everybody's starstruck in june.

[mucked]

Who: starstruck crew & visitors
Broadcast: n/a
Action: aboard the ship
When: june

[ another month; another mingle. but there are changes in the air! the starstruck has some fresh crew to boast of, as well as a spiffing new lounge. things have been difficult, lately -- the common area might make for a great place to decompress and socialize with your fellow starstruckers.

after all, it seems the captain's gone and requisitioned max's record player. for the first week in june, it'll be returned again and again to the new lounge. good luck hiding it from her, rockatanksy.

ready steady go! ]

Comments

[mucked]

[ she glances at the record player. and then at the gulf between them. peggy's cheeks puff; her mouth puckers. with a shake of her head, she throws a certain level of caution to the wind. it's been an exhausting week on so many levels. everything with the atroma; new crew; max describing to her how he's prepared to die.

peggy needs a win. she craves a win. ]

Doesn't break any rules if we dance, does it?

[ there's just enough space between the mismatched furniture, she thinks. ]

[uprightness]

Not a one.

[ and her hand is already in his. It's easier to keep holding it when he rises up, book forgotten. He waits for her to find her feet and wraps an arm around her waist when she does.

Funny, he's still not a great dancer but he is that much better thanks to his time here. Of all the things to improve. ]

[mucked]

[ she stretches a hand against the back of his shoulder. otherwise, her fingers curl against his palm. as dances go, this one starts prim and proper. they've got a bit of space between them but it's doomed to wan as the moment wears on.

she looks up at him with a flick of her eyes; her chin doesn't lift. he could be the most terrible dance partner she's ever had (he isn't) and she would still love dancing with him more than any other person imaginable. ]

I don't know the music; we'll have to feel out the steps as we go.

[uprightness]

It'll have to be your job. What I do best is look at you and try and do the same thing.

[ half joking and half truthful. It turns out to be a little easier than he had imagined, a slow sway to a tune, a little faster when the tempo changes and lifts. He's a little better at this when not surrounded by other people. ]

[mucked]

[ it's lovely, this. just them; alone. and she knows that someone might walk into the lounge at any moment. there's no sin to be found turning, slow and sweet, to some unheard of song. peggy knows she might feel a twist of embarrassment if someone did walk in -- but just now, it's worth the risk. ]

If only you made a concerted effort to learn -- [ she chides him in a gentle voice. the corners of her words are rounded; shockingly blunted. ] You would be a force.

[ one to be reckoned with. ]

[uprightness]

[ it's the sort of moment that moves in a manner that isn't physical. a dance has been a bit of a metaphor for a whole world that he and her lost. perhaps that's why, many dances later, the act itself still brings a sense of victory.

in a way, the music hardly matters. ]

Well, you know, I don't think anyone is giving lessons around here.

[mucked]

[ inch by inch, decorum slips. peggy finds herself leaning into him -- until, quite intentionally, her head sits against his chest. she can feel his breath when it fills his lungs. her fingers, curled first against his palm, now stretch and lace themselves between his knuckles. ]

I'll show you how.

[ she'd promised, after all. speaking the words might feel a bit like picking at scabs, but she doesn't much mind the pain just now. ]

[uprightness]

[ there are certain moments, good and painful both, that linger and remain. those words, achingly familiar are clear now. last time he heard them, they were muffled by heavy static. for all that his story has been told and retold, this one exchanged has been kept secret, his and hers, one of the only parts of the story that wasn't claimed by history.

they're private, they're theirs for all the sadness they spark. steve's arm tightens only a bit around her, his lips find her forehead. ]

alright.

[ and, attempting to draw a smile, he asks ]

should I add that to the new list, then?

[mucked]

[ his first 'lesson', if this can ever be considered such, is rather a poor one. a bad example of a dance, with their lines colliding and peggy not caring much for the rhythm attendant to the song. she's far too busy simply enjoying sharing the space with him. she sways more to the beat of his heart than to anything else. ]

Put it right in the first slot. [ she tells him. ] Top priority.

[uprightness]

[ he's rather fond of this form of dancing, if only because it doesn't require much except for quiet proximity. the faster ones would have steps and rules and all sorts of things to remember.

then again, it's worth a shot. ]

Right above bowling, got it.

