No-one remembers your name when you're strange.
TITLE: Cardinal Points (2/2)
FANDOM: X-Men, X-Men 919, James Bond [Conflictverse], Eastern Promises
CHARACTERS: Remy Lebeau, Riley Lebeau, Peggy "M" Carter, Nikolai, others by mention.
RATING: Teen [Language, criminal behaviors, minors engaged in illegal mischief.]
SUMMARY: At a school in New Orleans, things aren't just about to get weird. They're about to get downright $*%&ed up.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: See part one.
The twins passed themselves off as sick the next morning. No way they could go back to St. George's after what had happened.
"Probably that flu goin' round school," Riley said at breakfast, wrapped in a thick blanket for effect. Remy aped fever shakes, not saying a word.
Tante Mattie looked at them sideways as she doled out fresh, hot porridge for the two of them.
"Eat up," she ordered while shoving a bowl towards each of them.
Obliging, they kept up their charade underneath Mattie's particularly heavy scrutiny. Their apparent recent trouble with oversight aside, they were very good actors. Mattie always seemed to know though, and she was probably fully aware of their bullshit. It was all that Remy and Riley could do to hope she wasn't going to call them on it.
"You wanna stay home then," she asked, leaning over the counter and locking eyes with each of them in turn.
"Yeah," Remy said weakly between two mouthfuls. "Don' wanna give this t'anyone else, y'know?"
"And I suppose you wanna be left home alone."
"Don' wanna be a bother or anything. Just rest."
If it were possible, Mattie looked at them even more sideways.
Riley clutched at the Saint Nicholas medallion around her neck -- a present from her Dad on her twelfth birthday after she'd completed her tilling -- with one hand. The act hidden by her blanket, she was internally screaming prayers to the patron saint of thieves.
Remy hunched over a little more. He wore a matching medallion and watched its reflection in the concave side of his spoon. His desperate prayer was similar to his sister's, though contained rather more profanity. Strange for a prayer, certainly, but Remy wanted the gravity of the situation made clear.
"I got errands in town anyhow," Mattie finally said. "And I was thinkin' about spending the night at my sister's. I imagine you two should be fine on your own until tomorrow afternoon, hmm?"
They nodded as eagerly as flu-stricken teens would have been able to, and Mattie nodded back in acquiescence. They'd just been granted the time to pull off their plan. Good.
Remy would have made the sign of the cross, but thought better of it. Riley determined she was going to drop a twenty in the collection plate next time dad dragged her to church.
As always, it was more than likely that Mattie had guessed what was going on, even if only in generalities. She would have been terrifying that way were it not for the fact she would never say a word...though it was arguable that her silence was even worse.
"You keep out of trouble, y'hear?" Her voice was dry. "No tellin' what might make the flu worse."
"Yes'm," the twins said, turning their full attention to their porridge.
***
Peggy passed herself off as sick the next day as well. Her parents didn't even really require convincing; once she'd gotten home from the Roadrunner, she'd written a note to them saying she wasn't well and that she'd be staying home from school. Leaving it on the kitchen counter, she'd gone to bed and slept lightly.
Her parents, who left early in the morning and came home late, had simply scrawled a brief response beneath her own words:
There's some fresh orange juice and some chicken soup in the fridge. We'll try and be home early tonight, promise. Feel better soon, sweetheart.
Typical Mr. and Mrs. Carter behaviour. Peggy loved her parents, she truly did, and they certainly loved her, but they didn't spend a good deal of time at home. They were considerate and caring, of course -- why else would they have ensured there was juice and soup waiting for her? -- but weren't exactly a large presence in her life.
Enjoying some of the orange juice, she texted Riley.
All clear here. Coming?
Her phone buzzed a few minutes later.
Be there in fifteen.
