7667/Tacoless Tuesday

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Tacoless Tuesday
Date of Scene: 29 May 2019
Location: Josie's Bar, Clinton
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Winter Soldier, Hawkeye (Bishop), Karen Page




Winter Soldier has posed:
It's been a rough few weeks - Peggy's appearance has disturbed a lot of things Buck thought comfortably settled. Like stirring up the muck at the bottom of a pond. So tonight, he's taken off on his own, to drink at Josie's. Sometimes you wanna be where no one knows your name, right? Lili's at the foot of his stool, cheerfully mumbling a chewbone, as he nurses a drink and stares rather vacantly at the bottles ranked behind the bar.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate, meanwhile, has been basking in the fact that for once the end of the month was rolling around and she wan't going to have to go begging her father for an advance. Twenty bucks in her pocket, and another thirty-four in the bank, if she could make it till Friday - payday - she was golden. Mind you, once the prepaid months of rent on Clint's former lease were up, it was back to the old song and dance with Daddy, but tonight, Kate was going to celebrate.

Only, not with tacos. Josie's didn't do tacos.

She enters the bar and grabs a seat before looking to see what company there is. Likely not the brightest move for a PI cum vigilante, but it's Josie's right? What trouble can she get into there? (Famous Last Words, btw)

Too late, she sees she's parked butt right next to Bucky, and his dog. Which isn't so bad, other than the fact that last time she'd seen him she'd been drunk, and Karen had thrown herself at him. And the time before then, Kate had been blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush..

"Pint, please, Josie - uh, actually, half a pitcher? And some wings, I guess."

Josie might not have tacos, but she did have cheap wings on Tuesdays, and they were usually decent.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Does he qualify as a regular yet? Getting there. The man with the dog's distinctive - Lili's his cheerful herald to the rest of humanity. She gets that profile, first, but as Kate settles down by him, he comes out of his little reverie long enough to nod to her in greeting. Lili looks up from her bone and wags her tail, cheerfully. Grim human, good-natured puppy.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
The faintest of flushes brushes along Kate's cheekbones, leaving her to give a bright, but defiant (in the face of the flush), "I'm surprised you're acknowledging me after the last couple of times we met." She grins down at Lili, "Hey puppers. How's Lucky's girlfriend today. He's going to be very disappointed in me that I was visiting and he didn't get to."

The barkeep gets a nod of thanks for the arrival of pitcher and glass of beer, and Kate settles down into something of an awkward silence, not sure if this is where she's supposed to strike up a conversation, ignore the man, or make her apologies and trundle off.

Winter Soldier has posed:
By his manner, Buck hasn't the faintest idea, either. Her reaction makes him blink. "Yeah?" he asks, bemused by it. He doesn't remember....or else he's dismissed it as something else he doesn't understand. Buck's already tapping out a cigarette from the pack; that archaic vice, done for the memory of it more than any modern effect. Nicotine's another thing that bounces off that insane metabolism. Lili warbles cheerfully in greeting. "That's right," he says. "You're Lucky's human."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"As charged," Kate agrees with a wry smirk. "Totally Lucky's human. Though he's developing a fondness for your people. You lot spoiled him, you know."

The cigarette is regarded, and Kate frowns. "We met before my party, you know. I'd have been the girl in the corner trying to dig herself a hole to die in. That and I'm not really one of them, you know? At least not formally." Pause. "It was nice of you to come to my party, but I'm guessing you didn't come because of me. Let me guess, you were looking for a place to drink and your feet brought you here?"

She shrugs, because really, this was her lot in life, right? Never a Bridesmaid; not remotely even close to a Bride.

Holding out a hand, she offers it to Bucky. "I'm Kate, by the way. Kate Bishop."

