Rules of Engagement [locked to Han Solo]

[red_room]

It's just getting on to dark in the Nexus when a familiar whine cuts through the muggy evening air. The noise from the open ramp of the Millenium Falcon grows until the underlying rumble of a motorcycle engine cuts through the thick air as Natasha pulls up just outside the ship.

Nat hops off the bike quickly, but takes her time removing all the gear she'd worn. The suit hadn't been cheap to get and getting it dirty before the onset was unheard of. She carefully removes the helmet, the track suit she'd worn over the nice clothes, and pulls the dress shoes she'd bought out of the bag of gear she'd carried along and carefully slips them on before making her way up the ramp and onto the ship.

Everything about the outfit Nat selected had been carefully considered all the way down to the cuff links. Granted, this getup is designed to impress her target and not so much a space pilot like Han is, but he should still be able to help judge the way she carries herself. Walks. Talks. She'd even taken a leaf out of the good captain's book when it came to styling her hair. Giving it a bit of the windswept wave instead of slicking it back or the like.

"Knock, knock."

It's still so weird hearing a mans voice when she talks. Wrong. But if this stays for a day or so, she'll be one more thread complete on her web.

Comments

[red_room]

Nat's grin only turns more wicked when Han begins choking on his drink. She taps her finger against the table in clear amusement until the pilot tries to regain some control of the situation and starts barking orders at her.

"Yeah, yeah." She runs a hand through her hair the way she's watched Han do dozens of times before and gets to her feet. Squares her shoulders and loses the edge to her grin. Something more cooly confident. Channel some Tony Stark into her routine. Squared shoulders and completely at home in this suit that costs more than some peoples' cars. She moves around the table and goes to pour herself a drink, uncaring about the way her steps echo on the grate flooring.

Gestures with her glass when she half turns around to address Han again.

"You do realize I'm a spy by trade, right? This is hardly my first undercover mission as man. Just the first time I happen to actually be one."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

He expected to see more of the real Natasha showing through in the way that she moved. Maybe it's because she seemed so unsure of herself leading up to now, but it's a pretty convincing act that she's put on for him. Nothing about her act jumped out at him like a sore thumb so far.

"Sounds like there's nothing to be nervous about, then."

Han slowly pushes himself up to standing. He takes another shallow sip of his bright blue drink and he walks over to Nat, positioning himself close to her so he can get that up close look at her.

"Here. Go again. I want to see from here this time."

[red_room]

"Nervous, no. But when you only get one shot, you need it to be as close to perfect as you can get."

She watches the way he approaches. The slink to his step. So much different than her own. Where she sways he stalks. She hadn't expected to see him actually get into it considering her body being the way it was. It's a good look on him. One that makes her own pulse quicken. Focus, Natasha.

Deep breath. And out. You good? Damn right you're good. You're the best at what you do.

"Alright." She sets the glass back down and walks back to the doorway. Think like Han. Think like Tony. Never ever let Tony Stark know he's helped you do your job unintentionally.

"Because while I know I can talk the talk--" Natasha lets one hand stay in the pocket of her slacks this time as she circles round the table again, gesturing with the other. "I have to be able to walk the walk. Sell it."

She picks the glass up again and takes a sip from it before finally removing her hand and gesturing with that one while her right holds onto the drink.

"Own it." He's watching so closely now. She finds her own eyes meeting his more than she means to. Back off the looks, he knows you're talking to him. Someone of this stature doesn't care what another person thinks.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

To be fair, Han has more of a swagger in his walk than almost anybody. It's not something that everyone happens to pick up on right away, because it seems to be so genuinely him that it never looks out of place ...

Anyway, when she walks, his gaze is on her hips. He's looking for even the barest hint of a feminine sway to them. This task puts the hazel of his eyes around her groin and her ass while she's practicing her walk. He's pursing his lips and watching carefully.

Till he's abruptly taking his eyes off her and shaking his head.

"I think you're moving your hips too much." He says, getting right up behind his recently masculinized girlfriend. When he's so close that she can feel him breathing down her neck, the weight of his hands settle heavily on those distorted pelvic bones.

