Written for Peggysous Week 2022 on Tumblr! Run by @peggysousweek - Go check it out!
Prompts: Dream, Canon Divergence, Secret Relationship, "Are you staying for breakfast?"
Summary: Peggy and Daniel have been dating ever since the Howard Stark case wrapped, when Daniel finally got up the courage to ask her out for drinks. Everything's been amazing, and they make a point of regularly spending time together whenever they have a free day or two from work. Nobody in the office knows, since Peggy and Daniel decided it was none of their business, but that's all about to change when a date night doesn't go as planned.
A/N: Listen. I know that this is not realistically the kind of date night people in the 40s would be doing after only a few months of dating. I do not care.
****************
"Daniel, that was an absolutely lovely dinner. Thank you," said Peggy, smiling across the table at her boyfriend. They'd been dating for a few months now, after Daniel asked her out for drinks once they'd wrapped up the Howard Stark case, and neither of them could've been happier.
"I'm just glad you liked it," replied Daniel with a smile. "After the brunch setup you put together last weekend, I really had to up my game."
Peggy chuckled as the two gathered their dishes and headed into the kitchen together. Every moment they got to spend together, just the two of them, they cherished like none other.
"I'll wash you dry?" Daniel suggested. Peggy nodded and laid out a towel while Daniel started the water running. The pair chatted about their week together, talking about everything and nothing while they finished cleaning up the kitchen. Finally, when they were done, they headed into the living room together. The plan was to curl up on the couch and listen to their favorite radio program together before heading to bed.
The plan was interrupted by a pounding at the door.
"Who on Earth could that be?" asked Peggy, perching on the arm of the nearest chair as Daniel headed to the door. He just shrugged; he certainly wasn't expecting anyone.
Daniel tried not to look too huffy as he stopped in front of the door. At this hour, whoever was outside probably needed something pretty urgently. Still, that didn't mean he had to be happy about having his date night interrupted.
Daniel opened the door, only to be pushed back through a moment later by Jack Thompson basically stumbling into his arms. Jack absolutely reeked of alcohol, and he had the dumbest smile on his face as he pulled back to look at Daniel.
"Hey Sousa," slurred Thompson. "I'm sorry about this, I just... ugh. I was out with a suspect in that mob case–you know?"
Jack fixed Daniel with an intense stare, apparently waiting for a response. Peggy wasn't sure whether to laugh or be appalled from where she was watching.
"Yeah, Jack, I know the mob case. We've been working it for almost a month."
"Okay good, yeah, that one. Well, I was out for drinks trying to get information out of this one guy, and usually I can hold my own, right? But this time- SHIT, Sousa, you should've seen him. I dumped half my drinks into plants and he still drank me under the table. I got some info though, I wrote it down."
Jack frowned and started pawing through the pockets of his jacket. Daniel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Jack-"
"You're right, it doesn't matter," said Jack, his head snapping back up. His eyes took a second to refocus on Daniel. "Anyway, I'll get it in the morning. But there's no way in hell I'm making it home right now. I only got out of spending the night at a mob house by saying I was expected at a friend's so... you mind if I crash here?"
Daniel sighed. All. He wanted. To do. Was kick Jack the hell out of his house and go back to his nice night with Peggy. But he couldn't do that.
"Yeah, Jack, it's fine. You can stay here."
"Great. Thanks Sousa." Jack clapped Daniel on the back, then staggered into the living room. "Hey Carter."
He walked right past Peggy as she waved in response, not even giving her a second glance. Then, a few steps past her, he almost tripped as he stopped on a dime and whirled back around to look at her.
"CARTER? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was wondering when we'd get that reaction," said Peggy with a smile to Daniel. They'd been dating for months, but no one in the office knew. Jarvis and Ana were the only two people (other than Daniel and Peggy themselves) that knew about the relationship. They'd debated sharing the happy news with their coworkers and other friends, but they'd been putting it off in the name of preserving their peaceful, private time as a couple.
Apparently, that was all about to be over.
"Sousa, why the hell is Carter in your house?" asked Jack, whirling to face Daniel.
"We're dating, Jack."
"...Hold on, I know I'm not that drunk. You two finally stopped staring at each other from across the office and went on a damn date?"
Peggy and Daniel gave Jack identical offended expressions, and even in his drunken haze it made Jack chuckle.
"We've been dating for a few months now, actually," Peggy retorted. "This moment, with you, right now, is precisely why we didn't want to tell anyone."
"...Elaborate?"
"You're ruining our date night with your nonsense," said Peggy, even as she moved to grab Jack a pillow and a blanket. Jack gave her an apologetic grin as she laid both out on the couch for him, but Peggy just shoved him backwards. He landed on the couch and didn't bother trying to get up. "Go to sleep. We'll see you in the morning."
Jack gave the couple a lazy smile and a wave as they headed for the bedroom. He was unconscious before they cleared the doorway.
"I cannot believe he just showed up at your house," said Peggy, shaking her head as she moved into the bathroom to change into her pajamas.
