5826/Home at Last

Home at Last
Date of Scene:	02 April 2021
Location:	Carter-Sousa Home - Long Island
Synopsis:	Daniel and Peggy spend their first night at home in sixty-five years, all the news isn't happy but at least they're home.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Daniel Sousa

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Peggy Carter has posed:
The drive was fairly quiet. Full of emotions, reassurances to Abcde that she'd be somewhere safe, and Peggy trying to keep calm even as she has her hand wrapped around Daniel's good palm and is hanging on for dear life. By the end of the drive, he'd probably realize where they were going. Sure, many of the houses have changed, the lawns and the cars, but the street is the same. The trees are similiar. And it was still their *home*. Peggy's eyes drop a bit, giving no explanation quite yet. Maybe he didn't need one.

Getting settled in is a quiet, quick afair. Abcde up in the third upstairs bedroom that was a little office but they've set up a cot in there now. Daisy heading back to one of the other safe houses and even May taking her leave to return the motorcycle to Chinatown. No one directly said they were trying to give the couple space but everyone knew it, Peggy included. Soon enough, it's just them alone in a house which chillingly hasn't really changed since he disappeared. Peggy quietly walks through the kitchen, moving to put the old kettle on the stove. Tea. Coffee. Normalcy.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel was quiet on the drive home, but still expressed how he felt eloquently through how tight he gripped her hand the whole way there. It was like he was in a dream and he did not want to wake up any time soon. As they start to get close to home he starts recognizing the names of streets and a small smile forms on his lips.

Home.

Once they arrive, Daniel takes charge of helping get Abcde and Mittens settled, before coming back down to the kitchen nodding at a couple of other agents who clear out quickly after staring at him like they'd seen a ghost.

He couldn't blame them, what with all the old pictures of him around the place. It was like he remembered it when he left for the West Coast, just less alive, like a display at a museum, the shattered empty shell left behind by the life of Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa.

Coming to the kitchen, he glances around, "Things look pretty much where I left them, if the agents haven't eaten us out of house and home I can cook you something,": he offers with a faintly wry smile.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"You're going to let me see that hand first, don't think I forgot." Peggy states softly, falling into some strange old pattern with him as if it hadn't been 65 years. She's slowly sunk into strange shock, most of her not able to believe he's really here and the rest of her completely uncertain as to what to do. It's been so long. Her hands are still shaking, just slightly, as she gets the burner going on the stove and then looks back up to him.

He's here. He's standing in their kitchen. Alive and with that boyish, wry smile of his. She blinks against another wave of tears as she sees his smile. "...god, I missed you." The words are a quietly cracked whisper. She's trying not to drown in emotions again but it's hard when she sees him there. "And... I... I moved out... right after you died. Didn't... I couldn't live here... without you."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel nods about the hand, "Okay," he says about it getting looked after. "To be honest I'm just glad I'm not dripping blood all over the place," he says though when she speaks in that cracked whisper, he moves to stand behind her, wrapping her in his arms and his scent as he puts his head on her shoulder. "I understand, Peg," he says. "I don't think I could have done it either, this was our place," he says. Though he does add, "Though it's nice to see so many agents here now, given everything, that feels right."

Though that was all prelude to what was really on his mind, "I'm sorry I left you alone for so long Peg," he tells her in his own hoarse whisper. "I know I promised I wouldn't. I did everything to get the job done and come home but they got me. Or would have if Abcde hadn't done what she did."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Oh...dammit... now there's no way I'm... not crying..." Peggy's voice cracks out quietly as she feels his arms wrap around her like that for the first time in decades. But she doesn't fight it. She leans back into him, turning her head so she can bury her tearful face into his neck, drinking up his scent. The tears come harder now, decades of grief and love all wrapped up in a mess she has no ability left to control. Not when his rock solid arms are there again.

