(no subject)

[outstandingbalance]

Who: Natasha Romanoff + you?
Broadcast: Fleetwide, text
Action: upon request
When: now

[If Natasha thought she escaped the rumors, she's going to be disabused of the notion. The notes start appearing here and there—short and anonymous. Things like:]

Natasha has a cat named Boris.

Natasha Romanoff once killed a man in Vegas just to watch him die.

Romanoff has been lying about about her age.

[And—]

Nataasha is a lingerie model.

[That last one, it seems, comes with some evidence. Sponsor drop? Either way, a few files seem to have been uploaded to support the case.

file1
file2
file3
file4

She shouldn't be surprised those came back to haunt her, should she? The real question is if anyone will dare to comment on them.]

Comments

video;

[outstandingbalance]

Not really. Pets aren't what you'd call a good fit for my lifestyle.

Re: video;

[universal_charm]

That is why I said hypothetical.

[outstandingbalance]

I guess I don't spend too much energy thinking about hypotheticals that aren't likely to happen.

[universal_charm]

We could get a couple of drinks and think about it now. As it stands, we can't let people think you would honestly consider 'Boris' after all.

[outstandingbalance]

I could be convinced. No reason for me to stay here and worry about rumors.

[universal_charm]

My treat then. Let's see... I have some in my cabin on the Tourist, or we can go to one of the bars. Your call.

[outstandingbalance]

Let's say I meet you on the Iskaulit? When I get there, you can tell me what you'd have named pets you've never had.

Since you seem to think I should be prepared.

[universal_charm]

That does seem like a fair trade. You have a deal.

[outstandingbalance]

I'll see you there.

[She gives a smile, still a little thin, though that has a lot less to do with him than it does with the rumors. Natasha isn't one to let it keep her down, though.

And she will be waiting, promptly.]

[universal_charm]

_{[ He shows up only a minute later, having needed to try and find something that could work with his easily ripable shirts. With meant he was wearing one of said shirts, but it was shielded beneath his survival suit jacket. So maybe it would hold out for a bit longer, and if nothing else the jacket was there to keep him from being deemed a pervert. ]}

Why fancy meeting you here.

[outstandingbalance]

Real coincidence, isn't it. [She smiles, dry and a little crooked.]

Nice to see you in person. I took the liberty of ordering you a drink too.

[universal_charm]

Oh? Wow, I'm really bad form if I made you wait that long.

_{[ He took the seat beside her, returning her smile with a small crooked one of his own. ]}

How have you been, Natasha?

[outstandingbalance]

Not at all. I just took initiative.

[She smiles a little at his question, less a sign of good news and more an automatic response. There's always something interesting to tell, isn't there?]

Rumor mill aside, I'm doing all right. I met one of your crew. Seems like a good kid.

[universal_charm]

If you're calling him a kid you must mean Chekov.

_{[ He leaned in to whisper to her. ]}

Tell me - is he really a Russian?

[outstandingbalance]

Well, he knew the secret handshake.

[Joking. She's joking.

She's probably joking.]

We talked a little bit. He was... excited.

[universal_charm]

Excited enough to get self defense lessons from you?

_{[ An arch of a brow as he sipped his drink. He wasn't angry about it - at least, not at her. Okay, it stung, but that was between him and Chekov, not Natasha. ]}

[outstandingbalance]

He told you about that.

[She smiles a little, giving him a clear eyed look.]

He asked. I didn't see any reason to turn him down—not like I'm fighting off students.

[Though oddly, she does seem to be collecting a few of them lately.]

[universal_charm]

It came up. I offered to teach him, but I was to late.

_{[ A shrug. He really only had Winn to instruct and sparred with Natasha and Fenris. He wasn't looking for students, but Chekov was his crewman. He supposed it didn't much matter so long as he was getting the instruction. ]}

How exactly did it come up that you can kick ass?

[outstandingbalance]

Luck, mostly. [She takes a drink herself, amused by the memory.] I happened to catch him losing a fight with the heavy bag.

Had to offer to help. It was a matter of national pride at that point.

[A thing Natasha has very, very little of, but Chekov seems to have more than enough for both of them.]

[universal_charm]

_{[ He laughed softly, shaking his head at the image it produced. ]}

Well, thank you for taking care of him. I'm glad he's getting instruction from someone who's competent. He's overly earnest most of the time and overly excitable too, but he's a good kid.

[outstandingbalance]

I don't know if I'm taking care of him, but I can show him a thing or two.

Especially since I'm used to getting in fights with people who are bigger than me.

[universal_charm]

Well, just make sure he can walk back to the ship for me, okay? Or maybe, just once, have to call me to come fetch him.

_{[ He chuckled at the thought. ]}

So - what would you name your cat, Natasha?

[outstandingbalance]

Hypothetically? Depends on the cat I guess.

I really haven't thought about it.

[universal_charm]

Heh. I always thought that if I got a dog, I would call them Jack. I can't say why, I just really like the name Jack, I suppose. It seemed like a good name to call in the evening when you're heading home for supper.

[outstandingbalance]

Not a bad name for a dog. [She tilts her head a little, though, curious.] Even if you got a girl? Still Jack?