#jack thompsonxreader

[arrow-guy]

Out of Time (1/??)

Synopsis: Asta is a woman out of time. She’s strong, and damn near indestructible, but when she wakes up hundreds of years in the future, she’s completely lost. She finds a new family in Peggy Carter and friends in people that she never would have dreamed of. But not everyone gets what they want, right?

A/N: Alright, I’m not really one to write OC content, but I couldn’t resist with this story. It’s a huge project that’s going to cover a lot of ground, but I hope it’ll be as fun to read as it has been to write. If you’d like, I’ve put together a Spotify playlist for this fic and you’re more than welcome to listen along!

Pairing: Jack ThompsonxOFC (Steve RogersxOFC endgame)

Word Count: 10.3k

Warnings: Canon typical violence

Playlist

Page dividers by @carryonmyswansong

“This all must be quite shocking for you.”

“I am not sure that’s the phrasing I would use.”

“Then how would you describe it?” The woman tilted her head to the side.

“I…” I sighed. “It’s disorienting. If I truly have been asleep for more than three hundred years, then there is so much that I’ve missed.”

“Your family?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I’ve lost so much time. There’s so much history that I missed. I have very little idea where I am, let alone how this new world works.”

She hummed. “I understand.”

“I’m not sure that you do.” I gestured to the small room. “All of this is foreign to me. Lamps that light at the flip of a switch, listening devices, new weapons. Carriages without horses or mules. Everything.”

“Yes, there’s a lot we have to teach you. If you’re willing to learn, that is.”

“You don’t know me. What I’m capable of.”

“Then teach us,” she said. “Work with us. I, for one, would like to help you build a new life here.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, I clenched my hands in my lap. “Why?”

“Because everyone deserves a chance. You never got yours.” She leaned forward on the table. “Do you have a name?”

I shook my head. “Not one that is worth using.”

“Then I suppose that means you get to choose a new one.” She smiled kindly and pushed her chair back from the table. “I’ll give you some time to think about everything.”

“No.” She stopped in her tracks. “I’ve made my decision.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll stay,” I said. “If you will have me.”

“Of course we will. And, your name?”

“M-my name… Asta. My name will be Asta.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, Asta. I’m Peggy Carter.” She grinned. “I have a very good feeling about our future.”

“You’ll be staying here for the time being,” Peggy showed me into a small apartment. “You’re only three doors down from me, so come find me if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Peggy.”

“It’s nothing, Asta, really.” She fussed with the cushions on the small couch. “As of Friday, you are legally my sister. If someone asks for your surname, you tell them it’s Carter. Understood?”

“I understand, but I have no accent. It’s hardly believable.”

“If you’re questioned, we’ll say you were sent to live with relatives here during the first war. You stayed here for university and lost your accent when you were young.”

“I feel as if we may lose track of this lie.”

“We’ll be careful. If you have to leave your room, I’ll go with you. Field any questions someone may ask.”

“Alright.”

“There isn’t much that you can talk about from this century until you start your lessons.”

“When will we start?”

“Tomorrow morning. We’ll go to the library and you can choose whatever you like.” She paused to look back at me. “You can read, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I can read and write.”

“I apologize. I have to ask, as we don’t fully know what kind of education someone from your time might’ve received.”

“Seems as though it’s something that would have been recorded,” I muttered.

“Most history caters to what the rich and successful did,” Peggy explained. “Much of British history, specifically, focuses on the plague and royal drama.”

I shook my head. “Ridiculous.”

“No argument here.” She folded her arms. “I’ll be back to get you for dinner, alright?”

I nodded and she left.

I only lived in that first apartment for about four months before I was moved to a room at the SSR headquarter in New York. There, I could be better monitored by the SSR. Living there meant that no one asked questions that they shouldn’t and I was able to learn and ask questions without someone looking at me like I’d grown a tail. Living there made it more convenient for them to run their tests. They weren’t nearly as invasive as I might have expected them to be, but they often left me exhausted and worn down. The day they realized that I could withstand the explosion from a grenade was particularly exciting for their team of scientists. I, however, went back to my room at the end of the day and collapsed into bed after picking and brushing the shrapnel from my hair.

Peggy visited me as often as she could in those first few months. As it stood, she wasn’t allowed out of her apartment after a certain time. I never really understood curfews for grown women during that time. I have a feeling it was set as a way to control the tenants. We went out on our weekly trips to the library. She would quiz me on things I’d learned on our walk to and from, our arms laden with books. She was the first real friend I’d made since childhood and I cherished every moment I got with her.

The science team got bored with testing my strength and durability nearly four months, and by then the SSR signed off on a select group of agents to begin training me in combat. I started off learning hand to hand combat but had to hold back in order to keep from hurting the trainers. Enough were scared of me that they moved on to using heavy bags and demonstrating throws and takedowns on football dummies. It was only when new agents were brought in that I actually got to put any of that training to use. Most gave up after two sessions with me if they were smart.

Three months into my training, Peggy was allowed to slowly incorporate casework, provided it wasn’t anything that required any kind of physical altercation. I think they saw me as a walking lawsuit at the time. When I stepped between Agent Thompson and an angry suspect with a shotgun, their opinion seemed to change. He and I had had little to do with one another before that, though Peggy had worked closely with both him and Agent Sousa. We became more familiar with one another after that incident.

“Y’know, I wondered what your deal was when we first found you,” Jack mused one day.

“Oh?”

“Well, yeah. Some mysterious woman gets found asleep in a coffin, Snow White style, of course a guy’s bound to be curious.”

“Have you figured out my deal yet, then?” I asked, resting my chin in my hand.

“You’re hard to read,” he said. “So, no.”

“Mmm,” I hummed. “Pitty, that.”

He snorted and shook his head, but I caught the corner of his mouth turning up in a smile. We went back to our paperwork in silence. For some reason, it was easier to pick him out of the crowd during training for the next few weeks. I got suspicious of how often I saw him after an additional two weeks and began to notice money changing hands. It took a couple days before I realized that money only made an appearance when I fought a new agent. I let it go on for another week before I confronted him about it.

“Stop betting on the new agents, Thompson.”

He’d grinned. “Or what?”

“Or I’ll kick your ass,” I said.

“Didn’t think you knew how to talk like that,” he said. “I’m impressed, Carter.”

“You’d be surprised, the things that I know,” I smirked. “I’m a quick study.”

“Oh, I know. Midge says you’ve read through about half the public library by now.”

“You know she doesn’t like to be called Midge.” I shook my head and clipped up the heavy bag. “I don’t get why you treat her so poorly. If she were a man, she’d be your best friend.”

He shook his head. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I folded my arms and leaned against the wall to study him. “You’ve seen her in action. Hell, she’s half the reason you’re alive.”

“She is not.”

“Who do you think sent someone to check on you in California?” His eyes went wide. “Yes, I know you were shot in your hotel room.”

“I- That’s classified.”

“Which is why only Peggy and I know about it.”

“Why would you know?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Because I’m classified, Jack. No one’s supposed to know about me, so I have the pleasure of knowing about everyone else.”

“Impressive.”

“Quit deflecting.”

“Quit interrogating me,” he hissed.

“Ah, don’t like people getting close to your truth, do you?”

He growled and took a swing at me. I grabbed his fist, stopping him in his tracks, planted my foot in the middle of his chest, and kicked him away. He stumbled back, lost his balance, and fell to the mat. He groaned as he sat up and pressed one hand to the small of his back.

“Don’t throw a punch if you’re not ready for a fight,” I said. “Next time, I’m not going easy on you.”

“That was you going easy?”

“Did you know that I could crush your skull with one hand?” I crouched down in front of him and tilted my head to the side. “That I have lived longer than you could ever dream. That if you tried to shoot me, and your scientists have, if you tried to even cut or scratch me, nothing would happen? There would be no wound, no welt. Not even a mark. If you come at me again, a bruised tailbone will be the least of your worries.”

He leaned away, his eyes wide.  “What the fuck.”

I stood and offered him a hand up. He hesitated and I rolled my eyes. “Just let me help you up.”

“I’m not sure how comfortable I am with that.”

“I’m not going to hurt you. Just take my hand already.”

He hesitated, but eventually let me help him up. He brushed off his pants as soon as he was on his feet again.

"You're kind of terrifying," he said.

"That's the point." I looked him over. "Were you here to train, or…?"

He looked startled by the question but didn’t back down. “I might’ve been.”

“Well don’t let little ole me stop you,” I said.

He shuffled around and lifted weights for about half an hour before giving up. He made a point to avoid the gym whenever I was there from then on out. I thought it was hilarious at the time.

About two months later, an SSR agent walked up to Peggy and I while we were talking.

“Time for the lunch orders, ladies,” he said. He held out a notepad and pen with a sly smile on his face. “The natives are getting restless.”

“Order your own lunches,” I said.

He grabbed Peggy’s hand and slapped the pad and pen into it. “Not my job, sweetheart. Just get lunch.”

Peggy’s jaw tightened and she moved to get up from her chair. I held up one hand to stop her and took the pen and paper with the other. I grabbed the agent’s hand and slapped the pad and pen into it, just as he’d done to Peggy.

“Look, sweetheart. I see you’ve got two working legs. You are more than capable of ordering your own damn lunch. That is, unless you have issues with the English language, but judging by your accent, you don’t, so perhaps you’re still struggling to learn the alphabet.” I tipped my head to the side. “So, unless you’ve got some other convenient issue that’s miraculously spread through the office, I suggest you get lost and get your own fucking lunch. Does that sound reasonable to you, Agent?”

His eyes went wide and he looked to Peggy for some kind of backup. He didn’t find any.

“Look, lady, it’s just how things are done around here! You can’t blame me for that shit!”

“Can’t I? Because I don’t see you doing anything to change it. The only person I’d expect to ask someone to get lunch for them is Sousa, and he’s the only one around here who seems to know how to do anything for himself.” I shoved him lightly, which sent him stumbling backward. “Start a new tradition. Get your own lunches. Stop bothering us.”

He nodded dumbly and ran off to tell his friends they had to fend for themselves that day.

“We’re going to get in trouble for that,” Peggy said, a smile tugging at her lips.

“No,” I said. “Jack’s too scared of me to do anything about it.”

She cocked one perfect eyebrow. “Oh really? What did you do to put the fear of God into poor Jack Thompson?”

“Threw him around a little in the gym and threatened him,” I shrugged. “The usual.”

She snorted to cover up her laughter. “Why am I not surprised?”

I grinned and braced myself on her desk. “Because you know me.”

"That's very true." She shook her finger at me. "You really shouldn't go around threatening people."

I laughed and waved her off. "Don't worry about who I'm threatening. He hasn't bothered you in weeks, so I'd say it was worth it."

"Asta, you didn't."

"I didn't do anything drastic. I just mentioned that I thought it was funny that he's so rude to you, but if you were a man he'd treat you like a war hero." I added, very pointedly, "Which you are, and he needs to recognize that."

"I didn't do anything."

"I'm pretty sure you're responsible for facilitating, possibly, the greatest uprising in SSR history. You're the reason Captain America was able to get into the fight. You were key in strategy meetings. You were there for every single little thing, and they still treat you like dirt. Useful, but only if you can give them what they need."

“I’m not saying that I disagree with you, but-”

“You do disagree with my methods, I know. I’m sure this is a conversation we’ll have many, many times in the future.”

“I’m not so sure I like the sound of that.”

I laughed. “Would you like to go out for lunch today? My treat.”

“Your treat?”

“Didn’t you hear? They started paying me while you were in California, flirting with Sousa.”

“I wasn’t flirting,” she said. She caved when I shot her a questioning look. “Fine, I wasn’t just flirting.”

“There it is.” I reached out and tugged on her hand. “Come on. You can ask Daniel to come along. I might even invite Jack.”

Peggy laughed. “Why?”

I shrugged. “Dunno. I think I mostly want to see what he’ll do. Regardless, I’m paying so you might as well just say yes.”

