Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters besides Peggy. The Avengers belong to Marvel, who I'm pretty sure belongs to Disney.

A/N: Please review! I love reviews. Tell me you love it, tell me you hate it. Just review. I got spoiled by Instantaneous Connections, because every time I posted a chapter I got like ten reviews in return. It would be great if that happened in this story too. Thanks to all of those who have followed or favorited this story though. Not much action in this chapter, just more character development.

Chapter 2

"Alright Captain?" Clint jostled Steve with his elbow and Steve startled, sitting up straighter. He noticed Fury's eye linger over the pair, but he didn't break his tirade with Stark, so Steve figured that it was okay he wasn't exactly listening. In fact, he was sure it was just the usual. Stark needed to be a team player, he shouldn't take those types of risks, and just because he was a millionaire he didn't need to destroy everything he could.

The issue, Steve knew, was that they really weren't a team. They had no emotional connections with each other, and though S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to think that emotions were the equivalent of weakness, Steve knew the truth. Connections made a team stronger. One needed to have a least a friendship with your teammates, to have a basic knowledge of how they thought and worked with conflict or else they would never function as a team.

Steve suspected that was why Fury had lied and told them all that Phil had died. They needed the push, he understood that from a tactician view point. And it had worked. They had worked brilliantly in the field, using each other's strengths to show their enemies' weaknesses. Steve could still remember how his shield had vibrated when Stark had sent his repulsors towards him, how he had a brief rush of heat and happiness, because that was how a team worked. For a moment it was just like how it had been with the Howling Commandos.

But as Stark had said, they weren't soldiers. They were superheroes, and apparently superheroes did not form connections based off of one battle, especially when they found out that the man they had been avenging had not really been dead at all.

"Are you listening to me?" Fury demanded of Stark. The man in question looked up, brown eyes startling into concentration and he gave Fury his best innocent grin. Neither Fury nor Steve fell for it, both because they had seen it too often and knew that Stark was never innocent, and also because from his angle Steve could see the glow of the phone Stark was trying to hide in his lap.

"Of course I am," Stark said. "What else could I have to do that is more important than listening to your dulcet tones?" He raised a hand to his chin, mock pondering. "Oh wait, there is the matter of running a business. And just about anything else in the world."

Steve watched Fury's jaw tighten and for a second it seemed like he was going to retaliate, but then the fight visibly left his eyes. He probably did have something better to do than lecture Stark, though Steve couldn't imagine what. As far as Steve could tell S.H.I.E.L.D. ran itself.

"You fuckers are dismissed," Fury said. The Avengers stood up hurriedly, just like children after school had finally been dismissed. Fury glowered at them. "Nice of you all to finally start listening."

"So we're not free to go?" Bruce asked. He looked itchy, sitting in a seat at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters with his shoulders drawn in, and he kept sending looks towards the agents every time the passed the table. Steve did not need to be Stark to figure out that he was uncomfortable.

"Go," Fury granted. "None of what I say gets through your thick heads anyway."

Steve stood up, ignoring Stark's indignant squawk that he was a genius, thank you very much, and tried to remain casual, not showing how much he wanted to get out of there. He figured that if he redressed quickly Peggy might still be there when he got to the park.

"Easy Rogers," Stark smirked at him as he entered the changing room, watching Steve hurriedly pull on a pair of jeans. "Got a hot date to get to?"

"No," Steve hurriedly shook his head. That was a disgusting idea, that he would be interested in Peggy in that sort of way. Yes, he was enamored with her as much as the other Peggy he knew, but it was certainly a different type of endearment. Peggy, this time's Peggy, was not only fifteen years old, but also was strictly his friend. A much needed friend, but never anything more. Steve was lonely, but he would never be that lonely. That was disgusting. He held pedophiles in the lowest regard, possibly even under Nazis.

"Okay," Stark said, eyeing him from the corner of his eye. He clearly did not believe Steve, but that was fine. Steve had to go. He may not have been dating Peggy, but he did have a date to keep with her.

When he got to the park he walked the familiar pathway to what he now had dubbed "Their Tree", breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that Peggy was still there.

Peggy, more than being a good person, was like a breath of fresh air in the twenty first century. She could use technology, Steve had seen her do it, but sometimes she seemed just as out of time as Steve was. She wrote in notebooks (and one her arms, and legs, and anywhere else she could reach), instead of the little tablets everyone else seemed to use. She listened to music through an iPod, but it wasn't the trashy music that Steve heard filtered through nearly every store he went through. (Steve liked to think he was a fairly open person to new things, but seriously. Some of that music was not music at all.) Peggy's clothes covered a suitable amount of her body.

And more than anything, she had character, much more character than Steve was sure even he had at that age. Much more character than Steve was certain half the world had anymore. She was not easily swayed-she had her opinions and she stuck with them. She knew what she liked and did not like something just because other people told her to. She knew who she was, and so far Steve had never seen her compromise who that was for someone else.

And it helped that she did not dissolve into hysterical fit of giggles whenever Steve came close.

"Hi," Peggy grinned at him as he climbed into the tree, wincing when the branches creaked underneath his weight. Steve was waiting for the day that the branches he was sitting on fell.

"Hi," Steve said, looking over her, smiling tiredly when he noticed the lines of poetry she had written down her arms. Peggy stared closer.

"Rough day at work?" She asked him, clicking the pen she held in her hand.

"You could say that," Steve chuckled, though in fact the rough part had been after work. It was exhausting to be hostile to Stark.

"We should go get ice cream," Peggy suggested, her brown eyes instantly alight as she nearly bounced in enthusiasm. Steve was struck once again with déjà vu. Peggy reminded him so much of someone, but he could not, for the life of him, figure out who exactly that was.

It had to be someone from before, because besides Peggy herself Steve barely knew people in this time. But he could not figure out who it was. It would be irritating, if he didn't get so distracted with whatever new thing Peggy started to ramble about.

"Yes?" Peggy asked. Steve hesitated. Usually with Peggy he could pretend, existing in their little bubble that was not full of a world Steve didn't know. Going to get ice cream would break that serenity and make Steve admit that Peggy was a part of the twenty first century he hated so much.

But that wasn't really fair to Peggy, to put so much pressure on her being Steve's bridge to his time. He realized now that he needed to accept that Peggy was a part of the twenty first century.

Maybe it wasn't as bad as Steve thought it was.

"Yeah, let's go get ice cream."