closed » you're the horizon line -- i'm the last sunset

[mucked]

Who: Peggy Carter & Steve Rogers
Broadcast: Definitely not.
Action: Closed, aboard one of the occasional waypoint stations as the fleet drifts.
When: Mid-afternoon

[ today, peggy decides she's done with nudges and hypotheticals. done with veiled suggestions and unfulfilled promises. she and steve had danced around the concept of going steady; of being official; of committing. they danced around it without ever really dancing at all. he'd made overtures enough, even if his follow-through was rubbish. and she feels a concrete certainty about him, even though her overtures are shite. so, today, it changes. ]

...Steve? [ peggy rapsher knuckles loose against his bunk's doorway. she looks casual (by her standards) with her hair plaited and her sleeves rolled up. she watches him from the threshold, tilting her head with a flicker of affectionate admiration. ] Let's get out of here for the rest of the day. Just us.

[ although she doesn't use the word 'date', she decides it's been suggested often enough that she needn't so crassly underline her intentions in this very moment. to do so would surely insult his intelligence.

...right? ]

Comments

[uprightness]

[ it's one of the slower days that come after the hectic stay at a planet. there are still things to be done, there are still concerns - wanda, tony, the fact that Sam is gone. There is little point in checking the weaponry for the third time that day and so, there is time for reading.

He'll place the book down as soon as the knock comes, rise from his seat, a smile working its way to his lips, an instinct by now. ]

Hey -

[ just us, she says and he doesn't even reach back for his jacket. ]

Where to?

[mucked]

One of the way-stations, while it's still in range of the shuttles. [ peggy doesn't often bother with them, mostly because they can be a bit depressing. too much space with not enough people. everything's automated.

that said, she figures a day out might be made worthwhile with captain america as company. ]

Thought it might take our mind off...things. [ her smile is only half-present. and maybe reassure ms. romanoff that her talents aren't being wasted all day haranguing the pair of us. ]

[uprightness]

You know, I've never been.

[ no time like the present, especially when she is right. it doesn't seem to be entirely serene on the fleet, there are always shadows to banish and it's always easier when it comes to the time he spends with her. ]

Think we'll reach a new planet sometime soon?

[ said as he he closes the door after them, falls into a leisurely pace at her side. ]

[mucked]

We might do. [ she doesn't detour to gather anything -- choosing, instead, to bee-line for the shuttle bay. ] We likely will. Who knows what it'll bring with it, so I thought...

[ her pace increases by fractions, as though she doesn't care to make eye contact at this point in the conversation. ] I thought we'd best take what enjoyment we can, while we can.

[ someone else's argument. it sounds strange in her mouth, but it doesn't sound wrong. ]

[uprightness]

A good thought.

[ his smile is a tad curious she is somewhat different today, there is a different sort of confidence here and now but he accepts it as it is. ]

These travels between planets always seem to take so long, might as well have something to look forward to.

[ and being whisked away by her seems to fit the category quite nicely. ]

[mucked]

[ by rote, she keys in a quick code for the shuttle bay and the doors slide smoothly open. ]

These travels always seem too much like the army -- a damn lot of hurrying up to do nothing.

[uprightness]

The food is equally bad, too.

[ he and bucky had tried to determine what was worse and came up at a disagreement so a tie it ended up being. ]

Gotta say the planets are interesting. When I thought about traveling someday, I never figured it would be that far.

[ and still. a rather fascinating experience ]

[mucked]

[ a snort of laughter -- and then she selects a shuttle for their journey. as always, she conspicuously avoids the one that more or less 'belongs' to max. ]

Was travelling something you've always wanted to do, then? [ she startles herself with the question -- not because she's asked it, because nosiness comes naturally to her. but because she realizes the upside to all this steady dating might be found in an opportunity to learn more about him. to dig deeper below the soldier she saw on the battlefield. ]

[uprightness]

Always thought about it. I'd read about all these places, figured it might be nice to see how other people live. I figured, maybe some day.

[ at first it was after the war ends and then, well, just living in new york felt like a long journey of exploration. ]

And then here, you know, all these planets and the people - on the fleet. They all have their own stories to tell.

[mucked]

You romanticize them, Steve. Likely shouldn't do that. [ peggy takes dibs on the pilot's seat, not least of all because neither of them have a pilot's augment. either way, they'll be letting the on-board computer do the steering. ] These planets we visit. The people. They're all very fascinating, but -- one assumes the stops are by design. And not our design.

