Outside Caritas- Wednesday daytime

[throughaphase]

Kitty didn't get freaked out about weather or anything, but when the word 'hurricane' came up on radio, maybe it was worth taking some precautions. Of course she'd worry about the house, too, but she probably wouldn't be here when weather hit, and she had employees who might be. You know. Depending on their level of work ethic.

Currently she was getting the windows boarded up, which always looked easier on TV but was more unwieldy in practice. Also currently, she was muttering something about not doing this for nothing.

[Open if anyone's around!]

Comments

[heroic_jawline]

"Need a hand?" Steve asked, wandering by.

[throughaphase]

"Yes!" she said immediately, holding out a board. "Be taller than me!"

[heroic_jawline]

"That I can do," Steve said, grinning and taking the board. He held it up against the side of the building. "A hurricane seems pretty...normal...for this place."

[throughaphase]

"I know. That's exactly why I don't trust it," she said, picking up her hammer and nails. "And I'm sure it's going to end up being nothing, but better safe than sorry, right?"

[heroic_jawline]

"Exactly," Steve said. "I should probably get some stuff for Stark's place when I'm done here. Just in case--but there's a lot of stuff in there that shouldn't get wet."

He laughed. "Though knowing Tony, the whole building can probably up and move to higher ground."

[throughaphase]

"The whole thing could be armored," she agreed, getting to work hammering a nail in. This was much easier than what she'd been trying before. "If you want, I can return the favor in getting that place prepped."

[heroic_jawline]

"That would be swell," Steve said, smiling. "Thanks. Do we need to do the gym, too?"

[throughaphase]

'Swell.' Oh, Steve.

"I'm sure Clint wouldn't mind, if he hasn't gotten to it," Kitty said. "Watch us board up half the buildings in town and have nothing happen."

[heroic_jawline]

"Then we take it all down and have a huge bonfire on the beach," Steve said. "There could be worse things. How's your summer been?"

[throughaphase]

"Pretty calm, for once. Which is weird," she said over the sound of hammering. "What about you?"

[heroic_jawline]

"...not that calm," Steve said. "I'm sure Clint told you about Hydra, so that's been taking up a good chunk of my time."

Can you tensely hold plywood? Because Steve was doing that.

[throughaphase]

"Yeah. Sorry about that," she said sincerely. "Anything new on that front?"

[heroic_jawline]

"They're like cockroaches," Steve groused. "They're under everything. We keep stomping on them and they find another place to hide."

[throughaphase]

"They do take their name seriously," she agreed. "So when you say your summer's not so calm, you mean the most frustrating summer ever."

[heroic_jawline]

"I don't like to complain," Steve said.

[throughaphase]

"You're extremely allowed," Kitty said, taking a moment to make sure the board was on securely.

[heroic_jawline]

"Thanks," Steve said with a wry little smile. "On the bright side, I've gotten to punch a lot of people?"

Which was kind of like having therapy? Sort of? If you squinted?

[throughaphase]

"That's the best," she said, and meant it. "Especially when you know they deserve it. Next window, please."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve picked up a few more sheets of plywood and moved down to the next window. "They deserved worse," Steve said.

He tended to lecture them as he was taking them back to the van for SHIELD to deal with.

[throughaphase]

Kitty went along to start hammering this piece on. "Hopefully the jail time they get helps there."

[heroic_jawline]

"Here's hoping," Steve said. "My faith in the government has been...slightly shaken."

[throughaphase]

"Believe me when I say I get you." When you'd spent more than half your life being discriminated against, including by the people involved, at least a little bit of you would get jaded. "Just always gotta keep trying."

A little bit got jaded.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve nodded vehemently. "Otherwise they win by default," he said. He grabbed another piece of plywood.

[throughaphase]

"Plus, it's really fun getting under the bad guys' skin!" Kitty grinned.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve chuckled. "Oh, they hate that. Or when you cut them off in the middle of a really great Hail Hydra monologue." He rolled his eyes. "Like I'm gonna listen to that. Ever."

[throughaphase]

"Ooh, ooh, ooh," she said, momentarily distracted from boarding. "Tell me you've interrupted the speeches by punching them."

[heroic_jawline]

"A few times," Steve said. "I'm not sorry about it, either."

[throughaphase]

"You just became my hero. I've always wanted to do that."

You were so much cooler than her Steve, Steve.

[heroic_jawline]

"What's your Steve like?" he asked. "...it's still kinda weird to ask that," he added.

[throughaphase]

"I haven't dealt with him a ton, really," she admitted, back to hammering.

That would change, and then she'd be really annoyed.

"Basically whenever I saw him, it was work, so he was pretty serious."

[heroic_jawline]

"More Captain America, less Steve Rogers," Steve guessed. "I'm not a ton of fun in uniform either."

[throughaphase]

"I'd say that's understandable but I'm tons of fun in uniform," she smiled.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve laughed. "Have you been a national icon and something everyone dressed up as for Halloween, too? It's pressure."

[throughaphase]

"No, I get the opposite. The Avengers and Fantastic Four get the praise, X-Men get trashed on the news." Oops.

[heroic_jawline]

"I'm so sorry," Steve said earnestly. "That sounds terrible. Natasha's taking the brunt of the backlash for the Triskelion falling."

[throughaphase]

"I knew this job was dangerous when I took it," Kitty shrugged. "But thanks. You know Natasha knew that, too."

[heroic_jawline]

"Yeah, but it doesn't make me feel less guilty for not telling Congress why I made the call," Steve said.

[throughaphase]

"Why didn't you tell them?" she asked.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve made a small face. "Classified personnel were involved in the decision," he went with, "and Congress can't keep a secret."

[throughaphase]

Kitty shrugged. "Sounds like a decent reason to me."

[heroic_jawline]

"Maybe," Steve said, "but I still wanted to be there with Natasha. I was also in a slight...coma...at the time."

[throughaphase]

"As long as it was a light coma," Kitty said, and then more seriously added, "Don't let the guilt at you too much. Sounds like you're working off the karma."

[heroic_jawline]

"I'm trying to," Steve said earnestly.