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Who: Peggy Carter, some rumours, and you!
Broadcast: text, then video.
Action: y, aboard the starstruck.
When: today!

[ a message materializes on the network around midday: ]

Peggy Carter's got a veritable guy-pile of suitors: Edwin Jarvis, Max Rockatansky, Jason Wilkes, Jack Thompson, Howard Stark, Stefan Salvatore, Steve Rogers, Sam Winchester, James Barnes, Clint Barton, Daniel Sousa, and counting! How many more can you name?

[ and not long after (in a state of utter pique and dismay), that same network registers a rather heartfelt reaction -- but this time with accompanying wide-eyed video. ] Jack -- Jack Thompson? Un-bloody-likely. The only thing he's ever got his eyes on is the next greasy rung on the ladder. [ peggy scoffs, disgusted. ] As pranks go, this one's been truly shambolic. The first of April was days ago.

[ in a few hours, she'll enjoy her meltdown all over again when she finds a box of sponsor gifts in the cargo bay filled with stickers, each with a different so-called suitor's name scribbled into the blank space. all of them are filled in except for an ominous pile with an attached note: in case there's so many you start to forget their names. blanks included for any others that we might have missed. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ he gets the first hit: a minuscule sticker sticker-dart taps the back of her neck with the smallest of stings -- and peggy freezes for only a moment before clambering up onto the crates. she balances herself with care (and with a wobble, too, because he's right: these aren't all that stable.) ]

I'll manage, [ she promises him before lifting her makeshift shield and using her fingertips to flick a little vicious 'throwing star' down at his head. ]

Really?

[ is she throwing stars at him? ]

I could have given you the real one if you asked.

[ it's not that he's using that shield, anyway. ]

[ she towers above him, now, thanks to the crates. peggy grins from around the poorly-shaped corner of her shield. ]

Didn't have the time to ask, did I? [ a wobble; a successful attempt to steady herself. ]

Peggy you'll fall -

[ he almost reaches for her but stops just short of. ]

Consider this my permission for next time. Are you going to come down?

Oh, hogwash. I'm not going to fall -- [ another wobble. ] And if I do? I'll be fine. I've fallen from further. [ peggy's tone is just a little too jaunty. ] And I don't see any pesky rebar sticking out down there to cause any problems this time.

[ she feels perfectly safe, if not perfectly secure.

so she lowers the shield and snaps off another throwing star at his head. ]

You'd have a whole other problem. You fall - I catch you; and if I catch you, I win.

[ and the idea is already growing on him. ]

Really?

[ as the star hits. ]

alright -

[ he sets to make the climb difficult, shooting one ball after another. ]

Then I suppose I'd -- [ crap, she dashes leftward to avoid the first ball but the next hits her square between the shoulder blades. she needs to make to the top of the next crate and soon. abandoning her throwing stars (for the moment) she puts both hands to the job of hauling herself onto the top of the squat tower. ]

I suppose I'd better not fall.

On top of crates in heels?

[ he takes a step back, tries to work out a strategy to bring her down and safely before aiming another ball at her direction. ]

Dunno. I'm beginning to like my chances.

[ he's luring her, but of course he does. it's a favorite tactic of his if only because it's mostly a flirt and less of a tease. ]

[ she stands -- with effort, admittedly -- and hurls down her challenge: ] I've done far dicier things in heels, darling. Far dicier than this. Thanks for making yourself a better target, though.

[ because he'd stepped back, she launches another throwing star in his direction. ]

[ he sucks, just in time and shakes his head. ]

You can't stay up there forever. eventually, you'll need to come down.

[ and at least he can keep on the move, circling around her. ]

Oh, I don't know. [ she eyes the distance between herself and a neighbouring shuttle. the jump would be a big one, sure, but she's been hitting the gym mats harder than usual these past few months -- always with the goal of being a better match for him in moments like these. ]

You're far too clever to actually believe there's only one possible way out of this.

Is there any point in me asking you not to do anything too risky?

[ he already knows the answer to that and loves her for it, but it's always worth asking. ]

[ this? risky? pah! she knows he knows this is barely a risk at all. ]

Not so long as complying also means losing our little match, Steve. [ she takes a few steps back. a lead-in, so to speak, for a leap. ]

Not so little anymore.

[ she moves, he moves with her, walking forward while she walks back. One slip and he could catch her and end this. He knows better, Peggy Carter isn't one to slip. ]

What makes you think I won't catch you mid-jump?

