Along Came a Spider ...

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Were Han another kind of man, he might be concerned that "the plaza" is not all that specific of a meet up point. The thing is, he has all types of rendezvous with people where he comes from that are planned only in light details. Sometimes on even less than what he and Nat agreed upon yesterday. At least he got a time in this case.

One of the few instances where the Captain puts faith in something beyond himself ... when two people are meant to find each other, they do. And when they aren't meant to, they won't. A lot of bitter pills of all kinds were swallowed in learning that particular lesson, but it's one he knows to be true.

She said she would be there. With the strange qualifier that she might be busy needing to 'save the world'. Something he didn't really know how to interpret truth be told - a joke maybe? Hard to tell when nearly all the things she says comes in that difficult to discern tone. Even then, she said she would find him later.

That makes him generally more optimistic that he'll see her here, then not.

Han is trying to look casual, while leaning on the outside of one of the shops in the plaza. His eyes weaving though the crowd looking for that person he found drifting in and out of his thoughts ... like wisps of smoke since he met her.

Comments

[red_room]

"It's easier when the targets don't move." Natasha admits, but there's a trace of a smile on her face all the same. The pistols have both been placed on the table again, as she pulls a box of ammunition out to reload her gun. Since there's no hurry, she takes her time with the action.

Breathes in the smell of gunpowder and thinks faintly on whether or not she should feel disgusted at herself for relishing in its bouquet. Decides she doesn't really care, either.

"Though, if we're comparing styles, I'd say mine is closer to yours than to the guy I'm usually working with."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Think so?" He murmurs, watching her reload the weapons. "Gotta admit I like the idea we could be comparable."

That's Han's attempt to sneak in a subtle flirt. In a lot of respects he feels outclassed by her, though. He's ... trying to shake off that feeling. To lack confidence is one thing, even Han feels that sometimes, but he doesn't have to show it.

"I could watch you move for hours."

[red_room]

His remarks earn him a quirk of a perfectly shaped eyebrow and a twitch to her faint smile while she gives him the side eye. She holds up her pistol, now fully loaded.

"Trade with me? I want to see how your weapon handles."

The way she says it, she may just be flirting back and trying to sound like it's an innuendo. She may also be making fun of him why is it so hard to tell with her?

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"I was hoping you'd ask for it."

Han makes the weapon switch between them as careful as he can manage. They're both experenced marksman, so they should be able to handle it safely, but they probably should have thumbed the safeties over before making the exchange. What can he say? He got a little excited when she wanted to handle his piece and maybe he rushed into it a little.

They'll no doubt feel a big difference as they trade. Han's blaster is extremely light. It has no bullets to weigh it down, for starters, and no sight. Some of the stock parts he switched out because the modified ones would make it lighter. The handle is rounded. Probably feels somewhat odd in her hand compared to what she's used to.

"It's a hair trigger." He murmurs, figuring he ought to warn her before she tries squeezing it for the first time.

Then Han's eyes narrow as he regards the Black Widow's weapon. It's heavier than he would have thought and more angular. As much as he wants to go through the motions of drawing it and shooting quickly, he resists the urge because he has no idea how an earth gun handles beyond previous casual observation.

He brings the weapon to bare, looks down the barrel, takes a breath and squeezes the trigger.

[red_room]

It feels like a toy in her hands. Natasha's pistols are both smaller than Han's blaster, but even they carry more weight. She's worried about the device breaking, more than anything.

His warning is heeded; her finger stays well away from the trigger as she raises the weapon and gets a feel for it in her hand. She doesn't have to pull the trigger so much as graze it--gently press it. With no blasting cap to discharge or gunpowder to ignite or lead to propel downrange the discharge is immediate and without kickback.

By comparison, Natasha's gun feels almost alive in Han's hand. The bullet explodes out of the barrel with that same deafening noise, butt of the gun kicking back into his hand with the recoil. She had emptied her entire clip into the target with each gun in both hands near simultaneously before, and now Han will begin to understand the minutia of such a feat. Recalibrating each shot in her dominant and off hand with every kickback.

