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CHARACTERS: Peggy Carter and YOU
LOCATION: The Oxygen Garden
WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: Peggy is exploring the ship and comes across the oxygen garden.
NOTES: Basically an open post for new and old CR. Gimme it~

It wasn't her intention to go to the oxygen garden but somehow, Peggy had ended up in the area and she was fascinated by it. The room reminded her of botanical gardens she had been to when she was a young girl back home, except this was much more technologically advanced. She knew the function of the area by reading a guide but in a way, she still wanted to see it for herself. It made her think about the future; not that she would be around of course but even so. Is that what the people of the future would construct? Peggy could only speculate.

As she walked around the room, her thoughts drifted to Steve and how his arrival seemed to have change things for her. Peggy thought that he was dead and seeing him was such a shock, then a relief. Perhaps it was selfish of her to want to have him here, especially considering how dangerous the ship could be, but a part of her was glad because she got to see Steve again.

Anyone who comes across Peggy now will find her deep in thought.

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Normally it was Peggy who made Steve blush but in this case, she couldn't stop herself from doing it. Their hands were now entwined tightly and she didn't want to let go.

"It really is. Alive and vibrant. A contrast to the cold appearance of the ship." Seeing something that grew and added colour was good in her mind. "Please, yes. I haven't really seen much of your art." The opportunity never really presented itself back home and now she was able to.

Reluctant to release the hold on her hand, Steve brought them up to his mouth, pressed a kiss to the top of her hand this time, and then finally let go.

"It's not exactly home, but it's the closest to it," he stated, a hint of sadness laced around the words, but he's still smiling, and he opens out the sketchpad to the page he had been working on, a selection of the plants scattered around the page with the outline of Peggy's face in the centre, as if it had been there before and he had been merely working around it.

The kiss to her knuckles made her smile grow and Peggy relished the affectionate gesture before he released her hand from his own.

"I know," Peggy said softly, giving him a nod. After he opened the pad, she leaned in closer to look, eyes falling immediately on her face in the middle. "That's me." She added, looking up at him for a moment. "When did you draw this, Steve?"

If she were to flip through the book, Peggy would find several other drawings of herself throughout, as well as familiar faces that they both knew from the SSR, one or two of his mother. He recalled them well, enhanced memory aiding him to remember them as close to what they once were, and he missed them. But Peggy took up the majority of the book.

"That one? Yesterday," he admits, trying to shrug it off as something casual, no big deal, and he wonders now if he should have showed her at all, feeling embarrassed. He had watched as she socialised and hadn't wished to disturb her, and instead found himself idly drawing. "You don't mind, do you?"

At his question, Peggy shook her head, laying her hand on his arm and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "No, of course not. It's just that no one has ever really drew me before. It's lovely, thank you. You've got a real talent for art."

It made her wonder if Steve would have pursued a career in art, had he not been where he ended it up. However, if he wasn't chosen, then she wouldn't have met him in the first place and that seemed so much worse for her; Peggy was incredibly glad to know him.

Steve both beamed at the praised and flushed modestly, because as much as he enjoyed sitting down with a pencil and paper, the occasional session with paints and the full works when he could fit it in, he never really thought he could get too far with it, even while he attended art college he knew there were better artists.

"Thank you," he offered, a timidness in the words, but he meant it; he was pleased that she didn't mind, and even more so that she thought it flattering. "You can, uh, I mean, if you wanted, you could keep it." But as soon as he said it, he felt foolish, shifted from foot to foot. "Sorry, I'm interrupting and you looked to be thinking hard about something."

"I think I'd like that, Steve," she replied, giving him a small smile, one that she reserved for him. Upon seeing how awkward he looked, Peggy moved her hand down to take his again, squeezing it. "What? No, I'm glad you're here. You can take a walk with me around the garden." It would be a date..sort of and well, she liked spending time with him.

Gently, she tugged at his hand, indicating that he should walk along beside her, keen to show Steve around as well as having a chance to talk to him some more. Ever since he got here, Peggy was a little reluctant to let Steve out of her sight, fearing that he might leave without warning.

"Yeah?" he asked, far too surprised and a little excited over her response, and it saw him colour in the face. "I mean, uh," he babbled as he carefully removed the page from the sketchpad, held it out for her to take, "It's yours if you want it."

