Another 3am passed Peggy Carter by just as infuriatingly as the last, the damn neighbour... she'd had it with him, the jobless, demeaning brute, blaring his radio and revving his engine in the driveway as some dick measuring competition with the rest of her neighbourhood. It was incessant, she had no idea how Daniel managed to sleep through it all without so much as stirring. This night was particularly painstaking.
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Peggy checked her alarm clock, squinting in the dark as she bolted up in bed again, this was the last repeat offence Peggy was going to tolerate, she decided, as she hauled herself out of bed and threw on her silk housecoat. She tied it secure with an annoyed huff as she stormed down the dark halls. Had she worked a normal job with normal house, perhaps she could have handled it. But the SSR was running her ragged.
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The agent was fixing to barge into the neighbours house and knock him out in an outburst, but before she could even reach the lock on the front door of her home, the Brit froze, hand stopping inches before the handle. A small thud from the kitchen sounded which caught her and reeled her in. But she refrained from calling out, not wanting to frighten a sleeping Daniel. Instead, she pulled a pistol from beneath the stand by the front door— the amount of concealed weapons in her home was questionable, but she figured better safe than sorry. That one just happened to be handiest.
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Peggy stepped carefully, raising her gun slowly, levelling it with her sight as she entered the kitchen silently. Not even a creak in her memorized floorboards sounded as she switched on the nearest light, above the stove to get a better look of her surroundings. The orange glow basked the agent, and her uninvited guest who sat buttering a slice of bread at her kitchen table.
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Had it been anyone else, Peggy would have been startled, but seeing Dottie Underwood sitting there, seemingly waiting for her, didn't surprise her in the least. In fact, Peggy seemed relieved that it was only her. She was too tired to fight at the moment, just drained from the day, and if Dottie had been looking for one, she was sure it would have commenced the moment Peggy stepped into the room.
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"Hi Peggy" that voice hadn't changed a bit obviously, awfully chipper for someone breaking into a home in the middle of the night. "What the /hell/ are you doing here?" Peggy's whisper rasped back at her, lowering her weapon to her side as she rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. There was no getting a straight answer, she knew that. This wasn't the first time this had happened either. Peggy should have been used to Dottie, the little thing going bump in the night every so often.
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The first time was a surprise, Peggy could have sworn she'd seen the last of Dottie after asking that one favour of her so long ago. Her turning up in her kitchen one night was the last thing Peggy expected. But now? She saw her far more frequently than she could have anticipated. Perhaps she was running, hiding, seeking refuge in Peggy's home before she could obtain her ticket out of America... either way, Dottie has picked a prime time of night where Peggy had no energy to protest her visit.
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"I'm just stoppin by" Dottie chimed in response as nonchalant as ever to the agitated brunette, who crossed her arms as she leant against her counter. "Mhmm, and for how long this time?" Peggy inquired, a facade of forced enthusiasm present as she raised her brows. She knew better than to question the time of night, of her actual cause, and a slice of bread missing never killed anyone. Dottie had never caused any harm in her passing by, to Peggy at least. Daniel didn't like it, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Peggy only rolled with it now. "Be gone by morning" Dottie answered, with a shrug. She seemed short, abrupt, Peggy could read that much. But again, it wasn't her business. She wasn't about to be caught up in one of her messes.
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Peggy let out a long sigh as she bit her inner cheek, looking down on the woman in her chair. "You can take the couch..." Peggy huffed, caving in. Perhaps her heart was just too warm. She could learn a thing or two from miss Underwood about that, but not there or then. Dottie gave a nod of thanks, stuffing the rest of the bread in her mouth and dusting off the crumbs. The two departed afterwards, one to her room, the other to the living room. Peggy had long forgotten about the problem with her neighbour, who seemed to have quietened down drastically. She hadn't noticed until now, a bit preoccupied with her guest.
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In the morning Peggy had almost forgotten about the incident. She'd slept in and felt refreshed after long nights of no sleep. She was determined to enjoy her Saturday. Daniel had woken up long before she had, off running errands she figured. The least she could do was go about the regular chores. She gathered up the rubbish for the bin, which she hauled out the back door to toss. Although she noticed something peculiar as she opened it, it was twice as full as it had been the night before. Black garbage bags to the brim. All it took was a light touch for the knot in the black garbage to pull open, it's contents spilling over the edge at Peggy's feet. "Oh for gods sake!" Peggy exclaimed loudly, the sight of her sluggish neighbours head rolling to face her, with a haughty 'you're welcome' note stapled to his forehead.
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