[ her initial agreement comes as a short hum. mhm. peggy glances at doorways as they pass and -- in her mind -- she tries to map the ship's layout from what she's experienced. she can hear the engines...but where are they? ]
I don't suppose we've ever been lucky enough to lay hands on blueprints for this vessel? [ she doesn't sound too hopeful. ] I imagine there are loads of vital systems we'd not want to risk damaging.
No, never. When I was first aboard my augment helped with identifying the consoles we could tinker with, but aside from that — [ he hums, thoughtfully ] not much. This is the first ship we've managed to tug along with us.
Well. If it can be done once -- [ then it can be repeated. and what other bits of space junk might prove useful? peggy isn't anywhere near an expert on space. but it bears consideration. ]
How did the fleet manage to stumble across this one?
We found it being attacked by some kinda fungus. All the original inhabitants were either dead or possessed. There was nothing to salvage except the ship.
[ He delivers it in the tone of a report. No point crying over people they never knew and who were long dead, anyway. ]
There was a way to preserve the ship, so we took it.
[ her steps take her a bit further -- a handful more of doors, but all on the wrong side of the hallway. at least, she assumes those on the right side (nearer the ship's edge) prove too much of a threat. hull breach, or whatever her augment wants her to call it. ]
Not so good about the fungus, of course but -- good that the ship could be kept. Our standard issue vessels leave a lot to be desired when in comes their roominess. Or lack thereof.
I'm not bored. [ she counters -- perhaps a little more archly than his teasing requires. peggy takes the time to fix jim with a particularly galled look. ] There's always something else to learn about the chasm between my now and you're -- then. And I've made friends.
[ she defends herself with an overblown sense of indignation. best to play into a false debate than let concern fester. her smile hides behind her eyes and not her mouth. ] So long as the tea doesn't run out, I'll be perfectly fine.
[ it doesn't hurt (of course) that things with steve are bewilderingly pleasant. not too quick and not too slow and just the right amount of careful joy. ]
[ dammit, man. she wonders if he does it on purpose -- knowing, perhaps, that in one line she's oversold her own social circle and now must scramble to justify its existence beyond the immediate war-buddies present in the fleet.
thankfully, there are a few souls she rather likes. ] I stand by my initial impression of Rogue. Wonderful young woman. Captain Solo has been pleasant enough. And -- others.
[ if she hasn't been getting close to other people then it's because she's built to keep her distance. it's why friendship with either barnes comes easier: they already know who she is. ]
[ He allows the fondness to colour his voice. Captain Solo he can look for. ]
What about Steve?
[ if Peggy thinks he sounds like a boy on a playground about to tease her on something — well that's absolutely right. Jim's tone just lacks the sing-song inflection. ]
[ indeed. what about steve? it's the question of not only the hour, but the whole damned new year. peggy betrays a measure of uncertainty when she draws fingertips across the side of her neck -- like scratching an itch instead of tracing the sweet space where he'd tapped out his message in morse.
like petty revenge, she answers him with the most willful ignorance she can muster: ] Friendly, of course. But you asked about friends made here, Jim. And he's -- well, Steve isn't one of those.
[ steve is an older itch. and as happy as she is with what's transpired, she doesn't know how to articulate it. besides! wouldn't rogers have already--
peggy's attention narrows. ] Why -- what has he told you?
[ He chortles, like he utterly expected to brushed off — indeed it's none of his business how his two friends are doing. Just, he selfishly wants them to be happy. It's why there's a paper with the Valkyrie's coordinates safe with Peggy now. ]
Oh, nothing, nothing.
[ What he and Steve talk about are all the things left unsaid between them — this isn't one of those. ]
[ But he punctuates that with a bright, mischievous grin. Keeping her guessing. ]
Very well. [ she watches his smirk and opts to counter it with a ludicrous claim that is (in the end) absolutely true. ] If you must know, we -- we talk about baseball. Cookie bloody Lavagetto. [ or whoever the devil that is. ]
So you can go ahead and stop grinning like an idiot. [ ... ] Please.
[ peggy doesn't quite roll her eyes -- but she comes awful close. a suggestion that in the end jim barnes might be the one let mercifully off the hook. heaven help them both should her resolve ever weaken and she finds herself dishing details to one captain jim barnes. peggy doesn't care to gossip about her relationship(s); however, she experiences the sneaking suspicion that jim's easy friendship will some day capture her unawares and she'll reveal a piece of her heart otherwise relegated to shady guesses and assumptions.
peggy carter doesn't need to tell jim barnes whose hand she wants to hold. he knows it already -- otherwise he'd never have asked. and for that he gets guff. ]
When we're done today, you can run back and tell him I didn't break under your interrogation. [ sly -- she wants the last word before they step inside the room. ]
[ she raises her shooting arm -- it makes a straight, well-trained line. peggy cocks her thumb and first two fingers into the shape of a gun. even if she had her planet-sourced revolver with her, she wouldn't have raised it without the intention to shoot. no, this is purely hypothetical.
she tracks her finger gun across the room's length. eyeing its landscape -- getting a feel for the place. when peggy swings around, she aims her (harmless) pretend pistol at jim. after a heartbeat, she lifts the imaginary barrel and smiles. ]
It ought to suffice. Good, long distance. We'll never get the proper yardage for rifles but -- that was always a bit of a pipe dream, given the circumstances.
