Work Text:
Peggy dropped the papers on Colonel Phillips desk. “You need to hire a proper secretary.”
The man continued writing without looking up. “If you can’t handle the paperwork, Carter, maybe this isn’t the right place for you. There’s always planes going back to England if you need it.”
“I have no problem with the paperwork. If you would have a look at this pile, you would see that none of it is mine, and all of it comes from your men. Somehow, they ended up on my desk, despite having nothing to do with me.”
The Colonel finally put away his pen and leaned back in his chair. He looked rather tired, and sneaking a glance at what he was working on told her why. The recruiting for Project Rebirth was going poorly, because Doctor Erskine had proved very difficult to please. “You want me to spend more time and money than I already do, on finding someone with both the qualification and the clearance level to work here. Have you forgotten the process required to clear you for this project?”
“I just want people stop giving their own work to me. If you don’t want to deal with it, I’m happy to do it for you.”
“Considering I don’t want any more bloodshed than necessary on my base, I’ll manage it.”
Peggy gave a small nod and a smile. “Thank you.”
“Excuse me? Ma’am? I’m the new secretary?”
Peggy looked up, and nodded at the man who stood in the doorway. Then she paused and had a second glance.
“He is so small!” she exclaimed, while on her lunch break. “At least a head shorter than me, skinny as anything, and it looks like a tiny breeze could knock him over.”
Howard Stark was welding something, taking a sip from a glass with something brown every time he put up his helmet to aim the flame. “So you don’t like him having the job?”
“I’ve looked through his file, and his medical assessment is awful. He has so many 4fs, all under different names, because he kept trying to enlist.”
“So he’s no good?”
“He’s very good. Had no problem with any of the tests for his mental capabilities, and despite giving different names every time he tried to enlist, he never lied about any of the details. He has been employed a bit as a typist for a newspaper, and so far, his work ethics is excellent.”
Stark hovered with the glass just in front of his lips. “So he’s okay?”
“I don’t know!” she said, frustrated.
“Ah.” Howard knocked back the last of his drink, and pointed at her. “You, Miss Peggy, have a crush.”
“It’s Agent Carter,” was all she said, and walked away. Never mind that they were usually on first name basis, Howard was being annoying.
Just outside the door, she bumped straight into the man in question. Something scolding went down her blouse, and she shrieked.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Agent Carter, I was just bringing you some tea…”
“With this kind of work environment, I take my coffee strong Rogers. Now get away so I can get to the bathroom!”
“Should I have someone get you a change from the wardrobes?” he yelled after her.
“Yes please!”
The next day she came into work, her desk cleared, no unnecessary paperwork in sight, and a steaming cup of coffee ready.
“I have a crush.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I don’t have the time for a crush! If we don’t hurry up and get some results from this project, our funding is going to get cut.”
Howard dropped his hammer. “What! They can’t do that. I’ve got the Vita Rays working.”
“You do?” Peggy said, surprised.
“Well, practically. Almost. Just a few things needs hammering out, and then I’m positive it’ll be completely safe and won’t cook a man from the inside.
“I’m not sure ‘practically’ will be good enough for the man who has to step into the chamber. And Erskine is slowing the process down because of the candidates, not the serum. He says that’s good to go.”
“I wish he’d let me have a peek. This baby here is the thing that’s supposed to kick start the whole process, and it would be nice to know exactly how it’s going to work. “
“We’ve been over this, Howard…” She was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Mr. Stark?” A small blond head stuck through the door. “Dr. Erskine want’s the latest blueprints for the chamber.” His eyes swept over the room and stopped at Peggy.
“Rogers,” she nodded at him.
“Agent Carter.” His voice went a little higher, which was actually really noticeable, because he had a surprisingly deep register for someone so small.
“So this is the Steven Rogers I’ve heard so much about.”
“Howard,” Peggy said with warning.
“Now don’t be shy Steven, come on in!”
