Steve stands there as Peggy stares at him, her eyes seem glazed, lost in a deep storm of thoughts as she just sits there.
He feels a sense of concern. He'd just told her that he has a solution to her biggest problem and she was looking at him as if he had grown a second head.
Michael clears his throat loudly and chuckles a bit forcefully, "you've stunned her. Steve, would you mind grabbing us some water?"
He knows a dismissal when he hears one, but he just nods and walks out the library door to the kitchen.
—-
Michael walks around her chair and crouches in front of her, sitting on her heels.
"It's decision time, darling. What are you going to do?"
She feels her heart and brain cracking, little dissonances fighting back and forth.
"What do I do?" She asks, at a loss.
"If you love him, tell him now. Don't wait to hear the idea. Don't wait to see if it works."
"Why?"
"Because if he knows you love him now, then he'll never doubt it. But if you wait, and the council says 'no' to whatever plan he has, then he'll always doubt. Think you're just accepting him because you have no other choice."
"But what if the council says yes?" She asks, heart feeling too tight, "what if they approve his plan? What do I do then?"
Michael sighs, almost sounding annoyed, "Peggy, what do you want?" She feels her chest constrict, but Michael doesn't stop, "because I don't know. Do you want to be out of this marriage? Do you want to come home and live with mom and dad? Do you want Steve? You have to decide. You're the only one who knows! Stop floundering. I've never seen you act so lost before and I don't like it. You're stronger and smarter than this. So make a decision based on what is best for you, what will make you happiest, and then bloody do it."
—-
Steve walks back into the room, hearing her brother say something softly to her.
Steve still feels uneasy about how she's reacting, but perhaps she just needs to hear the plan. He walks over, handing over the glasses and holding up his hands in a placating gesture as it looks like Peggy is about to speak, looking nervous. But he wants to assure her that he's got a solid idea, so he cuts her off.
"Listen, I've run this idea by Howard, and he thinks it will actually work. Truthfully it may benefit the villages a lot more in the long run than fake marriages and people forced to live together against their wills. So I promise, if you just hear me out, I think you'll see why this plan is not only doable but a true boon for everyone. And I know it's been your goal—" he tries not to let the brittleness of his next words crack through, "— to get home and away from this marriage from day one, and I think this is the way to accomplish that. I believe, really believe the council will see our reasoning."
He hears Michael heave a large sigh and he looks up, confused. But Michael's staring at Peggy, expectantly, as if waiting for her to say something.
Steve looks back down at Peggy whose eyes are sad and lips a thin line.
"You don't believe me." Steve says, feeling hurt, "but you haven't heard the idea. I promise it will work. I wouldn't jest about getting you back home."
"Steve—" Peggy starts, her eyes flicking up to Michael and then back to him, "I—" Her voice tapers off and she takes a deep breath, "I want—"
"Lunch is served." A sharp voice cuts through the library. Steve stiffens, the voice bringing back the way her hands grasped at him. He swallows down the instant nausea and bites his tongue, not turning to face her.
"Thank you." Michael says crisply, eyeing Steve.
Steve waits to hear her retreat but she doesn't. She waits at the door and Peggy glares at her. "We'll be there shortly."
Lorraine nods stiffly and backs out of the room.
Steve can't seem to pull in enough air, just her being in the same room makes him lightheaded. He stands, "I'll meet you in the dining room." He says in a rasp, taking off and heading towards the front door.
—
Peggy is dragging the words, trying to get them out, trying to allow herself to be vulnerable. To share with the man in front of her that she does want to stay. That she no longer desires to leave. Why was it so bloody difficult?
"I want—" she manages, looking at his earnest expression of concern.
When Lorraine's voice cuts through the room. "Lunch is served."
Peggy watches as Steve goes pale, spine going straight and every muscle tensing at her presence.
And something in that response tells Peggy almost everything she needs to know.
She suddenly wants to rip Lorraine to shreds for doing whatevre the hell she's done to make Steve react this way, and Peggy is glaring at the woman.
"Thank you." Michael says, trying to get her to leave. When she doesn't Peggy huffs and glares at the woman.
"We'll be there shortly."
But before Peggy can blink Steve is standing and bolting from the room.
"Well that went smashingly." Michael says with a humored expression.
"Oh be quiet you." Peggy fumes. Then sags, feeling the weight of the tension undo her. "You saw his reaction to her?"
Michael huffs out a laugh, "saw it? I could feel the way he practically turned into stone in front of us. Whatever she did, it did not have the desired effect on him that she was hoping."
"You're right…" Peggy says, her eyes still on the doorway where Lorraine has disappeared. "Go keep her occupied. I want to see something."
Michael looks taken off guard but she stands up and walks purposefully, up the stairs, across the house and up the stairs to the servants quarters.
She enters Lorraine's room without knocking. She begins her search, hoping to find the letter. It's possible she's already disposed of it, but Peggy wants to search anyways.
