driftfleet | ship mingle: february is for starstruckers.

Not nearly done.

[ something he's very grateful for. Between their duties, each moment alone is appreciated to the last. He mirrors her earlier gesture, offering her his hand. It's warm and soft and comfortable -- if he ever needed help getting to his feet. ]

[ she pops to her feet. peggy grabs him by the wrist curls her fingers firmly into a grip. and she drags him with her, tugging hard. he's a largish creature, after all, and no delicate yank will do. ]

Down to your skivvies, soldier.

Yes, ma'am.

[ it's breathless and a little lost in laughter spiked by her determined grasp on his wrist. ]

Think it's very deep?

[ asked as he shrugs out of his jacket and pulling his t-shirt over his head. ]

Haven't the foggiest.

[ it might be shallow the whole way -- although she doubts so, if the deepened blue of the water after the shore's stretch is anything to judge by. peggy tosses aside her leather coat (jim gave it to her not last christmas but the christmas before; she treasures it) and starts in on the buttons of a simple cotton shirt. the fabric is stiff and less well-made than her usual stuff, but it was a tactical choice. not a fashionable one.

the same can be said for the plain camisole beneath -- and the straps of an athletic bra on her shoulders. both are standard issue from the fleet's lockers and both are about par for the course with what she wears to bed back on the starstruck. ]

Why? Are you afraid of getting in over your head? [ she teases before tossing her jacket and shirt in a heap by the tent's closest corner. ]

That already happened a long while ago.

[ though perhaps it has gotten worse, now. The lights aboard the starstruck are nothing compared to natural sunlight and if he looks at her for a moment, it's mostly because of that. ]

Found it kinda pleasing.

[ being over his head, that is. ]

[ like the cat with the canary, she hooks her finger along the new necklace's chain and adjusts it to it sits flush on her skin. but then she catches his gaze and -- really? peggy was about to crouch down and unlace her boots, but now she stands with her back to the shore and her hands on her hips.

but she's more amused than anything else. ]

Not what I meant. [ although this does provide her ample opportunity to get a good look at him under these same sunny circumstances. ]

Isn't it?

[ if he doesn't look away from her, it's the result of many nights spent together in bed. Instead, he holds her gaze when her hands move to her hips ( steve lovingly dubs this as her power pose ) and smiles. ]

Could have sworn.

[ she tears her eyes off him and loosens her laces. kicks off her boots. and from thereon in, it's merely a case of shimmying her way out of a pair of standard-issue dull and boring trousers. great for hiking; not great for much else. the grey cotton underwear beneath matches both the camisole and the athletic bra -- and as swimming costumes go, they would have to suffice. ]

Last one in has to build the fire -- [ she challenges, choosing to ignore his sarcasm. peggy turns her back on steve and starts to run for the water's edge. ]

That's one hell of a running start -

[ but he's mostly amused. Apparently, there comes a time when the staring doesn't work in his favor. He shakes his head as she goes, accepts the defeat as he removes his boots and socks, stepping out of his jeans and walking into the water in the simple black boxer shorts the fleet takes care to provide. ]

I'll build you a thousand fires but it's still not fair.

[ she doesn't turn around until the water hits her knees. funny, she hasn't felt quite like this since her school days: free, and fun, and careless. and her school days, coincidentally, house the last time she stripped down and went swimming with such bright-spirited intention. ]

Of course it's fair. You'd win at an even sprint -- I need the element of surprise on my side.

The element of surprise, huh.

[ he nods and for a moment there is just this - a quiet acceptance of a lost match.

But then the moment passes and casually as that he ducks, arms moving beneath her knees to scoop her up as he walks into the deeper water. ]

You're sure about that?

[ the deeper they go, the clearer his intentions become. ]

[ she fails to intercept him. she fails to sidestep. he grabs hold of her -- and all at once she feels the pebbled bottom of the lake stolen out from under her feet. peggy offers up conflicted signals by both grabbing onto him with one hand and thudding a loose fist against his chest with the other.

he wades her deeper and she jack-knifes against him in a concerted effort to free herself from the inevitable. with a spirited snarl: ] Put me down, Rogers. I don't think you really want to do this -- [ like talking a man off a ledge. or a boyfriend back from dunking you in a lake. ]

I actually think I really have to. What was that about the element of surprise?

