driftfleet | ᴏɴᴇ ɢʟɪᴍᴘsᴇ ᴏғ ʙʀɪɢʜᴛᴇʀ sᴋɪᴇs (sᴇᴍɪ-ᴏᴘᴇɴ)

Would I say it if I wasn't certain?

[ he knows her better than anyone. better than colleagues, better than friends, better than blood would know her now. there is no part of her that would lie only so that she might appease him.

but a lot of things have happened. danger and mayhem and the kind of close calls that make her realize she doesn't want any regrets in this life. and then there's the sympathetic pain of watching max grieve for what he'd found, here, with furiosa. and there's the dress, too. the one that landed here like a gift and sits practically untouched in the closet. she hasn't even shown it to him -- strangely nervous about luck and tradition. for once. ]

Nothing changed. [ and that's true enough. ] The feelings that have always been there have simply -- come into clearer focus.

[ she trusts him to believe her. after all, he's the one who didn't ask her to marry him when she'd been glitched to speak only the truth. he'd known it, even then, that the answer would have been a yes. ]

[ he's silent for a moment. she's actually serious and in the end, steve does believe this isn't the result of pressure or asgardian liquor. he inhales, forgets to exhale and ends up having to clear his throat. ]

well.

[ if she's gone out of her way to do this tonight of all times, he tilts his head. stands to reason, really, ]

you might as well do it properly, though.

[ he's not smiling. nope. ]

You're one to talk.

[ there's been nothing proper about his prolonged proposal, after all. ]

[ his scoff is mixed with a chuckle. she's not wrong. he never asked her the right way, did he? ]

well, in my defense, I was pretty sure you were going to say no during all those times and I figured -

[ he shrugs. this is madness, isn't it? but of the best sort. ]

I figured we should only really do it right once.

[ the one time that will matter. he was counting on a theoretical 'yes' before making a grander gesture. ]

But. since you brought this up.

[ he won't steal the opportunity from her. ]

I don't mind passing the right of asking to you.

[ well. packing's promptly forgotten, isn't it? peggy presses her lips together and disengages completely -- stepping back and scrubbing her fingers nervously (nervously?!) through her hair, undoing curls and pulling at the pretty little comb until it comes free. she tosses it aside on her desk before turning back toward steve. ]

I'm not getting down on one knee. Not in these stockings.

[ which isn't to say she won't ask. but if he's going to be picky about it, then she's going to negotiate terms. ]

You used those to tie knots in a blanket fort.

[ he reminds her. this is absurd, this isn't even romantic. steve thought about - what? dinner? a dance? someplace else but the ship? instead, they're deciding terms and arguing over ideas. he could laugh, really. ]

I think they'll make it but if you insist.

[ oh but in the end, this is wonderful. it fits, it makes sense and it feels right. ]

no kneeling. but there has to be a question. I'm pretty sure we're not meant to include orders in a proposal.

[ how should he know! she wants to retort -- remind him that of the pair, she's the one who's fielded a serious proposal before. although arguably that had been altogether less sentimental than this one, despite hitting all the usual beats: fred on one knee, with good music playing in the back ground. but it had all been so stiff and unexpected. there'd been no heart in it.

no blood.

but right now she can feel hers coursing in her veins -- rushing, like ocean-water, in her ears. and peggy clears her throat when she reaches for his hand. leaving it like a command would have been easier, but he's intent on making this anything but.

and maybe she deserves that. ]

-- And no one believes me when I tell them you're the one who is so high maintenance. [ terribly romantic start, this. she laces her fingers between his. ] When the time is right and the details are settled, will you marry me?

