Peggy Carter was used to leaving in a hurry, but she certainly wasn't used to being kicked out. However, without a doubt, it had all been worth it. It had been one of the strangest, and consequently best nights of her life. It was all she could think about as she packed the last of her belongings. Angie sat on the bed next to her, just watching and smiling.

As she zipped up her suitcase Peggy looked up and met Angie's curious, riveting gaze. "I'm sorry for getting us kicked out,"

Angie smiled, what could easily be considered her most mischievous smile. "Don't take all the credit Peg, I did help get us kicked out."

"Yes, but I'm the agent I should have heard her or perhaps seen her coming."

"Well English, let's not forget you were a little distracted." Her smile, her eyes, they were so warm. You could almost see the memory of that night replaying in her head, all the love, all the adoration, it was there on display. "Besides, it was worth it."

Peggy nodded, because it was. She hadn't had anything, anyone in her life with such value for so long. It was terrifying and lovely all at once, absolutely exhilarating. Angie was precious and dear lord she was worth it.

Angie stood and picked up a newspaper emphatically, along with a red pen. "Besides, now we get to do some apartment hunting together. Very domestic of us huh?"

She shook her head, making light of bad situations was Angie's specialty and that would certainly be useful. Peggy walked up behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist. They were so close that Angie's whole being seemed to wash over her. Angie was a rainstorm in the Spring, she was a blizzard in the dead of Winter, she was the heat of Summer and the peace of Fall. Peggy took the paper in her other hand, scanning the ads before finally pointing to one.

"I'll get off work early today, if you can also. We can start our search right here."

Angie shivered at having a woman like Peggy Carter so close, at the way her voice was so soft and yet so in control, so commanding. "Sure, sounds like a plan."

"Perfect." With that she gave her waist a squeeze, laid a soft kiss on her cheek, grabbed her briefcase and was out the door, a whirlwind, that's what she was all right.

It was close to four when they finally met up at the first apartment. Angie stood leaning against the building, calm and cool as could be. She watched in amusement as Peggy came scurrying over, graceful even in her tardiness.

She smoothed out her clothing and took a few breaths to compose herself, and just like that she was beauty, grace, maybe even miss United States. "I'm sorry I'm late I got-"

Angie held up a hand, she could finally understood and boy did it feel good. "That's alright English, I get it." And she did, she finally did.

"Shall we then?"

Angie's nod was all the encouragement she needed to knock on the door. The young woman that answered to show them into the prospective apartments was timid, quiet, and so very unsure. She ushered them up the stairs, unlocked two doors and left without a single word.

Together they stepped into one of the rooms, and it was, well it was tight. Angie sat on the bed, which resulted in a loud, extremely loud squeak and a bout of laughter.

"Looks like the beds have built in alarms. With squeakin' like this a gal could never do anything 'unbecoming' without the whole world knowin' it."

"Angie." Peggy attempted to silence her with the pointed whisper, she could already feel the color rising to her cheeks.

"You gotta take these things into consideration Peg, I'm just thinkin' ahead afterall."

Peggy shook her head as she attempted to pace around the apartment. It was small however, so small a mere two strides could get her across the room and that simply wouldn't be enough for the level of stress she had to pace out on a daily basis. She needed her pacing room more than most anything else.

After watching Peggy pace back and forth at least fifty times Angie chimed in again. "Besides, for the most part I already mentally live in a closet, I don't think I wanna physically live in one also."

It was a joke only they could truly understand and appreciate and there was something about that which made it even funnier. It was so funny that Peggy stood there cackling like mad, gripping the counter to steady herself while Angie looked on, perplexed.

She wiped at a tear that had escaped during her partially manic episode before unfolding the newspaper section with apartment listings and reading them over once more. "You're right though."

"'Course I'm right."

Peggy looked up over the newspaper to see Angie sitting on the bed staring at everything around her in a glossy sort of wonder; perhaps she was imagining a future. Perhaps that sort of thing could be dangerous, but who was she to stop her.

"Off to see the next one then?"

