Reality in Motion

limited time

"So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." Fury finished his rather in character pep talk. Dinner had finished and Laura had herded the kids to the den so the Avengers could have a proper discussion about Ultron. At the word bastard, a smirk came over Nat's face and her eyes slid over to Steve.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." she teased. He pushed off the doorway he had been leaning against, but kept his arms crossed,

"You know what, Romanoff?" he raised his eyebrows at his friend, the threat otherwise empty as Nat tried not to laugh.

"Gonna make him put a dollar in the jar, Rogers?" Tony chimed in from where he was throwing darts with Clint while also listening to what Fury had been saying. Steve heaved a sigh and glanced over to him before remembering that Q was in the room. He bit his tongue on the snarky reply that was ready to go, instead glancing to one of the corners in the kitchen area where Q had been had been curled up in a random chair. He was curious to see her reaction to everyone now knowing their inside joke. Except her chair was empty.

Doing a quick scan of the room and only half listening to the plan to take down Ultron, Steve tried to place Q. But it was clear that she had left. Only to where, he didn't know. He let his arms drop to his sides as he glanced over his shoulder, hoping she was somewhere behind him. She wasn't. His immediate thought was that she had left again, gone back to wherever it was she had come from without saying goodbye again. Though another, logical part of his brain reminded him that Dawson was still there. Sitting diagonally across the table from Nat and not offering any input or snarky comments himself - out of character, but understandable considering the circumstances. But Q wouldn't leave without her best friend.

He leaned back a bit, noticing that the porch light was on, which it hadn't been before. Maybe she had gone out there. He quietly stepped away from the team meeting that was happening and slipped out the front door without a sound.

"Hey." he greeted her after shutting the door behind him. She was curled up on the porch swing, knees against her chest, looking out across the front yard at nothing. There was an empty beer bottle on the railing and another one in her hand. At the sound of his voice, she turned her head and looked over at him.

"Hi." she responded, voice still sounding as small as it had when she first arrived. It was a weird thing to hear; she always had a strong voice. Was always confident in what she was saying and didn't shy away from it. Now, it was like she was nervous as to how whatever she said would be received.

"Thought you left again." he slipped his hands in his pockets while frankly admitting why he had come outside. Even in the dim porch light, he could see her cheeks flush red with slight embarrassment.

"Yeah, no," she ducked her head down a bit, leaning forward to set the beer bottle down next to the empty one. The motion was enough to make the porch swing sway slightly, "I just, uh, had to step away for a second. Too many things going on." she motioned to her head as if that explained everything. It both did and it didn't.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked out of instinct, then winced. He wasn't supposed to be doing that. Offering her help. Not after everything she had put him through. Still, she gave him an almost watery smile and then shook her head.

"No, no..." she trailed off, "This is something I have to deal with on my own." He bit his tongue on the sarcastic comment that was ready to be fired. Apparently there was a lot she had to do on her own. Dealing with the side effects of Hydra torture shouldn't be one of them and yet...

There was a moment of silence before he gestured to the empty space next to her on the swing,

"Mind if I..." he trailed off, leaving the question open ended and giving her an out. But she quickly shook her head and somehow managed to move over even more to give him more than enough space to sit. Which he did, settling down next to her and letting the swing gently start to rock with the newfound weight on it.