oo1; video

[redhourglass]

[ you know who has two thumbs and is over this? this girl. it hadn't been the first time she'd woken up in a hospital bed with a dim memory of the last twenty-four hours, but natasha had to admit it was a little unique to be told that she was previously fictional and now she'd somehow become real. right. let's talk to the nice people and see how this goes. ]

I was looking forward to a long island vacation, but this wasn't quite what I meant.

[ a long sigh. mostly a put-on, but hey, some of it is actual exasperation. she wanted to be on a beach somewhere far away from space aliens. ]

Is there anyone around here who actually knows what is going on? Who hasn't just arrived, but who's been here and has some solid information?

[ she'll address the whole 'fictional' thing later. when she's not managing her temper underneath the surface of collected calm. ]

Comments

text | unhackable

[trainwrecked]

Why is that even a question?

[Ever the teacher.]

text | unhackable.

[redhourglass]

I'm not here to play games with you. Show yourself.

text | unhackable.

[trainwrecked]

Nothing is a game. I'm not hiding.

text | unhackable

[redhourglass]

[ she's very much looking around now, though not frantically; that would just draw attention to herself. ]

You're playing with me.

text | unhackable -> action

[trainwrecked]

Or you're not paying attention.

[Exactly forty-five seconds after that, he's there beside her, larger than her and quiet and dark.]

action.

[redhourglass]

[ she didn't bother replying to that; she knew he was coming. what mattered was being on point enough that if he attacked her, she would be able to stop it.

she felt him as he approached. that was enough for her to be facing his direction when he appeared. ]

You're getting rusty.

action.

[trainwrecked]

I told you I'm not playing.

[He wasn't trying to. And, yes, he's there, mask and all, only his eyes burning at her. No, he's not forgiven. But he's not ... completely forgotten, either.]

action.

[redhourglass]

[ she meets his eyes squarely. ]

You're here, aren't you? That's enough.

action.

[trainwrecked]

[ His are cold. Mostly. Still filled with suspicion, even if he's not attacking. ]

Enough for what, Natalia?

action.

[redhourglass]

Enough to know you're serious. You could have killed me from afar.

[ that name. it bothers her, but she won't let him know how it rankles. ]

James. Can you not put that aside for one second? [ she gestures at the mask. ]

action.

[trainwrecked]

[ It shouldn't matter, that request. It shouldn't mean anything to him. But it does (and he can't.) He looks away, instead, only keeping track of her through the corner of his eye. ]

I only do that around people I trust at least somewhat.

[ It's not that she doesn't know what he looks like. It's not that, this close, he doesn't want to lean his face close to hers and taste her breath against his skin again. It's not. ]

[ But she walked away from what they were. From what they were fighting for. One person, among the entire world, that he wanted to hold on to. ]

[ And she left. ]