3182/Social Sparring

Social Sparring
Date of Scene:	17 November 2017
Location:	Triskelion, New York City
Synopsis:	Hawkeye and Skye spar with Natasha looking on. An unexpected visitor in the form of Deadpool turns the bout into something much more serious.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Quake, Black Widow (Romanoff), Deadpool

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Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The last few days had been blissfully work free, but Clint was now back in the Trisk doing the SHIELD thing. That didn't mean he didn't have time for some fun, in this case a bit of recreational sparring down in the gym. He sent quick texts to Nat and Skye to invite them as well as a couple other agents before he did a little pregame warm up in his tanktop and track pants, stretching, working a few of the training bags, that sort of thing while he waits to see who shows.

Quake has posed:
Meanwhile... Skye's days weren't work free per se, though she did have a lot of 'free' time. Free only in the sense that she had the mission to work on. And while she wasn't camped out in the break room chain-coding strings, drinking cold coffee, eating candy bars, and snarling at the other agents who came to use the break room, she had been revisiting her work. All the while cursing just a bit as she was finding that the break away from the endless strings of code /was/ actually helping her.

She'd already tightened up two sections. Sections she wanted to run by Nat before the big day, but that could be done remotely if need be. Skye still wasn't sure of her footing (if any) with the senior agent, and given her current status with Barton, she'd been walking a wide path around any new upsets.

The text, when it came, got a smirk.

<<Right. You just want to toss my sweet little ass around on the mats. Perv. Remember what happened last time..>>

She didn't use any emoticons, but she figured he'd laugh when he got it. And she had full intention of showing up.

Dressed in workout clothes, Skye made her way to the gym.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Nat arrives almost immediatetely after only she isn't dressed for sparring. In fact, she's wearing jeans, a nice blouse and her usual lightweight leather jacket over the top. "I don't have the time to play but figured I'd come tell you in person. I can at least watch a few minutes." She tucks her hans in the pockets of her jacket, giving an apologetic shrug. "If you two don't mind an audience, that is?" She looks from one of them to the other, not wanting to intrude if the young woman would like to get her ass beat privately instead of in front of witnesses. Unless Clint's nice. It could happen, considering the feeling she's gettng about the pair.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The buzzing of Clint's phone pauses his working the speed bag, to truck back to the bench and check it. He snorts, picking up the phone to tap out << No beer this time. We're good. >> He sets it down and goes back to work until the ladies appear. Both get a grin and a nod, but seeing Nat's get up he can't help but say, "Hot date tonight? Or are you just going to see if you can kick my butt and not mess up the outfit?" Even odds she could too. "Make it fair and take us both on?" he continues with a grin thrown Skye's way.

Quake has posed:
Skye had stopped outside the gym to answer that one.

<<ha ha. I could bring some if you want. Not like anyone wants to drink the stuff. Let me know. Figure you should have a fair advantage.>>

She leaves what she thinks will be enough time for him to get it before waltzing into the gym and making her way over to the matted area. There's a nod for Nat, Skye looking between her and Clint when the other says she's only come for a few, and did they mind an audience.

She shrugs after a moment, "I guess not?" After all, it was a public place. Really, if they'd wanted more private, they could have booked a space, or something else. Clint gets a grin, and a chin nod. "I'll go easy on you." Even though she knows full well it's going to be her dusting her butt off and getting up more often than not. She's good with that, though.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Smirking, Clint shakes his head, "Don't mind at all," he says about the audience.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"We already know I can kick your butt without messing up the outfit or my hair," Natasha returns as she finds a bench along the edge of the mats. She settles down, hands still in her pockets. There is a bit of s smirk on her face as she gives a little shrug. "I'll just be the peanut gallery. Throw in comments. Insult your choice of attire. If I had a sign, I'd hold it up like they do for the camera at the professional matches but you'll have to imagine that part."
    She gives Skye a brief nod as well then settles in to observe.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
<< Beer after. You'll need it to drown your sorrows >> Clint types back, grinning.

Clint chuckles at Nat's reply, "SOP then. Gotcha," he says with a grin. "Still didn't answer about the date though," he teases as he heads to the mats, on the way he picks up the safety gear, tossing a set he eyeballed to be about Skye's size to the hacker with a quick, "Hey, Keyboard, head's up," before he pulls his own set, helmet, gloves etc, and steps onto the mats.

Quake has posed:
His reply was seen, but not answered before entering the gym. It did leave her smirking, though. And more so when Nat lets loose with some well placed burns. "Oooo, imagine if she didn't like you. You sure you two don't need a room?" Totally joining in on the teasing, not only because she can, but because she's Skye, and well.. it's kind of what she does in place of being serious.

Good thing her reflexes are decent. The tossed gear is grabbed (rather thann what she might have done in a previous life, like duck out of the way).

"Keyboard? That's what you came up with? You have a whole week and Keyboard is the best you can do? Oh, you are so getting demoted back to asshole, Hotshot. I might not even show you the other surprise I have for you at this rate."

Still, she seems pleased enough by the nick, and pulls her gear on. "Any bets on this one?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Twenty bucks on Skye," Natasha says immediately even though she knows the question wasn't aimed her way. Seems there is something personal going on there. "Although I know that Clint can kick your ass," she says, knowing that when she and Clint spar a lot of the other agents come place bets because of how the bouts usually go. "But I have the feeilng you cheat," she adds looking at Skye with a bit of a smirk. "Which I approve of when it comes to fighting."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint snorts, "A room? She wishes," he teases the both of them as he puts bumps his gloves together, grinning. "And hey, I worked hard on Keyboard," he grouses as waits for Skye on the mat.

