driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Natasha Romanoff + Anyone
Broadcast: NA
Action: Vanquish, Iskaulit & Planetside
When: 8/15-8/22

Window Shopping

[They won't be hanging around here much longer. Natasha's been here over a year now, she knows the rhythm of these things. Before long, they'll be dragged off to drift for a while before they end up who knows where next time.

Seems like a good time to take advantage of what they have, while they have it.

That means shopping—at least seeing if there's anything she wants before they leave. Bookstores get special attention, and boutiques, but that doesn't mean Natasha won't slip into any number of stores looking at everything from snacks to weapons. If she spots someone she knows while she's out, she's not above dragging them along for opinions. She'll pick up a pair of shoes or a novel or a knife flashing it for inspection.]

What do you think? Worth it?

[She probably won't actually buy it, but it'd be a waste not to at least consider.]

Beach Trip

[Natasha does, in fact, wear a bikini. She just wears strategic cover ups to disguise the major scars on her hip and shoulder. Works well enough, as long as she doesn't get in the water.

It's busy, but she does a pretty good job of not paying attention to the ads. She divides most of her time between a book and watching other people enjoying the sun and surf.

Toward the end of the day, she'll decide it's time for some company.]

I'm pretty sure there's a bar up the beach a little? Looks tacky, and I bet the drinks are watered down.

[She stands, brushing the sand from her wrap.] Coming?

Vanquish

[After weeks of laying low and spending most of her time off ship, Natasha seems to have finally decided to stick around. At least, more than she has been. This morning, she can be found in the kitchen, sitting on the counter and sipping coffee. There's more for anyone who wants it; she made plenty.

She doesn't seem inclined to start a conversation herself, but there's a sense of her paying more attention than she has in a while, quietly marking the coming and going of the crew, maybe doing some kind of mental calculus or maybe just people watching.

It's hard to say with her.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm a captain, now. And maybe that doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. [ especially since she's a co-captain, really. ] But I know from my Young Avengers days that it's important to carve out a bit of Kate-time between all that teamwork.

That's important. [Natasha takes a drink, watching her steadily over the rim of her glass.] I take it this isn't too much of an imposition on your Kate-time?

Not at all. [ a smile. ] I'm pretty certain you could be way more imposing if you wanted to be.

[ she's suffered that kind of imposition before. ]

[That gets a snort out of her, something that might almost pass or a laugh.]

If I have a reason to be, oh, definitely.

And I make it a point not to give you a reason. [ ... ] Or -- usually, I don't. You. Her.

You know what I mean. My point is that this, right now, is pretty nice.

[ just sharing a drink and being friendly. ]

I get the gist. [It's strange. Natasha won't pretend it's not strange. But it's strange for both of them, and Natasha wasn't going to hold that against Kate.

And she agrees, though she'll leave that part unsaid.]

Helps that I'm not part of your crew?

It does. [ kate nods her way through another drink of her beverage. ] Not that I don't like them -- they're likable.

[ one of them even a bit more than likable. ]

But a person can't be faulted for searching out a bit of variety.

No, they can't. Even best friends can be hard to deal with every day.

[Natasha glances at her drink, only about two thirds of the way empty, and signals the bartender for another one. She's not on a mission to get drunk, nothing like that, but she knows what she's here for.]

You won't have quite as much variety when we leave, either.

Ugh.

[ she's right. she's so right. kate gives a twirl of her finger to suggest she'll take a second, too. ]

And then it'll be back to gliding through space. Space. Futz, whoever thought space would become boring?

[Natasha shrugs at that, her lips twitching in amusement.]

Guess it depends what you expected to find out there. Even with all the gods and aliens, turns out it's still mostly black.

Oh, I don't know. You ever wake up and see the Earth from outer space? [ kate smiles -- at a strange, bittersweet memory. ] It's beautiful.

You say that like someone who has.

That's because I am someone who has. [ a beat. ] Perks of having dated an alien, I suppose.

I see. [That raises questions.] I haven't dated an alien in your universe, have I?

Now that I don't know. Maybe? I guess it depends on whether anyone you were seeing got caught up in the Skrull invasion--

[ kate shakes her head. ]

[That raises a whole other salvo of questions, but one Natasha considers it best not to pursue.]

Maybe it's better not knowing the answer to that one.

Not that it matters, I guess. You're not her. She's not you. [ ... ] I know if I heard about myself from another world, I'd probably not want to follow in her dating footsteps.

It's true, but it's hard not to be curious, isn't it? [And Natasha has to wonder if she's not the copy that other versions of her don't want to follow in the footsteps up.

Little does she know.] If you can't judge yourself, who can you judge?

-- Do you know what a 'mayfly' dimension is?

[ a beat. it's entirely possible this was a word made up just by her and her crew. it may never have caught on. ]

Humour me a moment. I swear it'll make sense in a moment.

I've never heard it. Go ahead, explain it.

Mayflies live for like, what? A day? A few at most? [ kate shrugs; she can't remember the biology. it's not important. ] A few years back me and mine were stuck hopping between these dimensions that were more like in-between dimensions. Brimming over with bad things, and all of them craving to me more than instant of time and space. Fractional worlds. And the things that lived there were jealous of anyone and anything that came from somewhere more...permanent.

[ ... ] That's where you run into some of the worst versions of yourself.

[That sounds both ridiculous and terrible, and Natasha can certainly imagine why people some place like that wouldn't be fun to run into.]

There's versions of you even somewhere like that?

Harpy versions. A whole world of them. [ ... ] I figure it's free game to judge them.

When you say harpy versions, you mean figuratively? [Natasha hates that she has to clarify that. The fact there's a non zero chances it could be a literal description is annoying. Very annoying.]

Nope. I mean literally. There were feathers.

[ she goes ahead and drains her cup. it was not cool. ]

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