Unexpected Valor

12

Valentina made sure to keep track of time and her project so she could stop with enough time to clean up her work station. Five o'clock was coming around and she couldn't wait to see Brock. She said goodbye to her coworkers and then headed out to the bank of elevators. She was tapping her foot while watching the numbers light up. "Got big plans tonight?" Director Fury noticed her tapping her foot.

"Oh! Hello, Sir. Yes, I kind of do."

"Good things, I hope."

"Y-Yes, Sir, they are."

"After you." He motioned her forward into the elevator car after the doors opened.

Valentina nervously cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses, fidgeting with her watch, her bag, her jacket. None of this went unnoticed by Nick Fury. He simply smirked and hit a different floor number so Val could be alone in the elevator. As he stepped out she called to him. "Have a good night, Director Fury."

"Same to you!"

As the doors closed Val let out a deep breath. Oh my gosh, that was so nerve wracking! Director Fury the legend himself!

The elevator reached the ground floor and when the doors opened there was Brock, waiting for her with his hands in his pockets.

"Hi sweet cheeks!" he called to her.

"Oh, hi!" she was positively beaming at him. He offered his arm and pecked her on the cheek as they walked to his pickup together. They made small talk on the way home and she was wondering how to tell him she wanted to cancel their plans tomorrow. "Hey, so you know my friend Stacey? Agent Clint Barton invited her and me to go out on his boat tomorrow. So is it ok if I take a rain check for car shopping with you tomorrow?"

Brock was silent a moment and he gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Sure, that's fine. We can go anytime." What he was really thinking and what he wanted to say was, "No, not it's not ok if we take a rain check. Agent Barton just wants to chase some tail and you're mine. So, no."

But he just smiled and asked her how hungry she was.

"Oh, I'm famished. I didn't think driving a desk would take so much mental energy."

"Well, I know you're one of the smartest people in that lab. And you work hard, too." He smiled at her.

"Awe, thanks. I'm not nearly as smart as everyone else in Special Projects, though. But I'm working on it. They're keeping us working on smaller pieces of a project, but no one knows what it is yet."

"Is that typical for a team in a lab?" He was truly interested in her career.

"No. Usually we know the goal we have in mind even if we are working on a smaller goal. This one seems a little different. But I haven't been at SHIELD for very long. So who knows."

Brock wasn't sure what to think since his work was mostly just grunt work. They arrived at her place and she went in and changed while he waited in the pickup. She came back out dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and a tote bag. "I hope I'm not too casual. I don't know how fancy your dinner is going to be."

"No worries, Babe. You'll always be beautiful to me." He winked at her as she blushed.

They arrived at his place just a few minutes later. He came around to her side to open the door and walk her up to his place. He lived on the third floor of an apartment building that looked modest on the outside. His place definitely looked masculine but well maintained. She figured he was heavy on order and being organized since he had been in the military for so long. "Baked potatoes and steak sound ok to you?" Brock asked her.