Holly POV
Steve silently held the door open for Holly and she stepped inside his DC apartment to find it smaller, but not that much different from his apartment back in Avengers Tower. Or the temporary housing near Brooklyn that he'd had before the Battle of NY. The damage caused by the Winter Soldier, shooting Fury through the window had long been repaired. She refused to say it was Bucky Barnes. If anything, the apartment just looked like it felt. Lonely.

"I know it isn't much." he apologized, carrying in both of their go bags as well as the specially made bag that held his shield. "I'll go out in the morning to get some food. Or we can go together if you want."

She turned and looked at him. "It's fine. It just...well it feels lonely. Did you just sit here alone when you weren't on missions with Nat?"

He shrugged, closing and locking the door, putting in the security code as well. She recognized the system as the same one she'd gotten installed in California after SHIELD fell. Apparently she wasn't the only one that Tony had been looking out for. "Not always. I took a lot of runs around The Mall. Rode my motorcycle a fair bit. I kept busy. Watched television here and there when I found something I could follow without having to look up stuff. Documentaries are fantastic things."

"And you visited Peggy." She sighed, the pain still a heavy weight in her chest. She rubbed at her eye and stopped at the gritty ache from the amount of tears she'd shed already. "I was the one who got to tell her that they found you. Did you know that?"

Steve shook his head, but didn't look that surprised. "No, I thought maybe Coulson or Fury told her."

"No, it was me. I was in California when you were found. It was right after everything happened with Tony and Hammer, the whole thing with the Expo. When he found out about all of us being SHIELD agents. I got called in to help when everything went down because of my familiarity with Tony and his technology. Bavaria wasn't my first experience with robots."

"I thought that was when everything happened with Thor, losing Mjolnir and being in New Mexico."

Holly sighed, taking a seat on his couch. "It gets confusing. You were found right after everything with Thor which happened right around the same time as the Expo. Coulson flew straight from New Mexico to New York, where they thawed you."

Steve joined her on the couch. "Go on." Had Peggy never told him this story? Or was it that he wanted her to talk about good memories with Peggy?

"Well I'm in California, commiserating with Natasha about what a pain in the ass Tony can be, mostly because he lost his mind when he found out about me being in SHIELD. I can't remember him being so angry in my life, let alone ever really angry at me. So I get a call and it's Coulson and he could barely get the words out." She smiled faintly, remembering how excited her handler had been and how the news had helped with the sting from Tony's angry rantings. "Then he said the words. Holly, we found him! We found him!"

"And you knew he meant me?"

"Sweetheart, there are very few things on this planet that will get Phil Coulson to break his cool. One is someone messing with Lola. Another is people going out in public in their pajamas. But the biggest one is anything involving Captain America or his Commandos." She shook her head. "You could almost hear him grinning. We found Cap, Holly. He's alive! He's alive!"

"But because they took me to New York, it wasn't like you could come and see for yourself." Steve said with understanding. He didn't know how she almost did, part of her just as excited as Coulson.

"Yeah, so I did the next best thing. Got on the next flight to Washington. Showed up at Peggy's room in the middle of the night. I didn't even have to say a word. She just..." Holly swallowed, emotion getting to her. The memory of the hope and expectation on Peggy's face. She'd looked so young in that moment with just the light from the hall illuminating her. "She just sat up and said, 'They found him?'"

Steve held out his arm and she took the invitation, snuggling up to his chest and taking in the comfort as he wrapped both strong arms around her. A small part of her told her not to get used to this, it was only while they both dealt with losing Peggy. "She never gave up on me."

"Never. None of the Commandos did. And especially not Peggy. She never gave up on me either. Even after I told her I was pretty much leaving active SHIELD service, she told me that one day I would be back, when I had time to heal. That she was proud of me for making a difficult decision for the right reasons." She sniffled.

"She was always proud of you, Holly." Steve murmured, giving her a squeeze with the arm he had wrapped around her. "I called her, after we went into the city for the first time. I told her how brave you were, how you insisted on going right to where the Towers had been. And she said she knew that you would make it there and she wished she could have been there for you." He sighed, pressing his lips to the crown of her head.

"She knew everything, it felt like. Like after we talked about you being found, I told her about Tony's reaction to learning about my family and SHIELD. I was sure that he'd never forgive me, that was it. I'd lied to him my whole life and now he was gone." She pulled back a little, taking a deep cleansing breath. Just thinking about how angry but mostly how betrayed Tony had been that day still hurt. "But Peggy was adamant that Anthony, she never called him Tony, that he would come to realize the reasoning for it all and to give him time. That Jarvis would explain it to him if need be."