Winter Soldier has posed:
He misinterprets the gesture, proffers her the pack wordlessly, as he lights up. A battered Zippo, of course - how he hates disposable things. Flicks the lit cig neatly to the side of his mouth - clearly a life-long smoker - and then takes her hand to shake it firmly. "We did - now that you say that, I remember. Not really one of whom?" Tone polite. He neither confirms nor denies the why and wherefore of his being at the party. "James Barnes. I go by Bucky, not Jim or Jimmy or Jamie."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Gesture misinterpreted - typical for her current life - Kate rolls with the punches and takes the cigarette, leaning in to to the light, and inhaling shakily until the heater burns a brilliant scarlet. "These things suck," she says with a laugh, nearly choking on her exhale, but for some odd reason enjoying the hilarity and freedome of it all. "John would laugh."

There's a grin as she explains, "Oh, those were the Defenders. I'm.. a friend? Ally? Not sure what you'd call me. Not that it matters, we sort of decided that I wasn't the best fit."

She laughs. "So, Bucky, did you know in Scotland, Jimmy is for anyone you don't know? And I go by Kate. A few people call me Katie. Or Hawkeye."

Karen Page has posed:
The door to Josie's is unceremoniously yanked open and Karen steps inside, looking tired and frazzled and wired, all at the same time. Spotting Kate, she pauses at the bar to order a drink and shed the light windbreaker she's wearing over her work clothes before taking her tumbler of whiskey toward where Kate's chatting up Aragorn with his dog there by his side. Is he a regular here now?

Oh, and then Kate actually takes one of those damned cigarettes. Plunking her bag with the jacket draped over it into an empty chair at their table, she sets her drink down with a thud and very nearly sloshes it on the table, then snatches the lit cigarette out of the other woman's hand, takes a deep and clearly unbothered drag from it before flicking it into a nearby half-empty glass with the ease of practice. "Don't start that shit, Kate. It'll kill you. Hey, Mr. Nobody." And then she's claiming a seat next to the brunette.

Winter Soldier has posed:
They are genuinely awful: unfiltered Lucky Strikes. Her reaction makes his brow knit. "Why'dyou take one, if you don't smoke?" he asks her, puzzled. "Oh, right. Yeah." Apparently 'Defenders' rings a bell. "And tha's right. You train with the other Hawkeye, don't'cha?" There's that curling grin. "I did not know that. Only been to Scotland once." And left a body behind.

Then Karen's plunking down, and Kate's cigarette ends up hissing out in his drink. He blinks at it, bewildered. "Hi," he says, apparently having decided on being bemused rather than angry. Lili senses the alteration in mood and looks up in concern.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"They have some nice bars there," Kate says thoughtfully. "And a really lax age of majority policy at them." She chuckles at the memory of sneaking out while her parents slept and enjoying at least one elicit evening of fun. "And yeah. That would be me. The other Hawkeye's protege."

She sighs deeply before taking another drag on her cigarette, making a face the whole while she does. Totally attributable to how horrible the things are and not just how little practice she's had with them.

Karen's arrival gets a guilty start, cigarette halfway between her mouth and what's sufficing for an ashtray. "Uh.. Karen. Hi.. uh.. this? Oh, ha. Don't tell John?"

Karen Page has posed:
Karen breathed smoke out like a dragon when she bitched at Kate for trying the cigarette in the first place, then turns her head to clear her lungs of the rest in one deep breath away from the younger archer. Then she takes a swig of her whiskey to clear the taste from her mouth. "I will not tell John if you promise to NEVER do that again."

Then, only then, does make a face and gag slightly. "Holy shit those are nasty, Aragorn. Aren't you worried about your dog's lungs?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
Winter Soldier reaches over, drags the actual ashtray closer to him. taps ash into it. "What're you, her mom?" he asks, peering at Karen, then back at Kate. "And who's John, that he gets to have an opinion on what you do?"

The language makes him flinch a little. He may not be as overt about it as Steve, but the fact that everyone sounds like a Marine sergeant these days.... "Bucky," he corrects. "I'm Bucky."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Oh, things just got interesting there. Kate avoids making any promise in the face of impending Karen and Bucky sparks. Though even that has her sighing inwardly. And.. unable to take another drag of her horrible horrible cigarette. Karen gets a frown. "Hey. That was.. oh nevermind."