Satisfied, she fixed herself some granola and chewed thoughtfully on an apple. What they were about to undertake would prove interesting at the very least. Dangerous, too. It was anyone's guess how badly it might go and how fatal it might possibly prove if they were to be caught. She'd heard stories from her parents. Vague ones. They were still clear enough for her to understand that 'unfortunate disappearances' did, on occasion, happen, and she was smart enough not to inquire any further. Peggy found herself less concerned about this than she logically ought to have been.
Tossing her apple core into the rubbish bin at the sound of the doorbell, she went and let the twins in.
"I brought donuts," Remy said, brandishing a Dunkin' Donuts box.
"How considerate."
Riley took the opportunity to glare at her brother. "It's why we took twenty minutes 'stead of fifteen."
"Why're you whining? I paid for 'em. And I even got one of those sprinkley ones you like."
"Clearly, y'r the best sibling ever."
"Shall we?" Peggy interrupted.
Sufficiently cowed, at least for the time being, they followed Peggy up into her room. She took a large, folded piece of paper off her desk, and sat down on the floor. Remy flopped down to one side of her, opening up the box of donuts and passing one with multi-coloured sprinkles to Riley. He passed a glazed cruller to Peggy, and took a chocolate one for himself.
Unfolding the paper and spreading it out on the floor, Peggy began to explain herself in a matter-of-fact manner after a generous bite of her donut.
"This is the layout of the consulate."
It was sketched out neatly, and labeled in Peggy's scrawl. Remy traced a finger along the edges of what was identified as the second floor.
"How accurate would y'say this is?"
"Perfectly so. I copied it off the map that consulate staff use, not the one they hand out to the people passing through."
Plopping herself down on the floor on the other side of Peggy, Riley pointed at the top floor.
"Okay," she started. "There any skylights here? 'Cause--"
Peggy didn't let her finish, shifting the paper and pointing towards the first floor. More specifically, she indicated a door drawn on the south side of the building
"This back way isn't typically used," she explained. "It's a service entrance, but there's been a new one set up on the east side that's used more often than not. It's closer to the staff parking lot, so everyone prefers it. This old one hasn't been abandoned, but it still has a keypad style lock. You need an entry code to open it."
Riley waved her hand dismissively. "Cake. What next?"
"We can go up the stairwell to the third floor and then down this back hall here. There's a window at the end of the corridor. It opens to a fire escape. To the left is a window. It's a jump -- about a metre and three quarters."
The twins looked at her blankly for a moment.
"Six feet," she clarified. She received a brief aaaah before bothering to continue.
"The fire exit leads into a different corridor. Third door on the left is the main records room. It's locked up tight, but it's where they keep files. Most of the data is stored on CDs. There's some hard-copy things kept there too. Not much, but some. I know a couple of the women who work in the records department, and I can tell you they're meticulous about organization, labeling and the like to the point of obsession. It should be easy to find anything once we make it in."
"Sounds solid t'me," Riley said, licking icing off one of her fingers. "But when d'you think we can get in?"
"Each Wednesday afternoon is a consulate wide conference. Almost everyone is at these meetings, except for a few low level employees."
"Today then. Awesome. So what kind of openin' we looking at?"
"The meetings run three o'clock to four. Occasionally they go late, but I wouldn't count on it."
There was a contemplative silence, eventually broken by Remy. "Peggy, how do you know all this stuff?"
She cocked her head sideways as though considering an answer. When she spoke, it was wry, though soft. "You spend enough time wandering around in there on weekends hoping to run into your parents, you learn a few things. You listen to consulate employees talk when they don't think you're listening, you pick up even more."
"You'd've made a damn good Thief," Riley observed. "Different circumstances, I'd've put you forward to Dad."
Remy gave a wan smile as he swallowed the last of his donut. "I'd've seconded you."
***
They left the car a good five blocks away. A small group of teens walking down the street past a consulate wouldn't rouse nearly as much suspicion as a group of teens parking near the consulate. Casting only the slightest of glances around them once they'd made it to their destination, they vanished behind the building and went to the back door they'd determined would be their entry. Remy unconsciously took up point, staying a few steps behind the girls and scanning everything and everywhere. No way in hell was he going to make yet another amateur mistake.