[ is he giving her his future plans or simply presents these challenges to her to see what she'll make of them? ]

Go ahead and try. But if you want to win, you'll have to keep me caught.

[ the crates shift uneasily underfoot as she takes her run up to the jump, leaping for the adjacent shuttle's roof with a grunt. he's welcome to try and take her down, but she makes a point of throwing the whole cardboard shield down at him when she gains air -- a minor, quibbling distraction.

not guaranteed to stop him, she knows. ]

[ and here lies the trouble. he wouldn't have hesitated were she an enemy but here - taking her down might mean an unbalanced landing which could mean a knock on the head or a split lip and steve loves this woman fiercely, so fiercely that he won't risk her getting hurt, not even for the purpose of a quick victory.

he does catch the shield, and rather effortlessly. ]

Thanks for that.

[ she hits the edge of the shuttle's roof hard, certainly, but not hard enough to wind her. peggy scrabbles to gain purchase on the metal, hanging there rather precariously for a few moments before hauling herself upward with a bone-deep groan.

this platform is much sturdier. she ducks into a low crouch, but not so low that she can't smirk at him. ]

It's not the toughest build. You'll be lucky if you get one toss out of it.

I've worked with less. Maybe one toss is all I'll need.

[ he's smiling, however, and not without a large amount of admiration. People around here are so used to enhanced everything but Peggy Carter can fight her wars with the best of them and in those heels.

there is a split second when he just stares at her before clearing his throat. right, battle. ]

Alright, then, you tosser. [ a moment while she preens over her wordplay. ] Do your worst.

[ for her part, she's eyeing her best options. if need be, she can slip behind the shuttle and make a break for it on foot. or be truly dastardly and slip into the shuttle, instead, because she knows just about every single hidey-hole where max has stashed spare weaponry. even just some brass knuckles might make him think twice about rushing her -- despite their mutual desire not to hurt one another.

whatever move she makes, she waits on his overture first. ]

[ there won't be any winning against her if continues to pull all of his punches. he sighs, long-suffering and simply accepts his fate for what it is.

he can't beat her, from where he is, after all. they'll need equal ground for that and if she's not coming down, well.

when steve moves, it's all quick and precise, the only thing he needs is a bit of height and leverage, after all. a kick to one of the crates sends one tumbling down but he's already jumping upwards, using it as a sort of mid-air step before he makes the jump and lands just behind her. ]

You know, I can tell an insult when I see one.

[ even if it is in his Majesty's English. ]

[ heaven help her, but he's remarkable. it's her turn to be dumbstruck -- a little dazed -- and admiring while she watches him make such easy, short work of a more difficult jump. better, still, than all the grainy film footage left to the ssr archives in the wake of the war.

peggy bites down on a smile while she whirls 'round on a heel. curls bounce, and she faces him head-on. fists up. ]

You know, you'll be cleaning that up once we're done.

You already said that.

[ he shrug is easy and carefree even though he's on alert. sparring had made him quite familiar with peggy's right hook. he'd avoid it, if he could. now if he can just reach her legs, it might be the end of it. ]

and I've already agreed.

And yet you insist on still making a mess. [ a puff of her cheeks. delicate never was his m.o., in battle. peggy keeps her fists up, but she backs towards the far edge of the shuttle's roof -- baiting him towards her, rather than foolishly rushing the bull. ]

Hey, if I'm the one cleaning it.

[ might as well, right? he follows her, aware of what the general plan is. she'll get him close enough in range before she attacks. but then, he goes because he knows she'll stall until he comes in range. Better humor her now than waiting when the end result will e the same.

he won't push her back but if he can drag her forward. he reaches for her, trying to catch her around the middle. ]

[ he's got weaknesses, sure. and his distaste for seeing her get hurt is one of them. peggy knows she still can't win in a head-to-head competition, or chase, or game of modified dodgeball. but she might be able to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat if she can (even momentarily) flip his motivation from winning to protecting her. use his soft underbelly against him, so to speak.

so when he tries to grab for her middle, peggy lets him. she lets him get a roughish grip on her before she pushes off the edge of the shuttle and sends them both in free-fall towards the cargo bay floor. ]

Think quick -- [ she warns him just before they lose their footing. he'll take the brunt of the fall, she'd wager money on it. and that will give her an opening. ]

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