driftfleet | April System Mingle

Distressed?

[ -- she fingers the tear, falling back by a step or three while he goes about his business. truthfully, she's not convinced this particular shirt is salvageable. so she shoves it under a heap of to-be-rehung items. perhaps she ought to feel guilty, but she doesn't. ]

That's putting it kindly. Sounds as though it's an excuse to look a mess.

[Rip closes the door once more once she's got the shirt in hand, not needing nearly so long this time to get his assorted layers back into place. It's a great deal easier when dealing with clothes that actually fit, shockingly enough.]

In many ways it is. [He steps out of the dressing room once more as he pulls the duster on.] The purposeful "ruining" of acceptable wear had it's origins in protests against the commercialization of society in, oh, the 1970's or so. Which, given what I've seen of this particular asteroid thus far, might make that shirt more valuable.

[Is it a load of crap, or is Rip being serious? Either way, he says it with a perfectly straight face.]

--The shirt which you don't seem to have any longer.

I stashed it somewhere they won't find until long after we've fled, Mister Hunter. [ not a contrite bone in her, it seems. with margins like these, the shop can absorb a bit of spoilage. ] We're not in the 1970s, after all. And I'd prefer not to field Steve's bewilderment when I try and hand him quite so torn a shirt -- [ had it been on the seam, then perhaps it might have been salvageable. but even poor boys from brooklyn have their standards. ]

I'm afraid I owe you for a service well-rendered but ultimately unused.

[Well, if it's not to be haggled for and purchased, safely stowed away is the next best place he supposes. Although given the fashion he's seen here, he half suspects the shop will mark the price up once more and put it back on the rack.

Either way, it's probably time for them to take their leave.]

While not the mecca that this asteroid is, one of the others might offer something more suitable to your tastes, as well as his. [Since "edgy" doesn't seem to cut it.] If you do decide to venture out, however, be wary of queues. Apparently they're taken rather seriously in certain parts of the belt.

[As for what she owes? Rip shakes his head.]

I don't really see how much I helped, considering the results.

You lent your patience and your frame to the mission -- and those contributions aren't negligible. [ she runs the flat of her palm across her neck. ] God knows, were our roles reversed, I would have refused the question outright.

Would you? I suppose I'll have to keep that in mind should I ever find myself in a similar situation--although it's highly doubtful that I will.

[How often does someone find themselves in a position, after all, to buy clothing for someone else? Certainly Rip doesn't see himself growing so close to a woman anytime soon that he would need to.]

But if you do insist on paying me back somehow, I won't complain--and I'm rather certain I wouldn't be able to stop you anyway.

Never say never. [ a puff of her cheeks, dovetailing into a sigh. ] The Fleet brings on all manner of unexpected developments.

[ she eyes the shop's door, nose crinkling. her mission to buy something to kit steve out with something wearable isn't abandoned -- not yet. but perhaps it'll do her some good to take a break and see if she might revisit the question of 'timelines' with this man. ]

For example? One acquires a taste for space-whiskey.

That's likely putting it mildly. [Considering that being drafted onto the Fleet had been it's first action, and the last thing Rip expected to happen. Certainly it's sage enough advice, even if Rip would be hard pressed to believe that romance is something he'll end up dealing with.

Now, the mention of having a proper drink? That is a scenario he's more than willing to face head-on.]

I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure as of yet. [And certainly not the funds, particularly not on the asteroid they're on now.] Of that or a good cup of tea since I've been here. It's dreadful.

If it's tea you want, you ought to stop by the Starstruck. [ because there's no doubt that she's got something of a stash hidden aboard her ship. ]

Your ship, I'll assume? [Peggy that offer might just make you Rip's favorite person in the entire fleet.] I'll absolutely do so. All the adjustments of the past few days have only been made worse by a lack of anything decent to drink.

My ship. [ she confirms. ] And as much as I'd love to hog what I've got to myself, I am perhaps a little too sympathetic for a fellow countryman in need of a cuppa.

[ at least she's assuming you're a countryman. the accent's right. ]

One who went through all the trouble of trying on that ridiculous shirt, at that.

[Could it be...? Why, yes. If Peggy looks over at just the right moment, she might actually catch Rip with a grin on his face.]

[ -- oh, she catches it. and part of her rebels, wondering whether that grin might be had at her expense. but she swallows at least the lion's share of her pride. ]

It was rather ridiculous, wasn't it? [ how humiliating. she's allowed the fight with steve to put her on the back foot; her usual rational mindset gone a-kilter. ] I do assure you I usually have a better sartorial eye than that.

To be fair, so is a great deal of the fashion around here. [He's at least willing to spare her dignity to that degree. Rip's kind like that.] And you're working with a rather, ah, shall we say severe limitation, in terms of size.

