Children
There's a single thought that a single person or place is yours, that you can have that forever, that it is simply yours in every way. It's something of a dangerous thought because there's a difference between people and places. Places can be a physical place, mental place, emotional place, sentimental place, place in time, an event can be a place and the like. People are just people. You can't call a certain time a person. You can have a certain time with a person, however. People are much more predictable than a place because a place can be at any time and be the cause of anything. A person can be the reason for anything.
So the idea that a single place or person is yours in every way is dangerous because it means you have some sort of power over both. The power of any kind even the slightest can form into something bigger and be the downfall of a place, time, event, person, or era. Power itself is dangerous. Can Power tempt and corrupt people? That is something Angie has never been sure about.
Her father was never a good guy, he's never been on the good side at all. She's sure the power he gained, however, he did help turn him into what he was to this day, but she's pretty sure that the idea and temptation were there previously. The etch or hole of black was already there in him, the power just helped him choose to widen it and grow it into something more. She is almost 100% sure that there was some part of him waiting for the chance to choose and the power didn't corrupt him completely. His choices did that for him.
Angie has seen him own people and places with an iron fist. She has seen the floors soak in blood to the point she's numbed to the idea of bleeding out herself for an inevitable end. She's always been sure that she'll get shot or something because her Pa will do something worse than before and she'll have to spill on him regardless of him being her father because the act he did was no longer justifiable in his terms or hers. It'd be too great for her to ignore. So he'd send someone to shut her up before she told 'em everything. That's what she thought.
Don't get her wrong, her pa isn't evil either. He's not good, but he's not evil. What he is..is just what he is. That's the only way she can describe it. Compared to some of the people she's seen her brother Matt and father himself go up against he's not evil. Bad? yea but not evil. She's not making excuses for his sorry ass either. He's the reason she left it's just the thought that she gets.
His black hole was pretty big last time she left. She's sure that everyone has a black hole, but it's up to them if it grows or not. She's seen evil men, bad men, and a good man or two in her life.
So when the man in front of her starts talking about his wife like she's property it brings back memories. She downs her glass of wine when he looks away pointing to his wife to make his point, and she notes that he's certainly not a good man. She's half tempted to tell him to fuck off but the reminder that this was undercover stuck to her head as soon as she looked over to find Jake.
He was pretending to be a bodyguard and a respectful one. He stood far enough away that he gave her room, but close enough that if she called for him he'd be right there. He stood there his hand in his pockets leaning against a pillar casually but obviously scanning the crowd carefully keeping an eye on everyone as best he could. He fit in well actually. She was impressed.
The man started talking again causing her eyes to drift back to him unluckily. She cursed herself hoping he'd stop talking soon or she was going to have to hit him. She only smiled and nodded at the time.
The inside of the mansion was huge actually. It was polished and cleaned to a point Angie had to wonder if she was supposed to be wearing a fancy dress and waltz instead. It was curious actually as to why they chose a casual party instead of something fancy? Well, if she got the chance she'd have to ask Mrs. Curt herself. It was odd for sure. To her it was but it could have been a wealthy thing in her opinion.
"So, how did you know?" She snapped out of her thoughts.
"What?" She asked dumbfounded.
"How did you know you were...you know.." She cocked her head and gave him a glare. Finally understanding the meaning she narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth before another man with white hair clapped a hand on the others shoulder and laughed.
"I think he means how did you know she was the one?" Angie blinked at him and waited. "Your wife?" He gestured to Peggy across the floor that looked like she was being bombarded by questions from an elderly lady and a man about their age.
She felt a smile appear on her face. Peggy was trying to calmly explain something but couldn't quite say anything she was told something then asked something again and again. Peggy looked like she was either going to have a heart attack, kill someone, or scream. Maybe all three at the same time from the awkward look on her face. It was enough to make her want to rush over and save her from the torture.
She had to smile because it was Peggy. Her Peggy. Peggy Carter, the one person who could make anything in the world work. It made her smile to herself.
"I saw her." She finally answered the men who gave her a look. She chuckled and felt her heart warm at the thought and memory. "I saw her and I knew- kind of like those romantic movies? Except much scarier 'cos she's something else, yanno? Like I just had this gut feelin that I had to know her. I had to let her know me 'cos she's special. Real special."
"Like you already knew her, but your heart decided for you?" The man with white hair asked. She smiled and nodded at him. "Believe me I know the idea. I'm glad you had the chance to grab her." He smiled and turned to the other. "Why don't you and I go see if we can grab the wives?"