She sighed but smiled regardless. “Fine, I give.”

I grinned and watched Peggy haul herself up from her chair and cross the floor to Sousa’s office. She tentatively opened the door and poked her head inside. Daniel gestured for her to come in and she slipped into the office. I saw him nod and smile and he got up to follow her from the office. I folded my arms and pushed off the desk.

I shouldered open the door to Jack’s office and leaned in the doorway. He slowly looked up from his paperwork to meet my eyes.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey. Peg ‘n’ I are going out for lunch. You want to come with?”

“You sure you want me there?” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

“Yeah, you’re not bad company, Jack. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“Come on,” I said, pushing off the doorway. Jack stood up to grab his coat. “I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

He laughed and followed me out onto the floor. “And what am I getting out of this deal?”

“Free lunch.” He looked amused. “What?”

“On whose dime?”

“Mine? Who else’s?”

“Asta is an employee, Thompson,” Peggy said. “I thought you already knew that.”

“That’s not what I meant!” he said. “I just didn’t expect her to be paying, is all. I’m not saying that she couldn’t afford it.”

I placed my hand on his arm. “She’s messing with you, Jack.”

Daniel snorted and offered Peggy his arm. “Where to, ladies?”

Peggy suggested the diner and both men readily agreed. When we got there, Daniel sat next to Peggy and tucked her under his arm. Jack froze when he saw them but relaxed when I shook my head and picked up the menu.

Daniel, Jack, and Peggy made pleasant conversation while we ate and I sat quietly to listen. I occasionally offered my opinion if it was called for, but was otherwise silent.

I was nibbling absentmindedly at a french fry when Jack asked, “What’s your take on this, Carter?”

“Well…” Peggy began.

“Oh, sorry, I should've been specific. I meant Asta,” he said. He nudged me with his elbow. “We haven’t heard your take on the case.”

“You want my opinion?” I asked.

“Well, yeah.” He slung his arm up over the back of the booth, right above my shoulders. “We know what we think, but a different point of view is important.”

I looked at Peggy and found my amusement reflected on her face. I finished the fry before answering. “Huh, okay.”

I reached for another fry and Jack said, “Are you gonna tell us or what?”

“No, I’m gonna make you wait,” I shot back. I bit down on the fry and Daniel burst out laughing. I looked up at Jack and found him red in the face. The wink I gave him didn’t help much with his predicament.

“I’m serious! We’ve pretty much exhausted our ideas here.”

“I know, give me a moment to think.” I sat back and pressed my fist to my mouth. “There was one woman you spoke to who didn’t quite sit right with me.”

“A suspect?” Daniel asked.

I shook my head. “No, I think it was someone’s wife or sister. She just knew too much about what happened in that lab. Showed no signs of grief at all.”

“Not all people grieve the same.”

“I am well aware of how people grieve. This was different. She was, I don’t know… almost smug? Like she’d gotten away with something and was trying not to gloat about it. I didn’t say anything because I figured you’d want to go over your own theories first.”

“No, that helps,” Jack said. “A lot, actually.”

“Don’t sound too surprised there, Thompson,” I said.

“I’m not surprised. I’m sorry we didn’t ask for your help sooner.”

I tried to hide my smile, but I caught Jack smiling out of the corner of my eye. I kept quiet the rest of lunch, content to listen to the casual conversation.

On the walk back to the office, I hung back to people watch. Eventually, my eyes were drawn to Peggy and Daniel. I remember when she’d come back from California and the first thing she told me about was the development between the two of them. I sat with her while she talked about everything that happened, only half listening at the time, but happy for her regardless. From what she’d told me of her life before coming back to New York, she deserved happiness.

“What’re you thinking about?” Jack asked.

I jumped, not realizing he’d been pacing me for five minutes. I pressed my hand to my chest and wheezed out, “Holy shit.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, it’s alright. Why do you want to know?”

He shrugged. “Your shoulders were kinda hunched and you had this far off look in your eyes. I figured it had to be something pretty serious.”

“Oh.”

“So?”

“It’s nothing,” I said. “I was thinking about when Peggy came back from California. She was happier than I’d ever seen her.”

“And now?”

“She’s still just as happy. Whatever this thing is with Daniel is lasting. I'm happy for her.”

“Huh,” he said. “I thought you would’ve been thinking about your own life. Or past life, or something.”

I laughed. “No. My life wasn’t all that interesting before I got here. Nothing worth dwelling on.”

“I doubt that’s true.”

“It is, though. There’s so much that I escaped in my past. The stress of an arranged marriage or how I’d take care of myself if no one wanted me. Now I have a job and friends and…” I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Sorry.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry, that was a lot.”

“No,” He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Thanks for telling me.”

“Thanks for listening.”

He offered me his arm and I snorted before placing my hand in the crook of his elbow. I caught him smiling and felt myself blush. We walked on in silence for about five more minutes before Jack asks another question.

“Why did you invite me out today?”

I shrugged. “I don’t like being a third wheel.”

“Seriously?”

“Also kind of wanted to see what you’d do.”

“So I’m an experiment.”

“A little.”

“Wow.”

“I don’t mean to insult you. It’s just hard to tell where I stand with you.”

“Explain.”

“Well, Peggy and I are pretty much sisters and has made that abundantly clear, and Daniel thinks I’m odd but puts up with me because of Peggy. The rest of the men in the office act like I don’t exist until lunch rolls around and they’re too lazy to go out and get their own or they don’t want to do their jobs.”

“And me?”

“I can tell you’re curious about me, but I never know what you’re going to do. I avoided you at first, and you sought me out in the gym. I threatened you and you still went out to lunch when I invited you. Now, you’ve got me on your arm and we’ve talked more than I have with the majority of people I know.” I frowned. “I guess I find you interesting. I want to understand you.”

He hummed. “Alright, that's fair.”

“I wasn’t trying to ask you on a date earlier,” I added. “I know that worried you.”

“What?”

“You froze up when Sousa put his arm around Peggy earlier.”

“Right, that.” He shook his head. “I just don’t like being ambushed with it, is all.”

“Hm?”

“I’m not used to being asked out.”

“You’re usually the one who asks.”

“Exactly. But, if someone did ask me out on a date, I’d want to know what their intentions are.”

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “Are you saying that you want me to ask you on a date?”

Jack looked around before pulling me under the overhang of a corner store. I glanced at where his hands held my arms before looking up at him, confused. Carefully, I held his elbows and tilted my head to the side, silently asking him to talk to me. His brows pulled together and he frowned.

"I don't get you," he said.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Someone had stopped to stare at us, and I suspect they were worried for my safety. Jack seemed to pick up on this and turned us so that he had his back to the wall instead of me. He sighed and let go of my arms.

He began to step away. "They're gonna wonder where we are."

I grabbed his hands and pulled him back to me. "No, Jack. Tell me."

"Asta-"

"Please? I won't bother you anymore after this, I promise." I gave him a small smile. "We both know how quiet I can be. It'll be like I'm not even in the office."

I immediately let go of his hands and folded my arms tight against my body. I could feel myself trying to make myself smaller and hated it. Jack put his hands on my shoulders and straightened them out. He then trailed his hand down my arm and took my hand.

"I'm not an easy person," he said softly. "I'm not good with feelings or anything like that, and that's probably my fault. But everything new I learn about you makes me want to know more. I want to understand you and where you came from and what made you who you are. I want to know if you knew Shakespeare or if you made art in your past. I don't know if I want you to ask me on a date. I just know that I want to know you."

"I can tell you right now that I didn't know Shakespeare," I said. "I knew of him and saw a couple of his plays, but I didn't know him."

"See?" He shook his head. "I want to be around you. I just don't want to force more than that."

I nodded. "Thank you for telling me."

"Of course."

"Can I have a couple days to think about what you've said?" I asked. "I need some time."

“Yeah, sure.”

"I'm not good with words." I gently squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. It’s hard to be upset when you keep asking so nicely.”

“Okay.”

He moved my hand to his elbow again and led me back out onto the sidewalk. Peggy and Daniel had beaten us back to the office by ten minutes when we stepped through the doors. Jack excused himself and went back to his office. Peggy pulled me aside as soon as I was alone.

“What took you so long?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re late getting back. What happened?”

“Oh. Thompson wanted to ask me a couple more questions. That’s all.”

“That’s odd.”

I shrugged. “I’m an odd person. People tend to want to ask questions. You certainly did, at first.”

Someone in a lab coat wandered out into the office, looking lost. I looked past Peggy and caught his eye. He immediately relaxed and crossed the floor to talk to us.

“We need your help in the lab,” he said.

“Why?” I asked. “I thought you were done with me.”

"Well…" He scratched the back of his neck.

Realizing that going with him would get me away from Peggy's questions, I held up my hand to stop him. "You know what? It doesn't matter, let's just get it over with."

I apologized to Peggy and left with the lab coat.

The tests took nearly a week and didn't leave me any time to work in the office, let alone think. Each night, I was allowed two hours to train in the gym before I had to return to my quarters. I was frustrated, to say the least.

The day we finished the tests I spent more time than usual in the gym, working out my frustrations on a punching bag. I had knocked it off the hook three times before I had to sit down and patch it up.

“Thought I might find you down here.”

I let out a startled squeak and looked over my shoulder. Jack stood ten feet away from me with his hands in his pockets. His hair was a mess and something in me wanted to fix it.

“Hi,” I said dumbly. I couldn’t figure out anything else to say.

“I haven’t seen you in a week.”

“I’ve been stuck in the lab,” I tried to explain. “By the time I can get away you’re already gone for the night.”

“Okay.”

I ignored the punching bag and spun around to face him. “I did want to talk to you earlier. I’m sure I could’ve made some time. I apologize.”

“I don’t know why you’re apologizing, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why are you standing so far away from me?”

“Because the last time I was with you in this room you put me on my ass.”

“So you’re scared of me?” I pushed myself to my feet. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“I think I’d be scared of you regardless.”

“You want a rematch?” I asked.

“Are you messing with me?”

”I don’t joke about fighting.”

“Why do you want to fight me? I can’t seriously be a challenge for you.”

“It’s not about you being a challenge. It’s about the fact that you’re scared of me.” I locked eyes with him. “And I don’t want you to be scared of me.”

“So you’re trying to make me face my fears?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

“What the hell kind of relationship could the two of us have if you’re too scared to get close to me when we’re alone?” I snapped. “So either you spar with me and we can move forward, or I’m going to bed and putting this behind me.”

“I don’t want to fight you.”

“Why not? You can’t physically hurt me.” I folded my arms and took several steps closer to him. “We’ll lay ground rules. No body throws and anything that could be considered a blow to the genitals to either of us is off the table. We go till one of us is on the mat. Sound reasonable to you?”

He squinted. “Fine.”

“Wonderful!” I stepped back and grabbed the heavy bag and moved it to the corner with the others.

Jack shed his suit coat and tie before turning to face me. He approached me as he rolled up his shirt sleeves. I wandered over and stopped in front of him to size him up. I tilted my head to the side and looked him over with my hands in my pockets. I nodded and took a step back to look him in the eye.

Jack readily got into his fighting stance with his fists held up to guard his face. I blinked at him and waited for him to make the first move. It took him nearly two minutes to make up his mind and actually throw a punch. I moved my head to the side to avoid it. Confused, Jack took several more swings, only for me to dodge all of them.

“I thought we were supposed to fight,” he growled.

“We are,” I said. “I fight differently.”

He tried to grab me, but I easily sidestepped and slapped his hands down. He hissed in pain and I muttered a quick apology before settling into the fight again.

I blocked each punch and kick he threw at me, quickly slapping them away or simply catching the blows with my forearms before pushing him back. He didn’t seem to understand what I was doing and just kept trying to come at me harder than he had before. Eventually, I had both his fists held in my hands, crossed at his wrists. I pulled them in opposite directions and Jack cried out in pain and surprise.

