Chapter Text
Peggy felt as if she hadn’t had a single moment for herself since being transported to the future. Or perhaps, since she had taken the serum. Decades ago that flew by her like far too occupied months.
At first, there wasn’t time to think. She did what needed to be done, because otherwise they would lose their only chance. And then, there was a war to win, then giant monsters from another dimension coming through magical portals, and just because her life wasn’t strange enough already, that portal happened to lead into the future, where there was no shortage of problems that could use her help.
Despite all the things that changed since she went into that portal, that one had remained the same. She might not understand a lot about the world she found when she came back, but she understood this: there would always be people doing terrible things, and as long as she had the power to stop them, that was exactly what she was going to do.
Still, sometimes she wished she didn’t feel so out of place. She was just thinking she should probably spend some time exploring the city when someone knocked on her door.
That was strange, she lived in S.H.I.E.L.D. quarters, but if they needed her for a mission they would page or call her.
She opened the door, finding a red-haired agent she had seen around the back in some meetings. They hadn’t talked before, but they were both in the same mission earlier that week, although whatever that agent had to do, it wasn’t part of the main mission objective, and it wasn’t something that Peggy had the clearance to know.
“Agent… Romanov,” she said, needing a moment to remember the name, as they were never introduced, “is something wrong?”
“It’s Friday night and you’re home alone, is that what they did in the twenties?” she asked, without any real malice. She seemed almost… playful.
“I was born in the twenties, so I wouldn’t know. But in the forties we usually went out to pubs or to punch nazis. Sometimes both.”
Romanov rolled her eyes, and leaned against the door frame. “Well, I can’t offer you nazis, but I could offer you a drink.”
Peggy was just thinking that she had to get out more, and yet now that the opportunity presented itself, she couldn’t help but think of all the reasons why this was a bad idea. “Agent Fury warned me against wandering off, the dangers of having a ninety years old super soldier walking around unsupervised, could get involved in all sorts of trouble.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t think she could handle herself, but the future was a confusing place, and she still had trouble readjusting. Going out for drinks seemed like a good way to get herself into a complicated situation. She didn't have money.
Romanov rolled her eyes. "That's Fury for you, you should see how long it took him to warm up to a Russian assassin. But you wouldn't be unsupervised."
Well, when she put it like that… "Wouldn't that be breaking the rules?"
"Not any rule that matters. Come on, Carter, my treat, it's about time you see the 21st century outside of a helicarrier."
"Peggy, you can call me Peggy."
She smiled. "Call me Nat, then. So, Peggy, shall we?"
There were still so many reasons to say no, but right now she couldn't think of any. Besides, Fury had told her to be nice to the other agents and try to make friends. Most of them didn't want to go anywhere near her, others just wanted an autograph or to treat her life a living legend. Having someone just offering to be a mate was a nice change of pace.
"Alright, I'll trust your judgement, but you better not make me regret it."
"Don't worry, we can start small. I'll leave the underground European raves for when you know who's the president."
Peggy rolled her eyes. "I'm British, all I need to know is that we now have a queen." Which probably wasn't the current bit of trivia she thought it was, since that hadn't changed since the fifties. She should have memorized who was the prime minister.
-
True to her promise, Nat had taken her to a small bar near S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, that had maybe a dozen people, most of which were busy watching a game on the telly. It wasn't anything like the large monitors at S.H.I.E.L.D., but it still amazed her how regular people had such big screens, and in color. Technology being advanced she already expected, especially knowing all the things that people like Stark were working on in secret, but it being accessible to the public was still impressive. Growing up between wars, it was good to see how many non essential things people could have now.
"You have really impressed me with the future, such exciting times," she joked, as Nat guided her to a boot.
"You were the one who was afraid of going out, this is just dipping your toes in the water. If all goes well, we could go somewhere better next time we finish a mission near a big city. Unless they move you to the New York headquarters, I think they are kinda hiding you here, in the middle of nowhere."
"I went there, it seems like quite the busy city." A bit too busy for her tastes, or perhaps too big. She liked to be able to tell where she was going, and everything about it was unknown. Maybe in time she could grow to like it, but right now it seemed like a nightmare.
"It has a life of its own, but it grows on you. Is beer ok?"
Peggy nodded, and waited by the table as Nat went to the counter to get them drinks.
She was… not what Peggy had expected.
She would usually stay back in the meetings, sometimes you wouldn't even know she was there until she spoke, and from the only mission they had in common, she was the same out in the field. They hadn't traded a word, she went along with her team on the helicarrier, but jumped off before they did, and by the time they had returned, she was already there, presumably having finished her own secret mission. Everything about her seemed dangerous, mysterious and professional, and if her joke about being a Russian assassin were to be believed, it would explain a lot about her previous behavior.
But she was also funny, which came as a surprise. She treated Peggy as a person, but not ignoring what happened to her, instead making jokes as if it wasn't the strangest thing that she had seen happen that year. And she was also the only one who even thought of asking if she wanted to go out. Being treated as a symbol was exhausting enough when she was in her own time, but it was almost unbearable now. It was refreshing, to be seen as just another agent, someone who might enjoy going out for a drink.
"So, what are you thinking of the future so far?" Nat said, sitting down opposed to her and then sliding her a bottle of beer with no cup.
"Well, no one says anymore that it was a waste to give the supersoldier serum to a woman, so that's a definite advantage."
Even before the serum, she knew she could fight as well or even better than many of the men, sometimes barely more than boys, that were sent to fight, but as a woman she could only ever have a supporting role. The serum gave her the power to prove the men in charge wrong, but it did little to change their mind. At S.H.I.E.L.D., she didn't see any distinction in the assignments of female agents, which wasn't to say she hadn't heard quite a few sexist comments in the future, but at least there was ample opportunity to prove them wrong.
"You saved the Earth from a giant tentacled monster using a sword, if that didn't make everyone see you were the right person for the serum, then they should try to go a round against the thing."
Peggy laughed. "I'll have to remember that one. Although I'm afraid it will only work with those that work at S.H.I.E.L.D., unless I have missed the memo about the public at large being privy to the existence of monsters from another dimension."
"They wouldn't sleep at night if they knew what you saved them from. But that's the job we signed up for, save everyone, take no credit, and hopefully go home in one piece."
And lose all your friends along the way. Perhaps that was the problem, that was the reason why Peggy was still so afraid of going out and getting to meet people. It wasn't as if she thought she would ever be able to go back, this was her present now. But she had lost so much already, she couldn't risk having to lose anything more. And if she continued to do what she was doing, if she continued to help people, then sooner or later she would lose someone else.
She wondered if that was the reason why Nat invited her for a drink, because she knew what she was thinking, and maybe even thought the same. An assassin and a supersoldier, as far as friends went, they could do a lot worse, and at least this way they knew that they could take care of themselves.
"Here's to going home in one piece," she said, offering the bottle for a toast.
Nat raised an eyebrow, but met her bottle. "Or at least making sure the bad guys don't."
Peggy laughed. This was exactly what she needed, and although they barely knew each other, she was starting to like Nat.