Oh lord, I have been sold; that I must take the unforsaken road...

[tendnottoweep]

Characters: Natasha Romanova, Rikki Barnes, Olivia Dunham & YOU!
Date: NOW
Location: Various locations
Situation: There's a spy doing spy things, a teenage vigilante picking the wrong fight, and and an FBI agent trying to figure out how to cause her own fringe events.
Warnings/Rating: Violence, compound fractures, angry Russians... also Steve cuts a guy in half. :|

Comments

[tendnottoweep]

Is he serious. He can't be serious. Her attention's actually drawn away from Loki's suite as she watches him for a minute or two, hoping he'll go away instead of standing right out in the open with that enormous target on his arm. Of course, he doesn't, and she finally closes her notebook with a sigh, finishes her tea, and gets up to leave.

It's not long before she swings up onto the rooftop behind him and stalks toward him, her voice low as she snaps, "What are you doing?"

[usavatar]

He glances over at her, and then focuses again on the apartment below. "What do you think I'm doing?"

Steve's tone contrasts her own in every possible way, to the point where it's obvious he's doing it to aggravate her. He thought he was beyond his upset about Bucky, but apparently there's still a new distrust that even a common enemy can't cut through at once. "You didn't have to leave the cafe."

[tendnottoweep]

She clenches her jaw and draws a deep breath, fighting down temper. This is ridiculous. Whatever they're doing now, she doesn't have the patience for it... but this isn't really the time or place to deal with it. So obviously the best thing to do is ignore it.

She lets out the breath, relaxing her shoulders, flexing her hands to shake out the tension. "I was hoping I could convince you to leave."

[usavatar]

"How much luck would I have with you? That's how much you'll have with me."

He doesn't turn away from the edge entirely, still watching Loki's residence and the streets around it as he speaks to Natasha.

[tendnottoweep]

She pauses for a moment, lips pressed together in annoyance, and then steps up to the edge next to him. "At this point you might as well go knock on his door. It would save a lot of time for the same result."

[usavatar]

"What were you going to do, go after him for taking a stroll?"

He pauses, and then exhales, releasing some small part of his tension toward her. "This is idiotic. We - I'm holding a grudge for something you have... you did have every right to keep secret." He does look away then, focusing on the street. "He's my best friend."

[tendnottoweep]

"I know."

She goes quiet for a moment. She hadn't expected him to actually talk about it yet - certainly not here - and it's not easy shifting her thoughts from surveillance and strategy and thoughts of vivisecting Loki to... this.

"I didn't think it would help either of you worrying about something you can't change. It doesn't matter here. If it ever looked like we were going to make it home... then I would have told you."

[usavatar]

"You don't get to choose what we worry about. Not telling me for your own, personal reasons - that's one thing. Not telling me because you decide I don't need to know? That's different." He pauses, not sure how close to home he wants to hit right now. It's a large part of the reason they're both here, after all.

"If it was Clint you'd want to know."

[tendnottoweep]

There's a flare of temper; hardly any outward sign, just a sharp glance and a long, hard stare his direction, but for an instant she just wants to break something. He's right. It's still a low blow, and she's not used to being around someone who can see her soft spots well enough to hit them.

"I wasn't hiding it, I just didn't see a benefit to dragging up my past. He hasn't been there yet, and it is personal." She pauses, and when she goes on, the sharp edge has bled out of her voice. "Does it matter now?"

Clint's dead. They're not going home. Bucky's probably dead in their own world anyway. At this point, the only person it should concern is her.

[liugan]

High tension was so easily sensed even between walls.

The reason and direction of it not so much, but it was there, and it was distracting him from his reading. It wasn't a book rightfully his, of course, but it would return to its original owner once he was finished. If he ever did. And at the rate the outside bickering was escalating, it was unlikely he would be able to concentrate on it for much longer. How very inconsiderate of his neighbours.

Setting the book aside, Loki decided he may as well take a stroll. He exchanged his Asgardian wear for his suit, attire better suited to a city full of mortals, and he quietly exited his quarters in search of a relaxing cup of tea.

One never left the house without being prepared, of course, so his knives were concealed inside his coat. Just in case. That tension in the air could be a lover's spat, after all. Dangerous things.

[usavatar]

Loki.

No chance to answer, to tell her it does matter. They'll have to save that debate of ideologies for another time.

"No reindeer games this time," Steve says, under his breath. "Didn't think he could do subtle."

[tendnottoweep]

Natasha tenses and falls silent immediately, her eyes tracking Loki with an almost predatory intensity.

"Neither did I," she murmurs, slowly dropping into a crouch - both so she can get a better look at him, and to make herself just a little less conspicuous. Steve may be comfortable making a big red, white and blue target of himself, but she's not. "You think he knows anyone's paying attention?"

[liugan]

It wasn't so difficult to tell there were eyes on him. Almost immediately, all that tension from outside was now focused on him the very moment he closed his apartment door, and if he wasn't concerned before he certainly was now.

People simply weren't trustworthy around here, and Loki didn't think twice before reaching into his coat, taking one of his knives to tuck into the sleeve of his coat, the hilt balanced on the tip of his finger to remain hidden and at the ready. He didn't speed up - no point in making whoever it was chase after him. But if they did indeed choose to follow, well. He would just have to do something about that.

[usavatar]

Steve doesn't hide, almost hoping Loki will take the initiative in this particular instance.

"I'm sure he does." After everything Loki managed on the helicarrier, after the way he stared straight into the cameras guarding his cell and delivered taunts to people he couldn't see, Steve isn't about to question Loki's situational awareness. Steve does not, at least, look down at Natasha and give her away, even if he thinks hiding is pointless. "I'm wondering how long it will take for him to do something about it."