For her comment about Steve and his ability to hold his liquor now, there's only that hint of a smirk again as he decides to hold it close to his chest for now that he's thinking about asking Steve to drink some of the Asgardian mead with him. When it's closer to the time they actually get their hands on it he'll bring it up to Natasha, but only then.
Then, he feels slightly called out. It wasn't harsh, so his hackles don't immediately come up and put him on the defensive. He has the decency to at least look a little awkward about it, to try and roll his shoulders a little so he can maybe pretend to be more comfortable but it's not easily sold.
"I usually...sit on the floor when I have the television on at home," he admits after a beat, the words taking a moment because it's weird. It's one of those things where he can't really get comfortable because things still feel too soft or he feels a lot more grounded ( literally, since he's on the ground ) and it helps him feel less of that struggle he has in the day-to-day sometimes.
He glances from her then to the floor and then back again, before he makes his move to sit on the floor and places his glass on the table next to hers. His settles in against the front of the couch while his legs stretch out in front of him, his arms resting at his sides for now. He'll likely change positions on the floor at least once before the movie is over, but for now he at least looks more comfortable than he did earlier. He even tilts his head back a little to look at Natasha as if to say 'happy now?' before bringing his attention back to the television after checking on the cats.
"Maybe he's based on someone or a few spies who weren't all that good." He comments, but it's to grab onto something lighter when it came to the subject of the James Bond books.
Natasha merely inclines her head when he admits how he usually watches something at home. It's clear that she doesn't find that confession particularly unusual. Probably he'll have to say something like 'and sometimes I hang upside down from my ankles' for her to really react. It's been years since she escaped the Red Room, but she still remembers what this time feels like. Trying to figure out how to be human while she had absolutely no idea who she really was underneath the layers of training. If she can give him a little grace during this time - and if he can accept it - well. That's not nothing.
While he shifts around, she busies herself with finding the movie on streaming and cues it up so they can watch it. When he tips his head back to look at her, she meets his gaze with a genuine smile. She wonders if this feels like a step back to him, having to retreat to the floor. It only looks like a step forward to her. It's a small piece of vulnerability, but it counts. That kind of thing doesn't come easily.
She hums thoughtfully at his comment about the Bond books, shifting her position on the couch so she can stretch her legs out across the center cushion. "It's the contrast, I think. Like how the Red Guardian was for propaganda and showy, distracting missions while someone else did the real work in the dark. It's interesting to see those two facets at odds in one character."
Not feeling judged it...helps. That's the only word he has for it, because it doesn't fully ease that rise of anxiety he's realizing that he started to feel when it came to looking well, weak, in the moment. He tends to judge his progress harshly when it comes to making his strides to become 'normal' - whatever the hell that meant. His barometer for normal is broken, he's pretty damn sure of that because even just one thing that's happened in his long life would barely be a drop in the bucket when it came to weird shit.
So the edges of his mouth turn up, just a little, in a smile that can only be seen as grateful. He can accept that grace she gives him and not make a disparaging comment about himself because she's not judging him. If she's not judging, then doesn't have a reason to do it himself to deflect his own feelings for a change.
He hears the shift in her position on the couch, so it causes him to turn his head a little to look at her for a moment before shaking his head. "Now I see you wanted the whole couch to yourself." His tone isn't disgruntled nor does it hold any bite to it, it holds amusement because he's happy sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. This works better for him. "Guess you'll have to show me one of 'em later, so I can see how bad this guy is as a spy. Although with some of the stuff that happens to us and the people we know, maybe I'm onto something with him being inspired by real life."
Hey, well look at that. She's going to take that little smile as a victory. Maybe they're going to have to make a habit of these movie nights. They both have...unpredictable schedules, but they can find overlap if they make a point of looking for it. She can't help but smile to herself when he cracks that joke about her wanting the whole couch for herself. "Oh, was that not obvious? Next time you turn around I'm going to be fully stretched out and under a blanket."
Which might sound like an exaggeration, but only because she's not likely to actually do that until after they eat something.
"It's weird because it's not played like he's a bad spy, but when you watch it, you're going to spend the whole time going 'this should be a team of two.'" She'll be interested to hear if anything that happens pings something deep in his memory, though she's not sure that he'll share if he does. "Let me know when you're feeling hungry. I was thinking Thai or Italian."
i never realized that i live for the idea of them having movie nights omg THANK YOU
Not that he wasn't already feeling comfortable enough in Natasha's presence to lower some of his guard, the fact he managed even the slightest of smiles is further proof of that. Steve can manage it and when he was in Louisiana with Sam and his family, it happened then. His defenses aren't fully lowered, he still tries to place those walls up ( but they're not a nearly indestructible metal like his arm, so they start to crumble after a while ) but it's a start to showing that he does actually trust people. It's less of a line of bullshit he sold to Raynor to make it sound like he was "healing".
"If you fall asleep, I'm just gonna think it's because you got too comfortable and not because of your company. But I am gonna have to get proof if you snore," he follows up a moment later, unable to keep the humor that was trying to peek through out of his tone. He'll leave her to wonder if he's serious about it or not ( he is, of course he is ) and whether or not he'll share it with the others or keep it to himself.
