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[blackhourglass]

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[blackhourglass]

[There's a quick laugh, and Natasha drops her hand to his shoulder to rest-- folding her arm in comfortably as she sits closer. ]

I'm not that famous. I'm really like any other woman when it comes down to it. I like to sit and cuddle by my fireplace and drink good vodka. Can't get a much better evening than that.

[quick_sass]

You are that famous in some circles. Like the ones who changed me and my sister. You and the others like you, very talked about. And the Soldier too. Like threats. Baseless ones apparently.

[blackhourglass]

[Nat knows how she's spoken of, and she doesn't need reminders of that from the people she invites into her home for drinks. It's almost a little strange to hear it from Pietro. Perhaps he wasn't flirting with her earlier. Sitting against the arm of the couch, she settles in for drinking instead of flirting.

The last thing she wants is to hear about herself. She feels enough guilt over her life. She is what she is, and that's all there is to it. Taking up her shot, she drinks it back and pours another.]

Feel like watching a movie then Pietro? Any kind of genre you like to watch in particular?

[quick_sass]

[He supposes he said something wrong. That is a mistake. He will figure out how to fix it.]

I do not know. I think explosions and action does not translate well. It is... stressful. What sort of movies do you prefer?

[blackhourglass]

[It's just hard to be reminded of the lives she takes, and has taken. She knows who she is, and would rather live in the simple world in her time off. It's hard enough to face the guilt of her past and how it sits heavy around her often enough. Times like this were made for levity, and living away from that.

She was hoping for a night with a friend at least-- so that is what she's aiming for now. Nothing wrong there. ]

I do a lot of stupid comedy, honestly. Things that make me laugh for all kinds of reasons. I watch a little bit of smouldering romance too, but I doubt you prefer that.

[quick_sass]

Now that is quite the assumption. Smoldering romance is its own delight. It is about the joy of life and the comfort of another.

[He thinks for a moment as he downs more vodka.]

And has less of those, oh what is the word... Comedic falls? The comedy where people are bumping into each other.

[blackhourglass]

That's true. I don't really go for the comedic fails type of comedy, but if you want the hot romance. We can go for it. I am all about other people's dreams and desires.

[She smiles and flips through the channels to see what might be interesting for them to watch. ]

Let's see, there's a lot to choose from and I have no idea what you might like. There's some with strippers like Magic Mike, there's a BDSM classic like 50 shades of Gray, there's the old school thriller Basic Instinct, then there's one that's hard to describe, but it's heartwrenching, Call me by your Name. There's a million more. Those are only a start. Do you want me to go on?

[quick_sass]

I suppose now I am being encouraged to ask what that little burst of letters there means. I am not, though, seeking 'heartwrenching'. Drinking does not make me tear up much, but once I start, I do not stop.

Wanda says I am not a 'pretty crier'.

[blackhourglass]

Ah, the terms stand for Bondage, Discipline, Sadism and Masochism. It's pretty much about a kink about Dominance and Submission. They start out all about sex and a certain kink and then fall in love when they're in a contract and aren't supposed to.

[She grins at his admission of not being a pretty crier, and glances over to look at his eyes.]

I don't think many people are pretty criers, but you have eyes that would turn dark and might look nice with a sheen. Don't let movies stop you from crying if you're ever in need of it.

[quick_sass]

[Pietro goggles at that. There's a term for it? He just stares for a moment.]

And why would someone think a contract would protect them from emotions? Emotions cannot be controlled. That sounds foolish.

[As for the crying, he nods in agreement because it makes a lot of sense.]

[blackhourglass]

[There's a wide grin on her face. That was the point of the movie, but it's not the point of D/s as far as she knows. She's not really one to deal with emotions or relationships, considering her stance on the whole thing. It's an interesting take, even if it's a backwards showing of how most of those contracts work from what she's heard.]

From what I know, that's just how the movie does it. I think it's merely for entertainment. You know, to get lonely housewives something to fantasize over, or bored avengers. I think most people in those type of contracts trust first and set them up for a variety of reasons, emotions or not. Many are already in relationships and those that aren't do it for a sort of gratification, a release they need for one reason or another. I've never done much beyond a little bondage. I'd try things, I'd try most anything if I had a partner that I trust, but I don't know about it enough to talk about it.

[At least he agrees with her suggestion about crying. Everyone is different, and why hide when in the company of someone trusted. Natasha doesn't trust many, but she's beginning to find a semblance of relaxation here. ]

[quick_sass]

I do not know if I could trust someone to tie me up.

[There's this flicker of fear across his face. Should make sense, given he'd been a test subject more or less. So he didn't want to feel trapped again. It would be bad he thought.]

[blackhourglass]

I tied them up. I don't think I'd let anyone tie me up either. I like to be in control of things. I am interested in a lot, but I don't know if I'd ever trust anyone enough to do them with.

[She reaches out at the look in his eyes and runs a soothing hand along his back and then moves to run the back of her fingers across his cheekbone. She was a test subject in a way as well. Her mind and body had been a plaything for exploitation. The fact that she used her body still to get information showed how deeply embedded the training had gone. She was free in many ways, but there were still parts that would never leave-- like some of the memories they'd given her, that she knew now weren't hers, but still settled across her brain and lingered there like any other part of her past. It was disturbing, but she'd grown used to it.]

No one will do anything to you anymore unless you allow them.

[quick_sass]

Now that is reasonable.

[Pietro offered with a nod. Because her history would mean that she had to give herself up in a way that would be hard for people like them.]

You believe that? I do not believe it.

[blackhourglass]

I mean, I've been tied up to get information, but that was work and I could easily get out. I allowed myself to be captured and was in complete control of everything. They were offering up all the information because they thought they were going to kill me. That's different.

