#chap14

So I guess the last chapter I wrote was a bit too much… Can someone check on @eatingpastr13s ? I can’t reach her anymore…

Chapters: 14/? Fandom: Captain America - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes, Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson/Monica Rambeau (mentioned) Characters: Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Sharon Carter, Natasha Romanov, Sarah Rogers, Sam Wilson, other background Avengers and X-Men, a few New Mutants too, Winifred Barnes Additional Tags: Bakery AU, fake relationship trope, fake marriage au, Married Only Apartment Rental, Beefy Bucky, Injured Bucky, Beefy Steve, Health Nut Steve, OCD Worried Steve, Sharon Carter is a Good Bro and Hot Fiancee, Just Ask Natasha, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Coping with Family Member's Illness, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Awkward Social Situations, eventual pining, Eventual mild smut, Will These Two Idiots Just KISS Already Summary:

Bucky has found the perfect apartment that is a) close to his bakery, b) within his budget if he gets a roommate, and c) in a less crime-ridden neighborhood than he lives in now. Now he only has two problems. One, his search for a roommate has been unsuccessful thus far. Two, the landlady insists that she will only rent it to a married couple.

He’s about ready to give up hope, until his most annoying regular from the bakery answers his ad.

*

Visionnage de Birdy ce soir, après avoir terminé le chapitre 14 de JPP ^o^/

Reigen thinks he knows Ritsu, but he doesn’t have a fucking clue. Not about anything.

Breakfast was always a noisy affair at the Haras' table. It wasn't because of the quiet Masako, who limited her participation to toneless approbations and almost imperceptible chewing sounds, nor because of her father, who immersed himself silently in his newspaper, only producing from time to time the crispy sound of paper pages crinkling under his fingers. In fact, the main source of the noise was the high-pitched voice of lady Hara. The loquacious woman seemed to consider silence as a personal offense, thus she made a point of filling the air with her inane babble, giving her unwanted opinion about nearly every subject that came to her mind.

So it came up as a surprise to Mai, who had woken up late and was bracing herself for the old lady's incessant rambling, to find the room eerily quiet.

Lord Hara didn't have his journal in hand, but several pages of what seemed to be a letter.

Masako was not quietly eating in her corner, but staring intently at her.

And above all, Lady Hara wasn't speaking.

Naturally Mai immediately began to worry, suspecting that some calamity had fallen upon the family.

« Good morning » she said warily while taking her seat beside Masako.

The awkward silence persisted, and Mai grew even more anxious. The stares of the Haras, all set on her person, didn't help either. Something wasn't right, something that was related to her apparently. The first thing that came to her mind was the rest of the family had caught wind of her little encounter with Naru, but she rapidly dismissed the idea. The only witnesses were the Yasuharas and Ayako and she was fairly certain neither of them would ever speak a word about it. Moreover lady Hara wouldn't certainly stay mute if she knew! So this heavy atmosphere had to be caused by something else entirely…

"Mai," started Lord Hara, finally cutting through the stillness, "how was your night, dear? Good, I suppose."

"Yes, thank you sir, I slept well," she responded suspiciously, knowing very well that his polite enquiry about the quality of her sleep was only a mean to introduce some more burdensome subject.

The gentleman cleared his throat loudly before continuing.

"Well, your coming down for breakfast is very timely. It just so happens that I was telling the other ladies here about a letter I received this morning. A letter that concerns you, my dear."

"Me?" asked Mai with apprehension. So that missive was the reason behind the strange stiffness of the family. She prayed fervently that it wasn't any bad news concerning any of her friends.

Masako, probably sensing her sister's nervousness, placed a gentle hand on her forearm, and squeezed it slightly in reassurance.

"Shall I enquire about the content of this letter?"

"Of course, of course," affirmed Lord Hara, though seeming slightly preoccupied. "Have you ever heard about a gentleman named Takigawa?"

"Takigawa?"

Mai searched in her memories intensely. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but she wasn't able to recall where or when she had heard it before.

"I do not think I know anyone using this name," answered the orphan cautiously, "or if I do, it seems I have unfortunately forgotten. Is that Takigawa person the sender of the letter?"

"Indeed. This gentleman claims to be your cousin."

"Cousin?" asked the young woman, genuinely surprised. "I thought I did not have any family left… And if he actually is, why had he not let himself known when my parents died, then?"

Lord Hara pinched the bridge of his nose where his spectacles lied and picked up one of the numerous sheets of paper contained that contained the missive.

"According to his very wordy correspondence," he said waving the sheet significantly, "your father and his were cousins. They gravely quarreled several years ago, and severed all their ties afterwards. Apparently he heard about your predicament only recently, when his own father died."

"Do you think that his story is veracious?"

"It most probably is. You do not possess any title, money or land that he could gain by mentioning his affiliation to your family, so his involvement in the matter must be disinterested. Moreover," added the good man with a slight frown, "he suggests that he may be able to compensate for you being deprived of the support he could have offered at that time. Unfortunately, despite the length of his missive, he did not precise by what means he plans to do so. He also proposes to travel from the Wales where he owns a cure to come here and pay you a visit."

The old gentleman put the letter down on the table and looked pointedly at Mai with a seriousness he rarely showed.

"I do not think this Takigawa has dishonest motives or intention toward you Mai. But of course, my response to his request is entirely dependent on your opinion on the matter. Do you wish for him to come?"

