Exiting the barn that served as the headquarters for the unit, Peggy felt excited. The allied offensive was supposed to continue starting the day after tomorrow, and the regiment would be leading the charge. While Peggy always knew the risks involved, she thought it would be a nice change of pace from sitting around doing nothing important. The rest of the crew would probably have more mixed feelings – while they all knew what they were signing up for, the blissful atmosphere of the pause in fighting was sure to leave an imprint on their feelings. Right now, however, Peggy was more occupied with the set of orders she was given at the briefing. While proper combat never failed to send a shiver down her spine, the planning aspect was one of the things she cherished every time. Looking at maps, sketching all the possible avenues of assault and playing out the possible outcomes in her head was always both thrilling and entertaining.

So caught up in the planning Peggy was, that she suddenly bumped into someone, dropping her clipboard on the paved road. Muttering a quiet "Sorry.", she picked it up and level her gaze at the person she collided with, only to see it was Jarvis himself.

"I'm terribly sorry, Ms. Carter, I didn't see you coming." he said, his tone slightly fearful.

"It's nothing, Mr. Jarvis, I should have focused more on the road than the new orders." she answered, gingerly.

"Any news then?" he continued.

"Yes." she replied, keeping her tone neutral. "We are to move back to the front the day after tomorrow. Afterwards, we are to attack towards St. LĂ´ to break out of Normandy. At least that's the rough outline."

For a moment, Peggy thought she saw hints of sadness in Jarvis's eyes. It went away quickly, however, as he replied in a neutral tone

"Well, I would be lying if I said I will be missing the piece and quiet the current lodgings offered us. But, if duty calls then we shall answer."

"Correct, Mr. Jarvis" she answered, with a faint smirk on her lips. "And how was your hunt for this evenings supper and drink?"

Jarvis grinned.

"The fact that Corporal Rogers does not smoke turned out to be a big asset while acquiring the needed supplies." he replied as he untied the flap of his backpack and lifted it slightly.

Peggy turned her head to get a better view. Inside were a few bottles, apples, bread, some meat and a few carrots. Enough to feed them all, and with a few to spare. She smiled fondly before speaking again.

"Marvelous work Mr. Jarvis. Now, let's go back to the rest, shall we?"

"Of course, Ms. Carter." he replied.

They started to walk towards the house. Soon, Peggy was again focused on her thoughts, before Jarvis interrupted her again.

"I'm sure the rest will be fairly pleased to see us return. Especially Corporal Rogers..."

Peggy turned her head to face him and stopped, her expression quizzical.

"Mr. Jarvis, are you trying to insinuate something?"

"It's just it really is not hard to notice that both of you do seem to be affected towards each other." he continued, his voice trembling slightly.

"I can assure you, Mr. Jarvis, the relation I have with Ste-... Corporal Rogers is merely the one of professional matter." she replied, her tone official.

She started to walk again, but then Jarvis spoke again.

"Judging by the way you looked at his sketchbook I would not be so sure of that."

She turned around immediately, with a shocked expression on her face.

"You spied on me last night?!" she exclaimed, nearly shouting.

"I had trouble falling asleep, so I saw you in that particular moment. It was rude of me, yes." he said, his tone even more subdued.

"I was simply checking if it was damaged." she said, her tone more neutral.

"And blushed." Jarvis added, almost immediately.

"I beg your pardon?" Peggy asked, getting more and more annoyed by the second.

"You blushed." Jarvis repeated. "Quite visibly so, if I may add."

"Mr. Jarvis, when was the last time someone punched you in the face?" she replied, completely deadpan, with hands on her hips.

His gaze quickly shifted to his shoes as he fell silent.

"Well then. Let's go, shall we?" she continued, strolling confidently forwards.

"I do still think you should talk to him, at the very least." he said.

"That I will, in due time, on my own volition." she replied, pausing after each phrase. She thought she saw a faint smile on Jarvis' lips, but after she blinked it wasn't there anymore. While she was still quite cross with him for spying on her, she had the feeling that he was right. She needed to have an honest talk with Steve on where they stood, but she didn't feel ready yet. Especially not considering the upcoming Allied offensive, which occupied her mind again right after she merely thought of it for a split second.

"Fair enough. I do think we should continue our march, the sun will go down soon." Jarvis replied before joining Peggy.

She nodded and continued.

The sun did go down around one hour later. After a tasty supper, Jarvis brought out the bottles, containing some locally distilled calvados.