That grin stays in place as Nat and Skye joke, mostly at his expense, "See look at this, I brought you two together," he says before adding. "Good eye, Nat, she totally cheats," he says before considering a bet of his own. "Nah, I'll go easy on this time, Keyboard."

Quake has posed:
"I do not cheat," Skye lies. Because she totally will if the opportunity comes up. They both know he's got more skill at this than she does. All she has in her favour is she's wiry and agile. It might let her get some small advantage, but odds were, Nat was going to lose that twenty.

"You're just afraid I'll win. Nat has faith in me." Which is probably a load of bull, but hey, they're all light and airy here, and Skye can afford to be light and airy too. Besides, it might help for all she knew.

Skye joins him in the sparring area. And lets Keyboard go. They both know she kinda likes it.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint makes the blah, blah, blah gesture at Skye's argument about not being a cheater, and Nat having faith in her, all the more funny because it's done with the big boxing glove. "Sounds like something a cheater would say," comes the perhaps inevitable reply.

When Skye joins him, he holds out his gloves, "So straight up boxing or are we doing kicks and sweeps too?" he asks.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Whatever it takes to win, Skye," Natasha calls out from her spot warming the bench. "And pay attention to his left hand. He has a tendency to drop his guard just before he goes for a right cross."

Quake has posed:
Skye laughs outright when he does the blah-blah. "Oooo, someone thinks they're smart, huh? Is that some kind of deaf joke, hotshot?"

She nods to Nat's advice. "Got it. Left hand drops. Right cross."

There's a smirk. "Enh, let's make it interesting, sweeps and kicks too. I have a few short person moves I haven't used on you yet. This could be interesting now that I know your weakness. Course, you could just give me twenty bucks and save face in front of Nat. Because I have full permission to take you down any way I can.."

While she talks, she warms up, doing arm swings, and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint points a glove at Nat. "Cheaters. Cheaters everywhere," he says before looking back to Skye and saying, "She's totally joking, my technique? Flawless," he assures her as he takes a fighting stance. Though really, he's working over that point in his head, -did- he drop his guard. He'd have to watch for that.

He shakes off those thoughts to bounce in place, when Skye, says sweeps and kicks are okay, he nods, "Great."

Then he sweeps her legs.

"Told you, cheaters everywhere," he says bouncing back away from Skye with a shit eating grin on his face.

Quake has posed:
*THUD* Yeah, that sound you hear would be Skye hitting the mat with the unexpected sweep taking her off-guard.

"Oh.. bastard.." She's smiling still, so it's probably still alright. "Nice move. Didn't even telescope that one too much."

She does a simple backwards roll, pushing up with her hands at the last moment to come up not on her knees, but in a low-lying crouch while she considers her next move.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Thanks, it's one of her's," Clint says about that sweep nodding to Nat. He learned a lot over the years being thrown around by Nat. Though when Skye vaults back to her feet into that crouch he nods approvingly. "Guess I'm not the only one with moves," he says before he extends a hand and beckons all Matrix style.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Natasha climbs to her feet, starting to prowl around the edge of the matted area to watch what they are doing. In the process, she's working her way toward the door. At that twitch of the fingers, she giggles softly and shakes her head.

Quake has posed:
Skye nods to the Matrix move, "Oh, like that's going to save you. I saw the movie, Hotshot, and you're looking at a world-class hacker.. not going to work."

Totally using the time to move about the mat, her low crouch replaced with a firmer stance, still low, as she grapevines around, forcing Clint to follow her. Making him take the first moves. And now, because she knows it's coming, she's watching his face as much as anything else. That much she remembers: Faces give a lot away. And most everyone looks the direction they're about to move, especially when fighting.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint does follow, moving cautiously and when he gets close, he tests Skye's defenses with a few probing jabs. His eyes do give away, where those jabs are going to, but the question is, is that on purpose or not.

Regardless his eyes dip slightly before he throws a kick out aimed at her middle.

Deadpool has posed:
Whatever had been going around, is suddenly interrupted by the shimmering light of a teleporter. Of course, it will send alarm bells going in the Triskelion. The abrupt change is mass is easy enough to detect. The extra heat signature is easy to detect. Whoever's coming might be able to get in, but they won't be alone for long. Could it be an invasion of the Body Snatchers, or maybe it's the Internal Revenue Service? Either one would have been a good guess, but no, today, it's none other than the Merc with a Mouth: Deadpool.

Dressed in a J.J. Abrams era Starfleet Uniform, command division, Deadpool held out a mobile phone that was shaped like a Star Trek communicator. It's actually a Bluetooth speaker and handset, connected to his actual phone, but it has real sound effects. He opens it up, with that distinct sound, "Captain's log, I have beamed into the Gymnasium. There seems to be some old style co-ed Greco-Roman wrestling going on, sans mud this time. I will attempt to make contact with the native life forms." He was doing his best William Shatner impression as he spoke, and was dressed rather convincingly. If not for the mask over his head, or the red gloves on his hands, he'd look right out of a movie.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
With the sound of the arrival, Natasha can't help but smile. A real smile, not the one she usually pastes on or uses as a skill. This is real and true as there is only one person she knows who would have the teleporter sound going. She turns to the noise and has to blink a moment when she sees what he's wearing this time. The man has an enormous closet so it's always as much a surprise to her as anyone else around.

"Sans mud this time?" She looks over at Clint then Skye. "What do you do when I'm not around here?" She shakes her head then walks over toward Deadpool.

"I thought we were going to meet outside," she murmurs as she reaches up and taps her ear. More precisely, the commlink positioned there. "Stand down. I am with the target and everything is fine." A moment later. "No, I don't need a squad. I'll fill out a report later. Stand down." Then she looks up a the Merc and smiles, reaching out a hand to rest on his arm for a moment. "At least your on time." She glances over at Clint. "To answer your earlier question, yes. I have a date."

