Finally at Chapter Nine; the chapter I have been waiting for since the start.
***
Peggy's PoV
She opened the door to her apartment, her eyes drooping with exhaustion as she walked in and locked the door.
Peggy checked her watch and groaned.
It was 3:00am.
She dragged her exhausted body to the bathroom where she looked in the mirror. She looked exactly how she felt; like she had been dragged through a bush backwards. She leaned forward to get a closer look at the plaster on her forehead. She gently pressed around the edges, checking for tenderness. After he had finished with the Captain, Brown had cleaned and bandaged the wound, telling her that it would heal in a few days.
She sighed and stepped back from the mirror. She felt disgusting and was still covered in dried blood. At this stage, she couldn't tell you exactly who's blood it was because there had been so much of it around her on that mission.
She stripped as quickly has her wrecked body would allow her and climbed into the shower. She washed the sweat and grim from her skin and hair as she stood under the warm stream of water, focusing on one job at at time.
Peggy dried herself off and put on a fresh nightgown, again not letting her mind wander. She pinned up her hair in small buns all around her hair, so that in the morning, when she let it out, it would curl more naturally. Finally, the agent walked out of the bathroom and headed for her bed, feeling refreshed and ready for a good sleep.
It was when she climbed into bed and turned off her light that her overtired brain kicked into gear. Her mind went wild, filling with more thoughts than she could process in her tired state. She thought back to the moment she had had with Steve on the plane, instantly being hit with guilt. She sat up suddenly, putting her head in her hands.
What had she done? She had nearly kissed Steve! How could she do that to Scott?! She was an engaged woman for crying out loud!
The ball of guilt grew inside of her, eating away at her insides. She felt like she was going to get sick. She ran to the bathroom, covering her mouth before falling to the floor at the toilet. She gagged but nothing came up. She stayed there for a few moments, trying to focus on breathing.
"In and out. Deep breath in and let it out. In and out," she thought, slowly calming herself down.
Once she had calmed down slightly, she moved back to her bedroom, absentmindedly wiping away tears that she didn't know had fallen.
Peggy flopped onto her bed, laying on her stomach with her face in a pillow. She had already said yes to drinks with Steve. He needed to talk, that much was obvious. She couldn't let him down, not if he needed a friend.
"What am I going to do?" she asked herself.
"Pull yourself together woman!" She whispered angrily to herself. "Okay, this is what you're do," she said, counting them out in her fingers. "Tomorrow you'll go to Scott's, have lunch and spend some time with him. You will tell him about drinks with Steve and specify that it will be a friendly drink because that is what it's going to be. You're friends with Captain Rogers now. Nothing more," she told herself firmly. She paused thinking of anything else. "You're going to have to tell Steve about the engagement too. He doesn't know, but he needs to. It has to happen tonight. All of it. You are not leading him on anymore. No. Tonight, you cut all romantic ties with Steve Rogers."
*
She woke up with the light streaming in through the gap in her curtains. She really needed to get knew curtains.
Peggy rolled over to put her head under the pillow when she fell out of bed. She hit the floor with a soft thud and groaned.
She sat up, completely woken up now and looked over at her alarm clock.
It was 8:20 am.
"WHAT?!"
She was about to rush to get dressed, when she remembered that S.H.I.E.L.D. had given her and everyone else on the mission a long weekend to recover.
She stood up and sighed with both relief and exhaustion, before leaving her bedroom and heading for the kitchen. Now that she was fully awake, there was no point in trying to go back asleep because it just wouldn't happen. Instead, she put on the kettle and made herself a cup of coffee.
When she was finished, she moved over to the window and pulled up a chair, watching the world go by.
After a sufficient caffeine boost, Peggy got dressed so that she could head over to Scott's apartment. Scott was still in the military, but he was currently on desk duty. Neither of them minded, of course. It meant that they could see each other more, with the added bonus that Scott was safe. He usually worked Monday through Friday, getting one Friday a month off, balancing off the fact that he could be called in at anytime, day or night, in an Emergancy.