"Honestly? Me neither. I think we better look into that mob case a little more closely in the morning, though. It sounds like Thompson might've gotten in a little over his head."
"Of course he has," sighed Peggy. She came out of the bathroom and climbed into bed next to Daniel, curling up comfortably by his side. "When is he not in over his head?"
Daniel chuckled. "Never. Which is why it's a damn good thing he has us."
Peggy hummed and closed her eyes as Daniel leaned over and turned out the lamp. Despite the disturbance in their routine, it didn't take long for the pair to fall into a peaceful sleep.
Thankfully the walls were thick enough that they couldn't hear Jack snoring like an elephant in the next room.
****************
Peggy and Daniel woke up with the sun the next morning, feeling rested and content. They always felt peaceful after being able to spend time together, just the two of them.
It gave them strength for the challenges of the day, like an unconscious and probably hungover SSR Chief laying on their couch.
"You wanna wake him up or should I?" asked Daniel. He and Peggy stood in front of the couch, staring at Jack as he sawed logs and showed absolutely no signs of waking up on his own any time soon.
"Well, you're the one who said I made a fantastic brunch," replied Peggy. "So I'll go start cooking something nice while you deal with... this."
Daniel sighed. "Fine."
Peggy smiled and kissed his forehead, then headed into the kitchen. Which left Daniel alone to deal with their house guest.
"Thompson. Hey, Thompson," started Daniel, poking Jack in the side. Nothing. "Thompson."
"You're going to have to do more than whisper in his ear!" called Peggy from the kitchen. "You saw how he was last night, didn't you?"
"Yeah..." Daniel looked down at Thompson and muttered under his breath to him, even though Thompson couldn't hear: "I at least tried to do this the easy way."
Daniel stood and headed into the kitchen with Peggy. She stared at him, but he didn't explain as he grabbed a pot and a big spoon from the cabinets, then went back to the living room.
"Cover your ears," he said to Peggy. She quickly did, and then Daniel took a deep breath and started hammering on the pot with his spoon. "WAKE THE HELL UP THOMPSON!"
"Shit!" Jack shot up from the couch, putting his hands over his ears and glaring at Daniel. "I'm awake, you bastard! Cut it out!"
Daniel just grinned as he lowered the pot and spoon. Jack groaned and put his hands to his head. Clearly, he was more than a little hungover.
"Did you have to do it that way?" Jack groaned as Daniel sat down beside him.
Daniel shrugged. "You weren't waking up."
Jack snorted his disbelief, but didn't say anything else. The pair sat in silence for a moment while Jack recovered, and then Jack sighed and looked at Daniel.
"Thanks for letting me stay here, by the way," he said. "Based on the size of this headache, I must've been in bad shape last night."
"Trust me, you were."
Jack huffed a laugh. He paused, then turned to Daniel with a grin. "You know, I had the weirdest dream last night. You'd probably enjoy it though."
Daniel squinted. "Do I even want to know?"
"I had a dream that you and Carter were dating. No idea what the hell that says about my psyche, but-"
"Not a dream, Jack," said Peggy, bustling into the living room from the kitchen. She came to a stop before the two boys with her hands on her hips. Daniel smiled at her with that familiar loving gaze, and Jack's shocked look would be enough to keep her chuckling for a week.
"What?" Jack finally managed to exclaim. He looked from Peggy to Daniel and back again. "How long has this been happening?"
"Since you became Chief, about," said Daniel. Jack's jaw dropped to the floor, but Peggy waved off any other questions that might have been on the tip of his tongue.
"Save your shock for later," she said. "Are you staying for breakfast? I need to know whether to make an extra few eggs."
"You're gonna let me stay for breakfast?" asked Jack, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"Well, if we didn't kick you out last night I don't see why we'd kick you out now," she huffed. "So?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll stay. Thanks, Carter."
Peggy just hummed. "Make yourself useful and either get in here to help or start going through that information you got off the mob suspect last night."
Jack groaned at the mere memory of last night, and Daniel just chuckled as Peggy headed back into the kitchen.
"Come on, Thompson. Up and att'em. We've got stuff to do today, no matter how hungover you are. You can make the toast and fruit while I try to make sense of your drunk, near-illegible notes from last night."
Jack heaved a sigh. "Alright. Why not. It's been a weird twenty-four hours already. What's brunch with you two?"
"That's the spirit," said Daniel with a sigh as he stood and clapped Jack on the back. The two boys headed into the kitchen to join Peggy, and were immediately put to work. Despite every single second they'd known him before this as evidence to the contrary, Jack helped with everything Peggy asked him to do and was reasonably pleasant (for Thompson) the whole time.
Maybe that peaceful feeling Peggy and Daniel got whenever they were around each other extended to the other people around them, too. Or maybe Jack was just too hungover to remember to be an ass. Either way, even though their weekend hadn't gone quite as planned, they couldn't really complain. They were together, so they were happy.