A shaking breath comes, Peggy's attempt to stop the tears even as she still presses against him. "...I... I thought you wouldn't... mind. This place has been abandoned and off the books so, so long, it was a safe place to go. Oh..." She gives him a weak laugh, pulling back just enough she can see his eyes, "And we have...a prisoner, h-head of HYDRA, locked in the bomb shelter..."

But then he's going on about being sorry that he left her alone. She shakes her head quietly but firmly, even as more tears still cut down her face, "N-no...no, don't be sorry, you... You did your job. You were doing your... job. We always knew the risks. I... I knew the risks."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel doesn't resist the tearful face pressed against his neck he just holds Peggy tighter not wanting to let go, holding her until she's cried all she needs to in the moment. "I don't, but I do want to know what happened to SHIELD," he says, but then Peggy drops that final bombshell and he's quiet for a moment, before he breaths a bit of a laugh, against her shoulder, his chest rocking against her back, "Good to see things haven't changed that much since our SSR days," he says of their often off the books missions before they became the ones calling the shots. He grows more serious then, kissing her shoulder. "Whatever happened to SHIELD and whatever is going on with this Squid in our basement, whatever you need me to do to Peg, you've got it."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The kiss against her shoulder makes her chest tighten even more and another faint, ragged breath escapes between the tears, especially as he promises he's there. It's been so many years since she had her rock that she forgot how much better the world felt for his simple presence. She wraps her arms tightly around his back, fingertips clinging against the thin material of that t-shirt he wears. At least it's easier to feel the muscle of him beneath that fabric instead of their usual, undershirt, button down, suit jacket layers. She clutches to him tight enough it might be uncomfortable, but he can probably feel the faint trembling of her body, the ragged pound of her heart. She's missed this so much.

"Hell, I'm... a wreck. You don't need this... You don't deserve this. You're hurt, and ... out of time, and I'm probably mucking the timeline...up... Every moment I want to hold onto you but god... It's been so long. I need you here and I know I can't...keep you... and that might send me to pieces, once and for all." Peggy admits faintly.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel doesn't register the discomfort it just feels so damn good to hold Peggy like they had in the past. It centered him in this future as much as it seemed to center her.

"Peggy, you can cry all you want, it's been decades for you, it's been about a week for me."

"I've already learned enough without trying to screw up the timeline Peg. I know about Steve, about Tony, I know how history says I died, about some alien invasion and a guy named Loki. "So unless Samberly perfected that memory thing of his to erase a whole lot more than two minutes, I don't think I can go back as much as I want to be there for you and Michael, I know I can't sit on things like Steve or that a bunch of aliens attack New York and just go on living."

"Besides, I don't think I have to go back," he says. "I looked up my death," he admits, knowing that was violating a cardinal rule of time travel, "Saw the body in the pool and everything, but I'm here, somehow history compensated. So if I'm dead, I am not sure I need to go back."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The news that he doesn't think he needs to go back? That drives her eyes wide. The flood of relief is strong enough May might be able to feel it half way through the city. She's still crying, a fresh wave of tears, but these are hopeful ones. Tears that are scared to dare hope for nice things. Because this is the nicest thing that's happened to her in years. A hiccupy breath comes as she dares pull one hand back from around him to cup his cheek instead. "N-no... you... we can't change this time. You have to... die. I have to do that alone. It's happened already and that's the world. That's my... life... But now. If you could stay.. now..."

She swallows hard. She's terrified to hope for it, but damp lashes flutter closed for a second and she rests her forehead against his cheek, breathing in his skin once more. "I love you. However this... pans out. I love you. I... need you. I was... it wasn't the same without you. Ever. I wasn't... the same." She admits softly, decades of regrets with their son behind her voice, though she's not even really touching that yet.

"But...you should sit. Get off that leg. Let me see your hand. I... god, I'm just making this worse..."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
^Daniel holds her tight hand rubbing her back as he did those other times so many years ago when she let herself cry with him. "That's what I think, that I can stay, it's what I want too, I mean it kills me that you have to hurt that much for so long, but the past is written, tomorrow and the next day and the next aren't. I love you Peg, and if you need me now then now is where, or when I'm going to be."

