Chapter 10: This is Just the Beginning (post-Valediction)

Summary: Howard calls Steve and Peggy a month after the events at the SSR are resolved with a mysterious directive to be ready to go in 20 minutes…

AN: I am very honored by all the love I've gotten for this fic. Thank you everyone so very much for taking the time to let me know how much you enjoyed it, some of the reviews have blown me away. As of right now this is the last chapter, but depending on how Season 2 goes, I may try my hand at continuing the story of Steve in the Agent Carter Universe in another fic.

Steve ran a towel through his wet hair as he padded into the living room, his chest still slick with water from his shower. "Peg, who was that?"

Peggy stared at the phone as she put it down, still a bit bewildered by the call. "That was Howard…"

"And?" he prompted, wrapping the small towel around his neck and holding both sides.

Peggy crossed her arms, her dressing gown slipping from her shoulder as she did. "He wouldn't let me talk, just said we need to be ready to go in twenty minutes."

Steve's eyebrows knit together, "Did he say where?"

She shook her head, "No, but he said to leave the shield at home, so it can't be that dangerous."

"Anything else?" Steve asked, just as confused as Peggy.

She started towards the bedroom, ready to get dressed, stopping at his side to look up at him and answer. "He said... he wanted to make us pancakes."

"It's your day off, you could have skipped the work clothes," Steve remarked as he watched Peggy check her purse for her gun for a third time. Just last night she'd been picking through the closet, lamenting the fact that she had a handful of lovely dresses that she never wore anymore. This morning they'd been getting ready for a day out, a stroll around Central Park and maybe a show, all so she could put on one of the many dresses that sat, gathering dust, at the back of her closet.

Peggy had returned to the SSR, and though she hadn't gotten the accolades she deserved, she was deemed far more valuable than before, out in the field nearly every day, relegating even her sensible work skirts to the back of her closet in favor of slacks. The fact that Thompson had taken her as his right hand man proved the gent had at least some sense.

Peggy sighed as they waited at the curb, still two minutes until Howard was due to arrive. "It's Howard, who knows what he has up his sleeve." She stood tall in her pants suit and sensible shoes, thinking about the sundress and sandals she'd planned to wear today. "As much as I love dresses, they can be terribly inconvenient in a tight spot."

Steve laughed, looking at her fondly. "I remember as much." The memory came easily. They'd set up a small base outside the Rhineland for one mission right in the middle of the war, just a hand full of tents and a dozen or so support soldiers for the commandos. The area had been deemed safe and as such Peggy had been required to wear her proper uniform, skirt, heels, and all, each day. It had been a rainy week, and each step Peggy took her heels sank into the mud, causing choice words to slip from her lips. But on Friday night they were found out, just six hours shy of heading out for their mission. The Nazi tactical team was easily overtaken, but the image of Peggy, hiding behind a tent and ripping slits into her skirt with the jagged heels she tossed away after, just so she could run through the mud without tripping, was an image he'd never forget. "I was ready to throw you over my shoulder just to get you out of there."

"Handled myself just fine, I think," Peggy mumbled as Mr. Jarvis pulled up to the curb in front of them.

"Always," Steve leaned down to whisper as Jarvis stepped from the vehicle. "Jarvis!" He greeted, shaking the man's hand.

"Captain Rogers, Miss Carter," Jarvis nodded at both of them, a lovely smile on his face. "I do hope Mr. Stark's impromptu call didn't interrupt any plans?"

Peggy shook her head, smiling. "Nothing of importance. Besides, he offered pancakes."

Jarvis opened the door to the back seat, ushering Steve and Peggy in. "Indeed he did."

When they were settled and Jarvis had pulled back onto the road, Steve leaned forward to speak with the man. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, almost enjoying the suspense.

"Yes," Jarvis answered quickly, not elaborating at all.

Steve watched the man's stoic face carefully. "Are you going to tell us?"

"No."

The car ride was short, only a few miles out of the city and down roads that were just starting to be developed. Jarvis stopped on a quaint suburban road in front of a house that was slightly larger than the others on the block, blue siding accented with white windowsills and a red door, a picture-perfect white picket fence surrounding the manicured yard.

Jarvis stepped out, opening the door for Peggy and Steve. "You'll find Mr. Stark inside."

"You're not joining us?" Peggy asked as Jarvis turned to get back in the car.

The butler shook his head. "Unfortunately not, there's still a bit of work to be done, but perhaps I'll be back later."

