12972/I'm Back From Outer Space

I'm Back From Outer Space
Date of Scene:	06 April 2021
Location:	Eastchester, The Bronx
Synopsis:	Nat comes home from space to a nonchalant Alexander. Just kidding! She does come home though.
Cast of Characters:	Phobos, Black Widow (Romanoff)

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Phobos has posed:
    That day after the briefing and the surprise return of Natasha from outer space had been the /slowest/ day that ever had been made. It had passed at such a languid lazy snail's pace that it seemed as if every tick of the clock, every slow change of pixel on a screen, every intolerable moment spent on the job... lasted forever.
    Inventory was horrible. Counting and recounting and forgetting where one was on the count. Then typing out a report was agony in and of itself, coupled with the slow tick of the clock barely moving... hellish.
    Yet eventually, finally, the day came to a close. The teams changed, clocked out, even as their shift replacements were coming online. But then an entirely other form of waiting had to be dealt with.
    For once Alexander had made it back to the old safehouse that had served as home the last few months now... he wasn't sure when someone would come through the door. Or even if. Who knows? Maybe space had changed her? Maybe she met some alien guy. Yet it's when that last though flit through his mind that the youthful Olympian sitting on the couch there in the apartment frowned and /looked/ at himself in the mirror. He's never thought of things like that in the past. Madness.
    Still. He had time to kill.
    First thing's first though, he had to run out and buy a newspaper from the corner package store. Because that would serve her right. When she comes home he'll be reading a newspaper and look up.
    'Oh, hm, were you gone? I didn't notice.'
    Still, that didn't solve the issue of passing time in the now. Which led him to dig around the place, to open a few crates, to push apart some of the storage containers. Just to look and find and take stock of what this old house actually had in some of the more out of he way boxes. Like this one that held...
    His guitar.
    Since when did dad play the guitar?
    Still. He wasn't ignorant of such things. There was a time in his youth when he had learned how important music was in war. For the Romans, or any army really marching in time it was required. Not to mention the natural symmetry of musical theory when it comes to composition and use.
    Which had him smiling a bit as he sat down with the guitar and plink-plinked it a few times. Then strummed it once. Until he plink-plink-plink-Plink-pa-plink. A short rhythm that he built on, a little more at a time until he started to hum to himself a little.
    And eventually became a little distracted enough when he actually lifted his voice.

"Sooner or later..."
"Your legs give way, you hit the ground."
"Save it for later."
"Don't run away and let me down."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Natasha's return to planet had been in Norway. Then a Quinjet flight back to the States with her fellow Avengers, stopping into the mansion. There she had retrieved her phone from her room. A few flicks of her fingers to bring it to life. Seeing the schedule and realizing that all was good. Although a message from Agent Reynard about a meeting was in her mailbox. She scanned it then glanced at the time. If she changed and went straight there, she'd have time. A quick shower and then into a SHIELD uniform. Her other uniform going into a duffle bag.

Off to the meeting where she'd gotten to see everyone but not really having the chance to talk. Work was work. Other things had to wait until after. Which there were a few hours before that time. She did go to her office to finish reviewing information, some paperwork she needed to look over. That was taken with her when she exited the building.

Next stop was her penthouse, ostensibly to pick up a few things. A change into civilian clothes. Some clothes added with her costume and a spare uniform as well. Then the files she had left work with. She zipped up the duffle and slung it over a shoulder, heading back out. The bag was thrown in the back of the SHIELD assigned, plain black SUV.

Then off to that safehouse in the Bronx, parking her vehicle in the alley in the back instead of right in front of it. Walking around to the front, duffle again over her shoulder, finding the hidden key and opening the door before tucking the key away again.

She heard music and that had her a little surprised. It was Alex's voice. The guitar didn't sound like it was from speakers but more live. He played? Or was he not alone?

She closed the door behind her loud enough it likely would be heard.

Phobos has posed:
    It was a nice song, though he wasn't the best at it, clearly trying to get used to the fingering. A few more plinks as he maintains the rhythm and plays a bit more, humming some of the words, then lifting his voice.

"You'll hit the deck, you'll get found out."
"Save it for later."

