Savage

by awalkerlifeforme

She was everything people feared. She wanted to defend the world but also wanted revenge on those who wrecked hers. The ones who forced her to leave Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Now she's back and while Steve attempts to get back the woman he's always considered his sister, Bucky hopes to thaw the ice that has formed around her heart. A heart that he had always believed was his.

8. Chapter 8

The bugle that was designated to wake the recruits up began to chirp loudly outside of Peggy and I's window, the fanfare blaring throughout the rest of the camp. As per usual, Peggy jumped up almost immediately. She was a good morning person. I certainly was not. Groaning under my breath, I grabbed the pillow that I had been sleeping on and drove my head under it.

For a while I was left in silence. The bugle continued to play for a few moments before cutting itself off. Outside of the window I could already hear the recruits jumping up and readying themselves for the day. At least they would just be in the classroom. Like every other day I would be forced to work from sun up until sun down. In the morning I would be in the laboratory doing blood work. After that would be some classroom time. I would be teaching the basics of languages to the recruits. And that was just until midday.

About five minutes after the bugle had begun to play - giving me just enough time to fall back asleep - I felt Peggy shaking my leg. She was much more of a morning person than I was. She would normally be up the second that the bugle began to play. I would normally roll out of bed about ten minutes later at her insistence. Sometimes when I wasn't feeling extremely lazy I would be able to wake up five minutes after the horn. Today I was not in the slightest mood to move. It had been a long and busy day yesterday.

Peggy didn't stop shaking my leg, despite being kicked once or twice. "Come on, Victoria, it's time to get up," she told me. I could hear the exasperation in her voice. She had only gotten in about an hour before me last night.

Groaning, I rolled over in the bed once more. "Five more minutes," I grumbled into the pillow.

Once more Peggy began to push against my legs. I groaned at her and kicked out once more. "Vicky, you need to be present for the last of the medical examinations." Peggy had recently begun calling me Vicky. I assumed that it was because we were becoming friends. Fast too. "And they're about to start," she added.

Of course they were. No one on this base understood anything about sleeping in. "We're into Week One now. Why are they still doing medical examinations?" I asked, knowing perfectly well why. Of course, I hadn't really been listening. I relied on Peggy and Chester to tell me everything later.

"You were at the meeting yesterday!" Peggy howled at me.

My face was still in the pillow so her voice was slightly muffled. I could hear the exasperation though. "I was sleeping," I mumbled once more.

Peggy scoffed. "Your eyes were open," she said.

That was the whole point. If my eyes were closed I would have gotten yelled at. "Yep," I said.

Peggy was silent for a moment before speaking again. "You can sleep with your eyes open?" She asked in disbelief. I made an awkward affirmative noise. It was one of the many things that I had leaned in Stryker's lab. "Okay, not important. Come on, Vicky! We can't be late again. We were already late on Tuesday," Peggy said.

We were late because of the exact same thing. I hadn't wanted to get up and Peggy had been busy trying to get me up. "No, damn it. They can't fire us," I told her honestly. "We're the only ones that know everything that we do know," I told her. It helped that we had Dr. Erskine and Chester on our side.

"Yes, but they hate us enough. They still believe that women shouldn't be anywhere in the Army but in the records room," she told me. I groaned at her. They would always think that. Even if we were on time every single day. "Victoria, damn it, get up!" Peggy shouted. It was one of the few times I'd heard her curse.

She yanked on my leg roughly and I kicked out at her once more. Peggy was tough. I knew that she could take it as long as it wasn't full-force. She stumbled back before groaning and grabbing onto my arm. This time she was smart enough to yank my torso away so that I was leaning half out of the bed. The pillow had been thrown to the ground. I squeaked awkwardly as I hung half out of the bed, desperate to get back up. Peggy was not going to give up though. She gave my leg a good yank and that was all it took.

"Ah!" I shouted as I went tumbling out of the bed. Not wanting to go down alone, I grabbed Peggy around the legs and pulled her with me. We hit the concrete ground in a mess of limbs and hair. I had landed spread-eagle while Peggy was just about upside down. "Oh you so deserved that," I told her.

We both laughed as we tried to disentangle ourselves from each other. Peggy clearly hadn't gotten ready yet. She was still in her blue silk pajamas. They were very similar to the ones that I normally wore. Not today though. Yesterday was laundry day but I had simply been too busy in the lab. And I didn't want to ask Peggy to do it. We weren't that close yet. So I had decided to do it at some point tomorrow. It meant that I was in a black slip that was meant to be worn underneath dresses. It was either that or my underwear.

We began to pull away from each other, laughing softly as we did, when a knock came at the door. Peggy shot up first. "Who is it?" She called out.

I was brushing the hair away from my face as I heard the voice respond. "The recruits," they called out. It was Bucky. I smiled softly to myself. "We were sent to come get the two of you. Victoria especially. She's needed down in the medical laboratories for blood work," he called out.

Damn it. I really hated that I had to go do something today. All I wanted was to sleep for a year. I was pretty sure that I deserved it after the day that I'd had. "Oh, just a second!" I called out to him.

Another voice called out through the door. "Victoria, I have something for you." It was Chester. How was it that everyone was already awake? The bugle had only rang out a few minutes ago.

"Hang on!" I shouted. I completely disentangled myself from Peggy, who was still attempting to straighten herself out after landing upside down. She looked extremely uncomfortable. Probably because she hadn't been expecting me to pull her to the ground.

Jumping up from the ground I walked over to open the door and tell the boys to wait. The good thing about Peggy and I was that we were always pretty fast. "Victoria, wait!" Peggy called out to me.

I turned back to her with a groan and threw my hair over my head. "Oh come on people, pick one or the other. I can either move really fast or really slow this morning," I told her before throwing open the door. She groaned behind me. Chester and Bucky were both standing there, wide-eyed. "What? Why are you staring at me?" I asked them, placing my hands on my hips.

Peggy walked up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I was going to suggest that you might want to get changed before you open the door," she said softly. I blushed and looked out to the other two men standing outside of the door. Bucky was looking away from me with a small blush on his face. His hands were knotted behind his back. Chester was glaring deeply at me.

How could I have forgotten what I was wearing? "Oh. Oh! I'll - uh - hang on a second!" I said awkwardly. I slammed the door shut in their faces and buried my head in my hands. "Oh my God! I can't believe I did that. I thought my Dad might kill me for a second," I moaned to her.

Peggy grinned at me as I dashed around the room and began to change. We were both girls. "I don't think it was Colonel Phillips' reaction that you need to worry about," Peggy told me with a small grin. She clearly thought that my predicament was amusing.

My shirt was halfway buttoned as I turned to her. "What do you mean?" I asked her.

She smiled at me and tossed me a deep green skirt from the corner of the room. I groaned and thanked her. As much as I wanted to wear pants tonight I knew that it was a special occasion for everyone that was a part of Operation Rebirth and that meant that I needed to be dressed up. "Did you see the way that Private Barnes was trying desperately to look anywhere but at you?" She asked me with a small grin.

Awkwardly I smiled at her. "Probably for the best. I'm not sure if it would have been me or my father that killed him," I told her. We both laughed softly as we continued to get ready for the day. "Okay, I'm going to get changed and try to pretend that all of that never happened," I told her. Once more we laughed.

Peggy was out in the main room finding her clothing for the day. Like me, Peggy had yet to do her laundry. At least she was smart enough to own more than two pairs of pajamas. I walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind me, bringing my clothes with me. The door opened and Peggy tossed in a different one. Once more I groaned. I wasn't getting out of this day without dressing up. So I grabbed the green skirt and pulled it on. It was a bit shorter than I was expecting. It hit around my knees. The shirt was actually one of Peggy's. My shirt was a white button-down that was tucked into the skirt.

As I began to brush through my knotted hair I thought about what it was that I would have to do today. The moment that I was finished I was going to have to go out to the laboratory. The one in the medical bay. Not the one that I normally worked with. Although the blood that we were going to be drawing was for the Operation Rebirth project. We had just made the first of the batch of serums. We would be using it in the mixes of the blood and on rats. We all had a feeling that it wouldn't work, but we were going to try anyways.

If nothing else we had to see what the issues with the serum were. It was hard to tell what was hurting the serum and what was helping it. We needed live subjects but we couldn't take them until we had an eighty-five percent chance of survival. I didn't want it that low. Neither did Dr. Erskine. He wanted it at ninety-five. I had been a part of the project for seven days and it felt like we hadn't done anything. If anything it felt like we had taken a step backwards. I supposed that later today we would know. As far as I was concerned I had a feeling that a blood sample with weakness in the DNA would be our best shot.

But that was just this morning. Right after doing the blood tests I was going to have to go over to the classroom. I would be working with the new recruits while the blood samples were run on the rats. I would be doing the lab work later on tonight. This morning all I would be doing with the recruits would be teaching them the basics of languages that were commonly used around the world and I would be briefing the recruits on the other things that they would be learning this week.

And that was just what would be happening until lunch. After that I would be going to the laboratory to do my work. I wanted to say that I would be able to have lunch but I knew that I wouldn't have time. I was going to have to work. It was too bad. I enjoyed my infrequent lunches with Bucky. Over the last seven mornings we had eaten together three times since the first one. I had noticed that he'd managed to make some friends in his bunk. Although some of them still avoided him for what had happened when the men had insulted me and he had retaliated. The thought made me smile. I knew that he would always care for me.

Swooping my hair up into a high ponytail I walked over of the room. Peggy was currently in the bathroom. The door was cracked. "See you later, Peggy!" I called out to her.

The bathroom door swung out slightly and I stopped, turning back to her. "Victoria, did you want to get dinner tonight?" She asked me. Like Bucky, I'd been eating with Peggy quite a bit as well. In fact, most of my time had been spent with her since arriving at the base.

Giving her a soft smile, I shook my head. "I'd love to, but I can't. There's someone that Erskine wanted me to meet. I think his name is Howie or something like that," I told her. It was the only reason that I was dressing up today.

