4487/Flashback: Who Watches The Watcher on Monitor Duty

Flashback: Who Watches The Watcher on Monitor Duty
Date of Scene:	24 December 2020
Location:	Avengers Mansion - Meeting Room
Synopsis:	A flashback scene for Steve and Janet. Steve doesn't miss much, but some passes seem to go right over his head.
Cast of Characters:	Steve Rogers, Janet van Dyne

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Steve Rogers has posed:
Sometime in late 2018...


There is always an Avenger on monitoring duty. Though JARVIS does the heavy lifting, there's always a human element there. Someone to make decisions, as well as to react when immediate action is needed, and the rest of the team might be flung across the world on other matters, private or otherwise.

Tonight Steve Rogers leans back in the padded chair before the communications console. His coffee cup has just been refilled so is brimming with a fresh brew. He takes a sip and then sets the cup down, asking, "And so the satellites get around the issues of radio waves and the Earth's curvature?"

The smooth, disembodied voice of JARVIS replies. "That is correct, Captain Rogers." Steve considers for a moment. "And when did these satellites first get created?" JARVIS answers, "The first commercial satellite was launched in 1962. The first satellite itself was in 1957, launched by the Russians. The Americans followed soon after, using rockets designed by Werner von Braun, who built the V1 and V2 missiles in World War Two."

Steve whistles. "And he went to work for the US after the war?" he says before giving a tiny shake of his head. "I should probably not be surprised, should I?" JARVIS seems to recognize the rhetorical nature of the question and stays silent.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
There's a little rap at the door and Janet sticks her head inside. "Hey Steve," she says. Her lips curl in a smile and the petite socialite slips into the room. The smell of rich coffee and steamed milk seeps from the two ceramic mugs in her hand, both of which sport the recently-approved 'Avengers' official logo.

"Figured you might need-- oh." Her face falls as she approaches the desk. "Thought you might need a cup of coffee. My intern is a wiz with an espresso machine." She sets the latte down near Steve anyway. "How's monitor duty going? Bored out of your mind yet?" There's a teasing lilt to her tone. Janet's dressed in a loose-fitting sleeveless dress, a subtle weave of gold and black that gives it different tones as the lights cross it. It leaves her back exposed save for a few decorative straps over her spine, and the hem's just short enough that it wouldn't pass muster in an office environment. Peach-colored pumps and gold jewelry accentuates it nicely.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers looks up at the entrance with just a mild amount of surprise. Not just that someone would come in to the communications room when they aren't on duty, but Janet of all people. Steve doesn't recall her being the fondest of her spot in the rotation. The look turns to a quick, polite smile of greeting for her. "Janet. That's really thoughtful," he tells her.

As she sets the cup down he motions to it. "I've probably needed to getting around to trying some of the other... flavors out there. I stopped in a Star City Coffee one time," he recalls. "They had... Brazilian roasts and Jamaican... brew and... Mountain Time something-or-other. I ended up leaving and going over to a diner where I could just order coffee," he says with a faint chuckle.

"But that smells good," he says, sliding his cup aside to make room for the one that Janet brought. He's wearing a simple dark grey shirt that clings to the broadest points of physique though not otherwise being overly tight, and a pair of jeans. A baseball cap, his most common disguise, sitting on a counter nearby suggests he might have been out somewhere in town before arriving for his turn at the monitoring.

He gestures towards the console. "JARVIS was just helping catch me up on a bit of history," he says. "A good way to pass the time." Steve glances at Janet's attire briefly, not unused to seeing her in such fashionable outfits. A brief glance of appreciation before he's focused on her fully.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet beams as Steve sets his drink aside to accept her offered coffee. "Coffee's a whole thing, you can get deep into the different flavor profiles," she says. Steve's acceptance of the coffee seems to serve as invitation and Janet lifts her hips up to sit on the desk not far from Steve's console. Shapely legs lift and scissor over one another with an effortless ease.

"I keep forgetting how much catching up you have to do," she says with a little wistful look at the screen. "Satellites and cell phones and... sheesh. Everything, right?" A little snort escapes her. "How's that coming by the way, the, uh--" a finger wiggles in Steve's direction. "Your little pop culture checklist? Seen any good movies yet?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers takes the new cup as she slides it over to him. He picks it up, inhaling the aroma before taking a sip of it. "That," he says approvingly, "Is quite good. I can see why the different flavors took off," he tells Janet. Another sip to confirm his appreciation of it before he sets it down as he listens to her comments about his catching up with the times.

"It's a never-ending experience," he confirms with a warm, wry smile that probably hints at some of the revelations he's gone through. "It's not just the big things. The little difference that are the ones that I often find are the most confounding to figure out," he tells her.

