Reflections - OTA.

[kick_ass_curls]

Natasha Romanoff had been spending far too much time by herself. Unifying with the Avengers to stop Loki may have made others feel like members of a team, but for her it only served to reinforce the feeling of loneliness.

She'd found Steve, or rather found someone who could. While secretly exploring the BPRD she gathered that not only Tony but Bruce

Comments

[world_made_free]

For Loki, this was just too good a chance to miss. Since his arrival at the BPRD he'd spent a fair amount of time investigating the perimeter of the compound testing for weaknesses, as well as tracking and following several of the staff members who seemed to be going in and out on a regular basis - and it had come as a pleasant surprise to discover that a couple of them were none other than the Avengers themselves. In a way, it was something of a plus since it meant that he'd been completely correct in thinking that the building held some kind of secret; it validated his instincts, confirmed that the flow of power he'd somehow felt emanating from the place wasn't just in his mind, after all. They may have taken his spear and confiscated the Tesseract, but he was a god. He possessed abilities far beyond mortal comprehension, skills which no-one would ever be able to take away from him.

The presence of Natasha Romanoff had been of particular interest. He still couldn't forgive her for the way she'd manipulated him on board the

[kick_ass_curls]

Natasha hadn't been eating much, or sleeping much unless Steve forced it on her. Honestly, the all-american solider boy was easier to convince that she was 'fine' than she'd expected. Eat a couple bites of eggs in the morning, pretend you're asleep at night, and act like you want to go be social and he thought she was fine.

But she wasn't. The lack of sleep and proper care for herself had made the Black Widow tired, sloppy and vulnerable. So much so she didn't even notice someone was tailing her. A few someones perhaps but the one in front of her now was what had her attention.

"Oh. You." Her reaction was anything but in character. Weeks ago the power crazy god would have been either knocked to the ground with a knife to hit throat or engaged in a verbal battle of wits. Today, she simply stood there as though Loki was any other guy blocking her path. "Hello."

[world_made_free]

Perhaps it was a little disappointing for the god not to receive any more of a reaction, but then again, he hadn't really expected any less from Natasha. She always had proven herself to be annoyingly stoic and unflappable, and today didn't seem to be any different. No matter; all that meant was that he'd have even more fun when it came to trying to break her, and from the tired, weary look on her face, that shouldn't have been too hard.

"I'll take that as a no." The smile remained plastered on his face, although it was more of a threatening sneer than a warm welcome. "I take it, then, that this lack of sleep is all thanks to Barton?"

[kick_ass_curls]

It's less intentional reaction and more near crippling exhaustion. Thankfully those instincts of hers are still rather strong.

"Perceptive. You get a gold star. " She smirks weakly before trying to move past him. She'll call in the incident to SHIELD anonymously. Natasha will not work for them, not until she figures out the mess with the 456 incident, Torchwood and SHIELD and what it all means.

Then he has to bring up him. Natasha's glad she's not looking at him, because the expression on her face is one of pure anger. "I told you, there's nothing between Agent Barton and me that isn't professional. No one is keeping me up at night, thank you." It's a lie. A well executed lie, she hopes.

Not one person on her mind, not one thing is keeping her from restful sleep. It's everything weighing down on her.

[angryinsecret]

Bruce was outside for what had become his bi-hourly decompression. Being down in the bowels of the BPRD made him antsy. The longer he was there, the more it felt like a giant concrete cage, and the closer Hulk got to the surface.

He was sitting in the grass, barefoot, using the heat of the sun on the top of his head to center himself, when he saw Natasha. She didn't look happy. It was pretty much her standard expression, but something was off, he could tell even from a distance. He called her name and waved before making his way back to his feet. The shoes, however, remained off. Grass plus toes equals peace.

"Hey, where you headed?"

[kick_ass_curls]

Tasha had no idea the inner workings of Bruce's process. If she had, she'd have been far more understanding of his concerns for being on the SHIELD hellicarrier. She'd only sneaked around the BPRD, but the whole building was worse than the hellicarrier. At the the SHIELD ship had windows.

She had no idea why she was returning to the scene of her 'crime'. It was stupid. One of the first things Taras Romanoff's training, however intended or accidental, had taught her was never look back. Never stick around. It will get you caught.

The familiar voice calling her name made her jump visibly, a motion completely out of character for her. The Black Widow didn't jump unless she wanted to jump.

"Hi." Her arms folded over her chest as she came closer to him. Cautiously she came closer to him, observing what he was doing. "I thought you said the secret wasn't yoga?" She teased, dodging his question.

OOC: Is saying this is before Loki OK with you?

[angryinsecret]

OOC: That's fine!

"I don't know a whole lot about yoga, but I think it usually requires some sort of mat," he replied, concerned about the way she had jumped. He couldn't imagine what could have her so spooked.

"If you join me you have to take off your shoes."

[kick_ass_curls]

In truth it's everything. Tasha doesn't sleep anymore, she doesn't eat, she just thinks about everything and it's grating on her in a very noticeable way. "The lack of shoes are a requirement for inner peace?" She raises a brow, then reaches down to unzip her boots. "It's worth a shot."