Epilogue
Peggy Carter sat alone at a small table in a softly lit and smoky room with half a glass of scotch in front of her. A band played on the opposite side of the room, across the dance floor already filled with couples jitterbugging on a Saturday evening.
Her hair was freshly curled, and on a whim, she bought a new dress earlier that day. It was rose-red with a flared skirt that went below her knees. She consulted the delicate gold watch on her wrist to see that it was five minutes to eight.
She looked up to see the crowd and haze part to reveal Steve in the same charcoal suit he'd worn to her office earlier in the week. She was still getting used to seeing him in civilian clothes. Blue eyes met brown and both were momentarily speechless. Peggy started having inane second thoughts about her dress, the location, everything.
"You look beautiful," he said, finally sitting down. "This is far more terrifying than Nazis," he said under his breath. Peggy tried hard to bite back a smile but failed. "And now I've said something stupid."
She took his hand across the table. "The only way you could ruin this evening was by not showing up. You've already succeeded."
"Don't go lowering your standards, Peggy."
"Hardly." She leaned closer to whisper, "I can guarantee you every woman in the room envies me right now. Come along," she said as she tugged his hand upward. "I've been waiting a very long time for this."
The song ended and the band moved smoothly into the next number, a nice slow instrumental. Steve looked at Peggy suspiciously as she led him out to the dance floor. She placed his right hand on her back and gently laid her arm atop his as she took his other hand in hers. Peggy had a terrible habit of leading when dancing and had no trouble guiding Steve, who was catching on quickly anyway. The song was over too soon, but the next one was only a little faster. She could feel him start to relax a little, and soon enough Steve was leading her into turns and hadn't stepped on her toes once.
It was almost midnight by the time they left the club, and Peggy couldn't remember a better evening than this. She held her wrap tightly around her to protect against the fall chill and looped her arm through Steve's. Peggy's apartment was only a few blocks away, and Steve's newly acquired apartment wasn't much beyond that.
He accompanied her to her door and paused, not quite sure what to do. The expression of joy on Peggy's face all evening boosted his confidence, and her expectant look now told him what to do. He leaned down to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms firmly around his neck as she responded. When they finally parted, he couldn't help his slightly goofy smile.
"Same time next Saturday?" he asked.
"Don't be late."
.
Author's Note: Here we are at the end of our journey. I hope you've enjoyed it! A few astute readers asked me about the Winter Soldier and whether he was part of Laboratory No. 2. I'm so glad you picked up on that, and I did contemplate having him appear in this story but instead chose to leave myself room for a sequel in this happy little alternate universe.