Someone to Watch Over Me (Agent Carter, Peggy)

[Evilduckling108]

So my latest obsession has been all things Agent Carter, so of course this was inevitable. Slight Cartinelli in this chapter, but I tagged it as F/F and if I continue, it'll definitely be more apparent because I'm Cartinelli trash. Not a lot of sneezing in this part, but there will be more. Anyway, let me know what you think? Hope you like it!

“Mornin’, Peg.”

“Good morning, Angie.”

“Coffee?”

“Sounds lovely.”

“Comin’ right up.”

The automat was practically bursting with customers and Angie was so busy she barely had time to spare a glance at Peggy before racing back into the kitchen. Which Peggy was pretty glad for, mostly because even though she had spent extra time on her makeup that morning, she was pretty sure Angie would be able to see right through it. And she’d probably put up a fight about Peggy going into work.

She’d probably be right, but that was beside the point.

Peggy leaned her elbows on the counter in front of her and massaged her temples in an effort to stave off the headache that was brewing there.

“Here you go, English. Cream and plenty of sugar, just the way you like it.” Angie’s smile was bright and sunny and Peggy could feel her own lips twitch upwards involuntarily.

That was at least until Angie leaned just a little bit closer and narrowed her eyes as she stared at Peggy’s face. Peggy shifted uncomfortably on her stool and looked down at the counter.

“Is there something you need?” she asked, instantly wincing at the congestion that was blatantly tainting her voice. Angie must have heard it too, because her gaze instantly hardened and she stood up straight, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You’re sick,” she said. “You’re not going to work.”

“What are you talking about? I’m fine,” Peggy insisted. She was completely aware that she sounded like a petulant child, but she wasn’t going to let something as simple as a little cold keep her out of work. She was about to say something else, but then the tickle in her nose that had been nagging her for the better part of the morning increased and Peggy barely had time to pinch her nose before pitching forward in a series of sneezes.

The first three were completely silent, but Peggy’s head bobbed forward and Angie carefully slid the mug of hot coffee out of the way.

“Huh-ngsch! Heh-nxgt! Mppt! Heh-ngxt! Nxgt! Nxgt!”

Peggy stifled the sneezes as best she could--which was still pretty poorly—and took a few ragged breaths to be sure she was finished before sniffling, sitting back up, and pointedly looking anywhere except at Angie.

Angie pulled a couple of napkins out of the nearest dispenser and handed them to Peggy who nodded her thanks as she took them and blew her nose quietly.

“Thanks,” Peggy said after a moment. There was a red flush creeping up her cheeks and Angie’s pretty sure it’s not from illness.

“Tell you what,” Angie said. She slid the coffee mug back towards Peggy and glanced around to make sure no other customers were listening in before leaning in closer and continuing. “How about you finish up your coffee, go home, and I’ll clock out after the breakfast rush and make you some of my ma’s chicken soup.”

“That sounds lovely, Angie, but I really do have to go to work,” Peggy said. She took a sip of her coffee and then set it back down as she felt the tickle start teasing her nose again.

“Peg, you’re sick and if you go to work, you’re just gonna be miserable and infect everybody else. Trust me, it ain’t worth it. Just go home and get some rest.”

“For the last time, I’m fine. I just…

“Heh-itschoo! Heh-choo! Hehe-itschoo!”

Angie raised one eyebrow and put her hand on her hip.

“You were saying?”

Peggy wiped her nose on another napkin and kept her hands cupped over her face for an extra moment to try to hide the bright flush on her pale cheeks.

“That’s what I thought,” Angie said. “Go home, change into something a little more comfortable, and try to get some sleep. I’ve gotta get back to work, but I’ll be home as soon as my shift’s over, okay?”

“Alright,” Peggy sighed. She finished off the rest of her coffee which had already gone cold and stood up. She slipped her coat on, dropped a few bills on the counter, and headed out of the automat.

There was a considerable part of her that was still tempted to go to the office, but Angie had a point, and besides, she did feel pretty miserable. So she turned left and wove her way through the city streets.

The way was so familiar that it felt like no time had passed when she found herself standing in the massive foyer. She didn’t stop to think about it though. She just kicked off her shoes, hung up her coat, made her way to her bedroom and all but collapsed on top of the duvet.

A few minutes more and she was sound asleep.

[RiversD]

Oooh, new Agent Carter fic! New good AC fic at that.

This is just lovely.

