I sat—just like a "lady"—on a table in Stark's lab. I was polishing my watch. Howard was nice enough to repair it for me free of charge. I also got a free lecture on why a wristwatch would be better and that he could get me the best kind.

"My watch is perfectly fine," I had said.

"But it's outdated," Howard had asserted. "A wristwatch is less likely to break as well."

I'd grinned. "It can tell the time, and that's all I need, Howard. Thank you for the offer."

"Fondue is just cheese and bread, my friend." I looked up from polishing. Steve was talking with Stark, both of them with their hands in their pants pockets.

"Really? I didn't think—"

"Nor should you, pal," Stark commented. "The moment you think you know what's going on in a woman's head is the moment your goose is well and truly cooked."

"What's this we're talking about?" I asked, vaulting off the table.

"Rogers got a little action with Private Lorraine," Stark snickered.

"Wait, it wasn't like that!"

"You had some action with the private?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was surprised, actually. I knew that Steve was so infatuated with Peggy that he was a lovesick puppy. I didn't think he would do something like that. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Private Lorraine had instigated that unfortunate scene.

I turned to Stark, brow raised sarcastically. "Your goose is well and truly cooked?"

"It's not bad advice," Stark defended his words. "You gotta give me that."

"That is the worst analogy I've ever heard."

"Aw, don't be like that, Andi. You love 'em."

"In your dreams."

Stark dragged Steve away to a bench with shields, advertising each one proudly. Steve's old one wasn't in the best shape after the rescue mission. Not to mention it was a bit ugly, though, I wouldn't tell him that.

I watched intently as his blue eyes drifted from shield to shield. I could tell that none of them were what he was looking for. They were all too clunky. Steve was going to be running. He needed something light and agile.

"This one's fun," Stark remarked, looking a particular shield. "She's been fitted with electrical relays that allow you to—"

"What about this one?"

I watched as he pulled a silver circular shield from a shelf below. It was polished to perfection with lines curving around the circumference.

"No, no, that's just a prototype," Stark said.

I ran my fingers across the metal. It felt wonderful under my fingertips. I knew exactly what it was made of. I'd come into contact with it before.

"What's it made of?" Steve asked.

"Vibranium," I replied before Stark did.

They both stared at me curiously.

"How did you know that?" Stark asked, bewildered.

I grinned at him. "I know a lot more than you think, Howard." I knocked my knuckles on the metal, an echo reverberating from it. "It's the strongest and rarest metal in the world, even stronger than steel."

"And a third the weight," Stark added as he folded his arms over his chest. "It's completely vibration absorbent."

"How come it's not standard issue?" Steve asked, pulling his arm through the grips on the inside of the shield.

"What you're holding there, that's all we've got."

"You quite finished, Mr. Stark?" Peggy stormed into the room, and she did not look happy. Goddammit, Lorraine. "I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business."

Steve turned to her and readjusted the shield on his arm. He gave her a boyish, half-smile. "What do you think?"

Peggy didn't give anything away. I took a step back closer to the table. I had a bad feeling about what she was thinking, and I was going to need cover.

She snatched a gun from the table, aimed, and fired three rounds. If Steve hadn't held up the shield he would've been riddled. Stark and I ducked as the bullets ricocheted off the metal and flew around the room. Metal echoes rang as each bullet hit the shield and flew off somewhere else.

There was silence as Steve lowered his shield and we stood. Peggy sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, I think it works."

She threw the gun back on the table and stormed away, sharing a single antagonistic glare with Steve before she left.

Steve and Stark turned to me. I shrugged. "Women are fragile."

"That woman is not fragile," Stark muttered.

"She is on the inside," I objected with a grin.

❈Author's Note: Hey, there! If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a quick vote! Thanks for reading!