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(no subject)

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It gets a smile out of her, and luckily for him, his face will stay in very much its same shape. But despite her smile, her brows draw together slightly. As though she's hiding surprise. Or confusion.

Natasha was perfectly aware of the flirting. Somehow, she had expected it to stay just that.]

No. You do keep things interesting.

_{[ If she wanted it to, it would. He was interested in her, for sure,
but he wasn't about to go around forcing something on her she did not want.
If he saw no return interest, he would scale back and respect that
boundary. He smiles at her, leaning back slightly, giving her the room,
leaving the next move up to her. ]}

I might even name a cat something other than Louis.

That is definitely the way to keep me on my toes.

Though I do already have a slug named "Daytona".

_{[ He's serious, Nat. Dead serious. ]}

[She leans back at that, one eyebrow kicking up skeptically.]

A slug.

Yeah, you know, from that forest planet where everyone lived up in the trees? They had those slugs that can kind of affect your mood. I kept one. Fenris has a whole little pack of them.

_{[ He chuckled, thinking about it. ]}

I knew some people had brought those along with them.

[And yet, she's not sure why.]

Guess I haven't actually run into them, though.

Oh you should come meet Daytona. And Fenris' little pack. They all more or less live together. They're great when you need to relax - they help calm you down. But you don't lose awareness or anything. It's nothing like that, but they've been great for my blood pressure.

_{[ He beamed, all of this perfectly serious. ]}

You are very proud of having a slug named Daytona, aren't you?

[Only judging a little. Mostly, she's amused by the idea—not of the joke, but the fact it makes him so happy.]

I'm glad you enjoy them.

What can I say? I like him, and he's good company on those lonely nights. And he's my favorite color.

_{[ He grinned and finished off his drink, licking his lips. No sense
wasting such fine alcohol after all. ]}

You really want to admit that's how you're spending your lonely nights?

I have a feeling my secret's safe with you. Or do you not approve of a man snuggling his slug?

Oh no. You can snuggle up to any furry invertebrates you want.

He's not my first choice, to be sure, no matter how fluffy he is, but some nights you just need a hug.

Can slugs hug?

Can Russians?

We've been known to. Though it's not always safe.

Heh, I'll take my chances if I ever get one.

_{[ He smirked, a twinkle in the corner of his eyes. ]}

You strike me as the kind of person who likes the risk. All things considered.

I would deny it, but then that would make me a liar.

Does that mean you're honest?

I try to be. I won't say I haven't fudged a few reports before in my life though.

Fudged, huh? Fudged embellished, or fudged put a little spin on the facts?

Fudged as in might have omitted or slightly changed facts because I didn't want to get in trouble for doing what I thought was the right thing.

I'm familiar with that kind of fudging.