1940's, Brooklyn
The marquee lights of the local theater cast a warm glow over the bustling street. The smell of popcorn wafted through the air as people milled about, eagerly awaiting the next showing of the latest blockbuster. Among them, Ginny, Steve, and Bucky stood, their faces lit with excitement.
"Come on, guys, we have to be quiet," Ginny whispered, stifling a giggle. She glanced around, making sure no one was watching as they approached the side entrance of the theater.
Steve, ever the cautious one, hesitated. "I still don't think we should be doing this," he muttered.
"Relax, Stevie. We've done this a hundred times," Bucky replied with a grin. He gently pushed the door open, revealing the dimly lit hallway beyond.
"Yeah, live a little, Steve," Ginny teased, taking his hand and pulling him inside. Bucky followed, closing the door quietly behind them.
They tiptoed through the narrow hallway, stifling their laughter as they approached the back of the theater. The sound of the movie projector filled the air, and they quickly found three empty seats in the middle row, slipping into them as quietly as possible.
The lights dimmed further, and the movie began. Ginny sat between Steve and Bucky, the box of candy they'd snuck in resting on her lap. As the picture began to play, she glanced at the boys, a wide grin on her face.
"Another successful mission," she whispered, scrunching her nose in excitement.
As the movie progressed, the trio found themselves engrossed in the story. They shared the candy, their hands brushing against each other occasionally, each touch sending a jolt of awareness through them.
At one point, a particularly funny scene caused Ginny to burst into laughter, her head tilting back to rest on Bucky's shoulder. He looked down at her, a soft smile playing on his lips, his eyes lingering on hers longer than necessary.
Steve, noticing the intimate moment, shifted slightly in his seat. Slowly, tentatively, his hand found its way to Ginny's. She responded without hesitation, her fingers intertwining with his in the folds of her skirt's fabric. He squeezed her hand gently, his gaze fixed on the screen but his mind far from the movie.
A few minutes later, Ginny adjusted her position, leaning more comfortably against Bucky while still holding Steve's hand. The close proximity and casual touches weren't unusual, but there was also an undeniable undercurrent of tension, slowly growing stronger every day they refused to acknowledge it.
Bucky lifted his arm to rest it along the back of their shared seat, brushing against Ginny's neck and sending a shiver down her spine. She tilted her head slightly, meeting his eyes in the dim light.
Steve, feeling the shift in the atmosphere, glanced at them from the corner of his eye. His jaw tightened slightly, but he said nothing, choosing instead to focus on the comfort of Ginny's hand in his. He ran his thumb across the back of her hand. Her smooth, perfect skin.
As the final scene of the movie played out, Ginny let out a content sigh, squeezing Steve's hand and leaning further into Bucky. She felt safe and cherished in that moment, surrounded by the two people she cared about most, seemingly indifferent to the way they each squirmed in their seats. The way their lips each curled ever so slightly when her attention turned to the other. The way they both itched to grab her and pull her towards their own body, away from any shared contact.
When the credits rolled and the lights began to come up, she untangled herself from the hands and limbs draped over her.
"Well boys, that was fun," Ginny said with a smile, standing up and stretching. "We should do this again sometime."
Bucky chuckled, running his thumb over her chin. "Whatever you want, Gin."
Steve grabbed each of their arms, pulling them towards the door. "Let's just get out of here before we get caught."
Present Day, New York City
Why the fuck were high heels invented in the first place?
Evie glowered as she rounded the final block to Stark Tower. I mean, it's not like men even like tall women. They like short, petite, feminine women - women that make them feel big and strong and manly. Fucking idiots. These are a torture device.
Mentally vowing that heels were a one-time thing, reserved for her first day, she sipped her coffee and started up the steps to the front doors. The towering glass structure of Stark Tower loomed above her. Evie felt her agitation slip away as she walked through the revolving doors, greeted by the sleek, modern interior. She'd been here before, but never as an employee. It never lost the ability to take her breath away. After allowing herself a second to marvel at the high ceilings and the hum of the building, alive with technology, she started towards the elevators, tugging her badge from her purse.
Since she'd been consulting for them, she was given an access badge to the upper levels of the building, the ones containing the laboratories and conference rooms. This one still featured a photo of her from her sophomore year of college and read "consultant" across the front –– but Pepper had assured her they'd get an updated version made on her first day. For now, this would get here where she needed to go.