[ It's not his instinct to be solid in a room anymore — Jim usually skirts the edges. This time, he's dead centre, in her line of fire. There's not many people he'd be well-defined for, still, but not the stillness of an ambush predator about to strike. Peggy Carter has long since earned a place in those ranks. ]
Then, it's settled. I'll just put a note on the door so no one else takes it.
[ That said and done, he bows flamboyantly towards the door. ]
[ she laughs. and (lately) her laughter has been fuller and more sincere. there are a dozen concerns and quarrels underpinning her slow reintegration into their lives, and steve's into hers, but peggy has decided to focus first and foremost on the delight it brings. the darker questions can be asked when they had more than metal walls to hold them in. planetside, perhaps, whenever next the option arose. ]
To lunch. [ she huffs. and rolls her eyes over his extravagance. ] You go on ahead. I've got a quick call to make and then I'll be on your heels.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action.
action.
[ They've largely passed the occupied rooms on the ship, and now come to a corridor where Jim can hear the low hum of the engine. ]
Somewhere a little farther from the engine, don't you think? No windows, either.
action.
I don't suppose we've ever been lucky enough to lay hands on blueprints for this vessel? [ she doesn't sound too hopeful. ] I imagine there are loads of vital systems we'd not want to risk damaging.
action.
action.
How did the fleet manage to stumble across this one?
action.
[ He delivers it in the tone of a report. No point crying over people they never knew and who were long dead, anyway. ]
There was a way to preserve the ship, so we took it.
action.
[ her steps take her a bit further -- a handful more of doors, but all on the wrong side of the hallway. at least, she assumes those on the right side (nearer the ship's edge) prove too much of a threat. hull breach, or whatever her augment wants her to call it. ]
Not so good about the fungus, of course but -- good that the ship could be kept. Our standard issue vessels leave a lot to be desired when in comes their roominess. Or lack thereof.
action.
[ It's quietly amused, in that sympathetic, understanding way. These grate him too, but he's a patient man, and always good at compartmentalising. ]
action.
[ she defends herself with an overblown sense of indignation. best to play into a false debate than let concern fester. her smile hides behind her eyes and not her mouth. ] So long as the tea doesn't run out, I'll be perfectly fine.
[ it doesn't hurt (of course) that things with steve are bewilderingly pleasant. not too quick and not too slow and just the right amount of careful joy. ]
action.
[ it's normal, his tone suggests. you're okay. ]
Oh? Tell me about your friends.
action.
thankfully, there are a few souls she rather likes. ] I stand by my initial impression of Rogue. Wonderful young woman. Captain Solo has been pleasant enough. And -- others.
[ if she hasn't been getting close to other people then it's because she's built to keep her distance. it's why friendship with either barnes comes easier: they already know who she is. ]
action.
[ He allows the fondness to colour his voice. Captain Solo he can look for. ]
What about Steve?
[ if Peggy thinks he sounds like a boy on a playground about to tease her on something — well that's absolutely right. Jim's tone just lacks the sing-song inflection. ]
action.
like petty revenge, she answers him with the most willful ignorance she can muster: ] Friendly, of course. But you asked about friends made here, Jim. And he's -- well, Steve isn't one of those.
[ steve is an older itch. and as happy as she is with what's transpired, she doesn't know how to articulate it. besides! wouldn't rogers have already--
peggy's attention narrows. ] Why -- what has he told you?
action.
Oh, nothing, nothing.
[ What he and Steve talk about are all the things left unsaid between them — this isn't one of those. ]
[ But he punctuates that with a bright, mischievous grin. Keeping her guessing. ]
action.
So you can go ahead and stop grinning like an idiot. [ ... ] Please.
action.
All right, all right, know you're gettin' off easy.
[ This corridor is narrower, but there's a room he has a good feeling about, and opens the door for her. ]
action.
peggy carter doesn't need to tell jim barnes whose hand she wants to hold. he knows it already -- otherwise he'd never have asked. and for that he gets guff. ]
When we're done today, you can run back and tell him I didn't break under your interrogation. [ sly -- she wants the last word before they step inside the room. ]
action.
[ who has two thumbs and isn't about to let her have the last word? this guy!! ]
— Hm. No windows, nice space, what do you think?
action.
[ she raises her shooting arm -- it makes a straight, well-trained line. peggy cocks her thumb and first two fingers into the shape of a gun. even if she had her planet-sourced revolver with her, she wouldn't have raised it without the intention to shoot. no, this is purely hypothetical.
she tracks her finger gun across the room's length. eyeing its landscape -- getting a feel for the place. when peggy swings around, she aims her (harmless) pretend pistol at jim. after a heartbeat, she lifts the imaginary barrel and smiles. ]
It ought to suffice. Good, long distance. We'll never get the proper yardage for rifles but -- that was always a bit of a pipe dream, given the circumstances.
action.
Then, it's settled. I'll just put a note on the door so no one else takes it.
[ That said and done, he bows flamboyantly towards the door. ]
To lunch?
action.
To lunch. [ she huffs. and rolls her eyes over his extravagance. ] You go on ahead. I've got a quick call to make and then I'll be on your heels.
[ time to call agent romanoff. ]