Update as of January 2019 - this story has been revamped. The main plot has stayed the same for the most part but some details were added and fixed. If the beginning authors note of the chapters says "REVAMPED!", then it has been updated.

Note - This is a Steve x Modern!Peggy story. It takes place in the modern day. Don't ask questions, just go with it.

Disclaimer - I do not own these characters.

Chapter One: Their Right Partner

"The United States was crushed when Captain America died in battle. He may have saved the world from one of the most deadly threats ever brought to the surface at that point in time, but we lost one of our most potent soldiers. Captain Rogers was one of the most inspiring stories parents told their kids about. He was the protagonist in the fable that taught you to be the best person you could be and to never lose sight of that. Many of those children grew up to be doctors, policemen, firemen, paramedics, and so much more just because of his story.

Even I was inspired.

I worked hard and eventually became one of SHIELD's very best field agents.

And at that point in time, the world was at ease again. At least, we thought it was.

Terrorist threats came with the rise of technology, gods came to Earth, monsters rose from science we tried to understand, aliens poured out from a wormhole in the sky - and just in time, Captain America came out from underneath the layers of ice which he survived in for seven decades.

Watching him move, seeing him in action again - it was a revelation. Even after being inactive for so long, he is still one of the strongest and toughest soldiers out there.

But even though he was a soldier, you could still feel the grief behind those eyes caused by the war. He died, sacrificing himself only to be reborn into a new era and learn that everyone he ever knew and loved are dead. His whole world changed in what felt like only one night for him: myths became reality, confidence became confusion, happiness became sadness. His whole world changed and there's no way for him to go back. With all that history burdened on his shoulders, all he can do from this point is start over.

Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if he ever wanted to go back under."

-o-

At one of SHIELD's headquarters, Natasha and Steve walk through the hallways. They were dressed casually but still presentable because they were still on the worksite but not on the clock. Despite that, they could be called to action at any point. They hoped that wouldn't happen, especially Natasha because she is currently giving Steve a tour. (At least, she told him that it was a tour. She has a different motive).

"This is the most boring tour ever," Steve says to her.

"Because this place is boring," Natasha replies.

"I know you have something else planned, Natasha."

Natasha grins. "Maybe…"

They approach a doorway and Natasha slides her badge through the keypad. It buzzes as it pops open and Steve holds the door for the both of them. He follows Natasha and they walk up to a glass observation deck. The two of them look down and see a training centre where some SHIELD recruits were being trained. It gives him a weird nostalgic feeling of being trained for the war pre-serum.

"Fascinating," Steve states with a deadpanned expression.

"I'm glad to see that your sarcasm survived the ice," Natasha responds.

"You want me to train them?"

"Not exactly."

Natasha uses her head to point downwards. Steve takes another look and in the front and centre of the lineup of male recruits is their instructor. From here, Steve can see that she is a tall and fit woman with long dark brown hair. He tilts his head a little to try and get a better look at her but stops when he realizes what Natasha's reason behind the "tour" really is.

"Nat, I told you that I don't want to date," Steve states.

"Come on!" Natasha exclaims desperately. "I think you'll really like her."

"Fine, I'll play along."

"That's Agent Peggy Carter. She one of SHIELD's finest field agents."

"If she's one of the finest, then why is she training rookies and not actually on the field?"

"What a perfect first conversation."

Before Steve could respond, Natasha is already going down a nearby staircase. Steve follows and they eventually arrive in the training area. Natasha holds them both back as they wait for Peggy to send the recruits off to do some drills so they wouldn't be interrupting anything.

"How well do you know her?" Steve asks.

"We're not that close," Natasha admits, "but I know her well enough to confirm that she's perfect for you."

Steve rolls his eyes and Natasha shushes him. He gives her a strange look because he didn't make any noise, but allows it.

Ahead, Peggy paces back and forth in front of the recruits. "Alright, ladies."

"She's British?" Steve whispers to Natasha in awe.

Natasha shushes him again, keeping her smile to herself. She's happy that Steve seems so intrigued right away. With all the other ladies she tried to introduce him to, he fled before Natasha could even get another word in. This time, Natasha has a feeling that this one will actually go somewhere.

