𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍━︎━︎P. Carter ✓︎

𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
COULD'VE KILLED YOU

EVELYN ROGERS HAD A SCHEDULE. She would wake up, go get breakfast, and go to her job before heading back home once more and starting that same cycle over again. Working side by side with Peggy was comforting, being degraded by men that thought they were better than her was not. Did she use it to her advantage to remind them that she was in fact Captain America's twin sister in order to scare them? Yes, yes she did. Was she proud of it? No. But she lived in a time where men were superior and women were supposed to stay home and wash the dishes, cooking a meal for their husbands as soon as they got home.

However, Evelyn would never live that type of life. No, instead she would live a life where she was the roommate to the women she was so desperately in love with that she knew would never love her back. Evelyn walked home, her hands stuffed in her coat pocket, the gentle wind blowing through her blonde curls. She could feel the weight of her gun tucked in her coat, concealed along with her SSR badge that allowed her to carry said gun. She usually didn't bring it out in public when she knew she wouldn't be gone for long, but today she felt she needed it.

The sound of a crash could be heard, grabbing Evelyn's attention. She stopped, turning her head down the alley that the noise came from. She glanced around, curious if anyone else had heard it or if she was just hearing things. Another crash came and immediately Evelyn reached for her side arm, concealing it until she started carefully down the alley before holding it out in front of her, ready to shoot anyone that tried to attack her.

She grew closer and closer to the noise, jaw set as she focused her eyes on the area around her. She was growing closer and closer to the end of the alley, and just before she reached the end, someone jumped up and immediately she shot the gun. The sound of groan grabbed her attention, causing her to lower her gun. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the person that was now laying on the ground, clutching a hand to his shoulder. Howard Stark laid there, glancing down at the wound as he forced himself to sit up.

     "Howard?" Evelyn called his name, quickly putting her gun away. "My God! I'm so sorry." She was quick to kneel down, ripping a strip of cloth from her coat and quickly tying it around the wound that she had inflicted upon the man. "Jesus, Stark, what the hell are you doing in the middle of a dark creepy alley?" She let out a huff, blowing the hair out of her face and narrowing her eyes at the man who watched with a wince as she tightened the cloth around his shoulder. "I could've killed you!" Howard looked back at her with raised eyebrows.

     "What the hell are you doing following creepy noises into a dark creepy alley?" He shot back. Evelyn rolled her eyes and he hummed, knowing that he had gotten her there. "Thank you for shooting me by the way. I appreciate the pain every once in a while, let's me know I'm still human and that you actually care about me." He smirked and Evelyn just sighed, grabbing onto his hurt arm and pulling him up from the ground. "Watch the arm, won't ya?" Evelyn gave him a sarcastic smile. "What are you doing over her anyways?"

     Evelyn stared at Howard for a moment before letting go of his arm, pushing her hair behind her ear as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her heart was still heavy seeing as she just came back from her brother's grave. Evelyn didn't like to be vulnerable, especially in front of Stark, but every time she went to her brother's grave, that hard shell that she put up always seemed to effortlessly crumble into several unrepairable pieces. She swallowed thickly, looking anywhere but Stark as she answered his question with a soft voice. "I was visiting my brother's grave."

Howard nodded his head in understanding. He knew how much the girl had been struggling to get over his death. She had lost so many people all at once. She was the only left in the Rogers family, and he knew that was taking a toll on her. He missed hearing all the stories she would tell about her adventures with Bucky and Steve. Now every time he saw her, she was usually trying to keep it together and stay strong because that's what Steve would've wanted. But he also would've wanted her to know it was okay to not be strong, and that she was allowed to be upset and heartbroken. Her twin had died. Her other half was literally ripped from her grasp without her permission. She had a right to be mad, sad, lonely. She had a right to feel, and Howard just wished she would realize that.

Evelyn was one of his closest friends. He knew he could be a cocky bastard, and he also knew that when he was himself it seemed to cheer her up. Even so, he wanted her to know that if she ever needed anyone to talk to that he was always there, even if he was being chased down by the law, knowing he was going to have to escape soon. He refused to leave without knowing that Evelyn was going to be alright. He gentle grabbed Evelyn's hand, causing the blonde to look at him. He offered her a small smile and a reassuring nod.

     "I'm glad you're going to see him," Howard started. "Eve, you know that I'm always here for you, right? Even if you want to shoot me ninety percent of the time―︎which congratulations, you did it! Your one free shot has been used up and the next time you shoot that thing, I'd prefer it to not be aimed at me." Evelyn managed a small smile at this. "Seriously though. I may have to go into hiding, but I'm still here for you. Even if I'm oceans away. If you ever need to talk, Peggy and I are always here and we always will be here."

    Evelyn nodded her head. "I know." She smiled a small smile, gently squeezing Stark's hand. "Thank you, Howard." He nodded. "Now, let's get you out of here and get the wound checked out, huh?"

     "Can't wait to explain this one." Howard mumbled and Evelyn chuckled before leading him back towards the street, making it her mission to sneak him back to his home where she was quick to tell Peggy to meet her and for Jarvis to be ready for their arrival.