12059/Long Lost Peoples

Long Lost Peoples
Date of Scene:	22 August 2020
Location:	Gym, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	Cap and Nat spar some and end up talking about relationships.
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Captain America

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Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"It's been a strange couple of months," comes the conversational tone from Natasha. She is currently sprawled on her side on the mats, her legs wrapped around the head of her opponent. She is trying to keep him from breaking loose, working to hook a foot around an arm and finding it far more difficult than she was expecting. Probably because her opponent was damn good at this.

For two agents on their level to spar at the Triskelion would often draw a crowd, no matter the hour. Even those times when there were few agents with spare time to witness, they could draw attention. Especially when both of them are Avengers to boot.

After having such interruptions in the past, the pair had opted to train in a more private location. Avengers Mansion was far less likely to have interruptions. It was possible but they usually knew each other's gym habits, when others like to be there. It was a good bet they would not be interrupted for at least 35 minutes. They were already at 40 by this point, both having been exerting themselves. Each had points on the other in their match, not that they were keeping count. Not officially at least.

Captain America has posed:
    When Natasha and Steve matched against each other, it always did draw the eyes of people around. Whether it was in the gym at the Triskelion, or the glow of the active cameras that monitor there as well, word gets out quickly. Sometimes they still do, for morale purposes or just to light a fire under the crew. And then sometimes they really try to better themselves.
    Like today.
    What had started out as a friendly sparring match, soon became more intense. Not that they'd ever let loose on each other in such a situation. But more they're both competitive people. And they both /really/ like to win.
    Which is why when they clash, things do sometimes escalate. Not in the traditional sense of amateurs who get more and more wild. But in the sense that each knows the others boundaries, and they push, subtly slipping over them at times to put the other in a dangerous situation which the other knows... could be much worse if they were really going for each other. But then also trading on the fact that the other person won't do what they could to break out since to do so... might be terribly painful.
    Like now, the way Natasha has her hips turned, those bare thighs tensed and tight with Steve's hand pressing against the side. The other hand is twisted around her arm, each immobilizing the other as they at times strain and press against the mats, shifting slightly.
    "You know, Romanoff." He grunts as he turns, causing them both to shimmy and shift upon the rough canvas fabric of those mats. "The way you go for this move so often, sorta makes one thing you have a particular affinity for it."
    Which isn't entirely fair. She doesn't use it /all/ the time. Still though.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She is dressed as she often does when sparring. No uniform or costume. This is down and dirty fighting on the mats. A sports bra and a pair of shorts. When she is as the Triskelion, she usually will have on sneakers. Here, her feet are bare, as are her hands.

"Well if it didn't work so often, I might consider changing it up," Natasha responds as she reaches down a hand, trying to get a hold on that wrist at her side. It's to try to help get leverage against him and stop his since he keeps scooting them around on the mats, being he is larger and stronger.

"You know, there are people who would pay to be in the position you are right now. You sure you don't let me get this hold on purpose?" she asks with a faint smirk on her face. She'd laugh but she's too busy controlling her breathing to be better able to continue fighting.

Captain America has posed:
    And Steve, she's seen him wear the same grey sweat pants and white 'A-Vengers' t-shirt no telling how many times. The same work out clothes, that he does launder regularly often enough. Still, the man can be predictable in his small habits. Not embracing change quite as easily as some.
    But she'll feel his arm clench underneath hers, the bicep swelling visibly as he draws it back and to the side, causing her to turn her shoulders as he rises up on one knee, shifting her to on her back though with her legs still curved around the sides of his neck, lifting her up on her shoulders but she's still got that hold, long legs tensing, thighs clenching subtly as he looks down at her.
    "Uh huh. And what's to stop me from lifting you up and dropping you down in a way that would not be very gentlemanly at all." His lip twists as he accepts some of her weigh onto his shoulders, not quite lifting her up but letting her get the feeling that he could if he wanted. And so what if it's true what she said. Since there are definitely men that would swap to be in his position in a heartbeat.
    Then again...
    There are a fair amount of women who would do likewise with her.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Because if you try to do that," Natasha says as she feels herself lifted, weight on her shoulders. She's not giving up that hold though as she begins to tighten a bit. "If I shift my weight to the right by three inches, I can dislocate your third and fourth vertebra. That would be no fun for anyone. Women..and men...all over the world would pine your loss. It would be depressing. So, let's avoid that, shall we?"

