bakerstreet | ( picture prompt meme )

[ let's get the hell out of here. if only for a weekend.

it had seemed surreal, at first: evading duty and detail for a narrow 48 hours. but, somehow, they'd managed it. they packed light. they stole away after the sun set. they brought bubbly, because the year was about to tick over to a fresh twelve months and they'd found a reason (or two) to celebrate.

peggy stokes a fire with flames licking the hearth of a small stone cottage. she tips the poker against the wall, and watches as he pours two glasses. her smile is crooked; she knows his drink will be merely for show. she'll have to be careful not to over-indulge, lulled into a false sense of sobriety as she watches him fail to get drunk all night long.

she collects her glass and sits on the bed's edge -- kicking off her shoes in an unprecedented display of comfort. trust. relaxation. she raises her drink. ]

Here's to the new year.

[Steve wasn't a spontaneous guy. Sure, he found a fight everywhere he went, that could count, but that mostly meant he had a knack for finding jerks. Peggy always brought out something more in him. When he sees an opportunity for them, he can't help snagging it. He's a fool in love. Can't they pretend they don't have so much on their plates for a little while?

It's hard to feel guilty about thinking about them when he sees her settle in. He carefully goes to join her, raising his glass in celebration as well.]

Here's to the new year, Peg. [Steve clicks his glass against hers and downs a good amount. Yeah, he's never actually drank bubbly before and might be a little overeager to soothe his nerves. They're together. He's always either smitten or nervous or both.]

[ by contrast, she only sips. but that sip is quickly interrupted by coughing, sputtering laughter. ]

Pace yourself, soldier. [ she balances her glass on her knee -- bracing it with a pair of fingers. ] Drink it like that and the bubbles will give you a helluva stomachache. You won't even have a good buzz to show for it.

[ steve gets nervous; peggy gets critical. her armour is a set of very carefully laid traps, able to spring and be sprung at any moment. should her dignity suffer, she will drag his down with it. ]

[Now it's his turn to laugh. It brings back old memories of sipping whatever he and Bucky could get their hands on back in Brooklyn. Not to mention the fact it's hard not to be amused by her calling him out.

He balances his glass on a meaty thigh before shaking his head.] Sorry, I could barely stomach anything before. I guess I wanted to make up for lost time.

[ a twitch in her smile. she tries not to think too much of it: make up for lost time. ]

It's decent stuff, [ she continues to argue -- albeit lightly, and with a glimmer in her eye. ] It's meant to be savoured.

Edited 2016-12-30 05:57 (UTC)

[He frowns automatically. Steve knows he said the wrong thing. He doubts she wants him tripping over himself to make it better. Instead he lifts the glass to his mouth and sips delicately this time. He lowers the glass with a soft, apologetic smile.] Better?

[ she feels a twinge of guilt at the sight of his frown. however, it quickly passes and she's left with the lovely little sight of him adopting a gentler approach. peggy presses her lips together to keep from chuckling. even better, she buries her smile in another drink from the rim of her own glass. ]

Much. [ she nods. ] Much better. The bottle's got to last us the whole bloody night, after all.

[Steve grins broadly in response. He shouldn't tease her. Lesser men probably have died for the offense, but he can't help himself.] So that's what this is about? You're worried I'm gonna be the one to hog the bottle?

[He takes another slow sip, eyes sparkling with mischief.] I'll have you know I'm great at sharing.

[ he grins; she laughs. although the laughter is taut, and stretched just about barely over a well-spring of contempt. he gets a freebie, she decides, but any teasing beyond something so gentle is liable to come with consequences.

peggy's brows lift. ] Oh, I'm counting on it.

[ his ability to share, she suggests, with a tilt of her head towards the one bed. ]

[That didn't take long. Steve predictably reddens after he catches onto the implication. It's not that he didn't know that sharing a bed was a possibility. He just outright rejected the thought of it the second it sprung into his mind.