"Peggy knew Jarvis?"

Holly nodded. "Yeah. Both the AI and the butler slash problem solver that Howard employed. He died a year before I was born. Tony had a version of Jarvis at Peggy's nursing home for her. He even sent a sentry suit after SHIELD fell."

"I guess she was right on the money about Stark coming around."

"Pretty much. Pepper told him off and then Coulson made a quick trip after you first woke up to lay everything out for him. Gave him a redacted version of our files, so he could understand it all. He flew here from Malibu to apologize to me for being like that."

"I think the only people he apologizes to are you and Pepper."

She smirked. "Yeah. I think Natasha scared him into an apology once. Maybe Nick too."

"That I could completely see."

Steve POV

After long minutes she spoke again. "What was it like, the first time you got to see her after you were thawed? I mean, it had to be a shock."

Steve thought about it, his chest tight as he remembered the joy on Peggy's face and indeed, the shock of seeing her at such an advanced age while he hadn't aged at all. It had been right before the Battle of New York so he was still trying to wrap his head around it not being 1945 anymore. He'd almost been afraid to ask about her since he'd learned that the rest of the Commandos had passed, Dum Dum being the hold out. As always. And then Fury had asked him if he would like to see her.

"You don't have to. I know some things are private." She said softly, making him realize he'd gotten lost in his own thoughts.

"Sorry, I just got lost in my head. It was before everything with Loki. I honestly didn't think...I guess I assumed she was gone like everyone else I'd known. I didn't ask, I didn't dare. I mean, Dum Dum had been gone 20 years when they found me and he was the oldest next to Colonel Phillips. I just figured that I'd just missed her. Then Fury asked if I'd like to go see her."

"That was after you spent time at the cabin, reacclimating?"

He thought about the isolated cabin where he was able to come to grips with what had happened to him and begin understanding the world he found himself in. New York, let alone Brooklyn were almost completely different than what he remembered. "You know about the cabin?"

"Yeah. I've spent time there with some of the mutants and metas that I've helped. That's mostly why we had it. The isolation helps calm. It's nice. Quiet."

He nodded. "Yeah it is." A pause. "I was actually a bit afraid to go and see her, you know. I didn't know anything about what had happened after the war so I didn't know if she had married, had a big family or what. Hell, even if she remembered me."

"Sweetheart, she never ever would have forgotten you."

"I know that now." He gave her a squeeze. "I remember insisting on bringing flowers. And I walked into the room and she was sitting by the window. She was nearly 100 but her eyes were the same. The exact same." He paused, swallowing. "She looked at me and said, you're late."

Holly no doubt knew what that had meant from when he'd gone to rescue Bucky and she made a little noise. "And you said?"

"There was a line at the florist. Can't show up at my best girl's place without flowers." He choked, thinking of how she'd never stopped loving him, how she'd fought for so many years in his name. And now she was gone.

"Oh honey." Holly moved so she could wrap her arms around him and he rested his head on her shoulder, trying to not cry. The balance of strength passed between them easily and wordlessly. "That's so sweet. She loved you so much. She was so proud to have known you."

"I just...part of me wishes that...is it wrong that I feel awful that she never got married or anything because of me? I mean, she had no way to really know I was out there somewhere. And then there goes her whole life."

"Steve, you were always with her." Holly put her hand on his chest, above his heart. "Peggy was devoted to the work you began together. She wanted to make sure that the world you sacrificed yourself for was worthy of that sacrifice. There's a reason it was named SHIELD and not left as the SSR. And no, she never married but she had children, of a kind. Besides myself and Eddie, she was like a den mother to so many agents. That's why May reacted so strongly today. Peggy recruited her."

He sighed and relaxed back into her embrace and she took the moment to press a kiss into his blonde hair. He was very thankful for Holly in that moment. He wasn't sure he could have made it through it all alone. Just like he wouldn't have been able to handle what he'd thought was Bucky's death without Peggy and the Commandos supporting him. "I can't say I'm going to miss her. I already do."

"I know sweetheart. Me too."

Holly POV
"Steve, it's fine. I can sleep on the couch. It's a nice couch." Holly moved toward the sofa, dismissing Steve's apology for not having a guest room in his apartment. Why would he? He didn't know anyone really, let alone to have them visiting long enough to need a place to stay.

"Holly, no. I mean...damn it." He moved forward and put his hands on her arms. "I want...I mean, I think it would be nice..." he sighed "I was thinking we could share the bed. Like when we shared the couch back at Coulson's? I just...I'd like you there. If you want."