"Howard?" Peggy asked me.

That was it. "Yeah!" I chirped out to her. Howard Stark. The young man that ran Stark Enterprises. It was one of the most successful companies in the world. "That's it."

Peggy popped out of the bathroom as she pulled on her coat. I was slipping on a pair of heels that I could barely stand in. "You're meeting Howard Stark?" Peggy asked me. I nodded at her. "Best of luck," she said with a little snort.

My eyebrows raised as I stared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. It certainly didn't sound good. And it certainly sounded like she was not a Howard fan.

Peggy smiled at me and shook her head. "Nothing. I've heard that he's a very interesting man," she said.

Oh yeah. That definitely didn't sound good. "Well that makes me feel much better," I told her. Peggy laughed and I grabbed her arm briefly before walking out of the door. Bucky was clearly gone. Chester was standing at the other end of the hallway and glaring at me. I smiled at him as I walked over to him. "You look absolutely thrilled," I teased the older man.

"I'll kill him," Chester snarled under his breath. He meant Bucky for seeing me in a state that no man should ever see me in. At least no man that wasn't my husband.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "What for? It was my fault! Peggy was trying to get me out of bed and I fell over. I forgot that I was wearing that when I went to answer the door. Peggy tried to warn me. And Bucky didn't even look at me. He was looking away from me," I told him.

Chester snarled and folded his arms over his chest. "I'll still kill him for even being there," Chester said as we began to walk down the hallway.

Shaking my head at him, I walked past the guards to the bunk. "Because that makes lots of sense," I teased him. "Oh, it was my fault. And I don't think I've ever seen Bucky as embarrassed as he was right then," I told him.

And it was the truth. Bucky was always smooth and suave. But right then he had been red in the face and embarrassed beyond belief. "Good. Go to the medical bay. They're waiting for you to do the blood tests," he told me. I nodded and turned towards the bay. Before I could make it a few steps Chester called out to me once more. "Hang on!" I turned back and smiled at he grabbed my shirt and buttoned the top button.

Even though I'd only known him for a year, Chester was more of a father to me than my own father had ever been. "Thanks, old man," I said lowly before turning and walking away.

Chester hadn't mentioned where he would be going this morning. I assumed that he would be doing something with Operation Rebirth. Maybe he would either be talking to Erskine to see if there was new progress on the serum or maybe he was planning the dinner later with Howard Stark. I couldn't guess. As I walked towards the medical bay I nodded and smiled at a few of the men that were lingering around the lobby. Most of the soldiers in my unit were already there.

In the corner of the room sat Bucky. I gave a small nod at him before walking into the open room and heading up to the front desk. Two nurses were near the desk and I smiled at the two women. They rarely spoke to anyone except each other. Although they would give the occasional giggle to a flirtatious private. At the desk was a woman with curled blonde hair. It was actually blonde - unlike my near white. She had a pretty face with red lips. She was immaculately dressed too. She screamed perfection. It made my teeth grind together.

She glanced up from her files and gave me a pathetically fake smile. Even her teeth were perfect. "May we help you?" The receptionist asked politely. She seemed to be from Brooklyn.

Biting back a scathing comment, I attempted to speak politely with the woman. "I need a list of the medical records for the privates in Colonel Phillips' troop," I told the woman. She cocked her head at me and I rolled my eyes. I hadn't thought that it would be that difficult to comprehend. "We're doing the medical examinations today," I added.

She continued to stare at me like she had no clue what I meant. "I was told that it would be Sergeant Phillips picking up the medical records," she told me.

I rolled my eyes and nodded. She was nearly as bad as the men were. Why was it so hard to believe that a woman might hold a position of authority? "Yes. That's me," I said.

The receptionist raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. I wanted nothing more than to burn them off. "You are? You're a Sergeant?" She asked me in disbelief.

I nodded at her. The woman still didn't seem to completely believe me. I felt a figure walk up behind me but I didn't need to turn to tell who they were. I would always know that figure. "I can vouch for her, Miss," I heard Bucky tell the woman with a small smile.

His arms were on either side of me and I knocked him away gently. The receptionist at the desk suddenly smiled and I rolled my eyes. Her attitude had gone from nasty to perfectly content in a matter of seconds. In fact she now wore a bright smile. The disbelief in her voice had faded to a bright chirp. "Oh, well if a handsome young man like you says that she's trustworthy, I'll believe you," she said as she leaned forward.

Giving her a good once over I realized that two of her buttons were undone. I rolled my eyes and glared at her. She was just trying to hit on him. It made the fire in my veins begin to threaten to surface. "Bucky, you're in Bay Three. Go," I snapped at Bucky through clenched jaws. He gave the receptionist one last grin before turning away. I snatched the papers that were dangling in the receptionists hands and turned on my heels to leave. "Thank you," I added to her begrudgingly.

Storming away from the desk I nearly ran straight into Peggy. She was staring at me curiously. "You look happy," she told me with a small grin.

"Who the hell is that woman?" I growled at her.

Peggy turned back to see the receptionist before giving a wicked grin. "Ah, that's why you look so angry. I'd swear your eyes went red for a moment," she told me. I blushed and looked away for a moment. She could never know that she really had seen that. "That is one of my least favorite people on the base. Private Lorraine. She's half the reason that men believe that all we're good for is filing papers. What did she do to you?" Peggy asked me.

She wasn't the first woman I'd seen act like that on the base. Most of them did. Peggy and I were some of the few that didn't. "Oh, well, nothing. Not really," I mumbled to her.

The last thing that I wanted to admit was that I was jealous that even for a split second Bucky might have flirted with her. "I saw her speaking with James. I take it that's why," Peggy told me.

Once more a small blush filled over my face as I looked away. I hated thinking that Bucky could reduce me to a bumbling mess. "I have no reason to be angry at her for flirting with him. He's nothing more than my friend. I just don't like her," I growled through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure that's the reason," Peggy said with a little snort. I scoffed at her and turned to walk away. Before I could Peggy spoke once more. "Why don't you ask him to have dinner another night? Or maybe ask him to help you out with something," she suggested.

"No!" I snapped quickly. "No. I have no reason to ask him for any help. We're just friends. If he wants to go out on a date with her, he's more than welcome to," I told her.

A little shot of jealousy shot through my stomach at the thought of Bucky going on a date with someone like her. It was only because it would be someone like her. Right? "He wouldn't dare," Peggy said.

"Why's that?" I asked her.

Peggy smiled at me before shaking her head. "The only girl that he wants to have anything to do with is you," she told me. I rolled my eyes. That wasn't true. He just liked to mess with me. He was the type of guy that liked to go out with different girls. He'd settle down when he was ready.

"Shut up," I snapped at her. We both stared at each other before breaking into a small fit of giggles. "Alright, I have to go. I have a long day today. I'll see you tonight. Are you going to be there for dinner with Howard?" I asked her as I backed away, wobbling slightly on my heels.

She turned back to me and nodded. "I have a few things to take care of first but I'll be there a few minutes late. See you tonight," she told me.

I gave her a small wave before turning and walking through the halls. I walked into Bay Three and pushed open the door, stumbling slightly as I walked through the threshold. Bucky was standing in the corner and grinning at me as he gave me a once-over. "Are you seriously wearing heels?" He asked me.

To be fair, it was the first time that he had ever seen me in heels. I was pretty sure this was only the second or third time I'd ever worn them. "Is that so hard to believe?" I asked him.

"Well you look like you're about to fall over," he told me as I walked over to him. I stumbled slightly and he caught me. I blushed softly before kicking my heels off and shoving away from him gently.

"Shut up and sit down," I snapped at him, walking over to the desk. "Alright. Take a seat and roll up your left sleeve. I'm taking blood for both the staff here in the medical bay to have your records in the event of a medical emergency and also to ID you. I'll be taking one pint. Avoid any strenuous activities for the next few hours," I told him.

Bucky seated himself on the table and I watched as he rolled up his sleeve. "Yes, Ma'am," he said. I grinned and watched as the muscles in his arm contracted. "I didn't know that you knew much about medical stuff."

Not that he knew, but I knew a lot about pretty much everything. "I don't. But I do know how to take blood," I told him honestly. When I had been in Stryker's lab I had learned how. They had forced me to do it to myself enough times. "And we need blood samples over in the lab."

Bucky looked over at me and raised his eyebrows as I prepared the needle. "What for?" He asked.

I smiled at him and held my fingers over my lips. "It's a secret," I teased. Bucky laughed and opened his arm up to me. "Go ahead and open and close your fist for me a few times," I told him.

"Okay," he said. He began to open and close his fist and I watched as the vein began to rise to the surface. I flicked the syringe a few times and watched as Bucky's eyes followed it. He glanced up at me and gave a funny smile. "You know, you're cute when you're jealous," he teased me.

Glancing up at him, I snarled softly under my breath. "Shut up. I'm not jealous," I snapped at him. I let myself slip into his head for a second. She's so jealous. I rolled my eyes and stared down at the table. "You're a big boy. You can go out with whoever you like," I told him.

Even without being telepathic I could tell that amusement was flying around in his head. "So you wouldn't care if I took her out for dinner tonight?" Bucky asked me.

Yes. "No."

We sat in silence for a moment as I ground my teeth together. I was just finishing off the first vial. He watched as I retracted it and placed in a new vial. "Just so you know, I'd never ask her out," Bucky said. I couldn't help but to glance up and look at him. "She's not my type," he told me.

"You have a type?" I asked him.

I couldn't help the little bit of hurt that shot through my heart. Had he really been out with that many girls that he actually had a type? "Sure. I've always liked a girl that can hand a guy's ass to him," he told me. I chuckled under my breath and nodded. Peggy was pretty, she was smart, and she was tough. Any reasonable guy would like that.

Giving him the tiniest grin, I nodded at him. "Yeah, Peggy is pretty cool," I said.