[red_room]

It takes Natasha a moment to realize where it is he's looking. The thought makes her grin internally, pleased that she's still able to hold his attention regardless of her looks. But there's that same warmth from before and the same sound of her heartbeat thudding in her ears. She can enjoy this as much as she wants, so long as she keeps it to herself.

There legitimately is a lot of work at stake here. not to mention a risk of her own life.

She makes no pretense of looking him up and down in bemused interest when he gets up again. She expects him to get close--lean right over her and tell her what he thinks. But he doesn't move around to her front. Just hovers nearly touching against her back. The heat of his breath on the back of her neck. The low rumble his voice gets when he's taken an interest in something. And--

The hands on her much less noticeable hips makes Natasha acutely aware of two things. No. Three.

First, regardless of what he likes, Han is putting an incredible effort into helping Natasha sell this new look. Which in turn...

Second, she should have listened a bit more cautiously to Dia's words of warning earlier. Because arousal in a man is much harder to hide than it is in a woman. Or maybe it isn't, but Natasha has exactly zero experience in talking down something like this and she rather likes the attention being paid to her. The intensity of his scrutiny.

She knows what's happening here. It's just that there doesn't seem to be any stopping it. What's most alarming is that she's not entirely sure she wants to. Her breathing's gone ever so slightly harsher. eyes focused at the wall in front of her vehemently even as a faint tinge of red starts to spread across her cheeks. Her shoulders tense as she tries to hold her posture correctly.

If there's any mercy in the world, Han will stay right where he is and not notice a damn thing while he continues talking his pointers to her.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han is a little bit busy with his own feelings and observations to pick up upon the subtle signs of Natasha's newly arising situation. He's never been all that attracted to angles and musculature of the male form, but in such close quarters ... with someone he's so deeply fond of ...

It's a confusing situation at best and Solo is mentally working though all of that. He doesn't feel turned on in the classic sense, but he feels concerned for 'Tasha - even in this body that feels alien around him. Hell, he's got pangs of affection when he catches a glimpse of those green eyes meeting his. Anyway, It's a good way through him spouting off pointers 'you can't walk like a droid, but you can't waggle your hips like a dancer' and 'keep you chin slightly aloft' that he notices.

An obvious bulge.

Then he sees the more subtle things like the flushed look on her face. The way she's changed her stance. Frankly ... a part of him wants very much to playfully tease. It's almost always been the shoe on the other foot, after all. With Han wanting while Nat is patiently amused or however it is she feels when he's all worked up.

"If you shift your weight a little more on one foot and put your hands into your pockets ... you can shift the fabric around to make it less overt." He offers. "Thinking mundane thoughts will make it eventually go away, but sometimes it's better to do that before you get to this point."

[red_room]

She's been hitting on him and teasing him left front and center since she caught sight of him in the Nexus earlier that day. Just like she always does. Because regardless of any urges or wants in her normal body, she's at least able to not let it show.

"Сукин сын.." Han's been around 'Tasha long enough to know 'son of a bitch' when he hears it. Every time he's beaten her at a hand of cards. Or anything, at that matter. This time it comes out a lot more breathlessly and frustrated than it usually does. She ducks her head and dutifully moves to try and adjust her clothing and posture accordingly.

She's expecting a laugh, or some kind of annoyance. That he's being helpful is almost a surprise. A pleasant one, mind. But that's also not helping matters clear up any quicker.

The spy stays right were she is, furiously red in the face and taking deep breaths.

"I was wrong." She finally says, voice rougher than she'd like to admit. "I didn't think this could get any more awkward. And then it did." Should she apologize? He's not getting mad about it.

"You can laugh. It's...I deserve that much."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han clears his throat and lifts his hands up off of Natasha's hips. Noticing that he's still got the weight of those roughly calloused hands on top of her, which, probably isn't helping matters any.

"Laugh at you?" He says with a shrug. "I feel like this is a compliment."

The truth of the matter is that people who have dicks for far longer than one day sometimes have trouble keeping them tame all the time. All those hormones that she hasn't had to deal with all of a sudden overwhelming her. It can't be easy.

[red_room]

"Yeah, my opinion of you hasn't changed with the rest of my body."

