Hi everyone! So I'd just like to start out by giving a huge thanks to those of your who have already favorited and chosen to follow this story! Honestly, it means the world to me so THANK YOU! I hope you all continue to like this story through the many many chapters to come. This is the last 'back story' chapter, so the next one we will get to the Stark Expo and into movie territory! With that being said, here's your mandatory disclaimer that I do not claim rights to anything Marvel. I own Rose and her alone! With that being said-I hope you like this next chapter! Xoxo-NickyLynn
Rose stared down the microscope at the cluster of cells and felt the breath catch in her throat. She pulled back to look over at Abraham who was watching her with the widest grin she had ever seen on him. "They're stable." She breathed out in amazement.
"Yes, yes they are." He agreed, his eyes shining with happiness.
Rose let out a huff of air as she realized that they had actually managed to stabilize the cells. It was the breakthrough they had been waiting for, and after almost two years of working on Project Rebirth, they had done it. She shot up from her chair, sending it rolling away from her as she nearly sprinted out of the lab to find Howard. He had been spending his down time working on his other various projects, trying to do the last preparations for the expo he had scheduled coming up next month. She found him in the basement workshop, slid under a vehicle as he tried to work out the kinks of his hovering system.
"HOWARD!" she yelled out as she ran into the lab, her heels clicking against the hard concrete as she went. She could hear a loud bang echo through the room followed by the clanking of a tool falling to the ground and a curse word being muttered. Rose came to a stop as she watched Howard pull himself out from under the car, rubbing at a fresh bruise that was blossoming on his forehead.
"What?! What's wrong?!" he shouted, coming to a stand and looking over at her in worry. His worry simmered away, however, as he took in her giddy mood. "It worked?" he asked hesitantly.
Rose bobbed her head up and down eagerly, unable to keep the infectious smile from taking over her face. Howard let out a laugh as he rushed over to her and picked her up in a hug before spinning around happily. "We've done it!" he exclaimed, crushing her against his body.
"H-howard." She squeaked out, her lungs being crushed in is hold. "As glad as I am that you're happy….I c-can't breath." She let out in a breathless gasp.
He released his hold on Rose and when her feet hit the ground again, she filled her lungs with a deep breath. Howard moved his hands from around her midsection to her shoulders. He stared down at her, his smile still unfaltering. "You know what this means right?" he asked her. She raised an eyebrow at him in anticipation. "We….are celebrating!" he exclaimed.
"Howard…aren't you a little too busy to be doing any celebrating? I mean, don't get me wrong, this is spectacular and celebratory-worthy, but we all still have a lot to do yet. You especially with your expo coming up." She said, not wanting to burst his bubble of joy.
"Oh nonsense. There is always time for celebrating!" he protested. "Oh! I'm going to call Agent Carter! We can all hit the town together!" he said, his eyes sparkling with the idea. "You go home and get yourself dolled up." He told her, turning her around in his hold and pushing her back towards the door. "I'll have a car ready to pick you up at seven o'clock sharp."
"Okay, okay." She laughed as he pushed her out of the workshop. "One night, then tomorrow we're back to the grind."
When Rose made it back to her and Steve's apartment, she found it still empty. Steve would still be working for another few hours, which gave her plenty of time to get ready without anyone bothering her. Or, at least she thought no one would be bothering her. When she had finished taking a quick shower, she heard knocking on the front door and had to wrap a robe around herself to answer it as the knocking refused to stop. She padded over to the door and undid the deadbolt, pulling open the door just a crack to see who had been pestering her.
An unknown man stood outside her door, holding up a long garment bag in his hand. "Ms. Rogers?" he asked her when she peeked around the frame of the door.
"Uh, yes?" she answered, hesitantly.
"This is for you." He said, holding the garment bag out to her.
"Oh." She said, blinking. She pushed open the door enough to snake her arm out and take the bag from his hold. "Uh…thank you." She told him as he swiftly turned around and walked back down the hall. She shut the door again, twisting the lock back into place as she looked down at the black garment bag. She walked back to her room, laying it gently down on her bed before unzipping it. Her eyes landed on a note pinned to the fabric within.
