Shall We Dance - A Steggy Fanfiction

Twenty - Two

Steve's PoV

"It's just a local mission. She'll be alright. She's Peggy Carter, for cryin' out loud. Of course she'll be alright."

Steve paced back and forth, walking up and down the length of Howard's office, playing with his hands as he waited for news.

"Cap, she's only gone a short while. We won't know for another few hours," Howard tried to reassure him, but it didn't do much for the knot in his stomach, the feeling in his gut that something wasn't right.

Steve stopped his pacing, running a hand down his face as he sighed.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Howard," Steve said after a moment as he tried to convince himself that he was right.

"Am I ever not?" He asked with a smirk, before his smile dropped. "Don't answer that."

Steve felt his lips turn upwards slightly, but not enough to change his mood. He walked over to the window, looking down at the lunch time rush on bustling New York street, his forehead creasing as he frowned. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over at Howard, who know stood beside him.

"Cap, you're gonna blow your top if you keep doin' that."

"Doin' what?"

"Worryin'! Thinkin' 'bout all the things that could go wrong. She's Peggy friggin' Carter! Don't tell her I said this and if ya do, I'll put your freedom lovin' ass right back in the ice," he grinned at Steve. "She's the best. Don' worry, my friend. She's got this."

Howard clapped him on the shoulder before walking back to his desk.

"Tell ya what, Cap. You help me get these plans done real quick and I'll cover for ya so you can take a walk an' clear that head of yours. Keep ole Phillips off your back," Howard grinned, but hurried to cover his tracks. "But don't tell him I called him old 'cause-"

"Don't worry, Howard. I won't," Steve promised, grinning at the smaller man's panic. "And thanks."

"Thank god. An' it's no problemo, Cap." Howard took out some pages, a few files and a map and clapped his hands together. "Let's get down to business."

*

Once he had finished helping Howard make some new plans and organise new moves against HYDRA, Steve headed out for walk, hoping the cold air would clear his mind.

As he walked down the street, he shoved his hands deep into his pockets, his breath hanging in the chilling city air. He began doing what he always did when walking; looking for things to sketch. It was almost subconscious, but it helped to takes his mind off this, to take his mind off her.

It wasn't as if he had his sketchbook and was going to draw everything. It was more of an exercise for his brain, something to keep him distracted so that the quiet didn't get the better of him. It helped to keep him calm for short while, to get away from his thoughts and just focus on what was around him. It kept him grounded.

He noticed a few things, like certain buildings, peculiar shapes, the way the light hit something, but it was mostly faces. In the glimpse that he managed to get of people he could almost picture them as a sketch, a grey, shaded version of the one in front of him, the strokes of his pencil coming together to create the angles of a particular face.

As he strolled down the street, he browsed the shop windows, not slowing his pace, but just having a gander here and there.

Just as he passed a jewellery shop he heard a loud crash, followed by a short yelp. Steve, being the man that he is, ran into the shop to make sure everything was okay. His eyes flickered around the room until the fell on an older woman, probably in her sixties or seventies, who was on the floor surrounded by glass.