I couldn't help the little twinge of hurt that shot through me at the thought that Bucky might actually like Peggy. "I'm not so sure that Agent Carter was the woman that I was thinking of," Bucky said, giving me a very pointed look. I blushed softly and looked away from him. He still didn't mean me. I was just the person that he happened to be looking at. "Would you like to get dinner tonight?" He asked me.

Not being able to help it, I giggled under my breath. "I must be a popular dinner date. You're the second person to ask me that," I told him with a small smile.

The smile that had been on his face since I'd walked into the room fell off. He suddenly seemed slightly upset. I wondered if it was at the thought that I was having dinner with someone else. "Who?" Bucky asked me. His tone was slightly defensive. I had to stop a smile as I slipped into his mind. Is she seeing someone? No. She would have told me.

Softly, I smiled to myself. Once I could control my face I glanced back up at him. "Dr. Erskine wants me to meet him. His name is Howard Stark." Bucky's jaw nearly dropped. "You know, the inventor. He's apparently a part of this project that I've been working on," I told him, trying not to give anything away.

"You're meeting Howard Stark?" He asked me in disbelief.

I couldn't help it. My eyebrows knit together and my jaw tightened. "Is it that surprising that I might be somewhat important?" I asked with more of a snap to my voice than I had meant.

Bucky seemed to know that he had screwed up. He grabbed my hand and sighed at me, brushing my hair back over my forehead. "You're the most important person that I know," he told me. I blushed softly and pushed him away gently, going back to the task at hand. "But Howard Stark? The guy is horsefeathers," he said.

I snorted under my breath. Bucky normally didn't curse. Perhaps it was just because I was the person meeting Howard. "I thought that you liked Howard Stark?" I asked. "You and Steve used to always go to the Stark Expo. You don't even know him," I attempted to defend him. Not that I knew him.

"I know that he's a two-timer," he said to his lap.

Smiling at him, I shook my head. Now it made perfect sense. "Ah, I get it. You think that he's going to hit on me," I told him, nudging him in the arm that I wasn't currently working with.

Bucky glanced up at me and nodded. "I know that he will. You're -" he ranted until I cut him off.

"I'm what?"

Bucky looked startled that I had said anything back. "Nothing. Just..." He said as he trailed off. We were left in an awkward silence after that. One that I wasn't fond of. I could have slipped into his mind but I knew that it wouldn't be wise. There were some things that I shouldn't know.

After a few minutes of silence passed I smiled at Bucky and patted his shoulder on the arm that wasn't being worked on. "You're almost done," I told him. He glanced up from his lap and I noticed his head spin. He was a little woozy as he tipped slightly on the seat. "Buck, you okay?" I asked, holding his upper arm tightly.

He leaned on me for a moment before nodding and pushing away from me gently. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good," he mumbled. I could hear the fatigue in his voice. "Just felt a little light-headed there for a second," he said, wiping a small bead of sweat off of his forehead.

I sighed deeply and pushed his hair back slightly. "Sorry. I've got to take a lot of blood. This is what Dr. Erskine wanted. Get some food in you after this and make sure that you sit for a few minutes. Don't start running around and stay out of the sun," I told him, reciting what I could remember from medical books.

Bucky looked over at me and smiled. "Yes, mother."

Smirking at him slightly, I pricked him the tiniest bit harder than I probably needed to. "Try not to insult the person holding a needle to your arm," I teased. Bucky grinned at me and nodded. I pulled out the needle once the final vial was empty and stepped away from him. "Alright, thanks for being a good patient. You're done. Head over to the classroom. I have a few more tests and then I'll be there," I told him.

"What are they teaching us today?" Bucky asked me after a moment as I began to slip the vials into their spot, labeling them with Bucky's name.

He was still sitting on the table as he waited to gain a little bit of strength back. "I'm not sure what you'll be learning all day today. But I do know that when I come in I'll be teaching you the basics of a few languages. Conversational. Nothing too in depth. It would do you well to remember them," I told him.

"What languages are they?" He asked.

I turned to him with a small smirk. "I guess you'll find out," I teased. Bucky smiled at me and nodded. I stood back up from the chair and walked over to him, motioning upwards. "Come on, up you go." Bucky nodded and stood. Although the moment that his feet hit the ground and he had all of the weight on his feet he fell. Thankfully I caught him in time. "Whoa! I got you. I got you," I said, pushing him back onto the chair. "Alright, you okay?" I asked him.

Bucky nodded and leaned slightly away from the chair so that he was just leaning back against it. I still stood with him, just in case he slipped again. "Yeah. Just got a little lightheaded there for a second," he told me with a small smile.

"That's nothing abnormal," I told him with a small smile. "I've taken out about a twelfth of the blood in your body. Don't worry, I'll always be there to catch you when you fall," I said softly, regretting it the moment that I said it.

He glanced up at me and stared curiously. "That should be the other way around," he said softly. We were still pressed together against the chair. I found myself pressed against him and I blushed softly.

This was not appropriate. I should not be standing this close to someone that I wasn't with. Someone that I was nothing more than friends with. Bucky brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. As he did he tugged me forward gently. As we stared at each other - me desperately trying to look anywhere but at him - I swore for a moment that I might kiss him.

But the only reason that he was doing anything like this was because he was lightheaded from losing too much blood. "You should get to class," I said softly, breaking the silence.

Bucky seemed ungrateful that I broke the silence but as I stepped back he nodded at me. My heart was thumping rapidly in my chest - at well over one hundred beats per minute - as was his. "Yeah. Yeah. I'll see you soon," he told me. This time when he stood he managed to walk out of the room. I still blushed, even as I watched him leave, before taking a moment to compose myself. I slipped on my heels before popping my head out of the door and calling out the next name.

After Bucky had left the Bay the rest of the blood tests went by quickly. Most of the men that came in said nothing to me. They simply sat around and let me do what needed to be done. A few of the men made small talk but most of them just let me do what needed to be done. The whole time that I was running the tests nothing was anywhere near as embarrassing as the fact that I had very nearly kissed Bucky.

It wasn't something that I thought that I would ever be able to comprehend. The fact that I almost kissed Bucky. The same Bucky that had always been there as a child. The same Bucky that I had left for years. The same Bucky that I wished that I could have apologized to a million times. It just didn't make sense. He was my best friend. He always would be my best friend. And that was the only thing that I wanted. We had nothing more than a good friendship. Some part of me in the back of my mind wished that we would have a chance to be together, but I knew that we wouldn't. There was nothing to us, despite whatever it was that Peggy thought.

It was nearly an hour after I had been working with Bucky that I finished up the last of the blood tests with the new privates. Gathering all the vials together and leaving the Bay - thankfully with the help of a higher-up Sergeant. He helped me over to the lab before I had to grab them all. As per usual, no one that didn't have strict clearance was allowed in the lab. Briefly I dropped off the vials with Dr. Erskine, giving him a brief promise that I would be back later that evening to have dinner with Howard Stark. Before I could make it another few steps he called out to me.

"Fraulein!" He called out to me. I nodded and turned back. He was still pouring over paperwork and blood vials. He looked exhausted. "You are ready for the dinner with Mr. Stark later tonight?" He asked me.

Debating on attempting to get out of the dinner - I quickly decided not to. He was the only reason that I was going to be getting a real degree. If he wanted me to dress up and go to a silly dinner for a few hours, I would. "Of course."

Dr. Erskine smiled at me and scooted a chair out so that I could sit down. "We will be leaving the base to eat. You do not need to wear that," he said, motioning to my outfit for the day.

I had thought that we would be eating here. That meant that I had decided to dress up for nothing. "You mean I dressed up today for nothing?" I asked. Erskine nodded at me. "Damn it," I muttered.

Dr. Erskine gave me a small smile. "Apologies, Fraulein. We will be at a dinner out in the middle of the city," he told me and I raised a brow. I had never been into the city for a dinner. I hadn't really ever been into the city at all. "Apparently it was at Mr. Stark's insistence. He has chosen to pay for all of us to eat," he told me.

My eyebrows once more raised. Dinner was expensive in the city and there were quite a few of us. I knew that Howard Stark was rich but was he really able to pay for a fancy dinner in the city for twenty of us? "All of us? There's almost twenty of us," I repeated my thoughts to Dr. Erskine.

Dr. Erskine smiled at me and nodded. "It is what happens when a man has more money than brains," he told me. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

All of the men and women here seemed to think that Howard Stark was one of - if not the - smartest man in the technology and weapons industry. "I thought that you were saying the other night that Howard Stark has one of the brightest brains in the technology industry?" I asked him.

"I was," he said. I couldn't help it, I burst into a little fit of giggles. Dr. Erskine was usually rather demure and quiet but every once in a while he would make a good joke. "Now does that make you feel excited for tonight?" He asked me after a moment.

Giving him a teasing grin, I nodded. "The most excited I've been since getting here," I joked. It seemed strange thinking that my time with Bucky was one of the best parts about being here. "Well I'm hoping that it will go fast. I'm not very good around crowds. Okay, have a good day Dr. Erskine. I'll see you later," I said before turning to depart.

"Simply Abraham, Victoria," he told me and I smiled. I would be the only person to call him by his first name. Everyone else called him Dr. Erskine. "Have a nice day!" He called to me as I turned to leave.

"Gleichfalls," I responded before leaving through the open door.

The one thing that I was more freaked out about anything else - even more freaked out than over the fact that I had very nearly kissed Bucky only an hour ago - was the fact that I was going to be meeting Howard Stark. Despite the fact that I'd been slightly irritated with Bucky for not thinking that I was important enough to be meeting the man behind Stark Industries, I completely understood. Stark only met with the best in the industry. Why would he be wanting to meet with me? Abraham had told me that Stark had hand-picked the people that he wanted to meet with. So why me? Just because I was a woman?

As much as I would have loved to wonder even more about why I was important enough to be meeting Howard Stark I knew that there were better things to be doing. And as I walked into the auditorium that the recruits were all seated in, I knew that my thoughts needed to be served for a different purpose. Immediately thoughts from the recruits began to rush through my head but I pushed them all back. Just like usual, Bucky's stood out to me.

