El!
El has been with the site for nearly two years now and has continued to prove her value. Currently, she is heading up our site event, Battle for Liberterram, on top of keeping up with her own personal plots.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peggy Carter!
Lux's posts are all wonderful to read. She has done a wonderful job of grasping the new universe and incorporating Peggy into it.
CHARACTER
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Peter Parker!
It's good to see Spidey back on the site. Watching him deal with the universe shift in his own snarky way has been nothing short of entertaining.
THREAD
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Eight O'Clock on the Dot!
El and Lux are making magic in this thread. Straight up fireworks, and the way they've played with drawing out the reveal is top class.
Clint shrugged a bit. "I really don't like teenagers. They all suck," he replied easily, "When I was a teenager I was scooping elephant manure for my room and board. It was good for me. Kids these days don't have that." And now he sounded like one of those grumpy old men that everyone hated. But who could blame him? Teens these days really sucked.
"Probably not," Clint replied, "He's not that sane. But I'm just saying. He's not scared of Hulk, but he seems to think you're terrifying. Probably means you're terrifying." Clint just knew he was right about that. Even he was scared of her sometimes and she loved him.
Rolling his eyes at her insistence that she could talk Fury out of his weird thing with keeping Clint on the line, he was sure to be turned away from her when he did it. Clearly they'd have to agree to disagree on that one. But Nat was now happily eating her dumpling and Clint had a game to play, so that was what he needed to focus on. Otherwise he'd embarrass himself in front of her.
With an over-the-top gasp, he placed a hand over his heart and gave Nat a scandalized look. "I would never!" he exclaimed, "And I am hurt by your thoughtless suggestion against my integrity." He couldn't hold the indignant expression for long, however, before bursting into laughter.
Starting the game up, he started scrolling through the beginner cars available and studying them. "I have an account for the bird that lives on my windowsill," he said as he made his selection, "So I guess that 'Bear' really isn't that weird."
It took all of five seconds into the first race for him to crash, the car going up in flames, and Clint sighed at himself before re-starting the race. "Just gotta get a hang of the controls," he told Nat with an embarrassed grin.
Post by Natalia Romanova on Dec 1, 2016 7:31:27 GMT
“Nobody likes teenagers,” Natalia replied, chuckling to herself. “Even teenagers don’t like teenagers.” Licking her lips, she nodded in response to Clint’s quick trip down memory lane. Her own formative years weren’t the greatest, but they were the base upon which the entirety of the person she was today had been built. With a gentle sigh, she shrugged her shoulders. “And I was training in the Red Room,” she added simply, not bothering to go into further detail as to the kinds of things all that training entailed. Clint knew her background; she was fairly certain he could put the pieces together in regards to the parts he didn’t know outright.
Natalia frowned slightly at the comparison Clint decided on in regards to her terror level. “Or he’s never gone toe to toe with the Other Guy without his precious suit,” she murmured. As the comment rolled off her tongue, she rolled her shoulders, a physical manifestation of her doubt as to Tony’s character. “He’s never had a true reason to be afraid of me. I don’t begrudge him his caution, though. The man’s been toeing the line as of late.”
Both eyes rolled at Clint’s overly-dramatic feigned offense. “I’ll show you hurt,” she grinned, reaching one hand over to jab a finger in between two of the archer’s ribs - directly into a spot she was certain he was ticklish. Over the years, she’d learned more than her fair share of information about the man perched on the couch beside her. His fighting style; his habits: eating, drinking, sleeping, clothing; his ticklish spots; and his way of thinking.
The latter had saved his life on multiple missions, and the former had saved hundreds of other lives on board the Helicarrier.
Lifting her hand, Natalia pointed towards one of the books resting on a nearby bookshelf. It was hard-bound, its title and author scrawled across the side in a font as close to cursive as possible without letting the letters truly connect. Embossed at the top of the spine was a golden bear, much like those used on coat of arms. She wasn’t entirely certain if that’s where James had got the idea for that particular account’s name, but it was a reasonably safe guess.
“Mhmm…” she mused, taking a long drink of her wine as the post-accident cinematics rolled. “I’ve got a spare controller docked near the console if, after the next go around, you figure out the issue isn’t the controls, but the controller itself,” she offered, shooting her friend a quick wink before leaning back. It wasn’t terribly often she played video games these days, but when she did deign to play online, fault of the controller itself was one of the most common excuses for loss. God forbid anyone admit they had a bad game, or that they simply weren’t very good all together.
