"I found our other five, and even married one of them," Peggy started.
"Jack Thompson," Steve supplied; SHIELD history told him this much of the story already.
"Yes. We – all six of us – lived in this three-story mansion of Howard's. The story was that we were just three couples who rented different levels of the same house and with as talkative as Tony's always been, that's the story we told him. He's already pieced together the truth, though, I think, within the last couple of years. If I know him, he's going to confront me about it now, and I'm not going to know what to tell him, It won't be a fun conversation either way, I'm afraid."
"He understands what it is to have to hide a multi-person bond, though," Steve reminded her. "Very few people know he and his wife have a third."
"Maybe that'll help," Peggy conceded, asking, "How is he, really? He hadn't come to see me at the nursing home for such a long time."
"After we all got over the shock of Manhattan he started laying off the drinking. Bruce provides the last piece of the puzzle he and Pepper need – somebody to speak Tony's science language and help Pepper keep him in line."
Peggy grinned, commenting idly, "Triads are interesting like that. I guess that's what we are now…"
The words were barely out of her mouth before all three of them cried out, watching in mystification as their soulmarks filled with color.
Bucky, who had built up a higher pain tolerance that the other two, gasped out, "What just happened?"
"I don't know," Steve gaped.
"No idea," Peggy agreed. "Call and ask Tony maybe? No, not until I can talk to him about all of this, obviously."
"So what do we do?" Steve asked.
"For the moment, whatever Tony has planned," Peggy answered resolutely as the chauffer – thank goodness for the pane of soundproof glass dividing them – pulled up in front of… a perfect replica of the 1944 Stork Club. She recognized it immediately as the place that had haunted her most bittersweet dreams for years.
Steve asked faintly as he handed her out of the car, "Where are we?"
Bucky didn't understand the memory that Steve knew all too well was assailing her, so he walked ahead of them and grabbed a note that was taped to the locked door. He turned to them and read, "'Dad built this place specifically to remodel it like this for 'Cap and his best girl' – a building frozen in time just like him. Have a 'swell time'. If you can figure out how to work it, there's plenty of slow music on the MP3 player. The key's where Steve used to keep his.'" Bucky glanced at the other two, more bewildered then ever by the tears shimmering in both pairs of eyes, before he nibbling on the inside of his cheek, searching for a memory. His eyes sparked with remembrance and he glanced around at the ground, kicking aside brick he saw and picking up the key underneath.
"You kept your spare key underneath a brick?" Peggy scoffed, looking at Steve in amusement.
Bucky smirked his agreement as he unlocked and opened the door, holding it open for his soulmates.
"Oh, Steve!" Peggy gasped, looking around them as she entered the space.
"How did Howard know?" Steve asked thickly.
"I think," Peggy muttered. "I think he came into the doorway of the room I was in right before you put the plane in the water. He must've heard what we said, I suppose."
Bucky froze halfway to the MP3 player, demanding, "You did what, punk?"
Peggy barked a still-watery laugh as Steve looked anywhere but at Bucky. "You two can discuss that tonight while I talk to Tony," she decided. "But right now I want to dance."
"I still don't know how," Steve warned, going to fiddle with the MP3 player in its base.
"I haven't danced in awhile either," Peggy assured him. "We'll figure it out."
Bucky was content to slide into a seat at the edge of the room and watch his soulmates as slow music flooded the air and Steve approached Peggy with his hand outstretched, asking, "May I have this dance, Agent Carter?"
"You're late," she informed him pertly, putting her hand in his.
"But we made it," Steve countered, pulling her close.
The awestruck love in her eyes took Steve's breath away as she repeated, "We made it."
After a long few minutes of stumbling, the duo managed to find a rhythm that worked for them and Steve became comfortable enough with the movements to ask, "How long has it been since you last danced?"
"Like this?" Peggy blushed, admitting, "I… I always wanted to wait for it to be with you."
Realizing what she was implying, Steve murmured, "Aw, Peg," and stopped right in the middle of the dance floor, cupping her face in his hands to kiss her.
The song ended and Bucky stood, calling out gaily, "My turn, punk!" He approached the two of them and took not Steve's, but Peggy's, place.
She chuckled, only half-teasing when she asked, "Why can I see this becoming the story of my life?" as she moved to step away.
"Nah," Bucky replied. "Not gonna let that happen, doll." And he pulled her back towards them until it was the three of them holding hands.
Dancing with one partner was hard enough, adding more than that to the mix and making it work took even more effort, but when the next song came on, they learned how to manage it.
When the three of them finally made it back to the Tower, JARVIS informed them that it was late enough that Tony's soulmates had already dragged him off to bed, so the conversation Peggy wanted to get out of the way would have to wait until morning.
The AI added, "Agent Romanoff has also asked that you all meet her on Thor's level at 8:05 tomorrow morning.
"Why?" Steve asked.
"I'm not allowed to say."
Thus the odd request was made even stranger, but after how well today had ended, Steve was willing to go with it. "We'll be there."