open » action

[mucked]

Who: Peggy + you
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Starstruck, Iskaulit
When: All day.

[ as compelling an attraction as the asteroids can be, peggy wakes up on what could have been april 21st and promptly decides that a captain's work is never done. despite a short holiday on one of the less glitzy asteroids, she storms her way back onto the starstruck around midday. she'd have preferred to be back earlier, of course, but a certain stubborn steve rogers had delayed her more than usual this morning.

because, you see, today is peggy carter's birthday. and up until recently, she'd thought this particular piece of sensitive intel might have remained under wraps. certainly, she's never announced it to the fleet (not had it announced for her) but over the last year there'd been an influx of individuals who might otherwise be privy to that sacred knowledge.

and so surviving the day becomes a little trickier. her first precaution is to not even address the network -- indeed, she hasn't got her device with her at all. so if some friend or ally does try and contact peggy, they may be forced to seek her out in person instead. after all, it's rare that she should persist with so much radio silence. visitors and crew on the starstruck will find her in her quarters trying very hard to dodge the likes of both steve rogers and edwin jarvis. and trying to busy herself with 'paperwork', though closer inspections might prove she's doing little more than working on a few hobby ciphers. and let's not forget the copious trips to the kitchen for tea, of course.

for visitors and crew: it seems steve's left the odd 'hint' and trinket around the ship. flowers here, candles there, and there's at least one cake chilling in the kitchen. perhaps more. when asked about it, the captain feigns innocence.

later, when that diversion fails, she heads to the iskaulit. first to the firing range, where she squeezes off just enough shots to counterbalance the creeping sensation of domesticity. and that done, she stops by the space bar for a drink of whatever-the-devil most resembles whiskey. ]

Comments

[pulcher]

I do know.

[ theoretically. but on the whole - ]

It's exactly why I do it anyway.

[mucked]

[ she shifts from holding his hand to hooking her elbow with his. arm in arm, then, like a proper couple. she folds the fingers of her opposite hand over his arm: a firm, affectionate grip.

comfortable, despite the difference in their heights. ] Because you're a sucker for punishment, you are.

[pulcher]

Me?

[ he tugs on her arm. It won't shift her balance, not with him being this small but it'll be enough to snag attention, to draw her arm nearer. ]

You got it all wrong.

[mucked]

No? [ with a great show of mercy and submission, she allows herself to be 'pulled' off balance -- leaning gently on his arm as though he'd hauled her there himself. ] Tell me, then. Elucidate, then, exactly why you're so eager in your challenges.

[pulcher]

[ he considers for a moment, all play really, he knew the answer before she even asked. a funny conversation to have in the middle of the hall, casual and polite, as if they're discussing tomorrow's dinner arrangement or the state of the weaponry, a sharp contrast to its content. ]

It's not really the punishment, mostly just you.

[mucked]

The joke, darling, [ she leans in to kiss the edge of his forehead, mussing his hair in the process, ] is that I am the punishment.

[pulcher]

What a thing to say on your birthday.

[ he can't really decide which is the bigger risk, being caught in the middle of this affectionate moment in the middle hall or someone overhearing the word birthday.. ]

Not even close.

[mucked]

Oh, quiet.

[ that kiss transforms into a light swat on his shoulder. it seems that both are suddenly culpable. no matter, peggy's mood shifts smoothly and she hauls him along to the shuttle bay.

this time, she's 'piloting'. ]

[pulcher]

Hold on.

[ there are times when he can expect those shifts, tranquil waters changing by what feels like a sudden wave of something else. other times, she catches him entirely off guard, affection turns to scolding turns to something else he can't yet place.

it's an always-changing puzzle to solve. ]

You know, they say you shouldn't drink and drive.

[ just saying. ]

[mucked]

For shame. [ a beat, but perhaps the whiskey is worming its way through her system. peggy certainly seems a little more sprightly. ] I could kiss whoever invented auto-pilot.

[ she flicks a button and sits back, lounging in the seat. ] Unless it's Howard. Good Lord.

[pulcher]

[ he remembers this sort of energy. last he'd seen it, it was New Year's Eve and admittedly, Steve doesn't remember a whole lot from that night. Sometime after midnight and a kiss stolen at the corners of the hall, he was far more intoxicated than she was.