Smiling and brushing her lips with a kiss that was meant to be brief before turning into something longer and more needful, he manages to pull himself away after awhile and moves to one of the chairs, taking a seat, arms spread, 'Better?" he asks her, a boyish smile returned to his lips.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Of course, she's practically following him with that kiss. So oddly smiliar to the first kiss they shared, the one that ruined his desk chair for ages. But Peggy isn't going to toss herself at him quite yet. Not when he's hurting and she's still trying to sort out her head. But she does end up right next to the table, looking down at him, and then she leans over to kiss his forehead softly. She knows she needs to let him go to help his hand, but part of her seems afraid he's going to disappear.

Peggy takes another breath, then she's going for the sink and the first aid kit beneath it. "...Hell, I need to update...*Everything* here. I swear we have far better medical technology now. I just never expected to be living in this house again." The fact that she kept it perfectly clean and in tact if she never planned on using it? Possibly worrisome. But she's still got some cleaning alcohol, butterfly bandages, and the basic things to patch up his hand the way they did it in the old days. "Come on. Bring that chair over here to the sink and give me that hand." Her touch is still gentle, even if there is that faint, overwhelmed shake to her hands.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel smiles as the kiss breaks and he looks up at her lovingly as she looks down at him. When the talk turns to updating things in the house, "You're not getting the robot curtains that spy on us are you?" he asks with a bemused smile on his face.

Though when she asks he moves over to offer his hand, and let her work on it "You need a sec, Peg?" he asks her feeling her hands shake. "Or a shot of whiskey?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
"...P-probably both, in truth, but I'd like you to not really be bleeding and me to not keep you on your feet. So... emergencies first. Emotions second." Peggy clips out, slowly starting to clamp down on everything she's feeling since she's got a task to do now. A deep breath is taken and her hands are now a little more steady as she starts sponging water over the wounds on Daniel's hand. She's being ever so careful to clean them out, but the harsh sting of alcohol will come a few moments later, since he didn't get it cleaned immediately.

"So... tell me what you remember? We just saw a very strange video. Something that had been time manipulated. And when WAND -- ah, that is the magic division of SHIELD -- managed to filter it, we got the video of you and that woman being interrogated. That's how... how we tracked you down. I thought someone was... pretending to be you at first. I was so, so damn mad."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel takes the cleaning without complaint, by now sitting in this kitchen and having Peggy tend his wounds is almost comforting, even if he flinches reflexively at the sting of alcohol.

Daniel makes a face when she mentions being interrogated, "That- never happened, or at least I don't remember it," he says thinking back. "I was at the Roosevelt hotel, made the hand off to Stark's guy, got flushed onto the pool deck and there was a guy waiting for me, then suddenly I was in an antique shop in New York, with Abcde and that guy in the medieval get up. HYDRA guys burst in killed the store clerk, I dropped one then we fled out the back. We got back to Abcde's apartment, cleaned up she lent me some clothes and then we walked to the police station, before we go in though we get a message on her phone warning us that HYDRA is there, so we left and went back to her place to rest, one the way we saw the posters about reporting SHIELD if you see it and she showed me the Secretary of Defense's speech on her phone. After than I laid low until I tried to get a hold of you at the Swordfish then caught a ride back and ran into you guys."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Well...It happened in some reality at some point. We have the footage. I can...show it to you. Later. It... gets rather bloody." Peggy admits softly, a concerned furrow coming to her brow as she looks up from his hand to his face, trying to gauge his reaction to that. Then she's looking back to his palm and she finishes out the last bit of cleaning. "Looks like most of this stopped without stitches. Good news. I'll have Jemma bring over some things for tissue repair, but... this will do for now."