It was adorable how flustered he was getting just trying to ask her to share his bed with him with the implicit reason of just sleep. The same man faced down Nazis and aliens and entire secret agencies but this was what threw him. He looked supremely embarrassed, rubbing at the back of his neck and not meeting her eye. She had to remember that his sensibilities were still from 70 years ago. Not that people didn't sleep together back then, but Steve was very much a gentleman who even now, had no idea how to talk to a woman. Peggy would be laughing her head off that some things hadn't changed.

"Okay." She said quietly, never imagining that he would ask her to do such a thing and very thankful at the same time. The last thing she wanted was to be alone. The fact that it would help him just as much as it would help her made her feel like she was 10 feet tall.

"Okay?" He repeated in disbelief, his blue eyes wide and surprised. Like he'd expected her to say no or be offended or something. Ironically, he was probably the safest guy she could ever share a bed with because he was just that kind of guy.

"Yeah. I wasn't really looking forward to trying to sleep on my own." She gave him a small smile. "And we did promise to look out for each other."

He gave her a brief brilliant smile. "Yeah we did. Do you have anything to sleep in? I know we didn't realize we'd be staying down here when we left this morning."

She shook her head. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that just that morning she'd been in her Avengers' Tower apartment and had no idea how fundamentally her life would change. "No, I don't, honestly. Just another change of clothes. I'll have to go out and get something for...you know...the.." Her words fell over each other as she desperately didn't want to say the word funeral because it would bring reality down around her ears. The last couple hours of just watching TV with Steve had been an amazing distraction from the heartache. She could just pretend that they came down to DC to sightsee or to get away from the city.

"Hey...hey." Steve moved forward and took her hands in his. "We don't have to worry about that right now. One thing at a time. Would you be able to sleep in one of my shirts? Would that be enough?"

She nodded, looking up at him. "Yeah that should be okay."

Steve looked up from the bed where he'd just changed the sheets and everything when he heard the bathroom door open. The vision before him took his breath away. There Holly stood, wearing a t-shirt from the Smithsonian that he'd bought on a whim that said Howling Commando across it. It was his size so it was like a tent on her, the sleeves nearly to her elbows and the bottom reaching to just above her knees.

Her hair was down, her face freshly washed and with his enhanced senses, he could smell his toothpaste. He honestly couldn't decide if she looked adorable or strikingly sexy in his clothes. And strangely enough, he didn't feel that guilty because Peggy would have teased him and said he was still human, remember?

"Steve?"

Then he realized he hadn't said anything and was probably staring. Now he felt fully guilty. "Oh hey. Yeah. Umm, you look cute. I mean, nice, in my shirt. I mean in that shirt."
She gave him a soft smile, looking down at the shirt. "Hope you don't mind me picking this one. Just felt right."

"What's mine is yours." He waved to the bed. "Why don't you get in and get comfortable? I'll be just a minute."

When he shut the bathroom door, he turned on the faucet and splashed the ice cold water on his face. What was he doing, even noticing anything about Holly right now? Peggy just died, for the love of Pete. He understood people did strange things in grief, but he was not going to be one of those people who used some kind of sexual intimacy to avoid dealing with it and up making things more complicated. That seemed to be a thing these days from what he'd seen on television and movies.

He was going to be there for Holly and if some time way down the road when they both came to grips with their grief she wanted to go have dinner as something more than friends, then he'd be more than happy to take her out.

If he survived tonight that is. He was only human and she was, well, amazing. Something she made him realize more and more since the day they met.

He walked back into the bedroom to find her tucked into his bed, looking at a tablet. She looked up and gave him a soft smile. It was striking how domestic she looked and strangely how comfortable. It warmed his heart, knowing she felt that kind of ease around him. "Do you prefer a side?"

He shrugged and considered telling her the last time he'd shared a bed with a woman had been when he'd had pneumonia for the third time in a year and his mother was resting with him to help him breathe because they didn't have enough pillows. But that sounded a bit weird for a grown man to say. "I'm not picky. Do you have a side?"
"If you don't mind, can I have the left? I kind of liked listening to your heart beating this afternoon. Comforting. Is that strange?" Now it was her turn to be a little bashful and look away. He found it endearing.

He smiled and walked to the right side of the bed. "Not in the least." He slid under the blanket and sheets, trying not to show any nervousness. Part of his brain kept reminding him that she wasn't wearing pants or shorts or anything. Her bare legs were right there.

"Want me to get the light?" She asked softly, putting her tablet to the bedside table on her side. Her side. That was a strange thing to think.
"I can get it on mine. Do you have enough pillows?"

She smiled. "You're my pillow, sweetheart."

