5105/Midnight Teambuilding

Midnight Teambuilding
Date of Scene:	09 February 2021
Location:	SHIELD Offices, 1950
Synopsis:	1950: Peggy Carter and Daniel discuss Lily's origins, Hydra and the future before settling in for a well-deserved rest.
Cast of Characters:	Daniel Sousa, Peggy Carter

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Daniel Sousa has posed:
It was already pretty late when Daniel had gone back out to the warehouse but now it was monstrously late. Much of the city was closed up and there was barely a soul at the SHIELD offices except for the night crew, who he waves to on his way to Peggy's office, given the night's events he didn't doubt she'd be there, still awake and working. Coming to the door, he knocks twice calling, "Peggy, I'm back, good to come in?" it usually was but given the nature of their work it was still wise to check first rather than assume.

Peggy Carter has posed:
A smirk crosses her lips, "You don't ask to come into the bedroom at night but you're asking for the office?" Peggy teases him lightly, most certainly more amused than anything about it. She's tired, that much is clear, the slight blink of her eyes the sort that says she's been staring at paperwork for far too long. But seeing him gets a little energy back to her features as she sets the file folder now and pushes herself up to walk over and greet him with a kiss. This late at night, no one was watching.

"...How bad was it all?"

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel opens the door and steps inside, smiling. "You're usually not looking at documents classified above my paygrade in the bedroom," he says, before reiterating with a bit of amusement. "Usually."

He closes the door behind him. "Twelve crates of those Hydra guns, all destined for one of those warehouses we were looking at in Queens, looks like someone was planning one heck of a party," he reports before coming over to Peggy and giving her a brief kiss hello; the benefits of it being this late and a closed office door. "Other than that it looks like Lily cost this Mr. Wong a bundle, looks like that place was one of his main stash houses for his smuggling business, Wallace and the others are going over the rest of what's there but it looks like it's more the FBI or NYPD's business than ours. Drugs, guns, the usual."

He takes a seat on the edge of Peggy's desk. "How'd things go with Chen?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Well, shit..." SHe leans up and over to fully steal that kiss before settling back into her desk and processing what he's just said. "I'm double glad she just agreed to sign on with us, because I suspect she's in more danger than I first thought. If she cost Wong that much, there is no way he's not going to attempt to get some sort of revenge. And she's clearly quite, quite skilled, but also only one woman..."

Peggy exhales slowly, considering it all as she kicks her feet up next to his hips on her desk. Working ridiculously late, yes, but she'll at least relax with him while they do. "It went...well enough. There is no doubt in my mind she is some part Melinda May. Either a...reflection, or a piece that retained in this reality...or our entire mission failed. But that doesn't explain why she was back here at the *original* appearance site, not in the Mojave. But the timeline and what she has left of memories all match. As does her training."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel lets that kiss linger awhile before his thoughts return to business, "Shit is right, someone clearly has some big plans, and with what Lily said about Hydra tonight," he makes a face, clearly those words stuck with him. "I thought we were at least getting close to rooting them out.

Though even HYDRA is forgotten with what Peggy has to say, "I mean Ocam's Razor suggests us failing is likely what happened and getting zapped from one anomaly to the other fried her memories, but I dunno, we're dealing with time holes, I'm not sure the simplest explanation is necessarily the correct one." He scoffs, "Can I go on the record and say I hate time travel?" he ventures lightly, his hand coming to rest on Peggy's feet beside him.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I'll take that note in the morning, if you want it on record, but...I have a feeling we already have it down somewhere." Peggy teases him very gently, a little wink accompanying the words. She wiggles her toes against his hand a minute, just appreciating the touch, as she looks over towards the file with Lily Chen's name on it.

"Even if we entirely failed...the communication device is gone. The anomalies are gone. Short of putting a woman who doesn't remember any of her life in the future into a cryo freeze that is highly experimental, I don't know what we do other than support her in a new life here. If she's as good as tonight showed? We certainly could use her as an agent. She can even help with the training, once she's all settled in and cleared. We can try to figure out what happened... but she wants to work with us. I want her here. We can take that as a small victory, no?"

