"It's an art." He takes the glass from her by the stem, flipping it easily up and over. Tipping the bottle, he pours her a more than generous portion before passing it back. She's not the only one with practice at lying -- though he'd need at least two more glasses in him before he'd think about saying as much.
"So I hear." She takes the glass with a mock start of a salute towards him, raises it and then tips back a fair amount of it before pausing to swallow and consider. "Not bad. Not that I'm a connoisseur or anything, but I like it. Want to sit down?"
Glad to hear it isn't a total bust, Charlie raises his own glass in a return half-asses salute. He gravitates toward the couch without a second invitation, snagging the bottle and taking it with him as he goes. No need to get up and down again the moment he empties his glass -- which, if the swig he takes is any indication, won't be terribly long off.
"Still living with that fussy mechanic bloke, are you?" There's some bizarre collection of machinery left on the coffee table that Charlie can only assume belongs to whatshisface.
She follows him over, tips easily into the seat beside him and sinks back into it with a sigh. Relaxation is always nice, and right now seems like it will be just that. A nice, relaxing evening. She's still not entirely used to that, but it's getting easier to think of without part of her head recoiling in confusion.
"Tony and Pepper, yeah. Though half of that's mine actually. Tony just stuck his own mess on top of it." A light shrug and an eye roll. "Fair enough, I guess."
He clears off enough of the corner to set the bottle down before flopping down beside her. Some of the wine sloshes up over the very edge of the glass and onto his hand. He swears very gently, checks the floor and couch to make sure he hasn't stained anything, and wipes his hand on the leg of his jeans.
"Suppose so, though personally I like to give the bloke I live with a bit of an earful when he shifts my things about." Public coffee table be damned. Charlie's never claimed to be the most considerate of roommates though.
She ducks her head to hide her amusement at that - it would be rude to make it obvious, right - takes a long drink of her own glass and puts her feet up on the table.
"I contract for his company here and there. If I'm leaving it about in public it's probably meant to be seen by him anyways." Amused, more than anything, and she looks over at him. "So what are you getting up to?"
"Eugh, you live with your boss? That's a bit of a buzzkill, isn't it? Have you any habitable living guidelines: 'No work in the home' or any of that?" Seems like a conflict of interest if you ask him -- not that his line of work is exactly known for its ultra professionalism either.
Finishing off his glass, Charlie leans forward and pours himself the start of a second. He shrugs, tipping his head nonchalantly from one side to the other. "Oh you know, this and that. Throwing people about in the training rooms, pub brawls. The usual." Exciting lives they're leading, aren't they?
"We both really like our work, so that's never been necessary." Which is the truth - she's not sure workaholic is the right word for either of them, but they certain can get caught up in easily and happily.
She bites down an amused look at the second glass he's pouring, works on finishing her own. "It's amazing how the downtime stretches when they're not throwing us into active warzones. Almost enough to make me volunteer for the small missions."
"I love my job," he insists, setting the bottle upright. "But you don't see me bunking with the bloke who happens to be paying me."
Well. You know. Mostly. And if there's speaking with a little more innuendo (and when isn't he?), it's happened once or twice -- not blokes, mind, but getting involved with someone running the show? Sure. Nothing like a little danger, a wobbly power dynamic and a few felonies to get him hot under the collar.
"Those missions tend to be a bit more specialized, don't they? Suppose I can understand the appeal if that's the case."
"Didn't really feel like arguing with the new housing arrangements when they came out." Didn't really stop her from drunkenly accusing Tony of causing them, but - she doesn't like to remember that moment. She wasn't doing too hot then.
Whatever, that was a while ago. And it's not like she's really considered sleeping with Tony. Well. Maybe she has, but she dismissed it pretty fast because of that whole Pepper thing. He really likes Pepper. And she doesn't actually need anyone, so it all works out fine.
"They seem like they're more interesting than being perpetually stuck here, really. Something to do at least." She gets restless, sometimes. "Maybe I will volunteer."