I leaned in and said, “See, if you weren’t you, I’d headbutt you right now. But I don’t actually want to hurt you, so I’m not gonna do that.”

“Should I be thanking you?”

“That depends,” I placed my foot in his stomach and pushed him away. He stumbled but managed to regain his balance. “Are you going to give me an actual fight, or are you just gonna keep fucking around till I get bored?”

That annoyed him enough that he finally started coming at me with some decent force. He was faster than he initially let on and, consequently, suddenly more of a challenge. I only narrowly dodged a blow to my stomach before he managed to catch me with a punch to the jaw. I staggered back, more surprised by the blow than anything else. Jack didn’t seem to recognize that, though, and followed after me to make sure I was alright.

When I saw the concern on his face, I laughed and pushed him away with a hand to his chest. He tried to use his proximity to his advantage, but only wound up winded when I punched him in the stomach. He wheezed as he tried to regain his footing and kept his distance until he could find another opening. We were lazily circling each other when he saw his opportunity.

He rushed me and ducked in time to just barely avoid my fist. He grabbed my wrists and hooked his heel around mine and kicked back. I fell to the mat with him hovering over me, pinning my arms down. I looked up at him, eyes wide. Jack panted as he tried to catch his breath.

“I win,” he declared.

“Do you?”

"You said we'd go till one of us was on the mat. I took you down. I win."

I laughed. "I guess."

"What do you mean you guess?" he said. He didn't sound angry and the smile playing at his lips betrayed him. "I have you pinned!"

"You won the match, but my plan worked perfectly." I hooked my legs around his and flipped us. I grinned at the look of shock on his face. "You weren't even thinking. You just went for it. And look at how close we are."

"Oh," he said, his voice suddenly small.

"Are you scared?" I asked. "Scared of me?"

"Not of you."

"Then what?"

"I'm scared of this. How close we are."

"Why?" I sat up slightly and Jack moved with me. My heart hammered in my chest.

"Because I think I'd really like to kiss you right now, and I don't want to push you for something you don't want." I sat back in his lap and he propped himself up on his hands. He smiled sadly.  “Please say something.”

“I don’t- I’m not good with words.”

He nodded. “I know. You told me.”

“Can I just…” I slowly reached out and placed my hands on his shoulders. His eyes locked on mine and he nodded.

I carefully traced my fingers over his shoulders and up his neck. I framed the line of his jaw with the tips of my fingers and paused for a moment. I allowed my eyes to scan over his face, mapping out the angles of his cheekbones and the curve of his nose. My eyes were drawn up to his hair as I remembered what a mess it was when he first walked in. I bit my lip to hide my smile as I reached up to comb my fingers through and relished the feeling of his hair between my fingers.

I trailed my fingers down the back of his neck and his eyes fluttered shut when I traced over his cheekbone. He leaned into my touch when I cradled his face in my hands. I then lightly brushed my thumbs over his lips, which sent a shiver through Jack’s body.

Jack slowly opened his eyes. His gaze lingered on my lips for a moment before he managed to meet my eyes.

“Can I kiss you, Jack?” I whispered.

“Yes,” he breathed.

I smiled and tentatively brushed my lips against his. He let out a shaky breath against my lips and tilted his head to gently press his lips to mine. He waited for me to kiss him back before he moved one of his hands to the back of my head and weaved his fingers into my hair. I felt more than heard myself make a small, needy noise at the back of my throat and pulled away. I covered my mouth with my hand out of embarrassment.

"What?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know what that was."

“Hmm?”

“That noise.” I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “That’s so embarrassing.”

“Look at me.” I shook my head and he laughed. He gently coaxed my hands away from my face. “Come on, look at me.”

I bit the inside of my cheek and met his eyes. He looped my arms around his neck and settled his hands on my waist. I frowned and tilted my head to the side.

“What is it?” I asked, voice small.

“I don’t get how you can go from being so confident to a blushing mess.” I rolled my eyes but immediately looked him in the eye when his grip on my waist tightened. "The sound you made isn't embarrassing. It's cute."

"No, it's not…"

"Yes it is," he insisted. "I like it. I like knowing that I have an effect on you. Y'know, other than pissing you off and annoying you."

“You don’t… you don’t piss me off.”

“I don’t?”

“No, you don’t. I just- I get frustrated, and I want to understand. I want to understand you, but learning people isn’t like reading books. It’s not easy.” I fiddled with the hair at the back of his neck. “But I don’t want this to be easy. If you want there to be a this.”

“I do want that.” He drew gentle circles on my sides with his thumbs. “But I don’t want to frustrate you.”

“I think that’s part of relationships, Jack. If we do this, I’m going to be annoying, you’re going to frustrate me. We’re going to have disagreements. But we’ll learn together. Grow through experiences and be better people. I think that’s worth a little frustration, don’t you?”

“I do.” He smiled. “I don’t know why you keep saying you’re bad with words. You expressed yourself pretty perfectly just then.”

“I don’t know about that. I just spoke the truth.”

“Do you want to do this?” he asked. “Us.”

I nodded. “Yes. You’re a challenge I’m ready for, Jack Thompson.”

He grinned and pressed his forehead to mine. I tilted my head to the side slightly and kissed him tenderly, which he returned before pulling away and wrapping his arms around me and holding me close. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been held like that, so I pressed my nose to his neck and clung to him.

“I should probably go to my room,” I mumbled. “I was supposed to leave the gym an hour ago.”

“They gave you a curfew?”

“Kind of, yeah.” I braced myself on his shoulders and got to my feet. “I really should go. They’ll send someone from the night shift around to check on everything.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You afraid to get caught?”

“No,” I offered him a hand up and he took it. “The tongue lashing I’ll get if I’m caught is annoying. If I can avoid it, I will.”

“Let me walk you back then,” he said. “You can’t get in trouble if I’m the one who made you late.”

I laughed. "Okay, I'll take you up on that."

He opened the door for me and offered his arm when he stepped out into the hall after me. I stuck close to his side the entire walk back to my rooms. We were fortunate enough to avoid running into anyone along the way. I stepped out in front of him when we reached my door and keyed in the passcode to unlock the door.

“No keys?” he asked.

I shook my head and pushed the door open. “You can lose keys. Even if you lose your fingers, you can still figure out something to punch a code in.”

“Kinda dark.”

I snorted. “Do you expect anything less from me?”

“Y’know, I probably shouldn’t. But I always manage to underestimate you.”

I turned to face him and leaned in the doorway. “Something I’m sure you’ll continue to do.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure it is.”

I stood in my doorway, staring and smiling at him for a moment before realizing what I was doing. I shook my head and tried to make my escape. "I guess this is goodnight, then."

"Wait," he reached out to me and I stopped. He took my hand and stepped closer.

"Hmm?"

He stooped down to kiss me. "Okay, now I can say goodnight."

I laughed and bit back my smile. "Just go. I'll see you tomorrow, Jack."

"See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Asta."

He kissed my forehead and backed down the hall. Before he turned the corner he did a little twirl and waved to me. I heard him whistling as he walked away and I smiled and shook my head as I closed myself in my rooms.

I sat on my bed and buried my face in my pillow to muffle the sound of my giddy squeals. My legs flailed in little butterfly kicks of nervous excitement. I couldn't figure out how to express exactly how I was feeling in the moment, but wrote what I could down in my journal. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face, even in my sleep.

The next morning wasn’t nearly as happy as the night before.

I was whisked away by a pair of lab coats just before I could sit down for the morning briefing. They rattled off something about inconsistencies in their tests from earlier in the week. They fussed over me for nearly four hours before I was able to get away. At that point, I was exhausted and nauseous, and wanted nothing more than to just sit down so that the room would stop spinning.

When I reached my desk, Peggy wasn’t there. The file and notes on her desk told me that she was probably in an interrogation, or something close to it. I quickly realized that I needed to be somewhere out of the way if I didn’t want to be pestered about a case I knew nothing about, or worse, hauled off to the lab again.

My eyes landed on Jack’s office, and it dawned on me that I hadn’t seen him yet that day. I glanced around to make sure no one was watching before crossing the floor and knocking on the door. I didn’t receive an answer and decided to knock more before letting myself in.

The desk lamp was on, but Jack was nowhere to be seen.

I didn’t give his absence much thought as a wave of dizziness crashed over me. I nearly fell, but braced myself on the arm of the couch and waited for it to pass. When it did, my vision was blurry and I immediately laid on the couch. I squeezed my eyes shut and curled into a tight ball.

I faded in and out of sleep for nearly two hours.

A gentle hand on my forehead woke me. I leaned into their touch and they pushed my hair off my forehead. I could vaguely hear them saying my name.

“Asta?” I cracked my eyes open. “Hey, there you are.”

“Jack?” My voice sounded rough and I hugged my arms around myself.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You look a little grey.”

“I don’t know.” I shivered and moved closer to Jack. “I don’t feel well.”

“You weren’t feeling like this last night, were you?”

“No, I was fine. I was fine this morning too.”

“When did this start?”

“Around noon, I think. It was a little more than an hour before I left the lab.”

“I thought they were done with their tests.”

“So did I, but they said something about inconsistencies and dragged me off before I had time to process what was happening.”

He frowns. “Can you sit up?”

“I don’t know. I was really dizzy earlier.” I covered my face with one hand. “It’s why I came in here. I didn’t think I could make it back to my room.”

“Let’s get you sat up,” he said.

He helped me sit up, though I leaned heavily against the arm of the couch. I pressed my hand to my forehead as the dizziness settled in again. I tamped down the urge to dry-heave and settled with focusing on keeping my breaths deep and even. When everything got to be a little too much, I let my head fall back against the back of the couch and covered my eyes with one arm.

“This is hell,” I muttered.

Jack squeezed my hand. “I’m getting Peggy. I’ll be right back.”

I let out a shaky breath when he let go of my hand and wrapped my free arm around my stomach. I kept quiet when Jack returned with Peggy. 

“Asta,” Peggy placed a gentle hand on my arm. “Jack tells me you’re not feeling well.”

“She’s been stuck in the lab for over a week,” Jack added. “She was fine until they started calling her in for whatever tests they forgot.”

“You suspect someone in the lab has something to do with this?” Peggy asked.

“I’m not pointing fingers. I’m just saying that she was fine last night, and now she’s not.”

“Do you think he could be right, darling?” she asked.

“I don’t know if I’d, ugh-” I cut myself off to bear out a dizzy spell. “I don’t know if I’d rule it out. They took me by surprise this morning when they grabbed me. I wasn’t able to ask many questions.”

“Help her up, Jack,” Peggy said. “We’re going to the lab.”

He did as he was told and I leaned heavily against him as he helped me down the hall.

“Think you can make it?” he asked.

I nodded and he kissed the top of my head when Peggy wasn’t looking. I stumbled when we were about halfway to the lab and Jack stopped to sweep me into his arms and carry me bridal style the rest of the way. I tucked my face into his neck and focused on the sound of his breathing to distract myself from the nausea. I stopped paying close attention after that.

A man greeted us upon arrival, saying, “Agent Carter, Agent Thompson. What a pleasant surprise.”

“Pleasant surprise, my ass,” Jack muttered. “You have some explaining to do.”

“Excuse me?” The man sounded offended.

“Exactly what tests have you been performing with Asta over the past week?” Peggy asked. “Because I am certain it wasn’t anything sanctioned by the agency.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. Ms. Carter is simply a point of interest for us.”

“In what world would tests for a point of interest leave your subject so nauseated and dizzy that they can hardly keep on their feet?” Peggy demanded.

“I’m sure she’s fine, if not a bit dramatic,” he said. “She left of her own volition not two hours ago.”

“Oh, really? Then I’m sure I can just set her down right here, and she’ll be fine,” Jack said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I’m sure she would be.”

I clutched at Jack’s suit coat when I felt even a slight shift in his body. “Don’t, please.”

