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[brushpass]

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[leftcold]

"And you can't tell me anything about it or else you'd have to kill me?" Bucky asks without any seriousness. He's sure that there's plenty about it that's classified and extremely need to know, and if anyone could kill him it might be her, especially if she tried while he was driving and not expecting it, but... well, maybe that's what makes it funny?

Or maybe his sense of humor is questionable these days.

"Are you going to be gone long?"

[brushpass]

"Oh, absolutely." There's a twitch at the corner of her mouth like she's trying not to laugh as she leans back against the head rest, giving him an amused look. It's the kind of joke that might not land with another audience but, well. She gets it. The nature of classified work means she often can only give even the most basic details of what she does.

"Why, are you gonna miss me?" The twitch finally turns into a smile as she asks the question lightly, flirtatiously. "Probably just a week, maybe two."

[leftcold]

"Good to know how long to wait before I start knocking on doors." Whether her employers or her contacts or her targets, he leaves vague. He doesn't really have any plans to scour the world for her, and his tone stays relatively light.

But as he says it he confronts the fact it's not not true either.

Bucky doesn't have a whole lot of people left. Makes it easy to imagine going to extremes to make sure he doesn't lose them.

[brushpass]

Natasha chuckles and rolls her eyes, amused and fond. It's one of those joking comments that she could easily see having a grain of truth to it. And it's sort of endearing to think that he might worry about her. Most people don't, and she doesn't look for it. But he knows better than most that all it takes is one misstep, one bad second, for everything to go haywire.

"How about I give you one of my burners when you drop me back off tonight? I'll text you when I'm done."

[leftcold]

"Yeah?" He wasn't really angling for something like that, but there's a flash of something when Natasha offers. Not quite relief, and definitely not excitement, but a certain warmth. He's... pleased, might be the word for it.

Flattered, a little.

That she'd think of him.

Maybe glad to have something to look forward to.

"Sounds like a deal. You can tell me how it went after you've debriefed."

[brushpass]

Natasha can tell that her guess about the tone of his joking comment was spot on. A little smile lingers at the corner of her mouth as she tips her head enough so she can look over at him.

"Yeah. We can meet for brunch." An incongruous place to confirm details of a mission, but she finds that people are typically to involved in their own lives to listen closely to other tables when they're eating.

They're getting closer to the dive she programmed into the phone, so she scans the street for parking. "We're almost there. Grab whatever spot you see first."

[leftcold]

Bucky nods, using the pretense for a moment of silence as he sits straighter. It's not that the conversation is unpleasant. Just the opposite, really. But... well, it's been a long time since he had to carry a whole side of a conversation on his own.

Natasha handles it well, but it's still helpful to take a moment to center again.

Make sure he's not embarrassing himself.

He parks the first open spot he passes.

"Should have enough time for a drink and a game of darts, you think?"

[brushpass]

It might help him to know that it's not likely that the average person would be able to tell that it's been a long time since he's had to hold up conversation. The unfortunate flip side to that is that she's adept enough at reading the beats of a conversation that she can tell when he's centering himself. She doesn't think of it as something to be embarrassed of. It's just part of the way that he communicates. During the pause, she shuts off the navigation on her phone and slides it back into her clutch.

"Oh, definitely. Especially if I trounce you like I'm planning to." It's a playful challenge, delivered with a quick smirk. It's second nature to check her surroundings before she gets out of the car, and she does the perfunctory visual sweep before she climbs out of the passenger seat to meet him on the sidewalk. "By the way, whatever you do, do not order the tequila."

Sorry for the delay!

[leftcold]

"Why, what's wrong with the tequila?"

He hadn't planned on ordering it, but now he needs to know. Besides, he's not so slow he misses an bid for a new conversation topic.

"Are we talking bad, or bad?"

no worries! <3

[brushpass]

"Bad."

The emphasis on her response is impossible to miss, and she shoots him an amused look. It's clear that she's probably not going to elaborate on what exactly it is that makes the tequila so bad. That she might even be egging him on to see if he'll order it.

Which is why she tacks on after a moment, "unless you like drinking paint thinner."

[leftcold]

"I don't know. Maybe that'd be strong enough to do something for me."

He meant it as a joke, but it comes out a little off, maybe a little bitter. It would be nice sometimes if he could get just a little drunk. Just to take the edge off.

He shrugs it off.

"But definitely not for the taste."

[brushpass]

She can tell he's trying to make light of it. But it still comes out - just a little flat. Like maybe he's trying to make himself think it's funnier than it is.

"Have you had a chance to try Asgardian mead?" she asks as she pulls the door to the bar open so they can step inside.