She grins up at him from her odd position, not seeming uncomfortable. "You going to cede that point yet or do I need to get more creative?" She reaches down a hand for his head, sliding her fingers through the blonde locks that are a bit wet from sweat thanks to their long match. Not that her own tresses aren't damp around the edges. She has it pulled back in a short ponytail at the moment. Her fingers tighten, starting to get a grip for whatever it is she might have in mind. Though it all depends on what he does.

Captain America has posed:
    These sorts of conversations, they happen often enough between them, and strangely enough when they're training like this things often become more abrupt and honest since there's often no time for the niceties of civilized discussion. Which might be why she'll see him smirk as she mentions oh so casually about breaking his neck even as she shifts her hips to the side slightly as if giving him a possible preview of the event.
    "That's the thing, Nat." He ducks his head down a little, knowing perhaps perfectly well what she's trying to do as she gains that trip, the beginnings of a triangle choke which he has no intention to allow. Though since it would be unsporting to do what he just threatened to, he's going to have to come up with another way to break her advantage.
    "Being an artist, I'm never one to get in the way of creativity." His lip twists and as he says that he tries to turn her to the side, drawing her across those mats again. Whatever she's going to do she'll need to do quick.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She probably shouldn't have given it away. By gripping his head and hair the way she had, it was obvious she was trying to continue to control his head. Since he could still squirm and move, could still do things to counter, she didn't have it already.

The triangle hold would give it to her and likely bring the fight to a halt for now with another point on her side of the tallboard. Not that she's counting. Yet that little movement was enough for him to figure it out and start to counter.

She tried to move hard, fast, yanking his head closer and attempting to bring up her other leg, to try to get a calf in place and give that three point lock where he would be stuck until she released. Or he passed out. Either was an option in their sparring.

"I do love a man who gets creative," she said with a little purr, hoping that might throw him off a little.

Captain America has posed:
    "Yeah?" Cap's voice is a bit muffled, even as he feels her pulling his head closer and tightening up the hold, that surge of pressure causing his ears to roar with the rush of blood. Features flushed, and senses thrown for a loop as the room sort of jerks a little to the side, he takes a deep breath and holds it just seconds before she clenches down for the choke.
    "Try this on for size." He says, a little of that Brooklyn accent slipping into his voice as he kicks out with one foot and /slices/ her balance point of her elbow from under her, causing her to lose that traction for a moment. Then he turns quickly, like a whorl of a twist rotating them as he grabs hold of her legs tightening that hold so she... can't let go?
    But then she realizes what he's doing as he twists her over and himself as well as he steps across her legs, turning her on her belly suddenly and then /yanking/ back with his hands holding her thighs and suddenly...
    There's a lot of pressure on her spine as he leans back slightly, likely having more of a chance to breathe here as he tells her. "I think, Ms. Romanoff. You should be tapping right now."
    So polite. She's very flexible, but even Black Widows can't bend quite that far.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Well, that was a fail. On another man, maybe her comment would have worked. Or helped. But Cap could just persevere. It was kind of annoying, actually. Yet, she expected no less. It is why she liked to spar with him. It forced her to get better, every single time.

Finding herself on her stomach, her arms are free but that position doesn't allow her to use them. A twist, squirm, an attempt to move and she finds all her options are limited. She can't roll roll to the side, she can't affect him in any way as he has the balance point in a location she can't break.

She lets out a soft sigh then puts her hand on the mat and taps. Twice.

Captain America has posed:
    "You know," Cap says as he keeps his seat for a few seconds longer, "You're lucky that your sparring partner is a fine. Charitable. Kind. Honorable individual that will let you get back up after you acting like a brat." That's right, he said it. Brat. She got Captain America to call her a brat. That has to be a first.
    But then he slips off and to the side, settling on his rear and drawing his legs up as he takes a breather, shaking his head a bit and then telling her. "Thought you had me there for a second." Which, to be fair, she has in the past. But it's always a tough contest.
    "Feel like another round or is that enough for today?" He asks, no hard feelings there in those baby blues. But then again, she might. Especially after that remark.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
When he calls her a brat, there isn't a sound from the woman. Then she is released and she rolls over to a sitting position, giving a little stretch of her torso, arms above her head as she tries to get that big new kink out.