The room is neat and Peggy looks about, thinking where would be most likely. She starts with the dresser, carefully shifting close back and forth to search.
It's not until the bottom drawer when she hears the sound of something heavier shifting in the drawer that she finds something.
Her hands slip under the dressing gowns and feel something cold and hard. She grasps it, pulling it out, only to stare in shock.
It's a perfume bottle.
Her perfume bottle.
Her mind reels back to over a week ago when Lorraine had informed her that her bottle had run out and that she would need to send for a new one. Peggy hadn't even questioned her. But here the bottle sits, a tiny amount left.
Heat flushes her cheeks as anger rises. Not about her taking the perfume. Peggy could care less. But the thought of how she'd used it… the horrible possibilities flood her mind and she reaches her hand back under the clothes, knowing what she'll find next.
A small tube of her favorite lipstick rests in her palm. The one she'd accidentally broken and given to Lorraine to dispose of. Yet here it sits. Her mind flashes to the night she watched her come out of Steve's bedroom and while the candlelight had been too dim to see color, Peggy knows instinctively that she would have been wearing this shade.
Items clutched in her hands, she stomps down the stairs into the dining room and places the items on the table. Ms. Nancy and Lorraine look up at her heated entrance as does Michael who raises an eyebrow at her angry expression.
"Ms. Davies. You are terminated. Starting now. Please go pack your bags and leave at once. Mr. Coulson can take you to town. Ms. Nancy, would you alert him?"
There's a beat of silence but Ms. Nancy nods her head and is gone. Michael is watching the two females glare at each other. But Peggy doesn't flinch.
Lorraine's face drops all pretense of surprise. "You know—" The woman starts, "when I first got into bed with him—" the words make Peggy's blood boil, "he seemed so eager to be loved by you. He thought I was you. Which was the point at first. Your perfume, your scent, you sneaking off into his bed to use him. That wasn't an unusual occurrence, right? You've spent the last few months using him. So when I touched and held him that night, and all I could feel radiating off him was relief—" the woman scoffs, pinning Peggy with a steel glare, "—I couldn't believe he still wanted you. After everything. After you rejected him so mightily."
Peggy's throat is dry and Lorraine's words are like a knife to the gut.
"You treated him horribly. He saved you, loved you, and you still rejected him." The woman hisses out. "He knew immediately, you know." She says, stalking closer to Peggy, "the minute my lips touched his, he knew it wasn't you. And he was so frantic to get away from me, practically shoved me out the door, and what did you do?" Lorraine laughs, amused and pleased with herself. "You believed me. You believed he would actually love me intimately. After everything he's done for you, you doubted him without a second thought. And you left. You ran off, leaving him here, alone, with me." She raises an eyebrow and Peggy is frozen as the woman leans in close. "I know I don't deserve him," and her next words slice Peggy's heart into ribbons, "but neither do you."
She's gone, leaving Peggy in her wake, clutching the wooden chair.
—
"Peggy." Michael is speaking to her, hands gripping her shoulders, "Peggy look at me."
She can't, can't move, can't breathe, can't think of anything but Lorraine's last words.
But neither do you
"She's right." Peggy rasps out, covering her face with her hands, "she's right." Peggy shakes her head miserably, "I don't deserve him."
And it's the silence that makes Peggy's head pop back up. Michael is studying her with a somber expression and she has the terrible sinking feeling that he might actually agree.
She takes off, pushing away from the chair and stumbling up the stairs, locking herself in her room and she can't stand the sight of the bed or the heating device. She sits at her vanity and stares at the little leather bag Steve had made her for her 20th birthday. They hadn't done much to celebrate, it had been after she'd turned him down. But he'd still taken the time to make her a gift. Her initials MEC were branded onto the top and the delicate embroidery of leaves and flowers around the letters looked beautiful against the dark leather.
She feels the sob rise then and she shoves her face into her elbow, unable to look at herself in the mirror.
—-
Steve returns to the dining room not too much later, able to settle his mind and enter the house again. He finds Michael, sitting, staring, a plate of food untouched before him.
"Michael?"
The man looks up and a grimace crosses his face. "Hello, Steve."
Steve glances around, "where is Peggy?"
"She's upstairs, I don't think she's feeling very well." That would explain her unusual behavior from earlier he supposes.
"Alright, are you hungry?"
"Not particularly, but I know I should eat something. And from what Peggy tells me, so should you." He gestures to the seat at the head of the table and Steve nods, filling up his own plate from the chafing dishes.
He eats slowly and eventually Michael begins to do the same. Every so often, Steve feels Michael's eyes on him. He waits, knowing the man wants to say or ask something, but he never does.
—-
Peggy eventually washes her face, changes into more comfortable house clothes and settles on a decision.
She's absolutely sure that Steve will be able to find someone kind and loving to be with him. And Peggy does not deserve to be that woman. So she'll listen to Steve's idea, and if it works… then she'll go home.
She walks down the stairs and hears voices coming from the library. The doors are open and she is not surprised to find Howard Stark sitting there, a cup of coffee steaming on the table next to him.
