Summary: Six months after the Chitauri invasion, Tony Stark gets tired of watching Steve Rogers flounder when it comes to modernization, and decides to take matters into his own hands. He enlists the help of his Legal Aid, Mrs. Emma Langley, to become the Captain's teacher. As they spend more time together, the Captain has to deal with the fact that she is still married, and he has fallen in love with her. Determined to only be her friend, he compromises with himself... but when her husband is killed overseas, and an alien invasion threatens the world, he must decide whether to stick with his old-school training. Or to accept that perhaps she loves him back.
Okay, I'm really nervous about this story... mostly because I don't know whether this idea is any good whatsoever. I'm going to post the first chapter and wait for reviews before I continue. If you all like this, then I will continue with the idea... if not, then I'll go back to the drawing board. :) so, please let me know.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers or anything that belongs to Marvel. All else belongs to me.
I almost can't believe its over. Captain America thought as he looked around New York from the viewpoint of Stark Tower – or Avenger's Tower now. The battle was over, but now everyone was joining in bands to piece everything back together. The cleanup was going to take a while, as it was not an easy process. Sure, lives had been saved – but lives had been lost. On one hand, he couldn't complain; on the other, it was hard to watch as bodies were pulled from wreckage which was unnecessary. Thor had taken Loki back to Asgard, but that meant very little to the people here. Sure, the threat was gone – but the consequences of the threat still tormented him.
Now, six months later, he could still hear the sounds of the alien guns going off, the sounds of the Leviathans loud growls as they tore through New York City. When he slept, he was there once more, battling off hoards of Chitauri; or he was in Germany, battling Red Skull. A strange thing had happened where all of his experiences in battle had mingled in his dreams, causing a more terrifying mixture than before. Needless to say, he wasn't sleeping well anymore.
Yet, he knew it wasn't any different for his comrades. Natasha and Clint had taken a few weeks to themselves, and had completely disappeared, their parting words being something along the lines of 'Needing a change of scenery'. Tony Stark had worked toward repairs, donating money for the relief efforts. Since Ms. Potts had returned, he had been most adamant on being more affectionate, and doing things for her he never did before. Dr. Banner had taken up residence in the Tower, and was working like a madman in the higher levels of R&D, enjoying his time.
As for Steve himself, he also was given a room in the Tower, as his own apartment provided by S.H.I.E.L.D was destroyed in the invasion. He kept to himself mostly. Until Tony Stark had had enough...
The day had started out normal enough...
"Really Stark? Is this really necessary?" Steve asked as Ironman moved through the fifteenth floor, dragging the Captain behind him as he walked past the legal levels of his building, each of the employees looking up with a nod and a 'good morning, Mr. Stark'.
Tony had really had it. He had thrown in the towel that morning – quite literally as he had been working out at the time – and had a definite destination in mind. If anyone wondered whether he was on his way somewhere without any reason to detour, it was obvious by the fact that he wasn't stopping to flirt with some of the pretty assistants.
"Are you serious? Really, Rogers, you asked me what a Zune was, and then asked why AC/DC was 'deafening' – followed by asking why it is that no one listened to – and I quote – 'Real music' anymore." Tony replied, shaking his head in disappointment. "You've been frozen in that time, Cap, no one listens to swing anymore. To survive this jungle you need to be updated on what 'Real music' is now. And everything else involved. Besides, Jarvis said you've been trying to read some history books, which will not be as good as what I have in mind. C'mon, I'm just trying to help."
"Hey! I'm trying to get up-to-date, and reading is a good way to do it. As for your 'music', I couldn't even hear the words, Stark, I'm pretty sure that counts as not being real music. Anyways, how does the legal presence in your building help on that score?" Steve asked. "I don't think it is."
Tony smirked, "Sure it is, just like reading a recipe gives you an idea of how something tastes. I'm actually doing you a favor for once, you should be grateful." Steve resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Besides, Capsicle, I have just the girl to help you on your path to enlightenment. She grew up on stuff from your era, and is well rounded on everything from this era."
