[open] august starstruck mingle

[wingedman]

Who: Everyone!
Broadcast: n/a
Action: Starstruck
When: August 1-31

Everyone on the Starstruck is regretting their life and their choices. Why does anyone want to visit this ship again?

Comments

[uprightness]

Oh.

[ well then! he collects the tape and shrugs. for someone so big, he almost makes the gesture seem casual enough and not at all pre-planned. ]

well then, see? Told you it's not so bad.

[ :) ]

[mucked]

[ -- goddamn.

her eyes narrow.]

There will -- of course -- be natural consequences.

[ two can play, rogers. ]

[uprightness]

[ what. ]

-------------- to my having a beard?

[ dear god, what did he get himself into? ]

[mucked]

[ she curls her nails against her palm -- inspecting, perhaps, a bit of chipped polish with a curl of her lip. ]

I can't be blamed for avoiding something so scratchy. And, dare I say it, ticklish.

[ and so opens yet another classic carter-rogers negotiation. ]

[uprightness]

You have got to be -

[ can't be blamed, she says. ]

You know that's not even remotely fair, right?

[ SIMPLY MAKING SURE. ]

[mucked]

It feels fair to me.

[ she counters, altogether too pleased to suddenly have him on the back foot once again. there's even a glimmer in her eye because of it. ]

After all, I'm the one getting scratched.

[uprightness]

Really? And there is no way I can say the same thing at all?

[ the way he eyes her fingernails is nothing less than skeptical. ]

[mucked]

[ she swallows a rather charmed smile before, yes, waggling the tips of her fingers as though she knows precisely what he means. ]

I believe that's a horse of an entirely different colour.

[uprightness]

I think the result is just about the same.

[ he is so terribly pleased with himself. ]

And I've never complained.

[mucked]

I can keep them shorter. If you'd like.

[ she knows damn well he wouldn't. ]

[uprightness]

I can shorten the beard, too. But you said I should give up and so.

[ as it's only fair ]

I need your help.

[mucked]

Need it? [ peggy reaches out and gives a bit of a tug on some of his beard growth that's a bit more easily grabbed. ] And here I thought you went the war shaving your own chin. Don't tell me you had Dugan do it for you that whole time?

[ she teases -- warming up, maybe, to the idea of lending a hand. ]

[uprightness]

Well I was much younger then. You can't compare that to being ninety-nine.

[ since evidently he's such an old man these days. ]

[mucked]

[ despite all her best intentions, his words draw a slow grin onto her face. it does her cause no good, she knows, but she can't help it. sometimes -- sometimes -- he's genuinely funny.

to her, at least. ]

You're like no ninety-nine year old I've ever met. Whiskers or none. [ she lets him go after a brief waggle of his chin. ] Fine. I'll help. Just this once, since there's so very much of it to get rid of.

[uprightness]

Just this once.

[ which means he'll have to make each moment count. He leans in to press a kiss to her cheek. ]

Thank you. Sorry about those regulations by the way.

[ the public display of affection, the beard. Pick and choose. ]

[mucked]

Oh, please.

[ it's a miracle she doesn't push him away, really. but ever since the coma's end, there's been a considerable relaxation in the harshest application of her rules and regulations. a kiss, she supposes, is alright. especially if restrained to the cheek. ]

You're not in the least bit apologetic.

[uprightness]

That's not true.

[ it's absolutely true but he's also pushing his luck just a bit. He's on a roll today so just as well. One agreement and one kiss and he's on cloud nine. Apparently that's what happens when he gets his way. ]

I'm a bit apologetic.

[mucked]

Enough to let me off the hook, perhaps?

[ why not also press her luck? ]

Think about it. You can't really want me near your throat with a razor.

[uprightness]

I'd trust you near my throat with a butcher's knife.

[ and it's such an easy thing to say especially because it's true. ]

A razor's nothing. You don't scare me.

[mucked]

What, not at all? [ she wears her mock-disappointment quite readily. god, every day makes him bolder. and she would swear as well that ever day since his not-quite-a-proposal has made him bolder still.

it's a problem. she's not yet certain how to address it. ]

[uprightness]

Not one bit.

[ he stretches his arms behind his head, eyes her with a smile. ]

Peggy, it's been more than a year now. Surely a fella can think you're just about swell by now.

[mucked]

[ well. he's a bit of alright, isn't he? peggy behaves as though she isn't watching (with care) the way he stretches and lounges on his side of the sofa. he's right -- it's been more than a year now. and all the same she clings to her coyness. ]

I am still the captain of this ship, mind. Your captain. I'm owed a bit of an intimidation factor, surely.

[uprightness]

Not at all.

[ and although there is an aroma of humor in the air, he grows serious for a heartbeat or three. ]

You don't need any of us to fear you. You're our captain because we want you to be. Respect is better than fear, anyway.

[mucked]

Oh, get off it. [ she huffs a mixture of amusement and displeasure. peggy knows this argument -- she's on steve's side of this one, in fact. his turn towards the serious (however brief) is unwelcome. peggy doesn't want to be serious. seriousness invites 'round too many storm clouds. ]

I'm not talking about the rest of them. [ she's talking about him. ] Being their captain is, I confess, a touch different to being yours.

[ this isn't a can of worms she should be opening. and yet. ]

[uprightness]

Alright - look, after having a gun knocked into my face, I guess I do fear you a bit. I learned to fear sudden movements.

[ firm nod. ]

Better?