penistower | And you could have it all

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And you could have it all - My empire of dirt.

Rhodey is distracting the government types long enough for Tony to hack into the airspace and make sure none of this is being recorded. He loops the moments before the Milano pierces the atmosphere and plays them back, knowing by the time he's out of the system and they figure it out they won't be able to prove it was anything but a technical malfunction. He does all of this from his phone as he stands near the landing pad with Steve flanking his side. He's trying to do things right this time -- no more lone gunslinger act, as Pepper had phrased it.

He looks over his sunglasses at the spaceship as it decompresses, wondering who he's just invited over for dinner. Hopefully they're friendly... When the platform descends it really is just like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He can't help but geek out a little. He'd technically met space aliens before, and Asgardians, etc. but somehow this is way cooler. "Welcome to Earth and please watch your step, we don't have liability insurance yet."

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She's having the same thought, eyes lidding halfway like she expects him to make a move. Her breathing goes shallow, and when it becomes clear he isn't moving she starts pulling away measure by measure. It physically hurts to be apart from him, but she tries not to note it -- it isn't like they have time for that fuck before you die stuff, right? "Good." It's softer than her last declaration, but no less meaningful. It's a verbal acceptance of whatever comes next. Now she knows he'll at least have to think about her before martyring himself, not that it made a difference before. She can still hope, and for someone who's seen a myriad of fucked up shit, she still has quite a lot of it.

"I guess I'm gonna go. Let you get back to... punching stuff." Her eyes flick to the door and then back to him, her hand drawing back down his arm reluctantly and deliberately slow. It's clear in her body language she doesn't want to go.

As she pulls away, he hates himself for his cowardice. The world, the galaxy, could come to an end and he won't even kiss someone he feels close to; someone he acknowledges as a partner and fellow leader. What is wrong with him? It's not as though he's being respectful of Bruce's passing interest that ended in disaster. It's just him being unable to take the next step personally as usual.

He grabs her retreating arm in a fit of frustration. Thankfully the soldier is just upset enough at himself that he doesn't look down to take in what he's done and back off in some gentlemanly (and unnecessary) gesture. "Don't. Could you please just-" He sighs in frustration at himself.

Don't put it on her. Speak for yourself.

"Let's do something; anything. I don't want you to go."

The internal struggle he's having is more than apparent, though she has nothing to indicate what it's actually about. He's still thinking suicidal thoughts for all she knows. That is, until he speaks up. As exhausted as she is, she's never once refused him something he's asked for directly -- she prefers that, always. It's too hard to sift through her own feelings let alone someone else's. She opens her mouth to say something placating, but then he grabs on and the desperation in his eyes comes to the fore. Natasha frowns, but remains steadfastly in his orbit.

"Hey..." It's gentle, questing. She wants to do something for him now; anything that would ease the pressure. "We could play XBox." It's a little playful despite everything, she tries for a smile though it comes out slightly strained.

Steve looks down. She's meeting him halfway. That does a little to help his desperation even as something else, a need he can't identify, nags underneath the surface. "Something light and fun. We got something like that, right?" He looks up and forces a smile. He can't really play Call of Duty or Halo on a night like this.

She is always the first to recognize when Steve needs to be taken care of. Easily shelving her own issues, she takes his hand and squeezes it gently. She would do anything for him, and this team. The human race is at stake but here in this room it's just them, and that's comforting. That makes sense.

"Yeah, I have something like that. Do you want to get changed? I'll make tea."

He smiles at the pressure, relaxing visibly. They're going to game; they'll be together. For now things will be okay, right? "Yeah... I better shower. I don't want to smell like a gamer." He smiles wryly at his own joke. "I'll see you in fifteen."

With that, he reluctantly lets go to hit the showers.

