13676/Future Possibilities

Future Possibilities
Date of Scene:	28 July 2021
Location:	Food Court, Triskelion, New York
Synopsis:	A trio of agents have lunch and a chat.
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Phobos, Quake

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Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
It was that time of day. After the lunch rush, when the dining area only had a scattering of people left in it. While they had a variety of shifts in the Triskelion, the largest majority still worked the traditional "banker's hours" so that meant anytime from eleven to one was the time to avoid this place unless one liked bustling crowds.

Being a couple of hours after the rush, it made it a time that others knew was their chance to sneak in for a meal without insanity. Natasha happened to be one of those. She was in her SHIELD uniform, working her way along the 'stores' that made up the food court area. They were all SHIELD but they offered different types of fair and she honestly had no idea what she wanted.

Phobos has posed:
    For someone like Agent Aaron, a level one agent, their shifts were much more flexible. At that point in their career they can /dream/ about banker's hours enviously. For Alexander's shift was beginning at 3pm and was going to last until midnight. Even worse... it was an inventory shift, so that meant the depths of the Triskelion with nary a window...
    And also might be why he's upstairs in the food court now grabbing what will pass for his breakfast. Though right now it's more just an egg salad sandwich and a convenient bag of sun chips. They're both nestled there on his plastic tray that he slides across the table with a faint scrape of sound as he takes a seat at one of the middling tables, lifting a hand in the direction of the Black Widow when she might glance over across the way.

Quake has posed:
Rats.

Today was one of those days where the break room, that Skye always used as her office, was bust. More than busy. Someone was having a birthday, or was it a baby shower? Skye didn't stay long enough the find out.

At least she had missed the lunch rush in the cafeteria.

She got a cup - extra large - of coffee (which she would promptly ignore until it was cold; the ritual was important though), and a chocolate bar. Looking around she saw Natasha and hightailed it to her, and sat down without asking permission.

"Don't ask. I've banished myself from the break room." To which the usual response is: And why not go to your desk?

Simply: She doesn't know where it is. Her whole time here she never found it. (Mind you she hasn't looked either!)

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Natasha finally made her selection. Today it was pasta. A mushroom ravioli with a lovely sauce. She took the plate and then a got a bottle of water to go with it before looking for a table.

That's when she spotted Alexander and caught his wave. She nodded and headed straight over, settling in at that table with him.

Which is when Skye arrived and joined them. "Agent Guttierez having a baby shower. He's very excited."

She knew about it. She was not one to attend things like that. Ever.

"You could go to your office. I mean, I know where it is. You really should."

Phobos has posed:
    Though they met outside of work, while there at work Agent Aaron did try to keep it somewhat formal and professional. Though, assuredly, that veneer was broken at times. But it explains why he greets them with a calm, "Agent Romanoff, Agent Johnson."
    Alexander is wearing the black combat suit and harness of the response teams, prepped since he's on short call in case of an action being needed. Which was mostly fine by him, though it was awkward carrying the gear while doing normal every day things like taking inventory. Yet, at the least, it didn't interfere with the sunchips nor the devouring thereof.
    Yet at the mention of a party, Alex does perk up a little. "Do they have cake?"

Quake has posed:
Skye thought back at the crowd. "Guttieriz." She nods. "That's about right. I didn't seem stay to watch it. I suppose I should have gotten him something? They did have cake, or wait, maybe it was cupcakes? I was busy reading some threads.."

She shrugs, and mock gasps. "What? And learn where my desk is, and read all the notices from the last three years? Are you crazy!" Fury didn't seem bothered that she didn't seem know where her desk was. Hell, he had fronted the bill to get her home as secure as SHIELD was, possibly more so. Did she do her work? That's all he cared about.

"Hey Alex. Something like? You could go and get some?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I'm sure they had cake. Or something along those lines. Likely in pink and blue because, don't want to reveal the baby's sex until that party with the family and friends at home," Natasha replied with a little roll of her eyes. To her the whole gender reveal party thing had gotten a little out of hand in the last two decades.

"Yes, learn where your desk is so you can go hide and lock the door and not have to worry about people around at all. It's nice sometimes." Which may be why Natasha goes to her own office once in a while. Usually it's to fill out a report on something since Fury did like those.

She looked over at Alexander. "You could go there and get some. Or go right over there to the pastry shop." She pointed to the one that specialized in desserts no more than thirty feet from their table.

Phobos has posed:
    Scritching his chin, Alexander tilts his head to the side, looks off in the direction of the pastry shop, then back towards Natasha. "Well, illicitly purloined cake tastes better." Though he does look curiously at Skye for a moment and rests his hands flat on the table.
    "Though if that is your subtle way of suggesting you'd like to have some time to speak alone with Agent Romanoff I can be on my way, Agent Johnson."