Steve and Peggy watched Jarvis pull away before turning back to the house, looking it over. Steve opened the gate, gesturing grandly. Peggy proceeded him, walking up the small stone walk, Steve following as she reached the three stairs to the front door. "Howard?" Peggy called as she knocked, the door swinging open on its hinge soundlessly.

Stark's voice echoed through the hall. "In the kitchen!"

Steve closed the door behind him as they entered, carefully walking through the pristine home. Everything looked brand new, but not at all like anything Howard would ever buy. The furniture wasn't ostentatious like the pieces that decorated Howard's other homes; here it was soft and comfortable, modern without being abstract and edgy. The front hall split to a living and dining room, which they both slowly passed, waiting for some kind of surprise that never came. A set of stars made the hallway slightly smaller, branching off into a darkened room and a kitchen, where they finally found Howard, wearing that damned frilly apron.

"There are my two favorite people!" Howard smiled as he whisked batter in a bowl, turning to the stove behind him to pour the liquid into a sizzling pan. "I didn't know if you'd want bacon or sausage, so I made both."

"Howard… what's going on?" Peggy asked cautiously, taking in the kitchen that was nearly as large as the one in his mansion, filled with shiny new appliances and small table set in the corner.

Howard tuned, his brow furrowed. "Peggy, I told you on the phone. Pancakes."

Steve peered out the window over the sink, taking in the vast back yard and the small deck with its porch swing built for two as Peggy took a seat at the table, still confused. "Well, yes, you said as much, but why out here?"

"Is this house yours, Howard?" Steve asked, slightly in awe. The mansions Howard had were impressive, but this little house that looked like it was right out of Better Homes and Gardens reminded him of the homes he dreamed of having when he was a kid: a yard to play in, room to ride his bike without taxis flying by… it tugged at his heartstrings, thinking this was the kind of place he'd want to get someday.

"Yes and no," the man answered as he flipped a flapjack.

"Howard," Peggy's exasperation was evident as she stood, prepared to give him a speech about dragging her out on her only day off this week.

"That's not what I meant," He sighed, moving the pan off the heat and turning the stove off despite breakfast being only half done. He pressed his lips together and put a hand on Steve's shoulder, silently asking him to sit at the small table with a gesture of his hand. Howard sat last, his hands fidgeting in his lap. "I own this house, you don't have to worry about that," he said as he looked at his friends.

Peggy sighed, "Then please explain this to me, Howard, because you've never been quite so stealthy about meeting you for breakfast before."

Howard nodded, looking at them both. "I'm trying to say 'thank you,' but you know how I am at that." Howard, for once, looked shy, and Steve just smiled at his friend, encouraging him to go on. "I didn't know how to show it, not for a long time." It had been a month since his name had been cleared, a month since Peggy had gone back to the SSR and since Steve had been quietly brought back from the dead and asked to work as a top secret consultant for them. Life had moved on, swiftly and without waiting for anyone to really deal with all that had happened. "The pancakes were Jarvis' idea." Howard swept a hand through the room. "He outfitted this whole kitchen with anything anyone could need to cook just about whatever you can imagine."

Howard laced his fingers together and leaned on the table, continuing. "I'm not very good at… at this whole being friends thing, you know?"

Peggy laid a hand on his, thinking of the two times he'd called this past month just to awkwardly check in and make sure she and Steve were doing well. "I think you're coming along splendidly."

Howard's lip curled, a half smile at the praise. "Thanks, Peg."

"I do love your pancakes," Steve added, the smell making his stomach growl. He hadn't realized they'd skipped breakfast until now.

"Good," Howard nodded, pushing his chair back as he prepared to get up from the table. "Like I said, they were Jarvis' idea- something personal." Howard stood, swaggering back to one of the cabinets, opening it to reveal empty shelves but for one small box. "I like to do things a little bigger," he announced with his trademark confidence as he pulled the box off the shelf. He looked at it in his hands a moment before sliding it across the table between Steve and Peggy. "Nothing will ever be enough," he said solemnly, "to really thank you two for what you did."

Peggy looked at Steve as she gently pulled the small box toward her, tugging on the ribbon to unravel it. Steve's hand fell over hers as he looked at the box for a second, standing and hugging the man without warning. He stepped back, his hands on Howard's shoulders. "The pancakes would be enough, and saying thank you is enough." Howard could barely look Steve in the eyes as he continued. "That's what friends do."

