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Does Not Compute

The first time Steve met her was at one of Tony’s many extravagant parties, though ‘met’ was a bit of a reach. Steve had been listening to Clint recount one of his ‘excursions’ in Taiwan when he saw her, wrapped in a sleek figure-fitting violet dress. The satin clung to her body in the best of ways, enhancing her evident natural beauty. Steve found himself enraptured with curled (h/c) locks and fiery (e/c) eyes.

Oh how he would’ve loved to walk over and introduce himself, but even after many years of being the envied Captain America, Steve could find no courage to do so. Thus he settled for watching her, all night really, as she merrily mingled with the other guests and danced about on the floor, elegant and pure.

He felt rather like a stalker, truly, with the way his eyes followed her about the room. He did his very best to pay his mind elsewhere, but not even one of Clint’s oh so enticing tales could veer him away; his eyes always sought her out. Steve, when offered, took a flute of champagne from the tray and sipped at its contents, never minding the curious looks Bruce and Clint graciously bestowed him. If he was going to trail her across the room, the least he could do was look busy.

Steve doesn’t quite understand this new found emotion, where it came from and why it is present at all is a mystery. But he does acknowledge it, accepts it, and finds that he particularly wants it.

He called her Violet, seeing as it was the color of her dress, and as the party concluded, Steve had been so certain that he would not be seeing Violet again.

The second time Steve saw Violet was again at one of Tony’s party. It was there that he learned that her father was an engineer that worked for SHEILD and a prominent man Mr. Wright was. Violet had been staying with her mother in Sweden, but had resolve to seek out New York and stay with her father in order obtain a job somewhere in the Big Apple.

Mr. Wright was a close confidant of Tony’s, often sending the billionaire parts and other materials Tony deemed necessary for the suit. So naturally Tony invited the older man to all his bashes, though Mr. Wright only attended a few. But he had been so eager to spend time with his daughter, to show her the wonders on Manhattan, that he’d come to two of Tony’s parties in the past three months.

According to Tony, Mr. Wright had always been exceedingly close to his daughter—Tony only knew having heard the man speak so frequently and so fondly of her—and thus brought her as his ‘other.’

Her name was (name).

And again Steve watched her…(name).

“What are you looking at?” Tony asked attempting to follow Steve’s point of view.

“Miss Violet,” he muttered dazedly, watching her laugh and smile with another elder man that Steve vaguely remembered—a man he now knows had been her father.

It wasn’t until he noticed Tony’s smirk from the corner of his eye did Steve realize his error. He flustered under Tony’s roguish gaze. Steve could only dread as to what Tony would do next. Tony had a quota to meet, a ‘taunt Steve’ quota. He places both his hands upon the blonde’s shoulder, steering him across the expansive ballroom to the elderly man and ‘Miss Violet.’

“Oh, Tony, my boy! How are you?” the man asks stretching out his hand.

Tony takes his hand, firmly shaking it as he smiles, “I’m doing fantastic, Dalton. And how are you?”

“Good! Good! Oh, Mr. Rogers!” Dalton exclaims, having noticed Steve, “I haven’t seen you since the last renovation on the helicarrier!”

Ah. That’s where Steve had seen the man and his familiar visage he thought as she shook Mr. Wright’s hand. The older man was quick to ask Steve how life had been treating him. Violet, on the other hand, paid him no mind. She seemed a bit cold about it too. Truthfully, the only thing that consoled Steve was that she ignored Tony’s presence as well. That was until Tony behaved so very Stark-like.

“Ah, so this is the wonderful (name) I’ve heard so much about, he began, but she remained clearly disinterested, “How would you feel about working for me?”

Her eyes lit up lightning quick and a hopeful smile graced her lips. She shifted to give Tony her utmost attention as if silently urging Tony to go on and oblige her, and oblige her he did.

“You’re father has told me so much about your expertise and in truth I am in need of such skills.”

“Hmm…is that so?”

She spoke and Steve’s heart stopped at its sound, playful and melodic it was. A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she eyed Tony, seeming interested in the game he was about to set up and play.

“Indeed,” he practically purred, “Graduated from Oxford at 19 double majored in computer sciences as well as engineering. That’s impressive”

“So I’ve been told,” she replied as she swept her hair back with an indifferent sway of her hand.

“It’s true, of course, and I’d be more than honored to have such an intelligent and lovely lady working with me in my lab. An engineering assistant, if you will.”

