InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Driver picks the music..."

ʙᴀʀᴛᴏɴ (cauterising) wrote in somerealityrpg,
@ 2019-08-08 20:29:00

Entry tags:

active: clint barton, active: natasha romanoff

WHO: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanoff
WHERE: rooftop picnic
WHEN: 8th August; 8pm(ish)
WHAT: Natasha's crazy birthday distracting plans in full swing.
WARNINGS: Likely discussion of the snap, people dying, lots of cursing, idiots avoiding issues.

Somewhere in the last five years, birthdays stopped being too big an issue. Couple this birthday with the shit show that was every fucking bad decision for the last ten years just pulled out of his head with the fun accompaniment of Loki just prancing through his psyche like those idiot ballet dancing hippos in Fantasia and Clint was fairly certain that he'd be closer to shooting someone than having a low and quiet birthday.

He'd actually had to leave Natasha's room finally. Which was when he came across the cards and the 'plan', which he had to say, didn't suck. He'd message Stark later when he wasn't grinding his teeth, but got changed and actually showered for the first time this week before grabbing Natasha for the promised breakfast (the pancake and waffle place at the edge of a park), mainlining coffee for a few hours to make sure he could keep his eyes open.

Archery didn't suck either. It used to relax him, let him take his mind of literally everything. But for the longest time all it reminded him of was Lila and then Lila being gone and the way his entire body went numb as everything he worked for through his life was just gone, turned to dust, and he literally went so off the deep end he almost couldn't face going back. And then Natasha made a comment, low and snarky and like everything was the same, before the Avengers, before the shit show that was Ultron and Thanos and everything in between. Like when they'd train with SHIELD and she'd summersault through the gym for him to shoot ribbons off her feet.

Easier times. Or harder. Who even knew.

But the memories stayed mellow, let him actually get through the day without the incessant guilt and anger and grief, enough to appreciate the effort that went into a day of distraction. Picnic baskets didn't usually come with deli wrapped sandwiches and sides, or chilled bottles of vodka, "What, not even one PB and J sandwich?" It was Natasha's culinary speciality after all.

How she managed to make sure no one was going to hit up the roof for anything, Clint wasn't going to ask, he was perfectly content to just sit on the edge of the building, let his feet dangle and chomp through a handful of sandwich meats.

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comespywithme
2019-08-08 08:26 pm UTC (link)

She knew that this wasn't going to be an easy day for Clint but he'd never say that. When you grew up, birthdays weren't that big a deal anyway but after all that had happened at home, including some things that she was sure he hadn't told her, Nat wanted to do something for him. He was slowly coming around and she was grateful for that and she was even more grateful that he was helping her just by being here. Talking about feelings wasn't something either of them was very good at so it was a good thing that they understood each other so well that the didn't have to necessarily talk. Even if they probably should.

"Well I was trying to be classy since it was your brithday," she said. "and apparently they didn't think PB&J fell into that category but I might have slipped one in there when no one was looking." Nat loved PB&J, it wasn't something she'd had growing up and when she'd discovered it after coming to America, it had become her comfort food along with Pop Tarts. Now all that had to do was make PB&J Pop Tarts and she'd be in heaven. OR maybe they did and she hadn't found them yet.

"I used to be afraid that you'd fall off the roof when you sat like that," she said. Nat herself was sitting a little further back, leaning on her elbows. Getting close to the edge of a tall surface wasn't something she was going to be doing for a long, long time. "then I figured out that you're part bird or part bat or something. And there's the bungee cord. I think you just liked trying to scare me." she grinned at him.

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cauterising
2019-08-08 09:35 pm UTC (link)

Classy, Clint just snorted, because since when have they ever been classy? Sassy sure, Natasha loved having a good sass, often over comms, usually when they'd been told 'radio silence' and neither of them really bothered when they could keep up a running commentary that amused them both. "Why start being classy now." Although he was determined now to find that PB&J sandwich to split, because it'd been ages since he had one.