“Just Steve is fine,” he mumbled.
“Sit down, sit down! It’s lunchtime, and even Peggy is letting herself relax for a little while.”
“Actually, there is an awful lot to be done…”
“Here, you need to finish your coffee.” Howard thrust a cup of cold coffee into her hands. Rogers looked around, probably looking for where he was supposed to sit down. The workshop wasn’t kept in the best condition, because no one but Howard was allowed to move things, and he wasn’t the kind to clean in one of his genius bouts. Steven leaned gently against something.that stood out of the way.
“Not there!” The young man quickly moved away and looked frantically at Howard, who went into detail about how delicate his machines were.
“Is it very smart to have delicate machinery out in the field? I mean, if they’re supposed to work as weapon for regular soldiers.” He found a spot to sit down after Howard finally moved some toolboxes.
“Most of the things in here are prototypes, and not very stable.” Howard caught Peggy’s look and hurriedly corrected himself. “Except for this thing.” He banged on the chamber.
“What is it?” Steven’s eyes had perked up as he looked around.
“This is what’s going to win us the war.”
He looked it up and down dubiously. “How?”
“Well, Project Rebirth…”
“Howard. Classified.”
“Right. It’s a chamber where a man goes in, a super-soldier comes out.”
“Howard!” Peggy felt more indignation than anger, though.
“What? Unless he has a degree in engineering, he’s not going to be able to steal anything. You don’t, do you?”
“No,” the other man replied. “I have Catholic school and bits and pieces of an arts degree.”
“See, Peggy? Steve’s nothing to worry about.”
She shook her head. “I’m sure Mr. Roger is perfectly nice, Howard, but you don’t go around spilling state secrets.”
“I won’t tell anyone, Agent Carter, really. I don’t really understand how anything in here works anyway. Most of it seems to be straight out of a science fiction novel.”
Howard brightened at that. “You like those kinds of novels? Come on let me show some things. Some non-classified things,” he amended, when Peggy looked at him.
They leaned over some contraptions, Howard poked at some metal bits, kicked at something that started wirring, and they talked animated together about some novels they had both read.
“I actually have something for space travel in mind. If you look at these drawings, just sketches right now. You know, you’ve got great taste.” The last part sounded like it was directed at Rogers, but Howard was smirking over his head at Peggy.
“Thanks. I mostly started reading them for the illustration, plus their cheap entertainment, but it’s really interesting to think about how the future is going to be. Maybe we’ll see something better.”
“Is that why you tried to join up?” Peggy asked. “So we’ll see a better future?”
“Isn’t that why everyone joins up? Fighting just for fighting seems kind of stupid, but if we want a better future, we have to take responsibility in the present, and fight for it.”
No, not everyone joined up because of that. Some had to, because they were drafted, or because iit was a way to keep your body clothed and you belly full. Others fought for glory, but it was very often a self-serving motive. Peggy tried to think back to when she joined. What exactly had driven her fudge those dates? It hadn’t been glory, she was sure of that. It was more of a… a need to be useful, and knowing she could do more.
“And now you’re here. Not exactly the frontlines.”
He looked down. “I wanted to become a soldier, but if I can’t do that I still want to help the war effort.”
Peggy looked him up and down, and tried to imagine that scrawny body in a fight against trained soldiers. She stood up. “Punch me.”
“What?”
“Punch me. I want to see you throw a punch.”
“I don’t really think I should hit a…”
“I’ve gone through training, I overlook our recruits, yesterday I punched one of them because he belittled me in front of everyone else. Punch me, Rogers.”
The small man looked at her uncertainly, then raised his hand to throw a halfhearted punch. She didn’t even have to dodge, it was easily deflected by her arm. “Again, like you would if you were in an actual fight.”
