After everything that had transpired in the last week, it felt strange to be going back to business as usual. But there Steve was, making the rounds of his classroom on a Monday morning like always. So many things had changed, but you wouldn't know it to look at them. As if in direct conflict to that fact, Steve's phone buzzed in his pocket. He sighed. The only people who ever texted him during the school day were his superior officers at SHIELD. Not that there were many of those- his unique position within the organization was such that he answered directly only to Hill and Fury- but still. When he excused himself to respond to the message, however, he saw that it was from Peggy, not SHIELD. He smiled.

I really enjoyed our conversation yesterday, the message read. I appreciated the opportunity to get to know you better. What do you say we go out to dinner and do that some more? Steve felt his smile stretch even wider. A second message followed on the heels of the first- Sorry if I bothered you at work, by the way. I don't exactly know the hours for your civilian job.

But you know the hours for the job I work at SHIELD? Steve replied.

Well, no, Peggy admitted, because you don't exactly work anything resembling a regular nine to five at SHIELD, but at least in that case I have an idea of when you work, which is more I can say for your teaching job.

Fair enough, Steve said. Dinner sounds great. My treat or yours?

I was thinking perhaps we'd split it right down the middle, Peggy replied.

Bold of you to suggest going Dutch on our first real date, Steve said. I like it.

You know perfectly well that's not what 'going Dutch' means, Peggy replied. But I appreciate the compliment inherent in you calling me bold.

You're right, I do, Steve said. And you certainly are bold. It's one of the things I love about you.

Well, thank you, Peggy said. So we're on for tonight then?

Absolutely, Steve replied. Can't wait. That done, his slipped his phone back into his pocket and returned to his classroom. His students, absorbed in their work, seemed not to even notice that he'd left. He shook his head in amused wonderment and did his best to focus on the current moment. This turned out to be a much more difficult task than he'd anticipated- throughout the day, whenever he wasn't paying attention, he'd find his thoughts drifting toward his upcoming date with Peggy.

It seemed to take forever, but nighttime finally arrived. After consulting with Bucky about what he should wear- "A suit and tie," he'd said. "Even though she's your soulmate, you still want to make a good impression on your first real date."- Steve arrived at Peggy's apartment at the appointed time and knocked lightly on her door. When she answered it, Steve caught his breath. She was dressed in a bright red dress that fell to her knees, clinging to every curve along the way, her lips painted bright red to match her dress, her silky dark hair falling to her shoulders in loose waves that framed her face.

"Wow," he breathed. "You look...stunning." Peggy's red painted lips curved upwards in the smallest of smiles.

"Thank you," she said. "You don't look too bad yourself." She gestured to indicate Steve's attire.

"Thanks," Steve said with a lopsided smile. "It was Bucky's idea. He said it was important that I make a good impression on our first real date."

"And this?" Peggy asked, winding his tie around her hand and lifting it to his eye level, giving him an eyeful of its royal blue color.

"Ah," he said. "That was my idea. Part of the whole 'good impression' thing. I'm told blue brings out my eyes."

"Whoever told you that was absolutely right," Peggy said. Her voice had dropped to a whisper, and there was a soft look in her eyes that sent tingles down Steve's spine.

"Shall we go?" he asked after several long moments of silence, offering Peggy his arm. "I hope you like Italian."

"Absolutely," Peggy replied. Steve couldn't tell which statement she was responding to, but it didn't matter, because she was looping her arm through his and then they were on their way.

Steve took Peggy to Russo's, a little out of the way place a few blocks from Winifred's flower shop, sandwiched between a bodega and a high-end boutique, that he'd always promised himself he'd take a girl to on a first date. The opportunity simply hadn't presented itself before now. Women hadn't exactly lined up to go out with him before he'd gotten the serum, not that he minded that. It'd certainly made his life a hell of a lot simpler.

"This a lovely little place you've brought us to," Peggy remarked as the waiter led them to their table. "Very quaint."

"I used to work at the flower shop up the street," Steve said by way of an answer, pulling Peggy's chair out for her. "I'd walk past here every day and I'd promise myself that someday I'd take a girl here on a first date." Peggy kept her gaze fixed on his face as he took his own seat across the table from her.

"Somehow I can't quite see you working in a flower shop," she said softly. There was an unidentifiable emotion in her voice that made it sound like a loaded topic.

"It was my mother's idea," Steve replied with a chuckle. "You know, single mom working long hours, who couldn't afford a babysitter. She needed to find some way to keep me occupied when I wasn't at school so she could be sure that I wasn't out getting into trouble. That was her solution." That got a laugh out of Peggy, though one tinged with sympathy for his situation back then.

"And you'd be surprised how well art fits in with arranging flowers," Steve went on. "The same principles of color and shape, what combinations are pleasing to the eye, apply to both." Peggy nodded in understanding, and they lapsed into silence as the waiter arrived with their food.

When their evening was beginning to draw to a close, Steve led them back the way they had come, his steps faltering for just a moment when they passed Winifred Barnes' flower shop. He knew it was far too late at night for there to be any chance that Winifred herself would still be there, so he quickly moved on. He needed to get Peggy home. There would be plenty of opportunities later for her to meet the woman who had become like a mother to him.