Kicking his heels a little, knocking his boots against the wall and peering over the side, the near impossible drop down. It was daunting in some ways, and a portion of Clint was uneasy, primarily because of the last cliff he was on with Natasha, but he'd always been his most comfortable impossibly high, to the point where he'd always thought he'd spend his life in ridiculously high apartments. He couldn't fault Natasha hesitance either, with her own issue with a sheer drop, or him hanging out on ledges, she had been witness to some of his spectacular drops after all. "Nah," he shot a grin back at her, because chowing down some more, "always just went high in the circus, got used to it."

Felt safe with it really.

"Better vantage points, can see more, fewer blind spots." He was the eyes in the sky, "the drop used to be a rush." Used to be. "And sometimes I like to freak you out." Because he didn't want to waste her attempts at keeping things light.

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comespywithme
2019-08-09 12:11 am UTC (link)

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "See, I always knew you got a bang out of freaking me out. You wouldn't admit it but I just knew it." She also knew that he was quick on his feet and knew exactly what he was doing and was highy unlikely to fall but every now and then she had to ask him what the hell was he thinking?

"I always hated that I never got to see you perform in the circus. Not just because of the tights either although the mental image of you swinging around on a trapeze wearing tights well..what can I say?" she grinned at him. It was a backhanded compliment, sure, but it was a compliment none the less. It was also something she wouldn't normally say but she'd had a little more vodka in her orange soda than usual so if that was the only thing she said that was wierd then she was batting a thousand.

"You know how good I am at hiding things so we'll see if you can find that sandwhich."

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cauterising
2019-08-13 08:19 pm UTC (link)

"Because you never pull shit just to freak me out." Natasha might not toy with heights or play around with explosives, but Clint was sure that she made a point of vanishing sometimes, just being there and slipping gone in the next second.

By the time he'd met Natasha, he'd been out of the circus for a few years, and while he was still pretty flexible and acrobatic, he wasn't near as stupid with it. "You think watching me on the edge of a building is worrying you'd have been peering over a magazine at the act." It was the early years of not using a net, back when a bunch of people still used nets because they weren't stupid. "That's where I learned how to dislocate my shoulder when I wanted." Because practising grabs and firing arrows in the air, upside down, there was a very narrow margin for getting joints back to where they were meant to be.

Glancing at Natasha's packed up basket, the wrapped sandwiches, his heel still bouncing against the edge of the building, Clint smirked slightly, "Or I can wait for you to get to it and then just fight you for it."

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comespywithme
2019-08-14 01:14 am UTC (link)

"Of course not, I would never do that," she said with her most innocent smile which was anything but innocent. "Why would you even think such a thing?" Maybe that's why they ended up being partners, no one else would be able to understand they way they liked to pull each others' chains.

"That always looked like it hurt like hell when you did that," she said. Nat had had her share of injuries but she didn't understand dislocating her shoulder on purpose although it did certainly give him wicked aim.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow."Get what?" she said. "Ooooh...the sandwhich. Well, let's see. I think since it's your birthday I won't kick your ass so here you go," she reached into the basket and tossed him a wraped sandwhich, never doubting for a minute that he would catch it. "there you go, birthday boy. it's even grape jelly which is the only kind that should ever be on a PB & J sandwich but that goes without saying."

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cauterising
2019-08-14 07:07 pm UTC (link)

There was such a thing as a 'talking shit' face, and it was clear all over Natasha right at that moment, Clint just rolled his eyes at her. It wasn't like they'd done it that much when shit got serious, there was too much involved in watching each others backs rather than fucking with each other. At least that was the general idea though.

"Got used to it," Clint shrugged one of his shoulders, twisting to sit a little more sideways to catch her eye easier, "hurts less doing it on purpose than it just happening." Maybe something to do with him being able to calm his body down to the point where the nerves didn't fire as insanely as if his shoulder got hit and knocked out of joint. "I mean, it definitely hurts less than when you try to curb stomp my knees during sparring." Because they stopped fighting without a dirty edge after a few years of catching each others styles.

That was mostly why they resorted to hair pulling and biting sometimes. Master assassins, that's what they were.