"Did the Red Room have elephants?" Clint replied with a grin, though he already knew the answer, "Did I tell you about the time that I was scooping elephant dung and got pooped on while I was working?" That had been hilarious. "Man, Barney couldn't breathe, he was laughing so hard." It was one of those good memories that always brought a smile to his face, even with everything that had happened since.
Clint gave a shrug to her comment. "He sure does like poking the beast, though, that's for sure," he commented, referring to the multiple points in time where Tony had tried to pull Hulk out of their resident loner scientist. Tony was an odd one, that was for sure. Clint wasn't even really sure how to completely describe his friend - and they were friends, despite everything.
Jumping a little as a pointy finger jabbed him in the most ticklish spot of his ribs, he scowled over at her. "Stop that, you she-devil," he commanded, pointing in accusation. "I know where you sleep and I will cuddle you to death while you do it," he added in a threatening tone, even though the actual threat wasn't all that threatening.
Glancing at where she pointed, Clint shrugged. "I don't think your book's playing games anytime soon, though. I got the bird that lives on the window to play that pigeon-dating sim one day. Well. Not 'play' really, but participate and lend his voice." He laughed a little.
He stuck his tongue out at Nat for her comment, since he knew it was mostly sarcasm. Restarting the race, he gripped his tongue between his teeth as he concentrated on the race. This time it took half a lap before he exploded into a ball of flame and he scowled as he went to restart the race again. "I'm starting to get there. With the controls. I'll get it."
Post by Natalia Romanova on Dec 6, 2016 5:52:17 GMT
Natalia’s lips twitched, the glimmer of a smirk building upon them. “No. But then, in the Russian circus, we have bears,” she explained, a devilish grin finally taking hold of her features. Elephants were certainly larger, but unless frightened or threatened, they were mostly tame. As members of the omnivore category, bears were probably slightly more at risk of mauling a worker. Lucky for her, she’d spent her youth safely training alongside the other members of the Bolshoi learning the most effective ways to kill a man.
“I don’t believe you have…” He had. Twice. Natalia settled further into her spot on the couch, a pleasant smile falling onto her features. Just because she’d heard the story about Barney before, didn’t mean she was against hearing it again. The fact that he was able to smile about it now, especially after the way things had ended at the diner that day when she’d attempted to begin the healing process between the brothers. Clint’s words that day - Are you sure you’re not still an imposter?? - had cut her deep, but she tucked the memory away and kept all hint of the betrayal she’d felt in the moment off of her face now.
“His survival instincts are negligible at best,” she returned, shrugging her own shoulders. “I only wish he’d stop attempting to drag the Other Guy out in such highly populated areas. He needs to start thinking about more than just his childish desires, especially if he wants any of us to take him seriously as not just a living, breathing piggy bank, but as a leader of the team.” And that was putting it mildly.
Every instinct inside of Natalia urged her to continue. She’d found Clint’s weak point; now it was time to exploit it further. Her fingers stopped shortly after his initial outburst, but the grin on her face remained wide and wicked as ever. The next words out of her friend’s mouth elicited a hissed breath and a look of feigned offense. “You wouldn’t!” she exclaimed, bringing one hand up to rest at her throat in a protective fashion. Normally speaking, physical contact wasn’t something Natalia was terribly keen on. Clint had wormed his way into her bubble of safety over the years, so all in all, the threat wasn’t actually that frightening.
Still, it wasn’t something she would allow to happen. Unlike her best friend, she respected the boundaries of a relationship once she started one, and would prefer not to sleep in a man’s arms unless they belonged to Namor, no matter if sleep and cuddles were all that transpired.
“What the gaming system creators don’t know, won’t hurt them,” she suggested, offering Clint an innocent look. “Besides, I’m sure I’m not the first person to do this kind of thing, nor will I be the last.” That was the way of the world - so long as there were rules, there would be people like her who found their way around them. “Wait -- what the hell is the purpose of a pigeon dating sim?”
