Peggy's heart was racing as she stared at the hunk of metal behind the reenforced door. "The Hydra Stomper?" she said in disbelief.
"And there is someone in it." Widow replied. If possible, Peggy's heart speed up. She wanted to rip the door open. She wanted to get to the small pilot inside the suit. Widow put a hand on her shoulder, though, pulling her thoughts back. "Let's not go tearing holes in the ship. We are civilized adults aren't we?" Widow taunted with a knowing smile. Peggy nodded in reply.
As the door slid open, Peggy closed the distance. The man in the suit spoke up, "I already told you I'm not coming out and there is no way you can come in. Give up already. I would rather starve to death than give you this suit!" The voice brought tears to Peggy's eyes.
"Steve? Is that really you?" She choked out. Widow looked on in amazement of how this Amazonian woman seemed to be breaking in front of her.
"P-p-p-peggy?" Steve replied. "Peggy did you really come?" Steve's voice was shaky.
"Yes darling, I'm here." She replied looking slightly up into the metal face of the machine. Steve let out a sigh of relief. The suit hissed as it opened. With Steve's only support sliding away his weak body fell forward into the expecting arms of Peggy. She let out a soft gasp as his small body collided with her. He was just a bag of bones. Steve had stayed strong for so long that when he felt the strength and warmth of Peggy's arms he allowed his body to rest, sliding into a comatose.
Worried filled Peggy as she looked to Widow. Peggy held Steve in her arms the whole flight to the hospital. She remembered him being a fair bit smaller than her before, but in his current state he felt like nothing in her arms. She kept him as close as possible to feel his heartbeat, afraid that if she pulled even the slightest bit away it would stop.
Steve awoke to a dark, empty hospital room. There were weird machines hooked up to him and crazy things he had never seen before like a small TV that played shows in color. Steve pulled the covers up over his fragile frame even more in search of comfort. 'Where was Peggy?' he thought to himself. She was there when he got out. He knew she was. Right then a nurse came in and noticed he was awake. She smiled at him as she moved to his side. "Good evening Mr. Rogers. How are you feeling?" The sweet smell of her perfume tickled Steve's nose.
"Where is Peggy?" the hoarseness of his voice surprised Steve.
The nurse's eyes were soft and knowing. "She stepped out for moment to get a cup of coffee. She will return shortly." As if on que a rush of wind could be heard fast approaching down the hall. In seconds Peggy's frame filled the threshold of the room. She just stood and stared at Steve, tears threatening to overflow the dams holding them back. Steve didn't know he was crying till the hot liquid ran streams down his face. There she stood, the love of his life. She was just as incredibly powerful and beautiful as he remembered. Her head barely cleared the door frame as she walked cautiously towards him. She feared this dream would end if she moved to quickly.
Steve's smile grew bigger and bigger as she approached. She reached his bed side and took a knee to look at him eye to eye. Neither said a word as they devolved to crying messes. Peggy engulfed Steve's small hand in between hers. His touch sent fire through her veins. "You are real." She said with relief.
Steve took his other hand and set it softly on her cheek. "Very much so. And thanks to you I'm alive." Peggy couldn't keep it together any longer as she gingerly laid her torso on his. Steve remembered that she was huge after the serum, but he forgot the true vastness her body had. With her head beside his her chest stretched past his hips and she seemed to be twice as wide as him. If he felt fragile before, he now felt like he was made of glass and would shatter if this woman willed it. Peggy was gentle though. She put enough of her weight on him to provide comfort, but ensured that it wasn't smothering or bone cracking.
They reveled in the closeness of the other. Peggy's forehead rested on the bed with Steve's head pressed caringly over her. It was a weird moment. Peggy was by far the most physically superior person, but in that moment she was mentally weak. She had survived years without her one. Now that he lay right in front of her, her mind and body involuntarily let go. Steve knew this and acted as her rock. He would be strong when she was weak.
They laid there for what seemed like hours, both dreading to separate. When they finally did the tears were dried on their faces and instead replaced with looks of utter exhaustion. "You two should get some sleep," the nurse said from the corner as she motioned for Peggy to the other bed in the room. "Here, we can push this bed close to his if you want to sleep next to him for the night." the nurse continued. Peggy couldn't even begin to express how thankful she was to the nurse.
"The bed was way too small for Peggy as her feet hung well past the end of the bed, but she didn't care. She laid on her side and curled her knees into her chest as she fell asleep instantly. Steve stared down at their hands still intertwined and then back to her face before he too let himself drift off to sleep.
Peggy was in and out the past couple of days. Once Steve had woken up the Avenger's expected their Captain to return to the job. Peggy would crawl into her small hospital bed next to him late every night. After a quick debrief of the day they two would slip off to sleep, only for Peggy to be up early in the morning to greet another busy day. Steve was being discharged that day, so Peggy made sure she was there to bring him back to her apartment. Steve had known that a lot had changed over the years and Peggy tried to help him for the culture shock he was about to venture into. Being still too weak to walk Peggy pushed his wheelchair down the hall, chatting nonchalantly about new technologies like cell phones and robot vacuum cleaners.
The sun's bright rays blinded Steve as the fresh air hit him. He basked in it like a turtle warming itself on a log. Peggy easily lifted him into the front seat of her truck before folding his wheelchair and tossing it in the back. They pulled out of Walter Reed and headed down the busy streets.
Peggy's apartment was tucked in between the suburbs and the city. It was a small two bed two bath that overlooked a little shopping area next to a park. It wasn't to far from the airport which is why the avengers put her there. She had minimal decorations that made if feel homey, but not cluttered. She rolled Steve into her guest bed room and helped him get set. Feeling like he was missing something, Steve turned to Peggy and asked, "what happened to the Hydra Stomper?"
Peggy smiled and said, "Don't worry. After Tony Stark, Howard's son, heard about it he was there in a flash to pick it up. It's in safe hands with him"
Steve nodded in acceptance. Peggy took her leave to give him sometime to himself as she went to start some lunch. He didn't have many belongings. The only things he had were what was with him in the suit. Peggy had turned on some old time music as she sang in the kitchen. Steve wheeled over and smiled up at her as she flipped some grill cheese sandwiches. Oh had he missed her. It had only been days since she left, but all that time made the heart fonder.
Peggy plated the food and moved a chair so that Steve could wheel up to the table. "So how did you get here?" Peggy asked as she took her place across from him.
Steve just shrugged and said, "After you left I really struggled with you being gone. We won the war, but life wasn't the same without you. I became more reckless in the Hyrda Stromper to the point that I got myself in a position I thought I would never be in. I was at the bottom of the ocean with no power in the suit. After the war Stark took the tesseract for other experiments so I was running off a super strong generator. The pressure at that depth was crushing the suit. I thought that I was going to die. In all honesty that's what I wanted to do, die. A life without you wasn't worth living anymore. At the last second though, there was a flash of a bright light. The next thing I knew was that I was on board a ship. The men on board recognized the suit and demanded that I give it up. I refused. I was able to keep somewhat hydrated by a large water bladder I had in the suit, but they slowly started to starve me. I have no idea how long I was in there for, but if you didn't come when you did… Peggy I was on my last leg in that suit. You truly came at the right time and saved me." Steve locked determined eyes with Peggy. She nodded in understanding.
"They were quiet for a second, letting the words digest. "I thank whatever beings are at work that we have returned to each other. Ever since I came to this time, I felt a void. I couldn't get over you. You were in my thoughts every single day from when I would wake till I went to bed. Now you are with me though. We are with each other." She smiled reaching across to take his small hand in hers.