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(no subject)

Who: Natasha Romanoff + you (+ maybe some Bucky Barnes)
Broadcast: Video
Action: Mostly no, but we could work something out.
When: Now

[The video feed start, focusing tightly on Natasha's face, the only visible backdrop a rather generic portion of cabin wall.]

So checking the date, seems like it's been a while. Nice to see everyone's back in the air. Hopefully in one piece. I see a few people have left.

Anyone want to fill me in on the important details? Or should we let sleeping dogs—

[The sound of a door cuts her off the, and Natasha looks up. Whoever she sees, her expression softens. She smiles slightly, lifting her chin slightly and turning her head to catch a kiss from some loser tall enough that only the lower half of his face makes it in the frame. The stubble on his chin and the shape of his mouth might be enough to identify him though.]

A lot of catching up to d—

[Suddenly the feed cuts out.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's a good name.

[ a beat. ]

I can't imagine he gets called it by many.

I don't think so. I think he just puts up with me doing it because he likes me.

[She doesn't think that's exactly the case, but it keeps the answer clean.]

Yet another perk. [ peg smiles. ] Does he call you Natasha? Or Nat?

[ like steve does. ]

Natasha, usually. Nat is very American.

[Which Barnes is too, but considering his history...]

Though sometimes he likes to annoy me with silly Russian nicknames.

You can't say that and not give us an example. [ peggy knows enough. she's fluent in the language -- but terms of endearment are a deeply cultural thing. and now she's curious. ]

Really? Getting into those details just seems like opening myself up to teasing.

[Even Natasha has some limits.]

Teasing might be more Steve's tactic. [ peg prefers a good barb. ] Although I suppose I can't guarantee they won't find their way back to his ears.

Not really inspiring me to open up there. Though I suppose on the bright side, Steve doesn't speak Russian.

You're going to accuse me of being uninspiring again -- but I can't help but point out that he might not speak it. But the augments do.

The augments might not catch all of the nuance of Russian pet names.

...Then, surely, there's no harm in sharing.

Somehow, still not entirely convincing. [Raising her glass for another drink.] And now it's built up too much. You'll be disappointed.

[Because the answer is exactly what you'd expect.]

Oh, I very much doubt that. [ she smiles. ] It seems to me that any crumb at all couldn't be disappointing, at this junction.

[Natasha sighs, glancing away.]

It's overhyped. [She shakes her head, thinking of Barnes. It's amazing a super soldier can be such a sap, and more than a little of bit of a nerd. He and Steve were matched that way.] Solnyshka, for example.

Quite the contrary. [ a little bit of sunshine, is it? peggy can't decide whether it's the augment or her own fluency that routes her through the meaning -- but it's tender, tens time as tender as anything she dares to use herself, and there's nothing overhyped about that. ] It's actually rather sweet.

Edited 2017-12-16 23:58 (UTC)

He is. It's probably the most surprising thing about him.

[Amazing that he was able to keep that part of himself after everything he's been through.]

He's also more than a little bit of a dork.

Now, that doesn't surprise me -- [ the bit about him being a dork. and quite unaware of it, peggy goes and echoes one of natasha's earlier thoughts: ] After all, he and Steve are such good friends.

[ dorks and prats. the both of them. ]

[Prat isn't the word Natasha would go to, but it's clear they share the sentiment behind it.

Which gets a laugh out of Natasha.]

They deserve each other that way.

Do they ever.

[ she nods. ]

Oh, I don't know, it's lovely -- I can't say I ever had a friend quite like that, before here. [ but that's not strictly true, so: ] Because I suppose older brothers don't really count.

[Natasha's friendships... well.]

I didn't before SHIELD. Honestly, even after. Not entirely sure you can have that kind of thing as an adult if you didn't start as a kid. You can make friends, but you don't have anyone who knew you back then.

Now, I must disagree. [ she thinks about howard, chiefly. and max soon after. these are two relationships that strike her as close to what she once had with michael as she might ever expect. ]

Romanticizing childhood friendships is just -- nostalgia. [ she eyes natasha for a moment, recognizing (perhaps) that there's no nostalgia there. not for that. ] Or worse -- seeing greener pastures where there never were any.

I'm not romanticizing them. [Just from the outside, looking in...] And I'd never look down on my friendships with Steve or Clint.

Just...

[Steve's words come back to her, from years ago, though the context is different.]

Shared life experience.

Yes. Well. I imagine you'll find very few whose life experiences overlap with your own. [ and the ones who do? peggy doesn't feel a whit of guilt when she thinks she hopes they never turn up here. although, that said... ]

Except I imagine Barnes comes awfully close. In some respects.

In some respects. And I think that helps sometimes. Maybe not always.

...As long as it washes out as more one than the other, I suppose.