𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 | howard stark

viii. 𝘎𝘢𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴

[ 1944 ]

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Mornings at work were tiresome the majority of the time, but (Y/N) was forced to get rid of any signs of sleep in her body because there was a high stake at large, and if she didn't concentrate enough, it would have serious consequences. She was glad that she didn't drink anything last night at the bar, because she was told to come in around 0800 hours for equipment testings. She wasn't sure why she needed to be there so early in the morning, but there was no discussing it.

"Had a rough night?" Howard's obnoxiously smug voice rang in her ears as she came through the door of the laboratory. "Could've invited me."

"Don't," (Y/N) warned, trying to swallow her yawn. She should've resisted when Bucky convinced her to have one last dance the night before. Now she had to suffer the consequences. "I slept late."

"Well, you might want to wake up now, darling," Howard stuffed his hands in his pants' pockets. "I have some presents for you."

(Y/N) gave him a quizzed look, not knowing what he meant. "Like what?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that," the grin on his face grew ten times bigger, if that was even possible. He made a gesture with his hand. "Follow me."

(Y/N) trailed after Howard in the laboratory, where he stopped nearby a table that had small, golden tubes displayed in a line. She was genuinely curious to see what they were, only to frown when she saw that they were lipsticks. She looked back at him with raised eyebrows, waiting for a logical explanation.

"Lipsticks?" she said with an incredulous tone, crossing her arms. "If you wanted me to give Hydra soldiers a makeover, you could've said so."

"These are more than just 'lipsticks', Dewitt," Howard confidently responded. He held one in his fingers, wanting her to take it in her palm.

(Y/N) took it from his hands and read on the side of the stick the words, '101 Sleeping Beauty'. She opened the product and saw a standard cherry red lipstick, nothing else standing out.

"A weapon that doesn't stand out in plain sight," Howard explained. "It contains a sleep inducing drug that activates when the product has contact with the human skin."

(Y/N) was now interested on the product. Her mind went back to the first words she'd been told about when first joining the organization. They were recruiting women that wouldn't stand out in an undercover investigation, and this was a prime example of that.

"That doesn't sound so bad," she tossed it in between her hands. "Hard part would be getting up close to the guards, you know."