    But then he loses it and she likely can hear the slight click of his tongue as he scowls at himself. But then the door closes with just enough sound to carry and suddenly he stops.
    Then there's the faint /whong/ of a guitar being set down abruptly. There's no real mistaking that noise. But what follows is the rustle of a newspaper, pages turning, then a flutter as they're tossed aside. Only for him to appear at the top of the stairs.
    He'd changed into what he normally wears at the place, sweat shorts, black t-shirt with a curled up cat emblem on the front. He hovers there, one hand upon the banister and seems torn half way between wanting to descend... and half way wanting to act so terribly nonchalant.
    "Oh. Hey. You're back." He says, trying to seem not too terribly excited. But his smile betrays him.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
What was that quote from Alice in Wonderland? Curiouser and curiouser. Hearing the door closed seemed to prompt the music to stop. The guitar she heard being set down. Then...newspaper?

They don't get the paper. She's never brought one here. She's never seem him with one. So what in the world was going on here?

Then there he was and she couldn't help smiling, pleased to see him there. "I'm back," she replies simply as she starts up the stairs. "When I got back States-side, saw you were on the schedule so figured I would go to the meeting. Hope it wasn't too much of a surprise."

Phobos has posed:
    She can see him look to the side, one hand lifting to push through his golden hair as he grins and shakes his head, then lifts his gaze back to her. "Nah, not that bad. It was..."
    He looks to the side, then back down at his foot as he rocks back on his heels a little. One hand tightens around the banister as he scrunches an eye up as if trying to find the right words, and failing. So instead he looks back at her and doesn't say anything.
    He instead descends, footsteps quick and light upon the stairs as he half-walks half-hops down the last few steps to stand before her. There's no hesitation, no hint of trepidation, just a final step with his hands resting on her hips as he meets her eyes. His smile threatens to grow larger as he looks into each of her eyes, as if trying to decide which one her thoughts might be hiding behind. Then he leans close, resting his brow against hers.
    "I missed you terribly." He says softly, barely above a whisper, then he leans in to touch her lips with his.
    It's a soft kiss, tentative at first, then growing as if remembering what it felt like, intensifying as his eyes close and he turns his head just so as their noses brush faintly.
    It's a lovely thing that lingers, then breaks slowly as he eases back and murmurs quietly from lips still very close to hers, "I had this whole plan set up."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I missed you too," Natasha says softly as he leans in. She shifts a step up so that she is closer to his height and leans in for the kiss. It is wonderful. Something she has missed in her time away.

As he finally pulls away, she leans her forehead against his briefly. She sighs softly, a contented sound. Then she forces her head up so she can focus on his face again.

"A plan? Did it involve a guitar? I heard that when I was coming in."

Phobos has posed:
    "Noooo," Alexander says as he looks sidelong back up the steps. "I found that." He then, with an ease of movement and without even so much as a by your leave, slips an arm behind Natasha's knees and lifts her into his arms with a casual /swoop/ then starts to ascend the steps. Taking his time, however, as he speaks with a terribly cheery and amiable tone.
    "I was going to act like i didn't hear you come in, and then when you came into the room I was going to be reading a newspaper. And then you'd clear your throat or something and I'd be all, 'Oh were you gone? I hadn't noticed.'"
    Which has him looking up and away as they climb, avoiding her gaze but smiling crookedly as he does so. "But, I completely failed at that. I blame you showing up at the meeting. Totally threw me off my game." He finishes the ascent and carries her on into the living area, "Hard to act all nonchalant when... well, I didn't want to."
    That said he grins and sets her down upon the sofa with a slight fwumpf of overstuffed plush cushions as they contour to her body.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She should be resisting or complaining but it is amusing instead. Natasha didn't resist as he picked her up, starting to take her upstairs. The duffle is swung out in front of her so it won't interfere with his steps. Once they reach the second floor, she gives it a little swing to the side and it drops with a little thud on the floor at the top of the stairs.

Then she can wrap her second arm around his neck, to meet the one already around his shoulders. "I had considered not coming to the meeting but figured since you had a shift to finish, I shouldn't just sit here." Which means she would have. Perhaps a tell in itself but she isn't thinking about that right now.

She releases her arms as he drops her onto the couch, reaching down to start taking off her boots. "So you were going to play it all cool and calm."

Phobos has posed:
    "Yup," Alexander says as he then swings around to drop into a seat near her, then pulls her boots up into his lap, taking it on himself to undo what needs undone even as he tells her, "My plan was to basically drive you mad with such casual and affected disinterest that you lost all control of your senses and swooned into my arms."
    His lips twist as he pulls off the first boot and tosses it aside next to the sofa, then it's on to the other. "I'll give you it wasn't the best of plans, but I was at my wit's end, what three, four, five hundred days of you being gone? I clearly wasn't thinking straight."
    That said he lifts a hand to push fingertips lightly through her dark crimson locks, brushing the pad of his thumb light against her cheek. "So... hey."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
That was unexpected but she turned slightly so her foot was in his lap more easily. It allowed him to loosen the laces and work on pulling it free. As soon as he was done, she offered him the second foot.