Steve took the hint, started to put one foot in front of the other, walking at a slow pace. He hadn't done more than sit to the side within the garden, and he knew there was more to see of it, so getting the chance to explore and do it with Peggy at his side made the smile return. "I'm glad I bumped into you."

Peggy took the page off him when he held it out to her, tucking it carefully away in her jacket pocket, intending to put it in her room somewhere once she got back there. Perhaps she could place it up on the wall. She was going to think on it later.

That was much better. Peggy was glad that he did take the hint and began to walk with her. Sharing this experience with him was much more appealing than walking around by herself. "I'm really glad you bumped into me, Steve," she replied, giving his hand a squeeze as she lead them to a rather tall looking plant.

Steve caught himself grinning stupidly when she tucked it away, and he tried to reel it in, tone it down, because it made him feel like a small child seeking approval. But it didn't make anything awkward, and he tried to push it out of his mind.

"It's a big ship," he pointed out, swinging their hands slowly between them, and the grin returned. He had never really had a girlfriend, if that's what she was, and he certainly had never found the chance to hold a girl's hand and walk around with her without shame and embarrassment being involved for everyone. He liked it. "It's not always easy to bump into the person you've been thinking about."

He was different to any man she had known back home and it was refreshing to her. To not have someone who thought she would be better off just being a housewife and staying at home. Someone who didn't catcall at her or make inappropriate jokes. Someone who was sweet and warm-hearted, brave and many other things. So he wasn't perfect (neither was she) but Steve was definitely someone that Peggy wanted in her life.

"You were thinking about me?" Peggy looked over at him, a small, playful smile twitching at her lips. She decided that it was nice to be thought about, especially by the person that she had thought about everyday on board the ship. "I was thinking about you too."

Steve loved that about her, that she knew how to take care of herself, and that she stuck things out no matter how much pressure fell upon her, the comments from people who believed she should have a place and being in the middle of a military operation wasn't it. It made him proud of her, gave him hope that the future could see better days, especially for women and equal opportunities for everyone no matter what their situation. She stood up to the bullies who tried to fight her, and she always came out better for it, stronger, and he loved that.

He shrugged, smiling down at the floor as if that would take back his words. "I always think about you," he said it so casually, as if it was no big deal, matter of fact, but with feeling behind it no matter how much he tried to play it down. He wondered where she was and what she was doing, and if she was okay. "You were?" he smiled, soft and pleased, but still there was a hint of surprise there. "I know I wasn't late for anything."

"Not a day went by when I didn't think about you, Steve. At home or even here." Peggy replied quietly, catching his gaze and looking at him head on, unable to hide the smile on her face. "I'm glad that you think about me and I never want that to change." Her free hand reached up to cup his cheek, her thumb brushing over it.

Deep down, she knew that their time here could be limited, because sometimes, the ship sent people home without warning, not giving anyone a chance to say their goodbyes. Steve was dead back home and Peggy tried not to think about it so much but it was there, in the back of her mind and while it was perhaps selfish, Peggy didn't want him to leave. Steve had always been there for her and vice versa. They could have something wonderful here, despite the hardships.

"Sorry I kept you waiting," he apologised, and he meant it in spite of the lopsided smile that came with it. Holding back wasn't an issue, not here, not like it had been during the war and around meetings and battles that lives depended on them to focus completely on. There was only one mission here and that was to find a way home, and a huge part of him hoped that the day never came. He knew nothing of what would become of him, and his part in the war was over, he had done everything he could and gone down with the plane. If he were to stay here indefinitely, well, would it really make a difference? "I kinda lost track of time."

He lifted his head as they walked, slow and casual, and it was comforting, to do something so simple, oddly freeing, too, even if the irony of it was that they were trapped on a ship in space without a way out. He stole glances at her, and not one of them was as subtle as he liked to think it was. "How're you settling in here?"

"It's all right. You don't need to apologise to me about it." Peggy assured softly, taking back her hand. She knew that he downed the plane to save many innocent lives and understood that it was his decision, even if meant that she had to be parted from him. At least they had each other here and Peggy was going to savour each moment they spent together while it lasted. Hopefully Steve wouldn't be taken from her at all but she kept that thought to herself for now.

Peggy had a feeling that he was looking at her and she smiled to herself, enjoying the silence for a few moments before he broke it. "I'm settling in quite well actually. There are some good people on board and I feel like I've made a difference."

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