9508/Reunion at the End of the Party

Reunion at the End of the Party
Date of Scene:	07 January 2022
Location:	Recreation Lounge: Triskelion
Synopsis:	Peg and Steve catch up after a long time missing each other. They celebrate the season, and confess to each other just how overwhelming this modern world can be.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers

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Peggy Carter has posed:
The 'most comfortable, silly, or ugly' pajama and sweater party happened somewhere in the liminal space between Christmas and New Years for SHIELD agents. It went all evening, starting early around dinner with a spread of various goods, then switching over to more cocktails, boozy hot chocolate, tea and sweets. Now, it's almost ten at night and only a few agents are left, but Peggy is one of them.

She's currently curled up in a chair in the far corner of the room, a hot cup of tea in her fingertips. She's not talking to anyone now, though there are a few pockets of agents left around the place, all in different hilarious and comfortable gear at various levels of drink in them. People seem to be having fun. Peggy is watching all of them with a quiet, warm, but tired smile on her features. It's the look of a woman who is feeling her age, but also knows to savor the good times. This is one of the good times. She's in a pair of satin men's pajamas with a pin stripe through them. Probably stolen from her husband from the cut, and how they are a LITTLE tight in certain hourglass areas.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve went full bore ugly sweater. It's this hideous black-thing with snowflakes falling on stylized pictures of Thor, Iron Man, Cap in the middle, The Hulk and Hawkeye.

This thing is -bad-.

As many of the agents slowly file out in their various stages of intoxication, Steve remains. He's sober as a judge too. Mostly because even SHIELD has a hard time keeping up with the bar tab it would take to get Captain America tipsy. He has a steaming mug of something in hand. Knowing him, it's hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.

As the crowd thins, he spies Peggy off by her lonesome. He considers for a moment before he approaches, stopping by an adjacent chair.

"This seat taken?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
While Peggy had seen him come in earlier, there's been many times he's been flocked with younger agents. She knows the newer members of SHIELD just want a chance to meet the legend and, while she's kept an eye on it, he didn't seem too overwhelmed. So she let everyone have their day. But as the tall, familiar figure comes in her direction, a warm smile crosses her rosy features and she gently unfolds from the chair, sitting a little straighter.

"By a man I've been waiting for all night. You don't get through the holidays without one present. Sit. Relax. One minute. I won't let the guppies bother you any more." Peg teases him with the same warm grin she's worn for 80 years. Then she fully unfolds and quickly moves over to the artificial, silly tree that was put up. She pulls out a gift that is wrapped in news paper, just like they did in the war. Something thin, wide and tall, with a smaller box on top of it. She carries both to his side before retaking her seat and her unspiked tea. She too is sober as a judge. "Merry Christmas."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve smiles back. It's warm. Familiar and easy. Times change, but Steve Rogers doesn't. Well, not in any way but for the better. He sits, letting himself relax. "I really don't mind. It's not -that- overwhelming. I just put myself in their shoes, and treat 'em how I would like to be treated by someone I idolize."

Granted, Steve idolized baseball players in his days as a young man, and all of those men are dead.

His eyes widen slightly as Peggy mentions a present. He looks stricken and a little embarassed. "Peggy! You didn't have to do that, I didn't get you anything!" Granted, dating Janet Van Dyne means he could just put in one phone call and get almost anything, but that's besides the point. Steve is far more likely to want to make something.

Still, curiosity gets ahold of him, and he tilts his head slightly at the packages, taking a sip of his hot chocolate before he sits it on the side table.

He has a hot chocolate moustache now and doesn't notice.

Peggy Carter has posed:
It's odd, Peggy hasn't really changed as well. She *had*, but then that mess happened in the somewhere, where she almost died and the serum they had in her shut down, and now she looks identical to how she did when they first met. A fresh faced 29 years old. Well, maybe not identical. Now she looks a little softer around the edges, more rosy cheeked and gentle somehow. Maybe it's not being at active war. Still, it's odd for both of them to sit there, an echo of how they were 80 years previous. She smiles more as he talks about the rookies. "I know. Which is why I didn't save you. They're good kids, really. So were you." She winks.

Then he's getting the gift and she's practically grinning. She swallows back a bit of a laugh as she notices that chocolate stash but doesn't quite comment yet. She waits for him to open the gift. It's simple -- a new leather bound sketch book, with the exact kind of heavy duty linen paper he likes, so he can erase and fix as many times as he needs. The other gift is set of brand new, high quality colored pencils. The erasable kind. The miracles of modern technology. "You probably have a thousand books but, well... I saw one with your favourite paper grade and couldn't help myself. Merry Christmas. To you. And your hot chocolate moustache."

