» video + action

[mucked]

Who: Peggy Carter & YOU
Broadcast: Video, fleetwide.
Action: Sure, on the Starstruck or on the Iskaulit.
When: Right now!!

[ peggy's message is brief, to the point, and probative: ]

Myself and -- [ she never asked natasha if she was on board for having her name fluttered about, willy-nilly, around the fleet's network ] -- Myself and an associate are knocking together a modest firing range on the Iskaulit. A slow-coming venture, but it could have proved a dangerous one and I wanted to be thorough. Given the relative scarcity of both pieces and munitions, it'll work on a strictly bring your own gun basis.

And for the time being, I'd rather not see anyone shooting there without considerable experience of their own. We'll get 'round to beginners, but not yet. Consider it due diligence. On the same note, we'll be choosy about which kinds of rounds can be fired here. The ship is a robust thing, but we'd best not tempt fate.

[ the range itself is not quite in operation, but you're certainly welcome to visit her there. it's in a cramped little quarter of the iskaulit, far away from what anyone could reasonably assume might encompass an inaccessible engine room. peggy spends the rest of the day on the iskaulit doing her level best to soundproof the room itself. eventually, she'll need to consider a locking mechanism of some sort.

later, tired but satisfied with the sweat on her brow, she returns to the starstruck. ]

Comments

[uprightness]

[ it's absolutely awkward.

Steve runs with it because a. It's important to Peggy and b. It's not a bad idea for them to try and move forward from all that happened. He tries not to think about the last time he spent time with the two of them together, Bucky was still young and whole, Peg was wearing red and talked of dancing.

It's not the same atmosphere but he can't help but be grateful for them both, still.

He passes her the dish with a small smile. ]

You know, you'd probably love Chinese take away.

[ all too fondly. ]

[mucked]

[ what teamwork. peggy watches as first the winter soldier nudges the dish, then steve completes its journey. she tips a good heap of its contents onto her plate, inhaling the smell with a longish sniff. ]

There's rarely a better meal found long after the rest of a city is abed than at the chop suey house. That said, being able to pay and abscond with boxes of the stuff has its appeal. [ she's no stranger to the cuisine, even if she knows it best as a quick stop in a part of town with which she's less familiar.

she talks to steve, but she watches the winter soldier. ] I'm sure the advent of the take-home meal greatly benefits the anti-social.

[reconstitution]

[ Bucky keeps to his side of the table, only filling his plate with things within his reach. There's a container of the bird covered in a spicy sauce and some noodles. It's good enough. His drink is mostly untouched, though the whiskey in the center of the table is temping. Better to save it for someone who can enjoy it.

He watches Peggy and Steve interact briefly and barely lingering, and it's nice, but he feels like a third wheel that's not meant to be there.

Say something, it's okay. The familiar, nagging voice at the back of his mind tries to nudge him into being verbal, but he bites his tongue instead. Let them talk, carry the conversation. He'll offer a nod to show he's at least paying attention. ]

[uprightness]

[ it's not that there is something to rebuild here, it's that there is much to mend. not only between Peggy and Bucky at the wake of the last incident, but between Steve and Bucky as well, the weight of all that has happened. Most times he manages to tire him more than help which in turn, can make him try harder and the only one who can break that circle is Steve. He starts giving him his space, accepts the silences and the safe distance that, at times, exists between them. it's wonderful and heartbreaking, having this. As if this world had given him two of the pillars in his life and then sought to hurt them both.

but all of this, all of these burdens, should be put aside, at least for a little while and so, after having only vegetables so far, he reaches for the container as well ]

You know, I've been spending the better part of my day ranching those down at Prairie. The family I work for are very nice, but the lady is getting older and they're tricky to catch.

[ captain america, ranching tallbirds. ]

They have a nasty bite, too.

[mucked]

[ a paragon of usefulness, wherever he goes! peggy stops herself from thinking morality, to boot because morality is a slippery creature. and as much as she feels for steve -- as wholly as she loves him -- she can't quite put her finger down on anything as uncertain as morality. but she can imagine how virtuous he must appear to the masses, or to a ranching matriarch easing beyond her prime.

she raises her glass. ] Here's to the oddity that is the tallbird. And the people it feeds.

[reconstitution]

[ Leave it to Steve Rogers to help old ladies with their yard work.. Of course he managed to find a steady job to busy himself. Now that he has the ability without hacking up a lung, the guy probably eats this stuff up. Bucky doesn't blame him, honestly.

He raises his own glass enough in toast before emptying the small glass. There's nothing for him to add at this point. ]