Well, he's had longer to come up with cooler stuff where I come from. It's not his fault his work's subpar.
( sending these texts knowing tony could absolutely hack their phones and read every message. whether tony knows it or not, he's kind of james' father figure, and james takes a lot of joy in messing with him. )
[he comes by that honestly, too. natasha smiles in spite of herself, and for a second, she feels a surge of something like... pride. it's not hers to have, not really, and never will be, but it's there all the same.]
If "cooler stuff" involves voice-activated emojis, I may give him a pass.
We don't even text anymore, actually. Holographic video frequencies are where it's at, mom.
( ...shit. he hadn't actually meant to send that text with the "mom" attached, he pressed send before he could fix it. rather than let either of them dwell on that, he's just going to barrel through the awkward and change the subject — )
No one's been willing to tell me where Captain America is.
[talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire, right next to the proverbial elephant in the proverbial room. the smile fades when the whole awkward dust of this settles back in, hangs in the air, because this doesn't just have implications for her. and that —
focus on simple answers. he's owed that much, and she feels a responsibility to provide.]
No one knows. [that's what she hopes at the end of the day, anyway. she hopes he's learned something from her, that she'll be able to pay her debts back in something other than buying time. ("if it were down to me to save your life... would you trust me to do it?")] He's off the grid.
[her too; officially, she's nowhere at all, and for the foreseeable future, she intends to keep it that way.]
( she's the black widow. the best spy in the world, a genius, and captain america's best friend. if anyone would have an idea where he was, she would. )
Why is he off the grid? What happened, is it an Ultron thing? Tony said that'd been taken care of.
[but there are some answers that she can't give over a starkphone.]
It isn't exactly the kind of story you can sum up in 140 characters.
[a pause. her fingers rest on the sides of the screen as she contemplates the next message, goes through three or four iterations of it in her head before finally typing it out. she knows the way to find even ground with cooper barton, and while this situation couldn't be more different —]
Might go better with pizza.
[an invitation, if he wants to take it. she waits.]
( not the kind of story you can sum up — that's probably true, but it's also code. natasha doesn't want to talk about it over the phone, which means it's something tony shouldn't see, which means... james doesn't know what it means. what secrets could she have to keep from him? if she knows where captain america is, shouldn't tony know too?
none of this is making any sense. the soldier wouldn't go off the grid — even if he would, the spy would follow him. they're in love. and tony's their friend, he would know where they've gone. no one would be keeping secrets from each other, it doesn't make sense. )
I've never had pizza before.
( he'll come, but there better be answers waiting for him to go along with that pizza. )
[she's heard bits and pieces about the reality where ultron did a lot more than drop a city out of the sky, and in what she doesn't know, she can fill in some of the gaps. they're all dead, save tony. the world's in shambles, with only small pockets of resistance. that's what the children left behind have to adapt to, have to navigate.
and not for the first time, something seizes in her chest. it's not her fault, it's not even the other-her's fault, but the guilt comes nevertheless. she knows what it's like to be a child and not actually get to be one at all. no one else should ever have to live like that, especially under her watch.]
Pepperoni's my favorite. It was the first kind I ever had.
[a long time ago, fresh out of the red room. that's a story she'll keep to herself, though.]
❰ her attempt at... what, bonding? distraction? whatever it is, james sees it, and at any other time he might be genuinely interested in natasha's opinions on pizza. even now he's filing that knowledge away — pepperoni's her favourite, it's the first she ever had — but all he really wants now are answers. ❱
Meet me at your favourite place. Whoever gets there last has to pay.
[she lets out a breath, and with it goes some tension she'd been unknowingly holding in her shoulders. there are many more delicate steps to take, but this — is a start.
a start down a very long road.]
You know that once something's in writing, you can't back out, right? [a dry joke, one sitting on layers he won't understand.] Have your $15 ready when you get to Vito's :p
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
( sending these texts knowing tony could absolutely hack their phones and read every message. whether tony knows it or not, he's kind of james' father figure, and james takes a lot of joy in messing with him. )
no subject
If "cooler stuff" involves voice-activated emojis, I may give him a pass.
no subject
( ...shit. he hadn't actually meant to send that text with the "mom" attached, he pressed send before he could fix it. rather than let either of them dwell on that, he's just going to barrel through the awkward and change the subject — )
No one's been willing to tell me where Captain America is.
( — to one that's even more awkward. )
no subject
focus on simple answers. he's owed that much, and she feels a responsibility to provide.]
No one knows. [that's what she hopes at the end of the day, anyway. she hopes he's learned something from her, that she'll be able to pay her debts back in something other than buying time. ("if it were down to me to save your life... would you trust me to do it?")] He's off the grid.
[her too; officially, she's nowhere at all, and for the foreseeable future, she intends to keep it that way.]
no subject
( she's the black widow. the best spy in the world, a genius, and captain america's best friend. if anyone would have an idea where he was, she would. )
Why is he off the grid? What happened, is it an Ultron thing? Tony said that'd been taken care of.
no subject
It isn't exactly the kind of story you can sum up in 140 characters.
[a pause. her fingers rest on the sides of the screen as she contemplates the next message, goes through three or four iterations of it in her head before finally typing it out. she knows the way to find even ground with cooper barton, and while this situation couldn't be more different —]
Might go better with pizza.
[an invitation, if he wants to take it. she waits.]
no subject
none of this is making any sense. the soldier wouldn't go off the grid — even if he would, the spy would follow him. they're in love. and tony's their friend, he would know where they've gone. no one would be keeping secrets from each other, it doesn't make sense. )
I've never had pizza before.
( he'll come, but there better be answers waiting for him to go along with that pizza. )
no subject
and not for the first time, something seizes in her chest. it's not her fault, it's not even the other-her's fault, but the guilt comes nevertheless. she knows what it's like to be a child and not actually get to be one at all. no one else should ever have to live like that, especially under her watch.]
Pepperoni's my favorite. It was the first kind I ever had.
[a long time ago, fresh out of the red room. that's a story she'll keep to herself, though.]
no subject
Meet me at your favourite place. Whoever gets there last has to pay.
no subject
a start down a very long road.]
You know that once something's in writing, you can't back out, right? [a dry joke, one sitting on layers he won't understand.] Have your $15 ready when you get to Vito's :p