Angie stood and took her hand for the slightest moment, before giving a small nod. To live was such an awfully big adventure, and to live with Peggy Carter, well she was having the time of her life.

It took about half an hour to reach the next apartment listing and it all went downhill from there. Four apartments later and their last chance looked promising, it really did. The woman that showed them in was boisterous, very confident in herself and her residence. It seemed perfect, until Peggy heard it.

It was a strange sort of noise, so soft. She scanned the room and couldn't find the source, it had to be coming from inside, it had to be. "Angie do you hear that?"

Angie closed the cupboard she was inspecting and turned around, quizzical. "Hear what?"

"That noise, it's soft like, well I don't quite know."

The young waitress closed her eyes and listened hard for a moment before opening them back up and returning to the cupboard. "Nothing to hear Peg."

"I'm telling you Angie I hear it." She sounded muffled and so Angie turned around once more and found Peggy on her hands and knees searching under the bed and she stifled the laughter that was threatening to bubble over.

Her voice was gentle, teasing. "English, I think you're losing it."

Peggy stood then and brushed off her shirt. She refused to accept that she was wrong because she could hear it; it just kept getting louder and louder, practically taunting her.

"I'm not losing it Angie, I swear something is making a noise in here."

"Did you check the closet?"

Peggy just stared, because, yes, that would probably be a wise idea. If you were looking for something hidden a closet would be a typical place to hide. And why hadn't she thought of it? Together they walked toward the closet and when Peggy opened the door, well they reacted quite differently.

"Dear lord."

She was right, something was making the noise. That something was a tiny puppy, which sat there staring up at them, practically mewling. How one lists an apartment without realizing there is a tiny animal in one of the closets she would never know. She reached into her pocket ready to move on to another listing, or at least run out the door.

But when she went to grab Angie's hand she wasn't there. Instead she had dropped herself right onto the floor, and just like Peggy the little creature was drawn to her. He climbed right onto her lap, licked her face and her laughter traveled all through the room and it was glorious.

This could only lead to one thing, one very bad, no good thing. "Angie, no."

The puppy continued to walk all over her like a jungle gym and she looked up at Peggy real hard. "Come on Peg, you're gonna leave this poor little guy here to what, die?"

The puppy was small; he couldn't have been more than ten pounds, probably not even that heavy yet. His legs were stumpy and his tiny curled tail wagged and wagged in a mad sort of excitement. His little black ears flopped over and his face seemed to smile although it was all scrunched up. It was a pug, a snorting, pitch-black pug.

She refused to be swayed by the begging eyes she was met with in both the little creature and Angie; she absolutely refused. "Angie, we're just as homeless as the little bloke, besides he's not even trained-"

Before she could finish the thought he used his little legs to climb off Angie and he huffed and puffed his way over to Peggy and stood right in front of her, then he sat. And honest to God if he had better control of his limbs he may have saluted her. She looked at the little guy, then she looked at Angie whose grin already resembled that of a proud mama.

Peggy rubbed at her temples. Is this what domesticity was? Who knew it all moved so quickly. "We couldn't find a place before, having this guy makes it impossible."

Angie jumped up then and hugged Peggy tight before running around the room celebrating with the befuddled little animal. She got him so excited he peed right there on the floor and that stopped Angie in her tracks. She looked at Peggy, sheepish. "We'll work on that once, well, if we get settled."

"I have a friend that might be able to give us a hand." Peggy had waited. She truly had. This was not something she wanted to do but the pup was the nail in the coffin. It would have to be done. It was time to cash in the favors owed to her.

Angie perked up at that, she looked at her, eyebrow raised "You don't say?"

Peggy shrugged. It wasn't something she wanted to do but she used the phone and gave Jarvis a ring to make sure Howard would be home. The phone rang for a minute, meaning Jarvis was busy with one of Howard's task and so she waited.

"He needs a name." Angie mouthed it quietly, making sure the person on the other end of the receiver wouldn't hear along with the woman who managed the apartments.

