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(no subject)

Who: Starstruck crew and visitors
Broadcast: None
Action: The SS ~~Trainwreck~~ Starstruck
When: August

[It might be accurate to say that the crew of the Starstruck had spent the majority of the month prior avoiding each other, or people in general, but as we leave the hand holding planet perhaps the crew can get back to normal.

Whatever that means...]

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[ she understands. oh, bloody aunt nora, does she ever understand. there are mornings when she wakes up with a sharp panic in her heart, wondering...is this the day steve leaves? again?

she, too, had thought she had moved on. coming here had undone all of it.

peggy reaches out and tucks a stray strand of hair behind wanda's ear -- motherly, and tender. ]

You needn't tell him. Not until you're ready. [ ... ] It's no sin to keep your own secrets, my dear.

[Wanda's lip quivers slightly, but she still doesn't break. She's cried too much already, and she's determined to try and remain strong this time.]

How- How can I keep it a secret from him? A full year back home since his death... he can already tell that something is different about me. To play like nothing has changed-- it feels like we can never be as close again. As long as there is this secret, we cannot be the siblings we were.

[She shakes her head.]

But how can I tell my own brother of his death? That his sister moved on and lived a full year without him? A year he did not get to have.

[Honestly, if the Avengers had not been willing to take her in, she doubts she would have managed it on her own.]

[ she laces her way through the tension in wanda's words -- the sense that the young woman is trapped between two undesirables. peggy leans back. ]

Would you like someone else to tell him? [ ... ] Not me, of course. That wouldn't be appropriate. He hardly needs some strange batty woman from the past talking about his future. But -- but maybe Captain Rogers could intercede.

[A small grin appears on Wanda's face at that slight bit of self-deprecating humor, but it vanishes just as quickly as it appeared. She is silent for a moment as she considers Peggy's question.]

I... No, I think that would be worse. If he heard it from someone else, would he not resent me for keeping it a secret from him? For trying to hide it from him?

Then, my dear, I believe you have your answer. [ -- sometimes, a conversation simply needed to be walked through. decisions needed to be laid out, and seen for what they were. ] Painful a path as it might be, if you're certain you ought to be the one to tell him?

Then tell him. Before the Atroma allow it to come out by some other means.

[Wanda takes a deep breath, holds it for a moment, and then lets it out slowly. She punctuates it with a slight nod of her head. Peggy's right. She already knew the answer to her question, but... well, it was hard to accept it. Even still, it's hard for her to feel committed to her decision.]

I know it has to be me. And I know I need to tell him soon, but...

[She shakes her head.]

Every time I try to put the words together in my head, nothing sounds right. I still do not have any idea HOW to tell him...

Though, I suppose... there really is no "correct" way, is there?

It'll hurt, no matter how it's said. But I've come to know you -- you'll be brave, all the same.

[ and perhaps she wishes steve could be so brave with her. peggy isn't a fool: she knows she must have died at some point between her own career and the strange future she hears described at the corner of every moment. steve, and jim before him, have been gentle with her. they've only ever told her just enough to satisfy the hungriest edge of her curiousity.

then again, she hasn't asked either. stalemate. ]

[Peggy's compliment gets a small, appreciative smile out of Wanda.]

The truth is... all of it is just my fear of losing him again. Whether it be because he is sent home, something happens to him here... [A bit of a broken sigh as she tries not tear up again.] or he gets so angry with me that he does not want me around him.

[It's true that, while they'd certainly had their little sibling squabbles from time to time, they'd never ever gotten that angry with each other before. But then... they'd never had a secret like this between them before.]

Wanda, you're his sister. [ something pains her deep in her heart -- but she can't quite express it aloud. ] He might be upset at first, but...I can't imagine he would ever abandon you. Once he's told, he may want some space to clear his head, but that won't mean you've lost him.

[ she leans forward. ] May I tell you a secret?

[Wanda listens to Peggy's words, nodding her head as much to show she hears Peggy as it is to try and reassure herself that it won't come to the worst. When Peggy asks her question, however, Wanda looks up, a bit confused but intrigued all the same.]

I never had a twin. [ -- she keeps her words brief, for she has no interest in hijacking wanda's pain. ] But I know what it's like to be someone's sister. To worry, as only a sister can worry.

He's a lucky brother to have so much of your concern and love. Whatever else happens, he'll recognize that. And if he doesn't? [ a shrug. ] Then I will have words with him.

[That brings a bit of a smile back to Wanda's face.]

You have a sibling?

Had. [ she just about manages to rein in the echoic grief in her eyes. she isn't interested in talking about herself, and she's even less inclined to discuss michael. but she needs wanda to understand she doesn't feel her sorrow alone. ] But the war took away a lot of brothers, I imagine.

[ pushing forward: ] He can join us her on the Starstruck, if you like.

[And with that one word, Wanda immediately recognizes the immense degree to which she and Peggy could empathize with one another.]

I am so sorry, Peggy.

[She knows words alone are never really enough to undue that kind of pain, but still she offers them, completely heartfelt, all the same. She then follows Peggy's lead and continues to move the conversation forward.]

I have spoken with him about transferring, and he already said he intends to join us on the Starstruck. I may have to remind him though, as he can be easily distracted already without suddenly finding himself in space.

[ a stiff nod of her head is all the acknowledgement she needs to give towards wanda's sympathy -- the likely both feel it as deeply as one another. time does not necessarily gentle it. ]

Good. I can't have the pair of you split between ships.

[Wanda tries to take on a more playful tone now, attempting to alleviate the heavier mood from earlier.]

Oh? I did not realize it was so important to you that both Pietro and I be on the Starstruck. Trying to keep an eye on us, are you?

It's what he deserves. He called Steve and I the grandparents of the ship.

[At first, Wanda looks a bit surprised by her brother's choice of words; however, her expression quickly shifts to the kind that one makes when they're trying very hard to hold in a fit of the giggles.]

I see. I'm sure he meant it with utmost respect.

Like hell he did. [ LONG-SUFFERING. ] It seems you got all the manners in the family, hm?

[And on that one, Wanda can't hold back a soft giggle.]

Pietro's never been very patient, and that includes with his manners.

That won't do. [ sly-like. she's teasing, honest. ] I'll teach him good manners all on my own, if I have to.

[ -- imagine, if you well, such a lesson from agent peggy carter. ]

You are free to try.

[Wanda's tone is just as teasingly playful. In all honesty though, she would love to be there to watch that.]

I got Steve to shape up, didn't I? Bloody miracle worker, me.

[ hah. as if steve had never been anything but an awkward, polite sort of duckling. and yet she teases in turn. ]

[One of Wanda's eyebrows pops up.]

I did not realize Steve had ever been such a troublemaker.

I stood in as drill sergeant for his crop of recruits when we were weighing candidates. They were all troublemakers, in their own way. [ ... ] He once gave me a tour of Brooklyn: every alley he'd ever been beaten up in.