A few polite smiles and exchanges of pleasantries later, the elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and Evie stepped into her new domain. The lab was a haven of cutting-edge technology. Every surface gleamed, holographic interfaces projected into the air, screens showing algorithms the likes of which the world had never seen. Evie's eyes sparkled as she took it all in.
This was what she'd worked her whole life for. This was her life.
She made her way to her designated workspace, a pristine corner equipped with every tool and gadget she could dream of. On the metal surface, a small yellow sticky note was the only thing not electronically powered.
Good thing you sat front row
TS
Grinning, Evie set her bag down and began to organize her space, carefully tucking the sticky note into her notebook. She wasn't usually the sentimental type, but this was different. It felt like this was the first day of her life, everything prior to this just a prerequisite. MIT, the keynote speech she'd shown up embarrassingly early just to get front row at…it had culminated in this. Her own workstation inside Stark Industries. Maybe if I keep saying it over and over, it'll finally sink in, Evie thought to herself, pulling her laptop of out her bag.
"Can I help you with something?" a voice interrupted her thoughts. Evie turned to see a young man in a lab coat, his expression a mix of confusion and irritation. He had the look of someone who spent more time with machines than people.
"Just getting settled," Evie replied smoothly, her lips curving into a small, enigmatic smile.
"Are you lost? This is a classified area." His tone was dismissive, and he glanced pointedly at her, clearly not having been briefed there was a new engineer starting today.
Evie raised an eyebrow, debating whether she should correct him or play along. Widening her eyes, she shook her head. "Oh, I must have wandered off. This place is a maze."
The engineer snorted. "Well, you'd better find your way back downstairs before Stark finds out one of his...guests is snooping around."
"I'd hate to see what he'd say if he saw me here, around such…" Evie picked up a small piece of machinery, wires poking out of each end. "...expensive technology."
"Look, just—"
Before he could finish, Mr. Stark Industries himself strode into the lab, his presence commanding immediate attention. He paused, taking in the scene with a smirk. Tony looked as effortlessly cool as ever in a Van Halen shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Much more casual than her slacks and heels. He'd made it abundantly clear that there was no dress code, even emphasizing that she could wear as little as she was comfortable with, but she'd been in STEM long enough to know that if she wanted to be taken seriously — she needed to dress the part. At least for the first week, until her inevitable all-nighters started to catch up with her.
"There she is! The prodigy herself," Tony called out, his arms open wide in mock applause.
Evie rolled her eyes, but couldn't suppress a grin. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Stark."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Tony narrowed his eyes. "Now, what was I hearing? Something about my guest snooping around?"
The engineer paled, realizing his mistake. "Mr. Stark, I—"
Tony held up a hand, cutting him off. "I'm gonna go ahead and stop you right there, Napoleon Dynamite, before you dig yourself an even deeper hole. Evie here is one of the few women on God's green Earth to ever turn me down. While I'm sure she found me both wildly charming and devilishly handsome, she said she didn't want there to be any question as to why she was offered a gig at the most prestigious technology conglomerate in the world."
Silent, the engineer's eyes darted between them.
"That being said, she not only holds over a dozen patents for new technology––some of which you're using in this lab––she graduated top of her class at MIT and has been consulting for us for two years now. E. Langston that you've been emailing, troubleshooting why you can't get your proton reactor to bond effectively? This," Tony gestured to Evie. "Is E. Langston."
The engineer's face turned bright red. "I—I'm so sorry, ma'am. I didn't realize—"
"Relax," Evie said, waving off his apology. "You're not the first person to think hot and smart are mutually exclusive. Let's just start fresh." She extended a hand. "I'm Evie Langston."
"Christopher Parr," He stammered, shrinking before her eyes.
Tony chuckled, clapping the engineer on the shoulder with a little too much force. "Now that you've met your new boss, hopefully you'll be able to make it through the day without pissing her off. She's here to whip this place into even better shape, and if you ever disrespect her again, you'll be looking for a new job. Got it?"
The engineer nodded fervently and scurried away, leaving Tony and Evie alone.
Tony grinned. "That's the spirit. Now, get back to work, and make sure you show Evie the respect she deserves."
"He seems charming," Evie said, leaning against the counter behind her.
Tony shrugged. "You'll get a lot of that around here until they realize just how much smarter you are than all of them combined. Pepper dealt with a ton of shit like that when she took over as CEO."
"How did she handle it?"
