time for some spring-mingling!

[mucked]

Who: Starstruck crew and guests!
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Aboard the Starstruck
When: All of April

[ oi, crew! we've got some upgraded bathrooms this time 'round, so enjoy your extra hot water! and a comfier tub! and some privacy curtains in the changing area, thank goodness. everyone please remind max to actually use the curtains, of course. (right after you remind him to shower!)

mingle away, starstruckers! don't forget you can still toy around with some of the rumours! ]

Comments

[mucked]

...She?

[ ahem. ]

[uprightness]

Yeah.

[ he looks at the pumpkin, so smug, so proud. ]

She's the largest of them all.

[mucked]

Are you so certain you ought to be so cavalier with your food's pronouns? [ because peggy's gonna carve your precious pumpkin girlfriend into wedges, dear captain. ]

[uprightness]

Don't worry, I still think you're sweeter.

[ what a brave thing to do when faced with her holding a sharp object. ]

[mucked]

Steve. [ steve. ] Did you just compare me to your favourite pumpkin?

[uprightness]

[ he leans against the counter, not really holding back laughter. ]

Hey, I try not to play favorites, they're all a result of hard work.

[mucked]

Perhaps I ought to start saying the same of my crew. [ not that peggy plays favourites when she's got the captain's hat on, so to speak. but the threat is oh-so-thinly veiled. ]

Your pumpkin is lovely. [ dry. ] Is that what you want to hear?

[uprightness]

Are you saying I'm your favorite, Peg?

[ how soon does he rush to conquer the gaps between the lines. ]

Yes and thank you very much.

[ so terribly pleased. ]

Go on, do the honors.

[mucked]

[ a look -- as though he should know better than to ask the identity of her favourite. as reticent and guarded as she could be, she knows damn well how obvious she's made it. days previous, she'd as good as told him. you're the one.

peggy rolls the pumpkin towards her stretch of counter and gives it a thorough stab with the chef's knife. her elbow cocks and she works her way through the orange flesh, dividing it into two halves. ]

[uprightness]

You know, I think we'll only need one half. If I knew anything about dough I'd say we could use the other for a pie.

[ he knew he should have listened to his ma all those years. ]

[mucked]

[ she pauses a moment -- grabs her communicator from beside the tea pot -- and scrolls back to a very old message. whoever sent it to her did so over a year ago. peggy offers him a glance at the screen. ]

I've got a recipe.

[ it's for apple pie, mind. and if he thought long and hard about it he might realize the recipe is for sarah rogers's apple pie. ]

[uprightness]

Really?

[ huh. good fortunes, indeed. he examines the inside of his pumpkins and, pleased with the result, starts going around the kitchen in search of things he thinks they might need.

it could all have been easier if one of them were good in the kitchen but this is exactly why he included cooking on the list. this, too, is an adventure. ]

What do we need?

[mucked]

[ dully: ] For pie? Are you hijacking my soup plans for a bit of pie?

[uprightness]

Might as well have everything out. Don't worry, I'm not neglecting your soup.

[ lord, she was right. one of these days he'd probably want to make her something. he should really just ask jarvis for those lessons. ]

[mucked]

[ she begins by listing off the crust's ingredients -- and suggesting appropriate alternatives if there was something key that might be missing. but in the aftermath, and as she went on to read the bit about apples (silently, in her head) she pipes up. ]

Steve? Do you prefer an apple pie? [ bit obvious, really. american as. but it was his mother's recipe, so perhaps it was worth asking. ]

[uprightness]

Do we have apples?

[ he's busy sticking his head in one of the cupboards, searching for sugar. ]

We might wanna save those for snacks.

[ you can't snack on raw pumpkin. he thinks. ]

[mucked]

Not a one. [ well, perhaps there were some canned apples in the back of the cupboard. but they would hardly be worthy. ] Only I wonder whether you had apple pie often -- as a child, maybe.

[ she's really burying the lead on this one. ]

[uprightness]

When we could afford the apples.

[ he nods. ]

And whenever Bucky wouldn't try to snag half of my slice. I'd look away for a minute and most of it would be gone.

[ but the complaint is so very fond. ]

Why d'you ask?

[mucked]

[ she waggles the device, the screen still backlit. ]

An enterprising young lad like you -- I suppose you never hung back to help roll the pastry. Too busy reading. Drawing. Getting into scraps.

[ look, she can't just spell it out for him. ]

[uprightness]

Hey, I would help in-between alla those.

[ but now he's curious, reaching out to touch her wrist long enough to get a good look at the screen. ]

We'd usually make them for Christmas and Thanksgiving. And my birthdays, mine, Bucky's.

[mucked]

[ her smile stays impish. sometimes, peggy carter simply radiates affectionate mischief. and now (wholly unintended and utterly serendipitous) is one of those times. rather than try and wrench herself free, she steps forward -- tilting the screen towards him. ]

Does it look familiar?

[uprightness]

[ for a moment he's still chuckling, holding onto her wrist ( hold on, keep still ) and suddenly something clicks making his voice soften. It's the way the instructions are worded, really, that reminds him of a tiny kitchen in Brooklyn the day before Christmas. ]

Where did you get it?

[mucked]

A friend. [ her head tilts. peggy watches the revelation cascade across his face, and she can't help but match the light in his eyes. she doesn't even realize she's holding her breath until she tries to speak. ] I've had it since long before you turned up.

[uprightness]

You kept it.

[ a quiet observation. It's rather extraordinary, how he can hear his mother's voice through those seemingly simple instructions. ]

[mucked]

Of course I kept it. [ the faff about the pumpkin is (momentarily) forgotten. ] Never know when I might bloody well need an apple pie, do I?