"Should have ordered a whiskey," she mutters. Then with an "oh what the hell" does exactly that.

Cigarettes and whiskey. John would be a smug bastard. Then again, when wasn't John a smug bastard.

Karen Page has posed:
FINALLY Mr. Nobody officially introduces himself. The flinch at her language is not missed, though, and she makes a mental note of it. "Good to meet you finally, Bucky. Mind if I call you Buckminster Fuller?" She then makes a face at her own horrible attempt at a joke and turns to Kate again.

"Seriously, Kate, is your life as screwball as mine's been lately, that you're resorting to picking up nasty habits to try and cope? I can almost bet you I'm worse off. And that's not even counting in my job."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Hey, she hasn't even bought me a drink yet, let alone tried to pick me up," Buck protests, though his tone is mild. "Just Bucky, please." He takes another lazy drag off his cigarette, blows smoke out of the corner of his mouth. Lili's gone back to her bone.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate flushes, "Hey! I wasn't.. that is.. omg, Karen. I thought you -"

She snaps her mouth shut and collects herself by virtue of downing her whiskey with a wince. It wasn't daddy's and it wasn't smooth.

"I'd throw my life up against yours any day, I'll have you know. And I won't even throw my father into the contest." Kate figured her father had to equal Karen's job. Heck, Kate's job had to equal Karen's job.

Bucky gets told, "Don't mind her. She meant the cigarettes. Besides, what's wrong with you, anyway?"

Karen Page has posed:
Karen hunches a bit in her seat, drinking her own whiskey much more slowly now 'cause it's really not smooth enough to slam. "We'll have to compare notes sometime, Kate." And then she turns her attention to Bucky again. "You might be an enigma wrapped in a conundrum wrapped in a beefcake, but you are NOT a nasty habit, dude. Your dog is too nice for you to be jerk material."

Winter Soldier has posed:
He opens his mouth, closes it again. There's that sense of something shuttering behind the blue eyes, an impression of distance, though he doesn't physically move away. Still sitting at the bar, raising a finger to get another drink. "She.....I didn't train her. She was given to me already trained. So don't take her as proof. And you don't really know me," he says, more quietly. "I was mostly joking, though."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Great. I'll start compiling the documents," Kate says dryly.

Bucky's reaction is noted. "Hey, I've seen a lot of your files. I could tell you stories about people I knew. Then they'd have to kill me." Funnily enough, she doesn't actually sound like she's joking. "Dogs don't care who trained them. They don't work for people they don't like. That there is one dog who loves you. You can't be all that bad. Even if it's just enough that she loves you."

She grins. "Besides, I like you. Though if you knew me better you might run. I'm kind of the harbinger of relationships."

Karen Page has posed:
Karen points at Kate. "What she said about your dog. Also, if you've met Lucky and he's not growled or hid from you? You're okay in a lot of people's books." She doesn't know Kate's dog very well, but she'd heard he'd had a tough time of it before and had earned being a bit less trusting.

Sipping at her whiskey again, she opts to not lay it on any thicker than Kate already has.

Though, Kate's mention of 'files' has her looking between the two with an expression of 'there's something I'm missing here and I want to find out what that is'. The fact that she hasn't started being nosy yet is very much unlike her.

Winter Soldier has posed:
That has him lowering his cigarette very slowly, from just on the cusp of taking a drag, as he looks at Kate. "You what?" he says, and his voice is suddenly a hair too gentle. "What about my files?" Clearly, that's touched a nerve.

Lili lets her bone drop with a clatter, and looks to each human in turn, ears pinned back.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Oh God, Katie. You really suck at being yourself with people don't you?" Kate murmurs to herself. Pretending to be someone else, or something else - Kate excelled at. Lies were her forte. Everything was a mask. Kate being Kate?

*circles the drain*

glug

glug

glug

"Yeah, about that. So, before we agreed to the deal we needed to know who you are. It was my job to find out. I used my professional perques and uh.. yeah." Kate winces and shrugs. "If it helps, we all agreed you're okay?"