"I could eat some Thai. And you know as well as I do, I'm hungry a lot of the time. Perks of the serum and all." That time, his tone is dry because while that's at least one of the better perks not related to being a weapon used to hurt people, it's still a fairly inconvenient perk at times. "And does that mean when we get around to Bond, you'll be criticizing it the whole time?" He didn't mind a lack of reality in films, but he did look at things and think about how that weapon was all wrong for the scenario or how they were holding their gun like an idiot and why the hell didn't they have more knives on them? Yeah, he was gonna end up criticizing it too.
Right? Eventually they're sharing popcorn and accidentally falling asleep on the couch
"Hate to disappoint you, Barnes," Natasha answers with a little smile. There's a pause, and then she tacks on, "I do grind my teeth when I sleep, though. I have a night guard and everything. It's real sexy." She's pretty good about not letting anyone catch her wearing it. Well, Clint has, but she's not entirely sure that he counts. They've spent so much time on long, uncomfortable ops together that there's really no space for secrets.
She chuckles a little at his dry comment about the perks of the serum, and shifts off the couch for a moment so she can get her tablet off of the coffee table. Once she's reclining again, she answers him. "When we were in Ohio, Melina used to cut all of the food with additional portions for Alexei after serving the rest of us. He was always happy about having an excuse to eat more." Her voice is all fond exasperation, and she flips on the tablet to navigate to Seamless so she can find a Thai restaurant. Certainly much happier than Steve or Bucky ever seem about it - the best she's ever seen from Steve is absolute neutrality. "Then again, he also insists that Steve was his great adversary during the Cold War, so he's not exactly the best authority on super soldiers."
There's a pause when he asks about her take on the Bond movies, but she's still smiling as she hands the tablet over to him so he can order. "Get whatever you want, I'm going to add extra if you don't order enough. And no, they're my favorite movies. I can quote all of them word for word."
It sounds like a joke. It must be a joke. But he's going to find out once they get to it that it is absolutely not.
movie nights lead to getting at least a few solid hours of shut eye. huh, weird. wonder why that is
"Guess I'm gonna have to be on the look out for this night guard of yours," he answers back easily, since he was really only thinking about finding something like the little things they all tease one another about, that maybe the others don't know about her. Barton doesn't count, he was her partner for what he gathered was a long time and he's retired in a different way than Steve is because he doesn't find himself sometimes crashing in on their missions like Natasha. He's focused on that, he doesn't think about how that could have sounded.
He takes the tablet from her and thumbs through the menu to pick a few of the things - Pad Thai and Pad Kra Pao Moo to start and making sure there was some sticky rice in there as well - as he thought about her comment about Alexei. "I don't hate it, it's just a pain in the ass sometimes to make sure you eat enough or you end up slowing down. It's a loss of control I don't like," he reflects after a beat, handing her back the tablet right after and hoping that he ordered enough after all.
Handing the tablet back, it has him looking at her again and this time he's squinting at her as if trying to read between her expression and body language for something a lot more important than a comment about the Bond movies.
Natasha's brow quirks at his easy response. And she is 100% certain that he has no idea how that comment can be taken. She knows she should just let it sit, bat something easy and challenging back. But - look, sometimes she just can't help herself. To her, flirting is a sport, and she could qualify for the Olympics. Which is way she answers him, all dry humor, "you'll have to buy me dinner first." Maybe she just wants to see if she can get him to turn red. Even pink would be a victory.
True to her word, she's stretches out on the couch on her side as he peruses the menu. Head propped up on her hand, she idly watches the TV screen, letting him take his time with what he wants to eat. She hums thoughtfully as he muses about his relationship with food, taking the tablet back when it's offered over. "I can see how that would be annoying. Alexei used to think he had to increase both the calories and volume he was eating. Melina gave him a very thorough lecture about the science of calories and carbohydrates that he completely ignored." Which is why he's built more like an old grizzly bear on the other side of his long prison sentence.
Perusing the menu, she orders herself a roasted duck curry, then adds on an order of steamed mixed vegetables, chicken satay, and pork dumplings they can both pick at. She's impressed with the amount he let himself order, but this feels like a good opportunity to enjoy a variety of flavors and force him to bring some leftovers home.
She sends the order off with a tip for the driver, and her eyes lift to meet his as he squints at her. Her mouth curls in a smirk. "Guess you're going to have to wait and find out."
it'll have absolutely nothing to do with why people question what's going on between them, nope
"What? Why would I have to-," he starts for a moment and then, then there's a dawning realization after another beat that was probably a little too long for someone who's over a hundred years old and while he wasn't really doing much for a very large chunk of that time, it's not like he'd never used a line to get a woman into bed. With that dawning realization he can feel the tops of his ears getting hot and it causes him to duck his head a little. "You know what I meant," he mumbles a moment later, because she wouldn't be giving him shit for if she didn't.
