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

[mucked]

Bold strategy: wagering the next date on the current one. Someone's feeling bold. [ and she doesn't much mind. ]

[uprightness]

You know what they say, never do anything by halves.

[ and it has been an advice he somewhat failed on following when it came to this, to him and her, alone like this as they are. at times, it felt selfish, in other times, an old fear - that the steve rogers of the 21st century isn't quite the same man she remembered, that he had made some painful compromises, since, that he has become a shade jaded.

the world’s leading authority on waiting too long, that's how he very accurately defined himself to one bruce banner and it is a bit frustrating, realizing that he had spent days, weeks, years - grieving this loss of her only to fall into the same old dance here.

it's natasha of course, who was the eye opening authority to this entire thing, who moved on from matchmaking randomly chosen women to figuring out steve rogers was still emotionally attached to one very certain woman.

he turns to look at her, all challenge now. ]

so, agent carter. if you win - what's it gonna be?

[mucked]

[ it's a fair question. peggy taps steve gently on his elbow, as though guiding him down one of the narrow alley-ways between two of the generic shops. all of these nook-and-cranny places served bottom-barrel beer and well-shots, but they supplied a smokey atmosphere similar to what she remembered during the war. low-lit pubs and sour ale.

she holds the door open for him for no other reason than she likes to watch his chivalry squirm. ]

If I win? Instead of a coffee date, it'll be dinner. A proper dinner.

[uprightness]

Almost an incentive for me to lose.

[ his frown turns into an arch of both eyebrows. For all that she is unique, she's still a lady and yet he decides to stay silently confused - only god knows why a lady like her will hold the door for a man. Obviously there are things about her he still needs to learn. ]

We have a wager.

[mucked]

Don't you dare throw the match, Rogers -- [ peggy pauses long before the table, if only so she can grab for his hand. not to hold it, per se, but to shake on their bet. ]

[uprightness]

Wouldn't dream of it -

[ and if he holds onto her hand for a moment too long, thumb brushing her knuckles, then what of it? ]

How does this thing even work?

[mucked]

[ -- her eyes linger on his. quick, silent acknowledgement of his affection. but it's all over nearly as quickly as it begins, and she wonders why it makes her feel so flustered. a stray thumb is fairly tame when compared to a few of their kisses since steve arrived. ]

I suppose all the moving parts are prone to theft. So the balls are all fake, and the cues a little more than short batons that taper into hologram tips. It's a lot like your regular game, but the feedback's wonky. And shots do have a tendency to glitch, now and again. It introduces an element of whimsy to the game.

[uprightness]

[ he walks around the table, inspecting the angles, trying to think of a tactic here. it'll be considerably more complicated with the added factor of glitches. whimsy, she said. he picks up one of the make do cues, moves it from hand to hand ]

might make it more interesting.

[ he gestures towards her. ]

ladies first.

[mucked]

Might level the field a little, if I'm lucky. [ she flicks a switch, whirring the machine within the game to life. ] 8-ball or 9-ball?

[ pick your poison. ]

[uprightness]

9 ball.

[ his gaze will shift between her and the holograms themselves; watching the colorful balls spring to life with a smile. Holo-billiards. You learn something new every day. ]

Where did you learn alla that?

[ he can't imagine many English women learning this particular game ]

[mucked]

[ she laughs -- it's a deep, hearty sort of laughter. she and steve have spent so long, now, living on the same ship. she sometimes forgets the funny little assumptions he holds. ]

Same place I learned how to play poker. [ she answers -- only mildly cryptic. ]

[uprightness]

-- you play poker?

[ he wonders how many other things he will find out in time. Peggy seems to be a riddle at times and an endearing one, at that ]

[mucked]

[ peggy manages to survive this moment without glancing his way, for fear she might laugh a little too much. instead, she taps out a few mild commands on the table's console and the balls flicker again -- aligning themselves in a diamond at the far side. ]

I play poker. [ she confirms. ] Don't tell me you're shocked.

[uprightness]

Maybe not shocked. it's just that,

[ it's not even odd. She was never all that traditional and even so - ]

You're really something else, Agent Carter.

[ he can safely say she's really like no one he has ever met. ]

[mucked]

[ with a gentle gesture towards the table, she prompts him to break first. ]

Good Lord. Half the girls at St-Martin-in-the-Fields likely grew up to be women who would eat a soft mark like you alive. [ she smiles -- indulgent, and perhaps it's enough to suggest she doesn't really mean it. ]

[uprightness]

Would they?

[ he smiles at her even when he moves towards the table, choosing an angle and bending over for the shot, balls scattering neatly across the table. The lack of sound is decidedly odd. ]

Luckily for me, I only care for one of them.

[mucked]

[ how quick he turned that table on her -- all at once, she's forced to confront his sincere affection. peggy watches him lean into the first shot. ]

Lucky, lucky you. [ she huffs. not quite capable of explaining that she might be the fortunate one in this instance. ] But not lucky enough, as I see no balls were potted.

[ and so play passes to her. she stalks the edge of the table, considering her best opportunity. ]

[uprightness]

Might have been a bit distracted.

[ it is a game within a game and he might be more invested in the one that goes on between the lines. A dangerous concept, there's the coffee date at stake here, after all. ]

[mucked]

Distracted! [ she chuckles, rolling her eyes as she bends over the cue. admittedly, she doesn't have the clearest line from the white ball to the 1 ball. she draws back the cue. ] Trust me, you'd have noticed if I was trying to distract you.

[ she pops the cue gently forward, and eventually grazes the 1 ball -- as per regulations. but, unfortunately, nothing gets sunk. ]

[uprightness]

That's just it, Peggy.

[ he grins, walks around and coming to a halt after a few paces. Tilting his head, he looks at the 1 ball and leans, sending the white ball to nudge it into a pocket. Straightening up, he looks for number 2 but not without adding ]

You never really need to try.

[mucked]

[ oh, her giddy aunt nora. peggy exhales. her life and career has prepared her for a great many things: war; espionage; adventure. but she's never quite prepared to exchange legitimately flirtatious banter with captain steve rogers. at least, not when he manages to hold his own in the conversation. it's easy enough to needle him when she doesn't anticipate anything more than bluster and blushing -- but now?

she sighs a second time and watches him search out his next shot. ] Well. Can't say I know whether to thank you or smack you.

[ honestly! talking like he is... ]

[uprightness]

I'll make sure to stay away from that cue until you do.

[ he gestures towards her cue with a small smile before trying his luck for the 2-ball, a close shot but not quite it ]

[mucked]

[ she doesn't restrain her smile -- watching him at play. and luckily for her, his failure with the 2-ball works well for her next shot. peggy brushes a piece of loose, unplaited hair behind her ear before leaning into the table. she doesn't overthink her move, tapping the cue ball against the 2. the 2, in turn, taps the 4. and the 4 rolls obediently into the corner pocket. ]

Not too far away, I hope, [ she counters. ]

[uprightness]

No.

[ he should be paying attention to the table. Instead, his eyes follow her fingers as they tuck a curl behind her ear and oh well, a dinner is not a loss at all and if he wraps his arms around her and kiss that exact spot, he has a sure feeling she won't hit him. ]

No, never that.

[mucked]

[ no, he says. never that. her smile persists -- and she wishes this was a conventional table, so she might bide some time chalking the cue's tip. but a hologram doesn't need much chalking. instead, she walks half-way 'round the table and pops the 2-ball close to a side pocket -- but doesn't quite manage to sink it. bugger. ]

Just as well. I doubt a smack would do much good -- you're a little hardier than most.