A week and a half had passed since Steve and I rescued Bucky and the prisoners from the HYDRA base. We'd marched back to the camp with every surviving soldier behind us, plus a tank and a truck full of HYDRA's special weapons and ammunition. Success was an understatement.

Phillips couldn't complain about our disobedience, especially for Steve's sake; we'd done a good job. But I decided not to relish in the glory. Primarily for two reasons:

1. I was going to be in so much trouble.

2. It wasn't my victory to celebrate.

When we got back to base, I slipped away. There were a few things that I had to do, the first on my agenda being to steal a medical kit from the med tent. After doing so, I found solitude in an isolated tent off the fringes.

I ripped off my jacket. The sleeve was no longer a light colour, but a dark reddish-brown; dried blood. I ripped the sleeve of my shirt, air brushing a nice gash running down my bicep. Flying shrapnel was deadly, that was for sure.

I disinfected the wound (which stung like you would not believe) and bandaged it. If only I knew how to heal. I'd heard the myth that it was possible. If only I'd managed to learn before Eilian...

I carefully slid my jacket back on to cover any evidence of being injured.

I pulled my pocket watch from the breast pocket of the jacket. It was still broken. With being back in civilization, I'd be able to send it to watchmaker to fix it. Then I'd be able to get home.

Phillips didn't seem that happy when I told him I was putting a team together. But, hell, I was the one going out there to fight. I wanted men I could trust. And who better than to recruit the men with the big mouths that I'd rescued.

It took a bit of convincing to get them in, but, in the end, it was the bar tab that brought them around.

I wandered off to find Bucky drinking alone at the bar in the adjacent room, and I slid in next to him.

"See? I told you." He sipped his drink."They're all idiots."

I chuckled. That was the Bucky I loved: cynical to the end. "How about you? You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?"

"Hell, no," he scoffed. I furrowed my brow at that response. "That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight." He stared at me deep in the eyes. "I'm following him."

I grinned. I didn't think he was used to Super Soldier Steve yet. After all, he'd grown up with the frail and sickly Steve. It was going to take some time. But I knew he knew that the little guy from Brooklyn was still in the body of the giant. That guy was definitely permanent.

"But you're keeping the outfit, right?" Bucky remarked.

"You know what?" I turned to a poster of Captain America pasted on the back wall. A notice was plastered across it: tour cancelled until further notice. "It's kind of growing on me."

The singing died down all of a sudden. Bucky and I leaned back in unison to gaze into the next room for the cause. Peggy strutted into the room wearing a stunning red dress. Bucky and I stood. My breath hitched in my throat suddenly at the sight of her.

"Captain," she greeted.

"Agent Carter."

Bucky inclined his head politely. "Ma'am."

"Howard has some equipment for you to try. Tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good."

My eyes drifted around her form. She looked gorgeous in that dress. It took my breath away. It matched her eyes and her red lips. It accentuated her beautiful figure as well. She looked like a rose: beautiful and intoxicating.

Bucky noticed what my eyes were doing, and he bit his lips to prevent himself from chuckling.

"I see your top squad is prepping for duty," Peggy observed, interrupting my train of thought.

"You don't like music?" I remarked with a sideward smile.

She mimicked me. "I do, actually. I might even, when this is all over, go dancing."

Bucky took a step closer to us. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Peggy didn't look in his direction when he opened his mouth. She kept her eyes glued on me. "The right partner."

I felt warm inside when she used my own words. I felt the spark I thought I felt earlier. This time there was no gunfire or explosions to mistake it with. It made me feel good.

"0800, Captain," she said. And she turned on her heel and left.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be there."

Bucky turned to me in awe, and not the good kind of awe. "I'm invisible. I'm turning into you. It's like a horrible dream."

"Don't take it so hard," I snickered with a pat on his shoulder. "Maybe she's got a friend."

As I turned to sit back down, I noticed a familiar face in the corner, sipping her drink in silence.

"Go have a drink with the men, Buck," I suggested. "There's something I gotta do."

"Have a drink with those idiots? I think I'll pass."

I left him to his solitude. I snatched an empty glass from another table and made my way across the room. I slid into a chair across from Andi. She looked up, wearing a warm toothy grin.

She didn't dress as extravagantly as Peggy had. She wore a white dress of a slightly similar cut as her counterpart. She wore her fiery hair loose, just reaching her elbows. She looked pretty as well. She proved that simple was sometimes best.

"Hope you don't mind if I join you."

She smirked, flicking her eyes at the bottle in between them. "Be my guest."

I poured out a glass for me and refilled her own. We had a moment of silent drinking before either of us spoke.

I folded my hands on the table. I was there for a reason. "So," I began, "why didn't you join in on the victory of rescuing the POWs?"

Her eyes remained set on her glass for a few seconds before glancing at me. "It wasn't my victory to celebrate."

My brow furrowed. "Andi, you were my partner. You saved those men with me. You deserve as much recognition as I did."

She smiled shyly, a look I was not used to. "I was only there for moral support."

"The hell you weren't. I wasn't the only one who knocked a few HYDRA men around."

"Still, it wasn't my victory to celebrate."

I shook my head in confusion. "I really don't understand you." I glanced at her. "Why don't I understand you?"

She grinned and raised her glass. "You'll understand someday."

I scoffed. I doubted that was going to happen anytime soon. She was a woman of mystery. She was open yet secretive at the same time. She hid everything in plain sight, but in such a way that you couldn't catch on. Sure, it was an agent thing. But Peggy didn't exactly do that. It was strange.

All the same, I raised my glass. "Here's to that, then."

❈Author's Note: Hey, there! If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a quick vote! Thanks for reading!