Quake has posed:
Perfect timing! Or really bad timing. It all depends on who you are in this scenario. Clint's jabs are blocked, easily enough, not just because he's giving her plent of fair warning where and when they're coming.

That leg sweep? She was hoping for that. Boy likes his moves..

Skye grabs his foot where it comes at her, pushing hard both back and upwards, aiming to Set Clint off balance, and, in a move that should make Nat proud of her, she doesn't stop there, using her shorter height to her advantage, Skye ducks under any return Clint might have, and does a sweep of her own at his remaining leg.

And that's where the very loud arrival comes in. With luck, Clint will be thrown off his game enough he'll be kisssing the mat. If not, Skye's got another move in that bag of tricks. It's just.. you know, up there on the scale of one to "Cheating!".

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"What the shit?!" Clint shouts in surprise as the teleporter lights up the gym. His head wrenches back to look what's coming. Hydra? AIM? The Brood? No it's fucking Deadpool. That sweep he'd been doing? Forgotten about, until his leg is grabbed and his other foot is sweeped out from under him. He hits the matt with a thud.

He comes up quickly, in time to see Nat's face light up and for a moment there is a slightly bittersweet smile on his face which he quickly stows away. Putting his hand into a T to call time out.

Coming up to Skye, he hip checks her lightly. "Man when you cheat, you cheat," he says nodding to Wade as though she had arranged it all.

"I see that," he says about the date. "Though I thought Kirk only dated green girls," he says with a grin thrown in Wade's direction.

Deadpool has posed:
To the looks he's almost certain to garner at Natasha's approach, Deadpool explains, "it's take your merc to work day, didn't you know?" He leans in and gives her a kiss, through his mask, on the cheek, "oh, these two lovebirds, they get up to all kinds of stuff. Especially him," and he gestures to Clint. "He even makes me blush." Just what did he have on Hawkeye? If anything, it was probably all lies, but who can say? Deadpool wasn't exactly forthcoming on it.

"Sweep the leg? She actually swept the leg!" Deadpool was enthusiastically clapping his hands together, "Oh, I love the Karate Kid. Not the reboot, but the original one, about Johnny Lawrence and his battles with the evil Daniel LaRusso." Yes, Deadpool ascribed to the theory that Johnny was the hero of the original Karate Kid, and not Daniel. "I knew I should have come in my Cobra Kai gi. Stupid Deadpool. I just had to go for Kirk."

"Clinton Francis Barton, watch your language. What do you think this is, an R rated film?" He asided to Natasha, loud enough that everyone could hear, but he raised a hand, "I use the full name to make sure he knows I mean business." And then calling out again, he added, "Hey, Skye won that fight fair and square. I saw it all from here... or at least the last 30 seconds of it, but that was totally the thirty seconds that counted, and I'm not like, you know, one of those dads who just shows up for the end of the soccer game."

and as for the green girls, "actually, Kirk dated... anything in a skirt. It was really weird when the guys started wearing skirts in Next Gen." Yeah, awkward.

Quake has posed:
Annnnd... it worked, the fight being declared won - which was an unexpected victory on many fronts. Mostly because she'd really figured they'd completed round one. Not to mention she wasn't really sure any of that was cheating. He'd swept her legs first!!

Skye's got a moment to take a breather, now. And since the alarms have stopped going off, she's even had a chance to register.. if not a name, at least a face(?) to go with Nat's date. Oh, there was a tidbit to file away. Especially when said date introduces himself.

"Hear that, Hotshot, I win, and you owe a dollar to the swear jar."

Like she's not Miss Potty Mouth on a regular basis.

That little look of Clint's also noted, leaving her pressing her lips together thoughtfully.

"It's true," she adds to Deadpool's assessment, "All it required was tits and ass and he was on it."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
There is a faint laugh from Natasha before she manages to stop herself. The kiss on the cheek was accepted gracefully although she would've preferred without the mask. In front of others though, he won't be comfortable. She understands and accepts that fact. With each comment, she is reminded exactly why she is with Deadpool. To say he is unique is an understatement. His humor appeals to her and there is so much more to him that others never get to learn.

"You also owe me twenty bucks, Clint," she adds although technically, he knocked Skye down first. Cheating is cheating. He owes the money. Even if he'd wiped the floor with Skye, she'd have come up with a reason. "I'm ready when...."

She pauses and taps at her commlink again. "No, I am with...I'll be there in a second." She looks to them apologetically. "I need to go and explain in sign language, charades and English that there is no danger with the intruder." She gives Wade a squeeze on the arm. "Play nice, baby." Then she's heading for the door to head off the security squad on the way to the gym.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint blinks when Wade starts talking about what he and Skye get up to, but recovers, quickly, "Only blushing? Must not have seen all of it," he counters, grinning.

The rest of Deadpool's normal chatter washes over him in a bit of a blur before he catches the bit about Kirk, "Fair point," he says before adding to Nat. "And sure, I'll owe you," he says about the bet, before he shoots her a smirk and mouths 'baby?' suppressing a chuckle.

Skye's remark about the swear jar, earns her a grin, "Pot kettle, black, there Keyboard."

Deadpool has posed:
"I gotta commend Francis," oh, like Wade wasn't going to use that name if he could, "for holding out as long as he did. Most guys would succumb to one or the other," referring to what Skye said her victory required. Of course, he was likely to get an elbow in the side from Natasha for that one.

"You'd best pay the lady, Francis," he added, "she hits hard." And he would have said that even if she hadn't judge 'nudged' him in the side. At the beeping of her commlink, Deadpool offers, "Si vous voulez que je leur explique en francais, je serais heureux de cheri," or 'if you'd like me to explain it to them in French, I'd be happy to darling.' Which was impressive, given that he didn't speak French. He only claimed he could speak French, so that was probably the most he knew of the language. Either that, or he lied on his sheet. "Don't I always?" He asked about the playing nice, then he thought, "don't answer that. I will. I will. I promise. Scouts honour." Yeah, like he was a boy scout.