"This can't be good." Steve muttered. He knew that Tony knew that he and dames never mixed well, he just wouldn't be able to talk without stuttering or turning red – or embarrassing himself overall. Now Tony expected him to be around one for more time than usual? This couldn't end well, he was sure.
"You'll love her. She's kinda like me." Tony retorted, watching as Steve's blue eyes widened, his shoulders suddenly sagging. "Cheer up, Cap – she's nothing like me. Well, alright, she's snarky to me, but we're not the same. She's far too boring. Dry sense of humor, lab rat – differently than you, I mean she basically is one of the researchers in her spare time."
"Sounds cheerful." Steve replied, looking around at the various technicians working at different tables.
Tony suddenly stopped at a office where the door was emblazoned with the name 'E. Langley.', behind which was a mahogany desk, behind which was a young woman. E. Langly. Her brown hair pulled back into a bun with tendrils of hair falling out, messily done obvious by the fact that she had her jacket thrown over the office chair, and she herself was standing by the open window. She had several sheets of paper in her hands, as fingers steadily moved the papers as she read them, tossing them back on her desk when she was done. She was so lost in concentration that when Tony snuck up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulder, she shrieked and dropped her work in shock; the papers scattering onto the floor, as she spun around.
"Dammit Stark!" she hissed, smacking him on the arm with a fierce look on her face. "You bastard! I was trying to understand the malarkey of – stop laughing! I was working on that for over an hour!" he laughed harder at her fluster and soon her face cracked into a smile. "You done yet?" she asked, her voice suddenly turning sweeter, her face rearranging to her youthful smile.
"You... jumped...!" Tony choked out, "You should have seen your face! You looked like a tarsier! Hey, I think I've found your new nickname."
"That's only when I don't have coffee" she quipped, her eyebrow raised at his nickname comment. "But naturally I jumped. Usually I am able to figure out that you're coming up behind me first. You're not usually that subtle." she retorted, a smirk firmly in place.
"Well, I had reason to be, Hotshot, you're too serious – lighten up." Tony replied.
"Hotshot? Takes one to know one I suppose." she muttered, "But seriously, I was about to finish that stack which is due to the Baxter Building tomorrow. You do want to fund Dr. Richard's research don't you? You did last week at any rate."
Tony shrugged, "He's not as good as me – but hey, there can only be one, right?" E. Langley narrowed her eyes on Tony's shoulder. "What is it?"
"Hold on, don't move." she said, reaching up and brushing at his suit. Steve focused on the shoulder, but couldn't see what she did.
"What is it?" Tony repeated tersely.
"I think its a chip. I don't know if it can be removed." she replied, her face and tone perfectly serious as Tony pulled her hand away.
"Very funny, Smart-ass." Tony said.
"Thanks for the compliment." she deadpanned. Her brown gaze suddenly fell on Steve who held out a few pieces of paper which had fallen to the ground, neatly organized according to the numbers on the top. "Hello there." she said, "Forgive Mr. Stark's manners, he was raised in a Neanderthal village." she stretched out her hand taking the papers as Tony looked indignant with a 'Hey' thrown at her, which she ignored. "He also forgets the Golden Rule on a regular basis. I'm Emma Langley."
"Its a pleasure, Ms. Langley. Steve Rogers." Steve replied, taking her hand in a friendly manner, hoping she didn't notice his blush. She was young, that much he knew, probably only in her mid-twenties; and yet she was in charge of the whole department from what Tony had told him. He noted that she dressed relatively modestly for this time period, and more something he would associate with the elite of his own time frame. She wore a black skirt and a teal blouse, which practically screamed 'take me seriously'. He figured she had to crane her neck quite a bit as she was only to his shoulder – and that was with heels on. "You run this whole department?"
"Yep, I'm in charge of the legal division. But I part-time in the bio-tech of R&D, just the research bit. Mr. Stark finds it amusing that I had a major in law, and a minor in bio, and uses both of my talents. Its a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Captain. Mr. Stark has talked of you a few times." Emma said. "By the way, its Mrs. Langley." she lifted her left hand, showing a silver band which graced her ring finger.
"Pardon me, Ma'am." Steve apologized, releasing her right, "I didn't mean to offend you."
