[ The body language is something he reads easily. His field is
concerned with motion and the natural grace of the human machine. She's
moving with a stiffness; if she were a construction, he'd immediately flag
her as damages. ]
Are you -- feeling all right?
[ This is more important than responding to her probes. History
never noted anything about Peggy Carter having impaired mobility. ]
[ -- hm? oh. with a wan look, she pats he stomach. low on her side, around her abdomen. ]
Better every day. [ which is true enough. ] I was in far worse shape upon my arrival. Give another week or so and I'll be right as rain. Gut wounds take a bit longer to heal than others; it's all the twisting and bending.
[ simply shutting a door or taking a seat has strained the process. ]
You've been stabbed. [ That isn't a statement of pity, at least.
Stabbings happen in their community. ]
Have you found someone to treat you here? Medical help can be a bit thin,
but Agent Simmons -- our biochem expert -- she's become quite a skilled
field medic. She'll help prevent infection.
Impaled, more like. [ a slight wince. it's an unpleasant story -- but it's an injury she'd gained in an attempt to avoid a far, far worse fate. something that treads perhaps a little too near to talk of portals.
she lets her palm settle flat above the wound. or, at least, where it's likely to be from fitz's perspective. ] Another resident quickly offered to help me get my bandages changed when necessary. Luckily, I'd somehow managed to avoid popping my stitches.
[ he straightens protectively. He certainly has no intention of
allowing Peggy Carter to sustain grevious injury on his watch. Which this
suddenly has become, apparently.]
[ well, this certainly took a turn for the uncanny. she sputters (only briefly) when he betrays his worry. ]
Qualified enough to change bandages? Yes, I rather think so. [ -- the chip and flint in her tone comes from a place of defensiveness than anything else. ] I'm fine, Agent Fitz. My dignity may have lost a bit of its shine but I'll be alright.
[ perhaps she could do with a bit of proper medical involvement but she's a stubborn bastard. back home, she'd made do with a butler's steady hands. ]
-- It was straight through; no complications. Honestly, it's not worth the fuss.
[ oh, lord, she doesn't handle anyone else's concern with even the slightest bit of dignity. somehow, it's worse to consider being aided by someone who considers her one of the founders of their workplace. a little like losing face. ]
I had a perfectly lovely nurse stitch it just two days before I arrived in Wonderland.
-- Positive. Good Lord, man, she was engaged to the chief at the SSR's Los Angeles branch. And so, as you might imagine, she came very highly recommended.
[ not least of all because peggy could go and get stitched up on her sofa instead of risking a hospital, but she's not about to tell him so. nor will she confess that a day later she'd popped her stitches and jarvis had been recruited to redo them.
and after that? well, she'd turned up here. recovery has slow but markedly less complicated than had she still been back home and swanning about. ]
Fitz -- [ she drops the title, if briefly, to appeal to the bare-bones association they've developed thus far. ] I trust you're prepared to believe me when I say I have absolutely no intention of bleeding out in front of you. If anything goes awry, you can call your colleague. Will that do?
[ -- she wants to tell him he shouldn't. that apart from some legacy she doesn't fully understand, he doesn't really know her from adam. and because, not least of all, that trust can't be a perfect two-way street.
but she can at least trust that he cares. it means more than she dares say. ]
Excellent. [ a beat. ] Now, more importantly, do you snore?
[He knows that she's one of the good ones. That she saw a system that wanted to bury its demons and realized that someone ought to be there to do good in the world. She would be the type who'd suffered so that others could sleep peacefully without knowing there was a reason to suffer at all. That she's Peggy Carter, that that means absolutely everything in the world.]
S-snore? ... I don't think I do. I imagine Simmons would have yelled at me more than once if I did...
[ alright, so she hates to assume such things. but a sentence like that is awfully telling, isn't it? and so she might as well tackle the elephant trunk on. ]
Could I ask why the pair of you aren't sharing a room instead?
[ she doesn't press; she doesn't needle. if there's mischief in her eyes, then it's muted -- so much so, indeed, from the recent maudlin discussion that she mightn't be feeling mischievous at all. ]
Only that it'd make more sense to bunk with someone who's not a stranger. Wouldn't it?
[ peggy carter or not. after all, isn't that why she ultimately sought out someone like him as her roommate? someone whose safety and reliability might be partially assumed. and if she means anything else by her question, well...
[He should lie here. This is where a lie belongs. He's going to lie and it's going to be an excellent one, full of all sorts of creativity. He'll spin the sort of story that would make Coulson proud. He'll --]
But we discussed it, and thought through the pros and cons of the issue and then I won at Rochambeau and we decided it would be beneficial for everyone if one of us stayed with you to ensure your safety.
[Wait no that was the truth he is so bad at this.]
[ oh for god's sake, he absolutely should have lied just then. even if peggy hadn't believed it, she might have managed to get through the next five seconds without going bug-eyed. ]
You won. At Rochambeau. [ heaven help them all. peggy cards her fingers through dark curls, shaking her head with disbelief. ] And I'm the prize, am I?
[ harshly worded, perhaps, but not unreasonable given what fitz has just told her. ]
If it's true, and you did -- good God -- study me? [ well, that makes her nauseous. ] Then I hope the history books got enough right to help you realize I don't much need anyone else ensuring my safety.
[ or -- dear lord, is her official record doomed to be as ridiculous as that godawful captain america radio programme? the one with arlene french playing playing the poor besotted 'betty carver', captured by the germans at ever damn turn?
