Owner Pose
Janet van Dyne The evacuation of Manhattan had not been compulsory, but it was a significant logistical issue for various employees of the Avenger's crew. Moving them to a location nearby, but off-site, helped ensure continuity of operations as well as taking care of the people who couldn't travel out of state or impose on family.

Janet had negotiated a simple solution: she'd rented out the top four floors of The William Vale, a very trendy and posh hotel in Brooklyn. For herself and Steve, the penthouse; for the rest of the Avengers support staff, as well as her personal entourage, every suite that was needed plus 24/7 access to the conference room/ballrooms, which had been turned into operations centers.

The evening finds Janet in her penthouse in front of her laptop, staring at it with a furrowed brow as if displeased by the contents on the screen. Black leggings, black long-sleeved shirt, worn under a gold miniskirt and a fur-lined vest in white. Designer booties in a power-clashing lime green are tucked under the desk.

She slurps at her coffee mug. The absence of caffeine stirs her to action and Janet gets to her feet to head towards the kitchen. It takes her a few moments to realize the Keurig needs to be topped off and with a great sigh of exasperation she starts filling it at the sink.

"Schlepping water around my own penthouse like some milkmaid," she mutters to no one in particular.
Steve Rogers Logistics for this kind of operation are hard. Daunting, even, but Steve has left that in the hands of Janet and others who are way better at it than he is. Not that he's bad at management and logistics of a military operation, but Janet is way better at it, and he gets ... antsy and feels guilty about it. This is why he's been out there as long as he can convince people he's okay enough to fight.

He lost that argument earlier. Granted, it took two straight days in the field, but he still lost.

About the time Janet heads for the Keurig like a prole, Steve comes out of the bathroom in a wash of steam, pulling a plain grey t-shirt over his head before he runs a hand through damp hair. He looks exhausted. (He is. He hasn't managed to sleep yet.) It's almost a sixth sense that leads him towards Janet and the coffee pods. "Coffee sounds like a great idea," he says without prompting.

Do not give him coffee.
Peggy Carter The front desk is kind enough to buzz up, informing the occupants of the Penthouse that a certain Chief Peggy Carter is here and would they like to permit her up. Assuming the answer is yes, Peggy shows up at the door of the penthouse but a few minutes later. She's got two large paper bags in her hands, the smells of delicious Pho and dim sum hovering from the bags. She figured neither of them was much up for cooking these days. And, it's a little bit of an apology for her intruding on their night off.

"Good evening. I bring bribes in the way of the best Pho in Brooklyn." Peggy's accented voice clips out warmly as she steps into the room. She's not in her SHIELD work clothes, but in a comfortable wool dress made of navy and dark green plaid. It's cut a bit more generously to fit the fact that, while she looks tired, she also definitely looks much softer around the edges nowadays than she used to. "Am I... intruding?"
Janet van Dyne Janet rolls her gaze towards Steve when he ambles over towards the coffeemaker. It goes 'glug glug glug' and she reaches for the cup before swinging it towards him, handle first. "You look like you need this more than I do," she observes. The door chime alerts her that someone's coming upstairs to visit her, and given the shortlist of people who can get past her secretary, it's almost certainly someone worth seeing.

Sleep is one of the few luxuries Janet doesn't afford herself, particularly in a crisis. With Steve thusly equipped, she digs around in the fridge for a bottle of caffeinated malt liquor. She has just enough time to pick up a suspiciously un-labelled prescription bottle from the counter before there's a knock at the door.

Janet swings it open and smiles approvingly at Peggy's presence. "Peggy, what a pleasant surprise. And you brought us Pho! Steve keeps threatening to cook instead of letting me send my driver out for food." Janet leans in carefully to exchange airy cheek-kisses with Peggy.

She drops two pills into the malt liquor and gestures Peggy to come inside, and she hip-checks the door shut in Peggy's wake. "C'mon in, get comfy," she invites. "To what do we owe the occassion?"
Steve Rogers Equipped with a fresh cup of coffee, he barely even has to pretend he doesn't notice the pills this time. Janet's a grown woman with an intensely busy schedule and probably even more stress than he has, but he's still that old-fashioned guy who low-key disapproves, but he's smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

Most of the time.

Today, he's just too tired, and honestly the coffee probably won't even keep him awake. It's warm, though, so that's nice. When the buzzer goes off, his body language tenses, going on alert because, well, he has been out in the trenches for two days. When Peggy comes in, he visibly relaxes, moving across the suite to park himself in an armchair with an audible sigh. "Hi, Peggy," he says before he takes a long sip of the way too hot coffee. He lets Janet handle the business, but the smell of pho broth and whatever assorted things are with it hits him, and his stomach growls.
Peggy Carter The kisses are happily, warmly exchanged with Janet, and a tight, brief hug around the back of the woman's shoulders after Peggy puts down the bags full of savory smelling, warm food. She eyes the pills dropped into that drink, tilting her head curiously and giving a single arched brow, but Peggy doesn't push about it right now. "Well, first off, I wanted to see how you are both holding up..."