One day I have to get a letter to Steve to tell him that Vika's here. If anyone missed her more than me, it's him. My heart gave a painful twinge at the remembrance that even though I was back in Bucky's good graces, I was not back in Steve's. Just like I had sat down with Bucky and explained, as best I could, what had happened to me, I needed to do the same with Steve. Perhaps one day I'd ask Bucky where he lived now. I was sure that Abraham and Chester would allow me one day off of the base to go pay Steve a visit.

The recruits were still chatting as I turned and plastered a fake smile on my face. "Good morning, recruits," I called out. My voice echoed off of the walls.

Their voices all began at the exact same time. I knew that a normal person would have a hard time differentiating them. "Good morning, Sergeant Phillips," they all chirped. After a good scolding from Chester the other day - that had included lots of heavy weighs being thrown - the men had all learned to behave themselves. That didn't stop a few nasty comments being thrown around under their breath.

As I meandered around the front of the room I began to write across the board. "Today I'll be with you for about an hour or so. We're going to be teaching you the basics of a few different languages. You will write them all down and learn them and what they mean. You'll be tested at the end of the week," I said as my hands flew over the board.

"What the hell do we need to learn other languages for?" A recruit named Justin snapped. I rolled my eyes and continued to write across the board.

"I don't know," Bucky snapped loudly. I smirked and continued to write on the board. "Perhaps it's because you will - once you've finished your training - be deployed. You can be deployed to any section of the world. You could wind up in Italy, France, Germany, Russia, or a whole number of other places. How are you going to communicate? Grunting like the animal that you are?" Bucky continued.

I snorted loudly under my breath. I couldn't help it. At the same moment Chester walked into the room. The corners of his lips were turned up. "Victoria is right. You'll need to know these basic conversational terms and what languages they're from," Chester snapped. Conversations were immediately silenced. Everyone knew not to mess with Chester. "Begin, Victoria," he told me before walking to the back of the room.

Giving him a grateful nod, I turned towards the rest of the class and began the lesson. "We'll be starting with German first," I said. Snorts were exchanged throughout the room. "Do you all think that we should be speaking something else?" I asked.

As usual, no one wanted to speak out. "Nazi-loving whore," Harlan snapped from the back of the room. My eyes flamed red for a moment, and had I not known better I would have thought that Chester's did too. However, it was Bucky that spoke before either one of us could.

"What happens if you get caught by a Nazi? A group of them? If you can't even try to communicate with them, they kill you. This is helpful. At least someone can speak to them. Give them your names and try to speak to them," he said.

I could tell that Harlan was going to say something else nasty to Bucky I spoke. "Private Barnes is correct. If you don't think that this is worth your time I welcome you to walk out that door. You can rescind your spot in the Army and tell your parents that you couldn't work it out here just because you refuse to drop the chauvinistic attitude. Now, may I continue?" I asked him.

Harlan glared darkly at me for a moment before giving me a mocking salute. "Yes, Sergeant," he sneered.

Chester looked like he might say something but I shook my head. He was immature. It was fine. "We'll be starting simple. Hello and goodbye will be first. I'll say the words and you'll repeat them. Study the lists that you'll be getting tonight. Hello is simply hallo. Goodbye is auf wiedersehen. Repeat them," I ordered.

"Hallo. Auf wiedersehen," the group repeated.

They didn't quite get goodbye. I chuckled slightly at the botched German. "German is a reasonably difficult language. It will take a lot of practice. All I need is for you to get the basics down," I told them. There were a few nods. Others looked like they were ready to fall asleep. "Next up we're working on introducing ourselves. My name is, will be all that you have to say. Normally your name would follow. My name is. Ich heisse. Repeat it," I said.

"Ich heisse."

It was still slightly botched but it was better than it had been before. "Much better. The next thing that I want you all to work on is asking simple questions. We can start with 'Where am I?' Wo bin ich? Repeat it."

"Wo bin ich?"

That one wasn't bad either. It was the best that I had heard them so far. "Not bad. Let's move on. Next up... 'Who are you?' Wer bist du? Repeat it."

"Wer bist du?"

Once more I smiled. They were better than I had thought that they would be. I was grateful that languages came naturally to me. "Good. One last thing in German. We can move on to French afterwards. You'll be learning the same sayings. 'What do you want?' Was willst du? Repeat it."

"Was willst du?"

The recruits seemed less than thrilled at the thought that they had to learn German. I understood. This war was against Germany. Learning a foreign tongue might now have always seemed like the best thing. But it was important. Troops were captured and tortured and killed all of the time. Rarely did survivors even understand what was going on. Mostly because they couldn't understand what had happened. Despite their reservations, they did well with each of the languages. They did the best with French. I noticed that Bucky was trying extremely hard with all of the languages. He was accentuating all of the words. I couldn't help but to smile as I watched him.

Once we were done with French I had the recruits move on to Italian. They were decent with that. Only slightly worse than they were with French. I wasn't surprised. The words weren't difficult. It was the accents that were hard to mimic. They were definitely the worst with German. It was why I warned them that for their language test they would have to practice.

Russian was the last language that we decided to go over. I really did enjoy watching them attempt to try it. They weren't quite as bad with it as they were with German, but they definitely weren't the best. It had taken me the longest to learn. Of course, it had only taken me a few days in Stryker's presence. Mostly because I knew how much I would hurt myself if I couldn't learn it. We finally got to the end of the languages, repeating them about three or four times each before I decided that they were done for the day.

Giving them a little nod, I motioned towards the door. "You're dismissed. Get to your next class. I'll see you all later this week," I told them. I watched as the recruits filed through the door, each one of them complaining. "Private Barnes," I said as Bucky walked past me. I had to say his name that way, since there were so many others in the vicinity. He stood near me and I waited for the others to leave. "Thanks for that. I could have handled it," I told him.

He turned to me and gave a little nod. "Trust me, I know that you could have. That's the reason that I didn't let you," he told me and I raised my brows. "Although I might have enjoyed seeing Harlan get what you and Agent Carter gave Marcus and Jeremy last week."

"He would have gotten it worse," I told him. Bucky laughed softly as I motioned him away from me. "Head to your next class. I have to go to the laboratory to get some work done. See you later," I told him.

He smiled at me and picked up the small folder that he had with him for notes. The paper had a coffee stain on it and I snorted softly. "Bye, Vika. You free for breakfast tomorrow?" He asked as he walked backwards from the room.

"Sure," I told him. "Meet you there at six?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he said with a wink before turning and leaving.

As I normally did when he left, I smiled to myself and placed my head in my hands for a moment. I wiped them over my face before turning and leaving the room. Unlike the recruits that were heading towards their next class, I was heading out towards the laboratory. No one really paid me any mind as I walked through the camp. With the time that passed I noticed that people had gotten used to both Peggy and myself being here. Although we still got looks in passing that either made me roll my eyes or want to slap them. As I walked into the lobby of the laboratory I gave Abraham a small smile.

"Good afternoon," I said as I walked towards the lab.

Giving him a small smile I walked to stand next to him. He laughed and brought me into him. He must have made some type of progress in the serum. He was never that happy unless he did. "Good afternoon, Fraulein. Mister Stark should be here soon. Are you ready to meet him?" He asked me with a teasing grin.

Of course he knew that I wasn't. "Is he really as much as a cow as everyone says that he is?" I asked. At that I heard even a few of the men that worked in the lab laugh. "I've been thinking about it all afternoon. No one has had anything good to say about him," I told him.

"He is eccentric. But that doesn't mean that he isn't a good man. A bright man too. Operation Rebirth needs minds like his," he told me.

My lips turned into a wicked grin. "I suppose that his money has nothing to do with it either, right?" I asked him.

Abraham laughed softly and nodded at me. "It certainly helps," he told me. Once more we laughed. I knew that Stark was a smart man but I doubted that Abraham would have wanted him around if he didn't have as much money as he did.

Once our laughter died down I nodded back towards the section of the laboratory that I worked in. "I'm going to run some of the blood samples for a little while. I'll be back soon. Just call me over here before Stark arrives," I told him. Abraham nodded me off and I turned around, walking towards my table.

As usual, papers and blood samples were spread all over it. Nothing was organized and I shook my head at myself. I really needed to clear the desk off some time soon. A figure appeared over my back and I turned back to see Robert - one of the men on my team. He was glancing over at the vial of Chronicle that was on my desk. I had taken a sample of it from myself when no one was paying attention. I had a feeling that if not radiation, the Chronicle might help me figure out how to create the proper amount of radiation.

Robert was looking over the Chronicle. He picked it up and stared sideways at it. "Is this blood green?" He asked me with a somewhat disbelieving tone.

Turning over, I felt my heart lodge in my throat. "It's a chemical reaction. Don't worry," I told him. He stared at me for a moment before nodding. Of anyone that I worked with, Robert was the one that spoke to me the most. "How have the others been coming along?" I asked after a beat of silence.

He shrugged as he began to rummage through unread newspapers on my desk. Erskine always dropped them for me to read but I never did. "Not bad. We still don't have any traction on the process. Each time we give it a try with the rats it completely depletes the DNA. Almost like it's going into over-drive," he told me.

I nodded. It was the same thing that I had been going through with my samples. "I have a theory but I need time. Do me a favor and run this sample under the reaction from different radiation levels," I said as I handed him a vial of blood.

Robert stared at me like I had lost my marbles. "Radiation?" He asked and I nodded. "Won't that damage the cells even more than the way they are now?" He asked.

There was a chance that it could, but it was the only guess that we had right now. And it was better than nothing. "Maybe. But if we can speed up the process we might be able to stop some of the damage done on the cells. I don't know if it will work. But give it a chance. Bring it to Erskine. He might know something to do," I instructed.

"Alright," Robert said before turning away and leaving towards his section of the lab.