Kate groans inwardly and picks up her beer, again muttering, "Right, Katie, because that's going to help. Seriously, you need to join a convent. One of those ones where you can't talk to other human beings."

Karen Page has posed:
Upon seeing Bucky's reaction, Karen looks at Kate with her eyebrows drawn together in a frown. She might HAVE to know about things, but even she knows there are times when you ASK before you dig. This guy is clearly ex-military of some sort, and it was not a walk in the park for him. "Geez, Kate. You have the WORST case of foot in mouth disease of anyone I've ever met."

Her eyes flick toward Bucky again, clearly in an apologetic manner. ... even if there's a little voice in the back of her head wanting her to go google anything she possibly can about a person named 'Bucky'. Not much to go by, but she's started with less in the past.

Winter Soldier has posed:
He remembers himself enough to pick up the cigarette again, take a careful drag, and blow a smoke ring up towards the ceiling lights. Only then does he ask, still in that just a bit too careful tone, "And what did you find?" The pale eyes fixed, uncomfortably so.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate casts Karen a pained look, "Tell me something I don't know?"

She holds out a hand to Bucky for a fresh cigarette. This one was going to need some sustenance.

"What I found out depends on how much you want other people to know," Kate says carefully. "Enough. But if the question is does it bother me, the answer is no. I mean, not really the place to discuss some of it unless we want to get a private table, but I'm here, talking to you."

Karen Page has posed:
Okay, now Kate is making her REALLY damned curious. She keeps flicking glances toward Bucky. Was he on the Navy Seals team that allegedly finally killed Osama Bin Ladin? What's this guy's backstory that Kate is talking about it like THIS? She then rather sternly reminds herself that he's earned the right to privacy, and rather pointedly sits back in her chair and sips at her tumbler of whiskey.

It's clear as day in her posture and expression. She's DYING to know what Kate knows about Bucky, and she's making a concerted effort to NOT ask.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck hesitates, worrying at his lip a little. Then he nods mutely at a private table, and picks himself up from his stool at the bar. Lili, businesslike, picks up the bone and goes trotting along with him. C'mon, kids, got important dog stuff to do.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
The decision to move to a private table is a bit of a surprise, but Kate follows along willingly. When she sits, she gets another light from Bucky, and takes another of those grimacing draws on the unfiltered Lucky.

"So, what I found." Karen is given a quick glance to, as much as to ask Bucky permission, even if he had been the one to lead them here.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen blinks in surprise as Bucky actually seems to agree to tell them something about himself, and hell no she's not skipping out on that. Scrambling out of her seat, she snatches up her bag and follows the other two.

"Seriously, Kate? I am SO tattling on you to Matt." Not that the man likely wouldn't smell the cigarettes on the archer from half a block away, but still. Appearances must be kept up.

Despite her protest at the cigarettes, she doesn't invite herself to sit again, remaining standing by the table and apparently ready to depart if Aragorn decides he doesn't want her listening in.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Winter Soldier motions peremptorily at the table. Apparently figuring that whatever Kate knows, if Karen doesn't know it, she will soon. He looks tired, already. Like it's a pre-emptive thing. "What you found," he echoes back, prompting her.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate considers the best way to tackle this, and decides on the matter of fact linear approach, starting with the things most easily found in public record. His SHIELD and army service, the basics there. Stuff you could find if you knew how to work a computer, had any sort of clue how to use a decent search engine.. and then she starts in on the more classified stuff, figuring if he'd asked, and he'd asked in that way, he wasn't asking to be spoon fed pretty results and lies. Though by the time she starts coming up on the worst of what she found, Kate stops.

"There's.. more, but I don't know if it's necessary. And all I told them was your name. Your affiliation. And that you were cleared. That in my eyes it was okay for you to know their secrets."

She'd held most of his against him knowing theirs. For herself, well, she was a public secret. Anybody could find out who Hawkeye was.