"No offense taken." she replied, turning back to Tony. "Now, care to tell me why it is that you have ruined a full day's work on your... shenanigans?" she asked, her gaze turned down to the ground where a few papers still lay. She sighed, taking her glasses off. She hated organizing after something like that, it always proved to be a pain in the ass.
Tony smirked, "Its okay, I'll pay you double for it, and I'm sure Dr. Richards won't say a thing about it." he said, as if he read her mind, watching as she rolled her eyes, "As for my reasons: you remember how I used to tease you on your choices of music and such?" he asked as she stood up.
"Uh, you mean how you still tease me on my choices of music. By the way, you shouldn't diss Jo Stafford, she's better than most singers today." she retorted, placing the papers on the table.
"Well, the Capsicle here –" he stopped short as Steve raised an eyebrow, "Don't worry, Cap, she knows all about who you are, she's got it that way. Nothing gets past her." he said, returning to topic, "Anyways, Captain Rogers here, needs a few history lessons."
Emma looked between the two men with a skeptical eye. "What has that got to do with me?" she asked as she organized the papers, placing a few in the middle of the stack as she personally hoped that he didn't mean what she thought he did.
"I need you to help him with that." Tony deadpanned.
A chocolate eyebrow rose, "You're kidding me right? I work in law, Tony, I'm not a history teacher." she replied.
"No, but you have a child who you teach in your spare time, it can't be that different." Tony snarked, watching as the Captain stiffened. "Besides, you are a brilliant researcher, and what makes that different than a teacher?"
"A lot, Mr. Stark; and the Captain is hardly a child." she retorted, "Besides, I don't know the first thing about teaching. If I did, I wouldn't be leaving my mother to handle my son's education."
Tony shrugged, "Just unlock that historian which is inside that brain of yours, Britannica, I just want you to work from the 40s up. No need to go any further back than that." he leaned closer to her, "And introduce him to rock n' roll, the guy is so ancient he doesn't know what hip-hop is, and is very ignorant of most references."
"Find someone else, Tony, I have no business in a classroom. Besides, I have to go to lunch." Emma replied, looking up at the clock and placing the stack in a file which she then put in her desk drawer. "Sorry about that Captain, but I'm afraid I'm not a good person for this. I can't even teach a group of six year olds, trust me, I've tried. I think you'd want someone a little more experienced than that." Steve stammered, trying to figure out what to say to that...
Tony, however, wasn't letting her out of the room as easy. "C'mon, M&M, you are the best one, and I trust you." he whined. "Otherwise you wouldn't be allowed on any floor higher than the thirty-eighth."
"This has nothing to do with 'trust' Tony, this has to do with the fact that you've always found my taste in music odd. You're putting it to good use." she replied, putting on her blazer and grabbing her purse.
"Its not my fault you're stuck in your grandmother's time period." Tony replied, "But at least I'm willing to recognize the fact that I need your help."
Her eyes widened, "I'm sorry, could you say that again?" she asked, cupping her hand around her ear. Tony growled, "Did you say that the great Anthony Stark, multi-billionaire genius, and one of the heroes of New York... needs my help?" she scoffed, "Quick! Somebody slap me! I must be dreaming!"
"I'd be more than happy to, except I'm sure the Captain wouldn't take so kindly to it." Tony said dryly, watching as she suddenly looked as if she had actually been slapped, and Steve looked rather irritated. "I'm kidding, you guys, I wouldn't hurt her." he said more to Steve than Emma.
"You better not, or I'll make you sing soprano." Emma groused.
Steve chuckled, Tony was right, she was kinda like him. However, it seemed she only made fun of Tony because of his pompous attitude. "Watch it, Atticus Finch, or I'm likely to cut your pay."
"You mean cut it down to exactly what everyone else gets? Great. You do realize you pay me double that of most of the legal team – a pay-cut wouldn't be bad." she mused aloud, then giggled, "I can't believe you called me 'Atticus', he was a great lawyer so you just complimented me again. One for the tallybooks, my friends."