“Can I set you on the table?” he asked, his voice soft enough that only I could hear.

I nodded and he carefully set me on the cool, metal table along the wall of the lab. He stayed close enough that I could’ve reached out and taken his hand.

“See? She’s fine.” The man stepped closer. “Aren’t you, Ms. Carter?”

“What did you do to me?” I asked.

“What?” He stepped even closer. He didn’t realize his mistake. “Speak up, Ms. Carter.”

I reached out and wrapped my hand around his throat, too quickly for him to react. Peggy tried to step in, but Jack held a hand out to stop her. I wasn’t choking him. Just holding him tight enough to scare him a little. Tight enough to keep him from getting away.

“What. Did. You. Do. To. Me,” I ground out. “You and your little minions have kept me locked up here for a week, not telling me exactly what you were doing or why you’ve been poking around.”

“I’m sure-”

I tightened my grip and he whimpered. “Oh, you’re always so sure of yourself, but I don’t have that kind of faith in you. You’re going to tell me what the fuck it is you’ve been doing, or I swear I will crush your neck and watch the life leave your eyes.”

I released him and pushed him away from me. I heard Jack mutter a quick “Holy shit,” before rushing to my side when I started to curl into myself. He helped me sit back against the wall and kept one hand on my knee in case I needed his support.

“Just what have you been doing in this lab?” Peggy repeated. “Even if Asta can’t follow through on her promise, I’d be glad to take a stab at it.”

He looked past Peggy to Jack for some kind of support, but Jack just shook his head.

“We discovered that the structure of her DNA is similar to Steve Rogers’ after the Vita-Ray procedure,” the man began. “We took half the week to test her reflexes and ensure that she was fit enough before-”

“Before what,” Jack hissed.

“Before we began testing our new super-soldier serum.” He seemed to realize that what he’d said wasn’t positive and scrambled to fix that. “We haven’t finished the procedure, yet! There’s no way to be sure that whatever is happening to her is caused by the serum.”

“What is wrong with you?!” Peggy shoved the man hard enough that he fell to the floor. “How dare you even think about trying to recreate the serum! We do not play God in the SSR. And we certainly don’t test… shit on people without their consent!”

“We didn’t know what would happen!”

“I should kill you myself,” Peggy hissed. “Pumping my sister full of poison. You are scum.”

I took Jack's hand and quickly told him to stop Peggy before she actually did murder the man. Jack stepped between them just as one of the lab technicians walked in.

"What's going on?" she asked. She caught sight of me hunched over and her eyes went wide. "Is she okay?"

Jack filled her in on the situation while I did my best to calm Peggy, who was completely seething mad. The technician seemed genuinely horrified.

"I don't think any of us thought he'd go through with it. I mean, he'd talked about it after the initial DNA examination, but no one seemed interested enough in pushing it, so no one presented it to the higher-ups." She shook her head. "I guess a few people were interested enough to start testing."

"Will she be alright?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. I'd have to see what the serum was made with in order to determine that."

Peggy seemed to perk up at that and I held her hand tightly and looked from Jack to the scientist on the floor. He seemed to get the idea and started asking him questions before Peggy could make a move. They found a vial of the serum within five minutes.

The technician examined a slide of the serum under the microscope and scribbled notes every time she looked away. I didn't keep a close eye on what she was doing and, instead, opted to rest my head on Jack's shoulder. Peggy held onto my hand even after I loosened my grip.

The technician fussed over the sample for about twenty minutes before making her decision.

"She'll be fine," she announced. "There isn't anything that's immediately toxic in the serum. If I'm being honest, I don't think it's much of a serum at all, but it's definitely enough to cause nausea and dizziness, like Asta is experiencing."

"How long till she's back to normal?" Peggy asks.

The lab tech shrugged. "I'm not sure. Considering the number of doses, I'd say give it a few days and see how she's feeling then."

"So… you're essentially saying she needs to sleep it off?" Jack asked.

"Precisely. Though I would suggest that someone stay with her, or at least frequently check on her. It's easy for someone to get dehydrated in her state."

“At least I’m not going to die,” I mumbled.

Jack laughed and softly said, “I’ll stay with you, if you’d like.”

I turned my head to hide my smile against his arm. “I’d like that, yeah.”

Sousa was called in to help Peggy detain and process the man who had, essentially, poisoned me. Peggy hung back, worrying about leaving me behind and I waved her off, saying that she should go help Daniel.

“I’ll make sure she gets back to her room alright,” Jack said. She didn’t seem convinced and he added, “I’m going to stay with her. She’s not going anywhere for the rest of the day.”

“Alright.” She caressed my cheek and I smiled. “I’ll come to check on you later.”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Just make sure he gets what he deserves.”

She nodded and watched Jack help me off the table. I had hoped I would be able to make it without him having to carry me, but my legs gave out almost as soon as we made it through the doors. I hid my face against his chest after he picked me up.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I hate that you have to do this.”

“You just don’t like feeling helpless,” he said.

I corrected him, saying, “I don’t like being a burden.”

“I get that, but I’d much rather carry you to your room than have you dying in my arms.”

“Aw, two days, and you’re already so attached.” I laughed. “Should I be worried?”

“Oh, definitely,” he said. I could hear the smile in his voice. “It’s just gonna get worse from here.”

I hummed softly and settled against his chest. "I look forward to it."

Once inside my room, Jack helped me gather comfortable clothes and waited outside the bathroom while I changed. I took my hair down and allowed the curls to just hang around my shoulders. When I was done, he helped me hobble to my bed and situate myself before he took his jacket and shoes off. He sat beside me on the bed and kicked his feet up. As soon as he finished loosening his tie I curled into his side, seeking out the warmth of his body.

“If you’re gonna be on the bed, you might as well lie down,” I said.

“You want me to?”

I nodded. “You keep me calm.”

He scooted down the bed and turned on his side. I shuffled closer and pressed my nose to his chest. With one hand held against my stomach, I rested the other on his hip. I sighed softly, content.

“Now who’s the clingy one?”

I smiled and slung my arm over his waist and mumbled, “Still you.”

He snorted. “I walked right into that, didn't I.”

"You did."

"If you're gonna be mean, then maybe I’ll just leave."

"Aw, you don't mean that." I tipped my head up to look at him. He tried to scowl at me and failed. "If you did, you wouldn't be here. Peggy would, and she'd be sitting in that chair over there."

"I know. You're right." He tucked my hair behind my ear. "Just try to rest. I don't need you dying on me."

I nodded and he leaned in to kiss me softly. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my forehead before I snuggled into his chest and allowed myself to drift off.

I woke to a hissing sound several hours later. It took a minute for the sound to register as someone shushing someone else.

“What are you doing in her bed?!” Peggy demanded.

“She is asleep,” Jack hissed back. “Lower your voice.”

“I can see that she’s asleep. Why are you in bed with her?” She sounded upset. “When you said you’d stay with her this certainly isn’t what I pictured.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t.”

“Then why.”

“She asked me to.”

She scoffed. “I highly doubt that.”

“I’d say you could ask her, but she’s asleep.”

“Not anymore,” I mumbled.

Jack let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed my back. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I should probably get up and try to eat something anyway.” I sat slowly up and combed my fingers through my hair. “If you’re going to ask, Peggy, just ask. I don’t want to hide anything from you.”

She frowned. “You asked him to stay with you?”

“I did.” I glance at Jack and he smiles. “You have nothing to worry about. He’s taking good care of me. I promise.”

“I just… did I miss something?” she asked. “Have I been ignoring things that are happening in your life?”

“No, you haven’t. This is just something that’s very…” I pressed my hand to my mouth as I searched for the right word. “It’s very personal, and I need to keep it close to my chest for now. I’m not hiding anything from you, I just don’t get many things that are just for me.”

“I understand.” She smiled and reached out for my hand. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Of course.”

“If you hurt her, Jack, I will murder you.”

Jack shook his head and got up from the bed. “I was really hoping I could avoid the threats until we were further down the line, but thanks for the warning!”

He asked me what I’d like to eat and I asked for some Saltines and water. I didn’t think I could keep anything else down. Peggy almost made for the door, but Jack stopped her and said he’d go out and get some food. He asked if there was anything she wanted while he put his shoes on. When she said no he kissed the top of my head and left for the store. Peggy watched him leave before looking back at me, a mix of shock and confusion on her face.

“What?”

“The two of you seem quite comfortable with each other,” she said. She sat beside me on the bed. “I know you said you’d tell me, but I can’t help feeling as if I missed something.”

“You didn’t, I swear.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. You can’t miss something that you weren’t there for.”

“How did it happen?”

I shook my head and scrubbed my hands over my face. “I’m not entirely sure. We’ve bothered each other since I started training, so that had to have been almost a year ago now. Then there was the time I scared the life out of him in the gym, and then last week we started talking after lunch. I think that was the start of anything mutual?”

“Is that why you were late getting back?”

I smiled sheepishly. “Maybe.”

“You could’ve just told me. I wouldn’t have judged you.”

“It’s not that I was worried about that. Like I said, I don’t have many things that are just for me. I wanted to give myself time to feel like I live a normal life.” I pulled my knees to my chest and sighed. “I know that my life will never be normal, and I’m fine with that, but the more time that I’m allowed to work on cases and go out into the city without a chaperone, I feel like I’m taking some normalcy back.”

She took my hand and squeezed gently. “I understand.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course, Asta. I don’t want to control you or your life, and I’d hate for you to feel that I was doing so.”

"I know you don't, but it feels like the SSR controls almost every facet of my life. It gets frustrating. I wish I had more time for myself." The door opened, but I didn't notice. "I want to learn to paint and go dancing and spend time with Jack. I don't want to feel like a prisoner."

"You want to paint?" Peggy asked.

"I have since I was little. My family was poor, so I never had the money or opportunity, not to mention the fact that I'm a woman. Everything worked against me then. Now I have the money and I have a little extra time." I pressed my nose to my knees. "I know that sounds stupid."

Someone new said, "No, Asta, it doesn't."

I blinked, confused by the new voice, and looked up to see Jack standing beside the bed. "Hey," I said.

"Hey." He held out a sleeve of crackers and a glass of water.

"Thank you." I smiled and took them from him. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I didn't want to interrupt your conversation," he said.

“How considerate of you.” Peggy squeezed my knee and pushed herself up from the bed. “I have to get back to work. I’ll check in tomorrow and see how you’re doing.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” I said.

I watched her leave before setting the glass of water on the bedside table and opening the sleeve of crackers. Jack returned to his place on the bed and I let my head fall to his shoulder as I nibbled on one cracker. I think I ate nearly half the sleeve before I felt I could drink anything, and quickly downed the entire glass of water when I tried. I was exhausted by the end and settled back against Jack once I’d placed the empty glass on the table.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes. Thank you. For all of this, really.”

“It’s not a problem, Asta, really.”

“I just don’t want to become your problem,” I mumbled. “I’ve caused a lot of worry for you over the past week. I don’t want that to be where we start.”

“An agent would’ve been assigned to monitor you, regardless. I’d rather it be me than someone else.” I frowned and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “You’re not a burden, Asta. I’m worried about you because I care for you. There’s no start or end involved there. I just wanna make sure you’re okay. Is that okay with you?”

I nodded. "It's alright with me."

"Good."

I nodded against his shoulder again and cuddled into his side as my eyes grew heavy. Jack helped me lay down again without saying anything and held my hand as I drifted off.

"I probably won't be here when you wake up again," he said. " I've gotta get some work done in the office and then get home for the night."

"Okay."

"I'll be back tomorrow to check on you. If Carter doesn't get to you first, that is."

"You can still come if you want," I mumble. "I like spending time with you."

I felt him chuckle against my hair. "I'm glad you do."

I hummed and pressed my nose to his chest. "Goodnight, Jack."

"G'night, sweetheart."

--------

Part 2

Thank you guys so much for reading! If you liked this chapter, please reblog, comment, or shoot me an ask! Feedback would be greatly appreciated!

