[He's held off contacting her for a few days after everything returned to some semblance of normal. Given her an opportunity to find her equilibrium again. But there's no pity in his tone, just affable neutrality.]
I was going to head to Haven North soon, and I wouldn't mind the company if you wanted to do more exploring.
[He's pretty sure she'd stick one of her very pointy knives in his back if he tried to ask her how she was. But fighting helped her last time, maybe it's the catharsis she needs again.]
[ Katarina doesn't call him back immediately. It takes her several days to even listen to the message in its entirety.
Though Steve hasn't known her for very long, he seems to understand just the sort of person she is; the fact that he had seen her laid so low was a source of immense shame and humiliation for her, and the fact that he'd helped her to the clinic (for all the good it could do her) and stayed through those hellish hours only deepened her ignominy. Even in his message, the complete disregard of what she had endured caused her face to burn and her hands to shake.
Not many had seen Katarina du Couteau vulnerable. The few who had hadn't hesitated to take their chances, and the fact that Steve hadn't made the situation all the more painful.
Still. He knew her well for a man who had met her only weeks before, and Katarina was slowly finding that she could trust him, though she hated the fact that she did. ]
... I'll be there.
[ Her voice is low and she provides no other information aside from those three syllables. Way to be helpful, Kat. ]
[He goes alone for those few days. It's good training, an effective work-out, and each time he's there he learns something new, fights something different. It's usually worth the trip, but not always, and he'll return just within the time limit, mind abuzz with sundry paranoias. The worst one, the one that he's come to hate, is that Peggy is somehow Hydra, because why else would they have had Stark killed and left her--
Once those thoughts start, it's time to leave, and usually he spends the next few hours in Haven West beating on something until his knuckles bleed. Her message comes through when he's just finished a tai chi session, and he's at the well splashing water on his face. He's not in uniform, for once, but instead a pair of jeans and a shirt that's. Well. Probably too small, if he's being perfectly honest. Beggars can't exactly be choosers around here.
He flattens his hand against his damp hair and picks up the phone.]
[ It's in the middling light of dawn that Katarina finds her mind wandering to the stories he'd told her while she was held captive by her own pain. The gravel of his voice still echoed in her mind, and the fact that it had seemingly returned to normal-- whole and deep, almost comforting-- in his message was an immense source of secret relief for the assassin. Though she didn't dare admit that she was hoping he'd ceased to be a corpse, she almost looked forward to seeing him again, as whole and steady as his now-restored voice.
She vaguely remembers the places he'd told her about. The people. His friend Bucky, for one. The cellar in a place called Belgium. The chocolate. Her broken, bloodied body had been a cage for her, but Steve had somehow managed to make it seem almost like a window with the stories he'd told, though she'd never, ever openly admit it aloud. She hated the things that her pain and vulnerability had done to her. She hated the way Steve reminded her of that damned Crownguard, so unrelentingly kind and altruistic, eager to defend and even more eager to assist.
Mostly, though, she hated the way that she was prepared in under ten minutes, her feet grudgingly taking her straight back to the gaping maw of the subway entrance. ]
[A merchant hardly takes anything for free, but Kat's price is sparing a moment of her time for him.
He's grown to like her, though he knows that she despises him. Her tenacious spirit is like a wildfire, dangerous but bright. She's a light in this dark place, ironically. Selfish and sadistic, certainly.
But boring? Never.]
Pillows, blankets, a can of peaches, and a sweater for the cold. Don't get me wrong! You always look hot, hot, hot! Ah, but looks won't warm ya up when it gets chilly outside.
[ Loath as she is to admit it, she certainly doesn't despise Sakamoto. Finds him irritating, yes, but he has a hidden ferocity that intrigues her. Excites her, even.
It doesn't stop her from rolling her eyes at the "hot" comment, though. ]
You can't expect me to believe that there isn't a catch here. So what is it?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
audio;
[He's held off contacting her for a few days after everything returned to some semblance of normal. Given her an opportunity to find her equilibrium again. But there's no pity in his tone, just affable neutrality.]
I was going to head to Haven North soon, and I wouldn't mind the company if you wanted to do more exploring.
