Steve meets Clint (and Bucky's in there somewhere too)

[assembles]

Living in Bucky's apartment was strange for a number of reasons. For one thing, Steve's life period was strange these days, and he didn't know if that would ever wear off. He was getting used to some parts of the future, but not to the fact that he and Bucky existed in it. He would say it was like someone had frozen them and then thawed them out seventy years later, except that was exactly what had happened.

Still, even if he knew how it had all worked (more or less), that didn't mean that he could shake the feeling that the two of them just didn't fit. They were relics, walking photographs, and--

Well, Bucky had told him a little about how Captain America had become a symbol more than a person. There was all this merchandise they'd made after his supposed death. Somehow they'd managed to use his sacrifice as a morale booster rather than letting it lower people's spirits, which was both impressive and... well, it made the guilt a little easier to bear.

But he'd seen Peggy, and he still couldn't quite get the image of her teary-eyed face out of his head. She'd been beautiful, but he could swear he still felt the feeling of her wrinkled hands on his face.

Suffice to say, he hadn't been sleeping that well since he moved in. Bucky didn't say much about it, which was fine by Steve. His friend was giving him space in a way that S.H.I.E.L.D hadn't, which he appreciated.

Either way, he'd gone to bed at midnight and startled awake out of a nightmare at about 4AM. He'd passed some time reading -- he had a lot to catch up on, after all -- but once the sun was officially up he wandered into the kitchen to make some waffles. Bucky's favorite.

The only apron he could find was a bright yellow one with lace on it, which was... odd, to say the least. Who did this even belong to? Either way, he was pretty sure he had an idea of what he could get Bucky for his birthday. Steve sinched it around his waist and then started digging through the cabinets for all the ingredients he needed. The pantries were in a much better state now that he'd made a trip to the grocery store, that was for sure.

Comments

[agent_cupid]

The rare experience of waking up in his own bed was always something Clint cherished, especially when his job with SHIELD kept him on the move so much. Having been gone upwards of several weeks now - first to Wakanda and then to New Mexico, it had been far too long since he'd gotten to indulge in it. He'd stumbled into his dark apartment in the early hours of the morning, guessing Bucky had already crashed for the night and not bothering to wake him. He had a couple of days of down-time, thanks to Coulson, and he fully planned on enjoying them.

He'd also intended on sleeping in until at least noon today, but his sleep hours were still all kinds of screwed up and the sound of someone moving around the apartment had him awake. Which surprised him a little, since he and Bucky weren't usually early risers when they didn't have to be. Still, the thought of being home, maybe scrounging up some breakfast with Bucky, had him groggily dragging himself out of bed and stumbling sleepily towards the door.

He was only dressed in his boxers, having literally stripped out of his clothing before collapsing into bed the night before. But that was typical in this household, since neither of them had ever cared. He made no exception now, thudding out of his bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen, his hair standing up at all angles. One hand lifted, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he yawned widely.

"Dear God, Bucky, please tell me there's coffee. And why are you up at this ungodly hour?"

[assembles]

By the time Steve heard footsteps heavily padding down the hall, he had already combined most of the ingredients into a bowl and was mixing it all together. (He couldn't believe how much easier it was to do now that he had super-strength. Which was ridiculous, he knew, but he couldn't help noticing either.)

He'd gotten used to recognizing footsteps by now -- he hadn't been a soldier for long, but it didn't take that much to start honing certain instincts -- and realized that it wasn't Bucky. This must be the Clint Barton he'd been hearing about. Bucky had said he'd be back sometime last night, and Steve was pretty sure he'd heard him come in at some point too.

Well, this was going to be a little difficult to explain, maybe, but Bucky would have warned Clint about him moving in. You didn't invite someone into your apartment without asking your roommate first, after all.

As Steve turned toward the man, he realized that he was still half-asleep, eyes closed as he asked a question that wasn't for him. Steve paused for a moment, wondering if there was any way to make sure this went smoothly. "I'm... not Bucky, sorry. But it's good to see that you got through that kidnapping unharmed, Agent Barton." He still had the bowl of pancake mix crammed against the crook of his arm, but that was neither here nor there.

Really, he just wished he'd made a bigger batch.

