driftfleet | everybody's starstruck in june.

[ and all at once, the days become relatively peaceful. after the heist which by now steve had determined as a failure, he kept to his own work, either on the bridge or at the weaponry, trying to untangle the web of emotions that was wrapped around his heart, frustration, anger and grief knotted together into what was definitely a wave of emotional turmoil.

he's doing a bit better these days and because of that, one can see him a lot more often. at times, you could catch him making coffee or tea in the kitchen and he'll always offer to make present company a cup, too. He'll also take advantage of the new lounge, making it into his reading corner - a little stack of books nearby as he works on the current one ( lord of the flies or maybe pride and prejudice ). Other times he'll be there with a pad of sketches or perhaps his list of things to catch up on. don't be surprised if he stops and asks you if you know something about the rolling stones or the poltergeist.

and a few times a day, you could catch him at the weaponry going over each and every weapon, dissembling, cleaning and assembling it again.

and if you're really lucky, you might just find him emptying his old room of whatever knick-knacks that were still there. though don't ask where he's taking them. ]

What are you reading, now, for what must be the umpteenth time?

[ peggy doesn't say hello -- or greet him at all, really, except with this calmly leveled question. it's an easy assumption to make. the selection is so limited in the fleet and steve reads so voraciously. truth be told, she could look at the book's spine and be done with it but in that case she wouldn't get to hear him speak.

(sometimes -- especially recently -- it's important to make sure he speaks some damn full sentences in a day.)

for her part, she's got a crate of records to sort through. peggy sets the box on the floor next to the record player itself before kneeling to the task. no eye contact. not yet. ]

Edited 2017-06-01 19:17 (UTC)

Pride and Prejudice. I'm done with Persuasions.

[ yes, again. ]

This one may be more well-known but I think I don't like it as much.

[ though the story does have a certain charm to it. he lifts his eyes from the book, arches an eyebrow. ]

You stole all his records, too?

[ perhaps he's a bit amused. how long before Max tries to steal them back? ]

[ a crinkle of her nose. peggy never cared much for austen. northanger abbey, maybe, but the rest always made her feel a little uncomfortable -- they ring like assignments in her head, associated with lessons and stuffy classrooms and school uniforms. she could never quite put her finger on it. far be it from her, however, to come down too harshly on steve's books. ]

What good is a record player without records? [ her tone suggests steve's a bit daft for asking. ] It's meant to be more than decorative.

Is it an attempt to coax him out of the cargo bay? he'll come looking for it.

[ and when he does, he's bailing. he isn't taking the blame for this felonious theft. he leans back in his seat, watches her over page 104. ]

What are you plotting?

[ there's a ploy here somewhere, he knows it. ]

I'm not plotting anything, [ she argues -- and with an entirely plotty shift of her shoulders. scheming, even. ] Unless you count wanting our crew to have a bit of R&R as 'plotting'.

[ and if max leaves the cargo bay for a little while in the process? bonus. ]

[ she's up to something. at the very least, steve is pretty sure he's on her good side with this. he hums his supposed agreement. ]

That's a nice goal to set.

[ plotting, this one. ]

I guess it'll be nice to have background music around here.

[ she pulls out a record or two and sets them aside. possibilities. ]

For as long as we're allowed it. I think I can manage a week before he rotates it to a hiding place I haven't already considered.

[ -- okay, so there's a bit of plotting. ]

[ he needs to consider very carefully who will win in this battle of will,s peggy or max. they're both stubborn, not to mention inventive.

well, at the very least he's not involved this time. ]

You're going to try keeping it here for a week??

[ this might get interesting. ]

At least.

[ max has already reclaimed the machine twice or thrice, but peggy's managed to find it and drag it back. but peggy carter is determined. ]

He shouldn't hoard it all to himself in the bay. Not when we've got this lovely new space to fill.

If you're going to spent a week stealing it back from him, I might as well make myself comfortable.

[ it'll take a while, after all. ]

You know, you could always listen to music on my phone. Wouldn't be as satisfying as that emoticon incident but it has a larger selection and I wouldn't mind it being taken. Unless there's a secret plan here.

[ to get max out. come on, say it. ]

[ she doesn't mean to sound melancholic -- nor nostalgic, neither -- but peggy's counter is quick and telling. ]

It doesn't sound the same and you know it.

[ nothing sounds like the needle pulling through grooves. bright pops and unique warbles. she craves that wow and flutter that makes her feel like every playthrough is its own event. ]

That's a good point.

[ he watches her as she sorts through max's collection. At home, he has a record player as well as a modern stereo but indeed, they can't really be compared. He sinks against a cushion, arm behind his head. ]

So what will it be today?