Not a hell of a lot, apparently. Worst comes to worst: you get a little scuffed up and the Initiative gives you a patch job on the way back, right? Charlie raises his glass in a sort of faux toast and shakes his head - easy grin. "Maybe it'll earn you points with the Initiative. Though they might fall over dead from shock to have someone looking to work with them."
"I can think of so many things that could go wrong, don't ask that." She's exceptional at thinking about things that could go wrong. But she doesn't actually want to think about that right now, because she's happy and comfortable and that's rare enough that it's worth basking in when it happens.
She raises her own glass, takes a long swallow and blinks as the first feeling of looseness starts to sink in. She probably shouldn't drink much more, but she can't bring herself to worry about that either yet. "You got any plans for the future here?"
"Christ no." He's settling into the couch, letting himself sag into the too-modern couch. The Initiative's aesthetic tends to run too close to the 'elaborate cube' side of things and not enough 'plush cushions' for his taste. "Vastly prefer being footloose and fancy free myself."
Which is a lie, though maybe not one he's entirely aware of. He spends too much time traipsing around in the timeline at the Initiative's behest for that to really be an honest assessment.
"And yet you keep showing up here." She's looking at her glass more than him when she says it, absent minded, not entirely meaning to let that slip.
It's just that footloose and fancy free means no attachments, but he's looked after her more than a few times now. "You've got more than a few friends for someone footloose."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
no subject
no subject
"Still living with that fussy mechanic bloke, are you?" There's some bizarre collection of machinery left on the coffee table that Charlie can only assume belongs to whatshisface.
no subject
"Tony and Pepper, yeah. Though half of that's mine actually. Tony just stuck his own mess on top of it." A light shrug and an eye roll. "Fair enough, I guess."
no subject
"Suppose so, though personally I like to give the bloke I live with a bit of an earful when he shifts my things about." Public coffee table be damned. Charlie's never claimed to be the most considerate of roommates though.
no subject
"I contract for his company here and there. If I'm leaving it about in public it's probably meant to be seen by him anyways." Amused, more than anything, and she looks over at him. "So what are you getting up to?"
no subject
Finishing off his glass, Charlie leans forward and pours himself the start of a second. He shrugs, tipping his head nonchalantly from one side to the other. "Oh you know, this and that. Throwing people about in the training rooms, pub brawls. The usual." Exciting lives they're leading, aren't they?
no subject
She bites down an amused look at the second glass he's pouring, works on finishing her own. "It's amazing how the downtime stretches when they're not throwing us into active warzones. Almost enough to make me volunteer for the small missions."
no subject
Well. You know. Mostly. And if there's speaking with a little more innuendo (and when isn't he?), it's happened once or twice -- not blokes, mind, but getting involved with someone running the show? Sure. Nothing like a little danger, a wobbly power dynamic and a few felonies to get him hot under the collar.
"Those missions tend to be a bit more specialized, don't they? Suppose I can understand the appeal if that's the case."
no subject
Whatever, that was a while ago. And it's not like she's really considered sleeping with Tony. Well. Maybe she has, but she dismissed it pretty fast because of that whole Pepper thing. He really likes Pepper. And she doesn't actually need anyone, so it all works out fine.
"They seem like they're more interesting than being perpetually stuck here, really. Something to do at least." She gets restless, sometimes. "Maybe I will volunteer."
no subject
Not a hell of a lot, apparently. Worst comes to worst: you get a little scuffed up and the Initiative gives you a patch job on the way back, right? Charlie raises his glass in a sort of faux toast and shakes his head - easy grin. "Maybe it'll earn you points with the Initiative. Though they might fall over dead from shock to have someone looking to work with them."
no subject
She raises her own glass, takes a long swallow and blinks as the first feeling of looseness starts to sink in. She probably shouldn't drink much more, but she can't bring herself to worry about that either yet. "You got any plans for the future here?"
no subject
Which is a lie, though maybe not one he's entirely aware of. He spends too much time traipsing around in the timeline at the Initiative's behest for that to really be an honest assessment.
no subject
It's just that footloose and fancy free means no attachments, but he's looked after her more than a few times now. "You've got more than a few friends for someone footloose."