If you’d like to be tagged in future chapters, please let me know!

Tag list:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @creaturefeatures101, @buckysendoftheline, @imagine-assembling-the-avengers, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel​, @ek823​, @fanaticfangirl001​, @furrywerewolfcollector​, @kissofvenom922​, @dawn-phantomhive​, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys​, @trap-house-homiecide​, @buckywhitewolfbarnes​, @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult​, @pcdmesamidala​, @thefandomplace​, @sian22redux​, @skeletoresinthebasement​, @lady-thor-foster​, @jazzcutie​, @gaytonystark​, @geeksareunique​, @nyxveracity​, @breezy1415​, @feelmyroarrrr​, @darling-loki​, @lemonadeorange73​, @princess-unicorn124​, @hermionie-is-my-queen​, @tofeartheunknown​, @queenoftheunderdark​

This fic:

@carryonmyswansong​, @avengerscompound​, @thinkwritexpress-official​, @dsakita​

#jack thompsonxreader #steve rogerxreader #readerxsteve rogers #steve rogers x reader #jack thompson #peggy carter #agent carter

[arrow-guy]

Out of Time (2/??)

Synopsis: Asta is a woman out of time. She’s strong, and damn near indestructible, but when she wakes up hundreds of years in the future, she’s completely lost. She finds a new family in Peggy Carter and friends in people that she never would have dreamed of. But not everyone gets what they want, right?

A/N: First off, a couple announcements about this fic. 1.) The initial chapters leading up to modern day will be pretty long. I understand if that’s a turnoff for you. 2.) This will be my first 18+ fic! I’m excited to put out something like this, especially when it’ll be something that no one’s ever seen from me before. Anyway, please enjoy!

Jack ThompsonxOFC (Steve RogersxOFC endgame)

Word Count: 9.5k

Warnings: None

Playlist

Page dividers by @carryonmyswansong​

Part 1

“It’s been three days, Jack, you don’t have to keep checking on me.”

“If I don’t check on you, I won’t get to see you.”

“You know you can always come by after work. I’m not going anywhere, as per Peggy’s orders.” He frowned. “Besides, I don’t want you wasting your weekend on me like this.”

“You call spending my free time with you a waste?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. You’ve just spent so much time with me over the past few days, I figured you’d want some time to yourself.” I watched as he paced the room. “It’s not like there’s much to do in this little room of mine.”

“I understand that.”

“Then what is it?” I asked. “Someone’s gotta be breathing down your neck about the fact that you disappear so often.”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Not exactly. They don’t know where I’m going.”

“You can’t let this affect your work. You have important cases on your desk right now. I can survive two days without you. I promise.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m certain. If I could, I’d be training right now, but I’m still on bed rest.”

“Which you seem absolutely thrilled about.”

“I like doing things. I’ve already read everything in this room and I’ll tear my hair out if I have to do it a second time.”

He sat beside me and took my hand in his. “I know you’re frustrated.”

“And I know you’re just trying to distract me. And I really appreciate it. But I can’t take you away from work. Peggy could come by this weekend and keep me company instead. You need to get some work done and get some actual sleep.”

“I sleep just fine with you.”

“You don’t, you can’t get comfortable and you wake up constantly.”

“I didn’t think you noticed.”

“Hard not to when we sleep so close together.” I ran the back of my finger down his cheek. “Not to mention those bags under your eyes.”

“I do not have bags under my eyes!”

“You do too! They’re not dark, yet, but it’s clear you’re not getting enough sleep.” I sighed softly. "Go home, Jack. Get some rest."

"But-"

I shoved him up from the bed and walked him to the door. "I'll see you on Monday."

He stopped just short of opening the door to turn around and take my face in his hands. He stooped down to kiss me softly before stepping out into the hallway.

"If you die between now and Monday, we’re going to have serious problems."

"I'm not going to die!"

He sighed in resignation. "I'll see you Monday, then."

"You will."

“Okay. I’m leaving now.”

“Alright.”

He turned to walk down the hallway and I took his hand. I pulled him back to me and used his tie to pull him down to kiss him. When he pulled away he slowly opened his eyes and smiled.

"I'll be fine for two days," I said.

"But-"

"Jack, I need a partner. Not a knight in shining armor." I smoothed his tie down and patted his chest. “I need you to trust me and trust that I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it longer than you’ve been alive.”

He rolled his eyes. “You were asleep for most of that.”

“Because I got sick and fell into a comatose sleep for three hundred years. But I lived and I’m here. We’ll look back at this and think of it as a blip. A small abnormality.” I frowned. “I’m talking too much.”

He cracked a smile. “A little.”

I failed to keep myself from smiling. “Just go home before one of us gets in trouble.”

He nodded. “I’ll tell your sister I’m heading out for the weekend.”

“Okay.”

He kissed my forehead and walked off down the hall. Peggy dropped in later that night with dinner. She spent the evening with me and didn’t leave me alone for the rest of the weekend. By the time Monday rolled around I was looking forward to having Jack fuss over me instead. After an intense check-up on Monday, I was back to desk work by Tuesday. As soon as I was able to work again my desk was piled high with paperwork and I had very little time to myself outside of it.

Jack pulled me aside before he left on Thursday and quietly led me to an alcove close to the gym. By that time, most agents had gone home for the day, but it was still nice to be alone and away from any potential prying eyes.

Jack linked his hands behind my back and leaned against the wall. When I folded my arms and leaned against his chest, he sighed contentedly and pressed his forehead to mine.

“Mr. Thompson,” I said. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Am I not allowed to just want to spend a little time alone with you?”

“Not when you drag me off the floor to hide out in the hallway.” I pulled back and looked up at him. “What’s going on?”

“I want to take you out on a real date,” he said.

“Oh?”

“Have dinner with me this Saturday.” He smiled his perfect, crooked smile. “Maybe we’ll go dancing after. It’ll be fun.”

I bit back my smile. “I don’t know how to dance.”

He shook his head. “It’s easy. I’ll teach you.”

“Really?”

“Of course!” He tilted his head to the side. “So, whaddya say?”

“I’d love to.” I bit my lip. “I may have to clear it with Peggy first.”

“Why?”

“The SSR hasn’t really granted me outside world privileges, so I’m not allowed to leave without a chaperone.”

“I could be your chaperone.”

“Somehow, I don’t think they’d accept that.” He pouted and I laughed. “It’ll be fine. I’ll talk to Peggy about it. If we have to make it a double date, no big deal.”

"But it is a big deal. I was hoping to have you all to myself."

"Who says she and Daniel won't want some time to themselves as well?" He perked up slightly. "I'm sure she'd let us sneak off for a while. Peggy's a very understanding woman."

"That she is."

"So, I'll talk to Peggy tomorrow morning and clear everything with her. Does that sound alright?"

"Yeah."

I tilted my head to the side. “You sound so put out.”

“I know. Our relationship is just…”

“Unconventional?” I suggested. “Frustrating? Potentially devastating to your career?”

"Ye-wait, where did that last one come from?"

"Pure drama," I said.

He snorted. "Okay. But yes, it's unconventional. It's frustrating. I guess I thought things would be easier when we were together, but they're not."

I nodded. "I know. And we didn't exactly time this very well. It's been non-stop stress for a week, and things weren't particularly calm before that."

"Exactly."

"I'm sure we'll work something out. We won't be stuck in this spiral forever."

“I hope you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. “If I’m right about nothing else, I’m right about this.”

“Okay. I’ll trust you.”

“And you didn’t before?” I joked.

He hummed. “I don’t know if I wanna answer that.”

“Mmm, probably not.”

He laughed and kissed me quickly. “I should probably head out for the day. I’ve got an early meeting in the morning.”

I pushed away from him and straightened his tie. “I’d better let you go then.”

He sighed and kissed my forehead. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

I watched him disappear down the hall before going to my room. I pulled Peggy aside as soon as I was able to th next morning,

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Oh?” She folded her arms. “What is it?”

“Jack’s asked me on a date,” I said. “You know that I can’t leave unless I have a chaperone, and I’m sure that no one would agree that he’d be an appropriate one, given the circumstances.”

“What do you suggest?”

“A double date?” I shrug. “I don’t know how Daniel would feel about that. I don’t think he knows Jack and I are together.”

“I haven’t told him. That’s not for me to tell. So, unless Jack let something slip, he doesn’t know.”

“Ah.”

“That doesn’t mean I won’t do it.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” She touched my elbow. “The two of you haven’t had time to yourselves outside of the office. That’s no way to start a relationship.”

“Thank you, Peggy. I mean it.”

“I know you do.” She smiled and leaned in to whisper, “I’m half doing this out of selfishness, though. Daniel and I haven’t had much time to ourselves recently, either. It would be nice to have a night out together.”

"Then I suppose everyone will win, then, won't we?"

She grinned. "Yes, I suppose so."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "I don't really have anything to wear…"

Peggy shook her head and linked her arm with mine. "Don't worry about that," she said. She steered me to our desks. "I'll help you with that on Saturday. We've got more than enough time."

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” She takes her seat. “Do you know what Jack has planned?”

“He wants to go to dinner,” I said. I sat down to flip through the files piled on my desk. “He suggested we go dancing after, but I don’t know exactly what’ll happen.”

“That sounds nice!” She tried to get me to put my work down and laughed when I smacked her hand with a file. “Are you getting excited?”

“A little,” I admitted. “I’m nervous, though. I don’t know how to dance.”

“It’s not particularly difficult.”

“I know, and Jack said he’d teach me, but still. I worry.”

She shook her head. “Don’t get too carried away. He’s completely smitten, Asta. Everything will be fine.”

“What’ll be fine?”

I jumped, startled by the person who’d appeared behind me. I pressed my hand to my chest, just over my hammering heart, and willed myself to calm down.

Peggy looked up at them and smiled. “Hello, Jack. We were just talking about you.”

Jack pulled up the extra chair beside my desk and sat down. “Good things, I hope.”

I hummed. “Absolutely not. Peggy has nothing nice to say about you.”

Peggy laughed when Jack frowned.

“You’re mean,” he said.

“You already knew this, Jack.”

He bumped his foot against mine and grinned. “You’ve kicked my ass enough times, it’s hard to forget.”

I rolled my eyes. “It was twice. You make it sound like I beat you for fun.”

He laughed. “Did you ask?”

“Of course I asked.”

“And?”

“Peggy’s agreed to go with us.”

“That’s great!”

“But I worry how Soua will react. As far as I know, he doesn’t know we’re together yet.”

Jack looked up at Peggy. “What if we make it a surprise?”

“Do go on,” Peggy said.

“Well, Asta hasn’t told him, I’m pretty sure you haven’t told him, and I know, for sure, that I haven’t told him. I say we leave him in the dark.”

“I don’t know…” I muttered.

“It’ll be fine,” Jack said. “I’ll talk to Sousa about the whole thing. Say I’m taking a beautiful woman out this Saturday, but I’m nervous to go without backup and suggest he and Carter come with for moral support.”

“What if he tries to back out?” I asked.

“Why would he try to get out of going out with his girl?” He scoffed. “The two of them haven’t had a minute alone together in months. He’ll be jumping out of his skin to say yes.”

“Very flattering assessment,” Peggy joked.

Jack shrugged. “I just know that’s how I feel.”

I smiled and reached out to drag the chair he sat in closer to me. I bumped my shoulder against his and he positioned himself so that he could press his knee against mine. Peggy looked between the two of us and smiled.

“Does that seem like a good plan, Asta?” she asked.

I nodded. “As long as we get to go out, I guess I can’t really complain.”

“Then it sounds like we’re good to go,” Jack said. He pushed himself up from the chair. “I’ll talk to him in a couple of hours. I have some paperwork I have to finish up first.”

“Okay.”

“Come see me later?” he asked.

“Of course.” He squeezed my shoulder before nodding to Peggy and heading to his office.