She smiles back, loving that she can have that affect on him. "Perish the thought." Ignoring the way her heart flutters, she nods at his lame joke and manages to pull herself away. Steve heads to the showers and she heads to the kitchen to boil water. Chamomile tea with extra honey is a good, distracting project for the moment. Natasha manages to miraculously dodge anyone else in the house still up on the way back to her room with still boiling hot tea. She sets both mugs down on her nightstand before kicking off her shoes and pulling up her blankets in order to sit on top of them. Nat rests back against one pillow and picks up her controller, queueing up none other than Lego Avengers. This should take their mind off things!!

He comes back in the promised amount of time in dark blue gym pants and yet another ridiculously tight grey t-shirt. Steve shoves his wet hair off to one side as he enters the room, significantly calmer than when they parted earlier.

Steve quickly finds himself smiling like a fool at the sight of her choice. He unironically loves what little he's played of this far more charming version of their adventures together. "Did I mention you're the best partner a guy could have?"

He doesn't waste any time taking his spot, back barely hitting the pillow before he reaches for the controller. He takes in a deep breath and glances over at her. "The tea smells fantastic by the way."

"Hmm... No, I don't think you did. Go on." She grins over at him and gets ready to solve puzzles as a tiny lego version of herself. How great. Though it's hard not to be distracted by the sight he makes, does he buy those skintight t-shirts in bulk or what? "...Help yourself." To tea. Her mouth goes dry.

He throws a put upon look her way as he readies himself to play his favorite character... Iron Man. Steve loves to fly around the city and shoot things with lasers. No one should ruin this for him.

At any rate, he finally takes a small sip of tea and adds playfully, "You make drinkable tea. That's something to add to the list." Of reasons she's a great partner obviously.

She always smiles when he picks Tony, even though she knows he will by now every time. Sometimes Nat likes to play as Bruce too because it's hilarious to make him transform into Lego Hulk. And she also doesn't have to be as vigilant about enemy attacks. Playing as Clint sucks, don't ever try it.

"As opposed to...?" She takes a sip of her own tea before setting it back down and knocking her elbow into his playfully. "You're not so bad yourself."

"The kind that tastes like dirt." Aka the kind he enjoyed overseas during the war. He will never forgive or forget!!! But, in all seriousness, Steve smiles boyishly when she bumps into him.

"Not so bad, huh? That's a nice way of saying pain in the ass, Nat." His eyes flash in gratitude. He knows he's a handful. It means a lot that she sticks by him all the same.

"Ah yes, dirt tea, how could I forget." A fond eyeroll goes here but she's too busy button-mashing to look at him properly. The rest gets an eyebrow raise, and when she can stop looking at the screen her eyes slide over to catch his. "If that's what I meant, I wouldn't be nice about it." And he knows that's true!!

He's in the middle of continuing his neverending quest to fly regardless of how much it makes sense to (while gathering pieces) when her response filters in. Steve can't deny that's true. The look he gives her when their eyes meet confirms as much.

"What about me isn't that bad?" It's part curiosity and the rest... something else.

She narrows her eyes, for a split second she thinks she's being messed with. But in his usual infuriatingly Steve fashion, he's being completely sincere. Natasha goes back to button-mashing mostly to stall. "Why are you asking now?" In her usual fashion, she can't just answer a simple question. She has to know the many ways it could trip her up first.

He doesn't spare a look even with her eyes on him. Steve knows he'll lose his nerve so he focuses hard on the game. "I'm curious." Steve lets it go for a few seconds. It is the truth. There's more to it, of course. He knows he really ought to just fess up to it given they may die soon and he's a little too old to keep beating around the bush.

"I like you. For a lot of reasons." He tacks on at the end. "Guess I just want to get on the same page as you before the next big battle." It really can't hurt at this point.

I like you. It's so... schoolyard, and yet she never had the luxury of school crushes and holding hands after class. She doesn't get why her heart's pounding so hard now or why... why it's so hard to just tell him the truth.

"Well, for one thing... I don't hate that shirt on you." Yeah, she brought it there. He's distracting enough already without the skintight clothing, surely he knows that?! Natasha blows out a breath and tosses her controller to the end of the bed. She was never making that jump anyway. "What reasons?" Does he like her. This suddenly feels like a very bad idea.