He was quick to turn off the light so she didn't see him turn beet red. A bit of movement later and they'd gone back to the position they'd been in back on that couch. She resting with her head on his shoulder, arm across his chest, his arms wrapped around her. A guy could get used to this.

"Thank you Steve, for letting me stay here."

"It was this or we both going to Stark's hotel." He wasn't about to say that he was pretty sure there'd be no way they'd be resting like this if they were at the hotel.
Her fingers traced absent patterns on his arm. "I like it here better. Quiet. Just us."

Holly POV
Holly woke up confused. The bed she was in wasn't hers and a deep breath instantly told her it was Steve's bed. She could smell his soap and just him. Her memory returning to her, she was confused to find she was alone in the bed. She sat up, looking around. The bathroom door was open but the light was off. Listening carefully, she didn't hear the TV or his voice. Where was he?

She got out of the bed and carefully stepped out of the bedroom, not turning on any lights in case something had managed to happen while she was sleeping and somehow left no signs behind. Turning the corner, she let her guard down. Steve was standing in his big picture window, looking out onto Washington.

She watched him for a moment, curious as to why he'd gotten out of bed carefully enough not to wake her. The light from the streetlamp outside illuminated him softly and not for the first time since she'd met him, she thought to herself what a handsome man he was. Then she heard the very slight sniff and his hand rising to rub at his eye. That was why he was up.

She wasn't sure he'd heard her yet but with his enhanced senses, she didn't have to worry about surprising him so she simply padded up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest, resting her head against his warm tshirt-clad back. Her hands just barely reached each other and simply laid flat against his torso. He let out a slight chuckle and covered her hands with one of his. "Not afraid to sneak up on me?"

"You wouldn't hurt me and you knew I was there anyway." She murmured, closing her eyes. He was so warm. Some illogical part of her mind thought that he would be cold because he was sad. Silly, but she still thought it. "Why didn't you wake me up honey?"

"No need. I'm alright."

"Hey." She gave him a little pinch. "No fibbing to me. What happened? Bad dream?"

He sighed and his head dropped. "Yes."

She let go of her hold on him and moved so she could see his face. He still looked haunted in the very faint light. She reached out and took his hand. "Let me do what I promised Peggy, Steve. Tell me so I can try and help."

He looked back out onto the city. "It's stupid. I know it was a dream but it felt so real. It was so damn real."

"It's not stupid if it bothered you. Tell me. Was it about Peggy?"

"Partly. I don't remember all of it, it's fading. Thankfully. I think I've had it before. But I remember that I stepped outside from somewhere and I was alone. Completely. I walked right down Pennsylvania Ave and there was no one. Nothing but crickets and then I was in this endless cemetery and I knew that I was the last man on earth. That I would always be alone because what they did to me, what I volunteered for would have me outliving everyone. The kid who couldn't walk a block without getting winded or getting his butt handed to him, now Captain America, the last man on earth."

Holly's heart broke as she heard his voice tremble. She wondered if he was bothered by the fact that he aged incredibly slowly, even without being frozen for 70 years. And he had woken up to find nearly everyone he had known was dead. Now with Peggy passing, that fear had come back. It would scare her too.

"That sounds terrifying." She consoled. "But you know that's not true, it won't happen. I promise you."

"How do you know? We've both experienced things we thought would never happen."

"Because you are not alone. Come on, you heard Tony of all people say it today. Avengers are family. You'll always have the team. And there's your friend Sam and Coulson, Maria too. And you have me. You promised to always be there for me, so that means I've got to be there for you too, right? And Peggy raised me to be even more stubborn than her and I have some of the serum. I'm not going anywhere, Captain."

He closed his eyes and a small smile took his lips. "I know I've said it before, but you are a special kind of lady."

"Thanks." She smiled to herself as he initiated the hug this time. She held on to him tightly, reassuring him that she was right there, not going anywhere. "Now come on, you need to try to sleep and I need my new favorite teddy bear."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head as she led him by the hand back to his bed. It was a bit surreal, considering she wasn't wearing much, just his tshirt. He got into the bed and she got on the other side. She nudged his arm. "Turn on your side, sweetie."

He looked confused but did it and she scooted in right behind him so her front was to his back, though her feet barely reached his knees. She put one arm under the pillow while the other snuck under his arm and crossed his chest. Resisting the urge to nuzzle his impossibly long neck, she murmured, "Is this okay?"

A moment. "Yeah. It's nice."

"It's called spooning."

He snorted. "Yeah, I know what it's called. Back in my day, it was called staying warm in a freezing cold apartment."