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WHO: Peggy Carter
WHERE: #43 - The Vincennes
WHEN: December 27th - Evening
OPEN TO: All!
WARNINGS: n/a
STATUS: Open (Gathering Style)

When the gifts had arrived, Peggy had treated them at first with the same suspicion as anything else here. Things simply weren't that good to be true, but these gifts had people's names on them this time. With the exception of several that she couldn't begin to understand (such as that one from a man named Ivan, that she barely recalled interacting with), the rest were so kind and thoughtful that she soon found herself with a wealth of possessions she hadn't hoped to possess here.

The party had been borne of one single thought: I have nowhere to wear such lovely things and when she'd found the wine and liquor from others (including Tony, which didn't surprise her in the very least), she knew that she could change that. She'd posted a quick notice at the inn using some of the cardboard of a box and the lovely fountain pen Helen had given her, then did the same at many of the public buildings, inviting people to her home and inviting them to bring any food or drink they might like to provide, as well as suggesting this as an opportunity to wear their fanciest.

She set out her drinks (the ones she was willing to share) and made sure to tidy the home so that it was presentable. In her youth, back during her first engagement, she might have imagined entertaining like this on a regular basis, but that had been swept away by the war. Instead, Peggy was left hoping that such a gala would be acceptable and that she wouldn't simply be here alone tonight.

Setting her new record player (and her single record) down, she cranked it to begin playing the record that had come with it (a pressing of the Glenn Miller Band), and then she began to convince herself that there was nothing more that she could do.

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"You did," Raleigh says, still happy to have Peggy folded into the hug. He understands the need for contact from time to time and it's so hard to find someone who can empathize with loss the way Peggy can with his loss and vice versa; he's glad they can call one another friend.

"You got me a journal and a pen. I'm not much of a writer, or anything, but I'm happy to give it a try. It helps me keep my thoughts in order anyway."

"Well, I'm glad," she says, though she has no idea what on earth might have prompted such a thing. Maybe she'd thought that it would be nice for Raleigh to get to write down what he thought, but also the memories that he did have of his brother while they occurred to him. "Now, come on, I've held you up here far too long," she says, coaxing him to try and get him back out. "I expect to see you dancing at some point tonight," she warns, even though she herself won't be quick to get on the dance floor.

"I'm planning to give you at least one of those dances," Raleigh says, grinning wide at her. He doesn't want Peggy to be mired in sadness at what should be a celebration and anything he can do to help alleviate that, he's going to.

"I mean, you're our beautiful hostess. That earns you at least one dance with me, if not more."

"Only if you promise not to step on my toes," she warns, but there's a teasing glimmer in her eye. The truth is that even though a part of her is so stubborn as it clings to the notion of saving her dances for one man, the one here is a future ghost that has a new life and the one back home can't even dance in that manner.

So why wait? Why continue to rob herself of the small joys she could be enjoying? "I'll give you one dance, but I believe you have a beautiful lady friend I've seen around yours that you ought to spend more of that time with."

"Well, Sansa is going to have most of my dances," Raleigh agrees. "But I have to give the hostess one. And I'm a little offended that you think I'd step on your toes. I'm a great dancer, Peggy Carter."

Raleigh isn't a ballroom dancer or anything but he's been to enough weddings to know how to shuffle around without stepping on anyone's feet.

"I've known many handsome men who were terrible dancers, how would I know which category to lump you into?" she challenges, smiling playfully even as she says the words. "For all I know, you might not know how to even count in four-four time. Then, what would I do without my toes at my disposal? How would I go on hosting?"

"Well, you're just going to have to take my word for it that I'm not going to stomp on your feet," Raleigh says. He laughs a little if only because it's such a mundane and normal conversation in a beyond not-normal place.

"Do you trust me?"

Of course she does. She gives him a look that insists that it's hardly fair to ask that because he already knows the answer, but she nods her head to assent that yes, of course she trusts him. "Don't waste that trust," is what she warns, even as she knows she's going to trust him beyond that.

Things like stepped-on-toes are minor injuries that can be overlooked, after all.

Raleigh laughs and makes a point of looking at his feet during the first few steps of the dance before lifting his head to look at her face; he's not so bad as all that.

"How am I doing so far? Acceptable? Not making you cringe in fear for your poor toes?"

"Well, they're not stomped on," Peggy replies with mild amusement, happy to be able to dance to a familiar song, even if she fears she'll quickly grow tired seeing as this is the only record she has at her disposal. For now, though, it's easy enough to keep a chaste, friendly distance between them as they dance.

