uprightness | ɪᴄ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀᴄᴛ

[ she intuits his anxiety as it dovetails with her own. he doesn't want to commit to the grander gesture, not because of some deep-seated unwillingness -- but because there's too much to be lost by getting lost in one another. it forces her to be satisfied with his chaste kiss, and to resist escalating things to a point of no return. it doesn't need to be said, but... ]

Bloody audience. [ she murmurs nearly against his neck, underlining precisely the problem that prevents them from saying little vital words or committing themselves more passionately to the moment. there's no question of if or should. peggy isn't prepared to turn their feelings for one another into some twisted uso performance. and it's easy for her to assume that he doesn't, either. his performing days are behind him. ]

Yeah.

[ he smiles a little if only because she hits the nail on the head in two words, the edge of frustration at this entire setting. Lightly he adds: ]

You know, there are theories that they're not even there.

Don't remind me, [ she scolds him gently -- delight lurking somewhere between her syllables, even as she sighs out her dismay and lays her head against his chest. perfectly content, for once, to relinquish control of the situation into someone else's sturdy hands. it's a trust she so rarely feels. ] Or I'll be tempted to argue the case, and try and convince you we're truly all alone.

[ there is a gentle huff of air, it would have been laughter but it's quieter and more private. ]

I would have believed you.

[ but let this moment continue as it is, in this little corner in time and space where they are, for a few minutes, peaceful. steve with his arms around her and her pressed just above where his heart is beating perhaps a little faster due to the proximity ]

[ trumpets sound, muted and sweet, in the back of her mind. a big, brassy band in the distance of her memories. and the last time she danced (truly) had been with doctor wilkes the night he decided to break ranks from isodyne and join her side of the fight. and then he, too, got touched by disaster and torn away. in those moments, first watching the explosion and then later watching him melt away from this dimension, she'd fallen upon her grief like an old memory. funny, really, how the act of losing someone special to her feels more like a lover to her than any man since.

her eyes are open as she lays her cheek upon his shoulder. she can almost see his pulse in his neck and can certainly hear the beat reverberating around his chest, sweet and quickened and barely out of step with her own. ]

Alas, I'll be the responsible one. [ but she does slow her feet and rise onto the balls of her shoes so she can kiss him on his cheek. it's the only decent way to end a dance with no music and nowhere else to progress. not so long as they are watched. ]

[ he smiles the moment her lips touch his cheek. in truth, it's as wonderful, as overwhelming as the first kiss she had pulled him into. it's more gentle, softer and more appropriate but he cherishes it, swift and sweet as it is just as much.

he nods at her ]

Captain. If you'll need a hand again - you know where to find me.

ɪᴄ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀᴄᴛ

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