[ once again, she holds up a hand. steady; mitigating, almost. perhaps it says something about her life that she expects people to take a bit more guff than this. or else she windmills her way through life, preemptively swinging against the expectation of being talked over; underestimated; sidelined. ]
Heinous as it is, [ dramatic, yes, ] I'd rather you stay.
[ she doesn't want to risk who else she might get stuck with just to make this ludicrous living arrangement work. ]
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[ The body language is something he reads easily. His field is concerned with motion and the natural grace of the human machine. She's moving with a stiffness; if she were a construction, he'd immediately flag her as damages. ]
Are you -- feeling all right?
[ This is more important than responding to her probes. History never noted anything about Peggy Carter having impaired mobility. ]
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Better every day. [ which is true enough. ] I was in far worse shape upon my arrival. Give another week or so and I'll be right as rain. Gut wounds take a bit longer to heal than others; it's all the twisting and bending.
[ simply shutting a door or taking a seat has strained the process. ]
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You've been stabbed. [ That isn't a statement of pity, at least. Stabbings happen in their community. ]
Have you found someone to treat you here? Medical help can be a bit thin, but Agent Simmons -- our biochem expert -- she's become quite a skilled field medic. She'll help prevent infection.
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she lets her palm settle flat above the wound. or, at least, where it's likely to be from fitz's perspective. ] Another resident quickly offered to help me get my bandages changed when necessary. Luckily, I'd somehow managed to avoid popping my stitches.
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Is that other resident qualified?
[ he straightens protectively. He certainly has no intention of allowing Peggy Carter to sustain grevious injury on his watch. Which this suddenly has become, apparently.]
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Qualified enough to change bandages? Yes, I rather think so. [ -- the chip and flint in her tone comes from a place of defensiveness than anything else. ] I'm fine, Agent Fitz. My dignity may have lost a bit of its shine but I'll be alright.
[ perhaps she could do with a bit of proper medical involvement but she's a stubborn bastard. back home, she'd made do with a butler's steady hands. ]
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A wound to the midsection could be lethal. [ he insists, because someone ought to. He's the only one here to do it. ]
It will only be a moment. I'll send a message to Agent Simmons and she'll be right up to tend to it...
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[ oh, lord, she doesn't handle anyone else's concern with even the slightest bit of dignity. somehow, it's worse to consider being aided by someone who considers her one of the founders of their workplace. a little like losing face. ]
I had a perfectly lovely nurse stitch it just two days before I arrived in Wonderland.
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You're sure there was a nurse involved. You're not just saying that to get me to stop?
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[ not least of all because peggy could go and get stitched up on her sofa instead of risking a hospital, but she's not about to tell him so. nor will she confess that a day later she'd popped her stitches and jarvis had been recruited to redo them.
and after that? well, she'd turned up here. recovery has slow but markedly less complicated than had she still been back home and swanning about. ]
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I'm not particularly good if there's blood. It would be best if you didn't -- you know.
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[ a little wry; a lot dark. ]
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I trust you.
[Because who wouldn't trust Peggy Carter?? Really.]
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but she can at least trust that he cares. it means more than she dares say. ]
Excellent. [ a beat. ] Now, more importantly, do you snore?
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S-snore? ... I don't think I do. I imagine Simmons would have yelled at me more than once if I did...
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[ alright, so she hates to assume such things. but a sentence like that is awfully telling, isn't it? and so she might as well tackle the elephant trunk on. ]
Could I ask why the pair of you aren't sharing a room instead?
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[He stalls there, pupils constricting. He looks very much like he's just been caught with a hand in a cookie jar.]
Wh...at exactly do you mean by that?
[He's not good at playing dumb. He's not particularly good at handling social situations in general, really.]
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Only that it'd make more sense to bunk with someone who's not a stranger. Wouldn't it?
[ peggy carter or not. after all, isn't that why she ultimately sought out someone like him as her roommate? someone whose safety and reliability might be partially assumed. and if she means anything else by her question, well...
she'll let him deflect or not. ]
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[He should lie here. This is where a lie belongs. He's going to lie and it's going to be an excellent one, full of all sorts of creativity. He'll spin the sort of story that would make Coulson proud. He'll --]
But we discussed it, and thought through the pros and cons of the issue and then I won at Rochambeau and we decided it would be beneficial for everyone if one of us stayed with you to ensure your safety.
[Wait no that was the truth he is so bad at this.]
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You won. At Rochambeau. [ heaven help them all. peggy cards her fingers through dark curls, shaking her head with disbelief. ] And I'm the prize, am I?
[ harshly worded, perhaps, but not unreasonable given what fitz has just told her. ]
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So many mistakes were made.
His eyes find the floor and stay there, fingers tangling up with one another.]
Well. Um. Jemma and I -- studied you at the academy. And we thought.
...Well I suppose it doesn't much matter what we thought...
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[ or -- dear lord, is her official record doomed to be as ridiculous as that godawful captain america radio programme? the one with arlene french playing playing the poor besotted 'betty carver', captured by the germans at ever damn turn?
damn. now she looks queasy. ]
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I'm sorry -- I shouldn't have -- I didn't mean to --
I can go. If you want.
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[ once again, she holds up a hand. steady; mitigating, almost. perhaps it says something about her life that she expects people to take a bit more guff than this. or else she windmills her way through life, preemptively swinging against the expectation of being talked over; underestimated; sidelined. ]
Heinous as it is, [ dramatic, yes, ] I'd rather you stay.
[ she doesn't want to risk who else she might get stuck with just to make this ludicrous living arrangement work. ]
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[It's not that he doesn't believe her. It's just that she's not saying anything that makes much sense after what he's just told her.]
I just thought -- well. Sharon didn't take kindly to all of the fuss, and I thought you might react the same.
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