She starts gingerly putting butterfly bandages across the open wounds on his hand, being ever so careful to meet edges of broken skin to opposite edges. It's a fine, careful task that she probably doesn't have to be so exacting with, but it's a good distraction from the mountains of emotion she's feeling. Face tilted down towards his palm, she looks more drawn and exhausted than he's probably ever seen before. She looks her 100 years of age in this moment, behind her eyes.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Bloody how? Did I get hit?" Daniel asks her. "And I'll definitely watch, I really don't remember it, but if you saw it I believe you," he says and lets out a breath. "No wonder SHIELD has a magic division now with all this weirdness going on." He gives his head a shake at it all.

"Sounds good, can we maybe see if this Jemma has something for my leg, it's been killing me since I got here, I think I got sand in it out at Groom Lake, that's always a pain in my behind," he says.

He notices the tiredness in Peg though, it's hard not to, even so his eyes look up at her with concern. "Peg," he says. "When we're done, you need to lay down, you look dead on your feet."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"You hit? No... no. I don't think so. I think whatever got out of there, maybe this djinn thing the woman is talking about, it... destroyed the officers. Completely obliterated them. Or maybe it was HYDRA coming in, but I think it was likely magical. We can go over the footage again together... Later." Peggy's finishing the last butterfly on his hand, both her palms coming up to gently turn his hand over and back again, making certain she's gotten any open wound. She then leans down, kissing against mussed and bandaged knuckles for just a heartbeat. "There. How's that feel?"

Dark eyes look up from his palm, a slightly embarrassed frown pulling at her unpainted lips as he comments on her own exhaustion. She lets out a little tsk of a breath and a small shake of her head, "I...I'm fine. We were just looking late last night and I don't have make up on. It's not so bad... Trust me." As stiff and stubborn as ever.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel makes a face at the description of what was on the tape. "Sounds like a hell of a thing," he says before frowning. "From what Abcde's said the djinn isn't on our side, so I'm curious why it decided to help us."

Though he's happy to put that aside for Peggy's tender kiss to his knuckles. "Like I just had my hand sewn back together," he grins. "But that kiss was alright," he says with a smile.

The smile doesn't vanish when Peggy protests that she's fine. "Does that work with people in the future?" he asks her, his smile taking on a teasing aspect. "Because, definitely not working on me," he says. "Let me guess, you've barely had a wink of sleep since SHIELD got blacklisted, and if you were aware it was coming, then you likely haven't had wink of sleep ahead of that trying to stop it from happening, on top of whatever the heck SHIELD is into otherwise?" he ventures, before asking. "How'd I do?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
A small glare is given in his direction, but Peggy still can't lie to him. Even after all these years, those big brown eyes look at her, call her out without hesitation, and part of her just crumbles. She lets out a slow breath, pulling back enough she can let his hand go and move to properly washing her hands of the iodine and bits of blood from working. "That's not... *exactly* it. I've had a few hours here and there. I'm seemingly not aging but I'm not a super soldier. I still need *some* sleep." But he's uncomfortably close to the truth. She's not had a full night's sleep in pushing two weeks now.

She finishes with the sink and then moves to dry her hands, still falling back into the comfortable patterns of being in their kitchen together. It's been 65 years and yet muscle memory makes it feel like no time. She pauses at the side of the stove, where the dish towel hangs she just dried her hands on, and looks back to him. It's like she still expects him to disappear. "...you're really still here."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel chuckles at the glare, just as he always does when he knows he's called her out for being stubbornly self-destructive. He flexes his hand tentatively when she lets it go, getting a sense of how it moves with the stitches in, it seemingly passes muster and he lets it fall to his lap. "What's the deal with that?" he asks about the not aging. "If you can share it," her allusion to not being a super soldier suggested it was something similar and those projects tended to be classified to hell and back.

For Daniel all of it feels like home, even knowing the grief that must have kept this place frozen in time, he's glad of it, the familiar setting and most of all Peggy's presence was slowly untying the knot of discomfort in his gut that had lived there since he first arrived.