Thankfully he recovers enough to be able to give a quiet snort of laughter when she describes the approach Alexei did and probably still does take to the amount of food he needs to eat due to the serum, because he can see why someone would think that. But it might also be down to both he and Alexei being a product of their times. It's hard for him to really deal in excess when there had been a time that food and the money for food was scarcer than they would like and things had to stretch to make it through. He might not have to deal with that as a reality now but it's harder for him to really let go of some of that mentality, no matter how many reminders he got.
He's still squinting at her even after her smirk, before relaxing again, like he wasn't just trying to figure out if she was just saying something as a joke and hoped he took it literal.
"Alright, one question though, are you the kinda person who's annoying about it when you quote it because you're doing it the whole time and distracting from the movie or is it gonna be under your breath?" He's still not sure if he believes it, but he decides it's worth it to know, just in case.
"we don't even know each other" they both insist, despite standing in the same room, visibly texting
The other shoe drops with a thud, and she can see the tips of his ears go pink. It's so unexpectedly endearing that she finds herself smiling a little as his head dips down. Thankfully, now that she knows she can get him to blush, she won't exploit it too often. That kind of thing is best reserved for when the right moment presents itself. She doesn't want to torment him, after all. She just - well, she's not entirely sure. In part, it's just nice to be around someone that understands why she is the way she is without having to explain it. And she genuinely enjoys his company. Which is why she responds, the warm humor evident in her voice, "I know. Couldn't help myself."
Alexei definitely still takes a 'quantity and quality' approach to his food intake. And he's slower than he was when he was younger, but she knows people have underestimated him to their detriment. If he was a little less...boisterous...she'd probably try to engineer him having a conversation with Steve and Bucky. Unfortunately, he doesn't really have any wisdom he'd willingly part with before Bucky would want to punch him. He'd behave too weirdly around Steve to make any headway.
Maybe she can start wearing him down. She makes a mental note to enlist Yelena.
When he finally relaxes, the smirk is still lingering on her lips. Even so, her tone is dry when she answers, "how dare you, I'm a delight." Like there's any way to talk along with a movie without it being obnoxious. Don't worry, Bucky, she at least has enough manners to mouth along silently to herself. Actually. "If you want to test me, you can cue me when you want me to start quoting along." This is absolutely not a skill she should be proud of, but what the hell. Why not? She has so little in her life that she can't trace back to the Red Room. Even things she loves, she's mostly had to reclaim for herself. She comes by this weird little quirk honestly enough that she can call it something that's entirely her.
and naturally they'll have a chuckle with each other about what they're texting about
He doesn't even try to bring himself to look back at her after that, at least not while he can feel that heat at the tops of his ears although he's grateful to hear that warm humor in her tone because it tells him she wasn't doing it to be malicious. They both have a similar way when it comes to the people around them who actually mean something - there's varying degrees of it because the people in their little group have different levels of history with him - and that means even with a dry or sarcastic tone, in teasing the others, it's to be expected at any moment during an interaction.
And because despite not knowing what his comment sounded like at the time, it's not like he exactly minds it that she threw a flirtatious comment at him. He doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing, now that he's realizing that he enjoys being in her company but what he does know is it's not gonna stop him from hanging out with her.
"Hey, I'm not actually arguing with you about that," he tells her with a hint of a laugh trying to color his tone when he says it. He does think she's a delight, he wouldn't be sitting on the floor of her living room if he felt like it was torture to be in her presence. "But I'd even punch Steve if he wanted to pull that kinda thing and thought it would fly." He'll let that image stay there, the idea of Steve Rogers deciding to quote a movie word for word and it annoying the hell out of him enough that he'd need to put a stop to it. "I can do that, 'cause you can't say that and then not prove it. I'll try to pick a scene where it looks like they're gonna talk a lot."
[they high five without looking] everyone else like "this is a weird russian thing, right?"
It's honestly all a little bit parallel to their cats getting to know each other. A bit of cautious exploration, sharing a few things they both enjoy. Slowly circling closer to see exactly how well they could get along if they let themselves. Which will be the tricky part. Sometimes it's easier to hold back, to hold things in. They both spend enough time jumping out of planes that it can be challenging to take the same leap emotionally.
"All I'm taking away from this is that I'm more delightful than Steve Rogers." Her answer comes languidly, playfully, a hint of a smirk on her lips as she says it. It's abundantly clear that she knows that's not what he means, and that she's going to run with it anyway. "And I have great news for you. There's a ton of quippy back and forth dialogue. I might even do voices for you if you pick a good scene."
No pressure, Bucky.
She lapses into a companionable silence as the movie picks up, content to be laying on the couch with him on the floor nearby. Her phone buzzes and she lifts it to look at the screen, then sits up. "Food's here. I'll be right back." She slips off the couch to his right and moves across the living room, opening the front door so she can pick up the bag of food from the doorstep. There's an amused look on her face when she returns. The bag is bursting with containers. "Okay, I might have over done it with the sides."
one of them looks up and says "what are you talking about?" while acting like nothing happened
"Y'know what, depending on the day maybe you are." He answers back in a quick way, a smirk tugging at his lips as he decides to volley back a little at her, thanks to the playful way she said it. He wasn't saying that at all, but he also wasn't currently sat on Steve's floor ready to watch a movie, either. Now that they've opened the door to him actually hanging out with her like this alone, it means when their schedules align and if he feels up to it, he might seek her company out instead of Steve or Sam's.