"Ah," Howard says with a smile, "there she is, now, let's get down to business."
—
Peggy listens as Steve explains the idea.
A university. Right in the area where the unification wedding ceremony takes place. It's about halfway between the villages, so it's in a convenient spot. Neither village has a full proper college, and both would stand to benefit mightily from having it's citizens gain a higher education.
"It would encourage a lot of relationships between the villages as well." Steve explains. "Even if only 50 students from each village go, we're likely to have a few marriages out of even those. So the council would get what it wants, and those marriages could be real. Not coerced."
"I know Erskine would love to teach there." Howard says, leaning back in the large library chair, "and I would too. Maybe every other semester."
"The buildings would have to be retrofitted, they're not exactly fit for living university style, that's not what they were built for, but the structures are sound, and all the upkeep means it's a beautiful location. The marriage trees, the garden, the amphitheater where the ceremony is held? All places that could be utilized by the college. And once they build dormitories and classrooms—" he smiles, looking at the library books around him, "I just know that this would benefit both villages, that it would create a sense of unity. Not forced, not fabricated, but real community and friendships. Bonds built through studying and learning. Through spending that time becoming who they're meant to be—"
Howard cuts in, "—and, having better trained doctors, teachers, engineers, all of this benefits both villages exponentially. Historically the Unification couples don't have many kids. Possibly because the couple isn't in love, but these friendships made in the university would likely lead to marriages of love and then children, solidifying the unification of the villages for real. Or at least that's what we can explain to the Council to get them to accept the idea."
Peggy looks at Michael who seems stunned, and she feels the same.
It is indeed a well thought out solution. And it means she's one step further away from Steve. She ignores the way her heart aches as Steve and Howard keep talking.
—
They have to attend a wedding the next day, and Steve seems relatively at ease. He's relieved they have a plan, she knows, but she feels stiff and awkward. She looks and sees Mrs. Rogers watching her warily and Peggy wonders what she knows.
—
The Council accepts their request for a meeting and Steve feels relief at that. He hopes that they'll listen to reason. If they don't, he doesn't know what he'll do.
Living with Peggy while she desires to be free, would be a torturous existence.
So they have to listen. They must.
—-
Michael leaves soon the morning after the wedding and the house falls quiet. Their meeting with the Council is in a week and Steve feels like something is off.
"Thompson?" The man looks up from where he's replacing the water in Steve's bedside pitcher. He doesn't actually want to ask, but he's noticed her absence. But the annoyance in the man's glare makes Steve decide to ask someone else. And the annoyance also makes Steve decide something else. "I was just going to let you know that I won't be needing your services anymore."
Thompson has been a ghost for the last few months anyways. Barely present, annoyed at everyone, doing his job and then disappearing. Steve managed for 21 years without a valet, he can do so for good. "I'll ensure you have the next few months covered since I know this is coming rather suddenly. Thank you for your service, but it is no longer required."
Thompson just frowns at him and rolls his eyes. He's gone out the door and Steve sits on the wooden chair by his desk, relieved to not have his judging eyes on him.
—-
"Ms. Nancy?"
The woman looks up from her mixing bowl and smiles at Steve, "can I help you?"
"Yes, I was wondering…" He feels awkward asking, but it's been three days and he hasn't seen her, "is Ms. Davies around?"
The woman's eyes widen and she shakes her head, "no, Ms. Carter terminated her services the day she returned."
Steve reels back, a wave of relief flooding his mind, but confusion, "she did? Do you know why?"
"The woman was stealing Ms. Carter's things I believe. A perfume bottle and a lipstick were shown. But that's all I know."
The perfume. She'd taken it from Peggy's room. Not just worn it.
His voice is a bit hoarse, "okay, thank you for telling me."
The woman nods and eyes him a bit sympathetically.
—
The council stares at them, surprise and suspicion and narrowed eyes.
Steve stands strong, not backing down as Peggy stands quietly at his side. She'd said almost nothing the whole time he presented. He carefully explained his entire idea, down to the way to finance it, (the Unification Couple's Account was very large) and Howard had chimed in that the villages should fundraise for it as well as then they would have an actual stake in the university.
It took hours. Steve stood and spoke, handing out packets and papers that he and Howard had worked up, never hesitating or seeming unsure.
Yearly schedules to not affect the harvest season or when students might be needed at home most. How the buildings would be retrofitted into dormitories and how new ones would be built to house classrooms and public areas like a library and a cafeteria. Projected benefits the villages would experience from not only their own village population gaining higher education, but the benefits of community, or creating lasting friendships and bonds that would bring the villages closer together than ever before.
"A marriage only lasts so long." Steve says, his argument coming to a close, "but with the university up and running, you'll never have to restart the unification. It will be something that grows and flourishes forever, exponentially connecting the villages."
They stay silent for a while until the head councilman stands and gestures to the other people sitting besides him. "You have given us much to think about. We will get back to you when we have decided."
