A/N- This is their first date guys, I hope you like it :) Please leave a review and let me know what you think of it
The next few days were quite hectic at the SSR. With their chief absent, a majority of the responsibility now fell on Daniel and Peggy. To an outsider it might have looked odd to see a woman and an injured war hero issuing orders to fully qualified agents, and the men actually listening to them, but the agents of the SSR knew better than to question their unofficial bosses. Both of them had proven on more than one occasion that they were capable of not only handling themselves during missions, but also that they also had good instincts and were smart leaders.
Peggy hadn't had an opportunity to visit Jack in the last few days. Truth was, she was rather enjoying her work at the SSR. It wasn't the whole unofficial chief role that she had taken over along with Daniel in Jack's absence, but rather the fact that there was now no one at the SSR who would question her skills as an agent. A big gesture of recognition for her work wasn't what she had ever wished for; all she wanted was to be treated as an equal in a world dominated by men.
Daniel, who himself had been somewhat pitied in the SSR and overlooked for important missions, had grown in Peggy's esteem. She had always seen him as good agent, a good friend, but now that she was working so closely with him, she saw what a good and capable leader he was, how the SSR was important to him, just as it was to her, no matter their past experiences.
In the last week, he had become a close friend, almost as close as Angie, but Peggy still avoided discussing anything to do with her and Jack, even though she knew Daniel was falling head over heels for a woman named Evelyn, whom he had met when she had mistakenly spilled her cup of coffee on Daniel who happened to be standing behind her, waiting to get himself a coffee too. Now, they'd both been on several dates and Daniel seemed to be quite taken with her. Though, like Peggy, he liked to be professional around the work place, he had told her about Evelyn during one of their long nights at the SSR office. Peggy was very happy about Daniel finding someone special in his life, and it also relieved her to see that he was not hung up on her rejection. At least she didn't need to feel guilty about seeing Jack.
Jack, the name was enough to bring a small smile to her face, even in the middle of her work day. As much as she was enjoying her work, she rather missed having him around. She had hoped to visit him once again, but she hadn't had the chance. It was almost a week now, and Peggy hoped he'd be back any day now.
This morning, as she entered the SSR building, she saw the familiar faces of the telephone operators who worked a floor below. She was greeted by Rose, "Hey Peggy, how's it going?"
"I am fine, Rose, thank you, and how are you?" Peggy asked.
"Oh the usual, nothing interesting." replied Rose, "Heard Chief Thompson's back. You must be pretty happy now that you don't have to do all his work?"
"Oh" said Peggy, in a surprised tone, "I wasn't aware that he was back. His injury must be fine now" she said thoughtfully, "Anyway, I better head up. Have a good day" she said, as she stepped inside the elevator.
"You too honey" replied Rose as the doors of the elevator shut.
As she entered the office, she saw him, sitting in his cabin, going through some file, no doubt wanting to catch up with everything he'd missed in the last week. She walked towards her station, draped her coat behind her chair, when Jack emerged from his cabin.
"Sousa, Carter" he said, looking at her and Daniel, "A word."
Both Daniel and Peggy looked at each other and wondered what they had messed up for Jack having called them in first thing in the morning.
When they had both entered the cabin, Jack said, looking at their wary faces,
"Oh there's no need to look like that. I was only calling you in to thank you both for doing all the work in my absence. You've both done fine work Agents."
"Thanks Chief" replied Daniel, "It's good to have you back" he smiled.
"Trust me Sousa I am glad to be back." replied Jack.
"If that's all then we'll get back to work" said Daniel, turning to leave.
"Het Sousa, one more thing. Stop calling me Chief, alright? It's just weird. Call me Thompson, just like you did before" Jack called out as Daniel was leaving.
"Noted" smiled Daniel, "You comin'? he asked Peggy.
"Uh she'll be out in a minute. I gotta talk to her about something" said Jack, and Daniel made no further comment and left.
Once Daniel had left, Peggy spoke for the first time, "How are you? Is your arm perfectly alright?"
"Yeah Peggy or I wouldn't be back" replied Jack, rolling his eyes, "I am real happy with the way you and Sousa kept things going when I wasn't around. Good work"
"Thank you" she smiled, "I'll let you get back to work since you're obviously trying to catch up on everything" she said, pointing to his desk which was littered with files, all containing classified documents.
