The morning arrived far too fast, the shrill ringing of Peggy's alarm clock resonating throughout the room and dragging me from the sweet serenity of sleep. My body felt heavy as I raised my hands to rub at my sleep impaired eyes, a groan rumbling in my throat as I slowly became accustomed to the early morning rays that filtered through the curtains.
"Good morning Evelyn," Peggy sang in a far too chipper voice for the early hour, earning her a stern glare before I flopped back onto my pillow.
"Five more minutes, I beg of you," She laughed at my melodramatic performance, choosing to completely ignore my pleas and instead, toss a pillow in my direction before fervently tearing the sheets off my body.
"Get up Eve, we have a lot of work to do today," She explained with a frown, disregarding the childish pout I was sending her. She must have been up for a while already, as I noticed that she was already dressed, donning the same olive green jacket and matching skirt that I had found laid out on my bed the previous night. I completely understood that this was the army, and not a fashion show, but you'd think they could have outfitted us with something slightly more flattering. I'd never been one of those girls who dressed to catch the attention of men, preferring to simply look good for my own benefit, and while I wasn't opposed to dressing comfortably, I was much more at home with a pretty dress and a slick of lipstick. Begrudgingly, I rolled from my bed, my legs tangling in the soft sheets which now hung haphazardly onto the floor and sent me tumbling ungracefully to the ground alongside them. I ignored the burst of laughter that erupted from my roommate, dragging myself to my feet, grabbing the ghastly olive ensemble and quickly excusing myself to the bathroom to freshen up and dress for the day.
Considering there was no need for makeup or too fancy a hairstyle, it took me a record time to get ready, leaving the bathroom only five minutes after I entered. I had opted to disregard the issued tie that Peggy wore, hanging it beside the sink and instead, popping open the top button of my blouse before tugging the matching olive V-neck sweater over my head, and attaching my SSR pin to the front. This may be the army but I wasn't a prude, I couldn't see an issue with adding my own personal touch to the uniform. I noticed Peggy waiting patiently for me to finish, adjusting the pins in her hair as I gathered up my things. I'd pulled my blonde hair back into a neat bun which sat at the nape of my neck, allowing a small strand to escape and hang at my cheek where it fell into a loose curl. I was almost finished when I made a snap decision, rummaging through my bag and pulling out a small gold tube. I ignored Peggy's unamused roll of her eyes as I applied a neat slick of red to my lips, blowing my reflection a small kiss before replacing the lipstick back in my bag. After smoothing down my hair and my skirt, apparently far too many times for Peggy's liking, she grabbed my arm and ushered me from the room, preferring to be early rather than late. She explained how the day would play out as we walked, refreshing what she had told me the night before along with a few quips about how these men didn't know what they had coming to them.
The men were already lined up by the time we reached the field, the drill sergeant doing a splendid job of keeping them in check, ready for our arrival. I thanked the drill sergeant as he handed me a folder, which I realised as I opened it, contained a brief sheet on each of the candidates in the line. I flicked through it as we walked, Peggy shooting me a reassuring yet devilish smile as we approached, bathing herself in an air of authority, which I quickly and easily reflected.
"Recruits, attention!" She called out to the men, each of them falling into line and standing to attention at the sound of her authoritative voice. "Gentlemen, I'm Agent Carter and this is Agent Moore. We supervise all operations for this division." She introduced us quickly, giving a brief overview of our role as we strolled along the line.
"What's with the accent Queen Victoria?" I smirked as one of the recruits commented on the British inflexion to her voice, eager to see what wonderfully brilliant response Peggy would have to the snarky comment. She turned to him, eyebrows raised in amusement as he continued, "Thought I was signing up for the U.S. army."
"What's your name soldier?" She asked coolly, turning and coming to a stop directly in front of him.
"Gilmore Hodge, your majesty." I bit my lip to conceal the snicker that was threatening to escape, watching the events unfold in silence.
"Forward Hodge," Peggy ordered the soldier, remaining the perfect example of indifference as he practically swaggered forward, his head held high as he decreased the space between them. "Put your right foot forward." She instructed. I vaguely heard Hodge mumble something else, most likely another sarcastic and insulting comment which he hoped would regain him some modicum of control. However, his words proved to be the least interesting part of the situation when Peggy promptly silenced him, swinging her arm back and dealing a swift punch directly at his nose. A few of the men in the line chuckled, as did I along with them while Peggy retained her calm and collected demeanour, not so much as flinching as the man fell to his knees clutching his nose.