And in spending time together more like this, it'll give them more of that time to circle each other, since he thinks he needs more time to figure these things out these days. Even if Natasha counted as someone he worked with and felt a camaraderie with because of their shared friends, it wasn't the same as what his relationships with Steve and Sam were like.
A flicker of amusement of his own follows after seeing the containers trying to escape out of the bag - he wonders now why they didn't just put some of the containers in another bag, the damn thing looks like it's ready to break - while quickly getting up and moving to help her with the bag so it can be settled onto the coffee table since he assumes they're not moving from the couch for this. He can at least help her get some of the containers unpacked as he takes in the amount of food she ordered.
"You think you were feeding an army, Romanoff? What all did you get?"
steve and sam like "we were absolutely not prepared for this kind of chaos"
"Oh, I'll never let you forget you said that," Natasha answers with a grin. There's some playfulness in his own voice, which is a charming novelty. If she can coax that out of him, she'll absolutely wait until a prime moment to casually ask if he remembers the time he said she's more delightful than Steve. Besides, it was just another sign that his trust in her was growing. Joking around like this might not strike many people as a vulnerability, but they've both been used as weapons. Humor is its own weakness. But as always, there's a strength in embracing those weaknesses. They make life more complicated, but that's exactly what makes life worth living.
She's laughing by the time he gets up to help guide the bag onto the coffee table. It's totally ridiculous that all of this didn't come in two bags. Maybe whoever at the restaurant packed it decided to take it as a personal challenge. Kneeling next to the table, she starts to meticulously extract each of the containers.
His question is met with a quick upward glance, a feigned look of indignation on her face that's belied by the smirk that lingers at the corner of her mouth. "I've seen you and Steve eat enough times to know you can pack it away. Besides, I figured with enough extras, I'd be able to convince you to take half the leftovers home with you so nothing goes to waste." That's right, Bucky. She's going to trick you into eating more things you enjoy. And she doesn't look even remotely repentant about it.
Smiling, she offers him one of the wrapped utensil packets, and then opens up the closest container to find the side of pork dumplings. She knows that the key to making anyone comfortable is setting the precedent, so she picks one out before tilting the container his way so he can get one to try if he wants to. "There's beer and water in the fridge if you need a refill."
thinking it's some kind of elaborate joke they're playing, it means sam and steve must work together
Bucky can only shrug a little because the truth of the matter is, Steve might even go with it and say it himself that she's more of a delight than he is. That or Steve'll find something to tease him about it and he'll just have to tell him to shut up in not so many words. It was what happened in a mixed group to begin with, but also when dealing with lifelong friends who had a wealth of history like he and Steve did.
"Yeah, but it's just me this time. Sometimes I think I end up eating more 'cause he's there," he argues because there's maybe a slight bit of truth in that. It was a habit from growing up looking after his best friend, where he wanted to make sure he had at least a little food in his belly, thanks to how often he was sick. He's squinting at her a moment later, as he realizes that she's kind of doing similar to him, what he does to Steve. "Guess I'm gonna have to make sure I finish more of this than I originally planned."
He's quick with taking the utensil packet and opening it and only pauses long enough in trying to visually figure out which of the containers looked like they could potentially be what he actually ordered, when she's tilting the container toward him. He doesn't hesitate in taking one now that it's offered, before realizing that yeah, somehow in their conversation he'd taken a few more sips of his drink than he thought he did and it was actually gone.
Guess he was more comfortable in talking with her than he thought, but he'll blame that on sitting on the floor making him feel at ease. After eating the pork dumpling, he's slowly moving away from the table so he can head to the fridge where he ends up grabbing not just a beer for himself but one for her as well. He takes that as his chance to take a quick look in on the cats, noting that they are both still getting along ( and realizing he hadn't been listening for any telltale sounds of fighting like he thought he would ) before making his way back to her.
"I wasn't sure if you finished your drink already or not, but it means you won't have to get up for it later." He holds out that other beer for her to take, knowing if she isn't finished with her drink yet, the beer is cold enough that it shouldn't get warm before she does get to it.
Natasha merely shrugs when he points out that he might end up eating more because Steve is around. Which - honestly, yeah. She can see that. Steve definitely relaxes a bit more into the reality of his appetite when he's not the only super soldier scarfing down portions. For a brief moment, she wonders if she'd be able to engineer a super soldier vs. Hulk eating contest. It would be entertaining, but the amount of food they'd need to get would be staggering. When he squints at her, she maintains an innocent looking expression. It's very 'who, me? Up to something?' Nevertheless, she's pleased when he comes around, and she agrees with an easy, "guess so."
