the red widow and captain carter

I'll Love You For Infinity

Peggy was resigned. That was what everyone could see.

She didn't speak much anymore. She ate in silence, watched in silence, fought in silence.

Natasha was the only person she'd ever pipe up to after an entire week of it. Nobody else.

Since that night, when Dottie had slipped away in Peggy's arms, she'd been filled with a vengeful rage. She was an Avenger, after all. And she was going to avenge Dottie.

They learned her captor's name was Niko Cheklavoni. He was one of the only remaining Leviathan operatives from HYDRA, since the organisation was kept on the down low upon Dottie's emergence as an Avenger. They kept him in a dismal little cell and barred him with questions, only getting answers out of him once they proved he had no other way out.

And then Cheklavoni had the stupid idea to try and escape.

He ran through the SHIELD hallways and reached the exit, when two gunshots rang from behind him and he collapsed on the floor.

Peggy Carter, the woman out of time, the Super Soldier, stood over his body and watched the life drain from his eyes the same as she'd watched the woman she loved.

Dottie was laid to rest in an hourglass stamped coffin, placed in the walls of a marble cemetery. She was honoured with a plaque and flowers were laid to rest by all of the Avengers and the agents of SHIELD. They were all sympathetic but wouldn't direct it to Peggy; she wasn't handling the grief well and seemed as if she was going to explode at any point.

Once Cheklovani and Leviathan had been dealt with, Peggy simply couldn't stay in the Tower anymore.

She packed up all her things into boxes one day and drove away without any notice of any kind. It was only after extensive searching did Natasha find her.

In a cabin surrounded by thick woods in upstate New York.

The cabin still technically belonged to Peggy, since she'd bought it way back in the 1940s and nobody had ever bothered to check it out in the years prior to her waking up.

Natasha came with Maria in tow, taking in the decor of the cabin as they sat at her couch. It didn't look like a person lived there, it was so bare and devoid of any personal belongings. But in the bedroom, it was full of nik naks and ornaments.

A candle that belonged to Dottie, a stack of Dottie's favourite books, a picture frame of Peggy and Dottie in the Tower.

All of her decorations related to Dottie. It was as if Peggy was trying to surround herself with enough of Dottie's things to make it feel like she was really there.

They didn't stay for long. Peggy was so quiet, so timid and unlike herself that there was nothing they could do. Natasha had taken one look at her sunken eyes and deflated posture and knew that talking wasn't going to help Peggy.

Being left alone was the best option, according to Peggy.

And she was alone. So alone that it comforted her. She didn't have to deal with sympathetic looks or pitiful attempts at comforting her.

Nobody could comfort her because they had no idea what it was like to have fallen for someone over decades, only to have them ripped from you once they're actually in love with you too.

Peggy sat in her armchair with a steaming mug of tea. It cooled with every second that she stared out of the window absentmindedly, replaying memories in her mind like a film reel.

Dottie lay on the bed with a smile, sheets uncovering her legs and collarbone. She was so utterly beautiful in the morning sunlight, golden hair frizzy and curly. Peggy had an arm around her waist, the other around her neck as she stared down at Dottie. Peggy was perched in her lap, their hips resting against one anothers. They didn't speak; instead, Dottie leaned up and connected their lips in a sweet, slow kiss.

She took a sip of her drink and bit back a cry.

They were in Maria's kitchen, since it was her birthday and Natasha had dragged them over for a party. Dottie sprinted over stools and squealed in excitement as she was being chased by an equally happy Peggy, whipped cream hanging from her nose from when Dottie had sprayed it at her a second ago. She caught Dottie by the waist and dragged them both onto the kitchen floor, laughing hysterically as a drop of the sweet fell onto Dottie's nose.

The Captain set her mug down and wrung her hands together, looking down.

A warm ray of sunlight cast across the bedroom. Peggy looked up from her book to the bed, where Dottie sat in front of the TV catching up on Brooklyn 99. Her hair was a mess and she was absentmindedly stuffing cookies in her mouth. And yet, Peggy thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world at that moment. Her heart swelled and she had to look back down to avoid being caught staring.

"Nice shack."

Peggy tensed and thought her mind was playing horrid tricks on her when she heard Dottie's voice for the first time in a month.

"I'd get a few more decorations, though. It's pretty dead in here, Peg."

She turned and let out a sob.

In the doorway, Dottie stood with a bag over her shoulder and a hand stuffed in her pocket.

"D-Dottie?"

"I believe my real name is actually Ekaterina, but I much prefer the way you say Dottie."

"Oh my God."

Peggy rushed over and nearly knocked them both over as she wrapped her arms around Dottie's neck and pulled her into a hug. She cried audibly into Dottie's neck as she realised this wasn't a prank or her imagination. She could feel her, smell her, hear her.

She was finally hugging Dottie. It was something she'd dreamt of for a month straight.

"H-How are... are you alive?" Peggy choked out through cries and whimpers.

"I woke up on the table when Tony was about to call my time of death. He had this chemical that was in the works, a serum that replaces damaged tissue until the body could create it itself. He was certain it could cure anything, when it was finished, of course. It was rudimentary at best and he didn't want you to know in case it didn't take. But it did, and all I've got left are a couple of scars on my chest."

Peggy pulled back and leaned into Dottie's touch when she cupped her face delicately.

"It was torture, not seeing you for a whole month. You walked past my room so many times in the med bay, but the windows were blacked out and disguised with renovation signs. All I wanted was to run out of there and kiss you."

"Why didn't you?" She cried, also cupping Dottie's face for reassurance that she wasn't a hologram or a hallucination.

"What if I did, and then a day later dropped dead? We needed to be sure it worked, it just took a little time to be absolutely certain."

"So you're okay now?"

"I'm okay now." Dottie nodded, her eyes watering as she stared down at Peggy. "I missed you so much, Peg."

"I missed you so much. I couldn't handle being in the Tower without you."

"I love you, Peggy Carter. I've loved you for decades, for centuries, for millenium. I always will. I'll love you for infinity."

"I love you too, Dottie Underwood."

They smiled together and embraced in a tender kiss, letting the tears fall freely. Dottie simply relished in the feeling of Peggy's face finally back in her hands as Peggy pulled her close by the waist and revelled in the feeling of Dottie against her. She melted against the woman she loved, lips moving against hers in such a sweet and emotion-filled way.

The Red Widow and Captain Carter would love each other from now until the end of time.

That, they were certain of.