"Yeah it's going to take some time from the looks of it. I was thinking since you've been handling everything at the SSR this last week, there's no one better than you to bring me up to date with what's going on."
"Yes of course" replied Peggy, "Should I start now?" she asked.
"No no I was thinking we'd be more comfortable to talk about it say, over dinner? I mean, I could ask Sousa but I have a hunch that he'll say no" he said, with a lop sided smile.
"Agent Thompson, is that how you ask a woman out on a date?" Peggy said, with a small laugh, "Because if this is it, I can understand why you've been single all this time I've known you"
"Ah well, I'll work on it. So, what do you think about my offer? I could take you out to a proper restaurant with nice food and some jazz, none of that old hamburgers and fries" he said with a smirk.
"I think I would like that very much, Agent Thompson. I might even let you pay this time." she retorted.
"Alright. We'll go tomorrow evening then. Finish your work on time Carter, or I may have to reconsider my offer" he joked.
"Well, I can't make any promises Agent because my boss's back in office and I hope he doesn't give me too much workload" she retorted playfully.
"I'll make sure of that" he smirked.
"Well then, it's a date. I'll see you later Agent Thompson" she smiled and headed out of his cabin, "Oh yes, and I forgot to say this before, but I am really glad you're back"
"So am I, Peggy, so am I"
The rest of the day was uneventful, both Peggy and Jack being busy with their work. The next morning too was like any other usual day, the only difference being the fact that Jack and Peggy were like two nervous teenagers worried about how their first date was going to be. They both gave each other a small smile, but neither of them mentioned anything about their impending date, until Jack called her inside his cabin.
"Can I help, Agent Thompson?" she asked.
"Uh yeah how is 8 p.m. for you? At the Rainbow Room?" he asked her.
"It's fine as long as you don't give me a heavy workload for the day" she said with half a smile.
"Can't have that now, can we Carter. I'll see to it. I'll pick you up at 7:30 p.m. sharp" he said.
"Yes that'll be great" she smiled, "Is that all?
"Yeah… I'll see you tonight"
Mercifully, Jack had stuck with what he had said, and Peggy didn't have any extra work at the office that day, so she was able to clock out at the usual time. She did wonder whether Jack would have time to get ready at all, since by the time she left he was still immersed in one of the files, and she wondered how long he'd be at it.
She wished she could have Angie help her pick an outfit. This was absolutely ridiculous, she told herself. She was a grown woman, and this wasn't the first date of her life, then why was she so nervous about it? I mean, it's only Jack! I've been out with him so many times, granted those were not dates, but still. Was this really a good idea? What if this messes things up at work? Is it too soon for me to be out with somebody? It's only been a year…No, I have mourned Steve long enough, and it's time for me to get back on with my life. And it's just one harmless date. I know Steve would want me to go ahead. Get yourself together, you're Peggy Carter, she admonished herself.
At twenty five minutes past 7 that evening, Peggy Carter stood at the bottom of the staircase of her building, a bundle of nerves and excitement, marveling at the fact that the last time she had felt this way was when she was a nervous girl of 16. She hadn't been nervous around Steve, with him everything seemed easy, and she knew that they would be wonderful companions. Now however, she was nervous because she didn't know what to expect.
She knew the Rainbow Room was a rather fancy place and had decided to dress appropriately. She was wearing a knee length flowy dress in blue, and she had opted for a lighter shade of pink lipstick for the evening, rather than her usual shade of red. Her hair was put up in her usual fashion.
As she stood there, a car approached, and she knew instantly that it was Jack's car. Seconds later, he was getting out of it, approaching her with a smile. He had changed his clothes, and he was now looking rather handsome in his dark brown suit, his hair parted neatly.
"Guess all that time in the military rubbed off on ya. You're a woman who knows how to be ready on time" he said, looking at his watch, "Precisely on time" he added.
"And you're a man who knows not to keep a lady waiting" she smiled.
"That I am. Shall we leave?" he asked, "I made a reservation for 8 p.m."
"Yes of course" she replied as she headed to his car
"Oh yeah and Peggy?" he said, as they both got into the car, "You look beautiful"
Peggy quirked up a smile and said, "You too"
"What?" he said, feigning shock "Did you just call me beautiful ? Wow way to deflate a man's ego, Peggy"
"I believe I was just returning the compliment Jack. And trust me, your ego could use a little deflating" she smirked as he gave her a look and said, "You know, normally, you're not supposed to insult the guy even before the date has begun."