She eats the dumpling she selected one handed - somehow managing not to spill anything, as she sets the container back on the table and pops a few more open. By the time he's returned with the beers, they'll both be able to see the food that's arrayed in front of them. "Cheers," she answers with a smile as she takes the bottle from him and sets it down on the floor next to her.
Liho seems to enjoy having feline company, lounging in the sun spot that comes in through the window. As far as cats go, she's fairly self-possessed and surprisingly aware of her surroundings. Her head lifts to look at Bucky with a little mrowl? when he looks in on them. Her front legs stretch as she yawns, almost as if her body language is saying 'see? Everything's fine.'
Natasha eats a bite of the meal she ordered for herself and is evidently pleased with the flavor. There's a lot of options to graze from, but she settles with that styrofoam container for the time being. "I have to ask," she says, hiding a grin as she picks up her bottle and tips it toward him. "How are you at bottle opening?" She's never seen him flick a cap off a bottle with his metal thumb, but she's almost 100% certain that he can. And likely does.
he says it's their fault, they wanted him to have more friends lmfao
"The cats are getting along," Bucky states as he gives a gesture to where he's just come from, after having looked in on them. Maybe it wasn't strictly necessary, especially in not hearing anything from them and having a distinct feeling that Natasha might not have been afraid of anything happening between their cats but - he thought it was worth mentioning. He doesn't realize that it's also a commentary on this interaction with the redhead he is once more occupying space with. They're getting along. He knows it isn't the first time with someone he's tried to kill, but it still throws him a little each time. Even if he knows she understands what it's like.
"Depends on the bottle." He's teasing, there's a hint of it in the way his eyes crinkle as he answers before he's grabbing her bottle from her - he'll tend to his in a minute, as he tucks it under his other arm - just as she hoped he does flick the bottle cap off, maybe even putting just enough behind it so it does gain a little air, before he's making sure he grabs it and hands her bottle back to her. His follows a moment later but does so quickly so he can sit down and begin picking at some of the Pad Thai he'd chosen when she had him go through the menu first.
"Took a little for me to realize I'd never need a bottle opener again," he comments after a moment, moving the fingers of his vibranium hand as he says it as if to comment that there are other uses for his metal arm beyond what the old one's original intent might have been. But, it's also a way of painting the picture that he doesn't always think about it, even if there's no way he can ever really forget the arm he's had between the old model and the new, for several decades now.
the great news is that cats absolutely count as friends!
"I'd be more surprised if they weren't." Which honestly could be another commentary on how she and Bucky are getting along. There is a certain unspoken camaraderie between people that have been through the things they've been through. Done the things they've done. She doesn't mind when he's quiet and might even secretly enjoy when he puts on the grump show. Regardless, there aren't many people that she lets into her private space like this. It had been hard enough at first to let herself have a home at all.
Natasha watches as he flicks the cap off, and there's no disguising the delight in her expression when it arcs into the air. The low chuckle that follows makes it clear that she knows he's showing off. That she maybe even approves. She knows its a silly, childish little thing. But she also knows how much it means to be able to do things just for the hell of it. Just to make someone else smile. She takes the bottle back, tipping it towards him in silent acknowledgment before she takes a sip.
"Could probably get by without a can opener too. You could just Popeye everything," she says, referring to the way the cartoon sailor squeezes his spinach out of the can. Is it an outdated reference? Yes. Is she making it solely because she's hanging out with someone from the 40s? Also yes. "I do like the new arm, by the way. Shuri did a good job with the design." Not that she'd expect anything less from a woman that can run intellectual circles around both Bruce and Tony. Part of her suspects that he doesn't get a chance to talk about his arm often. People tend to shy away from topics like that. He might not want to talk about it now, but at least she can convey that she's not put off by the idea.
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Then, he feels slightly called out. It wasn't harsh, so his hackles don't immediately come up and put him on the defensive. He has the decency to at least look a little awkward about it, to try and roll his shoulders a little so he can maybe pretend to be more comfortable but it's not easily sold.
"I usually...sit on the floor when I have the television on at home," he admits after a beat, the words taking a moment because it's weird. It's one of those things where he can't really get comfortable because things still feel too soft or he feels a lot more grounded ( literally, since he's on the ground ) and it helps him feel less of that struggle he has in the day-to-day sometimes.
He glances from her then to the floor and then back again, before he makes his move to sit on the floor and places his glass on the table next to hers. His settles in against the front of the couch while his legs stretch out in front of him, his arms resting at his sides for now. He'll likely change positions on the floor at least once before the movie is over, but for now he at least looks more comfortable than he did earlier. He even tilts his head back a little to look at Natasha as if to say 'happy now?' before bringing his attention back to the television after checking on the cats.
"Maybe he's based on someone or a few spies who weren't all that good." He comments, but it's to grab onto something lighter when it came to the subject of the James Bond books.
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While he shifts around, she busies herself with finding the movie on streaming and cues it up so they can watch it. When he tips his head back to look at her, she meets his gaze with a genuine smile. She wonders if this feels like a step back to him, having to retreat to the floor. It only looks like a step forward to her. It's a small piece of vulnerability, but it counts. That kind of thing doesn't come easily.
