Marvel Oneshots

Goodbye (Peggysous)

Written for Peggysous Week 2022 on Tumblr! Run by @peggysousweek - Go check it out!

Prompts: Between Seasons, "Be safe, alright?", Rose Roberts, Mutual Pining, Surprise

Summary: It's Daniel's last day at the SSR. This is the moment between seasons 1 and 2 when he packs up his things and leaves the New York office to start over in LA.

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Peggy sighed as she walked the last block to the entrance of the New York SSR. She had mountains of work waiting for her on his desk, so she'd decided to come in early to get started on it.

As if the piles of papers weren't enough to make the day daunting, today was also Daniel's official last day in New York. He'd accepted a fantastic new job as the Chief of the SSR LA branch, which obviously included him moving to LA. Peggy had been trying to be happy for him, and she was, really. She just also hated losing him.

She sighed as she stepped into the elevator, hitting the same button she always did. Her daily routine wouldn't change at all, but she still dreaded tomorrow, when she'd have to go through that routine without the bright spot of Daniel Sousa.

Peggy stepped out of the elevator to find Rose sitting alone in the fake telephone operator room that served as a front for the SSR. Rose would be leaving for the West Coast too, but not for another week. Peggy planned to appreciate every second of time with her until then.

Peggy gave Rose a smile as she stopped in front of the fake wall. Rose returned with a knowing smile of her own before buzzing Peggy through the entrance.

No one else would be in the office this early, which was exactly what Peggy wanted. She'd have time to prepare and collect herself for this last day of having Daniel around, so she could properly appreciate it and celebrate his new job instead of lamenting it.

Even though no one was around, Peggy forced herself to keep her head high and her shoulders back as she marched into the office. She came to a stumbling stop, however, when she got to the bullpen and found she wasn't alone.

Daniel stood behind his desk, a mostly-full box of his things on top of it. He'd frozen mid-move while adding a file to the box, staring at Peggy with the same shock and slight horror that Peggy knew must be on her own face.

"Daniel? What are you doing here?" Peggy managed to ask.

"Uh..." Daniel glanced down at the box on his desk, a guilty expression on his face. It didn't take long for Peggy to put the pieces together.

"Were you planning on leaving before anyone else got in today?"

Daniel cleared his throat and finally dropped the file he'd been holding into the box. He looked like all he wanted was to disappear on the spot, but he straightened and answered nonetheless.

"Yeah, uh... Thompson and I talked about it yesterday. We thought it might be for the best."

"Daniel, how on Earth would this be for the best?" Peggy demanded. She could feel her temper rising, so she took a few deep breaths as she walked towards Daniel to keep it under control.

"Well, instead of making a big scene at the end of work, I can just get my things and head out now. Maybe say bye to a few people on the way out."

"You look like you're almost finished."

"Yeah, I am."

"I came in early to get work done, I'm usually not here for at least another hour. Were you really planning to leave without saying goodbye to me?"

Daniel grimaced and looked away, but Peggy refused to back down. She watched him the whole time as he put one last thing in his box and then put the lid on top. Finally, he looked at her again, regret shining in his eyes.

"I thought it'd be easier, Peggy."

"Why?" asked Peggy, her voice rising as her temper began to slip its leash. "Because you think I'd cause a scene? That I'd get too emotional to see you go? I'm sure you and Thompson discussed that at length-"

"Easier for me, Peggy," Daniel cut in. "It'd be easier for me without some big, final goodbye at the end of my last day. To be honest, I didn't really want to go through all that."

Peggy sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I know you're better than that, and you're nothing like Thompson. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I just... I'm really going to miss you."

Daniel huffed a breathy laugh, a sad smile rising to his face.

"Peggy, come on. You think a big, final goodbye is gonna be hard for me with any of the bozos in this office that aren't you? The only one that'd come close is Rose, and she's coming with me."

They shared a small laugh, hearts breaking beneath it, and Daniel continued.

"I'm gonna hate not seeing you sitting two desks behind me every day, Peggy. I'm gonna-" Daniel stopped himself as he felt the wave of emotions threatening to drag him under. He took a deep breath and tried again. "I'm gonna miss you. A lot."

Peggy gave him a small smile as she walked around to his side of the desk and perched on it.

"I've been trying so hard to be happy for you, since this is such a wonderful opportunity for you, but... I must admit I wish you were staying here."

Daniel grimaced like he'd been physically punched in the gut. It had taken almost all of his strength and resolve to make the decision to leave in the first place; he couldn't back out now, especially not over the person he was trying to get space from.

"I can't, Peggy. This is a great opportunity for... for a lot of things. I think it's time for the next phase in my life."

He met her eyes as he said it, and she could see the sadness in his eyes. But it wasn't her place to comment on it, or to tell him not to go.

"Well, then I wish you all the best, Daniel," she said, forcing a smile onto her face. They held each other's stares for a few charged beats, until Peggy finally looked away. She cleared her throat and took a few steps towards her own desk, away from Daniel. "Just... Be safe, alright? I can't watch your back from across the country."

"Me? I'll be fine, I'm taking Rose," said Daniel. "I need you to promise you'll be careful. You're gonna have Thompson watching your back over here."

Peggy snorted, and it made the smile on Daniel's face feel a little more real.

"You know, Rose and I made a bet on how long it'll take you and Thompson to kill each other," he continued.

"Really?" asked Peggy, forcing lightness into her tone and smile even as she felt her heart breaking. "And how long do you each have me lasting?"

"Rose says two months, I say three weeks. We're both agreed that you're gonna take Thompson out though, not the other way around."

"I should hope so!" She smiled, but it fell from her face as she came to a stop behind her desk. "So... is this it then?"

Daniel sighed and ran a hand through his hair as the smile fell from his face, too.

"Yeah, this is it. This is my last box and then... I'm outta here."

"Well, I promise I won't tell the others how little you cared about saying goodbye to them."

"I appreciate it. I don't want to be persona non grata if I ever have to come back here for something."

They exchanged awkward smiles that quickly disappeared. Peggy couldn't bring herself to say anything, and even if she could, she had no idea what she'd say. They held each others' stares for a few more long moments until finally, Daniel looked away.

"Well," he said, picking up his box before turning to look back at Peggy one last time. "I'll see you around, Peggy."

"I'll... see you around, Daniel."

Daniel nodded, then turned to walk out of the bullpen for possibly the last time. Peggy watched him the whole time, trying to burn the memory of every step into her brain as he walked out of her life, possibly for the last time.

Daniel didn't look back.