13631/All that is needed

All that is needed
Date of Scene:	16 July 2021
Location:	Largest home decor store in town
Synopsis:	Home decor store proves to be quite a challenge, but at least the paint is in!
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Quake

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Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Agents Skye Johnson and Clint Barton on a very special mission today. One for which the implications are of very high level, and could determine the success of larger plans.

At the moment, the archer is standing still, his eyes narrowed, as he looks to the left, to the right, unable to focus on one target as there are too many in front of them. But they must choose, without much background information. Like a ticking bomb they must deactivate: pick the right wire or... BOOM!

Brushing the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, he glances at Skye, not realizing that he's squeezing her hand maybe a bit to much.

"Shit, Keyboard. We'll never make it. We've been at it for hours," which, in fact, has been fifteen minutes, "I'd go for the blue one? Never red. What about the green one?"

Quake has posed:
Skye didn't realize what she was getting in for. How could picking paint be so hard? Right?

Wrong.

She'd been standing at the 6'X4' wall with all the colours gobsmacked. There were so. many. colours. What blue? What green? Holy crap! "I would just settle on beige, but why are there so many colours that are beige? Why?"

There was, in fact, a whole section dedicated to beige. A whole foot of selection as a matter of fact.

"Why can't you just pick a beige and be done with it?" Skye was almost to the point of picking with her eyes closed.

17 minutes.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
And just as their proverbial luck would have it, it seems that the air conditioning in the store isn't working, and it's hot in there.

Le sigh. Indeed, there are way too many shades of beige, and of all colours! "Alright, let's take beige. Then the tenants can pick whatever colour they want." Clint takes the colour slip, and quickly checks on the reverse, "Ah, gawd. Now what? Mate, eggshell, what bloody finish?"

And this is /only/ for the paint. They also have to check for paint rolls and all the painting paraphernalia. Then maybe have a look at the window covering, stores, shades, curtains? This might prove to be too much for two highly ranked SHIELD agents.

Quake has posed:
Sure, Skye focuses on beige, and while they are labelled different shades of beige, to her they all seem the same. Surely there isn't that much difference.

She pulls a card.

"Here." That wasn't so bad.

Along came Bill, the 'friendly support person' (it says so on his tag). "Ah, I see you picked the outdoor paint! Great choice! Many people choose that for their homes. Can I show you where the outdoor painting supplies are?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
W.T.F. No need to read minds to know what Clint's reaction is. /Outdoor/ paint. Inhaling deeply, the archer takes a moment to relax, which also means letting go of Skye's hand that might feel sore, now that he released his unintentional grip on.

"Ok, sure. But can you make it for /indoor/? We need enough paint and stuff for two complete appartments, with kitchen and bathroom, in this beige."

At this point, Clint would just be happy if the guy could throw everything in a cart for them to pay and leave. No question asked. But if they did that, they'd forget the industrial broom, lighbulbs, maybe a couple doormats, etc.

Quake has posed:
"Four complete apartments, and one complete house." Interrupted Skye. There was no way she was going to do *this* again in the very near, or far, future.

"What?" She forestalled Clint. " Two apartments. Your apartment. The one at the Trisk. And the Brownstone.. Actually, we better get some outdoor paint for the house and the yard?"

She began to add up all the hours of painting ahead of them and shudders.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"All beige?" Clint blinks, imagining the effect on the walls and on their psyche. "C'mon, I can go for beige for the appartments, even mine, but no way I'm going to live a beige life!"

And on that, he turns once again to face the colour display. Of the whole colour palette, there's only one which the archer is partial to: purple! And of course, he picks that colour card. "One gallon of it, we'll decide where to put it later." He hands the card to Bill the friendly support person.

"Alright, beige for appartments, purple just cuz, and what for the Brownstone? Hrm, green is nice... Blue?"

21 minutes.

And back to square one, between green and blue.

Quake has posed:
Bill, the friendly support person, suddenly realizes he should have gotten anyone but him to help Clint and Skye. He looks around frantically, but amazingly, he was the only person on the floor. Three separate staff /all/ took their break at the same time.

All was only 22 minutes after the hour. Lunch hour to be exact.