Karen Kate shrugs at, as if to say 'what? It didn't come up', not even bothering to say anything about not telling Matt. Partly because she felt she deserved it, and partly because Matt would know if she saw him at any point in the near future after this. Kate wasn't sure how long it would take for him not to know, but she was certain he'd find out all on his own, with or without Karen.

Karen Page has posed:
The more Kate explains, the higher Karen's eyebrows go, starting with the fact that the guy's not actually around her age like he looks. That's trippy enough. But the rest of it? She'd accuse Kate of ripping off some truly out-there sci-fi, but... well, she knows Matt. She knows exactly how weird the world can get. And yes, by the time Kate is done even without doing any research of her own, she can tell there's WAY more to that story.

All of that information in one big lump like that... she slams back the last of her whiskey, then again steals Kate's cigarette to take a drag off of it, but this time just hands it back. "I take back what I said when I got here. My life is boring in comparison, even with watching an angel and a pigeon argue about who's been shafted worse by getting kicked out of Heaven."

Winter Soldier has posed:
That drags Buck's attention aside like a train being derailed. "Cas talks to birds?" He says, and then repeats it, in tones of resignation. "Cas talks to birds. Of course he does. I shoulda known he was really a Disney princess." Because of course he didn't binge watch Disney's entire catalog from 1943 on.

Then he sighs, and lights another cigarette. Apparently he really is a century-old WW II vet who's Captain America's buddy and also a brainwashed assassin, the great ghost story of the Cold War. He just nods, ruefully.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate shrugs at them both. What can she say? Truth is stranger than fiction.

"You know, Karen, you can ask for one of your own." She laughs. Neither of them smoked, and yet here they were, sitting with the Winter Soldier, discussing an angel as a Disney princess, smoking and drinking like they were in some 1920's gin joint.

"Wait, who's an angel? Like an honest to God angel?" This didn't seem to be news to Bucky, which was a surprise.

Karen Page has posed:
OOH! Something Karen knows and Kate doesn't! Blowing out the smoke she'd taken from Kate, she grins particularly wickedly. "Cas. Deep scratchy voice, dresses like he's Ashtray Colombo's groupie? Never met him? Huh. You've missed out. He's /delightful/." And the way the emphasized that last word, it's likely painfully clear to Bucky that she means it very sarcastically.

"Oh, Pigeon's another angel," Karen explains to Bucky. "He claimed he didn't have a name, but his wings look like pigeon wings, so I nicknamed him that. He seems ... even more on the clueless scale than Cas, if you can imagine that."

Winter Soldier has posed:
That makes Buck laugh. Not mockingly, but in a kind of pleased disbelief. "Aw, really? He found another one? Too bad it's another boy, they could make a nest...." He's teasing. "Or hell, maybe they will. Isn't it penguins that do? Yeah. Cas is an angel, poor bastard. Stuck down here for disobeying orders."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"They're Australian. Some zoo. I mean, yeah, it was a pair of penguins."

Kate just looks between the two of them, "So there are two angels? Like honest to goodness hands folded in prayer halos and all angels? And they found one another.." And here Kate starts giggling, "And Bucky thinks they're going to make a nest like Sesame Street and have a baby. Oh god, I want to be there when someone tells Matt this."

Karen Page has posed:
Karen smiles as Bucky honestly laughs. It changes his features completely, in all the best ways, and she can't help but think the man really needs more reasons to laugh.

And then Kate starts speaking up again and Karen leans away from her with an expression of 'what the hell have you been smoking? holy crap I've been smoking it too!' on her face. "I am SO not telling Matt this."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Lili is looking up at her human in puzzlement. A glance for the other humans - no, they're no help, and the one that smells like soap and righteousness isn't here to assisst - then she looks back.