"Agent Carter, Agent Moore," a familiarly gruff voice called from behind us where a car had just pulled up, Colonel Phillips stepping out of the vehicle and making his way towards the group.
"Colonel Phillips," Peggy turned and offered a salute, a gesture which I quickly mirrored, greeting the Colonel myself to which I received a curt nod of acknowledgement.
"I can see that you are breaking in the candidates, that's good." He praised the woman as he passed her, before turning his attention to the soldier who still hadn't managed to pull himself to his feet. "Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand in that line of attention till somebody comes and tells you what to do." Hodge responded with a slightly muffled 'yes sir' followed by a sniff as he attempted to stem the blood that dripped from his nose.
"How about you Agent Moore, managed to get in a few punches yet?" The Colonel briefly turned his head to face me as he spoke, a smile fighting for a place on his lips as the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Not yet Sir, but the day is still young," I responded cheerfully, flashing a dazzling yet devious smirk towards the recruits, managing to coax a flicker of a smile from Peggy as she fought to remain professional. I'd never been the professional type, finding I could just as easily get my work done in a way that truly reflected myself and my personality, whilst still preserving control. Whilst Peggy was a lot of fun at times, she was often very straight and narrow, with a slightly stuffy air surrounding her. Peggy's description of me was the opposite, often describing me as an 'irritatingly bubbly ball of mischievous energy', something which she seemed to both love and hate about me. Whilst I intended to hold a proper authority over the men in this division, I'd be doing it in my own way, rather than donning a daily mask of impassiveness.
"General Patton has said, that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men, we are going to win this war because we have the best... men... and because they are going to get better... much better." The Colonels' motivational speech faltered for a second as his attention turned to a particularly scrawny looking recruit, who despite clearly picking up on the hesitance in the Colonel's voice, remained aloof as he stared directly ahead.
I flipped open the folder, flicking through the sheets of information before finding his photo in the top right of a file towards the bottom of the pile. Steve Rogers. I committed his name and face to memory, curious to discover how and why he had ended up as a part of this programme, considering his medical history. I'd have to keep an eye on this one. Colonel Phillips continued with his speech as Peggy and I observed the recruits from the side lines, eager to get down to training and see what these men were made of. There was no doubt that it was going to be a long day.
A sigh escaped me as I practically collapsed onto the bench beside Peggy, dropping my tray onto the table with a clatter.
"What on earth did that poor tray ever do to you?" Peggy joked, nudging my side with her elbow.
"Presented me with this disappointing excuse of a lunch, that's what." I grumbled, shooting a glare towards the unappetising ration that sat before me.
"Oh, stop complaining, it's better than starving." She waved away my complaints, tucking into her own meal with just a flicker of a frown.
"I'm not so sure about that." I prodded at the pink lump that vaguely resembled meat, grimacing at the thought of attempting to stomach it. As much as the indistinguishable slop made my stomach turn, it had been a long morning and the low rumble that radiated from my belly gave me little choice. I forced down the first mouthful with difficulty, gradually growing used to the dish as I progressed through it.
"What the hell is that?" A voice asked across from us. I dropped my fork, gladly turning my attention away from the food and towards our guest. I quickly decided that perhaps the food had been slightly more appealing than what met my eye. Howard Stark scanned the contents of our trays, his nose slightly crinkled in disgust. I narrowed my eyes at him before grinning and scooping up a hearty fork full of the food.
"It's a delicious pile of mystery meat, would you like a taste?" I waved the fork in front of his face, laughing as he leaned away, pushing the food back towards me with a groan.
"The day that touches my lips is the day hell freezes over." He argued, eyeing the dish warily. I rolled my eyes, dropping the fork back onto the tray and opting instead to eat the apple beside it. At least I knew what an apple consisted of.
"There is a war on you know," I explained, frowning in his direction, "We can't all have the luxury of dining on the finest steak and wine." I took a large bite of the apple, raising a brow in his direction as he laughed.
"Is there something you wanted Howard? Or can we eat our lunch in peace?" Peggy chimed in, clearly bored of listening to his complaints.
"Just thought I'd come say hello to my favourite co-workers." He replied with a grin, sending us both a wink, to which he received two irked frowns. We remained silent, offering no response or words to continue the interaction, simply watching him with mild irritation. Eventually he raised his hands, rising from his seat with faux sadness.
"Fine, fine. I know when I'm not welcome." He sighed dramatically, walking around the table to stand between us behind our backs and resting a hand of each of our shoulders. "Enjoy your... meal." He quickly turned his attention to me, his lips pulling into a wide smirk.
