Bingo #8 Miscommunication
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Good Graces
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Peggy shot me.
Okay, technically, at me, seemingly certain the shield working as it should and protect me.
And while I admit being dumb as a post when it comes to women even I had been able to figure out my mistake. She caught me with my hand in the proverbial cookie jar, kissing that blonde WAC.
Or, rather, being kissed by that lovely lady.
I had in no way been in a willing participant... mostly.
I'd much rather have been kissed by Peggy.
Not that probably would never happen. Not after that.
So, I fell back on what my mom had taught me about treating others and made certain to treat not only Peggy, but every woman I came in contact with, with complete and utter respect.
A lot of the women seemed confused by this behavior, especially given most of them were not used to being treated like an equal with a man. Even more so those who showed interest in me. I mean, not that I knew when someone flirted with me half... okay, most of the time, but I still ended a lot of encounters with the woman walking away with a decidedly confused look on her face.
I was doubly polite and deferential to Peggy, which seemed only seemed to make her angrier at me.
Angry to the point I damn near kissed Colonel Phillips to thank him for sending out on a mission.
I came back nearly a month later with a couple more Hydra bases dealt with only to discover that somehow I had made things worse?
The debrief had gone pretty much as expected even though Peggy's frown deepened every passing moment while at the same time the glare from her eyes aimed solely at me just seemed to get harsher and harsher. A damn good thing I had the so-called superpowers and not her else she'd have boiled my blood to steam just from the heat of her gaze.
I held steadfast and remained polite, treating her as I thought she should be. Not a hint of disrespect, or so I thought.
After yet another intel meeting that swiftly turned frosty between myself and Agent Carter, Howard stayed behind once the others had left, head tipped slightly as if trying to solve one of his math problems that couldn't be.
"What the devil is going on between you two?"
I ducked my head and mumbled, "What do you mean?"
He huffed out a breath of irritation. "That is not a woman you want angry with you." His arm shot out in the direction she had gone.
I snorted. "No kidding. I... I'm just not sure why she's angry with me."
Howard's eyebrows shot up several inches. "The silent treatment you've been giving her might have something to do with it."
I blinked. "Silent treatment? I literally just discussed attack plans with her."
"No, you discussed attack plans with the team, not her. I don't think I've seen you say two words to her in weeks." He leaned back against the table and crossed his arms over his chest waiting for an actual answer and making it clear he expected one.
But I didn't have one. At least not one I could articulate out loud. It just wasn't appropriate.
"Does this have to do with that blonde you kissed?"
My shoulders sagged, somewhat relieved he had figured it out. "She kissed me," I argued, mostly because it was the truth.
Howard chuckled while shaking his head. "You let her, that's all that matters to Peggy. And then you went and put up this self-righteous wall."
"What? No. I just wanted to make it clear to... to everyone that I had no interest in... in doing that with them."
Howard's eyes widened. "You really don't understand women, do you?"
I shrugged, not about to admit that he was right. "I treat her as an equal."
"You're treating her as a tool. Yeah, you're polite as all hell, but she's not some automaton that just gives and takes orders. She's a person. A woman. Hell, a beautiful woman who can kick your ass across Europe and wants to right about now."
I couldn't argue that point. I hadn't spoken to her much outside the war room because... because I remained an idiot when it came to women. "How do I fix this?"
Howard nodded slowly. "Realizing there's an actual problem is a good place to start." He walked over and swung an arm around my shoulder. "First, drop the wall. You think you did nothing wrong, but, trust me, better to admit you screwed up than to make her any more irate. She's starting to take it out on the rest of us."
"But-"
"No buts. Yeah, I get it looks like a miscommunication, but as far as Peggy is concerned you kissed a girl that wasn't her."
I sighed heavily. "This is like that whole fondue thing, isn't it."
Howard patted me on the back. "Precisely. C'mon, I'll buy you drink and we'll plot how to get you back into her good graces, okay?"
"Sure. I mean it couldn't get much worse."
Howard stopped dead eyeing me as if looking for flaws in his most recent creation. "I can see I have a lot of work to do."
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finis