"Nah, I just manage the stream onto the internet. I barely ever watch the dirty stuff," Wade replies to Clint without missing a beat. Yeah, getting into a war of words with Deadpool was like invading Russia during rasputitsa, or the mud season. In Russia, mud is a season of the year. Maybe that's why he liked Natasha so much? He did mention a fondness for wrestling in it.

Quake has posed:
Clint earns himself a return hipcheck over the comment to Deadpool. "Don't encourage him. I don't want to be sweeping my suite for bugs after this because you gave him ideas." Skye laughs, though.

Of course, once Deadpool gets his retort in, she's choking back a laugh, her cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink, even though she'd really rather they didn't, thank-you very much, and the fact that she really wasn't one prone ot blushing at all.

"I think I liked it better when we were talking about mud-wrestling. And no, before anyone gets any smart ideas, we are not mud-wrestling. At least not without a six figure contract and a promotional tour."

Wade might only be joking, but man, he hit a few nails on the head there with regards to Clint and Skye, or at least all indicators (read: her blush) would seem to suggest.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint flinches, "Don't call me Francis there, Tiberius," he says riffing on the costume. Though his verbal offensive pauses when Deadpool hits kinda scary close to the mark. He glances at Skye and back to Deadpool. "You better be joking," he says to the Merc. Yep, totally tipping his hand here, but with Deadpool who the hell knew what was real and what was just talk.

He deflects then, grabbing on Skye's words and rolling with it, looking to Wade. "Well he's got a teleporter and I know where Tony keeps his money, I am sure we could make it work," he teases Skye.

Nat's departure is given a nod.

Deadpool has posed:
"Tiberious? My middle name is Winston. Or at least, I think it is. There's some confusion about whether I'm Wade Winston Wilson, or if T-Ray is Wade T Tiberious? So, that's what the T stands for. Wait a minute, does that mean he's Deadpool, and I'm T-Ray? Do I now have to start wearing a Band-Aid over my nose?" Wade sounded genuinely curious and even a little excited. Of course, Francis probably just called him that because he was dressed like James Tiberius Kirk.

"Joking? Whatever would make you think that I, Wade" he mumbled the middle bit, "Wilson, would be joking? I'm always serious, most especially so when I'm being funny." Or something like that. Wait, did Natasha just give Skye and Francis babysitting duty? To Skye, he adds, "I've got the money if we can swing that promotional tour."

Quake has posed:
Skye also nods to Nat's departing.

"Oooo, Tony. That could be a problem. I owe the man lunch. Or a thousand dollars. One or the other. It's a long story.. I"ll explain later." But she mouths at Clint, *Francis?*

She shakes her head. "Uh... I've got nothing."

Reaching out, she bops Clint on the arm with a gloved fist. "Tag."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"What? Do I even want to know what the thousand dollars is for?" Clint asks Skye before he looks at Wade as he pulls off the boxing gloves. "Uh, you and me both," he says before wrinkling his nose at the tag. As for Francis , he mouths back to Skye. "Later." God he hated that name.

"So Wade, we're a little lost, want to hit us with a little exposition there?" he asks.

Deadpool has posed:
Wade made a move towards one of the benches, "gather round kiddies, and Uncle Wade will tell you a tale, you might even call it a fateful tale that started from a tropic port called Ha-wa-fi," he was pronouncing Hawaii as Mavis did in Hotel Transylvania. "Some have said that the first mate was a mighty sailing man, but personally, I always found him to be modest. And the captain had a reputation for being brave and sure, but that couldn't be further from the truth."

He turned the page on a book. It was meant to be a storybook, but was actually just some manual he had conveniently palmed when he sat on the bench. It had pictures of the exercises and instructions, in case anyone needed advice. "Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour. But the weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed, if not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost."

"The ship set ground on the shore of an uncharted island, about three islands east of the one from Cast Away. There was the first mate, the Captain, not that ranks held much meaning on their new island existence. One of the passengers was a millionaire, there was also a movie star, though she mustn't have been a very good one, or else she'd be a millionaire too. There was a Professor, and some girl with one of those annoying double names. Strangest of all, they named the island after the first mate. What's up with that." Yes, Francis should have been a little more precise when he asked for exposition.

Quake has posed:
Skye really has no frame of reference for this, all the while thinking, *Nat? Is dating him?* Which really should tell her there's more than the surface scratch to the man. But right this moment she's not entirely certain they didn't want security.. possibly to watlz them off, not Deadpool.

"Wow, you're really pulling out the oldies," she mutters, moving to take off her own gear now, as it seems they are well and truly done with the sparring. Short but sweet. Like her.

"Think you have to be a little more precise with the details there, Francis." Knowing full well she's going to pay for that one, and yet? Still unable to help herself.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint should have seen this one coming. Not the whole Gilligan's Island thing, that takes him to the three hour tour to get, but that Wade would ramble on about anything but what he'd meant. Also, he was right there with Skye, on that whole Nat's dating him? thing. Still by the time he catches onto what Wade is doing, he whistles the theme song as Wade talks.

When story time was over, Clint rolls his eyes, that Francis name was starting to stick. Skye was definitely going to pay. "How about you give it a try there, Daisy?" he shoots back, with a smile before doing it himself. "Meant the T-Ray thing, but it's probably not going to make much more sense, so, how are things anyhow, Wade?" he asks.

