( IC INBOX )

[mucked]

PEGGY CARTER | MCU | DRIFT FLEET ( action ) or ( text ) or ( video )

Comments

[mucked]

You're here? Now?

[ well, she manages to make that sound like a strange sort of inconvenience. the device registers an odd clatter. noise. and then the crisp background of heeled shoes on hard metal. she addresses him while she walks: ] Yes, I'm quite aware what night it is --

[ she trails off. nothing about her reply inspires confidence, but if he manages to be just patient enough she'll arrive to collect him from the bay. peggy waves max aside from across the 'room', and does her level best to usher jarvis straight into the hallway. problem is, she seems to be having trouble tapping out the right code on the door's controls. ]

Welcome to the Starstruck, Mister Jarvis. It's -- it's damn good to see you.

[ quite embarrassingly, she hauls him into a full-on hug once they're in the corridor. her erratic behaviour is quickly explained by the lingering smell of spirits. she's been drinking -- just enough to be jolly and a twinge sentimental. there's colour in her cheeks. her grip is tight. it's either the very end of the world, or possibly she's been quite heartily ringing in the new year. ]

[edwinjarvis]

[Jarvis OOFS the moment she draws him into a hug - he's used to the smell of liquor thanks to his dear friend Howard and his turn-off-the-sun hangovers, but smelling it around Peggy is a very rare and interesting thing. Master Stark would be enthused. He hesitates for a moment, hunched over in her grip in all of his 6'3" stiff-boarded glory, and he pats her back with a supportive weight in the gesture.]

Happy New Year, Miss Carter. I feel strange saying that when it doesn't apply to home, but.

[But he will say it regardless.

He feels bad, though; he had only just seen her. So much has happened here.

.................................]

You've - been keeping with your morning work-outs I see.

[ur choking me pls wonderwoman]

[mucked]

[ another tight squeeze. and then -- self-aware -- she releases him. peggy's smile isn't the widest the world has ever seen, but she is undeniably happy to see jarvis. tonight, with enough space-whiskey in her to set her blood afire, she doesn't trivialize that happiness with the strange sort of survivor's guilt that can otherwise taint a stay in the fleet. ]

No reason not to stay fighting fit, [ she argues. lightly. ] Although there is markedly less trouble to be had up here, most days, unless we're stopped in a rough part of the stars.

[ she rests her palm on the back of her neck and eyes the corridor. kitchen?...kitchen. ] Could I interest you in a nightcap, Mister Jarvis? I've got tea and I've got home-stilled rotgut. Your choice.

[edwinjarvis]

[His nose wrinkles.]

The choice is an easy one, Miss Carter. Point me to the supplies and I'll promise you at least a mediocre cup of tea until I can get a bearing on... the kitchens here.

[Let me tell you these are not 1940's kitchens.]

Perhaps something called 'rotgut' isn't the best choice... in any situation.

[Legit sounds like a wartime injury, if I may say so.]

[mucked]

Don't be a bloody idiot. [ has her scolding gotten harsher, somehow? except her tone isn't quite as cold as it usually is, despite the hyperbolic word choice.

peggy points down the hallway. ] You're a guest. On my ship, no less. I'll manage the first pot; you're free to muddle your way through the rest.

[ so she isn't looking to usurp his life's calling, clearly. just borrow it. ]

[edwinjarvis]

[oh gosh, peggy, what has he done to earn your scorn

But for all his wincing, he does follow her orders.]

Very well. A guest, for the meanwhile.

[But I love to serve you and Mr. Stark. :C]

As long as no rotgut finds its way into my cup, I am content.

[mucked]

None for you. You have my word.

[ she at least ushers him through the narrow kitchen and insists he takes a seat while she puts the kettle on the hob. it's a small but well-organized kitchen. although she hasn't come out and explicitly said it, peggy's captaincy of the ship is almost palpable -- unless, of course, there exists a hardass equally fastidious as she is aboard the starstruck. but for now, with spirits still coursing in her blood, she's considerably warmer. ]

Myself? I could probably use a few pints of water. [ a grimace. she cracks a bottle open. ] The Tourist, hm? [ she stumbles back in her mind to his initial message. ] Not bad. There are good people aboard the Tourist.

[edwinjarvis]

[Don't you worry, he's already been snooping into fleet lists.

He is rather curious about Peggy's captaining of the ship - but he also feels if anyone is able to, has the credentials, it would be Miss Carter. He takes seat neatly, studying the area with a fine eye. Seeing what things they have available; you know he'll be in this kitchen making things often! Even if aboard the Tourist. Don't question his dedication to a job he technically doesn't have.]

Are there any that earn Miss Carter's recommendation in particular?

[mucked]

[ she leans her palms against the counter behind her. steadying herself, possibly. it isn't that she's too drunk to function -- far from it! but there's a pleasant buzz in her veins, and she knows it compromises her composure. ]

Winn Schott, for one. He's more than little over-exuberant. You'll get what I mean when you meet him -- but he's bloody brilliant. [ ... ] A very different kind of brilliance to Howard's.

