Never Ending | Marvel Black!OC | [in rewriting]

CHAPTER NINE • Janet?

• STILL AT THE SSR BASE •

Two hours passed already. Janet and Erskine, who arrived in the meantime, are working on the serum formula again while Howard is coming back from... God knows where. Again.

"Here's your brand new name tag, it'll get you anywhere, Janeva."

Janet slowly raises her eyes to Howard, shocked by the name he used to refer to her. She takes a few seconds to answer while he, he is looking at her with one snide smile drawn on his face. Howard is handing Janet her name tag but again, he doesn't let it go right away when she takes it. He is trying to keep a link between them, again.

"- What did you call me?

- Ja. Ne. Va. Janeva West, ain't it your name?"

Here goes the game again, it takes no more than a second for Dr. Erskine to go away from that and those, for him, childish behavior. Maybe if he shared his whole story with his two coworkers, they'd act differently but neither of them knows the horrible story. Neither of them is affected directly by this monster, neither of them lost someone because of that devil they call Schmidt, it's not even their country. So for them, the problem is just not their problem, at least that's what Erskine thinks.

Janet furrows her brows while keeping her eyes on Howard for long seconds before looking down at her name tag, still in both of their hands.

"Name : West, Janeva."

Janet snatches the card from his hands, she quickly puts it away before raising her eyes back to his face who's still wearing that same smirk. Still in that game, she thinks.

"- Don't call me like this, I hate this name.

- Why? I think it suits you, Janeva."

Howard sits on Janet's desk, giving him a superior view of her. He is smiling even more when seeing how this little discovery annoys her. Janet tries to wear some daunting eyes to stop him, but deep down she likes that little bothering.

"- Stark.

- Janeva.

- First of all, for you it's West. Or agent West. Or Ms. West, I don't care. But don't call me Janeva, I hate it.

- And that's exactly why I'll keep calling you--

- Mr. Stark, Colonel Phillips asks you on strategy.

- On it agent Carter."

Howard gives Janet one last smirk before leaving, now here she is smiling against her will while watching him leave as if her eyes were gripped to him. Peggy frowns while looking at her, it's not a face she sees usually on Janet, call it unusual.

"What was that?", asks Peggy more confused than ever.

Janet finally turns her gaze back to Peggy, coming back to her. Peggy furrows her brows, she looks at her arms crossed, trying to understand but, deep down, already understanding.

"- Sorry, what?

- Nothing, but careful Janet. It's a net.

- Oh, please. You know me, I'm working.

- Yes, working..."

This was Peggy the wise friend talking to Janet, not agent Carter.

"- By the way can I ask you something?

- I'm listening.

- Is there any way you could give me more hours the weekend on the training?

- But you're suspended on the training for now--

- I need to start them again. Please, with more hours. You know the whole parent situation."

Janet looks at Peggy with desperate eyes, those few hours are essential for her.

"- You could start again during the week and I'll... I'll put you on the candidate choice with Erskine and Stark.

- Candidate choice?

- Which soldier the serum is going to be given to.

- Okay, okay great. Thank you."

Peggy finely smiles at her friend before leaving, her small decision just got her out of some dark hours again. At least for a moment before everything starts to get dark again.

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Short chapter, thanks for reading!