Quake has posed:
"What is it with a gender reveal? Is the baby healthy? That's really all you need to care about." Skye just doesn't get it. Mind you, she's not not looking to have a baby. Not now, not ever. Her childhood was crap, and she didn't wish her parenting skills on anybody. Thankfully, Clint seemed to agree.

"You know, I've wondered why they just don't give the office to someone else. Does Fury think that someday I might walk into my office?"

Actually.. it wouldn't be all that unusual to find she actually rank a rank or two above her if only she'd check her desk.

She frowned. Now she was curious.

"Huh?" Her thoughts were broken on that train of thought by Alexander. "Where did you get that from? If someone should be excusing themselves, it would be me. Trust me, if I needed to talk in private you would know it."

Skye was not the most polite when she needed to have privacy.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Well you have earned the office. I mean, most of the people in this building don't have them. Even office folks end up in cubicle hell," Natasha points out. She motions to poor Alexander. "And he's stuck doing all the grunt work and having nothing but a locker I think?"

At which she looks over at him to try to confirm if she's got that right. She knows there is no office. They just have a duty roster and go report to whatever they are stuck doing that day, when there isn't a mission to go out on.

Phobos has posed:
    Flaring his hands a little, Alexander addresses Skye with a small smile, "S'ok, I thought you all being spies might just be being all subtle." That said he falls back into a more tennis-spectator-like position in the conversation, watching the back and forth for a time. Then Natasha gestures to him and his lip twitches, "Indeed, just a locker. Poor poor me."
    But then he looks between the two of them. "Though we have a dedicated ready room that is fairly nice."

Quake has posed:
Skye had earned her office. Although she didn't always believe that. "I don't know. I work like a.. well, a hacker. An office would make me feel wrong?" A hacker usually /can/ work where they needed to, but preferred to to use ritual despite that. Not that they would admit it.

Witness their call signs. They /always/ put them into their code, even though it was as individual as a fingerprint.

"I don't even remember if we had one. Then again, my first year here was basically how do I get myself out of this, without the jail term as an alternative."

Yes, it was known to some few, she had the choice to work here, or "Go directly to jail. Do not pass go." - maximum security to boot.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Which she probably chose this cause she couldn't have access to a computer in prison. At least that was one viewpoint.

Natasha had to grin at mention of the ready room. "I forgot about that. Been a long time." Wait, what was she talking about? She had never been a level one. Thanks to who and what she was, even though she was watched like a hawk, she had come in at higher than that level when she was recruited. Thanks to a certain archer vouching for her. "Not that you all ever get time to really spend there, do you? Or you go there for your assignments?" she asked Alexander. Something she'd never thought to ask in their time spent together.

Then a glance back to Skye. "So it was year two when you finally realized you liked it. That there was more to the world than what you had seen outside these walls."

Phobos has posed:
    Alexander crinkles his nose a little and waves his hand to the side, as if dismissing Natasha's question about the ready room, then says lightly as if feeling compelled to at least give some form of a small answer. "Depends. If we're on deck then they keep us in there since sometimes we need to move in 60 seconds. Better reaction time."
    But then he falls quiet and looks back across toward Skye, listening to the insight given about her first year and experiences at SHIELD. His eyebrows lift a little near the end before he says, "You know you could probably trade the office with someone in logistics, if there was something else you'd prefer. Like a company car or something."

Quake has posed:
"Sort of." Skye goes serious. "I was on the roof.. angry. When May told me I could go. No jail time. Nothing. I could go and disappear, and she would make it alright with Fury. And, I wanted to go, I really tried.." She shakes her head. "And I couldn't make myself do it. It seems May was right. I drank the kool aid."

She laughs at Alexander. "What good would I get out of a car? Besides, I still have Gretel. Nah. I got everything I could possibly want." Including an office, so it would seem.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Oh, that makes sense," Natasha said to the use of the ready room. She imagined some of them in there pacing. Others playing cards. Kelso would be running his mouth and keeping people amused, his way of dealing with nervousness she'd figured out.

She glanced back as Skye told the story about May, giving a little nod. May likely would've been able to smooth it over with Fury too. "A lot of us had the kool aid." After all, she was no innocent coming into this place. "And it all worked out in the end. You have resources now you never imagined when you were running around with your van as your base of operations."

Which has her shifting to the other topic. "What's with the apartment building and dragging us in as painters by the way?"

Phobos has posed:
    "Could be one of those ones that, you know..." Alexander lifts his hand off the table to make a small wobbly whooshing motion as if flying. But for some reason he shoots a glance Natasha's way and smiles, then pops a sun chip into his mouth. For a few moments he chews and crunches the chip, looking between the two of them.
    He takes up another one and bites it, then proceeds on to his egg-salad sandwich. When Natasha asks about the deal with the painting the apartment he replies, "Free labor is free labor." Then swallows, managing not to mangle the words too much.