"I don't recall having a tantrum and beating my fists on the floor while screaming at the top of my lungs. So I believe we must define brat different. It must be the language barrier."

The non existent one. Since she knows English as well as him. Could even do a Brooklyn accent if she wanted, probably.

"I think that's enough for today. At least I only lost a third of our matches this time. I think I'm improving," she says with a grin. "I shouldn't have given you that warning with my grab. Oh well."

She tucks her feet up, sitting tailor style. "So you talked to Peggy since her appearing out of no where?"

Captain America has posed:
    A small smile, maybe even a little embarrassed as Cap looks to he side and holds up a hand as he backs off the brat comment and tells her. "Sorry. You're right, wasn't fair."
    So rude, Rogers!
    But he straightens up, resting his arms on his raised knee and he looks across the way at her, "Yeah, but then again I shouldn't have told you what I was planning. Still, think we both learned a lot." Which has him looking to the side, eyes distancing for a moment, perhaps as he considers exactly what they did learn.
    But his attention is drawn back as Nat asks that question and his brow furrows. "A little. We caught each other in the hall. Had a few words."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Don't be silly and apologize. You made a joke. It was nice!" Natasha says with a smile. When he answers her question, she gives a little nod of the head then glances down at her shoes.

She shifted her position, pressing the soles of her sneakers together and pressing down at her knees lightly, stretching out the muscles. As she did that, she looked back to him. "Has to be tough. You know I'm here if you need to talk. I know you've been around for a few years now but still." She glances away then back at him. "Should I keep trying to set you up now or back off until you figure things out?"

Captain America has posed:
    A small snort comes from Cap as he shakes his head, breathing a little easier and then leaning back onto his hands, letting his legs stretch out before him. He chews his lower lip thoughtfully as he considers something, but then chuckles as she compliments his joke-making ability.
    But then she brings up the topic of Peggy. Perhaps one of the only people he knows that would broach that topic. And whatever reaction she was expecting, he settles on the distant thoughtful look, his gaze distancing. Thoughts travel down one path, another... then likely another. Yet he doesn't give voice to those thoughts, not yet. He tilts his head to look at Natasha.
    "Honestly Nat, I don't know." He lifts a hand to push it through his hair sweat-slickened and out of his eyes he takes a few deep steadying breaths. "We've both experienced life after what passed. I think we've both moved on to degrees. I mean..."
    His voice eases a little, then he frowns. "She got married. For her when she came here she probably woke up, kissed her husband and went to work. And then... she lost him instantly."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I had noticed the ring," Natasha admits. "She had a lot of time, moved on with her life. You...not so much." She tilts her head a little, getting blunt. They are friends and she can do that. Not a lot of people would get into this sort of conversation but she has her reasons.

"You...I don't know. You've dated some but it's usually a date and out. I don't know if it is because they aren't old enough to remember when you were around the first time or just that you aren't ready to move on."

She grins a little though. "But for now, I will continue with the status quo. Until you tell me not too. A lot more women to work through just at the Triskelion." She sobers a little. "Then Clint running off getting himself in trouble too. You know he's going to go back on his own if we don't move soon." A shake of her head. "Strange couple of months."

Captain America has posed:
    A snort is given as Steve just rolls his eyes at Natasha, looking away as he half-smiles and shakes his head, bright blue gaze drifting back to her. "You're incorrigible." But it's said with that smile, robbing it of any hint of negativity.
    He takes a deep breath, "Now that's not true." He motions with a fingertip at her, "I went out with that one gal twice. The ummm..." His brow lifts and his gaze distances. "Sandra." He nods again, "She was interesting. But... think she might've been an enemy agent. So, it was doomed from the start."
    Something like that.
    "But I know what you're saying."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"So that's four enemy agents, three piercings that made them a lightning hazard to be around, two that were in love with the uniform instead of wanting to date Steve...."

Natasha releases her legs, stretching them out now and shaking them a little to work out the last vestiges of their workout. "And a partridge in a pear tree."

