missing scenes

[valuedstrength]

In response to those rare times posts hit over 5000, something needs to be retconned into an existing timeline, or anything else, comment here with a starter/continuation and I will get back to you.

Relevant to teleios at the moment. Memes or psls are also welcome here.

Comments

[valuedstrength]

[ Going on from this: ]

Only when it rains.

[relicta]

You can't be real Steve Rogers

[valuedstrength]

I can and am... unless Tony finally replaced me with a robot.


You should look into that.

[relicta]

Even I'm not that good
over text

Just one question though: Did someone request a Female Body Inspector?

[valuedstrength]

Okay I walked into that one.

[relicta]

Hey offer's on the table big boy
I'll be single by the end of work today ;)

[valuedstrength]

Wow. Who could resist an offer like that?

[relicta]

I'll meet you in the usual place

[ it's so easy to joke, but there's a part of her that isn't kidding. she thinks she needs to see him right now, like it might clear up all the confusion somehow just to lay her eyes on steve. ]

[valuedstrength]

[He doesn't argue with her. Seeing Natasha is always a plus in his books so he does what he does best: he waits. The only difference now is he has a phone to play on while he does so.

It keeps him from wondering why she needs to see him before dumping some guy.]

[relicta]

[ she steps out of the shadows fluidly as always, taking down her hood and looking a bit flushed, like she'd been running. unmistakable relief fills her eyes when she takes him in, but suddenly she feels nervous. she's never felt nervous around steve before. ]

Hey stranger. [ she taps her elbow against his and smiles softly. ]

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[He looks up from his phone and smiles at the sight of her.] Hey, Nat. [It fades as he takes her in. He doesn't know what to make of her being flushed like that. Can superspies get sick?] Everything okay?

[relicta]

[ she takes a second to mull that over, and as if realizing something important she leans forward to hug him. ] They are now.

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[He eagerly returns it, squeezing tight for a second before letting go. Steve pulls back so he can look at her.] I'm sorry I was so hard on you earlier. It's not my place to judge what you do with anyone.

[relicta]

Natasha gets a readout on her screen - incoming. The second she realizes what (who) it is, a smile curves her lips. She remembers telling him to do what he wanted, and then not even 12 hours later she's shooting him up in a diner. Life was strange that way, at least, when you're a spy. It's hard not to feel a twinge of jealousy as he watches Tony scoop Steve up and fly away. Since she was young, she could remember having a fantasy just like that, but she was never assigned a knight in shining armor. She's secretly proud, watching Tony do the right thing even if as ever, she's stuck.

Everyone is so caught up in the commotion, they never question her, and she's more than happy to slip away and get home to her tiny apartment in Queens. Liho greets her at the door and things mostly go back to normal, for a while. She sees Good Morning America the next day, once again thinking it a brilliant move. And once again relieved she didn't have to step in on SHIELD's behalf. If they had asked her to take Steve back, she's not sure what she would have done.

As she settles back into her routine, she finds herself missing Pepper and Tony, even if they never got to know her really. It's a familiar feeling, but amplified. She tries to shove the emotions away and get back to her job, but she can't. There's something holding her back. She tosses and turns, but eventually gets to sleep and every night she dreams of the interrogation. That wasn't what it was made to look like, but as she sat there across from Steve, she could see in his eyes that he knew. The answers get further and further away from real life with each passing night and she finds herself wondering what he's doing right now, though it seems utterly inane.

She goes up to the roof to water her plants and sees the glint of Stark Tower in the distance. The Avengers Initiative has completely ground to a halt, obviously, though Coulson keeps fooling himself with that little team of his. Natasha goes out of her way to know as little as possible about what they do on purpose. Trish Talk is the first to break the story: Iron Man, War Machine and Captain America working together as a team. Usually, Tony defended the homefront while Rhodey served as a nuclear deterrent, as Tony had said to the security counsel that day. But this is different, and she can hear the excitement in the woman's voice on her radio app. Stark is doing it himself, he's assembling the team. She really should have predicted this. And in a way, isn't it her fault?

Her communications go dark as she changes into her uniform and cloaks her position. Fury will figure out her dot has disappeared from the map, but not before she does something stupid. It's a challenge like she hasn't had in a while, bypassing Jarvis, and it's beyond fun at that. Stark really does have a brilliant mind, but she's the better hacker. Some sweet-talking doesn't go amiss either and to her surprise, Tony didn't change her security login. A moment ago, she felt like she was a step ahead of him, but now she feels two steps behind even as the glass door slides open, welcoming her into the kitchen.

"Hello?" Natasha asks in a small voice, peeking around the penthouse apartment for a familiar face. She actually starts when she turns and sees Steve instead of Tony or Pepper. Uh... She looks down at her outfit and then up at him. This looks... bad, doesn't it? Yeah, she really hadn't thought this through.

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He's going through the motions of what passes for a normal day now. Steve is making a simple pancake breakfast now that he's mastered a modern kitchen. Next on the agenda is learning about what he missed. JARVIS is guiding him through this part as much as an AI can. It reminds him of all the times he had been too sick to go to school. The lessons are all here with a patient voice to guide him through. Honestly the only thing missing is the fever and crumbling apartment. Training will come after. Some of it is to learn about modern fighting techniques from whoever is around to give him a crash course at the time and the rest is just to maintain his skills. From there it's some steady combination of doodling or Netflix until something happens or someone comes by.

