Weathering the Storm (CATFA: Peggy/Steve)

[Evilduckling108]

This is what happens when it's almost Thanksgiving and I've got nothing better to do than write fic. Hope you like it!

“I’m going to kill them all.”

“No you’re not.”

“Oh really? Just watch me.”

Steve’s lips twitched at Peggy’s vague threats, but he had more sense than to laugh at her. Her temper was short on the best of days and this was certainly not the best of days. In fact, it was probably one of the worst Steve had ever seen.

A simple reconnaissance mission had turned into much more very quickly after the rest of the commandoes had split off from Peggy and Steve to cover more ground. And it had only gotten worse when Peggy had noticed the smell of herring on the wind.

Because of course what they needed at a time like this was a blizzard.

Thankfully, Steve—overachiever that he was—had managed to memorize most of the map before they left and he led Peggy to an abandoned farmhouse about a ten minute walk north. They managed to get inside and slam the door shut just as the snow started whipping up outside.

There was a straight-backed chair in front of a cold fireplace and Peggy slumped down in it immediately. Steve knelt down next to her and took her hands in his. They were icy cold and the tips of her fingers were already starting to turn blue and Steve was sure that if he could see through the coat of red polish on her nails, they would be a violent shade of purple.

“You’re freezing,” he said.

“What on earth could have given me away?” Peggy asked, rolling her eyes and pulling her coat tighter around herself. Her breath hung in small clouds in the air and she was shivering in earnest now.

“I’m going to build a fire,” Steve said. “It’ll take a minute to warm up, but you’ll avoid hypothermia.”

“Aren’t you c-cold too?” Peggy asked.

“A little,” Steve replied with a shrug. He was already up and grabbing a log off a stack next to the fireplace. “But I think it’s a serum thing. I don’t get cold as easy as I used to.”

“Oh. Right,” Peggy mumbled.

She slid out of the chair to the floor and pulled her knees up close to her chest as Steve used his lighter to start a fire. Once the flames were going, he stood up and took stock of the farmhouse.

It was a tiny one-room cottage that had obviously been abandoned for quite some time if the film of dust that had settled on just about everything. There was a small kitchen area with a woodstove in the corner and there was a bed pushed up against the opposite wall. It was covered with a stack of slightly musty if extraordinarily warm-looking blankets. Steve grabbed them all and carried them over to the fireplace where Peggy was warming her hands.

“Blankets,” he announced as he sat down next to her. He wrapped the thickest of the three blankets around her shoulders, draped the second over her lap, and rolled the third up behind them like a pillow.

“Better?” Steve asked.

“Much,” Peggy murmured. She pulled the blankets up to her nose and inhaled the warm air deeply.

That was probably not her brightest moment of the day.

Steve glanced over at her just in time to see a strange look flicker across her face as her breath hitched sharply.

“You okay?” he asked, his brow furrowing in concern.

Peggy just shook her head and held up a finger to tell him to wait. She used her other hand to fan the air in front of her face. Before Steve could say anything else, Peggy pitched forward, cupping her hands around her nose and mouth as she let out a soft “Eh-shhu!”

“Bless you,” Steve said, but Peggy just shook her head again.”

“Eh-shiew! Heh-itshoo!”

Peggy groaned and kept on hand cupped over her nose as she used her other to search her pockets for a handkerchief. Steve pulled out his own and Peggy accepted it was brief nod of thanks.

“Are you coming down with something?” Steve asked, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. “I mean I know that being out in the cold can make you sick faster than normal, but I didn’t think it worked that fast.”

“No, it’s the…it’s…” Peggy trailed off as her breath hitched again and she pitched forward with another trio of quiet sneezes.

“Heh-esshoo! Ehshhu! Eh-chiew!”

She blew her nose in Steve’s handkerchief and finally lowered her hands to reveal a red flush coloring her pale cheeks.

“It’s the dust,” she muttered. “These blankets are just dusty is all.”

“Oh, well then come on. Get out of them,” Steve said, already starting to get to his feet.

“No, it’s fine,” Peggy said. “I would rather not freeze to death if that’s all right by you, captain.”

“Are you sure?”

“P-positive,” Peggy stuttered, her breath already hitching in preparation for the next fit. She pinched her nose hard between her thumb and forefinger and her head bobbed forward with three near-silent sneezes.

“Heh-nxgt! Nxgt! Eh-ngsch!”

She groaned and sniffed away some of the congestion, but it didn’t do very much good.

“Are they always in threes like that?” Steve asked curiously.

“Normally yes,” Peggy said. “Bloody annoying too.”

“I think it’s kind of cute,” Steve said with a shrug. He wrapped his arms around Peggy and pulled her closer to him. Her cheeks and nose were red and Steve couldn’t tell whether it was from her allergies or the warmth of the fire.