They file out and suddenly Howard is up and clapping Steve on the back, "just the fact that they didn't say no right away is a victory!"
Steve smiles and they begin discussing how it went and what the chances are of them succeeding. But Peggy just sits quietly, staring at the sketch of the library building Steve had drawn for the presentation.
—-
Steve does everything to keep himself busy. Not knowing their answer has been torture, but he fills his days with physical activity to keep his mind off of it. They'd been given strict orders not to speak of it to anyone until a decision had been made. So he and Howard and Peggy had been tight lipped. Not wanting to ruin their chances by speaking on it prematurely.
He wipes his brow and heads inside. Bucky and Natasha's wedding is tomorrow, and the council's decision is the next. He should get some sleep before the big day.
—-
Peggy dresses, asking Ms. Nancy for help with her corset, before putting on the silvery blue gown that she's to wear to the wedding today. Delicate white lace trim and black stitching create a beautiful gown that Peggy finds her hands ghosting over as she sits at her vanity. She gently pins her hair and applies the black liquid to her lashes.
She uses a pink lipstick, not able or wanting to use her signature red. She laces her shoes and stands, looking at herself in the mirror. She's covered her tired eyes with powder, but she still looks somber and unlike herself.
Michael had tried to convince her to still tell him. To let Steve decide if he thought she deserved him. But she couldn't. Everything Lorraine had said still rings in her mind. Making her too ashamed to ask him to take her. To want her still.
So she stays quiet.
And she barely recognizes herself as she does so.
—-
Steve's throat tightens at the sight of Peggy walking down the stairs. The blue contrasting with her pale skin and pink cheeks and lips is a sight to behold.
He offers his arm as they step out to the carriage and she accepts it quietly. The ride to the village is quiet and they exit onto the street where the ceremony is to be held with no exchange of words.
He helps her up the steps and through the doors into the little church. The wedding is beautiful even if it's not nearly as ornate or expensive as Peggy's brother's was. He laughs and smiles and dances with Natasha and his mother. They eat and share stories and propose toasts to the happy couple.
Steve's heart aches at how lovingly Bucky stares at Natasha all night, and the way she returns his gaze without an inch of reservation.
"Steve." He looks down to see his ma looking at him in concern, "are you alright?"
He thinks about how in just a few days he might be able to move out of that house and start to forget this whole ordeal. To be able to live on his own again and pick up his old life without having the constant reminder of the woman who didn't want him and the woman who forced herself onto him around him daily.
"I will be." He says softly.
—-
The reception carries on well into the night and she and Steve say the small speech they're supposed to before the bride and groom share their first toast.
The music is lively and Peggy tries not to feel the longing as she watches the couples and children dance effortlessly. The aura of love pervading the air as the newlyweds greet and dance and fill the night with their celebrations.
"And now!" She hears the groom call, a cup in his hand and a wicked smile on his face, "the unification couple dance!"
She goes rigid, eyes wide as the crowd cheers and laughs, knowing that Bucky is Steve's best friend.
"Buck." She hears Steve say with a warning in his tone, far off the other side of the crowd. But the groom is too far gone to listen to reason.
"Come on, Stevie! Get your wife and get on this dance floor! It's tradition!" It had indeed at one point been tradition, but hadn't been upheld for the last hundred years as far as she was aware. The bride and groom used to have to be taught a special dance, but thankfully no longer.
Suddenly the crowd is cheering for them, urging them on and she feels her cheeks heat up. He's being shoved towards her and she feels hands gently push her towards the floor.
"Oh—" she says quietly, "no, I'm—" she feels her heartbeat speed up at the sight of him stumbling onto the dance floor, at the force of people shoving him. As he straightens up, tugging on his jacket, the crowd cheers and whoops and shouts his name, and she's painfully reminded at how all these people love and cherish him. Like they have his whole life.
They're maybe ten feet apart, staring at each other and the music is playing, strings urging them to close the gap.
And she watches as he relents, unwilling to reject her so publicly. He steps forward, extending his hand, and the cheers heighten, forcing her forward as she places her hand in his warm palm.
By nature of the slower dance, he pulls her close and a hand rests gently at her waist. The warmth seeps through her and her breath catches in her throat. Her hand rests lightly on his shoulder and he steps, guiding her.
They dance with ease and she looks up at his face, which seems tense. "You can dance?"
He looks down, a soft sadness on his face, "my ma taught me when I was little. During the long winters I couldn't leave the house. She taught me the traditional steps, and—" he spins her out, his strong arms guiding until she spins back in and up against him, "the less traditional steps too."
She lets out an involuntary gasp at the quickness of the motion, but she feels a smile cross her face as his hands grasp her tightly once more and they continue swaying. Other couples are joining them on the dance floor and she looks up at the fancy glass lights that Howard had installed across the dance floor, making the even glow warm and cozy in the late spring night.