Howard gulped hard, watching as Peggy dropped the box, standing and hugging him as well. "Steve's right. That's what friends do."

Howard was overwhelmed, stepping out of Peggy's embrace to clear his throat and wipe his hands over his face, avoiding both their gazes. "Yeah, well…" He stopped to clear his throat again, sniffing and turning back to them. "You two are going to give me a cavity with all this sweetness, so just uh…" he waved his hand at the table, turning back to the pancakes, "just open the box, will ya?"

Steve smiled sadly at their friend's back, reaching back for the box and handing it to Peggy. He looked over her shoulder as she opened the top while Howard noisily went about making more pancakes.

"Howard," Peggy asked, her voice shaking, "are these what I think they are?"

He nodded but didn't speak, pouring more batter into the pan.

Peggy carefully reached into the box, pulling out a small ring with two shiny brass keys on it. Steve did the same, pulling out a matching pair. Their eyes were wide, full of disbelief. "Howard…" Steve started to object, but the millionaire whirled on him, spatula in hand.

"I didn't know what to do for you guys… all you two need are each other. Things are just… things. They're empty and hollow and I surround myself with them all the time and get nothing out of them. And then... then I had this thought." Howard turned and slid the spatula under the last flapjack, setting it on a plate and putting the pan to the side as he switched the stove off. "I thought about what I could really give you, and I thought about what I knew about you two." He slid the ridiculous apron off, walking back to his friends, "I thought about all those miserable nights on cold bases during the war, about Peggy sharing apartments and Steve with a four floor walk up on the edge of a bad neighborhood because the SSR didn't want to be too showy with where he lived."

Howard reached out, closing each of his hands over theirs, pressing the keys into Steve and Peggy's palms. "I can give you this. Not that you wouldn't give it to yourselves one day, but…" Howard swallowed. "Let me give you this."

Steve and Peggy enveloped him in a tight hug. "Thank you, Howard," she whispered, holding him close.

Howard pushed away, uncomfortable with the affection. He sniffed, putting on his playboy demeanor like a mask. "Yeah, yeah. You two and your hugging." He waved a hand, "come on, I'll show you the place."

He led them into the center of the hall, pointing right first. "Living room," he turned left, "Dining room that seats twelve." He opened a closed door behind him, "Number one of two, yes two full bathrooms."

Peggy looked at the gleaming tile and the chrome covered fixtures, gasping. "Howard, it's gorgeous."

"Only the best for my friends. Come on, more to see." He ushered them up to the top of the stairs, a wide smile on his face. "Three bedrooms, one with an attached bathroom."

Steve walked down the hall, looking into each room. One was empty, painted white and waiting to be filled, the next was decorated tastefully as a guest room with very calm, neutral colors. He stopped in the doorway of the third room, the master bedroom. "We uh, might want to redecorate this one if that's alright with you, Howard."

The bedroom held a gigantic four posted bed and mahogany furniture that was far more expensive and elegant than anything anywhere else in the house, but it was the decor that had prompted Steve's protest. Every inch of anything that could be covered in fabric was red, white, and blue. The comforter on the bed sported a quilted flag design, and there were throw pillows shaped like Steve's shield that Howard must have had specially made. "Why would we…" Peggy's question died as she peered into the room. She had to bite her lip as she took in all of the effort that had gone into it. "Well," she patted Steve's shoulder, knowing that the man she loved could take Howard's good-natured ribbing, "at least it matches the outside of the house."

"Come on," Howard bounced excitedly at the top of the stairs. "There's more." They followed him down, back through the kitchen. "I already told you about the kitchen," he said as he took them through the first floor hall to a door just to the right of the kitchen. "Rumpus room!" He swung his arm out, presenting the den. It had several soft and comfortable looking couches, all facing a fireplace. Around the edges of the room, electronics were strewn decoratively: a projector and screen in one corner, a small film and movie camera sitting together on a shelf, a gorgeous radio and record cabinet on one wall next to a small decorative cabinet that neither of them had seen before.

"Howard, is that…?" Peggy didn't even ask, she just walked into the room ignoring Howard's grin. When she turned a dial it buzzed horribly before slowly but surely an image floated to the small screen: a man speaking in black and white. Howard had gotten them a television.

"There aren't that many stations yet, but it's the wave of the future!" Howard smiled, pulling Steve towards the window. "Back yard's big enough to do whatever you want with it. Grill, pool," He man's voice dropped and his eyes slipped to small slits as he elbowed the man next to him in the shoulder, "Swing set and sand box when the time comes… am I right?"