He sets down the controller the moment she brings his shirt into it. Steve glances away awkwardly. The truth is he never thinks about stuff like that. He just likes not having to swim in oversized shirts anymore.

He skips the explanation since she's asking him a question. Steve forces himself to forge eye contact as he answers. "You're funny, reliable, and smart. I like being around you." Each one is delivered with equal weight. He lets out a soft laugh and tacks on jokingly, "I don't hate anything on you too if that makes any difference." He honestly does wonder since it's a given Natasha is beautiful, but that's not the appeal to him at all. He likes her first. It's just an added bonus that he could stare at her for hours if allowed to.

She makes herself hold his eyes while he speaks to what he believes to be her best qualities. She's never been good at accepting praise, or even recognizing her own strengths that aren't in some way tactical. Even her universally appealing looks are something she only thinks about to aid her in earning trust from strangers. It's why Steve making her attractiveness an afterthought is somehow sweet. Natasha thinks it's the same way for him, which is why she goes out of her way to only mention his looks in a light, joking way. She owes him a response now, but everything seems lame in the face of such earnest speech.

"Steve..." she begins, unable to completely conceal her tone which speaks to how nervous she is and how, despite pursuing this line of questioning herself, she really is frightened of the outcome. More than she's ever been frightened of an opponent. "I'm wearing sweatpants." It's after a thoughtful pause, as if that's the most important thing she can think of to counter him right now. As of her feelings weren't already lame enough.

Her hand reaches out of its own accord and hooks in the crook of his elbow, as if imploring him to ignore her stupid words and listen to her thoughts. She knows he can't read minds, or even really guess at what she's thinking when she doesn't know half the time. All she wants to do is systematically argue with every positive thing he ever says about her but that isn't productive.

"When I'm around you everything makes a little more sense. Like the picture's in higher resolution." It's dumb and profound at the same time, and she's also pretty sure it makes no sense. But it's how she feels anyway. Things are in Technicolor when Steve Rogers is around, and he deserves to know that.

"And you look great in them." He responds just as earnestly. Steve leaves his commentary there in favor of listening to her. It's strange to see her nervous. It makes him want to do his best to stay calm and collected in all this. While he glances down at her hand when she touches him, he does his best to stay neutral otherwise.

The magnitude of her words hits him hard though. Steve's gaze soften immediately because he does get it. Hearing her say that makes him picture Dorothy stepping out of the house into Oz. If he can do that anyone, well, he's a lucky man. "Nat..."

"You're my favorite person. You know that, right? I don't know what is going to happen to us, but I just hope when this is all over you're still with me. I can't do this without you."

His one-liner and then the way he says her name has her heart fluttering. She leans a little closer unconsciously, as if forever drawn into his orbit. Green eyes open wide and latch onto his, holding his gaze tightly like a promise while he delivers yet another round of proclamations. Steve is always so dramatic, but at the same time... she can't say she minds the content this time around. "Steve..." Her hand glides up his arm and over one muscled shoulder to cup his jaw. It's a strangely tender gesture in the midst of everything impending now. Once she's started she can't seem to stop touching him, though.

"We have a pact remember?" It's a grim sort of joke, a tone he's used to from her. The truth is she isn't sure how to go on without him either, which is why she had to make him promise to at least try to make it through this. She shakes her head. "I've never been anyone's favorite person before. That's a lot of pressure." Especially since she really had no idea. In retrospect she should have, she thinks. They spend more one-on-one time together than anyone else in the group. They share intimate secrets and touch even when there isn't much reason to -- kind of like now. Natasha draws her hand away at the thought, forcing a smile she doesn't really feel.

"I can't do this without you either." She almost didn't say it, it felt like a given considering everything. But she isn't taking that for granted anymore, especially not now. They're both too thick to spend time mincing words so close to the end. Or what could be the end.

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And you could have it all - My empire of dirt.

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