"So, you expect me to believe that the two of you are from the future, and you need my help to get back?" Howard asked once YN had given him a very vague version of events that had led her and Bucky to his doorstep.

"I realize that it seems like a preposterous story," YN began, but was interrupted by Bucky.

"Mr. Stark," Bucky said as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Howard. You've seen my arm. Tell me, as one of the foremost authorities in all things technological, have you ever seen anything like it?"

YN gave Bucky a sharp look which he brushed off. Furious that he would draw attention to the new vibranium arm that he'd apparently picked up from King T'Challa during his stay in Wakanda, she tried to steer the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Mr. Stark," she said, drawing their host's eyes back to her before he had a chance to answer Bucky. "Sergeant Barnes' prosthetic arm is truly a technological marvel, but that's not the reason why we're here."

Howard gave YN an appreciative once-over that had embarrassment washing over her. It seemed like Tony's father found her to be an attractive woman – too bad his son didn't share his taste in women. Mentally shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she forced herself to concentrate on what Howard was saying to her.

"Ms. YLN," Howard said with a sexy smirk on his face. "I must admit that there key elements to your story that imply that you're telling the truth, but I'm afraid I don't understand what it is that you think I can do to help you."

YN cast a nervous glance toward Bucky. She'd already told Howard too much information, and she was hesitant to keep compounding the negative effect they may be having on the future the longer this conversation keep going. Letting out a worried breath, she rose from the couch and motioned for Bucky to follow her. "Please excuse us, Mr. Stark. Sergeant Barnes and I need to have a private word before we say anything else."

Without waiting to see the reactions on either man's face, she quickly strode from the room. Stopping in the entryway, she pressed her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. When she heard footsteps on the hardwood floor behind her, she immediately recognized them as Bucky's. She didn't bother to turn around before asking, "Is this really worth compromising the future of everyone we love?"

"What do you mean?" Bucky asked, speaking to her back since she refused to turn around and face him.

"I mean that maybe we should just walk out the door right now and forget about trying to find a way home."

"You want to stay here?" he asked. "In 1942?"

Finally turning around to face him, she was shocked to see the look of horror on his face. "Would it really be that bad?"

"Would it really be that bad?" he repeated, his voice full of exasperation. "In case you've forgotten, you don't exist in 1942 – you don't have a birth certificate, a social security number, or any kind of identification at all. And we can't ignore that fact that I do exist in 1942. What happens if we run into someone I know and they recognize me? What happens if I run into me?"

"We could go somewhere else," she offered. She started to elaborate, but the look on Bucky's face had her closing her mouth again and taking a deep breath.

Bucky stepped closer and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I know you're scared of saying too much – trust me, I get it – but we can't do this alone and right now Howard is our only option. We can't risk me being out on the streets. If anyone were to see my arm, I can almost guarantee that the future as we know it will be altered."

"You're right," YN agreed as her eyes grew large. "It'll be Skynet all over again."

"Skynet?" Bucky asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.

YN shook her head as a smile spread across her face and she patted the hand that still rested on her shoulder. "Remind me when we finally get back to our time to get you and Steve caught up on twentieth century pop culture."

Ignoring her comment, Bucky continued. "The point I'm trying to make is that we can trust Howard. The man knows how to keep a secret."

"How can you be so sure?"

"When I first saw the guy. . ." Bucky's eyes darted up and to the side as he thought for a moment. "Well, I guess it'll be in a few weeks if I'm remembering correctly. Anyway, he put on this elaborate show of being a hapless inventor and made a laughingstock of himself. I found out years later that it was all just a front to hide the real genius behind Project: Rebirth. He's not like Tony, who can't stand being out of the limelight. Howard knows how to keep his cards close to his chest. If we can convince him that this secret needs to stay a secret, I'm confident he'll keep it."

YN had wanted to jump in and defend Tony, but she stopped herself. One, she needed to stop her self-destructive behavior when it came to Tony, and two, Bucky wasn't wrong about Tony needing to constantly be in the limelight. Feeling confident with Bucky's assessment of Howard, she walked back into the den. Howard was just where they'd left him, although it appeared as though he'd refilled his glass of whisky while they'd been conversing in the foyer. She took a seat on the sofa again and waited until Bucky joined her before addressing Howard.

"Okay," she began as the seriousness in her tone had Howard sitting up a little straighter. "I know you're curious about us – about the future – but you're going to have to trust us when we say that there are some things that we can't risk telling you. . ."