"Consider this a gift for all your hard work. See you tonight. -Stark"
She looked from the handwritten note to the dress it was attached to. She let her fingers run over the red, silk and shook her head. The dress was cut into beautiful perfection and was nicer than anything she possessed in her closet. In fact, if she were to take a gander, she would assume that this dress cost more than her entire wardrobe. Perhaps even more than her and Steve's entire wardrobes. She supposed if she was going to be wearing something so formal, she should probably put a little more effort into her hair and makeup than she previously had planned. So, she dropped herself down onto the stool in front of her small vanity table and got to work.
As she was mid-way through styling her hair, she heard Steve call down the hall at her, announcing his arrival home. "I'm home Rose! And Buck's here, too!" his voice echoed down the hall and through her closed door.
"I'll be out in a bit!" she called back, eyes focused on the curl she was trying to pin perfectly to her scalp. She continued her work on her hair for several more minutes before she could hear Steve call out to her again. "Uh, Rose….any reason a limousine would be parked out front of our apartment building?" he asked her.
Rose's eyes fell on the small clock on her bedside table and muttered a curse. She had completely lost track of time as it was already seven o'clock. She jumped up from her seat, rushing over to her bed and pulled the dress from the confines of the bag. She pulled down the zipper on the back of the dress and quickly slid inside, feeling the soft fabric brush against her skin soothingly. She reached behind herself to try pull the zipper up, but couldn't manage to get it up past her midback. She let out an exasperated sigh before slipping on her nylons and the black heels she had been wearing earlier.
She made her way back into the main living area of the apartment where Steve and Bucky were standing in the kitchen, a couple of beers in hand and heating up some dinner. Bucky's eyes drifted over to her as she walked into the kitchen and the beer he had been in the process of swallowing shot back up and out of his throat. He began hacking violently as he cleared his trachea, his face growing red from the force of his coughing.
Rose looked over at him in concern as she walked closer. Her eyes then moved to Steve. He had been leaning over the counter, looking down at the expensive looking car below before the sound of his friend coughing brought his attention back into the apartment. His eyes fell on his sister and a bright smile pulled at his lips. "Wow, Rose. You look beautiful." He complimented.
"Er…thanks." She said, as a flush of blood filled her cheeks. She looked back over to Bucky who had finally managed to get his breathing back under control, though his cheeks still burned red. "Uh, do you think you could finish me up?" Rose asked him, spinning around and sweeping her long, black tresses out of the way of her partially opened zipper.
"S-sure." Bucky said, walking over to her. Rose could feel the tips of his fingers brush against the skin of her back and she stopped breathing. He took hold of the metal zipper and slowly finished pulling it all the way up. When she felt his fingers retreat, she took a breath in again and turned to face him.
"Thanks." She said, her voice coming out barely above a whisper as she locked eyes with Bucky who was so close to her that she could feel his breath on her skin. She took a step back, clearing her throat as her cheeks matched the same deep shade of red as her dress.
"What are you all dolled up for?" Steve asked her.
"Oh. We're celebrating. We've made a breakthrough today and Howard insisted on it." She explained, pulling her coat off of the hook behind her.
"You're going out with Howard Stark?" Bucky asked her in disbelief, finding that the thought filled him with an emotion he couldn't place.
"Well, not just him. The whole team's going out." She said as a horn drifted in through the open window. "And that would be my cue." She finished, turning on her foot to head towards the door. "Goodnight! I'll be back late so don't worry about waiting up!" she called out as she pulled open the door and exited the apartment.
When she made it down to the street, she found Howard leaning against the side of a stretched limousine, shining under the street light. He was dressed in one of his black tailored suits and looked incredibly out of place in the run-down neighborhood. "Your chariot, madame." He said, pulling the door open. Rose walked up to the vehicle, looking in to find the faces of Peggy and Abraham smiling back at her.
"Car's a bit much, isn't it?" she teased as she came to a stop in front of Howard, who was holding open the door for her.
"Oh, my dear. You're in the company of Howard Stark now. Nothing is too much for me." He told her with a wink.
