I love you so much I'm gonna let you kill me ●

[relicta]

She can't keep the smirk off her face as Steve gets into the passenger's seat, like so many times before. Except this isn't like any times before, because this a real undercover mission. One she isn't completely sure he's ready for, or more to the point one he isn't sure he's ready for so she'll have to do a lot of validating him. Which isn't exactly her strong suit, as they'd found over the course of working together and admittedly growing much closer than she ever could have anticipated.

"I'm surprised Stark is letting you go for a whole month." But she sure isn't disappointed. Out of all the people she could be (and had been) fake married to? This might not be such a challenge to sell. Not that she's reading into that any, why bother.

Comments

[relicta]

She blinks up at him, an obvious look though there's zero menace behind it, especially with that signature crooked smile of hers taking over midway thru. "I want kitties. Hop-to." She blows him a kiss to soften the blow this time.

[valuedstrength]

Steve smiles playfully and offers up a salute. "Yes, ma'am. Anything for my queen." He runs off to get started before Natasha can throw something at him or whatever reaction she may prefer.

Despite all the playfulness, he is soon hard at work setting up the coffee machine, mixing ingredients, and heating up the pan. He is going to put together a wonderful breakfast worthy of a queen who appreciates kitty pancakes.

[relicta]

Natasha takes the time to take a long shower and get dressed in sweats, more towards gym sweats than sleeping sweats this time, her hair drawn off her nape in a low, sporty ponytail by the time she comes downstairs. She hadn't bothered with makeup or anything like that, just simple creature comforts for a person who really isn't used to sharing space like this, not anymore; not even for a con. She brushes behind him as he works in greeting, pressing a hand to the back of his elbow on her way to find a cup and pour herself a cup of coffee. She adds a dash of cream more to cool it down than for flavor and takes a seat to get out of his way.

"If I had a mother she'd probably be telling me never to leave you right about now."

[valuedstrength]

He smiles at the greeting even if she doesn't see it. The 'If I had a mother' statement reminds him how little he does know about her. Sometimes he thinks she must have come out of thin air given how mysterious her origins are. He answers a beat late, joking with her casually as he cooks.

"Can I quote you on that in the future? It's a great endorsement."

[relicta]

Sometimes she too feels like she came out of thin air so really, it's not far off. She snorts and gives him an incredulous look -- something he's very used to seeing on her face by now. Natasha might use it even more around Steve than she does with Clint and that's truly saying something.

"I guess, but only because that one's awkward coming from 'Anonymous.'" Nat takes a sip and shakes her head to punctuate.

[valuedstrength]

"I appreciate you helping my street cred." Steve continues. Who even taught him to say that? Probably Clint. Steve glances up from his latest kitty to hit her with a silly smile. "So ready to rate what I've made so far or do I get the final verdict after you've eaten it?"

[relicta]

"I wouldn't go that far," she warns, but waves her hand for him to show Nat his work. "We can score as we go along." See, she's not mean all the time. Just most of it.

[valuedstrength]

Some people might worry they are creating a monster by catering to someone like this. The thought never even crosses Steve's mind. He just immediately presents her with his growing stack of kittens.

"Now the first three are a little small which is why I named them Tony 1, 2, and 3. After that, I think you'll be satisfied with the size and shape of my cats."

[relicta]

She sputters into hopeless giggles as he begins to list the criterium, and of course the names. "How apt," she manages biting into her lip to keep laughter from erupting anew. It's a little too silly for her to even handle right now, clearly. "Bring it on, Captain." She gestures to the empty space in front of her, which obviously needs to be filled with so many pancakes lbr.

[valuedstrength]

Steve smiles brightly. It feels good to be the source of that. She really doesn't laugh enough for his tastes. "Challenge accepted." He drops some of those kitties onto a plate.

"I've also sausages and scrambled eggs if you're into that kind of thing." He lifts a brow.

[relicta]

Natasha is, similarly, thinking about how attractive his smile is. He definitely doesn't do that enough. The look she gives him is a little dreamy as a result, though she could always blame the sausages. "You wouldn't really leave those out." It sounds almost like a threat, come on, hook a girl up.

[valuedstrength]

That look distracts him briefly before he shakes his head. Steve looks at her as if she's said something crazy. "And risk the wrath of my darling wife? No thanks." Sure enough the plate getting passed back to her is overflowing with goodies.

He moves to flip one of his last pancakes. "Enjoy."