Natasha takes several shots at the target, shifting her aim between head and chest shots between each blast as she gets a feel for the mobility offered by his weapon. It's an extension of her hand more than a gun. She sets it down once she's satisfied and watches Han.

"Different than I expected."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

The earth gun, as it compares to Han's weapon, has a certain ... he can't think of any word other than savagery to it. It just feels like violence in a way that his weapon, which is equally as lethal, doesn't. From how hard he needs to pull the trigger to how hard the small little handgun is kicking around on him, everything about this gun registers strangely to him.

There's a prolonged pause between Han's first shot and his second shot while he sorts out all of the things he's just learned about this weapon that he could only have speculated on before. Then he starts shooting them off rapidly. By the end of the clip, he's getting them well grouped just to the left of the bullseye. It ain't bad for a first timer.

When he's finished, Han places her pistol next to it's twin on the table by her.

"Yeah?" He says with a slightly inquisitive tilt to his head. "How so?"

[red_room]

Natasha puts the safety on both of her guns before she hops over the table and points to the targets. Follow me, her gaze says, even if she doesn't.

She waits for him to join her before walking downrange to where their targets are hanging.

"They're made to be fired on the move. There's no weight to them to help you steady your hand. It's not a weapon made for sniping. It's meant to be fired quickly and repeatedly. Designed to be in a firefight more than an execution."

Natasha stops in front of her target, with the small clusters at the head and chest of the sheet.

"I get the feeling I could land a lot of hits in a target while running with no real strain." A weapon that's easy to fire. That doesn't make a shooter think about shooting. It says a lot about Han's world, too. The weight of her own guns that asks if she's sure she wants to do this. That makes her keep count of each bullet, that makes her make every shot count.

She feels like people must be very dangerous in his galaxy, with access to weapons that make it so easy to become a killer.

"I feel like I got to know your fighting style better." She replies with a smile.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

There she goes again, slinking around that table with those movements that ooze sensuality and an almost inhuman grace. That one wasn't even particularly special compared to the way she held those guns, but still, it grabs Han's attention nearly as profoundly.

Don't worry, Natasha, he'll follow you. Wherever you want to go, sweetheart. Just lead the way.

"I think you're right." He says with a slight shrug and a nod. Generally speaking, he'd agree with all those sentiments in a blaster versus pistol assessment. "That's not exactly a stock piece, though. That one's been modified for the way I like my weapon to perform."

Still, it's the last bit, said with that smile that makes him regard her thoughtfully. "I find it flattering that you want to know more and if that's true, I gotta be honest, I feel the same."

[red_room]

"So you like to be exceptionally mobile and quick with the draw."

Natasha brushes the tips of her fingers against the first cluster of shots Han had made on his target with the blaster. She sees a lot of Barton in Han, in the way he sasses and presents himself. She wonders if the same kinds of insecurities linger in his mind. Decides its none of her business.

"Some things can only be learned through experience." And now she turns cheeky, raising her eyebrows and leaning forward slightly. "And what did you learn about me?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Quite probably, but he isn't going to admit that to you yet, Nat. He's still feeling like he's got to impress you. It's not like you're giving him a ton of indication one way or another that he's succeeding or failing in that regard.

Still, he thinks you're quite worth chasing and you haven't written him completely off, so ...

"I would add easy to use for a long period of time, but yeah. That about covers it."

To her question, he doesn't rush to an answer. He wants this one to be a good one. Also, completely unconsciously, he's leaning in closer to her. He's drawn to her like she was a black hole. "I learned that I better be careful if I want to handle you." He murmurs. "I learned that you can be devastating, but that having you close will make someone feel protected."

[red_room]

His actions are expected. Like a moth to a flame the spider sets her web. Her gaze is amused, but not surprised. Not until he speaks.

The first part of it isn't anything special. It's common sense after watching her for longer than a minute. It's the last bit that shakes her. That brings to mind a soft spoken man saying the same thing before slipping on headphones and drowning out the monster thrumming just beneath his skin.

Natasha blinks and the moment is gone, proud that her expression hardly shifted at all. Only her eyes had given away any sort of emotion shift. Should she be concerned that the two people she keeps comparing Han to are the two people that have gotten closest to the True Natasha?