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Definitely worth writing down twice," Daniel says smiling as Peggy wiggles her toes against his hand.. "You're lucky we're not at home making your feet a target like that," he says with a shake of his head. Though not without running the nail of his thumb down the middle of one foot just to make his point.

Then about Lily he nods, "Yeah, freezing her's no good, not if we're not sure she's really May, woman's got it bad enough losing her memories, not right to inflict waking up in new century if she doesn't belong there."

He shakes his head, "Still weird to think that the anomalies made another May like that," he shakes his head, slipping down from the desk for a moment to head to the bar, looking back at Peggy to see if she wants anything. "Just when we think this job can't get weirder it finds a way."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The woman squirms a bit more as he dares tease at her stockinged foot and she gives him a glare that says he IS taking his life into his hands if he does it again. Peggy's lips are smirking, but her eyes are a teasing threat. She clears her throat indignantly and turns her eyes back to the file that she finally, entirely closes shut on her desk. It's done for the night.

"Well, it's done. She signed recruitment paperwork and is coming back in the morning to start the whole process, so... We've got ourself another agent. If things settle down enough that we can run more analysis on her, maybe get Samberly to do some scans, we'll see if we can pinpoint what happened. Right now, I won't look a gifthorse in the mouth. Especially since it seems I'm losing you and Cardoza to Queens for a few days."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel smiles, "Let me guess, I do that again and I'll be doing my field directing from Alaska?" he asks her before going off to hit up the bar. He pours them both some whiskey before he returns putting down a glass next to Peggy before taking up his perch on her desk again. "Would be good to figure out what happened, even if there's nothing we can do about it, you know me Peg, hate to leave a mystery unsolved."

Daniel nods, "She'll be good to have around if things turn ugly, she still at Quon's though? Might want to put her up in a safehouse or something until things with Wong cools down."

As for being shorthanded he says, "Won't be for long, just a couple of day stakeout, see what we're dealing with out there, will barely notice we're gone, even if you didn't have a new agent to break in."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I told her she could come back to the Penthouse too. After all May stayed with me there almost the whole time she was with us. She opted to go back to the boarding house tonight but... I'll try to press the point home again when she comes in tomorrow. I'd really hate to lose her just because we all got a little arrogant about it. She's good. I don't know if anyone is that good."

Peggy reaches up for the officer whiskey, a little breath of relief and release escaping a moment later as she takes a deep sip of it and practically melts back into her high backed leather chair. "...you know, if you weren't around, I'd just sleep at the office tonight... now, I feel like we should be doing this in the living room and...my couch doesn't exactly sleep two. No matter how comfortable Howard insisted it was when he put it in."

Her eyes soften a bit as she looks him over, an almost shy smirk following as she mutters her next words without quite meeting his eyes. "I always notice when you're gone."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel nods, "Good idea," he says taking a sip of his whiskey. "We both know HYDRA isn't afraid of sending a ton of guys just to take out one target, and by his reputation Chow doesn't skimp in that department either," he'd done some digging about the man since their first encounter with him. "So, it'll be good to be able to make sure she's okay, even if she could probably take down both of us without breaking a sweat."

Daniel smiles to see Peggy just relax so fully, especially in her office, "Well," he glances at the clock in her office, "It's only two thirty in the morning, you could punch out early and we could really finish this chat in the living room," he says with a smirk about punching out early. "Or we can see if we've gotten soft since the war and make the best of the couch."

That shy smirk gets one in return, glancing down at his drink, before looking over at her again. "Me too Peggy, we'll be as quick as we can though and get home safe."

Peggy Carter has posed:
A deeper sip is taken of her glass, nearly finishing the thing already which is going to make motivating to leave the office even harder. Peggy is feeling that quiet exhaustion in her limbs now, the promise that she should have been in bed 30 minutes ago and needs to be up in less than six hours. "If we share that couch the whole damn office is going to know... One person can get away with the same clothes two days in a row. Two? It looks like we spent the whole night doing the dirty up here." Peggy states with a drowsy wink.

