002 - The Stargazing Meme

[aflockofmemegulls]

the stargazing meme

oo1. comment with your characters
make sure to put names, series, & preferences somewhere!
you can use < ! > sans the spaces to make the comment "blank"
oo2. reply to others in character
oo3. use the rng and enter 1-10
oo4. play out what happens—anything goes!
oo5. profit? oh yeah!

prompts

one → meteor shower you just saw a falling star! and another! make a wish!
two → aliens what was that? was that really? omg no way a ufo!
three → lunar eclipse you've been sitting out for hours, waiting for this. it's so cool!
four → comet does it move fast or slow? either way, it's amazing.
five → full moon the moon is so huge! just don't look too long, it's really bright too.
six → star dust anything can happen in space. make up your own plot!
seven → solar eclipse this might be happening in the middle of the day!
eight → planet sighting is that a new star? nope, just a neighbor in the solar system!
nine → constellations do you know the stories behind these odd patterns?
ten → deep space normal stargazing isn't that much fun. you got a telescope!

Comments

[agentx13]

[ Whatever she had thought he might say on their alleged date, that hadn't been it. He loves Peggy, thinks he always will, but here he is making latte art with her. All this in the same hour he'd shown her some stars and a meteor shower. Talk about emotional whiplash. But Sharon is an agent, first and foremost. She's never been the sort to place emotion over her job. There's a sort of reassurance in that. Of comfort, even. So for now, whatever her feelings are on the subject, she swallows them and sets the cup with her portrait aside, taking a fresh cup and experimenting with the materials to get a feel for them. ]

Grandfather was a general in the Royal Army. He's the one who taught her how defend herself. He'd take her with him to his shooting club, and she was eventually a better shot than most of the guys there. Grandmother died when she was in her teens, and with the War on the way, Grandfather was busy. He didn't like that Peggy signed up for the War, but she said if he didn't let her sign up, she'd do it under another name or go over to France and fight there. He stood down, Peggy signed up and started working with covert operations. [ Like the Super-Soldier project, though she isn't sure he'll take his current existence being described as a "covert operation. Even though he should be used to it. ] After the War, she went over to France to help them rebuild. I think it was as much tactical as anything. There were still Nazi sympathizers there, and she helped set up a network so England could be informed of the sympathizers' movements. When SHIELD was formed, they asked for her help. She hadn't stopped running covert operations in years, so she mostly worked with SHIELD to keep doing that. It also meant she could travel more, since Dad had moved to the States by then. And then when I came along, she stopped working so much so she could help take care of me since my parents couldn't always do it. She taught me everything Grandfather had taught her and told me stories about her spy days - the unclassified stuff, of course [ That's the story Sharon will be sticking to, at any rate. ] - and she's the reason I became a SHIELD agent.

[ There. Now she has something that almost looks like a panda. Of course, she'd been going for a portrait of Rogers a random guy, but pandas are still good, right? ]

Anything else?

[pursuitofcappiness]

No. I mean, thanks, that means a lot to me.

[ He thinks about her, for a moment. ]

Sorry, is this weird? I... don't want you to think I'm here to hear about Peggy. It's not like that, I really do like you. And I don't want to make you uncomfortable.

[agentx13]

[She keeps her eyes on the latte foam. She'd been doodling during her... monologue? Now she tries to make a leaf, drawing with a thin straw. Her voice is quiet.]

It's always going to be weird, though, isn't it? I mean, you two loved each other. A part of you will always love her and vice versa. [And Sharon feels like an interloper. A replacement. And Peggy has left some very large shoes to fill.] And I'm her niece. So... I don't know. But if we're going to- to pursue this, we're going to have to deal with that eventually.

[pursuitofcappiness]

I think you're right. This is always going to be weird. But... I don't think that's enough for me to want to pass this up. I think we could make this work.

I'd... like to try.

[agentx13]

[She glances at him beneath her lashes and resolves to ask Aunt Peggy for her... what? Blessing? Well, why not?]

[She swallows.]

Me, too.

[After a pause, she turns her attention back to the latte. Somehow, her attempt at making a leaf has turned into something like a mutated flamingo.]

So long as we're doing this, though, do you think we could keep it between us? If people at SHIELD other than Fury find out, things could get complicated.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Yes, that's fine.

[ He's just pretty shocked that she'd agree at all. ]

I don't really feel like filling out paperwork just to ask you out, either.

[agentx13]

[ She laughs. She wouldn't put it past SHIELD to do something like that. ]

And just to make sure - you're not going to get weird or protective when I go on a mission, are you?

[pursuitofcappiness]

Not anymore weird or protective than I am now.