And she's swept away in the moment, looking at him here, with his earnest eyes and his kind face. "Steve, I—"
"You don't have to say anything." He cuts her off, his voice soft but firm, "it's alright. I'll be fine, and you'll get your wish, right? Freedom." He smiles at her, a reserved and sad smile that nearly cuts her to the quick. Then his hand gently pulls her to the side, avoiding a raucous couple as they swish past. And he looks at her again, a calm and resigned look on his face, "you look beautiful tonight." He says, gazing at her, "I hope that whatever you're searching for you find. I hope you'll write to me and tell me all about your adventures. I just know you'll do amazing things in your village." Her hand tightens on his shoulder, her heart bleeding with the devastation of his words. "And I'm sure I'll see you around the college."
"They haven't approved it yet—" she says, voice hoarse.
He steps away from her, releasing her from their dancer's embrace, "but they will. It's what you want, and you told me once that you always get what you want." She watches him force a smile onto his face for her. "If you'll excuse me I need some air, I'll see you back at the house."
And then he's gone, his back receding into the crowd as her hand feels the painfully cold absence of his.
—-
Peggy feels like she's dressing for a funeral as she gets ready for their meeting with the council.
Steve's words from last night echo against Lorraine's and she feels physically ill. She doesn't even feel conflicted anymore. Not since Michael's talk with her, she knows what she wants, and yet… she doesn't deserve to have it.
And when she walks out to the carriage and Steve is there, waiting for her, she turns to look at the house, feeling like it's the last time she'll ever lay eyes on it. Ms. Nancy stands at the doorway, looking on as Mr. Coulson clambers up to the driver's seat.
"Peggy?" Steve asks softly, taking her attention from the house she's come to think of as home for the past couple months, "do you—" he looks unsure, following her eye line to the house, "do you need something?"
She shakes her head and pulls herself up into the carriage.
—-
"We've made a decision."
Peggy can't help feeling wary of the men who keep sending her stares— actually she'd describe them as glares. Steve sees it too, his eyebrows pulled down in confusion as he continues to respond to the question he'd been asked but they stare at her.
"We must recognize that due to Mrs. Rogers' very public and vehement personal views on the Unification Ceremony, that her opinion has wavered yours and this is her attempt to get out of her duties as the Unification Wife."
Fred. That blabbermouthed brat! She opens her mouth to speak, but Steve is already talking, voice annoyed, "this was my idea! She didn't—"
"She left your village and went to hers without you, that's breaking protocol, we could call the Watchers—"
"That's not even the point!" Steve says firmly, "that has nothing to do with this. And the solution I'd offered would get rid of all these ridiculous protocols and expectations for one couple!"
"Mr. Rogers, you—"
"No." He says, his shoulders straightening and voice deepening as he seems to fill up the room, making the councilmen draw back from his presence, "the idea is sound, and would be a better solution to the villages than any marriage! SO you're not going to say no. This is the right thing for our villages, don't deny it!"
"Yes, but her public disapproval will be spoken about, they'll believe she was able to defy the council and—"
"I'll stay."
Time slows to a stop. She can hear her own heartbeat as the words that she's been wanting to admit finally leave her lips. And she hears them again. "I'll stay."
The councilmen look at her, surprise rising in their eyebrows, but she turns to Steve, whose face is turning towards hers, confusion and annoyance clear on his face, "what?" He says sharply, "no!" He turns back to the council. "No, you can't—"
"Steve—" she starts.
But he snaps his eyes to her fiercely, "no! What are you doing?" He hisses, voice dropping, "you can't let them do this—"
She ignores him, "I'll stay, in Acirema, as the—" she stops, looking at Steve, "that is.. if you still want me to?"
His face is flooded with emotions, confusion and disbelief and some anger mixed in, "Peggy, what is going on, this is what we've been working towards, what you wanted—"
"No." She rasps out. "It's not."
He suddenly looks so lost and she knows it's her fault. She feels her spirit bristling, coming back alive as she finally makes a decision that she hopes is the right one. She turns to the council and squares her shoulders, looking at them straight in the eye, "if I agree to stay, to continue on as the Unification Wife, then will you approve this motion? You can't deny it's the right choice for the future of the villages. You simply can't. And Steve and I will be the final couple. The last of a dying tradition, replaced by something new and everlastingly beneficial. Would you agree to that?"
"Peggy—" Steve's voice is desperate and confused but she doesn't turn, staring the men down.
"So? Do you approve?"
The head councilman considers her and then he raises one eyebrow. "The council accepts."
She feels a rush of adrenaline as she smiles, clapping her hands and turning to Steve— who still looks lost.
She drags him from the room, ignoring the curious looks and pulling him deeper down the wooden corridors, their footsteps muted by the thick rugs.
She stops, pulling him around a corner and looking at him, everything she's ever felt bubbling at the surface.
But he just looks hurt, "Peggy—"
"No, please." She cuts in, "let me speak."
He falls silent, but his eyes still look wary.
