Howard Stark was never one for drama. He tended to stick to himself, and had a small group of people whom were close to him
Everyone else were simply acquaintances, and he thought that it was easier to not become pulled into others' issues
Which is why when he walked in on... whatever it was that was going on with Steve and Carter, he quickly changed the topic at hand to that of the new discovery he'd made...
vibranium
He found a good sized chunk of the strange metal while out scavenging for materials. Once he had gotten a closer look, he immediately knew something was different about the material, and brought it in for studying
After the man had looked over it, and did his fare share of research, he had found out the hunk of metal was worth over eighteen million American dollars
Howard knew that the metal would change not only America, but the whole planet for the better. The substance was a large step towards an extraordinarily technological future
Howard didn't have much to do with his free time, and tended to grow bored easily
don't get him wrong, he played a large role in the war, being one on the army's largest and most reliable weapons supplier
He just wasn't a soldier, so he wasn't being constantly ordered around. In his free time, he experimented with the metal some more, easily growing fascinated with all the feats that the material could do
He especially loved how flexible it was, and how easy it was to melt down and mold into different shapes, the most recent being a large circle, in which could be seen as a shield if one looked close enough
He though that this would make the perfect distraction for Rogers, who was practically drooling over the brunette woman
no, not the vibranium shield, but the multiple other shields that he'd been in charge of making for the super soldier
he just hoped that Roger's would like one of them
"I took the liberty of coming up with some options", He started, motioning to the array of shields all played about the table
Steve's attention was successfully diverted away from Peggy as his eyes widened with excitement
He looked over the different shapes, observing each one extremely closely
Howard saw Steve taking especially long staring at one of the spiky shields he'd made
"This one's fun", Howard nodded towards the shield in which the soldier was running his hand over, "she's been fitted with electrical relays that allow you to-"
"how about this one?" Steve cut the man off, eyes having caught sight of a circular shield that was seemingly being hidden under the table
He picked it up, turning it around in his hands, looking as though he were seeing how it would feel to carry out into the fields
Howard's eyes widened, He'd hidden that shield under the table for a reason! There was no way he was going to give up a multiple million dollar shield to a man he barely even knew. Not to mention that it isn't even meant to be a shield in the first place, its only in that shape because he'd been playing around with the flexibility of the new metal
"nono, thats just a prototype-" He tried to wave the captain off, only to be cut off again by the blonde man,
"What's it made of?" He asked, voice full of unmasked awe
Howard was starting to grow more nervous as he watched the captain throw the shield into the air, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw him catch it
"Vibranium", he relented, deeming it useless to lie to the man, "It's stronger than steel and a third of the weight. It's completely vibration absorbent."
This seemed to confuse Steve more than anything, the blonde eyebrows on his face furrowing together as he squinted at the genius,
"Then how come it's not standard issue?"
"That's the rarest metal on earth. What you're holding there? That's all we've got." Howard's mind quickly flashed through all the amazing things they could do with this metal, if only there were more of it. With the tiny bit that they have, there's not much they could make
they'd have to wait until they figured out where the metal had come from
The two men were startled out of their joint musings over the shield when loudly echoed footsteps sounded from their right
they looked over to see Agent Carter stalking up
it took every ounce of maturity that Howard had to not groan in frustration at that moment
after he'd gotten so close to avoiding whatever drama the two were submerged in, Agent Carter had to walk in just then
She had rounded on Steve, eyes hardening into a sharp glare, in which Howard was extremely grateful that it wasn't directed towards himself, "You quite finished, Mr. Stark? I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business."
Rogers either didnt care about Carter's tone, or he didnt notice it. Either way, he held up the shield in front of him, showing it off to Peggy, "What do you think?"
