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It was uncharacteristically cold that night. Peggy Carter shivered in her sleeping bag, and cursed the other Howling Commandos for not setting up their tents. Then again, how could they predict such a cold night out in the field? She wondered how well the other men were sleeping, but she heard snores and peaceful breathing around her, so clearly they were sleeping better than her.
In the middle of the night, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes returned from their mission. Steve paused at the edge of the Commandos’ encampment, and set his backpack down on the ground next to Peggy. He did his best to work silently, pulling out his sleeping bag and pad, and he slipped inside and laid down next to her.
He could see that her eyes were open in the moonlight, and she smiled brightly at him. “Hi,” she mouthed.
“Hi,” he mouthed back, and grinned at her. “How are you?” his voice rose to the faintest whisper.
“I missed you,” she said. “And it’s freezing.”
Steve nodded. “I missed you too.” It was cold, and he thought for a moment, and then shifted, unzipping her sleeping bag - to which she almost objected but he laughed and put a finger up to his lips to shush her. He unzipped his sleeping bag, and shifted his closer, and then zipped them together. The sound of the zipper was louder than their whispers and the sound of their footsteps, but still none of the Commandos stirred.
Peggy understood Steve’s plan and she shifted closer, and Steve wrapped her in his arms, engulfing her, and instantly warming her up. He was always warmer now since his serum - and not in a feverish kind of heat, but a comfortable kind of warmth. It kept him insulated out in the field, and made him even more cuddly to her.
He kissed her softly and she smiled into the kiss. “Love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too. How are you now?”
“Toasty and snug.”
“And happy?” She nodded into him. “So happy you’re with me.”
He didn’t care that Bucky and the Commandos would see them cuddling and sleeping in each others’ arms by morning. If their friends didn’t know how they felt about each other, they were blind. They’d been stealing glances at each other since the day they met, and lately they’d been stealing kisses.
Steve was impressed with the Commandos’ respect for Peggy, and for their relationship. They respected her and treated her like an equal, but didn’t make lewd comments in front of her. They knew she was as good as they were, and sometimes she was even better - a better shot, a better spy, and she could keep up. She was Steve’s girl, but it didn’t make either of them weaker or the object of ridicule because he was sweet on her, nor did they assume she’d gotten ahead in her career because of her feelings for him - or of his love for her.
“I’m happy too,” Steve said.
The next night, they’d moved onto their next campsite, and Peggy and Steve had wandered through the wilderness on their mission hand in hand. This time, she insisted that they pitch tents. In a strategic move, Steve set up his tent with his back door, less than a foot from her tent’s back door, and no one else seemed to notice what they’d done.
Once she was settled into her cot, and the campsite’s fire extinguished into moonlight, Steve slipped through the opening into her tent, and into her bed. Peggy smiled and wrapped her arms around him.
“Thank you for keeping me safe and warm.”
“Well I can’t let my best girl freeze,” he replied.
“How kind of you.”
Steve leaned in and kissed her. “I also just don't want to be without you.”
“Sap,” she teased.
“And proud, sweetheart.”
Peggy yawned. “I suppose it isn’t fair to call you a sap when I swoon over you and hold your hand all day.”
“It’s okay. I love it.”
“And I love you.”
“Love you too, honey.”