"You knew her?"
Steve couldn't believe it. He was standing at her grave. Peggy's. His first true love was dead and here he was at her grave, as young as he could ever be. Everything inside him suddenly hurt so bad. Life wasn't fair. Not to Peggy. Not to him. His heart felt so bad he could barely breathe.
"No." Autumn answered. "She died a couple of years before I was born." She sadly added. "Peggy was my mother's oldest friend. And somehow... I think even Howard's. She was the maid of honour at their wedding. And then, later on, Tony's godmother, too."
"Did she... Does she have children of her own?"
She shook her head. "Peggy never got married, never had children and... She never danced. Well, unless there was some little fellow who actually had enough courage to ask a woman like her for a dance. She'd dance then."
Truth was, Peggy Carter danced only three times in her whole lifetime.
The first dance she ever shared was with her grandfather. It was December, too cold and too dark outside. Mrs. Carter was in her bedroom getting ready for Christmas Ball. Her little girl was sitting on the bed, playing with her older brother's toys. Every few minutes, the comfortable silence would be interrupted by little Margaret who kept asking her mother if she could come to the Ball with her parents too.
The seven year old was such an odd child. Different than the other girls her age, certainly. Not that it was a bad thing. Margaret was curious and very clever, but also stubborn and blunt. She was competitive, especially with boys. Whatever game her brother and the boys from their neighborhood were engaged with, Margaret always insisted to be included in. After a short while, there wasn't a person who was left surprised when she'd outdo all those boys. And there were quite a lot. Nevertheless, Margaret never allowed for anyone to forget that she was in fact a little lady. And ladies loved to dance, didn't they?
Mr. and Mrs. Carter adored their daughter. She had a mind of her own. Who were they to hold her down?
"I already answered your question four times, Margaret. I will not repeat myself anymore." Mrs. Carter sternly said. But, she couldn't stay mad at her for long. "Patience, my dear. You'll dance a lot when the time is right." She gently added.
Margaret knew better than to fight with her mother. She did give her a sincere smile for her promise, though. But, she still wanted to dance right away. So when her parents left, Margaret went to one person who could never say no to her. Her beloved grandfather.
The elder Mr. Carter adored his youngest granddaughter and when she came to him with a desire to dance, her wish was his command. Music wasn't needed as the two started to dance. Mr. Carter had a lovley voice so he sang instead. They danced for hours. Margaret laughed hard as her grandfather twirled her all around the room. And Mr. Carter himself couldn't remember when was the last time he had so much fun. They danced and sang and laughed until the clock tipped it was midnight.
As he wished her goodnight, Margaret thanked her grandfather for the dance. He kissed her goodnight and went to bed as well. That night, both grandfather and granddaughter dreamt about the sweet moment they've shared. Years later, when asked about her favorite childhood memory, Margaret always thought about December and her late grandfather. But, she never shared that memory with anyone. It was their little secret.
Sadly, a few decades had to pass before Margaret danced again.
When Margaret met Maria Collins Carbonell, she immediately knew the girl would become her greatest friend. Although Maria was quite younger than Margaret, two women understood each other so well. But what made their friendship even more special was that Maria could make Margaret laugh. After the War, Margaret rarely ever laughed. She simply couldn't find a reason to laugh. Maria made her laugh so effortlessly.
Because she made her laugh, Margaret could never allow herself to be any less of a good friend to Maria in return. So, when Maria announced she was engaged to be married to Howard Stark, Margaret had to bite her tounge real hard and congratulate her friend on the happy news. It was really no secret she never particularly liked Howard, but it seemed he made Maria very happy. Maria was a grown woman and she usually made her choices wisely. Besides, even Margaret had to admit Howard was different when he was around Maria. In the end, if Maria was happy, Margaret was happy, too.
She was Maria's made of honour, of course. The wedding itself was a big event. Howard knew a lot of people and Maria, well, Maria herself was a people's person. She didn't mind big crowds and she certainly didn't mind being in the centre of attention. Not when it was on her own wedding day.