Peggy gives them each a long look up and down. Steve with the coffee in his hand and that utterly exhausted look in his eyes, Janet with that drink in her hands and eyes near as bloodshot. A worried line tugs across Peggy's lips is clearly. "Though, I suspect just looking at you answers that question. Sit down, both of you, relax. I'm serving tonight." She shoos them both towards the sitting area, glaring at any protest. "Please. Sit. Let me do this." Peggy's staring to make them big, protein and rice noodle filled bowls. Still warm enough that a bit of steam is coming off the top.
Janet van Dyne Janet arches one brow at Peggy. "I refuse to be chastised by someone who could get laudanum at the corner drugstore," she sniffs, and takes a pointedly long few gulps from the beverage. But she does help a little with getting things sorted, at least until Peggy starts making a point of discouraging Janet from helping.

The socialite drops into one of the seats, tucking one leg under her and propping her heel against the seat's lip so she can rest her chin on her knee.

"So, you come bearing gifts. Is this you buttering us up for something?" she inquires. "Because if you're saving me from more of Steve's 'ration cooking hacks', my answer's immediately an unqualified 'yes'." With nosy fingers she pulls boxes and bowls closer to her, sniffing at them with great interest and upsetting Peggy's attempts at a tidy service.
Steve Rogers Steve just sighs at the laudanum comment. She's not ''wrong'', but he only worries because he cares! "I'll have you know those 'ration hacks' were very popular on the front." Whether they were popular because they were good or popular because they came from ''him'', he doesn't answer that. He at least doesn't get in Peggy's way.

He drinks more of the coffee, the caffeine barely even touching the super soldier. He still looks rough. "If you want me to help SHIELD fight angels, let me get a nap in first. I just got back from doing that."
Peggy Carter "No, no... hell, Steve, from all the reports I've gotten, you were out their *two days straight*. I should be pulling you off duty for at least 24 hours." Peggy levels a look at him that he's seen before. Only on the very worst of the commando missions when she had to ORDER them to get at least 4 hours of rack time. She looks right now like she did back them. "But I'll settle for ordering you both to have a good meal, enjoy the dumplings, and talk to me about how things are... Really going. Honestly." Peggy's voice is softer there, pouring herself a bit of soup and then settling down across from them both.

"And I might have the... smallest favor to ask, but that's not why I came. I just figured I'd ask the next time I saw you. But I'm more worried about both of you eating and how exhausted you look than I am any favors."
Janet van Dyne One of Janet's shoulders rises and falls in a shrug. "It's going," she remarks, after exchanging a glance with Steve. She reaches over and gives his fingertips a gently affectionate squeeze. "I'm working with disaster relief agencies and trying to keep our list of friends and allies from getting any shorter. Most of the Avenger's personnel have been moved off-site. I told all my non-critical employees to take some PTO, and the essential ones I've got working from home or doing some long-overdue field trips to our international producers and supply chains."

"So, it's pop rocks and Ritalin in my 4Loko," she says, and hefts the drink in her hand. "This is the magic elixir that got me through grad school."

"Anyway. What's this favor?"
Steve Rogers When Peggy gives him The Look, Steve has the grace to look sheepish. "Well, that's because I was out there. Somebody has to, and I ''can'', so it wouldn't be right for me not to," he replies. It's such a textbook Steve answer. The kind that is both lifting and at the same time probably makes people want to strangle him. (Or dose him with horse tranquilizers so he'll get some freaking sleep.)

He glances at Janet as she gives his fingers a squeeze. He smiles tiredly, his own fingers intertwining with hers for just a moment. Wordless affirmation.

"How can we help?"
Peggy Carter There's a deep sigh that escapes Peggy's lips, scooping up her own bowl of pho now that everyone is settled. It keeps her hands calm and occupied, the way she would normally use a cup of tea. Especially when she's this worried about people. "I... wish I could be out there with you, really. Hell, I've considered at least doing some supply runs myself. I hate sitting behind a desk when everything's going to hell like this..." Peggy confesses. She clearly, truly regrets not being able to be there.