Steve shifts his weight forward in his seat to pull out a small pad of paper from a back pocket. "I have," he tells her as he opens it up and reviews it. "The Godfather. Loved it. More than the second one, though that was good too. Everyone told me to skip the third though," he comments. "And a few new records," he says, perhaps still not quite getting the new lingo. "Baba O'Riley? I've had that running through my head for a few days. I'm going to have to listen to some more from that group," he says, then has to doublecheck the pad. "The Who," he says.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet rests a palm near Steve's keyboard and locks her elbow out for support. When Steve flashes the paper pad she leans forward with interest to look down at it when it's flashed at her. "Sounds like Tony's getting you into hair rock," she snorts. "Listen, contrary to what he says, the seventies were not the end-all of music. There's some great Latin fusion, R&B really took off in the early 2000s... musical theater kinda died out, but really the heyday of it was the forties and fifties anyway so there's not a whole tone of stuff you'd be unfamiliar with. I've got box seats at the Met, if you ever want you, um." She swirls her coffee and looks into it, looks at Steve. "You know, take in some culture. It's not my jam but it's kind of a 'have to be seen' thing to show up at the opera and ballet once in a while, and if I'm gonna do -that-, I'm gonna do it somewhere that I can drink."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve's smile grows slowly and he pulls out a pencil - the kind you sharpen of course - and jots down in the pad along with a host of other movies, songs, plays, books, and even historical moments. The list is rather long, Steve having been out of the ice for two years now, and a lot of them have checks next to them. "Latin fusion," he says as he writes it down. "And early 2000s R&B. In the list now," he tells her gratefully.

The pad goes back in his pocket. A beeping from the monitoring console takes his attention for a moment. He calls up more information on it. "Looks like the police have it handled," he says of a minor car chase that is already coming to an end by the time JARVIS is supplying footage of it.

Steve looks back to Janet then, his transparent manner showing the hint of surprise at the offer from Janet. "Thank you Janet, that's really kind of you. I don't know that opera is really my kind of thing. Though I had three different people mention The Nutcracker as the holidays were nearing. Which I've heard of it, it's one of the few things a lot older than I am," he kids. "But not something a kid from Brooklyn got much opportunity to see performed beyond the music," he tells her. "Is that something that can be drank to?"

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet pinks a bit at the praise, and shrugs nonchalantly. "You can drink to anything if you try hard enough," she says with a cryptic amusement. "But yeah, there's a little drink cart they bring around, which is ... y'know, doesn't suck."

She takes a steadying breath. "I mean, I have four tickets, and two of them I usually give out for like, charity stuff or if I need to bribe someone. The, uh... other one's not getting used, so..." Janet looks down and drags a thumbnail over the pale, empty location on her ring finger.

"Anyway, it's no big deal. I mean, you don't have to go with me. You can take someone else. I have so much stuff to do I can't make it to all the performances anyway, right?" A little forced laugh escapes her throat.

Steve Rogers has posed:
One of Steve's observations is that people these days do seem to be able to drink to anything, so he gives a chuckle and nods his agreement there. His expression suggests he's drifted into his thoughts for a moment, perhaps thinking of the reasons why the boys of the 107th drank. To remind themselves, and celebrate, that they were still alive.

His attention returns to Janet as he detects a change from the straight-spoken young woman's normal, confident way of speaking. "No," Steve says with a shake of his head after listening to her with a slightly pensive expression. "No, I'd much rather see it with you. If it's something you'd want to see that is," Steve says. He gives Janet a smile and motions with a hand. "I don't want to drag you to something that's a bother though when you're doing something nice for me," he says, eyes moving to hers.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet's smile returns again, quixotic and unpredictable. "Well that's thoughtful of you," she tells him. "I don't care what they say, being a gentleman never goes out of style."

She takes a sip of her coffee and rests it on her thigh, fingers curled around the ceramic. "You been doing any socializing since the craziness with Loki?" she inquires. "I mean things seem to have... dare I say it, settled down. Might be a good time to get out and see some of the city. Hang out with some friends, go on a date." There's a peculiar little inquisitiveness in her voice that might be hard to read. "Any ideas like that?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
"Not too much," Steve says of socializing. "Outside of the team my pool of friends has been... well, let's call it a work in progress," he tells her. "Most of the old ones are gone of course." He hesitates a moment, eyes glancing off to the side. Perhaps thinking about one or two that are still around. Bucky? Or Peggy Carter? One could wonder. "And, well, Nick Fury isn't the kind of guy to fly out to LA for a Dodgers game," he adds with a hint of a smile.

Steve gestures with both hands as if to say what is one to do? "Making the best of it. There's a lot to like about now," he says, ever the optimist. "But I'm working way there, I'd say. I have quite away to go to catch up to you though," Steve says. "You seem to really have your finger on the pulse of what's going on in New York. I don't see how you can keep it all straight. Even with JARVIS to help out, as good of a job as he does," Steve tells Janet.