"Her philosophy is 'kill them with kindness', so usually a polite warning." He raised an eyebrow. "But, on the second offense, they got canned."
Evie laughed. "Do I have firing authority?"
"Let me be clear. I don't care if you fire every engineer that works here, spray paint the entire lab baby pink, and install a snow cone machine. If you produce half of the innovation I know you're capable of, you'll turn our next closest competitor from a grain of sand to an atom."
"Deal," she grinned, opening her laptop. The itch to start was getting the best of her.
Tony leaned against the counter. "So, what's the first project, wondergirl?"
"I'm thinking of starting with the security systems. Enhancing the encryption algorithms, integrating some new biometric scanners... you know, fixing the previously sloppy work." She winked.
"Sounds overdue. Just don't make it too hard for us mere mortals to get in."
"I'll try to keep it user-friendly."
Tony's phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. "Duty calls. I'll check in later. Remember, no detonations in the building, please!"
With that, Tony left the lab, and Evie turned her attention back to her work, her mind already buzzing with ideas. She felt a thrill of excitement, knowing this was just the beginning.
She plugged in her laptop and activated her workstation, the multiple screens flickering to life with a soft glow. As the interface booted up, she reached into her bag and pulled out a sleek, customized tablet. Her fingers danced across the screen, bringing up schematics and blueprints she'd been working on in preparation for this day.
Before she knew it, several hours had passed. Her coffee cup, half empty, was long forgotten on the counter. She'd found several weak points in the security programming, and had spent the morning rewriting the code to eliminate them. By the time Tony returned, she would have sworn it had only been a half hour.
"Good lord, Langston, I can hear your stomach growling from the rooftop."
"I'm not hungry, I don't usually eat breakfast," She didn't look up from her computer.
"Be that as it may, breakfast time has come and gone. It's 2:27pm." He set a hand on her desk, drawing her attention. "It's time for a tour. No debates. Let's go."
She reluctantly stood, locking her computer behind her, stepping back into her shoes and slipping her phone into her pocket. After snapping out of her work stupor, she became suddenly aware of the headache from her tight ponytail and the rumbling in her stomach. "I hope there's a lunch break on this tour."
"Oh, look who's changing her tune." Tony swiped his badge and gestured for her to step into the elevator. "Here I was thinking you'd found a way to deprogram your own hunger."
"I'll start on that tomorrow."
After touring the first few floors, making rounds and shaking hands, Evie was once again regretting her choice to wear heels. She'd been banking on the privacy of her own lab where she could kick them off and work freely all day — not this psuedo-press tour around this massive fucking tower. There was a whole floor dedicated to Tony's cars and the mechanics that worked on them, three floors occupied by SHIELD as their base in the city, a whole floor as a gym, one floor housing all Stark Industries corporate employees, one floor dedicated to his nonprofit organization that cleaned up the inevitable damage left behind by saving the world, and that was just the lower half of the tower.
"Next few floors are for the team," Tony explained, swiping his access card to press the button.
Evie raised an eyebrow. "By the team, you mean…?"
"Right, the Avengers. I'm sure you got out of the lab long enough to know who that is, at least once over the past four years?"
"It might ring a bell." She pursed her lips.
"Well," The elevator door slid open and Tony gestured for her to step out first. "This is the training floor. It's nothing compared to what we have upstate at the compound, but the team uses it when they stay here. Floor above this one is intelligence, briefing rooms, and weapons HQ. Almost every field weapon engineered by us is tested up there. Unless, of course, it poses a major risk to the integrity of the building. We've been advised not to test those here anymore."
"Bummer," Evie muttered, marveling at the massive space, the sheer size of the weight equipment. It was definitely not designed for humans, judging by the 300 lb dumbbells she walked past –– and that was just on the smaller end.
They finished touring the training floor before spending another hour in the weapons section above it. She hadn't had a ton of experience developing weaponry, something about safety regulations that MIT had been incredibly clear about. After seeing Tony's work and his demonstrations — she had little interest in developing anything else.
As they stepped out onto the designated floor, Evie was met with the sight of two men she'd known about her whole life, but had only seen in history books and news footage. Captain America and the Winter Soldier. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. The classically handsome blonde and ruggedly charming brunette striding through the hallway towards her.
They were laughing about something, walking side by side, distracted. Coming from a run, by the looks of it. They both wore faded t-shirts with sweaty rings around the neck, shorts just long enough to tip someone off that they might not be as young and trendy as their faces indicated. Clearly, the trends today hadn't been published in Super Soldier Weekly.