"I dunno what Sesame Street is....but....that's what I'm hearing. Two. " Buck wipes his eyes. And indeed, real laughter....it peels so many of those years off his features.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate can't help giggling, she's caught up in the moment too. "It's this kids show that used to be on. All these commercial things. I don't know that I ever saw it, but there was this huge yellow bird - no clue what species it was, but it was huge, and it had a nest.. and this grouch who lived in a garbage can and complained all the time, but really was a softie inside.. and oh! the Bird had an imaginary friend. A snufflesomething."

By now she's got tears of laughter going too.

"Matt wouldn't believe it." Not to mention he might not get the humour of this particular discussion.

Then she laughs some more. "There were these two boy puppets who lived together, too. Berp and .. /Bert/ and Ernie. Wow, I must have watched it." Kate tries explaining Bert and Ernie, but it's hard between the giggles.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen can't help but start laughing as well. "You are SO going to hell for that, Kate." Then she reaches to rummage in her bag and pull out her phone. A few seconds of tapping at her phone and she turns it to show Bucky an image of Bert and Ernie. ( hqdefault.jpg )

"A picture really doesn't convey how completely WEIRD that TV show was. Heck, still is. But then, it's always been aimed at kids, so I guess weird is okay."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Winter Soldier peers at the image. "This conversation has gotten really strange," he says, blinking. "People....is this related to the Mr. Rogers that was the guy in the sweater? People think I'm talking about him sometimes when I mean Steve,"

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate tries to think. "I think that was the one with the train. And the cat puppet. He keeps coming up in politics for some reason. And yeah, his mom made all those sweaters for him." Kate swipes at her eyes. "I have no clue what is in these cigarettes, but if this is what they always do I might consider taking up smoking for real."

She smirks at Karen, "We are /not/ telling that to Matt."

Karen Page has posed:
At Bucky's comment about Mr. Rogers, Karen stares at him wide-eyed for about 1.5 seconds before flat out cackling and typing into her phone again. When she's done, she shows whatever she's found to Kate and THEN to Bucky. ( 70b.png )

"Wait, wait," she gasps, her hand holding the phone shaking from her laughter. "Steve, like, the guy that was here at Kate's party, that I kissed on the cheek after climbing him like a jungle gym?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
It takes him a good little while to get it....then there's that almost dopey smile again. "Yeah, exactly. That's why I laugh. The guy you were cuddling up to - that was Captain America."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate nearly dies now, because Karen didn't know. "You were so drunk," she giggles. "And you kissed him like that. Oh gosh. It was.. I mean, okay at the time I thought I was going to die of embarrassment, but now it's really funny. And if you tell Matt anything, that is soooo coming out in conversation."

Karen Page has posed:
"Nuh uh," Karen protests at Kate. "I was NOT that drunk. I was too busy ragging on Ashtray Colombo. And anyway, you can't blackmail me with that, I'm gonna tell Matt myself right now! He'll understand."

Sure enough, Karen's again tapping at her phone, presumably to send a message to Matt that she'd been handsy with Captain America at Kate's party.... but that it was totally innocent handsy! And she totally thanked the guy with a kiss on the cheek.

But then, something occurs to her, and she looks at Bucky again, this time more shrewdly. "He was blocking for you at that party." She doesn't ask why, thinking it's because he's maybe got personal space ... stuff since the whole war thing. Another explanation for Lili.

Winter Soldier has posed:
He doesn't bother to deny it. "He was," Buck allows, with that little thinning of his lips. The smile gone. "He knows I....find that kinna thing difficult."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
"Karen! You can't!" Kate gasps as Karen actually starts texting Matt about groping Captain America (even if she puts it in nicer terms). When Karen has that further realization, Kate sobers too, giving Bucky a glance.

"It's okay," she tells him. "Some people don't like that sort of thing. Me? I'm thinking life is simpler if you don't. I mean, I was joking about the convent thing, but I don't know. You've got reasons. Personally I'm not thinking you're missing anything based on my experience."

Karen Page has posed:
Karen's expression softens. "I promise I won't invade your personal space again unless you ask." Yes, she had to put that qualifier in there.

And then her phone pings and she looks down at it.

<Message sent.>

"Oh, shit."