Peggy watched the little pup curiously running in a circle chasing its own tail looking absolutely baffled as to why he couldn't catch it. She smiled, this would be good. "Howard"

Angie looked a bit skeptical, her eyebrows narrowed and she looked at the puppy and then back at Peggy. "How did ya get Howard of all names?"

She shrugged, non-committal "Reminds me of a friend."

It was all Angie needed. She scooped the puppy up and looked him right in the eye. "Little Howard it is then."

The trip to Howard Stark's was short, but it felt long with all the trouble little Howard had been causing. He was already living up to his name. As they walked up to the mansion Angie could barely close her gaping mouth and she couldn't hide the shock.

"What kind of friend is this Peg?"

She didn't want to say it; she hated the fact that they were there. "A friend from work, Howard Stark is the name."

Angie turned, looking at her incredulously. "THE Howard Stark, you're friends with the Howard Stark? Why didn't we drop by sooner?"

Peggy knocked on the door leveling the far too excited girl with a reluctant glare. She would see, they always saw. "It's far better to have Stark owe you than the other way around."

Before Angie could reply the door flew open with none of Jarvis' typical grace so Peggy wasn't surprised it was Howard Stark himself who had come to greet them. He must have been waiting in glee for the unexpected visit.

That impish grin was still cemented on his face. It seemed to never leave. Infuriating. "Ah Peggy Carter, and looks like you brought a hot date too."

The way his eyes roamed over Angie made Peggy want to murder him then and there. Forget having a place to live, it wasn't worth suffering through that kind of behavior. Before she could appropriately get her hands around his neck little Howard decided to jump out of Angie's bag and plop onto the floor.

The thump tore Howard's eyes from Angie for a moment as he examined the little being sprawled on his tile. He squatted to stare at the creature more closely. "And who's this little guy?"

It was the only revenge she would get so Peggy's answered with immense satisfaction. "That's Howard, or Howard Jr. I suppose."

He looked at the goofy little pug then back up at the two women. His laugh was a tad uncomfortable and his grin faltered for a second. "You named a dog after me, not sure if I should be honored or insulted."

Peggy just gave him a sweet smile before grabbing his arm and attempting to pull him away. "Howard may I talk with you about cashing in some favors you owe me?"

He looked down at the death grip his arm was stuck in and realized he didn't have much of a choice in the matter, so instead he looked to Angie. "Sure. Sweetheart you and your animal friend can make yourself at home, just call for Jarvis if you need anything."

Angie gave him a grateful glance, she didn't seem bothered by the objectification. After all she dealt with men like that day after day in the diner, it was nothing new. But it incensed Peggy to no end and as she pulled him away her body was tense, voice sharp.

"Do not call her that."

He took his arm away rubbing the spot that would undoubtedly have a bruise. "Loosen up Peg, let your friend have a little fun."

She took a step back, staring at him hard with arms crossed. "We aren't here to discuss fun."

"Of course, there's always time for that later. So why did you come a knockin', any news on the thieves?"

He looked hopeful, as if he had been worrying. For Howard to be worrying, well that couldn't mean anything good. "Not quite, the matter is a bit more personal."

"This is gonna be good." In an instant any worry drained from his body and that maddening smile was back in place as he waited, anxious.

It took much more effort than she would have that to unclench her jaw and force the words out. "Angie and I seem to have found ourselves without any place to stay and it's my fault entirely. And until I can find-"

Howard didn't wait another moment. His smile had expanded to a truly monumental size and he held up both hands to stop her. ""Peggy, don't say another word."

"But-"

"No, No, No."

"Howard."

"You will live right here."

That grin of his made her anxious, how excited he was as he said it. This was what she needed but dear lord was it what she wanted? "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

He practically bounced around the room, beaming. "Why it's a great idea, I haven't had a better one in ages, and let's not forget I am a genius."

Her sigh was loud, very loud and quite exasperated. " I'm not sure I'll maintain my sanity here."