"Hey, Dynamic Duo!" Tony called out, his voice a trademark blend of sarcasm and nonchalance. "Get over here for a sec."
Steve turned first, his face still slightly flushed from exertion. His blue eyes, striking even from a distance, were friendly yet cautious, taking in the new face with polite curiosity. His golden hair, damp with sweat, clung slightly to his forehead, adding a boyish charm to his chiseled features. Despite his casual attire, he stood with the natural grace and confidence of someone used to commanding attention. Seeing his posture, Evie straightened up, suddenly conscious of her own. She pulled her shoulders back, tilting her chin slightly higher. Damn, that jawline should be criminal, she thought to herself.
Beside him, Bucky was a study in contrasts. His dark hair, longer than Steve's, was slick with sweat, falling in disheveled strands around his face. It gave him a rugged, almost dangerous edge. His steel-blue eyes, intense and scrutinizing, widened slightly as he took in Evie's appearance. It was as if he'd seen a ghost, and for a moment, he looked shell-shocked. The infamous vibranium arm, visible through the short sleeve of his t-shirt, glinted subtly in the fluorescent light. The shine tempted Evie's eyes to look, but she resisted, keeping her eyes on his. He stayed slightly behind Steve as they changed course to approach Tony and Evie, his posture relaxed but alert, as if on guard. She wondered if that was his permanent state.
"Evie, meet Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Guys, this is Evie Langston, our newest engineering genius and second most brilliant mind in the building, behind yours truly," Tony announced, making a sweeping gesture over her body.
Steve and Bucky exchanged a quick, bewildered glance. Evie stood, grinning, waiting for them to utter whatever first words she'd undoubtedly remember forever. She wondered if they remembered her grandmother. She wondered if all the stories she'd heard over the years would do them justice or pale in comparison. Don't meet your heroes, people always said. Yet, here she was, standing before two men she'd heard more about than just about anyone besides Jesus Christ himself. She'd waited twenty five years for this moment, she could wait all day for them to find their voices.
Steve was the first to recover. He strode up and stopped right in front of her. "Nice to meet you, Evie. Welcome to the team," he said, his voice warm and sincere, his smile the same.
Bucky nodded at her, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Hey," he muttered, his voice a deep, gravelly rumble.
Evie felt her heart rate spike as she met their gazes, eyes flicking back and forth between the different shades of blue, refusing to break eye contact. Through the years, she'd learned the effect she had on men. She'd grown up watching her mother command a room, watching necks nearly snap as she walked through a crowd. The older she got, the more she resembled her mother. The more she resembled her mother, the more difficult it seemed to be for men to keep their eyes –– and hands, at times –– off of her. She knew she could hardly fight it, so she might as well learn to make it work to her advantage.
So this part came naturally.
"Nice to meet you both," she replied, shaking Steve's hand first, then Bucky's. The contrast in their grips was fascinating—Steve's was controlled power, while Bucky's, though also strong, had a rougher, more unrefined feel. She tilted her head down ever so slightly, looking up at them through long lashes. "It's a real pleasure." A coy smile following carefully chosen words. Two sets of eyes watching her glossed lips pressed together.
A shrill tone rang through the air, startling all of them. Tony tugged his phone from his pocket, glanced at the screen and rolled his eyes. "Sorry, it's Pepper. Probably calling to remind me of a meeting I'm already late for." He answered the call, turning slightly away. "Hey, Pep… Yes, I know… of course I'm on my way, it's this damn elevator –– hey, did you make sure we got the good catering again?" He covered the receiver with his hand and gave the trio an exaggeratedly regretful look. "Gotta dash. Rogers, Barnes, can you finish showing Evie around? Thanks, you're the best." And with that, he was off, striding down the hallway with his usual brisk efficiency.
Steve chuckled softly at Tony's hurried departure. "Looks like it's just us," he said, slowly turning back to Evie with a reassuring smile. "So, engineering genius, huh? What's your specialty?"
"Robotics and AI, mostly," Evie replied, smiling shyly, despite being anything but. "But I dabble in a bunch of other areas. I can't seem to narrow it down."
"That's uncommon, right?" Steve furrowed his brow, his eyes flicking to Tony's retreating figure before settling back on Evie. "Engineers typically choose a specialty, don't deviate?"