Riley lifted up the panel with an elbow (the better to avoid leaving any fingerprints with), and scrutinized the revealed buttons. It was a typical nine key set-up, looking exactly like a phone's, complete with three letters embossed under each number on the keypad.
"I know this model. Nine digit entry code," she announced. Pulling a compact out of her purse, she opened it and blew across the powder there. The light dust settled on the buttons, and an overlapping mess of fingerprint ridges became visible.
"Talcum powder," she explained to Peggy, snapping the compact shut. "Easy to get, easy to use, and easy to make disappear."
Craning her neck and muttering, she examined the panel intently, switching angles every couple seconds. It wasn't long before she burst out laughing before blowing at the panel once more, sending the talcum powder dancing off into the ether.
"Britannia," she explained to her evidently confused companions, still snickering as she punched at the buttons in sequence using the knuckle of her right index finger. "The code's 2-7-4-8-2-6-6-4-2. Spells out Britannia."
***
The three climbed up the back stairwell, leery. Remy's sneakers made no noise, and the boots Riley wore were silent. The faint padding of Peggy's flats, as well as the hushed sounds of everyone's breathing, were all that could be heard. Finally reaching the third floor, Peggy cracked the door open and took a peek into the corridor.
"Empty," she called back to Remy and Riley, though softly. Moving down the hall as quietly as possible, they were all but home free. The window was only feet away.
Then came the footsteps. The twins froze.
Peggy didn't even have to warn them to hide. They simply faded into shadows that might not even have existed as the footsteps came around the corner. Remy was pleased with this much: he and Riley hadn't lost their 'touch' completely. It was further proof that they really weren't amateurs, and truly were La Voleur et La Voleuse after all.
"Miss Carter," a voice said. Male, older, the tone lying somewhere between cordial and concerned. "What brings you here today?"
"Here to see my parents, sir."
"They're in a meeting, my dear. And I was given to believe you were ill."
"Yes sir. I wanted to let them know I was able to make an appointment with the doctor. My mobile is dead, so I wanted to let them know they needn't worry if I wasn't home when they were."
"You might have called from home."
"I brought their lunches as well," she said, shifting the backpack she was wearing and gesturing to it. "They left them at home. I thought since it was on the way to the doctor's, it would be best for me to bring their food here. It just happens to work out that I'll be able to tell them about my appointment in person as well."
"They'll be a while."
She feigned disappointment. "Oh. A shame. Are either of their offices open? I can leave their lunches and a note."
"They should be. Let me know if you need me to unlock them -- I'll be in the second floor lounge."
"Thank you sir."
"Take care, Miss Carter."
"Yourself as well."
The voice gave way to footsteps once more, and as soon as they were gone, the twins reappeared.
"I'm gonna take back what I said before," Riley said admiringly. "I think I actually will put you forward to Dad."
***
The window at the end of the corridor was stiff and squeaky, which normally would have been a problem. Seeing as no-one was there to hear the noise though, there was no need to lubricate it in any way. Climbing through once it was open was easy as it was quite large. The fire escape landing, however, was not -- it had barely enough room for the three of them to stand.
Peggy yanked the window closed behind them, and turned to her fellow criminals. Riley was looking down to the street as Remy looked to the sill of the window that was their next stop. It was broad enough to stand on, but not much more.
"Wall's too smooth to spider across," he said. "Nowhere to grip."
Peggy frowned. "So how will we do this then?"
Remy had climbed up onto the railing before she'd even finished her question.
"Six feet ain't far," Riley grinned.
With that, Remy jumped from the banister to the sill, landing neatly. He tested the window and found it opened with no trouble at all. One more point in their favour, he thought to himself as he climbed inside. Riley followed his lead, the jump coming just as easily to her as it had to her brother. She landed in a low crouch, then stood up and turned around.