Natasha pulls a hand out of her pocket to drag it down her face with a sigh. She's definitely not used to having a body that refuses to lie for her and her beginner's level driving skills of it. It's not as though she'd had any different thoughts about the captain than she usually gets.

She just got a hell of a lot worse at lying about them.

"My opinions on you touching me aside,it's not something I'm worried about happening out there. You're more than enough for me and I've got nothing but hatred for those I"m about to put in the dirt or behind bars." She shifts her posture to one hip, arms folded across her chest. It's a very 'Tasha look, now that she's done acting for the time being.

Someone's eager to change the subject, clearly.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han levels a skeptical eye at Natasha. Not that he doesn't believe that she finds slavers repulsive, but sometimes male parts don't behave the way you expect them too. In her defense, she probably hasn't had them long enough to realize as much.

"It might be a little less predictable than you think, sweetheart. Even for us guys with experience."

The familiar posture makes him smile slightly, despite the awkwardness of the moments leading up to this and the situation in general.

"When is this operation taking place?"

[red_room]

"If I had it my way I'd already be on a Quinjet to Istanbul."

She frowns at her dull and flat fingernails while she's talking. Her hands are too big. Actually most all of her is too big, if she's going to get into griping. But it's the little things that are bothering her most of all. Feeling clunky and awkward (though some of that has been beaten out of her at least).

"Since I don't know how long this is going to last. My contact insisted he needed time to work though, so as long as I'm still packing this body I'll be heading out sometime in the next thirty-six hours. My aim's still good but my reflexes are off trying to compensate for...all of this."

Natasha heaves a sigh before shaking her head.

"It's a risky operation. I just...I can't let an opportunity like this go. If I can take these people down then a lot of lives are going to be better off for it." She has to be able to be useful even without the Avengers. If she's not then she's just another merc with a gun. It's not a life she wants to go back to.

"If anyone told me they were going to do something like this, I'd either write them off as dead or go with to make sure it didn't go tits-up. So believe me, I know this is a remarkably bad idea." Of all the days to channel a little Steve Rogers, today is that day? Or maybe she just doesn't like to be beaten. A chance to get back at the prey that's eluded her for so long is definitely a factor in her motivations.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han nods.

He's got no interest in trying to talk her out of something so important to her ... but it's not like it's an easy thing for someone in his position to accept, considering all the risk. There's some part of this that reminds him of coming up second behind his exes' priorities too, though.

That part is a little harder for him to take.

"Yeah, I get it darlin'. This is something you gotta do." He purses his lips and runs his fingers through his hair. "I'm just at a loss for how else I can help."

[red_room]

Natasha watches Han's expression cloud over. If she ever needed a thought to kill any troublesome dick-related troubles, she thinks that hurt expression on his face is probably all she'd ever need.

It twists something in her that Nat's not too sure she likes. Having someone close enough to cause that reaction is a dangerous thing. But when the alternative is walking out of Han Solo's life flipping the bird, she thinks she'll live with it for a while longer.

"Hey."

She can't soften her voice as much as she'd like to in this body, but she's making an effort.

"Would...you feel better if I brought you with? I could teach you how to fly the Quinjet. You could stay in my safe house. Monitor the situation. Be an extra pair of eyes on the ground for me." Maybe it's the wrong thing to say. It's certainly not the best idea she's ever had. But it's also not a bad idea either.

Han's a capable guy, and there's not exactly much danger for him if he stays in her safe house. He still wouldn't be in the field with her, but well. She has a feeling neither of them would want him there.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Admittedly, the scoundrel has a hard time with the notion of 'some things are bigger than me'. It's not that he can't understand the value of coming up with a solution that helps out the most number of people. He does. It's just that he spent way too many years of his life getting the short end of the stick to not want to protect his own interests now.

Underneath it all, he doesn't want to see anybody suffering, though. In spite of his instances that he only cares about one person the choices he makes says otherwise. At his core, he wants to protect people - especially the ones he's fond of.

"I can fly your jet."

He insists. The urge to prove that he's not just an average freighter bum burns in his chest when she offers the opportunity. That and ... the chance to look out for her while she's vulnerable. It's far more at the forefront of his mind than the fact it's a slaver in her sights.

"Ain't like I wasn't planning to spend a good chunk of my time back here with you anyway ..."