He did it again, more determined this time, though he aimed at her torso, not her head. She grabbed his arm with very little effort. “Straighten you arm, so it’s at full length when you hit your target. You don’t have that much muscle, so you need to put your body behind a punch if you want to do any damage. Your fist is good at least, I see too many potential fractures in my job from people who should know better. Got it?”
He nodded, looking a bit dazed, but he didn’t seem to mind the lecture. In fact, he rewarded her with a small smile, with none of the nervousness that was normally present.
She heard a slow wistle, and they both turned to face Howard. “Is that your idea of foreplay Carter? Because I can see how guys would have difficulty keeping up.”
Peggy felt the blush spreading in her cheeks, and she hoped her foundation covered it. “We need to get back to work.”
Howard was chuckling behind them as they left the workshop.
The next couple of days were busy. She had to oversee training, as usual, and try to mediate between Doctor Erskine and Colonel Phillips. The doctor was being difficult, but considering the candidates the colonel wanted as guinnea pigs, she didn’t really blame him.
They were having a discussion, and she heard some of what was being said. “…He’s big, he’s fast, he obeys orders…”
Just then she saw Rogers at the edge of her vision. He was taking notes, despite the fact that she knew he had nothing to do there. He looked busy though, which was the important thing, and he was good at getting his work done. So good, she actually didn’t want to tell the colonel, in case he took it as a sign that the work wasn’t enough to staff a full time position. Rogers ducked his head when he saw her looking at him, and she couldn’t help smiling when she looked back at the recruits.
“Grenade!”
She acted without thinking, which was, by definition, a stupid thing to do. When she looked up from the tight ball she’d wound herself into, she saw all the recruits far away, and Rogers rather closer than he had been a moment ago. She turned to the colonel.
“This was one of your bloody tests, wasn’t it?”
Things went rather fast after that. Peggy understood the point the colonel had been trying to make, but she hadn’t expected anything after she got off the ground. Now though, it seemed Erskine was looking at her in a completely new way. He hadn’t been cruel or nasty to her, but a bit dismissive. She’d had a lot worse from plenty of other people, but it was very noticeable how it changed.
Steve didn’t look at her any differently at all. Somehow he managed to follow them into one of the meeting room. It seemed he made himself smaller, and because no one else was looking at him, but rather at Peggy, he slipped in unnoticed.
“What’s going on, why do you need me?” Howard thankfully took all the eyes away from her, as he was wont to do, shen he entered the room.
“You can’t be serious doctor. We’ll be the laughingstock of the military. Is it even going to work on a woman?”
Howard leaned over to Peggy. “Are they talking about you?”
She gave a small nod.
“There is nothing in the serum which should make it gender specific.”
“You never even considered the idea…”
“I always said that the individual person would be the key, and all of your candidates are unsatisfactory.”
“If I may interject something, colonel,” Howard spoke up. “Our allies would probably appreciate if the first to go through the process was a Brit. Carter’s loyalty can’t be questioned. And honestly, she could probably beat any of the guys out there without breaking a sweat.”
Colonel Phillips looked around the room, eyes landing on Peggy. “What do you think Carter? Would you want to be a super soldier? Big muscles and all?”
What she wanted to say was: “My muscles are quite big already, and I seem to be handling them well enough.” She didn’t.
“It would be an honour, Sir.”
She caught Steve trying to hide his smile down in his notebook.
Peggy spent the night in fearful excitement. She was volunteering for an untested scientific procedure, and she had no idea if she was going to be alive at this time tomorrow.
Well then. Perhaps she should spend her last hours doing something enjoyable.
She got up, dressed up a bit, though not too much, and walked silently out of her quarters. When she got to the door she wanted, she knocked. There was a slight pause, before she heard footsteps, and the door opened.
“Agent Carter! I, ah, is everything alright.”
She smiled at him. “Call me Peggy, please. I was wondering if I could come in?”
“Oh, sure. You can call me Steve, if you want?”
Peggy smiled. “Thank you Steve.” She walked inside, and let thoughts about tomorrow go.