Steve had to roll his eyes at that one. Genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist he was indeed. And yet, she let out a soft giggle as she reached out her hand to Tony, clearly expecting it to be a deal closing sort of gesture. Instead Tony took her hand and lightly kissed it. (Name) sweetly rolled her eyes and it was only then that those (e/c) eyes were laid upon him. Steve urgently looked down. The tile was equally as deserving of attention!

“Is he with you?” she asked, eyes still curiously resting upon Steve’s person.

She is a bit red in the face, but Steve can only assume it’s from the champagne. Simply because the alcohol has no effect on him does not mean it doesn’t on others. Tony placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder and set out to introduce him to her.

“This here, Gorgeous,” he paused to wink at her and she simply smirked at the gesture, “is my closest companion, Steve. Steve, introduce yourself!”

He gave Steve a slap on the back.

“I...uh…it’s…I’m Steve.” He fumbled through the entirety of his inadequate introduction feeling utterly embarrassed all the while.

(Name) offered him a blank look before proffering him a polite nod before genuinely replying in kind.

“(Name) Wright. It’s a pleasure.”

She did not extend a hand to him.

Tony proceeded to babble on about some sort technological thing—of which Steve had not the slightest clue—with Mr. Wright and (name) eagerly joined in, clearly familiar with the technical jargon. Steve lingered awkwardly for a while before scuttling off and over to Bruce and Clint. They easily assuaged his feelings of embarrassment, especially when Clint managed to get Bruce drunk enough that the physicist passed out. That would be quite the night to remember.

Steve ran into (name) every time he visited Stark Tower. (Name) boarded there on one of the extravagant floors after Tony found that it’d be more convenient if his assistant lived as close to the lab as possible and what better place than the floor below his.
(Name) would politely pay him mind, but as times spent on awkward elevator rides increased, Steve—miraculously!—began to initiate conversation and she always participated, happily so. It was then that Steve discovered that (name) was about as socially awkward as they came and that she hadn’t meant to be so cold to Steve that night.

“I honestly didn’t realize I was being so rude and I apologize,” her words were shaky and she eyed the floor as though her life depended on it.

“It’s fine, really.”

“It’s just that you were so handsome and I…oh god! I said that aloud!”

She hurriedly brought a hand upon to her mouth in an effort to smother any further embarrassing statements and if Steve leaned forward just a bit he could see the growing blush on her cheeks. Steve couldn’t fight the smile that spread up his lips, tugging at his cheeks. She eventually took her hand from her mouth and stood up straight.

“It was only easy to talk to Mr. Stark because he initiated and we had common interests, is all.”

She apologized once more and again Steve assured and another silence fell. So Steve set out to initiate a common interest’s conversation.

“So…do you like…breathing?’

Her eyes snapped over to the large blonde before the tell-tale signs of laughter wrinkled her face. She offered him a mischievous dimpled grin.

“Why yes I do. I’m also quite fond of blinking. How about you?”

Silly conversations like this soon became the norm for the both of them. Steve looked forward to his visits at Stark Tower and (name) eagerly awaited his arrivals in turn. They’d always stumble out of the elevator snickering at their own inside jokes. Sometimes (name) would suggest they take the stairs simply to further indulge in their time spent alone. Now the trips up to the lab always consisted of smiles and her.

(Name) switched the pen-seized laser off and lifted the safety mask from her face. She grinned widely, eyes hungrily staring at her latest work. She placed the small laser down and lifted the tiny chip with her thumb and index finger.

“What’s that?”

(Name) jumped at the sudden sound of a voice, nearly sending the chip on a minor flight across the room. With her heart calmed and chip firmly in her palm, she turned to face her intruder.

“Steve!” she shouted in mock anger.

“Uh…I…” Steve’s cheeks flushed pink as he scratched the back of his head, as if the action would urge the words out.

(Name) let out a sigh. She turned and carefully placed the chip into a secure capsule before making her way over to the tall blonde. Stepping on her tip-toes, she kissed his cheek, hand lightly placed on his bicep. Again Steve’s cheeks lightly dusted with pink.

“Was there anything you needed?”

Her hand slipped from his person as she sauntered over Tony’s ‘desk’ to pick up a stack of papers and file them away.

“Oh, yeah! Lunch?”

A smile slid onto (name)’s face as she closed the desk drawer with the newly edited papers.

“Yes, please~!”

(Name) untied the charcoal apron and lazily tossed it on the back of Tony’s favorite chair—his thinking chair as she often referred to it. Grabbing both her sweater and Steve’s hand, she left.

“So what are you in the mood for?” Steve asked as they boarded Stark Tower’s elevator.