"Did you dance often, fighting your war?"

"Well, danced as a part of the fighting," Raleigh explains.

"Fighting in a Jaeger, it requires you to coordinate with a partner. A lot of the training exercises are kind of like dancing, in a way. You have to compliment your partner's moves and not work against them, you know? It's pretty much like dancing in that way."

"You've spoken a great deal about these machines, I can't help but wonder how I'd fare in one of them," Peggy admits, trying to think of someone that she's so attuned to that she'd be able to fight seamlessly. As much as her mind likes to think it would be Steve or Daniel, the truth is that they often had their disagreements. From the perspective of similarities, she thinks that perhaps Mr. Jarvis would be best suited at her side.

Though, even they had their own hiccups in their relationship, especially lately, and all because of her.

Raleigh chuckles a little. "I bet you'd be amazing. You have a good mind for strategy. I can tell that just from talking to you here, you know? I don't think you'd have any problems."

It takes a certain kind of person to manage a Jaeger but he thinks Peggy has what it takes.

"Doesn't it require a second person?" she points out. For all that she might have a head for strategy, it would then require two heads, from what Raleigh's told her. "I suppose there are several people I've worked with that are on my level, but is that really what it's about? Or is it that your partner should make up for your weaknesses?" she wonders.

"You need two partners to manage the Jaeger, yeah, because it's too much of an overload for one brain. It needs to be someone that you're in perfect sync with. Someone who can finish your sentences, that can match you evenly without overpowering you," Raleigh explains.

"It's not about making up for weaknesses. It's more about yin and yang. Perfect balance?"

Peggy's spent so much time working on her own recently that she's afraid she's not sure she has anyone like that. "I tried not to make too many connections at home, after certain circumstances showed me how dangerous that could be," she shares as they move to the music. She'd like to imagine that perhaps Angie or Jarvis, possibly Daniel, that she would make a suitable partner, but she doubts that. "I don't know that I've allowed myself to be open enough to have that sort of synchronization, not lately."

"It's hard to open up," Raleigh agrees. "Especially when you've lost people. I lost my brother that way and it was hard to let someone else in."

Still, he thinks Mako is a good partner if only because she's so completely unlike Yancy in every way. She's not a replacement - she's a different complement entirely.

It's practically the story of Peggy's life. Ever since the war had broken out and she'd broken off her engagement, her life has simply been one loss after another hardening her up and creating a wall. "After Michael, I left my fiance," she admits. "He wanted me to be a woman I wasn't. I thought I'd never love again and then I met Steve," she says, one hand on the bottom of her dress as she hopes that this isn't the moment for him to walk in.

"He was so brave and smart, clever and stubborn, all ninety pounds of him," she shares. "He was worth three of every other man in the program. I lost him, too. First to the cause, then to his own stubborn bravery. I let my heart open again, only to be abducted here." Giving Raleigh a sad smile, she offers a shrug. "I think my heart is just about closed shop for good, by now."

"I wouldn't write it off," Raleigh says. "It's hard, though, to open up when you're so damned afraid you're going to lose again. I know. I live that life every day."

He's opening up some to Sansa, though, even though it's not something he looked for or expected. That's what makes him think there's hope for Peggy.

"But don't write it off. Just...let it happen on your own terms."

Peggy isn't the sort of person who lets herself be open and ready for something else, especially when she'd really thought she'd had it with Daniel and even that had been taken from her. "Maybe one day," she says, but as she finishes with the dance, she also knows that she's not depending on it. "If nothing happens, though, I could be okay with that, too, provided it means I could get home and focus on my work again."

"Well, that's true. I think we all have things back home we need to get back to and attend to," Raleigh agrees.

"I think it's weighing heavily on us that we have responsibilities that we have to get back to and people that are counting on us."

She nods, feeling immensely unsatisfied with being here, even though there are aspects of it that she likes. The trouble is that said aspects are complicated enough and she's not sure how to approach second chances with people when she's still so fixated on getting back to her first chance elsewhere.

"Let's just dance," she suggests, "and then I'll go crank the record and you can ask Miss Stark to take my place."

"Can't say no to that. Maybe if I don't manage to step on your feet any and keep a reasonable rhythm, you'll put in a good word for me with Sansa? I think she's a hell of a dancer, just like you. I'm outclassed."

It's all friendly teasing, sure, but Raleigh wants to be sure to lighten the mood if he can.

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