You would know better than me.

[ she gains her feet again and straightens her skirt, turning to finally look steve in the eye. peggy's got two records selected -- neither of them are familiar to her. ]

It's all got a good decade or so on my taste. What will it be? Someone called Pink Floyd? Or Aretha Franklin. Either of them ringing any bells?

I'd go for Aretha Franklin. I'm still not sure how I feel about Pink Floyd.

[ genius, maybe, but hardly his taste. In his heart, he does miss the deeper, classy sounds of music that would be familiar to Peggy. ]

But she's something else.

[ -- there's a smile, just there. little and sheltered, hiding as it does in the corners of her mouth. peggy offers steve push-back on a great many things but (on occasion) she wears her trust on her sleeve. this is one such occasion; she's quick to abandon one record in favour of the other, taking steve easily at his word.

peggy eases the record out of its sleeve and places it gingerly on the table. a moment's gentle adjustment -- and then the first song off lady soul eases powerfully into the room.

she isn't quick to turn from the device and its speakers. instead, she waits -- biding her time. there's no need to rush over to steve's side. ]

She reminds me a bit of billie holiday but she has a style of her own. Less Jazz, more gospel.

[ he doesn't understand the ways of modern music at times but every now and then something clicks into place and these discoveries are sweet. It's not a bad combination, the music and the toils of Elizabeth Bennet ( she's currently refusing Mr. Collins' proposal in what is one of steve's favorite parts). ]

[ less jazz; more gospel. that verdict tracks. she takes a step backward from the machine -- light on her feet, though nowhere near a sway or (heaven forfend) a dance. peggy takes a good portion of the song to flip further through the records. each one is a curiousity: from a different year, from a different artist, with art she doesn't anticipate on the cover.

she takes the crate over to the sofa and takes a seat -- placing the box between them while he reads and she browses.

peggy picks an album at random. something from the beatles. ] Have you heard anything by them?

[ she interrupts him -- easily, guiltlessly. ]

[ mr.collins asks for elizabeth's hand in marriage and she is about to rebuff his efforts when peggy voices her next question. He shifts, peers at the record. ]

They were big in the 60s, people still love them in 2016. They're from Liverpool. They did rock music. Very different from Elvis though.

[ liverpool? well, that's worth a second look. she takes the album into her lap, opening it up to better inspect the track list, the studio marginalia, the names associated. ]

I know Elvis -- [ she pipes up, almost proud. ] Max was playing some of his music not long after he patched the player. I didn't mind it -- [ but, evidently, it still hadn't been to her taste. not like aretha franklin seems to be. but it's less of a stretch between genres.

back to the beatles, however: ] I don't care what people think. What's your opinion?

[ steve's trustworthy in this arena. ]

I liked some of his slower songs. Their ballads are nice too. They have pretty good music.

[ it's so wonderfully ordinary to be sitting here and discussing rock music with her. A shadow is lifted off his mind. He opens the book yet again. ]

If you see Hey Jude there, that one's nice.

[ 'pretty good', says steve, of the beatles. and peggy (bless her heart) takes him at his word. but the conversation gets waylaid by the next song on the album's first side.

peggy raises her chin -- listening, briefly, before her ears pick out the bass line. she nods along for a moment. ]

The lounge is a bit of alright. [ it's not the sort of sentence that needs a reply, should he prefer to keep reading. ]

Is that your way of saying you really like it?

[ she's so painfully English at times. He drums his fingers against his knee to the rhythm and reaches for his bookmark. Mr. Collins and young miss Bennet will have to wait. ]

It was a good investment.

[ her head tosses away from him -- the lion's share of a dramatic eye-roll. peggy shakes her head, although that only seems to confirm that he's right. she does, indeed, like it. ]

We don't do much as a ship. [ and that's not such a bad thing, really, as few of them were social animals. ] But it will be nice to have the option. Meetings, small occasions, somewhere to host a poker night -- perhaps.

[ she leans her elbows on the crate's narrow, biting edges. perhaps that's why she's put the box between them; a barrier, of sorts, lest she find it tempting to break protocol. ]

I think they call them team building nights.

[ it's a concept he heard of but not one he actually knows. the avengers are even less social than some of this crew here. they don't get much down time and when they do, they don't always spent it together.

it's just fine with the way tensions came and go between them all. it's all over and done with now, of course. steve thinks they might yet be able to form a united form in the face of a serious threat but the down times together are not something he sees coming back.

it's something he knowingly risked all these years, after all. he's willing to openly admit to that part now. ]

STEVE ROGERS ✮ OTA

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