Happy Tuesday all! Firstly, massive apologies for not updating last week, I was away for most of Tuesday and Wednesday!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters that may be used or any storylines or arcs.
Claimer: I only own the character Elizabeth Jones (Lowri Jones and any other names she uses) and her story past, present and future.
Recap
There were four different pizzas all spread out on the floor with everyone else on the floor too, even Clint who was now fully healed.
All Tony could talk about was the party, he was definitely more excited for it than everyone else. He instructed everyone that they could invite whoever they wanted.
"You can even invite the oldies, Ri." Tony said, looking at her. Lowri looked up from her pizza and pulled a face.
"Sorry to kill the mood but most of my friends are either six feet under or stuck in a nursing home." Lowri said.
"Wow." Nat said slowly. "You know how to kill a party."
"That's my job." Lowri said with a smile.
Since Thor was staying for the party, Tony and Bruce managed to work it out with him so that they could run a few tests on the sceptre, to see what Strucker had done with the sceptre.
As the hours dragged on, Lowri felt the time weighing her down and all she wanted to do was sleep so, she excused herself and headed back for the elevator with Clint calling out that she was old.
All she wanted was to lay back in her bed and relax. Her body was still sore for the numerous hits it took earlier that dat.
Regardless of how sore she was, Lowri was back in the gym early the next day and the day after that, determined to get stronger.
On Saturday night, Lowri found herself standing in front of the full length Victorian style mirror in her room, looking at herself and wondering if tonight was really necessary.
She had made an effort to look nice just because she was just as relieved as everyone else to have finally captured the sceptre.
But she hates dressing up. She felt naked in her dress. She hadn't even chose it. Pepper did. Before she left for wherever she was going this time, she gave Lowri a dress cover and told her it was for the next party. Which is now.
The dress was pretty in itself, it's a pretty nude colour that brings out her pale skin better and it brings out her eyes, the dress reached just above her knees but it was sleeveless. It had been treated with a fireproof chemical so that gave Lowri a bit of security but she still felt exposed.
She had white kitten heels on and her hair was in a long plait which was then twisted back into an elegant bun, she had applied minimal make-up, focusing more on her eyes to make them pop.
Lowri didn't really feel like she was in the party mood but she knew that if she didn't move soon then she would have Tony knocking down her door and dragging her upstairs kicking and screaming.
She had to suck it up and get moving.
The music was already blasting through the tower and it only got louder as she headed up in the elevator. The doors opened up to reveal the few early partygoers and the first thing Lowri did was headed to the bar to order a very strong drink in hopes of taking off the edges.
The bartender didn't blink as she ordered her rather strong drink and he turned away to pour the multiple shots into the one glass.
"Getting ready to brave everyone?" Steve asked in her ear, Lowri turned to face him, a smile growing on her face. She leant back against the counter, arching her back slightly as she looked at him. He wore a dark blue fitted button up shirt which was almost hidden by his medium brown leather jacket and smart pants.
"Just something to take the edge off." She replied smoothly. "You look very smart there, Steve." She said, smiling up at him.
"Thank you." Steve said, he took a step backwards and smiled warmly at her before gesturing at her with one hand. "And you look very beautiful tonight. As you do every other day and night I see you."
Lowri felt a blush creep onto her cheeks and she felt her elbow being tapped gently.
"Your drink, ma'am." The bartender said slowly.
Lowri thankfully turned away from Steve and wrapped her hand around the small tumbler with a straw sticking out from the ice.
"A beer, please." Steve asked the bartender before stepping up to the counter beside Lowri and he leant closer to her. "I thought we were past blushing?" He asked knowingly.
"Evidently not." She confirmed, she leant back and he let out a laugh as he took the beer that was offered to him. "Cheers." Lowri said, they tapped drinks and each took a sip before turning to face the growing party.
"How do you think tonight will go? You're the veteran of Tony's parties." Steve asked, turning his attention to her.
"Slow and very testing at first." Lowri said, she turned her head and looked up at him. "Then once everyone knows that Tony gets destructive when he's drunk, they'll pester him until he destroys things and then it goes downhill."
Lowri spied the veteran soldiers coming out of the elevator, looking around at the huge room.