For nearly two hours I went digging through the different sections of blood with every possible part of radiation that I could find. Nothing worked. No matter how hard I tried. Every time I tried to put a unit of blood with the radiation it was depleted within seconds. After a while I dug the palms of my hands into my eyes. Not a damn thing was working. We were going to be on this project for years before we made any progress. It had seemed that Erskine knew something more about the project than he was letting on. I wanted to ask but I had a feeling that it was a sensitive topic.

If nothing else, at least things were getting better with the other men that I worked with. It was more than could be said about the men in the platoon that Peggy and I had to deal with. John Allen - the first of the men that I had met here - was still as unfriendly as he had been the first time that I'd met him. He was extremely unfriendly. He made nasty comments about me and my ideas nearly every time together. I knew that it was because he hated that I was leading the team and not him.

Thankfully most of the other members of the team weren't nearly as nasty as he was. William Madison was the oldest member of the team. He was probably about Erskine's age. I could tell that he didn't really care for Erskine - presumably because he was German. I knew that plenty of people didn't trust Erskine because he wasn't an American. Many people felt the same way about Peggy. Thankfully William was one of the people that had those same feelings about both people but never bothered to actually say them out loud. He really didn't like me either but at least he was willing to work with me.

Then there was another one of the men that I worked with that I had just seen. Robert Price. He was definitely the nicest of the people that I worked with. He was the only one that would regularly ask me how I felt. He was the only one that bothered to speak to me in the first place. Although I knew that he still felt like I shouldn't be the person that was in charge of this division. They all thought that I should be working with someone like Lorraine. At least he didn't bother saying it. Although I'd heard in his thoughts before that he thought that he was smarter than me.

Another one of the men that I worked with was named Joseph White. Besides Robert, he was probably my favorite person in my division. But that was only for the reason that he really never spoke to me. He was rather intelligent, probably the smartest, save myself. He was the one person that always seemed to be able to follow what I was saying and he was the one person that didn't put down my ideas of radiation. Of course as I was debating the radiation discussion I watched as another vial of blood depleted to high toxicity levels - ones that would kill a test subject.

Thankfully there was only one other person that I had to deal with in the labs. It was better than the biology section - which had over twenty people. Of course they were all men. George O'Neal was the last person that I had to work with. He was the youngest person here beside myself. He seemed to be around thirty years old. I personally enjoyed watching him pretend to be as tough as the recruits. I knew that if we were to ever send him to the front lines he wouldn't last two minutes before getting a bullet lodged between his eyes. More than once I'd asked Bucky to set him straight. Every time I'd had to tell him that I was only kidding.

I smiled at the thought of Bucky doing anything for me as I placed a vial of blood back into the stack before standing. The men were all still working. "I'm going to go and get changed! I'll be back in a few minutes," I shouted out to Abraham - who was in the other room.

"In ordnung!" Abraham called back.

Departing with a little wave I turned and walked out of the building. The men that were standing guard at the door smiled and gave me a little nod. They had become a little friendlier with me lately. Probably because I'd threatened to rip another man's arms off if he touched me again. The guards saw me and apparently decided that I was their new favorite person. They were all nice enough and also seemed to agree with me that no one should screw with me.

As I walked over to the bunker I walked in and began to rifle through the drawers. There wasn't a damn thing in mine that I was able to wear. Nothing was nice enough that I could actually wear to a night out into the city. I rolled my eyes and began to rifle through Peggy's things. Before I grabbed something that looked like it might fit, I wrote out a note on her desk. 'Don't have anything nice enough to wear. I'll have it dry cleaned. Thank you! - Victoria.' Once I'd gone into her drawer I grabbed a dress on the top of her drawer.

It was pretty nice and I was surprised that it actually fit. She was nearly half a foot taller than me. It was a pretty silk dress that went down to the floor and flowed slightly. It was probably slightly more skin than I needed to be showing. But I still liked it. The dress had a neck that went down to show the tiniest bit of cleavage and I blushed. The shoulder straps were just wide enough to cover about half of my shoulders. The color was pretty though. It was a soft blue and I smiled, giving a small twirl. I hadn't worn a dress in years.

I kept on the pair of heels that I had been wearing before letting my hair fall around my shoulders. My hair was already twisted up and as it fell it fell in soft waves. I fluttered it around my shoulders and walked out of the building, immediately running straight into Bucky. He was wearing a green shirt and brown pants. It looked like he had just come back from a run. We looked like two extremely different people.

Bucky stared at me with wide eyes for a moment before letting out a high-pitched whistle. "Looking good, Vika," he told me with a little laugh.

My face lit up a slight red and I smiled at him. "Thanks. I didn't realize that we were apparently going out to dinner in the city. I didn't think that anything I had was nice enough so I went and borrowed something from Peggy. You don't think that I went over the top or anything?" I asked softly.

He grabbed my hand and bowed slightly in front of me so that he could press a chaste kiss to the back of my hand. "You look beautiful," he told me with a small smile.

Once more I blushed and had to fight the pink shade from coming into my eyes. "You always did know exactly what to say to me," I told him as I twirled the skirt of the dress around my ankles.

"Just because I've known you for so long. I'll always be there for you, Vika. And I hope that I'll always know exactly what to say to you," he told me with a small smile. "You should dress like that more often," he teased.

I couldn't help it. I snorted under my breath and shook my head. "I wouldn't let you hear my father say anything like that," I teased him. And it was the complete truth. Chester would kill Bucky if he ever heard him say something like that.

He gave me a small grin and nodded. "Just kidding. Have a good dinner and I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow." I nodded and turned to leave. "And do me a favor. Stay away from Howard Stark. He - uh - he doesn't know you like I do," he told me, a small blush filling his face.

Smiling softly at him, I nudged him gently, trying to make sure that the neckline on Peggy's dress wasn't too low. "Sure thing, Dad," I teased gently.

He stared at me for a moment before smiling. "I'm not sure that a Dad is quite what I want to be to you," he told me.

That time it was my turn to blush. I glanced down at the ground and smiled to myself, waiting for the pink tinge in my eyes to go down. Once I finally managed to calm myself down I looked up and smiled at him. I had to play it off. "Say goodbye in Italian, Bucky," I teased him.

Briefly I slipped into his mind. Don't say the wrong thing. Don't disappoint her. "Addio," he said softly before giving me a small wink.

Once more I gave him a small smile. He was completely right. I had to say that I was rather impressed. "Good job, Bucky. I'll see you tomorrow. Try not to be up too late. Training is only going to get harder from here on out," I said before turning and walking back to the laboratory.

"I know it's going to be tough. I've got you to whoop my ass!" He shouted as I walked away. I snorted under my breath and rolled my eyes as we walked through the camp.

Walking back into the lab I headed through the doors and saw that most everyone was already standing around, all in their dinner clothes. Even Abraham was dressed up. It was the first time that I'd seen him in something other than a lab coat. He looked good in his beige suit. He had even shaved. All of the men that I worked with, and all of the others, were all dressed in their finest clothing. I knew that later on Peggy would come and I finally wouldn't be the only woman here.

Abraham finally turned towards me and smiled as he gave me a once-over. Chester was standing next to him and looked somewhere in between impressed at the way that I had dressed and scowling over how much skin I was showing. "Fraulein Victoria! You look beautiful," he said as he led me into a small spin. "Please come and meet Mr. Stark," he said, motioning me after him.

"Joy," I muttered to myself.

We walked forward through the lab and I stared ahead of me. I wasn't quite sure where anyone was. Of who Howard Stark was. I'd never seen him before. No one ever told me who he was or what he looked like. They all just talked about his attitude. It was what led me to believe that he was probably pretty good-looking. The only time that I'd ever seen him before was in a picture from the newspaper. He had just barely been a teenager at the time. Now he was a full-grown adult in his mid-twenties. He was just a few years older than me.

We rounded a corner and Abraham motioned me over to a man that should have been exactly what I was expecting. With a slight hint of embarrassment, I realized that Howard Stark was actually rather attractive. He looked about twenty-five or so. He had dark black hair that was slicked back over his head in a neat comb-over. His eyes were dark brown and traveling over each one of us in the room. His mustache was twitching with minor amusement. He was wearing a black suit that was tailored to fit with his every little movement. His eyes finally tracked over to me and I realized that he was giving me the same once-over that I was giving him.

For the first time in a long time I felt incredibly stupid as I searched for something to say to him. "Hello. You must be Victoria. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said lowly. I smiled at him and watched as he leaned over to grab my hand. I extended it out to him and blushed as he kissed the back of my hand. It had taken Bucky fifteen years to do that. I hadn't known Howard for fifteen seconds.

"Mr. Stark," I said as he came back to stand up and glance in my eyes. His were filled with curiosity. "The pleasure is mine," I added, remembering my manners.

The man smiled at me and shook his head. "Mr. Stark is my father. Just Howard will do," he told me.

Once more a stupid blush filled my face. Howard looked at me the way that a man would look at his wife. I wondered if his stare was always that intense with everyone that he knew. "Victoria here is the daughter of Chester Phillips. Colonel Chester Phillips," Abraham said.

It seemed that Howard already knew Abraham and probably knew Chester too. He looked over at the two of us and smirked. "Odd. I didn't know that Chester had a daughter. Or that he was ever married," he said. Chester's jaws tightened slightly. "But either way, clearly you are the one that got the looks," he told me.

I chuckled slightly and shook my head. I hadn't even gotten my looks from my birth parents. "Chester Phillips is my adoptive father. I've been with him since I was very young," I lied easily. "He's still my father, no matter that we don't share DNA. He's taken good care of me over the years. And he hasn't bothered telling anyone about me to not raise questions," I recited our story that I was supposed to tell anyone that asked.

Howard was watching me with a bright smile the entire time. Once I stopped speaking he moved into me slightly and I coughed awkwardly. "How very sweet of him. Beautiful eyes you have, Victoria," he told me.

"Thank you, Howard."

