ＳＬＡＴＥ ◼ STEVE ROGERS◼

ＥＩＧＨＴＥＥＮ

"We kept the catsuit design, but made it a lot less sexualized, like you requested," Howard explained, pointing to different sections of the suit. "Most of the suit is actually made of a carbon polymer and a heavy latex, while the rest is leather. You have multiple sections to hang weapons from, including the belt and built in straps along the back of the jacket and your legs."

Lottie stepped up to the suit, smiling as she ran her hands along it. She gripped the leather jacket, loving the feeling of the new leather in her hands. She looked over the sleeves of the jacket, her eyes widening as she saw the symbol that lied right below her shoulder: a bright white star.

"You and Steve are partners in this, I thought you might like to have a little piece of him with you," Howard told Lottie, smiling down at her. She ran her fingers over the star one last time, looking up at him with a grin.

"It's perfect. You did good, Howie,"

"Yes, it actually looks amazing," Howard and Lottie turned to see Peggy standing behind them with a grin, files in her arms. "Lottie, Steve should be here by now. Would you like to go get him and show him the suit?"

"Yes, of course,"

Lottie quickly followed behind Peggy toward the front desk of the building. They chatted along the way, mainly about Lottie's new suit and how they couldn't believe that Howard managed to pull off everything that Lottie could've asked for.

They rounded the corner to the front desk, and Lottie's smile dropped as she felt her stomach turn itself inside out as she watched Private Lorraine press her lips against Steve's, and Steve do absolutely nothing to stop her.

Peggy stopped in her tracks, shocked at what she was seeing. She looked over to Lottie, seeing the sadness in her eyes as the tears that were welling up as well, and anger coursed through her veins in under a second.

"Captain!" Steve and Private Lorraine flew apart, Steve's eyes wide as he looked over to Peggy, before finally looking at the broken Lottie that was staring back at him as if he was a stranger. "We're ready for you. If you're not otherwise occupied."

Peggy placed an around around Lottie's shoulders, turning her away from the scene as they began to walk away from Steve, who chased after them.

"Agent Carter, Lottie, wait!"

"Guess finding the right partner wasn't all that hard," Peggy barked back at Steve, stealing a glance down at Lottie who was deadly silent through the entire ordeal. Steve was still trailing behind them, panicking.

"Lottie, that wasn't what you thought it was,"

"I don't think anything, Steven. Not one thing," Lottie finally spoke, her voice even and cold as she turned and looked at her best friend, the man she loved with every fiber in her being. "You always wanted to be soldier and now you are. Just like all the rest."

"Well, what about you and Stark? How do I know you two haven't been... fonduing?"

Lottie stared at him incredulously before scoffing, turning on her heel and stalking off into another area of the lab. Steve looked to Peggy who only glared back at him.

"You still don't know a bloody thing about women,"

Steve stood helplessly in the middle of the lab as Peggy disappeared in the direction that Lottie had taken off into. He was startled out of his current state by a hand on his shoulder, turning to see that it was none other than Howard.

"So, I watched that train wreck happen," Howard said to Steve, squeezing his shoulder before walking to the area that housed the suits and weapons. Steve followed along quickly. "Fondue is just cheese and bread, my friend."

"Really? I didn't think that-"

"Nor should you, pal," Howard told him, turning to look at him quickly as he led him to where his suit currently was being housed. "The moment you think you know what's goin' on in a woman's head, it's the moment your goose is well and truly cooked. Me, I concentrate on work. Which at the moment is about making sure you, Lottie, and your men do not get killed."

Howard gestured to a piece of cloth on the table that Steve picked up and examined.

"Carbon polymer," Howard explained to him. "Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although Hydra's not going to attack you with a pocket knife. Now, the shield, I hear you're quite attached?"

"It's handier than you might think," Steve confided, looking at the various shield designs that sat upon the table before them.

"I took the liberty of coming up with some options, although Lottie told me you'd hate all of them. This one's fun. She's been fitted with electrical relays. It'll allow you to..."

"How about this one?"

Steve reached under the table, his eyes immediately drawn to the metal below. It was large, circular in shape, and was the lightest yet sturdiest thing he believed he had ever picked up. Something about it felt just right.

"That's just a prototype," Howard explained, looking at the way Steve was admiring the shield. "Made of Vibranium. It's stronger than steel and a third of the weight. It's completely vibration absorbent. That's the rarest metal on earth. What you're holding there? That's all we've got."

"Are you done, Howie? I think Steven has some unfinished business,"

Howard and Steve both looked to Lottie, who had just entered the room. Peggy stood off to the back, examining the situation as Lottie crossed her arms, looking at her two friends before her.

Steve tried to forget about everything that happened, hoping to put it past them as he held the shield up in front of him with a large grin.

"What do you think?"

Lottie cocked her head to the side as she looked at him, before reaching over to the table beside them and grabbing a gun, pointing it toward Steve's shield.

Steve's eyes widened as Lottie fired three shots at the shield. Howard dove backwards, cowering under the desk as Peggy stood off to the side, trying to conceal her laughter at the entire situation.

Lottie finally lowered the gun and placed it back on the table, taking a quick second to admire how the bullets didn't make a single dent in the shield. Steve finally appeared from behind the shield, a scared look on his face as he was met with Lottie's sarcastic smile.

"Yes, I think it works quite well,"

Howard was back by Steve's side in a second, both men watching as Lottie stormed out of the room once again, Peggy hot on her heels.

"You fell in love with quite an interesting one, Rogers,"

"That I did,"