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After returning from Wakanda, Steve and Peggy tried to go back to their shaky sense of normalcy.
Logically, Steve knew the Compound was safe. It was out of the way and far from anyone that might want to cause them harm.
But it was so
quiet
.
He was a city boy through and through and he was used to being surrounded by strangers. That was a comfort to him.
The safety all the way out here was great and the fact that they could go for a walk in the woods whenever they felt like it was wonderful, but the solitude just seemed to drag him further and further into that dark place in the back of his mind. But he kept busy as best he could, trying to distract himself.
It was almost time for finals, so he helped Grant make flashcards and made sure Teigen was sleeping enough and ate between study binges. Sarah mostly just needed someone to remind her that she would be fine as long as she didn’t overthink things too much.
Steve spent most days helping Peggy get used to the new century, but she caught on faster than he had to most things. Eventually, they just began spending their days with each other with no real plan.
Things were good. They were happy.
So why wasn’t he content?
Peggy had done a lot since she landed in 2018.
She’d met a couple of ghosts, ended up with three children from even further in the future, and fought an army of murderous, four-armed creatures alongside a team of superheroes and two combined armies, one of which was from another planet that she’d only ever heard of in mythology.
Seeing those she had thought lost, alive and happy and living their lives, was an indescribable feeling.
The children? It was weird, and she had never really thought much about having kids, but they were a treasure just the same.
Sarah was a pistol, having inherited both of her parent’s personalities. Grant was a quiet soul, clever without being a show-off. Teigen was patient and excitable, spending hours teaching Peggy how to sign properly. (Which was not as easy as she had first thought)
She’d spent a full month spending all of her time just getting to know her new family before Thanos showed up.
Peggy had been unsure how she could be of any use when she first saw the ships land, but then she saw her friends carrying bows and pistols and Steve hefting his oversized dinner plate.
That image, a bunch of Davids standing in front of Goliath, stayed in her mind even a month later when they were trying to be normal. In a world full of monsters and aliens and things that she’d only ever heard of in fairy tales, the everyday people were still able and willing to stand up and fight for what they loved.
Peggy knew what she had to do. She even knew how she could do it.
Steve was always ignoring his phone, declining calls from S.H.I.E.L.D. It wouldn’t be hard to get in contact with them and ask for a job.
So she made her plan. She wasn’t just going to ask for the job without talking about it with Steve first.
S.H.I.E.L.D. offices were in New York City and she would probably have to move closer, which would affect them all.
The front door opened right on time, closing after a moment and signalling Steve’s return from dropping everyone off at school.
Peggy finished making their tea like usual (hers with milk and his without, because Americans didn’t know how to drink proper tea) and set the mugs on the island just in time for Steve to come around the corner.
He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips before sliding into his seat across from her.
“Is something wrong?”
Peggy’s expression softened.
This was something she still wasn’t used to and didn’t know if she ever would be: He had somehow learned to actually pay attention and notice things.
“Nothing’s wrong, exactly.” She winced at his worried expression.
Bad word choice.
“You’re happy the way things are, yes?”
He hesitated, tapping the side of his cup. They’d promised to be completely honest with each other and Peggy could see that he was fighting with himself over that.
“There’s nothing to be unhappy about.”
And wasn’t that just the problem?
“Answer me this, then.” She looked into her tea. “Do you ever think about answering one of those calls?”
This time he didn’t hesitate.
“No.” He shook his head and sighed. “I’ve given enough. I honestly don’t want to ever see a fight as long as I live.”
Peggy bit the inside of her cheek and took a sip of her tea.
“But
you
do.”
She sighed.
“The last time I spoke to my brother before he was deployed, he told me that I was meant to fight and that I shouldn’t pretend to be someone I’m not.” She looked around at their apartment: Steve’s easel by the window, the books and board games scattered under the edge of the coffee table, and the full coat rack.
“I love this life, I really do, but I need to be doing more.”
Steve offered a small smile.
“Okay.”
“What?”
He shrugged.
“Like I said: I’m out for good, but that’s just me.” He took her hand across the counter. “If you’re not done yet, then you should do what you think is right.”
“
If
they take me, I’ll probably be asked to move closer to headquarters.”
Steve smiled, his shoulders drooping in relief.
“I’m going to be completely honest with you: I hate living out in the middle of nowhere. I miss the city.”
Peggy laughed, but sobered quickly.
“But what about school? We can’t send the children all the way up here every day.”
“The rumor is the professor's trying to open up a public school somewhere in Brooklyn or Queens. They have all of the permits and teachers planned, they just need a building. If they can get that, it’ll be ready by the time school starts back up in the fall.”
Peggy ran a hand over her forehead.
“I guess we’re really doing this then?”
“I guess we are.”
They both grinned, but were interrupted by the phone ringing. Steve pressed the speaker and set it between them.
“Coulson, just the man I wanted to talk to.”
“I am so sorry, I had no idea my team was bothering you until this morning. I’ve already ordered them to stop calling you.”
Both Steve and Peggy struggled to hold back their giggles.
“Uh, thanks, but I actually might have someone who wants a job with you.”
Coulson was silent for a moment.
“Are they qualified?”
Papers shuffling could be heard in the background.
Steve shrugged, despite not being able to be seen through the phone.
“Well, she technically founded S.H.I.E.L.D.”
There was more silence before Director Coulson’s voice came back a few octaves higher than normal.
“When can she start?”