For whatever reason, the air around us had somehow gotten extremely thick. Abraham stepped in between the two of us and smiled, motioning towards the doors. "Come now, everyone. Let's eat," he said. It was good to have everyone's eyes off of me and their minds back to the food.

We began to walk out of the building and towards the car. I noticed that there was one car that I had never seen before. It must have been Howard's. He had a 1939 Jaguar SS 100. "I can lead everyone out to the restaurant. Victoria, would you care to ride with me?" He asked me and my heart skipped a beat.

He really wanted me to ride with him? "She would -" Chester began before I cut him off.

"Love to," I interrupted, smiling at Howard. He grinned back at me. Grabbing Chester by the arm, I pulled him away from the others for a moment. "Play nice with him. He's the one person that can fund this entire thing. Don't say anything rude. I think that I can handle a car ride with him," I told him with a small smile.

If Howard wanted me to ride with him and that would get him to continue funding Operation Rebirth, I would ride with him for ten minutes. "You more than have my permission to light his ass on fire if he does anything to you," he told me. I chuckled softly and shook my head.

"You're a good Dad, old man," I teased before giving Chester a soft kiss on the cheek and turning away. I walked back over to Howard, who led me to his car. Everyone began hopping into their seats. Howard walked me over to the passenger door and held it open for me. I jumped in and waited for him to hop into the driver's seat. "This is a nice car, Howard," I said as he started up the engine.

Howard turned over to me and smiled. "Oh if you like this you should see the entire collection," he told me.

"You have a collection of cars?" I asked.

Howard nodded at me as he revved the engine and peeled out of Camp Lehigh. As we drove down the road I crossed my legs and glanced over at Howard. He was in between watching the road and watching me. "Of course. I always wanted a car growing up. When I started Stark Enterprises and got my first check a car was the first thing that I went out to buy," he told me.

I couldn't help but to smile and laugh softly. "Not bad. I've never actually gotten a check before," I said. No one had ever given me money. The only thing that I wanted was a place for me to call my own. "The only thing that I ever wanted was a beach house," I said softly.

Howard glanced over at me, away from the road. "Beach house?" He asked, his lips turning upwards slightly.

I shook my hands at myself. "Yeah. The one thing that I wanted growing up was to go to the beach. But my birth parents were embarrassed of me. So I never got to go. And then I got in with the wrong crowd. Didn't even see the sun for years. Now I'm back in the real world and still nowhere near the beach," I told him.

Howard grinned slightly as we drove through the edge of the city. Camp Lehigh must have been closer to the city then I had thought that it was. "Tell you what, this thing works out for you and you'll make enough money for ten beach houses," he told me.

Suddenly a small frown fell over my face. That wasn't really what I had meant. "Money doesn't mean anything to me, Howard. I never had money. I grew up with another family. They didn't have money. My parents had money but I didn't exactly spend very long with them. And Chester... I never felt like I could take money from him," I said softly.

I wasn't sure what it was, but something about Howard made me feel like I could talk to him. Maybe it was because he wasn't Bucky, who I was terrified would judge me. But he also wasn't the men on the base that looked at me like I was nothing more than a piece of meat. "Why's that?" Howard finally asked.

"He's done enough for me. He saved me from myself," I said, remembering our first conversation out in the field behind his house. "The last thing that I need is to be taking his hard-earned money for something that I don't even need," I told him honestly.

As much as I loved the thought of a beach house, I didn't want to bankrupt Chester. He'd done enough for me. "Saved you from yourself? I can't believe that you ever did something that you needed saving," Howard told me.

"Trust me, I can handle myself."

He grinned at the road for a moment before turning to glance at me. "So I've heard. I got a nice long warning from Chester Phillips that if I touched or looked at his daughter the wrong way, he would be the last of my worries," he said. I couldn't help but to laugh softly and nod. Chester really was my father.

After a moment I finally relaxed fully. After a while I felt like I could finally completely relax around him. I could hear his thoughts. Smart girl. Clever girl. Not once did he mention what I looked like in his thoughts. "And that's the truth," I told him.

Howard smirked once more. "Tough girl, huh?"

I gave a teasing grin over to him. "That make you nervous?"

"The complete opposite. I like a girl that can take care of herself," he told me. A small smile fell over my face. As strange as Howard Stark was, he in some ways reminded me of Bucky. And Bucky was my home.

But was he really the type of guy that wanted a tough girl. I thought that he would have wanted a girl that needed to be saved by the man. "I have to say, I'm surprised. I would have thought that you were the kind of guy that wanted the damsel in distress. I would have thought that you wanted to be the guy that comes to a girl's rescue," I said.

We drove in silence for a moment before Howard spoke again. "I wouldn't mind coming to her rescue. But I also like having a woman that knows how to handle herself when she gets into something," he told me.

I couldn't help it. It was probably rather rude of me but I snorted loudly. Howard laughed like hearing a woman snort was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Although, it might be. No females ever snorted. It wasn't proper. Although I couldn't help it. After the laughter died down I finally shook my head at him. "What kind of trouble could a woman get herself into in the kitchen?" I asked facetiously

Clearly Howard heard the little groan in my voice. He turned to me with a little grin. "I somehow doubt that you're the kind of woman that wants to find herself in the kitchen for the rest of her life," he told me. I turned to him with a raised brow. He didn't know anything about me. "I doubt you'd do well with that."

Smiling slightly under my breath, I nodded. Even without the Pyrokinesis I would probably set a kitchen on fire. "I suppose that's true. The last thing that I want is to live in the kitchen for the rest of my life. I want to be out in the world. I want to save people," I said honestly. I wanted to prove that I wasn't just a girl that belonged in the kitchen or in the records room. "I want to prove that I'm better than being in the kitchen and being some man's baby-maker."

The car began to slow as we drove through the city and towards the restaurant. "And I think that you're perfectly capable of that. You're not the type of girl that wants to sit and do what a man tells you. And that's what makes you different," he said.

"Some people say that being different is a bad thing," I told him.

Howard glanced over at me as we stopped at a red light. "I disagree. I think that being different is the best thing. Everyone thought that I was different when I wanted to start a company as a child. Now I'm a millionaire and everyone wants to be me," he said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes. He was good and he knew it. "So what do you want to be?" He asked me as the light turned green.

"A hero," I answered, feeling foolish.

Howard didn't laugh, he merely gave me a wide grin. "You look like a hero. You look like the kind of girl that knows exactly what to do, even if it's the hard thing," he told me.

After another beat of silence I glanced over at him. He was watching the road and I narrowed my eyes, letting myself slip into his mind. She's good. Better than I thought that she would be. I raised my brows once more. What the hell did that mean? "You seem to know a lot about a girl that you just met a few minutes ago," I said.

Once more Howard glanced over at me. "I might know more about you than you think," he said as he drove up to the restaurant. We were out in front of the valet parking. Howard placed the car in park and motioned out of my window. "This is it," he told me, motioning over to it.

The restaurant was huge. It was built into the bottom floor of a skyscraper and had wait staff all along the outside doors. They were taking coats. I suddenly felt extremely stupid. Should I have borrowed a coat as well? Howard climbed out of the car and walked around to my side. Just as I was about to open the door and climb out, Howard opened the door and extended his hand. I grabbed it and let him pull me from the car. The moment that he did I saw lights from cameras begin to flash towards the two of us.

Someone's thoughts were loud as I continued to walk up towards the entrance of the restaurant. Got it! Howard Stark: New Flame? The readers will love it.

I rolled my eyes as we continued to walk. Wonderful. "I could have done that myself," I told Howard.

He grabbed my hand and placed it on his arm as we walked up. It was pretty obvious as we walked that Howard was the type of person that had been raised in high-class society. I'd never understood how people managed to remember all of the rules in places like this. "Not when you're with me," Howard said.

I couldn't help it. A small smile slipped over my face as I walked inside the restaurant. Crystal chandeliers were all over the ceiling and the places were immaculately set. Behind me a few of our company were beginning to file in. Howard handed one of the men at the door his coat before grabbing me by the arm once more. "This is the nicest place I've ever been," I said softly.

Once more Howard grinned down at me. He waved the greeter off to set out a table. "Stick with me, kid. This is nothing compared to all of the places that you'll see," he told me.

I laughed as we were walked towards the back of the room. There was a large table set out and I took a seat next to Howard in the middle of the table. Chester was on one side of me and Howard was on the other. He didn't sit until he had pushed in my chair for me. Once we were all seated Chester turned over to look at me. Immediately Howard ordered everyone at the table a glass of some expensive-sounding wine.

The rest of Operation Rebirth sat at the table a moment later. One seat opposite me was left open for Peggy, I assumed. Chester leaned over to me and I glanced at him. "How was he?" He asked me, referring to Howard.

"Believe it or not, he was a perfect gentleman," I told him.

A look of surprise fell over Chester's face. As surprised as he could look. Normally he was completely stoic or he just looked bored. "You're sure?" He asked me.

"Yes, old man," I said as I rolled my eyes. A waiter handed Howard a bottle of the red wine and I watched as he poured me a glass. "Thank you," I told him.

We all went back to our glasses once people had picked out their dinners. I had ordered the least-offensive thing on the menu. It seemed like something completely normal. Just chicken. The group went over to drinking their wine as Howard turned to speak to me. "Victoria, how did you get into this line of work?" He asked.

The conversations at the table went silent. "I've always found genetics fascinating. Mutation too. I mean, just think about some of the things that people right here have. Mutations. Everyone with blue eyes. You are all connected by one common ancestor that created the blue-eye gene. Originally everyone had brown eyes. Red hair and freckles. They're mutations too. But imagine what could happen if humanity took a huge leap."

"What do you mean?" Howard asked.

I smiled at the proud look on Abraham's face. "I mean, exactly what Operation Rebirth is all about. Placing a normal human into that chamber and watching them come out with these abilities. A man strong enough to throw a truck. Take two bullets to the heart and keep fighting. Slowed down aging process. The possibilities are endless," I said.