Peggy put on comfortable brown suit pants, a white blouse and her favourite brown leather jacket. She fixed her hair and removed the small plaster on her forehead. She, then, applied a small amount of makeup, avoiding her cut, before grabbing her bag and heading in her way.
*
She arrived at her fiancé's apartment with a box of fresh pastries in one hand and a newspaper in the other. She knocked with the newspaper hand and Scott came to the door straight away. His face broke into a wide smile when he saw her.
"Hey, Doll," he said, leaning against the door. "Come on in."
"These are for you, Dear," she said, smiling up to him and handing him the pastries and newspaper.
"Aww thanks, Dollface," he said, kissing her cheek as she pasted by and closing the door. "So, tell me about it? How was D.C.?" He asked, leading her to the couch and sitting beside her.
He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head.
"It was good. Well, as good as a trip with your boss can be," she laughed. "I didn't really do much apart from follow Mr. Sayre around," she said, putting her head on his shoulder.
"Ah, alright." He paused, bringing her face up to his for a soft kiss. "I missed ya," he said, holding her cheek in his hand.
"I missed you too," she said, smiling slightly.
Scott's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at her with concern, as she realised he noticed her cut. She looked at the collar of his shirt, not wanting to meet his eye.
"Woah, Peggy! What happened Doll? Jesus! Are ya okay?" He asked, pulling her face back up to his, panic in his eyes.
"Scott, I'm alright. I'm alright. It's just a bump to the head, Scott,"she said, calming him down.
"What happened?" He asked, smoothing his thumb on her cheek.
"It's rather silly, really.I wasn't looking where I was going as I followed Mr. Sayre. I slipped and hit my head. That's all. Nothing major. Mr. Sayre insisted on calling a doctor, so I got it looked at and there's nothing wrong," she reassured him. "It doesn't even hurt anymore," she said, smiling at him.
"'kay, as long as you're okay," he said, pulling her back into a hug.
"I am. I promise."
"I love you, Peggy Carter."
"I- I love you too, Scott Woods."
They sat together for a while, Scott read the newspaper while Peggy played with his hair.
"Oh. I meant to tell you. I saw Captain Rogers on the street an-"
"Oh yeah?" Scott interrupted, turning to face her, his face lit up with excitement.
"Yes," she said, ruffling his hair and smiling. "He looked like he needed someone to talk to, so I asked if he wanted to talk about it over a few friendly drinks later. Is that okay?" She asked quietly.
"Of course, Doll. Ya don't need to ask, Peggy. Ya know I trust ya a hundred and ten per cent. He's you're friend. You don't have to check with me," he said, kissing her cheek.
Another pang of guilt hit her as he turned back to the newspaper. She messed with his hair, twirling it's strands through her fingers, as it stirred in her stomach. She could feel it rising up the back of her throat. She needed to distract herself, but luckily Scott did it for her.
"Hey, Doll. Did I tell ya the funny story that Jack told everyone down at the base yesterday?"
"No. No, I don't think so," she said, holding herself together.
"Well...." Scott jumped into a tale about how some officers had been caught doing things that they shouldn't have while she had been away. She listened carefully, laughing along too, even if it was more at his honk of a laugh than the story.
*
After spending the afternoon with Scott, Peggy headed to her favourite diner for some coffee. As she opened the door, she heard the familiar jingle of the bell and the smell of coffee beans and food. She stepped into the warmth and closed the door, before moving towards the counter. She sat down on one of the red leather seats and checked her watch.
5:30 pm.
She still had plenty of time to get ready.
"Hey English!"
Peggy looked up and saw one of her only friends, Scarlett, smiling at her.
Scarlett was a small, petite woman with raven black hair that was loosely curled. Her forest green eyes lit up at the sight of her friend, a wide small taking over her small face. If you looked close enough, you could see a light dusting of freckles covering her nose and cheekbones, adding to the cute look. She stood there, in her pink and white waitress uniform, one hand on her hip and chewing gum.
"What can I getcha?" She asked in her high voice.
"Hi Scarlett. I'll just have a coffee please," Peggy replied with a smile.
"Comin' right up."
Peggy watched as Scarlett made a fresh pot of coffee and tidied up behind the counter.
"Hey, Scar?"
"Yep?"
