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[deaddrop]

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[assays]

[Peggy decided her best course of action was to place all of the snacks into a bag to make it easier to carry. It also gives her an idea of how many snacks she thinks they will need.

But she brings an extra couple just in case.]

Hello, Natasha. [She gives her a smile in greeting, setting the bag down next to the table.] I've brought chips, pretzels, cookies and well, whatever snack food I could find in the kitchen really.

[deaddrop]

[Natasha steps out of the way, inviting Peggy in. She gestures toward the couches.

The joys of having an executive suite.]

I could go for some cookies. Might as well enjoy them while we have them, right?

[assays]

Especially when they're chocolate chip. [Peggy lifts the container of cookies and hands it to Natasha for her to open.]

I will pour us some drinks. [Well, they should start with the whiskey. She lifts the bottle and fills up their glasses, taking a seat on the couch.]

We should do this more often.

[deaddrop]

[Natasha takes a seat perched on the arm of a sofa, one foot tucked up to her body.

One cookie goes in her mouth immediately.]

We should. I'd say most of my visitors lately are men, but honestly, most of them are super soldiers.

[Which is to say, it's a small circle.]

[assays]

They do seem common around here, don't they? [She laughs, clearly joking.]

Truthfully, I haven't invited many people to my room. I tend to meet them in the coffee shop or at the main hotel bar.

[Lifting a cookie for herself, she takes a huge bite and eats it slowly. Peggy wants to savour each bit.]

[deaddrop]

I respect a woman who protects her privacy.

[Natasha raises the glass of whiskey to her lips, sipping. It's a good sign; she actually wants to enjoy the alcohol.]

But why have all of this space if I don't have people over? Plus, this is another sort of privacy.

[assays]

You make an excellent point, Natasha. If I had a space like this, I'd feel more inclined to invite people to it.

[When she's finished with the cookie, she reaches for her whiskey and takes a generous sip.]

Most of the time I just have an early night and go to bed. Hardly exciting.

[deaddrop]

Gosh, Peggy, that's awful wholesome for hell. You're not getting out and socializing?

[She says it teasing. Natasha doesn't intend to push Peggy to actually answer.

She's here now.]

Maybe I should drag you out more often. Though I might be a bad influence.

[assays]

Maybe a bad influence is exactly the thing I need.

[Peggy replies sagely, reaching for another cookie.]

Not the kind that will add to my sin list of course, but enough to loosen me up.

[It's not the whiskey talking.]

[deaddrop]

We're off to a good start.

[Natasha lifts her glass in a half-toast, then sets it down after a sip.

She reaches for another cookie.]

Though I can't promise it won't add gluttony to your list.

[assays]

[Her lips twitch with faint amusement.]

Well, I suppose it's not the worst of the deadly sins.

[She finishes the cookie in about three bites.]

Anyway, we deserve a treat every now and again. Especially with the shit they put us through.

[deaddrop]

Some of us deserve it for more reasons than that, I think. Besides, everyone needs to have a little fun from time to time.

Even us?

[assays]

Even us.

[Peggy takes a swig from her glass.]

I probably haven't been having as much fun as I should be having.

[deaddrop]

To be fair, it's easy not to have fun around here. And it was nearly a year before I broke down and admitted it was all right to do it intentionally.

[Prior to that, she'd tried very hard to be all business.]

But you're running into some old friends here, aren't you?

[assays]

I am running into old friends, yes. Also managed to make some new ones also. Aside from you.

[Her expression grows fond for a moment. It wouldn't be the same without Natasha.]

Have you met Nikola Tesla yet?

[deaddrop]

I have, actually. He's an interesting man.

[She wouldn't call them close, but he certainly made an impression.

Makes an impression.]

You two hit it off?

[assays]

I think so, yes. He is interesting as you say.

[Peggy smiles, taking a sip from her drink.]

Never expected to meet someone from history before. He died in 1943.

[deaddrop]

Apparently faked his own death.

[Or at least this version of them did. Hard to say one way or the other what happened in their own universe.

At this point, Natasha wouldn't frankly be surprised if he were a vampire there either.]

I hate to point this out to you, Carter, but from my perspective you are someone from history.

[assays]

[The comment is taken in good faith as Peggy lets out a snort.]

How right you are, Natasha. I'm practically a living museum artifact.

[She chuckles, reaching over to grab the bottle and tops up both of their drinks.]

I still don't want to know what lies ahead of me though.

[deaddrop]

Don't worry. I'm not planning on giving you any spoilers.

[Natasha flashes a slight smile as she says that, though it doesn't last long.

Just a reminder that Peggy has things to get back to. Things she has to do.]

Who knows, I might not know what happens to you anyway. Seems like there's more different versions of us than we knew.

[assays]

Natalia spoke of another version of me once. She was American and lived a slightly different life to mine.

[Which was strange to think about, but also interesting.]

It makes me wonder about other people I knew back home. Not just during the war, but afterwards, at the agency. Is there another version of them somewhere?

[deaddrop]

It seems safe to assume there are other versions of all of us out there somewhere or other. There has to be, right.

Maybe more than a few.

[assays]

Who knows? Maybe we will get to meet them if they turn up here? Not that I'm wishing that on them, but it's just a thought.

[Peggy takes a sip from her glass.]

I don't think I've told you this before, but I was engaged once. If the wedding had gone ahead, my life would've gone down a different path.

[deaddrop]

That seems like it would be a pretty big change, yeah.

[Natasha leans a little closer, curious. Or maybe just encouraging.]

So what happened? Obviously it fell though.

[assays]

[She is going to tell Natasha the story, but Peggy needs a moment.]

I had a brother - Michael was his name. He believed that I could be a good field agent. In fact, he recommended me for it, but I turned it down because I was getting married. Sadly, Michael was killed on active duty and I lost the only person who truly believed in me. I thought I should honour him by taking up the field agent position.

So I did.