"Your turn," she called over to Peggy.
Peggy was a little reticent. It was six feet, yes, and Riley had been right when she'd stated that such a distance wasn't far, but it was also three stories up. Taking a deep breath, Peggy got up on to the banister, spreading her hands to stay somewhat balanced.
Remy's head was poking out of the window.
"Bend your knees a bit, and keep your arms a little lower."
She followed his advice, and found her balanced improved enough to be noticeable.
"Now jump," Riley said. "I gotcha here."
One more breath taken in, Peggy launched herself over. Riley's strong arms caught her as she threatened to fall off the ledge.
"Easy," she said, smiling as she backed up a couple tiny steps, still keeping Peggy in her arms. "You're good. You're fine."
While Peggy didn't need the reassurance (she'd made it on her own, she was unscathed, and even with the teetering all she needed was the chance to stand on something a little more solid), she bobbed her head in recognition anyhow.
"After you," Riley laughed, letting her go and backing up a couple steps to give Peggy room to slip back inside the building, where Remy was offering a hand to help her in.
***
"This is the door," Peggy said, pointing and then taking a step back. Getting them inside the room was obviously more the twins' department than hers.
"Two key entry," Remy said, crouching to look at the two keyholes. "Just a hair better than a keycard."
Riley snorted. "All the better to get in with. No keycard, no digital record we were ever here."
"Once we are in, accessing any information could be just as good as setting off an alarm," Peggy reminded them. The twins nodded, but looked beyond hearing. Remy's mouth twisted as he turned to look at his sister, now looking at the locks herself.
"Double pop?"
Riley pulled a couple bobby pins out of her hair and passed one off to her brother. Remy stayed crouched, playing the lower keyhole. Leaning over her brother, Riley toyed with the upper one.
"Come on," Remy whispered, though perhaps 'crooned' would have been a better word. "On my mark."
The two went still, Remy counted down from three, and their hands twisted in precise, sharp movements.
A tell-tale click cut through the air, and Remy pushed the door open while rising to his full height once more. "Ladies first."
"You'll have to teach me how to do that once this is all over," Peggy said, following Riley in.
"We make it out, you got a deal."
"Alright," Riley said, taking a look around the room. "Let's do this."
***
The room's set up was nothing extraordinary. Three computer terminals and scads of labeled filing cabinets were organized in a perfectly utilitarian manner. The filing cabinets were specially designed ones, their insides set up to hold jewel cases.
Finding the 'N' section, they scanned through the laser-printed labels on the cases, all set up in the traditional last name comma first pattern. Remy was bordering on incredulous, but was more curious than anything.
"There's one o'these for every single person from the UK who comes through here?"
"Big Brother is watching," Peggy said offhandedly.
"Here," Riley said, pointing. "Nikolai."
Pulling a handkerchief out of her purse, she grabbed all eight discs with the name 'Nikolai' on them.
"How do we fool the computer though?" Remy asked, looking to Riley as she set the discs down next to one of the terminals. "Peggy was right. We get caught accessing it, we get toasted."
Riley shrugged. "I could crack it, but I'd need time."
Peggy rolled her eyes as she approached the terminal herself. "One of the women who works here in the archives is entirely uncreative when it comes to passwords."
Inputting the username andrea.miller and the password passwordprotected2012, the computer gave a whirr and opened up a traditional Microsoft Windows style desktop.
"It also helps that Andrea keeps sticky notes with passwords and the like on the walls of her cubicle," Peggy said with a certain satisfaction.
The twins looked uneasy. Riley glanced back to the door. "But if it shows she was here when she was supposed to be at a meeting--"
"She doesn't go to them. She stays by her desk to watch the phones and run errands. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that she'd come here to get some information."
Opening the first jewel case, careful not to allow the pads of her fingers to touch anywhere they might leave an imprint, Peggy took out the disc and popped it into the computer.
