Forward to the Past [Steggy] ✔

Chapter Eighteen

Steve's POV

My eyes flutter open, having been awakened to the sound of my doorknob turning. I sit up, causing Peggy to do the same as we both stare at the door. It flies open, revealing a very surprised looking Sam as he takes in what he sees, which is just Peggy and I in the bed together.

"Oh, for God's sake, Capsicle. A little warning?" He groans in exasperation, though he's grinning.

"Here's a thought," I suggest. "Knock before you open the door so I have time to warn you. Not that I would have, but maybe you could think about it."

Sam shrugs nonchalantly, leaning against the door frame. "I don't knock, Cap. I heard what happened with your so called 'girlfriend.' She doesn't seem very nice. Oh, and I got filled in on the whole time machine stuff, so I know who you are." He points to Peggy, a smirk on his face. "Is the old man finally gonna get laid?"

My face turns bright red, and I stare at Peggy, who is clearly trying to withhold a laugh. "Not cool, Sam," I mumble, rubbing my eyes blearily. "What time is it anyways?"

"Six thirty," Sam says brightly. "I let you sleep in a little."

"Thanks," I say sarcastically, getting out of bed with the mindset that maybe I can get to the coffee before Bucky drinks it all. "When did you get here?"

"About five minutes ago." Sam smiles. "I came over as soon as I could. I woulda come earlier, but I had work, you know?" He winks at me, and I frown, not completely sure what he means by that. Sam rolls his eyes and continues. "Yeah, anyway. We better get kicking some Hydra booty soon. Heard there was a new bad guy in town. Or in country. Somewhere."

"Bucky's been doing a lot of research," I agree, choosing to completely ignore his former sentence. "We know where to find them. For as brilliant as this Brown guy is, he's not the greatest with security and concealment."

"Brown guy?" Sam says, looking a bit offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's his name," Peggy breaks in. "Arnold Brown."

"Well, you coulda specified that, Cap," Sam says, looking unimpressed. "Don't want people to get the wrong idea. We'll just call him 'Mr. Brown.' Or 'Hydra Mastermind Brown.' Or maybe just 'Arnold Brown.' Definitely not 'Brown Guy.'"

"Fine, Sam," I say, waving a hand. "Hydra Mastermind Brown it is. Suit yourself."

"I'm gonna go find some coffee," Sam says, starting to exit.

"Tell Bucky not to drink all of it," I request, and Sam snorts.

"I think that's a statement better directed towards Tony. He was up all night and is gonna need a buttload of coffee to keep him up and running all day."

"I'll keep that in mind," I reply. "Now get yourself out of my room."

"Fine, fine. Stop being so pushy." Sam rolls his eyes, then exits, closing the door behind him. I sigh, looking back at Peggy.

"Sorry about that. He's kind of like Tony. Just less... arrogant."

"I think he's nice," Peggy says. "You never mentioned him at all." She sends me a questioning stare, and I avert my eyes, starting to change into actual clothes.

"It never came up," I reply, shrugging. "And I never really felt the need to say anything until it became relevant."

"Maybe we'll go have coffee with him and you can actually introduce me," Peggy suggests, getting out of my bed and stretching a little, her hair falling around her shoulders. It's different to see it not curled, But it's pretty. She's already adapted to the twenty first century, though she can't stop telling me how odd it is that women can actually wear pants now. It's kind of cute.

"Yeah," I say, finally responding to her earlier suggestion that we have coffee with Sam. "Sure. Bucky'll probably be there too, if that's alright."

"Neither of you two have told me how he's here," Peggy points out. "I let it go, but I'm still curious, mind you."

"Okay," I say calmly, knowing that when Peggy gets curious, it doesn't go away. "I'll bring it up with Bucky. Sam knows the whole story too."

"You know, if he really doesn't want to tell me, you can," Peggy points out, and I shake my head.

"Maybe, but I think it'd be best to ask Bucky first."

"Yeah, I know. It's just that if Bucky isn't comfortable telling me, you might have to," Peggy says intelligently. "I can tell that whatever happened was pretty traumatic. He's definitely changed."

"You should've seen him last year," I say quietly, straightening out the sheets of the bed. "He's gotten exponentially better."

Peggy doesn't say anything at first, noticing my slightly depressed demeanor. "Well," she says at last, "whatever it is that happened...."

"Can we talk about this later?" I say, an unintentional edge to my voice. Peggy recoils slightly, and I sigh, dropping a pillow on the bed. "I'm sorry, but it's kind of a touchy subject for both of us."

Peggy nods, looking understanding. "Alright. Well, I kind of need to change," she points out. "I'll meet you back here in ten minutes?"

"Sounds good," I say, and Peggy leaves. Surprisingly, a few seconds later, there's a knock at the door, and I open it, expecting to see Peggy again, having forgotten something, but instead, I'm staring at Tony's tired face.

"Hey, Cap," he says blearily, and I notice the cup of coffee in his right hand. And the one in his left. Sam wasn't kidding when he warned us that Tony might exhaust the compound's coffee supply.

"Tony," I reply tightly, knowing we still aren't on the best terms. "If you're looking for Peggy, she just left."

"Peggy was here?" Tony says, blinking. "Doing what?"

"Sleeping," I say a bit hesitantly, expecting a huge outburst, but Tony just shrugs.

"Alright, fine. But actually, I was looking for you." He looks a tad bit unsettled, and I'm caught off guard.

"Why?" I ask, stepping back to let Tony enter further.

"I wanted to talk. About last year, specifically."

Oh. So this is what this is. I sigh, waiting for some kind of talk about how he still doesn't trust me, but what comes out of Tony's mouth next is a shock. A complete and utter surprise.

"I'm sorry."