“Is there something you need?” she asked, instantly wincing at the congestion that was blatantly tainting her voice. Angie must have heard it too, because her gaze instantly hardened and she stood up straight, crossing her arms over her chest.

Angie is the best. I enjoyed the way you wrote the two of them- both knowing each other back to front and both knowing exactly how well the other one knows them (my explanation is garbled, your image-building was not).

The first three were completely silent, but Peggy’s head bobbed forward and Angie carefully slid the mug of hot coffee out of the way.

Again, you're really good at tacking those little extras onto your sentences that make them better. In this case, practical Angie sliding the coffee away, because right? First rule of sneezing fits- avoid taking responsibility for hot liquids.

“Peg, you’re sick and if you go to work, you’re just gonna be miserable and infect everybody else. Trust me, it ain’t worth it. Just go home and get some rest.”

I'm going to become your Angie's personal cheerleader because she rules. And she's talking sense, Peggy- accept it and let yourself be cared for.

“You were saying?”

Peggy wiped her nose on another napkin and kept her hands cupped over her face for an extra moment to try to hide the bright flush on her pale cheeks.

“That’s what I thought,” Angie said.

*waves pompoms* Angie, please be in my life forever.

[Anonymouse]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I've been dying for some Peggy! Wasn't really sure what kind of sneeze I'd see her as but those initial rapid ones suit her. I love that Angie didn't bless her, just handed her napkins. Please tell me this will continue?

[Likesn]

This is great! I really like this. I've been watching this series myself and dying for someone to write a sneezefic about it. The pairing of Peggy and Angie is the best possible pairing in this series and I'd be absolutely delighted if Angie ends up catching Peggy's cold *fingers crossed*.

[Yuuki]

Never seen agent carter but now i feel likw watching it

Great fanfic hope to see more soon

[beatlelover22]

OH MY GOSH. You're trying to kill me, aren't you? I love Agent Carter and especially Cartinelli!! This was beyond cute omfg thanks for writing it!!

[Bruyere]

I loved this! I really like Peggy being bossed about (in a caring way!) by Angie.

[peterpizza]

AWWW Peggy and Angie! Thank you for posting this. I love these two.

[NoV]

Not sure why I have only just discovered this now! I love how she's desperate to stifle them, despite the fact they come upon her so fast I agree with AnonyMouse - some Agent Carter sneeze action has been long overdue

[SexyGodlikeHair]

Dude, I love literally everything about this, so I don't know what to say, aside from AWESOME

[SexyGodlikeHair]

Would it be too much to hope for more-?

[Likesn]

Would it be too much to hope for more-?

Oh yes! Please continue!

[Evilduckling108]

Surprise! It's been a while, but here's part two. There's going to be one last installment that will hopefully be up in the next few days. Thank you all so much for your kind words. They mean so much and I hope you enjoy this part just as much.

When Peggy woke up, early afternoon sunlight spilled into the room from the space between the heavy curtains. At first she wasn’t quite sure why she had woken up. Then she heard the phone ringing on the nightstand. She pushed herself up with a groan so that she could sit against the headboard and reached for the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Carter? Is that you? You sound terrible.”

Peggy rolled her eyes and stifled a silent sneeze into her elbow before replying.

“As tactful as always, Agent Thompson,” she said. Her voice was hoarse and still tinged with sleep and there was a tiny part of her that was almost embarrassed to have to talk to anyone like this. But then again, most of her was still exhausted and undeniably sick at this point, so she couldn’t really bring herself to care.

“It’s chief,” Thompson snapped.

“Oh yes of course. How could I forget?” Peggy asked, rolling her eyes even though Thompson couldn’t hear it through the phone. She was pretty sure the congestion in her voice cancelled out most of the sarcasm, but she knew he would still pick up on it.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess that the reason you didn’t show up today is because you’re sick.”

Peggy was about to retort, but all of a sudden the tickle in her nose that had been absent since that morning flared up with a vengeance and she pitched forward with a series of high pitched sneezes.

“Huh-ISCHIEW! Huh-ISCCH! Huh-ISSCH! Hih-tchiew!”

“Jesus, Carter. Gesundheit.”

Peggy sniffled and pinched the bridge of her nose with a groan. She was pretty sure she could hear Sousa on the other end of the line saying something that sounded suspiciously like “You owe me five bucks,” before he grabbed the phone from Thompson and started talking to Peggy.