***
The insertion of each disc brought up a large profile of the individual whose information was stored on it. The first thing to be seen was a photograph and basic information: date of birth, weight, height, the basics. There was obviously more stored on the discs than that -- travel histories, scans of birth certificates, and various other tidbits were there to look at were one so inclined.
Ruling out the first six discs was easy. None of the photographs were of Mr. Nikolai. The seventh, however, with the label Nikolai, Vitaly, brought up a familiar face. This much wasn't a surprise. What came as a surprise was what happened when Peggy tried to open up further information on the man.
Access Denied, the computer informed them. Clearance required from R and K.
"What the ever loving--" Remy started, but switched the tack he was going to take. "We're done here, I think."
Riley agreed. "We ain't gonna get anything else from this disc here, and I don't have the time to crack it. We can't take it either. None of the others had security on 'em like this, and smart money says that means they'll miss it if it's gone."
Peggy offered no argument. She already had an idea of her next step, but kept it to herself as Riley put all the discs back.
***
It was two in the morning when Mr. and Mrs. Carter finally came home.
They were met by Peggy, who had prepared the table with three mugs of tea. Her timing was eerily good: they were still steaming.
"Darling?" Mr. Carter said uneasily. "What's going on?"
"We need to talk about my teacher, Mr. Nikolai," she said, locking eyes with her parents and gesturing towards the tea. Her parents tensed.
"What do you mean, Peggy?" her mother asked as she sat down, circling her hands all the way around her mug and gripping tight.
"I know he's mafia. I can guess that he's tied in with British intelligence somehow, and in a very deep way. Who are R and K?"
Her parents looked to one another, and it was as good as an answer.
"So you're connected to him. Which means you're even deeper in British Intelligence than you've let on."
Mr. Carter finally sat down. "How on earth did you find out about this?"
"You have your secrets, it would seem, and I have mine."
It felt a little odd to be going on the offensive with her parents in this manner. She was a teenager, of course, so she wasn't a stranger to doing so. It was the fact that it was over government secrets and mafia politics that made this particular 'attack' different.
"Seeing as we're discussing secrets, you must know we can't tell you anything."
"It's a little late for that. He knows that I know."
Her parents blanched.
"How much does he know?" her father's tone had grown significantly more pointed.
Peggy considered. How much should she share? Riley and Remy had secrets that needed protecting as well. She didn't want to harm her friends, but she wasn't about to all-out lie.
"He just knows that I'm aware he's vory v zakone. I saw his tattoos. I'd done some research on them for a project, recognized what some of them meant, and he found out."
"Does anybody else know?" her mother asked.
"The Lebeaus," she said. "Remy and Riley. That's all."
"The Lebeaus," her mother repeated, and Peggy would have sworn to whatever you'd like that both of her parents relaxed.
"What?" she demanded. "What do the Lebeaus have to do with anything?"
"Peggy, dear, have you ever heard of MI6?"
***
Remy and Riley had decided once they'd gotten home that there was nothing for it but to ask their father to fill in some blanks for them.
(Mattie had just nodded at them as she had walked back into the house.
"How're you two feelin'? Better?"
"Little bit."
"Rest. You'll feel better t'night.")
The fact that their dad came home a few hours later was just a sign they were right to think so.
"Papa, can we talk?" Riley asked, sitting down next to him once they'd eaten dinner, finished the dishes, and had the kitchen to themselves.
"'Course. What about?"
She looked to Remy, who licked his lips. "What do you know about Mr. Nikolai?"
"And what are the vorys doin' here in Guild territory?"
Jean-Luc rubbed his forehead and leaned forward to brace his elbows against the table. "I was hopin' to keep you two out of this. "
For a second, Remy thought his father was about to cry. This evaporated instantly when he realized that his father was stifling a laugh. "Should've known you two'd pick up on it sooner rather than later," he said. "I keep forgettin' you're both eighteen now. Now that I'm thinkin' on it, I probably should've had you in on it from the start."