[ he's joking, he's joking. ]

[mucked]

[ she's got her cheek pressed against his shoulder; it makes smiling a bit of a challenge, but she nevertheless manages it. he'll end up with lipstick on his cotton shirt by th end. she's sure of it. ]

Lawn bowling, of course.

[ almost as bad as croquet. ]

[uprightness]

Lawn bowling?

[ he sounds doubtful that there is such a thing - since when does peggy know so much about such a vast variety of sports? ]

Is that another English thing?

[mucked]

You've never gone lawn bowling. [ an amused beat. ] Of course you haven't.

[ -- she's not ignorant of their very different upbringings. there's a great gulf between a fashionable hampstead childhood and the tighter-packed parts of brooklyn. peggy hadn't been much for bowls herself, but there were always young men playing in pristine whites on the green next to the pavilion.

she used to like to steal the bowling balls; little peg got shouted out of the gardens on more than one occasion for her interference. ]

It, too, is rather dull. So don't go getting any ideas.

[ the last thing she needs is him busting his back over recreating something she'd never much cared for in the first place. ]

[uprightness]

I never even knew I had an option of going. Wasn't aware it's a sport. I know bowling. You know - dropping the pins, stupid shoes.

[ the usual sort. ]

You know, you've been saying it a lot lately.

[ don't go getting ideas. ]

Eventually, one of those will stick.

[mucked]

Hopefully, it's the right one.

[ -- peggy's steps quicken just enough to catch up to the next song. ]

Of all the many things I want to do with you, Steve, bowling is absolutely not one of them.

[uprightness]

Not bowling, huh?

[ in all honesty, he would have grown bored of it as well. it's the sort of game that might get repetitive. ]

Because I'd win?

[ not much difference between a bowling bowl and a shield. the quicker rhythm is like a bit of punishment for the sass. ]

You know I wasn't kidding about your toes -

[ so deeply concerned. ]

[mucked]

-- My toes have survived worse. [ probably. she can't exactly be certain. ]

And, for the record, we can't know for certain whether you'd win or not. [ a beat. ] Rather that it's simply not worth finding out.

[uprightness]

You can't really know that, either.

[ if they've survived worse or not and oh no, suddenly he feels that much younger, like he's about to babble nonsense at her again, all awkward and unsure and suddenly, more clumsy than anything else. ]

it's a pretty big risk.

[ confused, he takes to carefully watching his feet. he will not step on her, he refuses to. ]

[mucked]

Say you do. [ step on her toes. ] What's the worst that could happen?

[ she's not about to jilt you over a bit of pain, rogers. nor does she think he'd be so upset if she had to stay off her feet for a few days. but peggy rather doubts it would ever come to that. ]

[uprightness]

Whatever it is, I'm not going to find out.

[ because he will not step on her toes. they're not sixteen in a school dance nor is he the guy who called her a dame in their first somewhat private conversation.

his smile is nearly bashful. ]

And you know, you're distracting me.

[mucked]

Distracting you -- [ she echoes, and the words are bright and warm on her tongue. peggy pulls him nearer, eroding that last bit of space between them. ] I don't think I'm doing anything of the sort. Perhaps you're distracting yourself.

[uprightness]

You know, that doesn't even make any sense. A person can't distract themselves, Peggy -

[ it's outraged and enamored. she takes his accusation and raises the stakes and he chuckles. yes, alright, point made and he's rather content with her where she is. ]

Is this how I'm gonna learn?

[ because if it is, he could grow used to it. ]

[mucked]

Not at all; this is terrible dancing.

[ but it's lovely for a brace of other reasons -- ones she makes quite clear when she nestles near and grips his hand in hers. they turn, lazy and beatless, and they don't need the music to make the rules for them. ]

Don't learn anything from this.

[uprightness]

Really? I was kinda hoping this might be what it's all about.

[ and maybe in another way, it is. his fingers spread at the small of her back, his thumb draws shapes across her knuckles. surely there's nothing else to dancing or else, surely dancing can't be better than this. ]

You sure?

[mucked]

Positive as pie.

[ she's danced. danced aplenty, and more than just here in the fleet. such skills come easily to her; steve isn't the only one who picks up lessons quickly. then again, peggy doesn't much mind this. ]

You'd best learn the proper steps. You can't go dancing like this with anyone.

[ because dances like this are hers, now. ]