"Well you are working two departments, and have a son to raise with a husband overseas, and Andrew needs the highest education possible." Tony replied smoothly, "Why am I answering to you? I'm your boss."
"You did it of your own free will, Stark." Emma replied. "But you have yet to convince me."
"Emma, c'mon. Without you, the Captain here will be stuck in the 40s for the rest of his miserable existence – take pity on the poor unfortunate soul." Tony said, stopping her from leaving the lab.
"In pain? In need?" Emma retorted as Steve looked confused between the two of them when she suddenly started humming. "Okay, what do I get if I agree? I'm not saying I will, I'm just hypothesizing." she asked.
It was Tony's turn to look confused, "I don't know... another pay raise?"
Her ruby lips turned into a smile, "I don't need anymore money, Tony – geez, you really are materialistic aren't you – no, I want something a little more... substantial." she said, eyes shining mischievously.
"What?" Tony's tone turned suspicious, he didn't like the mixture of the smile and eyes.
"Well, naturally if I'm playing teacher I'm not going to be able to help out in R&D this weekend, and will only be able to take the major things in the legal field – and don't look at me like that, I know you well. You know that if I am diverse in my mind, I won't be able to help the Captain, and you won't be getting what you paid for." she stated, he shrugged, "Therefore, I have someone who I think would be marvelous in R&D – and it would be full time not part time – and she's brilliant. Oh, and you will want to hire her to work on at least the thirty-eighth floor."
Tony narrowed his eyes, "No promises on the positioning. Who?"
"A young woman who has come looking for a job multiple times before, and you have turned her away." Emma replied.
"I take it you know this woman and aren't just... speaking of some stranger who you know I have turned down for a job just because I turn people down for jobs." Tony interrupted.
She snickered, "Her name is Justine Worthington. She's my cousin..."
"Not her again!" Tony moaned.
"She's skilled and you have no reason to turn her down. Besides, her job just got destroyed with the whole 'alien invasion' thing a few months back. She has no where to work now, so why not? Its ample payback for me." she asked him.
Tony scoffed, "She's odd."
"So am I... but that's my bargain... if you don't agree..." Emma replied with a sigh, swinging her purse on her shoulder. "Forgive me, Mr. Stark, Captain – but I'm afraid I must decline."
"What?" Tony practically shouted, "Why?"
"Because I will only take the job with certain caveats, which you refuse to go along with. Therefore, you leave me no choice. You will have to find someone else to help the Captain – though I need to go, my mom has a meeting this afternoon and I have to go pick up Andrew from her house before she leaves." she said, making her way past Steve to leave the lab.
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, "Alright! Your cousin can work in R&D." he shouted at her retreating back, "I need you to do this, and your cousin isn't a complete dunderhead."
"She's not a dunderhead! You never let her get past her introductory statement before you sent her out the door." Emma retorted.
"Alright, alright, so she's probably like you." Tony conceded, "So will you do it?"
Emma hemmed and hawed, "I'll think about it. I'll let you know tomorrow." she said, turning on her heel to leave before spinning around, nearly slamming into Steve as the two men were following her out, Tony still whining on why she wouldn't give him an answer then. "One more thing, Mr. Stark."
"Shoot." Tony grumbled.
"As long as I'm teaching the Captain here, I was wondering if I could bring Andrew to work with me." she said, picking at her nails.
Tony actually beamed at that idea, "Sounds good, I was wondering when I'd see the little squirt next." he said excitedly. "You always had that option open, you know. I offered to watch him while you worked when you first came here."
She chuckled, "Well, if you weren't such a bad influence, I might allow him to see you more often." she replied.
"Since when was I a bad – ? Oh, wait, I know what you're talking about."
"It has been a pleasure to meet you, Captain. I'll see you tomorrow." Emma then said to Steve, holding out her hand. "I'll bring my brain and a few things we will need for studying. You have seventy years to catch up on." with that, she walked into the elevator and closed the doors, completely ignorant to the fact that Steve was blushing from the handshake.
Steve chuckled at Tony's grumbling, "I like her." he announced as Tony told Jarvis to bring up the elevator when Emma had gotten off.