[agent_cupid]

That wasn't the voice he'd been expecting - it wasn't even one he recognized - and that had Clint's eyes flying open, instantly awake and alert, hands automatically reaching for the nearest available weapon to deal with the intruder in his kitchen. Only he'd managed to get a good look at who was in his kitchen, even if it took his brain a second too long to catch up with what his eyes were seeing.

"Holy shit, you're Captain America," he stated, sounding stunned, staring at the man in disbelief. "You're Captain fucking America and you're standing in my kitchen. ...in Bucky's apron. I'm still asleep. I've got to be still asleep. This is an all-new level of weird even for me."

[assembles]

Oh, no.

Steve should have realized by now that he couldn't expect Bucky to behave like a decent human being when it came to things like this. Chances were that his friend had specifically not told Agent Barton about this because he'd thought it would be funny, but now that left Steve to pick up the pieces. This was just great.

While it sort of helped that Agent Barton at least knew who he was, that also made things about ten times more complicated. Steve sighed and set down the bowl of batter, clapping flour off of his hands. He had to stop himself from wiping it off on the apron.

"You're... not asleep," he said with a shake of his head. "Bucky just decided to play a trick on you, I think. Umm." He rubbed at the back of his head and ended up just offering a goofy grin. "Steve Rogers. I'm Bucky's friend. He... told me I could stay here, but I wish he would have run it by you first."

[agent_cupid]

Clint was still gaping, but he managed to look a little less like a fish out of water, and even that morphed into a grin when Steve looked embarrassed and mentioned Bucky.

"Nah, don't blame him, he probably did, I've just had a bit of a hectic week," he dismissed, stepping forward and holding out his hand in greeting. "Clint Barton. And you didn't really need to introduce yourself. Even if I hadn't known Bucky for a year or so and heard tons of stories about you, I would still, uh, know who you were. It just caught me by surprise seeing you here," he admitted with a self-depreciating laugh. "Not that that's a problem, either. We've got plenty of room and hell, half the time one of us is out on assignment anyway and... I'm babbling. Sorry. I'll shut up now."

[assembles]

A hectic week was probably putting it lightly, from what Steve understood. He was still pretty sure that Bucky had something to do with this mix-up, but that was something that he could ask his friend about later, whenever he dragged himself out of bed.

For now, Steve grabbed for Agent Barton's hand (and it was odd to think of him as an agent when he was standing there in his pajamas, but he made an effort) and gave it a firm shake. "Well, I know a lot of people know me already, but I think it's right to introduce myself anyway." They all knew him before he knew them, and the unbalance was disconcerting. He preferred to meet them as himself rather than as what they had made him out to be from the stories.

"Anyway, I... appreciate it. S.H.I.E.L.D had a room for me, but I can already tell this will be more comfortable." Steve didn't mind the babbling. He couldn't tell if it was because Barton was nervous or tired, but he'd been in his position before, that was for sure. "Did you, uhh, want some waffles? I'm still making them, but..." He turned back toward the kitchen to survey what work still needed to be done.

[agent_cupid]

"Bucky's conned you into cooking already, has he?" Clint snickered as he moved to start the coffee maker brewing. "Well at least I can be relieved he didn't starve, or survive on take-out while I was gone. And if you're feeling adventurous, go for it. Mi casa su casa and all that. Do you need a hand with anything?" he offered, wondering if Steve had been here long enough to get acquainted with the house.

"And I get it. Trust me, if anyone understands the need for space outside SHIELD's idea of 'comfortable quarters', its me."

He turned around, leaning back against the counter, realizing he probably should have more clothes on than just his boxers, but not feeling awake enough to trudge back to his bedroom to shower and dress just yet. Arms crossed over his chest, he regarded the man across the kitchen and tried to come to terms with the fact that there was a historical superhero making breakfast. In a frilly yellow apron.

[assembles]

"He didn't con me," Steve countered with a small smirk. "I mean, the guy kind of is my best friend. I don't mind." Besides, if he could do something small like this to make up for the fact that Bucky had taken him in, then he was definitely going to do it. There were larger ways in which he could repay the man, but sometimes those didn't even seem to matter as much. Eventually he'd be able to pay his own rent and that would take a huge weight off his shoulders, at least.

"And I'm fine. I'm actually wondering more about you," Steve continued as he grabbed up the bowl of batter, which had more or less been smoothed out by now, and moved over to the waffle iron that they had set up on the counter. Waffle irons hadn't changed much from what he remembered -- just a few more added settings -- so he didn't show much hesitation as he poured the batter on.