She's then slowly pushing herself up out of the chair and knocking back what sips are left of her whiskey. "Come on. The penthouse isn't that far and this might be the last night either of us is home the whole evening in a few days. Might as well take advantage of it while we can... Especially if I can convince Chen to move in for her own safety. She'll be a better roommate than Howard, but...it means privacy will disappear again."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel too is feeling the hour but downs his whiskey a moment after Peggy, "I mean that's not the worst idea I've ever heard," he says of what people might think they've been up to. He snorts a laugh though and pushes off the desk and grabs his cane.

He sets down his glass on the bar, and nods, "Do we really have privacy as it is? Howard does like to visit without warning," he says with a good natured shake of his head. "Maybe we shouldn't warn Lily about that, whatever she'd do to a man barging in without warning would serve him right," he says with a chuckle.

Peggy Carter has posed:
That comment gets a little groan from Peggy and a roll of her eyes to the ceiling. "Oh god, Daniel, I know Howard can be insufferable, but I still need him alive to keep this whole mess going. And Lily Chen does NOT deserve whatever would come out of his mouth without some sort of warning." Peggy admits with a deeply amused smirk.

She then steals both of their glasses to rest on the dirty dish tray for the late night cleaner to handle -- yes, it's Howard, of course they have a fully vetted, high security clearance late night cleaner. Once her hands are free, she moves to tugging on her coat and slips back into her high heels she'd taken off for the long work night. "...and even though half the office knows already, we shouldn't... rub people's noses in it. It's not professional, I suppose. And puts you at risk should things get into the wider world..." SHe states with a genuinely worried look he's seen from her before. She knows she has enemies.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Yeah, that's true, we do need Stark and that wouldn't be fair to Chen," Daniel admits with a wry smile at the idea of it though. "But you know if he left his fortune to Jarvis?" he teases, before saying, "Only joking, Stark's grown on me and we owe him a lot," he says.

"He nods about the rest, "Yeah, I know I don't want to become the subject of any more gossip than we already are," he says, before Peggy mentions the wider world and he nods,. "I know you worry Peggy, but if people come at you through me, we'll deal with it. I know what I've signed up for."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Peg studies his eyes quietly, used to this dance by now. It's his answer every time, but it doesn't stop her from worrying. "I know. I just feel like we don't need to paint a sign on your back, for as long as we can help it." Peggy admits gently, leaning up to steal one last kiss before she pulls away to button her coat.

Once they're both bundled up to head outside, she slips her arm through his one that isn't usually balancing his cane and leads the way to the car they've ended up sharing. While they aren't an open thing to the world, they also haven't been hiding entirely by taking separate cars or forcing each other to come and go at different times. Some things are simply practical. She swings into the driver's seat, normally the one to drive. She likes it that way, especially after a long day on his leg.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel nods, playing his part in this dance of theirs, "Fair enough," he says. "Not in a rush to become a target," he acquiesces honestly, returning the kiss and then going to collect his own coat before walking down to the car with her. As they settle into the car with Peggy behind the wheel, he gets comfortable enjoying the familiarity of their routine and that they'd made things work without having to put on a whole song and dance to keep things under wraps. "I know you worry," he says looking over at her. "But it's all worth it, no question, whatever happens."

Peggy Carter has posed:
Dark eyes remain on the road for the brief drive back to what had become their home. There was barely any traffic this time of night anyway, but Peggy's also carefully checking the mirror for tails and any other strange things around them. The paranoia never quite goes to sleep with her, even desperate for her own bed at nearly three in the morning.