Steve Rogers has posed:
She makes his chocolate 'stache known, and Steve flushes, hastily wiping it away with his hand, then wiping his hand on his jeans. Whoever does his laundry is going to be annoyed.

Oh wait, he does his own laundry.

As for the gift, he is methodical about opening it. Peeling up tape from where it's sealed, carefully trying not to rip anything. He is absolutely not a shredder. This makes perfect sense. When he gets the book unwrapped, his eyes light up, doubly so when he lays fingers on the paper. He does hive an eye to erasable colored pencils though. That might be too close to sorcery.

He looks back to Peggy, almost seeming like that skinny kid again. "Thank you. Merry Christmas Peggy." He hesitates. "Even if we have this ... event hanging over our heads."

Peggy Carter has posed:
If he permits, Peggy stands up and leans over to tug him into a warm, close hug. Tight. Loving. A hug that is built on the decades they've known each other, even if it's only been a few years in person. She lets it linger longer than is proper for a Brit, but finally does pull back enough to settle into her seat.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're still drawing. I... wasn't certain. But it made me think of you. And... this is... It's an event. It will change the face of the world, likely. As so many other events we have been through." Her smile softens some, the wisdom behind her tired eyes making her 29 year old face look somehow much older. "We are doing our job. Gettin all the innocents out and protected. People will be safe. Buildings are... buildings. Yes, we both love this city, but concrete can be replaced. We're taking care of the people and that's what matters. So, take a few days. Breathe. Remember the good things. We have had far too much bad and that will never change in life."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Of course he permits. Peggy is easily in his Top Three People Ever. The order changes almost constantly, but Peggy, Bucky and Janet are pillars of his world, and just knowing that they're around keeps him grounded. His return of the hug is maybe a little awkward, but that's mostly because of angle. The sentiment is full of all of those years of warmth. Of what was and what may have been if circumstances were different.

"It's not the first time we've faced down an omnicidal horde," he says with a small nod. "Won't be the last. We'll just have to tell them to get off our lawn, we're not buying anything and to take it elsewhere. Like always." He pauses. "I'm glad the evacuation seems to be going well, at least."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"It's not. You get to be my age..." Peggy pauses, looking him over with a smirk. "Correction. You *live* and serve as many years I have now, you know that the world just... Does this sometimes. But good will win. We always do. And this is why we keep carrying on and I'll never retire. Not one little bit. Even if they stick me behind a desk for a while." Peggy smirks to herself, a personal joke of sorts, though she doesn't sound like she's looking forward to it.

"By the way, I finally got to catch up with Janet. She came by the house the other day... Once this all blows over, you should both come. I'd love for you to finally get to properly meet Daniel. And he'd love to cook for you. I promise he doesn't let me near the kitchen in fear I'd burn down the house."

Steve Rogers has posed:
There's only a tiny shot of icy terror that shoots up his spine at the thought of Janet and Peggy plotting together. Of course that's all it can be. Plotting. None of it shows as he just smiles and nods. "That sounds like a great way to celebrate kicking the Heavenly Host off our planet. I'll let Janet know so she can figure out her schedule. ... That thing scares me. I don't know how she does it, and -I'm- Captain America."

He laughs then, shaking his head. Textbook Steve.

Peggy Carter has posed:
A deep smirk crosses her ever-red painted lips. Even in her husband's pajamas, she's got a full face of make up on. Some things about Peggy never change. "She does it because she has an army of people at her beck and call that she's not terrified to use. Can you think of the last time Janet Van Dyne did her own laundry? I can promise you it's been decades, if ever. She buys time in a day... Which is fine, that is her right, and she still does great things with the world. But you and I are a little old fashioned and she isn't scared to use her money to, well... Get extra hours in a day. Hell, I'd hire a cook if Daniel didn't enjoy it so much. I can't blame her. But... she cares a lot about you. And I hope you're happy with her, too..."

Peggy's studying him a bit closer as she says that. An older sister, and best friend, checking in on the man she's loved for ages. She'll always be a little over protective. That's part of her charm.

Steve Rogers has posed:
"I am happy. I love her, Peggy. I do. Even after all this time, though," he sighs a little, going back to what's left of his hot chocolate. "This world move so -fast-. There's no time for reflection. I do what I can, considering all the advantages I have of not really having a job to do until there's a crisis that needs me. I'm thankful for the ability to have a lot of me time, but even so. It's sometimes like the world ... blurs."