While Clint focused on restarting the race, Natalia turned to the coffee table near her side of the couch and plucked the book from its surface. She’d started reading it a few months back, but despite the occasional gap from her younger years, her memory was sharp; picking up right back where she left off shouldn’t be terribly hard. “Mhmm,” she murmured, her eyes skimming over the page where her makeshift bookmark - a post-it with the time, date, and location of a potential HYDRA movement - had been left. Glancing up as the sound of metal crashing into metal echoed out from the surround sound, she turned and offered Clint a grin. “Perhaps you should give that bass fishing simulator a whirl. I know it’s not pigeons, but it might be more your speed.”
“You say that like we didn’t have a bear at my circus. Which… we didn’t, actually. But we did have some lions and tigers. And briefly a baby hyena. They had a bear at one point, but it had to be put down before we joined up. Got really sick,” Clint replied, only barely stopping himself from sticking his tongue out at her. She didn’t tend to appreciate such things, because she was a boring old lady. Heh. Old. He didn’t think of her in such terms all that often, but it was true that despite looking like they were the same age, she was easily double his own.
Launching into a more extensive story about the time he got covered in elephant poo while trying to clean some up, he had a grin on his face. Despite complaints and a distinct focus on the bad that had occurred in his life in the circus, they had really been some rather good years. It had been the only time in his memory that he’d had a real family, until recently. And even then, the Avengers… well, they seemed more likely to fall apart at any moment than to form into a true family. It was nice to remember the good times when looking at an uncertain future.
“And I don’t think that Tony wants to be taken seriously. Not really,” Clint added to Nat’s statement, “I mean, yeah, he wants us to like him, but I feel like he also has some sort of complex about being wanted only for his brain. And I think poking the big guy is his way of telling Bruce he trusts him.” Tony was an odd duck, that was for sure. But occasionally he built Clint’s ridiculous arrow ideas and let him help, so that was always kinda neat.
Clint made a small crow of victory as Nat looked gracefully offended at his threat. “I would! I’d do it and worse, I’d make you like it!” he exclaimed, grinning triumphantly. This was the Nat that he knew and loved. The woman that he’d pulled out of the facade that had been all he’d known of her for their first few months. He liked this Nat. She was the one who’d wormed her way into his heart in a way that was so much more important than a romantic partner or even just a friend.
Rolling his eyes slightly at Nat’s dry suggestion, he followed it up with a grin as she asked about the game he’d played with his bird roommate. “It’s like a normal dating sim game, except all the love interests are pigeons. You build relationships with them and ultimately find true love. You know. The kind of thing I play when I’m sick and huddled under a mountain of blankets.” Among other times… but they wouldn’t discuss those.
Huffing at Nat’s almost-bored reaction to his explosive end, he did stick his tongue out at her this time. “Shuddup,” he grumbled as he started the race over again. He’d figure it out. Probably. He gave himself three more tries before switching to something else.
Post by Natalia Romanova on Jan 17, 2017 15:35:29 GMT
She was about to argue with Clint that he hadn't had bears at his circus, but lucky for him, he was already on it. Over the years, she'd learned just about everything she needed to know about his days with the circus. And all of the details he hadn't told her himself, she'd learned via other means thanks to a need to quench her thirst for information. That had been what seemed like ages ago, when she'd still been all but under the influence of her masters. SHIELD had been her new home, but old habits died hard, and in the right hands, information was a powerful weapon.
"All we had was ballerinas," she drawled almost lazily, a tiny grin dancing onto her lips. "It was a cut throat school..." Literally. She'd slit one girl's throat as the others watched on - one less ballerina vying for the lead role of Black Widow. The action had not been her original intention, but once she'd had her in the headlock with the knife to the girl's throat, Madame B had simply nodded and that was the end of it. Even now, she could still remember the way the blood felt warm on her hands, protecting them from the chill of the practice yard.
A look of curiosity tugged at her features as Clint offered his own opinion on the Avenger's resident billionaire. "He sure has a funny way of showing that," she mused, thinking back to the meeting where Steve had requested Carol be allowed to join the team on a trial basis. Tony had nearly had a conniption at not being alerted before everyone else, despite his agreement that she was worthy of the opportunity. "The man is riddled with complexes." She almost snorted as the words came tumbling out of her lips. As for his interactions with Bruce... well, it was his funeral, she supposed, if he ended up pushing the good doctor a bit too much one day.
"Good luck with that one, Barton..." she growled playfully, a wicked glint lighting up her eyes for a brief moment.
