outstandingbalance: (pic#10158390)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-07-10 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
They're cute. [Which is about the most she can say about them; they're blue flowers. They do look vaguely hat-like, and the fact he's named them is endearing, probably.] Probably that detail isn't as important.

[She considers his question seriously, giving him a searching look from behind her smile. Then she says:]

Give me half an hour. I can get away then.
vagabond_code: (↪that keep me searching)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-07-12 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Half an hour.

[He agreed, holding up one hand as if to say - watch this space. There wasn't really much else to be said after that, so he took a few steps backwards and turned away, into the market. Half an hour? That was nothing, particularly for a guy who spent most of his days in tiny enclosed spaces with little to do but pass time. He spent a few minutes at the bar, browsed some more stalls, bumped into a hunter he recognized and by the time he was done talking the guy's ear off (and ugh, the hand-holding) Clint was already due back at the bar again. He made his excuses and made his way there.]
outstandingbalance: (pic#10158390)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-07-13 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Natasha probably could have left earlier. The stall owner doesn't really stand on ceremony, and probably wouldn't have minded as long as she didn't leave her inventory unattended, but Natasha figures it's better to give a little warning. Plus, it gives her a little time to process her thoughts.

A half hour later, she waves to Clint, ready for another drink.]
vagabond_code: (↪of seven sad forests)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-08-14 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Does he have two for himself? Or is one of those drinks hers? Awkward. He kind of just acts as though there's just one there in front of him.]

Nat! How was work?

[Like she'd just got off her 9-5 shift at a downtown coffee shop.]
outstandingbalance: (pic#10158390)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-08-15 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
[Natasha will politely assume the other is for her, and save them all having to ask.]

It passed the time, and got me a little money. So we'll put it down as a success?

[It also gave her the excuse to talk to more people than she would have been able to under normal circumstances, and that was at least as valuable as the nuts that pass for money around here.]

How was drinking?
vagabond_code: (↪walking through the valley)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-08-18 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Another day, another acorn.]

Weird. I'm in my own little bubble over here. Sometimes I forget there are even other people around. Then I look up and --

[He forgets he hasn't told her he's deaf. Or, more accurately, he assumes that she of all people would have picked up on whatever ways he's been signalling that fact unknowingly. Even now he's watching he mouth while he waits for the reply. Had he been able to hear, he'd be watching for reactions in her eyes.]

Must be noisy.
outstandingbalance: (pic#9477613)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-08-18 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
[She doesn't seem surprised, that's for sure. Maybe she didn't know for sure, but Natasha picked up some f the cues. The fact he watched lips, but also the fact he clearly wandered in and out of conversations.

That was more than just wandering attention.]


Been noisier. Not exactly New York. And you never know what you might hear.

[Her lips twitch.]

So to speak.
vagabond_code: (↪'cause i don't even miss her)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-08-28 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah right.

You ever tried staring at someone's mouth subtly?
outstandingbalance: (parasteatoda tepidariorum)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-08-30 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
Would you really be surprised if I said yes?

[She deadpans it, gauging his reaction from being a flat humor.]

vagabond_code: (↪ won't be turned around)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-09-05 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Actually I was gunna ask for some pointers.
outstandingbalance: by easycompany (pic#10582600)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-09-06 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
Might have a few. Are you really the kind for subtlety?
vagabond_code: (↪all those things that don't change)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-09-06 12:47 am (UTC)(link)
What did you think all this was for?

[He gestures to himself, raises his eyebrows. Again, he doesn't expect he needs to give her many clues. He expects she's already figured him out.

The truth of course is that a lot of what seems clumsy or thoughtless or dense about Clint Barton is actually - well - manufactured. He puts on a persona that invites people to underestimate him, to forget about him, even when he's sitting right there next to them or living in the next room over.

But he knows better than to think he could fool Natasha. Not her. Not any version of her.]
Edited 2016-09-06 01:04 (UTC)
outstandingbalance: (pic#6575622)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-09-06 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
You call this subtle?

[She raises her brow a little, especially since he can't hear the humor in her voice. She could assume he'd get the joke, but this Clint might not be as used to the abuse as hers.

Seems unlikely.

But it only seems like playing fair.]


Or are you going to tell me you didn't actually end up on the outs with Wanda?
vagabond_code: (↪give me things that don't get lost)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-09-06 11:46 am (UTC)(link)
That's a work in progress.

[And one that he can't really afford to fail at.]

All part of the plan.

[Yeah, right.]
outstandingbalance: (pic#9477602)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-09-06 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[Natasha laughs at that because it does sound a little like Clint. Not precisely, but... he's still recognizable. She's not going to get familiar because of it but, it's still a reminder.]

You'll have to tell me how the plan works out.
vagabond_code: (↪but we've been there a hundred times)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-09-06 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I need another drink.

[So he orders one, and another one for her. If she hasn't been drinking at all yet, she'll have to catch up. After downing half of his in short order he turns to her again.]

The Wanda in my world -- we have a history. I don't wanna talk about it really, but it makes things... complicated.

[And that much at least is worth her knowing.]
outstandingbalance: (pic#10580756)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-09-07 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
My round?

[She appreciates that he's telling her that much; of anyone, she's the last person to push for him to reveal more than that.]

Think we lucked out. From the sound of it, things are a lot more complicated where you come from, and it's more than complicated enough back home.
vagabond_code: (Default)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-09-07 12:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[Ever died?

Except of course he's not going to say that. He buries the thought in his glass and gestures his approval for her to cover the round.]


Know who else comes from - where you come from?

I'm trying to figure out how many places they're taking us from exactly. Your earth have X-Men?
outstandingbalance: (pic#9477613)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-09-07 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[She probably wouldn't answer that, even if he did answer. That feels personal, thank you very much.]

No, no X-men. No mutants at all. [She's had that conversation once already.] Different kinds of enhanced people, though. Some of the same people, but not all o them.

Seems like we have a lot fewer, which probably is where that being less complicated comes from.
vagabond_code: (↪i've been a miner for a heart of gold)

[personal profile] vagabond_code 2016-09-12 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Wait - stop - did you say "no mutants"?

[Or did he make a mistake somewhere along the line?]
outstandingbalance: (magnopholcomma globulus)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-09-13 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
That's what I said, yeah. Guess that's a strange on for you.