12899/Hi, I'm a Burglar!

Hi, I'm a Burglar!
Date of Scene:	27 March 2021
Location:	Safehouse, Bronx, NY
Synopsis:	Alexander and Natasha catch up on some of the goings on lately.
Cast of Characters:	Phobos, Black Widow (Romanoff)

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Phobos has posed:
    A day off is a fairly rare thing, though this time they didn't share it. Something had likely drawn her into the Triskelion while Alexander had time to settle in and fritter through what few pings he got on social media. Likely his day was going to entail waiting for her to be done and then go do some clothes shopping as they each made various noises about perhaps needing some. That would have been interesting. But after he had received a mail from one of the few people out in the ether of the internet who knew of him, the youth known as Alexander Aaron found himself out and about.
    And, to be fair, it had been a curious time. Meeting with several people in Sunnydale, then a brief chat with his aunt. Nothing too staggering but enough to give him something to think on when he had returned home. Which was now, if she was present she'd hear the front door open and close. Loud enough to announce that arrival out of courtesy. Though, to be fair, they had both tried to sneak up on the other at various points.
    Today, however, was to be a day of honesty!
    "Hello, I'm a burglar, coming in to burgle all your stuff!"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I would recommend you find some other house. I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it!"

The words might sound threatening but the tone of voice was amused. The sound was coming from the second floor. Immediately following that voice was the sound of an impact. He would recognize it as a heavy bag being hit, likely by a foot or leg from the loudness. Fists sounded different. Which meant she was likely upstairs working out a bit.

Her day had included the deep debrief about their last mission, something that had taken hours as they asked the same questions fifty different ways. Maybe they hoped the answer would change! It didn't.

If he joined her, she was dressed in a pair of cotton shorts and a sports bra. She had her hands and feet taped as she worked out with the bag. From the sheen of sweat, she'd been at it for a bit.

Phobos has posed:
    She'd hear his footfalls near the stair well, the fwumpf of him dropping his backpack in its customary place, then the clomp-clomp-clomp of his boots on the stairs. However he was preceded by his voice calling out in her general direction, "Maybe if I just burgled a few things? I need some money to pay for my sick grandma's vacation funeral cancer treatment."
    Only after a few more clomps he comes into view, casually flipping through a few pieces of mail that they had gotten. Yes indeed, mail. Though these were all addressed for, 'occupant' 'occupant' 'home owner' and 'occupant.' Though one was a pizza menu.
    He stopped at the top of the stairs and leaned against the banister. "Or I could just stand here and watch you kick things, that's always a nice alternative to burglification."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
As he came into view, he caught her in the middle of just such a movement. A side kick high on the bag. Then drawing her leg back and chambering before sending a glance his way, as she remained balanced on a single foot. "Because it's always fun to see gym equipment being abused?" she asked curiously.

Then she spotted what was in his hands and put her foot down on the mat before walking to meet him. "Mail? We get mail? Oh!" She had spotted the pizza menu and, unless he stopped her, she would grab it to take a look. Although a quick kiss hello would be given before said perusal.

"How was your day?"

Phobos has posed:
    His brow knit with feigned consternation as she stole the pizza menu out of his hand while he was browsing it, though he says, "Just looks like another mom and pop serve everything and the kitchen sink place." Which, indeed, it had one of those extremely long menus with everything from pizza, to Mexican food, to falafel, to Italian, to subs, to fried chicken, to Chinese food.
    He turns his cheek to the side to accept the kiss as if it were his due while he still peruses the other pieces of mail which apparently were of little interest as he tears them up once he's done.
    "My day was... interesting." He tells her, still lounging there on the stairs. "Got a call from a hunter of the supernatural in Sunnydale. And I went to see my Aunt."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Damn shame." She offered the menu back without even looking this time. "Someday they will realize specializing will get them more business. Do one thing perfect, instead of a dozen things poorly." If he doesn't want it back, she'll set it aside and head back for the mats. Wanted to stay at it while loose.

