text & video » open

[mucked]

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. ]

Comments

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[mucked]

[ 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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[uprightness]

[ it takes a split second and his instincts take over, he grabs her, shifts their positions and keeps a hold on her, close, safe when they go crashing down. he wraps one arm tightly around her waist, the other cradles her head, keeps her from hitting it. it's a messy fall, onto the edge of a crate and then the floor.

he groans, mostly in annoyance ]

You're a madwoman.

[ it's the worst crash in the world, not even close but still. ]

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[mucked]

[ as pleasant as it is to be stuck atop him with a flush in her cheeks, peggy still has her eye on the prize. she plants two palms hard against his chest and heaves upward, using the disorientation of the post-fall groan to break free and skip backwards -- wobbling, just a moment, on a heel. ]

Asymmetrical warfare. That's all it is.

[ and then she's running, ducking behind another cargo crate on the far side of the bay. ]

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[uprightness]

Oh that's all it is?

[ he lifts his head and as tempted as he is to drop it down again and call it quits, he shakes his head and jumps to his feet. stubbornness, that's what leads him to keep fighting her. it was a good move but he's not about to let it be the last one.

he eyes one of the crates and with a heavy kick, sends it flying across to bay towards the one she's hiding behind. he's not luring her anymore so much as trying to force her out into the open. ]

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[mucked]

[ that's more like it. she's convinced he's trying, now. putting at least a good foot forward, if not his best. the crate where she's taken cover shakes from the impact, and her adrenaline does spike.

he's got her child-like shield. and she only has three odd throwing stars left. a fresh weapon would be welcome, considering he's as good as a weapon in his own right.

he forces her out, sure. but not into the open. peggy creeps along the far wall -- heading towards the gym corner. ]

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[uprightness]

You could have broken something.

[ which is perhaps the very source of his annoyance. he looks to the side, listens carefully, trying to pick up on her footsteps. ]

Or split your head open.

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[mucked]

[ those footsteps are suddenly much quieter because she's left her heels behind. if he manages to venture so far as that particular crate where she'd once been hidden, he'll find the pair of them abandoned by the wall. instead, she continues forward in her stockings.

quiet, but not perfectly silent. ]

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[uprightness]

[ for a moment, he thinks she stopped again, somewhere and is currently keeping terribly still. but something feels off and when he rounds around the crate - ]

Son of a -

[ he looks around. she could be anywhere by now. he takes a moment to hide those. he knows better than to leave them about for her to reclaim and use later.

he stays still, silent for a long moment before he picks up a noise again and then, he runs. ]

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[mucked]

[ she grabs a pair of free-weights: eight pounders, probably, and grips them in her fist. the extra heft might come in handy if he gets too close. a similar tactic had paid off in a bank vault back in new york, only then it had been rolls of coins instead of fitness equipment.

she waits for him -- standing on the far side of the punching bag. breath heaving with anticipation as she hears his boots slap the floor. just a little closer... ]

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[uprightness]

[ she's not moving, that much he can already tell. but he can hear her breaths, short, close. his eyes narrow. he knows, by force of instinct that she isn't so still for no reason.

he catches sight of her and aims a kick at the punching bag; softer, he doesn't want to tear it nor does he want tumbling down too harshly. ]

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[mucked]

[ she ducks low and lashes out with one of her weighted fists -- aiming the knee on his still-planted leg. she doesn't pull her punch. where he must hold himself back, she must push herself further. only then do they have any hope of meeting in the middle of this 'fight'.

the punching bag jangles, thuds against her shoulder, but she absorbs the hit with a grunt. it's worth it if she manages to compromise his balance. ]

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[uprightness]

[ he manages to barely duck away from her fist - is that a free-weight? what the - but the kick finds its mark and he tumbles sideways, rolling over until he can plant himself on the mat, pressing both his knees down.

and a moment later, he all but launches himself at her, aiming a fist not to her face but to her stomach. ]

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[mucked]

[ she sidesteps the punch -- but not far enough, instead taking the brunt of his charge against her shoulder. this time, she is winded. and when she goes down -- free weights clanking and rolling out of reach -- she takes him with her. grasping and pulling and dragging, but not entirely in desperation.

they end up in a heap on the floor. when peggy finally finds her breath again, she's laughing against his temple -- fingers still twisted up in the fabric of his shirt. ]

Thanks. [ a hard swallow. ] I needed this.

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[uprightness]

No problem.

[ he grunts, shakes his head. ]

If you could keep from throwing us off things next time - I'm not getting younger you know.

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[mucked]

Oh, you're fine. [ peggy suspects she'll have some bruises. she doesn't mind them -- they'll be badges of a distraction well-won. ] Don't be so dramatic, Steve.

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[uprightness]

I'm sorry but you throwing me off a shuttle justifies the reaction, I think.

[ he drops his head against her shoulder. Where most people would have crushed their spine - ]

'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle.

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[mucked]

I'll be truly amazed if you did. [ they sprawl, there, amid the gym equipment. peggy plays her open palm against the small of his back -- using her fingertips to gently test the meat of his muscle. ] Where does it hurt?

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[uprightness]

[ it doesn't hurt anymore than the usual strain after a workout but this here is why they conduct their daily morning battles. He's rather fond of this proximity, after all. He hums his content and chooses a random spot at the base of his spine. ]

See. Right there.

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[mucked]

[ she digs in with her fingertips - like a vindictive massage. ]

Bollocks.

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[uprightness]

[ there is a noise of complaint followed by laughter. ]

Pretty much, yeah.

[ alas, caught. ]

Still, had to try and go for it.

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[mucked]

So did I, with the fall. [ she had to try and go for it. as gambits went, it wasn't the cleverest. but it had been effective -- a bit like using an unconventional weapon. ] Some risks are worth taking.

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[uprightness]

[ he realizes that the vast majority of people would find this both reckless and dangerous, which is probably was. Still, steve feels the comfortable sort of solace that comes after a good session, energy being spent instead of gathered. More than anything, he reads just between the lines and because of it, he smiles and presses a kiss to her jaw. ]

I love you too. You're very romantic.

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[mucked]

[ with a grumble and a half-hearted swat, she makes as though she intends to ward off his soppy sweet attention and his gentle words. her nose crinkles, but (ultimately) she doesn't dodge the kiss. ]

You've got a funny idea of what's romantic, Steve.

[ but they both already knew that. ]

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[uprightness]

So you've told me but then again.

[ their free time often derails into fistfights and he is pretty sure it's not how it works for most people when they get into a relationship. ]

Keeps things interesting.

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[mucked]

[ she stretches out beside him on the cargo bay floor -- rolling off, and watching the ceiling. peggy pillows her arms behind her head. ]

You know it, don't you? [ she worries her bottom lip beneath her teeth. it might be dangerous, looping back around to this topic -- but with her adrenaline ebbing and her lungs still straining, she feels comfortable. content, even. ] You're the one. You've always been the one.

[ there will be others. peggy wouldn't deny it if he asked. but it doesn't change the fact that he was and always will be prime. no matter who the suitor or how successful their chase. ]