[He's still of the mindset that she might have better luck looking for high-end children's wear--but he won't push the point. Especially considering that the mark-up would likely be insane, given how much they priced up the atrocious shirt in question.]

I'm assuming that your partner isn't keen to advertise his condition to anyone? Since otherwise, you might just ask the Fleet if someone had a few things he could borrow.

[ partner. her nose crinkles -- but not unhappily -- before she continues: ]

Personally, I don't think the condition much matters. [ the serum and its effects certainly comes with advantages, but that's never been the part of him she's loved best. not really. ] But, I'll admit, I'm not fond of addressing the network about someone else's business. Seems a bit crass.

[ if she wants to enjoy her privacy, then she ought to let others enjoy theirs. to a point. ]

[He raises an eyebrow at her expression, but since Peggy doesn't correct him? Partner it will remain.]

You don't. [The implication being that this Steve person does. And in the end, it all amounts to the same thing: asking the Fleet is out.]

In that case, I'm not sure what other solution you have beyond continuing to try your luck in the stores here, I'm afraid.

He's spent most of his life at his current stature -- that's no secret. [ it's complicated. that much, at least, is obvious when she worries her bottom lip a moment. warring with herself whether she ought to say more or say less. ] It's damn well public record back home.

[Yes, Rip has picked up on the complicated part by this point. But Peggy's reluctance is clear enough in her hesitation. Rip's curious, but not so much that he'll push the point. She's free to tell him as much or as little as she likes.]

You're rather far from home, however. [But regardless of how detailed she wants to be, Rip can piece together a few things himself.] And given your predicament, his current state would seem to be an anomaly rather than the norm.

[ far, but not far enough. plenty, it seems, still recognized the name captain america. peggy gives her head a little shake. ]

Oh, certainly. A damned inconvenient anomaly. Usually, Steve's the very picture of a rather unique military experiment -- the effects of which shouldn't be reversible. [ again, all a matter of public record and common enough knowledge even in the fleet. although peggy wouldn't ordinarily say this much -- perhaps it's the fight or perhaps it's the flood-gates opened by her earlier admission of importance. ]

And yet the Atroma have found a way.

They've made him vulnerable.

[Rip knows nothing about Captain America beyond what this conversation with Peggy offers, wouldn't recognize the name even if she told him the rather unique moniker. Even so, it's not so far a leap in logic: a military would seek to enhance their own soldiers, and given Peggy's description, that's likely what's been done to Steve. From there the steps are easy enough to follow, given what's already been established.

And beyond that? Rip's got some experience when it comes to having someone else suddenly tear away what should be certain, only to leave him feeling trapped.]

You did say it was meant to be temporary, at least. [Small comfort, perhaps, but it's about all Rip has to offer.]

[ vulnerable. it's true, of course. she knows the laundry list of ailments and compromising circumstances surrounding steve rogers and his pre-serum body. heaven knows whether he would have seen the end of the war in or out of service, given the state of him. and yet she can't quite stomach the notion all the same. steve? vulnerable? hah! the scrappy brooklyn lad who'd fought in every alley and tossed himself on a dummy grenade on his first day of boot camp. ]

At least. [ she echoes, then turns on a heel. ] Sod shopping. Let's get that tea -- this is a problem that can wait a few hours to be solved.

[ she doesn't even know if they'll be talking again in a few hours. their last 'fight' lasted months. ]

[Rip stops short, not expecting the sudden change of direction. Still, he only needs a few moments to follow after her, his head ducking down in a brief nod.]

Well, I'd hardly be a proper countryman if I said no to tea. [Though it's not the beverage that motivates him to go with her now.

Not entirely.

...Although it is a nice benefit.]

Hampstead, by the way. Although I haven't actually lived there in years.

[ countrymen, after all. and she provides her origin point more as a means of gleaning his. this introduces a jaunty, almost professional tone to the conversation as they walk through the streets -- peggy's got one of the starstruck's shuttles berthed not far from here. ]

[He grins in faint amusement at that; while the true distance between them spans centuries and likely universes, looking at a map would show their homes as being rather close to one another.]

Whitechapel, and I would have to say the same. [She already knows he was a captain of a futuristic ship, so the detail is safe enough to point out. He slips his hands into his pockets while they walk, simply by habit.] What's kept you away from home, then? Aside from the obvious, of course.

[You know. Being kidnapped to feature in an intergalactic television show.]

[ whitechapel! peggy indulges in a smile -- and she's about to explain to rip that although she was born in hampstead, she attended school in lambeth. much, much closer to whitechapel. but this small connection, centuries apart, gets swept away by his follow-up question. ]

I -- ah, moved to America. After the war. [ a slight wince, she doesn't want to come across as patronizing but she can't just assume a man from so far in the future will conveniently remember what must seem like ancient history: time traveller or not. ] The one I hear they've taken to calling the Second World War.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject