Peggy Carter (hisbestgal) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-06-02 17:33:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, leon orcot, peggy carter |
Who: Peggy and Leon
What: A "breakup"
Where: Leon's apartment
When: Today - Thursday June 2nd
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete
Unexpected changes were something Peggy could deal with, especially when they were happy changes. But gaining a boyfriend wasn’t going to be a happy change for everyone. While she and Leon were never officially together she still had to let him know what was happening in her life now that she wasn’t going to be seeing him anymore. Leon was a great guy, but there had been something there with Steve that she didn’t realize that she needed and wanted, but she wanted to make sure that she and Leon stayed friends. So, a few days after Leon got back from his trip she had sent him a message wanting to hear about it, but she was also going to pull the bandaid off.
Heels clicked as she made her way up the steps to his place and rang the bell. Each hand held a six pack of beer, which was going to be her condolence gift to him. When he answered the door she gave him a smile and held the beer up for him to see, might as well get this going, “I’ve got good news and bad news, love. Which would you like first?”
Leon had had a surprisingly good trip. He’d even almost gotten along with his aunt and uncle, which he hadn’t been expecting. Evidently his aunt couldn’t harp on him about ‘responsibilities’ and ‘wasting his life’ after Leon had taken care of Chris for nearly alone, largely alone even if he did have help at times. He’d thought that the Memorial Day barbeque that the hosted would be the kind of even that would make Leon want to shoot himself in the face, but instead he’d spent most of the afternoon playing ball with Chris or talking to his uncle about fishing (something Leon had been interested in, before the fish started talking back). The zoo had been great, it had been great being able to see his brother again.
He was in a good mood. At least, until Peggy said something about good news and bad news. He hoped desperately that it was something like ‘I need a new alternator in my car.’
“Oh Peggy, how nice to see you, please come in,” Leon said, teasing a little about the lack of introductions. He took the offered beer from her and went to the fridge to put it in. “Might as well give me the bad first,” he said from the fridge. “Give the good a chance to soften the blow.”
The tease made her smile and she let out a chuckle. “Hello, Leon. You’re looking quite lovely and I’m assuming you had a good trip. Thank you for letting me to come into your house,” she gave him a wink as they went towards the kitchen to put the beer in the fridge. When he asked for the bad news first she let out a sigh and bit her lip for a second. Yep, she was stalling, but whatever, “Alright, so… I’m just gonna get this over with. Steve asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes. But, the good news is that I brought beer to soften the blow....?”
Her eyes had a nervous look in them as she pursed her lips together to see what his reaction would be. She felt bad for letting him go, but it had been months of just going around with both of them. She wasn’t sure what Leon truly wanted out a relationship because they never seemed to make any move to make things permanent, but Steve did. But as cliche as it was she truly wanted to make sure she was on good terms with Leon about the whole thing.
Did Leon just hear that right? Did Peggy really just tell him that she now had a boyfriend? Where the hell had that come from? What did that mean for him? Was she breaking up with him?! Who in the hell was Steve?
“Who the hell is-?!” Leon started, automatically stopping what he was doing to turn to Peggy. Of course, as he was speaking, the image of Steve Rogers, Captain Fucking America, hand-holder of Peggy flashed into his mind. There’d been a time after St Paddy’s Day that Leon had been worried that Captain America was going to steal his girl away from him, but between his new psychic ME, trying to track down a living doll, and drinking with Revy he hadn’t actually thought of Steve and Peggy in a while. He certainly didn’t worry about the chances that Peggy would find someone else.
Leon deflated. “You mean Captain America?” He frowned. “Well, let’s face it. If Captain America asked me out I’d probably say yes too.” Didn’t mean it stung any less.
If it wasn’t a sad situation Peggy probably would have had a good laugh about Leon’s reaction to the whole thing because it had taken him time to realize who she was speaking about. Instead she kept a somber look upon her face as she opened her mouth to explain who Steve was and then it clicked for him. “Yeah, Captain America,” not something she usually referred to Steve by, “And would you really, love?” Okay, that comment made the corner of her mouth twitch in an amused smile.
“I’m sorry. I am. I wasn’t sure how serious we were, but I wanted to make sure to let you know. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now, but neither of us were making a move towards anything else. But, he asked and when he did I realized that I did want a commitment to someone. It has absolutely nothing to do with you because you are an amazing man and I do want us to continue to be friends because I’m not going to lose you in my life,” Peggy explained to him. He probably didn’t want to hear all this, but she was just kind of rambling now. She wanted to make sure that Leon knew it wasn’t anything he did, but it was just timing.