"Some. I think I would get bored if I had to choose just one." She grinned and let her eyes linger on his, feeling a small sense of accomplishment when he tore his eyes away first.
Steve and Bucky exchanged another glance, a silent conversation passing between them. It was clear they were both still sizing her up, but there was also an undercurrent of something else—something she couldn't wait to unearth.
"Well, welcome aboard, Evie," Steve said again, his smile genuine. "We're glad to have you here."
"Why thank you, Steve. I'm looking forward to working with you both," she replied, meeting his gaze with steady confidence.
"So," Steve cleared his throat. "Clearly, we aren't exactly dressed to make a great first impression. I apologize for that. We can give you the rest of the tour and hopefully the next time we're acquainted, we won't be so ––"
"Damp?" Evie finished for him.
"Right." He gave a sheepish grin.
She nodded, holding her hands out. "After you, Cap."
Steve smiled at her response, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Right this way."
As they walked down the hallway, Steve fell into an easy stride beside her, while Bucky lagged slightly behind. Evie let her hips swing just a little extra as she walked. The atmosphere was a mix of professional courtesy and underlying tension, the latter mostly emanating from Bucky's wary presence.
"So, Evie, where did you study?" Steve asked, trying to break the ice as they navigated the maze of corridors.
"MIT," she replied, her tone light. "But I've been working with Stark Industries since my second year. Consulting, mainly. Tony likes to poach young talent early."
Steve chuckled. "Sounds about right."
Bucky remained silent, his eyes locked on Evie, studying her with an intensity that made her skin prickle. Never one to shy away, she decided to engage him directly, whirling to face him as she walked.
"And you, Bucky? How do you find working with Tony?"
Bucky raised an eyebrow. "It's…an experience. But he knows what he's doing. Most of the time."
Steve shot Bucky a sidelong glance, as if to silently reprimand him, before turning back to Evie. "Tony can be a handful, but he's the best at what he does. We're lucky to have him on our side."
As they covered the next few floors, they talked about little else besides the purpose of each one. Evie nodded earnestly, smiled warmly, ooh'd and ahh'd at all the right times. Truthfully, she couldn't give less of a shit about the uses of the building. The vast majority of her time would be spent in the lab, and if she had to choose a second way to spend her time, it was standing right in front of her.
"Here we are, back at your new playground," Steve said, gesturing around the lab. "I wish I could give you a more in-depth run down, but unfortunately, that's above my pay grade."
Bucky, who'd been silent the past two floors, finally spoke up. "So what's your first project?"
"So far, beefing up security protocol, detecting weak zones, things like that," Evie waved a hand, turning to face him. "Tony mentioned a few more pressing needs, so I guess I'll see what they have in mind." A smirk. "Or what needs the most help around here."
Steve nodded. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll do great. Tony wouldn't have brought you in if he didn't think you were the best."
"That," She winked. "...I am."
He smiled, looking down before meeting her eyes again. "Well, it was very nice meeting you. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around." He offered her his hand.
"I'm looking forward to it." She returned his smile before turning to Bucky, holding her hand out. "Sargeant."
"Welcome to the team." His face was stoic as he shook her hand.
As they turned to walk away, Evie couldn't fight the grin that fought its way onto her face. Dream job, kickass lab, insane salary, and she'd just met Steve fucking Rogers and Bucky fucking Barnes.
Life was about to get oh so sweet.
Steve and Bucky stood in the elevator in stunned silence, the echoes of their brief encounter with the new girl lingering in the air.
"Did you see that?" Steve finally broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper.
Bucky nodded, his expression a mix of disbelief and awe. "She looks exactly like Ginny."
"I heard she had a granddaughter, but I didn't expect… I didn't expect this." Steve rubbed the back of his neck, trying to process his emotions.
Bucky leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair. "Seeing her brought back so many memories. It felt like Ginny was standing right there in front of us. It fucked with my head."
"Yeah. It's uncanny. But she's not Ginny, Buck. She's Evie, she's a completely different person."
Bucky shook his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts. "I know. It's just… damn, it's a lot to take in."
Steve leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "We have to be careful, Buck. We can't let our past interfere with the present."
Bucky's jaw tightened. "I get it, Steve. But seeing her… it's bringing up a lot of stuff I thought I'd buried."
Steve glanced at him, his expression softening. "We'll figure it out, Buck. We always do."
Bucky nodded slowly, his mind racing. "Yeah. We will."