primary_asset | (no subject)

This, he thinks, has to be a decent bachelorette party.

Maybe not for the average bride, maybe other people out there want strippers and sashes that read BRIDE-TO-BE and phallic decorations, but Peggy had made it very clear to John that she wanted none of that.

So he'd rented out a bar. An entire bar. The guest list isn't particularly extensive, they don't need the entire bar, but he'd seen no reason not to do it anyway. It means they have the entire place to themselves, they can control the music, and the bartender has only them to serve. And John has paid a flat fee for the bartender and the serving staff, plus given them a significant tip, so they're attending the party perfectly.

The bar is nice, with comfortable chairs and several pool tables, as well as a well stocked jukebox that he thinks has just about anything someone might think to play. Maybe not Dutch, she probably knows songs none of them have ever heard before, but there's probably plenty on the jukebox she'll still enjoy.

There are appetizers, lots of them, covering just about any option a person could want. The same goes for alcohol.

All in all, for someone not all that inclined toward attending parties, he thinks he's done a fairly good job capturing something Peggy will enjoy. And that's the point of tonight, giving her a party to celebrate her future and everything that's to come with people she enjoys spending time with.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Stephen smiles over at Peggy. "It's a classic. Van Morrison, 1967."

He's been waiting until she has a free moment to approach her, so he hopes she doesn't think him rude that he's over at the jukebox when he hasn't even greeted her yet.

"Thank you for inviting me, by the way. This is very nice, just like you described. My first bachelorette party," he says with a grin. Men at a bachelorette party is more modern than even his time, so he's a little impressed.

"Twenty years past my time, then," she admits, with the ease of someone who's gotten used to having to admit to being lost about several things. "I spent a lot of time learning about politics and news and history, but I didn't really do much about the music and culture learning."

When he thanks her, she gives him a disbelieving look. "I'm glad you came and I should be thanking you. It could've been a rather sad, empty night if no one decided to attend. I'd say it's my first as well, but one was being planned for me before."

"But that's the fun part," Stephen says, though he probably isn't one to talk about pop culture. Music, though, that he pays attention to.

"We'll have to make sure this one is even better." Especially since she hasn't lived the other. "I think we're already winning, after all you didn't have Thor at your other party," he adds, motioning over to him. "He's amusing. To some. And he'll probably break something before the night is over."

Peggy isn't so sure that she's ever been the 'fun' one and she has plenty of people in her life back home that would agree to that, but instead of saying that, she simply gives Stephen a wry smirk. "No, I didn't," she admits. "My last was very stuffy and was more of an engagement party, which I deliberately didn't have here. That one also involved my brother disapproving of my fiance."

She happens to think that Michael would like Daniel, even if she's never going to get the chance to find out. "And if he breaks it, I'm sure he'll be good and pay for it. He's a responsible troublemaker, from what I can tell."

"Really? Do you think he'd approve of your current fiance?" Stephen asks curiously. He only met the man once at Peter's birthday celebration, but he seemed pleasant enough. He liked dogs, so that had to count for something.

"Thor is a very good Asgardian. Very heroic." A bit simple, but Stephen keeps that part to himself. "His brother, on the other hand...better he's not here."

Peggy smiles and gives an enthusiastic nod. "Oh, Michael would be thrilled. Daniel gets me out into the field and having the sort of adventures that I'd put away when I was about to get married the first time. I think he'd have rushed me down the aisle, if he were here."

As to Thor, Peggy hasn't met the brother. "Why? What's the matter with his brother?" she asks, unsure what it is that she's in the dark about.

"I like your brother. That he wanted you to have your freedom," Stephen adds for clarification. He has to think most brothers, especially back from when Peggy was young, would be protective of their sister having the sort of adventures Peggy's talking about. Not encouraging.

"It's a long story," Stephen says, waving it off. "Put simply, he likes to make trouble. But I have to wonder at the way this place pulls people here. Why us? Why from what points on our own timeline we came from?" He shakes his head.

"He was an excellent and admirable man," Peggy agrees, wishing that her heart didn't ache to think about him every time she mentioned Michael, because the war had started to take from her long before she'd even met and lost Steve.

Sometimes, she wonders how anyone in the world keeps going, with so much grief at their heels. "I think for me, there was a sense of closure before I arrived. Though, the wedding is the final chapter of that book, seeing as just before I got here, I was getting together with Daniel, and it's taken us several years now to get to this point."

"That's nice that it brought both of you at least," Stephen says warmly. He's never been much of a romantic in the past, but he's happy for them. If they're to be stranded in some strange dimension, it's good that they have each other.

"This place took me from less than optimal timing," he says, his tone going dry. "But I also apparently missed my own death, so I suppose I should be glad to be here."

He's more annoyed with the not knowing than he is concerned about being dead. He would rather go back and figure out what went on. He still doesn't believe it's over, not if he told Tony it was his plan.

"Eventually," she clarifies, seeing as she'd been in Darrow for a year before Daniel had made his appearance known. She'd almost given up hope, though she had never really moved on romantically, stuck on only a few people and knowing that she had no intentions of moving from there.

"How bad off is the future?" she can't help but ask. "I've gotten small hints about it, but never the full picture. Or is this not the venue to talk about it?"

"It isn't, we should enjoy the party," Stephen says, tipping his glass toward Peggy with a smile and taking a drink. There are more appropriate times to speak about future timelines, especially when they're beyond what any of them can do from here.

"However," he adds, thoughtfully, "I have been meaning to speak with Tony about this. That we should arrange a meeting, perhaps, with the members of Shield." He smiles briefly. "And the Avengers and other...powered individuals. To bring everyone up to date, in case the threat that Tony and I experienced somehow follows us here. But, another time."

She gives him a nod of her head, with a look that says that while she's happy to defer the topic, she's not going to forget about it. After all, she's far too nosy and curious about things and she's not going to simply let this drop.

"Make it after the wedding and I'll be there," she promises, though she also knows that if it's truly serious, then she'll also be there before the wedding and whenever she's needed.