Peggy waited till he was out of earshot to say, “I think you got lucky with that one, darling.”

“I know.” I sighed and flipped through the file in front of me. “If I didn’t want to work earlier, I really don’t now.”

“That’s understandable.” She opened her drawer and dug around for her favorite pen. “Ugh, this case is a mess.”

I snorted and listened to her grumble for about five minutes more before tuning it out and focusing on my own work. Danial appeared beside Peggy about three hours later. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to get her attention and she beamed when she saw who it was.

“Hello there,” she said.

He grinned. “Hey. Are you free this weekend?”

“I am, why do you ask?”

I caught her shooting me a knowing look and I snorted, only to cover it with a cough when Daniel looked at me, confused. I pretended to focus on my work.

“Thompson wants us to double with him on this date he’s got tomorrow.” Daniel leaned on Peggy’s desk. “I thought it’d be nice to be able to have some time together outside of the office.”

“Oh? That does sound nice… Have you already accepted?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “I did. Is that a problem?”

“No, I was just curious. We haven’t had much time to ourselves recently.”

“I know. I just want you to myself for a while.”

“I feel the same.”

“Ugh, get a room,” I grumbled. “Mine’s free right now, if you want it.”

Peggy balled up a piece of paper and threw it at me. I laughed and batted it out of the air.

“Oh, Asta,” Daniel said, as if he’d just remembered I was there. “Thompson wants to see you in his office.”

I snorted. “Looks like I’m in trouble.”

“I’m sure that’s not it. He probably just needs to check in or something.”

I laughed and waved him off. “No need to reassure me. I know what this is about.”

Sousa shot Peggy a questioning look and she just shrugged. She knew full well that Jack had asked to see me earlier, but refused to disclose anything to Daniel.

Jack was sitting at his desk when I let myself into his office. I plopped down on his couch and waited for him to look up from his work. It took me five minutes to realize he didn’t hear me come in, so I got up from the couch to open and close the door again. I stood there and waited for him to say something.

“What is it?” he asked.

I folded my arms and leaned back against the door. “I don’t know, you’re the one who asked to see me.”

His eyes briefly flicked up from what he was working on before he realized I was standing there. He grinned and pushed back from his desk. He gestured for me to come closer and I smiled and shook my head.

“Someone could see.”

He shrugged. “I don’t care.”

“You’re the one who wanted to keep us a secret till Sousa finds out tomorrow.” I tilted my head to the side. “Wouldn’t that kind of ruin the surprise?”

He sighed. “You’re right.”

I turned around and closed the blinds at each of the windows. As soon as the last window was blocked, Jack came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his nose to my neck.

“So,” I began. “Daniel seems excited for tomorrow.”

“Does he?”

“He headed straight for Peggy as soon as he left your office, so I’d say he is.”

“I think the real question here is whether or not you’re excited.”

“Of course I am.”

“You got really quiet this morning when we were making plans.”

“Because I’m nervous.” I bit my lip. “Dating is, at best, foreign territory for me. I am excited. I just don’t want to mess up.”

“You’re not going to mess up,” he murmured. “I already like you. A lot. Pretty hard to mess that up.”

“Still…”

“Still nothing.” He moved so that he was facing me and took my face in his hands. “I’m excited to go out with you tomorrow. I’m excited to show you off and go dancing and have a nice night together. Whatever happens, it’s going to be perfect.”

I felt tears welling in my eyes, but I nodded. “Okay.”

“Shit, are you crying?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart, I don’t want you to cry.”

I shook my head. “I’m just a little emotional.”

“Why?”

“No one’s ever been so… so passionate about wanting to be with me. Or even just wanting me, to be completely honest.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes,” I squeaked out.

“Well that stops now,” he declared. “Asta, you are a beautiful woman. You are strong, well-read, intelligent, observant, and scary strong. You are creative and confident and quick-witted. And, I'll be honest, I got lucky.”

“So did I.”

He cracked a smile. “Y’think so?”

“Yeah,” I said. “There aren’t many people who are willing to take on someone who could break them over their knee.”

He laughed. “Someone’s bound to think I’m outta my mind when they find out.”

“Does that worry you?”

He shook his head. “No. Who cares what they think? This isn’t their relationship. It’s ours. Their opinion doesn’t matter.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

He smiled and leaned in and kissed me. Only when I placed my hands on his waist and kissed him back did he make a move to pull me closer. He angled his head slightly to deepen the kiss, but I pulled back abruptly when the door handle jiggled. I quickly grabbed a random file from Jack’s desk and took a seat on the couch before the door could open. I gestured for Jack to wipe my lipstick from his mouth before facing whoever was waiting outside. He managed to get all of it off before the door swung open.

“Hey, Thompson, we need your eyes on this case. It’s…” The agent trailed off when he saw me on the couch. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Yeah, actually, you are,” Jack said, his tone harsh. “I’m kind of in a meeting right now.”

“Shit, sorry. Didn’t know.” He glanced between Jack and I and slowly backed out of the office. “My thing can wait a bit, I’m sure.”

“Good. I’ll come find you when I’m done here.”

“Right. Thanks.”

Jack nodded and the agent closed the door behind him as he left. As soon as he was gone, I tossed the file into the couch and allowed my head to fall back against the wall.

"You need a 'busy' sign," I muttered.

"Duly noted," he said. He moved the file back to his desk and sat beside me. "Sorry about that."

I shook my head. "Nothing to apologize for. It was pretty nice before he showed up."

He hummed and pecked me on the lips. "It was."

I sighed. "I should probably let you get back to work. I've distracted you enough, as is."

"I could stand a little more distraction."

"As nice as that would be, I don't think that's a good idea. I need to get back before Sousa starts to think I'm actually in trouble."

Jack groans. "He has to ruin everything, doesn't he?"

I laughed. "You'll have me all to yourself tomorrow night. I promise."

He frowned. "I know. I wish it were more often though."

"We'll get there at some point, I'm certain of it."

"I hope you're right."

"So do I," I murmured.

He gently cupped the back of my neck and kissed me before he got up from the couch. He helped me to my feet and sighed.

"I'll let you get back to work then."

I nodded and headed for the door. "If I don't see you before you leave, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded and smiled. "Alright."

The rest of the workday flew by after that. No one bothered me the rest of the day and I was able to clear my desk before the last person left for the night. I went to bed thinking about what Peggy had planned for me the next morning, half worried she'd try to stick me in pink.

By the time Peggy let herself into my room, I had bathed and was doing my hair for the day. She shuffled in and threw an armful of garments onto my bed and began to shuffle through them.

"What've you got there, Peg?" I asked, too scared to get up from my seat to inspect the pile.

She selected a garment bag and hung it on the back of the door before moving back to the pile on the bed.

“Options,” she said, shuffling through what was shortly recognizable as dresses. “I’ve got options.”

My brows pulled together and my curiosity finally got the best of me. I padded over to stand beside her. “Options?”

She held a bright red dress up to me and shook her head. “Too bright.”

“Wait, options for me?”

“Of course, darling. I wouldn’t do this for just anyone.” She held up a blue dress for a moment before laying it on top of the previous red one. “I know how worried you were about this yesterday.”

“When you said you’d help, I didn’t think you’d raid a department store.”

“I didn’t raid the department store. I asked a friend of mine to see if anyone in her building was thinking of donating dresses. I dropped off the ones that weren’t your size at a consignment shop before I arrived.”

“Oh, wow.” I traced my fingers over the collar of a deep teal garment. “This one.”

“That one?”

I nodded and pulled it from the pile. Between my fingers, the satin-y material slid against itself and was cool to the touch. I held it out in front of me, admiring the shape of the dress. It had blousy sleeves that tapered into a tight cuff at the wrist and a belt to cinch in the waist. I moved to the bathroom and held the dress up against my body and grinned at the way it complimented my coloring. Made the green in my grey eyes pop just a little more than usual. How it made me feel just a little more at ease with my feminine features. The sense of normalcy a simple dress brought.

“It’s this one,” I repeated. “This is it.”

“Jack may just lose his mind,” Peggy said. “I don’t think he’s ever seen you in a dress.”

“I’d be surprised if he had. They’re not exactly made for our line of work, and I don’t particularly like them. Still…” I smoothed the fabric down over my legs. “It is nice to wear one once in a while. If Jack likes it, then that’s just an added bonus.”

“You’ll look wonderful, Asta.”

“Thank you, Peggy.”

We spent the next few hours laughing and talking as we got ready for our night out. Peggy helped me pin my hair up the way that only she could, and I was never able to figure out. We stood side by side at the mirror and I watched in fascination as she swiped on her signature red lipstick. Her dress was a deep maroon, and she looked absolutely stunning that night.

I was practically vibrating with both excitement and anxiety by the time we left and Peggy poked fun at me while we walked to meet the boys. I complained about my feet hurting, as I didn’t really wear heels and Peggy just laughed.

“It’s not funny, this hurts!” I whined.

“Unless you’ve broken them in, heels are a pain, Asta.” She smirked. “I guess you’ll just have to wear them more often if you want them to be comfortable.”

“Hell no.”

She snorted. “Then you’ll just have to power through, I’m afraid.”

I shook my head and did my best to ignore my aching feet. It wasn't much longer til we met up with Daniel and Jack. Jack spotted us first and waved, drawing Daniel's attention to us. He smiled when he saw Peggy, only for his brows to pull together when his eyes fell to me a moment later. His confusion became blatantly obvious as we got closer.

"I know you and Peggy are practically attached at the hip," Daniel said. "But we've got dates tonight."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, no, I know." I walked over to Jack and he leaned down to kiss me quickly. "Hey."

"You look gorgeous," he said softly.

I instantly felt my face flush. "Really?"

"Of course, that color is really nice on you. Especially with your hair."

I smiled. "Thank you, Jack."

"You're very welcome."

“How  long has this been going on?” Daniel asked.

“Officially?” Jack shrugged. “About two weeks.”

“We danced around each other for months before that, though,” I added. “Wasn’t exactly an easy process, getting to this point.”

All Daniel could manage to say was, “Huh.”

Jack nodded and put his arm around my waist. “We should head in before they give our table away.”

Peggy looped her arm through Daniels and the four of us walked into the restaurant together. Our coats were taken at the door and we were quickly ushered to our table, which wound up being a cozy little booth in the far corner of the establishment. Once seated, I readily settled against Jack and he pressed his leg against mine. I softly asked him if he’d been to this restaurant before and he nodded and pointed out a few items on the menu he thought I’d like.

I noticed Daniel watching us, the beginnings of a scowl on his face.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Are we just gonna pretend this is normal?”

My heart pounded in my chest and I immediately wanted to hide in any way I could. The problem is there was nowhere to run.

“Is there a problem?” Jack put his menu down.

“The two of you butt heads constantly,” Daniel said. “You talk about how you’ve fought each other, literally, and you bicker.”

“You’re barely around us, Sousa. You don’t know what our relationship is like.”

“Then explain the fighting.”

“The first time, I was egging him on and Jack took a swing at me. I put him on his ass and scared the life out of him.” I folded my arms and leaned back against the booth. “The second we were sparring. He took me by surprise and managed to pin me. I distracted him long enough to flip him and the rest is private.”

“That’s it?”

I nodded. “That’s it.”

“We don’t actually fight,” Jack said. “Sure, we snark at each other, but no more than we did before we were together.”

“I don’t think we’ve bickered since the first time in the gym.”

“No, you told me I had bags under my eyes last week.”

“Was that bickering, though?”

He rolled his eyes and smiled. “You’re not helping our point.”

“True.” He took my hand and I took a deep breath. “I know that you and Jack have had your differences, but your issues, however old they may be, have no say in my relationship with him.”

"I get that." Daniel's brows pulled together. "I'm just worried that you're not… you're from a different time. I worry that you're not-"

"Choose your words carefully, Sousa," I growled. His eyes went wide and his mouth snapped shut. "I'm a grown woman, fully capable of making my own decisions. I'd be making more of them, too, if the SSR would just let me live my life like anyone else."