“Definitely Chinese!” (name) eagerly responded as she pressed the button for the lobby.

“So what have you been up to all day?” Steve questioned as he leaned back against the wall, lazily stretching his legs out.

“Oh, you know. Just making a photonics microchip. It’s going to be used in the new suit Tony’s been working on. It’s supposed to draw more power from beams of light, thus enhancing efficiency and limit the power the suit draws from the arc reactor. The goal is to make sure Tony doesn’t exhaust the arc reactor when using the suit for substantial amounts of time and eventually become an individual source of power, thus eliminating the need for the suit to use the arc reactor altogether.”

The elevator dings as the doors open and as (name) turns her gaze from the open lobby and to Steve she could see Steve’s ‘I have no idea what you just said’ awkward smile.

“Oh, sorry! Sometimes I forget not everyone speaks ‘geek,’” (name) apologizes as she steps out the elevator.

“It’s no prob—!” Steve’s reply is rudely cut short.

“Perhaps more people should.”

“Ah! Tony!”

Before (name) and Steve stood Tony and Pepper, who’d just returned from a business dealing further downtown.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back until 3:00pm.” (name) stated as she approached the billionaire and Pepper, Steve following behind.

“I tend not to waste my time in the presence of imbeciles.”

Pepper just shook her head, “Instead he prefers to leave them to me.”

(Name) chuckled at the two of them. She always loved their evident chemistry.

“Duly noted,” she teases.

“So where are the two of you off to?” the strawberry blonde questioned.

“Steve and I were heading out for lunch.”

“Did you fini—?” Tony started.

“Yes. I finished the chip as well as properly sealing it. I also filled out the report for item usage and estimated costs. It’s in the top left drawer of your desk.”

A smile slipped on to Pepper’s face as she looked at you with an almost motherly gaze, “You’re a quick little miss, aren’t you?”

(Name) simply shrugged her shoulders, a grin proudly displayed on her face. Steve smiled at his (h/c) haired girlfriend. She was always so diligent in her work, proficient and thorough.

“Well in that case, I’ll drive.” Tony turns on his heels, heading the lobby’s double doors.

(Name) and Steve gave one another curious glances.

“Drive where?” (name) finally managed to ask.

“Wherever you’re headed to. I’m feeling a bit peckish myself.”

Steve eyed Tony warily. He had a feeling he knew what the brunette man was up to.

“Oh, I just thought that…” (name) stopped trailed off.

Tony stopped to look at (name), pulling his usual one eyebrow stunt.

“I just…just figured it’d be better if we walked. After all, it’s such a nice a day out.”

Tony threw her his usual ‘I thought so’ grin before walking out the doors. (Name) looked to Steve and noticed his slight grimace. She placed a loving hand on his arm and bestowed him a sweet smile and what a gift it was.

“Who knows? Maybe it’ll be fun, the three of us.”

Steve’s eyebrows were quick to draw together in disagreement. He and Tony were honestly on good terms, great terms really. Tony was his closest friend. When everyone would break off into groups it was always Natasha and Clint, Thor and Bruce, and he and Tony. There were the best of partners.

Still, this tension hadn’t started until he and (name) started dating. What baffled was Tony’s sudden…what was that word Clint used…oh yeah! Cock-blocking. Steve only got to know (name) because of Tony, so what was with his constant—?

“—eve! Earth to Steve?”

Steve was wrenched from his internal musings when (name) pinched him on his arm.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You were zoning out. Not sure if remember, but lunch time consists of limited time and I’m famished!”

Steve offered her a sheepish smile as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
A grin split across her face as she burrowed in closer.

“Now let’s go catch Tony before he comes back and tells me he canceled lunch or something equally as Starky.”

“Starky?” Steve blanched with an inquiring smiled.

“You know. Adjective; Starky: to be likely to force your desired preferences on other to suit yourself. Starky.”

“Remind me never to let you have enough free time to make up words.”

“Don’t worry. You keep me busy enough” She throws him as saucy wink as she moves to stand in front of him and Steve does all he can to avoid rolling his eyes.

“You’re so adorable. I love you!” with that she stands on her tip-toes and Steve knows exactly what she wants.

Paying no mind to the current occupants of the room, Steve pulls (name) close, arms around her waist, and kisses her gently, sweetly, “I love you too.”

Steve has come to a conclusion. That he greatly values his friendship with Tony, but (name) is the one girl Tony simply cannot have. And Steve can only hope that this is something the other man eventually computes.