New Years Series

"Would you STOP coming in through the WINDOWS, it scares the hell out of me"

"Would you STOP coming in through the WINDOWS, it scares the hell out of me." Daniel exclaims as he sets down his book.

"Sorry." Peggy says while latching it closed behind her.

"Peg, why are you here? Can't the case wait?" He exasperates. She chuckles and hands over a warm box.

"Why? Are you getting tired already?" He playfully glares and takes the offering. When he opens the lid he moans in delight and takes it to the table.

"Thank you! God I'm starving, I haven't ate all day." He reaches in the box and takes out a slice of pizza to eat. As he does, Peggy leans against the table and places a file with several individual papers next to the box. "Can it wait till we eat first?" He asks with a mouth full. She laughs at him and takes a slice for herself. She licks her lips in anticipation before biting down, and Daniel can't help but watch.

"What?" She asks, and then he looks away; caught like a child eating cookies from the jar. 

Daniel's ears and cheeks flush red as he stutters. "Uh..n-nothing." She tilts her head to the side and looks him up and down with squinted eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright, Daniel? You seem flustered all of a sudden." He takes another bite and starts to go through the papers, nodding at her question. "Daniel." 

He chuckles slightly and avoids her gaze. "I said I'm fine, Peg." She squints her eyes at him but drops the matter anyway.

"Alright...if you say so," She teases, making him look up at her and chuckle. 

"As a matter of fact, Agent Carter, I do say so" He smirks, making her turn red.

"We're off duty, 'Sousa'. " She emphasizes, making him laugh.

"Okay, okay, okay. I do say so 'Peggy'. Better?" 

"Much better," And they laugh again before finishing off their dinner.

While Daniel looks through the file she brought, she can't help but watch him work. The way his brow furrows when he thinks, when he puts his pencil behind his ear as he re-reads something, and the way leans back, all relaxed, as if he's nearly got it all figured out. These are the things Peggy Crater notices about Daniel Sousa, and she loves to watch him work.

Flashback:

2 weeks previous, nearly a month after the Stark case and dealing with Leviathan, Agent Carter and Agent Sousa were called into Chief Thompson's office; a new case was brought in. A gang on the lower east side of New York sprung up on the radar for estranged weapon sales. The informant of the SSR said they may be connected to Hydra weapons. Nearly a week into the case and they already had a lead. Peggy and Daniel stayed in a car, in close proximity, staking out an old  abandoned mill. For hours they sit and come up with nothing, and Peggy began to get bored.

She grumbles and moans from the ace in her back and tries to stretch, only to brush against Daniel and graze his face with her elbow.

"Oh bloody hell! I'm sorry Daniel I didn't mean to-"

"Its fine, Carter. Don't worry about it." She glances away for a moment before looking back at him. "Peg, its fine. Seriously I know you didn't mean to," He laughs, making her relax a bit. "You'd think this being a car from Howard Stark, that it'd have more space."

She hums in agreement but then looks down. "Well it doesn't really help when we have hoards of take out crowding us as well." As she says this he glances down and then back up at her and laughs; making her heart swell. "What? Daniel why are you laughing like that?" As she begins to laugh too.