A/N: And now for some much needed Peggy time.
"Rogers. …Steve? -Steve. Rogers. ...ROGERS." Steve jumps and whirls around, realizing abruptly that Peggy is right behind him. She raises an eyebrow and he feels himself flush.
"Sorry… Just- I guess I was thinking." He's been standing here in the semi-darkness of the private tent they gave him - a luxury out here- since … he's honestly not sure. There have been so many changes to his worldview in the last week alone that he has yet to process, and he can't seem to focus on anything else. He's a little surprised his legs haven't gone to sleep yet.
"Yes, so you have been since this morning." Peggy says, fond exasperation in her tone. She pushes a plate heaped with what looks like ham and beans at him. "I understand there's been a lot to take in, Steve, but you do in fact need to eat. Quite a bit more than usual, as I understand the late doctor's notes."
"Thank you, Peggy, honestly, but-"
"That was not a request." She presses the plate into his hands, followed by a spoon and points him to the camp-chair in the corner of the tent. "Nor is this. Take a seat."
He sits as directed.
"... Have you and Buck been comparing notes?"
"... That's your friend, isn't it? The one you ran off after." It isn't quite a question.
He nods, eating slowly because he knows she'll find a way to make him if he doesn't comply.
"Best friend." He chews thoughtfully for a moment. "I dunno what I'd have done if he wasn't there…" He sets down the spoon, then picks it up again when he sees her eyes lingering pointedly on it. "He's all the family I got left… but the nurses won't let me see him."
Peggy watches him in silence for a few moments, crimson lips pursed. She drags his cot closer to the stool and sits down on the edge of it.
"Steve… you know you're not alone here." She says quietly, hesitating for an instant, as she studies him with dark, intent eyes. "As much as it may not seem like it, with all the foolish posturing and the preening for promotions… there are people here who care very much about you. About each other." Her eyes dart away for a moment, then back to his face.
"Your friend needs to rest and recover, yes, but you saved his life. You did that." She smiles at him, gentle in a way that Peggy often isn't, and he finds himself smiling weakly back. Not for the first time, he's grateful to have met this woman.
"Now," She says briskly, as if realizing that she's danced very very close to the edge of something much more intimate than she's quite prepared for. "You ought to take some time to look after yourself. I promise you, the Army is far from finished with you."
He nods, "Yes ma'am. I will." and raises the laden spoon in a miniature salute before placing it in his mouth again.
"Steve." She says admonishingly, though her lips still curl up at the edges. "Honestly. We're quite past 'ma'am' at this point, don't you think? If you wish to be formal, Agent Carter will do. But I'd much prefer you called me Peggy. All of my favorite people do."
She smiles genuinely then, getting to her feet and re-settling his cot where it had been. He's standing politely when she turns around.
"Thank you, Peggy."
The smile widens.
"You're very welcome, Steve.
I shall expect you in the mess for dinner at 1800. The conversation is always terribly dull, and I'd very much like to have a dinner-time chat that involves eye-contact, just for a change." She smirks in a very unlady-like fashion and he feels his face warming. "1800. I will send someone to fetch you if you're late." She shakes an elegant finger in front of his nose. "And don't for a moment think that I won't."
His cheeks must be bright red.
That sounds very much like a date. He's never been on one with a woman who actually wanted to speak to him…
"I'll be there."
"Yes." Peggy agrees. "You will."
Steve spends another long time thinking after she's gone, but his focus has changed. Sharp brown eyes and a genuine red-lipped smile have shouldered out bullet holes and late-night whimpers for the time being.
It's a welcome relief.