"Your ego is too much." Peggy muttered from within the limousine, causing Rose to let out a laugh.
"Alright, get in would ya. We've got some celebrating to get to!" He said, waving her into the car. Rose obediently slid in, taking a seat next to Peggy and across from Abraham. Howard slid in behind her and the vehicle lurched into motion.
Up in the apartment, Steve and Bucky watched through the small window as the expensive car rolled down the street, taking Rose with it. "I saw that look, you know." Steve said as the car disappeared around a corner.
"What?" Bucky asked, looking over at him confused. "What look?"
"The look you were giving Rose." Steve explained, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He turned his back to the window, crossing his arms across his chest and gave his friend a knowing smirk.
"You're imagining things." Bucky said, giving Steve's shoulder a playful nudge.
"Mhm." Steve mumbled, not believing Bucky's nonchalance for a minute. He had seen that same look pass between Bucky and Rose a few times throughout the past few years and if he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Bucky and Rose were the two people who meant the most to Steve and there was a part of him that wondered if there could ever be something between the two of them. The thought of them having each other, should anything ever happen to him, filled him with a sense of relief, but knowing the way their drastically different personalities clashed….well, he wondered if the two of them together would be a good thing…..or a bad.
When the limousine finally pulled up to the lounge, Rose stared up at the bright, flashing lights in wonder. She had only ever been to a few dancing halls around Brooklyn, and she certainly had never been to anything this fancy. Men and women were walking about, pressed suits and expensive dresses hanging from their frames. Rose looked back at Peggy as she slide out from the car behind her, giving her an apprehensive look. "You ever been somewhere like this before?" she asked the other woman. Peggy shook her head, looking up at the bright lights the same way Rose had been.
"Oh wow." They heard Abraham exclaim as he joined them on the sidewalk. "This is quite the establishment, isn't it?" he asked the woman with a smile.
Howard was the last to join the group, after talking to the driver for a brief moment. "Well, shall we?" He said, holding his arm out for Peggy to take, as she was the closest to him.
"Don't make me regret this, Mr. Stark." Peggy said in his British accent, slipping her hand onto his arm.
Rose looked over at Abraham with a wide smile as she watched him extend his arm out to her the same way Howard had done to Peggy. "Would you care to accompany an old man Ms. Rogers?" he asked her with a grin.
"I would accompany you anywhere, Dr. Erskine." She told him, taking hold of his arm. They followed behind Howard and Peggy as they led them up the stairs and into the building. When they made it through the door, a gentleman stepped forward to greet them.
"Ah, welcome back Mr. Stark!" the young man greeted. "We've got a private booth set up for you in the back as you requested."
They were led further into the lounge, moving between the tables spread out around the large open room. Smoke drifting through the air, emanating from the vast amounts of cigars and cigarettes being puffed on throughout the room. Rose crinkled her nose at the harsh smells, waving a particularly large cloud out of her face. The room was filled with the sounds of clinking glasses and laughing, and above it all a smooth voice of a woman who was serenading the audience from the stage at the front of the lounge, being aided by the live band.
Rose's eyes bounced around everything, totally mesmerized by the extravagance of everything she came across. Eventually, they came to a little alcove cut into the far wall of the room. There was a circular table set in the middle of it, surround by a bench that was built into the walls and covered in velvet cushions and fabric. Curtains were strung up on either side of the archway, giving the area a sense of seclusion from the rest of the lounge.
They all moved into the alcove, sliding down into the extended bench seat until they all sat around the table comfortably. Howard was sitting at one end, with Abraham at the other and the women sat next to each other in the middle. Rose noted the large bucket of ice with various bottles filling it already and the tray of glasses sitting next to it. Howard reached forward, taking hold of one of the cold bottles and pulling it out of the ice.
"Is that champagne?" Peggy asked him, excitedly.
"We are celebrating, after all." He said, pulling at the cork. The cork came out of the neck of the bottle with a loud pop, followed by a flow of white bubbles. Peggy let out a small laugh as Howard fumbled with the glasses, trying to pour the alcohol into the glasses without spilling it all on the floor. Once he had filled up four of the glasses, he handed them out across the table to everyone. Rose wrapped her fingers around the stem of the glass, pulling it closer to her and taking a whiff of the liquid within.