She hums thoughtfully at his comment about the Bond books, shifting her position on the couch so she can stretch her legs out across the center cushion. "It's the contrast, I think. Like how the Red Guardian was for propaganda and showy, distracting missions while someone else did the real work in the dark. It's interesting to see those two facets at odds in one character."
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So the edges of his mouth turn up, just a little, in a smile that can only be seen as grateful. He can accept that grace she gives him and not make a disparaging comment about himself because she's not judging him. If she's not judging, then doesn't have a reason to do it himself to deflect his own feelings for a change.
He hears the shift in her position on the couch, so it causes him to turn his head a little to look at her for a moment before shaking his head. "Now I see you wanted the whole couch to yourself." His tone isn't disgruntled nor does it hold any bite to it, it holds amusement because he's happy sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. This works better for him. "Guess you'll have to show me one of 'em later, so I can see how bad this guy is as a spy. Although with some of the stuff that happens to us and the people we know, maybe I'm onto something with him being inspired by real life."
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Which might sound like an exaggeration, but only because she's not likely to actually do that until after they eat something.
"It's weird because it's not played like he's a bad spy, but when you watch it, you're going to spend the whole time going 'this should be a team of two.'" She'll be interested to hear if anything that happens pings something deep in his memory, though she's not sure that he'll share if he does. "Let me know when you're feeling hungry. I was thinking Thai or Italian."
i never realized that i live for the idea of them having movie nights omg THANK YOU
"If you fall asleep, I'm just gonna think it's because you got too comfortable and not because of your company. But I am gonna have to get proof if you snore," he follows up a moment later, unable to keep the humor that was trying to peek through out of his tone. He'll leave her to wonder if he's serious about it or not ( he is, of course he is ) and whether or not he'll share it with the others or keep it to himself.
"I could eat some Thai. And you know as well as I do, I'm hungry a lot of the time. Perks of the serum and all." That time, his tone is dry because while that's at least one of the better perks not related to being a weapon used to hurt people, it's still a fairly inconvenient perk at times. "And does that mean when we get around to Bond, you'll be criticizing it the whole time?" He didn't mind a lack of reality in films, but he did look at things and think about how that weapon was all wrong for the scenario or how they were holding their gun like an idiot and why the hell didn't they have more knives on them? Yeah, he was gonna end up criticizing it too.
Right? Eventually they're sharing popcorn and accidentally falling asleep on the couch
She chuckles a little at his dry comment about the perks of the serum, and shifts off the couch for a moment so she can get her tablet off of the coffee table. Once she's reclining again, she answers him. "When we were in Ohio, Melina used to cut all of the food with additional portions for Alexei after serving the rest of us. He was always happy about having an excuse to eat more." Her voice is all fond exasperation, and she flips on the tablet to navigate to Seamless so she can find a Thai restaurant. Certainly much happier than Steve or Bucky ever seem about it - the best she's ever seen from Steve is absolute neutrality. "Then again, he also insists that Steve was his great adversary during the Cold War, so he's not exactly the best authority on super soldiers."
There's a pause when he asks about her take on the Bond movies, but she's still smiling as she hands the tablet over to him so he can order. "Get whatever you want, I'm going to add extra if you don't order enough. And no, they're my favorite movies. I can quote all of them word for word."
It sounds like a joke. It must be a joke. But he's going to find out once they get to it that it is absolutely not.
movie nights lead to getting at least a few solid hours of shut eye. huh, weird. wonder why that is
He takes the tablet from her and thumbs through the menu to pick a few of the things - Pad Thai and Pad Kra Pao Moo to start and making sure there was some sticky rice in there as well - as he thought about her comment about Alexei. "I don't hate it, it's just a pain in the ass sometimes to make sure you eat enough or you end up slowing down. It's a loss of control I don't like," he reflects after a beat, handing her back the tablet right after and hoping that he ordered enough after all.
Handing the tablet back, it has him looking at her again and this time he's squinting at her as if trying to read between her expression and body language for something a lot more important than a comment about the Bond movies.
"You're shitting me, right?"
truly a mystery of our time!
True to her word, she's stretches out on the couch on her side as he peruses the menu. Head propped up on her hand, she idly watches the TV screen, letting him take his time with what he wants to eat. She hums thoughtfully as he muses about his relationship with food, taking the tablet back when it's offered over. "I can see how that would be annoying. Alexei used to think he had to increase both the calories and volume he was eating. Melina gave him a very thorough lecture about the science of calories and carbohydrates that he completely ignored." Which is why he's built more like an old grizzly bear on the other side of his long prison sentence.
Perusing the menu, she orders herself a roasted duck curry, then adds on an order of steamed mixed vegetables, chicken satay, and pork dumplings they can both pick at. She's impressed with the amount he let himself order, but this feels like a good opportunity to enjoy a variety of flavors and force him to bring some leftovers home.