"Your next drill will be to run ten laps under five minutes," Peggy tells them, ignoring the complaining groans from the recruits. "The one with the fastest time may be dismissed for the day. The ones who fail to complete the order will be in charge of cleaning the dormitories. Understood?"

"Could you repeat that, gorgeous?" One of the trainees asks.

Peggy's face doesn't shift as she turns over to the recruit who just addressed her like that. She knows that he doesn't want to hear the instructions again, but he was just being an irritating tease. Peggy makes her way over and the heels of her boots click against the hard floor in sync with the second hand on a clock. She stops right in front of the recruit and squares herself.

"What is your name?" Peggy asks firmly.

The man smiles. "Woods."

"Take a step forward, Woods."

Woods has a playful smirk on his face as he takes his step forwards. Peggy copies his smirk and punches him right across the face. He falls over to the ground and Peggy brushes off her fist and steps over him.

"That's Agent Carter to you, now get up and run as if your life depended on it because it does."

The recruits sprint away as fast as they could. Peggy smirks to herself as she makes her way over towards Natasha and Steve. Natasha is nodding her head in approval of what she did whereas Steve has a mix of emotions ranging from impressed to shocked.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers, what can I do for you both?" Peggy asks.

"Cap here will be sticking around SHIELD for a while and needs a tour of the place," Natasha replies.

Peggy raises an eyebrow and looks at him. "Does he?"

"He really does."

Peggy looks at Steve and smiles at him. Steve feels his body freeze when she does that.

That smile makes him speechless. Its beauty and natural joy just took all the breath out of him. Steve couldn't stop looking at her because she was beautiful in every way: her skin is light but that only makes her dark hair, brows, eyes, and red lips pop out even more. The polarity makes his heart beat faster. And then, there was her characteristic about not taking any nonsense from anyone. She knew how to take charge even if some may view her as another woman with lipstick. She wore that for herself and nobody else.

Steve doesn't only respect that. He admires that.

He feels Natasha nudge him and he is instantly back in the moment. For a second, he forgot he was here and now that he knows he's back, he's embarrassed. He takes a breath as he feels his cheeks blushing as red as Peggy's lipstick.

"Ma'am," Steve replies, offering her a hand.

"Hello," Peggy replies.

Surprised by the title and the gesture, Peggy graciously takes his hand and shakes it. Even when the standard few seconds of a normal handshake passes, neither of them let go. At that moment, they seemed too preoccupied with each other that they didn't notice Natasha walking off until she was gone.

"And my tour guide seemed to have abandoned me," Steve says with a light chuckle.

"Don't bother with that," Peggy replies. "I know she made that up. Why would you need a tour if you're going to be out on the field? Speaking of field missions, why are you just walking around here aimlessly?"

Steve shrugs. "I guess I'm looking for the right partner. What about you? Why are you training rookies if you should be out on the field?"

"Because I've been searching for the right parter."

-o-

"How old was I when I first saw him in all those newsreels? Then the newspapers, magazines, my history textbooks, the internet, and eventually, everywhere you looked. It's seemed like forever that I've been involved with him. Captain Steven Grant Rogers. The scrawny kid turned super soldier. He was every girl's dream man. Handsome, sweet, generous, a fighter. What more could a girl ask for?

It wasn't until I came face-to-face with Captain America that I felt it all. I'm not so sure how he perceived that moment, but when I said hello, his smile that followed had a brightness that nobody saw since he defrosted. I could sense the kindness he has within him and felt how potent it was through his handshake. He fought through the worst days of the 20th and 21st centuries and he was still the most decent man one could ever meet.

He was still a man of his time, I can safely say that, but that was a part of what won me over. Despite the changing times, he tried his absolute best to stay the person he always was.

That was the driving force in his story.

He fell in love immediately. To my surprise, so did I.

I thought that would be happy and for the most part, it was. However, there are moments I wish never happened, but even though I knew our hearts would take us down different paths; even though I knew there would be pain and tears to come, I knew that they would end up leading us to where we were supposed to go this whole time.

And that's what I want."