"Did I ever tell you that I had a friend called Scarlett during the war?" Peggy asked
"Ya did?"
"Yes. She was a bit more," Peggy paused, thinking of the right word. "Irish," she said, cracking a smile.
Scarlett turned to face Peggy once again, grabbing a cup and pouring her a coffee.
"Well, she sounds like a doll," Scarlett said, smiling at Peggy and putting down the pot.
"She was," she said quietly, looking down at her coffee and wrapping her cold fingers around the cup.
Scarlett went to serve some customers, leaving Peggy to her thoughts. Her mind begin to wander, as it often did. What was she going to wear tonight? They might only be friends, but she can still look nice, right? She smiled as one dress popped into her head. It was one that she hadn't more in quite a while, but she couldn't wait to wear it again.
"Whatcha smilin' at English? My coffee can't be that good," Scarlett said, walking behind the counter and smirking at Peggy.
"I'm just looking forward to a night out tonight," Peggy said, sipping her coffee to hide her smile.
"Ooooh! Goin' out with yer fella? Is he takin' you some place nice?" Scarlett asked, leaning on the counter, obviously excited for her friend.
"Actually, no. I'm meeting up with an old friend and we don't know where we're going yet."
"Well, it must be someone special if they gotcha smilin' like that," she said chuckling.
Peggy just smiled down at her coffee and took another drink.
*
Peggy got home around half an hour later and started getting ready.
She started with her makeup. She took off the light layer she had but on earlier and replaced it with a more done up, yet still natural look. She managed to make her cut look almost unnoticeable. Happy with her makeup, Peggy moved onto her hair, making the curls more pronounced. She went to her closet and searched through her clothes. She took out the simple yet classy red dress that she had already decided she would wear. It was one of her favourites, but it just hadn't felt right wearing it, until now. Two years was a long time for a dress to go unworn, but tonight it would gets it chance to shine once again.
She pulled on the dress along with some matching shoes and went to the mirror. Once in front if it, she checked that the outfit looked okay before going back to her closet. She grabbed her black dress coat and a small clutch purse, placing them on the table. She went back to the bathroom and applied some red lipstick to complete the look.
Just then, she heard a knock on the door. She checked her watched as she moved towards it and smiled. He was five minutes early.
She twisted the door knob and opened the door. Outside stood a young man with dashing looks, dressed in his formal military uniform with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Her eyes took in the sight of the tall man before her. She could never get used to seeing him in his uniform. The butterflies in her stomach went crazy, causing her to blush slightly. Her eyes travelled up his uniform, from his slim waist to his broad shoulders and finally moving to his face. His lips were parted slightly as he looked at her outfit, his eyes wide with shock.
She smirked at his reaction.
His lips turned up into a grin once her brown eyes met his brilliant blue ones.
"Flowers for the lady," Steve said, holding the flowers out to her and bowing slightly.
"Why thank you, kind Sir," Peggy grinned, taking the flowers and bringing them into the apartment.
She quickly put them in the sink, before returning to the door, her coat and purse.
"Ready?" He asked, one hand behind his back and the other pointing in their direction as if to say "ladies first".
"I always am, Steve," she said with a chuckle, as she stepped out of the apartment and locked the door.
*
Peggy shivered against the cold breeze, wrapping her coat tighter around her. Steve was paying the cab driver as she looked at the building in front of her. They had decided that, because Peggy had chosen the last place, Steve could pick this time.
Steve joined her on the footpath and they walked to the building. When they got closer, Steve took Peggy's hand and lead her into "Murphy's".
Once Steve opened the door, Peggy was hit with the sound of music and laughter. On the outside it didn't look like much, but on the inside it looked brilliant. It wasn't the biggest place, but it was packed with people. The dance floor took up nearly all the space, apart from the bar to the left, four or five booths at the end and a small stage on the right. There were a few lights shining from each corner, making it brighter than the Stork Club, so Peggy could actually see quite well, but not blindingly so. The atmosphere was amazing. The band were playing an upbeat song that had everyone on their feet and dancing the night away. Cheers sounded around the room as the song ended and another started.
