It had been a couple of weeks since Peggy and Angela had kissed, and they had both been very content in each other's company, but hadn't pursued anything further. Angie was at work, and it had been a light shift ever since she got there. She caught herself daydreaming about Peggy while she was cleaning up, and suddenly she wanted to kiss Peggy immediately.
Uh, it's going to be torture to wait for her to get here at 5, Angie thought, frustrated. She did more dishes, served a few more overly eager men who stared at her far too long, and finally, 5 o'clock rolled around. Right on time, Peggy walked through the door.
"Pegs!" Angie exclaimed. "I've missed you desperately today. Bored out of my mind. Plus, I didn't have your gorgeous face to stare at."
Peggy blushed. "Well, I missed you too, Ang. It was a long day."
The women chatted while Peggy drank her tea, occasionally interrupted by an impatient customer. Finally, Angie announced her shift was over, and Peggy waited for her out back before the girls walked home together, arm in arm. After their usual nightly routine, Angie went over to Peggy's flat with pot of tea and some pie tucked under her arm, eager to spend some time alone with the English woman. Their rooms were the only place they could truly be themselves, so evenings were a precious commodity. They sat on the bed, making a bit of a mess with the pie, and giggling the entire time. After they'd cleaned up and sat back on the bed, Peggy reached out and pulled Angela flush against her chest, humming contentedly.
"You're far too good to me, do you know that?" asked Peggy.
"Well I could say the same for you, lady," Angie smiled. "You make a girl feel desperately lucky, I'll tell ya that."
Angie leaned up and kissed Peggy on both cheeks, then on her nose, and finally on her lips. She moved back, taking in the beauty that was before her for a moment, and Peggy slightly smiled. Angie leaned forward and captured Peggy's lips for a slower, deeper kiss. They continued, falling backward on the bed, and then Angie, emboldened, started unbuttoning Peggy's nightgown. At first, Peggy didn't resist, but when Angela got to her stomach, she tensed up, and quickly broke away from the waitress.
"Everything okay, English?" Angie frowned. Peggy tried to brush it off her actions as nothing.
"Perfectly, dear, I'm just going to turn the lights off now - makes it more cozy, don't you think?" Peggy had a smile on her face, but even Angie could see she was still tense.
"But Pegs, how am I gonna take in that gorgeous figure of yours if I can't see it?" Angela said jokingly, not realizing that she'd struck a cord. Peggy flushed, not saying anything.
"Oh...", said Angie. "You don't...you don't want me to see. I'm sorry, I thought that would be okay, forgive me for overstepping..." Peggy was deeply conflicted. If she went along with that false statement, it would hurt Angie a little, but she wouldn't have to face the awful truth that she was sure would send Angie away for a long time. If she explained herself, she'd keep Angie for a moment, but would lose her in the end. Peggy couldn't bear the thought of losing Angie, but looking at the other girl's face, she couldn't bear the thought of Angie believing that she didn't want to be with her. Peggy sighed.
"No, Ang, that's not it," she said quietly. "I do want to be with you, very, very much, in fact...I just - not with the lights on."
"But...why?" asked Angie, confused. "You're gorgeous."
"That's what you think," Peggy bit her lip. "I'm decent at dressing myself in what is flattering, and I've become quite good with a makeup brush. But underneath all that, well, you won't be calling me gorgeous once all of that is gone."
"Pegs, no one likes their body these days," Angela said. "Hell, I don't always like mine. But I'll like yours, I can promise you that," she smirked.
"No, darling, you don't understand," Peggy said, pulling her gown even more tightly around her. " I have...scars. Scars from the war, scars from...other things, and they are far from beautiful. It's not something you want to see."
Angie's demeanor shifted. "Peg...I DO want to see them. Oh my lanta, the fact that you even feel like you need to hide them from me breaks my heart." She patted the bed beside her. "Pegs, come here," she beckoned. Peggy looked at her reluctantly, but moved to sit on the bed.
"Now remove your nightgown, please," Angela said, placing her hand on top of Peggy's.
"No, Ang, please don't-"
"Do you trust me?" Angie asked.
"Well- of course- of course I trust you, but-"
"Then trust me with this too."
Peggy sat for a moment, and then slowly nodded, carefully beginning to undo the buttons on her nightgown. When she ran out of buttons, she paused, and then removed it and placed it at the end of the bed, using her arms to cover herself. Angela reached out and entwined her fingers with Peggy's, pulling the English woman's arms away from her body. She stared at Peggy for a moment. There were bullet marks, harsh and red, on her shoulder blade, what looked like a knife wound on her side that had healed over incorrectly, a large bruise on her upper arm that was turning purple, and several smaller scars from years and years of war. Later, Angie would notice a raised scar in the small of her back, as well. This woman, scraped and scarred, was the most beautiful thing Angela had ever seen.
Peggy refused to make eye contact with Angela, and said, "Do you see? I am blemished, no longer beautiful...you are welcome to leave, I won't think poorly of you in the slightest and would appreciate if we could continue to be friends-"
"Peggy," Angela said breathily,"Oh Pegs...you are the most beautiful thing in all of creation." Peggy looked at Angie in utter disbelief, unable to say anything. Angie gently pushed Peggy onto her back on the bed, leaned forward, and tenderly kissed the scar on her side. Peggy gasped, and snapped out of her frozen state.
"Ang, what are you doing?"
"Showing you how much you mean to me," Angie replied seriously. "How gorgeous you are. How much more you are than you believe." She continued to work her way up, slowly kissing the bruises on her arm, and then the round scars on her shoulder. "Every one of these is a testament to your bravery, your courage, your selflessness, your persistence," she said. "And those are just a fraction of the reasons I love you."
"You...love me?" Peggy repeated, her mind spinning. No one - not even Steve - had told her that they loved her in the way that Angela meant it.
"Yes, Pegs, I do - is that so difficult to believe?" Angie stopped for a moment to ask. Tears welled in Peggy's eyes.
"Actually, it is a bit," she said,"but...I love you too, Angela, you are so precious to me." Angie kissed up Peggy's neck and finally landed on her lips, and just as the first time she had kissed her, pressed her lips into Peggy's, hoping she would understand the love she wanted to communicate. A tear slipped out of Peggy's eye, and Angela kissed it away. She kissed her once more, and then began kissing her way down Peggy's body, stopping on her breasts until Peggy was moaning and wrapping her hands in Angie's curls, and then down her toned stomach until she'd reached her center. Angie looked up at Peggy, and Peggy nodded, knowing she could trust Angela. Peggy cried out as Angela began kissing her, and the two women moved together as one. As she orgasmed, she began to weep, and Angela, understanding that Peggy hadn't ever been able to fully love and be loved in return and simply let go until now, gently crawled back up to lay next to Peggy and drew her in close to her chest, holding her until Peggy stopped shaking.
"I don't deserve you," Peggy murmured.
"Of course you do, Pegs," Angela said quietly. "You deserve more. You just never knew it until today."