She leans back much as he is, weight on her hands just behind her. "So we have the ghost from your past live and in the flesh. We have the missing archer who was off playing hero. Again. Not sure what she's working on but we'll have to go with him, just to be sure he stays out of trouble if nothing else. And I would like to catch up with Molotov finally."

She reaches up a hand to rub at the back of her neck. "Anything else you were working on?"

Captain America has posed:
    "You know, I love to hear it when you reduce my romantic life into a series of flippant comments. I absolutely love it." Though the way Steve says it with the slight sardonic twist to those words, she might likely key in on to the fact that he doesn't actually love it. Master spy that she is. Yet he smiles again and shakes his head as he looks away.
    "Look, it would be unfair to me. I think..." He looks back at Natasha, "The best thing we can do for Peggy is be here for her. Help her keep busy, and hopefully..." He lifts a hand to the back of his neck thoughtfully then murmurs, "Hopefully the guys in R&D might be able to figure out Howard Stark's contraption and perhaps she can get home. To her family. I mean..."
    There's a slight sad shift to his features as he murmurs. "I would have loved to have had that option. But Peggy... at least she has that chance."
    But then she tries to shift the topic away and he's having none of that. He lifts his chin and murmurs, "You don't get off that easy, Romanoff. What about you and your love life? Or is it too crazy I don't want to know?"
    So crazy. Perhaps dating more than one person at once. Or perhaps doing something insane like kissing before the third date.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Don't see why that door is closed for you either. If they can figure out time travel for her, you could do the same. Go back to then. Change things. The way I see it, this world already has happened so it would just become some alternate timeline and you could have your happily ever after." Natasha gives a soft smile. "You deserve one of those."

Course that is her trying to keep the focus off herself and she realizes by the look he gives, he's having none of it. As heartfelt as that might have been.

"Nothing serious. A thing here or there. Some good times. But haven't found anyone that I've been able to settle with either." She shrugs. "I'm sure it's my own fault. My early relationships were pretty messed up and that has me very cautious about letting anyone in fully. So, just easier to stick to what's enjoyable and move on before it all implodes."

Captain America has posed:
    "That..." Cap shakes his head as he looks around, "Would be crazy." He uncurls a hand to Natasha as he speaks, just gesturing. "Think about it, Natasha. We don't know for sure how that would work." Steve takes a deep breath and shakes his head, "She discovers how to go back. Goes back, then I show up in her past and destroy her timeline with her husband? How could I make that decision?"
    Another shake of his head, this time adamant in that decision as he says. "No. I would do nothing to stand in the way of Peggy's happiness. And really..." He frowns and looks away, then shakes his head. "You've sort of shown me something."
    A deep breath is taken and held as he's thoughtful for a time. But then he allows himself to follow after her train of thought and nods. "I can imagine how that must feel. I feel like..." He turns his head, meeting her gaze with a small smile. "That for anyone to be in a relationship with me, they have to run this course where there's a lot of hurdles. And each one is a darn hard thing to handle. And if they stumble... feels like it's not a good thing to put people through that. Or to encourage it."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Exactly," Natasha says softly, looking him directly in the eyes. "I mean, I know what I am. What I've done. It isn't something most people would ever be able to handle if they learned about it. If they knew all the red in my ledger that I'm trying to get balanced back out. Most would turn tail. And if I hide it, that isn't the grounds that can be a good relationship."

She gives him a sad sort of smile. "And that's all just if they could get past my real age." He and Logan are two of the few people who know that information. After all, they had saved her as a child once. "We are two peas in a pod, Steve."

Captain America has posed:
    "Come on now," Cap says as he shakes his head looking to the side, "I have to think the age thing isn't... really that big of a deal. At least I hope it isn't. You see Thor running around with dates now and again. And he's what? Thirteen times our age?" As he says that last he smiles a little as he shakes his head.
    "Maybe that's it, we should date Asgardians." But as he says that he pushes himself to his feet with a small laugh coming from him. Rising up and then resting a hand on her shoulder to give it a squeeze. "C'mon, we have no reason to be melancholy. We should focus on helping Clint as best we can, and Peggy. And you know how it is, life provides."
    At least that's his hope perhaps.