[ there's an uncharacteristic tremble in her voice. it's not like she fears him saying no -- not really -- but there's something nerve-wracking about it all the same. ]

[ there was a moment years ago, when steve rogers saw her in red in the middle of a busy pub. it was during that night when he thought that one day, he and her, they could have time to do things properly. the dinners, the dancing, the progress towards a simple question and an easy answer. they never got that first date, nor everything that would have followed but it always made sense that if ever he were to put a ring on any woman's finger, it would have only be peggy carter.

it took quite a journey to get them here but in retrospect, he figures that if that's what it took, then it all must have been worth it. ]

I'd marry you tomorrow or in a week, for all I care.

[ but he brings her hand to his lips, presses a kiss to her knuckles. ]

yes, of course I'll marry you. whenever you want, wherever you want.

[ peg can't remember the last time she'd felt this weak in the knees -- or a flutter, like this, in her heart. steve kisses the back of her hand and she almost wants to laugh. not cruelly, but with warmth and love and a brand new certainty that there never was a more right partner for this life or any other.

her fingers waggle a little in his hand. ]

Go on, then. [ this time, her nudge is gentler. ] Go get the ruddy thing. See if it fits.

[ she knows it fits. she's tried it on. alone, out of his sight, and with a quiet pang under her ribs. it just took a while to recognize what that pang meant. ]

I think we both know that it fits and you should be kinder to it now that it's yours.

[ he had to go underwater for that ring and in the duration of ten months, it became a prized possession of sort. back on the planet that exploded, steve took to wearing it on a chain beneath his uniform. he kept it close and he kept it safe. he knows that without context, most people wouldn't guess it to be an engagement ring. most people would seek rosy-gold and diamonds rather than silver and deep blue sea-glass.

but it's such a nice match to its kin, the necklace that's hanging around her neck. he reaches for the shelf, closing his fingers around the simple box that contains it, he knocks his knuckles against her wrist. ]

I'll need your hand back.

[ kinder! as if the ring had feelings to bruise. peggy doesn't hold back from rolling her eyes. exhaling, too, with a kind of love-soaked exasperation. all the preamble -- the months of deferral -- has managed to take some of the tension out of the moment. she's glad; she feels more at home with this idle impatience than she does with any grand gestures.

it feels comfortable. it feels like them.

so she slides her fingertips down the length of his palm. she touches his wrist. she thumbs his hand a moment before turning hers over and offering the requisite finger. it's just as well they'll be leaving for a few days. she'll need to get used to the weight of it before letting the rest of the fleet have a glimpse. ]

[ they only really had to do this once and do this right, that was the sentiment that led him even when he constantly needled her with the subject of this, of making things official. it's one of those things that a person thinks about but obviously can't quite imagine. it all turned out differently in the most wonderful of ways. quieter; intimate, even, and filled with banter and back-and-forths and all the things that have become comfortable habits over the course of their relationship.

it's all certain, it's all comfortable, steve's fingers don't tremble when he slips the ring onto her finger, its proper place, in his opinion. it's his first time seeing it, however, and it invokes a smile. ]

peggy, we're getting married.

[ it's a warning of impending sentimentality if there ever was one. ]

[ such a simple action with such giant consequences. the ring slips into place without fight or difficulty. and once it has, she waggles her fingers so that the bit of cloudy sea glass catches the light. it looks like the ocean in a bauble.

and then it's her turn to smile. ]

Eventually. [ after all! ] One step at a time. And, first, we've got three days to spend.

[ and only three days. ]

[ steve rogers' poker face was never quite so good. the second it dawns on him what the meaning of her earlier request was he groans. ]

Peggy - no, oh come on. You can't be serious.

[ but he starts passing her random clothes as it is. ]

those three days were to celebrate Christmas. we're celebrating an engagement, that's different. That has to count.

[ how could this be happening to him? he pokes at her shoulder with a finger. ]

Throw in an extra day.

I'm afraid you've already agreed.

[ but she takes a blouse and re-folds it carefully before tucking it into her duffel bag. peggy turns her head, not quite looking at him, but her smile persists.

even after he pokes her shoulder. ]

It's already been decided.