Riley wasn't sure if she was sporting a smile or a grimace. "Don't give us too much credit, Papa. We made a shitton of mistakes along the way."
"You're still around, which means y'did something right."
There was no uncertainty now. Riley's eyes were wide open in surprise. Remy wore a very similar expression. "This whole thing's that big?"
"It ain't a Sunday stroll." He breathed out heavily. "A'right. What do y'know and what do y'want to? No point in me repeating what you've already figured for yourselves."
Riley shrugged. "Mr. Nikolai's a high ranking vory, he's British, and he knows we're Guild. Thieves' Guild."
Their father's face went stone cold. "He touch either o'you? Do anything to you?"
Taken aback, Remy shook his head. "No. No, nothing."
Jean-Luc looked to be calmed by this answer. "Good. That's good."
"Papa, what's goin' on?"
He looked at his kids, face softening, but he was wearing an almost mischievous grin that his adopted children had obviously inherited from him. "We made a couple arrangements with the vorys."
***
The next morning, the three blew off school yet again for breakfast and debriefing at the Roadrunner.
Surrounded by eggs, bacon, coffee, and tea, they shared their stories.
"'Parently," Remy began, mouth full, "the vorys got an interest in eliminating th'Assassins."
Riley continued. "The Assassins don't have a great rep in the UK, but the Thieves do. They made a proposition to Dad and the rest of the Guild -- protection from the Thieves in exchange for eliminatin' some competition."
"They weren't looking to do any actual killing. Just some intel-feedin', to us and to the vorys back in London. Mr. Nikolai came to be a plant in the Assassins."
"So the Thieves watch his back, and he gives the Guild and the vorys info he picks up. We deal with them here, they take 'em out there."
"So why at St. George's?" Peggy asked. "Why a teacher?"
Riley swished the last dregs of her coffee around in the bottom of her cup. "'Cause it's where all the Guild kids go, Thieves and Assassins both. Links him in to the 'next generation', and gives him ties to the powers that be right now."
Peggy nodded, following the lines that had been drawn. Curiouser and curiouser.
"That makes a sort of sense, I suppose. I'm about to make it more complicated though," she said.
The twins looked on expectantly, though some suspicion hung in the air until she went on to explain herself.
"Mr. Nikolai isn't a vory at all. He's a deep plant."
This was met with suddenly blank stares.
"He's working for the British government. He's from the FSB, working with the Russian Desk under the supervision of MI6."
"MI6? That's gotta be a government overt ops agency, right?" Remy guessed, and Peggy nodded.
"Their goal is to bring down the vorys. He's here, playing along to keep up appearances for the mob."
"And you know this how?"
It took a beat for her to reply. "My parents are MI6. And his handlers."
They all quietly turned the whole damn thing over in their heads.
Mr. Nikolai was an undercover agent for the British, in for the long con with the vorys, and had made his way up the ranks.
The vorys made peace with the Thieves to take shots at the Assassins
Mr. Nikolai was sent by the vorys as their inside man with the Assassins.
A planted plant that was a plant...that was planted?
This was to say nothing of how much more complex it was made by virtue of all three teens' backgrounds. Crime, government, and who the hell knew what else was going on. While neither Remy nor Riley would say it, they both feared exactly what this garden of planting would mean for them -- how much about the Thieves was Mr. Nikolai was passing along to the vorys, or this MI6 group? Neither was sure of which would be worse.
Riley was wondering exactly what Peggy thought of them now. Given, she'd dealt with their Guild lineage well enough so far, but now? Completely different game. Or was it? She cursed internally. Her head was starting to spin in too-fast circles of nerves.
Remy was on the verge of chomping down hard on his lip, but settled for tapping on the edge of his plate. He hoped that Saint Nicholas hadn't forgotten them yet, and was still putting in a good word on he and his sisters' behalf. God knew (hah!) they needed it.