"And Evelyn, if you ever fancy some of that finest steak and wine, you are more than welcome to join me for dinner one evening." I brushed his hand from my shoulder, turning to face him with the sweetest smile I could muster.
"I think I'll take my chances with the mystery meat, thank you." My comment didn't seem to faze him in the slightest, only succeeding in eliciting a loud laugh. He patted me on the shoulder before turning and leaving, an amused grin on his face the entire way. I watched him leave, Peggy simply smirking at her tray beside me.
"You know, considering that I've only just met him, I've had a worrying amount of ideas on how to kill him." I mused aloud as Peggy barked out a laugh beside me.
"Let me know when you decide on a method," She commented with a smile, "I'll help you dispose of the body." We quickly descended into laughter and I found myself glad to have her beside me. There wasn't another person in the world who understood me as well as Peggy Carter did. Sometimes I didn't know what on earth I would do without her.
I released a long breath as I hopped up onto the low wall surrounding the camp, crossing my ankles over each other and leaning back onto my hands. I had definitely been right about one thing, today was excruciatingly long. In order to get a good idea of what we were dealing with, the recruits had been put through a gruelling days fitness and training. Admittedly, the day wasn't as long and tiring for me as it had been for the candidates, however standing around in the midday sun intermittently yelling at them had sure taken it out of me. I'd been strolling around the camp for around twenty minutes before I'd found this spot, glad to finally earn some peace and quiet away from everyone. I allowed myself a small smile as I stared out over the fields that stretched far into the distance ahead of me, internally praising myself for discovering such a lovely spot to relax. The quiet and distant chatter between the soldiers and staff at the camp could be heard behind me, the wind carrying their barely audible laughter and conversation in my direction but falling into mostly background noise as I filtered it out. The sun was busy on its descent towards the earth, just beginning to dip below the horizon when my tranquillity was shattered by a visitor quietly clearing their throat behind me. I sighed softly, waving goodbye to my alone time as I twisted in my seat to regard the person who had so rudely interrupted. I was met with a charmingly confident smirk as my guest took a few steps forward, his hands in the pockets of his perfectly tailored suit trousers. I gave a barely noticeable roll of my eyes before turning away, my attention back to being trained on the rolling hills and sunset.
"Mr Stark," I began, a dispassionate tone to my voice as I actively avoided any eye contact with the man. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Now, I was fully aware that Howard Stark had done nothing to aggrieve me, and therefore I had no reason to be acting in such a cold manner towards him. However, if the rumours were true, which I was fairly certain they were, then his reasons for acting in such an interested manner towards me were most likely far from savoury. My mind drifted back to the day before and the brief time that had been spent in Colonel Phillips office, where I had managed to truly out-do myself in terms of displaying female authority. Each of the men's' responses to my outburst had been something I hadn't really expected, with both amusement yet respect painting their features. But the response I had found most surprising was that of Mr Stark, an expression that I could only attribute to pride and wonder shining through his usual smirk. It had somewhat raised my expectations of him, previously assuming that, due to his heavily publicised dalliances, he would expect nothing more from a woman than a pretty face and a warm body in his bed. I shook myself from my thoughts as he approached the wall, resting his arms against the stone whilst keeping his attention on the view ahead.
"Please, Agent Moore, call me Howard I insist." I nodded in response, accepting his request yet, with my silence, maintaining that he continue to refer to me professionally. "Beautiful evening, don't you think." His quiet comment sparked my curiosity as I glanced down at him, noticing how he gazed pensively into the distance, his usual smirk replaced with an expression of quiet contemplation.
"Quite," I responded softly, not realising I had been watching him closely until he turned his attention back to me, catching my eye and offering a soft smile before I whipped my gaze away from his, fighting off the warm flush of embarrassment that flooded my cheeks.
"Is there something I can help you with Howard? Or are you just here to bother me again?" I queried, shifting the awkwardness of the moment to the side, waiting patiently for his response.
"Not at all, I was just taking a walk when I saw you here, thought you might like some pleasant and quite frankly incredible company," He explained with a grin, the humour in his voice laced with sincerity. I considered his words for a moment before responding.
"Well I'm not sure if I would use the word 'incredible'..." I mused jovially, earning a chuckle followed by an expression of mock offence.
"But you would definitely use the word 'pleasant'...?" his question contained an air of smug pride, which he quickly followed with a wink, eliciting a quiet yet sincere laugh from myself. We fell into a comfortable silence after that, each of us wrapped up in our own thoughts as we observed the scene before us. The sun had now descended lower, half concealed by the hills but still casting a warm glow over the land before us.