Howard was just about to jump in to point out to Agent Carter that the shield was only a prototype, when she drew a gun out of her holder, aimed it at the metal, and fired three shots at the man
Steve quickly raised the shield to protect his face, while Howard and the rest of the staff all dived behind the tables in an attempt to shield themselves from rouge bullets
Howard watched as bullets bounced around the room, clanging off of the displayed shields as he covered his face with his arms, praying he wouldn't be hit
When the noise had settled down, Howard, heart racing, hesitantly peaked his head over the table to see what had just occurred
once he was sure there were no more bullets flying around, he stood up and staled over to the two adults
"Carter, have you cone crazy!?" He yelled in question, checking over Steve to make sure he wasn't hit, or hurt by impact
thank goodness the shield was vibration absorbent
"yes, I think it works", Carter sneered at Steve, turning on her heel, trying to make a 'dramatic exit'
"Woah woah, hold up there, Agent Carter", Howard called out after the woman incredulously, shaking his head in a fit of disbelief and anger, "What in the world was that? Bullets ricochet, you could have-"
Howard stopped short when he heard pained grunts coming from the other side of the room, he snapped his head over to where the noise was coming from, only to be met with the sight of a young staff member sitting on the ground cradling his leg in obvious pain
He could have sworn he felt his heart drop while he ran over to the fallen man,
"Oh my- are you alright?" He asked taking off his jacked to wrap around the injury, remembering the need for pressure in one of his first aid training classes, "Someone call for medical!"
The young man squeezed his eyes shut in hopes of finding a distraction from the throbbing pain in his leg
"Hey, you'll be alright, medical is on it's way", Howard promised, not taking his eyes off of his fellow staff member
He sagged in relief when we saw the medical team enter the facility, stretcher at hand
he watched the man be picked up onto the stretcher, and carried off, most likely to get the bullet removed
Once the medical team had completely exited the building, he rounded on Agent Carter,
"What on earth were you thinking, Agent!?" He yelled at the woman, no longer trying to contain his anger, "You never fire a gun like that in a room like this. A child could have told you that!"
Peggy seemed to shrink into herself slightly
good, Howard thought, she needs a good scare to knock some sense into that head of hers
"I was only testing the shield", She tried to defend herself, only to be shut down by Howard,
"So you fired at him!? If he didnt move the shield up in time, he would have been shot in the head. you almost killed him"
Peggy didnt appear to react well to being talked down to, as she straightened up in a defensive stance and spoke clearly, "This never would have happened if Captain Rogers didnt kiss-"
"I dont. give. a crap. about. your. love. life" He gritted out, voice raising with even word, "and he's not even a Captain, thats just a stage name. You shot someone, Agent, and you dont care"
Carter opened her mouth, no doubt to argue her point more, when Colonel Chester Phillips made his entrance into the room, glaring at everyone and everything in his path
"And what, may I ask, is going on in here?" He growled out, daring someone to speak out
Howard stepped forward, motioning over to Agent Carter, who had gone pale at the sight of her superior, "Sir, Agent Carter here shot a pistol inside the building, indirectly causing a hit on one of the staff member's leg. He's been taken to medical as of five minutes ago"
The Colonel stared at Howard for a moment, before slowly turning towards Carter, "Is that so?" He asked in a sickly sweet voice, "Well, if Agent Carter can't use a gun responsibly, then maybe she doesn't need a gun"
Peggy's eyes widened a bit as she backed up, "W-what do you mean, sir? I didnt mean to hit him, I was only testing out the shield and-"
"what I mean is", The Colonel continued, pointedly ignoring Peggy's excuses, "you're suspended until further notice. If any staff sees you carrying a weapon of any kind, or violating the grounds of your suspension, you will not enjoy the consequences, do you understand me, Agent?"
Peggy nodded fearfully, before she was dismissed, and she all but sprinted out of the building, like a dog with his tail between his legs
"and that", Howard spoke, gaining Rogers' attention, "is why I dont bother with girls"
Steve could only nod, still staring at the door in which his ex-love interest had just retreated from
he only had one thought, continuously running through his head;
Maybe Peggy isnt the right girl for me…