore a halter dress in red and black that made her pale skin shine. Her own unruly curls were piled up on her head. “Ready now?” Darcy asked. “James said you just got home.”

“Ugh. Yes.” Ariana rolled her eyes. “Fucking SHIELD.” She glared at Steve when the other man opened his mouth. “Don’t even, Captain.”

James smirked as he got to his feet. “Ariana’s having a bit of a language problem,” he explained. He finished pulling his suspenders into place before reaching for the vest that was lying on the chair and shrugging it on. He buttoned it up and Ariana crossed the room to smooth it down. When she was satisfied, he slipped on the jacket that completed his outfit.

“My language would be fine if SHIELD hadn’t called me in. There was no reason for it,” Ariana said.

James settled a wrap around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her neck. “Well, it’s over now.”

“Other than being on call for whatever they think is going down,” Ariana told them.

“Once we get to the dance hall, you aren’t going to hear the phone anyway,” Steve pointed out.

“Then let’s get going.” Ariana accepted the arm James held out to her and the group paraded out the door.





Music was pouring out of the open windows and doors as they made their way up to the building. The two girls shed their wraps as the group entered, handing them off to Steve. The blond super solider took them and his and James’s jackets to check while James offered his arms to the girls, leading them towards the main room.

A grin spread across Ariana’s lips as they reached the main room. She tugged excitedly on James’s metal arm before looking over her shoulder for Steve. He was just walking up to join them. “Ready?” Steve asked, slipping Darcy’s arm into his and pulling her away from the other two.

The song changed as the quartet made their way onto the dance floor. Within minutes, they had joined the swiftly moving dancers on the floor.

Ariana felt free as James wrapped his arms around her, allowing him to move her body where he wanted in the dance. Despite being boxed in by his arms, she was freer than she was when not constrained. Here she didn’t have to think about her next move or her next step. She only had to allow James to guide her and let herself fly.

The advantage to dancing with a super soldier was there were no missteps, no delays. James’s hands were strong on her waist as he threw her up into the air, catching her easily before spinning her away again.

As the fifth song ended, Darcy caught Ariana’s hand. “I need a break. Not all of us can keep up easily with the boys.”

“All right.” Ariana pressed a kiss to James’s cheek. “We’ll be right back.”

“Would you like a drink when you get back?” Steve asked.

Both girls nodded before heading towards the bathroom. Inside the room, the music was muted, and they were able to talk without shouting at each other. “Did you get everything settled at work?” Darcy asked, as they took their place in front of the mirrors.

“No. Not completely. I’m still on call for the evening. Which… annoys me. It’s Jamie’s birthday.” Ariana used a paper towel to carefully wash her face and then studied her dress, making sure it was still in place.

“Which means you might get called away,” Darcy concluded.

“Exactly. The whole point of going out and doing this tonight was to mesh some of Jamie’s old memories with new ones.”

“Well I’m sure that dress gave him some ideas.”

“And you don’t think your dress gave Captain ideas?” Ariana grinned at her friend. “Besides Jamie picked out my dress.”

Darcy adjusted her breasts and grinned at Ariana as their eyes met in the mirror. “I absolutely hope so.”

“Well, then let’s go make sure another girl hasn’t caught his eye.”

Back out on the floor, James and Steve had moved off the main dance floor. They’d fetched drinks for themselves and the girls, holding them in hand while they waited for the girls to return.

James smiled when he caught sight of Ariana’s red hair coming towards them. Nudging Steve, he drew the other man’s attention towards the girls. Maybe they were waiting to see if Ariana got pulled in to deal with a crisis, but he couldn’t be happier with the way they were spending his birthday. Handing the drink he’d picked up to her, he wrapped his now free hand around her shoulders, and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “So what’s next?” he asked.

“More dancing and then home for a more private celebration,” she said, leaning into him and accepting his kiss. “Happy birthday, Jamie.”