“Hey. So I guess you’re home sick today?”

“I can assure you it’s not by choice,” Peggy said. “Were you two betting on me?”

“Not really betting so much as Thompson implying you were skipping your paperwork today. I told him nothing less than the plague was going to keep you out of this office. Guess who got the better end of that gamble?” Peggy could practically hear his smile through the phone.

“I’m really sorry, Daniel,” she said. “I’ll catch up on all the paperwork tomorrow and I—“

“Peggy, relax. You’re sick. I’ll cover your shift for at least today and tomorrow and don’t worry about the paperwork. It’s not that big of a deal anyway.”

“Thanks, Daniel.”

“You’re welcome. Feel better!” With that, he hung up the phone Peggy set the receiver back on the base.

She dropped back down against the pillows with a sigh. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had been sick.

Okay, that was a lie. Russia. December of 1943. Dugan had called her Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer for nearly a week.

Regardless, she was miserable at this moment. Her headache was starting to come back and it felt like someone had grazed the inside of her throat with a razor. The itch in her nose was starting to build again too. Peggy pinched her nose between her fingers, willing herself with all her might not to sneeze, but to no avail.

Despite her death grip on her nose, Peggy let out a pair of stifled sneezes that scratched at her already sore throat.

“Heh-nxgt! Nxgt!”

“Bless you.”

Peggy’s cheeks turned a faint shade of pink as she turned her head to see Angie standing in the doorway with a tray in her hands.

“Thanks,” Peggy muttered. She sniffed a few times, but Angie just set the tray on the dresser and reached over to hand Peggy a handkerchief. Peggy took it gratefully and blew her nose while Angie picked up the tray again.

“I hope you’re hungry. I made you some soup. It’s my mother’s recipe. I also brought up some tea, but I didn’t know what else you’d want.”

“Just tea’s fine for now,” Peggy said. She barely managed to get the words before cupping her hands around her nose and sneezing again.

“Huh-TSCHIEW! At-sschew! EISCHEW!”

“You sound even worse than this morning,” Angie commented as she handed over a lukewarm mug of tea.

“Thanks,” Peggy replied. She took a sip, but her dulled sense of taste made it seem bland and she set the mug down on the nightstand.

Angie grabbed her own mug—this one filled with what looked like steaming hot coffee—and sat down on the bed next to Peggy.

“Oh Angie, no. I’ll just end up getting you sick and trust me when I say you don’t want to catch this.”

“Relax, English. I haven’t been sick since I was seven. I think I’ll be okay. Besides, I’ve always heard that the best way to treat a cold is with a little bit of love.”

“What?”

Angie froze suddenly and the look on her face made it clear that she hadn’t even realized what she had said until it was out in the open. She looked down at her mug and brushed her hair out from behind her ear to hide her blush.

“I said…I mean I…”

“My ears may feel like someone’s stuffed them with cotton, but I know what I heard,” Peggy said. “I just want to know if you meant it.”

“And what if I did?” Angie asked, peeking out from behind the curtain of her hair.

“Well I think that would warrant a longer answer.”

It was Angie who closed the gap between them, leaving barely an inch of air. “Can I kiss you?” she breathed. Peggy nodded and Angie pressed her lips softly against Peggy’s.

Suddenly, Peggy pulled back and jerked her head to the side. Angie looked hurt and confused for half a second before Peggy sneezed into her elbow.

“Hah-EISCHEW!”

“I’m sorry,” Peggy mumbled, grabbing the handkerchief again and scrubbing at her red nose.

“Don’t apologize, Peg. You’re sick. It’s not your fault.”

There was a pause as Angie set her mug down on the nightstand and laid down, gesturing for Peggy to come a little closer. The Englishwoman finished blowing her nose and curled up against Angie’s side.

“That was okay though, right?” Angie asked quietly. “The kiss?”

“I’d say it was a little more than alright,” Peggy replied, sleep already coloring her voice.

“So maybe when you’re feeling a little bit better we could do it again?”

“I suppose that could be arranged.”

“Good.”

Peggy let out a congested snore and Angie couldn’t help the small smile that crept across her face. She snuggled just a little bit closer and pressed a soft kiss to Peggy’s warm forehead.

Within a couple of minutes, she was asleep herself, ignoring the soup on the dresser that was sure to go cold.

[beatlelover22]

Oh my god, I loved this so much! I'm thrilled you posted a part two; it completely made my day! You write Peggy and Angie and everybody so well!

