[ This is the first time Hob's experienced a real mission in this world. Wandering around a snake infested city didn't seem to count when he first arrived, at least, not in his mind, but this was different. They're on some other world, is that it? Except it's trying to create an idyllic life like people see in housekeeping magazines on Earth.
His device allows him to find his assigned housing and he's able to get in with no problem. Hob didn't expect to find a baby in a basket at the door, but he did read about the 'family units' they'd be in. It's just a little startling. The baby looks human except for its lavender colored skin. A little girl. Hob carries the basket inside and sets it on the kitchen table. He's occupying the baby with a rattle when he hears others at the door. Is someone else coming in? ]
Hello?
[ He saw other names listed as occupants here, only one of which he's familiar with. ]
[ Ororo comes in not long after, stepping into the house entryway curiously. She recognised two names on the list - and it was her luck that it was the one she didn't recognise that was waiting for her.
She offers a little smile, wry and a little resigned when she sees the little lavender baby in the carrier. ]
Hello. You must be Mr. Gadling? [ Well, she offers a hand to shake. Introductions, after all. ]
I am Ororo. I suppose we will be... housemates, for the next month or so.
[ Hob can figure out who the woman must be and returns her greeting with a smile. He lifts his hand to shake, then quickly switches the rattle into his left hand so he can shake hers with the right. ]
Yes. You can call me Hob. A pleasure to meet you.
[ Housemates? Right. It's still kind of strange. This is his first mission, and when people mentioned missions, he didn't anticipate the assignment would be to live with such a stunning woman. Good God. Thankfully, the house is big enough for all of the listed names to have a bedroom. ]
I was about to make some coffee. Would you care for a cup?
Ah. Yes, please. I'd love a cup, thank you, Hob. [ She smiles gratefully. She hasn't had any, because it wasn't her habit. But now she feels like she needs it. ]
... But is this the baby, then? [ She looks at it wryly, like one might inspect an explosive instead of a toy, or a baby. ]
[ Well, he's got her there. She smiles and reaches over to the rattle left behind, shaking it idly over the little one. A second or two passes before it reacts. ]
... Violet. That is fine, though we might want to ask Natasha when she arrives what she thinks. [ Spoken familiarly; she's knows her, a little. She isn't sure she'll do very well with a baby - perhaps just about as well as she would. ]
If she approves, we can find some flowers for her carrier.
[ The child is for the three of them to care for, after all. The thought of adding flowers to the child's carrier is sweet, but he also notices the way Ororo speaks of Natasha with familiarity. ]
[ The answer is pretty complicated, as Ororo knows of a Natasha Romanoff, not this one. But. ]
She came to a pool party I hosted about a week ago. We shared a drink and a chat, and not much else.
I hope she'll take to surprise motherhood a little better than I have.
You are surprisingly easygoing about this, however? [ Perhaps he's new to the missions? She knows she is trying to put some distance between herself and the baby, too reminiscent of the last mission they were given. ]
[ Having a baby dumped on them is a shock, but Hob sort of went into an automatic mode. One he didn't realize he still had. ]
I arrived in this realm not long ago. I suppose I just expect anything to happen at this point.
[ He's rolling with the punches, in a way. What else can he do? But he does seem a little more in his element here. As the baby starts to fuss a bit, Hob is already putting his coffee cup down and fetching a bottle of milk from the refrigerator, which he places in a bottle warmer. Modern conveniences still astound him sometimes. ]
And you know... [ A hand gestures towards the infant. ] It's a baby. Maybe it's not real? I dunno, but, still gotta take care of it.
[Showing up late to the party, Natasha took a little bit of time to make a cursory exploration of the houses around her own, curiosity the bane of her existence. She will do a more indepth dive into the neighborhood as a whole later. First, she has to step up to the plate of suburbia and dive into a life she's told herself over and over that she never desired or understood.
The names of her housemates are both familiar and one is even comforting in a small way. The small things that make her heart stutter are things she won't even think of currently. Her hand floats to the scar line below her clothing and she lets out a breath before turning the handle on the door to her house]
Hello? Anyone home? [Hearing voices, she moves toward them and almost stops dead at the sound of a baby. She's heard a billion children cry, but none of them have ever belonged to her, because none of them could.]
I doubt the baby is real, after all that happened with last month's "mission", and-- [ Ororo starts, but doesn't finish, as she hears the door open, and Natasha's voice filter in.