"Alright, sounds like a plan." The man nodded and followed him. "It was lovely meeting you!"
"Yea, you too." She muttered and rubbed her forehead. "Something else." She told herself and looked around.
She had talked to quite a few already but knew very well that her job wasn't done for the night. She was almost certain if she had to talk to someone like the man again she'd jump out of the window.
She sighed and looked back at Peggy who locked eyes with her and smiled completely ignoring the people talking to her.
"Oh, she's so pretty!" The older woman exclaimed looking where Peggy's attention had gone. Peggy blinked and winced at how loud she was. Save her lord.
"She's beautiful." The man smiled patting her shoulder.
"Actually," She stepped away slightly hoping he's got the gist. "She's gorgeous." She corrected him. He rubbed his chin and watched Angie walk away and off to greet other people.
She couldn't help but look back at Angie and watch her figure sway through people before stopping at a few people to stop and talk. Peggy couldn't help but tilt her head and watch her talk "with her hands" as Howard put it with an upbeat and calm aura around her. She wondered how she did that. There was something comfortable in the air around her.
Angie was unique to her. Angie was a lot of things.
She had to shake her head before her thoughts got too far and she'd never be able to focus on anything else.
Inevitably the three talk for awhile longer but nothing interesting pops up and she doesn't make the attempt to quickly find someone else to talk to. She knows very well the job at hand, she just doesn't like it. She wonders how much of mess this entire 'party' was to plan.
She can tell from the lack of the hosts that it was made as a distraction. She figured that out half an hour of being bombarded and realizing that the Curts were no place to be seen. She knew that it had been too long to track them or keep up with them so she let it go and decided that if they did want to track the whereabouts it'd have to be tomorrow after the deed was done.
It was quite clever actually. This was casual and nothing fancy so the spotlight wouldn't be one them. Instead, because it was casual and they were the hosts people would assume that they were there all night. The idea was that because they had spent long enough there that people would assume and let their minds make up for them that they had seen them all throughout the night.
She almost cursed herself at the realization. She felt like she should have know. She couldn't have, but maybe she should have.
Taking a moment to herself she regained her footing and looked around. If anything, maybe Jake had some clue as to what to do. He was young, but there was a reason he was in charge of this..whatever it was. Angie, she could already here in her head tell him he could pull rank or something on someone and have it done in no time! It was harder than that and Angie would know it, it was just her way of lighting the mood.
She combed the floor in hopes of spotting either Angie or Jake. The funny thing about this situation was there was something almost familial about the two bonding. She wondered if any of his family might be related to Angie. No, she doubted Clint "Hawkeye" Barton's kid was related to Angie. If he was it was probably something on her father's side, something she had no idea whatsoever of? Of course she could request files and find out but she thought of that as an invasion of privacy.
Peggy sighed in relief once her eyes did spot familiar brown hair. Maybe now there would be freedom in her presence from the more people she couldn't understand were associated with these people. There were obviously crooks, but there were some who were secretive, untrusting, or told her too much. Most were annoying and she didn't enjoy listening to nonsense, her nerves feeling irritated realizing that today was just not a good day.
There had been zero literally zero people they could ask for information, no one to ask. They were all in too deep or were oblivious. THAT was frustrating to the core. She hated that as it didn't happen often.
The idea of more men with possible guns watching her or Angie throughout the night was enough to put her on an overprotective edge and irritated at the same time. Angie would be safe for sure, she was already liked by so many, but the idea anything could happen suddenly weighed on her causing her chest to tighten as she tried to skirt around the crowd of people leisurely standing there talking with Angie in the middle.
That made it worse. Angie was in the middle of them all and she couldn't get to her.
"Uh excuse me miss!" Peggy stopped in her tracks instinctively and turned to the woman. She looked distressed with a child in her arms. "I hate to bother you-"
"It's not a bother." Peggy smiled stepping forward.
"Could you do me a favor?" Peggy rose an eyebrow but nodded regardless. "Hold him for me? I need to find my husband real quick." Before Peggy could answer the child was handed to her, her hands reaching out for him on instinct. Once she took him she looked dumbfounded.
"You're leaving your child with a stranger?" She asked holding the child out in front of her unknowing of what to actually do with him. He looked equally confused as his mother walked off.
"Angie pointed you out to me earlier! Thank you!" Like that, she disappeared into the crowd and Peggy looked back at the infant in her hands.
She blinked at him unsure of how to hold him properly. He smiled and laughed at her and she gave him a confused look. He didn't care as he clapped his hands together and smiled brighter at her.