That was for a whole other - it wasn't even the same point. You can't take an agreement for a Christmas-time trip and say it's the same as celebrating an engagement. I'm withdrawing my earlier agreement.

[ right this minute. while also passing her a few more day-to-day items. ]

we're re-negotiating. Throw in another day. call it my Christmas gift. it's really for your own good, too.

[ his head pops out of their walk-in closet. ]

Unless you prefer to take the chance and celebrate here? I thought we had rules about that sort of thing. We're not drifting.

[ it's a delight to watch him fluster and argue. this moment, just now, is precisely the one she'd anticipated the moment he numbered his intended days. it was that same moment that cemented for peggy her desire to accept his long-form proposal at long last.

he calls it re-negotiating. she laughs. ]

I think you've been gifted enough already. [ she zips her bag shut. ] Three will be plenty. Like you said: we're not drifting. I'm certain you can wait until we get planetside.

You're going to drag me back after three days?

[ he sounds both long-suffering and amused. ]

and you expect me to abide by your rules when we do it? I think you're going on a little too much faith there, Peggy.

[ which is a gentle way to say one thing will have to be sacrificed for the other. it's a daring venture for him but it's the ring on her finger that landed him in this particular mood, after all. when he emerges from the closet he reaches for her waist, tucking his chin at the crook of her neck. ]

It's just four. I could have asked you for a week.

[ faith. it so often boils back down to faith. and hers went hand in hand with her love for him. both virtues so tangled up and entwined since early, early days. but neither of them will ever blind her to his vulnerable spots.

especially the ones she can still exploit -- all in good fun, of course.

her breath catches he snuggles close and pretends as though he's behaving reasonably. ]

I'm still your captain. [ she reminds him as she's reminded him time and time again. ] That much hasn't changed. Three days -- we'd best make the most of them.

Tonight isn't included. It hardly counts for a day.

[ he takes what he can get ( for now ) and steps back, takes her hand in his. With their fingers entwined, he can feel the ring against his own knuckles and it invokes a happy thought that it'll be there tomorrow and in a week and in a month, too. ]

Your Christmas gift is already there.

[ of course there's a gift, one that now feels even more suitable. He tugs her towards the door. ]

...Already there?

[ of course there's a gift. peggy knows there would be. what surprises her, however, is that he's got a wider plan enacted. her teeth scrape across her bottom lip -- biting down on a smile. it doesn't change the argument, of course. three days is three days and that's what he's agreed to.

she grabs her duffel back and slings it over her shoulder, all without loosening her grip on his hand. ]

Arranged a bit of mis-en-place, did you?

I'm just proud that I've managed to surprise you with alla this.

[ it may not have worked with the ring she's wearing but every now and then, he can still get smaller projects done. The planet has quickly become one of steve's favorites, a wonderful change from all the destruction that came before. But now, with peggy's question and her ring in place, its appeal increases by the minute. ]

It's already my favorite planet.

[ he tells her once they are outside, draping his jacket over her shoulders. ]

[ she'll allow him to drape, if drape he must. the place isn't exactly frigid. although it is refreshing. and bright. and beautiful, peggy will admit. and even if the ice isn't exactly proper ice, she'll nevertheless lean on him for 'support' as an easy excuse to keep near. keep in touch.

to keep her hand tangled up in his. ]

You say that about nearly every planet that doesn't try to kill us.

True. But this one is where we got engaged so I think its place at the top of the list is secured.

[ at least until they'll get married, he reckons. Indeed, the little streets look sweeter, the houses look warmer and even the sweet scent of marshmallow on the air is inviting. ]

So. Now we can say it. Tonight was very good. The jury reached its verdict.

Our jury of two, yes.

[ the streets are gorgeous and sweet. but she's only got eyes for him -- sly, side-darting looks that turn the periphery of her vision into the fulcrum point of all her attention. ]

How much farther is it? [ impatient, maybe. ]

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