It was all real. She was still here, and Steve was beside her. If this was all true, was all that Tony had told her real, as well?

In sleep, Steve's face looked younger, and showed a peace she'd rarely seen in him while awake. As if her observation alerted him, Steve opened his eyes. A quiet smile filled with wonder spread over his face. "Not a dream." He lifted a hand to her hair. "Not a dream."

Peggy silently mourned the happiness she knew would be leaving him.

He saw the change in her expression. "What's wrong, Peggy?" Worry crossed his face. "You don't regret…"

She reached forward to hold him, buried her face in his neck. "No! No, darling. I will never regret the time we've had. Finally." She lifted her head, forced herself to meet his eyes. "But I know I can't stay."

The helpless shock on his face was awful to see. "No. You can. You have to. Please. Peggy. We've given so much. Don't we deserve to take, for once?" He whispered, "Please don't leave me."

"We do deserve more. You, in particular, deserve the world, and I wish I could give it." She could feel a damned tear running down her face. "But Los Angeles doesn't deserve an atomic bomb. Do you trust Tony Stark? Should I believe what he says?" Her voice sounded hoarse.

Steve pressed his lips together, and Peggy could almost hear him arguing with himself to lie. He couldn't, and his expression relaxed, though he couldn't meet her eyes. "Yeah. He's probably telling the truth."

"And how well do you think we could enjoy our life together, here and now, knowing what it cost thousands of others?" She ran her hand across the light stubble on his cheek, memorizing as best she could. "I can no more stay than you could have left the Valkyrie to its mission. Darling, please let's treasure what moments we have — days or hours."

Steve nodded, looking guilty for his earlier greed.

"And let's find ourselves some breakfast immediately. I am famished, for some reason." She was rewarded with the blush she was aiming for. "I hope you still have bagels in this century, because I suspect forks will be off limits to me."

Steve smiled a little. "I go to Brooklyn for them. They haven't changed one bit."

Wearing one of Steve's undershirts that fell to her knees, in addition to soft tracksuit bottoms with cuffs rolled absurdly, Peggy made her appearance in the Superheroes' shared kitchen.

She was greeted with the view of an extremely muscled Norseman reaching for a colorful box of rectangular snacks. The box was happily situated on the top shelf of a cabinet, allowing for an extended presentation of his extraordinary physique. Peggy belatedly wondered if Steve's serum had been duplicated, at last. What would Howard say about his former home, populated with a small army of super soldiers? He would no doubt be tickled pink.

The extraordinary person turned toward her. "Ah! Lady Peggy! I am honored to meet you! The Man of Iron told me of your wondrous journey! I have brought the Tesseract from Asgard to enable your return!"

Her back was to Steve, so she only heard the grin in his voice. "Peggy, this is Thor."

"Oh, indeed." The extraterrestrial prince Tony mentioned. Peggy's face was rather blank, but she managed, "Lovely." I really must stop attempting to make guesses. This time period defies rational supposition, she thought. She was half tempted to curtsy, but opted for a short bow and firm handshake. "Delighted."

His Royal Highness introduced Peggy to the wonders of heavily sugared modern toaster pastries. She found it easy to stop at one bite, as she'd always had a savory, rather than sweet, tooth. Steve proved to be an invaluable asset in the kitchen in this regard. The abundance and variety of food available in this century (in addition to his ravenous altered metabolism) had prompted Steve to learn to cook. He had learnt this with the wholehearted vigor that he'd previously applied to warfare, and the joy once reserved for his drawings. Steve's satisfaction in providing for his team seemed to distract him from dwelling upon her imminent departure. Peggy was relieved to see that her remaining time here might not be overshadowed by the pall of approaching loss.

In short order, Peggy and several members of the Avengers (minus Tony and Bruce) were presented with a feast. Reliably familiar bagels were followed by bangers and mash, then by more traditional American fare: pancakes, bacon, and a large quantity of eggs. Peggy was, charitably, trusted with utensils. She was rather astonished at the amount of nourishment this group required. She wondered if the lithe red-haired woman introduced as Natasha possessed supernatural means of keeping herself slim.

Peggy's musings concerning modern reduction methods were interrupted by the arrival of Tony. "Hey kids. Glad to see you playing nice together. Anybody else give you a reason to stick them with a fork, Aunt Peg?" He was smiling as he said it, so perhaps she was partially forgiven her deadly threat.

She could feel herself blushing. "I'm sorry, Tony."

Mr. Barton, the Avenger who she felt resembled a gymnast, chimed in "Don't worry about it; we've all wanted to do that."

"Several times a day," Natasha added. "Sorry I missed it. Can we do a re-enactment? Could be a fun training exercise…"

Tony rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at his friends, and Peggy felt herself missing Dugan and the rest of the Commandos. They would be overjoyed to know Steve was alive, and perhaps a tad jealous that he'd found a new team to lead.

"If my peanut gallery's done embarrassing me —"

"We'll never be done," Barton chimed in.

Tony rose his voice and scowled "—Bruce and I have got your ride home ready. But, I've got to introduce you to somebody, first."

"I seem to have time," Peggy said, then groaned at her unintentional joke. She stood and left her plate in the sink. "Though perhaps I am not quite appropriately dressed for formal introductions?"

"It's okay. She's not too likely to judge your wardrobe. You, too, Capsicle. Your input's needed." Tony snorted in amusement for some reason and waved at Steve to join them.

Peggy was indignant. "Capsicle!? Anthony Stark! How dare…How… Dare…" Involuntary laughter bubbled out between her raised hands. "Capsicle! Capsicle. Oh, dear." With effort, she brought herself under control. "I apologize, Steve. That was very cruel." Tears brought up by her laughter made her eyes sparkle.

Steve was smiling at her like his heart was in his throat. "I don't mind. In fact, Tony, you can feel free to tease me all you like, as long as Peggy laughs."

"Oh, I always feel free." Tony started down the hall to the elevator. "Hup to, soldiers. Our guest's not getting any younger. Heh! Yet."

"What on Earth is he talking about?" Peggy asked Steve as they quickened their pace.

"I got no idea. He doesn't exactly make sense, a lot of the time. He's pretty clear in battle, though," Steve added. "Except for some of his jokes."

The elevator took them several floors down, and they emerged in a corridor that could pass muster as part of a hospital. Even the smell was similar. It was much quieter, however. Perhaps Tony had few patients in residence.

"Why do you maintain a private hospital, Tony?" Peggy asked.

"If you want something done right, do it yourself," Tony declared. He seemed to recognize his flippant tone, however. "We — The Avengers — use up a whole lot of medical care. We can't always make it to a SHIELD base or helicarrier in time, so this place is backup. Besides, the public hospitals get filled up with injured civilians anyway, when we're out doing our derring-do."

Peggy wondered what a Shield Base or Helicarrier were, but surmised the questions could wait.

Tony led them to a door marked only with a number, but stopped before going in. "Um. Well. Hm. Here we are."

The sight of Tony expressing hesitation was, apparently, setting off alarm bells for Steve. "Tony. Who's in there?"

Tony took a deep breath. "Your Senior gal pal."

"Tony!" Steve strangled his shout down to a stage whisper, clearly not wanting to disturb the patient beyond the door. "You dragged her out of her nursing home? Why? We could have gone to see her, couldn't we?"

"Because she insisted? Because she Ordered me to? Do you know how hard she can insist? 'Cause I've been on the receiving end for a few decades more than you, kid." Tony's voice became quiet, grasping Peggy's attention. "She was more a mom than my mom was. She wants this. I make sure she gets what she wants." He opened the door.