She steps on over towards the door to project her voice or walk her in, since Hob is busy with the bottle warmer. Goodness. ]
We are in here, Natasha. Discussing how real things may or may not be - starting with... Violet. [ Who's still fussing as she comes back to the kitchen table and Ororo finally acquiesces, lifting her out of the carrier with a hushed little murmur. ]
[ But then Hob notices another entering. That sounds like Natasha, even before he spots her. Since another house member has arrived, Hob pours a third cup of coffee and sets it on the counter for her, along with milk and sugar should anyone want to add something to their brew.
Once Natasha joins them, Hob greets her with a smile. ]
Hello, Natasha. Lovely to see you again.
[ Wait, so it's really him and two gorgeous women in a situation like this? The universe is poking fun at him or something. That must be it. ]
Oh, yes, I thought Violet might work for her name, but it's not set in stone. Coffee?
[Taking her time to wander a little deeper into the house, Natasha absorbs her surroundings the best she can for now. Inhaling deeply as she tries to mentally prepare herself for meeting with the two people she's going to be acting like a family with for the next month. This should be nothing to her.
Her life has been a series of acting jobs since she was a child, but for some reason she can't fall back into the life she knew since arriving here. Nat's been off-kilter since her death. Shaking it off, she plants a wide smile on her face and wanders into the kitchen.]
Hello, Ororo, Hob. It's good to see you both again.
[Eyeing the purple child, Natasha lifts a brow. That wasn't quite what she was expecting, but it still brings a chill to her bones knowing that she's supposed to be a stay at home mother to it. What does she know about babies. At least it seems to like Ororo. Natasha takes the coffee with a nod, and settles against a countertop.]
Naming the baby? I- I'm still a little shocked by all this. I have to admit. My smallest consolation is that at least I know both of you.
[While Natasha was settling into this 'home' life better than she thought she would. It was still rife with stress for her. She had finally managed to flip her switches though, and she was fully in control of all her actions and reactions. There would be no hint of anything wrong on her behalf. She was a model mom and family member, if ever there was one-- helping out and doing her best to contribute in every way possible.
Tonight though, tonight she'd taken one of the objectives to heart and invited Hob out for a little date. It's not much. She'd initially thought to watch the stars, but the curfew makes that a little difficult, so she asked him to meet her in their backyard around five. She's set up a blanket, some food and lights. She has a few extra blankets around to counteract the dropping temperatures.
Now all she has to do is wait for Hob to get home from work. ]
[ Hob knew this was part of the mission, but he was still surprised to receive the invitation for a date. Guess it's safer to check off as many boxes as they can, and if he were to go on a date, Natasha is one of those he feels most comfortable with at the moment.
Feeling the need to look decent, Hob at least takes a shower and dresses in some dark trousers and a light blue button-up over a white t-shirt.
It's been awhile since he's been on a date of any kind, so he's a bit nervous as he goes to meet her in the backyard. Hob just tells himself not to think of it as a date, since it's more of a requirement. But, once he goes outside and sees all the trouble Natasha went through, he can't help but look astonished. ]
Oh wow. This is... unexpected.
[ Now if only he could stop that idiot smile from appearing on his face. ]
[No matter what the mission had called for Natasha had been looking forward to this part of the week for a few days. She'd spent time at the store finding exactly the right foods, and the right outfit. She wore an oversized teal green sweater that swept off one shoulder, with snug black leggings and cute little tan boots. Although once she sat down on the blanket, she pulled them off in favor of fun fluffy black socks with cat ears.
She might be a killer assassin, but that didn't mean she wasn't also completely feminine at times. This would be one of her first real dates, and certainly the first she'd put together like this. It was actually a big deal for her, not that she'd let on about it.
Spying Hob, she waves him over and grins, patting the spread for him to settle down.]
Hey there, you look splendid.
[Her smile matches his own. It's hard to not smile when she feels nervous and excited all at once.]
[ Hob can't help but think Natasha looks really happy, which makes him feel happy, in turn. It could be she's just putting on a face for their mission, but he doesn't think that's the case. Perhaps this place has been good for her if she's mostly used to saving people from danger all the time. ]
You look amazing.
[ So very pretty, it's a little hard not to blush. But yes, he'll approach the blankets and take a seat to join her, removing his shoes to get comfortable. ]
It's incredible. You didn't have to go through any trouble.
[The mission had been its own thing from start until now. It had been a personal struggle, an uphill battle that she was still waging against the ghosts of her past. Nat wasn't sure if she'd make it through them all in such a short amount of time, but she was working on it. She spent a lot of time on walks in the park, and doing martial arts in the living room when no one was home.