"Then again, I don't think this lot might be interested in destroying things as much." Lowri said.
"No. I don't think so either." Steve chuckled. He took another sip of his beer.
"I don't get why Tony is throwing this party. They never end well." Lowri said slowly.
"Revels." Steve replied.
"Well, look who's having a conversation without any drama." Came a familiar voice, Lowri looked up and spied a smiling Sam Wilson. "Alright, Scorch?"
"Hi, Sam." Lowri said, smiling at him.
"It's nice to see you're not attacking Cap again." Sam continued.
"Yeah… that hasn't happened for a few months." Lowri said, she glanced up at Steve and smiled.
"Yeah, no more 'freak outs'." Steve added with a smirk.
"Hey man, thanks for inviting me." Sam said, looking at Steve.
"No problem, told you, you're a friend." Steve said, smiling warmly at Sam.
"How're you feeling now?" Sam asked, looking at Lowri.
"Like I don't wanna be here." Lowri answered. Both men snapped their attention to her quickly and she shrugged her shoulders. "Last time I was at one of Tony's parties, he got so drunk that he started blowing things up in the middle of the party and then he peed in his suit."
"What?" Steve asked sharply.
"Oh, I wish that I had been there to see that!" Sam laughed.
"And to top it all off, Tony and Rhodey got into a fight, Rhodey stole one of Tony's suits and they destroyed his Malibu home. Then, Rhodey flew off and got the weapons supplier for the military to kit the suit out." Lowri added.
"And they're still friends?" Sam asked with a laugh.
"Surprisingly so." Lowri said, "It's a destructive friendship."
"How long ago was this?" Steve asked.
"About four, five years ago." Lowri answered.
"What was your role in that party?" Sam asked. Lowri narrowed her eyes at him. "Like, why were you there?"
"Shadow agent." Lowri said, "Tony didn't exactly know who I was at that point. Only that I saved his life. It was after the party that he actually found out who I was." Lowri said.
"A friend of his fathers." Sam said.
"And God Mother." Lowri added with an awkward look.
"No way." Sam laughed, "You're his God Mother?"
Lowri nodded her head slowly and took another sip of her drink. There were more guests surrounding them now that the party was in full swing.
"Hey, dude, fancy a game of pool?" Sam asked, nudging Steve's arm and he nodded towards the free pool table in the centre of the room.
Steve glanced down at Lowri straight away but then he looked back at Sam.
"Sure." Steve said, he looked back down at Lowri. "Will you be alright if I go, Ri?"
"I'm not going to have a breakdown when you go, Steve." Lowri said gently. She smiled at him. "I can handle Tony's parties. Go. Go have fun." She said, she pushed at him with her free hand.
Steve went off with Sam, both with smiles on their faces. Lowri smiled as soon as she saw Steve's smile. She liked his smile.
Lowri didn't have much chance to feel lonely because as soon as Steve and Sam left, Maria appeared at Lowri's side with a smile on her face.
"Oh, you're almost out of your drink. Let me order you another one." Maria said, she leant across the counter and ordered herself a drink and another for Lowri. "You can't get drunk, can you?" Maria asked, Lowri shook her head and Maria turned back to the bartender. "Give her the strongest drink you got."
"That won't touch me, you know." Lowri said, she downed the rest of her drink and placed her glass on the counter.
"How many shots were in that?" Maria asked.
"I think like five." Lowri said, she shrugged her shoulders. "Still wasn't enough to make me feel the slightest bit tipsy."
"So, I wanna ask you a question." Maria began, Lowri already had an idea of what the question would be. "Why were you and Cap holding hands on the jet?"
"Because we were." Lowri replied, she took hold of the glass offered to her and sipped. "Mm. Doesn't taste too bad, actually."
"Oh, come on, don't you wanna talk about it? It's not every day that you two hold hands." Maria insisted.
"I know it's not. But when you get you and Sam within five minutes commenting on us, and Nat yelling out on the jet to kiss already, it's tedious." Lowri said, "It would be nice for Steve and I to have a moment where there's no prying eyes."
"Guilty." Maria said, she chuckled. "It's baby steps."