Deadpool has posed:
Wade starts to hum 'Big Stripper' by Reg Tilsley, "Na na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na" as Skye begins to take off her gear. Yeah, he wasn't going to let that one slide. "Golden oldies, you should hear me in the shower. It's like listening to 40's Junction on Sirius XM." Wait, where was he going with this? Nat was so going to hurt him if that got back to her, even if he was in that sense, harmless. He did grin at Skye starting to refer to Hawkeye as Francis. Deadpool was trying to set a trend here and it was working.

"Okay T-Ray. He's a Merc, but not with a mouth. I mean, he does have a mouth, but he's pretty quiet. Sombre even. He's sullen and foreboding. And lots of other things that would work really well as part of an opening monologue o a Peter Jackson epic film. He's a big guy, albino, red hair, wears it in a high ponytail, always has a Band-Aid over his nose. From Ohio, I think. Used to be skinnier, and had more pigment to his skin, and less Band-Aid over his nose. Could use more Cowbell if you ask me."

"But, he was married to a girl named Mercedes. I uh, kind of washed up on some riverbank, they found me, nursed me back to health, and for their trouble, I killed Mercedes. Or was I the one who was married to her, and nursing him back to help? I can never remember. It's uh, confusing. Look, if you had as many brain injuries as I've had, your memory would be a little wonky too. But the past is past, or is that prologue?"

Quake has posed:
Skye chokes back an indignant sound as Clint calls her Daisy. "Ooo, dirty pool there boy. Love you too, Francis."

And to make her point, all through a grin, she tosses one of her gloves down at Clint's feet. Suck on that. Oh, yeah, she was going to pay later, but it was going to be worth it. She had no doubt.

Deadpool gets a laughing scowl, "And screw the Patricia the Stripper scenario. You have a woman. Behave yourself." Not that she was going to tell Nat any of this. Hell, she and Nat didn't really have conversations at this point; they talked around and through other people.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint snickers when Wade starts to hum, calling to Skye, "Woo take it off," as though they didn't have enough to talk about later. He'd probably hear about that bit too. Though for his part he wasn't going to say anything about it to Nat. Deadpool was Deadpool, he figured she had to know what he was like.

The glove is picked up, and he grins, "That a challenge there, Daise?" he asks shortening the name. That mention of Wade having a woman, brings a question to mind, one he'd been curious about, "So, how did you and Nat meet?" he asks before settling in for what could be a long answer.

Deadpool has posed:
"Francis and Daisy, huh? If I get an invite to the wedding, that'll be a keeper. I'll have to bring a really nice gift, like a Keurig, or a time machine." Yeah, those two things were of equal value when it came to weddings. Then, he broke his train of thought, putting a hand up to Skye, "uh, no, I don't have a woman. Women aren't things to collect. I mean, sure, they're loads of fun at parties, but no. I like Natty and she, for reasons that elude even me, seems to like me back. She should really have a Cat scan. Is that still policy for you S.H.I.E.L.D.I.E. types? I think hers is overdue."

"Scene 266," he replied to Hawkeye, as if that would mean anything to him. "She hired me to take out some South American drug lord. He wasn't really my type, but he had such dreamy brown eyes that I figured, what the hell? Wait, you didn't hear that from me. It's a S.H.I.E.L.D. secret. You never know who's listening."

Quake has posed:
"Damn skippy women aren't a thing to collect," Skye mutters under her breath, managing a small laugh for the other. "As if. Though if it happens, you'll be the first to know. I'll be sure to send some spiffy lace-edge invitation that scatters glitter when you open it."

And anyone who knows Skye at all knows lace-edged invites, and glitter are so. not. her. style. She was a lot more the leg sweep they'd witnessed on the mats kinda girl.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The whole 'I love you, Francis,' thing had brought up some questions for Clint, but that quick, decisive 'as if' to the wedding jokes quickly put them to bed. Crisis averted. "Definitely put us down for the Keurig, time travel sucks," he says emphatically, like he'd done it. Avengers right? The invites get a snort too.

How Wade and Nat met, well that made sense. Nat tended to meet all her guys in the middle of missions. "Scene 266," Clint says nodding like he knows what that means, mostly just to mess with Skye. "Gotcha."

Deadpool has posed:
"Awe, that's all I ask. Lace and glitter, is that too much?" Yeah, Wade could be easily distracted at the best of times. And, knowing Skye as he did, which was to say not at all, it was nice that she would humour him, promising that he would be the first one to know. "It's okay to tell your parents before me, but no one else." He held up a stern finger, but smiled as he said that. How was he able to emote so much with that mask? And how did the eyes expand and contract? It was a wonderful piece of technology, however it worked. He did wink, again, how does he do that with a mask, but wink at Francis.

Quake has posed:
Skye tsks at Clint, "Hey, speak for yourself, hotshot, I kinda like the sound of that time travel thing. What do you think about pumpkin orange and deep purple for our colours, pookykins? We can even paint little bullseyes on all the tables. Just for you." She blows him a kiss.

Deadpool she shrugs at. "It's a talent. What can I say. So you met Nat on a mission, huh? So weird. She's so businesslike and.. okay, don't kill me, but she's pretty uptight to boot. Who made the first move?"

Wut? It's not like Nat was going to tell her.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint smirks when Wade winks at him, how did that work? Oh well, he was starting to like the guy, even if he still didn't see why Nat was dating him.

Clint almost can't keep a straight face at 'pookykins' but he soldiers on. "Hey, as long as there's purple in there, I'm happy, snookums," he answers back with a sickly-sweet smile. "And definitely the bullseyes, that's a deal breaker if they're out."

He shudders after that, sure his blood sugar went up with all that cutsie talk. Though who made the first move? Yeah, he's shamelessly nosy enough to want to know that, he turns to listen.