The young lady's mind was reeling to process all the information she had been given, and she wasn't sure she had a complete grasp on the situation or on the outcome her answer might generate. She just woke up a morning to be told she had a newfound cousin who suddenly wanted to make her acquaintance, so of course she was a little confounded. But for what she had understood, the man was a member of the church, which spoke in favor of his probity, he had displayed some goodwill toward her in his letter. What reason could she have to refuse meeting him? As lord Hara had stated, she had nothing to tempt an usurper, so this Takigawa was probably sincere…

The haughty voice of lady Hara finally rang to echoe her thoughts. The older woman had been silenced by the gravity displayed by her usually shallow husband, who had insisted to be the one to inform Mai of the news, and she had let him deal with the issue as the head of the family should do. Nonetheless, she couldn't stay silent for that long without giving her -she was certain of that- worthy and indispensable opinion.

"You should approve of his coming here Mai. If this gentleman wants to perform his duty as a family member, we should not prevent him to do so! He shall want to provide you with a larger income or a dowry, it would be foolish to discourage him of doing so!"

"My dear lady," warned lord Hara, "this decision should be Mai's, and hers alone."

"Of course," scoffed his wife, miffed by his unexpected rebuttal, "but as her guardians we ought to guide her on the right path!"

"Do you think it would be wise to let him come?" asked Masako anxiously. "We know nothing of him, after all. What if he is not who he pretends to be?"

"I already have sent a word to my lawyer to confirm the identity of the man," replied the gentleman tranquilly. "Of course I will wait for the result of his investigations before taking any measure."

"I…I think Lady Hara is right," finally said Mai hesitantly. "I should not refuse to make his acquaintance at least. He does seem honorable, and not to have any ill will."

The older lady shot a triumphal glare to her husband and smiled contentedly, satisfied with the girl's obedience. For once her charge wasn't acting stupidly and followed her instructions which, she was sure, were superiorly adequate.

Lord Hara tried his best to ignore the venomous look of his wife, and nodded his approval to Mai's decision.

"Very well. In that case, I suggest we invite him to stay for a fortnight, provided he is what he claims to be, of course. Does that agree with you?"

"Yes, it does," replied Mai more firmly. "Thank you very much sir, for taking care of the practical aspects of this…unexpected turn of events."

"It is only natural Mai. As your godfather and guardian it is my duty to take care of these issues on your behalf. Rest assured that I only think of your best interests."

"Indubitably we do! Who could ever think otherwise!" cried Lady Hara indignantly.

"I never doubted it sir, and I am extremely thankful for your consideration," assured Mai, ignoring the older lady's offended ranting. "It is very generous of you to offer welcoming my newfound cousin under your roof."

"Not at all, the inconvenience will be minimal in fact. He stated that in case you approved of his coming, he would take up residence at the Browns'."

"The Browns?" shrieked lady Hara. "Why would he stay there, he's a clergyman, and John Brown is notoriously catholic!" she added, putting as much loathing as she could in the last word. "Lord Hara, we have to offer him hospitality!"

"Of course I will do so," soothed the gentleman, "but Takigawa and Brown apparently entertain good relations, so I guess his staying there serves other purposes as well."

"A clergyman fraying with catholics…this country is inexorably losing its values and seeking its own ruin, I tell you!"

"Mother, » warned Masako, annoyance perceptible in her clipped tone, "John Brown was not raised on the English soil, but in America by a catholic family. We should not hold his religion against him, he only came back because he was asked to, to inherit the Brown's tittle. Moreover we ought to show some respect to our guest's friend, do not we?"

Lady Hara stared at her offspring with wide eyes, baffled by her seditious comment. Being asked not to meddle into Mai's affair, to stay silent and having to suffer the vexation of being told off by her own child was far too much to handle for the woman, who scoffed in affronted disbelief.

"Do as you wish, I am washing my hands of the situation! But do not ask me to fraternize with catholics!"

Then she went back to eating, pointedly ignoring the rest of the family, determined to punish them with not giving her insightful opinions anymore.

"To think that a clergyman…" she could be heard muttering.

"A propos," interjected Mai, "shall I ask your opinion about the sort of person this Takigawa seems to be, sir?"

"Yes Papa, what do you think of him after reading his letter? Does he strikes you as a sensible person?"

Lord Hara rubbed his jaw gingerly, deeply in thought.

"I would say he is…", he paused, unsure of what qualifying adjective to use, "…certainly an interesting and original person."

"And by 'original' shall we understand 'preposterous'?" asked Masako, her lips curved upward in a delicate ironic smile.

"Well… his letter was a little brain-scattered, and his relations are indeed a little odd..."

"Oh no," groaned Mai, "a serendipitous cousin of mine appears, probably the last living member of what remains of my family, and he has to be foolish. How much more unfortunate could I become?" she grumbled while rolling her eyes.

"I certainly would not call you unfortunate, as you have been treated with great care by us and this Takigawa, who, shall I remind you, offers compensation to you," scolded Lady Hara harshly, still peeved but unable to keep her mouth shut any longer . "Like Masako suggested," she sneered disdainfully, "you should show more gratitude and respect."

Mai blushed in embarrassment, ashamed of her thoughtless prejudice against a man who was showing nothing but kindness towards her, and of her ingratitude toward lord Hara who had taken her in without second thoughts when her parents died. She lowered her head and offered a mea culpa.

"I sincerely apologize, I was not implying I felt unfortunate being here, or hearing about a long-lost relative, it is quite the contrary. It was insensitive and discourteous of me, I hope you will forgive my uncalled comment."

Lady Hara, softened by the orphan's submissiveness, acquiesced stiffly, while Lord Hara denied any offense taken on his part.

"We know you did not mean any harm," assured Masako, smiling sweetly. "And I am certain this Takigawa will surprise us by being a charming gentleman. He at least showed he is considerate about you, that has to speak in his favor."

Mai smiled back to her sister and nodded, approving of her statement. This Takigawa couldn't be so bad, after all, she had to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Nonetheless, she couldn't shake the feeling that the arrival of this new cousin would lead to a pandemonium of some sort.