broadcast 01

[tothefly]

Who: Natasha Romanoff and various guests
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Post-broadcast, abandoned waystation? Action prompt in comments
When: During bugfest 20XX

[On screen, there's a very calm redhead looking thoughtfully at the camera, one brow slightly cocked.]

It's occurred to me that the fleet has about ten times as many firearms as it does medical professionals. It's also been pretty apparent that a lot of our cast members don't know the basics of gun safety and use. If anyone wants to learn, I'll be at the following coordinates.

[The message ends with a bit of text, the location of one of the abandoned waystations in near orbit.]

Comments

[tothefly]

[She does ask, frequently. More frequently, here, with him, born of habit and training and a desire to know, unequivocally, just who he is. He's always free to lie or to tell her no, but so far he doesn't seem inclined to do so, which only makes sense if he is being honest.

He gets that distant look she's beginning to associate with the other Natasha, and she's patient enough to wait for him to come back. His response has her interested, a little wryly amused.]

And if you beat me? What will you take in return?

[redactions]

[ Free to but never really considers it. He doesn't honestly have that much to lie about, there's little left that needs hiding. Besides, what good would it be anyway, protecting a ghost? They're better put to use out haunting the world. ]

Seems only fair to take a secret for a secret, doesn't it?

[ This is a little less assured, a query more than a statement. He doesn't know how far he can push her, and the sooner he finds the boundaries the better. ]

[tothefly]

[It's fair. And she expected no less. He's making an effort to reach out, to open up, expects--no, hopes--she'll do the same. And while it's in a way tempting to lay out some tiny bit of knowledge like bait to draw him out--she has plenty of secrets, ones she'll sacrifice as unimportant--there's a larger voice that says he already knows too much. Even if it's not her specifically, it seems to be a blurry line between them, and it's just a little too close for comfort.]

[Like he is now, the two of them as close as they are, and there's a moment where it shows in her eyes: the wondering, the calculating, the interest, the realization. The retreat that barely precedes a physical motion, Natasha taking a step back to put distance between them and moving to put away the firearms.]

Beat me first. Then we can talk.

[It's not technically a no.]

[redactions]

[ Not a hard no, and while that's not as good as a straightforward yes, it'll do. Squeezed into the spaces between things, just as Steve once did when he was small, and if Bucky didn't have twenty years watching him do that Natasha's use of the same tactic would've stumped him completely. But there's a lot in common there — they're both misjudged by the world, and keep their hearts guarded. But to those they know, they're the best people in the world. He wonders, idly, if this Natasha is the same, and if she is, what kind of relationship she has with her Steve. They're close, enough for her to be distant with the not-Steve, but — hm. ]

[ She retreats and he lets her, smiling amiably. ]

Yes ma'am.

[tothefly]

[It's no secret that she and the man who looks like Steve Rogers don't exactly get along. even if she's good enough at playing indifferent, he's definitely antagonistic and not afraid to show it. Her own feelings on the matter are more complicated. He isn't her Steve, and that's the biggest strike against him; that anyone who used to be Steve Rogers could turn out so horribly wrong. He was supposed to be better than that.

But wasn't James Barnes supposed to be worse? and here he was, respectful, tactful, honest. More like the Steve she remembered than not. Enough like to make her think.

she looks over at him, her very best skeptical face aimed his way. Ma'am, really.]

Dismissed, Captain.

And thanks for the game.