"I didn't mean-" he shook his head, unable to find the right words.

"Can we please talk about something else?" I asked, desperately wanting to change the subject. "I'm pretty sure we're all tired of hearing about the fact that we're on a government-sanctioned play-date."

"I think that's a good idea," Peggy murmured.

Jack placed his hand on my knee and kept it there till we got our food. Peggy managed to start up a casual conversation with the boys, mostly about mundane work things, occasionally asking about what they'd heard on the radio that week. That led to them talking about their favorite radio shows. I couldn't add anything to the conversation, as I didn't have a radio and much preferred reading anyway. Peggy distracted me briefly by asking me where I was in reading Pride and Prejudice. I hadn't made much progress on the book due to work that week, but she assured me that I'd enjoy it. I promised I'd read as much as I could on Sunday so we could talk about it on Monday.

Somehow the topic of conversation shifted to Shakespeare and I was immediately pulled in.

“Asta saw a couple of his plays,” Jack said.

“I didn’t know Peggy took you to plays,” Daniel said.

“She didn’t. I saw them in London.” I quickly clarified, “Old London, actually.”

“Oh, in your past life, then?”

“It’s not my past life. I didn’t die and come back. I was alive the entire time I was in that church. I was just in a sleep state.” I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. I did see a couple.”

“And?”

I shrugged. “They were alright. I wasn’t able to get very close to the stage and it was standing room only. After a certain point, you had to either worry about whether or not you could stand through the whole thing, or keep paying attention.”

“Is that all?”

“What else is there? It was theater for the common folk.” I shook my head. “I don’t understand the fascination with his plays now. It was never meant to be hard to understand. Shakespeare catered to the poor and downtrodden. A lot of his texts are riddled with dirty jokes and pure tragic idiocy.”

“Oh.” Daniel frowned.

Peggy laughed. “A lot of the language goes over people’s heads, so they assume that it’s more complex literature than it truly is. It doesn’t much help that plays like Romeo and Juliet have become so romanticized.”

I barked out a laugh. “The fact that audiences believe that Romeo and Juliet is a romance is laughable.”

“They were star-crossed lovers!” Daniel countered.

“No, they were children who willfully ignored everyone around them. Their poor choices lead to their deaths. They weren’t in love, they were rebelling against the longstanding rivalry between their two families. If they’d slowed down and gone through the proper channels, they may have been able to actually bring their families together through marriage. Instead, they died alone in a crypt by their own hands.”

Jack laughed beside me. “You unleashed the beast, Sousa.”

“You’re the one who brought up the fact that she’d seen the plays!”

“Hey,” Jack held up his hands in surrender. “I can’t take all the blame here. You pressed the issue.”

I snorted and smacked his arm. “Don’t be mean. It’s not like he knew.”

“You have a point, Asta.”

I shot Daniel a smile. “Better now than later to learn that I’m kind of an asshole when it comes to Shakespeare’s work.”

“Thanks for the warning,” he said.

“Anytime, Daniel.”

Dinner finished on a high note. We talked amiably for about an hour more before the waiter offered a dessert menu. We politely declined and asked for the check. Jack refused to let me pay for my meal and tried to placate me with a kiss on the cheek. I shook my head and excused myself to use the restroom. Peggy joined me and I quietly told her I wanted to ask her something. We had to wait for the last woman to leave before I could speak with her. I leaned against the counter and Peggy touched up her makeup while we waited.

The woman eyed us as she washed her hands and gave us one last weird look before exiting the bathroom.

“That was weird,” I muttered.

“Yes, it was,” Peggy agreed. “What was it you wanted to ask me?”

“Jack and I were hoping we could go off on our own for a while.”

“Oh?”

“He wanted to go dancing. I think he just wants to have some time with me to himself, and, I love you, but I feel the same.” I shook my head. “I feel like a child even asking this.”

“Don’t, I’m glad you asked.” She gathered my hands in hers. “Why didn’t you talk to me about it sooner?”

“I don’t know. We threw this plan together in two days. Jack and I talked about it in passing on Thursday.” I took a deep breath and started over. “I don’t know why I didn’t mention it earlier, but I am now.”

“Good.” She smiled. “You know I don’t like policing your life. I hate having to give you permission to do things, especially given the fact that you’re so much older than me.”

I snorted. “Only a few hundred years.”

“Exactly. What I’m trying to say is that you can definitely slip away. Daniel and I can keep ourselves entertained.”

I smirked. “Oh, I’m sure you can.”

She laughed and turned me towards the door. “None of that. We’re in public.”

“It’s a bathroom, Peg, it’s fine.”

“Just go.”

I laughed and we trailed back to our table. Jack and Daniel were waiting for us with our coats. Jack helped me into mine before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and leading me outside. While we waited for Peggy and Daniel to join us, I hooked my arm around Jack’s waist and crooked my finger for him to lean in.

“Hmm?” he hummed.

“Did you still want to go dancing tonight?”

“Well, yeah. Why?”

“We've got the green light to go off on our own."

"Seriously?" I nodded. "That's fantastic!"

"What is?" We glanced back to find Peggy and Daniel just outside the restaurant.

"Asta's decided to finally take up painting," Jack lied.

Sousa's brow furrowed. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've wanted to paint since I was a little girl. I've got time for hobbies now, and I was asking Jack where he thinks I should start. He says watercolor, but I'm thinking oils could be interesting."

"That's wonderful, Asta," Peggy said. "Do you want to find an art supply store next weekend? I'm sure we can find what you want then."

"That'd be great, Peg." I grinned at her. "Thanks for offering."

"Of course." She met Daniel's eye. "Shall we go? It's too cold to stand around out here much longer."

Daniel agreed and led her down the street. Jack and I hung back so that we could split off eventually.

"Did you have a specific place in mind?" I asked.

"Yeah, there’s a little jazz club that's not too far away. It's got a great band and they only do slow songs this time of night."

"Sounds cozy." He hummed and I could feel it rumble through his chest. "Lead the way, Jack."

"Gladly!"

We trailed along behind Peggy and Daniel for nearly ten minutes before Jack steered me towards our destination. We paused outside for just a moment to make sure that our friends hadn’t noticed we were gone before we went in.

It was a dimly lit little place with red drapes along every wall. In spite of the time, not a single cigarette was lit in the entire club. A couple of men at the bar greeted Jack as we walked in and he waved and said hello.

“Who’s this little minx, Jack?” one asked.

Jack laughed as he took my coat and hung it on the back of a chair. “She’s not a minx, Bill, she’s my girlfriend.”

Bill’s mouth hung open and the other man gasped. “A girlfriend, Jack? And you didn’t even bother to tell us.”

“Work’s been nuts the last few weeks, I haven’t had time to tell you fellas about her.” Jack held out his hand and pulled me close when I took it. “Fellas, this Asta. Asta, this is Bill and Hank, who are making fun of me, but are suspiciously alone tonight.”

I snorted and hid my face against his arm to cover up my laughter.

“What’s the big idea, Jackie boy? We never poked fun at you for being alone before now, so why’re you turning that shit on us?” Hank smacked Bill. “Sorry, ma’am.”

I laughed. “Why are you apologizing? If that’s the worst you’ve got, I have you beat.”

Bill gawked and Hank laughed hard enough he started slapping his knee. “Where’d you find this girl, Jack?” Hank asked.

“Dark corner in Brooklyn?” Bill offered.

“Funny, Bill, you should take up comedy,” Jack muttered.

Bill and Hank laughed between each other. Jack took his coat off, grabbed mine, and moved further into the club to find us a table, leaving me with his friends for a moment. They immediately jumped at the chance to ask me questions.

“So, Asta,” Hank said. “What do you do for work?”

I shrugged. “I’ve got a little desk job. It’s boring, at times, but it pays the bills.”

“Understandable. It must be nice to have that kind of independence in this city.”

“It really is.”

“Is that how you ‘n Jack met?”

“Oh no, he saved me from a mugger on the street.”

Bill nearly spat out his drink. “What?!”

I cackled. “I’m joking. He works with my sister and I met Jack through her.”

“So she set you two up?”

“Not really. She was surprised to find out we were even together.”

“Wait…” Bill squinted at me. “Are you the dame who knocked him on his ass a couple’a months ago?”

“What?”

Hank snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah! I remember him telling us about pissing off this woman a while back. Said she could read him a little too well and he freaked and lashed out. Wound up flat on his ass because of it.”

My face flushed. “I didn’t realize he was telling people about that.”

“He’s been a little different since then,” Bill mused. “More aware of what he’s sayin’, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Hank seemed to agree. “But that was you?”

“It was me,” I admitted. “We were both in the wrong, then.”

“Maybe, but I dunno. Seems like he’s made a change for the better. He looked like he was really happy when the two of you walked in.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I just gotta wonder what a beautiful dame like you is doin’ with a jackass like him.”

“Well, have you looked at him?” I laughed when they looked alarmed. “No, that’s barely part of it. But it’s definitely a plus.”

Hank laughed. “Anything aside from his devastating good looks?”

“But of course.” I tucked my hands into my pockets. “He’s a good man. He’s kind and intelligent. He worries about everything, though.”

“Oh, really?”

“Oh yeah, serial worrier.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen that from him.”

I jumped when Jack placed his hand on my waist. “That’s because the only person I can’t hide it from is Asta.”

I shook my head and covered his hand with mine. “How you always manage to show up when I’m talking about you, I’ll never know.”

He laughed and wrapped his arms around me from behind. “It’s a gift, sweetheart.”

“It’s going to put me in a well-timed grave one of these days.”

He hummed. “I think you’ve got at least fifty more years in you.”

“Gross.”

“You two are so cute together,” Hank said. “How long have you known each other?”

“Little over a year now, I think,” Jack answered. “We haven’t been together very long, though.”

“Could’ve fooled us.”

Jack’s arms tightened around me when the band began to play.

“Do you want to dance?” I whispered.

He nodded against the side of my head. “Sorry, boys, but we’ve got a date to get  back to.”

Bill waved us off and Hank told us to have fun before going back to his drink. Jack took my hand and led me out to the dance floor.

“Okay,” Jack placed my left hand on his shoulder and took my right hand in his left and held it close to his chest. “This is easy.” He snaked his arm around my waist and held me close to his chest. “Just stick close and follow my lead.”

We swayed in time to the music, turning in a slow circle. Jack, at one point, pressed his forehead to mine and sighed contentedly when I moved my hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck.

“How’d you even find this place?” I asked.

“I was kind of lost after coming back from the war,” he explained. “I couldn’t sleep one night and figured I’d take a walk. I wandered in here and met Bill and Hank and the rest is history.”

“Bill and Hank seem like nice guys.”

Jack laughed. “They are, sometimes, when they’re not trying to interrogate you.”

“They weren’t interrogating me.”

“They kind of were.”

“Honestly, they weren’t. They were just curious.”

He shook his head and sighed. “I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable here.”

“I don’t.” I glanced around. “It’s a nice place.”

He smiled. “Good, I’m glad.”

“I didn’t realize you were telling anyone about that first night in the gym, though,” I said softly. “I’m not really sure how to feel about that.”

“What?”

“The first night when you took a swing at me. I’m not exactly proud of what I did that night. Bill mentioned you said something about it to them.”

“Oh, right.” His brows pulled together. “I didn’t realize it would bother you.”

“I just don’t understand why you’d tell anyone.”

“I had my ass handed to me, literally and verbally. I was feeling sorry for myself and needed to tell someone. I knew I couldn’t tell anyone at the office about it and the guys are the next best thing.” He squeezed my hand. “I wasn’t complaining about you, sweetheart. I was stupid that night. I needed to talk to someone about it to see where I was wrong in that situation. I wasn't kind to you then and I wanted to do better instead of coasting the way I'd been doing for years.”