"That guy, Loki... He just let you go?" Bucky had told Steve that everything had sorted itself out, but he wouldn't mind learning some more details. It sounded like this Loki character might be their next target, and knowing your enemy was one of the basic rules of having a good strategy.

[soldier_on]

Bucky wasn't an early riser when he didn't need to be, and even muffled the voices from the kitchen were both familiar enough by now that they only registered as a threat to his prolonged hibernation. He briefly thought about pulling a pillow over his head and giving sleep another shot, but he'd actually meant to be awake before Clint for a number of reasons that included introductions. So much for that.

He shuffled into the room in a pair of boxers and a wifebeater, catching the tail end of the conversation and the smell of coffee brewing. And hey, waffles!

"Morning." He yawned, glanced between Clint and Steve, gaze lingering on the latter. At least he had a reason to stare this time around, but he was still kinda waiting to wake up from this funny dream where his best friend was making waffles in their kitchen. Steve in Clint's apron was an image he kinda wanted to frame. "Steve." He grinned at his friend, but didn't offer any further comment.

"You can't grill a man for information before he's had coffee," he added. "That's inhumane. I think it might actually be illegal."

He leaned back against the counter beside Clint, arms folded across his chest, and bumped Clint's shoulder with his own. "Welcome home, by the way. Sorry I slept through introductions."

[agent_cupid]

Clint bumped his shoulder back, shooting him a genuine grin. "What, and make me miss the shock of finding Captain America making waffles in your frilly apron? Consider yourself forgiven," he teased, looking unrepentant.

He was still surprised, a little off balance, but Clint was mostly used to that and fairly skilled at rolling with punches, so he just shrugged and smiled and went to drag down some coffee mugs. "Yeah, me before coffee just doesn't exist anyway, so we'll fix that. And I'm fine," he answered, shooting Steve a look over his shoulder. "Apparently he felt more like living up to his title of 'god of mischief' rather than doing any real damage. I lucked out, I guess."

He poured coffee into three mugs, leaving his black and dumping sugar into Bucky's. "How do you like your coffee, Captain?" he asked, then paused, shaking his head at himself. "Are we certain I'm not still dreaming this?"

[assembles]

When Bucky appeared, Steve couldn't help smiling, even though he was supposed to be blaming his friend for being a bad host and not properly preparing Agent Barton for all of this. It was just impossible to stay mad at him considering the circumstances. He'd given up on his friend as dead that day, after all, and the fact that they had met again seventy years almost seemed like fate.

He just laughed and shook his head when the two owned up to needing coffee before they were functional. Steve thought that people were a bit too reliant on caffeine, especially these days, but he didn't know if he could blame them. For one thing, S.H.I.E.L.D agents didn't have the best hours to start with. For another, he could probably handle sleep deprivation better than most thanks to the serum. "One cream and one sugar," he said in response to Barton's question.

"And I mean it, you're not dreaming," he continued as he set the cover of the waffle iron down and left it to do its magic, turning to watch the two. It was clear almost immediately that Bucky and Clint were good friends. "It'd be great if I could get some sort of explanation for why you two own an apron like this, though." He wanted to assume that a girlfriend of theirs had left it behind by accident at one point, but that was probably giving them a little too much credit.

"And I'm glad to hear he took it easy on you." Steve's instinct was to question Barton on the situation, to see if he remembered anything about where Loki had kept him, but he knew it was too early for that. He couldn't start grilling the man when they'd only just met, his soldierly instincts bedamned.

[soldier_on]

"Do you have a lot of dreams like this, Clint?" Bucky teased. He was sorry he missed that now, because Clint's face must have been priceless and Steve must have mentally planned out the scolding of a lifetime. Maybe he was saving it for when Clint left. It was different, though, seeing Clint more off-balance than Steve. Some things had changed. He was still getting accustomed to people tripping over themselves when they laid eyes on Captain America.

He moved over to fetch his cup and Steve's, passing off the latter as he came to lean against the counter beside Steve this time. Sweet, delicious caffeine.