Though both things he mentioned were interesting. She didn't think he and has aunt were all that close but that was two visits in very short order. But the fact he was called by a hunter was higher on her list. "Should I ask why you know a hunter of the supernatural in Sunnydale? Or just stick to why did they call you instead?"

Phobos has posed:
    "Well," Alexander finishes his trek upstairs and tosses the remains of the letter into a waste bin nearby before he wanders over to the edge of the mats. "My father caused a ruckus out that way some time ago. Met the Slayer." The way he says it, she can likely clearly hear the capital S as he speaks.
    His hands in his pockets he rocks back on his heels and looks across their makeshift living quarters. It looks better than the first night he had arrived there, dealing with his newfound emotions and only to be set upon by the woman who brought them forth. There was that new oven, and the sofa had a new cover over it, and things were more organized.
    He turns back to her, "I was out that way a month and some ago and met her and some of her friends. Made the mistake of introducing myself, and she asked after my dad and then was like, 'Is this him?' and I was all, 'Yeah.' and she was all, 'Oh he's the god of War' and suddenly I was outed."
    He starts to pull his shoes off with the toe of one digging into the back of the ankle of the other, slipping them off one at a time. "So now I sort of take their calls, not bad people. But they needed help."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
That causes a pause in the punching of the bag as Natasha looked over with that by-now familiar furrow on her brow. "She outed you? In front of others?" The disapproval practically drips. He wouldn't have used the word outed if it was just him likely but she's asking to be sure she isn't jumping to conclusions. "Does she not understand the concept of a low profile or secrets? I mean being the Slayer," Whatever that meant. "One would think they might get the idea. What is a Slayer and why did they need your help?"

Phobos has posed:
    The young Olympian flares his hands, as if surrendering to the fact of the matter and offering no critique though the critique could likely be made. Instead he steps onto those mats fully and up to the heavy bag she's striking, curving his body against it to brace it for her to give more resistance for her work out.
    "Spilled milk and all that, but yes. A Slayer, as I understand it, is a person chosen by a higher power to fight vampires and other demonic entities. And apparently there is a focal point there in that area. So they have a crew of people there to deal with it."
    He makes a face as he braces his shoulder there and speaks to her, likely while she's already thumping the bag all over again. "One of them, a gal named Willow, you'd like her. She's like the mirror opposite of you. She's being pursued by some revenant or evil ghost. And they asked if I could help. I said I'd try, but it's a time sensitive thing..."
    A breath is taken as he tells her, "So I told her that it was possible to summon me if the situation was dire."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She was already working on the bag when he walked up. She paused long enough for him to get braced. Once he was, she started in again, this time with more power behind since it was better with that helper. She was alternating between kicks and punches but she was keeping a count in her head to be sure she got all her reps in for both.

As he explained, she was fully invested in listening despite what she was doing. Fight vampires and demonic entities. Thanks to WAND being part of SHIELD and working with Hellboy a few times, she knew such things existed. They weren't exactly in her wheelhouse but she knew of things that went bump in the night. That was about it though. Nice to know there were people out there working that side of the fence, so to speak.

She wasn't sure what the mirror opposite of her would even look like. She just took him at his word she would like this Willow. The fact she was being pursued by something didn't sound good, especially something that couldn't be shot or stabbed. She was a simple kind of girl.

As he finished up, there was a /hard/ kick on the bag and then nothing as she took a step to be able to see his face around it. "It's possible to...what?"

Phobos has posed:
    Meeting her on the same side he peeked out as well from the heavy bag and says to her with a bit of a sigh, likely knowing her reaction to the whole thing. Or perhaps expecting the worst of it. So he tells her, "It's... part and parcel of the role. Of being Phobos, or Ares, or any of my family. Any representation of... a greater thing. It makes us vulnerable in some ways to ritualistic magic."
    He eases back around and braces the bag again, fully expecting the kicks and punches to be harder when she continues since they might be fueled with anger or frustration.
    "So a sorcerer or the like can summon me, like a demon or a devil or any other outsider."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"And you...told her she can do this. She didn't already know it?"