Violet seemed lot like watching Nat move around and make all the funny noises. It also helped keep Nat in shape while she was house bound. This little picnic was time away with a friend and that's why it meant so much. ]
Thank you. Thank you so much. It's a lovely early evening for this type of thing. I'm sad we can't stay out late for the really great stars, but we'll catch a few before curfew.
[The picnic wasn't much, cut up meats and cheeses- a bottle of wine, and then a thermos of hot chocolate, some mugs and marshmallows for dessert. Easy peasy. ]
I promise. I don't do trouble of this sort. It was easy. So, tell me all about your day at work.
[She smiled and curled up her legs behind her and began to pour out glasses of wine for each of them.]
[ She might not believe it's a big deal, but Hob doesn't think anyone's ever done this for him before, and it's quite nice, as well as thoughtful. Maybe they do have a mission to blame, but it resulted in something nice and lets them enjoy each other's company. ]
Right. Well, since I can't actually sew, they have me greeting the customers and keeping the shop tidy, as well as taking measurements. It's not bad, as far as work goes. A man came in with mechanical limbs on his back. It must be hard to find clothing for that sort of thing, so it was nice to be able to help him.
[ He hopes Otto can take his new wardrobe with him when they return to Etraya. ]
What about you? How was your day? Did Violet give you any trouble?
[She laughed softly about how they made him a tailor without knowing if he could sew or not. At least Ororo knew a thing or two about how the weather worked. It might have to do with the fact that she could control it, but that was neither here nor there.
She was beginning to really enjoy both her roommates quite a bit. She'd even spent a few moments with Riz as well in the park. It was nice.
Her time with Hob though was special, since he was one of the first people she really opened up to that didn't already know everything about her. She wanted to be surprised about the man with the limbs, but she had a feeling she already knew who that was. ]
Really. That sounds like a challenging suit. It must be difficult to find things that fit. Violet gets fussy now and then. I think she's got a tooth coming in. I let her chew on this ring that I put in the freezer. The strange guy I met in the baby store helped me find it. He was dressed in full armor, but seemed to know about babies? This place is full of interesting people.
[Nat holds up a grape to Hob's lips a little playfully. It's been a while since she's felt well enough to flirt, and it's mostly harmless. ]
[ Hob was also confused when he received his assignments, but thankfully, there are other workers there who are skilled tailors and he's able to help with various chores around the shop. It's an odd assignment for him, but he's doing his absolute best, since he doesn't really know how these missions are graded. ]
The ones who do the actual sewing are quite talented, so I'm sure the clothing will turn out well.
[ Hearing about how Violet is doing makes Hob smile warmly. ]
Sounds like you handled it perfectly.
[ The bit of flirtation makes Hob chuckle, and he parts his lips to receive the grape. Guess there's no harm in enjoying themselves a bit. If they have to be on a mission like this, being with a friend does make it more comfortable. ]
That's good. At least there's people in the shop that can do the hard work.
[Not that what Hob doesn't isn't challenging she's sure. Customers, people in general could always be pieces of work and full of challenge. A person never knew what they were in for when working with a new person, or a meeting a person walking into a business.
Nat was all about customer service in a way. She had to be. She was the ultimate in her line of work, and if she wasn't perfect in her service with customers she could easily be killed, tortured or any number of things. ]
I'm not sure if I'm all that perfect at handling it, but we are working on getting along. It's odd to go from knowing you'll never have a baby, or even expecting any sort of family, even...[She sighed out a breath. She didn't want to bring the picnic down so she switched the subject, smiling with a bite of cheese, followed by her own grape.]
...to having this little cookie cut house thing. It's been a lot, but having you and Ororo around has helped.
[ Hob would agree. He's plenty happy to have the easy job in comparison.
When she talks about never having a family, his expression becomes more sympathetic, since he gets the sense there may be some feelings about that she's not expressing. It may be a date, but they can still speak as friends about what's bothering them. ]
I'm glad we can help, but if you want to talk about it, I don't mind. It's strange for me too, suddenly having a family.
I don't remember what all I've already told you. I know I told you some of my life. I- I was sold at a young age into a spy program. I think I told you that. They taught us to kill, to use our bodies to seduce men, and by thirteen when we graduated they gave us all hysterectomies as graduation presents. I was never going to be a mother, or have a real family. Sure, I could adopt, but my lifestyle never really made room for it.
