15160/America Made it Back

America Made it Back
Date of Scene:	29 May 2023
Location:	Kate's place
Synopsis:	Kate invites America over to catch up. Food is ordered but it it takes a while. Beats reviewing surveillance footage.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Bishop), Miss America

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Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
The life of a detective turned out to mot be as exciting as most might think. The movies and television ly like all the time. It's mostly just boring ass stakeouts, surveillance, or reviewing footage from either of those.

Which is what Kate Bishop, the second and better Hawkeye by her own admission is stuck dealing with in her apartment. Video footage from a client's home being played on screen. A classic pot style coffee maker percolating on a coffee table. A laptop sitting on legs curled up underneath the brunette, dressed in comfy but very clingy and stretchy bluejeans and a white tee with a purple bullseye as tight as the pants covering her upper half.

While the footage is being reviewed she had sent a text to a friend long absent but now returned. Along with the address for ease of arrival.

Beats working and seeing if her client's wife is cheating on her with her babysitter. And the inevitable fights that that might cause.

Miss America has posed:
Waiting. Isn't that most of life? Not a lot of people have a life of constant activity, after all. For many it's just a matter of waiting out the tedium. Pouring over endless, tepid video footage for the most rote of all private investigator cases, for example. Just waiting --

"Yo, princess."

-- for those brief bursts of activity, lingering between the lulls.

The voice comes with a shimmer of blue light that projects directly behind Kate, followed by the sound of shattering as a thousand thousand shards of shimmering blue space-time flutters past her. A burst of frigid cold buffets against the second (and self-proclaimed greatest) Hawkeye's back --

And there is America Chavez, walking back into Kate Bishop's life from a star portal leading somewhere frozen over - Antarctica? it looks like there's a penguin or two... shaking their wings in rage?... - like she had never left. Dressed in clothes absolutely NOT made for the weather she had emerged from in the form a pair of stretchy black short-shorts, star-spangled sneakers, and red-and-white striped tank top worn under a red hoodie and a denim jacket emblazoned with blue, star-studded shoulders, the young woman is pushing dusky-tanned fingers through her mane of wavy brown hair, shaking loose snow and ice as that portal shuts behind her. Half-lidded eyes look sidelong towards Kate. Then to the footage. Then to Kate. One brow lifts.

"You invite me over to watch you peep on people?"

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Benefits of those star shaped portals is no need to knock on doors and they're distinctive enough that the archer doesn't instinctively reach for one of those bows leaning near the door to her bedroom.

The rush of cold air however is way better than running air con though, making the room chilly for at least as long as it takes America to step through.

The laptop controlling the playback is set down and yes Kate is actually up and giving America a hug in greeting. "So hey, how long can you keep a portal open?" cold weather blasting into an apartment that is about to hit summer would be handy if it could be maintained safely.

"That, nah, that's work drudgery. Gotta seem like I'm doing things for the money. Detective work and sending bills gets people out of the whole 'I can't repay you enough for saving me.' Because an itemized bill says you can totally repay me enough. This pervy crap is just making the detective game seem legit. What I invited ya for was to try and get you to stay in this place of existence for a while. Missed the crap out of you ta know! Cell reception doesn't get everywhere no matter how much money you can spend on a phone plan. And I worry!" she explains and maybe rambles a little more than she should.

Miss America has posed:
For as she makes detached stoicism seem as natural as breathing, America isn't all brick walls and sharp edges: when Kate gets up and throws arms around her, America doesn't back away or even tense. In fact, she returns it with one of her own, wrapping strong arms around the P.I.-slash-superhero and giving a firm, fond squeeze.

How long can she keep a portal open?

"Long as you need, chica," is America's answer. "If you ask me nice enough."

It's a small, easy smile that touches the Utopian's lips as she takes a single step back in the wake of that hug; left hand pushing through her hair where remaining flecks of snow have already started to melt against the mounting heat, her gaze focuses on the oh-so-boring video footage as Kate's stream of consciousness takes her throw the whole preamble. America's only response to all of -that- is to regard Kate with an arch-browed expression of muted incredulity helpfully underscored by the "uh huh" that blandly spills from her lips.

