The Dance They Promised

"It can make you young again."

Steve spoke softly. "It can let us do so many more things together."

"Peggy, would you be willing to finish the dance we promised each other?"

Peggy Carter was like a child who had recovered a lost treasure.

Nothing in the world was more precious than Steve standing before her.

She nodded hard. "I would, Steve. Of course I would!"

"Come, Peggy." Steve gently helped Peggy Carter up, held the palm-sized jade bottle to her lips, and slowly tilted it, making sure every drop of spring water took effect.

Peggy kept her eyes on Steve, watching his gentle movements without blinking.

One was old and frail, the other young and strong, yet the scene was incomparably harmonious, like a pair of lovers deeply in love.

"How do you feel?" Steve looked at Peggy with concern.

Peggy thought for a moment. "It doesn't seem like I feel anything... It's like drinking a cup of hot water, with warmth spreading from my throat through my whole body."

"You don't feel anything?" Steve found that hard to accept, disappointment flickering between his brows.

But the warmth Peggy had described quickly began to take effect.

That warmth was actually concentrated life force.

The immense life force spread through her body, permeating every drop of blood and every cell before beginning to burn fiercely.

In the span of a single breath, healthy color began returning to Peggy Carter's skin.

Her blood churned amid cries of surprise, while every bone in her body rapidly regained its youth as though polished with sandpaper, becoming smooth and hard.

"What... is happening to me?"

The neurons in Peggy Carter's brain also recovered swiftly under the effects of the life force.

Her memories rapidly revived, leaving her at a loss over the warm sensation