She steps back around and sure enough, the next kick that comes is full on as hard as she can. So is the one after that before she moves into punches again. More frustration than anger. She thinks.

"So given the right situation, you can just be called away? Is it like a phone call and you go in good time or just poof and you're somewhere else?" That could be a serious issue all things considered.

Phobos has posed:
    "She might have?" Alexander offers, his voice lilting up as if offering some hint of hope. But then he has to be honest and he says, "Though, to be fair, I don't think she did." He winces a little as that kick slams in there and he holds the bag steady, then grimaces and tucks in a little more.
    "It's not an easy thing, she has to have time, it has to be at the right moment, hold some portent, the circle must be scribed, protections established, and then she has to pay homage or sacrifice to gather the power and to make her voice heard." Which might all sound so entirely strange to her.
    "If she did that, then I'd hear her voice and after that I'd transition to where she was. Not sure exactly what form that would take." His eyes distance as he braces against another hit, then raises his eyebrows as he murmurs, "Though if a summoner tries repeatedly it is possible to become inured to their entreaties and ignore them."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"So you made sure she knew how to do all those things. Which sounds like a lot and not something she will be able to do off the cuff," Natasha summarizes, her next kick perhaps a little less powerful.

"Guess I didn't take all that into consideration. Being gods and such. Figured since it was an older religion that worshipped Olympians, that might not really be a thing to hear ...well, prayers I guess."

She goes for a few more punches now as she hears the last. "So if they cry wolf, you can ignore them. Good to have that loophole. Bad that you can just end up getting a call at any moment. Though with all the prep needed to summon, my guess is you get the idea that they need you but go when you are ready so likely not dangerous on an assignment."

Phobos has posed:
    "To be honest," Alexander says as he holds that bag, "I've never had it happen to me. And it's only happened to my father like twice in the last thousand years." Then he steps around the bag and moves toward her, lifting his hands to hers to take them in his, giving a gentle squeeze to her taped fingers.
    "I know you hate it, you hate vulnerabilities, hate things that we can't control. I thought it was the right call." His lip twists and then he tells her, "But look at it this way, if I ever go missing or something now you can just call up one of your magic friends and bring me back. Right?"
    A soft kiss touches her temple, then her cheek as he murmurs, "Forgive me?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
As he moved toward her, she paused in her workout and looked him directly in the eye. He said all the things she was thinking but then he added that portion about it being the right call. It was to help someone in danger. Could she really be mad at him for doing that? That'd make her pretty damn shallow. Not to mention hypocritical since the Avengers could call for her at any moment. Shield could call either of them.

She squeezed his hands back. "Nothing to forgive. You did nothing wrong. I'm just used to that control factor. things being on my own terms. It's strange to think of something being outside that utterly."

She lifts her lips to claim a kiss on the lips before she continues. "This isn't something anyone would be able to do then? Have to be people who can use magic? Cause if anyone can, you need to teach me how. Well, guess you need to teach me how either way so I can tell the magic friends if it came to that."

Phobos has posed:
    The kiss is returned, just a soft reassuring thing, not desirous nor lustful, more just letting her know he is there and for her. Then he smiles into her eyes before he steps to the side and away, "I only know the broad strokes of the matter, so much of Magic... well as far as I understand it, depends on interpretation, strength of will, conviction."
    He moves over and takes a seat on the nearby bench, letting her continue the work out or follow after him if she wishes, though he keeps speaking with her in that same calm tone he uses most of the time. "I know the person must be familiar with me or my role. They must be strong enough in their power, and able to surrender some of that power for it is a difficult ritual. They have to offer some measure of homage or sacrifice for me to be able to hear them. There are aspects of summoning, but also binding."
    He leans forwards, resting his elbows on his knees and interlacing his fingers. "So someone suitably powerful who knew me could do it relatively easy I imagine. But someone who didn't know me and didn't have a lot of power at hand would need some great appeal brought forth."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She accepts that reassurance then finishes up the last three punches to finish her count. Then she will follow him over to the bench, picking up a towel she had left lying there to wipe off her face. Then the bottle of water that was sitting next to the towel. The top is twisted off and she takes a few sips before capping it again and setting it down.