Howard leaned forward to look at me. "You don't think that any of this is far-fetched?" He asked. By the look in his eyes, I could tell that he didn't think that any of this was far-fetched.

"You're asking that to a woman with yellow eyes and nearly white hair," I said. I was slightly surprised when my comment earned scattered laughter. "If I could be born looking like this, perhaps there's a chance that I could create someone strong enough to lift a car," I said.

To my surprise it wasn't Howard or Abraham that spoke up. It was one of my least favorite people on the planet. "We aren't creating some sort of Frankenstein's Monster," John snapped. I gave a slight flinch that thankfully no one saw. "Perhaps someone stronger and smarter than the average soldier. That's it," he said.

My eyebrows narrowed at him but it was Abraham that spoke before I could. "What do you mean by Frankenstein's Monster?" He asked softly. All conversations at the table halted.

John shifted and took a slow sip of his wine. Howard and I followed. Faster than I meant to, I drained the glass. Howard laughed under his breath and poured me another. "You've all heard the rumors about people that can do these strange things. All it is is the Devil speaking," he said. I rolled my eyes. "There's no such thing as someone that can lift a truck or read minds," he said.

Is that so? Some part of me wanted to slip into his mind to prove him wrong but I couldn't bring myself to do anything. "Is your mind so small that you can't believe that a strange phenomenon like mutation exists?" I snapped.

Once more all eyes turned over to me. John's head shot over to me and he looked like he might get up to strangle me. "No one's ever seen or heard of anything like that," John argued with me.

It was the truth. But there was a reason that no one had heard of the mutants. We couldn't be discovered. People hated us. We were considered dangerous. We would be hunted down and shot in the streets. Stryker had been evidence of that. "Doesn't mean that it doesn't exist," I said.

This time it was Howard that stepped in. "She begs a good point," he said. All eyes turned to him and I let out a little breath. I didn't want eyes on me any more. "Can you see oxygen?" Howard asked. John said nothing in response. "Then how do you know it exists? Sometimes you just need to believe in something," Howard said.

Giving in slightly, I leaned over and placed a hand on Howard's arm as a way of thanks. "The theory of mutation is the one reason that Operation Rebirth may actually work," Abraham said, assisting my argument.

"So we're just going to be turning someone else into a freak?" John scoffed.

Before I could open my mouth to say something cruel, Howard spoke. "If the mutants are real there is no reason to be calling them freaks. The only reason that they'd be hiding is because of people like you," Howard snapped. It was the first time that I'd seen him with an emotion other than amusement on his face. "The people that believe that they're less than human," he told John.

There was a fire in his eyes that almost made me happy to see. "They are less than human," John said. My hands twitched slightly. It was almost the same damn thing that Stryker had once said to me.

"No. They'd be stronger," I said, unable to keep myself from saying anything. Chester and Abraham were watching me closely. "For more than just the physical. Also for the reason that they have to hide all the time. They can't show anyone who they really are," I said lowly.

John leaned over across the table from me. "You sound like you're speaking from experience," he hissed.

He couldn't know. I was never going to tell him what I was. He would turn it into a nightmare for me. "I'm no different than you. However the yellow eyes might as well make me a mutant. The way that people stare at me. The way that they whisper," I said softly.

The conversation dropped off to nothing after that. No one really seemed to know anything to say. So we all went silent and picked at our food. It was about five minutes before I saw Peggy walking up to the table. She wore a small smile on her face, oblivious to the tense air. "Hello everyone. Sorry I'm late. Victoria, that dress looks gorgeous on you." I smiled a tight smile at her. "Did I miss anything?" She asked as she took the seat across from us.

"No," I answered quickly.

The conversation was tense for a little while after that. It was about five or ten minutes before Howard was able to drive the conversation back to something nice. We chatted about the different kinds of ways that we could get the project to work. There was nothing that seemed to work on every spectrum. Howard seemed to think that with work the serum could be finished in a matter of months. About six at the earliest. We were all hoping to have it done in about a year. Thankfully John said nothing after his earlier comments.

Dinner ended about an hour after we'd arrived and I found myself in better spirits then I had been before. We all were laughing as we drove back to Camp Lehigh. It was about nine at night when we arrived back. I went straight to change with Peggy, but she went to bed. I grabbed a pair of normal clothes and placed Peggy's dress in my laundry pile. When I arrived back in the laboratory I wasn't surprised to see that I was the only person there. I was determined to work out the kinks in the serum. It seemed like every time we found one issue in the serum to fix, we wound up with ten more. Behind me a door opened and closed.

I turned back to tell Abraham that I would lock up when I was done, however when I turned back I saw that it wasn't Abraham. It was Howard. He was walking towards my desk. He glanced over the stack of unread newspapers and smirked, tossing them to the side. "You don't read the paper," he commented.

I didn't bother looking up from the paper that I was scribbling on. "Nothing in there that concerns me," I muttered.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Howard said. I was about to snap at him to leave me alone when he plopped down a paper right in front of me.

The paper that he'd placed on the table was one that I'd seen before. But it was one that I hadn't seen in years. It was old and had clearly been read quite a few times. It was folded in at least twenty different places and had what looked to be coffee spills on it. It was dated December 24th, 1928. My heart was beating slightly faster than it should have been as I read the headline. Family dies in tragic house fire: cause unknown. But I did know. I did know how the mother and father had died. I knew that the little girl hadn't really died at all. I knew that even though she was presumed dead, she was perfectly well alive. Howard was watching me closely as I stared at the paper.

"Should this mean something to me?" I asked Howard with a bored voice.

He didn't look up at me. Instead he pulled a few papers from inside the paper and began reading over them. "Victoria Davies. Born October 21st, 1920. Presumed dead in a fire. Although it's curious," he said. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Just a few years later another girl named Victoria Rogers pops up in a public school in Brooklyn. No birth records and no official adoption records. Through school records it was stated that she was also born on October 21st, 1920. And then, almost eight years later, Victoria Phillips pops up in Camp Lehigh with her 'father' Chester Phillips. Also no adoption record. Still born on October 21st, 1920," he said.

He placed down papers with records that I had never seen before. Some were school records and others were eye-witness accounts from people. Did Howard know who I was? Probably. Play it off, Victoria. "So there were lots of girls born with the name Victoria on October 21st, 1920," I said softly.

Howard smirked at me and took another step towards me. I could feel him nearly pressed against me. The electricity beneath my veins was buzzing excitedly. I had a feeling that if Howard didn't take a step away from me I might accidentally electrocute him. "Perhaps. Or perhaps there was one girl that was better at hiding than anyone else. I've done some research on Victoria Phillips. No records exist of her up until a year ago," he told me.

Of course not. Chester Phillips hadn't met me before a year ago. But that would not have been a wise choice for me to say. "Interesting. Perhaps the adoption had something to do with it," I said, still staring down at the paper I'd been writing on. Not that I could focus on it now. "What do you want, Howard?" I snapped after a moment.

Despite not looking at him, I knew that he was smirking at me. "I want the pleasure of speaking to Victoria Davies," he told me. That time I couldn't help it. I turned back quickly, meeting his chest. A stern glare was spread over my face.

He knew. I slipped into his mind just to make sure before I said anything. Gotcha. Damn it. "There are very few people that have the privilege of knowing who I am," I told him lowly. No one else was in the building but I could never be too careful. "You were not supposed to be one of them," I snapped. Had someone told him or had he figured it out himself?

Howard shrugged at me. "It's not exactly a well-kept secret. How many people have yellow eyes and white hair?" He asked me. I narrowed my gaze. My hair wasn't white. It was just close. He had a fair point though. I was always surprised that more people couldn't put it together. "Or you could just look through old papers. How many people still know that you're alive? That you were only hiding for all of these years?" He asked me after a moment.

"An answer for an answer. How'd you figure it out?" I asked. "And why do you care?" I added after a moment.

This time Howard looked rather proud of himself. "It wasn't that hard. Like I said, there aren't too many girls on the planet with yellow eyes and nearly white hair. Surprised no one else managed to figure it out," he told me.

I gave myself a moment to compose myself. "As I said, very few people know who I am. On this base, only Chester Phillips and Dr. Erskine," I told him. Now him too, I suppose. "The only reason that no one ever knew who I was is because I'm very good at faking deaths and leaving no trails. I faked my death in the fire. Years later there would be no real record of Victoria Rogers ever existing. Only a figment of a few people's imagination. One day the same will happen to Victoria Rogers," I told him honestly.

I would never age. One day I would have to ensure that no one remembered Victoria Phillips. As time went on, my versions of Victoria would live and die with no one remembering her. It was the way that my life was destined to go. Howard took a step forward and sighed at me. "I don't think that Victoria will ever have to give up her identity again. I care because I'm curious about you. I don't want to hurt you," he told me.

Suddenly a sad look crossed over his face. I scoffed and shook my head at him. I'd made the mistake of believing that lie one too many times. "Too many people have told me that before," I said.

Howard nodded. "You mean Colonel William Stryker," he said. My eyes widened at his answer. He knew who he was? "I have resources. One of those found the Weapon X building that you were kept at for seven years. It's long abandoned," he told me. I suddenly felt like I might throw up the rather large dinner that I'd had. "As smart as those men are, their files are not well hidden. They were found when William Stryker was killed and all of his bases were searched," he told me.

Now I definitely felt sick. "He's dead?" I asked softly.

The only person that deserved to kill William Stryker was me. Perhaps Logan too. Howard nodded. "Officially, yes." I raised a brow. That couldn't mean anything good. "William Stryker has been put on label as being deceased due to infection," he told me.

Infection? I couldn't remember Stryker ever wanting to leave the Weapon X facility. He was never much of an outdoors man. "From what?" I asked when I realized that I had been silent for too long.

"He was found walking down a street. His feet were bleeding," Howard told me. Once more I raised my eyebrows. None of this story was adding up. "When he was asked what he was doing, he simply responded with, 'As I was told.' I assume that you know what that means," he told me. And suddenly everything clicked.

