[Oh but her sharp reply does get a grin out of Rip—brief, perhaps, but no less amused as Rip watches Peggy's back while they continue their walk up. Certainly it might be a touchier subject if he didn't already recognize in her the affection that bleeds through her frustrations. He's had rare instance (thankfully rare) to see Peggy Carter truly mad, and equally, Rip doubts they would be such successful cohorts if he failed to recognize that.
He might have been content enough to leave the matter at that; after all, Rip also knows Peggy's not one to offer up blunt affections easily. Yet something seems to push her to do just that, at least about Howard Stark. Adorned in sighs though it might be, it's quite the tell coming from Peggy regardless. One well founded, as she herself reveals shortly thereafter. She speaks of his faith in her, how he stands out for such a distinction, and that alone is enough to answer in Rip's mind the unasked question of just how the pair came to be so close.
Close enough that, on his arrival, Peggy had all but adopted a nephew out of a stranger.]
Damned brilliant, as you said. [To see that potential in Peggy and not dismiss it simply due to her being a woman. But there's something else funny that comes out of this talk; Rip realizes it when he moves past Peggy to finish the trip to his room, pulling a key from his pocket along the way.
She's chosen to be rather honest with him just then. She needn't have been; Rip's clever enough to put the parts together into a whole, after all, to realize that Howard was the same "colleague" she'd spoken of before.
But she is.
It's a pleasant little thought.]
But now comes the moment of my defrocking. [They've reached the door, and when he opens it, Rip shifts the conversation back to the present. He's already gotten to enjoy the first bits of his prize, seeing each time Peggy's stolen a sip of tea and winced for the sugar within it. Only fair to properly address hers. Moreover, he knows that Peggy isn't the sort to let herself be so open and vulnerable for long. The shift stands as an out, should she want to take it; Rip's questions have been answered well enough, and more.
no subject
He might have been content enough to leave the matter at that; after all, Rip also knows Peggy's not one to offer up blunt affections easily. Yet something seems to push her to do just that, at least about Howard Stark. Adorned in sighs though it might be, it's quite the tell coming from Peggy regardless. One well founded, as she herself reveals shortly thereafter. She speaks of his faith in her, how he stands out for such a distinction, and that alone is enough to answer in Rip's mind the unasked question of just how the pair came to be so close.
Close enough that, on his arrival, Peggy had all but adopted a nephew out of a stranger.]
Damned brilliant, as you said. [To see that potential in Peggy and not dismiss it simply due to her being a woman. But there's something else funny that comes out of this talk; Rip realizes it when he moves past Peggy to finish the trip to his room, pulling a key from his pocket along the way.
She's chosen to be rather honest with him just then. She needn't have been; Rip's clever enough to put the parts together into a whole, after all, to realize that Howard was the same "colleague" she'd spoken of before.
But she is.
It's a pleasant little thought.]
But now comes the moment of my defrocking. [They've reached the door, and when he opens it, Rip shifts the conversation back to the present. He's already gotten to enjoy the first bits of his prize, seeing each time Peggy's stolen a sip of tea and winced for the sugar within it. Only fair to properly address hers. Moreover, he knows that Peggy isn't the sort to let herself be so open and vulnerable for long. The shift stands as an out, should she want to take it; Rip's questions have been answered well enough, and more.
His version, one might say, of a cowboy hat.]