"I've loved you since before my fall in the ice." His eyebrows go up, "and you knew it, and your mother knew it and I knew it. But she was right. I had too much pride back then to admit it." His brows pull down, realizing that conversation was supposed to have been when she was asleep, "I was so sure that being forced into a marriage could never make me happy. So prideful and unwilling to admit that maybe I could be wrong, that I kept pushing you away. Except I couldn't stay away. Yes, I needed your heat, but I also needed you." She holds her hands open, being as vulnerable as she can, "you made me feel safe and loved and then you asked me to stay and I hated myself for hurting you. I hated that I lied and said I didn't want to stay, because I did, I do." His eyes are getting round and sad and she can't take how hurt he looks, "I'm so sorry. I've literally caused your life to be a living hell this past—" she stops, realizing it hasn't even been a year. She has known him for less than a year and he's turned her world upside down, "you've been everything I could ever want in a husband, and I wanted you by my side in every bed and at every table and every moment." She steps forward, trying to close the emotionally charged gap between them. "Did you know I was going to tell you I wanted to stay weeks ago?" He tilts his head, still lost, "but Lorraine played a horrible trick on both of us." He visibly stiffens, eyes getting hesitant and face drawn, "Steve, I don't know what she did to you, but I hate that even for a moment I believed you would have done anything with her willingly." He sags, looking overwhelmed, but she doesn't stop, "and then she said I didn't deserve you. And she was right." His head snaps up, but she keeps speaking, "and she's right, I don't deserve you. I never did. But I hope to one day. If you'll let me. I want whatever you'll give me. I want what you wanted. I want you to show me the lake where we'll kiss underwater and I want to know you in every way possible and hear your morning voice and feel you beside me as we fall asleep. And when we danced last night—" she pictures him in that deep velvet black suit, "I never want another dance partner. I want you and no one else, and I—" she stops, voice cutting off as she realizes she just promised to stay his Unification Wife, without asking if he wanted to stay her Unification Husband. She looks up at him, horror stricken, "Steve, I—" she swallows thickly, "please forgive me. And—" she looks back up, his eyes on her as if she's stabbed him, hurt and confused.
"All this time?" He asks, his voice hoarse, his face looking so tired.
It's the most painful words she'll ever hear.
"Yes." She admits, "I put you through so much, all because I couldn't look past my pride. Because I was selfish and hurtful. And now I'm asking you to forgive me. For the thousandth and hopefully the last time. To allow me to prove myself as not only your wife but your partner. To show you love how you deserve and make up for how I've treated you all this time. I'll stop at nothing to make it up to you. But please let me. Let me stay." She says these words purposefully, wanting to show him that she's willing to be vulnerable, "I want to stay, I want to be your wife. I want to grow old with you as we attend every wedding and see your idea come to fruition and I want to stand by you proudly as it happens. You can say no, you can turn me down and I can go back in there and plead our case. I'll do whatever you want."
Those words hurt to speak, but they have to be true. After everything, they have to be true.
His eyes are closed, palm covering his nose and fingers ghosting over his eyes. And she waits.
—
Steve stands there as Peggy speaks to him, laying out her entire heart, explaining everything and making him feel like someone is chipping away at his heart.
And he's angry at her, mad at her selfish acts, and hurt at the pride she let get between them.
But his heart won't be quiet.
He stands rigid, trying to process everything, but his arms already ache to hold her. To take the scared and sad look on her face and wipe it away but shouting 'yes, I want you to stay!'
But he doesn't, still feeling his adrenaline crash his system, trying to ensure he's thinking clearly before he speaks.
And he lets it all wash over him. The being selected at the ceremony, the wedding when he saw her for the first time, the corset, the horrible few months and then his incident in the bathtub. The way she opened up after that, allowing herself to finally get to know him, and then her incident in the ice. The nights together, keeping her warm and the way she felt sleeping in his arms. The hurt when she told him no, and now the complete disbelief as she asks to stay.
"How do I know—" he finally whispers, eyes still closed, "how do I know this time it's real?"
He feels a soft hand on his wrist, "Steve, my only goal was to get home. To break this union and save my pride. Then, the last couple of weeks were me thinking you didn't want me anymore, or that I didn't deserve to stay even if you did." Her other hand rests on top of his other wrist. "I don't want to go to Eporue, because this is home now. I started thinking of you as my home after the ice, and I don't want to break this union. I want to be your wife. I would be honored to be your wife for the rest of our lives." She steps closer, his eyes slowly opening to take her in, "and while I may not deserve you yet, I promise I will. As long as you want me to."
And that cracks the rest of his resolve, as he looks at her hopeful eyes and loving expression.
"I want you."
She smiles, eyes filling up with tears almost immediately, "you do?" She asks, voice watery, "you'll still have me?"
He pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly, "I do."
She sobs against him and he feels the tightness in his throat at the show of emotion.
Peggy clutches at his jacket and buries her face against her chest and they stand there for long minutes as everything starts to settle into place.
