Elevated

Dr. Banner insisted she call him Bruce. He gave her a half-dozen jobs a day, and she filled in the blanks after that. She was very good at predicting what the next step was after any given job, and he kept being surprised by the fact that she had already done a task when he tried to ask her to do it. He was extremely polite. He always thanked her for starting the kettle, and running readings, and completing equations he forgot about when he got distracted by something else.

He did not care, she discovered after several weeks, if she wore a pantsuit and heels. He also didn’t care if she brought snacks into the lab. He didn’t seem to notice when she worked with an airpod in. He didn’t touch her desk, ever.

Nora had never been happier.

Of course, the elevator was still a problem.

The stupid thing was apparently set to only admit upper-level occupants, which meant that any time she rode it, it rocketed up ninety floors all at once. It was an excruciatingly long time to be trapped in a tiny metal box. She kept hoping that the experience would get better, and it kept not getting better. She refused to allow herself to stop on any floors in between the lobby and the lab because she was pretty sure if she allowed herself a break, she’d get trapped somewhere in the middle of the tower and not be able to step back on.

It usually took at least two tries to get in. She’d hit the button and the doors would open, and she would just stand there and look at it until they closed again. Then she’d hit the button again, and the doors would open, and she would look at it again and the doors would close. It was easier getting on from the lobby with people milling around trying to make it to their own jobs. She couldn’t, in good conscience, hold them all up. It was a lot harder to get on when it was just her standing in the empty hallway outside the lab.

When the doors opened the fourth time, Nora had worked herself into a pretty sizeable panic. She was genuinely debating how long it would take her to walk down ninety flights of stairs. Pretty long probably. She was supposed to have a date. She really didn’t have time to be messing around. Still, when the doors slid open, she couldn’t make her feet move. The three men standing on the elevator stared at her. She definitely knew them from somewhere. The door slid shut.

“Crap.”

“Are you okay?”

Nora jumped. The dark-haired young woman she recognized from the lab on the left had emerged into the hallway and was surveying her with interest.

“Yeah. No. Yeah.”

She raised her eyebrows, “You’re Dr. Banner’s assistant, right?”

“Yes. Nora. Silver.” She introduced herself a little belatedly.

The woman nodded and stepped closer to shake her hand, “Darcy Lewis. I work with Dr. Foster.” She glanced at the elevator doors, “Didn’t want to ride with the heroes?”

Nora glanced at the elevator, “Oh I’m,” She fidgeted, “Having trouble.” Darcy just stared at her so she figured she better continue, “I get really claustrophobic. I love working up here, but the elevator ride is killing me.”

Darcy looked intensely interested, “Seriously?”

Nora nodded, “I used to work in R&D on eighteen and I took the stairs every day. It took like twenty minutes, up and down.”

Darcy gave an impressed little whistle, “I guess you can’t exactly take the stairs up here.”

“I’m seriously considering it at this point. Usually, it only takes me a couple tries, but I’m supposed to go on a date tonight so I’m already a little nervous.” She wasn’t entirely sure why she was telling Darcy that, who was essentially a perfect stranger. Probably because she was freaking out.

“Do you want me to ride down with you?”

Nora looked at Darcy in surprise. It was such a nice thing to do for a total stranger, “You’re not- aren’t you still working?”

“Yeah, but I can take five minutes. Jane’s fine,” She waved her hand dismissively.

Nora bit her lip, “That would be really nice actually.”

“Okay.” Darcy pressed the button to call the elevator. When it arrived, it was empty. She waited for Nora to step on and stepped on after her. Nora could already feel herself spinning out. The second the doors closed it became just a little bit harder to breathe, “Who’s your date with?”

“Um,” Nora fought to focus on the question, “I met him at this coffee place by the subway station. He’s in finance or something.”

“Is he cute?”

“Yes,” Nora nodded, “He’s got this hipster facial hair? It’s really silly but it’s cute.”

“Hm. I once dated a guy with a twirly mustache. I actually can’t recommend it, it’s weird when a guy spends that much time styling their face.”

Nora laughed. Darcy asked her a handful of other questions, where they were going and what she planned to wear, and then the elevator opened and she was in the lobby. They both stepped off, “Thanks Darcy. I really don’t think I would’ve made it.”

“No worries,” Darcy said easily, and Nora thought she probably meant it, “You should come by the lab sometime. Tell me about your date.”

“Alright,” Nora smiled at her. She’d never really had a friend at work before. Her lab space shared with Fowler and Shmidt was decidedly toxic. She'd had a sort of tentative truce with Jackie, the lab assistant, but they hadn't kept in touch. Darcy smiled back and hit the button to call the elevator again. They exchanged goodbyes, and Nora started home.

The woman didn’t look the same, Bucky thought. She wasn’t wearing a pantsuit, or heels. Her hair wasn’t in a careful, neat sort of bun. Instead, she had on trousers and a soft-looking sweater. Her hair was pulled back into a haphazard kind of ponytail. She had thin, wire-framed glasses this time. It was all different. But the fear was the same. The thick coiling dread in every limb. Sam didn’t try to forget about it like Steve had. He tried to talk about it. Bucky found he couldn’t listen.