This was rather unusual. She wasn't used to be treated this way but she found she kind of liked it. Not something she needed to think about too much or she might go running for the hills. Only--she didn't want to run for the hills.

She was happy.

When he counted off the days, she corrected him. "Three days. Just threee days." Trying so hard not to laugh.

Then that gentle touch of his hand. She brushed her cheek against it. "Hey yourself." Then she grins a little. "If I ever tell you I'm going to space again, lock me in cell at the Triskelion, okay?"

Phobos has posed:
    At that his grin widens, an almost mischievous look lighting those pale irises as he looked to her and listened to the tone in those words. "You have to tell me everything," He offers even as he lifts her leg a little and turns her foot just enough so he can get at the laces on the other boot.
    "I'm hugely envious, I want to hear everything, and also a plan for smuggling me along next time." Since that would entirely be a good idea. Not to mention entirely goes against her plans to never go into space again.
    "Things were quiet here." He tells her, pulling on the sides of the boot and then gently easing it free to drop it with a /klomp/ next to its mate on the side of the couch. "Inventory of the recovered items, monitor duty. Did some hand to hand training with the team. You should beware of O'Hara, I think she's gunning for your job."
    His lip twists up but then he hushes and falls silent awaiting to hear her story.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"O'Hara's the redhead that has the crush on you?" If he expected Natasha to play timid verbally, he was in for another thing. She wasn't shy about calling it as it was. Ever. Maybe that was part of her appeal for him. She wasn't like the other women he'd been around or dated. At least she didn't do it here, when it was her downtime and she was in private. With him.

"Next time, I'll send you in my place and I'll count down the hundreds of years until you get back," she replies with a grin.

She leaves her feet in his lap unless he protests, socks covering them, wiggling her toesies now that they were free of boot confines.

"Space was... How to say this. It was space. Mostly went smooth. We ended up on this space station type place called Knowhere. With a k-n-o-w," she added for clarification. "Which was like Madripoor kind of, but with aliens. Thor hired a ship. Then we went to what was left of Asgard. It was...sad really to see the devastation. Gathered a bunch of stuff that Thor says maybe one of them is the thing we were there for. Back to the port with no incidents." She leans back comfortably. "Then we find ourselves facing a bunch of miners or pirates or whatever they were. Bugs and fuzzies, easiest way to describe them. They thought the sigil blazed into the ground by the Bifrost transportation thing was us trying to encroach on their claim. Then things got ugly. Then we came home."

Phobos has posed:
    "Think she's grown out of it," Alexander says as he rests there with her legs in his lap, "More meaning she's trying to earn a rep, seems to be pursuing the better fighters and trying to get them to spar with her." A shake of his head is given.
    "I mean, she's not bad. Just something's got her very focused of late." That observation seems to be enough for now.
    Then she makes light of him going to space and how long it would take him to return, he makes a face at her. "Don't joke about that, chances are some day it might happen. Or some weird extra-planar place. Something like that." Yet his words trail off when she starts to offer her tale of space.
    So he listens, eyes following along with her lips and then nodding when she speaks about Knowhere as well as their trip in and out of the depths of space. His head tilts a little, "I figured you'd get into at least one fight with something weird. That or come home with some monstrous pet."
    But then apparently the story is over and he hrms, "It sounds like it was kind of exciting at least?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The info on O'Hara was filed away for later. Maybe something to look into. Maybe not.

"It was interesting. I can't lie about that. I spent some time around Knowhere, observing the aliens. It's strange but a bar is a bar is a bar, apparently. Even in space, it is very much like here on Earth. I might not have picked up the languages, but I was able to tell that much."

Natasha grins at something though. "I don't do pets. That was never a danger. I should've probably told you that. With my life as crazy as it is, it wouldn't be fair to the animal. Besides, emotional attachments and whatnot."

Yet, she gave him a soft smile as she reached over to take his hand in hers. "Yet here I am. Emotionally attached. Though, you aren't a pet of course." She chuckles softly. "Well, not in a traditional sense."

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander gives a crooked smile and leans closer, "I should hope not." He takes a deep breath then leans closer still to kiss the corner of her mouth before he murmurs, "Now let me welcome you home."