"Apron's his." Clint and Bucky replied in stereo and Bucky rolled his eyes to look at Steve. "I got it as a gift for Clint because it reminded me of his bright personality and delicate nature." He raised his eyebrows at Steve. "It kinda suits you though. You need a new outfit, right? Maybe I'll get you one with a flag on it."

All joking aside, he was almost as curious as Steve when it came to what happened in New Mexico. He'd gotten a brief rundown when he went in to hand SHIELD his report on the phone call, but it still didn't make a whole lot of sense. At least Clint didn't look much worse for the wear. Though he didn't say as much aloud, he was glad to have him back in one piece. "God of Mischief, huh. It'll be nice if all we have to worry about is some prank phone calls."

[agent_cupid]

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Clint retorted, his lips quirking into a vague smirk as he turned around and leaned back against the counter, grinning when Bucky joined the captain with their coffees. He almost choked on the sip he'd just taken when Bucky mentioned getting Steve one with a flag, sputtering for a moment.

"Oh god, Bucky. Just make sure I have a camera on hand, would you?" he snickered, then winked at Steve. "No offense, sir."

He took another sip of his coffee, letting it wake him up a little more before launching into an unofficial debrief, considering the hours he'd spent with Coulson the day before. "Yeah, you're telling me. He wasn't there for me, though. He wanted to steal some research from Dr. Foster, and I guess he needed stuff from me to do it. All I know was that Fury detoured me to New Mexico on the way back from Wakanda and the next thing I know I wake up tied up in the back of my vehicle with no phone and all my ID gone. At least he left me my clothes," he interjected cheerfully, lifting his coffee mug in a salute to the bastard. "That would have been awkward to explain. And I'm not sure Fury would have believed me."

Still, he was going to hold a grudge over it all the same. He was one of the highest ranked specialists in SHIELD. He didn't like getting caught off guard, even if it was by a supposed god.

"And yeah, Coulson mentioned you got a call. What was up with that?" he asked, looking curious now.

[assembles]

Steve nodded to Bucky and took the cup of coffee when it was handed to him, sipping at it briefly as he tried to stop himself from just staring at his friend. He'd been here for a few days now, but it still hadn't quite sunk in that he and Bucky were here, in the 21st century, living out their strange lives.

So the apron was a gag gift, as far as Steve could tell. He didn't know why he had to get dragged into the whole thing, and just raised an eyebrow at Bucky's comment. "I'm pretty sure S.H.I.E.L.D is working on a new one for me, but thanks anyway."

As it turned out, Steve hadn't needed to ask for any more details, since Agent Barton went ahead and explained what happened without prompting. He straightened slightly, purely out of instinct, as he listened to what the man had to say. "Who's Dr. Foster?" he asked, now that the topic had been opened and it wouldn't be seen as out of line to continue with questioning. "And what was Loki after?" It was good to see that Barton hadn't been much of a concern and therefore hadn't been harmed, but Steve couldn't help but wonder why Loki would have let him go. It was almost like he'd been aiming to send him back with this information, which made him wary.

When Barton asked about the phone call, Steve glanced over to Bucky, figuring that his friend would do a better job of explaining.

[soldier_on]

"Offer's always open, pal." He took another swallow of coffee, sobering up to listen while Clint detailed his trip. The last time he'd gone to New Mexico he'd been dealing with the same kinda thing, but apparently they'd only had the one god to worry about then, and now his crazy brother was on the loose.

His gaze flicked to Steve at the questions, but Clint had better answers than he did on that front. He'd only met Dr. Foster's cute assistant.

"Huh. He said he stripped you down, you know. Guy's got a weird sense of humor." He shook his head. "I was trying to text you the night I brought Steve home to give you a heads up. Didn't know he had your phone." He paused briefly, because a lot of things had gone through his mind at the time. "We talked, sort of. Apparently he's pissed at SHIELD for taking on his brother - Thor? Sounded jealous to me."

What that had to do with Dr. Foster's equipment he had no idea. The waffle iron beeped just then and Bucky moved to get it while Steve conducted his informal debrief.

[agent_cupid]

Clint took a long slow drink of his coffee as he leaned back against the counter once more, letting the caffeine wake him up a bit more. "Don't believe everything you hear," he quipped to Bucky before turning to Steve to explain the situation.