[Reaching along the blanket, she let her fingers brush over his. The soft touch helped as she spoke. It was always uncomfortable speaking about her past. It was a spot she didn't know how to reconcile with who she was all the time.]
I did horrible, horrible things. Truly terrible. I don't deserve a family, or anyone really. At least I thought I didn't for a long time. I worked hard when I defected from the program, and turned my life around. I gave up the thought of love and a family, even the one love I wanted with a man I fell for so deeply. He wanted a family, and I knew it. In our line of work, people don't have families and I couldn't give him that. So we stayed spies together. He eventually got married and had a family. He, he was the one I sacrificed myself in front of, I forced him to stay alive while I threw myself off that damn cliff. We were best friends. I changed the way I loved him, but that's why. I gave up the hope. This- this here, is not a life I ever saw for myself. It's like some trick. It's like when I was a child and was forced to be a spy for three years in America. I had a fake family, the one with the woman I now call my sister. She was young and didn't even know she was drafted into the evil program that we were in. It's fake, it's all fake and I know that the minute I grow close to anyone, it will be taken away.
[Taking a deep breath, Nat goes quiet. She knows that it's a lot of information that she's given Hob to process. Her story isn't an easy one, and she's not shared it with anyone outside the avengers and not even all the avengers know this many details. She doesn't exactly know why she's told him, other than she trusts him.]
[ Hob knew things were difficult, but the specifics are shocking. To subject a child to all of that? ]
That's awful. I'm so sorry.
[ The brush of her fingers is answered with a firmer hold of his hand as she continues, and Hob listens intently to every word until she's done. He can't imagine being forced into a life like that. Hob took up arms when he was quite young, but that was a choice and the times were different. ]
Every one deserves to be happy and to have family, Natasha. Even if it's a found family. What was done to you was not your fault. You can't punish yourself for it. I'm sure it took a lot of strength to get away from that life.
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etrayalogs2024-07-20 12:46 pm
Arrival - feel free to tag in!
His device allows him to find his assigned housing and he's able to get in with no problem. Hob didn't expect to find a baby in a basket at the door, but he did read about the 'family units' they'd be in. It's just a little startling. The baby looks human except for its lavender colored skin. A little girl. Hob carries the basket inside and sets it on the kitchen table. He's occupying the baby with a rattle when he hears others at the door. Is someone else coming in? ]
Hello?
[ He saw other names listed as occupants here, only one of which he's familiar with. ]
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She offers a little smile, wry and a little resigned when she sees the little lavender baby in the carrier. ]
Hello. You must be Mr. Gadling? [ Well, she offers a hand to shake. Introductions, after all. ]
I am Ororo. I suppose we will be... housemates, for the next month or so.
any other housemates can leap in any time
Yes. You can call me Hob. A pleasure to meet you.
[ Housemates? Right. It's still kind of strange. This is his first mission, and when people mentioned missions, he didn't anticipate the assignment would be to live with such a stunning woman. Good God. Thankfully, the house is big enough for all of the listed names to have a bedroom. ]
I was about to make some coffee. Would you care for a cup?
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... But is this the baby, then? [ She looks at it wryly, like one might inspect an explosive instead of a toy, or a baby. ]
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Going by my keen observation skills, yes, she is indeed, the baby.
[ His jests. ]
She didn't come with a name, though. I was thinking of calling her Violet. Do you think that's too 'on the nose'?
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... Violet. That is fine, though we might want to ask Natasha when she arrives what she thinks. [ Spoken familiarly; she's knows her, a little. She isn't sure she'll do very well with a baby - perhaps just about as well as she would. ]
If she approves, we can find some flowers for her carrier.
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Naturally. We should all agree.
[ The child is for the three of them to care for, after all. The thought of adding flowers to the child's carrier is sweet, but he also notices the way Ororo speaks of Natasha with familiarity. ]
You two know each other?
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She came to a pool party I hosted about a week ago. We shared a drink and a chat, and not much else.
I hope she'll take to surprise motherhood a little better than I have.
You are surprisingly easygoing about this, however? [ Perhaps he's new to the missions? She knows she is trying to put some distance between herself and the baby, too reminiscent of the last mission they were given. ]
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I arrived in this realm not long ago. I suppose I just expect anything to happen at this point.
[ He's rolling with the punches, in a way. What else can he do? But he does seem a little more in his element here. As the baby starts to fuss a bit, Hob is already putting his coffee cup down and fetching a bottle of milk from the refrigerator, which he places in a bottle warmer. Modern conveniences still astound him sometimes. ]
And you know... [ A hand gestures towards the infant. ] It's a baby. Maybe it's not real? I dunno, but, still gotta take care of it.