"Good." Tony spat, "Cause you're stuck with her until you understand how a microwave works."
"Well if you would just show me-"
"I have!" Tony interrupted.
"Giving up after I burned macaroni, doesn't count." Steve replied, "You have to continue until the other person understands. That's called teaching."
"Well you're not Pepper, I don't have patience with you." Tony retorted, "Besides, you have a teacher now, and I think you'll do well for each other." the elevator doors opened, "C'mon Capsicle, I'm not leaving you in Emma's office while I go hunt down this cousin of hers."
"Cousin of whose?" Bruce Banner's voice came from the elevator, apparently they had a similar destination in mind.
"Britannicas." Tony answered.
"Oh? She finally got you to give the girl a job?" Bruce asked. "What? She's been venting about it during our lab time ever since you turned the girl down."
"Coerced would be the proper word." Steve replied. "She used what Tony wanted against him."
"Coerced? Bullied would be the proper word." Tony muttered.
Steve snapped his head toward the other man, "She didn't bully you into anything, and I think that's an inappropriate thing to say about the young lady. She was only taking you up on your offer to do something in response to her helping me. If anything you bullied her into doing this."
"Easy Cap, I didn't do anything but get her to help you." Tony retorted, "Geez, you talk to the woman for thirty seconds and all of the sudden you go all protective 40s man on her."
"I simply think-"
"Yeah, yeah, that I was disrespectful." Tony mocked. "Besides, its my own fault for hiring a lawyer that was female. The first is bad enough, I had to add the second."
"You shouldn't treat a woman like that." the Captain replied.
Tony glared. "Oh? What are you going to do about it?"
"Guys! Enough!" Bruce suddenly shouted, "Unless you want me to unleash the Other Guy I recommend you two shutting up." The other two men silenced instantly, knowing that neither wished to deal with 'The other guy'. "So what is it that you got Em to do?"
"Em? Is that what you call her?" Tony asked.
"She hates 'M&M', Tony, and you use it on a regular basis." Bruce replied.
"It works." Tony retorted.
"Tony got her to help me to learn about what happened while I was... asleep." Steve finally answered Bruce's question.
"Ah, so she struck a bargain." Bruce understood what she'd done. "You're right, that is what you get for hiring a lawyer."
Tony mumbled something under his breath.
"Well I think she was right. You offered her a raise and she refused it, opting instead to help her cousin." Steve replied as he had heard what Tony had said.
"So where is her cousin working?" Bruce asked.
Tony looked over to the man, "With you."
The good doctor sighed, "This could be bad." he muttered.
"For both of us." Steve replied softly, knowing Banner could hear him.
After all, two very female-shy men in the company of two females. It couldn't end well.
"Mom! I'm home!" Emma called through the house the moment she entered.
"Emma? You're late, I have to go." her mother, Joan, replied, checking herself to make sure she had all of her things, her blue eyes scanning the foyer in front of the door.
"Mommy!" Andrew called from the staircase, running as fast as his five-year-old feet could carry him and throwing himself into his mother's arms.
"Hello Darling, were you good for Nana?" Emma asked, the boy nodded.
"He was a little angel. You really have a treasure, honey... but I'm off. Your father and I are going out to dinner after my meeting, so I won't be coming home later. Will you guys be fine on your own?" Joan asked.
"Mom, I'm twenty-five years old, I'll be fine." Emma replied with a laugh, "Go enjoy your conference."
Joan smiled and kissed her daughter and grandson on the cheek, "Alright, honey, I'll see you later." she then stopped, "Am I forgetting something?"
"Phone?" Emma offered, her mother shook her head, "Wallet? Keys? Uh, Dad's inhaler?"
"Forgot that." Joan replied, quickly reaching into the top drawer of the table in the foyer, "Thanks honey."
"Bye, have fun." Emma called to her mother, lifting her son higher up on her hip. "Alright, honey, you and I have some work to do."
"What are we doing, mommy?" Andrew asked.
"We are going to do some research. But first we're going to eat." Emma replied, placing the boy on the counter as she looked in the fridge, "Well, would you rather have mac & cheese or pizza?"
