Six Months Later

Evelyn's feet trudged through the thick winter snow, the slosh had turned black with the cars that drove through. And she shivered as a chill rolled down her spine as the cold winter air froze her to her core. The warmth of the hospital air was welcoming as she walked through the automatic doors.

She quickly hit the coffee cart in the large atrium style lobby, and took an eager sip to warm her insides. With Thanksgiving approaching in the coming week, the hospital wasn't as busy as normal but there were still quite a few lingering patients meandering in the lobby.

As she entered the prosthetic division, she swiped her keycard and was welcomed inside.

"Morning, Dr.Stark!" The front desk attendant called out to her.

"Please, Mary, just call me Eva." She chuckled, unwrapping the blue scarf from around her neck and slipping out of her winter coat. "Has lieutenant Jacobson checked in this morning?"

"Sure has. He's waiting back in the gym for you." Mary responded. Evelyn thanked her before hanging up her winter gear and waltzing down the hallway.

The past six months had been as chaotic as ever. After accepting the eager job opportunity from Dr. Grant to work in the prosthetic department at Walter Reed, and Steve entering special training with S.H.I.E.L.D. to help with the STRIKE team, the pair was thrown in a whirlwind of moving hours away from their home, getting settled in with their new jobs, as well as agreeing on an apartment they both liked.

Steve found an old pre-war apartment he loved near the Smithsonian. And Evelyn had fallen in love with a more modern condominium in a newer district of D.C. The pair refused to live apart from each other after everything they had been through, somehow they met in the middle and found a place they both loved that overlooked the Potomac.

lieutenant Jacobson was her first patient since taking the job. He had gotten his arm blown off by an IED in Afghanistan, Evelyn was just finishing up the final touches on his brand new prosthetic, and he was adjusting to it phenomenally.

"There's my favorite girl." He exclaimed as she walked into the large gym they used for physical therapy. She shook her head with a laugh as she entered the code to gain access to the room that held the specialty equipment.

"I don't think Jenny would appreciate that much," Evelyn joked, placing the case that held his specialized arm on the bench beside him. "You should be good to take it home this time, I worked out those kinks last night."

"Perfect." He said, sliding the steel arm up his shoulder and turning it on. "I feel like Iron Man now."

"You're easier to tolerate than my brother, I promise." She said, her eyes lingering on his new arm. She integrated his DNA into the arm and hand so it would only work for him, with lightweight steel and a skin like hand. She integrated voice commands into it as well, with blu-tooth functioning that he was really excited about.

"I can't get over how much this feels like my old arm." He told her, his eyes wide. He moved the fingers in circular motions before letting his normal hand slide up the steel length of it. "I can't thank you enough for this Doc."

"The pleasure is all mine, trust me." She said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

And it honestly was, because she hadn't regretted a single second of accepting the job since she began working. A lost part of her had finally started to resurface, and she couldn't remember a time she was this happy and fulfilled since before Tommy died. She found a purpose to her work that was helping other people, and she didn't even have to use her powers to succeed.

~

The smell of burnt garlic hit Evelyn's nose as she entered her apartment. She could hear pots and pans slamming all about and the low rumble of Steve's frustrated voice down the hallway and into the kitchen.

As Evelyn peeked her head around the corner she couldn't help but laugh loudly. Steve was covered in tomato sauce, there were uncooked burnt noodles rolling around the stove, and a boiling pot of water that was splashing Steve against the arm. Steve yelped in surprise as a large bubble flew out and hit him in the face.

Evelyn rushed into the kitchen and turned the stove off and moved the pot of water away from her best friend. "You're hopeless." She chuckled, starting to clean up his mess.

"Like you're any better!" Steve argued, swiping the burnt noodles off the stove.

"At least I don't burn water."

"Oh yes you do!" He joked, leaning beside her on the counter.

"Yeah, you're right." She agreed, " So what was that supposed to be anyway?"

"Bolognese" Steve sighed out with his eyes closed. Steve had been working terrible hours lately, and Evelyn could see the stress holding itself in his stiff form. The fact that he was home before her was a shock in itself, and she was known to come home past midnight. 

"We can do takeout. Chinese sound good?" Evelyn asked, pulling out a stack of menus from one of the kitchen drawers. Takeout was a normal occurrence for them as they both worked crazy schedules. Steve nodded, his eyes still closed. 

"Why don't you go lay down and order for us, I'll clean up in here." 

Steve shook his head and finally opened his eyes. "I'm not leaving you with this disaster, Eva." 

Evelyn shook her head before gently shoving Steve aside to open the dishwasher, she had to practically wrestle a strainer out of his hands as he still refused to let her clean even after she started to drop silverware into the dishwasher. 