Quake has posed:
"Well after that, Fury didn't need to keep track of me. Everything changed. I changed. I don't know." As one of the people came into SHIELD unorthodox, Natasha definitely did know what Skye had been through. A trail by koolaid, indeed. "Now? Anything I need, if it's available.." And sometimes when it's not. "It's not that Fury treated me differently. Just everything has changed, you know?"

The apartments.. She wondered when she would be questioned about them.

"Apparently his brother had owned the apartment, and when he passed it came to Clint. Who I must say didn't really know that the upper floor existed. When we found out what he would need to make it liveable, he came up with the plan. Actually, it reminded me of the old days at the Brownstone. Everybody used to drop in and hang out."

"Speaking of which, you two are invited anytime. If the door is open, come in. If it's locked we are not taking guests." For the obvious reasons.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"We'll keep that in mind," Natasha says with a nod. Which is when Alexander has to depart, giving his goodbyes and heading off to duty with half his sandwich still in hand to finish on the trip to his station.

"So he's actually going to be renting them out to people? Just never pictured Clint as the landlord type."

Quake has posed:
Skye nods her chin at Alex. "See ya."

And she turns her attention to Nat. "I know? Right?? But he's looking for students, or a single mom that he can help, while keeping on the downlow. I figure as long as we can make the mortgage, we'll be okay."

If he even has a mortgage!

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"I mean I guess everyone has something else they can look to in the future. We all won't be doing this forever."

Which is a new admission for Natasha. Something she's only come to accept as a truth herself in the last year of her life. Before that? She was positive she would be doing this until the day she died. Whether it be sooner in the line-of-duty or later when she finally aged enough and died. At least she assumed she would age and and die, albeit slowed aging. Though, she hadn't aged in quite some time so maybe she was wrong about that too.

"So have to have some ideas of what we might want to do." Then she grinned. "And being a professional painter is not on my future list. Though I don't mind helping friends of course."

Quake has posed:
"Trust me, I do not make anything like a professional painter." Skye has to laugh as that.

It seems she, too, has been thinking towards the future. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"You know I can't promise that," Natasha says with a bit of a smile as she cuts a ravioli in half with her fork. Then she dredges it through the sauce and lifts it toward her mouth.

"But I will do my best not to," she adds seriously before taking that bite.

Quake has posed:
Yeah, she knows that's as good as it gets from Natasha.

"I want Fury's job." He had mentioned her as one who had the knack when it came to figuring out people. And she had been thinking about it a long time now.

Mind you, she probably would need to wrap up the mystery of her mother before then.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
That gets a nod from Natasha. No laughter.

"I can see that maybe down the line. You have a lot more to learn before you are ready for that step." Not trying to be mean but Skye hasn't been doing this as long as Fury or Natasha. "Which you will. In time. And you might be the person he opts for when it's right. Or Coulson." Not herself because while she could do it, Natasha doesn't really want to. Leadership has never had a huge appeal for her. Better as a free agent of sorts.

Quake has posed:
"Yeah. Fury made me think about it - *really* think about it. I thought he was crazy at first. But it's been ruminating in my brain, and I think he meant it."

She didn't try to boost Nat's feelings by saying she could be one too. Nat knew it; Skye knew it; Nat was one of the best Special Agents that SHIELD would ever know, but she was not a leader.

"Of course, I have to grow up." A lot. "And learn..A lot." Skye makes a rueful face. "But, yeah. You can tell him if he wonders." Talk about drinking the kool aid.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Not a topic he chats with me about. Fury plays a lot close to the chest at all times," Natasha admits as she gives a little shrug. She continues eating between conversation.

"And yeah, can see that. He is one to grow those he feels have potential. He's seen it in you from the start."

Quake has posed:
Still ruefully, "It's only taken me.. How long?"

For Skye it's a big deal. It was one thing to joke about on video - at least she *could* still back out of it and 'laugh'. That was one thing. But to admit to Nat, as her confidant (she still didn't know if they were friend-friends) - that was a big thing.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"It's been a handful of years. When it's been decades, you'll likely be ready for it. Maybe before. But yeah, need to put in the time and develop a few more skills. Like getting rid of those tells you have, which give away when you are lying. At least to those of us who have eyes to see it," Natasha said with a playful wink as she finished off her ravioli. She washed it down with a sip of water then put her tray together for disposal at the little window for that purpose.

"There's time though. We'll figure it out."

Quake has posed:
Skye picked up her cold coffee and put the chocolate bar in her pocket, and stood up. "Nobody had to see my face when I was just a hacker. Like I said, lots to learn."

She winks.

"Tell you what. Show me where my office is. That or I'll have to brave the baby shower." She shudders.