𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍━︎━︎P. Carter ✓︎

𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:
I'VE ACCEPTED THAT

THE AIR WAS AWKWARD BETWEEN them. Evelyn had always known that her feelings were there. Steve had seen it when he was alive. He would've wanted her to be happy and not sit there mourning over him because no matter what her happiness has always been his priority, even if he was dead. Everyone knew that Evelyn liked Peggy except for Peggy herself. But now, something in Evelyn told her that she knew. That kiss that had only happened to keep her from suffocating was the reason that Peggy knew. The thought was absolutely terrifying to her. She had gone so long without revealing her feelings, and now she had revealed them without saying a single word.

Work was the same as it always was, with Peggy and Evelyn being waved off as the men took the responsibility of doing the "harder" stuff. Evelyn never really complained about it. She knew better than to do so, but that didn't mean she liked it. Especially now. Sitting at her desk, she continued going through the paper work, filing what needed to be filed, etc. The whole time she could feel Peggy's gaze on her and although she tried her best to make it seem like she wasn't avoiding her, she was failing miserably.

As the day came to an end, Evelyn was quick to rush out of the door. She started her walk home instead of grabbing a cab. She didn't mind walking all that much, the only hard part was the ache that it brought her feet seeing as she was wearing heels. She held her briefcase tightly in her hand, feeling the pressure of her gun as it was pressed against her hip. That pressure had always brought her a sense of comfort, and she was glad that it was there.

     "Evelyn." The sound of Peggy's voice grabbed her attention. Should she stop? Or should she keep going? Either way it was evident that she was avoiding the brunette, and she knew that eventually Peggy would catch up with her. So, she stopped. She turned her head, blonde curls falling off her shoulder. Peggy came to a stop in front of her. "Alright, what's going on with you? You've been avoiding me these past few days which is almost impossible seeing as we not only live together but work together as well. So, what's going on? Is everything alright?"

     "Yeah." Evelyn nodded. "Everything's alright. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue my walk home." She turned on her heel, took a few steps, and then stopped. She couldn't do it anymore. She needed to say something, even if it ended badly for her. She turned around, meeting Peggy's eyes and walking back towards her. "You know what? No. Everything is not alright. Peggy I. . ." This was it. This was about to decide her fate. "Peggy, I like you. Hell, if I'm being honest, I'm completely in love with you. I have been for the past year and a half. And I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, plus women liking other women isn't really a good thing in this society. So I was saving my ass. But I'm tired.

     "I'm tired of tiptoeing around how I feel. Because in the beginning I was mourning, I was grieving the death of my brother and thanking God that I had someone at my side so that I wasn't doing it alone, even if I was completely and utterly head over heels for that someone. I felt that if I said something then it would've been selfish on my part because I'm not supposed to feel anything else but sorrow. And for a while that was true. But. . . Steve. . . Steve's gone. And I've accepted that. So, now, I have to accept that I'm in love with my best friend so that I can move on with my life. So here we are." Evelyn took a deep breath, feeling the weight start to lift off her shoulders at the confession. "I know that was a lot and you don't have to say anything. But I needed to tell you. And I don't regret doing so."

Peggy didn't know what to say. There's a lot of things that the woman had expected in her life, but that was not one of them. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know how to respond to the words that had just flown from Evelyn's mouth without so much as a warning. She was frozen, shocked. All she could do was stare at Evelyn who was looking back at her. She watched as Evelyn swallowed thickly, nodding her head. The blonde took a deep breath before turning on her heel to walk away, and that's when Peggy found her voice again.

     "I think I'm in love with you too."

     Evelyn stopped, slowly turning her head to look at Peggy, wondering if she had heard that correctly or if her mind was playing some twisted trick on her. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before she stuttered. "W-what?"

     "When I first met you, I thought how you were going to be an amazing friend. And then I saw how you were with Steve before he became Captain America and after and I saw how you never looked at him any differently. You cared for him no matter how much he changed and I admired that about you. And I think that over time that admiration turned into butterflies that appeared every time I saw you. I didn't really understand it. Half the time I thought I just hadn't ate enough. And then. . . when I kissed you to help your panic attack, the butterflies came back and I knew that it was simply more than just hunger." Peggy took a step forwards. "You, Evelyn Rogers, are my best friend. You're the most amazing person I know. You're so kind and caring and I love that about you. I love you. And though I was afraid to admit it before, I'm not now."

     Evelyn couldn't help the smile that pulled on her lips as she felt her face start to heat up. She chuckled. "Howard would be so pissed that he was missing this."

     "Indeed he would." Peggy agreed. "As soon as his name is cleared, we'll tell him."

     "And what exactly would we say to him?"

     "Who says we have to say anything?" Peggy asked and then she stepped closer to Evelyn, closing the gap between them, and kissed her.