"I am," he tells her getting to his feet with the help of his cane, flinching sharply as he puts weight on his prosthetic, still he comes to stand with her at the sink arms wrapping around her, to let her feel he was well and truly there. "I promise, when you wake up tomorrow, this won't be a dream. I'm really here." he says before he leans ^in to kiss her tenderly again, giving her yet more proof this was real and somehow they'd cheated the universe again.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Seeing him limping like that is far more likely to get her into bed than the need for rest herself. A flicker of concern and wince of sympathy crosses her eyes, but then he's wrapping her up in his arms and that's enough of a pleasant distraction that she doesn't push about it. She leans over, returning the kiss warmly, her arms wrapped tight around him again. The kisses make her own icy defensiveness near impossible to keep up.

"...your poor leg. While... there's a lot to do, it looks like we should both be off our feet. Come on... I suppose bed wouldn't... *Hurt*. They can give us one night." The sun was down, after all. It was early for tucking in to sleep, but it's not like it was the middle of the afternoon. She slips her arm beneath his shoulders, letting him lean a bit more against her as she turns for the hallway and their shared bedroom that is as unchanged as the rest of the house. Even the book he was reading is still on the bedside table. "I can... explain what happened once we're off our feet. It's not that fascinating, but... it happened."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
^The kiss is savoured, even though it had been just a week away for him, he needed his own share of assurance this was real. Though when their lips partDaniel is more than happy to take Peggy's help when she offers it a further sign of how much pain he must be in, he could be as stubborn as she was when it came to those sorts of things.

He goes along with her, eyes scanning all around taking in the familiar sights of home again, his expression wry when he sees his book is still where he left it, though after a moment the sadness of that hits him and he kisses Peggy head, "I'm sorry," he tells her again. "I can see why you're ready for me to vanish from your life," because he had, his death ripping a Daniel shaped hole right in the middle of Peggy's life, one that didn't look like it had ever truly healed.

Though when they arrive at the bedroom, he nods, trying to put his mind on the topic at hand. "Well, seeing as you're looking like you did when I left, I'd have to doubt that," he says leaning up against their dresser. "But I am willing to be surprised."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The bedroom is about the only place that looks like it's been actively used, short of the take out in the kitchen and the new files on the one desk. She's clearly been in the bed over the last few nights -- always still on her side and with the sheets looking twisted and turned. None of it was restful sleep from the look of their bed alone. But she wasn't lying, she did TRY to sleep, at least. Last night was particularly hard.

She brings him over to his side of the bed, helping him down without giving any comment about it. Then she disappears into their bathroom and returns a moment later with a fresh bottle of asprin and the little glass cup that was always in there. "Come... this will help." Then she's back to his side, carefully crouching down to cuff his pant leg over that prosthesis. A faint smile crosses her face, "Lets see if I remember how to do this?" It had been quite some time, after all. But her fingertips are careful as ever, especially with how inflamed his leg is.

"And... in the 70s, HYDRA tried to have me killed... well, more than once. The third time, they almost succeeded. Should have, honestly. But they drug my body back to SHIELD and a few scientists had been experimenting on something called the 'Infinity Formula'... It's another super solider serum, I suppose, but strictly made to help rapid cell regrowth and renewal. It... worked. It also seemed to de-age me back to my prime and... Keep me there? For a while, at least. In the 80s, it started breaking down rather... rapidly. The symptoms were... awful. They couldn't figure a fix, so they froze me in hopes one could be found later..."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
The evidence of the rough night's sleep is taken and filed away, a faint furrow of worry forming on his brow, before he flattens it as he's led to the bed and sits down. The asprin is taken greatfully and swallowed down with the water before the cup is set next to his book on the bed side table.

Smiling back, "I'm sure it's like riding a bike," he offers warmly of getting the leg off of him, though as she works there's growing wrinkling of his face, not out of pain but expectation of what Peggy might say at the state of his leg. With everything he had to do out west, then being effectively on the run in 2021, he hadn't taken it off for more than a couple of hours in at least a week and it showed.

Though when she tells the story, his leg is forgotten, "Wow," he says with a mix of amazement and sympathy, "That must have been horrible," he says "How'd they bring you back?