"So someone like me who is close to you should be able to. If they can offer homage or sacrifice." Natasha ponders what that could even mean as she shakes her head. "Not going to dig too deep into it right now but I should at least learn the basics of it." She starts wiping down her limbs one at a time to get the worst of the sweat off.

"You said you visited your aunt too. That's the second time in a month or something, right?"

Phobos has posed:
    "Well, you'd need some capability with magic I imagine. Experience, started some training?" His eyebrows lift, then he shakes his head, "Do you have experience with magic?" He asks of her, since there were entire chapters of her life that he was not privy to at all.
    Yet for now that portion of things was dropped as he shifted his focus and gave a nod at the last few words she offered. "But yes, I wanted to touch base with her to let her know I smoothed things over with that Slayer person who apparently went to her to find out if me being around was a sign of evil things to come."
    His lip twists up, then he says, "Which is why she sought me out before, Diana was worried that I was being a bad nephew or something." Shaking his head he makes a face, annoyed on some level about it, but at the least getting past it.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"No experience at all with magic," Natasha admits. They didn't cover that one in espionage 101. In fact, most of them scoffed at it even being real. Yet, she had seen enough in her time to know it was real, even if she didn't have anything to do with it normally.

How times change considering who she was spending her time with now.

Hearing the explanation of the visit, she looked a little confused again. "You mentioned she'd gone to Diana wondering if something bad was going to happen in Sunnydale cause you were there. Like it did when your father had visited." She starts to piece some things together then frowned a little as she finished wiping herself down and tossed that towel into a nearby hamper. Yes, they had a hamper now for them instead of tossing them on the floor in the bathroom. Part of that more-organized thing happening in the safehouse. "So the Slayer went to her the first time and this was just you following up to let Diana know all was well. Is this Slayer a danger to you in any way?" Nonchalant, just making conversation.

Phobos has posed:
    "No," Alexander says as his eyes distance thoughtfully, but then he looks at her and smiles slightly as he reiterates. "No." As if to solidify the matter for Natasha.
    He pushes up from the wooden bench and walks over after her as she moved, his own path leading him in the direction of the large bathroom, though he pauses outside of it, leaning against the wall section next to that door. Arms folded over his chest he tells her, "She's a kid who might be in over her head, trying to tread water with all of these things in motion around her that she doesn't understand."
    Alexander crosses his legs at the ankle and remains slouched there against the wall, looking to the side again, pondering the matter. "She has some decent people around her. And a boyfriend that... I don't know, he's apparently some sort of vampire as well. Which... no idea how that works. Her job as far as she knows it is to kill bad things, but think she's not sure how to tell entirely what bad things are what. Which is why she talked to my aunt, and with her being with a vampire... she might be not trusting her judgment?"
    He waves a hand, "All of this is conjecture, though she did stab my dad once." He drops that last there as if it was nothing.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The double reassurance had Natasha nodding. She didn't need to worry about taking out this danger. Not that she would unless it was actually an attempt to harm Alexander, then it would be in defense of another. She wasn't one to just eliminate a possible threat. Not anymore at least. Once upon a time? That would have been different.

"She's supposed to kill vampires and demons." Isn't that what he said? "So how can she be dating a vampire? Aren't vampires evil? I mean, I don't give a damn what they wrote in the books since the 90s where everyone romanticizes them. I'm talking from myth. So dating one seems to be at odds with her job description."

