[ -- not a beat is missed when she follows suit and, seeing him push back from the tables, takes to her feet herself. the funny thing is, peggy can't quite keep herself from smiling.
and smiling a lot. it's the kind of smile that beams. if someone didn't know better, they might almost mistake it for pride.
peggy approaches only as close as the half-way mark along the table's edge. from there, she leans in and sticks out her hand. during that last event, fitz had hugged her. all she can offer now is a firm handshake. ]
You know, I was half-worried you'd buckle without so much as a shove. [ it's a good thing, she thinks, that fitz took his quiet stand. pointed her elsewhere. parried her probes with answers that, if not good, were at least the sort that shut the conversation down. ] But I think I'm glad you didn't.
[ she waits. and regardless of whether he accepts the handshake or not, peggy says: ] I'll tell Mister Hunter there's no use barking up this tree. [ as predicted, as warned, as expected. ] But if that ever changes, I hope you'd consider coming to me...second.
[ first would have been the wrong offer to make, given how fiercely fitz spoke of simmons when they were all in tartarus -- and the lengths he went to for her birthday. no, if anyone will know first? it'll be her. ]
[ personally, peggy wouldn't go so far as to call it a test. more like the practical application of a hunch. or a hope. a well-needed reminder that this absurd cult of personality isn't sewn too deep. and that maybe, just maybe, her faith can be well-founded in at least one fraction of shield. ]
If it was, then I do believe it was a test for the both of us. [ because peggy withheld her best advantages out of respect for him, the support he's already given her, and the notion that one day he should find a home under an umbrella she supposedly opens up.
after their handshake, she knocks her knuckles once on the desk. her smile has since subsided back to a neutral expression. but there remains something bright and invested in her eyes. ]
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[He pushes away from the table then.]
....Tea's gone cold. Shame to dump the rest.
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and smiling a lot. it's the kind of smile that beams. if someone didn't know better, they might almost mistake it for pride.
peggy approaches only as close as the half-way mark along the table's edge. from there, she leans in and sticks out her hand. during that last event, fitz had hugged her. all she can offer now is a firm handshake. ]
You know, I was half-worried you'd buckle without so much as a shove. [ it's a good thing, she thinks, that fitz took his quiet stand. pointed her elsewhere. parried her probes with answers that, if not good, were at least the sort that shut the conversation down. ] But I think I'm glad you didn't.
[ she waits. and regardless of whether he accepts the handshake or not, peggy says: ] I'll tell Mister Hunter there's no use barking up this tree. [ as predicted, as warned, as expected. ] But if that ever changes, I hope you'd consider coming to me...second.
[ first would have been the wrong offer to make, given how fiercely fitz spoke of simmons when they were all in tartarus -- and the lengths he went to for her birthday. no, if anyone will know first? it'll be her. ]
no subject
I.... Was. Was this a test?
[Moreover, did he pass??]
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If it was, then I do believe it was a test for the both of us. [ because peggy withheld her best advantages out of respect for him, the support he's already given her, and the notion that one day he should find a home under an umbrella she supposedly opens up.
after their handshake, she knocks her knuckles once on the desk. her smile has since subsided back to a neutral expression. but there remains something bright and invested in her eyes. ]