"It had better be worth it. I moved you back across a country and we're rather in too deep to this SHIELD thing to go back so... We are here. Just going to enjoy as long as we can. I'm...probably just being too bloody paranoid. We're not in the war any more and we've stayed ahead of them this far."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel too keeps his eyes open as they drive. Especially given the night's conversations and discoveries. "Easy to get paranoid with what we saw tonight and what Lily said about Hydra," he says before giving Peggy's shoulder a squeeze. "But I'm definitely not backing out of anything, and you're right we need to make the best of the time we get, though, I have to say we haven't been doing too bad on that end of things, we're really making this work," he says with a smile.

Peggy Carter has posed:
The comment about making this work draws another, quiet smile out of her. At a stop light she dares to look away from their surroundings and in his direction instead. "We...are making this work. We're pretty damn good at a lot of things, no surprise we could manage this as well." Then the light turns and she's speeding down 5th avenue, right up towards the building Howard's arranged for them.

"She...had a few slips tonight. Talking about SHIELD like we've been around a long time... and HYDRA. She doesn't remember being Melinda May but... parts of her mind clearly does. Instincts. How she interacts with the world. So... there's a lot more to come, I worry. With both matters. I guess it's is still good to know SHIELD survives?" But HYDRA does too. And that might be why Peggy has doubled down with the work as of late. She pulls into the underground garage and their spot, the one right next to the penthouse elevator. They really were spoiled.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Definitely spoiled and yet somehow Daniel had started to become used to this life, something he'd never imagined when he first got delivered by Limo to Stark's pad on 5th Avenue all those months ago. He chuckles, "We /are/ good at a lot of things, Peggy, but historically relationships aren't one of them," he says lightly as they come to a stop in the garage and he turns to look at her. "So I'm maybe a little bit surprised, but happy, I guess the trick all along was to find someone we care about almost," a small smile there. "As much as the job," he reaches over and squeezes her hand quickly before getting out of the car and onto his feet nodding about Chen. "Definitely good to know SHIELD survives as long as it doesn't make us cocky, less good about Hydra. Kinda hoping you'd get a break from them sooner or later."

Peggy Carter has posed:
A slight laugh escapes her lips when he comments on relationships. Peggy shakes her head gently, "Mm... I don't know if it's *almost* as much...Just someone who cares about the job just as much as each other. Someone who... really understands. And we have always had that, at least." Peggy admits gently, no doubt in her voice what so ever for their relationship. She's paranoid about a lot of things, but not this, any more.

She swings out with him then, headings for the lift after the car is locked. Her shoulders are practically less tense just at being in the last legs of the journey home. "I always suspected the only way I'd retire or rest was in a coffin. I suppose I wasn't...wrong. Just means there will always be work to be done." She smiles to him exhaustedly as she leans in the elevator. She's got those heavy, drowsy eyes going now. He's the only one she lets herself start winding down around.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel smiles, "Understanding is the best word for it," he agrees easily. "I couldn't imagine trying to do this job and make it work with someone who didn't understand what we do means," he says. "And yeah, we've always seen eye to eye on the job," a smile, "Broadly speaking." Not that they haven't had their share of arguments about it.

