"Dude, seriously. Fuck off. I won't say it again." Her voice was full of challenge and defiance and her temper was quickly rising. She hoped, for his sake, he would fuck off. She didn't want to explain to Tony why one of his employees was injured.
"Oh come on Frankie-"
"Mr. Johnson," Tony said, strolling up. He stopped to stand beside her, an overly cheerful smile plastered on his face.
F.R.I.D.A.Y. must have let him know something was going on, she thought.
"I have personally seen Ms. Carver shatter the bones in a man's hand. I don't know what's going on here but I assure you, when she says fuck off that she means it."
The fear that passed through Johnson's face sent a bolt of pleasure through Frankie. The last two days he had been following her around like a puppy, hanging off her every word. She figured it was nerves at first, no one knew who she was but everyone knew she had to be someone special, somehow. She had come into Stark Industries two days ago, had her own office and lab, a high security clearance, and she and Tony were frequently seen talking.
"S- Sorry Mr. Stark. It won't happen again."
"I didn't realize that it's actually Tony you were wanting to go on a date with," Frankie exclaimed. "Well let me take back everything I said, I don't want to speak for Tony. Might do you some good, until you pull your head out of your ass and earn Pepper's forgiveness."
Tony groaned. "You're insufferable. Johnson, you didn't harass me at work, you harassed Ms. Carver. Apologize to her so I can get on with my day. I have more important things to do then keep her from injuring you."
Johnson mumbled an apology and scurried away from the two of them. Tony shook his head. "You're going to make him quit if you keep being scary."
"It has been two days. Also forcing these little boys you've employed to respect me and respect when I tell them to fuck off isn't scary. It's for their safety," Frankie replied. "Anyways, what's on the agenda today Starkypoo?"
"Capsicle and Robocop will be back today. Have you met anyone from the team?"
"Wanda and Vision. I briefly met Sam. He's funny."
"I can't wait to see how you and Cap interact," Tony chuckled. "He's going to find you crass. I think you and Robocop will either be best friends or enemies. I don't really care which."
Frankie shrugged. "I think I'm easy to get along with."
"I did learn a thing or two from Pepper, one being I have no comment on that."
"So when are you pulling your head out of your ass and begging for Pepper's forgiveness?"
"To be determined," Tony muttered. "No more Pepper-related questions. Let's get to the briefing room. F.R.I.D.A.Y. get refreshments set up in the briefing room."
"Please," Frankie added, rolling her eyes. "Just because it's AI doesn't mean you can't be polite, ya know."
"Noted." Frankie smiled and followed Tony. She noticed his mood grew more serious the closer they got to the briefing room and she wondered if he was always like this or if it had anything to do with her being there and being the new person in the room. For all his show of emotional distance, Tony really did want everyone to get alone. He clearly cared for his team and now she was part of that team.
"Frankie," Sam exclaimed. "We didn't scare you off?"
"It's much more likely that I would scare you off, Sam."
"I can attest to that. I've heard a lot of… discussion amongst the other tech staff," Vision said, a smile on his face.
"How much is a lot?" Tony exclaimed. "Frankly, Franklin, I find you an invaluable asset to this team-"
"And your life," Frankie said, batting her eyelashes as Tony.
"I have to have some staff left. We can't make this thing work with only you."
"They aren't going to quit," Frankie said, rolling her eyes. "98% sure. Except for Johnson. I haven't threatened any of them, for the record. They're just… intimidated by my brilliance."
"Are you and Tony related?" Natasha asked.
"Ah Capsicle! Icicle! Welcome back." Tony stood, ushering them in and getting everyone settled. "I believe we're just waiting on-"
"I'm here," Pepper said, walking in the room. She squeezed Frankie's shoulder and sat down beside her. "
"This is to introduce you all to Stark Industries newest employee, Franklin Bird Carver. Why don't you tell us about yourself?" Tony had a shit eating grin on his face.
Frankie flipped him off. "I go by Frankie."
"Anything else?"
"Nope," she said, popping the p.
"Are you and Tony related?" Sam asked, repeating Natasha's earlier question.
"No," Frankie said, shaking her head.
"I've just had great influence on her life," Tony said simultaneously.
"Ice breakers are a waste of my time," Frankie said, an edge to her voice.
"Well, it depends on what area you're working in. Trust is really important amongst us and if you're going on missions with us then we need to know a lot more. If you're just part of the communications team with Pepper we need to know less," Steve offered neutrally.
