A/N. Hello everyone! So this is partly to tide you over until the next installment and partly because I needed to figure out a way to make certain things as canon as possible that would be awkward to insert into a story. These one-shots will be random and take place ALL throughout the MCU in all different timelines with all different characters (and sometimes OCs). I will take requests, but nothing that will change the plots I have yet to write for my main stories.

This particular one-shot is my way of making Agent Carter canon. I'll explain more at the bottom.

Disclaimer - I don't own ANYTHING Marvel.

October 5th, 1945

Howard sighed and thrust all ten of his fingers into his hair, planting his elbows on the table. His forehead hovered over the desk, threatening to bump it in frustration. The desk lamp beside him was strong and even as he closed his eyes, he could see the brightness behind his eyelids and feel the heat on his forearms.

It's a toy! He told himself, sighing again and sitting up. He leaned back in his chair with slumped shoulders and picked up the device from his desk. He turned it back and forth in the light, staring at it as if blinking would mean the end of the world.

It's more than a toy, a voice said back. It's a weapon – one that can make all of this go away.

He lodged one foot on the side of the desk and pushed, tipping the chair precariously backward. The device in his hands was small and shaped like a gun. It was also blue and light with only one switch on it: On and Off.

He plunked it on the table and snapped his chair forward, lowering his legs. He groaned and let his head hit the table with a thunk. Why are choices so hard? He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the light and achieve total darkness. I have to make sure Tania and Steve get the future they deserve, he thought. I can't alter their timeline. They have to get together and they have to stay together. But the only way to make sure that happens… is to remove myself as a variable. And Peggy. He cringed and buried his head in his arms. Peggy would kill me if she found out.

But she won't find out, will she? Not if you erase her memory.

He groaned again, guilt gnawing at him. She won't tell anyone. She'll act like normal.

How can she grieve for someone she knows is alive and happy? She'll mess everything up.

No she won't! I can't take her memory away from her. I can't play God. Not anymore. He shoved the device away from him violently. It careened off the table and clattered to the floor, unharmed. I've had enough of messing with people's minds. This thing needs to be destroyed.

Not before you erase her memory, surely?

He dug his nails into his scalp and tugged at his hair. I'll erase hers and then I'll erase my own and I won't remember being so manipulative. I can't keep going around shooting people with a memory eraser every time I slip up. It's happened too many times and I've hit Maria with it so often that I'm afraid I've erased more than a few minutes. What if it has long-lasting effects? What if it doesn't?

What if you're screwed?

Howard shoved his chair back, scraping it against the floor. He bent down and swiped the device from the ground, clutching it tightly. "It's the only way," he said quietly, staring at it once again. "Peggy won't even have to forgive me because… she won't remember." Neither would he. "This… this is for the best." There were two things you never messed with: time travel and people's minds. And, you know, alternate realities, parallel dimensions, aliens, feelings, etc. But mostly time travel and people's minds, both of which Howard had royally fucked up. Building a time machine – HA! What had he been thinking?

"Jarvis!" He called out without looking away from the evil invention in his hand.

Moments later, he heard footsteps and then the door was opening. "Yes, Sir?"

Howard turned to face his butler. "I need you to do something for me and you can't know anything about it. I'm serious. No questions, no qualms, nothing. It's really important. Like, the future rests in your hands kind of important."

Jarvis looked hesitant and kind of afraid, but he nodded. Howard really didn't deserve this man's trust and unwavering faith and loyalty. But while he had it, he was going to use it. Howard handed Jarvis the device. "I need you to shoot someone with this."

Jarvis' eyes widened. "But Sir-!"

"No buts!" Howard barked sharply, cutting him off. The light of the lamp behind him only made the purple bags under his eyes more prominent. He had been thinking about this a lot – too much, if you asked him (or Maria, who'd broken up with him the day before).

"Sir, you're not thinking straight. Your heart's just been broken-"

"I'm serious, Jarvis! This isn't a real gun. Look. No bullets. It's a memory eraser. I need you to find Peggy Carter and shoot her with it. You switch it to On and pull the trigger and then you get the hell outta dodge. Well, not really. You come home. But you know what I mean. Then you're gonna shoot me."

"Howard-!" Jarvis was spluttering, fumbling for words.

"Don't question it!" Howard spat back. "This won't hurt her and it won't hurt me! Not in the slightest. Though it might… knock us out. Maybe. Now look. Carter's a tough dame – toughest one I ever laid eyes on. You gotta be real sneaky about this or she'll catch you. It's gotta be quick. Try and get her while she's walking. Even if she spots you, if you shoot her, you're golden."

Jarvis opened and closed his mouth furiously, but no sound came out.

"Like I said, once that's done, you come home and you shoot me. Promise me you'll do that, Jarvis. Promise me!"

"… I… I promise, Sir. But-!"

"Good." Howard patted his arm. "I won't remember this conversation later, so… thanks, buddy. Means a lot." He swept from the room.

Jarvis stared after him then at the device in his hands. "What… have I just agreed to?"

Later the next day, Howard was sitting in the expansive living room, twitching like a madman. His knee bounced up and down rapidly and his hands were shaking so badly that the mug of coffee he was trying to drink was sloshing all over the carpet. Jarvis wasn't going to be happy about that.

The front door opened and Howard shot up like a rocket. He strode over to Jarvis, who pulled off his hat and hung it on the rack. "Is it done?" Howard asked in lieu of a greeting.

Jarvis looked pale and ashen, but he nodded, brandishing the device. He held it while it was wrapped in a red, silk handkerchief, obviously afraid his fingerprints would be on it. "She caught me right before I was about to, but I managed." He pursed his lips, looking rather angry. It wasn't an expression Howard was used to seeing on him. "Howard, what did you just have me do?"

"I can't explain," Howard said, grabbing Jarvis' wrist and leading him into the living room. "There's one more thing I need you to do. After you've shot me, I need you to destroy that thing. I need you to make sure that it's ruined and can never be used ever again. Then everything will go back to normal, Jarvis, I swear. I've already set the gun to make Pegs and I forget exactly what we need to."

"Should I shoot myself as well, Sir?" Jarvis asked, half-sarcastically. His eyes wondered if Howard would really want him to and while Howard knew it was a very valid fear considering how often he'd used it on others, he still felt hurt that Jarvis even had to ask.

"No," he answered. Soon all this pain would be gone. "No, I've- I've tampered with enough minds. Keep your memories, Jarvis. You don't know enough to change anything."

"Sir, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Just do it!" He barked.

There was a flash of blue light and then Howard passed out on the floor. It was the best sleep he'd had in weeks. Not that he remembered why.

A/N. More explanation: When Peggy gets older and starts getting Alzheimer's, she starts to remember some of what Howard erased. That's how she remembers Tania when she appears in Sharing Coffee With Captain Rogers. This also takes place several months before the events of Agent Carter Season 01 and lets all of that occur without interference from the changes I made with Having Coffee With Steve Rogers.

Stay tuned for more! Don't know when I'll update, but I probably will at some point :)