Peggy Carter has posed:
Just as he's looking at her bed and the exhaustion on her face to file away for the future, but with a worried gaze, that's exactly the look she's giving to his leg. In fact, she can't keep entirely quiet about it, a worried chuff escaping her throat as she gently sets the prosthetic aside. She's not going to lecture him. She knows what duty is. But she does stand up and move for the bathroom again. A few cold cloths are soaked in the basin before she brings back out to wrap around the raw, bruised section of his amputated leg. Just something to get the swelling down and help with some of the pain. "Jemma... will take a look at all of you, if you don't mind. She's a good woman." That's all she offers, her worry deeper than the need to lecture.

Then she's carefully starting to strip out of her own modern clothing. Well, to be fair, the open button down shirt was stolen from his dresser, but everything else was from May. She's still in 1950s underthings beneath, though. Some things never change. "It was... horrible for a week. But I degraded quiet... rapidly. Michael wasn't speaking to me at the time anyway and SHIELD could stand on its own so... I didn't fight the freezing. I never dreamt it'd work. And it didn't.... entirely. The cryotube malfunctioned a little less than a year ago and opened. They managed to use some very... advanced genetic therapies and some DNA from several SHIELD agents to stablize my own DNA. It's all very...experimental. But seems to have worked..." For now. She still looks exhausted and strung out. Maybe a little less steady than she'd prefer, but surely that is just the exhaustion?

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Thank you," Daniel says both for the care and not lecturing him on it. He lets out a relieved noise as the wet cloths are applied and he nods about seeing Jemma. "Sure," he says. "Just point me in her direction," he says of the scientist.

He settles against the bed eyes half-closed savouring the easing of his pain as Peggy undresses, "Guess you haven't fully gone native huh?" he says cracking an eye wide enough to see the old fashion undergarments before opening his eyes fully.

Though the story soon has his full attention, a frown crosses his lips about Michael but he doesn't press about it until the story's done, saying first, earnestly, "Glad they fixed you up," he says, There was something poetic about Peggy being held together by a collection of SHIELD agents, though he'd expound upon that another time, right now he pats the bed beside him seeing her unsteadiness, inviting her to sit. "What happened with Michael?" he asks.

Peggy Carter has posed:
One of her old nightgowns is drawn out of her side lingerie drawer, bra swapped out for it smoothly and then her exhausted frame just happily sinks down into the bed next to him. She realizes, in that moment, how different the bed feels with his body there. It's so subtle, the faint warmth and pressure in the mattress next to her, but a dramatic change from how she's been sleeping for decades now. A faint smile dares flicker across her lips, body instinctively curling in his direction. "...I missed this." She confesses.

But the relaxation doesn't last overly long. The question about Michael is like a crack across her face. She can't meet his eyes as she rolls back onto her back and stares up at the ceiling. "Nothing... exactly. A lifetime of being neglected for work. Handed off to Ana, or Maria, or one of half a dozen other aunties. I worked long hours. Always tried to come home, to... spend some time with him, but it was never fair. And he reminded me... so much of you. It wasn't fair to him at all. When he finally had the chance to leave, he did. Went to school across the country... left it with him saying I clearly never wanted to deal with him, would rather have nothing but my work, so... there. I had my wishes. I tried to call him for a while. Send gifts on holidays... his birthday... but he kept sending them back. God... I... messed up, Daniel. I mucked it up something... awfully."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel lays back beside her, letting her curl up against him while his arm drapes lazily over her waist, falling easily into their old habits. "I did too," he says, truthfully. Short though the time away was he always slept better when Peggy was there.

Daniel's expression falls at the news about Michael, "Jesus," he breathes at the part where he sent back her gifts, flinching at just how much that gesture said and trying to imagine the Michael he knew becoming someone that angry. "I'm sorry Peg," he says, taking her hand in his. "That must have been horrible," he says, his mouth opens to say more, to offer advice but he finds he knows nothing about his son. "How long has it been since you talked to him?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
The shame just deepens in her features. It's rare that Peggy fails -- truly fails. Even HYDRA she might be feeling a bit ashamed over, but she knows it's not all her fault. This is her fault. This, what should have been the most important thing in the world, was all her fault. She blinks against a sting of tears she hasn't even cried about it since she was awake, still not looking at him. The ceiling of their bedroom, lit only by her one bedside lamp, it was far easier to watch than his face.