Once in the elevator, he loosens his tie, giving Peggy a soft smile as she shows just how worn out she is. "Gonna make it to bed? If you pass out before then don't think I can carry you with this," he holds up his cane. "You're stuck where you land," he teases before growing more serious. "Me too," he says of retirement. "Pretty much figured I was done doing anything worthwhile after I lost my leg, so, doing what we do now, until they put me in the ground, isn't that bad a way to go."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Gosh... we're morbid. We probably *shouldn't* think that way, but... at least SHIELD knows it will always have us." Peggy admits with a gentle smile, "And yes, I think I'll make it home... I've been more tired. ANd I think you'd get me across the threshold if you REALLY had to. Maybe over a shoulder, but you'd make it. Maybe you still will, one of these days." There is a wink and a flirt after that, the implication of a wedding not being a subtle one, but then the elevator dings and they are out at the penthouse floor. She pulls out her multiple keys, going through all the heavy locks before pushing open the reinforced door to the posh place. She's not even bothering with lights as she tosses her shoes off her feet into a corner and pads in her stockings across to the hall with their bedroom.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Just a bit," Daniel agrees about the morbid turn of the conversation. "I'm going to blame the hour, booze and a one helluva day," he says. There's a smile though for that wink, "One of these days," he echoes with a grin his mind clearly going to same thoughts as Peggy. "We'll have to figure out when 'one of these days will be' he says through a yawn as he comes in the door and lets it close behind him. He sits for a moment to pull off his shoes and loosen his tie before he pads after her. "But later, right now I don't think I could name the days of the week," he says with a smile and another yawn.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Just stay up right enough for me to get you out of that stuffed shirt and we'll be aces, my darling." Peggy turns to him, reaching over to gently start with his tie, then slipping his jacket off his shoulders, undoing the buttons of his shirt. It's drunk with drowsiness motions between them, but they are comfortably habitual now. The gentle undressing of each other at the end of the day, stripping off the stress of it all, a few gentle kisses placed to the corner of his mouth as they go.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Smiling, Daniel says, "Well when you put it that way I guess I can manage a few more minutes," before letting her attend to his tie, jacket and undo the buttons on his shirt; drinking in the comfort of this little ritual of theirs. He returns those kisses in kind, before he sets his cane aside steadying on a dresser and slipping arm by arm out of his shirt, catching it before it falls to the floor. It's set on the dresser and then he turns to Peggy, gesturing for her to turn around so he can help her with her dress.

Peggy Carter has posed:
No complaints from her either. Peggy turns around, reaching up to grasp her hair and lift it off of her neck neck so he can grasp at the zipper and get her out of the form hugging pencil dress she's spent most of the day in. She uses her other hand to reach to her temple and pull out the few pins that are keeping her waves back from falling in her face. She catches the dress as well, once he frees her from it, and stands there in nothing but her thigh highs and underthings. Those get unclipped quickly also.

"Howard better not barge in here in the middle of the night, I am NOT fussing with a dressing gown this evening. Bed. You and bed. That's all I want." She admits with a tender sort of grump behind her voice.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel draws down the zipper when Peggy lifts her hair and then steps back to appreciate the view as she undoes the rest, though he's not idle during though, his belt is undone, and his pants before he sits on the edge of the bed to take them off, tossing them to the dresser. He smiles, then, "See that's another reason why we make this work," Daniel remarks with a smile curving his lips, "We want the same things," he teases lightly.

Then just in his boxers he begins the process of undoing the straps that bind his prosthetic to what remains of his leg.

Peggy Carter has posed:
That makes her laugh freely, grin widening just a bit more as she looks up to him. "Mm...and here, me too tired to do...too much about it." She winks. Then Peggy walks over to the bedroom door and, just in case, slips the lock. There, even if Howard does come home, they will have some warning and cursing before he manages to get the door open. Then she's sauntering back and crawling into bed, reaching up to tug him back into her arms once his leg is set aside. "I love you, Daniel. Wouldn't trade this for the world..." There is no teasing left in that statements. Some nights, it just felt more important to say than others.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel laughs as well, fiening a sigh, "Keep wasting all my good material when we're both too tired," he laments with good-humour, before she joins him in bed and he's tugged down into her arms, he turns to face her, enclosing her in his arms as well. He meets her eyes, "Love you too Peggy,," he says in that earnest heartfelt way of his. "And I wouldn't either, nothing even comes close."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The dark haired woman sinks down deeper into the comfortable, somewhat plush bed with him, one arm curled across his waist and her knee tucking between his thighs. She smiles drowsily, "Oh, don't worry...I'm saving up. That next movie night, all these lines are going to pay off." She winks to him before leaning in for one more kiss. Then she's tucking down onto the pillow with him and going to be dead asleep within minutes. At least they'll get five hours before they need to dash back to the office.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel smiles in the darkness of their bedroom, "I'll hold you to that," he says as she cuddles in close, and then like her he's soon drifting off for what little sleep their lives allow, warm and content.