Coffee, Courage and a Captain

Chapter Five: Work and Wine

When Steve got home from work that evening, he was surprised to see Charlotte bouncing up and down excitedly in the kitchen while she was waiting for him to appear.

By the door were several bags that he could see had clothing and notebooks in them, as well a bag with groceries for that night's dinner sitting on the kitchen bench. Charlotte was sipping on coffee as she scribbled in the open notebook on the bench. Her appearance was somewhat dishevelled, her hair poking out in all directions from what had been a neatly styled bun, and- was that grease on her blouse?

"Hi Steve!" she greeted exuberantly. "You ready to celebrate?"

He looked at her in surprise. "What are we celebrating?" he asked, spotting the bottle of wine on the bench beside the groceries, and noticing that the money he had left for Charlotte that morning was still sitting where he had left it.

"I got a job!" she said excitedly.

He looked taken aback at the speed at which she had acquired a job, but grinned at her and hugged her tightly. "That's brilliant! I'm so proud of you."

She flushed red at his praise and the unexpected contact and hugged him back.

"Where are you working?" he asked, stepping away from her. She realised his cheeks were burning red he focused intently on the notebook she had been scribbling in. Detailed sketches of mechanical contraptions stared back at him.

"Stark Industries," she said, watching his expression change to one of shock.

"Doing what, Charlotte?" he asked as he continued to stare at the sketches with her neat handwriting in the margins, formulas and corrections over the top of certain drawings. "This doesn't look like something a secretary would do."

She grimaced, preparing herself for his reaction. "I'm the head technician. I'm working directly with Howard Stark."

Steve just stared at her in shock. "I knew you were smart, but wow," he said softly, running his fingers over her sketches as he observed them with a renewed interest.

"That's all?" she asked him quietly, and he noted the hopeful tone in her voice. Steve felt his chest clench- he knew how men treated women that they thought of as a threat to their intelligence, and it was clear that Charlotte did too.

"Yes, that's all," he replied, equally as softly. "What your brain can do- it's nothing short of amazing," he told her.

The huge grin that broke out on her face at his statement made his chest feel warm.

"So, did he pay you in advance?" he asked casually, accepting the mug of coffee that she passed to him.

She smiled. "No, but he gave me thirty dollars to get some pants and for the cab fare home. So I bought groceries, wine, and left the remaining for you- I suppose that's my contribution toward living with you so far."

Steve's eyes bugged out of his head. "That's ridiculous. Charlotte, I can't expect you to pay that much straight up, please at least put it in the bank."

"Howard already helped me set up a bank account and acquire identification, so I'm all sorted for the foreseeable future."

Steve frowned. "He helped you 'acquire' identification?"

"Yeah," Charlotte said, raising an eyebrow as she began chopping up the vegetables for dinner that night. "He said- and I quote- that it was 'one of the slightly less illegal things' he had done in the past month."

"Well, that's reassuring," Steve said. "But it's good that you now have proof that you exist. And that you're happy."

She smiled. "Now all I need is to remember my life before now."