He slugs the rest of the cocoa down, no moustache this time. "Tell me it's not just me. I love my life but sometimes this world is just ... Overwhelming."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Oh god, Steve. It's... it's so overwhelming." Peggy breathes out, the tone of her voice a mix of relief that someone else is feeling this and reassurance that he's not alone. She puts her tea down, setting it aside, so she can reach a carefully manicured, red fingernailed hand over to rest across the back of his palm. She gives his hand a little squeeze, keeping her warm fingertips there.

"When I first woke up... I wanted to scream. Every day there was so much. I thought I'd never catch up, and I wasn't director any more, and... god, my son looked old enough to be my father, and wasn't talking to me. SHIELD had changed... It felt like a nightmare." Peggy confesses, never drawing her hand away. "But... I kept doing what I know how to do. What I do best. I took care of the world and my people. Slowly... I caught up. Things happened with SHIELD, life got more messy but I just kept... Marching. Same way we did in those freezing fields hunting down HYDRA the first time. Just... one foot in front of the other. No matter how much snow, ice, wind... or internet is all around you. But it's a lot. The world is fast and *small* nowadays and... impossible to keep up. So, you focus on what matters. The people you love and your job. That's... all that matters, really."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve just sags in relief, like a weight's just been lifted. "Oh thank God," he breathes out. "I thought it was just me." He straightens again, reaching his other hand out to rest it atop Peggy's. "You're right. As always." He probably said that to Janet earlier in the day. ... He probably says that to Janet a lot. "One foot in front of the other. Get knocked down ninety-nine times, get up one hundred."

He shakes his head, grinning wryly. "The world might be smaller and faster, but the way it works hasn't really changed, has it?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
A gentle shake of her head, "Not at all. People are still people, Steve. The live, they love... Fight. Die. Cry. Laugh. That's the core of it all, we just have ways to *see* people being people far more often and it tries to distract us from our own lives. Tell us that we are less. Or different. Or not doing enough. When it's all lies and media. We didn't always trust the newspapers back then, why do we trust it all now that it's on a computer?" Peggy asks with a smirk. But it seems a relief to her to get this all off her chest as well. They aren't things she can just say to anyone, especially all her agents at SHIELD. She's their boss. Not their friend.

"But we still get the good things. The victories... our families. Hell. I got Daniel back, after all this time, a bloody miracle and I'm going to enjoy every damn day I have."

Steve Rogers has posed:
"As you should. You've earned it, Agent Carter." The last is said with that little smirk he makes when he's being a smartass. "Just like I am going to enjoy every moment with the terrifying and beautiful Miss Van Dyne." Which is more prevalent depends on the day, but it keeps him on his toes. It's good for him! Probably. Unless she gives him a coronary or a concussion.

"We should do this more often, Peggy. We're a dying breed. There aren't too many of us left from that time."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I'm not too hard to find. And I do want you to see the house, before we buy another one up near here so we're not making a three hour drive every weekend." Peggy smirks again. She and Daniel bought the house when SHIELD was still down town and Long Island wasn't that stupidly far a drive. "But if I'm not there, I'm here. SHIELD's my life. Always has been, always will be. So, don't be a stranger." She looks like she's about to say something more, lips hovering on it for just a moment, before she gives a slight shake of her head, brushing the thought away.

"But. It is late. I should let you get back to your lady and go steal my husband out of ops, where he's been stuck all night relieving people of duty so they could come to the party." Her husband was just that kind of man.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve's head tilts slightly. He can feel it in the air, that words are left unsaid. He doesn't push, though, his body language relaxed and casual. And tired. "Sometimes I wonder if she even notices if I wander off, she's so busy, but, yeah," he replies, levering up from his seat. "I think I'll grab a bottle of wine and see if I can pry that phone from her hand." He pauses. "I don't feel very confident about it." His laugh is the same as it's ever been. Genuine and hearty.

"Give your other half my best. I'm sure we'll get along like gangbusters when we all get together."

He collects the sketchbook and the pencils, smiling at them softly. "Thank you again, Peggy. For these," he hefts them. "But more importantly, for being my friend. Good night."

Steve disengages and heads out. His pace isn't hurried and his body language is relaxed.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Good night, soldier. Happy hunting." Peggy calls gently after him, though he's only hunting Janet's phone nowadays. She's still smiling. The conversation has left her warm. Relaxed. She finishes off her tea and disappears out the door shortly after him, riding the good mood for just a bit longer.