Bucky had told her, of course, but she hadn’t believed him. Not really. Not until she saw him in the flesh.

Her resolve crumples. It’s impossible to keep a stiff upper lip in the face of all of this.

Later, Peggy will only vaguely remember throwing her arms around him and realizing he’s real, and solid, and here. She’s laughing and crying at the same time, unable to govern her emotions.

“You stood me up,” she says eventually, once she can trust herself to do so. “I stood in front of the Stork Club for hours.”