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Peggy bounced from item to item on the stove as Steve prepped the salad for her. The doorbell rang and she called out, “Bucky can you get that please?”
“Sure thing, hun!”
He moved and opened the door, revealing Clark and Lois, both holding hot dishes and Clark with a bag of groceries. “Hey!”
“Hi Sarge! We’re on time right?” Lois asked.
“Early, in fact,” Bucky assured. “Come on in. Food in the kitchen with Peggy. And Lois you uh...you’re not allowed in there.”
Lois pouted and crossed her arms. “And why ever not?”
“Because Peggy remembers the burned toast and doesn’t feel like calling the fire department,” he said, clearly amused. He dropped a kiss on her head and one on Clark’s cheek as he passed.
“Hey, Peg,” Clark said as he entered the kitchen. “Hi Cap.” He kissed Steve’s cheek and held up the food he was carrying. “Where’s this going?”
“It can go in the oven to keep warm,” Peggy said. “What’s in the bag?”
Before Clark could answer, a tall, goddess of a woman poked her head in. “Peggy are you sure there is nothing I can do?”
“Yes Diana I am very sure. Setting the table for me was the most helpful thing you could have done.” Peggy’s smile was brilliant, and Diana headed back to the living room, saying something in Greek to her husband. “Oh thank gods,” Peggy breathed. “She would reseason everything and I have no time.”
Clark chuckled and got to work on his last dish, a truly wonderful corn pudding. “Sounds about right.” The doorbell rang again, and Clark sighed. “That’ll be Harley and Pam.” He hustled to open the door and was immediately assaulted by the tiny blonde woman on the other side.
“Hey handsome! Ooooh this is such a nice place! Why can’t we get you into such a good apartment?” Harley asked, in her standard rapid fire way.
Clark smiled indulgently. “Because I have no money, Harls. You know that.”
“Well move inta Lois’ already why don’tcha?”
“Not until we’re married. Otherwise her father would pitch a fit. Plus, it’s negligible while there’s a war on.” Harley rolled her eyes but accepted that, moving towards the kitchen with the dishes she had taken from Pam, much to the other woman’s relief. “How are you, Pam?”
She shrugged. “I’m alright. Trying to keep Harley busy. There are some pretty brutal things coming into the hospital recently and it’s giving her some bad flashbacks to...him.”
Clark sighed sadly. “Oh no.”
“Not your fault, hun. We both believed her when she said it was okay.”
In the kitchen, Harley had stepped in to help get dinner on the table. “I brought kugle and latkes,” she said. “And…” She rifled into Clark’s bag, holding up some applesauce and créme fraiche. “Clark brought the fixins.”
“Oh wonderful!” Peggy said. “Do you mind keeping an eye on the lamb for me for a moment? I need to use the loo.”
“Not at all!”
Clark came back then and dropped a kiss on Peggy’s cheek as Pam shooed Lois away yet again. Gently, Clark wrapped his arms around Harley’s midsection and pressed up behind her. “Pam said you’re having a rough time,” he said softly.
She sighed. “Yeah well Pammy needs to keep her mouth shut,” she grumbled. After a moment, she said, “We lost a guy the other day. Surgeons all thought he was gonna be fine and then suddenly bam! He was flatlinin.” Her accent got stronger when she was upset, sounding so uniquely her that Clark wondered how she ever passed as anyone else. “Plus it’s just...a lot of time in the psych ward recently. When Jay went crazy—“
Clark cut her off. “I know. But let’s not think about him huh? Tonight we’re gonna enjoy this dinner and then tomorrow night why don’t I fly us to somewhere no one knows who we are and we can go for a nice date. Get a hotel room, order room service, have my way with you…” His grin was evident in his voice and Harley giggled.
“Alright, alright, Mr. Charisma. That sounds wonderful. Now stawp talkin or this is gonna turn into a kinky dinner when it ain’t supposed ta be!”
Peggy came back then and gave him a look. “Don’t make me order Steve to spank you, Clark. You know I will.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Now finish up that corn pudding and we’ll eat.”
They all sat down to dinner about twenty minutes later. On one side sat Steve, Bucky, and then Diana’s husband, who was also named Steve but who went by Trev. Then at one end came Diana, then Lois, Clark, Harley, and Pam, with Peggy at the other end.
“Alright, everyone dig in. We made enough to feed an army so I expect it gone in twenty minutes,” Peggy said cheerily. With a laugh, everyone began chatting and filling their plates, full of a wonderful sense of warmth and belonging that they couldn’t find anywhere else.