driftfleet | first one to make that doctor who joke loses

[He doesn't look at her, but the corners of his ears redden a bit.]

Hrmph.

[He's never cared about his looks. Frankly, that sort of thing died off with Jessie - she used to tease him, or call him sweet little pet names just to make him defensive, or point out her preference for him to be clean-shaved. Granted, it had been part of his job, being clean and well-groomed for the force, but.

Doesn't matter.

But you know. Only human. He's mildly embarrassed by the innocent but clear affections of said old lady. And mildly embarrassed Peggy seems to be in some sort of agreement.]

[ what? she's a only human, too. and not nearly so repressed that she can't comment on a friend's fine showing. after all, he is a friend now. isn't he? by most standard definitions, peggy would have to accept that label. ]

It's a good move, though. [ she reintroduces common sense into the discussion. ] You shaved for the sake of the mask, didn't you?

[He nods with less reluctance. Talking moves and plans is his bread and butter, and all.]

It wasn't worth struggling with.

[It's clear he doesn't do it often, judging by the slight knick on his jawline. He may be good with a blade, but he's just not much for cutting hair. He's quiet again for a moment, unsure if he should say anything more than that. Once upon a time, he wouldn't even have given Peggy a response at all. Wouldn't have even offered to take her back to the ship. Would have clawed and scratched and bit his way to what he thought was freedom, like he had in the last world.

The pause continues, one beat, two.]

Was nice, though. I guess.

Doing it myself.

[It was nice seeing himself clearly, done himself. It felt almost normal.

When was the last time he stood in front of a clean sink, in a clean bathroom, manipulating a razor made of only the cleanest steel?]

Edited 2016-04-08 01:13 (UTC)

Certainly, mankind can survive a grimy and shaggy existence -- but I often found it an act of self-sufficiency to take care of one's appearance. [ she's agreeing with him, although her terms are more arch and abstracted than his own. ]

[He scoffs, unimpressed by the idea.]

You wouldn't think that f'you lived to see the end of the world.

... Only women I've seen wearing make-up were slaves. [He stops. Quiet. Thoughtful. He glances slyly, almost, to Peggy.] But. They were strong. Stronger than me sometimes. Mmmm, people underestimated them because they were small and well-kept, but maybe that gave them an edge.

[Is that what Peggy's life is? Being constantly underestimated by her polite and well-kept stature? His glance suggests his humored curiosity as he makes a fist with his good hand.]

... Also, sharp bony fists. Good edge.

Good lipstick was shorthand for good moral, during the war. [ which only reminds peggy to fish a compact mirror out of her coat pocket so she could check her face. the masks aren't generous to cosmetics; things smudge. ] As was a well-shaved face, for the men. But they had their own masks to wear from time to time.

[ underestimated? peggy? certainly. but in the back of her mind she thinks about max's claim. slaves -- stronger than me sometimes, he'd said. the very fact that there should be slavery at all no longer surprised her. she'd come to expect the worst. ]

Did you ever underestimate them? The slaves?

[He considers it for a moment.]

Mmn... no. Was terrified of them.

[He clears his throat. He underestimated them based on their timid, frightened way, perhaps, but he was in no position to see himself as anything better. It's complicated, but he's having a hard time trying to replace himself into his own shoes. Not that it was a long time ago, or that he doesn't still carry his old logic, but because it was genuinely a blur of ugly sound and sight. His mind was not at its best then. Not sharp, not observant enough, just a wild creature struggling to plot his way to freedom.

Regardless of how he thought they looked, though, he had always saw them as a threat.

Always.]

They were... blocking my escape. I wanted their rig. Ahm. Truck.

[He motions at nothing.]

Was the only way to get out, at the time.

They were obstacles. Perhaps without ever meaning to be -- yes, I can see how that might be terrifying.

[ no matter how innocent, hard put upon, or kindly a stranger might be when they cross your path -- they can still be an obstacle. with an uneasy pain, she thinks about the young woman killed in cold blood to get to her. she thinks about the kinds of obstacles mere acquaintanceship provides. oh, she doubts it's what max intends. but it resonates all the same. ]

I've spoken with Furiousa, you know. She tells it like you did a wonderful thing.

They were people. I didn't want to be around people.

[There is some level of discomfort with the reply -- and an even more obvious discomfort at the idea of Furiosa labeling what he did in a favorable light. He shifts with some restlessness in his seat, a tic Max can't stop, because his body hardly ever listens to him. But he doesn't run. Can't run and wouldn't even if he had the space to. He can talk about this. It's just the Fury Road.

It's just. Nobody should be speaking about someone like him like that.]

I just drove when asked. Took and gave blood. Didn't do anything wonderful. It wasn't... I was just listening to...

[... The ghosts. His conscience too, but the ghosts always seemed to know when it was torturing him. Always knew when he cared. He clears his throat.]

Wasn't their time to die, is all.

Listening is a wonderful thing. [ peggy shifts in the passenger seat. her fingers are crooked under her chin, and she watches him with alert interest. maybe he doesn't realize how much a blessing it can be to work with someone who listens. ] Driving when you're bloody well asked is a wonderful thing -- when it's for a proper cause.

Lives were saved. I would call that wonderful.

[He purses his lips, thinning them from fullness to an unsure line.

He flusters, just a bit.]

It's not like that. Wasn't like that.

[Look who can't take any form of praise, like, at all.]

M'not any of that... They helped me, I repaid them. Fair exchange.