Steve laughed, even though he could picture it in his mind: he and Peggy running after two adorable toddlers, swing set on the left and a small kiddy pool just in the one corner there. "Howard, this is…"

Howard didn't let him finish, just jumped back. "Come on, one more thing!"

He was out of the room, leaving Steve and Peggy in his dust. She stood, switching the television off and catching up with Steve, watching as Howard disappeared through another door and down a set of stairs. "Can we really accept this?" Peggy asked quietly.

"I don't see how we can say no," Steve replied, inching them towards Howard's excited voice as he rambled on about a laundry room. "We might literally kill him if we said no."

Peggy stopped at the top of the stairs, looking into Steve's eyes, still off kilter from all that had happened. "We can't just… just move out here, can we?"

"Why not?" He asked, stepping down the stairs as she followed. "Howard is right, that apartment the SSR got me isn't in the best neighborhood. And we could probably use some more room with the two of us living together now."

"I suppose you're right." Peggy stopped at the last stair, watching as Howard fiddled with what looked like a fuse box in the wall. "I couldn't let him down."

Steve wrapped an arm around her waist, smiling wickedly. "I suppose this means I'll have to make an honest woman of you sooner rather than later."

Peggy kissed him quickly, taking on the air of a movie announcer as she spoke, "'Captain America lives a life of debauchery!' Who would believe it?"

"I would!" Howard answered, moving over to them. "So like I said, through that door behind you is the laundry room." He swept his arm out. "We set this up as an office, but you could always turn it into whatever you wanted."

The basement was finished, and in the middle of the room before them were two great wooden desks, pushed together to face one another, elegant chairs slid in tight at opposing ends. "Oh, Howard," Peggy sighed, imagining her and Steve passing reports to one another over the gorgeous wood rather than the barely stable coffee table they worked at in his apartment now.

"Last thing," he tipped his head, leading them to the fuse box he'd been fiddling with. "All your fuses are here, just like normal. Steve, I left a box of extras for you in the shed out back, just in case."

"Thoughtful," Steve nodded, watching as Howard opened the door to the panel.

"Fuse 12, though, that's the one." Howard flipped it, and the wall next to him slid away, revealing a panel of electronics. "Trip it, and you have access to this."

"What is it?" Peggy asked, ghosting her fingers over each of the switches.

Howard smiled like the cat that ate the canary. "Security system. That picket fence out front is outfitted with a proximity sensor and a magnetic deadlock. Not that it'll stop anyone from going over it, but it should keep the kiddies out at Halloween." Howard flipped two switches under the label 'fence,' bright lights popping up and the small computer screen next to him jumping to life as it started to display data. "That's why there's this one." Howard pointed to a switch labeled 'lawn.' "Pressure sensitive plates six feet under the dirt will give you the approximate size of anything that sets off the alarms, so you can differentiate between a squirrel and the mail man."

Howard walked behind them, bringing their attention to a different panel. "All the doors and windows have manual as well as magnetic locks, and a full security system that's accessible from a hidden panel in the front hall." Howard pointed to a small keypad and piece of glass. "This is a fingerprint scanner. Scan your thumb, enter a code, and it locks the system, no one else can make any changes until you rescan and unlock it."

"This is better security than at the SSR," Peggy marveled.

Howard nodded, smug. "I know."

Steve, ever the optimist, eyed Howard. "Are you… expecting trouble?"

He laughed. "You would think. But knowing you two, I have a feeling it'll find you more often than you'd like." Peggy and Steve looked at the floor, knowing he was right. "Plus it's basically the system I use in my own home."

"So you're saying it's good for keeping models and actresses out?" Peggy asked, finally getting a chance to tease her friend as the shock of the morning wore off.

Howard laughed. "Yes!" He patted Steve on the back, "And you'll need to when word starts to really get out that this one's alive."

"Actually not a bad idea," Steve mused as Howard led them back up the stairs. "Might be hard to keep our privacy." For now he was neither alive nor dead, the SSR had been convinced to simply ignore his return. Touting that he was alive nationally might invite Russia to be more aggressive, but he'd been able to convince them that if they simply ignored him, let Steve live his life and help out on a mission here or there just as Steve Rogers and not as Captain America, there was as little chance of something happening as there was when they were pretending he was still dead. It had been a small victory, but an important one that put him back on the payroll, gave him a sense of purpose, and made him able to take missions with Peggy and the Commandos again.