Steve looked back at Peggy and she beamed up at him, over the moon with his choice. This was her kind of place. He grinned goofily back at her, before bringing her over to the bar.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Peggy heard someone exclaim when they reached two seats at the bar.
A man with curly brown hair and a face full of freckles stood with his hand over his heart, in exaggerated shock.
"Little Steve Rogers? Sweet Jaysus. I knew you had gotten bigger, but I didn't know it was this big!"
"Mr. Murphy," Steve said, chuckling, reaching over to shake the man's hand.
The man wasn't having any of that. He ran around the bar and pulled Steve into a hug.
"By God, son. Look at ya. You're all muscle," he said, poking his chest. "Ya know, I read it in the newspaper. About ya growin' and then about ya dyin', but ya know me, lad. I don' believe everythin' I read," he said in a thick Irish accent, laughing."It's nice to see ya, son. Glad yer not dead," the man patted Steve's shoulder, a beaming smile on his face. "How've ya been? What happens to yer face?" He asked pointing at Steve cut. "And who the lovely lassie you've got here?" He asked motioning towards Peggy.
"We're good, Seán," Steve said, smiling at the man. "I got into a bit of a scrap, but you know what it's like."
The man nodded his head in understanding. He knew what Steve was like.
"This is Peggy Carter. Peggy," he said looking at her. "This is Seán Murphy, he owned this amazing place."
"Ah Jaysus, stop it Rogers," he said playfully shoving Steve's shoulder before turning to Peggy. "Ms. Carter, it's an absolute pleasure to be meetin' ya," Seán said, bowing and making Peggy smile.
"You too, Mr. Murphy. And please, call me Peggy," she said with a grin.
"Alright, Peggy," he said with a smile. "And it's Seán. Mr. Murphy sounds so auld," he said as he moved back behind the bar. "What can I getcha?"
Steve helped Peggy out of her coat before taking off his own.
"I'll have a martini, please Seán," Peggy said, as she sat down on the black leather stool in front of her.
"I'll have a-" Steve started as he folded their coats over his arm.
"Say no more, Steve. I know it," Seán said with a wink, making Steve chuckle.
"I'm gonna go put our coats in the coat room," the Captain said, smiling at Peggy as the band began playing something slow.
"Alright. I'll be here," she said, grinning back at him.
"So Peggy, how d'ya know Steve?" Seán asked as he made her martini.
"Steve and I worked together during the war," she said, watching him work.
"Oh okay. You two make a lovely couple by the way," Seán said with a warm smile.
"Oh, no. No. We're not a couple," Peggy corrected. "We're just friends."
Seán paused for a second, furrowing his bushy eyebrows before going back to work.
"Oh lord. Sorry Peggy. I just assumed when I saw the way ye were lookin' at each other and... Well, I guess I was mistaken," he said, smiling kindly at her.
Just then, Steve sat down in the stool beside her, and leaning on the counter.
"Sorry I took so long. The coat room isn't where it used to be. Did I miss anythin'?" He asked, looking between Peggy and Seán.
"Nope. Peggy was just tellin' me how she knows ya," he said, handing Steve a bottle of beer.
"Thanks Seán."
He raised his bottle to Peggy's glass, clinking them together.
"Sláinte," he said, raising his bottle to her before taking a swig.
"Sláinte?" Peggy asked, raising an eyebrow. She hadn't heard that one before.
"It means "good health" in Irish," he said, smiling.
"You can speak Irish?"
"Yeah, a bit. My parents were Irish immigrants so they taught me. There's a great Irish community here."
Peggy was surprised. She had known about his parents from his Project Rebirth file, but she didn't know he could speak Irish.
"It wasn't in your Project Rebirth file."
"Well it's not that much help when you're trying to fight Nazis," he said taking a bother swig of his beer.
"Say, Steve!" Seán called as he walked towards one of the booths. "Call out to the neighbourhood sometime. We have Ceili dances every third Thursday. You should come and bring Peggy with ya," he shouted over his shoulder.
"Yeah. You got it," Steve said back.
"What's a Ceili dance?" Peggy asked, completely confused.
"It's a traditional Irish dance. It's a bit like this," he motioned around the room. "But better," he said smiling at her.
