[ -- 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. ]
[ -- how bizarre to be compared to a relative not yet born. peggy offers a shake of her head. ]
I'm not fond of fuss, no. I'll cop to that. [ but she's been surrounded by fuss her whole life. unlike with fitz, however, that fuss has been thoroughly dismissive. frustrating though it is, as nauseated as it makes her, fitz's exuberance and uncertainty don't make peggy angry in the same way. ]
[ another person might have corrected him by now. another person might have argued that agent carter or even miss carter would suffice. but she's comfortable with formalities. she lets it slide; in time, she might come to appreciate the respect. rather than look at it in its gift horse's mouth. ]
Clever as you are, Agent Fitz, I rather suspect it won't. [ happen again. ]
[He doesn't respond to her after that. There aren't any words left. He's embarrassed her, probably. Sharon accused him of being a pervert; is that what she'll think now too?
It should have been Jemma. Jemma would have handled this better.]
[ small mercies, maybe, that her thoughts couldn't be further from any conclusion involving perversion. instead, peggy's stuck mildly miffed that the fellow doesn't have a bit more fight in him. it's odd to take swings, even verbal ones, at someone who doesn't swing back. it can't all be blamed on the cult of personality she's doomed to possess some seven decades in the future, can it?
regardless, the silence seems to stretch. peggy watches him with a pensive look. it takes a little while, but! ]
[ all over the world. it's an impressive notion, albeit also a chilling one. the world is wide wide net; at times, it's difficult to cope with operating as a single agent in america.
she gives in and rubs at a temple. peggy doesn't have a headache, but she could imagine the beginnings of one forming behind her eyes. ]
I can only imagine the sort of infrastructure and organization that requires. [ and because she's curious! ] How much of it is built on the backs of SSR facilities?
[ she knows enough, then, to understand that one came before the other. ]
[If this is a pop quiz on SHIELD history, Fitz is happy to oblige.]
All of it, Ma'am. Not concurrently, but all of the SSR was eventually absorbed into SHIELD. The major SSR facility was eventually repurposed into the SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology. It's. Where I did the bulk of my training. Vastly superior to the Academy of Operations.
[ she echoes -- amused, and betraying a ghost of a smile. she doesn't need to be versed in shield's organization to easily guess the difference between the two academies named. ]
One assumes back home the different cogs were meant to work in tandem. Bit easier to let bygones be bygones when you're all putting the shoulder to the wheel together. Here?
[ -- peggy shrugs. she doesn't need to have been here for more than a month to realize that it's tougher to carve out progress. perhaps that's why fitz's portal remains so deeply impressive. ]
Here, the more appropriate metaphor must be to say we're spinning our wheels instead.
[ and for what it's worth, she's always held a kind of contempt for the field agents who failed to learn the scientists' names. samberly might be a pain in the arse, but he'd been right to call daniel out on his neglect. ]
[ she thinks about jack thompson. and then about vernon masters. ]
-- It always does, I fear. Regardless of the letters involved or in what order they're listed.
[ ssr or shield. perhaps it's not the cheeriest message from the woman who's meant to go on and co-found the latter, but it's certainly where her philosophy is currently residing. ]
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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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I'm not fond of fuss, no. I'll cop to that. [ but she's been surrounded by fuss her whole life. unlike with fitz, however, that fuss has been thoroughly dismissive. frustrating though it is, as nauseated as it makes her, fitz's exuberance and uncertainty don't make peggy angry in the same way. ]
But now you know better.
[ you get one freebie, agent fitz. ]
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Clever as you are, Agent Fitz, I rather suspect it won't. [ happen again. ]
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It should have been Jemma. Jemma would have handled this better.]
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regardless, the silence seems to stretch. peggy watches him with a pensive look. it takes a little while, but! ]
You know, I'm relieved you're not all Americans.
[ well why not. ]
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Still, it's nice when she speaks next. Does this mean he hasn't completely alienated her?]
You aren't the only one. It's American based and funded, but we've got agents from all over the world.
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she gives in and rubs at a temple. peggy doesn't have a headache, but she could imagine the beginnings of one forming behind her eyes. ]
I can only imagine the sort of infrastructure and organization that requires. [ and because she's curious! ] How much of it is built on the backs of SSR facilities?
[ she knows enough, then, to understand that one came before the other. ]
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All of it, Ma'am. Not concurrently, but all of the SSR was eventually absorbed into SHIELD. The major SSR facility was eventually repurposed into the SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology. It's. Where I did the bulk of my training. Vastly superior to the Academy of Operations.
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[ she echoes -- amused, and betraying a ghost of a smile. she doesn't need to be versed in shield's organization to easily guess the difference between the two academies named. ]
I suppose the rivalry never ends.
[ field and lab, their horns forever locked. ]
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One assumes back home the different cogs were meant to work in tandem. Bit easier to let bygones be bygones when you're all putting the shoulder to the wheel together. Here?
[ -- peggy shrugs. she doesn't need to have been here for more than a month to realize that it's tougher to carve out progress. perhaps that's why fitz's portal remains so deeply impressive. ]
Here, the more appropriate metaphor must be to say we're spinning our wheels instead.
[ and for what it's worth, she's always held a kind of contempt for the field agents who failed to learn the scientists' names. samberly might be a pain in the arse, but he'd been right to call daniel out on his neglect. ]
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There've been attempts to revive SHIELD here. It keeps getting muddled up in people's own self-promotion.
[It's a lot less lonely feeling like there's a team to support him.]
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-- It always does, I fear. Regardless of the letters involved or in what order they're listed.
[ ssr or shield. perhaps it's not the cheeriest message from the woman who's meant to go on and co-found the latter, but it's certainly where her philosophy is currently residing. ]
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