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

[ 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. ]

Not far. Just up that hill on the edge of the forest.

[ quiet, peaceful and secluded. When he first paid for the place, he had little knowledge of hos important it will be. Upon reaching this milestone, steve wants nothing else but spending those days with her. A quiet celebration; they're not the sort of people who need engagement parties. ]

There are steps in the stone. Let me get your shoes.

[ her heels can, at times, be unforgiving. ]

I can assure you, Steve, that I've done far more strenuous things in heels than walk up some stone steps.

[ -- sharply retorted, maybe. but her steps do slow. something tells her this is a gesture he needs more than she does. peggy leans on her husband-to-be, using him like a strut while she works a heel off her foot. ]

I know. You showed me a couple.

[ months and months ago at the hand-holding planet. Steve's reaction was wide-eyed awe followed by quiet admiration. ]

I think it's amazing, you know. I can barely function in sneakers.

[ said as he kneels down and takes her shoes. ]

-- Oh, for God's sake, get up.

[ spectacle, all of it. she gives him a tug and puffs out an exasperated sigh and wonders what on earth she's done to deserve this much tribulation and this much triumph. the ground is chilly on her stocking'd feet, but she commits to this course of action all the same.

peggy walks a few steps ahead of him, as though threatening to leave him behind. ]

I'm convinced you function just fine in any kind of footwear, darling.

[ peak human, after all. ]

Some of the modern ones can fall apart if I'm not careful.

[ be says as he catches up with her, laughing as he does. There's something charming in her complaint and her indignation. His free hand finds hers again as they begin their climb ]

Or catch on fire.

[ he's exaggerating, surely. ]

...Are shoes so terrible in the future?

[ she teases and turns back to face the ascent alongside him. he's got her shoes in hand, the darling thing, and she takes the steps two at a time regardless of how rough the stone steps are on her stockings. ]

Made of plastic.

[ it's an easy way upward. The scent of marshmallow and pine trees and the clear air make into a quick and easy one. The view is lovely but steve barely pays any attention to it. It's late and all his senses are focused on peggy and her smiles.

It's been too long since he'd seen her like this. Since he felt like this. Almost carefree.

The place itself is small, a wooden cabin that stands apart from the marble buildings. The glass is stained, there are patterns of trees and snow in every window. It's warm, it's cozy. It reminds him of the room they shared on a farm with a family of aliens.

Only now it's just them. ]

What do you think?

[ it's asked over a kiss that he places against her cheekbone. ]

[ she drops her bag on the floor just inside the entrance. there's no art to how she proceeds -- shrugging out of her coat, tossing it over the back of a chair, and turning on a bare(ish) heel so she can look back at steve while she walks in. somehow, it's even more stunning than the city below.

and who knows whether the colour in her cheeks is all feeling or all weather or somewhere in between. but then he's in her space again, planting a kiss, and she laughs against his smooth cheek. ]

I think I'm starting to wonder whether you weren't planning to properly ask the question once we got here. [ it has that vibe. sweet and darling and intimate. ] Perhaps you're sore I beat you to it?

If you have to know, I was counting on New Year's Eve.

[ it seemed appropriate, the shift between one year and another, the party, the kiss at midnight and the question to follow it much later, in private. that was the next checkpoint on his list. ]

and I'm very happy that you beat me to it. though you know.

[ he noses a lock of hair away, everything is affectionate, everything is soft. ]

What really threw me off was your timing. I thought you said Christmas was all saccharine.

I did. And it is.

[ she won't refute what's plain and obvious. but she will lead him back, step by step, until the back of her thighs hit a rustic sofa arm. peggy wraps a hug around his waist and locks her fingers just behind the small of his back.

there's a freedom found in being far from their ship. no one will knock; no one will need them. and maybe there's a niggling worry in the back of her head, yes, but it's easily suppressed when she breathes in his scent. ]

But the party was a good idea. [ a beat. ] I can admit when I'm wrong, you know. I can be reasonable.

Have I ever said you can't be? you're one of the most reasonable people I know.

[ the one thing that remained unreasonable was solved, amazingly, when her truth glitch hit. steve could never wrap his head around his best girl's aversion to coffee until he asked her on a whim. ]

of course, you're also the person who nearly scolded me into oblivious for playing fair during a holo-billiard match.

[ that, in many ways, was a first date of a sort. he remembers every detail about that afternoon. ]

I'm glad you think so. Honestly, I don't see myself hosting another one for a while.

[ the whole thing was exhausting. ]

So if they're counting on us for New Year's, they have another thing coming.

[ this here tops the party, tops everything else, really. ]

Leave it to Howard. [ or jarvis, or anyone else -- leave it to someone who can stop and care about new years long enough. let someone else care about the countdown. peggy, for once, can't bring herself to care much further beyond the tip of her nose as it nudges against the line of steve's jaw.

she sits on the sofa arm, hauling him down to her changed height. ] You did your part. Let someone else pick up the slack on New Year's.

We did our part.

[ he corrects, angling his head, searching for her lips. Her question and his acceptance weren't a passionate affair outright; but just now, his kiss is slow and deep and grateful. It's almost as if he's been safeguarding this particular happiness until just now.

He cups her cheeks when he pulls away. ]

Don't think I haven't noticed that there wasn't a lot of Christmas music in our Christmas party.

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