Maria walked off with her drink, with an intention to chat to people and Lowri milled about and eventually she found herself with the Veterans all sat on one of the lower levels.
"Were you all there in Italy in 1943?" Lowri asked as she smiled around the group.
"Not all of us, but a few." One of them replied. "I think it was those three over there as well as me."
"I can remember how you spoke to us boys." Another said, "Very strict!"
"Well, we were at war." Lowri said sheepishly. "I didn't intend to intimidate anyone, honestly."
"You didn't intimidate me. I was glad to see a woman on the frontline to keep us boys in check." Another Veteran said, making Lowri smile.
"Good. Howard Stark always said that I tended to intimidate people." Lowri said, "I'm glad that some of you weren't scared of me."
Lowri looked around the large group of Veterans and she was hit with the feeling of nostalgia. She missed fighting for the life she wanted to build. She missed fighting to save the earth from extremists.
On one of the balconies above them, overlooking the seated area where Lowri was sat, she spied Sam and Steve talking, having finished their pool game.
Steve looked down at the exact time that Lowri looked up and their eyes locked as Steve spoke to Sam.
"In ways, you gave us boys some courage to fight, seeing you so close to the front line. And we heard about your trip to Austria, word flew about the camp." Another man said, Lowri looked away from Steve and looked back at the men.
"I'm glad of that. I'm proud of us all for defeating Hitler. Only God knows what sort of country we'd be living in right now if we had lost." Lowri said.
"Ay, imagine that?" Another asked.
"If you'd excuse me, gentlemen." Lowri said, she got to her feet and took up her empty glass. "I'm in need of another drink."
She righted her dress and she glanced up at Steve before she turned and walked towards the bar. She could feel his eyes on her back as she walked away.
Lowri's limbs felt looser and she was sure that she was warming to the party. Everyone was having fun and letting go for the night. It's a Saturday, they might as well. She had yet to see Tony but she had a sneaky suspicion that he was already drunk.
She ordered herself another drink and leant on the counter as she closed her eyes just to listen to her surroundings.
"Here you go, ma'am." The bartender said, breaking her out of her small trance as he slid a small glass of about five shots towards her.
"Thank you." Lowri said, she took up the drink and took a sip before she turned around to head back over to the group of Veterans with her new drink in her hand but then she collided with pure muscle and a pair of blue eyes that she rather liked.
"Oh!" She yelped as her drink splashed over the glass and onto her hand. She hastily turned and placed her glass on the counter and licked at her hand. "Didn't see you there." She said, looking up at him.
"My fault." Steve said quickly, he reached out the counter and plucked a few napkins out of the box. "Here." He said, he gripped her wrist and dabbed at her hand with the napkins but his eyes shot to hers instantly. "You're cold." He stated seriously.
His face changed from slight embarrassment to worry straight away, he dropped her hand and he dropped the napkins onto the counter behind her. He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
"You never get cold." Steve said as Lowri slipped her arms through the arm holes and she hugged the jacket to her, revelling in the warmth from his body heat.
"It's a new occurrence." Lowri admitted. She looked up at him sheepishly and she found her eyes drawn to the shirt that was tight across his chest, showing off his muscles almost perfectly. The jacket had hidden his blue shirt, which suited him very well, but it did cling to him. She dropped her gaze almost instantly, mostly to stop herself from staring.
"Why haven't you told anybody?" Steve asked, he gripped her upper arms and rubbed them gently, drawing her closer.
"Because it's a new experience to me." Lowri said slowly, she looked back up at him and into his eyes. "I haven't felt the cold since winter 1835." She breathed out.
Steve looked at her with wonder and then he dropped his hands and leant across her to order her a new drink.
He turned back to her as she grabbed the napkins again and dried off her hand.
"What were you talking to the veterans about?" Steve asked as he leant back against the counter.
"Italy 1943." Lowri said, "Seems like some of them were there with us and some remember the Austria adventure."
"Some of them were there?" Steve asked, he raised his eyebrows and looked over at the group of veterans.
"Were you jealous?" Lowri asked, she smiled as Steve jerked his attention back to her. "Is that why you came down here and spilled my drink?"
Steve seemed flustered and he struggled to get his words out so Lowri began speaking again.
