homemeless | 002 - The Stargazing Meme

002 - The Stargazing Meme

Vega, Altair and Deneb, The Summer Triangle and the Milky way

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He uh... well... ]

I've gone on dates before. But I've never... not more than once.

[ That was true, even for Peggy. He never did get one date with Peggy. ]

Um... how about you?

[ He tries not to regret that as soon as it exits his mouth, but he's having trouble not cringing. What an awful question. Three minutes in and they're already talking about exes, of which Steve's got a total of zero. Seems like they're going about this the wrong way, but there's really nothing too conventional about either of them, considering, so maybe that's for the best. ]

Not much experience, no. [ Not more than once, huh? She guesses that would be pre-serum Steve. What woman in her right mind would pass up Steve as he is now? Obviously, Sharon hadn't really even though of him in that context - was still wrapping her mind around it - but she also knows that there are some things she isn't prepared to do in a relationship. If she has to, she will dump him. But then, no one has ever considered Sharon to be in her right mind. ]

So it looks like we're really winging it.

[ She isn't sure what to say next, but she's pretty sure this awkward feeling isn't just her. ]

[ Nope. In fact, this is starting to feel like a mistake. Not because he doesn't like Sharon, but because he's come so unprepared and he feels like this this added strangeness, that it's really putting a damper on things. The brief times that they've spent as friends, it's been so easy. And this... even something so new-culturally insignificant as a first date... It's so...

...He should have thought this through harder. He should fight for this. ]

How else are we gonna learn to fly?

[ He nods towards the car ]

There's a place nearby that lets you do your own latte art.

[ She cracks a grin at that. She can't help it. How else are we gonna learn to fly? It's so... cheesy and sincere and so Rogers. Steve. It's so Steve.

It might be... maybe not good, per se, but she can at least try and see where this relationship will go, right? If it's even a relationship.

She clears her throat. ]

Cool. Let's do it.

So... favorite country where you've had a mission. What is it?

France, because some of my men spoke French. First time I was able to communicate properly with the locals. I thought about learning the languages, but I moved around too much.

What's yours?

[ This little place happens to be an Italian bakery, and it's little but it looks very inviting. ]

France, too, actually. [ She glances at him sideways. ] Aunt Peggy worked there after the War. She knew a lot of the English pilots and agents the Resistance had smuggled back to England, and she was friends with some of the Resistance spies. When I was growing up, she made sure I learned French, and we'd go to Paris once a year or so.

Have you been back since you... got back?

[Clever, Sharon. "Since you... got back." Really? Way to go. And instead of shooting someone like she so desperately wants to do, she's going to... decorate a drink with foam in it.

She isn't even close to normal.

But hell. Try anything once, right? ]

[ Steve gets a latte and makes a portrait of Sharon, which he offers to her. He did that in like three seconds. How is that possible? How is he acting like it's the most normal skill in the world? ]

No, I... I mean, aside from Germany, I've just been here.

[ He told himself he wouldn't, but suddenly it's a lot of hurt, to think about her. He tries to smile, instead. ]

They never told me, what happened to her. Wasn't in her file, didn't know who to ask.

[ She takes the latte and looks down at it absently. She ends up freezing, holding the latte carefully in both hands. She'd barely seen his hands move. How the hell had- That looks like her. Had he even looked at her when he'd done this? It was... creepy, kind of. But mostly flattering. Definitely flattering. It helps that Steve doesn't actually know how to do creepy.

She looks up when he talks about Peggy, still being careful not to jostle the cup. Shame it's only on a latte. Steve's more talented than she'd thought. ]

I'm a good source for all things Peggy, I like to think. She raised me more than my parents did. [ She shrugs. ] Ask away, if you want.

[ After all, she won't begrudge him for being interested in her Aunt. They both respect Peggy. Love her, maybe, though in different ways. And it doesn't seem like Steve is using her as some weird sort of Peggy-rebound. Yet. But she can empathize with someone wanting to know more about Peggy, so she'll allow it. ]

[ Well, it's unfair to say that he doesn't like some similar qualities between Sharon and Peggy. Of course he does. They're strong, independent women. They've got that Carter pride, which is a rare quality. And yes, there's a conflict of interest here, but he does like them both for different reasons too. And he'd never use someone as an emotional replacement for someone else like that.

That said, he feels awkward asking. But... ]

I just... want to know everything about her. I love her.

[ That sounds like a confession. He looks down at the other coffee. ]

I think I always will. I think about her damn near every day and I don't even know most of her story.

[ 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?

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.

[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.

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.

[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.

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.

[ 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?

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. ]

[ 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.

[ 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. ]

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. ]

--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. ]

[ 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?

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. ]

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

Seriously?

You're joking, right?

[ 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... ]

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