In other words, he's a shut in. The fact that someone is here outside the usual group unsettles him. The fact that it's a young woman makes it even worse. He's hanging out in a tank top and sweatpants. It's not exactly appropriate for what he assumes is a friend of Pepper's.

Once Steve takes in the outfit, his anxiety fades away. It's replaced by a burning anger at SHIELD for reinviting itself into his life. A giant hand settles on the handle of the frying pan while his foot moves the tiny distance it takes to kick up the shield to his free hand. Even now that bit of readiness has yet to fade. Steve isn't embarrassed about it this time. He feels vindicated.

His eyes are ice cold as he regards her. His words aren't any warmer. "If you turn around and leave now, I won't stop you." That is the only warning she is going to get. He doesn't want to get into a drawn out fight with whatever SHIELD agent could make it this far, but he will. He's not going back.

[relicta]

He picks up his shield and her eyes go wide, taking a few steps back like she might indeed beat a hasty retreat. She's not armed, and in fact only put this on so she wouldn't be seen, but she can't blame him for being cautious after everything. Natasha slowly raises her hands so Steve can see she doesn't mean him any harm.

"Fury doesn't know I'm here," she tells him, voice a bit husky from rushing around rooftops. She tilts her head as she looks upward, some red curls spilling out of where she had pinned it to the side. "I actually came here for Stark."

[valuedstrength]

His eyes never leave her. He scans carefully for any sign of a weapon. It won't make any difference. If she made it this far, she's good. This won't be an easy fight. It doesn't look like she wants to have it. Her answer gets Steve to at least take his hand off the frying pan and turn off the heat. Baby steps.

"What do you need Tony for?"

[relicta]

Her heart beats a little faster as she thinks over her answer.

"A job," she admits, turning to close the sliding glass door that would have shut automatically if she hadn't disabled the security system. "I'm going to reach for my phone to reenable JARVIS, okay?"

Natasha does as she says, reaching into her utility belt for the old school sidekick she modified a long time ago. She focuses, clicking through menus until the Tower's lockdown protocol goes back into effect.

"Thank you, Agent Romanoff. That was quite uncomfortable." She lifts a brow Steve's way with that done, standing up on her tiptoes to try and get a look at what he's doing without taking a step forward.

"Are you making pancakes?" She's charmed by that, for some reason.

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The idea that someone would want Tony for a job tracks. He can't deny any request that will bring his new buddy back. Steve already feels bereft enough as it is. He lets out a soft exhale when JARVIS' familiar voice chimes in. "You okay, pal?" Steve asks without ever stopping his watch. He is oddly charmed by her standing on her tippy toes to see what he's up to. Despite Steve's best effort to be hard, dry humor slips into his tone.

"I was making pancakes. Now I'm having a stare off with a home invader." #bitter

[relicta]

"As okay as one can be after being hacked, Captain Rogers. Thank you for your concern."

Natasha's lips twitch at that, only Tony would build an AI as dramatic as himself. "Is it really hacking if I had a password?" she challenges, finally saying 'To Hell with it' and wandering into the kitchen to check on Steve's progress. "Who are these for?" She looks every bit like she'd do anything for cold pancake scraps right now, not unlike the feline she'd left behind to come here.

[valuedstrength]

Steve can't honestly follow this conversation. He is guessing since JARVIS isn't sounding the alarms or something that this person is more or less safe to have around. When she advances, Steve sets his shield back down. He's not one for empty threats. There's no reason to start a fight now as far as he can tell. He turns the burner back on so he can finish up this batch.

"For me." Steve answers bluntly. She clearly really wants these pancakes so he decides he may as well try to cut a deal. "And a guest. Would you like to be a guest?"

[relicta]

Her lips tick up, appreciating his blunt answer. He's both everything and nothing like she expected.

"I would love to be a guest," she says and even her voice has something of a feline quality, rumbling and low. Has she ever been someone's guest before? Not truly, and even this is a bit coerced, but it's a nice thought anyway. "If you don't mind."

Natasha takes one more step in to watch over him, finding herself most drawn to his hands, eyes following each movement with a bright flick of green.

[valuedstrength]

Steve has never been close to felines. It's not like they could pinpoint every little thing he was allergic to as they could now. He avoided anything that could trigger a reaction or asthma attack. He imagines this is what cats are like. His guard lowers ever so slightly at the realization. "I wouldn't mind the company." As much as he likes JARVIS, he's not the same as a human being.

He gets to work on salvaging the pancake he had been cooking, testing the bottom to see if it will firm up properly. Once he's sure the cake isn't ruined forever, he grabs another pan and sets it on the burner. "You like eggs?" He's already got some lukewarm sausages next to his stack of pancakes. He's not too fussy about how warm or cold anything is as long as it's food, but at least the eggs can be hot for her.

[relicta]

She's not fussy about anything at all and when it comes to food... she acts like she's never seen anyone cook it before. Of course, she does the same act to Clint's wife, there are just some things one never could get used to. Natasha looks up after a second and nods, feeling like she left him hanging though it was only a second or two from the tail end of his question.

"I'm not sure I count as company, but I'll do my best."

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He can't help noticing her reactions to his movement. His heart seizes up painfully. Steve doesn't think she's faking this. He has to wonder where SHIELD is getting these agents from. It's definitely not polite to ask even with his rocky relationship with them. He called her a guest, after all. He can't take his grudge out on her.

"Maybe it would help if I had a name." Steve suggests as he turns on the burner and goes for the butter and eggs. "I'm Steve. And you are?" Agent Romanoff and Captain America aren't exactly names from Steve's perspective. Better to start this with first names.