Once everyone had a glass in their hand, Howard held his up and out towards the others. "A toast!" he exclaimed. "To making history!"
"I'll drink to that." Peggy said with a smile, looking over at Rose. "To making history." She echoed, lifting her glass in the air along side Howard's.
"And to making friends." Rose added, lifting her glass into the air as well.
Abraham was the last to follow suit, lifting his glass up as well. "To making friends and history." He said, smiling. They all clinked their glasses together before bringing their glasses to their lips and drinking down the clear, bubbling alcohol. Rose pulled the glass from her lips, looking down at it in surprise. She had only ever had champagne a few times in her life, and it had never been anything this good. It was sweet, delicious and went down smooth. Rose found that she liked it quite a bit.
"More?" Howard asked her, holding out the bottle, noticing her appraising look.
"Yes, please!" she said, moving her arm out as he refilled her cup. That second glass turned into third and that third turned into a fourth and soon the group of them were all laughing together, telling stories and reminiscing over memories of the past. Howard leaned over the table after a particularly loud round of laugher subsided and motioned towards Peggy, who was leaning back against the large seat, nursing her glass of alcohol.
"What do you say, Ms. Charter? Care to dance?" he asked her, with a wiggle of his brows.
Peggy shook her head amusedly at him. "Sorry, Stark, I'm afraid I've got two left feet and far too much alcohol in my system to attempt any sort of dancing." She said with a laugh.
"What about you Ms. Rogers, care to show me your moves?" he asked Rose, instead.
Rogers looked up at him, contemplating her decisions. She really wasn't much of a dancer and God knew the alcohol didn't help that matter, but she was having so much fun that she decided to throw caution to the wind. "Oh, the hell with it." She said, tipping her head back and draining the rest of her drink. She set the glass back down on the table and stood up, squeezing out from the booth, careful not to fall onto Abraham as she did. Howard gave her a large smirk as she placed her hand into his awaiting one and he led her through the crowd of people to the open dancefloor.
The band had just begun playing a rather upbeat tune, and without hesitation, Howard spun around and pulled Rose into him, bringing his hand onto her hip. She let out a laugh as he spun them around, moving along to the beat of the music with a gracefulness she was surprised he had. He spun her in and out of his hold as the music surrounded them and Rose was quickly lost in the glee of it all. She had been dancing several times, in the past, but never before had she had so much fun doing it. She had a sneaking suspicion that was due in a large part to the alcohol pumping through her system.
They danced around song after song, Howard leading the way every step of the way. At one particularly low dip a bright light flooded her vision and when Howard brought her back upright, she had to stop to blink away the light that was burned into her vision. Another flash went off and she realized it was from the bulb of a camera, snapping a picture of the two of them. She looked over at the source of the bright light to find a man holding up a large camera in front of his face. "There you go, sweetheart, give us a smile!" He shouted over the music before snapping another picture.
Rose looked back over at Howard in alarm, not sure if this was a normal occurrence for him. Considering his look of annoyance, she assumed it was. He wrapped his arm around her waist and steered her away from the reporter and back towards their table. The camera man let out a shout of protest, but Howard ignored him as he continued to lead her back to Abraham and Peggy. "Sorry about that. Damn reporters are like flies. They just swarm you until you bat them away."
"It's okay." she told him, finally getting over the sudden intrusion on their dancing. "To be honest, I could use the break! That was impressive dancing, Howard!" she told him, still trying to catch her breath from the physical exertion of all the dancing they had been doing.
"Well, you aren't so bad yourself doll." He told her with a wink.
When they got back to their table, they found Peggy with her heels kicked off and legs pulled up under her bottom, turned and in deep conversation with Abraham. They both turned as Rose and Howard reappeared. "How about another round!" Howard shouted as they rejoined them.