[ That may change. He doesn't know. But it might be perceived as weird now that she's paying attention specifically to it. ]

[agentx13]

[ She nods to herself, and after a moment, she leans over to see what he's working on. Even though she's close, she's careful not to touch him. They likely aren't "there" yet, never mind that she's already kissed his cheek. But that had been different. That had been... a celebratory moment, sort of. This is more of a normal situation. So no touching unless he seems okay with that. ]

How are you getting yours to look so good? Mine looks like an amoeba on crack.

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ He looks over at her cup, and then squints as if coming up with a good critique. ]

I don't know, I'd say it's a flagellate.

[ But he orders them two new cups, and grabs a toothpick. ]

Light lines, you want to just etch into the foam.

Then for darker ones...

[ He pricks the sides where it's pure expresso, and then lightly dots in eyes, has enough on the end of his toothpick to draw in a mouth that's slightly darker than face lines. ]

See?

[ How did he motherfucking draw Nick Fury. ]

[agentx13]

Ha, ha.

[ She watches as he works, looking from him to the cup and back again. She's surprised by how comfortable she is and how she thinks she could get used to this. She looks back down as he describes how to do draw in darker lines, chuckling when he's done. ]

I didn't think I'd ever say this, but you are a bad, bad man.

[ Which is kind of nice, actually. She likes seeing this side of him, and part of her can't help but wonder how many other people get to see this side of him, too. Not that she minds if other people see it, but it feels like a privilege that she gets to see it at all. ]

[pursuitofcappiness]

--I thought it kinda looked like him.

[ Cue one sipping on the latte just to get rid of the foam and pour some more in. How is he also a master of pouring just foam??? How did this happen. ]

[agentx13]

[ Her lips twist upwards. She'd known he had a sense of humor, but she'd never seen it so much. ]

Okay, spill. How'd you get so good at this?

[pursuitofcappiness]

I studied to become a barista, in case the Captain America thing didn't pan out.

[ More like, whenever war was a lot of waiting around, he'd watch as the nice ladies behind the coffee counter made him some of the drinks they recommended. ]

[agentx13]

[She stares at him, unable to tell if he's joking or not.]

Seriously?

You're joking, right?

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ By the time they've reached this point in the conversation, he's drawn the New York City skyline in his cup.

So Sharon, you make the decision... ]

[agentx13]

[ She lifts her eyes and gapes at his face. He's freaking serious. ]

Thank God I'm good at shooting people.

[ She doesn't seem to notice the people around them who suddenly look at her, her eyes intent on his cup. She has her SHIELD badge with her in case there's some sort of trouble, after all. ]

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ He looks up to gauge people's reactions and-- honestly, he laughs. ]

Yeah, because otherwise how could you survive in this world not being able to draw on a latte?

[agentx13]

[ She grins at his laugh, though her head is still bowed over her own drink. She starts with something simple. A smiley face. ]

Finally. Got something that doesn't look completely wrong.

[ She tilts her work of art toward him with an air of false pride. ]

And I'll have you know that plenty of employers and just dying to pay latte artists minimum wage.

[pursuitofcappiness]

That's the best one I've ever seen. You'd go far in the latte-art business.

[ He did another one, but while Sharon was doing hers, and he's going to lift the cup to his face and drink to ruin it before having to show her up. ]

[agentx13]

I accept your mockery, Rogers. Just like I accept my inevitable defeat.

Or would, if this were the sort of thing where there was defeat.

[ She takes a sip of the latte, watching him over the rim of his cup. He has, once again, surprised her, because in this moment, when they're both momentarily quiet, it's comfortable. For her, at least. She hadn't thought she'd be able to genuinely tease him, or hear him laugh, or merely be. That she can do any of these - let alone all of them - is worrisome, though it only shows in her face for a moment. With her smiley face ruined when she'd taken a sip, she concentrates on doing something new. It can't be a portrait of Steve. There was no way she'd be able to pull it off.

After a moment, she tries her luck with a horse. It actually comes out looking somewhat horse-like. ]

[pursuitofcappiness]

See? It's not so bad once you're over the learning curve.

--Oh, I almost forgot. They make great cake here, if you wanted any.

[ He smiles and pulls out their dessert menu, which was there the whole time but he'd been too busy with the lattes to bother. ]

[agentx13]

[ Ugh, super-serumed men. No consideration of how hard it is for how hard it is for all the regular girls to fit into their uniforms.

But then, Sharon has a burger addiction and has always managed. That, and she's never really cared. She can work out more if she has to. ]

Want to split something?

[pursuitofcappiness]

Sure. Anything you want, I'm all for it.

[agentx13]

[ She scans the menu, and she hasn't completely forgotten that this is a man out of time and part of her job is to help him get used to this time. Not that it's been a struggle - Steve has been taking care of himself on his own in that respect for a while now. When he sets his mind to doing something, the something tends to get done. But she still automatically lights on the thing on the menu he's least likely to have had in the forties. ]

Ever had tiramisu?