"The short version of all of this is that a few months back there was some freaky weather anomalies happening down in New Mexico. There was a SHIELD team sent to investigate it and we found a team of scientists already there looking into it. One of them is a Dr. Jane Foster. She's apparently brilliant, head full of breaking theories about things that I only understand every fifth word of. What I got out of it is she's studying wormholes. Possible portals to other dimensions, or worlds, or just the back-end of space. That's what was causing the anomalies and the next thing we know, there's a hammer falling from outer space that no one can budge and a crazy guy wreaking havoc and claiming he's a Norse god."

"Well," Clint amended himself. "He wasn't claiming to be a god, not really, but he called himself Thor and called his hammer Mjolner and... well, you get the picture. We were tasked to keep an eye on him and what was going on and not a day later, more weirdly-dressed characters show up looking for him, followed by this enormous metal suit of armor that pretty much leveled the entire town by shooting fire out of its eyes."

Which was mostly classified, since SHIELD had covered up that disaster wonderfully. Freak tornado was the official story he'd heard bandied about, although that didn't stop the conspiracy theorists from having a holiday.

"I don't have a lot of the details past what I witnessed - I'm not even sure what level those would be classified under - but basically it wrapped up with Thor and his fellow aliens traveling back to wherever he came from to deal with his brother. Which would be Loki, also of Norse god infamy. That was the last we'd heard of them until a few days ago, when we got word that he was back and I was sent to pick him up on my way home. Only apparently Loki found me first and used me to get whatever research the Doc has on all this portal stuff."

"I have a feeling Coulson and Fury will debrief you on it," he added, taking another large sip of coffee. "Sounds like this guy's planning to be trouble. Also we have a pair of Asgardians now staying at HQ, so I'm sure you'll run into them sooner or later. They're, uh... kinda hard to miss," he concluded, laughing.

[assembles]

While Steve's instinct was to deal with the waffles, Bucky beat him to it, and in the end he decided to let him. Seeing how he'd done all the cooking, the least his friend could do was dish up for them, right? Besides, Barton was giving him a full report now, and he wanted to pay attention. This was the sort of stuff he needed to be aware of if he was going to be an effective soldier.

It didn't take too long into the Agent's explanation for Steve to feel like he was listening to another language, but he didn't say anything, since he was already aware that Barton was dumbing it down for him. Steve had heard hints about other worlds out in space since he'd woken up, and honestly, he'd found it hard to wrap his mind around. The whole Norse god angle was pretty out there, too, but he'd leave that alone for now. The main point he took from it was that whoever these guys were, they were pretty powerful.

The mention of a huge, destructive suit of armor reminded him of two different things: Hydra's tech and the Iron Man suit. He'd seen some of the footage and Steve could easily see how that thing could be misused. From what he understood, Tony Stark had made it so that he was the only one who could wear the suit, but what happened if someone else figured out the trick behind it?

Either way, it seemed that Loki had already been making a mess of things, and now he was back for more. Steve had to wonder why some aliens -- if that's really what they were -- cared about Earth at all, but Barton made it sound like some petty act of revenge. "Sounds like they didn't do a very good job of dealing with him," he said with a sigh.

"So Thor is on our side, even though his brother is the one making trouble for us?" That was going to get awkward, and fast. Chances were that Thor wouldn't be assigned to many missions involving Loki, seeing how he was biased, but Steve couldn't assume that things worked the same as he remembered it, so who knew? "And what makes them hard to miss?" Steve hadn't laid eyes on any of these so-called gods yet, and he had to admit he was kind of curious.

[soldier_on]

Bucky's motives were entirely altruistic and didn't involve getting the first helping of breakfast at all. For once. Even if he'd missed Steve's waffles which, okay, was kind of a dopey thing to think, but true none the less. He fetched plates and dished, set up the second round while Clint talked.

He'd heard some of this story but making sense of it hadn't really been a priority then, and they'd spent a lot more time on the possibility of Puente Antiguo being a long-forgotten circle of hell. Now, Bucky paid attention, and frankly it didn't help a whole lot.

Though he guessed that was a reason alien gods would attack a tiny town in New Mexico and not somewhere big, where they'd make an impression. It was a family thing, whatever that might be, and now Loki was supposedly in town while they had two of these Asgardians at HQ. Maybe they should have sent 'em home while they had the chance.

But then again, who really knew what Loki was up to? At least these guys were probably at his level and on their side.