Deadpool has posed:
"She's got a point Francis. Plus, a DeLorean would really compliment the colour of your eyes, Daisy." He was nodding along, digging the orange and purple combo, and the bullseyes on the tables. Were these two even dating? He was playing matchmaker today it seemed. "She did, or I did it's I came over to look after her. She was hurt. Not as bad as the other guy, but she was nursing some injuries at home." He also came over uninvited, but he left that part out, "anyway, at one point she leaned in to give me a peck on the cheek, I guess I said something she thought was sweet or something. And I kind of turned my head at the right moment, like they do in the movies, so I guess that means both of us made the first move."

"Yeah, purple's a manly colour, the colour of royalty, and raptors, and I'm out of r-sounding things that are purple. Psylocke is too, but she's a 'p', which I guess is kind of like an 'r'. You know I used to wear purple, but after Toronto switched to red, I felt it was my civic duty to do the same. It's a good thing Drake didn't get his way, or I'd be wearing gold and black now."

Quake has posed:
Skye stops and actually rubs her temples. "Okay, first off, quit it with the Daisy, bud. You might be clinically insane, but I will hurt you for it. You're not sleeping with me, I don't have to be nice."

Clint she turns to and just shakes her head. "And you.. What is with you and the bullseyes anyway? I can live with the purple, but ixnay with the ullsyesbay dude. Might love you, but holy shit, remind me we're not getting married, because no. Just no."

Oh, but she's a crankypants. As for that 'might love you' business, who knows if that was just part of the cranky or not. At the very least she's not made deer in headlight face, so it's probably just one of those things you say.

"Surprised Nat didn't clock you for that whole kiss business," she murmurs, moving to gather up the discarded equipment and put it away.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Wait, you didn't say it was a DeLorean, I make exceptions for DeLoreans. Does it come with the yellow suits?" Clint says about the gift of a time machine. Nerd.

He glances over at Skye, checking for that whole deer in the headlights thing that wasn't there. He breathes a sigh of relief. They were definitely dating, but going beyond that, not even on the radar for the two. Still, he could see she was getting ticked, he stands up gathering his equipment too so they could make a joint exit.

"Huh," he says about that first kiss. "Glad it worked out for you buddy." He almost sounds sincere. Though he does chuck his head towards Skye. "Also, what she said." Sneaking anything in on Nat was a risk, a kiss would be near suicidal.

He puts the equipment away in the bin, and holds out his hands for Skye to toss him hers. While something may be eating at Skye, he does still joke, "See, that's what I tell people, colour of royalty," he says. He had no idea about the raptors thing (not a basketball fan) but he says, "Wait. I thought Toronto was blue and white, for like forever or something." He meant hockey, that was the only sport in Canada right? He'd seen them once at the Garden.

Deadpool has posed:
"All right, no problem, we're in a Daisy free environment, isn't that right Francis?" Daisy might not stick, but Wade was going to do his darnedest to make Francis have some staying power. "Oh, she's clocked me just, not for that. Most of the time I deserve it, sometimes not, but, when has 'the guy' ever had any say in that sort of thing, or anything, come to think of it." He asides to Francis with a whisper, "remind me why they keep us around again?"

"Awe no, that's not how it works, Mr. Happypants," Clint probably preferred when Deadpool called him Francis. "No take backs. You said you wanted a Keurig, and by Thor, you'll get a Keurig, once you make an honest woman out of Da Skye here. And how come it's honest woman? How come it's never make an honest man out of him?" His thoughts were broken by the mention of sport, "I'm more of a soccer man myself. It's the beautiful game."

Quake has posed:
"Woah," Skye holds up her hands. "Right, let's just back this up a bit. All joking aside, who says I need to be made an honest woman anyway?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Well as long as she got around to it," Clint says with a about Nat before doing the cut it out gesture when Wade brings up why do their ladies keep them around. At this point Skye might be wondering that very thing. Equipment put away, he leans against the bin. "Not me. What we've got works," he says, unable to believe he's having this talk with Wade in the room.

Deadpool has posed:
"Right-o. Dishonest is a perfectly legitimate life choice. I mean, isn't that what half of S.H.I.E.L.D. is? Personally, I prefer to be an upstanding member of the community." He actually got that out with a straight face. Hand over his heart, he said, "I work for Alpha Flight. Ooh, that reminds me. I gotta report on the super secret free weights you guys have developed. Can't leave those vulnerable state secrets go to waste." He was risky, very risky, to joke like that around here while he was technically an intruder. "If it looks silly, but it works, is it still silly?" Was Wade talking about them, or himself there, but either way, it had a ring of truth. "And kiddies, it's been fun, but my Deadpool-sense is tingling." He popped out his Star Trek communicator, which was actually just a bluetooth receiver connected to his phone. He got reception in here? Impressive. "Kirk to Enterprise, one to beam up." And with that, he gave a flick of something on his belt and began to dematerialise. Impressively, it even emitted the sound of a Star Trek transporter. As quickly as he had come into their lives, he was gone. Never to return, or at least until his next guest appearance.

Deadpool has posed:
When the light was gone, where Wade had stood, there was a simple Samsung tablet. A fairly ordinary thing, it was currently turned off.

Quake has posed:
Skye had forgotten for a moment that Wade was technically still an intruder, and that technically she and Clint couldn't /actually/ leave. She'd actually been *this* close to storming her way out of the gym.

Clint gets something of a glare, then, because she really /can't/ just go storming off. And really, she's not angry with him. She's not exactly sure what she's angry about..

Then Wade is gone. Which is either a really good thing, or a VERY bad thing, depending on how you looked at it. They might have paperwork to do over this one later, depending on how Nat managed to get the whole matter dealt with.

