womanofvalue | [outlander psl au]

The ground was saturated with so much rain that Peggy thought she might be washed away, but just because the plains were soaked didn't mean that the drills stopped. The soldiers didn't know it yet, but the landings were going to arrive sooner than anyone wanted and that meant no one can be untrained, lest they end up paying with their lives on those beaches. Today, when the fog rolled in, her superiors informed her that she would be running orienteering with her men, eliciting a sharp 'sir, yes, sir' from Peggy before she took the maps to her own private tent in order to brief the Lieutenants.

Leaning over to study the map, her stubborn engagement ring catches her eye. It had managed to escape from where she had tucked it away, just like all her thoughts about Fred. Their engagement was a terse and stressful thing. When she had announced that she was going into the field with the SSR, he had threatened to leave her. It had been her mother that had convinced Fred to wait Peggy out, insisting that once the war was over, things would change.

As much as Peggy was fond of Fred, she was beginning to see the splinters in their engagement turn to wider cracks, chasms so wide that you could lose sight of the love you once shared and guided you towards that engagement. Carefully, she pushed the ring back, securing it with one of her brassiere straps. Snapping her compass shut, she gave the objective and the orders. "I'll be out in the field to keep an eye on each platoon. The first to reach the objective will not run additional miles," she promised.

"The others will be doing laps around the base, respective to their finishing position." Folding up the map, she handed one to each of her four Lieutenants. "Let them look at it for a few hours, then to the navigator." With a few more orders, she allowed them to prepare as she herself got ready. She tugged on knee-high rain boots, an overcoat, and despite the misty fog in the air, she double-checked that her hair and makeup was in good shape.

Several hours later found Peggy in the thick of drills, listening to the shouts of men in the distance as they worked their way towards her and the objective. Standing there with a brolly, she glanced at her pocketwatch and decided mentally that she would see the first platoon in no more than forty-five minutes. Clasping the watch shut, the echo of it was drowned by another sound -- one that didn't belong. The sound of twigs and branches crunching made Peggy reach for her pistol, simply to be ready.

"Phillips?" she called out, thinking perhaps something had happened and she needed to recall her men. She saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a man in the fog and she found herself inexplicably drawn towards him, mainly because it simply didn't make any sense. "Who's there?" she asked, when it was clear that the man she was seeing didn't bear resemblance to anyone on base. This close, she could see that his hair had a strange look to it, not to mention his clothes. "Has there been an accident?" What could have happened to render the man in such a state?

(Peggy also did not need to allow her conscious thoughts to become aware of how handsome the man was, despite the fact she feared she was already a lost cause, given the way she was filled with a renewed warmth and how her gaze lingered)

They were inside a ring of large stones, which she vaguely recalled the locals warning her about. She had paid little mind, marking them perfunctorily on the map before moving on, but now she had to wonder if the talk of strange rituals wasn't at least a little true. Forty-five minutes. She had forty-five minutes until the men arrived, surely she could deal with this surprise in that time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

bearstheshield

Steve has a few ideas but none of them are appropriate to suggest at this juncture. Peggy isn't someone he has business falling for - they're from different times and places and it would just be unwise.

"Well, if you don't mind being a model, I'd like to draw you? It's what I usually do in my down time."

From:

womanofvalue

She opens and then closes her mouth, drifting a little from the warmth of his body, mainly to give him a confused look. This is a first for her, even though she's certainly heard some strange suggestions in the past. "What sort of drawings are we talking about?" she asks, when she finds her voice.

"How long would I have to remain still?" That's the next concern, because Peggy's terrible at staying still for too long.

From:

bearstheshield

"A half hour? Less? I can add the details in later and just get the rough sketch for now. Besides, it's easier to capture a person's expression if they're talking and laughing and interacting with you. A still model doesn't really give you a good idea how that person is in the real world," Steve explains.

"I don't get to draw from live models very often. It'd be a treat. And uh, it'd be a portrait. You could show it to your grandmother, I promise."

From:

womanofvalue

"Oh, certainly not my grandmother, unless you're an Impressionist, she won't have the time of day for you," Peggy assures him with a cool smile, moving to sit on the bed, not entirely sure how she should position herself. She ends up tucking her bent knees behind her, hoping that this will simply do.

