Title: The Most Important Question
Rating: PG-13/T
Originally posted: 4th May 2018
Originally written for: lillianmmalter
Characters/Pairings: Peggy Carter/Daniel Sousa
Notes: for SSR Confidential 2018 at Dreamwidth and AO3.

First Time

"I really want this night to be perfect. It'll be perfect, right?"

Rose was positive she had never seen Daniel Sousa look so nervous in all of her life. He was a former soldier and a current SSR Agent of high standing, having faced down more bad guys than most people ever did in their whole lives, and of so many different types that he really should have no fear left in him. Of course, the one thing that was still guaranteed to scare him silly was the prospect of disappointing the woman he loved.

"Daniel, you really need to calm down," Rose advised. "Everything will be fine. Now, I can't promise perfect, because nobody can, but it'll go well, you know it will," she told him with a kind smile. "Peg is so completely in love with you. I mean, I personally can't understand it but..."

Daniel's eyes widened at that remark until he saw the deliberately mischievous look on his friend's face. She was teasing him, obviously, and it was actually quite nice to realise it. God knows, he needed something to smile about to stop his face from seizing up with panic. He never knew he could be this nervous about anything, but Peggy had such an effect on him, from the very first day they had met. It ought to have gotten easier over time but somehow it just got tougher as they got closer, because now he had so much more to lose if he messed up.

"You wanna run through the schedule one more time? Because I'll listen if it'd make you feel better," said Rose kindly.

He meant to say no, he really did, but when it came down to it, Daniel had to make sure he had everything straight. Despite running complicated missions and even being in charge of an entire SSR branch in LA, somehow a date that included a proposal was suddenly the most complex series of events Daniel had ever had to cope with. It was dinner, a ring, and a question, nothing that should be making a man as nervous as this, and yet it really did.

"The car is coming at 6.30, we'll pick up Peggy at 6.40, and get to the restaurant for our seven o'clock reservation," he recalled perfectly from memory. "The waiter will bring the menus and drinks, then whatever starter Peggy orders, the ring will be on the plate with the food. The violinist will come over to play something romantic just when the dishes arrive and I..."

"And you'll propose," said Rose, smiling widely. "Peggy will say yes, and the two of you will live happily ever after."

"You really think it's that simple?" asked Daniel, shaking his head. "I keep feeling like it's impossible. I mean, even if she does say yes, which I'm not so sure she will-"

"Well, now, why on Earth would she say no?" asked Rose with a frown.

"I'm no Captain America."

The look on Daniel's face no doubt conveyed much more than his words ever said. There were many ways in which he was nothing like Steve Rogers, but that really wasn't what was important here. Peggy had loved the man they called Captain America and a part of her probably always would, both Daniel and Rose were sure on that. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't also love Daniel. They knew she did, and that she was almost guaranteed to say yes to her man's proposal tonight, if they could only get to the restaurant and make it happen.

"You said 6.30 for the car?" Rose checked, looking down at her watch.

"Yeah, I arranged it." Daniel nodded, copying her action and seeing what she meant - it was already 6.35. "Driver's run late, right?"

"Sure." Rose nodded. "Maybe I should just..." she said then, reaching for the phone to call and see what might've happened to the cab.

Her hand had not quite made contact with the handset when the phone rang and she grabbed it up fast.

"Auerbach Theatrical Agency. Oh, hi, Peg." Rose smiled, watching Daniel sit up fast in his seat. "Yes, he's right here. Oh, I see. Yes, I'll tell him."

A moment later, she hung up the phone and Daniel sighed.

"She's not coming."

"Well, no," Rose agreed awkwardly, "but it's not what you think. See, she got a little held up?"

"Held up?"

"At gunpoint."

Second Chance

"And you're not the least bit nervous?"

"No, Mr Jarvis, I am absolutely calm," said Peggy, for what felt like the hundredth time today. "I really don't understand why you think I should be at all nervous. Have we not both faced enough dramatic events in our lives to be quite prepared for anything at this point?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so," he called through the bedroom door, "but really, Miss Carter-"

"Really, Mr Jarvis!" she called back. "If anything is making me at all out of sorts it is your constant questions!"

He backed up from the door at the sound of her sharp tone, only to have that same door open a moment later, his wife's head popping out to look at him.

"Edwin, darling, please leave us be," she urged him. "I know you mean well, Miss Carter knows this also, but you are not helping."

"No. No, I suppose I'm not," he agreed, nodding his head. "Very well. I shall leave you ladies to it."

Ana smiled as she watched him go then bobbed back into Peggy's room.

"If anyone is nervous tonight, I believe it is my husband," she told her friend.

Peggy smiled as she checked herself in the glass.

"I don't know, perhaps I am a little nervous myself," she admitted, "though if you tell your husband as much I will deny all."

"I should never tell him," Ana agreed, coming to stand beside her. "Peggy Carter, you are a beautiful woman, also smart and strong, intelligent and kind. These are all great attributes and all I know Mr Sousa admires. Why should he ever refuse your hand?"

"Because it is hardly traditional for the woman to offer, you know?" said Peggy, sighing heavily. "It is not as if the thought hasn't occurred to him. From what Rose hinted to me, it very definitely has, but his plans were ruined once and I... I feel as if it's my turn, as it were. In any case, we are in America, land of the free, home of the brave, and hurtling fast towards the 1950s. The world is changing and I am not sorry for it. Surely, a woman proposing marriage to the man she loves should not be quite such a major event as it once might've seemed."