It is, as she promised, an absolute dive. There's a fair number of people inside, but thankfully not too crowded.

[leftcold]

Seems like the kind of place a person can disappear in. That makes it kind of comforting.

His fingers twitch to take the door from her, but he reminds himself that it's literally a new century. They can take turns with this.

"Haven't had the pleasure," he says, holding the door open once he's inside. Split the difference? "I haven't actually had much of a chance to hang out with Asgardians socially."

Or maybe he just hasn't hung out socially much.

"Maybe I should have asked on New Year's Eve?"

[brushpass]

"They tend to be...boisterous when they drink." It's the nicest way she can think of to caution him. She likes Thor, she's enjoyed meeting Valkyrie, Loki is Loki. "I'll reach out and see if someone can send a bottle your way."

She's pretty sure the challenging part will be getting them to limit it to one bottle.

Slipping her coat off as she approaches the bar, she turns her head to look over at him with a smirk. "There's no secret top shelf whiskey here."

[leftcold]

"I'd be more disappointed if there were." He follows her, trying not to loom. Or lurk. Or stalk. Or any of the other expressive verbs Sam likes to use for him when he's making people around him uncomfortable.

Luckily, no one here seems to be paying too much attention.

"Maybe that means it'll be a reasonable price." Then he adds, wincing. "Not that I'm cheap when I take a girl out."

[brushpass]

Well, there is one person paying attention, but thankfully she just looks sort of fondly amused. Both when it becomes apparent that he's not entirely sure where to stand, and when he winces about seeming cheap.

"I'd allow it if you were. Generational differences and all," she points out, sparing him a quick look and a smile before she turns her head to flag down the bartender. "You can put your arm around me if you want. Or your hand on my back."

[leftcold]

Her permission does get a smile out of him. It's somewhat rueful, but the warmth still reaches his eyes, crinkling their corners slightly.

Before he can think about it too about it too much, he moves his right hand to her back. It's a light touch, but reassuring and he likes the way his hand fits in the curve.

"You're sure this doesn't come off as possessive?"

[brushpass]

"Do you care if it does?"

It's probably not fair to bat the question back at him that way. But she's curious enough to hear the answer that she does it anyway. If he'd done it without her prompting, she probably would have teased him about it a bit, lightly. Just another way of carefully prodding where those boundaries lay between them.

[leftcold]

That's a hard question to answer. He wouldn't say he cares about it himself, exactly, but he does care that Natasha might care.

He smiles a little, awkward.

"I guess don't want to make it sound like you can't break wrists for yourself if someone gets too handsy."

[brushpass]

She can't help but smile a little herself in response. It's weirdly charming, the way he clearly wants to make sure he's not compromising her agency.

She leans in toward him a bit, like they're conspiring together. Her voice is pitched low when she answers. "Well, since we already established that I'll break the wrist of someone that's being too handsy, I think you've got ample evidence that your hand is welcome."

[leftcold]

That startles a laugh out of him, nearly soundless but enough to break some of the tension he's been carrying. Considering he has no less than a verbal invitation, Bucky leans closer, his hand settling lightly on the small of her back.

"Point taken," he says, a little self-deprecating but less nervy. "You haven't exactly been shy about letting me know what you want so far."

[brushpass]

Natasha enjoys flirting, but in the same way that she enjoys most games. It's a fun way to feel out the other person, to get a sense of what they like and don't like. With Bucky, she's pretty sure that making her own parameters clear are just going to help him feel more comfortable in flirting himself.

"I could pretend to be shy," she suggests, though the smirk that lingers on her lips as she looks over at him makes it very clear that she doesn't mean it.

[leftcold]

"Oh, then I'd know something was up." His smile matches hers, more confident as he relaxes. The fact they haven't been recognized yet helps put him at ease.

"You're a lot of things, but shy isn't one of them."

[brushpass]

She can tell that he's starting to relax, which of course is the whole point of disappearing into a shitty little bar like this one. It's always nice to see when he just lets himself be in the moment.

"Oh yeah?" she answers with a quiet chuckle, holding her gaze on him as the smirk gives way to a smile. "What other things am I, then?" There's a playful ease to it that makes it clear that this is just a continuation of their banter. She's confident enough to know exactly what kind of things she is. Both good and bad.

[leftcold]

"Determined?" he suggests, and there's humor in it but also respect. It's not every woman who'd throw herself straight at a super soldier. Even fewer who'd survive the encounter. "You strike me as someone who gets her way more often than not."

He flashes a smile. "Maybe a little too stubborn for her own good."

Maybe a little too forgiving for her own good, too, though he keeps that to himself.