Winter Soldier has posed:
He apparently finds it better to refrain from real comment. There's only a fractional shrug from him....and a little flinch at the four-letter word.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
The ping - Kate knows that sound intimately. Then Karen swears.

"Karen..." Kate asks cautiously, "What did you do?"

In the immortal words of everyone in the Rebellion, Kate had a bad feeling about this.

Karen Page has posed:
Karen stares at her phone with wide eyes, her face gone pale except for two spots of bright red high on her cheeks. She tilts her phone for Kate to see, just confirming the obvious -- she just unintentionally sent that text to Matt. She then sets her phone face down on the table.

"I'm gonna need another drink after that." She looks over at Kate again, and this time actually wrinkles her nose at the cigarette. It's a very clear and wordless 'ew'.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Winter Soldier looks between them, puzzled. He doesn't get it, that's very clear. But he doesn't ask.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate reads the text, her eyes doing a similar wide-eyed horrified thing before she bursts out laughing again.

"Oh god, Karen. You just texted Matt that you climbed Captain America like a jungle gym. At my party. Captain America - to Matt. The man who thinks confession is a side-dish. I don't even know if his text reader is programmed to say things like this. It might implode."

When Karen says she needs another drink, Kate giggles further. "Matt might implode. Oh god. He's never going to be able to look you in the eyes again without thinking that."

Which only makes her laugh further, because Matt.. blind? Get it?

Her own cigarette is considered, Kate torn. It really was a disgusting little thing. Filthy really. But it somehow seemed to fit the night's mood, so with a shrug, she keeps it and takes another drag.

Karen Page has posed:
Glancing over at Bucky, Karen sighs and puts the sent text back on her phone's screen and hands it to him before getting up to go ask for a refill on her whiskey. It'll have to be her last, but she kind of needs it right now. And, it gets her away from that nasty cigarette for at least a couple of minutes.

Okay, no, it's not because it's nasty, it's because if she breathes any more of that shit, she'll stop in a bodega on her way home and buy a whole carton. And she quit that shit for a reason.

Winter Soldier has posed:
He accepts it, glances down at it....and that little stitch of a frown appears. "If you weren't going to send it to begin with, why'd you type it?" His tone is only mildly curious.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
There's a blink for the man. "Really? You don't get it?" Kate's head tilted to one side as she considers whether Bucky is serious or not. "People always do that. Like they're threatening to for laughs, or because it's just silly. Like if I sent this text..."

She pulls out her own phone and types in: At Josie's with hunky man and entirely too much whiskey. It could be you...

She thrusts the phone at Bucky. "See? Like I'm going to send that to John? No. Because I'm trying to avoid that mistake, and every time I drink I end up calling him or something stupid and we end up in bed together."

She swipes at her screen, thinking she's dismissing it.

"But it's fun to threaten to. Everybody does it. It's just blowing off steam. Didn't you used to do things like that? Blow off steam?"

Karen Page has posed:
Karen returns with her tumbler refilled and flumps back into her seat in time to hear Kate's question about blowing off steam. "Okay, I shouldn'a got up, now I feel kinda crappy and I don't want this anymore." She shoves her tumbler to the middle of the table and hunches forward in her seat with her arms wrapped around her waist.

"What's the question about blowing off steam for?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
Still puzzled, by the cant to the dark brows. He seems to be serious. Then he glances at that text, and one of those brows arches. "Maybe stop drinking. You might end up in bed with a better class of people?" he suggests, utterly deadpan. "And no, not like that," he adds. "I mean, blowing off steam." To Karen, he explains, "Sending that text she didn't mean to send, to blow off steam."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate gives a frown, and a distracted look at her phone before pocketing it. "Who peed in your cornflakes? And I don't. I mean, I didn't. What I mean is I was trying to loosen up and be more like other people. I had crappy luck with men before I met John. In fact, my horrible luck is WHY I met John."