"It's alright if you're jealous, Steve." She continued.
"What if I just wanted to talk to you again?" Steve asked quickly.
Lowri raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest, which proved difficult because of the long sleeves covering her hands.
"Oh really?" Lowri asked jokingly. "You were jealous."
Steve looked down at his feet and she knew he was hiding his blush.
"What if I am?" Steve asked, he looked up at her. His eyes connected with hers and for a brief moment, she was taken back to 1942 when she first looked into his eyes.
"I'd tell you that there's no need for you to be jealous. Because…" Lowri said, she smiled at him and then licked her bottom lip. "Look who's jacket I'm wearing."
Lowri turned and grabbed her drink and then she headed over to the seats where Rhodey was standing with a group of people around him.
He was telling an animated story, using his hands and arms in big gestures as the people in front of him listened avidly.
"I fly right up to the General's palace, I drop it at his feet, I'm like 'Boom. You looking for this?'" Rhodey finished off the story with a flourish and crossed his arms as his audience burst into laughter.
"He's already tried that story on me, Stark and Thor and it didn't go too well." Maria said into Lowri's ear. Lowri turned from Rhodey and his posse, then she stepped off with Maria. "And lookie here, you're even wearing Cap's jacket."
Lowri looked at Maria with one of her 'no nonsense; looks and Maria put her up her hands jokingly.
"Steve spilled my drink. Then he realised I was cold so he gave me his jacket. Completely innocent." Lowri said firmly.
"Cute." Maria said, she smirked at Lowri and then took a seat on the free bench just by the stairs. She let out a sigh as she sat down. "Ahh. My feet are absolutely killing me."
Lowri sat down beside Maria as Maria pulled off her shoes and massaged her feet.
"It's only been what, two hours at the most? There's another five guaranteed and then once everyone else has gone home, that's when the real fun begins." Lowri said with a smirk.
"Have you seen these heels?" Maria asked, gesturing towards the incriminating objects lying discarded on the floor.
"I'm sure you wear similar shoes now that you're working for Tony." Lowri commented.
"I get to sit down during the non-busy hours." Maria pointed out. "But damn, these shoes are named correctly. Killer heels indeed. Give me those boots I used to wear."
"I know how you feel." Lowri said, "But, this is why you wear reasonable heels." She gestured to her own reasonable heels before she leant back and took another sip of her drink.
"Did I hear you say that there's another five hours guaranteed?" Maria asked as she rubbed her feet.
"Guaranteed. And then the fun will begin." Lowri said. "I can see myself falling asleep under a table."
Maria let out a laugh and then she leant back in her seat before taking a sip of her drink.
"How are those cuffs working out for you?" Maria asked as she glanced down at Lowri's wrists where the black thick cuffs ordained her forearms.
"Really well." Lowri admitted. She looked down at her wrists too. "I have more accuracy and I think I can control it better than before. Where did you get them from?" Lowri asked.
"Our old friend." Maria said simply, she looked up at Lowri and their eyes locked. Instantly, Lowri knew.
"That old friend." Lowri said slowly. "I think I knew who's work these were but I needed to double check."
Maria nodded her head slowly and they quickly turned the conversation from their mutual friend and onto Maria's job in Tony's company and then they talked about Lowri's current job, though that's gone now. It's time for Lowri to settle down onto something new.
Lowri and Maria were on the bench for over an hour, mostly talking about what Lowri could do now that Hydra and the sceptre were dealt with.
Maria eventually got up, with her killer heels back on her feet, to get the next round of drinks in and as soon as Maria had walked off, Steve passed by with a smile on his face, then he stopped and turned back to her.
"Do you wanna get some air?" Steve asked, he held out his hand and Lowri abandoned her glass, took hold of his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.
"You read my mind." Lowri said as Steve weaved through the crowds, pulling her with him. "Where are we going?"
Steve waited until they were free of the guests before he turned back and smiled.
"The roof." He pulled her to the elevator and pressed the button, keeping his grip on her. "I thought it would be nice to escape for a little bit, get some fresh air. Besides, it looked as though Maria was interviewing you a few times."
