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The air whipped around the brunette’s face harshly as she bolted down the dark alleyway, taking the largest steps possible. With her eyes narrowed and burning from the frigid squall, Peggy struggled to manage her way through the darkness. Although shielding her face with her left arm, she saw as good as nothing, accidentally punching an innocent column along the way.
The faint imagine of golden curls and icy blue eyes circled her mind once again after having chased the mischievous beauty to the deepest mud hole of the city — All so present; All so intense. After a few more quick steps, Peggy halted at an overturned dustbin, lurking around carefully. Every muscle in her body was tense, every sense on high alert. The area around her appeared quite raw and rotten. She gazed up at the two apartment blocks standing so desperately close to each other, and yet still enough space remained between them to be unable to touch. The dirty alleyway marked the very limited space between them.
After slowly adjusting to the darkness, the only light source visible was a small outdoor lamp, radiating from one of the higher up windows. Peggy’s grip around her gun tightened, as she expected the worst at any second.
“I know you’re here somewhere,” she muttered into the dead silence, scanning every balcony, every gutter and every stairway of this rusty place.
“I thought you’d be better,” a feather light voice cut through the chilly air as sharp as a knife. Peggy froze in an instant after the sound of a gun being cocked interrupted the silence. Her pulse fastened, competing with her erratic breathing. “Turn around,” the voice demanded again, and Peggy obliged. She turned on her feet ever so slowly, internally preparing herself for being punched in the guts.
Her gaze wandered to the railing of the stairs, leading up to one of the apartment complexes. Surrounded by tarnished metal, she caught a glimpse of a blonde woman sitting loosely on the stairs, legs tangling through the railing. The hole of a gun situated in her hand pointed at Peggy maliciously.
“I’m not going to beg you to let me live,” Peggy hissed, voice remaining emotionless and monotone. With a sigh of defeat, she raised her arms, gun still clasped in her hand tightly. The blonde’s grin extended wickedly, before she rose to her feet and strode down the squeaking metal steps excruciatingly slow. These playful blue orbs never left Peggy’s wary eyes, even when there was no real light source to observe that. She moved closer and closer and unbearably closer, until Peggy could feel the head of the gun pressed against her clavicle.
“I never expected you to, but now that you’ve mentioned it… it would sound sexy.” The blonde’s eyes rolled to the side in thought, grin never leaving her mouth.
“Dottie…” Peggy warned, narrowing her eyes again before tilting her head.
“Yes, darling,” Dottie almost whispered, but the sound made its way to Peggy’s ear as clear as day; her voice being the only thing audible in this godforsaken mud hole.
Peggy didn’t answer, eyes specialized on Dottie’s mesmerizing orbs, although she couldn’t stop herself from darting them to her rosy lips from time to time. In an act of certainty, Peggy lowered her hands, finally relaxing her complaining muscles. She pocketed her gun before slowly wrapping her fingers around the head of the gun that pressed against her front.
“You’d never kill me,” she ushered while a small smile adorned her lips.
Dottie returned the smile, biting her bottom lip tentatively. “And you’d never arrest me,” she threw her own gun behind her carelessly, unfazed by the loud thud it created. Peggy relaxed even more as Dottie’s arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close. The blonde leaned her forehead against hers, caressing her cheek gently with her free hand.
The air changed as Peggy’s heart rate quickened once again. She closed her eyes, embracing the feeling of warmth and security, holding on to it as if it threatened to slip through her fingers at any given moment.
“I am so tired of hiding,” Peggy murmured suddenly, resting her head on Dottie’s shoulder, and leaning against her completely. Her thoughts raced each other like cars on a highway. She craved to feel like this every day; desired to hold the blonde close whenever she pleased. An unwilling tear escaped her eye, dropping on Dottie’s black and red jumpsuit, disguising her as the night. Peggy couldn’t do this any longer—
“I know,” the blonde whispered into her ear peacefully, stroking her back after wrapping both her strong arms around the small of her back. Their embrace tightened, protecting each other from the darkness threatening to swallow them whole. Nothing else mattered — only the touch of their skin and the rapid beating of their united hearts. Forgotten were the apartment blocks, forgotten was the dark alleyway that slithered on for what felt like eternity, keeping them hidden; forgotten was the rusty metal of their bizarre meeting place.
Peggy raised her head from Dottie’s chest, no longer able to contain the longing for the blonde. “I hate that I never know who I’m talking to,” she sighed wistfully, “Black Widow Dottie or… my Dottie.” Another stubborn tear ran down her face as Peggy cupped the other woman’s cheeks. “I hate that we can never show our true selves to each other right away. I hate that, whenever we meet, we can’t be sure if we need to stay professional or not. I hate that we have to switch personalities so quickly,” she paused for a second to take a deep, quivering breath, “And I hate that I cannot tell anyone that you belong to me.”
A sigh of relief left her mouth as Dottie connected their lips softly, sorrows swimming away immediately. She pulled her in closer by the back of her neck, pressing their bodies as close as humanly possible. The heat radiating off of them joined in an all so familiar, longing dance - one they’ve been dancing for so long, the time they didn’t seemed foreign and far… far away.
It was Dottie who broke the kiss but never the contact of their skin, keeping her lover close. Her smile turned into a sad one as an unpleasant thought crossed her mind.
“I hate all of that, too. I hate that I can’t embrace you in a hug on the open streets. I hate that we have to meet in the shadows. But above all, I hate that I am not able to be myself around you other than at time like these.” Dottie sighed defeatedly. She didn’t mean for this to get so emotional… to be emotional. But she couldn’t help it, she never could around Peggy. She never had the urge to suppress herself in front of Peggy.
“I love you,” Dottie admitted honestly, never averting her eyes from the beautiful brown in front of her, “and I’ll never stop loving you.”
Peggy smiled radiantly, eyes watering again. “I love you, too. More, than I could ever fathom,” she breathed before pulling her lover in for another deep kiss, pouring all her feelings inside - all the forbidden, deep-rooted feelings. All the love.
“I don’t want to lose you, I can’t. And the fact that it could happen any second scares me,” Peggy admitted shakily, letting the tears run freely this time. And Peggy Carter was rarely scared.
“Hey,” Dottie whispered soothingly, “you’ll never lose me.” Peggy looked up into her eyes again, finding the most certainty in them she’s ever seen.
“You can’t promise that,” Peggy breathed sadly, desperately clinging to the woman who stole her heart.
But Dottie only smiled warmly, caressing her cheek ever so gently.
“You’re right, I can’t promise you that. But I can guarantee you one thing,” her icy blue eyes were filled with something Peggy could never get enough of. Love. “No matter what, no matter how… I’ll always look out for you.”
And she would. She always would.