Listening to him talk about his pigeon dating game was nothing short of confusing. Did he play as a pigeon himself, or was he a human falling in love with a carrion-infested bird? At least if he was a pigeon, too, there weren't any laws being broken or social stigmas being perverted. Plus, the likelihood of them both having the diseases carried by the winged rats of the city was high, so contracting said diseases and dying wasn't a real option... "That seems... odd..." It wasn't the right word, but it was the first that came to mind.
At his immature response, she merely chuckled beneath her breath and shook her head. He wasn't hurting anyone, so she really didn't care if he continued to kill himself over and over with the racing game. The sounds of destruction were almost soothing to her ears, and the tiny grumbles of irritation that came from his lips only seemed to add to that relaxing nature. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it..." she assured him, without looking up from the page of the book she was currently reading. Another cacophony of metal meeting metal and flammable items exploding filled the living room of her apartment and she looked up to see just how mangled his vehicle was this time. "Or you won't," she smirked.
Lifting an eyebrow at Nat’s mention of ballerinas and the cutthroat nature thereof, Clint was hit with a sudden image of Nat dancing en pointe through a pool of fresh blood and shuddered. He had too active an imagination. He was sure that they didn’t dance through the blood of others during their training - though he didn’t doubt that Nat had slit a throat or two in those days. Shaking himself from those thoughts, he tried to focus on the mention of Tony instead.
Clint snorted in agreement at Nat’s assessment of their resident engineering genius. “Even moreso than me, I think,” he replied easily. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that he was free of issues himself; he’d spent most of his life decidedly ignoring them, after all. By this point they’d all stacked on top of each other to the point that he wasn’t sure he could ever dig out from under them. Not without a lot of help, at least.
The glint in Nat’s eyes only made Clint grin more, since it was confirmation that his friend was feeling more like herself around him. He was glad that the struggle seemed to be over in that respect, as there was only so much time that he could spend worrying over losing his best friend before he just gave up and became a hermit.
“Of course it’s odd. It’s a pigeon dating sim,” he replied, shooting Nat a grin, “The best pigeon is clearly Sakuya, though. He has the best tail. I have it on good authority that’s very important to pigeons when looking for mates.” He attempted to say the latter bit with a serious face, but he couldn’t manage to get through it without a grin breaking out.
Shooting another glare at Nat, he started the race again, tongue gripped between his teeth in concentration as he attempted to drive less like he was insane. Two more rounds did not give him much better results and after the next ended in him driving off a cliff, Clint huffed and went to find something else. “How hard can a fishing game be?” he asked himself, exchanging the games before returning to the couch. Stupid controllers.
Post by Natalia Romanova on Feb 26, 2017 0:56:59 GMT
"That's because you've got friends who help you," she mused, taking a swig of her drink. Clint had his issues, sure, but nobody was better at pushing people away than Tony, save perhaps herself. Although, even she wasn't so sure she was the best at that anymore. She'd ended up with considerably more friends than she ever would have dreamed back in the olden days. On top of that, she was in a steady relationship with someone - never mind that she and Namor were the only ones who even knew about it.
Despite all the turmoil that had strained their friendship over the past few months, it was surprisingly easy to fall back into habit with him. A playful growl here, a half-assed threat there. Slowly, but surely, they were reverting to their natural state. Although her natural instinct was usually to avoid such casual interactions, she felt herself finally relaxing in the archer's presence.
"On good authority, hmm? Have you added bird telepathy to your repertoire, Barton?" she grinned, one eyebrow lifting in a bemused fashion. "You know if you go around telling everyone that you play that game, I won't be able to stop everyone from calling you Bird Brain more than they already do." She wasn't sure where the nickname had come from, but she'd found herself utilizing it on occasion - only ever to his face, and usually only when he deserved it.
As he resumed attempting to get halfway through a single lap without crashing, she let her eyes drift back down to the pages of the book. Every paragraph or so, she'd lift her beverage and take a sip before resting her hand against the side of her leg again to wait. When at last, she heard Clint's huff of defeat, she looked back up and grinned. "You sit in a boat and cast a line out... I'm fairly certain half the game is sitting and waiting to get a bite. Should be more your speed," she winked.
She hadn't actually seen this game played yet, so as he loaded it up, her eyes drifted towards the television screen. There were surprisingly more options than she had anticipated. Not only could he pick his own rod, reel, and caricature (outfit included), but he got to design his boat, too. Some were smaller and slower - good for lake fishing. Others were large, sleek, and came with a variety of motors. The bigger the motor, it seemed, the further out he could go for saltwater fishing. A tiny smile rest on her lips as she watched him flip through the choices until he made his decision.