"How about this?" she asks, gesturing to where she is, leaning back against the headboard. "Suitable?"

From:

bearstheshield

"More than suitable," Steve says. Peggy is achingly beautiful and he has to say to himself more than once not for you before he gets started drawing the rough sketch that he'll fill in with details later. "I went to art school before I ended up in the army, you know. It paid for my education and I thought I would just do a small stint and go back to being an artist. I didn't think I would like it as much as I do. Strange, isn't it?"

From:

womanofvalue

"I don't think that's strange," she says, still shifting a little. She feels terribly uncomfortable being watched, especially when she's spent so long being trained to go under the radar and keep out of sight. She keeps moving her hair this way, adjusts her hands, and eventually decides that she'll simply let things be and Steve can tell her what he wants.

"They are very different things, but we're all permitted our own interests," she says. "I, unfortunately, am mainly interested in work. It doesn't make much for hobbies, after the fact." Her idea of a relaxing evening is solving puzzles, ideally as part of her job.

From:

bearstheshield

"There's got to be something you're interested in other than the job. Maybe you don't have a lot of time to devote to it but it can't always be work, can it?" Steve's a big believer in having some kind of outside stress relief, something that belongs to just him, and art is that. The government can have everything else.

"Reading, maybe?"

From:

womanofvalue

"Most of my reading these days happens to be job related," Peggy says, unable to recall the last book that wasn't about missions or code-breaking or some other piece of trivia that mattered to the task at hand. "There is..." She trails off, unsure she wants to admit to this, but why not?

"I always thought about going dancing," she admits, "but I kept putting it off again and again because I was waiting for the right partner to go with, so I wouldn't be disappointed."

From:

bearstheshield

"Dancing? I love dancing," Steve says. He starts working on the finer details now, the way her eyes crinkle a bit when she smiles and the curve of her mouth. Peggy is really a beautiful woman and he's sort of regretting he decided to sketch her and spend this much time focusing on just how beautiful she is and just how much he wishes they could have a relationship outside of the strange partnership they have right now.

"My mother made me take lessons when I was a kid. I hated it then but I grew into liking it. Ladies like it when a guy can lead a dance properly, so it worked out."

From:

womanofvalue

"Perhaps if all works out and I survive this treatment, and you stay, and this war ends..." It's all so many things to put out there, making it seem almost like it's impossible that all of them will align, and yet, Peggy wants to believe that they can. "Well, maybe if that all happens, we can go dancing, you and I."

It's a long distance dream, she knows that, but Peggy finds herself thinking of it, all the same. "I can't promise I'll remember all my lessons, but I took quite a few classes," she's ready to admit.

From:

bearstheshield

"That's a lot of maybes. Between you and me, though, I hope it happens. I hope you can show me up with those dance lessons of yours." Steve's way more attached to her than he ought to be and he bends his head to work on the drawing for a little while, speaking a little less so he can concentrate. When he's gotten the sketch about three quarters of the way done, he nods at Peggy to motion her over.

"Come see what I've done so far?"

From:

womanofvalue

She's unfortunately a touch too cynical to think that it will actually happen. Still, she wants to, instead she tries to keep her chin up and think about the possibility of it happening. "Yes, I think so, let's see what you've done to me," she teases, pushing herself from the bed in order to go see Steve.

Brushing her hair back, she leans over his shoulder, breath catching a touch as she stares at the picture. "You're wonderfully talented," she praises, given what she sees on the page.

From:

bearstheshield

"Yeah? I always get a little nervous when I'm showing the subject of a piece of art what I've done," Steve says. He's more nervous because it's Peggy and he cares about her more than he ought to. He knows that it's not going to end well, honestly, but he still wants to enjoy his time with Peggy for the time being. Maybe she'll remember him as fondly as he'll remember her.

"It's just a rough sketch and if I had more time I would do something better but I'm glad you like it."

From:

womanofvalue

Peggy doesn't think that he can show her anything that will be below her expectations, mainly because she's set the bar for herself. She's hardly a skilled artist, so she'll simply appreciate whatever it is that Steve has to show her.

"Steve," she says firmly, hands on her hips as she readies a firm look his way. "Show me the drawing," she insists, because she's going to rip it out of his hands in a moment if he doesn't.

