driftfleet | April System Mingle

[ it's not something that's meant to last and thank goodness for that. It's late evening when steve realizes that maybe he had a good point and she, too, had an excellent one and maybe she was sharp and stubborn and he was more than a bit of a jerk but point remains, there isn't any part of him that's happy with this and he can either wallow in self pity or try and fight back for what - who he wants.

Steve's ma always said that lettin' the sun sink on your anger was stupid and imagining a night without her solid, comforting presence makes him awfully miserable and so a plan forms. The sun sets by the time he finally sends her a message, late evening turns to night but he has a feeling that he won't be waking her up. Still: ]

you know I never knew there's such a thing as white tea? They say it's very healthy and not that common.

So I was thinking, if someone was an idiot to someone else and wanted to apologize, they better have white tea with lavender and berries to offer. Least they could do.

[ peggy carter has had a day. ever since their argument, she's been ping-ponging between two very troubling extremes: well-stoked fury and gut-wrenching regret. ordinarily so thrifty with her credits, she's gone and spent nearly all of the currency to her name on stupid overpriced slim-fit clothing that likely still won't fit him the way his shirts would have done back when his mother likely altered them for him. and after she died, maybe barnes's. these dreary thoughts stalked her as she couriered her bought goods back to the starstruck and proceeded to beat the stuffing out of the punching bag. today had a great many frustrations to work out, it seemed.

and yet his guess is accurate enough. when he messages her, she isn't asleep. the captain's bed felt cold and empty in a way it had never done before he'd moved in. worse yet, the loneliness made her wonder if this is what it would be like when he eventually (inevitably) left. peggy scrunched her eyes shut and willed herself not to cry.

when the bzz of her device sounds, she grabs for it. the worst knife-twist of all is to see him call himself an idiot when she suspects -- when she knows -- he's no more guilty than she is. peggy touches the text with the edge of her thumb before keying in a quick response -- unwilling to leave him waiting for her answer. ]

Sounds like a little more than the 'least' they could do. If you ask me. I daresay such a peace offering would be dramatic.

[ distant, almost dispassionate. but it's telling enough that she replied at all. ]

[ it makes him smile, only a bit. It was terribly stupid to let her leave at all, idiotic to make her go through an entire day without making it clear that he would fight for her no matter how dire of an argument they'd have. No part of him should accept disappointing her, not so easily, not when she inspired him to be more than he ever thought he could be, serum or not. ]

seems like I have a flair for it. I remember someone mentioning that once or twice.

Still. [ unexpectedly, this seems to be just about the easiest message she's ever typed. ] I wouldn't refuse.

there are about 80 bags and something that's pretending to be a pastry.

[ and there's something else he'd forgotten, equally as important, especially now. ]

please?

[ she'll put them both out of their misery in a moment. but first? ]

80?

yes ma'am.

80.

[ it's been an odd day. ]

You're overcompensating.

[ at first blush, the answer appears unkind. but unpack it a little and her meaning becomes clear: she's decided the argument isn't worth such deep penance. in a way, it's absolving. ]

Yeah.

Maybe a little.

But then, they're already here. Might as well.

[ already here. ]

Are you still at the ranch?

yeah

I folded laundry and organized the closets. She says i'm pretty good with making use of shelf-space.

What are you wearing?

[ no one tell her this is the opening to just about every sexting conversation ever. ]

I altered some of the things bucky brought.

[ he listened and as a result he eventually accepted as well. ]

Good.

Shall I bring anything down from the ship?

[ just in case there's something he's missing. when they'd packed, initially, they'd not intended on such a change. ]

[ he releases a breath he had been holding for a few moments. ]

when they saw what happened they gave me four extra blankets.

I'm good.

[ ...four extra blankets. ]

I won't be long.

[ too much, even for someone whose hands are constantly cold. Still, he kept one, folded the others on a chair. It all adds to a sense of winter, even if it's not that cold - soft blankets and the strong smell of tea. He makes sure to start boiling water, place the little plate of pastries close to the fire so they'd run warm.

Small as he is, he does seem as if he grew up into his shirt and jeans. Not his best altering work but then, his mind was focused on other things. ]

[ she arrives much as she left: bold strides and steeled lines. this time, however, her shoes are on her feet. and her bag looks a little...fuller. the time apart gave her the opportunity to put her armour to rights, as well. lipstick and curls. starch and stockings.

but she fights against her natural instinct to stay like a statue in the doorway. instead, she strides straight into the rented room. peggy ignores the immediate details of the setting and makes for him. once in reach, she tosses her luggage aside and takes his hand.

only then does the tension in her shoulders dissipate. ]

I suppose it was inevitable.

Hey -

[ he welcomes her hand in his, turns his palm, thumb sliding across her knuckles, feeling the strain - a boxing session, no doubt. ]

Yeah, I guess it was.

[ some would say that it's a miracle two people with a tendency to butt heads have made it nearly a year without any incident. It's like the first scratch on a car, really - unpleasant, unhappy and unavoidable. ]

Peggy, I'm sorry. You were right. The first reaction to - anything shouldn't be to hide it.

[ it's a mistake he keeps making in the last couple of years, learning the lesson time and time again. ]

What I said, I didn't mean it.

No. [ heedless and forthright, peggy has a gun or two to stick with. she lets her nose crinkle when he reads the state of her knuckles and deflects that examination into a tug. she pulls him into her arms. ] You meant it. You meant every last word of what you said. No use in pretending otherwise.

[ point is, she came back with her own edge of supplication despite his conviction. peggy could be awfully patronizing at the same time as being awfully right. he's not the first to underline that trait, and she doubts he'll be the last.

even without her heels, she'd have towered over him. peggy pulls him hard into an embrace and tucks her chin against the crown of his head. ] I may have been right -- but I ought to have gone about it in a gentler fashion.

You care.

[ he shakes his head, takes a moment to relax in her arms. It's oddly comforting exactly because of the height differences, she's strong and solid and warm. ]

Very fiercely. I'm one hell of a lucky bastard for having that. You.

[ especially now. ]

I always have.

[ cared. once a terrifying admission, it flies easily to her tongue. strife and absence makes the heart pliable (at least) and she finds herself eager to soothe both their ruffled prides. she cloaks him in her arms and pins him close. ]

I doubt you heard it. [ her heart beats a little faster; her usual symptom of vulnerable honesty. ] But when you started yelling in the Vita-Ray chamber, Steve, I tried to shout the whole lot of them into shutting it down.

[ agent carter, surrounded by top brass and visiting politicians, scolding the whole room because she was concerned. not her finest moment, she felt. ]

Well, you know, seeing neither of us felt it when this happened, it'll probably hurt less this time around.

[ ever the optimist and perhaps there is something else here too. She's such a strong individual, always was but even the strongest person could do with a little assurance from time to time . ]

It'd better -- [ a sulky sort of answer. it tells more than she's willing to articulate: she can't bear to see him endure pain, and so it's just as well that he's so hardy and hale most of the time. it frightens her (truly) to imagine that same struggle fighting its way through his body when the serum's effects return. if the atroma have any mercy, they'll make it painless.

peggy's unprepared to let him loose. no matter how enticing the tea smells as it brews. ] Not that I otherwise mind the change. You do understand that, don't you?

Yeah, yeah I do.

[ tentative, he moves his palm from her side to her back, rubbing circles there as he debates how to explain this. ]

When my mother died, Bucky wanted me to move in with his family, not be on my own. I refused him for days, kept tellin' him I was fine on my own. All them years and it seems I haven't changed that much. Not that good at accepting help.

[ it's easier if it's an OP or a war. Easier as a soldier than it is in his private life. ]

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