[Work and sex were often in the same category, but sexual bondage and allowing someone to capture her in order to gain information was different. She was always in complete control then. Never again would she allow anyone else to own her life.]

I can't promise you won't be attacked as part of the avengers. That's our job, but you have control of your life. It's the one thing I know, and have had since I was pulled out of Russia and the Red Room. Clint saved me. I set all my own rules.

[quick_sass]

[There is so much he doesn't know how to respond to there. The idea of having that much authority over his own life. It was something he'd never had before.]

HOw do you learn to live a life with true freedom? A life where you make your own choices and do not need to fear where food may come from? So much I do not know. But perhaps someone with more experience can tell me. Teach me.

[blackhourglass]

The Avengers pay well enough, and what we don't get through missions, we can take on jobs on the side that are offered to us. We get to pick. You will too. If you don't trust, or know the people, I can help or any of us can.

[It's such a loaded question. Natasha knows it had been a huge adjustment coming here. She had been through the adjustment of being always told what to do, to openly making choices. Her strong personality made it easier for her. It came mostly naturally, but anything she didn't understand, she had Tony and Clint help with.]

It's a lot of asking the questions as they come. You take the big decisions and break them down into little choices the best you can. You will do okay. You made it here, you made the decision to come see me on your own. You will figure out what you like, and act on it. If you want something, you can ask. You have the right to feel how you want, ask for it, and then see if you can get it. Go for what you want. You never know what will happen.

[quick_sass]

Wait, they pay?

[He didn't think they did that. Just that they were given spaces to stay. This is new information to him. But he also does not talk much to Stark. Wanda handles that. She is more... temperate. He's just shocked the old man has not told him this. The man definitely tried to look out for them.]

Go for what I want, huh? Seems like that is a very interesting way to live. I want to figure it out, though. How to find what I want.

[blackhourglass]

We risk our lives, and we get some money to pay the bills. Yes. Otherwise we'd be stuck with nothing for all that we do. It's not nearly enough, and most comes from the government, but I imagine there's private sources too. I take private jobs on the side so I can afford the place I live in here, because New York is really fucking expensive.

[Taking a small breath, Natasha feels so much for this man who is so at odds with the world he lived in and the one he abides in now. It tears at her, and throws her back into the life she lived once upon a time. Learning that she had any freedoms, and that she had rights of her own... That she deserved anything was the hardest thing for her to overcome. She still didn't believe much of that to this day.

It wasn't a thing she advertised either.]

You try things in little steps, order a pizza and try different toppings. Find the color you like best, and the fabric of shirt. I found that it's way easier to take little steps, than big ones. Sometimes big ones are forced on us, but we do our best.

[quick_sass]

[Pietro of course winces at 'from the government'. Because he does not trust governments. They have their own desires that do not always line up with those that other people should have and respect.]

Oh, I have most definitely figured out the pizza thing. Supreme. I want it all. And colors aren't hard either. Blues and greens are pleasing. Having those choices are nice. Better than things I did not have time to think about. THough I think Wanda is the one learning fashion more. She seems to like it.

[blackhourglass]

[If Pietro mentioned it, Natasha she would have told him that she trusts it even less. However, they can pay her all they want. They both owe them nothing. It's for work already done. There's more money from SHIELD, which had been rebuilt by Coulsen after it became a thing of HYDRA. Nothing could be trusted intimately in Natasha's experience, except certain people. Money came from where it did. ]

Supreme is good. I'm a little more simple, but I can eat what comes when I'm with my friends. I like fashion at times. I don't spend too much time on it except for ... Well, I have a collection of lingerie. I never had anything like it at all back home and fell in love with feeling good that way, no matter what I wore on the outside. It's all for me. I think we all find things that we enjoy spending our money on eventually, things that are a little frivolous.

[quick_sass]

[His eyes light up briefly at the idea of a collection of lingerie. Applaud him for having the self restraint to not go investigating. He's a good boy.]

Shoes. I have acquired a large number of shoes. At first it was to figure out what held up. But nothing does. Now it is just to enjoy them while they last. Perhaps it comes from not always having them when I needed them when I was younger.

[blackhourglass]

[If Natasha had been worried about showing him her collection she wouldn't have mentioned it, but since he doesn't prompt further, she doesn't say anymore-- for now. She'd almost hoped he would ask. She'd been working on a way to flirt with him a little better, but she seems to be rather poor at it and so perhaps it's easier if they keep things on the up and up.

She smiles with a gracious nod, taking another shot of vodka]

There you go. See, you've found a thing of freedom that's your very own and no one will take it away from you. I liked to see what was pretty, and because I never had such things, the same. I imagine nothing holds up so well, but they will make you things that work hard for you in the labs. I mean, the suits they make the others withstand bullets, so something should work better on your feet.

[quick_sass]

[He is just young and not used to this degree of flirting. Perhaps it is one of the few areas where he is slow. After all, he is used to it having to be the man to be forward.]

Yes. I will be appreciative when my bulletproof things are ready. Stark says they will require more work. I would prefer not to have more holes put into me though. The ones I already had were enough. They do not make for so heroic a story to tell the ladies as you would think.

[blackhourglass]

[There's not only one way to flirt, and Natasha is used to both. She's been given classes in flirting and seduction since she was thirteen, hardly more than a babe herself. It's almost natural in some instances, and in cases like this, she figures that things will develop organically if they are meant to. Young will certainly do as it is supposed to, will it not.]

Stark is always talking about things needing more work. I usually end up nagging him about it, or talking to his computer. Literally, talking to the computer. It does things better. No, holes do not make the greatest stories, although the scars are winners. You'd be surprised at how many of us do love a great scar.