[red_room]

"Good. It'll leave me more time to get myself sorted."

She takes a slow step forward and reaches up to brush her fingers through his hair gently. It's all Wrong like this. Her hands. The height between them. But it means a lot that Han's still here and offering to lend her a hand.

"And don't think you're getting out of my sight for a while once this wears off."

She doesn't lean up to kiss the other. Not like this. But the tone of her voice and the distance between them says she would if things were the way they should be.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It's the eyes that make it so confusing. Everything else reads differently enough - in terms of looks, heights and proportions - that it's hard not to be aware that this is abnormal. Yet, when he focuses on the jade of her eyes he can almost forget that she's not herself. Her usual self, anyway.

The spell lasts for a moment or two while her fingers card through his hair. A tenderness that says 'thank you' without saying the words themselves. Which is fine with him. He doesn't know how to respond to praise gently.

"I'm gonna hold you to that, darling." He says with a wry smile touching his lips. "To that and maybe some other things ..."

[red_room]

"I'm taking you back with me then. We'll get you a decent disguise and you'll be with me when I get the call....or this wears off."

Natasha steps back away from Han then, her own smile small but still somehow just as fitting on her masculine face as it would normally be. Her emotions are still subtle but all the tells are still there once you get over the fact that her body has changed.

"There's a spare sofa in the safe house so...I'll stay there if you don't want to share the bed platonically."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

However long it takes for this magic to wear off ...

He wouldn't say as much to Nat, but he's hopeful that it's over before they finish getting a chance to pull off this crazy stunt - at which point they could abort or wing it in everybody's normal bodies.

When she mentions the clothes? Han wrinkles his nose in distaste. Though he knows he doesn't have much of a choice but to go along with it. He isn't gonna blend in where she's from looking like he usually does. It will be the price that he pays for going along on a spy mission.

"You know I've spent about five years living in cramped quarters with a wookiee." He says pursing his lips and shifting his weight slightly. "Even like this you're smaller and less hairy."

[red_room]

His normal outfit would turn more than a few heads. Though he could probably make a buttload of money as a Harrison Ford lookalike (oh the irony).

The doorway to Natasha's safe house outside of the Nexus is entirely ordinary and unmarked. A honey oak door that might lead into someone's bedroom if they lived in a standard mid-90's built house. Natasha unlocks it and leads Han through to 2017 Earth.

The house itself is remarkably sparse aside from a few aesthetics placed near the windows to make the place look lived in and ordinary. Natasha pulls an already packed duffel bag full of tactical gear out of a hallway closet and begins digging through it.

"I've got some mens' clothing about your size in the bedroom right over there." She gestures to an open door before going back to her things. "Feel free to take whatever fits and is comfortable, and if you find any arrows just laying around, try not to fuck with them.

Last thing she needs is one of Barton's trick arrows going off on Han.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han, for his part, ambles into the living quarters looking like he always belonged there. It isn't as if he was ever going to spend a lot of time on Earth after discovering it in the multiverse, but it feels far more alien to him than any other planet he's ever traveled to. He's not entirely sure why.

Instructions from Natasha to get clothes shake him out of that feeling. He manages to study the surroundings pretty thoroughly for someone who has such a look of ambivalence on his face. The lack of metal finish in the place makes it feel 'quaint' and perhaps borderline primitive to his sensibilities.

"Who wears this much purple?" Han mutters a little too loudly for it to stay to himself, while he searches through the closet.

The wayfaring space captain happens to notice, too, a lack of sleeves among most of the clothing as well. The garments with one sleeve striking him as even weirder. He sighs. Going through every individual hanger once and pulling out nothing.

Eventually, he settles on a pair of black pants. A mostly burgundy purple top. And then a long black coat (that he actually kind of likes) with more of that purple colored trim. A decidedly tactical look. An intervention from the more espionage savvy earther might be required ...

[red_room]

If he likes to see glass and metal everywhere he'd love visiting any of the Avengers' complexes Tony Stark has designed. Here though, such things tend to stand out and the whole point of Nat's safe house is to do anything but.

"A man comfortable with his masculinity and who likes the color." She calls out from the hallway where the sounds of zips and rummaging can still be heard.