"I guess that's true," Clint replied, "I mean. I don't think that I have that many friends, but you count for at least five because you're awesome like that." She was his best friend and the only one that he really needed most of the time. After all, there wasn't anyone else that he'd rather be with in his toughest moments or his easiest moments or his best or worst. Nat was the only friend a guy like him ever really needed.
He was glad to have her back. Because finding a new best friend would be the absolute worst. "No, I don't have bird telepathy," Clint huffed, "I just read articles by scientists that study them." Because why wouldn't he? Birds were awesome. He loved knowing things about them. "And I'm fine with people calling me Bird Brain. Corvids are among the most intelligent animals in existence. But also don't tell anyone I've played a pigeon dating sim." That would be an embarrassing rumor - and there was still a rumor going around that he'd dated Phil.
Which, weird.
"I think I can manage that, right? Just to get my video game fingers back. Then I'll be better at the other games," he replied with a huff. He knew he wasn't the best at video games, but he was certainly way better than the previous half-hour had shown.
The game had a surprising amount of options and Clint spent a good bit of time designing and dressing a girl version of himself before setting up a badass boat to go fishing out in the ocean with. Then he put together a fishing rod according to the game's suggestions for sea fishing. "What do you think? Am I ready to catch awesome, giant sea-fish?" he asked Nat, turning towards her with a motion at the screen. It was her game, after all.
Post by Natalia Romanova on Mar 14, 2017 15:18:19 GMT
"Only five?" she drawled, the tease evident in both her voice and facial expression. If she was honest with herself, she wasn't even sure she could describe herself as a good friend to anyone. Clint was the exception, though. He was the one who'd forced his way under her skin all those years ago, and managed to stay there. Steve was getting awfully close, and while they'd gotten more than a little physical on that mission to Rio, they weren't physically close in their friendship on a normal basis.
She didn't bother hiding the scoff at Clint's explanation as to why he knew what he did. What was the point of having a best friend if you couldn't laugh at them, after all? "Articles... I see... And were these articles from National Geographic, or Buzzfeed?" she purred, shooting her friend a predatory grin. As he continued to defend the avian population, she chuckled again, licking her lips as he begged her to keep his game-playing habits a secret. "What's in it for me if I keep this little secret of yours, hmm? And you can't say your undying love and affection because I've already got that."
Shooting him a wink, she grinned, clearly pleased as punch. She wouldn't actually tell anyone about this pigeon dating simulator he seemed enamored by. But like hell she was going to refrain from teasing him about it in the comfort and privacy of her own home.
"I'd hope so," she grinned, glancing back down at her book as he began the selection process. How hard could a fishing game really be, after all? Reeling in bass and tuna probably wouldn't help him gain manual control over high speed racing games, but maybe driving the boat out in a vast expanse of blue ocean at a reasonable speed would.
The fact that he picked a female caricature came as no surprise to her. She was sure he did so for the same reason that most male gamers played as females: they liked to watch the character move on screen. It was a little weird, but then, she was considerably more old fashioned than she let on. Hiding the truth about herself was second nature to the Russian assassin.
When Clint asked her opinion, she glanced up from her book again in order to give the character her inspection. Pursing her lips in contemplation, she let her eyes wander over every inch of statistical information provided on the screen. "I'd go with the reel that has a slightly higher strength rating, even despite the slower drag. You're not going to be reeling in anything on the open sea quickly anyways, so may as well get as much strength to help you as you can," she suggested, motioning towards the rod selector. "Otherwise, I'd say you're ready to hurry up and wait for the big one."
“I said at least five, woman,” Clint replied, “Some days it’s more.” He shot her a grin and a wink with his words. At this point they’d been friends for so long that Clint wasn’t even sure he could accurately remember the times when she hadn’t been in his life. Like, he knew that he had those memories, but somehow Nat now seemed to be ever-present off to the side of them. As little sense as it made, that was comforting.
He sent Nat a small glare at her question. “I said articles by scientists. Like, from scientific journals. I read, okay? I do,” he replied with a huff. He shouldn’t have to defend his love of bird science to her. Actually… he probably shouldn’t let anyone know about it. As soon as the SHIELDys got wind of his ability to process scientific journals, he’d be expected to do things like actually fill out his mission reports with the details rather than the half-assed job that he did now.
