I like my stories with a very fluffy filling. This is that fluffy filling.
Peggy and Steve would have stayed together for what seemed like another 60 years if her phone hadn't gone off. Her head was still resting on Steve's shoulder when she tried reaching for the side table, "I can't-" the quiet sound of a soft harp seemed too stab daggers into her head.
Steve chuckled and reached if for her, "It's your alarm."
She pulled the blanket over her head trying to ignore the sign to wake up, "Off to work I suppose." Peggy loved working, she loved her job and the fact that she was alive to do it… but not today.
"I think you've earned a day off." Steve pulled the blanket away from her face. He was certainly more awake than she was, but he was always a morning person.
She looked up at him, his poor swollen eye from their mission yesterday. "More like a century. You should stay in here and rest." Peggy forced herself up and put her feet over the edge of the bed. The muscles in her legs and torso disagreed. "Bloody hell."
"Sore?" Steve sat up.
"Yes. It doesn't matter how many hours you train in a gym, the morning after being in the field is always horrid." Peggy looked behind her at Steve, "The serum hasn't changed that."
He shrugged trying not to disturb his own bumps and bruises, "You'll run a bit faster, punch a bit harder, but we're still human.."
Peggy stood up grabbing a silk robe before going into the Bathroom. She walked out a few minutes later and went to a full length mirror to examine the various stitches from the night before, "Wonderful.."
"Is the team still here?" Steve got up and stood behind Peggy by the mirror. His hands wrapped around her.
Peggy didn't fight the embrace, "I believe so." She looked at his reflection. "Are you wanting me to tell you everything now?"
Steve shook his head, "I just want to know that you're going to tell me. Little things at a time will hold me over." His hands ran over the silk robe, "I'm glad you're speaking to me at all, really."
"I shouldn't have reacted that way. Ignoring you was not the solution." she stepped out of his arms, "I've never been good at opening up to people. Howard used to say, it would be faster to break into high security prison than get me to tell him what I did yesterday."
"I can't disagree." Steve laughed going to the bathroom with clothes offered to him by SHIELD. "Can I ask about Howard?" he shouted from behind the door.
"You can." Peggy changed while Steve was in the bathroom, by the time he was out she was putting her makeup on. "What would you like to know?" It seemed like a silly question, since Steve most likely was only concerned with one element of their possible relationship. Steve walked out of the bathroom dressed and answered with silence, "Well in the years after the war we became close friends." She filled the silence. "After I lost my friend Angie-" She put her hands down on the table in front of her. It was almost painful.
Steve stopped putting his shoes on watching Peggy. He knew Angie was more than a friend, not that it mattered in the slightest. He felt like he was making her do this, and it made him feel guilty.
Peggy took a deep breath, "I got her killed and after, I boxed myself in from everyone. If it wasn't work it wasn't something I concerned myself with. But at the SSR more often than not, Howard was work. Then when Phillips, Howard and I founded SHIELD, we spent more time together." she sniffed back the tears and laughed, "It was a terrible, terrible arrangement. Off and on for months, constantly fighting. A lot like Tony and Pepper actually, but I lack her impressive level of patience."
Her laughing cut the tension in the room. "I can see that." Steve rubbed his neck, "I'm just glad you had someone. I know how hard it was to be alone when I woke up, living with me dead couldn't have been easy."
"It wasn't. It was especially difficult in the beginning, when everyone constantly reminded me that the only reason I was still working with the SSR was because they thought we were together." Peggy finished her make up. "But then once Howard and I became friends that whole thing came back." She stood up. "I guess that wasn't too hard."
Steve walked over to her, "Thank you." He kissed her, careful not to transfer her lipstick to his lips, "I feel like I know you better already."
"Good, now I need a cup of tea, and some breakfast." Peggy rubbed the lipstick off his lower lip.
Steve went to the door opening if for her as she lead the way, "I haven't been here before." He looked around, "It's not like the others were."