"Is there any other kind of jelly?" Clint did catch it, deftly, in one hand, before swinging his legs over the side of the building so that his back was to the sheer drop, barely really thinking about it. "If you'd put on berry or some other insane thing I'd know you'd been replaced by some evil monster. Ruining a decent sandwich." He only took out half though, stretching to leave the other half for her, already chomping through a significant portion. "Remember that time we were holed up for two weeks and all we had was fucking sandwiches?" He could've gone of PB if that'd gone on for much longer.

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comespywithme
2019-08-15 05:35 am UTC (link)

"I'm really good at stomping things," she said as she took the sandwich, trying not to let the anxiety she felt when he turned around show on her face. He wouldn't fall and rationally she knew that, he probably had some kind of carbiner on him somewhere, that was one thing they had in common. Neither of them ever went anywhere without some kind of equipment. In her case it was a knife and it could be strapped anywhere although it was usually on her waist an easy to reach under her waistband.

"Oh my god, one time when I was in SHIELD jail for being bad, Coulson brought me a PB&J with strawberry jelly. I threw it at him," she grinned. "then I told him to not come back without grape jelly. I don't even remember what I did, I think I was being mouthy, imagine that," she took a bite and winked at him.

She remembered the time he was speaking about well. "That was awful! And it was shitty peanut butter too. We almost had to resort to crunchy if I remember right." They'd certainly had a lot of adventures together, not all of them pleasant but right now, even if they were on the roof of a building in a fake version of New York City, she'd have to say that this was one of the good ones.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up and walked over to where he was sitting and sat down next to him but she sat facing him, her legs hanging over the side. "Might as well rip off the bandaid," she said quietly. "I can't be scared of heights forever, not when I was never scared before and besides, you're not going to let anything happen to me."

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cauterising
2019-08-15 02:51 pm UTC (link)

She'd be right about the gear, he had a compact grapple fitted under his sleeve around his forearm and knives in his boots, throw in the fact that about four stories down the building there was a grate he could use to grapple and catch himself and there wasn't a lot of worry for falling. Clint couldn't let himself fear heights, even after Natasha plummeted off a cliff in front of him.

"Now, was that a gift from Coulson, or was he punishing you?" Being in SHIELD jail wasn't uncommon for either of them if they were given too much downtime. Between riling one another up with whatever, playing pranks on the recruits or Natasha just scaring the ever loving shit out of people, they probably got on Fury's last nerve a lot of the time. At least until Stark came along and Fury got properly involved in his little initiative plans. "You? Mouthing off? Never heard such slander." There was only so much they could take when they were the ones dealing with shitty assignments.

"Lila liked crunchy." It was low, but not entirely horrible to bring up, which was something. But it wasn't like he'd mentioned any of his kids in almost five years. But Natasha, well, Natasha would understand. "I swear she did it just to get the whole jar to herself." He wouldn't have put it past her, she was cunning like Nat was. But as Natasha took a spot beside him, on the edge, "Never known you to really be scared of anything." He still made a point of hooking his leg around her ankle, locking them up. "I got you anyway."

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comespywithme
2019-08-16 12:53 am UTC (link)

"Ya never know with Coulson but I think he just brought the wrong thing because he actually apologized. He wasn't that good of a liar," and she would know since it was no secret that Natasha was one of SHIELD's best liars aside from the man sitting next to her. Funny thing was that they rarely if ever lied to one another. "I know, I thought about filing a formal complaint because I would never mouth off at a superior. Not more than once a day anyway."

When he hooked his ankle around hers, she looked down, trying to hide the fact that she was biting her lip so he could see her emotions on her face. The words were simple but they said a lot. He did have her, he always had and he wouldn't let anything happen to her. It was that fact that had given her the courage to come and sit beside him. She looked up when he mentioned Lila and rested her hand on his leg. He hadn't mentioned the kids since he'd been here, at least not directly, and the fact that he did now spoke volumes.