[Yeah, that's it. That's definitely it.]

Whatever you say, Handsome.

[ -- she'll let him have his meager victory and deflect the description of 'wonderful', but only if she gets to keep the nickname. clearly. ]

[He makes such a face at that.

Without skipping a beat, he throws back with a sour tone:]

Good. Glad you agree, Beautiful.

[yeah he just did that, that's a thing he just did

and he almost immediately regrets it

like immediately]

[ here is the cat who got the canary and the cream. self-bloody-satisfied, indeed. she seems almost ready to preen, she's just that happy with eking in the last word within their exchange.

but then he says it. he says beautiful. and it's so terribly wrong wrapped up in his gruff tones that it sounds alien to every other time some smarmy-mouthed git has pressed the pet-name slyly past his tongue. howard chief among them.

at first, it's like she has something caught in her throat. ]

Aren't you damned charming. [ she drawls. but her sudden discomfort is betrayed in the way she stiffly adjusts the mask still nestled in her lap. a muscle twitches along her jaw. did she deserve that? likely, she argues with herself. after all, she did start it.

but it's hardly fair! her protest whips forth like a whirlwind. ] You know, all of this current unpleasantness could have been avoided if you'd just let me use your damned name.

[ it's been months. she's been so utterly patient, max. ]

[Max has no time or care to gloat about his own nudge back (that might as well be them in primary school, it's so very juvenile, but Max is so beyond maturity). He glances at her with a furrowed brow, looking every bit as disgruntled as she is. Checkmate, Peggy, only he's not one to count his victories. Ever.

He's mostly just confused.]

Why is that so important? It's — [He motions with one hand.] Unneeded.

Tell me, [ she leans forward on her seat. her tone denotes a desire to urge him into answering. ] What do you call me? In your head? You must have something that stands in for me -- and if it's my name? Why, then it's only fair and just I should use yours in return. Or if not your name, then some other something you can live with hearing.

[ she'd done it for winter; she can do it for max, too. ]

I don't — like to hear my name.

[He looks frustrated. His forehead scrunches, is a dozen annoyed lines over his eyes.]

You're the first mate — [He cuts himself off. Of course he thinks 'Peggy'. Of course he does. And he knows she knows his name; she's too nosy to not look at the roster, to not know in some way. She calls him Max, too. In her head. It's an unfair attempt to pull this out of him. She should know that. He glowers out of his peripheral, looking back ahead.]

I don't want to pick anything.

[He sounds almost like a child on the verge of a tantrum and he knows it. It's annoying. It's her fault she was poking fun; he poked fun back, and now they're talking about names? Utterly unnecessary. Like names. He thought she would have dropped it after the first few months of skirting around it.]

So you cast that burden onto everyone else. [ harsh words from a harsh woman -- one who wouldn't speak half so harshly if she didn't care half so much. peg curls her fingers against her palm and examines her red-polished nails. feigning disinterest. ]

I happen to like your name, you know. I like the way it sounds -- though it's your own prerogative if you don't want to be called it. However, I would like to know what I ought to call you. 'Handsome' is clearly untenable.

[Burden, is it? That's a nasty way to wring him. Piss him off. Drive some semblance of guilt into there.]

Fine. My name's Max.

[He says it quickly and roughly, like it's all but forced out of his lungs, wrenched out. There's a clear displeasure and discomfort in it, but he's grown too frustrated with her to fight -- too frustrated and feeling trapped in the shuttle. So fine, he thinks miserably. FINE. He throws it out there because he doesn't bleeding know what to give her. What will satisfy. He hates every word of it, hates the sound of it.

He stares ahead, his chest twisting painfully.]

You happy?

[It's what she wanted. So there. Now she can just have it. He feels utterly certain nothing else would have sufficed.]

Hardly. [ she shoots back. pistol-quick. he had to have known, hadn't he? that passing along his name so aggressively and so vindictively would turn it instantly to a thing unusuable. unspeakable. saying it, now, would be like dredging a wound with salt. and peggy carter is not so cruel a woman. ]

Edited 2016-04-19 09:58 (UTC)

[He grunts unhappily behind closed lips, squinting ahead.

There's frustration in the work of his jaw.]

You're exhausting.

[He isn't even attempting to be offensive - it's a genuine remark.

Things like this - interaction, arguing, being... normal-ish, it's so exhausting, and he can't help but say it flat-out in the wake of her voice poking at his brain like a frazzled woodpecker.]

-- Tell me, have they still got the idiom about the pot calling the kettle black?

[ huff. ]

[The inner workings of Max's mind are an enigma.

Case in point: the frustrated, pissy look is abruptly replaced with complete and utter puzzlement, as if he's been completely distracted from his own sour mood by his confusion. He looks at her, an earnestness in his furrowed brow and slightly owlish eyes.]

The pot what?

Edited 2016-04-22 08:04 (UTC)

[ her own mood settles considerably. it's easier to be patient when the crux of conversation is an explanation -- a lesson, of sorts. and it helps that he should so abruptly change from agitated to bewildered. that alone is something of a comfort: whatever had just passed between them, max isn't clinging to like some sort of grudge.

peggy is silently grateful. ]

There is an inherent...hypocrisy, I suppose, if an old black pot kicks up a fuss in calling a kettle black. They're both as sooty as each other. So -- when you called me exhausting just now...

[ she trails off. lets him link the thoughts on his own. ]

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