Good-Bye, and Good Day

Chapter 2: Admiration

Author's Note: This chapter was originally longer to combine what I'm working on for the next chapter, but I decided that splitting them up was necessary to carry on the story. Sorry that this doesn't show much action…yet. Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

…

Peggy slowly approached the sill of the western span of the Brooklyn Bridge, taking in the beautiful sunset. The days were getting longer each day, and she was glad that she could still catch the setting sun after work.

So much was on her mind. She had just come from her new residence that Howard Stark has bestowed to her and Angie. It was a refreshing change that she no longer had to live in the strict rules of the Griffith, giving her much more freedom to do her job without "disgracing" the walls of the institution (Ms. Fry's words). She could already tell that Angie is head over heels with her new glamorous living arrangement, and Peggy was glad that she could have her friend be in such close quarters to confide with. Outside of the SSR office, Angie is the closest friend Peggy has.

Only a short while ago, Mr. Jarvis had also given her back the vial of Steve's blood in his own discretion. She couldn't thank him enough for giving her the vial, and it meant so much to her that he would choose to lie to his boss in order to protect the memory of Steve Rogers for her. She owes a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Jarvis and his help in this short while, and she knows she has yet another friend who believes in her like Howard Stark, in a brotherly way. She had kept careful hold on the vial in her pocket as she walked to the bridge, not trusting that if she left it in her purse, if she gets mugged, it may shatter in the process.

All this time as she walked the bridge, the memories of the past year started bombarding her. She joined the military much to her parents' disapproval, and after months of working her butt off, she finally was an agent during the war. She smiled tenderly. That was when she met Steve, the scrawny man whose character and heart outsized his physical form by mounds. She loved how simple the truth is to him, and how dedicated he was to his cause of the country, and to her when they grew closer. It saddened her each day for months that they never got to have that dance—he would've been such a gentleman, and the adorable look on his face as he learns to not step on her feet while she teaches him to dance would have been priceless.

"I figured I'd wait…for the right partner."

She joined the SSR soon after, and right away, all her male counterparts snitched at her joining an all-man workforce. All, except for Daniel. He was the only one who stood up for her, and though she knows that he knows she doesn't need for him to do so, she appreciates the gesture and admires him taking in the ridicule while doing what was right.

"You owe the lady an apology."

He didn't care what others said to him about him or her; he sided with the justice, and always the side that brings care to others. Even when others tore him down, he stood right back up, taller than before.

"You standing up for her, Sousa?"

There are so many times Daniel's managed to make her smile and laugh in the tougher days of working in the SSR. It's a natural talent he has, to give encouragement while using himself as an anchor towards positivity. He's made her blush, and she's sure she's made him blush—especially when he accidentally walked in on her changing in the men's locker room before her Russian mission (boy, that was embarrassing). Those were definitely some of the fondest recollections with him.

The warmth of the vial of blood in her hand radiating between her fingers suddenly drew her out of her present and back into her other memories—memories of Steve, as if the warmth of Steve's presence pulsing around her. It felt like for a brief moment that he was back, and things could be like they could have been.

But that was it: things that could have been are exactly that, "could have". They are in the past. The future is about moving on. And as beautiful as what Steve and she could have been, Peggy knows there's an even better future ahead in store for her. It's a future she knows that Steve wants for her, and wishes her to take a chance in make her happy. It was time.

Slowly, tearfully, she pulled out the vial from her pocket and opened it, gently pouring her former love's blood into the river below. "Good-bye, my darling," she whispered, tears sliding down her cheek.

…

Daniel inhaled a deep breath of fresh air as he made his way through the Brooklyn Bridge. The first time he came to this bridge was when he was in junior high with his friends. They loved to marvel at how this delicate structure of what seemed to be toothpicks and wires could hold up the path of heavy duty cars that transported between Manhattan and Brooklyn consistently, while maintaining its dignified look of integrity. He used to come almost every week at least once to think through things, and the last time he came was right before he was shipped off to Europe to fight in the war. He wanted to make sure to remember this beautiful scene of the city, river, and sunset in case he never back.

The bridge had surprisingly few passengers and strollers at this time of day, despite it being such a beautifully clear one. He gripped onto the bag that held a sandwich he bought on the way here to enjoy, and resumed his thoughts from earlier, reflecting on his journey to join the SSR and knowing Peggy. Ever since she joined, he had an additional mission of standing by her side and protecting her, and though he knows very well she doesn't need it, he felt it was his duty. Someone with such talent and elegance should always be protected, even if from afar.

His peripheral vision suddenly alerted him of a familiarly shaped figure ahead of him walking to the western sill of the bridge, gazing out to the river, less than fifteen feet away from. Daniel slowed in his strolling and focused his eyes. He knew exactly who it was, and he sighed at how the beautiful rays of the setting sun touched Peggy's form. Did she like to watch the sunset too?

He started to approach her but stopped shortly in his tracks. What if she saw him? Then he would look like he was following her. It's not exactly the kind of impression you want to give as a potential suitor. This was also likely a private moment that she didn't want to share with anyone. He resigned to just staying where he is to watch her, much like the times he did when he found her in the filing room in the SSR. Watching her work was warming enough. He would just watch her for a moment longer, and then leave without her noticing him, hopefully.

He was about to turn around when he saw some movement by Peggy. She pulled an object out of her pocket and stared at it for a moment. Even from the distance, he could tell the grieving look on her face, and the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. What could be making her so sad?

She started pouring—wait, is that what he thinks it is? It looked like blood, and no doubt, it must be the same vial of Captain America's blood that she had given up only a day earlier. It must have been Jarvis or Stark, Daniel thought. He was glad that it was returned to her and not given to the SSR or the US government to experiment with, even if it was in secret. Peggy is the rightful person to hold on to this precious item, what little bit she can hold on to of her former love.

She spoke quietly to herself, so quiet that Daniel almost didn't catch it if it wasn't for his sharp sense of hearing. "Good-bye, my darling," she wept.

Daniel pursed his lips together as he felt his heart strings tighten. It killed him to see Peggy in such pain and sadness, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He knew he couldn't be the one to comfort her, no…so he hopes that someone, somehow, will. He cursed himself for his actions earlier when he asked her out for a drink; he knew it was too early, too hasty of a decision when she hasn't moved on. And now, it must've brought back some painful memories of her Steve, and a life of what could have been.

I'm such an idiot, he thinks. It was so selfish of me thinking for only myself instead of thinking of her. It wasn't the right time.

He could no longer stand watching her cry and was about to turn to leave, when he saw her raise her tear-stained face towards the river to say the following words:

"Welcome home."

…

Author's Note: Sorry to leave y'all hanging! Next, I promise, you will get to see what you want to see…