The Beginning (Steve x Reader x Bucky)

(19) Howard's Lab

Robot claws are dealing with the cube cartridge inside of a blast chamber. Outside, Howard is examining the cube while his engineer takes notes. "Emission signature is unusual. Alpha, beta and gamma ray neutral. Though I doubt Rogers picked up on that." Stark says to himself.

Howard gently removes a glowing pellet. "Hmm. Looks harmless enough." he continues.

He then moves the robot claw, extending a sparking wire. He begins moving the wire to the pellet. "Hard to see what all the fuss is ab-"

BOOM! An explosion occurs, blowing the windows of the blast chamber, sending Howard into the wall behind him. When the dust subsides he looks to the engineer. "Write that down."

The engineer starts writing.

A W.A.C., PVT. Lorraine is reading, "STARS & STRIPES: "P.O.W. CAMP LIBERATED, MIRACLE TREK ACROSS ENEMY LINES."'

"Excuse me, I was looking for Mr. Stark?" Steve states walking up to Lorraine. "I think he went to look for a broom." she responds not looking up.

After a while, she looks up. The real Steve Rogers is standing above her. She begins to smile. "Of course, you're welcome to wait." she continues.

Steve sits, hesitantly. Lorraine swivels in her chair, Steve watching her every move. "I read about what you did." the girl says.

"Oh, I was just doing what needed to be done." he tells her. "Sounded like more than that. You saved nearly two hundred men." the PVT adds.

"Really. It wasn't a big thing." Steve says, still not used to all the attention.

"Tell that to their wives." the girl keeps going. "I... don't think they were all married." he counters.

"You're a hero." the girl tells him. He smiles, "Well, maybe. Depending on whose definition-" the man is cut off.

"The women of America owe you their thanks." the girl says walking over to him, glancing around. "And seeing as they're not here..."

She leans in and kisses him. Steve's eyes go wide. He becomes stiff at the contact. The girl finally breaks the kiss, leaping back when she sees YN and Peggy.

YN stares at the girl, pissed, while Peggy stares coldly. "Captain. We're ready for you... if you're not otherwise occupied." Peggy states. Both girls walk away.

YN and Peggy stride down a hallway, Steve right on their tails. "Agents. Wait a second." They ignore him, not stopping. The blonde catches up with them.

"Looks like finding a partner wasn't that hard after all." the Britain says. "Wait, no. That wasn't what you guys thought it was." he tells them. 

"We don't think anything, Captain. Not one thing." the red head continues.

The girls keep waking to a metal door at the end of the hall. "You wanted to be a soldier. Now you are one. Just like all the rest." YN says, coldly.

Steve stops, flustered and upset. "Well what about you and Stark? Or you and Bucky? How do I know that you guys haven't been... founding the whole time?" he snaps.

YN snickers and keeps walking. Peggy turns around, quickly, "You still don't understand a bloody thing about women." she tells him, walking away to catch up with her friend.

Steve watches the girls disappear behind the door, realizing he messed up. "Fondue's just cheese and bread, my friend." Stark says from the metal doorway. "And it looks to me like they think you've got a lot more going for you than that." he concludes.

The men walk through the metal doors, seeing workers replace the shattered windows of the blast chamber. They also see mechanics fixing a motorcycle.

Steve, surprised by Stark's comment, "Really, I didn't think-" he's cut off. "Nor should you, pal. The minute you think you know what's in a women's head is the minute your goose is truly cooked."

Howard stops Steve at high- tech fabrics. "Me, I concentrate on work. Which at the moment is making sure you and your men don't get killed." Stark unrolls gray metallic weave. "Carbon polymer. Ought to hold its own against your average German bayonet. Of course, Hydra's not likely to come at you with a pocket knife." he continues.

He turns the blonde to his old shield lying on the work table. "I hear your sort of attached." Steve starts playing with a bullet hole on the shield. "It's handier than you might think." the blonde states.

"So's the hotel chambermaid, but I wouldn't bring her into battle. Speaking of battle, I think you should bring YN, she'll be helpful." Howard pulls up a cart with numbers of shields, some fully built, some half- done. "I took the liberty of coming up with a few options." Stark keeps talking while grabbing one of the shields. "This ones fun. It's fitted with transistorized relays."

Steve picks up a plain, round shield from the bottom of the cart. He begins spinning it between his palms. It's light, balanced. Steve hits the shield, lightly. It rings like a bell. He then registers what Howard said.

"Wait! Did you just say you'd bring YN to battle. Why?" Steve questions. Howard looks up confused, "Uh, yeah, I did. She'd be helpful. Did she not tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Steve asks just as confused. "Not really my place to say, but when she tells you don't get mad at me, please."

"WHAT ARE YOU NOT TELLING ME HOWARD!" Steve shouts. "I just said don't get mad!" Stark counters.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. But what are you not telling me. Are you guys fonduing?" the blonde asks worriedly.

Howard face palms, "Steve, I told you what fondue is. No, we aren't sleeping together. Although, I would've liked too." Steve rolls his eyes. "But that's your girl, so. Or Bucky's? I dunno. Anyway, I'll have YN tell you our secret." Howard finishes. Steve nods. 'My girl. Sounds nice.' he thinks to himself.

"What about this one?" Cap asks referring to the shield in his hand. "Oh, that's just a prototype. Now this one-" the brunette is cut off.

"What's it made of?" the blonde questions. 

"Vibranium. Stronger than steel and a third of the weight." Steve puts the shield on his arm. "It's completely vibration absorbent. Should make a bullet feel like a cotton ball." the brunette continues.

Behind the men Peggy and YN enter. "How come it's not standard issue?" Steve asks the brunette. He answers, "It's the rarest metal on Earth. You're holding all we've got."

The girls reach the men. "Are you finished, Mr. Stark? I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business." the red head states and YN nods.

Steve smiles at them, but they don't. He lifts the shield up, "What do you think?" he asks them. Peggy looks at him, icy. Then she turns to the table next her, which has a lot of guns. She picks one up and shoots at Steve. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

He blocks them. The slugs were flattened and fell to the floor. "I think it works. What about you YN?" the red head says handing YN the gun.

YN looks at the gun, then to Steve. She holds her hand up and... BOOM! She throws a ball of energy at him, then a ball of fire. Steve is ducking behind his shield, scared, shocked and mostly confused. YN satisfied with how scared he is begins speaking, "It'll do."

Steve comes out from behind his shield, both Howard and Steve staring at the girls as they walk away. They stare for a long time before Steve breaks the silence, "Was that the secret?"

"Uh, yeah. Except I don't remember it being that scary." Howard tells him. "Yeah. Okay. She's coming with us for this battle. Now, about my uniform..." Steve trails off, handing the brunette a sketch, neither of them taking their eyes off the girls.

"Whatever you want, sport." Stark responds grabbing the sketch.