Steve clears his throat and tries to sound casual as he responds.] It might be easier for you to have the whole thing. I don't mind the floor.

Easier on me?

[ she echoes the point -- facile as it is -- and arches both brows as she studies the way in which the conversation seems to roadblock him. truth be told, she hadn't assumed anything all that untoward. the bed's big enough. it wouldn't have been the first time she'd simply shared one.

peggy shakes her head. ] Don't be ridiculous. There's an awful lot of room.

I just meant that I'm not as small as I used to be. [He clarifies. It was easy for Bucky and his mother to share space with him back home. It's why he even thinks twice about it now. At least Steve thinks that's mostly his motivation. When she calls him out, he can't help feeling silly about it.]

But, if you're fine with it then I guess I am too. I can share. [Steve reassures her playfully.]

It won't be such a scandal if our elbows touch or our shoulders bump. [ is she teasing him? likely. it sounds like just before the steely surface of her voice there's lurking a light and pleasant playfulness. ] Or if it is, I won't tell if you won't tell.

[ she's fine with it. ]

[His lip twist into another smile, just barely holding in a laugh. Steve is positive that she's teasing him. As usual he enjoys it on some level.] It might be bad manners; not the kind of thing a gentleman would do.

Is that what you're worried about? [ she puffs her cheeks, exhales, and never lets her attention glide away from his face. peggy takes an exquisite interest in watching each expression steal across his features. ]</small? Being gentlemanly?

[Steve ducks his head a little, glancing down at his lap thoughtfully. She has touched something of a nerve there. He doesn't have much in the way of shame as she knows from him admitting to getting beaten up regularly back in Brooklyn. He doesn't really care what anyone thinks of him.... except for maybe Peggy. Steve does try to be his better self around her especially after screwing up so badly in the past.]

You do deserve a gentleman.

[ her teasing misses its mark. evidently. and so it's up to her to patch the moment -- she tucks her ankles together and downs the rest of her drink. one swift swallow and a crinkle of her nose before she sets aside the glass. peggy leans forward, tucks a finger underneath his chin, and raises his head until she can meet his eyes again. ]

Don't be an idiot. [ how affectionate. it's as though her gentle touch is sending an entirely different message than that of her words. ] It's up to me to decide what I want. Sod all what I deserve.

[ the question of what one deserves is a terribly antiquated one, she decides. and even if it came down to it, she doubts she'd find a better match than him. in temperament; in kindness; in strategy. ]

[He has to wonder what he's in for when she downs her drink like that. Peggy both surprises him and doesn't with her response. His skin tingles at her unexpected touch. Steve quickly smiles at the rest of it. He can always count on her to straighten him out.] I can live with that if you don't mind taking the lead.

[As if there was ever another way it would go down.]

[ she sets the emptied glass on the floor -- tucking it against the bed. peggy has no concrete plan in mind. but hearing him put his faith in her lead, so to speak, is awfully encouraging. she leans in and settles a brief chaste kiss on his lips. only a moment (a taste, really) and she pulls back. ]

I don't mind. [ she echoes his words with a wry humour. ] It's a lead I'll happily take.

[He holds his breath unconsciously even after she pulls away. Steve stares a little too long before glancing down at his drink with a soft smile. He isn't sure what to do now given that she sets the terms (and he's suddenly conscious of his half-full glass resting on his thigh) so he goes with what's in his heart for whatever good it will do.]

I'm glad we came out here.

[ her smile is quick, and not without its sharper edges. instinct begs her to move quickly and decisively -- to grab hold, perhaps, and snog him silly. but a sliver of better judgement inspires her to pause with her fingers perched gently on his knee. ]

So am I. Our lives hardly lend themselves to privacy. Not usually. [ slow-like, she attempts to take his glass from him. free him, so to speak. ] All the same, we needn't do anything more that sit and talk.

[ as assured, she will gladly take the lead -- but only when she knows the extent of his desire. ]

( picture prompt meme )

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