"You say the word and I can have hideaway steel shutters installed on the windows," Howard offered. "I thought that might be overkill to start out with."

"Right" Peggy laughed, "The steel shutters would be overkill."

Howard turned to the two of them, standing in the middle of the kitchen. "So, tell me the truth, do you like it?" He tried to hide the nervousness in his voice, tried to wear a smirk that didn't quite fit his tight lips, to let them know that it was all right to say no to him.

"We love it," Steve answered, reaching out for Howard.

The billionaire backed up, his hands in front of him. "Jeez, you guys and your hugs! For two of the toughest soldiers ever to live you two are the biggest softies I've ever seen." Steve backed off at the man's joke as Howard shoved his hands in his pockets, his voice a little more sincere now. "I'm glad. I want the best for my friends."

"Speaking of the best," Peggy sat at the table, folding her hands in front of her with every ounce of seriousness she could muster. "I believe I was promised sausage and pancakes?"

Howard smiled, reaching out for his apron. "Coming right up!" He turned back to the oven, slipping a potholder over his hand and pulling out a warming tray of sausage and bacon that had already been cooked. "I'll join you two for breakfast and then get out of your hair." He turned, plating the meat, "Jarvis will come get you whenever you want, you just have to call."

"Where you rushing off to?" Steve asked, curious as to why he wouldn't want to spend more time with them.

Howard dropped the pate of meat on the table, a stack of breakfast plates in the other hand. "Me? Nowhere special." He winked salaciously, "I just figured you two might want to christen your star spangled bedroom."

Two weeks later, the house was a mess. Though Peggy and Steve didn't have much, it seemed and awful chore trying to find the best places to put everything. They were nearly moved out of his apartment, but fairly far from being completely moved in to the house, despite the fact they'd been staying there for a week already. They'd even kept the bedroom décor, despite Steve's assertion every night that they'd change it and Peggy's grumbling about the absence of a Union Jack anywhere in the house.

Steve was sitting on the porch swing on the back deck, watching the clouds turn orange and purple with the sunset when Peggy joined him, handing him a cup of steaming tea. He set it on the arm of the swing, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders as she snuggled into his side.

She sighed, a sound that was at once both happy and sad. "What is it?" he asked, looking down at her tucked into his shoulder, the wistful look in her eyes at least telling him she wasn't upset.

She looked up at Steve, wrapped in a sweater and with the day's growth of stubble on his chin. "I just… I never really thought of us like this, you know?"

"What do you mean?" He rubbed her arm for warmth as a breeze brought goose bumps to her skin.

She sat up, tucking her leg under her and holding her mug in both hands. "When I was a girl, I never had those same dreams every other girl had. I didn't think about what my wedding might be like or what kind of house I wanted to live in. I always wanted to help, to do something worthwhile, fly an airplane or become a doctor. Not a nurse but a proper doctor, mind you, and I just never really had those fantasies." She sighed, looking at the liquid in her cup like it held the secrets to the universe. "During the war it just… it seemed like it would never end. I always hoped for an after, but I never let myself imagine it. I never let my thoughts drift to the 'after' because we never knew what the next day would bring."

Steve watched as Peggy took a slow sip of her tea, trying to hide that she was slightly uncomfortable in all she'd revealed. He rocked the swing gently with his foot, his eyes on her as he spoke softly. "This was exactly the kind of house I wanted when I was a kid: big yard, a driveway to ride my bike in and a quiet street to have stick ball games with my friends. I always thought that some day, somehow, I'd end up in a place like this." He reached out, letting his hand rest on her knee. "I was afraid, too, during the war. It was bad enough I barely knew how to talk to you at first," he blushed hiding his head as they both chuckled, remembering those first few awkward discussions. "But I did think about a future. I thought about those little base row houses and the special day passes they gave soldiers for their anniversaries." Peggy grabbed his hand, holding tight. "I never thought it would end, either."

Peggy nestled back into Steve's side, making him lift his tea to keep it from spilling with the way the swing tilted. She smiled bashfully before settling down, enjoying the closeness as the clouds turned pink and purple with the last rays of the sun. "And now we have this." She sighed, a happier sound this time. "What should we do next?"

"I don't know," Steve replied, taking another sip of his tea as he held Peggy close, "But this kinda feels like a good beginning, doesn't it?"

Peggy leaned up, capturing his lips with hers for a sweet kiss. "The best."