ship mingle: february is for starstruckers.

[mucked]

Who: Crew of the Starstruck
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Y, aboard the ship
When: All month

[ welcome to february. y'all know the drill. ]

Comments

[uprightness]

It's been a while -

[ since he had last thought of them. he remembers the uniforms at the museum and every now and then, his thoughts still stray. It's something that happens less and less. some would say it's a good thing, a sign of moving on.

For Steve, it's mostly a sign that he's been busy. ]

Were they mostly sober?

[mucked]

We started that way. [ an impish smile. notably, nothing floats around her -- perhaps because she's harbouring some pieces of the story like a secret. junior juniper's death, for one, despite the fact that steve was in the ice when the young man joined the howlies. ] I met up with them in Russia -- brought the bourbon myself. Can't come to Dugan empty handed, you know.

Took some the SSR agents along with us. Showed them how it's done.

[uprightness]

Russia?

[ That's a rather chilly camping trip. or more accurately, a mission. SSR agents, the Commandos. It's a missing piece of a history of people he cares about and for a change, it's a source of comfort, not grief. ]

Well if anybody can.

[ show them how. ]

[mucked]

[ she doesn't bother explaining how it was the same mission that brought her to the red room academy -- one of them -- or the same mission where she recovered a leviathan agent masquerading as a prisoner. some details aren't worth souring their expedition. ]

We talked about you. [ a half-smile. the map on the dashboard twitches. ] There aren't many left I can do that with.

[uprightness]

Not many would understand.

[ that much he get, at his own end. there may be those who'd like to think they knew what sort of connection he and her had but that would always be exaggerated and dramatic and far from the truth. But then there are the commandos, there's Stark.

For him, there's Bucky. A pillar, someone who knew. ]

I know.

[mucked]

[ what would cap say if i left his best girl behind? dugan had asked in the middle of a firefight. the memory used to be more bitter than sweet -- but now, with steve sitting next to her, it's hard not to consider the question a little more fondly.

the map's corner flutters as though caught by a light breeze. ]

Not many do, no. [ a relaxed huff. ] I don't mind. Some memories are best kept to ourselves. Maybe.

[uprightness]

Maybe?

[ he watches the view for a moment. funny, everything he went through but he has no trouble with the quinjet nor with the shuttle. some things left unseen scars but not enough to make flying uncomfortable. ]

Why maybe?

[mucked]

Because, I suppose, I can no longer feel certain about what being back there -- and being without these memories -- feels like. As I sit here and think about it, I imagine I'm much more comfortable with the notion of -- of talking about you. With others.

[ but some day she'll go back to '47. ] It won't always be that way.

[uprightness]

One thing I learned for sure after everything that happened.

[ the war and then 2012 and loki and ultron and finding bucky again. ]

I can never really know what's gonna happen. Not here but not where I came from either. Things change and somehow - when they change, it's never subtle.

[ another timeline, another war, another world. ]

It may not always be that way but I'm glad it is.

[mucked]

-- We've both had a lot to learn about seizing our chances. [ as concessions go, it's mild. deep down, she understands that returning home will mean once again repressing this part of her: the part which loves him eagerly and whole-heartedly. at least until she's blessed with the opportunity to see him again in the autumn of her life. ]

All the more vital, then, that we should seize this one. [ then, after a beat, she adds: ] I think the water's good for swimming.

[uprightness]

Haven't done that in years.

[ and it's a good chance to seize, especially today and especially with her. ]

Not since Bucky and I would take the train to Coney Island and Rockaway Beach and spend a day there in the summer.

[mucked]

Sounds lovely, Steve. [ she could tell him about the swimming pool at howard's house in california -- but, honestly? she'd rather hear about steve's fond memories. ] How often would the two of you get the opportunity?

[uprightness]

Only a few times every summer. Money was tight but those trips were good. We'd sit in the sun - Bucky would always find a girl to try and impress. We talked about it back home, the money he blew trying to win a stuffed bear once.

[ those were other times, another life, almost. ]

[mucked]

[ of course bucky would. once upon a time, she'd been prone to roll her eyes at the notion of bucky barnes playing casanova -- but lately? she would be glad to see him reach peak howard levels of obnoxious if it meant dragging him further out of hydra's darkness.

peggy turns her head and watches him while they fly. ] So that's what Bucky would do. What about you?

[ she knows he's not likely to have chased girls -- but he must have passed his time by the seaside somehow. ]

[uprightness]

I could sit in the sun for hours. You know - winters usually meant staying inside. I'd watch the ocean and swim and draw and read, sometimes. It was nice. The lights would come out at night and it was quite a view.

[ he cants his head to look at her and smiles. ]

I loved the ferris wheel.

[mucked]

-- Would you burn?

[ she asks, mindful of his complexion. peggy wouldn't be surprised if the serum somehow cured him of that inconvenience, too, but it occurs to her she knows so little about the real substance of his youth. all she knows for certain are what the reports told her.

she happily craves that information now -- watching him instead of the map as it starts to float a fraction of an inch in the air. ]

[uprightness]

All the time.

[ he nods, doesn't bite back the bark of laughter that slips out at her question. ]

Red as a tomato unless I'd renew my sunscreen every couple of hours. I didn't mind it that much. The open air and sun were worth it. Always loved them, still do.

[ he smiles a little at the sight of the map but says nothing. ]

[mucked]

I would've liked to have seen it. [ him, tomato red. but happy in the bright day. she ignores the map and watches him. ] Seen you. I suppose today'll suffice.

[ suffice. as if she isn't entirely invested in today's fieldtrip. ]

[uprightness]

I think you have.

[ he counters, looks ahead at rivers and green woods and mountains and valleys. ]

That happens a lot around you.

[ the red flush that creeps along his cheeks and neck and at times, the tips of his ears. ]

[mucked]

[ -- a soft breath. peggy tries harder to ignore how the map floats a little higher, along with how she herself starts to feel lifted out of the passenger seat. thank god for the seatbelt, she decides, and she grabs the shuttle wall. ]

Different kind of flush, I'm afraid.

[uprightness]

That it is.

[ just as warm, however; and as welcome as the sun itself. He's getting better at this and yet sometimes, she still takes him by surprise. ]

Getting closer, now?

[mucked]

There's a clearing in the woods. Just --- just there. [ she bats at the floating map with a mild bit of grumbling which, ultimately, causes the chart to sink anyway. peggy points ahead, indicating a spot past the shuttle's heads-up display. ] Just next to that bit at the base of the mountain. That's where we'll land.

[uprightness]

I see. Careful - we don't wanna lose it.

[ the map, that is. The floating and the grumbling he finds mostly adorable. ]

Unless there's a second copy somewhere.

[mucked]

[ AHEM. she puts a sharp fold back into the map and holds it tight between two fingers. ]

We're not going to lose it. [ i'm not going to lose it.

don't you even dare, steve rogers. ]

[uprightness]

Hey, it could have been worse.

[ he reasons, biting back a grin. ]

Could have been both of us. We'd get nothing done, then.

[ at the very least now with only one of them making things float, things are relatively stable and well, down to earth ]