"The last time we... spoke... Spoke... was 1980. I tried for a few more years. The last time I even tried was...1984. I don't even know if anyone told him I was frozen. Or... that I was back. He's still alive. I... checked those dates, but... that's all." Her eyes press tightly shut against those tears she doesn't want to come. The shame is suffocating. "I... I was an awful mum, Daniel. I completely ruined things."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel is quiet, listening, laying still beside her until she's done, when he wraps his arms around her fully and pulls her to him tightly. "I don't really know what to say to any of that," he admits after a moment. "But I don't blame you, Peg. You literally pleaded with me not to let what happened happen, to leave you handling it all by yourself," by his tone he's not blaming himself in this either. "I'm not sure I would have done better if it was just me," he admits, staggered by the thought of having to handle all of that alone. SHIELD and raising a son. "But if he's still alive then we can try to fix things, I'll be there for you this time and even if things are broken maybe we can make them better."

Peggy Carter has posed:
He can practically feel the tension through her body, a long line of guilt and misery, as he wraps his arms around her there. "You should blame me. God knows I do. It's my own damn fault." She rasps out, still not looking at hin, but she does dare let her head tilt and turn her body enough she can tuck herself into his neck. While she's feeling more guilt than she can put to words, she won't let herself completely drown in punishment and pull away from whatever stolen moments she has with him. She takes in a slightly shaking breath of his scent.

"...I love you and...I'm sorry. We knew... this could happen. We knew, and we took the risks, and... he's had a life and everything he could ever... need... Other than my time, I suppose. He was well taken care of. He's got a good career..." Or did when she left. "I don't want to... muck up his life any more." Her voice cracks out quietly. She's so tired and this is the last bit of salt in a very old, very open wound.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel holds her still, "Well I don't, Peggy," he tell her firmly but gently about blaming her for it. He kisses her forehead, not arguing further and making her have to defend her guilt, things were bad enough as it was without inflicting that on her too. Instead he gently rubs her back as he holds her.

"I love you too, and we did know the risks and did what we did for better or worse," he says. "I think I may try to see him... sometime, but I understand not wanting to mess things up further, if you want to join me you're welcome to, if not then I understand that too. Last thing I want to do is cause either of you pain."

Peggy Carter has posed:
A slow, deep breath is drawn in quietly through her nose. Peggy's just trying to swallow back her own emotions buffeting against weeks of exhaustion and the first place she's felt like she can experience them openly in a long, long while. But it's not how she wanted their first night. It's not how she dared to let them fall asleep. So, she forces those tears back down and turns her head, pressing a soft kiss in against his throat.

"I...love you too, and if you go...I... I probably will too. If he asks me to leave, I'll leave. But you should see him. He has no reason to be angry with you. I ... I want you to see him." Peggy whispers quietly, still half buried in his neck. She's staring out across his chest into the shadows of the room now. It's probably going to be a good while until she can get her head to settle again enough to sleep. But at least his warmth was still there next to her.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel accepts those kisses, murmuring, "Okay," he tells her of their nacent plan to see their son. He kisses the top of her head then, and settles a little closer to her, fingers gently playing through her hair until his own thoughts settle some time later enough to let him sleep. A final, "I love you, and I'm glad to be home." escaping his lips before sleep claims him.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I love you too... I never stopped loving you." Peggy admits softly, the quietest of whispers against his upper chest. Then she lets him fall into sleep. While her mind is still washing over rocky shores, the sound of his slow, consistent breathing and the warmth of him is enough to lure her down into sleep next to him, where she'll stay the whole rest of the night. Troubled thoughts or not, it's the best sleep she's gotten in weeks, if not years.