girl genius ¹ ≫ young tony stark

fifty nine

March 19, 1992 — Cape Canaveral, FL
11:59 AM, EST

The spring moved forward slowly, though Shelby had finally returned to work. She launched herself into her new work, though her enthusiasm for what had once been her dream job was much lower than she thought possible.

Dr. Everly, a crotchety old man that had sat in an office his entire career, had taken over Dr. Feldstein's position, and he'd put together an entirely new crew after Wilson and Walker's departures from NASA.

Adam had been reassigned to a team across the space center's campus, as details of his and Shelby's past relationship had been uncovered during the Tenacity investigation and they had been deemed "unfit" to work together. Shelby suspected the switch had more to do with the fact that they both knew the truth of the incident in space, and less to do with their past romantic relationship.

She moved through each day at a sluggish pace, and though her work ethic cried at the slow pace she was making in her current projects, her slashed NASA hopes and dreams did little to encourage her to pick up the pace.

She was just about to punch out for lunch, the second most enjoyable part of her day besides going home, when her office phone rang. She sighed, took a deep breath, and answered it.

"Shelby Colewell speaking," she answered, plastering a fake smile on her face in an attempt to sound more friendly.

"Hey, Cherry Bomb. Got a moment for an old pal?"

A genuine smile filled her face. "Adam Mitchell. How are you, stranger?"

He chuckled. "Doing as well as you are, I'm sure. I'm just about to head into town to grab some lunch. I don't suppose you would like to join me?"

Adam was Shelby's only remaining connection at NASA who could remind her of the good days, back when NASA had been everything she'd ever hoped for. "Absolutely."

"Great. I'll meet you in the parking lot?"

"Sure, just let me punch out." Shelby hung up the phone and punched out, then grabbed her purse and NASA ID and left her office.

Adam was already outside when she got to the parking lot, so she knew he had to have used one of the outside phones to call her, as it would take him at least fifteen minutes, or a short ride on one of the shuttle vans, to walk from his new office to the parking lot.

Despite working for the same company, they hadn't seen each other since he'd been reassigned, so she gave him an awkward, yet long overdue, hug. Since everyone and their sister knew about their failed relationship, she figured she might as well give the security camera monitors something to gossip about.

"It's nice to see you," she said genuinely.

"It's nice to see you too." He gestured to his car. "Shall we?"

Shelby grimaced. Adam had grown up driving on the wrong side of the road, and she'd never enjoyed watching him get behind the wheel when they had dated. "Must we? My jeep is right over there."

Adam laughed. "Fine, we'll take the jeep."

She grinned and led him towards the jeep, relishing the air conditioning as soon as she left the humid March air. "Where to?"

"Oh, I thought maybe the diner?"

The diner was a popular place for NASA employees, as it had good food and was close to the space center. Shelby wasn't sure what the actual name of the restaurant was, but it didn't matter -- everyone called it the diner.

They arrived at the diner and got a table, and Shelby ordered a grilled cheese and waffle fries. Her mouth watered at the smell of frying potatoes, and she realized just how hungry she was.