He fell into old habits easy, silent while Steve's questions came first. "If they can't deal with him it doesn't sound good for us." Bucky murmured. "But yeah, Thor's on our side." He shared a quick look with Clint, confirming. "His brother's definitely not on his side.

"And who's the second Asgardian?" He added, no less curious. "Backup?"

[agent_cupid]

Clint waited until Bucky's back was turned to dish up a second serving before reaching over and snagging his plate. Fair was fair and he owed the man some serious payback for nearly making him stab Captain America in his kitchen this morning. The frilly yellow apron would have been totally ruined and Clint would never live down jumping a national icon.

Plus, the waffles smelled fantastic and he was starving.

"Unless their method of dealing with him ended up being 'Oh you're a pain in the ass, we're going to banish you to earth for some strange rite of passage because it seemed to work so well for your brother', then no, not really. Although at this point, I wouldn't put it past them." He slathered the waffles with butter and grabbed the syrup as well. he pondered this as he plucked a fork from a drawer. "Huh. Pretty sure that was the plot of a Disney movie somewhere along the way. Or if it wasn't, it should be."

He was distracted from chattering a moment longer because oh my god, waffles and his moan of approval was almost obscene. Because breakfast was serious business and this was divine and he shook his fork at Steve before taking another bite. "That's it. It's official. You can stay. We can charge you rent in waffles. Perfect trade-off. You are officially my favorite person today," he spoke around a mouthful, savoring a real breakfast. He never wanted to see another poptart ever again.

But he still had questions to answer and oh god, Bucky was going to love this so he swallowed before laughing, still using his fork for emphasis. "Backup? You could say that. And dude, I can't wait to introduce you just to see your tongue fall out of your head. His backup's a warrior goddess, from what I can gather. She says she came to keep an eye on him and look for Loki and damn, if all the females in Asgard look and fight like that one, I can see why getting banished to earth's a punishment. She's not quite as tall as Thor - because that guy's pretty much a walking mountain of muscle - but she comes pretty damned close. And when Natasha gets back on base, I'm not sure if we should run for the hills or start selling tickets and popcorn."

[assembles]

With the way that Agent Barton was talking, these gods didn't seem to have a good hold on their own, if Thor was letting his brother run amok instead of keeping him out of the way. As far as Steve was concerned, Earth had enough internal problems with the way war was waged. Did they really need to start fighting battles with aliens, too?

He was relieved when Disney was mentioned, because that was something he did know about. Apparently it had only gained popularity over the years, and the sheer amount of movies that had come out while he'd been in his frozen sleep was overwhelming. He had to admit, he kind of wanted to take a trip down to the theatre, because at least that was something he'd done before becoming Captain America that he could still indulge in now. Not that there had been any time so far.

Still, maybe he'd invite Bucky out sometime, just for the fun of it. When they weren't being threatened by alien gods, anyway.

Steve was completely derailed when Barton went ahead and complimented his cooking, though. He couldn't help smiling in response, although he didn't really think it was good enough to deserve that much praise. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can make rent. I'm glad you like them, though."

At the point, Barton moved on to talk about the other Asgardian, though he wasn't being all that respectful about it. Steve leaned back against the counter and looked between Bucky and Clint, letting out a sigh. Back to leering at women, it seemed like. Some things never changed. At the end of that, though, he heard a name that was somewhat familiar. "Natasha," he echoed. "Natasha Romanoff? I've heard the name." She was another Agent, if he remembered correctly, and well-regarded at that.

[soldier_on]

He was tempted to take a swipe at Clint's hand and make him wait until all the waffles were done, but he owed them both for this morning so he let it slide, and he'd never been the stickler for good manners that Steve was.

Clint's guess at what was going on was as good as any. Maybe Fury would have more answers when he dragged them in for the briefing. At the moment, he shot Steve a grin, and refrained from saying anything about that moan being just this side of indecent. "Remember when I was the popular one?"

The second beep went off and Bucky dished the waffles, passing Steve a double serving before he took his own and went about drowning it in things that would stop his heart within the year. Teasing aside, he was glad that Clint and Steve seemed to be getting along, but then, Steve hadn't had much trouble with people liking him since he joined the army. And Clint, well, Clint had helped him out a lot in the past year and he couldn't see the guy turning anyone away.

