driftfleet | ship mingle: february is for starstruckers.

[ -- 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.

[ -- back in the london bunker, a few years back, she'd pass within reach of him with casual frequency. both in uniform and going about their duties: marking maps and moving pieces and her always trying to glean every bit of intel from his remarkable memory. well, nobody's perfect, she'd once told him.

but she's realized there might be someone perfect for her. a right partner, and here he is. they've danced and they've kissed and they've lived side-by-side these past months, but the realization still (even now) takes her breath away. peggy doesn't shy from feeling the planes of his sides with her open hands: abs to obliques to the edge of his ribs. ]

Bit short-sighted of you, don't you think? [ peggy's standing so close that she's nearly stepping on his toes. ]

Maybe.

[ caffeine, much like alcohol, no longer leaves an effect and it's force of habit that has him favor it so much.

but if he had to, he might not have been able to explain all of this, at present., given how close they are. ]

I think I can live without for one day.

There's the spirit. [ peggy doesn't seem to be making any moves. trying any tricks. that, or she's biding her time. ] In the interest of fairness, I didn't bring any tea either. Just good clean water.

And isn't that a bit short-sighted?

[ he had gone and ruined her well-kept curls and her make up but just now, steve finds her especially enticing, if only because of how well relaxation suits her. It's as if his little daring act had washed away some of that infamous professionalism. ]

And if you'll get cold?

[ -- and if she gets cold? ]

Well. [ she squares her shoulders and pulls him (gently! affectionately!) against her. ] It's a good thing you run hot, then, isn't it?

[ a fierce metabolism does more than just inhibit his ability to get drunk, after all. ]

I guess it must be.

[ he's utterly distracted and well-aware of that fact. He runs his fingers over the moist cotton of her shirt, walks them up - following the invisible line of her spine.

She's planning something and steve readily falls into what must be some sort of a trap. Trying to diffuse her, he pushes a wet strand of hair away from her cheek, lets his touch linger there. ]

Whenever you need me.

[ it's cruel, perhaps, to loose the same coquettish seductive force on steve that's been used countless times on black market fences, on enemy agents, on unsuspecting bouncers, on obstacles. but as she feels the flat of her palms against his wet skin, she decides it's far less cruel when her words come edged with truth. ]

Forget need. [ her bare toes flex -- feet ready to 'spring' into action in a moment or two. ] What about when I want you?

[ her voice is low. honeyed. ]

[ she weaves a web for him and he goes willingly. There is a grand purpose here but if this is the way steve rogers gets pulled under, he's willing to accept it. ]

Then, too.

[ he decides, perhaps as a counter move, to tug her a little closer, to urge her, ]

Well go on - do your best.

[ a way of stating he's a rather knowing, willing recipient of what he knows will be an ambush. ]

[ she's got plenty of reasons to be disappointed -- few people enjoy their ruses being uncovered, after all. but there's something rather compelling in his challenge. more compelling still for how knowingly he issues it. peggy laughs and it's little more than a sound beneath her breath.

she kisses him. and soundly. peggy shares the fresh taste of lake water on her lips and grips his sides even as she sweeps a foot underneath him: she goes for his legs and counts on the water to mitigate his steady, solid mass. fingers tightening on his muscle, she attempts to chuck him sideways.

but it's alright if it fails; it's only plan a. ]

[ he may have been confident in telling her he can see the trap she had set for him but absurdly, he's still surprised. He had expected a firm push against his shoulders, had readied himself for her palms giving him a nudge and sending him underwater.

But when she kisses him, he still leans into it, still eagerly parts his lips to deepen it and the kiss ends as abruptly as that with a loss of leverage and suddenly, water.

He emerges with a rather loud splash, shaking water out of his hair. ]

-- Gotta say I didn't see it coming.

That's not true. [ there's a high flush on her cheeks -- hard to say, however, whether it's because of the kiss or her small victory. peggy eases her way into deeper water until she's treading to keep herself afloat. ] You saw something. A cynic would suggest you gave that one to me. A freebie.

I saw the end, not the means.

[ he wipes a hand over his face and eyes her. Indulgently - ]

Can I have the rest of my kiss back?

Certainly. [ ... ] Come and get it.

[ now here is something worth pursuing. He sighs, follows her into clear, deeper water, quick and agile and all too eager to catch up with her and lay claim to the kiss she offers. ]

And you'll let me have it without pushing me in again?

[ she floats a moment on her back -- not quite as agile as him, it seems, in the water. but confident enough that agility seems to be an afterthought. peggy hems and haws and concedes: ]

I promise I won't push.

Or topple.

[ he challenges. Peggy's wording is always intentional. A promise to avoid pushing doesn't necessarily mean she won't try to send him underwater in various, other ways. ]

Or kick.

[ he might be leaving something out. he may have an advantage in strength but she's creative in her attempts to work around that, after all. ]

Or topple. Or kick. [ she pauses a moment -- frowning. ] Or pull or tug or flip or trip or...shall I pop back to the fleet and fetch a thesaurus?

[ the trick is that there is no trick. not this time. after all, it had started out as a jolly good kiss. she wants the second half about as much as he does. ]

Never thought you'd need one.

[ he firmly believes her vocabulary is vaster than the rest of the them put together. some of the words she uses he never stumbled across before. he has a firm suspicion some of those idioms aren't even real. ]

I like to think you know most of the synonyms out there.

[ careful, steve. she's dangerously close to laughing. ]

Your faith is astounding. [ ... ] And a little dangerous.

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