"I managed to acquire them for the cigarettes Corporal Rogers did not need to use. So any thanks go to him." he said, smiling widely.

Steve shot everyone a sheepish grin.

"You don't smoke? Really?" Howard asked, busy with uncorking.

"No." Steve replied. "I find it kind of disgusting. Your lungs get scratchy and you smell bad."

"Fair enough." Howard contested.

"In my opinion, you should lead the first toast." Dugan chimed in, as he started to pour the alcohol into the tin cups. "If not for your smokes, we probably would still drink water."

Steve chuckled as he raised the cup. He locked eyes with Peggy for a second and felt a weird sensation coiling within his stomach. He shrugged it off quickly and cleared his throat.

"To all of us, so that we survive."

The rest nodded and downed the drinks. Steve was the last one to do so. Alcohol burned his mouth and throat as he winced and coughed once. This earned him a burst of huffed laughter from Dugan and Howard, as well as smirks from Peggy and Jarvis.

"Oh Steve." Peggy said, grinning fully now. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."

Steve only smirked back. He never backed down from a challenge, and if it meant at least trying to out drink everyone else, then so be it.

As it turned out, Steve could hold his drinks pretty well, which was quite a feat for someone his size.

Better than Howard and Jarvis, for sure – Jarvis tapped out after they polished off the second bottle, and Howard followed soon after in a more exuberant fashion – by falling off the chair straight into unconsciousness, after which Peggy had to drag him onto the armchair. Dugan was holding up fairly well, but as the bottle drained he too bowed out, sprawling himself on the couch. This left only Peggy and Steve by the table, and soon Peggy was sitting next to him.

"Impressive, I must say." she said, chuckling, feeling a bit more than tipsy. "I fully expected you not to last even one bottle of this stuff."

"It's not that bad, actually." Steve replied, with a smile on his face. "And the view is even better."

She shot him a quizzical look, smirking.

"I mean it's nice to drink with a lady like you... a commander, a good commander... but also a lady." his speech slurred slightly as he became flustered.

She laughed.

"Oh, Steve, you're so cute." she said, smiling fully. "But flattery like this might actually get you somewhere." she added as she downed the cup.

He didn't respond, his head hanging low. She looked at him again and saw his cheeks redden even more than before.

"Steve, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." he responded, slurring heavier.

"Really?" she responded, growing more concerned. "You don't seem OK."

"It's just booze, nothing more." he answered.

She acted before she thought about it. She moved her hand to his waist and pulled him closer, along with his chair. She lowered her head and whispered in his ear, her tone seductive.

"I saw your sketchbook."

His whole body suddenly tensed up, as if he was shocked by electricity. He slowly turned his head as he spoke, his voice tinged with fear.

"You did? Oh, God, I'm so sorry Peggy, I'm..."

She quickly placed a finger on his lips.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Steve. It's beautiful. I'm flattered that you find inspiration in me."

He spoke before he could control himself.

"You do more than inspire me."

She looked him right in the eyes, her expression soft. She saw fear dissipate from his view, substituted by something she couldn't yet identify.

"What do you mean?" she asked him, curious.

"I mean... it's..." he said, before sighing and tensing up even more.

"I love you, Peggy." he ended, slumping his shoulders.

Peggy looked at him for a moment with her mouth open, her expression warm and slightly surprised. Then, she lightly grabbed his chin and pulled him into a kiss.

Steve tensed again as he felt Peggy's lips on his. It only lasted for a second before he melted into her, overwhelmed by the heat, intimacy and softness. His hands shot up to her warm cheeks, embracing her and letting her lead the way. She responded by deepening it, sliding her tongue between his lips. He opened himself for her and soon could taste her fully. They remained fused like this for a while before they parted, gasping for breath. Peggy shot him a mischievous grin.

"So... does this mean..." Steve asked, still feeling a bit dizzy and uncertain.

"Yes, Steve." Peggy answered, her voice lower. "I love you too."

This time he closed the gap, kissing her in return. The roles reversed as she left him in charge, his hands gripping her cheeks and sliding towards her neck. After a while they broke away, panting heavily. Steve tied to stand up from the chair, but the alcohol finally found his way into his head as he stumbled and fell right onto Peggy. She overbalanced, not prepared, and fell down to the floor, gripping Steve and cushioning the fall for him. She quickly rolled them onto the side, so that she could face him. His gaze was unfocused and she saw that he started to drool. She sighed quietly as she pulled him tighter, closing his mouth and letting his head rest against her chest. Soon, exhaustion overwhelmed her as she fell asleep.