"Marriage is always a major event," Ana reminded her, patting her arm. "True love and being together forever, one does not do it lightly, but if you are sure of your feelings...?"

"I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my life," said Peggy, smiling once more.

"Then all will be well," said Ana definitely. "I am certain of it."

A tapping on the door startled them both, and they turned as one to say 'come in.' All at once Jarvis was before them, looking as agitated as he had ever been in his life.

"Oh, what is it now, Mr Jarvis?" Peggy sighed.

"Really, Edwin, you are the only one making such a fuss today!" his wife admonished.

"I believe we may all be in a position to find ourselves a little out of sorts, since plans have gone somewhat awry," he said awkwardly. "You will remember, Miss Carter, entrusting into my care the ring you wish to present to Mr Sousa this evening?"

"Yes, Mr Jarvis," said Peggy carefully, almost afraid to ask what he had done with this most precious item.

"Well, a series of most strange and unfortunate events seems to have occurred, but don't worry, I have called for a vet, and I'm sure in time-"

"Mr Jarvis what are you talking about?" asked Peggy, hands on hips and eyes flashing with anger and frustration by now. "What exactly is it that you have done?"

"It is not what I have done," said Jarvis defensively. "I'm afraid it was Bernard who caught sight of the ring and thought it appeared to be a most tasty treat..."

Third Time Lucky

"If we get out of this alive, I want you to know, I'm going to kill you!"

If looks could kill, Daniel was fairly certain he would already be dead given the expression on Peggy's face. Not that he could really blame her. He had thought this was going to be a fairly easy case to solve and deal with. It never occurred to him that they might need back up for one ordinary looking guy in a lab coat. Of course, that was before he transformed into a twelve-foot-high monster that breathed fire.

"This is not how I saw this night going," Daniel admitted, "but we'll figure this out, we always do, right?"

Peggy looked across at him, the pair of them pinned down behind the only cover in the room with their ammunition running low and no way to call for help. They had to get out and yes, she was sure they would, but that didn't mean she wasn't bloody angry at him for getting them into such a fix in the first place.

"You're lucky I have this much faith in you and in myself to get us out of this mess," she told him, shaking her head. "I had other plans for tonight which did not include dying!"

The next moment, she rolled out from their hiding place and fired two well-aimed shots into the monster's leg. It roared and charged off in the other direction, seemingly confused and disorientated. Maybe whatever had caused the shift from man to monster would eventually wear off. It was all they could hope for right now.

Rolling back behind cover, Peggy practically landed on top of Daniel. She tried to move away again, but he kept a hold on her.

"Well, I'll admit, this came into my plans for tonight."

Peggy laughed, she couldn't help it.

"You're very lucky I love you, Daniel Sousa," she told him, kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, I know that," he replied, his hand in her hair. "In fact... well, I guess now's as good a time as any."

"For what?" she asked, flinching when the monster roared from across the room.

"For a question I've been trying to ask you for months now," Daniel admitted, getting her attention back at last. "Margaret Carter, I love you, so I was wondering, if we live through this, will you marry me?"

"Daniel Sousa," she said, unsure whether she was laughing or crying as she met his eyes, "you know I love you, and we are going to live through this," she declared, "because yes, I bloody well am going to marry you!"

Another roar from the beast they must face broke apart the most delicious kiss, but there would be time for that later, in the future they had just aged to share. Moving back away from Daniel a moment, Peggy checked her gun and gestured for him to do the same.

"This is all I've got," he said, frowning at the lack of bullets.

"It may be all the ammunition that we've got," Peggy agreed, "but it's far from all we have," she said, smiling widely at her fiance. "Marriages are built on trust, as I understand it."

"So, they tell me." Daniel nodded. "You have a plan," he said, a statement not a question since he had never known the great Peggy Carter to fail him yet.

"I have several," she admitted with a look that made his heart race far more than the near-death experience had managed yet, "but first, let's deal with Mr Smith."

A moment later, they were both running into the fray, the soon-to-be man and wife with no fear of what might befall them. They had each other and it was all they would ever need.

Forever

Perhaps the circumstances were not ideal. It might have presented a better picture if Peggy hadn't got a black eye and Daniel didn't have one arm in a sling, but these were minor issues in the circumstances. The fact was, they were both here, in the stunning gardens of Howard Stark's LA home, surrounded by the people who loved them, making their vows to each other.

After one too many near-death experiences and various other obstacles, neither Peggy nor Daniel were willing to wait a moment longer than was strictly necessary to be bound together in matrimony, and so here they were, seconds away from becoming man and wife at last. The very moment the words were spoken by the priest, Daniel didn't get a chance to take a hold of his bride and kiss her, because Peggy, as usual, had moved first.

"No regrets?" he asked as they parted from their kiss.

"Not a single one," she assured him. "And you?"

"Never," he promised her with a smile.

"Then I think we have a reception to attend," she told him, grinning just the same, "and a very happy life to live."

"I'm counting on it," Daniel agreed, kissing her one more time to rapturous applause and whistles from the congregation.

Finally, they had made it.