He stopped his bouncing and tried his hardest to be sincere. "You're desperate Peg and I owe you fifty times over, it's the least I could do. Besides I don't stay here that often."

She looked up from her frustrations; perhaps it could work, somehow. "Really?"

"I'm always on business and I have another place here in New York, this will be yours for as long as you need it."

"Howard that's really very-" Peggy wasn't used to thanking Howard, it had always been the other way around and it was hard, hard to accept his generosity, but she had to.

He shook his head, he understood. He understood Peggy better than almost anyone, almost. "Not another word Peggy. Besides, maybe being close to where the crime happened will help too."

"Thank you Howard." She said it quietly, sincerely, under it all he was a true friend.

He just shrugged, it wasn't a second thought to him, and saying yes was natural. "What's money worth if you can't use it to help a friend every now and then?"

She looked at him then, long and hard as they walked out of the room. Perhaps she underestimated Howard. After all there was a side to him she didn't get to see very often, a side of such genuine respect and care.

He gave her a little shove as they walked; the whole prospect had gotten him quite excited. "I can't wait to tell your friend the good news."

All thoughts of his genuine side disappeared as she gave him a shove back, or rather a check into the nearest wall. "Your generosity will not stop me from maiming you should you put a single hand on her."

"We'll see Peg." He just bounced right off the wall and gave her his signature smirk, the one he used to mask very real fear when around Agent Carter.

They walked through the rooms but Angie and Howard Jr. were nowhere to be found, in fact they ran into Jarvis before finding either of them. It was Howard who asked where Angie was because he could not last a moment without being incredibly insufferable.

"She's in the garage sir, she said she wanted to take a look at the cars."

Peggy and Howard turned to each other in a very similar state of shock. They walked together down into the garage only to find Angie next to one of his model cars, with the hood up as she inspected the engine, and the little pug frolicking around the room.

Howard cocked his head to the side, now this piqued his interest. "Your friend a mechanic or something Peg?"

She chose to ignore the fascination in his tone, instead she watched the young woman as she worked. "Last I knew she was a waitress and hopeful Broadway star."

"Hopeful star!" Now that he knew how to work with. Full swagger in effect he walked up to the enthralling young woman, voice steady and light. " I can make you a star you know."

She took a moment to close the hood of the car. She gave him a smile, sweet as candy before replying. "I think I got that all under control sweetheart."

As she sauntered by all he could do was watch. Peggy Carter had found a woman that was something else, not necessarily surprising. Peggy had to smile at the confidence Angie exuded, that was until she saw the way Howard was eying the waitress, then she had to try hard not to be sick.

Angie joined Peggy on the stairs, leaning in close to whisper. "So what's up Peg, we got a home or should I snatch a cardboard box before we go?"

She chuckled at that, always making light of the gravest situations. "Howard has been kind enough to let us stay here, dog and all."

"You're not pullin' my leg are you?"

Howard answered for her from his spot near the car. "No she's not. And I'll be around for a while to help get you acquainted." He gave a suggestive little wiggle of the eyebrows and his voice was dripping with innuendo.

Peggy was fuming, absolutely fuming but Angie just stared back at him, her voice quite frank. "And I'll be around to help you fix up these cars, they could use a little work."

It was one thing for Howard to be rejected but it was entirely new territory to have any of his handiwork questioned. It made him trip over his words and Peggy laughed loud and clear, all the while Angie smiled because she had caused the charming laughter.

Peggy put a gentle hand on Angie's back as they walked up the stairs together and she spoke to her softly, laced with admiration. "I never knew you had such knowledge of cars."

Angie gave her a shy smile, leaning in toward her. "I picked up a few things here and there English, there's lots you don't know about me."

Howard stood rooted in his spot watching them go with Howard Jr. sitting at his side. The way they walked together, so close, it almost seemed like…but it couldn't be. He shook his head and looked down at his new little friend.

"So it's just you and me buddy."

Just like that the pup gave him one last glance before scuttling up the stairs after his new mothers leaving Howard to contemplate the wild ride he had just gotten on and question how his luck never seemed to run out.