He takes another sip of the gourmet coffee, giving Janet an appreciative nod for it. "I suppose now you're probably barraged with dates and suitors and offers to go out clubbing. Or, is that still a word that people use? Suitors?" he asks, a bit of self-deprecating smile showing he expects probably not.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Not so much," Janet replies with a wry grin. "On the dates, or the suitors thing. People are slowly getting back into the, like, social life, y'know? Clubbing and stuff. Dancing. There's this really awesome little salsa club in Little Dominca I used to go to when I was in college. I might head over there soon, see if I can still dance."

Her face falls a little. "The divorce is still kinda fresh. I'm putting out a neggy vibe, I'm sure. Hard to think about having fun and like, flirting and hanging out with someone while I'm mentally checking boxes for my attorney meetings tomorrow. Thank god for my pre-nups," she mutters.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve's expression for Janet is a sympathetic one as he listens. "I'm sure you can still dance, Janet," he tells her. "You are probably the most... vivacious woman I've met, in this time or any other," he says, tone making it a compliment.

As he talks he leans over to the keyboard, typing something on a side monitor as if responding to one of the things from the monitoring station. The screen is it an angle for Janet making it difficult to read. But as it turns out, not impossible.

Steve> JARVIS, a salsa club, that has something to do with Mexican food?
JARVIS> I believe that refers to a type of dancing, Captain Rogers.

Steve leans back in his chair again after blanking the screen. "I'm sure salsa dancing would be a good way for you to get back into it," he offers. "I don't know that I can help there. But if a trip to The Nutcracker would help you feel like you were dipping your toes back in the water there at all, well, it turns out I know someone with tickets."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet looks somewhat impressed at Steve's quick pickup of the topic. When Steve suggests going to the Nutcracker, Janet's eyes lid speculatively and the corners of her lips turn up. Her makeups a little darker than usual, likely to go with the dress, and it brings contast against her perpetual summer tan.

"I hope that's not your idea of asking me out," she tells him. Her knee rises and falls a few inches and she kicks the toe of her foot in a lazy circle before her leg settles. "Or at least, it better not be a pity date. I'm not feeling -that- desperate," she chivvies him.

Steve Rogers has posed:
There are moments that Steve's fairly transparent expressions might not serve him the best. As he becomes aware that they have been talking about a date. Might have been talking about a date? Steve honestly doesn't know, and if he's flustered, it is a calm flustered.

"I wasn't-" Steve starts, before amending that with, "That is, I wouldn't-" and trailing off again, suddenly reminded of a time he had to make his way through a minefield surrounding a Hydra base.

Steve picks up the cup of coffee to take a sip. "A woman like you deserves more than a trip to a ballet with someone who can remember when the music from it got play on the radio," he ventures carefully. "But what I meant was, I'd enjoy your company there, if you wished to go," he says, not quite sure if he's crossed the far edge of that field or not.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet's hooded eyes move to low lids, and the impish expression falls as well. Her loose jaw moves back and forth and she gives Steve a speculative look as if vaguely surprised, and weighing whether or not she's disappointed or insulted.

"Hnnh."

"Well." She slides to her feet in the half-second before the expression can be deciphered, and that Perfectly Polite socialite smile is back in place. "If you decide you want to go, just... say the word. I'll have them hold the tickets for you at the box office. Bring your ID with you. Maybe your shield or something, then I can tell will-call to 'hold the tickets for Captain America'." She finishes off her coffee and tilts her head to the door. "Guess I'll let you get back to it then."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers rises to his feet as well when Janet rises. "Ah, thank you, I will," he says slowly after a brief moment searching for words. Steve manages to limit how much his expression is perplexed, but fails to fully hide it.

He looks about to say something more, but then seems to think twice of it and instead says, "Thank you for the coffee. It was nice of you to come by," he tells her. "I mean, it was nice. This. Talking with you," he tells her. Those true blue eyes watch her, while that one muscle in his jaw that tends to tighten when he's consternated about something is doing its thing at the moment.

There's a soft beep from the monitoring console. It goes on for several seconds before Steve finally turns to look and see what it is, though he looks back to Janet again right after.

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Mm. Have a good night, soldier boy," Janet says-- but by the time Steve looks back, the only view he gets is Janet walking out the door to the monitor room.

If there's any extra sway to her hips, it's probably in Steve's imagination.

Almost definitely probably.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve finally looks back away from Janet's exit, not turning back to the cause of the beeping yet, something minor. His hand moves to rub at the back of his head and then his neck. "JARVIS? Does Janet often visit the monitoring room when it's not her shift?" he asks aloud.

JARVIS replies with a negative, "No Captain Rogers. It is rare for her to be present outside of her duty times, or when some pressing event is occurring that brings the team."

"Never to deliver coffee, then?" Steve asks.

"Never, sir," JARVIS confirms.

Steve sits back down in his chair slowly, picking up the mug that Janet brought, holding it with a speculative expression on his face. "JARVIS, ever have the feeling you put your foot in your mouth?" he asks.

"I cannot relate to that expression, Captain Rogers. But in my observations of human interaction, it might not be uncommon in such moments."

Steve sighs and finally turns to dealing with the minor alarm.