"Neither. I'm part of building tech and weapons for y'all. We'll all meet individually to discuss what you have now, how it's working, what could be better, what you may need. I've seen the specs for everything and understand the science behind it, but what I'm interested in is the real-life usage. And, Captain?"
"Yes?"
"I am fully capable of doing my job with the only thing you know about me being my last name. I do not owe you shit." The room was silent for a stunned second, only broken by laughter coming from the seat beside Steve, occupied by Buck Barnes. A second later, Sam joined in his laughter.
"Alright," Tony said, shaking his head. "Miss Potts has ordered dinner, we'll eat in the living room. Change into something more comfortable if you want to and head there for cocktails while we wait for dinner to arrive."
The room slowly cleared out until it was just Frankie, Pepper, and Tony left.
"You know, I both want to chastise and cheer you for saying that to Steve. I don't know which I feel more," Tony said thoughtfully.
"I didn't like the way he talked to me," Frankie shrugged.
"I have the feeling my job is going to get more difficult," Pepper said, looking pointedly as Frankie. "It's a good thing I love you."
"Knowing you as a child helps with that. When you were small it was cute how sassy you are. Now… It's-"
"Part of my charm," Frankie said, standing. "C'mon Pepp, I could use a gin and tonic." The two linked arms and left the briefing room, heading for the elevator.
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Frankie sat balancing her gin and tonic in her lap while she fought her thick, dark, ashy blonde hair into dutch braids. It normally wasn't as tangled as it was now, but she had found herself twisting her hair a lot during her work day.
"Can I help?" Bucky asked, motioning towards taking her drink.
She shrugged. "Probably wouldn't hurt." He sat in the armchair beside Frankie and took her drink from her lap. When she wasn't trying to maintain the balancing act she was able to braid much more quickly. When finished she took her drink back and mumbled a thanks. The two sat in a comfortable silence, just enough on the outskirts of the group that no one noticed they weren't participating in the constant conversation.
"Are you uncomfortable?"
"With what?" Bucky motioned towards the group and Frankie nodded in understanding, "I… I don't know that I'm uncomfortable. But I don't like meeting people all at once and I've met a lot of new people in the last two days. I don't want to tell people meaningless little things about myself for the sake of camaraderie."
Bucky chuckled. "I understand. Have you been to one of Tony's Galas? A nightmare."
"Worse for you, I imagine. I know those things are crawling with the press."
"So many questions," Bucky said, shaking his head. "Mostly no one wants me talking to the press so I get out pretty easy."
Frankie smiled, understanding what he meant. "My particular brand of charm isn't for everyone. Tony and Pepper have kept me away from press as much as possible."
"You knew them before working here?"
Frankie thought about how much she wanted to tell Bucky. "I've known Tony and Pepper since I was a kid. Not related at all, just by virtue of when kids are creating shit that causes explosions it draws Tony's interests."
Bucky nodded, satisfied with her answer. Frankie stood and stretched. "I'm leaving. Bye y'all."
Everyone but Tony and Pepper was surprised by her abrupt announcement. "What? But-"
"It's useless to argue, Sam. Frankie, let one of the cars take you home."
"Only because you said it," she agreed, kissing Pepper's cheek. "The rest of you I guess I'll see next week."
"Tomorrow," Tony corrected.
"It's Saturday. I very clearly agreed to work for you only if I got weekends unless it was a really important life threatening thing," Frankie argued.
Tony rolled his eyes. "We need to get things for your empty ass apartment."
"Give me a credit card," Frankie replied, sticking her hand out. Neither noticed the look of amusement on everyone else in the rooms face.
"You don't want me to come with you?"
"Correct."
"Frankie-"
"Tony."
"Frankie."
"Tony."
"Give her a credit card," Pepper interrupted. "She's twenty-eight, Tony. She can go shopping by herself. She has a Stark phone if you need her you can call her."
Tony huffed, but pulled out his wallet and handed a credit card to a smug Frankie. "I'm not remembering why I wanted you to work here now."
"Don't worry, I'll remind you within the first hour of me being in on Monday morning. Bye," Frankie said, waving as the elevator doors closed. She let out a relieved sigh. It had been the most people she had been around in a long time. She was ready to go home, even if her apartment was empty, and sit on the floor in front of her television and not speak to anyone.