From:

bearstheshield

Sheepish now, Steve finally shows her the drawing. He's always been a little selfish about his artistic talent and wants to keep it close to himself but Peggy's right: he needs to just show the drawing and get it over with. He hands her the pad he'd been drawing on for her perusal, hoping that she likes what he's done.

"It makes it a little easier when it's a subject I like so much."

From:

womanofvalue

It's far better than Peggy would ever be able to manage, but there's something in it that she's not sure she recognizes. Perhaps it's simply that she's not used to expecting other people to see her like this, with something other than her sharp edges and the abrasive nature she can occasionally have.

"Careful, that sounds a great deal like flattery to me," she warns, even though she's not even bothering to look at Steve, more occupied with sliding her thumb over the pencil marks.

From:

bearstheshield

"Look, I'm sure you know that you're beautiful," Steve says. It's hardly something up for debate and while he can't really act on it considering their situations he can at least give the compliment and let her enjoy it for a little while.

"So when the subject is beautiful and I'm fond of her, it does make it a little easier to put out a good sketch. When it's someone like you? I could probably do a whole book."

From:

womanofvalue

She does, but she's hardly a woman that goes around trumpeting that fact. Still, Peggy likes to take care of herself and spends the extra time putting the effort into her hair and her makeup, because she likes how it sets her apart and makes her feel.

Still, for Steve to call her beautiful seems to be another thing entirely, something that makes her cheeks flush. "Careful," she says, her chest hollow-feeling and her words hoarse with a longing she's trying to repress, "or a girl might think that you appreciate her with words like that."

From:

bearstheshield

"What if I did appreciate a woman like you? Wouldn't be a bad thing, to admire from afar," Steve says wistfully. He knows nothing can come of it and he shouldn't set himself up to be disappointed but he can't help but show his heart a little. He wants to let Peggy know he does have feelings for her and he already thinks it's going to be hard to try and go back to his own time and place and leave her behind.

"You have at least one admirer, anyway."

From:

womanofvalue

"Yes, from afar," she says. The smile she gives is a flash of a thing and it's tempered with grief and regret, both that he's from the future and that nothing can come of it, but also that she's now looking at her future alone, for the first time in years.

The ache of it is nearly tangible, and she needs to stop thinking about it. When Steve does go, he'll simply return home. "I'm sure you've got plenty of women to appreciate where you're from that will be happy for the attentions when you return."

From:

bearstheshield

"Nobody worth mentioning," Steve says, shrugging that off. "Nobody who's really special, that catches my eye." The only woman who's caught his eye lately has been Peggy Carter, for better or worse, and Steve thinks he'll end up being hung up on her for a long time if he ever gets back home.

"They're not like you."

From:

womanofvalue

It doesn't matter, though, does it?

That's the part that Peggy can't escape from. No matter what connection she may feel with Steve, it all doesn't matter because he's going to go back to where he came from and she'll be here in the past. "I should rest, before the procedure," she says, abruptly switching the subject in order to be able to avoid this becoming an even more intimate conversation.

"That's likely best, wouldn't you say?"

From:

bearstheshield

"You should rest," Steve agrees. "Not that you'll need it, after the procedure, but it usually helps to go into it well-rested so you don't feel as panicked. I'm less useful when I'm tired." It's a stupid thing to say and Steve knows it. Everyone is less useful when they're tired. That's a proven fact. Still, it just goes to show how much Peggy Carter affects him that he says stupid things around her all the time.

"I'll see you in the morning?"

From:

womanofvalue

She can feel the way her gaze is lingering on him, longer than she'd like it to. She's not typically a woman prone to such thoughts and weaknesses, and yet, here she is staring at him like a silly schoolgirl with a crush. "Yes, I will," she agrees. "Steve..."

She says it just as he's getting ready to leave. "You will let me keep that drawing, won't you? I'd like to have something for when you go back to your future," she can't help but tease mildly, trying to keep the heartache from her voice. Better to think about the benefits of what his presence here is doing.

From:

bearstheshield

“I was intending to give it to you,” Steve says. He can do another one later from memory for his own purposes but this one, he’s happy to give Peggy. It pleases him she wants something to remember him by.

“You know, we don’t know if I can even go back. I might be here for the duration and you’re just stuck with me.”