After several more drinks and another round of dancing, this time with Abraham, Rose found herself quite tipsy. The entire length of time between leaving the lounge and pulling back up to her apartment went by in a blur and before she knew it, she was waving goodbye to her friends and making her way back into the quiet apartment building. She pulled off her heels as she hit the bottom of the steep steps up to her floor, letting them dangle from her finger as she climbed the stairs.
By the time she made it to her floor, she was practically out of breath and she had to hold an arm out on the wall to keep herself from falling over. When she was two doors down from her apartment, she pried open her purse and began shifting through the contents, trying to find her key. She felt it in her grasp and tried pulling it out, only for it to get caught on something and fight against her. Between her purse and her shoes, she began to fumble with her things and when she finally did manage to pull the key free from it's confines, the force of her pull sent her stumbling down the hall. She let out a yelp as she stumbled forward, shooting an arm out to try to brace her fall on the wall. She nearly fell into the door and couldn't help the loud laugh that bubbled out of her throat as her back slid down the door and she fell down onto her bottom with a thud.
Her vision began to swirl, and she let her head fall back onto the wood of the door, trying to get her bearings about her again. She was sent suddenly falling to the ground again with a yelp as the door behind her opened up, and she was left looking up at the ceiling and at an alarmed Bucky. She blinked up at him, confused, before a wide smile nearly split her face in half. "Hi Bucky." She greeted him.
Bucky looked down in confusion at Rose who was sprawled out on the floor, looking up at him, her head practically between his feet. Her hair was spread out, no longer being pinned perfectly in place and there was a large dopey grin of her face. "Are-are you drunk?" he asked her in disbelief, never before seeing her so inebriated.
"Pssh. Nooo." She argued.
"Mhm. And you're on the floor because?" he questioned her with a raised eyebrow.
"I was testing out a theory on gravity." She replied, with a shrug.
"Alright." Bucky said with a sigh, stepping around her supine form. He reached out his hand to her which she took, and he helped pull her back upright. When she was standing back on her feet, the sudden blood rush sent her head spinning in a wave of dizziness. She nearly lost her balance and would have fallen to the floor again if it hadn't been for Bucky's hold around her waist.
"Okay. No, I'm definitely drunk." She admitted, squeezing her eyes tight as she fought the roll her stomach took.
"You don't say." Bucky said, shutting the door as he helped guide her into the apartment. "You're not gonna puke on me, are you?" he asked her, looking over her suddenly flushed face.
"No." she said, swallowing thickly. "Bed. I need a bed." She said, dropping her shoes and purse in a heap next to her. "Where's Steve?" she mumbled out, realizing he wasn't in the room with them.
"Sleeping. Like normal people do at three o'clock in the morning." He answered as he began guiding her through the small apartment.
When they made it to her room, Rose practically threw herself back onto her bed with a sigh as Bucky dropped his hold on her. "You okay? You need held with your dress or anything?" he asked her unsurely.
Rose lifted her head from her bed and gave him a smirk. "Are you trying to get me out of my clothes, Mr. Barnes?" she asked him.
The blush was unmistakable on his face. "No! I mean, yes…I only meant-" he sputtered.
Rose started laughing as she watched him fumble over his words. "I'm okay Buck. Goodnight." She said, letting her head fall back on the bed.
"Goodnight, you lush." He said, shaking his head and moving back to the door.
"Hey Buck." Rose called before he could shut the door behind him. He stopped with his hand on the handle and turned back to look at her. "You're my friend, right?" she asked him, propped up on her elbows. "I mean, if it weren't for Steve, we'd still be friends, right?" she asked him, her giddy mood turning serious.
Bucky looked over at her, drawing in a deep breath. "Of course, you're my friend Rosie." He reassured her.
"Oh. Good." She sighed, letting herself fall onto the bed once again. "I like having friends." She mumbled before letting her eyes shut and drift off into the darkness of sleep.
Bucky stared at her rising and falling chest for a moment in thought before turning and shutting the door behind him. He wondered how she could have even questioned something as obvious as their friendship. Of course, she was his friend. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the thought of not having her in his life bothered him more than he liked to admit. He made his way back out to the living room and dropped himself back onto the couch he had been dozing prior to Rose's drunken arrival. He shook his head in amusement as he closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to sleep.