"The others?" Peggy looked over at him.
"Yeah before everything with Hydra. The Hub and Trikskillion, they were big and bright. This reminds me of those bunkers during the war… nice and cozy don't you think."
"I think we remember the war a bit differently." Peggy admitted, "It's the main base for the Inhuman search, which is fantastic. Something completely out of my territory but going very well."
"That's what Coulson is doing." Steve looked into a lab where Tony and Fitz were poking around with some technology.
Peggy threw in a detour and opened the door to the lab, "Tony are you behaving yourself."
Tony didn't look over, "I think so. Just teaching the kids some stuff."
"It's fascinating," Fitz was actually taking notes.
"We should sell tickets." Peggy joked, "Enjoy your tinkering."
Steve pulled Peggy back on track, he was enjoying the tour but the man was hungry. "So what are you doing in SHIELD? What's your project?"
"Well, I was locating Hydra bases for a while, examining strategy and things like that. But I'm afraid I've hit a rather abrupt standstill for the time being."
"Meaning?"
Peggy turned the corner and they could almost smell the breakfast food being prepared, "SHIELD has a rather low number of Agents. When you and Natasha unloaded every file out to the public Coulson took over they started clean. Which is exactly what I would have done but it's a tough job to create new Agents for a secret protection organization when the world knows your bases and training secrets." Peggy went on, "The hunt for Inhumans is going to well and is too important to fail all because of a low number of Agents."
Steve nodded as the problem circulated around the smell of Bacon in his head as he opened the door to the canteen. "I guess that explains why the HQ is so small."
"Precisely." She went through the line grabbing her breakfast of choice; Tea, eggs, sausage and toast. Peggy hesitated as she finished the line looking for a table for them to eat at. The whole thing was a bit too much like Elementry School for her taste. There was a hand waving from the back corner; Natasha and Clint were sitting together. "Mind if we join you?" Peggy asked out of politeness.
"No." Clint didn't look up from his phone. His voice was short and distracted.
Natasha filled them, "Cooper has a soccer tournament today. Laura is video chatting with him."
"Video chat?" Peggy hadn't heard of such a thing.
"It's like a phone call with a camera." Steve shrugged. He hadn't grasped the idea either.
Clint turned the phone around, "There now you're in the camera."
Peggy leaned forward and could see some kids running around a field, kicking a white and black ball around, "That's incredible." She leaned back.
"The plane taking us all back is leaving in an hour. I'm going there after, the games should last all day- if they do well."
They will Laura called from the other end of the phone.
"Taking another break?" Steve asked.
"Somewhat, I'll come by when you need my help but I don't want to miss too much of Nathan." Clint shrugged, "And it's Lila's Birthday soon."
"Did she pick the theme yet?" Natasha grinned.
Clint rolled his eyes, "Yeah she wants a… super hero party…"
Peggy laughed and added a packet of sugar into her tea, "That sounds wonderful."
"It's pretty cute." He reached in his bag and came out with two envelopes covered in glitter. The front had the scribbled font of 'Steve' and 'Aunt Nat', "She made everyone invitations herself."
"I get my own invitation." Steve laughed looking at the red white and blue scribbles. He hadn't spent a lot of time with the kids, the first time he met them it was a painful reminder of what he missed out on with Peggy. Now the idea of a weekend on the farm wasn't as depressing. He opened it up pulling out a plain piece of paper folded up like a card.
"Are you just using us for free entertainment?" Natasha accused.
Clint laughed, "Thor's coming, do you know how much that guy eats. Add Steve to that, and an army of 9 year olds. A clown would be cheaper."
"Will you be my Date?" Steve looked over at Peggy. "A little mini vacation."
Tell them they should stay a couple days! Laura's voice came through the speaker.
"a holiday?" Peggy thought about it, "I don't want to intrude on your family though."
It's not an intrusion, it's an order. Laura commanded.
The matter was settled. No one. Not even Peggy had clearance to say no to Laura.