Now we were getting to the nub of things, John thought as he caught the edge of Natasha's comment. "Are you annoyed that they didn't tell you, or that they were attempting to find a way back in the first place?" he asked, direct as always. He knew where she stood on returning home, it wasn't an option, and they'd also talked about his own attempts to make the magic of this place work without endangering those that were happy to stay.
He moved to slip his hand to her waist, giving her a gentle hug. "They'd never send you back if you didn't want it, Nat," John assured her softly. They might have become overzealous and reckless with their technological additions but Strange and Start were her friends. "They created portals, luv. Choices, that's all."
John watched her deftly dip the strawberries and smiled as he followed suit, making sure to lick a dribble of chocolate from the tips of her fingers. "Gondolas sound good to me," he agreed happy to spend a little time with Natasha in almost any setting. "At least with the gondolas you won't have to worry about me peeing in the pool, eh? Which I wouldn't, for the record, though you'd have to take me at my word," which was a dangerous prospect for anyone. Well, perhaps, for anyone else.