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Who: Peggy Carter and YOU
Broadcast: Audio + Text
Action: Aboard the Starstruck.
When: Evening

[ it's been a long day. long week. long bloody month. and tonight, in the rebuilt space of a bedroom now properly shared, peggy carter is reading a book. not just any book, really. but that's a story for another time. for now, she's prepared to proceed publicly as though nothing is amiss.

in the handful of hours before bed, she takes to the network with a brief puzzle. ]

VHOILVKQHVV PXVW DOZDBV EH IRUJLYHQ, BRX NQRZ, EHFDXVH WKHUH LV QR KRSH RI D FXUH

[ and attached to the text is an audio messsage. ]

I know it's been a little while since the last one -- and some of you lot who most enjoyed them have gone and left. So we'll ease back into it with something simple. Simple, but no less fundamental. Solving it is all well and good but, as always, there are bragging rights up for grabs for anyone who names the source. Fair warning -- English is the native tongue.

And while I've got your attention, I suppose I ought to do my due diligence [ however reluctantly ] and ask whether anyone else has purchased the upgrade which merges two rooms together. It may be worthwhile to swap notes on how those changes came into effect.

[ and that's that. although she'll be awake for a little while yet -- answering messages and putting on a brave face. truth is, things have gone pear-shaped and she's only just realizing how much recovery yet required. those aboard or visiting the starstruck can find her at her desk, hatch left open, in her and steve's newly merged room. ]

( ooc: and because not everyone has the out-of-character time or inclination for codebreaking, here is the quotation peggy's posted using a caesar shift. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ it had caught her by surprise when, rearranging his books onto a new shelf, peggy had felt an unevenness in mansfield park. a bump beneath the paperback, and she'd retreated by a step or two in order to investigate the anomaly. that's when she'd found it: a simple ring, almost harmless if it didn't also match the pendant around her neck.

that had been three days ago. between then and now she'd not let slip a hint of her concern, but instead piled it up along with everything else nibbling at her thoughts. in the end, perusing the book whenever he wasn't in the room, hitting upon that particular quotation had inspired her to take this tactic. and run with it.

peggy is 'reading' it still when steve rushes into the room -- sitting at her desk with her feet propped up. she fancies she can see a glimmer of panic in his eyes. without closing the book, she glances up at him over the pages. ]

And you don't even like codebreaking. Seems we're both pushing the boat out today.

You said I should -

[ try more. But he doesn't even complete the sentence. The book is right there on the table before her and steve's pulse is rushing through his ears. For a moment, it's as if someone had dunked his head underwater.

He could have pretended it's nothing, that he simply kept it there for her next birthday or for Christmas. Making them into a set would have been a nice surprise, after all.

But steve was never quite good at pretending. ]

Where is it.

Where's what--?

[ because there's no hope in hell of her making this easy on him. only now does she let the book fall shut, setting it aside atop a notebook where she must have planned the simple cipher out. with a huff of breath, she pulls her heels off the desk's edge and finds her feet.

she'll never be as tall as him -- not with the serum in play -- but what she lacks in height she more than makes up for in a steely gaze. ]

[ when he only just woke up, it didn't take long to understand something was wrong. She was warm and sharp and wonderful as ever but a part of her had been locked away, kept at distance for another day. Steve has been dreading that day since. And now this.

She finds her feet, he finds his courage. He won't play this game, not when he can't see it. How could she simply - ]

Where's the ring, Peggy.

[ what he really wants is to pocket it away. He won't have it become a subject of confrontation. It's much too dear to him. ]

The ring? [ peggy's lips press together into a frown. but it doesn't last long -- rather than feign ignorance, she leans into his correct assumption and offers up a stilted nod of her head. ] It's somewhere safe.

[ curious, really. steve's rather serious about the subject. perhaps she hadn't anticipated just how much it would mean to him. ]

Safer than in a book, that's for certain.

[ somewhere safe.

even during the mess that was the sokovia accords, steve rogers had never felt so close to imploding. she can't be serious. she can't have taken it. nobody simply hides their own engagement ring from the man who bought it.

he takes a deep breath. he's rather fond of that ring, and more fond of the person it was meant to but not knowing where it is already makes him nervous.

nevermind the implications. that's even worse. nothing escapes this woman. by now, she must have determined it's sea glass, the same as her necklace, a perfect match. she also must have figured out the two were both from the exact same jeweler. hence, she knows how long he's had it. five months, as it happens.

and still, he extends a hand. ]

well?