[ it's all about a fair match, after all. Which is why his counter move is swift and efficient, a moment of gaining leverage that ends with him throwing her in, his bark of laughter echoing around them. ]

[ there is a ~~hilarious~~horrifying moment when she's touching nothing -- not him, not ground, not water. and for a heartbeat it feels like she hovers there in the air (almost as though she's having fun and the augment's glitch betrays it) but she soon after crashes into the water with a splash and a splutter.

she twists under the surface. her toes find purchase in the sandy-stony lake floor and she pushes upwards, bursting out of the water with a shimmy of her shoulders. she's soaked: already, the curls are coming out of her hair.

peggy paws at her eyes. somewhere under all that dripping water, she's smiling. ] You're going to regret that. [ her mascara runs. and although the water slows her down, she charges back at him -- keen to grab him and drag him underneath with her. ]

You should see your face -

[ he's still laughing, shoulders shaking with the force of it. It doesn't stop when he walks back and then sideways, trying to avert her. ]

Oh come on, Peg - it's funny -

[ evidently, he's trying to avoid the payback. ]

[ peggy darts right -- causing a small tidal wave of lake water to crash over steve's torso. all the while, his gift glitters against her neck: perhaps it's because of the sea-creatures who made it, but water seems to only make it all the more brilliant.

at the very least, she catches him by his wrist. and with a yank, she floats nearer to him. ]

I fail to see the humour.

[ go on, steve. tell her what's so funny about her face. ]

Is there anything I can say that will make you back down from this?

[ he takes a moment to wipe away the black mess of her mascara. ]

I promise - it'll all be genuine.

[ she wraps her arms around his waist -- both of them wet from the splashes. but she doesn't rush to drag him order (or at least try to) just yet. ]

Admit your coffee tastes like mud off the bank of the Seine that's been over-boiled and burnt. [ peggy leans upwards -- digging the tips of her toes into the cool dirt of the lakebed -- and kisses him. ]

And do be genuine. As promised.

I can't say I've ever focused so much on mud - especially in Paris.

[ what a thing to ask of him! Terribly cruel. ]

But I can admit the space version of it is pretty bad - cross my heart.

[ -- barnes makes an almost palatable version of the drink, of course, but peggy isn't keen to admit to her secret klatches with steve's best bud. but then again those meetings might be made all the sweeter for the company. she's felt bolstered by her reconciliation with barnes. genuinely pleased. ]

Pretty bad? That's underselling the disappointment. It's godawful. [ she steps backwards, but only while also coaxing him further into the lake along with her. ] The revolution's over and done with, Rogers. You lot won. It's been long enough; you're allowed to switch back to tea, now, and no one will poke fun.

[ not much. ]

All of that from someone who searched through my jacket for the one tea bag I happened to burrow?

[ there is every chance there is a trap here somewhere but he follows her regardless. the water is cool, a fine contrast to the sun that still hangs in the sky. ]

Dunno, Peg. You seem kinda attached.

I know what I like. [ she blurs the context a little -- bobbing backwards as the water-level grows higher and higher against their bodies. ] There's no sin in that.

No harm at all.

[ his nerves are alert, watching out for any sudden movement that might send him into the water. he suspects this is all a clever attempt at a distraction that will end with a rather swift revenge. ]

But how am I supposed to consider switching sides if I can't have any of those tea bags?

[ trying to steal one ended up with it being stolen back, alas. ]

[ by now, the water's up to his sternum. considerably deeper still on her, however, and she knows that makes her the vulnerable one. for the time being. ]

You start with a legitimate desire to defect. [ ... ] I simply haven't seen the honest desire. Not yet. You know, I didn't pack any coffee with our supplies.

Honestly?

[ his palm finds the small of her back again; bare now, enough to make his breath catch. ]

Neither have I.

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