Peggy's own thoughts weren't that different from the Lebeaus'. She too was wondering what it would mean for her friends. Her parents knew that Riley and Remy were Guild, and knew what was going on with Mr. Nikolai and the vorys. They were orchestrating the whole bloody thing. What their knowledge would do, could do, to them was terrifying to her. She made a mental note to try and suss out what she could to protect the twins, if not their family. Pipe dream, perhaps, but she cared about them far too deeply to do anything else.
"It's enough t'make you go crosseyed," Remy decided, shoving his empty plate away from him. This was an understatement to say the least, but it was all he had to work with at that point in time.
There was silence.
"You know that we have to make a deal," Peggy said slowly. "I've told you things you shouldn't know, and you've shared things I shouldn't know."
Riley perked up at this. Hope on the wing. "So you're suggesting what, 'zactly?"
"I don't say a word, you don't say a word, and we keep this as close and as quiet as we can."
"I thought that three can keep a secret if two are dead," Remy quoted; his voice edged on bitter.
Peggy's mouth turned up at the right corner. "Benjamin Franklin clearly didn't have friends like you two. Besides," she countered, smile growing ever broader, "I think we all like each other far too much to end this in bloodshed, don't you?"
***
It didn't take a whole lot of time for things to change significantly.
Mr. Nikolai made a graceful, completely believable exit complete with a proper two weeks' notice to the school. His story was that there was 'family' -- a word that presumably translated to his comrades in the vory v zakone -- back in London that needed him. Neighbors would later note that no-one ever moved in to his condo once he'd left.
About a week after that, Mr. and Mrs. Carter announced that they were moving back to England. They claimed that they wanted Peggy to finish her schooling at a reputable prep school (it just happened to be the one that Mrs. Carter had attended as a teen) before going to a good British university. Her parents weren't saying it aloud, but were hinting heavily that they had hopes for Cambridge.
For the three teens in the know, the whole thing was almost funny in its absurdity.
It cumulated in the three of them standing in an airport, milling around by a security checkpoint and making their goodbyes.
"So what're you gonna do now?" Remy asked.
She shrugged. "Finish school. Get into Cambridge to keep my parents happy. Find work in the intelligence sector, perhaps. Mum and Dad won't approve, but there's still opportunity there."
"You'd be good at it."
"Hell," Riley laughed. "I'd be scared if you came after me."
This led to the inevitable awkward moment. There was no physical indicator: no scuffing of shoes, no glancing at the ground, no fidgeting. It was all in the air.
"You...you think you'd ever come after the Guild one day?"
Peggy smiled crookedly. "Not if I can help it."
Riley and Remy smiled back. It was weak on both their parts.
"Come here, both of you," Peggy said, exasperated.
The twins obliged her, and Peggy placed a hand to Riley's cheek before gently pulling the girl's face down to her. Riley looked shocked for a moment, but was quickly distracted by Peggy's mouth meeting hers. She'd have been lying if she said she hadn't been hoping something like this would happen, even if the situation wasn't quite what she'd imagined. Peggy's kiss was eagerly reciprocated. Apparently Peggy had known about her feelings all along...or so she hoped. Whatever. Didn't really matter, did it? She'd take the kiss.
After releasing Riley, Peggy followed that up by grabbing a rather stunned Remy by the shoulders, and going up on her toes to give a repeat performance. Remy had always done his level best to give Peggy her space despite his attraction, seeing as he knew better than to force anything, especially something that could possibly ruin the friendship that he, Riley, and Peggy had forged. This was all kinds of validation though and damn if it didn't kill him when she let go. Of course she had to be leaving just then.
"Peggy!" called Mr. Carter, who was smiling at what he'd seen. "We've a flight to catch."
Peggy waved as she headed for the security checkpoint, and the twins waved back, still a little dazed.
"She kissed me first," Riley grinned, turning towards Remy only to be met with one of his own.
"Ah, but did you get any tongue?"
"Yep."
"Goddammit."
-Fin-