"I would suggest you mix and match your colours, rather than a straight monotone." And he began to tell them how many gallons per square feet, etc. etc. etc.

Skye shut him off by the time he got into the pros and cons of primers vs. paint that had it.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Shaking his head - not in denegation, rather in dismay at the amount of information on paint - Clint picks a couple other colour cards, nice green and nice blue, as he calls them.

Turning around, he nods at Bill, "Thanks, man, we'll start with these." With a glance that says /let's move it/ to Skye, he steps back, "Let's check the blades. Or curtains, hrm. What'd be best?"

Bill, seemingly happy at that thought, quickly directs the undecisive couple towards Alley 20, where they will find what they are looking for - or not - and another staff to try to help them.

Quake has posed:
"Did you happen to catch how many gallons of paint we should be buying?"

Skye did not.

"You know we should have bribed a friend to do the shopping for us. Oh, that reminds me, black out curtains.The cat who shall remain nameless." Grant. Of course. "Tore up our bedroom curtainss when we were out on our roadtrip." At least they now knew *what* had been sacrificed to the gods and cats.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Ah, he was wondering what had happened to the curtain! He had a good idea, but this confirms his suspicions. So far, Clint could not find anything else the cats destroyed during their absence.

Headed for Alley 20, the archer grins, "I'm just glad they didn't pee on the bed, or ack, on our pillows." He pauses, and then frowning in mental calculation, shrugs, "Kinda. I think twelve of beige for the appartments. Plus, hrm, four of each blue and green. Shit, do they deliver?!"

And then they reach Alley 20.

BOTH sides of the danged alley are covered with all sorts of window covering, from curtains to blades and shades. And some other offerings Clint isn't sure about.

Stopping in his tracks, he stares at amazing array of possibilities. "Huh."

Quake has posed:
Skye stopped short with him.

"Oh. My. Gods. Why? Why do they do this to us?" Not only were there scads and scads curtains, files, and blades, there were, as well, thick binders of all the colours that each and every one of those came together in. They thought paint was bad.

"Nope. Not gonna do it. Uh-uh."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Inhaling deeply, Clint holds Skye's hand, careful not to break it. This will be a difficult task. Really, tracking and finding AIM operatives in the Amazonian jungle suddently feels like it was vacations.

"C'mon, Keyboard. We can do it. Together." As he speaks, determination in his voice, he starts walking down Alley 20. What they need is something simple, easily installed, and hopefully on the cheap side of the prices bracket.

And that's where he stops, facing the array of blinds, of all colours. "Let's do with something neutral. White, or something darker, hrm, black?"

Quake has posed:
"Bedrooms are black. The rest.." That one she's stumped on.

Skye holds his hand almost as much as he's holding hers. "I guess we could pick beige?" Again. "Really, in the Trisk they had everything for us. Same at the Brownstone." Anywhere that she's lived, including Gretel, she didn't have to think about the furnishings. It just came with it.

It seems beige was the colour of the day.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
He's certainly not in a mood to argue. Choosing the cheapest blinds, beige ones, and a couple black ones, Clint tilts his head, considering them for a moment.

"Oh, right. Hrm. Thirty-three, fifty-four or seventy-two inches? You didn't happen to measure the window, didya? Cuz I sure didn't."

He's quite sure that fifty-four inches could do, but since they aren't adjustable, the exact width would be best. "Oh dang. And the... lenght? C'mon! Give me strength!"
And the blinds return to the shelf, rather forcibly. "I'm temped to check for decorator's fees."

Quake has posed:
"Don't tempt them!" Skye is caught between a gasp and a laugh. And because they didn't get inside the one..

"You can't estimate, can you?" Super secret spies, that know the distance between point 'A' and point 'B', can't guestimate the width of a simple window. "I'm beginning to think we are going to take another trip." If that.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"No wonder the windows were covered with newspapers," Clint grins, "They may end up in the same state again."

Shaking his head, he steps back, glances left and right, and sighs, "Right. Let's get the hell out of here," he suggests, "We'll return another day, well prepared. At least for now, we know we'll need countless gallons of paints. We'll get the measurements for the windows. And we will WIN!" He laughs at that, although this is rather pathetic. Maybe they could order the paint, it would be that off the list.