"Let me just stop you there for a minute," Howard said as he stood and began pacing the room. "For argument's sake, let's say that I believe you. You're from the future, and you've traveled back in time." He paused to give them a look of chastisement. "And you refuse to tell me how. Just the mere fact that you're in my house is changing my personal timeline as we speak."

"Yes," YN said, feeling hopeful that he actually believed them. "From what we know of you, we believe that you can be trusted to keep our presence here a secret – from everyone."

Howard stopped pacing and finally zeroed in on the one detail that had been dancing around in the back of his mind. A smug smile began tugging at the corners of his lips as his chest puffed out a bit. "I'm famous in the future? What am I talking about? Of course I'm famous – I'm Howard Stark." He seemed to forget that they were in the room as he started pacing again, his gaze wandering around the room as his mind began working overtime. "Project: Rebirth. You know about the Super Soldier Program so that means it's a success."

Howard suddenly turned and with wide eyes he rushed back to Bucky's side and grabbed his arm again. "Are you one? A Super Soldier?"

YN felt the tension begin to roll off of Bucky in waves as he undoubtedly began to remember the torture he'd undergone at the hands of HYDRA during WWII. While it was technically true that he was a Super Soldier, it hadn't been due to Project: Rebirth, but the bastardized version of the serum Zola had concocted. The bastardized version of the serum Howard and Dr. Erskine had used on Steve that would ensure that Bucky stayed alive during countless years of brainwashing and cryogenic freezing so that he could murder the man standing in front of them on December 16, 1991.

"We obviously can't tell you that," YN said, trying to keep her voice light and flirty so Howard would drop the subject. It seemed to have worked as his attention shifted from Bucky to her. She tried to keep the pleasant smile on her face, but her eyes kept darting to Bucky to make sure that he wasn't about to snap.

"You're both Super Soldiers, aren't you?" Howard asked as he began to nod his head. "Of course you are. That's why you came to me." He paused again as confusion clouded his eyes. "But I still don't understand how I'm supposed to get you back to your own time."

"We have a friend here," Bucky said.

YN nervously glanced at him and was concerned to see the torment in his eyes. She couldn't begin to understand what he was feeling right now, but as the night wore on, he continued to gain her respect by the way he was handling this situation.

Howard once again looked confused. "I don't understand? How can you have a friend in 1942?"

"It's complicated," YN said as she tried to figure out how much she could tell Howard. "It's another long story, but he'll recognize Sergeant Barnes if he sees him. I didn't meet him until later in his life, so he won't know me. He's our ticket for getting back to our time. We were just hoping that you would help us out by giving us a place to stay and some clothes to help us blend in."

"Two conditions," Howard said as he sat down again and grabbed his glass of whisky.

YN and Bucky looked at one another before YN spoke. "What conditions?"

"One," Howard began. "You tell me your plan to get back, and two, I get to examine Sergeant Barnes' arm."

"I'll be more than happy to tell you our plan," YN said quickly, "but as for Sergeant Barnes' arm. . ."

"It's fine YN," Bucky interrupted as he looked into her eyes. "Mr. Stark can take a look at my arm – I trust him."

She knew it was a bad idea, but right now they were out of options. They were exhausted and hungry and they had nowhere else to go. Howard's demands weren't that unreasonable, but YN was worried about him and Bucky spending too much time together – not for fear that Howard would learn too much about the future, but that Bucky wouldn't be able to handle spending so much time with the man he would ultimately betray in fifty years.

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed.

Excitement danced in Howard's eyes as he thought about all the things he could learn from Sergeant Barnes' prosthetic arm. He reigned in his excitement once he saw the weariness in YN's eyes. Reminding himself that they were exhausted, both mentally and physically, he decided that further discussion could wait until after they'd eaten something and got a good nights rest.

"Come with me," Howard said as he rose from the chair again and started walking back toward the foyer.

YN and Bucky quickly followed, not knowing what Howard had planned for them next. He led them down a hallway off the foyer and YN was surprised when they entered a large kitchen where Mr. Jarvis and a petite redhead sat at a small table sipping tea and eating cookies.

"Ana, would you please make our guests something to eat?" Howard asked the woman with a warm smile on his face before turning back to YN and Bucky. "Ana makes the best goulash – you'll love it."

"Mr. Stark isn't exaggerating," Jarvis said as he went to the cupboard to take down a couple glasses. "Ana may be my wife, but everyone agrees that she's a phenomenal cook."