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The names of her housemates are both familiar and one is even comforting in a small way. The small things that make her heart stutter are things she won't even think of currently. Her hand floats to the scar line below her clothing and she lets out a breath before turning the handle on the door to her house]
Hello? Anyone home? [Hearing voices, she moves toward them and almost stops dead at the sound of a baby. She's heard a billion children cry, but none of them have ever belonged to her, because none of them could.]
ok with hob > nat > ororo? 😊
She steps on over towards the door to project her voice or walk her in, since Hob is busy with the bottle warmer. Goodness. ]
We are in here, Natasha. Discussing how real things may or may not be - starting with... Violet. [ Who's still fussing as she comes back to the kitchen table and Ororo finally acquiesces, lifting her out of the carrier with a hushed little murmur. ]
yup!
[ But then Hob notices another entering. That sounds like Natasha, even before he spots her. Since another house member has arrived, Hob pours a third cup of coffee and sets it on the counter for her, along with milk and sugar should anyone want to add something to their brew.
Once Natasha joins them, Hob greets her with a smile. ]
Hello, Natasha. Lovely to see you again.
[ Wait, so it's really him and two gorgeous women in a situation like this? The universe is poking fun at him or something. That must be it. ]
Oh, yes, I thought Violet might work for her name, but it's not set in stone. Coffee?
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Her life has been a series of acting jobs since she was a child, but for some reason she can't fall back into the life she knew since arriving here. Nat's been off-kilter since her death. Shaking it off, she plants a wide smile on her face and wanders into the kitchen.]
Hello, Ororo, Hob. It's good to see you both again.
[Eyeing the purple child, Natasha lifts a brow. That wasn't quite what she was expecting, but it still brings a chill to her bones knowing that she's supposed to be a stay at home mother to it. What does she know about babies. At least it seems to like Ororo. Natasha takes the coffee with a nod, and settles against a countertop.]
Naming the baby? I- I'm still a little shocked by all this. I have to admit. My smallest consolation is that at least I know both of you.
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hello, hope it's okay for me to hop in here...!!
nat > riz > ororo > hob, if that's cool!
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/parts the thread for now?
sounds good!! \o/
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Hot Chocolate Date (Hob & Natasha)
Tonight though, tonight she'd taken one of the objectives to heart and invited Hob out for a little date. It's not much. She'd initially thought to watch the stars, but the curfew makes that a little difficult, so she asked him to meet her in their backyard around five. She's set up a blanket, some food and lights. She has a few extra blankets around to counteract the dropping temperatures.
Now all she has to do is wait for Hob to get home from work. ]
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Feeling the need to look decent, Hob at least takes a shower and dresses in some dark trousers and a light blue button-up over a white t-shirt.
It's been awhile since he's been on a date of any kind, so he's a bit nervous as he goes to meet her in the backyard. Hob just tells himself not to think of it as a date, since it's more of a requirement. But, once he goes outside and sees all the trouble Natasha went through, he can't help but look astonished. ]
Oh wow. This is... unexpected.
[ Now if only he could stop that idiot smile from appearing on his face. ]
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She might be a killer assassin, but that didn't mean she wasn't also completely feminine at times. This would be one of her first real dates, and certainly the first she'd put together like this. It was actually a big deal for her, not that she'd let on about it.
Spying Hob, she waves him over and grins, patting the spread for him to settle down.]
Hey there, you look splendid.
[Her smile matches his own. It's hard to not smile when she feels nervous and excited all at once.]
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You look amazing.
[ So very pretty, it's a little hard not to blush. But yes, he'll approach the blankets and take a seat to join her, removing his shoes to get comfortable. ]
It's incredible. You didn't have to go through any trouble.
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Violet seemed lot like watching Nat move around and make all the funny noises. It also helped keep Nat in shape while she was house bound. This little picnic was time away with a friend and that's why it meant so much. ]
Thank you. Thank you so much. It's a lovely early evening for this type of thing. I'm sad we can't stay out late for the really great stars, but we'll catch a few before curfew.
[The picnic wasn't much, cut up meats and cheeses- a bottle of wine, and then a thermos of hot chocolate, some mugs and marshmallows for dessert. Easy peasy. ]
I promise. I don't do trouble of this sort. It was easy. So, tell me all about your day at work.