Clint had to actually pause and think about her next question for a moment, but then he grinned. “How about I’ll find out a way to stop that rumor about your great love affair with that one Doc from medical. I bet I can do that,” he replied. He still wasn’t sure how that had gotten started, because he certainly hadn’t been the one to start it.
Considering the amount of options, Clint’s character creation really hadn’t taken as long as it could have. Nat had her book to distract her from his careful choices, so he hoped she hadn’t noticed exactly how long it had taken, which was still probably a lot. She offered her two cents on the whole thing and he switched out the reels accordingly, checking over everything again before moving on to the game itself.
“Why do you even have a fishing game?” he questioned, as it didn’t really seem like her kind of thing. Clint had spent some time out fishing with Barney when they’d both been kids, but he couldn’t really imagine Nat there with them except in an abstract sense.
The game started up with backstory and Clint clicked through it with a bit of skimming before getting to the main game. He was at a dock and went to start up the boat, checking the map to see where the best place for fishing was for the day before heading - awkwardly - out. The controls were at least easier than the racing.
Post by Natalia Romanova on Apr 7, 2017 15:22:57 GMT
Watching him go on the defensive after her two word question brought a wicked grin to Natalia's lips. "Good answer..." she purred, responding to his wink with a up-down of her eyebrows. There was no denying just how much she meant to the archer, even despite his harsh words a year or so ago. And if she was completely honest with herself, there was no getting past the fact that no matter how many times he pushed her buttons, she couldn't get rid of him. He'd saved her life by giving her a life, and she'd be forever grateful to him.
That didn't mean she had to be entirely nice to him, of course...
Case in point - teasing him about his love of birds. "One of these days, I'm going to make you take me birdwatching so you can prove just how much you know. I'll bring a manual; you can't peek." This time it was her turn to wink, and she added a soft chuckle for good measure. "I recommend brushing up. Spring is just around the corner," she grinned.
A look of contemplation tugged at Natalia's features as Clint offered a suggestion for what he thought would be viable payment. That was a rumor that - for once - Clint hadn't been the one to start. Rumors didn't typically concern her, but perhaps it would be better to finally quash that one once and for all. It had been almost two years since the first time she'd caught wind of it, after all. Or had that been a different doctor? Honestly, she'd heard talk of her having an affair with so many people over the years, it didn't really phase her anymore. "Forget the rumor mill... Sign the divorce papers between you and Bobbi, and consider the secret kept," she grinned.
Let it never be said that Natalia Romanova was a selfish woman.
Time seemed to pass fairly quickly as Clint made his character selections, but if she was bothered by the hour on the clock sitting on a nearby bookshelf, she certainly didn't show it. She was simply happy to have a night of relaxation for once. There were no missions to work, no trials to stand, and the world was safe. Glancing up when he finally started the game, she turned at the sound of his question and shrugged. "I've heard fishing is relaxing. I don't get a lot of time to actually go out and try it, though." She'd also never tried this game, and she was fairly certain James hadn't touched it either. But Clint didn't need to know that.
"Well, you haven't crashed into anything yet, so I'd say you're doing better at this game than the last," she teased, leaning forward to pour herself another glass of wine before settling back in her seat. Her eyes danced more frequently from the book to the screen the longer he drove the boat, and a tiny grin sat on her lips in anticipation. Really, though, how much trouble could he get into?
A grin settled on his face at Nat’s response and he shrugged a shoulder as if to say of course while his focus turned away from her again. He had fish to catch, or something, and he had to get to work. He couldn’t fail miserably at two games in a row. That would just be super disappointing and Nat would probably judge him about it for forever. Because she was Nat and she could.
"That’s so not fair! You can’t just decide to test me! That was why I quit school," he protested her idea. On the principle of the thing. Not because he didn’t know enough. Clint knew a lot about birds and he could totally impress her with that knowledge, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to be tested. Tests were for people that didn’t drop out of school before even getting to high school.
He turned to stare at Nat, mouth dropping open a bit, at her suggested repayment. Did everyone know about that whole business? What if he didn’t want to sign the papers, had anyone thought to ask him that? He and Bobbi could make it work. Or something. Right? Oh, who was he kidding he was a shitty boyfriend and would probably be a shittier husband and it wasn’t like him and Bobbi spent much time together anyway. "What if Bobbi and I are destined to be together?" he countered anyway, just to be contradictory.