She sighs, now joining the crowd of unhappy at the table, reaching for Karen's discarded drink. "Like Clint. Do you know how many years I was desperately in love with him only to have him see me like a little sister?" She shakes her head, stubbing her cigarette out. "Then doesn't he meet someone and teach her how to shoot a bow, too. And Matt - oh you'll like this. We weren't even really dating, and he still dumped me. For a dead girl. Like how bad does it have to be to be dumped for a dead girl?"

Karen Page has posed:
Still sitting hunched over, Karen is living proof how alcohol can make a person's mood swing faster than a Major League batter. She actually turns a momentary and half-hearted glare toward Kate as the younger woman starts to bemoan her love life. She could SO win the shitty one-upmanship game if she felt like it, but that would mean dredging up her younger broth--NO. Not going there. Bad brain, SHUT UP.

She turns her glare to the table, then makes a visible effort of schooling her features before she sits up straight again. "Sorry," she offers Bucky. "Just had a brief trip down Maudlinville lane, there. I'm done." She waves a hand dismissively, making every effort to cheer the room up to where it was before. "Quick, name a movie you watched recently that made NO sense to you."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Oh, I misunderstood. Sorry," Buck's voice is mild. There's that faint remoteness in his face, the answer to fluster. Kate gets a bemused look.

Then he turns that pale gaze on Karen. "Uh. I don't watch a lot of movies, these days. And honestly, a lot of what I do watch is kids' stuff. I just saw this one about a viking boy who tames a crippled dragon. Pretty cute."

It reminded him of Steve, oddly enough, not that he'd admit it. Good-hearted young man tames a vicious, feral amputee, makes it a productive part of society again.

If he ever says as much to Steven, he'll end up with a plush Toothless, the odds are good.

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate isn't a movie person. Not really - unless it has to do with archers and bows. Then she's rather all over them - so the reference is lost on her. And because she's now waltzed herself down the very self-same memory lane that got her in trouble in the first place and in this weird non-relationship with John, Kate downs the remainder of Karen's drink and tries to distract herself. Or resolve not to think about it all. Or something.

Karen Page has posed:
"How to Train Your Dragon," Karen says with the beginnings of a genuine smile. "That's a totally good movie. And really, it seems like anymore the only good movies are kids' movies. Honestly. If someone tries to get you to watch a movie that has something about a hot tub or a hangover in the name, just say no." She picks up her phone again and messes with it for a moment before putting it on the table and tapping the right-pointing white triangle in the middle. "This guy's the actor from a really super popular dragons and drama TV show that just recently ended." ( https://youtu.be/-IH3iDogzYk )

She sits back and lets the video play, nudging Kate with her elbow and nodding toward the video. Watch. It's worth it.

Winter Soldier has posed:
"I've seen some of that," Bucky says. "Game of Thrones. The dragons in that....not so cute. And it was. I'm gonna watch the other two. I like animation. I always have. That's what I wanted to do, actually, before the war. I was an art student, but I wanted to go out West, work for Disney or Warner Brothers."

Hawkeye (Bishop) has posed:
Kate still looks utterly confused - because, again, television isn't really her thing, though when she and Matt 'weren't' dating, they did watch Netficks. It beat the paparazzi to death.

The phone video is watched with some reluctance at first (how could this even be good? Some show about a dragon man??) But she finds herself smirking and then laughing despite herself. "He's cute. So's the guy. Some dragon drama on tv?"

Noooot that Kate had cable. That cost money Kate rarely had. What Kate had were bows and books.

Karen Page has posed:
"It's, yeah, Game of Thrones." Karen gestures toward Bucky's reply. "Kind of a lot of nudity and sex and serious violence, but so many people seemed hardcore hooked on the story line."

At the man's mention of having wanted to be a cartoonist, she looks honestly surprised and impressed. "No sh--fooling, really? You know, you could still do that. There are online colleges now, and you can get an animation degree or something. I'll bet if you asked really nicely too they might let you in on the GI Bill. I don't remember when that was set up, but it's basically getting help on your college expenses because you're a military veteran."