𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍━︎━︎P. Carter ✓︎

𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
NOT GOING TO BE EASY

WHEN SHE HAD CALLED PEGGY, the woman wasn't entirely happy with her. Although Howard Stark was her friend, she didn't put his needs in her path to the point where she would drop everything just to complete a task he had for her. And yet, when Evelyn had called her, begging for Peggy to come over to the Stark residence, explaining what had happened, she couldn't find it in herself to deny her help. So, she reluctantly appeared on the doorstep of the Stark residence, making sure she wasn't seen as Jarvis allowed her inside the home.

Whilst waiting for Peggy to show up, Evelyn forced Howards into a chair, forcing the man to stay still as she dug the bullet out of his shoulder which caused him to scream many profanities at her to which Evelyn simply found amusing. She felt bad for shooting him. She never meant to hurt him, but ever since the death of her brother and best friend, the blonde has been on edge and would shoot at a trashcan if she thought it was a person.

     "Stark, if you don't hold still." Evelyn snapped, holding a needle and thread between her teeth as she started to stitch the wound closed. Needle and thread was her specialty, having had to do it so many times with Steve whenever he got beat up in a new alley. He would always come to her because the look of disappointment in his mother's eyes every time he came home with a new cut was hard for him to witness over and over again―︎not that Evelyn's look of disappointment was much better. In fact, it might have been worse.

    "My apologies, princess, but I don't do well when someone is sticking a needle through my arm." The man grunted. "Especially when that someone is the someone that caused the wound in the first place." In response, she jabbed the needle through his skin a little rougher, causing him to clench his jaw as he glared dangerously at the woman. He lifted his other arm, pointing a finger at her. "You. You get on my last nerve, you know that?" He lowered his hand, rolling his eyes as he forced himself to lean back in the chair, allowing her to do her work.

     Once Evelyn was finished with the stitches, she quickly took gauze, wrapping it comfortably around the wound. After she gave the wound a pat, causing Stark to wince again, she leaned back with an amused smirk on her face. "I'm the woman keeping your ass out of jail, Stark. You better be more kind to me. Just a few spins of the dial and I can have your ass arrested."

     "Hey, now, I can't have my trust worthy opponent threatening to throw me behind bars." He warned before nodding towards his arm. "Let me guess, it was that little brother of yours that's behind the reason as to why you can do this so beautifully?" All Evelyn could do was manage a sad smile as she nodded her head, grief filling her heart as it always did whenever her brother was mentioned. Stark reached out, gently grabbing Evelyn's hand and giving it a small squeeze. "Thank you, Eve."

     She forced away the tears that wanted to cloud her eyes, taking it upon herself to squeeze Howard's hand back as she nodded. "I've always got your back, Howard. I always have, and I always will." And then the sound off heels could be heard. The two exchanged a look before Evelyn muttered, "This should be fun."

     Peggy Carter appeared around the corner, coming to a stop when she saw the scene before her. She glanced between Evelyn and Howard, placing her hands on her hips as she kissed her teeth. "What the bloody hell have you two idiots done now?" She walked further into the room, taking notice of Howard's bandaged arm. Peggy raised an eyebrow, looking over at the man, expecting an explanation. "What happened to you?" She asked, narrowing her eyes slightly when she saw the two glance at each other.

     "To be fair, I didn't do anything." Howard defended, pulling himself up into a standing position, Evelyn copying his actions as she crossed her arms over her chest, regretting patching him up. "Your girlfriend over her shot me and then rescued me and closed the wound that she inflicted. So, if anything, Eve did something, not me. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." He shrugged his shoulders slightly, offering Peggy an innocent smile before a white hot pain shot through his arm. Evelyn had punched him where he'd been shot.

     "God, has anyone ever told you that you have one mean punch?" Howard muttered, pulling himself together and rubbing his hand over his wound.

     Evelyn shrugged. "Once or twice."

     "Is this true?" Peggy hummed, trying not to focus on the part where Howard had called Evelyn her girlfriend. They were just friends. That was all. That's all they would ever be. That's all that they were allowed to be.

     "Well. . . I mean it's not not true." Evelyn muttered. "But, to be fair, he was in a dark creepy alley and I thought someone was watching me because I'm paranoid―︎"

     "You're telling me," Howard muttered.

     Evelyn glared. "Basically he scared me and in response I shot him."

     "So, he deserved it then?" Peggy asked.

     Immediately Evelyn smirked. "When doesn't he deserve it?"

     "I don't like being ganged up on." Howard broke into the conversation. "Anyways, Margaret, this is not what you're here for. You're here to help dear old me escape the lovely ol' cops."

     Peggy looked at Evelyn. "Do you have a plan yet?"

     "Well, sort of. It's not fully thought out, it was just an idea. I was too busy trying to hold him still long enough to close his wound to think about how exactly we're going to get him out of here." Evelyn softly sighed. "It's not going to be easy."

     Peggy shook her head before saying, "Is it ever?" And then they got to work, deciding how they were going to get Howard Stark out of the country before the police got to him first.