By now I'd managed to figure it out. Howard clearly knew more about the world than he was letting on. He certainly knew about me. He knew who I was and he knew how I'd managed to stay hidden for as long as I had. And if he knew about the Weapon X Program he knew what I was. He knew that mutants existed and he knew that I was one of them. Maybe it was the reason that he had been so quick to jump to my defense at dinner tonight. One day I would have to thank him for doing that.

"A mutant told him to walk until his feet bled," I answered.

Howard nodded at me. I couldn't help but to wonder what other mutant knew how to control minds. It wasn't really a common one that I had heard of. "That's what it appears to be. He's being held in a military base for questioning about the death of General Munson." I wasn't sure who that was. "It's believed that he killed him a few months ago."

None of that meant anything to me. The only thing that I cared about was that Stryker was still alive. I could still live up to my promise to kill him. "So he's still alive?" I asked after a beat.

For a moment I saw hesitation in Howard's eyes. But he finally nodded at me. "Between you and me, yes. Victoria, I'm trying to help you because I know what you've been through. I know what awful things that you've seen. And I'm telling you this because I think that you'll want to see him again one day," he told me.

My jaws tightened. "If I ever see him again, I'll rip his heart out of his chest," I snarled under my breath.

Howard nodded at me, clearly not surprised by my comment. If he knew what I had been through he knew that I had a good reason to say that. "As you very well have the right to do. Another thing. There are two men that I believe you may know. One goes by the alias Logan - no last name. His mutant name is Wolverine," he told me.

My heart lodged in my throat. I hadn't heard from Logan since I had left him that day. I'd been worried about him for nearly a year. "Yes. What do you know about him?" I asked quickly.

"Not much," he said. Howard suddenly looked afraid to speak. Once more my heart rate skyrocketed. Logan had to be alright. We'd fought so hard to get free from Stryker. "Stryker was insisting that Logan was shot in the back of the head when he was trying to escape and it killed him. Shot in the head with an adamantium bullet," he told me.

No. That didn't work. Logan - like me - had the regenerative mutation. A bullet to the back of the head wouldn't kill him. It would probably hurt like hell but it wouldn't kill him. Although there was something that it might do. Something that might put everything together. "That wouldn't kill him. But that would explain why I can't get through to him. It could cause massive memory loss. He wouldn't remember me. My thoughts would be like a passing voice," I said, mostly to myself rather than Howard.

He seemed to know a fair bit about mutation but I could tell that he was nowhere near as good with it as I was. Of course, most people weren't. "I don't know all that happened," Howard said, looking slightly guilty.

He had no reason to be. He'd told me so much more in these few minutes together then people had told me that I had known for years. "When did this happen?" I asked.

"Very recently. A few months ago," he told me. I nodded at him. That was the first time that I had tried to contact Logan. I'd wanted to see if he'd managed to evade Stryker and get repentance for his late wife. "There's another man that you may want to track down someday. His name is Remy Etienne LeBeau," Howard said. Who the hell is that? "Better known as Gambit."

I still wasn't one hundred percent sure who Gambit was, but I was smart enough to know that he was just like me. "Another mutant," I said softly.

Howard nodded his head. "Yes. He was evidently with Logan briefly before the altercation with Logan took place," he told me and I nodded. If anyone could give me answers as to what had happened to Logan and where he'd gone, Gambit could. "I can only answer a few of your questions. He may be able to answer more," Howard said.

And he was completely right about that. When the day came that I could take some time off I would have to hunt the two men down. "Thank you, Howard. For everything," I said honestly. "I never thought that I would see Stryker again. I never thought that I would want to. But maybe this could be a good thing. I still have a few things to say to him."

The electricity surfaced for a moment, creating a small spark that Howard didn't see, and I forced it back down. "Would it be worth it?" Howard asked me.

"Yes," I answered without hesitation.

Stryker had done so much to me in the seven years that I had been with him. I owed it to myself to end his life. I was one of the many people that deserved to see him die. "People are afraid of you," Howard said after a moment's hesitation.

I narrowed my eyes and turned to look at him. He was standing extremely close to me and giving me a hard look. "But you aren't," I said softly.

He was the only person that knew what I was that had displayed no fear or hate to me other than Abraham and Chester. It was something refreshing. It made me wonder if everyone on the base would react the same way. Howard grinned at me. "I have no reason to be."

Scoffing softly at him, I shook my head. He had every reason and every right to be afraid of me. "I could melt the flesh off of your bones," I said darkly.

Howard grinned and stepped a tiny bit closer to me. If he took another step we would be pressed up against each other. And that was definitely not appropriate. "You could. But you won't," he told me. "Because despite what you think about yourself and despite what everyone says about you, you are a good person. You want to fit into this world," he told me.

Once more I scoffed. One thing that I would never be was normal. I would never fit in with everyone else. "Like you said, not many people with yellow eyes and nearly white hair. I'll never fit into this world," I said.

Howard grinned at me and shook his head. "I always thought that being different was the best," he told me. I laughed softly and shook my head. I supposed that no matter how good-looking and charming Howard was, he was different. And he used that to his advantage. Perhaps it was coming time for me to do the same.

Unable to say anything else, I turned back to my desk and continued scribbling out the reactions of radiation. Howard was reading over my shoulder probably trying to read my work. "Would you like to take a look?" I asked, knowing that he wanted to. He leaned in behind me and practically pressed himself against me. I could feel the heat through his suit. Or maybe it was the fire in my veins. "Howard? A little personal space. I promise I will light your ass on fire," I snarled, not really meaning the threat.

Howard chuckled and continued to stand behind me. I knew that he wasn't going to move. Mostly because he knew that it was bothering me. "Oh, come on. We both know that you won't," he told me and I snorted. He wasn't wrong. "And really? You're the only person that would ever deny me," he told me.

"Well get used to it," I told him. He was a good man but I didn't want him. Because you want Bucky. Shut up! I turned to tell Howard to get lost or help me but I lost my voice when I found myself trapped in between his arms. Despite both of us glaring at each other we knew that it was a good joke between friends. "I have no interest in you," I told him.

Howard grinned at me and leaned in. "That'll change. It always changes," he told me. I let out an ugly snort that anyone else would have scolded me for. Howard grinned at me. "Or is it because of Private Barnes?" He asked me with a little sing-song tone to his voice.

I coughed awkwardly and tried to push the pink tone in my eyes out. Howard was watching me with a wide grin. "How do you know about him?" I asked softly.

It was obvious that Howard knew that he had gotten to me. His smile was bright. "Saw him walking by earlier. A man made a comment about you and Barnes stepped in almost immediately," he told me. I snorted under my breath and shook my head. That was Bucky for you. Always stepping in to my defense. "Figured that if he felt that strongly about you, the feelings must be mutual," Howard continued.

Perhaps he wasn't as smart as people said that he was. There was nothing going on in between the two of us. "We're just friends. Childhood friends. He doesn't want to hear the men here talk about me the way that they do since we grew up together. We're like siblings," I argued weakly.

"How long do you think that you'll manage to keep telling yourself that?" Howard asked me brightly.

"Forever."

Howard smirked and moved in towards me. "I have a suggestion," he said. I raised my brows at him and nodded for him to continue. "You could always kiss me," he said as my jaw nearly dropped. "Barnes too. Then you'd know whether or not your feelings for Barnes are real. Or you could fall in love with me," he teased.

He was not serious. Actually he was. "We're not here to talk about my non-existent love life," I snapped, trying to end the conversation. "Either help me or get out."

"I could help you with both," he teased me. I glared darkly and shook my head at him. Not tonight. Not ever. "Just a suggestion. You'll warm up to me," he told me.

A small grin formed as my face as I let the flames slip to the tips of my fingers. I placed it on the top of the suit jacket and trailed my fingers slowly down his chest, leaving char marks in the path. The flames continued to lick softly at the jacket and I brushed it off. The jacket was ruined but Howard didn't seem to mind. He was still smiling at me. Howard was a billionaire. He could pay for a new one.

He brushed off the little char marks on his jacket and slid it over his shoulders. It left him in only his vest and a white button-down. "Neat trick," he said.

Once more I smirked. "I have neater." And it was the truth. There were some pretty neat tricks that I could show him. And being a man of silence, he would probably love them.

"One day you'll have to show me."

"I will."

Howard glanced over at his suit and sighed. "You know that this suit is extremely expensive," he told me as he pulled up a chair to work beside me.

"It was," I responded. Howard chuckled softly as he leaned back against the counter, still trying to make himself look good. I rolled my eyes and shoved the papers at his chest. "Now get over here and do what you're supposed to. Help me," I growled. This time he actually read over the papers and allowed me to explain all of the findings we had so far. And as we worked and laughed long into the night I realized that maybe there were more good people in the world outside of Bucky, Chester, and Abraham.

A/N: Everything that was translated was from Google Translate. So if they aren't correct, blame them! And Howard has finally made his way into the picture! I hope you guys liked how I wrote him. Also, the woman Lorraine that I mentioned towards the beginning, she is the same woman that kisses Steve later in The First Avenger. So I really hope you guys liked this one! As always thank you for all of the follows and favorites! Review please! Until next time -A

40's Slang Terms:

Horsefeathers: An expletive

German Translations:

Gleichfalls: You too

In Ordnung: Okay

swanqueen4: Glad that you were so excited about the update! I'm glad that you liked Chester and Vika's relationship. I work hard to make it loving without being overly emotional. She will definitely love Howard despite the fact that she'll always deny it. So thanks for liking all of their relationships! Thank you for reading!

Artemis: Glad you think it's a ten out of ten! Thank you and please keep reading!

Anonymous: Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it! I try to update frequently and regularly but it can be tough with school. Glad that you liked her interactions with everyone! Hope you continue to enjoy!

Gilyflower: Hope you continue liking the story!

Artemis: Thank you! And I'm glad that you like their characterization!

Blue Phoenix 217: I was so happy to write them back together again! I loved putting them back together. I hope that you enjoy this update!