"Screw tickets man, you're letting me up into your nest for that one. I'll bring the popcorn, you bring the cameras." When he turned around, Steve had that look on his face that all silent disapproval he'd learned from his ma. But he didn't say it aloud, and Bucky's mouth was full of pretty indecently delicious waffle, so he didn't comment on it either. Natasha was definitely the better topic.

"Yeah, you would've around HQ. The rumors are terrifying and mostly true, but she's... well, she's definitely something else." He grinned. "I think you'll like her."

[agent_cupid]

"I'm not sure you'd fit in my nest," Clint shot back, laughing, then eyed his own plate of waffles dubiously. "Hell, if we're charging the Captain here in waffles, I might not fit in my nest. Damn, I'm going to have to start sparring with the Asgardians at this rate."

He grinned though when the topic settled on Natasha. "She's rather legendary, to be honest. Her codename's Black Widow," he explained between bites. "Originally with the Russian KGB and some other covert projects of theirs but that was a long time ago." Although time in comparison with Captain America was a relative thing at this point. Clint wasn't even sure he'd know what the KGB was. He'd have to doublecheck and make sure the History Channel came on their cable listing. Either that or introduce him to Wikipedia.

"Anyway, she's one of SHIELD's top agents. She's called in when they need stealth and subtlety. No one can get information like Tasha can. She makes it an art." There was more than just respect in Clint's tone when he spoke of his longtime partner. There were few he thought more highly of.

"And yes, she is definitely something else. But I can't wait till she meets you. She's not going to know what to think of you, Cap."

[assembles]

While the comment Bucky made about being the popular one was clearly in good fun, Steve never knew how to react to things like that. It was true that he had gone from being a loser to a hero overnight, and he had never known what to make of it. He knew it must have been weird for Bucky, too, since their friendship had always worked a certain way -- and now the tables had been turned. Bucky had never seemed bitter about it, but that didn't stop Steve from worrying. It probably showed on his face, but he didn't say anything at the moment. He wasn't sure he had the right words yet.

Either way, the two moved on to explaining more about Natasha -- or Black Widow -- pretty soon after, which gave him something to focus on as he prepared his waffles. Steve put on some jam and powdered sugar and then went to sit at the table, not very interested in standing and eating if he didn't have to. Honestly, one of the oddest things about the change after the serum that he hadn't expected was his appetite. It was like he was always hungry these days. For that reason, it wasn't long before he was digging into his breakfast.

It sounded like Natasha had an extensive history and an impressive set of skills, and the way Clint spoke about her made it clear that he had nothing but admiration for her. Steve could never imagine being a spy or fishing for information. He'd be terrible at it, so he found it impressive when someone else could pull that off.

It was Clint's last comment that stood out most, though. "She won't? Why's that? And uhh, what's this nest you're talking about?" There was clearly something going on here that he wasn't in on, but hopefully Bucky and Clint wouldn't mind having to answer all of his questions. He had to imagine it got annoying after a while, but he was doing his best to catch up.

[soldier_on]

He regretted the words not five seconds after he said them, because instead of giving him shit right back, Steve had that guilty look on his face again. He wasn't really sure how to explain that yeah, he was a jealous, and it was petty, but not really in the way Steve seemed to think. Things had changed again between them again since he got back, as much as Bucky didn't really want to admit it, and sooner or later they'd have to hash it out, but not right now. He shot Steve his best stop feeling guilty for stuff that's not your fault look. He used that look a lot.

Waffles were a much easier topic. He lifted his fork long enough to point it at Clint. "Watch it, Barton. I get best friend privileges so I can cut off your supply. And if your ego still fits in your nest, I think I can squeeze in."

It wasn't really ego, but Bucky wasn't really that big, so fair was fair.

He heard more stories about Natasha than he actually saw of her. He could guess at what was classified, but he didn't really care too much, considering the only people he'd mention it to were sitting in this room, and one of them had been working with her for ages. There was something familiar about her that he could never quite place, but Clint had laughed and said that was just 'Tasha.

He pushed a bite of waffle across his plate while Clint explained, not really inclined to sit down.

"It's a vantage point. Sniper's nest," Bucky supplied, in response to the last bit. "Clint's a... he's the World's Greatest Marksman. I lost the bet, so I have to say that, but it's actually true."