She's sure Barton has some in tact jeans and those chevron shirts he likes so much hanging around somewhere amid all his tactical gear. A few button up plaid shirts he likes to ear when he's out on the farm with his family. Plenty of civilian wear that won't stand out when they're walking the streets.

What she's certainly not expecting is Han to be dressed to the nines as an Avenger when she walks back into the bedroom. Any commentary she might have had dies on her tongue as she stares hard at him, blinking rapidly for a few seconds before she tilts her head to the side.

"If we need to get into a fight, sure. Not going to let you walk around the streets like that. You'll attract all the wrong kinds of attention."

She needs to just walk back out of that room before she stares too long. It's a good look for him and Nat's been made a fool of once today already. She'd rather not relive that already.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It's a trip for Solo to be putting on a bonna fide superhero costume, though he doesn't realize in this moment that's what it is. All that he's managed to observe is that this is far more tight than anything Han has ever had to wear. Though, to his credit, he fills the outfit out pretty well - considering that it was meant for another man altogether.

"Oh, I'm secure, sweetheart." Han murmurs, still half way through refastening his gunbelt. It doesn't particularly match the rest of the aesthetic, but it's not like he had any intention of leaving the DL-44 behind. "It doesn't get much more secure than me."

The body language that Natasha, though much less overt than it was on the ship, is once again suggesting that she likes what she sees. It's less the male response and more the fact he knows her that tells him as much. Even as the words are saying that it's the wrong time to be wearing it.

"Who's outfit is this?" He says after a lengthy pause. One long enough to make it clear that he wasn't sure about asking it.

[red_room]

Underneath the coat it's not altogether that noticeable anyway. All the better for Han to get the drop on someone if push comes to shove later on down the line. It's what he's known best for, anyway.

Yes, Han. Natasha is very much wearing her 'I'm gonna tap that so hard' eyes. As with most of her expressions it's a subtle one, but a look he's seen on her enough to know it even on a male's face. Equal parts predatory and smug as only a person who knows what they want and also knows they can have it at any time can manage.

She'd still get down on her knees for him if he'd let her. If it weren't for the fact that Natasha has no real interest in having a second dick to worry about besides the pilot's...

"Dammit." Natasha pinches the bridge of her nose and walks back out of the room shaking her head. She officially hates this body. Clenching and unclenching her jaw while she gets back to work sorting through all of her gear.

"Clint Barton's. Was my partner on Strike Force Delta back when SHIELD was still in operation. He taught me how to be a pilot, and is one hell of a shot. Though as you can probably tell, not really the biggest fan of guns."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

So this outfit is tactical and it's her partners. Makes him wonder, if only briefly, whether it's him that or if it's the man that used to wear the clothing that she has the hungry eyes for. He doesn't spend much time worrying about it, though. There's not the time for one thing and for another ... he doesn't really want her to pick up on those deep insecurities he has.

Natasha probably had already, but. There was no sense in putting it out in the open again if he could help it.

He starts pawing through the clothing again. Not really knowing the subtleties of earth culture yet, he's still not fully sure what he could grab that will actually blend in. Which seems a little bit more important than him finding something that he 'likes'.

"Well listen ..." He says frowning as she starts walking away. "You know what's gonna be better for sneaking around more than I do. I'll just wear what you think."

[red_room]

It's a fair concern to have, considering Barton is one of the few people Natasha trusts completely. Enough to let him see her at her weakest. But he has a wife and family. She can't compete and so she never tried. Any desire there had been would have been crushed years ago. Han has nothing to worry about. But he has no way of knowing without asking.

Nat stops at the concession that Han doesn't know what he's doing. She knows enough to know that he never offers up that admission easily. He sounds tense. She walks right back in and leans in the doorway, a small casual smile on her face. Supportive, Natasha. You brought him here to feel less helpless remember?

"Those blue pants there, the worn ones. The soft black shirt you just moved a minute ago. The blaster will have to be hidden while we walk in daylight, but we'll figure out a way for you to keep it close at hand." She closes the distance between them and traces a finger down the coat he's still wearing.

"And if things go south, it's good to know you can fill this out. Having competent backup with me isn't something I"m used to having."