Finally she pulls away, her face red and watery and she laughs, voice raspy, "sorry to be a mess."
He just brushes a fingertip over her wet cheek and smiles, "I don't mind at all."
She returns the smile and then tugs on his hand, "let's go home."
Steve feels his chest expand with joy as she pulls him around the hallway and down the corridor.
—
Mr. Coulson eyes them strangely as they get to the carriage, but he only half smiles when they tell him the plan was approved. It isn't until Peggy states that she's also staying that his smile grows full and wide.
"That's wonderful, Ms. Carter! I'm so glad."
"Rogers." She says quickly, correcting him, then she looks at Steve as she speaks, "It's Mrs. Rogers."
And she hears Coulson laugh, but she's too distracted by the lips meeting hers.
—
The world feels like a whirlwind for the next few weeks. Plans and preparations and blueprints are set up for the college and Howard seems to. take the idea a run away with it, leaving Steve and Peggy to smile and shake their heads as he decides to add yet another wing to this building or that.
Peggy pokes Anthony in his stomach and makes him giggle, "did you know your father is clinically insane?"
The little boy giggles again and pokes her nose. She laughs and tickles him, hauling him off the ground and setting him on her hip as they look over the designs for the library.
"Anthony," she asks seriously, getting the dark haired boys attention.
"It's Tony!" He pouts, correcting her.
"Oh, right, my apologies. Tony, do you think you'll want to attend this college one day?"
He nods seriously. "Well, then he best make a decision or it won't be built in time for you!" She hears Steve laugh from the next room over as he adjusts the design for the art building.
"I heard that!" Howard calls from the hallway as he take sa message from Jarvis.
"I intended for you to!" She calls back. Tony wiggles out of her hands and she sets him on the ground. He runs to the room Steve is in and she hears them talk.
"What do you think, Tony?"
"It's pretty, can I do art?"
She hears the smile in Steve's voice, "of course! Make sure you tell your father that." She can hear the teasing but Tony just starts talking excitedly.
—-
The walk into the house, hand in hand. She leads him up the stairs and into their room. They've moved into her room, the master bedroom and she smiles at the sight of things that belong to him set around the room, marking it as theirs.
She starts to undress and her thoughts return to their first night together. Really together. They hadn't jumped into bed right away. They'd taken it slow, and she was grateful. It gave both of them time to adjust and make sure they both felt safe and comfortable in the new revelation of their relationship.
But she remembers the way his hands had grazed over her skin, discovering every inch of her and how she'd reveled in kissing and learning every scar and inch of skin on him.
She blushes at the way he had quickly figured out how to make her come undone under his touch and she shivers in delight at the way just his presence makes her feel like lightning was about to strike.
"What are you thinking about over there?"
His voice cuts through her thoughts and she turns, smiling, "I was thinking of you, in this bed, just a week ago."
She watches as he smiles, but the blush still creeps up. She stalks forward, watching as his smile grows and she jumps, laughing as he catches her against his chest, kissing her deeply and holding her tightly.
"I need help." She gestures to her corset and he laughs, using his now well trained fingers to undo the laces. It falls free and she throws it onto the chair on the vanity.
She slips her nightgown off, leaning against the tall bed post, and stares at him expectantly. "Well?" She asks, waiting for him to come closer. But he just stares at her, eyes taking her in and face filled with desire.
"Stay here." He commands, running out of the room and leaving her feeling confused. But only momentarily as he returns quickly, a sketchbook and charcoal in his hand.
"Steve—" she starts to chide, something like embarrassment curling in her stomach, "you shouldn't—"
"What?" He asks, coming close to her and running his fingers over her skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps, "I shouldn't draw the most beautiful creature on this earth?"
"Steve—" she admonishes, feeling herself flush at the look his dark eyes were giving her.
"Stay." He orders, pointing as he settles in the chair at his desk. His eyes take her in fully, and his hands begin to work, tracking her curves and she watches, trying not to move as his fingers smudge in shadows and create shape.
Suddenly he sets it down, "are you finished?" She asks, trying to see the drawing.
"No." He admits, his eyes trained on hers, lips parted as he steps closer, "but my patience is wearing thin." He's in front of her in moments, kissing her and tangling his hands in her hair and then trailing them down her shoulders and waist and hips. She breathes in deeply as he kisses under her jaw and his hands guide her by her waist to the bed.
She watches as he pushes his vest off and unbuckles his belt. She lays, naked and flushed with heat as he settles on the bed beside her, pulling her close and kissing the skin on her back and arms.
He slides a hand between her thighs, just resting it there his nails scraping slow circles on the sensitive skin, making her shiver. He laughs softly at her response and she shifts, pressing herself against his front, looking at him and bringing her hand up to stroke his cheek, making him close his eyes at her touch.
"You are like the sun," she whispers, his eyes opening as he studies her while she speaks, "my sun. You are the joy and heat and love of every day. You radiate good and I never want to go a day without you."