[uprightness]

They're not. Likely it's all the Atroma, but I'm not sure these people are a side to that. Everywhere we've been so far they were simple people, hard-working. They could be working with the Atroma or they're just - there for the setting.

[ he wrings his hands, smiles a bit ]

I guess I just wanna give someone around here beside us the benefit of the doubt.

[mucked]

[ heavens, but it's a good thing he's as strong as he is -- as sturdy as he is. because peggy thinks a man as open and as generous with his doubt as steve might otherwise be eaten alive by any world. modern, alien, or otherwise.

she flips a switch and the shuttle ticks over, humming happily to life. ]

I don't even like giving us the benefit of the doubt. [ other members of the flet, she means. ] But I suppose the universe needs your perspective as much as it needs anyone else's.

[uprightness]

I guess that's the one good thing about having all of us here. Keep each other in check.

[ and very few people have given him as many good advice as she had over their time together. ]

[mucked]

Admittedly, it's worked better than I might have first anticipated. No laws, a jumble of pre-conceived norms, and many minds under stress. [ ... ] Everyone gets understandably out of joint when there's some sort of flare-up, but I'm surprised there aren't more. Frankly.

[uprightness]

Maybe it's the crews - doing a good job of calming each other down. Especially the newer people. Those first days are important.

[ there is a shade of a grin there. Does he remember the welcome she gave him? Yep. ]

[mucked]

-- Is that an opinion based in experience, Captain?

[ she looks askance just long enough to catch a glimmer of his grin. cheeky bastard. ] Fond of your warm welcome, are you?

[uprightness]

All too fond.

[ and there it is, hint becomes fact and he's downright grinning at her. Very pleased with himself, this one.]

That can't be a surprise.

[mucked]

[ gently, and with her eyes on the stars ahead: ] A surprise? No. But it's nice to hear it said all the same. [ ... ] I was rather fond of your arrival, myself.

[uprightness]

[ odd, he thinks, that he never told her that before. Perhaps the tip toeing around this, her and him, was what kept it all at bay. He reaches to her side, takes her hand in his, entwines their fingers together. ]

It's been months since.

[ that odd day on a dying moon, an old fashioned kiss to her palm that led way to a more meaningful one. ]

I could never regret it.

[ coming here, despite of everything ]

[mucked]

Funny sort of circumstance, isn't it? [ but that goes without saying, so must merely be biding time as she comes to grips with how he so readily takes her hand. they've lived in a liminal space for so long, now. ]

I forgot I could ever be so...content. I suppose that's the only way to say it. It's not as though the war left much room for it, but there were moments -- [ oh, some days she utterly hates being honest. it always stings. ] There were good moments.

[uprightness]

Yes, there were.

[ and maybe that is why adjusting to the time he woke up at was so difficult. He remembers them too vividly, too clearly. To some, they happened seventy long years ago but to him, they've always been too close. He remembers exactly how she looked on the rainy day when she renewed his convictions, remembers the exact shade of red on the dress she wore. It was never too far away, never a long time ago. ]

Made it all a bit easier.

[mucked]

[ easier. it's a small word for a large concept. peggy adjusts her palms against the shuttle's controls -- although it isn't as if she was actually controlling the vessel. but it offers her some semblance of control. his optimism awes her, and she wishes she could access it as readily as he could.

so long as he is at her side, optimism grows all the more in reach. ]

Listen to us -- reminiscing like two people far older than we truly are. [ a shake of her head. a signal to move on. ]

[uprightness]

Gotta watch it there before they start calling you a fossil, too.

[ it's 100% teasing; he rather doubts anyone will dare. steve likes to think that his team has basic survival instincts in them somewhere. ]

alright - so what are these way stations like?

[mucked]

Sparse. Cheap. A real make-do sort of place, but it's better than nothing. [ she pretends as though she has some sort of say in the docking of the shuttle, but really it's all automated. there's a temperamental rumble as the shuttle shuts off.

she unbuckles the belts fastening her into place and stoops while she stands to exit the shuttle. ] We'll make it work. You and I.

[uprightness]

Gotta say I'm curious now.

[ he rises, falls to his usual place at her side. there is a certain buzz of happiness when she says it, you and I, not in an overly emotional way but in a practical sort of manner which is better, somehow. walking into the ring, he arches an eyebrow. ]

huh.

[ it's a shopping mall of a sort - there is a little smile there as he looks around, peeks out to the courtyard ]

you really hit the nail on the head with sparse but I gotta say,

[ he looks up, to the vast stretch of space and stars above ]

they do have one hell of a view.