"Mac & cheese!" the boy cried excitedly.
"Mac & cheese it is." and with that, Emma set about what she'd need to do for the evening.
It was going to be a long one, as she needed to brush up on her history classes.
The next morning, Steve was in the gym, punching Tony's bio-engineered bag which wouldn't break with his brute strength – thankfully he was without Tony as company. If he had to hear another snide remark on his choice of music, he was going to strangle the man. He was enjoying Glenn Miller's big-band music when suddenly the record stopped. "Stark, I swear if you replace that with-" he stopped short as he saw Emma standing there, a little blond boy perched on her hip. He straightened up, quickly embarrassed by his clipped tone a moment ago. "Mrs. Langley."
Emma smiled, "Good morning, Captain." she greeted cheerfully, "I hope I haven't interrupted your workout, but I figured we should start as soon as possible to avoid me losing my job." she placed the boy on the ground, pulling something out of her backpack. Steve quickly unwound the bandages from his hands, trying to force the blood out of his face. It wouldn't do for her to know that he was a blushing schoolboy around her – she was married for crying out loud! It wasn't the gentlemanly thing to do.
The little boy came up to him, a large smile plastered on his face. "I'm Andrew, what's your name?" he asked, his hazel eyes alive with delight at meeting a new person.
Steve looked up at the boy's mother, and waited for an affirming nod. She did so, and he bent down to the boy's height – well, as best as he could considering he was over six feet tall. "I'm Steve." he replied. "How old are you Andrew?"
"Five." the boy replied, holding up his whole hand to show he could count.
"Five! Well you're a big boy aren't you?" the boy smiled even wider, if that was possible, "Are you taking good care of your mom?"
"He's doin' his best." Emma answered as she came up behind the boy, tousling his blond hair.
"Mom, this is Steve." Andrew introduced, causing both adults to laugh. "Steve this is my mom."
"Nice to meet you Steve." Emma played, getting down to Andrew's height. "Now do you want to go see what I left in the bag for you, Steve and I have some important stuff to do."
"Okay." Andrew replied, "See you later Steve!" he called as he ran to the bag, pulling out a nintendo player. "Sweet!" he exclaimed, quickly finding a place by the pillar to sit down and retreat into his game.
"He's got your eyes – the shape, anyways." Steve told the woman.
"Yeah, the color comes from his dad, as does the blond hair." she replied, motioning to her own brown hair. "My mom was blond, my husband's blond, the recessive genes in me kinda went to him."
Emma moved Steve over to the wrestling ring. "Do you want to go somewhere more comfortable?" Steve asked, blushing as he realized the double meaning in that statement; but Emma was more than gracious, and ignored his reddening cheeks.
"Its alright, I don't mind here." she replied, "Unless you want to go somewhere else." she added.
Steve looked over to where Andrew was sitting next to his bag, his eyes unmoving from their attention on the screen. "I really think that you both could be more comfortable upstairs." he replied, "I'm sorry, that is unless you think-"
Emma shook her head, stopping him from continuing to talk, "Its alright, I think you're right anyways. You don't need to apologize. Upstairs would be more comfortable, let me just get my stuff together." she replied, putting her 'supplies' back in the bag and getting her son to follow her. "On the way, we can discuss just what we're going to be going over."
Steve nodded as they got in the elevator. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad after all.
To Emma's surprise, teaching the Captain wasn't nearly as stressful as she had thought. He was a eager learner, and was quick in application of what she taught – and complimentary to boot, in a friendly way of course, as she noticed his sense of honor would forbid him from hitting on her. She chuckled, wondering what her husband would have thought of the situation at hand. No doubt he would have gotten a little jealous over the amount of attention the Captain was getting, complaining that he never got that much.
"Mrs. Langley, is something funny?" Steve asked, the folder on the Korean War in his hands.
She shook her head, "I was just thinking about my husband." she answered with a smile, "He would have been complaining with the amount of time I have put into helping you."
"Well I wouldn't want to make your husband upset, Mrs. Langley. If you want I can tell him that my intentions are honorable, and that Tony forced you to do this." Steve offered.