It was Angie who closed the gap between them, leaving barely an inch of air. “Can I kiss you?” she breathed. Peggy nodded and Angie pressed her lips softly against Peggy’s.

Hoohhhh my god that is like the cutest line ever. Cartinelli is my favourite ahhhh

Okay, that was a lie. Russia. December of 1943. Dugan had called her Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer for nearly a week.

That sounds just like something he would do, honestly. Great job!! I'll probably be re-reading this in a bit lol!

[Aranea]

I love what you have so far ~~~ it's so lovely and so in character and just really wonderful!!!!

[Salamander]

This was fabulous. I don't watch the show but I enjoy the heck out of some sensitively written femslash and the period details here were just great. Thanks so much for sharing

[Evilduckling108]

*slides in several months later with the final update* The response to this has been amazing and I'd like to thank each of you so much. You're all amazing! This one is shorter and there's not too much sneezing, but I hope you like it!

“I told you this would happen. You were the one who didn’t listen to me. I told you—“

“Hey English?”

“Yes, Angie?”

“Shut up.”

For a half second, it looked like Peggy was about to say something else, but then she closed her mouth again and just snuggled a little bit closer to Angie.

“That’s what I thought,” Angie said. She punctuated her sentence with a small sniff and Peggy automatically reached for the handkerchief on the nightstand behind her.

“Thanks,” Angie said, quickly turning her head away and sneezing into the handkerchief.

“Heh-ITshu!”

“Bless,” Peggy said.

“Ugh. Thanks. I can’t believe you got me sick.”

“Well it was your fault for kissing me in the first place and then—“

Angie cut her off with a soft kiss to the tip of her red nose.

“Pegs, this is my first day off in almost two weeks and it’s the first time in months that we’ve been on the same schedule, even if we are spending the day sick in bed. Don’t ruin it, okay?”

Peggy sighed, but stopped talking just the same. That was only partly because of Angie, though. The other part was the tickle that was developing in her nose. It started small, but it quickly grew and she wrinkled her nose and she let go of Angie so that she could cup her hands in front of her face.

Her breath hitched once, twice, three times and she finally sneezed twice into her cupped hands.

“Eh-shu! Heh-ischu!”

She had her own handkerchief in her hands and she wiped her nose quickly. When she looked up again, Angie was smiling at her.

“What?” Peggy asked.

“Nothing,” Angie said quickly. “It’s just that sometimes I can literally hear your accent when you sneeze and it’s kind of cute.”

“Nothing about me is cute right now,” Peggy said. “I’m sure I look quite a mess.”

“Oh please,” Angie scoffed. “It’s not like there’s anyone around to impress right now. Besides, don’t even try to pretend you didn’t like the company.”

“It was very nice, yes.”

“Good. So stop talking. It’s making my throat hurt just listening to you.”

Peggy laughed, but it turned into a cough which morphed into another sneeze.

“Eh-chiu!”

“Bless you,” Angie said.

Peggy sniffled. “Thanks.”

Angie slid a little bit closer and pulled Peggy just a tiny bit closer to her. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I…I love you too,” Peggy said, hesitating just the slightest bit at the words that she had never thought she was going to be able to say again. “I love you with all my heart.”

Angie smiled and closed the gap between them, pressing her lips to Peggy’s. It wasn’t like she had to worry about catching Peggy’s cold anymore. At the last second, though, she whipped her head to the side and raised her elbow so fast that she almost hit Peggy in the head.

“Eh-chiew! Heh-itchoo! Heh-ehCHiu!”

“Gesundheit,” Peggy said.

“Thanks,” Angie said. She blew her nose in her handkerchief to clear out the congestion and flopped back onto the pillow with a groan. “On second thought maybe we should just get some sleep.”

“That sounds nice,” Peggy said. “We can talk in the morning.”

“Mmhm.”

“Sweet dreams,” Peggy whispered, already feeling her own eyes drifting closed.

“You too, English,” Angie mumbled.

There was a moment of silence and then Peggy heard a congested snore. She felt a tiny smile playing at her lips and she kissed the top of Angie’s flushed forehead before rolling over and getting more comfortable herself. Another minute and she was asleep as well, feeling safer than she ever had in Angie’s arms.

[Bruyere]

This was lovely and such a sweet ending.

[Likesn]

I'm so glad you finished it. They're so cute together We need more stories like this.