"Good to see you're staying productive."

Is she being sincere? Is she teasing? The world may never know.

The -rest-, though -- -that- earns the briefest of rare grins on America's lips, -both- brows lifting as she folds arms over her chest. "Aww," she all but coos, in that perfectly deadpan way of hers. Instead of answering outright, she wonders, a teasing little nudge to her tone: "You're worried about me, princess?"

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Well we'll table how long we might need an open portal but you're more than just instant climate control or instant transport!" Kate reminds. The hug eventually gets ended after some of those squeezes given as well as she gets. Kate having a lot more flex showing since they last saw each other. That training having well paid off since she started working for more than just competitive level athletics.
"Yes I was worried. I'm allowed to be! Plus the timing is like great, you can like tell me all about what you were up to. It's mostly been vigilante stuff, detective drudgery, wrangling Clint. All that society crap I still gotta do to rep the family and the money. I don't get to do the wild stuff that comes with the tights nearly enough. So I gotta sometimes get my bad guy punching in vicariously!"

Kate's arms sweep to invite America to the sofa. "You hungry? I can order in. Coffee in the pot sucks but enough sugar makes that palatable." she offers being all hostess while she's at it.

Miss America has posed:
Hands tucking into her jacket pockets, America takes her time to take stock of the apartment as Kate speaks, sweeping a quiet, considerate gaze across the landscape as if taking stock of just how much Kate's life has changed in this little microcosm since she's been gone. When Kate offers that little reminder, though, brown eyes shutter in a blink. America looks sidelong at Kate, head canting.

"Yeah?" she wonders; she lifts a hand, reaching slowly for Kate's face...

... and then moves to gently pinch one of her cheeks.

"You're sweet." Her smile lingers just a few seconds longer, as she starts moving couch-wards. "Feel free to keep praising me. I like hearing it from you."

What has -she- been up to, though? "This and that," is her completely nondescript reply; really, America might just be the worst person in the world to try to live vicariously through. She flops backwards onto the couch as she answers, bouncing once against the cushions before she sprawls languidly across them: one leg on the couch, one leg dangling off the edge, and one arm slung over the back, she takes to that couch with the slouching splendor of someone born to be in it, gaze rolling towards Kate as she speaks.

"I could go for some food," says America. "Dunno about coffee-sugar sludge." She cranes her head, glancing over her shoulder towards Kate.

"So, why don't you fix that?" she wonders, leaving just -what- she's telling Kate to fix completely unclear for a few, precious seconds before she amends: "Prancing around. Saving the day. Looking good in tights." Her stare turns, pointedly, towards all that tedious video footage. "Sounds to me you don't need to go live vicariously -- you gotta to get some more adventure in you, princess."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Well you're awesome, you deserve it, I mean big buff, strong. Got your pick of the girls. You're like all the shit most of want to be! Not that I lack badassedness but I gotta work at it Luckily having awesome friends on the adventuring side helps keep me live as well!!" Kate keeps on with the praises. The smile matching her tone helping sell that yes Kate genuinely thinks the world of the extra planar woman.

"If it's gone sludgy, it might need more water." the brunette states as blue eyes lock onto the pot. That gets get extracting her phone from the coffee table, the coffee pot, with an extra lean down t grab both before she heads for the kitchen. One hand thumbing a takeout order, the other cheating with the coffee and filling it with hot tap water. She can afford a good heater so she doesn't need a kettle unless she's making tea.

Combing back after a moment, swirling the reconstituted coffee before setting the pot back on the heading plate, her thumb hitting confirm on an order. "Okay, if this coffee kills me, let it be known that while I can learn many a skill, those of a good barista I do not!" she points out. "Food is on the way, but that'll still take a while. So till then ya got me all to yaself!" the brunette keeping a big bright expression. She is happy to have the time to catch up with America