Peggy saw plenty. She’d always been observant, capable of stringing together disparate images and ideas into a whole that made sense to her, even if it didn’t always jive with other people. It was part of what made her good at what she did- she knew to watch, to evaluate, and so the way she approached others was always carefully weighed and measured rather than done impulsively. Seemingly extraneous details mattered, and could be brought to bear in the most useful way she could manage- like noticing, once upon a time, that the way Bucky spoke of his friend Steve smacked of something more than friendship or hero worship, and therefore had to be carefully monitored in the face of that year’s Games. Doomed romances were a tricky business for tributes; unnecessary complication at best, another angle to exploit at worst.
But that was a long time ago, now. Things changed. They changed as people, and relationships twisted and reshaped over the course of years. Peggy hadn’t considered that angle in a long time, and wasn’t worrying about it now. What happened, at least in terms of the current rumors, had been unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on one’s perspective) timing and the eternal willingness of gossipy citizens to believe the outrageous and titillating.
Since she’d already been asked to let this rumor go, as she had the last, she’d decided which role would be best to adopt in public, and talked to Steve about using the whole mess as an excuse to travel for a while- to get distance from what she could paint, at least to certain circles, as jealousy and affront. Maybe even a broken heart, if she wanted to be particularly dramatic, but that was pushing it in terms of Peggy’s willingness to lie. She’d sort it out once she got back to the Capitol, but for now she’d gone from a very nice, discreet evening at Steve’s to appearing on Bucky’s doorstep looking slightly worse for wear.
Might as well start the charade early, even if it irked her to appear sans makeup and with her hair in nothing more complicated than a ponytail.
All of her good intentions didn’t stand up to finding Bucky on the doorstep with a kitten in his arms, and she didn’t bother trying to hide a smile as she plucked the furball from his grip and cuddled her close. Her sweater was enough to insulate against little claws, and if her ponytail was an attractive target, it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen by far. Peggy took a seat, kitten balanced on a shoulder, and huffed a laugh at the sudden barrage of food options she’d been presented. “Sunny side up is fine,” she answered. “And I’m fine, thanks. Happy to report no fires occurred and I didn’t come down with food poisoning as a result of Steve’s cooking, which was actually quite nice. You’ll have to ask him to fix you dinner sometime.” It was good they were talking again. If anything positive came of these rumors, it would be an excuse for Bucky and Steve to spend time together. Friendly support could be in awful short supply, and both could use a bit more of it. “How are you?”