She's still miffed, when she turns to Clint, "And you, just what's with the Not me business? Seriously. Great, you don't want to marry me. I don't want to marry you. But did you have to jump on it like that? Like someone had suggested you cut off your left nut and eat it barbecued? Wow. Just wow, hotshot. Timing."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint watches Wade go, imagining the chewing out Nat was going to get from Fury about him popping in here like that. And what was the deal with this tablet. He picks up the tablet and turns it on, but when Skye speaks, he's suddenly not so worried about the chewing out /Nat/ was going to get. He had his own problems, tablet in hand he turns, "What? If you don't want to marry you, what's the problem? You were pissed that Wade was talking about making an honest women of you, and I said that wasn't what I was looking for."

Deadpool has posed:
The tablet seems to have been set to play something once it's turned on. It's a video from a grass stadium. It was taken from the field, and is focusing on the fans, who are by and large wearing red, white, or black, many with Canadian images, or slogans. A few are waving flags, Canadian flags, provincial flags, and a few that aren't so easily recognised. By and large, the people are standing and singing their hearts out. They're singing a song to the tune of When Johnny Comes Marching Home, or the more widely known, When The Ants Go Marching One By One, "Remember the war of 1812, you lost! You lost! Remember the war of 1812, you lost! You lost! You tried to invade, we shut you down, we burned your White House to the ground, we are Can-a-da, obey the rules!" There was some humming, and then they went into the song, again, and again, and again. It just kept playing. If Clint and Skye let it, the video would play for a full ten minutes. It seems to have been from the 2023 Women's World Cup, when Canada beat the United States in the final.

Quake has posed:
Skye is absolutely silent, a thing helped by the somewhat surprising (and shocking!) play from the tablet. Really, all things considered, protocol and all, Clint shouldn't have turned the damned thing on.. but he had.. and the video suffices as reason enough to be silent while she gathers her thoughts.

"Give me that thing," she scolds. "And what's wrong? What's wrong? Fuck, hotshot, I get we're not headed in that direction and all, but you didn't need to make it sound so.. Geez."

Still waiting for the tablet, she snaps, "Oh my god, would you turn that off already. Look, whatever. Fine. No purple bullseyes or glitter in our future, but damn, what if I'd wanted to, huh?"

She sighs. It's not even an argument they should be having considering she was firmly in the no marriage camp herself. "I am so making you write the report for this one up."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Yep, he really shouldn't have, but then much like how they were all ready to leave Wade alone in the Triskelion, he hadn't thought of it at the time. He does try to turn it off and after a few tries it does finally go off, ending the music and video.

"Fuck no," Clint says about writing the report. "I'm sending this up to Nat. She's dating the guy, she writes on his visit," he says.

He lets out a long sigh, "Are you sure you don't want it? I mean you're getting pretty mad at me for agreeing with you for someone who doesn't. And why did I say it like that? Because you seemed pretty upset about the whole idea and I didn't want you to think anybody but Wade was pushing the idea."

Quake has posed:
Skye arches a brow at him, "You're the one turned the tablet on. And you can tell her it's her report. She hates me enough as it is. I am not being responsible for that bit of news hitting her desk."

The tablet is shut off. Really she should check it out, but right this second she didn't care so much. That and she could check it out shortly enough. She'd at least better do that before they passed the buck so to speak.

"Am I sure what? About marriage? Fucked if I know. Dammit, hotshot, this should have been a conversation we had, not one we got shoved into. I don't know."

She gives him a helpless look. "We don't even know what we are yet. It's not like we can even say we like one another without throwing the other person to the ground and cashing in on a bet. I don't know anybody marriage ever worked for. Not even you. You did it, you tell me. Just.." Again she shrugs. "Dammit. I'm not mad at you. Mostly not mad at you. Fine, kind of not mad at you. It was just you made it seem like why would you want to marry someone like me. Think it stung some." Which might explain a lot: girl had insecurities about fitting in. He'd managed to stomp on one of them very inadvertantly.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"It'll be /fine/," Clint says about the tablet. She did have a point though and damn it he was going to write on it too. She'd likely end up the one who got assigned to make sure it didn't infect SHIELD systems or make all the taps run maple syrup or something, but damned if he was going to mention it now.

"Right, we were pushed into it but not by me so I don't know why you're mad." Then she tells him.

"Listen Skye, I don't know what you want from me, yes, all that's true, but I thought we were good with it, happy we weren't like normal people and our relationship happened like it did. If not, just tell me." He takes a breath, listening to the level of mad she is at him shift. It was almost adorable. "I don't know any marriages that've worked either, but when it comes to people like you, your the only person I'd even consider going through it with. So, I hope that helps." He was still mad, mostly because she'd been so mad at him, he felt like he owed her.

Quake has posed:
"Sure it will be fine," Skye mutters, working on disabling the tablet. "You're not the one who'll hear about it if it isn't fine. Someone comes in with some whackadoo bow, they'll call you. This? This will be shoved onto my desk and I'll be told to fix it."

Which is true, except for the desk part. She doesn't have a desk.

"Why am I mad?" Skye repeats, the tablet now a dead thing in her hands. She looks up at him. "I was mad." Was. Not 'am'. "I don't want anything from you. Just.. honesty. And yeah, I know. Skye wants honesty, and yells at him because he gives it. I get the irony. I didn't expect it to make me upset either. Fuck, you know me, what about me screams picket fences? I guess it's just different hearing it. Can we not argue about this?"

His peace offering gets a wry grin. "Oh, wonderful. If the mood ever strikes you, I'll be the first to know, huh?" Which makes her laugh, shaking her head slowly. "How be I just buy you a fucking Kuerig and we go back to us? I mean, it's not like we need to worry about this shit, do we? Thought we said we weren't running. Not going anywhere, hotshot. Not ready to by a longshot."