"You are impossible." Steve grunted, reaching across the sink and flinging some dish soap onto her face. Evelyn's eyes widened and she smirked before smearing some tomato sauce onto his. The look on his face caused her to practically fall on the floor with laughter. 

"You look like a blonde meatball!" She giggled, holding her side with one hand and wiping dish soap of her forehead with the other. Steve rolled his eyes before chucking an actual frozen meatball at her head, it made a loud thump before rolling across the linoleum floor. 

"Ouch." Evelyn mumbled, rubbing her head.

"You started this." Steve chuckled, lightly picking Evelyn up and moving her away from the kitchen mess. "Now please, go order us some food before I eat this cold meatball off the floor." 

"Fine." Said Evelyn, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "Beef and broccoli, right?" 

"Yes, Ma'am." Steve told her, winking before turning around and tackling the mess that his cooking had left behind. 

~

Evelyn moaned in delight as the savory lo mein noodles hit her tongue. She hadn't eaten all day, and their favorite Chinese restaurant in downtown hadn't failed to live up to her expectations. It was a tiny hole in the wall, miss it if you aren't paying attention restaurant, and Evelyn was sure her and Steve were keeping them in business with as much as they ate there. 

"This was so much better than spaghetti bolognese," Said Steve, placing the lid on his empty container. "And one of the only foods I know hasn't changed since the 40's. Even back in the day, this was always a favorite of Buck's and mine." 

Evelyn gave him a sympathetic look before setting her fork down and scooting closer to him from where they sat on the floor. She didn't  know when they started doing it, but eating on the coffee table while sitting on the floor of the living room just felt right to them. 

"There's probably a lot you miss from the 40's. I can't imagine just waking up one day and everything I love and am familiar with is gone." 

Steve nodded, his eyes growing somber. 

"There's a few things still around, and some of the stores have just grown bigger. But it isn't the same." 

"I can understand that. Or try to at least." Evelyn said, gently sliding her hand up Steve's muscular arm.  "I want you to know, if I had gotten time travel as one of my powers I would have taken you back there in a heartbeat if you asked me to." 

Steve's head whipped her way before turning his body and cupping her cheek in his overly large hand. "I wouldn't want that." He said fiercely shaking his head. "Because I'd take you with me, and you're too smart and talented to be thrown head first into World War II." 

"It might be complicated with my dad living in the same time." She said with a smirk. Steve's hand was gently caressing the side of her head, his thumb creating circles close to her chin. It felt amazing, and Evelyn soon found herself closing her eyes and leaning into his touch. 

"I would take you dancing though." Steve whispered. 

"Oh yeah?" 

"Mmhm," Said Steve. "There was this old jazz club in Brooklyn Bucky always dragged me too. I never got on the dance floor though." 

"Why not?" She asked, her eyes still closed, Steve's hand still rubbing comforting circles against the side of her head. He was close. So close. She could feel his quickening breath against her face. They had never been this close before, and Evelyn was feeling so many emotions all at once. 

"Never found the right partner." He said before gently placing his lips on hers. 

She swore her heart stopped. Her everything stopped. And soon it was just Steve. 

She could taste the lingering coca-cola on his lips. It was one of the only drinks familiar to him from the 40's and they kept a stock of it in their refrigerator. His grip intensified on the side of her head, while his other hand had reached over to hold hers. Her belly was doing somersaults and her body felt as if Thor's hammer had struck her down. She felt tingling in her fingertips and glanced down to see her normal blue hue flickering between her fingers.

She had stopped denying her feelings for Steve months ago. She felt things for him she had only ever felt for Tommy. At first she had felt as if she was betraying Tommy in some way, by having romantic feelings for the man she knew as her best friend. But after thinking on it endlessly, she knew Tommy would have loved Steve just as she did. He would have admired his selflessness and protective nature he held for those he cared for. But above all, he would have wanted her to be happy. And she was happiest when she was with Steve. 

So she embraced the kiss, and leaned in further to intensify what was an already heated interaction. She pulled herself across his lap and ran her hands around his neck. Steve moaned slightly before eventually pulling away from her breathing heavily. 

"I'm so sorry, Eva. I don't know what came over me." He said, his hooded eyes still lingering on her lips. 

"Don't be sorry, Steve. I feel it too." Evelyn said softly, caressing his soft blonde tresses. 

"I've felt like this for a long time. I think I've felt like this since I first met you." 

"I was a mess when we first met." She chuckled. 

Steve smiled gently before pulling her forward and resting their foreheads together. "I think we're all a mess, Sweetheart. But you're my beautiful disaster and I wouldn't have it any other way." 

He kissed her again. Softly and slowly. And Evelyn embraced it, too enamored in Steve to see the dark brown eyes that were watching the pair from the balcony window...