"She was." Lowri said as the elevator doors opened and they both stepped in, Steve quickly pressed the roof button and the doors slid closed. "But just now we were talking about my retirement."
Steve smiled at her and squeezed her hands gently as he pulled her closer.
"Retirement? What, you're getting too old now to keep on working?" Steve teased her.
"Not all of us gets seventy years' worth of rest." Lowri smirked, Steve widened his eyes at her and chuckled.
"You didn't just use the ice card." Steve laughed.
"I never said anything about ice." Lowri pointed out. "But I think now is the time for me to retire and find a nice little hobby that doesn't involve aliens or any agent work or secret organisations."
"That's a good point." Steve said, he looked down at the floor of the elevator and the smile slipped off his face.
"What is?" Lowri asked, she stepped closer again and squeezed his hand.
"That we're no long tied to S. H. I. E. L. D. and this, the Avengers working together. The world is no longer under threat." Steve said, he looked back up at her and dropped her hand.
"We can do whatever we want to do." Lowri said quickly. "There's nothing wrong with that. The world is at peace."
The elevator stopped and then the doors opened, letting in the breezy draft and they stepped out of the elevator and out onto the rooftop.
"I don't know what I can do now that S. H. I. E. L. D. is definitely over and now that there's no need for the Avengers to stay and fight. Ever since I woke up, all I've known is S. H. I. E. L. D. and now that's gone. I don't know what to do." Steve said, his eyes were full of hurt as he spoke and her heart reached for him.
Lowri took hold of his hand and guided him away from the elevator and onto a bench.
"You can do whatever the hell you want." Lowri said firmly. She sat down on the bench beside him and clasped his hand in her two hands on her lap. "Ever since the war, all I've done is work my ass off for S. H. I. E. L. D. I started it up and now it's gone. And I know I can't go back to what I did before the wars, I'm too well known. But I know something will come up again."
"We'll do it together, eh?" Steve asked. Lowri smiled at him.
"Yeah. Together. Because I don't want to do this alone again." Lowri said, she scooted closer to Steve and leant her head on his shoulder as his free hand went around her back and held her to him.
After a minute or so of comfortable silence, Steve pulled back and looked down at her.
"What did you do before the war, Ri?" Steve asked.
Lowri sat back and dropped his hand as she looked up at him, slightly startled at his asking. He has never asked that before, he just went along with her.
"Is it alright if I ask that?" Steve asked hastily upon spotting her startled look. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"No, no. It's okay. It's just you've never asked before." Lowri said, "In fact, no one has."
"Strange. Would have thought that the media would have interviewed you or something." Steve said but Lowri shook her head.
"No. No media has come knocking down my door." Lowri joked. "Okay, how much do you wanna know?"
"As much as you want to tell me, Ri." Steve said warmly. "You can tell me everything right from the start, or you can tell me something from a decade ago."
"Okay." Lowri said, she looked down at the floor and swallowed. "I think I should tell you everything. I've held everything back to myself all these years, no one knows the full story and I've held so much back from you."
"With good reason, Ri." Steve said slowly, "You haven't told anyone to protect yourself."
"And with all these threats gone, I don't need to protect myself anymore, do I?" Lowri asked, she smiled up at Steve, she squeezed his hand tighter and then released his hand as she turned her body to face him. His other hand fell from around her shoulders and he leant back on the bench.
"Am I finally going to hear your origin story?" Steve teased. Lowri nodded her head in reply and smiled playfully at him.
"Yes, well, actually I'm not sure if I can tell you myself." Lowri said, Steve looked at her with narrowed eyes and they searched hers curiously. "I have it written down. Bruce thought it was best for me to write down things I wanted to tell you, and well, I have a journal."
"A journal? What sort of stuff have you written in there?" Steve asked.
"All sorts of stuff." Lowri answered, she stood up and looked down at him. "I'll be right back."
Lowri gave Steve a warm smile before she tugged his jacket around her tightly and headed for the lift. She quickly headed down to her room and she grabbed the leather bound journal before making her way back up to Steve.
He was where she left him, still sat on the bench and he smiled when Lowri approached him, holding the thick leather bound journal in her hands.
Again, massive apologies for not updating last week!
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