"Can’t really see you going out to a lake on the weekend to sit around and wait," Clint agreed with a shrug, though he still wasn’t quite sure why she’d buy a game to do the same thing. It was kinda cool, he supposed. Though when you fished in real life, you could eat them afterwards. In a game you just had more fish to catch and nothing to really show for it but an achievement on your account.
Sticking his tongue out at Nat’s tease, he stopped at a fishing spot and cast out, messing with the controls a bit to get a feeling for them before he settled in to wait for the fish. "You could at least pretend you believe in me," he shot back, though his expression was more amused than anything.
Post by Natalia Romanova on May 13, 2017 5:38:12 GMT
Natalia’s brow lifted precariously high atop her brow at the archer’s protestations. A slow grin formed on her lips. The more he disliked the idea, the better it sounded in her mind. “Consider this my attempt to help you make up for what you missed, then,” she offered, still grinning. Even in the Red Room, she’d had tests. Hell, she’d had more tests than most children did in public school, she wagered. Academics, etiquette, seduction… She’d been an all A’s student all throughout her training, as evidenced by the fact that of the twenty-eight girls she’d attended with, she was the only one still alive.
Turning her gaze back to the archer, she watched with sublime satisfaction as his jaw dropped open. He most certainly had not been expecting that answer from her lips. She waited patiently as he began to gather his wits back to him. A gentle snort slipped out of her at his response and she shook her head while both eyes took a quick trip up into her skull and back around front.
“You and Bobbi haven’t been together for years, Clint,” she began, shaking her head again. “If you really think you’re destined to be together, there’s no reason for you to be afraid to sign these papers like she wants because you’ll end up together again in the end.” Stretching her legs slightly, she let one drift over to nudge his thigh gently. “For now, though, you should probably respect her wishes and sign the damn documents. They’re from Vegas, anyways. No respectable marriage was ever conducted there.”
Natalia pulled her leg back up, tucking it under her butt as she glanced up at Clint. He was driving the boat a lot better than any of the cars he’d been at the helm of in the other game. Granted, he was out in the middle of the ocean, so it was hard to tell just how straight of a line he was actually travelling in. “No? I’m a very patient person, you know. And despite my upbringing I rather enjoy the sunshine.” That didn’t change the fact that she’d never been fishing, of course, or that she had no plans to ever do so in the future.
“I put more than enough faith in you out in the field, Barton,” she argued, shooting him a quick grin. “Also, I thought I was being rather supportive, letting you know that you were doing better.” To be fair, she wasn’t entirely sure how Clint could possibly screw himself in this game, aside from failing to reel in the fish. The waves didn’t even seem to be terribly rocky. It seemed completely foolproof on the surface… but Natalia was not someone who underestimated the ingenuity of complete fools.
Case in point: Tony Stark, she thought to herself with a tiny grin as she waited to see if Clint would get a bite soon.
He huffed and pouted some more at the idea that he had to make up for missing anything. Clint had never really been book smart - the school that he had attended, he hadn't done well in. It had been a combination of school just not being for him and distractions in his home life - after all, he had been beaten fairly often in those days and it had taken most of his concentration to hide it and come up with plausible stories for the injuries should they be noticed.
"She's probably the most amazing person I've ever dated," he protested, but really that only proved her point. He couldn't keep holding her back. She deserved so much better than him. After a few other long moments, Clint sighed and hung his head briefly. "Yeah, okay. You're right. I just... feel like it's the only way to keep her around. It's the only thing she needs from me - or from anyone. God knows I can't keep her through pure class."
Honestly if he was just relying on his sparkling personality, he'd never have anyone - friend or lover.
"You wouldn't last a day at a fishing hole. It would bore you," he countered, pretty sure that she couldn't terrorize fish in the same way she enjoyed terrorizing the general public.
He began ignoring her at that point, concentrating on the game as the controller vibrated in his hands to signal that he had a bite. Biting his tongue a bit as he concentrated, Clint tried to reel the fish in before losing it at the last second and pouting at the screen. He re-cast the line and stuck his tongue out at Nat again.
He was honestly so bad at this; why'd he think it had been a good idea, again? "You're very mean with your not believing in me," he pointed out with a pout.