Brooklyn, April 1940

When Howard Stark first met Wilma Barnes, she was only eighteen years old. He was struck by that, not as a twenty-two year old heterosexual man, but as a mechanical engineer who was intrigued by but not necessarily proficient in biochemistry.

(Of course, the second thing he noticed was how lovely she was. Oh, she wasn't extraordinary in her looks, but her large, expressive blue-green eyes captured his attention as they sparkled. He found himself quite attracted to her, because she was still beautiful with her rounded face and her zits and thick eyebrows. Really, truly beautiful).

Wilma, who had dark hair that tumbled passionately to her shoulders, was gesturing wildly in her excitement, her face bright and joyful as she chattered to a younger girl of maybe thirteen years of age. The two of them walked down the street in front of him. The little girl (presumably the sister of the elder, with the same dark hair) was wearing school clothes, and the older girl was dressed sharply in a practical skirt and blouse. Howard had, naturally, been listening in on their conversation.

" —And five years ago, a scientist named William Cumming Rose discovered a twentieth, which he named threonine. It's one of the nine that humans cannot synthesize from scratch, and that means we have a limited amount already in us. But golly, Georgie, imagine if we could! Something as simple as increased capacity for amino acids—"

"Will," said the younger girl, looking incredibly bored, "I asked you to explain what a cell was. I don't know anything about amimo— animo—" Georgie frowned, struggling for the words.

"Amino acids," the older girl, 'Will,' explained patiently.

"Those." Georgie rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Will, are those ever going to help you in real life?"

'Will' opened her mouth obstinately, but Howard figured that was as good a time as any to jump in.

"Actually," he said, causing both girls to whirl around in surprise, "Science is going to help us all in real life, not just her."

Georgie's jaw fell open, but her sister just scowled.

"Excuse me, mister, but we were having a private conversation, and I don't suppose you could mind your own business?" She said sharply.

Howard was taken aback. He'd met some standoffish women before, but rarely did they dare speak so frankly and plainly, especially to a strange man. Then again, he thought darkly, perhaps women did always speak so sternly to young, strong men they didn't know. He wouldn't quite fault them for caution or suspicion.

"Sorry," he said, though he really wasn't all that sorry for eavesdropping. The woman just nodded once, and then turned away, resuming her walk with her sister.

"Will," the thirteen year old hissed, glancing back at Howard, who now had the good sense to pretend he wasn't listening, "Do you know who that was?"

"No," Will replied, "And I don't care to."

Georgie tugged insistently at her sister's sleeve, forcing the older girl to stop.

"What, Georgie?"

"Will, that's Howard Stark!"

Howard Stark had to bite back a smug grin as the young woman's shoulders straightened with recognition. He couldn't see her face, but he could imagine the expressions flitting across her features. Perhaps she was embarrassed now, or shy, or admiring, or—

"Excuse me, Mr. Stark?"

Ah. There it was. Howard had to hide his smirk as the young woman turned back to him. Her harsh tone had become soft and coy, and she smiled at him. He cleared his throat and acted as if he'd needed to force interest.

"Yes, Miss…?"

"Barnes," she introduced herself, holding her hand out to shake. He clasped it. Her hand wasn't soft, but rough and strong, like she was used to working hard. "Wilhelmina Barnes."

"Miss Barnes," he repeated.

"Please, call me Wilma," she said, brushing an errant curl behind her ear. "Mr. Stark, I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds."

"After that first impression you left me?" Howard joked. "I believe we're beyond formalities, Wilma. Call me Howard."

Wilma's mouth curved up in a smile. "Sure thing, Howard. Just so long as we're beyond formalities, I'd like to advise you not to make a habit of following women just to listen to their conversations. I fear I'm not the only woman who finds that….disconcerting."

Howard felt his ears redden. "Noted," he said, coughing in embarrassment. "I wasn't exactly trying to…"

"Oh, I know." Wilma's tone was friendly, putting Howard at ease. "I was wondering if I could ask you a question."

"Anything," Howard said grandly. Wilma glanced furtively around, which only served to amuse him. Women, he thought somewhat condescendingly, always making a fuss when there was no fuss to be had.

"Georgie," Wilma said, "Cover your ears."

Howard felt his eyebrows jump high on his forehead. She was quite forward, wasn't she, this one? And in front of her young sister, no less?

Georgie, for her part, seemed intrigued. "Why can't I hear?" She whined. Her eyes glinted with mischief. "What exactly are you going to say?"

"Georgina Louise…" Wilma said in a warning tone, and grumbling, Georgie covered her ears.

Wilma turned back to Howard, eyes shining with barely concealed excitement. Howard couldn't help but smile. She was a little young, and he had no real intention of doing anything beyond whispering some pretty words in her ear and perhaps seeing just how much she knew about amino acids, but he couldn't deny that her expressive gaze was quite sweet.

"Mr. Stark…"

"Howard," he corrected.

"Howard," she echoed, smiling. She glanced around again, as if making sure nobody was listening. "I have a theory."

"Oh?" Howard raised his eyebrows in interest.

"Howard, do you by any chance happen to know a Dr. Erskine?" Wilma breathed, so quietly that for a fleeting instant Howard thought he'd imagined it.

But he hadn't.

That was when he realized that for better or for worse, Wilma Barnes was going to be more than a passing specter in his life.


ahhhh wow i'm so upset with myself for leaving this alone for so long!

steve and bucky coming soon... idk if i've gotten howard's character down, but hey, i'm trying.

constructive criticism always appreciated! thank you all so much for reading!

(ps: i'm gonna see endgame tomorrow and i'm so scared/excited/etc i have some THEORIES but like who knows? ahhh)