It's a fluke. They hardly know each other, and Natasha is lonely. Has been ever since she made the mistake of opening up to someone. She needs to salvage this situation. Get control and know where she stands.

So she closes the distance and presses against Han's lips gently, carefully. And then pulls away.

"Someone protected, someone else dead." Natasha agrees, letting a bit of her Russian accent trickle into her voice. Wrapped around her finger. That's where Han is. Natasha can live with that. It's something she understands.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han sinks into her kiss completely. How could he not? She's absolutely gorgeous and easily the most intriguing person he's met here in the Nexus. He finds her toughness fetching and he likes that she'll push him around.

He'd compare her to anyone he knew if there was someone. Everybody seems to be a pale comparison to her though. Which is fine by Han. He likes the uniqueness of her.

Her lips feel good against his and it's been a while since he's had any kind of closeness with anyone. With another girl, he might have been more daring, but with Natasha, striking out might be the least of his worries. So he lets the kiss be completely on her terms. As deep as she wants it to be and as long as she wants it to last.

Damn if he wouldn't love another taste though.

"That's the way of the gun isn't it?" Someone protected by the extermination of someone else. Nobody has to explain that to Han Solo. He's familiar with the concept.

[red_room]

"You're a bright one."

Natasha's voice is quiet now, teasing but somehow softer. This she can understand, handle. It feels wrong in more than a few ways that her primary reason for acting was to regain control of the situation, even if interest has been a smaller reason.

Wouldn't be the first person whose emotions she'd manipulated though. Won't be the last either, in her line of work.

She can hate herself later. Han's not a disappointment when it comes to kissing and it would be a waste not to enjoy it for what it is.

"So by that logic, you're easy with an endurance and I'm deadly and protective?" The smile is in her words as much as it is on her face.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It's not the reason that Han would prefer for the two of them to get closer, but this scoundrel is going to take what he can get. She might find herself trusting him more when she gets to know him. Or that Han has found a way to make her care about him despite her best attempts to keep insulated from him.

"Sure." He says with that lopsided smile of his. "If you want to keep it that simple for now, but there's more to both of us then the weapons we carry."

He's not trying to pressure her into disclosing anything. On the contrary, what he wanted to suggest is that he's not in a rush to unravel her every mystery. He hopes that puts her at ease on some level.

[red_room]

One of the interesting things about Han is that he isn't completely transparent. He surprises her just often enough to put Natasha off of her surest footing. It's a good thing for his interests, but a feature that rubs at some still open wounds and raw emotions.

She needs time.

"Don't be so sure about that, in my case." It does reassure her, the breathing room. He doesn't wrongly assume he has her pegged, but nor does he try to pry too deep. There's a probing interest but it's sedate enough that Natasha doesn't feel threatened.

"As charming as all of this is, I need to get back to my place pretty soon here. Think you'll manage to not starve and learn about the phone on your own until later?" There will be a later, Han. you've earned that reassurance, at least.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"You know." Han says, pursing his lips to keep from smirking too hard. "I have managed to keep myself alive for a number of years despite some very enthusiastic attempts from other people to sabotage that streak."

"I think you should keep an eye on me, though. Just in case."

The impishness fades from his smile just a little bit to add this serious note. "Thank you for everything, Natasha."

[red_room]

"Good, I intended to."

Having his approval just means it's hopefully less weird when he eventually finds the first recording device she puts on the Falcon. Of course she has to plant it first. She's only known him for a little over a day he hadn't warranted observation before now. It's less about spying on Han and more being able to know the moment anything happens to him. Chris has one on his phone and there's at least one in that hobo hut Chris's friend calls home.

None of them are aware that these things are there. It's just how Natasha operates. She doesn't know how to be any other way. She means well, but it's a huge breach of privacy and something that's going to come back to bite her one of these days. A problem for Future Natasha to deal with if it ever comes up.

She smiles back, friendly and sincere and altogether pleased with how the day has turned out.

"Thanks for getting that rust bucket stuck in the Plaza and giving me a reason to do any of this." She replies before heading back to where the guns are uprange so they can take care of cleaning up after themselves. "You might be a lot of fun even, Solo. JUst don't get sick of me too quickly."