The wind was howling outside and Steve could hear the snow whipping up against the door. The storm didn’t sound like it was planning on letting up any time soon.

“Heh-shhu! Eh-itschoo! Heh-chiew!”

Peggy sniffled into the handkerchief and groaned.

“You okay?” Steve asked.

“No.” Peggy’s voice was so congested that it came out more like doh and Steve had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

“Don’t you dare laugh at me,” Peggy whined—actually whined—as she scrubbed at her nose with the handkerchief. “It tickles. I hate this.”

“What are you going to do?” Steve asked. “You want to shoot your allergies or something?”

“I just might,” Peggy snapped. She started to say something else, but the second she opened her mouth, she drew in a short breath and she cupped her hands over her face to muffle another trio of sneezes.

“Heh-esshoo! Ehshieu! Eh-chiew!”

“Bless you.”

“Ugh, stop it,” Peggy said. “Just ignore it. I’ll stop once the dust settles again. I just…oh God.” She cut herself off with a single sudden sneeze into her elbow.

“Heh-ITchoo!”

“Just one?” Steve asked teasingly.

“Shut it,” Peggy snapped.

“Are you warmer at least?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good. And sneezing for a little while is probably preferable to freezing to death, right?”

“Debatable.”

“Well once the storm lets up we can radio the commandoes and get back to camp,” Steve said. “And in the meantime you should try to get a little sleep. It’s warm enough in here and I can wake you up when the storm dies.”

“I’m not tired,” Peggy insisted.

“Yeah. I’ll bet all those late nights studying the maps and plans after Philips goes to bed are easy. And I bet the coffee you’re chugging every morning has nothing to do with the dark circles under your eyes.”

“Am I really that obvious?” Peggy asked sheepishly.

“Only to me,” Steve replied.

There was a brief moment of silence, but it was broken by a sudden hitching breath and a trio of smothered sneezes.

“Eh-shu! Heh-tiew! Heh-tshu!”

“Bless you.”

“Thanks.”

The flickering firelight cast eery shadows across Peggy’s tired face and Steve felt a tug in his chest as he studied her. “You should really try to get some sleep. Lord only knows the next time you’ll have this much free time.”

“But I can’t,” Peggy complained. “My nose itches too badly.”

Without even thinking about it,” Steve turned his head and leaned closer so that he could press his lips softly against the bridge of Peggy’s nose. As soon as he did, he stopped and his eyes widened. He pulled back quickly and looked down at his lap.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…that was out of line. I…”

“Steve,” Peggy said.

He couldn’t read her tone, so he chanced a glance up at her face and was more than a little surprised when she leaned in and kissed him.

Her lips were chilly and chapped, but they were still soft and sweet and everything that Steve had ever imagined.

Not that he had often imagined kissing Agent Carter. That would be inappropriate.

Peggy was the one who finally broke the kiss as she jerked her head to the side and sneezed into her elbow.

“Heh-ischoo! Eh-shhu! Eh-chu!”

“Ugh. Excuse me,” she muttered. She blew her nose into Steve’s handkerchief and groaned again. “Maybe I do need to get some sleep.”

“Yeah. If you don’t you’ll probably risk actually getting sick and I don’t think anyone wants that.”

Peggy shot him a watery glare, but shifted so she could lay her head in Steve’s lap. She moved slowly, being careful to keep from stirring up any extra dust.

She was only partially successful, though, as three tickly sneezes snuck up on her just as she closed her eyes.

“Eh-shhu! Eh-shiew! Heh-itshoo!”

“Damn these bloody allergies,” she snapped.

Steve chuckled and she glared up at him.

“Hate to break it to you, Peggy, but you can’t make it stop just by cursing at it.”

Peggy didn’t say anything. She just rolled over and made herself comfortable against Steve’s leg before sneezing twice in quick succession.

“Eh-shiew! Eh-itchioo!”

“Is it stuck?” Steve asked as he noticed that Peggy was staring directly at the firelight and fanning the air around her nose. She nodded and her breath hitched a few times before the final sneeze exploded out of her.

“Eh-schhu!”

Steve chuckled again, but he didn’t say anything. He moved his left hand and started running his fingers absently through her soft curls. After another moment, he heard a congested snore and he smiled.

The storm raged on outside, but for the moment, there was no where else Steve would rather be.

[darkness-is-the-light]

This is a very adorable story. The interactions between the characters are true to the movies, and you know how to work them into specific scenarios. You did a wonderful job at capturing such allergies, as well, which is always a plus.

[Snapdragon]

Oh gosh, this is so adorable! (And I'm with Steve - Peggy's sneezes are super cute.)

[beatlelover22]

Oh my god I absolutely love Peggy. This was such a great spin on such a strong female character. I adore the scenario and of course, your writing! Thank you so much!