“What’s not to say yes to?” Leon muttered. Leon usually prefered the fairer sex, but Steve Rogers was a very attractive guy. And Leon didn’t know him in person well, but he had watched consumed a lot of Captain America when he was a kid. Besides, Incredibly Handsome All-American Hero vs. Broke Homicide Detective. Seemed like a no brainer.
He opened one of the beers that Peggy had brought and guzzled it down in a couple of seconds. Then he opened another one. This one, he didn’t chug back all at once. He leaned against his kitchen counter. “Yeah, I’ve heard the let’s be friends line before, Pegs,” he said. Usually with a condescending sneer and a pat on the hand. At least Peggy had attempted to make it sound like she actually meant it.
The snide comment earned a purse of Peggy’s lips as she refused to rise to the bait. Leon didn’t seem like he was in the place in his life where he wanted to commit to someone and he hadn’t refuted her assumption. Steve was a whole other situation because of the dreams, but he had a good head on his shoulders and he wanted something more. Peggy didn’t feel like it was fair to either of them if she just continued to see both of them casually until the end of time. This was going to happen eventually.
“Leon, seriously? I’m not using it as a line. You are my cousin’s best friend. We’re going to continue to see each other socially in situations and I’m not inclined to treat you like I don’t know you because you’ve become important to me. No one can afford to just write someone out of their lives in this place, it’s too strange. You don’t have to be friendly to Steve, but I would like to remain friends with you,” she was tempted to comment about how she would probably end up having to come to him for help with Agency things some day, but probably not a time to bring up something he had such a disdain for.
Leon was at a stage in his life where he really didn’t know what he wanted. Once, he had wanted a wife and 2.5 kids and a house with a white picket fence and maybe a dog so long as his wife and kids took care of the slobbery thing. He was beginning to realize that he probably had never wanted those things in the first place. But while he’d been seeing Peggy, at least he could pretend that he was moving toward something like that, albeit at a glacial speed.
It wasn’t until now that he realized that Peggy was absolutely right. He was going to have to keep seeing her, especially so long as he and Sharon remained friends. This was one of the main reasons Leon automatically categorized his coworkers into the ‘less sex appeal than a grapefruit’ section of his brain. For one frantic moment he wondered how to let Sharon know that they couldn’t be friends anymore, and then he realized he was being an idiot. He was 27. There was no reason he couldn’t be, if not friends, at least civil with an ex-girlfriend. Especially one who wasn’t even technically an ex-girlfriend. He realized now how lucky he had been to never have anything in common with any of the girls he’d dated before. At least then they wouldn’t accidentally cross paths.
“I don’t know about friends, Peggy,” Leon said after mulling over her words for a bit. “But I guess if I see you in public I turn and run the other way. I mean, not always.” He almost managed to force a smile, though it didn’t quite make it there. “Maybe we can try for friends in a while.”
“That’s fine,” Peggy knew that she could handle it because she was fairly skilled at compartmentalizing her emotions and feelings about people. Yes, it wouldn’t be easy at first, but she knew that she could also see Leon as just a friend. It might take some time and making sure that he didn’t cross paths with Steve anytime within the first few months, “I can deal with that. It’ll take some time, but you’re not allowed to run off from me. Just, don’t be a stranger, okay? If you need me for anything, don’t hesitate to call me.”
She wanted him to know that just because they weren’t seeing each other didn’t mean she wouldn’t get his back if he needed it. She approached him and gave him a gentle peck on the cheek, “I should get going. Enjoy the beer, love.” Hopefully he would enjoy them and didn’t mind that as a parting gift. It seemed silly to stick around because it was almost like rubbing salt in the wound.
“Yeah, alright,” Leon said, feeling unexpectedly drained. “I won’t be.” He raised his hand to his cheek when Peggy kissed him, and watched her leave before he let out a heavy sigh and leaned against his kitchen counter. The beer was a rather thoughtful gift, though one that probably wouldn’t last the night.
Once Peggy had left, he turned to Gattolotto the Christmas Cactus. “Well,” he said, looking at the plant. “Looks like it’s just you and me again.”