14418/Twisted Pairs

Twisted Pairs
Date of Scene:	30 May 2022
Location:	Den and Study, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	A small slice of life.
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Captain America

---

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
The day had gone smoothly enough. Natasha had drawn watch duty. Which had her on site for twelve hours to monitor as needed. Each of them took their turns. It wasn't difficult work. Not since Tony had J.A.R.V.I.S. take over a lot of the work. Leaving the Avengers to sort of spend time wandering around for the most part.

Yet at the end of her shift, she remained. Sitting in the den area with a leatherbound book in her hands. She had her feet tucked up into the seat. There was nothing but silence in the room, not even the clicking of a clock.

Why remain? No one was home to rush off to. She had a two hour window. Thus, she sat. She read.

Though she knew that her relief would be there at any time. Or possibly someone else who might be staying in residence.

Captain America has posed:
    To be fair a good ninety percent of the job had been automated. There were few things that would crop up as an Avengers level event that needed response. Yet there were also a good number of reasons why people liked that there was at least a human hand guiding things just in case. Even if sometimes that human hand was Vision.
    Yet for a lot of the team who took the hit on their free time to monitor the culture it was more just a time to have some peace and quiet. To focus on their reading or other tasks that need some attention albeit attention while in the monitoring room or within earshot of JARVIS.
    And for Steve Rogers? Well he still spent most of his time in the mansion, split between there... the Triskelion, and his apartment. Though the Triskelion got the majority of his time. When he wanted to relax, it was back here.
    Which led him to being one of the more common monitor crew so it wouldn't be a surprise to Natasha to see the tall blond man darken that doorway. "What are you doing still around here, Romanoff?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Hearing the familiar voice, Natasha looked up from her reading and turned her head toward the doorway. "I had a couple of free hours before Alexander gets home. So I thought I'd do some light reading."

It must be a joke. Either because the tome itself is large and heavy. Or because it is about the ancient Prussian generals that existed before either of the room's occupants were born. Which didn't fit the light category either.

Honestly, the house just felt empty sometimes when she was alone. Throw in that she had no idea if the meeting for Alexander would turn into more than a couple of hours before he got home. Course, that same danger existed with her position with SHIELD and the Avengers.

Captain America has posed:
    A small chuckle comes from the tall man as he walks in and pulls one of the other chairs out from near the monitor desk. He brushes a hand over the surface of the seat then settles into it once he leans over and lightly tip-taps his password into the system so it acknowledges the change of observer.
    Then he looks back and says, "Light reading, I like books like that too. Though mine usually have pictures in them."
    His smile is a little rueful, a little self-deprecating, though it's true in part. He usually reads things people call 'coffee table' books since his interests wander toward the artistic.
    "Never thought I'd see the day you became a home body, Romanoff." Some light teasing in return for the immense amount he owes her for the years he's endured her comments and shenanigans.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
That earns a rolling of her eyes as Natasha partially closes the book for now, keeping her middle finger tucked between the pages to hold her spot and lowering the book down onto her lap.

"Don't make me beat you up, Steve. You know I'll do it."

But there is a smile on her face even though she continues. "Though if I tell you we spar for several hours a day usually? Or that he tries to find all the weapons I hide around the house just to see if he can? Try being the key word there," she adds with a chuckle.

"Will that seem more like me?"

Captain America has posed:
    "That." Steve says as he turns away from her, but smiling as he faces the monitors. As if trying to hide it but the reflections likely give him away, "Sounds much more like you."
    He scrolls through some of the earlier alerts, skimming some of the summaries and makes a small 'hmm' sound to himself while he considers them. Over his shoulder he tells her, as if it were only fair, "By the way, I should have told you, I did end up going out on an actual date with someone."
    A pause, likely giving her time to be silently scandalized.
    Then he adds, "Twice, actually." Which might lead her down the path even further into incredulity. Then he adds, "But you were right. It was... good to get back out there."
    His fingers glide over the keyboard as he types up a few replies to some of those entries.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Oh?!"

The sound of that was a bit too excited perhaps. Natasha put her book over to the side on the table next to her seat. No more holding her spot. It was page 76 anyway. Now he had her full attention. Whether he liked it or not.

"Was she under the age of sixty?" was the first question. Quickly followed up by "And if so, tell me every single detail." Then she hesitated and held up her hand. "Check that. Not every single detail but every detail until oy both parted ways or entered a private location together where things happened that I have no need to ever hear or imagine."

Captain America has posed:
    First that question gets her a /look/, it's one he reserves for when he's so disappointed in someone. Though over the years she's become inured to it from him since she can discern the subtle differences between a look for true and a look of exasperation. This was the latter.
    But then he chuckles as he shakes his head, still typing the response to a few postings before he says sidelong. "She is in her later twenties I believe. But she works for an intelligence agency in England. So we just went out the two times. Maybe some more down the line but we'll see."
    Though then he turns away from the monitor and tries to minimize the need for telling of every detail and tells her, "It was nice. Not much to tell. Just two people getting to know each other."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"England, huh?" She couldn't think of anyone that was in their joint circles fitting that which meant he had gone *gasp* outside?! Not that she knew every SHIELD agent of course. Just amused her to think about it.

"And it was nice. You had fun. Twice." She didn't mean it to sound like a double entendre but somehow it did. So she quickly added. "Getting outside. Touching grass. Being present and starting to have a life."

She smiled as she turned in her seat, putting her feet down to the floor. "Got to say you have surprised me. In a good way. I'm proud of you. I'll be prouder if you tell me you are seeing her again soon. Or, if not her, someone? Keep up the momentum."

Captain America has posed:
    "Maybe, we'll see how things work out. But long distance relationships..." He starts to say as if he knows all about them, but then he thinks wiser about it and instead just lets that sentence hang there. He does smile at the end and gives a small shrug.
    "Though, it did help me realize how..." Steve stops working on the computer and then turns around to face more directly toward Natasha. "How... difficult I had been making it. Since I realized how much... effort that she was putting in just to let me know she wanted to spend some time together. Made me realize that I was holding myself apart trying not to let people reach me. But she made the effort."
    A pause as he smiles, "And then some. But anyways there, now you should be happy and stop hassling me."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Those can be challenging," Natasha agrees, leaving it at that. Even if he doesn't know for sure, she does. But when he made his admission, her expression softened.

"That's the important part. If I just said it, you'd have denied it. You had to figure it out for yourself." She rose to her feet, picking up the book and heading over to the shelf she had taken it from originally. It was slipped into place carefully.

"Even if she had to club you over the head to get you there. I should've tried that." She grins and starts toward the door. "The best news? Your phone is now safe from my tampering."