Then they are both looking at her, curious about that favor, and Peggy suddenly feels rather on the spot. She gives a bit of an embarrassed clearing of her throat, hiding the emotions behind a deep sip of her soup, before she sets it down and rests her hands on the tops of her legs. "Well. I... I do want to get back out there. Even if it's not the front lines, considering my... condition. But my old tac suit..." Peggy half winces, "Those things are quite fitted. Tight. Too tight, now. I can't zip the damn thing. Daniel suggested, Janet, you... might enjoy desigining some maternity tactical wear."
Janet van Dyne Janet's response is both of her brows moving towards her mussy, pixie-cut hairline. "Peggy, I could drape a watermelon for prom," she responds, slowly. "But I'm not sure it's the best idea in the world to be hatting up and going out looking for a fight if you're in the family way," she adds.

Janet looks over at Steve, flexes her fingers at him in a mute request for support. "Have you talked to your doctors about this? And I mean like, a real doctor, like your OB/GYN? I don't think I'd go to Stephen looking for input, he'll snap his fingers at you and do a spell. Your kid will come out spitting fireballs every time they toot in their diaper."
Steve Rogers Steve is in a very weird position. On one hand, Janet is ''absolutely'' right. Peggy, expecting as she is, shouldn't be going out into the most dangerous area of the world at this exact moment.

On the other hand, he knows exactly how she feels. Watching all of the people she cares about go off to fight. To stand up against a world shaking danger. How helpless and hopeless and ''desperate'' it is.

He tries to keep his face impassive, but he is just not good at it. Both trains of thought are evident on his face. "Believe me," he starts slowly. "I understand how you feel. You ''know'' I do, Peg." He draws a slow breath. "The difference is, before you call me a hypocrite, is that in my desperation, I was only endangering myself. My own life. At that time, the only family I had was Bucky, and he was already shipped off. No one would have missed me. You've got two other lives to think about."
Peggy Carter A slight roll of her eyes comes to the ceiling as Janet lectures her on not being out there in the family way. "I'm not looking for a fight. I promise. But I am going to go in there and bring my people supplies. Try to help at the field hospitals. Do what I can. But I recognize that even going into Manhattan right now comes with risks, so... I'd like more protective wear that properly fits so I can continue my job -- *not* on front lines -- and give you all some support out there. I'm not one to just sit behind a desk and pretend nothing is happening, Steve knows that-" And then her eyes go wide. Steve. Peggy only then realizes that she might not have actually told Steve yet. She looks to him with a bigger gaze, but he seems to be taking it in stride.

And he's taking Janet's side. Peggy's smirk returns, her nose screwing up just a bit more as she looks between them. "I am *not* using Dr. Strange, trust me, I have a LITTLE more sanity than that. Dr. Simmons knows I am continuing to work and provide support for the current operations. Look. I promise both of you I'm not looking for a fight, not like certain people we know..." She levels a gaze at Steve. "I just want to give back up support where I can. Safely."
Janet van Dyne "Which you can do remotely," Janet replies, undaunted by Peggy's determined tone. "With cell phones and remote servers, and the trust you have in all of your people who you have trained to do the field ops stuff for you," she clarifies.

"Look, I've got factories and workshops all over the world. You think I don't get antsy about operations in Jakarta?" she inquires rhetorically. "But if I'm there supervising a factory, I'm not at my desk supervising my whole company. You don't actually -need- to be on the ground. You just -want- to be there, and you are hoping that if you're in the back row, a fight might stumble your way and land in your lap.

She spreads her fingers and sits back in her chair, then looks over to Steve. "For the record, you're not allowed to get yourself killed in action either," she reminds him. "I'll hold it against you forever if you do."
Steve Rogers Everything Janet says is correct, but he manages to stop himself from nodding along. After all, Janet might be his Significant Other, Peggy is, at this point, his second oldest friend, and he doesn't want to hurt her feelings any more than he might already have.

When she brings him into it, he manages to just nod. "Yes dear," he says with practised ease. "So far, so good."
Peggy Carter Peg is as stubborn as Steve -- reasons they made such a good team back in the day. She gives them both a little bit of a sigh, her brow furrowed and eyes clearly worried. "Look, I know I'm going to end up in the field, one way or another. It's just... my job. The duty. I just want to be safe, if I am. But... well, never mind, today. We're all too tired. Think on it. I seriously didn't want to talk about work the whole night..."

And with that reassurance, Peggy's expression changes. She fades back into a reassuring smile, "So, before all of this madness, why don't you tell me how the holidays went? You know, you could probably find a nice house in Brooklyn, both of you....if you wanted to settle somewhere outside of Manhattan." And then it's onto happier talk. Houses, the upcoming spring, how excellent people are doing in the field. Peggy's good at steering into more comfortable conversation when necessary, and she wasn't debating the two more than she already did. Not tonight. Not when everyone is exhausted, body and soul.