The Soldier's Goddess

Chapter 7: Realisation

When Kari got back to Stark Tower, Pepper was sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, working on her laptop. 

"Pep, can I, um, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure what's up, you look worried."

"Not worried, more, I dunno, thinking. Pep, can you tell me everything you know about Captain America, and I mean everything. I'm sure Tony has some files squirrelled away from S.H.I.E.L.D. or his dad."

"Course I will hun, come on, let's go and look," Pepper smiled. Kari followed her down to her office, where they spent the next 3 hours looking through various files and articles that mentioned anything to do with the Captain and his history. There wasn't much about his early life, his childhood, but there was plenty on Dr Abraham Erskine's work, Operation: Rebirth, a project intended to enhance US soldiers to the height of physical perfection. He was the guinea pig, as it were. The files didn't have much on Dr Erskine after that; though it did mention his first attempt on a man called Johann Schmidt. It wasn't a successful attempt, and although Schmidt survived, it caused him severe physiological problems. He became the Captain's arch enemy, Red Skull.

"There must be something with his name on," sighed Kari. "Or at the very least, a before picture."

"This was the 1940's," said Pepper.

"I know, but it was still the miltary, things don't get lost that easily."

They kept searching, until Kari came across what she had been looking for. She was just about to take a sip of her water when she stopped, the bottle midway to her mouth, causing some of it to  spill to the floor.

"Shit!" She jumped up and tried to wipe it down quickly.

"What happened?"

"I - I think I've found him. But, it can't be." Pepper was well and truly confused by now, but she waited patiently for her friend to tell her. Kari couldn't stop staring at the little black and white photograph, of the skinny man, standing in the sun. His white t-shirt like the one he was wearing when she went to see him earlier, only without the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo across it. A pair of old fashioned sunglasses hung from his dogtags around his neck and his face was in a slight frown. His floppy hair, she assumed was either blonde or light brown, but guessing from her face, she somehow knew it was blonde. Definitely blonde. She knew those eyes, that jaw line, she could smell his aftershave, the sweetness of the chocolates. "I know him," she said, finally.

"What do you mean, you know him from that photograph?" Pepper asked.

"Yes," nodded Kari, a tear forming in her eye. "I had come down to Earth with Sif for a while, just to have a bit of fun. Get my mind off things. I had not long gone through a bad breakup and Sif wanted to cheer me up. We arrived in 1942, New York, and Howard Stark was there." Pepper clapped a hand to her mouth.

"Tony's dad?"

"Yeah. Well I wanted some fresh air, the crowds were getting to me, and I took a walk over to this big white building. Steve was there, alone. We got chatting and he told me about how he was on a double date with his friend, Bucky, and how his date wasn't happy with him - being short and skinny and not good with women apparently." Pepper laughed. " Well, we shared chocolate, he told me about growing up in Brooklyn and getting beaten up all the time, but he was stubborn and stood up for what he believed in. I had to leave after about an hour, but I kissed him before I went and I've never had a feeling like it. I'm not a soppy person, but, oh I dunno." She flopped her arms down.

"I think I know what you mean."

"You do?" asked Kari.

"Yeah, you aren't one to fall at a man's feet, I can see that, and I've only known you a year!"

"Thanks," grinned Kari. "When we kissed it was like, magic. Sparks flew through my body, and I tingled in places that I never knew existed. I could still feel him on my lips even after we got back to Asgard." She bit her lip a little, subconsciously, and that little smile she had when talking to Odin about Steve came back.

"That's true love," smiled Pepper. "So does he know you are Asgardian?"

"Ha, no. I didn't think that would be a good idea! I just said I wasn't from around here. What am I going to do? Do I tell him? What should I say? He probably doesn't even remember me." She was pacing the floor now, fretting. Pepper stood up and wrapped her arms round her, calming her down.

"Just take it one day at a time, okay?" Kari nodded and sighed. "Now lets get this cleared up, Tony will be back soon. We'll get take out tonight?"

"Ooh yeah that sounds like a plan!"

Later that night, as Kari lay in bed, she couldn't help but think of the man she had only met once, but knew she wanted to be with. She couldn't believe he was still alive. What would happen next?