[He's pretty sure she'd stick one of her very pointy knives in his back if he tried to ask her how she was. But fighting helped her last time, maybe it's the catharsis she needs again.]
audio;
Though Steve hasn't known her for very long, he seems to understand just the sort of person she is; the fact that he had seen her laid so low was a source of immense shame and humiliation for her, and the fact that he'd helped her to the clinic (for all the good it could do her) and stayed through those hellish hours only deepened her ignominy. Even in his message, the complete disregard of what she had endured caused her face to burn and her hands to shake.
Not many had seen Katarina du Couteau vulnerable. The few who had hadn't hesitated to take their chances, and the fact that Steve hadn't made the situation all the more painful.
Still. He knew her well for a man who had met her only weeks before, and Katarina was slowly finding that she could trust him, though she hated the fact that she did. ]
... I'll be there.
[ Her voice is low and she provides no other information aside from those three syllables. Way to be helpful, Kat. ]
audio;
Once those thoughts start, it's time to leave, and usually he spends the next few hours in Haven West beating on something until his knuckles bleed. Her message comes through when he's just finished a tai chi session, and he's at the well splashing water on his face. He's not in uniform, for once, but instead a pair of jeans and a shirt that's. Well. Probably too small, if he's being perfectly honest. Beggars can't exactly be choosers around here.
He flattens his hand against his damp hair and picks up the phone.]
Twenty minutes. I'll bring lunch.
audio;
She vaguely remembers the places he'd told her about. The people. His friend Bucky, for one. The cellar in a place called Belgium. The chocolate. Her broken, bloodied body had been a cage for her, but Steve had somehow managed to make it seem almost like a window with the stories he'd told, though she'd never, ever openly admit it aloud. She hated the things that her pain and vulnerability had done to her. She hated the way Steve reminded her of that damned Crownguard, so unrelentingly kind and altruistic, eager to defend and even more eager to assist.
Mostly, though, she hated the way that she was prepared in under ten minutes, her feet grudgingly taking her straight back to the gaping maw of the subway entrance. ]
audio;
[And there he goes, with those unnecessarily loud sounds of his.]
Looks like they decided to rain on our parade! Are you still up for it?
[He laughs.]
Our date~!
audio;
Yes, yes, okay, fine! [ She's wincing as she says it. ] I didn't have any other plans today anyway!
Re: audio;
[Sakamoto whistles.]
I might just try to take up all of your free time. I can definitely think of one thing we could do for hours.
[HE'S COMING ON TOO STRONG...]
Or, after-hours.
audio;
[ A snort. ]
I'll be at the well in ten minutes.
audio;
[Usually, Steve's tone is firmly neutral. This call is no exception, but there's a sense of his being tired just beneath that intractable calm.]
Got a minute?
audio;
Rogers. Something the matter?
audio;
[He's grimacing as he says it, though. Thank God for voice-only calls.]
Can we meet somewhere?
audio;
Name a place. I'm on my way.
audio;
voice;
Yo! You home? I've got somethin' for ya.
Time to shake off some of that beauty sleep!
voice;
no subject
[For once, his intentions are purely innocent.]
Ah, I don't think that would be much of a gift... In fact, there's barely much of it to begin with.
[He's talking about his dick, isn't he. Oh well, at least he tells the truth.]
no subject
[ There it is: the ghost of a smile in her voice. ]
What is it, then? [ You bet your ass she's not letting you into her house until she makes sure it isn't your dick. ]
no subject
Free of cost.
[A merchant hardly takes anything for free, but Kat's price is sparing a moment of her time for him.
He's grown to like her, though he knows that she despises him. Her tenacious spirit is like a wildfire, dangerous but bright. She's a light in this dark place, ironically. Selfish and sadistic, certainly.
But boring? Never.]
Pillows, blankets, a can of peaches, and a sweater for the cold. Don't get me wrong! You always look hot, hot, hot! Ah, but looks won't warm ya up when it gets chilly outside.
no subject
It doesn't stop her from rolling her eyes at the "hot" comment, though. ]
You can't expect me to believe that there isn't a catch here. So what is it?
no subject
[He sounds downright bashful. She'll hear an almost inaudible noise, the sound of geta hitting the dirt as he kicks at it aimlessly.
How bizarre. Sakamoto hardly gets embarrassed over anything; he's so shameless.
It takes him a few seconds to respond, and he hesitates before doing so, but she'll wonder, won't she?]
I was worried about you. That's all.