womanofvalue | briar rose modern au

When she'd been woken up by a number of SSR lab techs (SHIELD, they call themselves, but they're all the same to her), Peggy hadn't been expecting to find that her entire life would be uprooted because Howard couldn't calibrate a damn experiment. Of course, all that disdain and grief had faded away when Steve Rogers had walked in, alive and well, and suddenly the future seemed brighter. Brighter, louder, and more confusing, too, but those are minor complaints.

Lucky for her, no matter what year she'd come from, she's still at least respected for her skills and with Romanoff helping her brush off some cobwebs, Peggy's managed to get some good training in. She's even got an agent's name, a lovely black spandex suit that's just awful, and right now, she's got a mission in hand.

It's a rather simple one, unfortunately. There's a man who has a very distinct preference when it comes to his women, who also happens to know some very important secrets that Fury would like Peggy to get out of him. It's a mission she's done ten times before and could probably do in her sleep. That's the main reason why she's annoyed that Steve is at her flat, watching her pick out something to wear for this mission.

It's as if he doesn't trust her to manage. Digging out a glittery gown, she wrinkles her nose, wishing for the days of classier outfits, but Peggy knows this is likely to draw attention to herself in a bad way, though it does make her nostalgic. "You know," she says, giving Steve a critical glance over her shoulder, "I have run this sort of mission enough times to do without the backup."

Or the fashion advice, but she presses her lips together to remain mum on this point. After all, she hasn't heard any yet and if Steve knows what's best for him, she won't.

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Peggy seemed to take things far better than he did when he woke up, but that was likely the difference between them given she did the experiment voluntarily. Why had she done it? Well, that was a question sitting on his tongue since he'd been told she was awake and one that he decided to leave for another time. It was a question Steve was pretty sure he didn't want to know the answer to. She meant a great deal to him, despite never getting the chance to show it.

He made his choices, she made hers.

The problem he had was how fast Fury was willing to toss her back into things, even if he learned long ago never to underestimate a woman no matter the situation. Still, it was perhaps his own fear of losing her in a much more definite way that had him hanging around like her second shadow.

Steve, leaned up against the door frame of her bedroom with eyes cast down to the floor, listens and nods in agreement. "I know," he starts, bringing blue eyes back up to look at the dress. He could feel himself cringing inwardly. "But it's different out there now, Peggy. People are different. I don't want to get in the way but I don't see why I can't be there to act as a second pair of eyes."

It was a logical reason and she knew that.

Peggy's in the midst of fishing out something very body-hugging (bodycon? Is that what Natasha had called it? All Peggy knew is that it had a ridiculous name, but certainly served her purposes when it came to getting a man's attention) when Steve replies, giving him a disapproving look.

"You know I'll never disagree with your eyes on me," she says, wanting to make sure Steve understands that this isn't about him coming, it's about the fact that it's a mission and she has work to do. Namely, work that will involve her cosying up to a lecherous arse in order to get the work done.

If he's going to be there, well, she might as well get his opinion. Dragging up both dresses and holding them to her shoulder, she gives him an expectant look.

"Help with this," she insists. "Which one will work better on the mark? Since it's so different," comes the dry jibe.

As far as Peggy is concerned, the argument is far from over, but she knows that they need to stay focused and she needs to make sure she gets there before another woman takes his fancy and her opportunity to ply him with liquor and laughter is gone.

That's exactly the problem he had with it; his eyes on her from far enough away that it didn't give anyone reason to think there would be trouble if things went sideways, especially since everyone knew Captain America and not as many (but still enough) knew his face.

He's about to make a reply to that when she distracts him with needing an opinion and the face clearly suggests her retort wasn't fair, but what else did he expect from her? She had a point and he was letting personal feelings get in the way.

After looking at Peggy's expression, his eyes bounce between the two dresses before he finally points out to the one on the right.

Yes, he deliberately picked the other dress that he thought would work better on the mark. Not to throw the mission, both dresses would catch his eye, but because he didn't want half the guys in the places trying to get her attention.

"But that's it. I'm sorry, I can't just be the eyes, Peg." he told her truthfully, shrugging in defeat. That didn't change anything and he'd still be there despite it if only because he didn't trust anyone else to have her back. "Guys like this have no problem hurting a woman for anything less than disagreeing with their opinion."

She gives him a moment's consideration, arching her brow, when he chooses the more old-fashioned choice, but the options here are to ignore him and make Steve feel like she never cared or to simply wear the one he'd picked. Lucky for her, Peggy knows she can make anything work, which is why she lets the tighter dress fall back to the bed.

It's unfortunate Steve has to keep talking. She gives him an unimpressed look as she opens the bathroom door to change, not closing it entirely. "I know you're not implying that I can't take care of myself," is her heated reply. "Because if my fists aren't going to stop a man, then the lipstick I'm wearing will."

She's not stupid, after all. She'll have a gun, her skills, and her lipstick. Shifting the dress over her lingerie, she twists her hair up for the moment to pin it, coming back out and thinking that it feels comfortable, if a bit vintage. "You can be there," she says, "but do not mess up my mission, Steve! I Know how to do this," she insists, coming out of the loo to fetch her stockings.

No, he wasn't implying that she couldn't take care of herself, but it was Peggy's first mission and things had changed, which was all he was trying to get across. Steve had never underestimated her before and he wouldn't do it now. There was merely a need to... well, there was no need to bring that up now.

Shaking his head, Steve made it obvious that was not what he was doing. In fact, there was no further talking about it. All she needs to remember is that he will be there to make sure nothing went wrong.

Even with her in the bathroom, he looks away and into the main area of her apartment. It's only when she emerges again that he glances back.

"Yeah, that's what Natasha told me to do, too. Only she said it a lot nicer," he said, quirking a grin before straightening to stand. Oh, the irony in that. But his partner typically had a way of knowing what was on his mind and that didn't count as gossiping when she called him on it.

Now that Peggy's finished with the most intimate aspects of dressing, she feels as if she can finish the rest in the main area, settling on the bed with her stockings so she can flip up the hem of the dress enough to begin rolling them on to attach to the garter belts, though she's also got the thigh holster to worry about.

She doesn't shy from Steve in this, as if she wants him to be seeing her, because she does. It's been so long and when she'd volunteered, she hadn't known he'd survived. She'd just wanted to do something good for the world.

"Are you accusing me of being not nice?" It's coy and easing, because yes, he is, and he's probably right. Peggy does have her fair share of sharp edges and unfortunately, she's not in a rush to change that fact. "You can still be my backup," she allows, belatedly. "If things go awry, you can come flirt with me, pick me up, and I'll go home with you. We can even have a safe word."

Even if Steve had been living in this modern world for a while now, his manners were still ridiculously proper and almost annoyingly so. When Peggy continues her dressing he gives her the respect she deserves and lowers his gaze as if in thought.

He doesn't answer right away, instead shrugs. Steve doesn't plan to lie. "Well," he teases lightly, glancing up.

Which was only saying she was a woman who took no guff.

"Alright, deal. Safe word is.. how about moonlight?"

Once she's put on the garters, the dress is an easy thing to slip on. She'd already finished her makeup, but the lipstick is normal and not her knockout version, intending to do that the old-fashioned way with fists and fury if it comes to that.

She really does hope it won't come to that.

Reaching down to pick up her heels, she wanders closer to him, standing just at his knees so they're barely touching. "That sounds like a perfect safeword to me, but I assure you, I won't have to use it," she says, exuding all the confidence in the world, as far as she's concerned.

briar rose modern au

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