Margaret had fun. She really did. She hadn't brought a date. Margaret didn't date. But, she quickly befriended people when she wanted to. So she mingled with the guests. She happily talked to everyone and genuinely had a good time. There was only one thing Margaret dreaded from, though.
"Miss, can I have this dance?"
Margaret didn't dance. Never. That night she was asked for a dance exactly twenty-two times. Every time some fine man approached her and asked for a dance, her heart broke a little bit more. Margaret didn't dance. She truly believed you'd have to have a right partner to dance with. And she had a partner. He just wasn't present.
"Um... Excuse me, miss? May... May I have this dance? Please."
She said yes the twenty-third time. Until the last moment of her life, Margaret didn't know why she agreed to dance with that shy man. Maybe it was because he reminded her so much of her partner when she just met him. She said yes. The dance was short and clumsy. But it was also very sweet. Innocent. When it ended, the young man thanked her with a big smile and as she watched him join his friends, Margaret didn't know how to feel.
When she came home that morning, she did something she hadn't done for awhile. She cried. She felt as if she betrayed him. She could see his beautiful face in her mind and his eyes looked at her with great disappointemnt. She danced with someone who wasn't right. And yet it felt so good. To dance.
Margaret promised something that morning. She wouldn't dance again. No matter how much she'd wanted to. No matter how much someone would remind her of... No matter what, Margaret would never dance again.
Of course, as she made that promise to him and to herself, Margaret couldn't have known another boy would steal her heart.
The last dance Margaret had was also her favorite one. The birth of Anthony Stark brought such unexpected joy to her life. Margaret loved the little boy more than she loved anyone else. The two shared a special bond, Maria would often proudly say. Even Howard, so oblivious and sometimes even careless when it came to his own son, could see it. In only few short years they had together, the godmother and her precious godson became very close.
It happened about a year before Margaret suddenly passed away. Howard just had to throw another one of his 'famous' parties and Margaret just had to attend. She didn't even know what the party was held for. But, she got to spend time with her best friend and sweet Tony. It could have been the most awful party she had ever been to and Margaret'd still think it was worth all the time in the world.
Tony was such a lively boy. He was smart and always wanted to know everything. At young age, Tony noticed things most children never did. Like how his father always watched his mother with a strange glimpse in his eyes when he thought no one was looking, or how Obie sometimes stealthily put something real smelly in his coffee. Or how his favorite person in the world besides his mother, his Peggy, always looked so sad when she watched people dancing at his father's parties.
Tony didn't like it when his mother or Peggy were sad. He really hated it. That's why he did the only thing an innocent child could do to make another person not sad anymore. He asked her for a dance.
Margaret was left stunned at Tony's question. But, she couldn't say no. Not to her godson. In the end, they've spent the rest of the party just dancing. Tony seemed to like dancing and Margaret enjoyed seeing him laugh so much. They've twirled all around the room and talked about everything. Margaret's thoughts went back in time and she remembered herself dancing with her grandfather just like she and Tony were right now. She only hoped that one day Tony would hold this memory as dear as she had held the one of her grandfather. Actually, she was certain he would.
This time around Margaret didn't feel guilt or sorrow because she was dancing. She was certain her partner wouldn't resent her. She imagined him smiling at her. He'd wanted her to be happy. She knew it in her heart he, Steve, would never be mad at her for dancing. Margaret only realized it too late. By dancing she kept her own memory of him alive. She finally learned how to let him go.
A year and half later, little Tony refused to participate in a school play. When he was asked by his mother why, he wouldn't say. But then his teacher told her the play required dancing and Maria finally understood her son's decision. It broke her heart as she realized it would take her sweet son years before he'll start dancing again. If he'll ever dance again.
Dear readers, I hope you liked this little drabble. Please review to let me know what you think.
Happy holidays!
P.S. Autumn's the product of my imagination. As you've already noticed, she's Tony's baby sister. I've had a story about Autumn on 'The Avengers' movies fanfiction, but since I hadn't had much time to write, I've deleted it. Who knows, maybe someday I'll write about her again ;)