Steve kisses her, deep and full of passion and longing. She's used to these overwhelming kisses, where all his emotions are on full display, his heart laid bare as they share intimate moments. She returns it fully, grasping his arms and neck and back with her hands, pouring out her love and adoration for him.
He pulls back, he gets a soft smile on his face, "if I'm your sun," he says softly, kissing her behind her ear and down to the sensitive skin on her neck, "then you are the moon. Glowing and radiant and the light to a dark world." She gasps as he bites gently at where her neck meets her shoulder. He then kisses the skin and smiles against her, a hand tightening on her waist, "you outshine the rest of the stars."
His lips were on hers again and she let the rush of passion overtake her.
—
"Peggy?" She groans, covering her eyes. She hears him laugh, "Peggy, wake up."
"No." She sighs, "I don't want to."
"I have a surprise for you." That makes her pause. But after last night, she's tired. Although it's the right kind of tired. Feeling elated and heavy at the same time, her bare skin brushing against the soft sheets.
"Too early." She mumbles, still unwilling. "I'll see it later."
"She wants to see you now."
Peggy registers his words and sits up a bit, eyes out from behind the covers.
Steve kisses her cheek and brushes her wild sleep hair back. She tilts her head, "you're all dressed?"
He laughs, "yes, I didn't think greeting your new ladies maid in my sleep shorts would be appropriate."
She gapes at him, "my—"
"Peggy, you get out here this instant!" She gasps as Angie's voice filters in from under the door and she catches Steve's sly grin.
"You didn't!" She shouts, scrambling out of the covers and tackling him, pressing kisses to his lips and cheeks and jaw.
He laughs, holding her bare skin under his warm fingertips. "I did, indeed. I figured there was no reason she couldn't move here if she wanted—" his breath stutters as she tugs gently on his earlobe with her teeth, "Peggy—"
But she kisses him again, cutting him off.
"You're the most despicably perfect man in this world." She says heatedly, fingers brushing through his hair and kissing him again.
Then she's bolting up, grabbing her robe and throwing open the door. Angie squeals at the sight of her and they hug, crushing each other in excitement. Angie looks at Steve who is in the process of getting off the bed, masterfully disheveled.
"That's not how he looked when he picked me up from the station this morning." She says with a laugh. "I should be honored that he received quite the thank you for bringing me."
Peggy looks at Steve who is smiling softly and his shirt is untucked and hair mused and he looks positively glorious.
"Yes, well." Peggy says crisply, but with a sly smile, "good ladies maids are difficult to find."
Steve laughs and Angie looks at them, a bit of confusion on her features. "A story for another time," Peggy laughs. "Come let me show you the house!'
—
"Oh my—" Peggy looks up to see Angie staring down into one of the drawers in Steve's desk.
"What?"
"Wrong drawer." Angie says with a poorly disguised laugh.
Peggy walks over and reopens the drawer that Angie had just shut. And then she blushes. "He likes to draw." She says slowly, trying to control the flush as dozens of sketches of her, in all manners of dress and desire stare up at them.
"He sure does." Angie says, laughing and opening the proper drawer to replace Steve's cufflinks.
—-
5 years later
"Are you guys ready?" Howard asks, pointing to the two banners.
"Yes, Howard." Peggy laughs, rolling her eyes while Steve stands with his arm over her shoulder.
"Let them down!" Howard shouts, causing the men near the ropes holding the banners to salute and begin cutting at the ropes.
Steve gasps as the first name is revealed.
She looks at the first building and then the second.
"Howard!" Steve gasps, "I thought—"
"That's because that's what I wanted you to think."
Peggy takes it in. The dormitory for females is on the left, a large name carved into the stone
Carter Hall
Her eyes snap to the boys' dormitory.
Rogers Hall.
They both stare stunned and Howard laughs, clapping Steve on the back, "you are the reason this is all happening. And every marriage between the two villages will help build the bridge between the communities. And that's because of you."
Peggy feels her throat constrict. Never in her life could she have imagined such a wonderful thing. Marriages by choice, because of love.
Steve holds her tighter against his side and she smiles.
"You know." Howard says, growing somber, "I know the circumstances of you two coming together were unwanted, but—" he looks up at the buildings, "it feels like it was destiny."
Steve looks at him, "what do you mean?"
Howard points at them, "the fact that both of your names were chosen, somehow the perfect pair for each other? But also determined to change the future for the villages, to create and leave something better for the next generation?" He nods and looks at the huge amphitheater behind them in the distance, "I think it was maybe meant to be."
She stares at the Marriage Garden off to the left, their tree now growing bigger and budding fuller each year. "I think I might have to agree."
Steve places a kiss on the top of her head and she smiles as they walk back to the center square.
—
*A/N — And that's that! I hope you enjoyed! Thanks to those who read and commented! It really makes writing worth it, so thank you! and if there's a desire, I may write a bit of na epilogue to catalogue more of their married life. Let me know if that's something that interest you guys!
Thanks again!