Peggy's phone went off, blaring a particularly loud, brassy rendition of 'Hail to the Chief'. Howard's ringtone, which he had set and she had yet to figure out how to change. Groaning, she fumbled around on her nightstand until her fingers brushed the familiar smooth rectangle.
"Howard, it;s three in the bloody morning," she snapped, lifting her phone to her ear. "What the hell do you want?" Beside her, Nathan, the latest in a long list of romantic partners, stirred.
"Come back to bed Peg," he murmured, slipping an arm around her waist and planting a kiss on the soulmate mark on her shoulder blade.
"I can't" Peggy replied, reluctantly shrugging him off. "I have to deal with Howard." Nathan sighed heavily, and Peggy felt the mattress shift as he settled down and drifted back off to sleep. On the phone, Howard said, "Jeez, Peg, there's no need to bite my head off. I just wanted- Oh man, you're going to hate me for this- to invite you to a party."
"You called me at three am," Peggy said carefully in an attempt to keep the volume of her voice under control, mindful of Nathan sleeping beside her, "to invite me to a party?"
"A very fancy party," Howard said defensively, as if that excused it. "With lots of important people."
"Is this one of those diplomatic parties the Council makes you do, or is this an attempt to drum up more clients for Stark Industries?" Peggy asked tiredly.
"A little of both," Howard admitted. "Besides that, there's going to be someone there that I want you to meet." Peggy sighed.
"When?" she asked, trying and failing not to snap.
"Friday night," Howard replied in a wounded tone. "And don't worry about what you're going to wear. I'll have Ana pick something out for you." This statement was accompanied by another sigh on Peggy's part. Howard did this every time he invited her to one of his parties, and it had happened enough times that by now she was used to it, but she still wished that just once Howard would trust her to dress herself for a party.
"All right," she said. "I assume Mr. Jarvis will be picking me up?"
"Of course," Howard said. "You know the drill."
"Great!" Peggy said, mock cheerful. "Now may I be allowed to go back to bed? Some of us need to maintain a normal sleep schedule, you know."
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Howard said, either not hearing the sarcasm in her voice or choosing to ignore it. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Peggy replied, jabbing the "End call" button with perhaps slightly more force than was necessary. She dropped her phone back on her nightstand and settled down next to Nathan with a sigh, falling quickly into the deep embrace of sleep.