She listens to all the explanations as she moves into that bathroom, turning on the hot water in the shower to get it started. It took a little while to warm up, considering this was an older building with an equally old hot water heater. She moved back out to start unwrapping her hands and feet. Drawing the tape off in long strips. Then he said those words and she glanced over at him. "I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood that. She what?"

Phobos has posed:
    "She apparently has a vibe or a sense of some kind for the supernatural, thought my dad was a monstro and so she stabbed him." Alexander's smile is a little amused, a little incredulous as he slips around the corner and into the bathroom while she gets that shower water running to better continue their conversation during the ensuing showering. "But yeah..."
    A tilt of his head is given, "Not sure what is up with the dating a vampire thing. She said something about souls, but I don't know. I know she's doing right in her mind, picking fights with evil creatures. But it also strikes me as how some superheroes aren't out there necessarily to fight evil, but more to power trip."
    Which might be the first time Natasha realizes that Alexander does not have a lot of love for the cape crowd.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Wait, was this the one that ruined the jacket I'd given him back in the day?" Natasha asks as she puts the used tape in the trash then wanders back into the bathroom. Now she adds the cold water to the mix, dipping her hand in from time to time until she finds the right balance.

Then he adds that final and she glances over at him curiously as she begins to strip off her clothes to throw in the hamper before stepping into the shower.

"Power trips?" She says it curiously. After all, she'd been part of the caped crowd for some time now so finding out he has some feelings or other about them was important.

Phobos has posed:
    "Maybe?" Alexander answers her, though his smile is amused as he tilts to let his gaze follow after her. Though when she starts to strip out of those workout clothes he tells her with a wry smile, "You know you don't /have/ to take a shower right now." Since really there was something appealing about her in her current state.
    And should she meet his eyes in that moment she'll know exactly what it is.
    But then his grin widens as he looks away, to grant that illusion of modesty as he answers. "But yeah. I know a good chunk of the people doing the vigilante thing are trying to do good. And some are altruistic." A hand lifts to scritch at the back of his neck.
    "Then again I think for some people it's an adrenaline rush, that they do it because it's... freedom to take action against others in a way that normally they couldn't? Like when someone corrects language or word choice even though they understand the sentiment being conveyed, it's a small power trip in a way."
    A nod is given toward the outside world as his eyes distance, "Some people it's a legal way to just beat the shit out of people and get their anger out. Work through some stress or tragedy in their lives. Dunno if it's healthy."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She had one foot over the lip of the tub when he said that. Natasha glanced over at him and smirked. "So I shouldn't take a shower." She pulled her leg back out and found a small hand towel to dry it with. No reason to use a good shower towel when it was just her leg. Then she turned off the water. It would wait.

"You're right in some ways. Vigilantes have different reasons for doing what they do. Some it's just to do good, to help in ways that they can. Others it might be a power trip. Or to make up for something that happened in their lives. Trying to do good to balance out the bad they've done." Which was hers.

Then she shrugs. "Probably some are just doing it to beat people up. I won't say legally since vigilantism is illegal after all."

Phobos has posed:
    As she turns the shower off he draws his lower lip between his teeth and worries it briefly, looking a little intrigued as she steps back out. Those pale eyes wander, drifting over her form before they hood and narrow ever so slightly, "Mmm, probably. Yeah."
    Whatever the discussion had been he moistens his lips, apparently having forgotten it before he pushes off the wall and tells her. "Actually..."
    A few steps carry him over as he steps closer, lifting his arms to rest them over her shoulders and draw her into his embrace, "Maybe I could use a shower too."
    That said he lifts a foot and casually touches the knob of the shower spigot, misses, then kicks it again to get it back to hissing with the flow of water, letting him turn back and grin to her.
    "But first, Ms. Romanov." He affects a hint of a Russian accent however so briefly. And that is the moment when he brings his lips to hers to kiss her.