Tablet in one hand she moves to tiptoe up to him, offerinng her lips for a kiss, having, as usual, to balance herself by holding onto the front of his shirt. "We good again?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint doesn't argue over the tablet. Too many other topics to do that about.

"Yeah, that's sort of the irony I'm chewing on here," Clint says a little darkly. "I was being honest, hell I was trying to spare your feelings, and well," he spreads his hands. "Look how that turned out, fan-fucking-tastically."

Things don't get much better when she takes his comments and laughs, it's not what she meant, but like his own comments that kicked all of this off it's how he took them that makes the difference. "You /know/ that's not what I meant," he turns exhaling, running hand roughly through his hair. On some level he knew he was mad at her for doing exactly this, but he was too pissed to stop himself right now.

When she comes to him for that kiss, he turns his head. "Not tonight we're not. I'm going to need some space."

Quake has posed:
They could sell tickets on the fact that she doesn't blow up back at him - because that's exactly how Skye normally reacts. Anything that even remotely comes close to her gets the hand grenade treatment. *BOOM* Burning bridges with prejudice. And usually she didn't look back when she did it, either.

So it was a measure of something that she didn't do so now. And when he's *angry*, so angry over her laughing his comment off, she knows she's stepped in it. One of those errant landmines they thought they'd cleared from their field. Just a reminder of how far they still had to go..

"Okay.. And I just did what you did. Wow. I suck. Fuck, hotshot, I thought it was.. Damn. No, just sorry. Not even gonna try to explain it away. Totally just shot you down because I was so stupid I didn't see it."

Her lips twist over something that is neither amused, not wry. "So..If I ask what space looks like, you too angry to tell me? I don't do this, Clint. Told you what I was good at. Didn't expect I'd be the one waiting for you to not run away."

Because she's not sure if that's not exactly what she's looking at.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint hears what she's saying, it reaches him, but he's still mad but the underlying hurt was less. He closes his eyes at her question. "I'm not running," Clint says through gritted teeth. "I just need a night, get my head clear, then we can talk. Alright? Can we do that?"

Quake has posed:
Skye's fingers pat his chest where she'd been holding his shirt, the woman taking a slow breath, and exhaling equally slowly. "Sure. We can do that," she says softly. "Not going anywhere either. Already told you, if I was gonna run, I shoulda done it before you made me cry." And she'd been very good at running in the past.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
That she wasn't going to run was a welcome relief. It had crossed his mind that had he left, he wouldn't find her when he returned. It was a weight off his shoulders. The crying remark, is understood as well. He lets out a sigh. "Tomorrow? Breakfast here, at the Trisk?" he asks, giving them something established, a plan. "Nineish?"

Quake has posed:
His relief is a palpably read thing, and it gives her a space to breathe in as well. Skye gives him a helpless little look as she agrees to breakfast. "Nineish.. is.."

She almost tossed out another joke. Something about how anything before the crack of noon was too early. Or how cruel it was to make her get out of bed that early. Or even 'The Trisk? Have you eaten their food? How is that breakfast?' only there's that look on his face and for the first time she's really not certain if how they played this game before is how they play it now. Or maybe this here, this place where they'd met and taken what the other had given, using it to cover the cracks and bruises of their pasts and find something stronger with in - maybe this was the beautiful of them coming together. The gold in their cracks. How they gave one another.

It certainly was the most honest they'd been with one another outside of the joking; outside of the silent language they spoke in glances without words; the way they buried things they could not say in touches and kisses. Suddenly, they'd been given words...

That neither of them were running told her it would be okay. That she could trust this thing. It was.. different. Strokes of black ink, wet and shining on paperwhite parchment.

Again, she presses her lips together, watching him. "This would be a lot easier if I could say it all the way we always do." And she leaves it like that.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
There was a raising of Clint's hackles when he thinks the joke is coming but when he doesn't he exhales letting it go. They were learning. Growing. Another breath follows the first and when Skye says that final remark. He closes his eyes, his mouth becomes a thin line of frustration.

Another line, like the first, is drawn, and with a steadier hand and as always, linked to the ones Skye had made.

He lets out a third breath. "Fuck, I hate you sometimes, Keyboard," he says on the exhale as he offers her his hand.

Quake has posed:
From a distance, the lines are a map. Just the outline for now. A coast beginning to take shape. An inlet here. A penninsula there. You can already see where the rivers will run. How mountains will play across the landscape...

But for now, all it seems are lines on a paper. Wet, and drying. Each of their hands placing a stroke in turn, trusting that what the other had wrough will be enough. Will do no harm. Each taking care not to smudge what the other had lain down..

She waits. Just because she knows they will be okay does not mean she doesn't hold her breath. Or that she doesn't look for the minutest of signs that yes, she's not stepped in it. That, yes, she's understood, maybe, how this is. How they are.. And when he takes those long breaths, each exhale slow and distinct, pauses between each where she's not sure what it is he is holding back.. Pauses that make her uncertain again, after having given the only thing she knew in hopes of making it, if not better, at least not hurt so much. Given what she'd hoped would soothe what she could not erase..

His words and the offered hand a confusion. A bright, hopeful confusion in a sea of things that were ever more confusing to her than what they were navigating right here. And then it was there, the perfect moment. A moment of clarity. Ease..

Her hand taking his, as she nods telling him with words that bear no trace of humour or hiding. No deflection or shadow: "I know. I love you too."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
There it was, those words. The one they'd wrestled with and fought and this is how it comes out? He almost laughs, but holds it in, keeping their fragile détente in place. He breathes out again sharply, his shoulder rock with a single beat of silent laughter as smiles. "I know," he says, tired but content.

More lines take shape roughing out more of the landscape that lays between them.

He squeezes, her hand and says, "C'mon, let's go."