driftfleet | ship mingle: february is for starstruckers.

Funny that you ask.

[ and so casually, at that. he should have been used to all of this mischief but it is what it is. he eyes her for a moment before counting the facts on the fingers of his left hand. ]

I don't talk in my sleep, if I dream it's about you not all about - items and you did that on purpose.

[ with a light touch, she takes hold of his counting fingers. she holds them firm against her palm -- converting his commitment to the truth into a little burst of affection. peggy's smile doesn't fade. ]

I did that on purpose. [ a frank and honest answer. ] Yes.

[ he doesn't try to count any more facts, lets her catch his fingers without any further comment. there is little point in protesting when they're chasing each others' touch like this. ]

So actually,

[ if they're being honest. ]

It's really your fault I was late.

Actually -- [ she mimics his tone ] -- you made better time than I thought you might.

Only to prove a point.

[ and he had partly failed in that. proving a point would be not taking his time at all. instead, curiosity got the better of him.

still - ]

How long did you think I was going to take?

No. [ peggy shakes her head. ] Not telling. You don't get to know everything -- [ as if for any moment of any day she ever made it seem as though that wasn't the case. she's always kept secrets. good ones and bad. ]

Although -- what did you end up bringing along?

You'll have to find out for yourself.

[ he counters. It's as natural as that, this back and forth, part banter and mostly flirting. Steve doesn't think he can win this but he can at least try to hold his own. ]

If you're not telling, I'm not telling.

Crumbs -- [ such insincere disappointment. his counter-argument doesn't do much to dampen her spirits, it seems. admittedly, not much could. ] Perhaps I ought to guess. Did you pack the red set? [ ... ] The red set's nice.

[ she lifts her chin and digs in her heels. so to speak. ]

[ some weeks ago this might have been a winning move but this time, determined not to lose so easily, steve steels his nerves and pushes away about two dozen mental pictures ( he rather likes red on her, always has).

He smiles, takes a step closer and presses a short, loving kiss to her jaw. ]

No.

[ no, not that one. No, he's not falling for this ploy. ]

[ heaven help her, he's gone from calling her earlier bluff to raising the stakes. peggy turns her cheek -- as though inviting his kiss. ]

The blue, then. It's a lovely dark blue. [ one might even think the array of colours had been bent towards a theme. ]

Edited 2017-02-16 23:43 (UTC)

[ it's all mighty difficult. He harbored many such thoughts at the hotel but until today, he mostly succeeded in putting all those thoughts of these particular items aside, thinking they stayed behind.

But as it turns out, they didn't and steve knows it should have been Peggy's winning card but perhaps everything is still open. Hoping to beat Peggy Carter at her own game is reckless at best, but not entirely impossible.

He hums, as if he's trying to remember. His next kiss is pressed just beneath her ear. ]

No. But it is nice.

[ the trouble with inviting him into her bed -- and allowing him to sidetrack her in the mornings with a cuddle and a kiss -- is that he must have begun to catalog all the places and all the spots and all the little hidden hollows where she likes to be kissed. this particular one makes her exhale audible. ]

I hope it wasn't the white. [ her palm finds the small of his back. instead of rebuffing his moves, she chooses instead to anchor them together. ] Because I prefer the black.

[ in addition to a patriotic sense of humour, the red, the white, and the blue sets all had a modern sensibility to them. structured, but skimpy when compared to the classic lines and trappings of the black lingerie. ]

No.

[ he stays where he is for a moment, swallowing as he chases away a myriad of thoughts ( has she worn them already? ) and all the while soaking up her warmth, the distant scent of her perfume and that single, louder breath. ]

Not the white one.

[ at the very least, there is pleasure in knowing he didn't get it wrong. ]

[ her smile says enough -- although there's a moment when she gives in to the temptation to bite down on her bottom lip. it's a flicker of hesitation in a conversation otherwise characterized by confidence. she uncurls her hand from around his fingers just long enough to lace their together instead. ]

So you did bring something. [ she has her answer, in the end. ]

You said a change of clothes.

[ he reminds her. And say what you will, one thing remains a fact: ]

I'm pretty good at following directions.

You're good at following directions as you want them to be followed. I'd say the odds were about fifty-fifty on you showing up with only the most camping-appropriate attire in tow. Because there's nothing rugged or outdoorsy about the black set.

[ which means he made choice. and where there's choice, there's want. ]

Well you know, you could have made it a neat hundred.

[ and so easily at that! Perhaps a bit too easily. ]

Next time tell me which ones to pack.

[ but he's beginning to suspect this was all a test of some sort. If he succeeded or failed remains to be seen. ]

Next time? [ she turns her head and kisses his cheek. quick, and almost perfunctory. ] I will. That's a promise.

[ a promise that there will be a next time; that she'll give directions; that this won't be the last 24-hour period where they're allowed to abscond a little from their duties and spend time together.

in that respect, their time at the hotel had done them wonders. ]

[ it's a daring concept, promising anything under the fleet's fragile circumstances. at the end of the day, however, it's exactly that which makes him happy. if only because he realizes that it could all have been different if they were held back by it all, fate and the atroma and the what ifs.

as it is, it's a promise and one that he's glad to accept. ]

You promise? clear directions?

[ no ambivalence and odd codes. ]

[ she slides her palm away from his back -- only so she can hold it up as though taking an oath. ]

I give my word, Steve Rogers, that next time I'll tell you exactly what I want.

[ -- and she doesn't hide how much of a double-edged sword that might be. except now she's retreating by a step and sitting down in the lush green grass, inviting him to join her on the ground. there's a whole strange and beautiful sky to witness. ]

You make it sound so ominous.

[ by right, he should be a bit worried by how it all turned out but the day is too nice and the sun is too warm and he figures that peggy carter will always be three steps ahead of him anyway.

he sits by her side but a moment later lies down, folding both arms behind his head. ]

Dunno how you manage it.

[ she cants her head against the crook of his arm -- glad to use him as a cushion. ]

How I manage what?

[ genuine curiousity. after the little back-and-forth about her lingerie, her urge to challenge him seems to have settled into a pleasant camaraderie. ]

You always win.

[ honestly, he might have gotten better at holding his own against her without being reduced to a babbling mess but winning against her seems like a rather far-fetched aspiration.

he turns his head and smiles. this, here, some would view as complicated when in reality, it feels simple and gratifying. ]

Dunno how you do it.

I don't always win -- [ she replies. but she says it with just enough of a conciliatory tone to suggest she's being sportsmanlike. peggy rolls onto her side to face him and tucks her fingers under his upper arm. ] And you're holding your own more than you used to. Don't think I haven't noticed.

[ a drop of praise, then, before the clincher: ] Besides. Tell me, does it ever feel as though you've lost when I've won?

[ peggy suspects not. those aren't the sorts of victories she chases with him. not any more. ]

No.

[ it's an easy truth to admit to, especially now, when they're face to face like this. it's a quiet, breathless moment. he and Peggy has been an almost for so long that simply being like this, inches away from one another, is enough to make him release the breath that he's been holding and confess, once more, ]

Not at all.

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