[ he wants it back gdi. ]

[ he's right. there aren't any flies on her -- despite the unconventional style of the ring, something in its purpose is undeniable. that he'd hidden it, and that he'd had it hidden for so long? there's no mistaking (she thinks) the reason why he'd had it in the first place. and that invites a certain dread into her bones.

-- except! except it's been five months. if he's had it for so long, then maybe he'd lost the nerve to use it. that might have been the best result for both involved, she decides, even if the thought of steve losing his nerve in the face of anything makes her heart ache.

peggy watches his open hand and, without looking behind her, gropes for the drawer on her desk. because she's reaching blindly, she fumbles with the drawer's false bottom before revealing its existence. and, from that hiding place, she produces the ring he'd so clumsily hidden in a book.

his favourite book.

if she wasn't half so terrified, she might have found it sweet. ]

As I said, [ she holds the ring between two fingers but makes no rush to pass it over, ] somewhere safe.

[ for a horrible flicker of a moment, steve remembers one excruciating night on the marsiva. he remembers a little girl who kept prized possession hidden away from the world. for a while, he has done the same thing with this ring.

but she can't possibly be keeping it from him, that's ludicrous. he eyes the drawer and then the ring and eventually her features.

this is horrible. it couldn't have possibly gone any worse. for a moment, he misses the whole three weeks of sleep thing. that's the sort of thing one would care to sleep off. ]

safe from what?

[ safe from who? he reaches over to take it, fully aware that it might not be all that easy. ]

[ she bends her arm back at the elbow, tilting the prize just out of reach. well -- for the moment. there's only so long she can play keep-away from steve rogers. but she'll play it, all the same, and rub a little salt in the scratch while she can. ]

Safe from Lord knows what. You clearly weren't taking great care of it -- I've had it in my desk drawer for three days, now. And you never suspected a thing.

[ not until the coded message which must have been a hint in and of itself. a siren, blasted at a frequency for only him to understand. well, him and one other -- but that's a different story. ]

I don't conduct daily checkups on it, Peggy.

[ weekly, maybe. every now and then he'd take the book out, say something about re-reading it and check that it's still there, that it was kept where it's supposed to be. that atroma haven't taken it or moved it.

but this is even worse. he shakes his head, torn between frustration and nervousness. ]

what is this really about?

[ his hands move to his hips, it's usually her pose to strike but today seems to be full of exceptions. ]

Why did you take it?

[ why isn't she giving it back. he's a romantic, he is, but he's not naive enough to think she accepts it by any means. ]

[ why did she take it? peggy could have left the ring where she'd found it. she could have stuck her head in the sand and pretended like she never saw what he'd been hiding from her -- but then every conversation and every smile would have sheltered some measure of apprehension that he was about to produce it from a pocket and drop to one knee.

he's the sort, she thinks, to at least make a run at doing it properly. and by taking it, by hiding it, she's gone and wrecked that opportunity for him. whatever guilt she might feel is quickly masked by a relief felt for no longer needing to worry about that particular ambush.

rather than answer his questions, she asks one of her own. ] You've had this since February, haven't you?

Yeah.

[ there's no point in denying what she already knows. the truth is, this line of questioning would have been a lot easier if he had the ring with him. it'd take him another moment or three to understand why he's so keen on taking it back, why he's dreading every each moment she keeps it to herself for all the wrong reasons. ]

Yeah, I did.

[ and, with a healthy bit of defensiveness: ]

so?

[ go on, say what you will. ]

Five months is a long bloody time.

[ to be sitting on his intentions. not that she wants to goad him into acting upon them now -- far from it. only that perhaps he was right to listen to his hesitation. they're not ready; they don't know what they're doing. cut off from home, living an uncertain life here in the fleet.

things are comfortable, yes. but they're not consistent.

she twists the ring between her fingertips. ]

[ everything about her tone makes him nervous. he's starting to think she might keep the ring just so he'll never ask. steve runs a hand over his face, as if this whole thing is giving him a terrible, terrible headache. ]

Not that long.

[ some people wait longer, surely. and with everything that happened, five months went by pretty quickly. never mind the last few weeks of sleep. ]

well. are you going to give it back to me at all?

