I swear on my life.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

WHO| Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff
WHAT| Bruce has information to give Natasha. So they're going on a fake date.
WHERE| Local restaurant with a small blind spot in Capitol surveillance at the very back corner.
WHEN| The evening of the Lonestar post
WARNINGS| Mentions of past violence, probably.

Bruce is dressed nicely, but not too nicely. Simple blazer, shirt, and pants, not too unlike what would be found in an office. He waits patiently outside the restaurant, having already made a reservation for the table they wanted. It would probably look vaguely suspicious, but he had played it off as his desire to always have his back to a wall and a good angle to see all the exits. By now, most people who paid attention to him during the arena's broadcast are well aware of how jumpy he is.

Comments

[atoner]

Natasha also opted for dressy, but casual. A simple black dress and some ankle boots with a slight heel. They are, after all, on a date. She figures that in this hypothetical situation, she'd want to put some effort in. She arrives at the restaurant right at 7 on the dot, smiling warmly when she sees him. Moving towards him and resting one hand against his shoulder - a gesture of familiarity. Subtle physical gestures are probably going to be the norm tonight.

"Wow. You clean up good, Bruce," it's the first time she's ever used his first name, and it's a deliberate choice on her part.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

The hand on his shoulder surprises him, as does the use of his name, but he keeps from showing it. It's an act, and he's done acts before for the sake of discretion. Natasha just happens to be a professional.

So he takes it in stride, giving her a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I would say the same of you, but you always look good."

He opens up the door for her, because that is the sort of thing a man wanting to impress a woman would do--although his skills may be rusty, because he hasn't tried to impress a woman in well over a decade. "Ladies first."

[atoner]

She knows that Bruce has had some experience in hiding his identity. She figures she can trust him with the little things - and when he doesn't react at the hand on his shoulder, it confirms it. Nat would be lying if she said that wasn't partially a test of sorts.

It's good to know what your allies' capabilities are. His smiles and facial expressions could use a little work, though. When he holds the door open for her, she gives him an appreciative glance as they're led to their table. "Flattery will get you everywhere, apparently."

At this point, she's half expecting him to pull out her chair for her or something.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

The funny thing with Bruce is that it's possible that, had his smile seemed completely happy, it would give them away. Not that Bruce is thinking of that at the moment; he's just giving her one of the best smiles he can.

"It's not flattery if it's true."

He normally wouldn't do the traditional things for a woman--no opening doors, no pulling up chairs. He doesn't even consider it normally, since it seems so dated (and a little patronizing). But he also used to only date other scientists who were around his own age; Natasha is far out of his league, and he's supposed to be apologizing for almost killing her.

So he pulls out her chair for her, still smiling.

[atoner]

Normally, she definitely wouldn't tolerate things like pulling out chairs. She's a world-renowned superspy, she can pull out her own chair. But they're putting on a charade at the moment, and going through the motions is easier for people who might not be so accustomed to false identities. Sticking to the accustomed roles and scripts. So she settles into her chair with the requisite grace of a true lady.

The second smile is a little better. Because that's Bruce Banner, for you. He's a genius and all.

"I can't remember the last time someone pulled out my chair for me. What a gentleman."

[honeyibrokeharlem]

"I would say something about you being a lady, but I think that would be too cheesy."

He sits down across from her, folding his hands in front of her and subtly glancing at the restaurant. They're at a table far away from most others, right in the blind spot.

Keeping his smile in tact, keeping his voice low, he says, "I don't see any waiters from here."

Soft. Casual. Can be easily brushed off if a waiter is coming up out of his point of view, but making it clear that he doesn't see any possible eavesdroppers.

[atoner]

"And untrue. I've never been a lady," she settles herself into her chair, unfolding her napkin and placing it primly across her lap like you're supposed to in fancy places like this, apparently. Nat's learned how to be a lady over the years, she's learned to blend into almost any environment. But to be honest, if she had a choice she'd much prefer to be in comfortable clothes in the privacy of her own home.

She leans across the table, casually letting her hair fall forward to obscure her lips a little more from an outsider's perspective. It's a subtle thing, natural.

"We can wait. I'm not that hungry right now, anyway."

Translation: coast's clear.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

Bruce gives a small smirk. "No, I guess you're not the lady type."

He props his head on his fist, positioning his hand so his lips are somewhat obscured. Not completely covered to avoid suspicion, but covered enough that a lip reader wouldn't be able to figure out what he was saying.

"Has anyone told you about the blackout yet?"

[atoner]

She appreciates the subtlety - he's more capable of it than most people would expect of him, considering how people often mischaracterize him simply as a mild-mannered scientist. He was never hidden from them, never managed to drop off the grid, but Nat figures that he might've if SHIELD were a little less competent. If they had fewer resources at their disposal. If they weren't so bent on keeping tabs on him.

It's good to know.

"I've heard whispers. I wouldn't mind more details," people whisper, sometimes. But it's hard to listen in. They're more guarded here than they are back in America. And she hasn't got the whole array of SHIELD's resources at her fingertips.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

Bruce's greatest weapon is his ability to remain unnoticed and underestimated. He's quiet, demure, and appropriately professional. Easy to miss, easy to ignore, easy to dismiss offhand. He likes it that way.

"A disgruntled victor shut down the Capitol's power for an evening. A lot of people took the opportunity to vandalize some walls. Some people took the opportunity to..." He lets out a huff of breath, the corner of his mouth quirking, as if he's smiling at something she said and is in the middle of flirting. "Maybe set up some cameras of their own."

[atoner]

Natasha laughs. It's a quiet, lilting thing. She leans over the table to take his hand in her own, trusting him not to react too strongly to this. If she does that, and shoots him some more secretive smiles, it makes it seem like they're just canoodling. Maybe whispering sweet nothings to each other, or even some fairly dirty things that they might not want others to hear. People always assume what they want to assume. Nat's job is just to make sure to point them in the right direction.

"Spying on the Capitol? Risky, but I like it. Do you have access to any of these? It might be worth it to set up some sort of automatic self-destruct, in case they were ever discovered."

They're all going to have to be very, very careful and learn how to hide their tracks.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

"I don't have direct access to many of them. Most are behind locked doors, but they're made from their own surveillance equipment. I did what I could to clean any fingerprints off." Metaphorically speaking. He did his best to only use the Capitol's own materials and keep the design simple but effective. Something any engineer of a certain skill level could manage. It doesn't guarantee that people won't discover it, but he doesn't know if there's any way to inconspicuously add a self-destruct to them.

"What's more important is something I found while observing." When she touches his hand, he curls his fingers around hers. It feels wrong, but he doesn't let onto that. He gives another small smile and leans forward to meet her instead. "I have passwords. Access to the Capitol's whole surveillance system from any computer."

[atoner]

She always knew Bruce was brilliant, he's one of the greatest scientific minds of their generation. But she's still pretty impressed. Enough to make her lean forward when he does, like she's hanging on to his every word. And truthfully, she is. She squeezes his hand.

"Have you ever considered a career in espionage?" it's mostly teasing, but also a reflection on how well he's done for himself here. "This is impressive, doc."

[honeyibrokeharlem]

"Thank you." He knows that's a high compliment coming from her. "It's useful, but we don't have nearly the manpower to keep an eye on everything like they do. Right now, only Steve, Tony, and I have the passwords right now. Now, you're going to know them too."

He leans and whispers in her ear. A long series of numbers and letters.