She sends the order off with a tip for the driver, and her eyes lift to meet his as he squints at her. Her mouth curls in a smirk. "Guess you're going to have to wait and find out."
it'll have absolutely nothing to do with why people question what's going on between them, nope
Thankfully he recovers enough to be able to give a quiet snort of laughter when she describes the approach Alexei did and probably still does take to the amount of food he needs to eat due to the serum, because he can see why someone would think that. But it might also be down to both he and Alexei being a product of their times. It's hard for him to really deal in excess when there had been a time that food and the money for food was scarcer than they would like and things had to stretch to make it through. He might not have to deal with that as a reality now but it's harder for him to really let go of some of that mentality, no matter how many reminders he got.
He's still squinting at her even after her smirk, before relaxing again, like he wasn't just trying to figure out if she was just saying something as a joke and hoped he took it literal.
"Alright, one question though, are you the kinda person who's annoying about it when you quote it because you're doing it the whole time and distracting from the movie or is it gonna be under your breath?" He's still not sure if he believes it, but he decides it's worth it to know, just in case.
"we don't even know each other" they both insist, despite standing in the same room, visibly texting
Alexei definitely still takes a 'quantity and quality' approach to his food intake. And he's slower than he was when he was younger, but she knows people have underestimated him to their detriment. If he was a little less...boisterous...she'd probably try to engineer him having a conversation with Steve and Bucky. Unfortunately, he doesn't really have any wisdom he'd willingly part with before Bucky would want to punch him. He'd behave too weirdly around Steve to make any headway.
Maybe she can start wearing him down. She makes a mental note to enlist Yelena.
When he finally relaxes, the smirk is still lingering on her lips. Even so, her tone is dry when she answers, "how dare you, I'm a delight." Like there's any way to talk along with a movie without it being obnoxious. Don't worry, Bucky, she at least has enough manners to mouth along silently to herself. Actually. "If you want to test me, you can cue me when you want me to start quoting along." This is absolutely not a skill she should be proud of, but what the hell. Why not? She has so little in her life that she can't trace back to the Red Room. Even things she loves, she's mostly had to reclaim for herself. She comes by this weird little quirk honestly enough that she can call it something that's entirely her.
and naturally they'll have a chuckle with each other about what they're texting about
And because despite not knowing what his comment sounded like at the time, it's not like he exactly minds it that she threw a flirtatious comment at him. He doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing, now that he's realizing that he enjoys being in her company but what he does know is it's not gonna stop him from hanging out with her.
"Hey, I'm not actually arguing with you about that," he tells her with a hint of a laugh trying to color his tone when he says it. He does think she's a delight, he wouldn't be sitting on the floor of her living room if he felt like it was torture to be in her presence. "But I'd even punch Steve if he wanted to pull that kinda thing and thought it would fly." He'll let that image stay there, the idea of Steve Rogers deciding to quote a movie word for word and it annoying the hell out of him enough that he'd need to put a stop to it. "I can do that, 'cause you can't say that and then not prove it. I'll try to pick a scene where it looks like they're gonna talk a lot."
[they high five without looking] everyone else like "this is a weird russian thing, right?"
"All I'm taking away from this is that I'm more delightful than Steve Rogers." Her answer comes languidly, playfully, a hint of a smirk on her lips as she says it. It's abundantly clear that she knows that's not what he means, and that she's going to run with it anyway. "And I have great news for you. There's a ton of quippy back and forth dialogue. I might even do voices for you if you pick a good scene."
No pressure, Bucky.
She lapses into a companionable silence as the movie picks up, content to be laying on the couch with him on the floor nearby. Her phone buzzes and she lifts it to look at the screen, then sits up. "Food's here. I'll be right back." She slips off the couch to his right and moves across the living room, opening the front door so she can pick up the bag of food from the doorstep. There's an amused look on her face when she returns. The bag is bursting with containers. "Okay, I might have over done it with the sides."
one of them looks up and says "what are you talking about?" while acting like nothing happened
And in spending time together more like this, it'll give them more of that time to circle each other, since he thinks he needs more time to figure these things out these days. Even if Natasha counted as someone he worked with and felt a camaraderie with because of their shared friends, it wasn't the same as what his relationships with Steve and Sam were like.
A flicker of amusement of his own follows after seeing the containers trying to escape out of the bag - he wonders now why they didn't just put some of the containers in another bag, the damn thing looks like it's ready to break - while quickly getting up and moving to help her with the bag so it can be settled onto the coffee table since he assumes they're not moving from the couch for this. He can at least help her get some of the containers unpacked as he takes in the amount of food she ordered.
"You think you were feeding an army, Romanoff? What all did you get?"
steve and sam like "we were absolutely not prepared for this kind of chaos"
She's laughing by the time he gets up to help guide the bag onto the coffee table. It's totally ridiculous that all of this didn't come in two bags. Maybe whoever at the restaurant packed it decided to take it as a personal challenge. Kneeling next to the table, she starts to meticulously extract each of the containers.
