Now it sounds like you're doubting me. Looks like I have something to prove.
[ And while it might be flirtation, it's also because he's had enough practice dealing with stubborn pains in the ass that he's capable of playing the part a little himself when it comes to not letting her write him off just yet. ]
Lucky Lindy, he "hopped" the ocean. It's swing dance and probably not as intense as your one dance, but I'm promising you that you'll have fun.
Iβm not an Avenger. [ He stands by this, that heβll get involved and do things if it turns out Sam ( or other Avengers adjacent persons ) needs him or he gets wind of something going on near him but heβs not an Avenger. ] And Iβm not famous but sometimes I get recognized.
[ People who spent a lot of time looking at that display in the Smithsonian or pay attention to history, mostly but heβs not trying to get into all that right now. ]
Looks like you have two things to prove. [ That he can handle her kind of dance, and that his kind of dance will be fun. Too bad it's going to take a while yet before either of that can happen, though.
Unless she finds her way to the front lines. Unlikely as a woman, since they seem to be very particular about that. She could glamour herself as a man, but then what? There's unlikely to be any dancing. ]
What do you have for entertainment there, then? I don't suppose you and the lads go dancing.
[ Not an Avenger is... good? Her father might be less opposed to her hanging out with him. Although leaving the Ironwoods to go on a roadtrip with him doesn't make a very good first impression. Should she tell him her father might turn him into a frog if they get caught?? ]
Just a funny man with a funny arm then.
Chocolate and berries. Mostly berries, it's easy to get a lot of that around here. But there must be all kinds of snacks out there.
[ If there's one thing he tries not to be, it's be all talk. He likes to see through with the things he'll say he'll do and he especially wants to see it through when it's a promise made to a dame. ]
Write letters sometimes, read a book, tell stories. Play cards and gamble a little, to make it interesting.
[ He doesn't really need the answer, she's still talking to him and that means she's not put off by him yet. He can see if meeting her in person does the trick on that or not. ]
Those aren't bad choices. I guess it depends on the chocolate, since there's a lot out there. Meat, cheese and chips are easy to get for snacks.
That's not rude, that's just being smart. Like what I said about the knives, having 'em nearby if you need it - you're just sticking up for yourself.
[ He knows a lot about that, between going in and resolving some of Steve's fights ( and seeing him after he'd gotten a decent throttling ) and just generally finding it hard to put his guard down in most cases because he was ready for a fight. ]
Guess I won't shower with some steak before I meet him.
I'll make sure you're properly introduced so he doesn't try to eat you.
Okay my brother says our coordinates are 66.3937Β° N, 22.5727Β° W. [ Otherwise known to Midgardians as the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve in Iceland, second in a list of most remote places on the planet. ] Is that anywhere near the Smithsonian?
You're on a whole other continent. This jail break's gotten a little more difficult. We'll need more snacks.
[ And it's not so much appropriating - no, borrowing - a vehicle to get to her and now it involves more plane travel. Unless: ]
Do you know how to make portals?
[ He knows her dad and uncle are gods ( or something like that ) and the sorcerers can travel through portals ( having done it himself ) so it's worth an ask, just in case. ]
I haven't tried. But Father has a portal he uses to get here from Asgard and back. Maybe I can make it take me elsewhere.
[ At the risk of alerting her family to her departure. But what's life without a little danger? ]
Can you pick a place that's close enough to you and tell me all about it? I need to be able to picture it clearly in my mind. [ Or, you know, send her a picture. Sorry, she's new at texting. ]
[ Alright, it's more like three or four minutes in between that first text and what would come next, because he figures a public spot outside of his apartment is a better meeting spot than anything.
A picture follows, because it's probably better than anything he might be able to muster up with words to describe it. He doesn't know how these portals work and if giving her bad info might land her somewhere else entirely. ]
That clear enough to picture in your mind? I don't take a lot of pictures.
Depends. How long do you think you gotta practice?
[ He's not rushing her, just like he didn't want to give her a shoddy description of somewhere for her to picture and it land her somewhere she didn't mean to go, he also figures it isn't something that ought to be rushed? Well, guessing is more accurate. He knows fuck all about magic beyond what he's read in the fiction books he reads ( and he hopes it's fiction anyway, but with the world the way that it is, it's possible it's not ) and the little bit he's been exposed to in his own life. So, not much hands on knowledge and more making a guess on what seems reasonable when it comes to magic. ]
Clothes, stuff that'll keep you occupied if you get bored of me. Sometimes I don't talk a whole lot, but I'm good at listening.
I'm not sure. I'll give it a try tomorrow and see how wrong it goes.
[ She knows she really shouldn't rush these things, but she can't help being excited. Somehow, the thought of going out into the world with someone who isn't her family or one of the many inhabitants of the woods (with the exception of Garmr) is something she finds herself looking forward to. There's so much danger and uncertainty. Who knows what will happen? Anything can happen. ]
Lots of books then. I can read them out loud and you don't have to talk. [ She likes stories! ]
And I'll know if you don't text me that it went incredibly wrong.
[ Meaning, he hopes that it doesn't and that she ends up making it through her tries in one piece. She has people who care about her, so he wouldn't want her getting hurt on account of him or anything. Not when there's no real time table on any of this. Smithsonian's not going anywhere, after all. ]
Hey, I'll talk. I just don't always know what to say. What kind of books do you have?
I'll write your number down and find a way to text you. Unless I end up in another realm. Or back in time. [ Which can be possible, theoretically. Magic's weird like that. ]
Stories and history, mostly. [ But not the Midgardian kind. ] Do you like books too?
It could send you back in time? I only knew about there being a gem that could do that kind of thing. Or the Quantum Realm.
[ Not that he knew a whole lot about either of those things outside of what he'd been told by others, as opposed to a first hand experience with them. It has him realizing despite some of the things he's seen and done in his life, there's still a lot of shit that he is entirely unaware of. ]
Yeah. Mostly science fiction and fantasy, but I'll read a mystery if there's one I think I'll like. I've been trying to catch up on ones I missed over the years [ Decades, he means decades. ] and I was told I should check out audiobooks but it doesn't feel right.
I don't know for sure, but it's a possibility. Space and time are intertwined in ways we don't really understand. [ Case in point: the TVA. ] And magic can be unpredictable.
[ She's surprised that he reads. She's somehow had the idea that even if he was only Avengers-adjacent, he'd have been busy doing whatever it was people like the Avengers did. Then again, he's offered to take her on a roadtrip, so he can't be too busy? ]
What are audiobooks? Books that talk? [ Close, but she's imagining opening up a print book and voices emerge from it. ]
I don't know too much about magic other than fiction books and the little bit I've been around for. Maybe you can tell me a little while we're on the road.
[ Not only does he want to learn more because he figures why not know ( Bucky, your nerd is showing ) but also because he might not be as confused about the shit that goes on around him. With aliens and people with actual powers and magic, he has a feeling that not every thing that the ones who are left of the Avengers will be going up against in the future are going to be along the lines of the Flash Smashers or dealing with Walker. ]
It's a voice recording of a book, so you can listen to it instead of having to read it. I guess it's kind of like listening to someone read it out loud, just without 'em there next to you.
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