"I've no idea why you like this." He seemed to blink at her accent directed at him and she chuckled. "I do get that a lot..young one?" In response, he smiled and grabbed for her. "If you're trying to make a beeline for my hair, I am afraid as handsome as you might be I am going to have to say no."
With that he frowned, his bottom lip quivering and Peggy's eyes went wide in surprise and fear of the notion of him crying. She had him all of eight seconds and she managed to make him cry.
"Oh no! No, no! Don't cry please!" She tried to bounce him slightly. That only made it worse. "Shhh."
"Good lord English!" Came a familiar voice making her jump. She blinked and looked to find Angie.
"I don't know what I've done-" Angie made the notion for her to hand him over. Peggy gave her a confused look and Angie shook her head.
"Hand over the poor kid before he cries." Peggy did as she was asked and watched.
Angie cradled him in her arms and rocked slightly. He instantly quietened and watched her as she smiled softly at him and continued to rock. Is that all it took? A little rocking? Peggy was positive she would have messed that up as well.
"Just tired ain't cha?" The boy laughed at her and she smiled brighter touching his nose with her index finger. "Thought so soldier." She chuckled. Angie looked up to find Peggy watching her with surprise. "Didn't believe I was good with kids?"
"I've come to believe you're amazing at everything darling." She admitted. Angie smiled at her.
"Y'see English there?" She talked softly to the boy. The boy looked at Peggy and back to her. "She's good at everything except for kids apparently. I think it comes from being a soldier for too long." He just blinked at her. "She makes up for it, though. She smiles gorgeously, her laugh is incredible, she's beautiful, her personality is spot on-" Peggy didn't say anything. She couldn't. She always found herself dumbstruck when Angie would talk about her like that. "-and he's asleep. Works like a charm."
"How did you-"
"I have- had quite a few nieces and nephews." Angie smiled at her with a hint of sadness.
"You got him to sleep?" Peggy looked to find his mother and a man she presumed was her husband with her. Angie nodded and they began to converse.
Peggy zoned out as her gaze fell on Angie. She just watched her carefully. A lot went on through her head at that moment. A lot of things she wanted to say tried to slip out, but she held her tongue. Later, she told herself. Certainly later.
Peggy was curious about her family. When Angie talked about them, it was always with a hint of sadness. It made her think about the possibilities. Some she hoped were good. Others she knew weren't. Perhaps there's a lot they can talk about later.
A smile formed on her lips with a slight headshake when Angie's movements grabbed her attention. Angie, when she was really into a conversation, would talk with her hands and it made Peggy smile. She was quite the character with a few secrets to her. Secrets she could tell wore her down at times but her secrets nonetheless. They both still had things they never shared about, they were still learning how to slowly cross the boundaries they put up in order to survive.
"Not a problem. Just be sure to get him to bed asap!" Angie exclaimed and looked at Peggy who snapped to her senses and looked at the woman.
"Well," Peggy smiled at the small guy who was woken when he was given to his mother. "Kids aren't as...stressful as I thought." She smiled bopping his nose. He frowned and puffed his cheeks. Peggy couldn't help but laugh.
"Thank you again, ma'am. I uh- can't believe my husband came by himself." She looked at the ground frowning but looked up. "I appreciate it."
"Not a problem." She smiled.
"Anyways if you see Richard-"
"Give him a boot to the- behind and send him home we know," Angie answered. The woman smiled and nodded at her before shaking their hands and leaving.
When she was gone Angie relaxed visibly making Peggy question if she had been paying attention to her or not, she had even realized she had been tensed. She blinked a few times and looked at her burrowing her eyebrows. Angie stretched slightly exposing a little skin. Peggy's focus remained on her face.
"English?" Peggy asked waving a hand in her face. "Ya okay?" Peggy nodded. "You sure?"
"Angie." Peggy grabbed her hand and squeezed it firmly and warmly as she smiled. "I am absolutely fine." Angie smiled back and squeezed her hand back nodding.
"We got dinner plans."
"We do?" Angie nodded. "When did we do that?" She asked curiously.
"The Curt's apparently give free dessert to guests who stay late. They asked us to talk to 'em since we're new." Angie looked slightly uncomfortable with the suggestion but considering she knew what was at stake she knew that this was a chance to at least gauge them. Peggy, however, wouldn't force her.
"You don't-"
"Nah we both got to. They'll think something a lil weird with only one of us." Angie smiled. "Ready?" Peggy gave it a second but nodded. "Then let's go!" She smiled and dragged Peggy off.
Give me strength.. Peggy prayed to no one in particular.