Positive Regard

Chapter Six

I stayed in Steve's apartment and didn't really leave at all. I spent most of my time reading up on things I'd missed in the past seventy-something years and the remainder of it cleaning Steve's place. It wasn't dirty or anything, but history was kind of depressing and I didn't want to spend all my time on it.
There was a knock on the door one day when he was gone, so I got up to answer it. I looked through the peephole to see who it was. It was a man in a suit who looked scarily like Howard Stark. He didn't look threatening—plus he looked like Howard—so I opened the door. "Hello?"
The man smiled a charming smile. "Hey. You must be Rosemary."
"I am." I kept the door half closed.
"I'm Tony Stark." He held out his hand to shake. "I'm friends with Steve—we work together sometimes. I just wanted to welcome you to the twenty first century, make sure you're settling in all right."
"Stark?"
He sighed. "What? You knew my father too? Yeah, yeah. He was great. Just fantastic. No need to say it."
"All right." I nodded. Somebody had daddy issues.
He offered a container. "I brought cake. It was my girlfriend's idea. She couldn't come, though."
"Thank you." I smiled. "Do you... want to come in?"
"Sure." He followed me into the kitchen. "I figured that since Cap was keeping you cooped up in here I'd come see you. How are you settling in?"
"Good, I guess. I love pants." I smiled. "Do you want cake?"
"Oh, I'm good. I just ate. Thanks, though."
"You're welcome. Mr. Stark?"
"Just Tony. Please." He smiled.
"I'm just curious. What happened to your father?"
"He and my mother got married sometime after you disappeared. They died in a car accident when I was twenty-one."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about." He smiled. "Do you know how you ended up here?"
"Not really. Steve said he thought HYDRA wanted me in case they needed help with Bucky and now they don't need help with him anymore."
"Bucky?"
"The Winter Soldier."
"Ah. Continue."
"That was it. I really don't know."
"Do you need help with anything?"
"No, not that I can think of. Thank you—wait. I have a question."
"Yes?"
"Who actually killed John F. Kennedy?" I asked.
Tony smiled. "Reading up on your history, I see. My money's on the government. We all know it wasn't Oswald. I've never met a commie Marine."
"I didn't think so."
"Listened to any music?"
"No. Not yet."
"Let me know if you need recommendations. I doubt Cap has good taste, so I really suggest coming to me."
I smiled. "Thanks. I'll be sure to."
"Can I ask a question?"
"Of course."
"Is Steve really not a virgin?"
I laughed. "No, he's not. But he says that's not wrong anymore, so..."
"Does that mean you are?"
"Yes. It's a sin."
He winked. "Let me know if you wanna change that."
I laughed. "Well, I'm pretty sure my fiancé's still alive—"
"Fiancé? I didn't know that."
"Well, not technically." I smiled. "We were gonna get married after the war."
"Well, since you're both still here, you still can." He smiled. "There's nothing that can't be fixed."
"We'll see." I smiled a bit. "Thank you for coming, Tony. I really appreciate it. You're just as kind as your father was."
"I like to think I got that from my mother. But thank you." He smiled and kissed my hand. "And you're even more beautiful than your pictures gave you credit for."
I smiled. I liked him. "Thank you."
He smiled. "I'll see you later, Rosemary."
"Just Rose'll be fine."
As I was walking him to the door, Steve was walking through the door. "Tony, hey." He said. "I didn't know you were coming by."
"That's because I didn't tell you." He smiled and turned back to me. "But in my defense, you never told me how gorgeous she is."
"Ew. Don't say that."
I raised my eyebrows. "Well, thanks, Steve. You don't look so hot yourself."
"That's not what I meant. I just meant for him not to. He's a playboy."
"Oh, the horror!" I said. "And you're a fornicator."
"At least I'm not a ninety-year-old virgin."
"I offered to help with that." Tony admitted.
"Get out of here before I kick your ass."
"Toodledoo." Tony waved and left with a smile, closing the door behind him.
"Sorry about him." Steve said.
I shrugged. "I like him. Plus he brought cake. And he thinks the government killed JFK."
"Of course they did. The mafia worked with them to do it. Tony's one of the ones who'll be there to protect you when you talk to Bucky."
"What's he gonna do, flatter him into submission?"
Steve laughed. "I'd pay to see that. But no. He has a big metal suit."
"Wow."
He nodded.
"You didn't tell me Howard Stark had a son."
"Howard Stark has a son."
I rolled my eyes. "Thanks. What would I do without you?"
"Oh, shut up. But Bucky may or may not have killed Howard and his wife—"
"May or may not?"
"He did."
"Does Tony know?"
"No. And don't tell him."
I hesitated. "Steve? You know that if Bucky, you know, gets fixed or whatever, he's... not going to be happy knowing all of the stuff he's done."
"Yeah. I know."
"I think... I think he's probably better off this way."
"But he can't keep killing people. He's a threat. I don't want him hurt anymore than you do. But we have to try. The greater good is more important than one man."
I nodded. "Okay, Steve. How are we supposed to find him?"
"SHIELD is scanning cameras all over the world for a sign of him. If nothing comes of that, we'll just have to wait for his next mission, I guess. When you're ready, you can meet the rest of the team."
"I'm ready."