Peggy smiled back and turned back to the bar. She took a drink of her martini. The tempo of the music had slowed down a lot now as the band started playing Louis Armstrong's "What a wonderful world".
After a few moments, she turned back and saw Steve smiling at her. A grin broke out on her face before she turned serious again.
"How are you?" She asked, her smile replaced with a pursed lip and a look of concern.
"I've been worse," he said, looking over at the dance floor.
"Steve, you know you can talk to me," she said, reassuring him.
She placed her hand on his arm, causing him to look down at her hand and then back to her.
"What's wrong?" She asked softly.
"It's nothing. It's just, the mission reminded me a lot of the war," he said, taking a sudden interest in his beer bottle.
She knew he wasn't telling her something, but his body language told her to leave it. She'd decided not to push him. Not now at least. He was only just back himself, after all.
"Alright," she said, removing her hand from his arm and bringing it back to her glass.
She took another drink and saw Steve stand up. He held his hand out to her.
"Shall we dance?" He asked smiling at her.
"I don't know, Steve."
"Come on, Peg. I owe you a dance remember?"
She bit her lip, trying to decide what to do.
"One dance wouldn't hurt."
She stood up and took his hand.
"Alright," she said smiling up at him.
Steve smiled goofily before leading her to the dance floor.
The band started playing Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" as Peggy taught Steve how to swing dance. She showed him some simple moves as couples danced their hearts out around them.
Steve was a good dancer, he just hadn't a clue what he was doing.
After a few falls and stepping on Peggy's toes twice, Steve erupted in a fit of laughter and Peggy wasn't too far behind. The couples around them looked serious, while Steve and Peggy were in the middle laughing at each other. They stood there, clutching their sides with the pain of laughing so much. Peggy wiped away a few tears of laughter as another song started. It was good old Benny Goodman and "Sing, Sing, Sing". It was one of those songs that you couldn't help but dance when you heard it. They tried again and this time Steve was doing a lot better. He began throwing in moves of his own that Peggy hadn't shown him as the song continued, surprising her more and more as the song went on. They had the biggest smiles on their faces as they danced together. Steve twirled Peggy a few times, making her laugh.
As the song neared its end, Steve twirled her one more time, before bringing her in close and dipping her on the last notes.
Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" began playing as Steve slowly lifted Peggy back up. She stood there in shock while Steve put his hand on her waist and swayed them.
"You dipped me," was all Peggy could say as she put her hand on Steve's broad shoulders and stared at his tie.
Steve's chuckle vibrated through her hands.
"Yeah, I did. Was that okay?" He asked, nervousness creeping into his voice.
"Yes. Yes, that was okay," she said, meeting his gaze as they continues to sway. "Just unexpected."
"You know, Bucky was a great dancer, as is Howard, but they're not as good at being my partner as you are," he whispered in her ear, causing them both to laugh again.
They were quiet for a while, happy just to sway together. Peggy felt like they were the only people in the world, that time had slowed down to give them what they had missed out on before; a first dance. Peggy smiled up to him, her mind clear of anything but him at that moment.
As Glenn Miller's "Blue Moon" filled the room, Steve broke the silence.
"So, you and Woods. You seem happy," he said, looking down at her and catching her eye.
"Oh my lord. I should have said something earlier! Damn him and his eyes." She mentally scolded herself for not telling him yet. "Okay. Come on, Peggy. You have to tell him. It's now or never and it has to be now. You can do this," she thought to herself.
"We are," she said softly, looking down at the lapels of his jackets.
"I have to tell him. Do it now. Just rip the plaster off. Do it quickly and just get it over and done with," she thought a bit louder in her head.
"Well, then," he said softly. "So am I."
There was silence for a moment while a war was going on in Peggy's head.
"Damn it Peggy! Just do it! Tell him! NOW!" She internally screamed at herself. She took at deep breath and looked him in the eye, before blurting out the next sentence; the sentence she knew would change things completely, but he deserved to know.
"Steve, we're engaged."
*
Well there you go.
If you get the chance, do listened to the songs mentioned because they are just fabulous and really help to set the scene.