[ he's unsettled. good, she thinks. because simply finding the ring had damn well unsettled her. but what had unsettled her most (and what she'll never tell) is the five-or-so minutes where she'd tried the damn thing on her finger.

-- and it had looked lovely, no matter how strange it felt to be wearing one again. and now (and now!) steve knows a little bit more about that engagement, having seen the man during those awful calibrations.

peggy looks as though she might be prepared to relent. however! ]

Say I do give it back. What are you going to do with it?

[ she cannot possibly be asking this. ]

I thought I could bake it into a pie, we're low on apples.

[ the sass feels natural and fitting. especially as he can't think what she expects to hear. ]

[ she is absolutely asking this. and, heaven help them both, she might have actually returned it to him had he not broken the glass on such savage back-talk. peggy's only seen him on the ropes quite like this in a handful of prior instances. back in the asteroid system, for one.

and in the bunker, for another. fondue, back then, and apple pie now. ]

Don't be childish.

[ yes. because he's the problem here. ]

I'm childish.

[ he takes out his communicator, opens the little message she published only two hours ago and points to it with a thumb. ]

This is how you chose to let me know. You still have that ring and I'm childish?

[ really? ]

[ and now he's chiding her. with exhibit a (her broadcast) included. there's a measure of truth to what he's accusing her of, of course. she's not being a stellar picture of maturity. and yet!

rather than engage in his argument directly, she tilts her head toward the device. ]

-- How long did it take you to solve it?

[ this is a nightmare. this is some weird, atroma-induced nightmare of the worst possible scenario of a woman finding her own engagement ring in her bedroom. steve shakes his head. ]

No.

[ he pockets his communicator, reaches to take his book and shakes his head. ]

You want to keep it? go ahead. Be the first woman in the galaxy to have an engagement ring without saying yes.

Steve.

[ and, all at once, she's back to brooking no nonsense. the fun has drained out of it, if there was ever any fun to begin with. he puts his hand on the book and that necessitates reaching past her so, with familial ease, she puts a hand on his elbow.

and holds out her palm to offer him his damned stupid ring back. ]

Go on, then. Take it.

[ it's his, after all. and the moment he'd invoked the question (without saying yes) she found she rather didn't want it in her possession any longer. ]

[ he scoffs. oh now she's giving it back, he thinks. the very moment when he finally admits to what it is. it's fitting and frustrating at all at the same time. he takes it back, of course he does and pockets it rather than placing it back in the book. ]

whatever it is you're angry with me for, we can work it out. you and me, the way we do. if this is some - way of punishing me for whatever it is I've done, it's -

[ cruel. that's what he wants to say and doesn't. ]

seeing you upset has been punishment enough without you putting me through this, you understand that, right?

Edited 2017-08-03 18:59 (UTC)

[ her attention follows the ring. follows his hand, follows it to his pocket, and she huffs a soft sad sound. it was never really about the ring, was it? but about the secret. about the idea that he might be curating this experience for her, withholding and imparting information according to how he sees fit.

it shouldn't bother her so much -- heaven knows, she commits the same sin -- but it does. and now steve invokes that bubbling-below-the-surface sorrow that she's been sweeping under every rug ever since he'd woken up.

her jaw works, soundless, for just a heartbeat while she watches him. he wants to work it out, does it? orright. ]

I know about Howard, Steve. [ peggy hauls it out into the open. bold, yes, but not without a quiver in her voice. ] I know about what happens to him. And I suspect you've been holding onto that for considerably longer than five months.

Bucky's mind?

[ how else would she find out, really? it makes sense with everything that happened on the marsiva, after all. it's the first thing he needs to understand. how on earth did the knowledge come to her when steve had, admittedly, tried to make sure she'll never know the details of it all. ]

The Marsiva?

[ god help him, he can't consider someone telling her. ]

Yes -- precisely.

[ well. precisely enough. at the very least, the intel got to her via someone who'd seen the event in bucky's mind. aboard the marsiva. and in that knee-jerk of a moment, peggy chooses to protect jarvis. because she can read the sharpish way in which steve interrogates the point. no good will come of telling him the whole truth.

truth is, she'd been nowhere near bucky's memories. what a bloody hypocrite. ]

I'm not naive. I never thought -- never thought he'd live forever. [ or that any of them would. ] But an assassination, Steve.

[ peggy has been grieving him for weeks. it shows, now, in her haunted eyes. ]

Edited 2017-08-03 19:15 (UTC)

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