Emma laughed, "It wouldn't matter, Garrett is very possessive, no matter your intentions. Besides, he doesn't know that you're Captain America, and have the purest intentions at heart. He's used to guys from this generation hitting on me, so he gets a little protective – even overseas.." she replied.
"Overseas?" Steve asked.
"My husband is serving in Afghanistan." she replied.
"Afghanistan? I think Tony mentioned something about a war going on there?" Steve replied, unsure.
She nodded, "Yeah, its been going on for about twelve years now. We were kids, Rhett and I, when the whole thing began. He enlisted about seven years ago, right outta high school, it was his dream to join the Army. So he did, made OCS, is a Lieutenant now with a whole unit to himself. We're very proud of him." she explained.
"How long has he been in country?" Steve asked, feeling more at home with military talk. It was his niche.
"Uh, nine months, twenty-eight days, and..." she looked at her watch, "Six hours."
Steve smiled, "You really want him home don't you?" he asked.
"Yeah, having a kid really shows just how little time he spends home. Its hard raising him on my own, Andrew has only seen his father a handful of times over the last few years. But, Garrett his hoping that after this next year he'll be able to get out. He'll have served eight years, which is two terms. Then he has to serve two years inactive, so..." she trailed off.
"He'll serve those here." Steve finished.
"Right. So he'll be here for the rest of Andy's life, so I can't complain." she replied, looking over at where Andy sat on the opposite couch, coloring. Steve watched her for a moment, wondering
"Mrs. Langley?" Jarvis suddenly spoke, his disembodied voice catching Emma off guard, making her jump slightly.
"Yes, Jarvis?"
"You asked to be reminded of the time for lunch, it is now 12:30pm." Jarvis said.
Emma looked down at her watch, "Wow, we've been at it for three-and-a-half hours. Good job, Captain, you kept me busy." she said, "Are you hungry Andrew?" she asked her son. The boy nodded vehemently.
"I'm sorry, I should have remembered you guys needed to eat." Steve apologized.
"Its okay, Jarvis remembered. No sweat." she replied.
"Mrs. Langley, Mr. Stark asks if you would like to go to lunch with he and Ms. Potts?" Jarvis asked.
"Where are they going?" she replied in kind.
"The Four Seasons." the AI answered.
Emma laughed, "You can tell Tony that I'm not up for all that fanciness. Tell him that I appreciate the offer, but that Mile End delicatessen is more my style." she instructed.
"Very good, Ma'am." the AI replied, "Shall the Captain go with you?"
"I don't know... Captain?"
Before the man could answer, Andrew ran up to him, "Please come! You have to, it'll be fun!" his pleading eyes and excited attitude answering the AI's question for the soldier.
"Yeah, that is if you don't mind, Mrs. Langley?" he replied, looking up at the woman – for by this point she was standing.
She shook her head, "Not at all." she said, giving instructions to Jarvis to inform Tony of their planned whereabouts.
"Very good, Mrs. Langley, might I suggest you take the Manhattan Bridge instead of Brooklyn, the traffic is horrendous." the AI offered.
"Thanks, Jarvis, I'll keep it in mind." Emma replied, pulling her purse out of the backpack. "Ready?" she asked the Captain.
"Yes, Ma'am." he replied as Andrew reached his arms up for the Captain to take him. Steve looked at his mother.
"Oh, please, he'll bother us both if you don't." she replied, slinging her bag onto her shoulder and checking her phone for missed calls.
Steve did as the boy wanted, lifting him up on his back, securing his legs. "Ready Mrs. Langley?" he asked.
Emma nodded, "Yeah, though I wish you wouldn't call me Mrs. Langley, it makes me feel like my mother-in-law." she said, "Call me Emma."
Steve hesitated, his face flushing. "Alright Ma - Emma." with a chuckle in his direction, Emma stepped into the elevator, where they descended to street level.
Okay, what do you guys think? Should I continue with it? Should I trash it? Mind you, I won't continue if there are no reviews... so for you who think I should continue, please let me know. I am trying to stay close to everyone's character that is canon, and if I make mistakes please let me know. :D I'm looking forward to hearing from you.