"I miss her too," she said softly. "nothing against the boys but there was just something about her." She had been around more when Cooper and Lila were smaller, circumstances happened that kept her from seeing as much of Nathaniel but they were part of her family just the same. Lila though, reminded her of herself in a lot of ways although that shouldn't have been possible but they had connected from the first time she'd held the little girl and she looked into her eyes as if she knew exactly what Natasha was thinking.

Just like her father could.

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cauterising
2019-08-18 10:28 am UTC (link)

Fundamentally, both of them knew what being secret agents for a shady but ultimately well meaning Government agency entailed. Secrets and lies and hard to read people. There were so few instances when people could actually slip something past either of them -Fury was probably the only one they were constantly left guessing around. "No, he wouldn't have apologised if he'd meant to get it wrong either." Coulson liked to be passive-aggressively obvious in his disappointment, usually with those little digs.

Sometimes, between them, all it took was a look. Words were something they'd gradually phased out for the harder, more emotional aspects of their partnerships. They were still there, when really needed. But Clint didn't need Natasha to verbalise everything for him to get it, just like he knew that she didn't need it either. The same as he didn't need to vocalise how much he needed and appreciated her support either.

He smirked a little, huffing a laugh. It wasn't like Natasha had flagrant favourites of his kids, but it was clear she bonded more with Lila. It was a dull constant ache at this point, the failure to protect his kids, the mistakes before and after that, all the things that he could've and should've done. But if he focused on any of that he'd ruin Natasha's attempt to at least give him a decent birthday memory. "Probably the fact that your cooking style is on par with hers."

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comespywithme
2019-08-19 12:36 am UTC (link)

"That's true," she gave a little laugh. "I wonder how many times he wished he'd never put us together? Being our handler had to be such a good time for him." The answer to that was actually simple. They made a good team, anything else aside. They understood each other, they could read each other, there was no reason to think about putting them with anyone else. There were times when they did solo stuff but even then, the other one wasn't that far away in case things went south.

"My cooking isn't that bad," she said with fake indignation. "and you ate almost all the cookies we baked for you that one time. Unless you were slipping them to the dog under the table." Which she wouldn't have blamed them because they really were pretty bad. "and I like to think it's because I'm awesome. Because I really am. Who else would take you out to dinner on a roof with PB&J to celebrate your birthday?"

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cauterising
2019-08-19 10:07 am UTC (link)

"Pfft, please, we kept it interesting." Which wasn't a lie. They were two of the best agents SHIELD had, and it wasn't ego, it was something Fury stated more than once, mostly when he was yelling at them for acting like children. It meant assignments in complicated places, it meant going undercover in upscale events, it meant a shit load of travelling. And it was hard, sure, but it was far better than sitting in an office filing reports. "Budapest was probably the only time he regretted it."

But then, Budapest was a shit show.

"I ate the cookies so you wouldn't feel bad." He wouldn't have put the dog through having to eat those things, not that Patches would've done it. "My stomach rebelled against me for days afterwards." And that was when Natasha wasn't allowed to help anyone in the kitchen ever again unless it was a sandwich she was making. "This, this is great, I'm very happy," technically speaking, "I'm most happy that you got sandwiches and didn't cook." Maybe it would've burned down the building, and then everyone would've freaked out. "Thank God our files are largely redacted and only you and Tony know it was today."

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comespywithme
2019-08-27 04:18 am UTC (link)

"Interesting is one way of putting it. You know the saying, join SHIELD, see exotic places meet interesting people and kill them. Or is that the army?" she shurgged. "Don't suppose there's that much difference, less camo though. I don't look good in camo so that's just as well."

She grinned when he mentioned Budapest. "Yeah, that was one of a kind and it did have its moments. It wasn't all bad."

"I'm glad, I wanted to do something for you even if neither of us wanted to celebrate so I went with something I figured would be easy. And one that didn't require either of us to people." Natasha was generally good with people and didn't mind being around them but there were times especially since she had been here and had learned so many painful things, that she didn't want to be around people or to be more exact, a very select few people. "I didn't realize Tony knew until you showed me that card," she said. "I guess it's possible that Steve might know but you know how he is, he probably forgot."

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