"That was pretty impressive you know," Howard began, cutting through the silence and bringing me back to the present. "The way you stood up for yourself yesterday. I can see why Peg recommended you for the job. As well as your frankly extraordinary credentials of course." It was my turn to smirk now, appreciating the praise I was receiving for something that was simply second nature to me.
"It's not easy being a woman in a man's world, Stark. You either stand up for yourself or you allow yourself to be pushed down. I know my worth and I am more than willing to fight for that to be recognised..." I paused for a moment before including a quiet afterthought, "...so thank you for recognising it." He straightened at my words, patting me on the shoulder with a loud laugh and a nod of agreement.
"Well it's kinda hard to ignore when you get all commanding and assertive like that," He joked, yet his words were still serious. "But you're very welcome Evelyn, may I call you Evelyn?" He asked with a grin.
"No." My response was blunt, yet I couldn't fight the smile that tugged at my lips, something which hadn't gone unnoticed to him.
"Well, I'm gonna call you it anyway." I rolled my eyes, batting away his hand which still rested on my shoulder before turning back to the hills, eager to catch the moment when the sun completely retreated below the horizon.
"Who knew you could find such a beautiful view in a place like this." I mused aloud, watching as the last of the sun's rays slipped below the hills, the warm orange glow that had bathed the land dissipating, giving way to the silver shimmers of moonlight.
"You know, I have a view just like this from my bedroom window back home," Howard commented facetiously, pushing himself off the wall and sending me a slightly more flirtatious wink than before. "Perhaps I could show you sometime."
I groaned in despair, swinging my legs over the wall and hopping back onto the grass below, smoothing out my skirt and brushing off the dirt it had accumulated from the bricks.
"And just like that, you've managed to sully a beautiful evening." I commented with a frown, "I think I'll head back to my room now, thank you for your somewhat short-lived pleasant company." I passed him with a swift and indifferent wave, heading back towards my room.
"At least let me walk you back Eve," I frowned at the way he addressed me, using a name which until now had been reserved for family and close friends, though I chose not to comment on it, offering a quick nod in acceptance of his offer as he practically swaggered towards me. It was only a short walk back to the building, which was thankfully spent mostly in silence. I paused as we reached the entrance, turning to my company who greeted me with a much more polite and civilised smile than I had experienced so far. Silence fell between us, a slight air of awkwardness overcoming me as I struggled to work out how to escape to my room in the least rude way possible.
"Thank you for walking me back, I assume I'll be seeing you soon." I finally spoke, breaking the silence and seeming to surprise him slightly as he blinked a few times before acknowledging my words.
"Yes, actually you're in luck, you'll be seeing me tomorrow." He explained with a grin, shoving his hands back in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels.
"Oh? I will?" I was unaware of any arrangement that would result in my having to spend more time with Howard, not being informed of anything of the sort.
"I'll assume you haven't been told yet, as it would be impossible to forget about any time you get to spend with me," I crossed my arms over my chest and ignored his quip, quirking my eyebrow in expectation, prompting him to continue. "Due to your extensive and frankly impressive background in mechanics, I've requested that you accompany me tomorrow and offer your expertise on a problem I'm having some considerable issues with."
"Oh, right, well okay then, I'd be more than happy to help," I smiled, slightly taken aback as yet another bubble of pride burst inside me knowing that my knowledge and ability to assist wasn't being overlooked as it so often had been, but was actually being personally requested, by none other than Howard Stark. He might be an idiot and a flirt, but he was still a genius, and him asking for my help was a great compliment.
"In that case, I suppose I will see you tomorrow."
"We'll be heading out at around nine if that's okay with you?" I responded with a quick nod.
"Nine sounds great."
"Perfect, I'll have the car ready." He grinned, seeming to take it as a personal accomplishment that I had been so positive and in agreement with the arrangement. I turned to leave, grasping the handle of the door and swinging it open, pausing momentarily before entering.
"Goodnight Eve," Howard called out from behind me, once again using the nickname, which surprisingly didn't irritate me as much this time as it had only a few minutes earlier. I glanced over my shoulder, shooting him one of my classic dazzling smiles before replying.
"Goodnight Howard."
Thank you for reading! Please please leave a review and let me know what you think, I love and breathe for reviews. I know a lot hasn't happened yet but o promise things will pick up pretty fast, my co-editor can attest to the beauty and excitement that is to come. Once again, thanks, and please review! - E.H.