YN struggled not to blurt out the first thing that came to her mind. Jarvis had a wife? Tony had never mentioned a Mrs. Jarvis, but then again, he hadn't really said much about the real Jarvis either. She wondered how much of a role this woman had played in his life. Biting her tongue, she allowed Howard to pull out a chair for her at the tiny kitchen table while Bucky and Howard took the seats to her left.

"Are you American, dear?" Ana asked with a faint Hungarian accent as she placed two bowls of goulash in front of her, Bucky, and Howard. "It's just that I've never seen fashion quite like that before."

Bucky and Howard both gave her a look that clearly said "You're on your own" before they both began to eat. Deciding that sticking to the truth would be the simplest option, she gave Ana a brief explanation of her job – or former job – with S.H.I.E.L.D. "I'm an agent with a covert government agency. This outfit is what we call tactical gear and it allows me freer range of motion if I find myself in hand to hand combat with a hostile enemy."

"Oh," Ana said with a look of pure joy on her face. "Edwin and I have just recently taken up the ancient art of Judo and one of those tactile suits would be splendid for our sparring sessions."

"I believe it's called tactical gear, darling," Edwin corrected and he began passing out the glasses of wine.

"You spar?" YN asked, instantly taking a liking to redhead. For some reason Ana reminded her of Natasha and YN felt a pang of loneliness at the prospect of never seeing her best friend again.

"Will the two of you be staying with us for a while?" Ana asked as Jarvis held out a seat for her. "It would be nice to have a female sparring partner. My dear Edwin has a tendency to pull his punches although I constantly remind him that I'll never learn if he keeps coddling me."

YN didn't answer Ana's question, but rather glanced in Howard's direction with a raised eyebrow to indicate that he should come up with an explanation for her and Bucky's extended stay. Giving her a slight nod, he put down his spoon and turned to Ana.

"Ms. YLN and Sergeant Barnes will be staying with us for a days, maybe even a week or two," Howard explained. "They'll be helping me with that government contract I told you about a few months ago."

"Ah," Jarvis said, as if Howard's brief explanation answered all of his questions. "Once we finish dinner, Ana and I will prepare a few rooms for our guests then."

A giddy smile spread across Ana's face. "Wonderful. Do you have any other clothes with you, dear? We can't have you going out and about in your tactical gear. I'm a forward thinking woman, but other women in this town aren't, if you know what I mean."

"I'm glad you brought that up, Ana," Howard said. "Our two guests were out on a mission before they came here, so they'll need a wardrobe while they're with us. I know I can trust you to make sure that their every need is taken care of."

"Thank you," Bucky and YN said in unison, earning them a delighted smile from Ana.

YN and Bucky spent the rest of dinner recounting battle stories for Ana's amusement. Since HYDRA wasn't well known in the States at this point in the war, she simply referred to the enemy as German soldiers. YN learned that Ana was Jewish and that Jarvis had fallen in love with her early on in the war while he'd been serving under a general in the British Armed Forces. It was a romantic tale that ended with Jarvis forging a letter of transit to allow Ana to leave Nazi-occupied Budapest. Howard had brought both of them back to the States with him so that neither would face charges of treason.

Learning details like this about Howard made YN rethink her opinion of Tony's father. She thought about her own relationship with the younger Stark, and realized that the two men were strikingly similar, not only in looks, but in temperament as well. Howard and Tony both cared deeply about the people closest to them, and they were hard on those people because they cared so much. Tony may not love her in the way that she wanted him to, but there was no doubt in her mind that he did care for her – it was just more along the same lines of how Howard cared about Jarvis and Ana.

As she readied herself for bed, she used her new perspective on Stark men to re-evaluate her history with Tony. While it still hurt to know that he'd never see her the way she'd always wished he would, she could appreciate the friendship that they'd developed over the years. She knew that Nat was right in her belief that Tony used YN's feelings to steer her in the direction he wanted her to go, but it was never done with malice. She would just have to make sure that once they returned to the twenty-first century she made it clear to him that her days of blindly following him were over.

___________________

Author's Note: Thank you for reading Part 7 of this story! I hope you enjoyed it! Howard seems to be on board, even though he's still a bit skeptical of the Reader and Bucky. What did you think of Ana? If you haven't seen Agent Carter, you should really check out the scene where Peggy and Jarvis are sparring on YouTube - you'll really get a sense of Ana's character in that clip! How do you feel about the Reader's new insight into Tony? Do you think she's finally ready to let go of her unrequited love and open herself up to new prospects? I had thought this was going to be a short series, but I've barely even scratched the surface of my original idea, so I hope you're ready for more! I look forward to your comments and please consider voting if you enjoyed this part!