[edwinjarvis]

[Jarvis quirks his brow.]

Less hangovers, women, and mustaches?

[mucked]

Considerably less. [ she puffs her cheeks. it's likely she wouldn't share this much while stone sober, but: ] He's been teaching me the particular language all these funny little machines use to speak to each other. Computer programming, it's called.

[ it's not as simple as all that -- but she doesn't want to bore the man. ] So Mister Schott is a worthy chum. He's got a friend aboard the Tourist who he knows from home. Her name's Kara -- Kara Danvers, I think. [ ... ] Both Steve and Winn speaks highly of her, though I've only had a few opportunities to meet the girl.

[edwinjarvis]

[He considers the listed names with careful attention.]

I will keep them in mind, then.

[So far this is going swimmingly! What a nice crew.]

What about our captain? Captain... Kirk?

[mucked]

Kirk? [ she hasn't had much occasion to speak to him -- except that his face has been familiar, and she's watched a few of his interactions on the network. ] Now he reminds me a little more of Howard's style. [ too charming for his own good. ]

But Schott assures me he's done this sort of thing before, which always comes in handy.

[edwinjarvis]

Oh, goody.

[He is not enthused, but he'll make due. He always does.]

Now - I hate to bring up the tipsy elephant in the room, but you seem a bit more relaxed than usual.

[:|a did he intrude on something]

[mucked]

If you must know, [ this would be a great time for the kettle to boil. alas, it's lagging. ] I was at a party.

[edwinjarvis]

Oh? A party?

[He sits up a bit, interested.]

Do tell.

[mucked]

It's New Years. [ aka, what more is there to tell? peggy curls her fingers around the edge of the counter. she knows he wants better details than that, and she doesn't quite know why she's afraid to share them. maybe because she's not prepared to meet the jarring change that's stolen across her personality these last few months. ] So of course there's a party. Down on the -- ah, hotel waystation.

[ but she came back a little early. not for any terrible reason -- but often the music doesn't agree with her for long, and the crowd is simply so...different. ]

[edwinjarvis]

[He looks completely unsatisfied with that, Miss Carter!!!!]

You, at a party that doesn't require espionage? How exciting.

[mucked]

[ wow! she does her best to look offended, although she knows very well there's a kernel of truth to his surprise. ]

I am not made of stone, [ she counters. ] And, besides, there's very little excitement otherwise. Why not enjoy a bit of dancing and good cheer?

[ clearly, having captain rogers in close quarters has done wonders for her. she's danced a lot. ]

[edwinjarvis]

With Mr. Rogers. Of course.

[He looks mildly pleased with this.]

It is rather nice to hear you've been leaving the house. Ship. Houseship.

Far better than then being focused on working.

[Ahem. Not that that's... going to be his thing.

He knows how to relax. Absolutely!!!!!]

[mucked]

Yes. [ LONG-SUFFERING. ] He was also in attendance. It's nothing to smirk about, however.

[ rude, jarvis. rude. ]

[edwinjarvis]

Smirk, no. Smile, absolutely.

It's simply nice to know that being kidnapped to outer space is more than just abject misery like one would think. [... He does have his concerns, but. He will let it be for now. Settle himself and wait for Peggy to be of clear mind and bloodstream.] Besides, while I'm... less than enthused at being away from home, I can't dispute meeting Captain America is anything but a positive thing.

[mucked]

It makes for only meager consolation, Mister Jarvis, but -- [ she clears her throat and pours the near-boiling water into a pot with a pair of tea sachets. not the nice twinnings stuff, perhaps, but at least the decent leaves provided to her by one sam winchester. ] Ana won't even know you're gone. I can as good as guarantee it.

[ she reads between his lines and busts through to the heart of the matter. ]

[edwinjarvis]

[He hesitates, and she can probably hear the thinning of his lips and, perhaps, a flicker of something mournful in his expression, because being away from Ana for an indefinite amount of time is tantamount to torture. Regardless, he is quick to recover, before she even has the chance to gaze upon his moment of weakness. He is smiling a bit, squaring his shoulders with some semblance of confidence.]

There's no need to console me by any degree, I can assure you.

As terrible the thought of being away from my home is, I would prefer to be kidnapped than face the idea of you being gone away in space of all places without my knowledge. Especially against your will.

And regardless of the surprising benefits.

Besides... it will be - an adventure of sorts.

[mucked]

-- An adventure.

[ she agrees. and peggy knows this adventure will be leagues safer than any bound by their lives back home. that, at least, is a windfall. he might indulge his taste for adventure with a degree of confidence so long as he is within the fleet.

she stretches upwards and fetches a sturdy box from a high shelf. swaying (just a little) as she reaches. within it are a quartet of well-painted tea-cups. peggy removes only two from the box and sets them right-side-up on the counter. they had been a christmas gift. and, as far as the fleet's supplies are concerned, they are works of art. ]

Yes, it'll certainly be one of those. [ she turns back to face him. mouth tight -- it's hard to hide her sympathy right now. ] Things start to get truly adventurous when we're stopped at an actual planet.