Coffee, Courage and a Captain

Chapter Eight: Preparation and Confrontation

"Miss Red?"

Charlotte looked up from the metal plate she was welding- a last-minute fix before Howard's prototype was sent off for painting in preparation for the expo in two days. The rudimentary arc reactor technology she was working on was giving her a major ethical quandary- she could either make it work for longer than a few minutes and improve the technology, or she could allow the course of time to perfect it. She had settled on the latter, having debated time travel in her PhD.

Belinda stood by the entrance to Charlotte's workspace. Charlotte grinned.

"Hey Bel," she greeted, the secretary giving her a warm smile in response. Charlotte was one of the only people on the R&D lab floor who wouldn't just bark their drinks order at Belinda. "What's up?"

"There are two men here to see you," she said nervously. "They said that you would know them- Mr Rogers and Mr Barnes?"

Charlotte smiled, covering her confidential sketches quickly before nodding at the secretary. "Yeah, they're friends. They're all good to come in," she said, and Belinda stepped back from her workspace.

"Did you want coffee, Charlotte?"

"Yes please, Bel."

Belinda smiled at Charlotte before turning to people out of sight. "Okay, gentlemen, Miss Red will see you now."

Bucky came bounding into Charlotte's workspace, faltering a little as he took it in. "But... this is a technician space," he stammered, looking from Charlotte's face- which was covered in smears of black oil- to the detailed chalk drawings and complex formulas on the blackboard walls of her workspace.

"Nice place you have here," Steve commented as he entered her workshop.

"Why are you not surprised, Steve?" Bucky asked, staring at Charlotte in shock. "What do you do around here exactly, Charlotte?"

"I'm the Head Technician at Stark Industries," Charlotte answered. "And to answer your question about Steve, he found out about what I did early on."

Bucky looked hurt. "I thought you trusted me," he said softly.

Her expression immediately changed, and she reached out to place her hand on his arm. "I do trust you, Bucky. I just... was scared. I know a lot of men are threatened by women holding more power than them- and I can speak from experience given the behaviour of some of my team. I didn't want you looking at me in disgust like they do. Steve found out earlier because he lives with me and therefore would know after a while." That wasn't the full reason, and Steve knew it.

"Charlotte," Bucky said, seeing the tears in her eyes. "I'm proud of you. This just... threw me a little."

She let out a tearful chuckle, frantically wiping away tears as she heard Belinda's heels approach the workspace.

"Here's your coffee. Mr Stark told me to inform you that the design team are ready to move your prototype to their lab for the final touches, and should be here in about five minutes."

Charlotte accepted it gratefully and nodded. "I'll wait here until they come up to get it, thanks, Belinda."

"Not a problem," Belinda said, smiling at Charlotte. "Good luck on Monday."

"Thanks, Bel," Charlotte said, taking a sip of her coffee and waving at the secretary as she left.

"Is this the prototype?" Steve asked excitedly, scanning Charlotte's notes for it and staring at it sitting in the middle of the workshop.

"It just looks like a car," Bucky stated, walking around it and inspecting the metalwork. "What makes it special?"

Charlotte grinned and tapped the side of her nose. "You'll have to come to the expo to find out."

Steve laughed as Bucky pouted.

"Oi, Red!" a voice shouted from the corridor outside of Charlotte's workspace. "When are you going to get it on with them?"

She heard a laugh and kissing noises accompanying the shout, and strode into the hallway.

"Probably the same time you get a date, Turner!" She held up both of her middle fingers.

"She got you there," a second voice said, laughing at Turner. "We'll see you on Monday, Red!"

"Yay," Charlotte grumbled, returning to her swivel chair and inspecting her welding job. She knew they did it in jest, and that they weren't serious. She also knew that most of them had very fragile egos and preferred to include her in the ribbing and treat her as if she was a man.

"Does that happen often?" Steve asked, staring at the irritated expression on Charlotte's face.

She opened her mouth to answer, but a knock on the door of her workspace caused them all to look up.

Bucky- who was closest to the door- gave the awaiting design team a wave.

"Which of you two is Charlie Red?" the head of the design team, Julian Whitman- who was holding a clipboard- asked, looking between Steve and Bucky. "I need a signature that clears me to move this to the design floor."

"That would be me," Charlotte said, pushing her stool back from the Stark prototype so that she was visible.

Whitman looked at her and chuckled. "Good try boys, but your secretary's signature isn't going to allow me to bring this down to design," he said, and Bucky's eyes widened at the thunderous expression that took over Charlotte's features.

"I'm Charlotte Red, the Head Technician here. I can give you my identification papers to show you if you want, but I believe it will be my signature you will be needing to be able to transfer the prototype."

Her voice was calm, coldly furious as she stared him down.

Whitman blinked twice and then offered her the clipboard. "Sorry, Miss Red."

Charlotte continued to glare at him as the four-man team accompanying him wheeled the prototype out of the workshop.

"I wish you luck for Sunday," Whitman said, seemingly shaken by Charlotte's mere presence, as his expression changed into something decidedly more menacing, and when he next spoke, his words were filled with venom. "Hopefully you have a man to take with you- I can only imagine what you would be like when you aren't acting so high and mighty for somebody who had relations with the boss of the company for their position."

"Get. Out," she hissed, her tone icy and clipped.

Bucky and Steve exchanged looks, Bucky subtly shaking his head at his friend as Steve looked ready to jump the man.

Once they had been left alone, Charlotte turned and walked over to her desk in the corner, picking up her notebooks- the ones filled with ideas- and shoving them into her bag. Steve watched as her shoulders shook, and he walked over to her as she turned to face him. Her hazel eyes brimmed with tears, tears that threatened to spill.

"Oh Charlotte," he said softly, pulling her into his arms. Bucky had conveniently disappeared- and Steve had no doubt it was to berate or threaten the man who had just left.

"I won't let them get to me," she said- almost to herself- as a single tear trailed down her cheek. Steve used his thumb to wipe it away, smiling at her as he rested his hand on her cheek- watching her lean into the contact as more tears spilled down her cheeks.

"You're stronger than you know. They underestimate you, but you have more tenacity in your little finger than they have in their whole body."

"Thank you, Steve," she said softly, staring up at him with an unreadable expression.

He smiled at her, the gesture causing his eyes to twinkle. "No problem, Charlotte. I'm here whenever needed."

"To the end of the line," Bucky said from where he leaned against the entrance to Charlotte's workspace, surprising the pair.

"To the end of the line," Steve repeated, seeing Charlotte's grin as it returned.

"Alright doll, you ready to head home?" Bucky asked. Charlotte glanced around- checking she had all her notes for the project she and Howard were working on- and nodded.

She looked directly at Steve and smiled. "Let's go home."