( not a big surprise, he can't imagine what winn and hank have done to make that damned thing so strong ). ]

I wouldn't be surprised if it is and I don't think you can back out from statements like this just because it's Stark.

[ times have changed; once, steve felt a pang of something selfishly annoyed, jealous of howard stark. that is long gone.

getting shot at would do that, as it turns out. ]

[mucked]

Heavens, no. I refuse. [ her nose crinkles in disgust -- but mirth remains, possibly because steve manages to swerve the old reaction and replace it with something utterly playful. endearing. ] Not until he shears off that caterpillar on his lip.

[pulcher]

[ he would, he almost says. change it to something more sensible. but at the moment, he understands he has no right to be speaking of howard's future. steve rogers might had nothing to do with how his life ended but he knows he didn't do right by his son when the time came, other.

not for the first time, he wished tony would still be here. that the man was gone at the very same time when an influx of memories came is a poor joke. he deserved another apology and the shield that steve refuses to carry most of the time. ]

I'd have to be an idiot to convince you otherwise.

[ -- the present. that's more important than past or future. it's funny, a man once haunted by a lost past is now haunted by a future he remembers but didn't quite experience. ]

[mucked]

[ her smile is in her eyes. peggy props her heels up on the shuttle's dash. after all, she's letting the autopilot do the work. she folds her arms over her knees and lets her head turn to the side so she can continue watching him. the whiskey has turned her cheeks pink. perhaps perhaps she'd been drinking since before he'd arrived. rounds of drinks with natasha. ]

As long as you don't turn idiotic enough to try and grow one of your own, I think we'll muddle through.

[pulcher]

[ it's such a fine distraction from futuristic concerns. her color is high and her smile is radiant and steve reaches for her hand on instinct. ]

Never really thought it'd suit me.

[ clean-shaven seems to work just fine. if it ain't broke, after all. ]

[mucked]

[ she makes a quiet noise akin to pshaw. ]

A great many things would and do suit you, darling. I reckon a bit of stubble wouldn't be the exception. However, [ in confidence and with affection, she betrays her preference, ] it'd be a lot less pleasant to kiss.

[ or be kissed by. ]

[pulcher]

That's one hell of an incentive.

[ and he would have were there not seat-belts and the shuttle and what now feels like a too-long of a journey back home ( an instinctive thought, raw, honest, home ). there'll be a proper one, then. and, on the same note - ]

I'm not going to ask about the other many things.

[ he had enough of that back at the pin-up discussion, thank you. ]

[mucked]

No? [ she eyes him, careful. ] You're not in the least bit curious?

[pulcher]

[ there are certain baits that are hidden and subtle, others are as clear as day. with peggy, steve seems to bite regardless.

oh no. ]

Well, I am now.

[ it's a problem when one is terrible at lying. he could say he isn't, in fact, the least bit curious and it'll be as believable as if he were telling her the sky is purple. ]

[mucked]

[ she laughs. that went easier than she thought it would -- but now she wants to draw out the suspense. ]

I knew it. [ peggy slides a heel aside to check the instruments on the dash. ] For one, I've made my peace with those shirts that are two sizes too small.

[pulcher]

[ he rolls his eyes. har har. ]

It's Romanoff.

[ and that really explains it all, he figures. There isn't a more specific way to explain to consequences of becoming close friends with the usually formidable black widow - a woman who seems to think she knows everything better than him when it comes to modern things. ]

I don't really buy any. She thinks what I usually go for is too old.

[ she's not wrong. ]

[mucked]

I suppose I ought to thank her, sometime.

[ -- that's the whiskey talking. peggy's not likely to come out and be so brassy with her appreciation in front of anyone else without a great deal of prompting. ]

[pulcher]

Don't go humoring Nat.

[ grumpy. She was never really widow to steve. at the beginning, much like peggy, she was simply ma'am and then natasha and finally, she's nat and when he's long-suffering, much like now, it can also be romanoff. ]

it'll go to her head.

[ she really has to stop buying those. ]

[mucked]

I'll humour her all I want. [ a beat. ] And if I do, maybe she'll tell me some other things men in the 21st century like to wear.

[pulcher]

No other person in the 21st century wears the things she buys.

[ dry. ]

She'd only tell you what she thinks it all should be like.

[ ...and honestly, that's just terrifying. ]