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

[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?

[pursuitofcappiness]

Of course; I was in Italy for a bit. They make a great one here, though. With coffee liqueur.

[agentx13]

Let's do that, then. I'll place the order, you keep playing van Gogh.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Do you like Van Gogh?

[agentx13]

He's one of my favorites. Him, Monet, Dalí...

I'm going to guess you've already seen the exhibition at the Met.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Ms. Potts got me a pass. I guess I can go to any of the museums, but Tony said I should be fine waving my ID and getting in with a senior citizen's discount.

[ He laughs ]

[agentx13]

[ Sharon looks alarmed for several seconds before Steve laughs and she realizes he knew Stark had only been joking. Nonetheless, she can't match his laugh with one of her own. ]

Tony. I can have a word with him if you want. It's not like I don't have ways to prevent people from doing certain things.

[pursuitofcappiness]

That's alright, it's just a joke. If he really pushes my buttons, I just mention something about his father. Don't tell him I told you this, but he really hates that.

[ He hands a latte to Sharon. It's Starry Night. ]

I couldn't exactly get the colors, but I hope it sorta looks alright.

[agentx13]

[ She relaxes and even smiles. ] Yeah, he has something of a chip on his sho- [ She sees the latte, and her eyes widen. ] -n of a...

[ She lifts her eyes to him and gapes. ]

You can do that with paint, too, can't you.

[ It isn't entirely a question. She sees your talent, Rogers. ]

[pursuitofcappiness]

Well, I could. I don't know if I'd wanna copy Van Gogh. I prefer Monet, Sargent and... the renaissance painters, I guess. I did try to do Sunflowers once, but I just couldn't get the colors right.

[agentx13]

Oh, yeah. I have the same problem. [ Her voice is dry. After all, she's currently the proud owner of a frownie face with Donald Trump hair, and that can only go so far. ]

If not for the War, do you think you would have been an artist? Or if SHIELD were disbanded? If you could be normal, I mean.

[pursuitofcappiness]

No. I... couldn't afford art school. Dropped out after two years.

[agentx13]

You could afford it now. [ Her voice is soft, and she isn't looking at him, seemingly lost in her world of trying to a more complicated portrait at last. She thinks she's getting the hang of it. Not necessarily the skill, but the mechanics.

[ She glances at him, then focuses on the latte again. This might be personal for him, talking about his time before and possibly not being able to do something he wants. Or being able to, which might be more frightening, somehow. Either way, as much as she wants information, and she almost always wants information, she just wants to give him a moment to decide on his own, without her scrutiny and attention. He deserves that much, at least. ]

[pursuitofcappiness]

I know, but... it's not my dream anymore.

[ He smiles ]

I'm perfectly happy to be doing what we're doing instead. I'd still love to do it as a hobby, but... I don't know if I want to go to school again. It's a big commitment, art school. Eight-hour days.

I'll consider it when I retire.

[ Yeah.... retire.... like when he's dead. ]

[agentx13]

When you retire.

[ Right. Because if there's something SHIELD agents are known for, it's retirement. Ha. More like, "They'll work 'til they're dead." ]

[ But that doesn't sound like the sort of thing to talk about on a date. They've both lost people that they'll never forget. No need to cast a pall over the date when there are so many palls elsewhere. ]

And you might be too advanced for night classes at the armory, if your latte skills are any indication, but there are usually night classes at some places. The museums do stuff, too. They even let you go in and paint copies of the paintings.

[pursuitofcappiness]

I don't know, sounds kind of like paint by numbers, but it might be worth a shot. I do like being able to learn from the mattress by trying to figure out how they painted something.

[ He has little stars in his eyes anyway, from thinking about just getting his hands dirty from paint again. ]

What about you? What did you want to do before this?

[agentx13]

[ Paint by numbers? How else do people paint? Well, people other than him, apparently. ]

Nothing. All I ever wanted was to be a spy. Peggy used to tell me stories, you know. Of the things you guys used to do. Of the things she used to do. Stories about the French Resistance, about spies and soldiers. And that's what I wanted to be. That's what I always wanted to be. So my parents and Peggy helped me look into it, and I got into the right schools, and I took self-defense classes and gymnastics and Peggy would play spy games with me. Like, this one time when I was six, I went to her house, but she'd hidden the cookie jar. My mission was to find it, get the cookies, and put it back without getting caught. [ She smiles at the memory. And her dad had wondered why she'd liked hanging out at Peggy's house so much. ]

The missions got harder as I got older, and by the time I turned eighteen, I was ready.

I guess that's pretty boring, though. No, I don't know, bolt of lightning out of the blue or anything.

[pursuitofcappiness]

No, that's good. You achieved your dreams.

[ He smiles at her, beaming almost. ]

You went for what you wanted and didn't change your mind. I... like that about you.

[agentx13]

Seriously? That's-

[ She searches his eyes for a moment, then grins. Of course he isn't like so many of the SHIELD guys who think it's embarrassing they can't beat her in a fight. It's just... weird having coffee with - dating - someone who respects her decision to become an agent. ]

Surprising and nice. Um. Thanks.

[ But now that they're getting into nice things, she feels the need to turn the subject. She isn't accustomed to compliments outside of her performance in the field. ]

They're opening a new nightclub downtown soon. It's supposed to be a jazz club based on the 1940s. [ Such things had come into fashion after Steve came back. And so much of them are probably the exact opposite of what he's used to, poor guy. ]

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ He's about to ask what she means by that, that it's surprising and nice. He doesn't think it's either, she's chasing her dreams just like everyone else does. But she's already moved on before he can think about it, and he's distracted because that's pinging his interests. ]

Would you go with me?

I... never got to go dancing.

[agentx13]

[ How scary is it that she already knows him well enough to fob him off so easily? So long as he doesn't trust everyone so implicitly, she supposes it'll be all right. And she'll look out for him somehow, one way or another. ]

I actually brought it up so you would ask Nick Fury. [ She grins sheepishly. ]

Yeah, I'll go. Nick can cry himself to sleep another night.

[pursuitofcappiness]

I don't know, maybe Maria can take him. I feel bad, he never takes a day off. But I don't know if I'd want to lead him in a swing dance.

[ He laughs at the thought ]