"Sadly, we live anything but normal lives, Jack, so technically, the rules of normalcy don't apply to us"
Taking a moment to look at her, he said, "You're good Carter" and they spent the rest of the journey bickering playfully, both of them having too much fun to stop.
Half an hour later, they had arrived at the Rainbow Room, a posh dining restaurant atop the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Centre. The place was magnificent, with a revolving dance floor right in the middle, and offered a spectacular view of the New York skyline. They were both seated at the table reserved by Jack, which was right next to the glass panes, allowing them what according to Peggy, was one of the best views of the city.
They were both equally nervous about this, but no outsider would have been able to tell that, because soon enough, they were both laughing over this and that, their nervousness dissipating as they talked about their experiences in the army, their life before the war, the conversation flowing with ease.
"Wait, so you punched him because he broke up with your sister?" he laughed.
"Well, what do you expect? Lizzie is my sister! She was a mess and he was snogging another girl behind the school library barely an hour after he broke up. He deserved what he got" she said smugly.
"So, Margaret Carter had a violent streak ever since she was a young girl. It's not difficult to imagine why you applied to the army. It was an outlet for you to punch other guys in their faces, wasn't it?" he joked, as he sipped on his wine.
"Oh aren't you smart! You figured out my plan. That is why I joined the army, not because of some stupid reason like wanting to help my country or anything" she said tonelessly, as she took a sip of her own glass of wine.
"See, now you know why they made me Chief" he said smugly.
Peggy was now feeling incredibly stupid for having spent so much time fussing over this date, if it would be awkward, or whether they would have anything to talk about. She didn't have to hide who she was, or what she did for a living, he could relate to her much better than any other man could.
Jack on his part, was pleasantly surprised too. He knew they'd have plenty to talk about based on his past experience with her, but he could hardly believe he was actually on a date with Peggy Carter. Sure, she was attractive and he would be a fool to deny that he was attracted to her beauty the moment he had seen her in the office on her first day. But back then he had never known her to have this playful side to her, her intelligence, her witty comebacks, all of them made Jack appreciate her more tonight, more so than ever.
After they had both finished their dinner, Jack dropped Peggy right outside her building, at the exact spot from where he's picked her up earlier that evening.
That very evening, they had been acting like nervous teenagers, unsure of what to expect from each other, but now, having had a wonderful time, they were both smiling, as they both stepped out of the car, Jack wanting to drop her off at her doorstep.
"I had a marvelous time tonight Jack. I mean it" smiled Peggy.
"I did too. So does that mean you'll go out with me again?" he asked, a little nervous.
"Yes, I think we can count on that" she gave him a genuine smile.
"So, this is goodbye I guess" he said, looking into her eyes, wanting nothing more but to kiss her alluring pink lips, and decided to just go for it, and leaned in a bit closer to her waiting for her to close the distance.
She leaned in a moment later, and pressed her lips to his, tentatively at first. That was all the motivation that Jack needed as he put both his hands on her waist, drawing her closer to him. She immediately wrapped her hands behind his neck, all the while kissing him back with just as much fervor as he was, neither of them wanting to break for air. After some time, it might have been a few hours, minutes, or even seconds, they broke up the kiss.
"Uh, well, I'd say that lasted longer than the usual goodnight kiss" said Peggy, clearing her throat, her voice a bit shaky and husky.
"We're not usual people, are we Peggy?" Jack smirked, and added, "And I know I am not supposed to say this kinda stuff, being a man, but that was…" he trailed off, not knowing how to explain how incredible it had been for him.
"Yes, I know" said Peggy with a small laugh, "Umm, it's getting rather late, I better head back in. Oh and Jack-"
"Yeah Peggy no one will know about this at the SSR" he finished her request.
She grinned at him, "I'll see you tomorrow Jack" as she headed inside her building.
"See you tomorrow" he said, as he got into his car, smiling broadly.
A/N II - That's it, just one more chapter to go, probably an epilogue too. To my dear anon reviewer, thank you for loving this story but I don't want to drag the story to the point where I lose my motivation to write it anymore. Anyway, I'll be writing some one shots after this. Thank you for the support. I hope you guys liked this chapter.