His question is met with a quick upward glance, a feigned look of indignation on her face that's belied by the smirk that lingers at the corner of her mouth. "I've seen you and Steve eat enough times to know you can pack it away. Besides, I figured with enough extras, I'd be able to convince you to take half the leftovers home with you so nothing goes to waste." That's right, Bucky. She's going to trick you into eating more things you enjoy. And she doesn't look even remotely repentant about it.
Smiling, she offers him one of the wrapped utensil packets, and then opens up the closest container to find the side of pork dumplings. She knows that the key to making anyone comfortable is setting the precedent, so she picks one out before tilting the container his way so he can get one to try if he wants to. "There's beer and water in the fridge if you need a refill."
thinking it's some kind of elaborate joke they're playing, it means sam and steve must work together
"Yeah, but it's just me this time. Sometimes I think I end up eating more 'cause he's there," he argues because there's maybe a slight bit of truth in that. It was a habit from growing up looking after his best friend, where he wanted to make sure he had at least a little food in his belly, thanks to how often he was sick. He's squinting at her a moment later, as he realizes that she's kind of doing similar to him, what he does to Steve. "Guess I'm gonna have to make sure I finish more of this than I originally planned."
He's quick with taking the utensil packet and opening it and only pauses long enough in trying to visually figure out which of the containers looked like they could potentially be what he actually ordered, when she's tilting the container toward him. He doesn't hesitate in taking one now that it's offered, before realizing that yeah, somehow in their conversation he'd taken a few more sips of his drink than he thought he did and it was actually gone.
Guess he was more comfortable in talking with her than he thought, but he'll blame that on sitting on the floor making him feel at ease. After eating the pork dumpling, he's slowly moving away from the table so he can head to the fridge where he ends up grabbing not just a beer for himself but one for her as well. He takes that as his chance to take a quick look in on the cats, noting that they are both still getting along ( and realizing he hadn't been listening for any telltale sounds of fighting like he thought he would ) before making his way back to her.
"I wasn't sure if you finished your drink already or not, but it means you won't have to get up for it later." He holds out that other beer for her to take, knowing if she isn't finished with her drink yet, the beer is cold enough that it shouldn't get warm before she does get to it.
they've created a monster
She eats the dumpling she selected one handed - somehow managing not to spill anything, as she sets the container back on the table and pops a few more open. By the time he's returned with the beers, they'll both be able to see the food that's arrayed in front of them. "Cheers," she answers with a smile as she takes the bottle from him and sets it down on the floor next to her.
Liho seems to enjoy having feline company, lounging in the sun spot that comes in through the window. As far as cats go, she's fairly self-possessed and surprisingly aware of her surroundings. Her head lifts to look at Bucky with a little mrowl? when he looks in on them. Her front legs stretch as she yawns, almost as if her body language is saying 'see? Everything's fine.'
Natasha eats a bite of the meal she ordered for herself and is evidently pleased with the flavor. There's a lot of options to graze from, but she settles with that styrofoam container for the time being. "I have to ask," she says, hiding a grin as she picks up her bottle and tips it toward him. "How are you at bottle opening?" She's never seen him flick a cap off a bottle with his metal thumb, but she's almost 100% certain that he can. And likely does.
he says it's their fault, they wanted him to have more friends lmfao
"Depends on the bottle." He's teasing, there's a hint of it in the way his eyes crinkle as he answers before he's grabbing her bottle from her - he'll tend to his in a minute, as he tucks it under his other arm - just as she hoped he does flick the bottle cap off, maybe even putting just enough behind it so it does gain a little air, before he's making sure he grabs it and hands her bottle back to her. His follows a moment later but does so quickly so he can sit down and begin picking at some of the Pad Thai he'd chosen when she had him go through the menu first.
"Took a little for me to realize I'd never need a bottle opener again," he comments after a moment, moving the fingers of his vibranium hand as he says it as if to comment that there are other uses for his metal arm beyond what the old one's original intent might have been. But, it's also a way of painting the picture that he doesn't always think about it, even if there's no way he can ever really forget the arm he's had between the old model and the new, for several decades now.
the great news is that cats absolutely count as friends!
Natasha watches as he flicks the cap off, and there's no disguising the delight in her expression when it arcs into the air. The low chuckle that follows makes it clear that she knows he's showing off. That she maybe even approves. She knows its a silly, childish little thing. But she also knows how much it means to be able to do things just for the hell of it. Just to make someone else smile. She takes the bottle back, tipping it towards him in silent acknowledgment before she takes a sip.
"Could probably get by without a can opener too. You could just Popeye everything," she says, referring to the way the cartoon sailor squeezes his spinach out of the can. Is it an outdated reference? Yes. Is she making it solely because she's hanging out with someone from the 40s? Also yes. "I do like the new arm, by the way. Shuri did a good job with the design." Not that she'd expect anything less from a woman that can run intellectual circles around both Bruce and Tony. Part of her suspects that he doesn't get a chance to talk about his arm often. People tend to shy away from topics like that. He might not want to talk about it now, but at least she can convey that she's not put off by the idea.