[complete!]
"𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐈, 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐈, 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐕𝐈"
(latin)
𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: I came, I saw, I loved
Rebecca Cooper had never fallen in love before. She knew what it would feel like, of course, but no one had ever made her feel that way. She'd lost...
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REBECCA AND STEVE arrived at the SSR base right on time. They walked in to find a young blonde girl sitting at the desk near the front entrance with her head buried in a newspaper. She didn't look up once she and Steve stopped in front of her.
"Excuse me," said Steve. "We're looking for Mr. Stark."
"He's in with Colonel Phillips," she said, still not looking up from the paper. Steve and Bex glanced at each other. Bex shrugged. The two of them began to look around the base, not sure what to do. The young woman at the desk finally looked up from her newspaper, raising her brows at the two of them. She was looking mostly at Steve.
"Of course, you're welcome to wait," she said, a smile forming on her face. Steve nodded and half-smiled at her, then turned arond to lean on a desk by the wall. Rebecca followed.
The blonde woman spun her chair slightly to the side, folding the newspaper to face the front cover, which read 400 PRISONERS LIBERATED in a large bold font. "I, uh, read about what you did," she said, a flirty expression on her face. She put the newspaper down on the desk behind her, her gaze not leaving Steve's face. Rebecca moved slightly closer to him.
"Oh, the... yeah," said Steve, looking at the newspaper down on the desk, then down at the floor. "Well, that's, you know. I couldn't have done it without Private Cooper." He gestured to her. "Just doing what needed to be done." He smiled.
The blonde ignored the comment about Rebecca and crossed one leg over the other, continuing their conversation. "Sounded like more than that," she said. "You saved nearly 400 men."
Steve smiled awkwardly. She only looked him up and down, her red lips slowly curling into a smile. Nobody said anything, and Rebecca looked from the blonde to Steve multiple times before he said anything more. "Really, it's not a big deal," shrugged Steve, trying to end the uncomfortable conversation. Bex didn't like it either.
The woman uncrossed her legs and stood up, the smile still lingering on her face. "Tell that to their wives," she said quietly, walking closer to Steve. It's like she didn't even know Bex was there.
Steve crossed his arms over his chest as the woman continued to walk toward him. "Uh, I don't think they were all married," he said, looking behind her in 'thought.' She was only a few inches away from him now.
"You're a hero," she said. Steve didn't stop her when she got closer. She barely got to place her hand on his chest before Bex intervened.
"Okay," said Rebecca rather loudly, standing up and stepping in between the two. "I think we've finished with that conversation," she said, turning around to face the blonde, whose eyebrows were raised. She wasn't sure if it was in shock or annoyance. "He said it's not a big deal. And also, he has a girlfriend. And you have a job. I suggest you get back to it."
The woman scoffed and turned around. Bex could practically feel her eye roll as she walked back to her desk, picked up the newspaper, and continued reading.
Beside them, someone cleared their throat. All three of them turned to see Peggy Carter standing there, waiting. Bex wasn't sure how long she had been standing there.
"Agent Carter," Rebecca greeted.
"Private Cooper. Captain Rogers." She nodded to both of them. The blonde desk lady looked back down at her newspaper. Bex saw Peggy glance at her, then back at she and Steve. "We're ready for you, if you're not otherwise occupied."
"Right," said Rebecca. Agent Carter turned, and Steve and Bex followed her. Once they were out of earshot of the blonde, Peggy spoke what was on her mind.
"What was all that?" she asked curiously.
"I have no idea," said Steve.
Bex rolled her eyes. "It was your front desk girl, that's what. She was..." Bex couldn't think of the right word.
"Making advances?" the Agent completed.
"Yes," said Rebecca.
"I really don't think that was what you guys thought it was," said Steve. Rebecca let out a dry laugh.
"I don't think anything, Captain, not one thing," remarked Peggy.
"Would you have let her kiss you?" said Rebecca, turning to him as they walked.
"What? Kiss me?" he repeated, apparently oblivious.
"Did you not see what she was trying to do?"
"I mean, was she really—"
Bex and Peggy glanced at each other, knowingly, brows raised.
"What?" said Steve, interrupting his own statement.
"Nothing," Peggy said. Bex just looked down at her feet.
"Well, what about you and Stark?" Steve said to the agent. "How do I know you two haven't been..." Steve stopped in his tracks. "fondue-ing?"
Peggy, who was ahead of them, stopped and turned around. She looked at Steve with a near pitiful look, then scoffed, rolled her eyes, and continued walking. "You need to teach your boyfriend a bloody thing about women," she said. Bex waited for Steve to take a couple steps up next to her, then followed Agent Carter into a room labeled RESTRICTED ENTRY.
Agent Carter took Rebecca to another room so she could sign off on some new standard issue pistols while Stark showed Steve the equipment. Once the two girls had finished, they decided to walk back to the testing room to see what the boys were up to.
"Do you really think he would have let her kiss him?" Peggy asked Bex, as they walked across the base.
"Honestly, I think he wouldn't have even realized he was being kissed."
They went through the door and found Steve and Howard looking at a shiny, round shield. It was blank except for three concentric circular engravings, where it had been welded together.
"You quite finished, Mr. Stark?" asked Peggy softly. Both men's heads turned to face the two women. "I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business."
Steve looked down at the round metal shield and situated it over his chest. He glanced at Peggy, then at Rebecca. "What do you think?" he asked her, smiling. She assumed he was trying to make well.
Rebecca stared at him for a moment, then took one of the pistols from the table sitting beside her and pointed it at Steve before shooting five times. He held it up as she aimed at him and bent over to fit behind it. After she had finished pulling the trigger, she put the gun down. The shield was unfazed, with barely a scratch on it. Steve slowly peeked over the top of the shield, brows scrunched in confusion. Howard, who had ducked behind the table, slowly took his arm away from his face. Peggy had taken a large step back once she saw Bex glance at the guns.
"Works pretty well," said Rebecca, tilting her head and smiling a condescending smile.
She put the gun back down on its table and walked off.