[She smiled and curled up her legs behind her and began to pour out glasses of wine for each of them.]
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Right. Well, since I can't actually sew, they have me greeting the customers and keeping the shop tidy, as well as taking measurements. It's not bad, as far as work goes. A man came in with mechanical limbs on his back. It must be hard to find clothing for that sort of thing, so it was nice to be able to help him.
[ He hopes Otto can take his new wardrobe with him when they return to Etraya. ]
What about you? How was your day? Did Violet give you any trouble?
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She was beginning to really enjoy both her roommates quite a bit. She'd even spent a few moments with Riz as well in the park. It was nice.
Her time with Hob though was special, since he was one of the first people she really opened up to that didn't already know everything about her. She wanted to be surprised about the man with the limbs, but she had a feeling she already knew who that was. ]
Really. That sounds like a challenging suit. It must be difficult to find things that fit. Violet gets fussy now and then. I think she's got a tooth coming in. I let her chew on this ring that I put in the freezer. The strange guy I met in the baby store helped me find it. He was dressed in full armor, but seemed to know about babies? This place is full of interesting people.
[Nat holds up a grape to Hob's lips a little playfully. It's been a while since she's felt well enough to flirt, and it's mostly harmless. ]
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The ones who do the actual sewing are quite talented, so I'm sure the clothing will turn out well.
[ Hearing about how Violet is doing makes Hob smile warmly. ]
Sounds like you handled it perfectly.
[ The bit of flirtation makes Hob chuckle, and he parts his lips to receive the grape. Guess there's no harm in enjoying themselves a bit. If they have to be on a mission like this, being with a friend does make it more comfortable. ]
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[Not that what Hob doesn't isn't challenging she's sure. Customers, people in general could always be pieces of work and full of challenge. A person never knew what they were in for when working with a new person, or a meeting a person walking into a business.
Nat was all about customer service in a way. She had to be. She was the ultimate in her line of work, and if she wasn't perfect in her service with customers she could easily be killed, tortured or any number of things. ]
I'm not sure if I'm all that perfect at handling it, but we are working on getting along. It's odd to go from knowing you'll never have a baby, or even expecting any sort of family, even...[She sighed out a breath. She didn't want to bring the picnic down so she switched the subject, smiling with a bite of cheese, followed by her own grape.]
...to having this little cookie cut house thing. It's been a lot, but having you and Ororo around has helped.
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When she talks about never having a family, his expression becomes more sympathetic, since he gets the sense there may be some feelings about that she's not expressing. It may be a date, but they can still speak as friends about what's bothering them. ]
I'm glad we can help, but if you want to talk about it, I don't mind. It's strange for me too, suddenly having a family.
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[Reaching along the blanket, she let her fingers brush over his. The soft touch helped as she spoke. It was always uncomfortable speaking about her past. It was a spot she didn't know how to reconcile with who she was all the time.]
I did horrible, horrible things. Truly terrible. I don't deserve a family, or anyone really. At least I thought I didn't for a long time. I worked hard when I defected from the program, and turned my life around. I gave up the thought of love and a family, even the one love I wanted with a man I fell for so deeply. He wanted a family, and I knew it. In our line of work, people don't have families and I couldn't give him that. So we stayed spies together. He eventually got married and had a family. He, he was the one I sacrificed myself in front of, I forced him to stay alive while I threw myself off that damn cliff. We were best friends. I changed the way I loved him, but that's why. I gave up the hope. This- this here, is not a life I ever saw for myself. It's like some trick. It's like when I was a child and was forced to be a spy for three years in America. I had a fake family, the one with the woman I now call my sister. She was young and didn't even know she was drafted into the evil program that we were in. It's fake, it's all fake and I know that the minute I grow close to anyone, it will be taken away.
[Taking a deep breath, Nat goes quiet. She knows that it's a lot of information that she's given Hob to process. Her story isn't an easy one, and she's not shared it with anyone outside the avengers and not even all the avengers know this many details. She doesn't exactly know why she's told him, other than she trusts him.]
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That's awful. I'm so sorry.
[ The brush of her fingers is answered with a firmer hold of his hand as she continues, and Hob listens intently to every word until she's done. He can't imagine being forced into a life like that. Hob took up arms when he was quite young, but that was a choice and the times were different. ]
Every one deserves to be happy and to have family, Natasha. Even if it's a found family. What was done to you was not your fault. You can't punish yourself for it. I'm sure it took a lot of strength to get away from that life.
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