"Oh."

"Don't look at me like that, Asta. You didn't do anything wrong. I honestly deserved it, and I think it’s fitting that you were the one to knock some sense into me."

“Oh?”

“You make me want to do better, Asta. That’s your fault.”

“Holy shit.”

He laughed and pecked me on the cheek. “Am I only gonna get one and two-word answers out of you tonight?”

“I don’t know. You’re pulling out shit like “you make me a better person” and that kind of leaves me speechless.”

He grinned. “Aw.”

I tried to scowl but failed. “Shut up.”

He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. “You’re so cute when you try to be angry.”

“You’re awful.”

“And yet, you still like me.”

“Against my better judgement, yes.”

“I’ll take it.”

I rolled my eyes but tipped my head up to kiss him. He hummed and kissed me back before pulling back and pecking me on the lips and resting his forehead against mine. We danced for four more songs before taking a break. Jack led me to our table and pulled my chair out for me. I joked about him being a gentleman and he gave a good-natured bow before taking his seat at the opposite side of the table.

He held out his hand and I placed mine in his. He smiled and brought it to his lips before covering the back of my hand with his free one.

“I’ve had a lot of fun tonight,” he said. “Thanks for coming out with me.”

“Thank you for inviting me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so-so…” I pressed my lips together, trying to think of the word. “Normal.”

“Is that a good thing?”

I grinned. “It’s the best thing, Jack. I haven’t been normal since I was twenty-two.”

“Oh, wow.”

“I know. Kind of sad.”

“No, it’s not. Is that when you got your powers?”

I nodded. “Life was completely different after that. I was totally on my own and had no idea what I was doing.”

“That must’ve turned your life on its head.”

“Absolutely..”

“Did your parents know?”

“Yes.” He quietly prompted me to go on. “I was disowned and had to leave home. It’s how I wound up in London.”

“You didn’t have any other family to turn to?”

“That’s not how it worked. I was shunned by my entire family.” I shifted in my seat, slightly uncomfortable with the topic at hand. “See, my mother’s husband wasn’t my biological father. No one knew that until my power surfaced. When it came out that I was a bastard, my father refused to claim me as his own and my mother was too embarrassed to try and fight for me. I had a little brother who was too young to fully understand what was happening, so I doubt he remembered me throughout the rest of his life. Any aunts or uncles either wouldn’t have heard about what happened and assumed I’d married and moved away next time they spoke with my parents or wouldn’t’ve cared either way.”

“Asta, that’s awful. They should’ve taken care of you. That’s what family is supposed to do!”

“Not my family, Jack. I was unmarried and almost too old for my parents to try and set me up with someone. My two sisters had married by the time they were my age then. I was the last girl left in the house, and at that point, my parents had greater hopes for my brother than they had for me, so they focused on him instead.”

“I’m so sorry-”

“Please don’t be,” I said softly. “I have a new start now. I choose who I am and what I do, to a certain extent. I’m not who I was those centuries ago. I get to be me. New name, new family-”

“New name?”

“I- yes.”

“Why?”

“Well… I’m not sure you’ll understand. When Peggy offered me a place with the SSR I felt no connection to my past. I chose a new name to put that behind me.”

“What was your old name?” he asked. He looked like he immediately regretted asking. “That was rude, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s fine.” I ran my thumb over his knuckles. “My name was Cecily. I was named after Saint Cecilia.”

“Oh.” His brows pulled together. “Why choose Asta?”

“I don’t know.” I stared at the table and shrugged. “I think it just felt right in the moment. Like it’s me.”

“I think it suits you,” he said. He quickly moved his chair around the table so he could sit beside me. He put his arm around me and pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “Thank you for telling me.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“We can talk about something else, if you want.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

We talked about music and books for the rest of the night. With a little prodding, I managed to convince Jack to talk a little bit about life before the war. He was a pretty normal kid, but the way he talked about his family, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about his mother's pie and playing catch with his little brother, made me feel warm from the inside out. We got up from our table, at one point, and danced to four more songs before my aching feet begged me to stop. Jack checked his watch and his eyes practically popped out of his face when he saw what time it was.

“Is it really that late?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “It doesn’t feel like we’ve been here for three hours.”

“I should probably get back.” He pouted and I laughed. “You know you can come with me, right? I’d actually prefer it if you did.”

“So would I,” he muttered.

I tugged my coat around my shoulders and reached for Jack’s hand as soon as he had his on. He took it and led me to the door. We said goodnight to Bill and Hank as we left. We made small talk on the walk back to SSR headquarters. Jack did his best to make me laugh with cheesy jokes and mostly succeeded in making himself laugh instead.

I smiled and shook my head as he told another stupid joke and bumped my shoulder against his arm when he laughed a little too hard again. He eventually calmed down enough that he was just occasionally chuckling to himself. When a group of men passed us, a couple looked us over and Jack squinted at them and put his arm around me. The two men quickly averted their eyes and I laughed.

“They wouldn’t have done anything, Jack.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s the principal of the thing.”

“Are you saying you’ve never done exactly what they were just doing?”

“I-well...” he sighed. “No.”

“Alright.”

“How are you not uncomfortable with that, though?”

“Oh, no, I absolutely am. The only comfort I have is knowing that I could break their fingers like they’re pencils. But that?” I gestured back at the men. “Small fraction of what most women experience.”

He nodded. “You’re right.”

“I’m not trying to be right, I just want you to understand that this is a problem.”

“No, I understand,” he said. “It’s something I’ve gotta be more aware of, though. I mean, you already dinged me for the way I treated Peggy in the past.”

I hummed, unsure of what to say. Jack seemed to understand and just bumped his shoulder against mine. We walked the rest of the way back to Headquarters in silence. Jack eventually wrapped his arm around my shoulders when we passed several more groups of men he didn’t like the look of.

We let ourselves in and I immediately shrugged out of my coat.  A few agents were still stuck in the office getting some last minute paperwork done and I waved to them as we walked past. All three of them waved back without thinking before seeing Jack trailing along behind me. One agent tried to stand up a little too fast and got caught on his chair. Jack shook his head and told them all to go home. Any work they had could be finished on Monday and they needed to be home with their families.

I leaned against a desk and watched in amusement as they scrambled to pack their things and leave for the weekend. Each of them flashed me an awkward smile on their way out and the last man shook Jack’s hand before scurrying out the door.

“I’m surprised you sent them home,” I said. “Very generous of you, Chief.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m in a good mood.”

I smiled. "Oh really?"

"Mhm." He offered his hand. "C'mon. Better get you back to your room before we get in trouble."

I laced my fingers with his and allowed him to lead me down the hall. “Should’ve known you’d be in a hurry to get rid of me.”

“You really think that?”

“No, but it’s been a long night, and I’d understand if you did.”

He scowled. "Well I don't."

"Okay." He opened his mouth to speak and I squeezed his hand. “I don’t need you to convince me, just… being wanted is still something I need to get used to.”

He nodded and silently walked me to my room. Jack sighed when I opened the door and stepped inside. I looked up at him, confused.

“I don’t really want tonight to be over,” he says.

“I don’t either.” I frowned. “We don’t have much time to ourselves to talk like we did tonight.”

“Maybe next time it’ll just be the two of us.”

“I’d like that.”

“Do you have plans tomorrow?”

I nodded. “Peggy’s enlisted me to run some errands with her tomorrow morning. I’m not sure how long it’ll take.”

He hummed. “Guess I’ll just have to see you Monday, then.”

“Mhm.” I took his hand. “You know we’ll be the talk off the office by the start of the week. Won’t have to hide much then.”

“Oh?”

“Jack, those guys you sent home caught us coming back after a date, They’re bound to tell someone.”

“You don’t know that.”

“We work in an office filled to the gills with gossips, love.” I tipped my head to the side. “Are you worried about what people will think?”

“I’m more worried of what people will think of you than me. Like you said, we work with a bunch of gossips. I don’t want anyone to think you’re sleeping with me to get better assignments.”

“It’s a good thing I’m not sleeping with you, then, isn’t it?”

He laughed. “I guess.”

“Still,” I took his hand and smiled. “It’ll be nice to not have to sneak around. Might actually feel like a normal couple for once.”

“That’s definitely a positive.” He ran his thumb over my knuckles. “You sure you’re ready to be public like that?”

I shrugged. “This is a first for me in many ways. If you’re comfortable with it, I’m sure I can manage.”

“Okay.” He leaned down and kissed me softly. “Thank you for coming out with me tonight.”

“Thank you for inviting me out,” I countered. “I had so much fun, especially after we snuck off.”

“We should do that again sometime.”

“Hopefully we won’t have to sneak away next time.”

“We won’t. I’ll be the one to get permission next time. I’m sure we’ll be able to have a night out without a chaperone. Until then, maybe…” He trailed off, biting at his lip. "Maybe I could join you and Peggy at the art supply store next weekend?"

"You'd want to?"

"Wh-of course! I'd get to spend time with you, outside of the office. I'd have to be stupid to not at least try to tag along."

"Okay, I'll let her know you'll tag along. Maybe we can get lunch after."

"It's a date, then."

I nodded. "It's a date."

"I'll see you Monday, sweetheart."

I tipped my head up and kissed him. "Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight."

I met Peggy outside the next morning and we left as soon as she was ready.

"How was dancing last night, darling?" Peggy asked.

"It was really nice," I answered. "I met a couple of Jack's friends and they seem like a great couple of guys."

"Oh?" Peggy chuckled. "I wasn't aware he had a life outside of work."

I shrugged. "They seem to know him pretty well and they were nice enough to me."

"That's good."

I nodded. "And Jack and I were able to just talk. We haven't had time enough alone to do that. Everything just made me feel really, really normal. Like I could have a life outside of the SSR one day."

"Atsa-"

"I only mean that I might have a home for myself instead of living like some kind of science experiment."

"No, Asta, listen."

"What?"

“Howard Stark has had a hand in organizing a new branch of the SSR. It’s been decided that I will run it.”

“Oh.”

“And I’ve contracted to bring you with me.”

“Oh.” 

“I know that you’re finally putting down roots, but this would be an opportunity to take back some time and space for yourself.”

I shook my hand and grabbed her arm. “You don’t have to persuade me, Peg, I’ll go with you.”

“Just like that?”

“Of course, just like that.” It then hit me that I didn’t just have myself to think about. “I’ll have to tell Jack.”

She nodded. “Yes, you will.”

“We’ll still be located in New York, right?” I asked. “We wouldn’t be packing up and moving to the other side of the country.”

“We’ll have to do some traveling at first, but you wouldn’t be relocated.”

“Okay.” I nodded to myself. “Okay. This will work. I’ll tell Jack next Saturday.”

“What’s next Saturday?”

“We’ve got a date to go to the art store together.”

“I thought that was our plan!”

“He asked if he could come along last night. We spend so little time together outside the office, I couldn’t say no. You understand,  right?”

“Of course.” She grins. “We’re really doing this.”

I nodded and smiled back. “We’re gonna change the world, Peg.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“When do we start?”

-----------

Part 3

Thank you guys so much for reading! If you liked this chapter, please reblog, comment, and/or shoot me an ask! Feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Tag List:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @creaturefeatures101, @buckysendoftheline, @imagine-assembling-the-avengers, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes, @kaep981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @skeletoresinthebasement, @lady-thor-foster, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @geeksareunique, @nyxveracity, @breezy1415​, @feelmyroarrrr​, @darling-loki​, @lemonadeorange73​, @princess-unicorn124​, @hermionie-is-my-queen​, @tofeartheunknown​, @queenoftheunderdark​

This fic:

@carryonmyswansong​, @avengerscompound​, @thinkwritexpress-official​, @dsakita

#jack thompsonxreader #steve rogersxreader #readerxsteve rogers #steve rogers x reader #reader x steve rogers #jack thompson #steve rogers #captain america #agent carter #peggy carter #daniel sousa #reader insert marvel fic