Frost

Chapter 18

Howling Commandos

"Can I open my eyes now?" Ivy asked  impatiently. She stood in her brother's lab, impatiently covering her eyes with her palms. Impatient wasn't the right word, though. Every cell of Ivy's body couldn't sit still out of anxiety.

12 hours

12 hours until they would leave for France for their first mission. Ivy was only now realizing the responsibility and was an emotional wreck. She was scared, but didn't want to bail at the last minute. She was excited, but couldn't stop thinking about what could go wrong. She felt proud, though. Proud to be one of the members of Howling Commandos. Proud to be part of the team that would put an end to Hydra.

"Yes, you can," Howard said at last. He had pulled her into his lab for a surprise and had insisted that Ivy closed her eyes for the dramatic effect. Ivy hated surprises and today she was definitely unable to be patient.

When Ivy opened her eyes, she had to blink a few times until her eyes adjusted to the light. When they finally did, Ivy's mouth dropped open.

"I know, I'm brilliant" Howard said arrogantly as he watched his little sister's reaction. In front of them, hanging in a glass storefront window, was a white, body-length suit. It had long sleeves and a silver zipper was attached from the neck to the lowest back, and as Ivy stepped closer she noticed that small silver snowflakes were spread across the suit. "And there are white boots too" Howard said proudly, pointing to the pair of shoes that were standing under the suit. They were also white with the delicate silver snowflakes. Black laces with a black sole made them look a little more solid.

"Howard, ....it's perfect" Ivy whispered speechless. She knew Howard had worked on Steve's suit, but she had no idea he had made her a suit too. Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked at the suit. That Howard had made it for her meant a lot to her. It meant that he supported her completely. And that was all Ivy wanted. She just wanted his support.

"I know," Howard agreed with a grin. He wasn't going to let anyone look better than Ivy. If his sister was  going to be part of a stupid suicide mission, she was going to look the best by far.

Ivy turned to her brother and gave him a big hug. In Howard's eyes, she had a grip of a cute little monkey. With those thoughts, Howard wondered if it was really a good idea  to let Ivy go with Bucky and Steve. He had already shown her the suit, though, so he had no choice but to let her go.

"Okay, enough of this emotional shit. Now get the suit on!"

~°~

When Ivy joined Howard at the meeting, all pairs of eyes turned to them. Howard would have enjoyed the attention if he could have said with certainty that it was to his credit. Still, he knew that most of the gazes were on Ivy. She didn't look bad in the suit. She looked better than good. The suit fit her perfectly, covering everything but her hands and face. It was a bit tight on her, though, that the curves of her body were very much accentuated. Which Howard didn't like in a room with mostly only men.

"Ladies, I know I look good today, but you really don't have to stare!" exclaimed Howard. It was meant to seem like a joke, yet he had a threatening face. He would not warn anyone a second time. Ivy was grateful for his words after which everyone went back to their tasks. Well, almost everyone. Bucky looked at Ivy with wide eyes and couldn't look away. Steve shook his head next to him, smiling, while Howard looked at Bucky with a raised eyebrow. He thought he had made his point clear.

"Hey, Snowflake," he greeted rather hoarsely. Whereupon Steve had to try really hard to keep his laughter inside. Bucky had never been nervous or speechless around women, but Ivy could reach that state in only a few seconds.