ic Second Chances (Or Third?)

[alderwitch]

Talya had been watching the interplay with bemusement, her slight startle at Steve's unintentional innuendo laden statements well buried under the more emphatic responses of the Espadas siblings. She'd been just about to take a bite of her burrito when she paused at Min's gentle but firm admonishments. Tipping her head to the side, she turned her attention away from her food to fix Min with a thoughtful expression, "Dearest, I'm going to need you to expound upon that just a small tetch more. 'No secrets' is not something I'm certain I'm entirely capable of. Could you perhaps narrow down those parameters so I can avoid inevitably disappointing you? Perhaps we could start with what sort of severity of secrets we're talking about and the list of people who should know them? As in 'our family - this predefined list of people - should have relatively open access to knowing what's going on in our lives' - that sort of 'no secrets'?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Oh," said Steve thoughtfully, listening to Ellie's words and blushing lightly along his scars. "My apologies," he said quietly. "That does explain why Erik looked that way when I asked...n-never mind." He was obviously embarrassed - but didn't look crushed the way he would have when he had first met the Espadases. He fell silent, listening to the interplay about secrets from the others and choosing to say nothing for a while. Erik had offered him a place in this family but it was not his own - neither the one lost to Nihilor, nor the one he had built in the home of Gina Evans. It was not his place to tell any of them how to live. But at the same time - it had raised a guilty point with him, especially if Bombshell was to fight at his side. Quietly, he spoke, "We need to speak on that subject, Natalya Browning. But on another occasion." 

[Gizmo]

Ellie gave Steve a reassuring pat on the arm along with a reassuring smile as she sat back down in her chair. The big man was slowly getting more accustomed to the near constant banter and teasing that permeated life surrounding the family and team but the unspoken agreement was that he was largely off-limits when it came to more pointed teasing. That didn't keep her from laughing quietly to herself about sausages as she turned back to her dinner.

"She doesn't mean you need to start handing out a dossier on a hundred years of spy stuff to everybody," Erik assure Talya, lifting his head from Min's shoulder and offering Steve a sheepish look. "Just, y'know, kinda goofy to dance around the the subject of this--" He circled a finger through the air to encompass the three of them. "--around people who are just going to be happy for us anyway, yeah?" He knocked a knee into his sister's under the table in appreciation which she chose to thoroughly ignore save for a subtle smile. "And I guess also, like, dangerous stuff? If you were in trouble or had to deal with some stuff from your past or whatever, we'd want to know about that, obviously. That's obvious, right? It seems like it ought to be."

[alderwitch]

Steve's somber statement drew a quizzical look from Talya but she inclined her head to the man, "Of course, whenever you'd like, Steve. I'm not so hard to find." She paused and then added with a small smile, "These days at least."

Turning her attention then to Erik's more specific requests, her concern eased somewhat. Although, from the brief expression that flickered across her aristocratic features, the adage about warning them regarding old enemies was not, in fact, obvious. "I don't actually have a hundred years of spy history. I won't be a hundred until 2017, and they didn't put me in the field until I was over twenty," she teased, "The crown frowns on child spies in general. But, yes, that much I think I can certainly manage. Thankfully, I have largely managed to outlive most of my enemies." Emphasis on most. "And those that would like to see me dismembered with the most burning of passions are still rotting in Blackstone. I send them fruitcake during the holidays."

[April]

"Then we will keep them in Blackstone," Min stated, then shrugged.  "Or consider alternatives if that is not possible."

Min looked around at the table, meeting the eyes of the assembled, before turning her attention to the food in front of her.  The dryad didn't need to eat and she usually didn't unless it was her husband, or Talya, preparing the meals.  It was, in a small way, a way to show that she appreciates what they do for her as well as a way to spend time with them.  That said, she only nibbled at the burrito in front of her.

"It's not a secret," she said looking at Talya.  "But I do not want it to come as a surprise to you.  We are in autumn now, but winter is coming and in winter I can be..." she trailed off, looking a question at Erik, hoping he could explain or finish the thought better.

[Gizmo]

"Oh. Yeah, right." Erik set down his burrito and rubbed the back of his head with one hand as he tried to figure out the best way to explain. "I guess this is probably good to know for you too, Steve. So, Min has that whole nature goddess thing going on and it's sort of a two-way street, right?" He gestures back and forth with both index fingers, crisscrossing them in a way that was probably more illustrative than the point really required. "The different seasons affect her mood a little. I mean, I think that happens to everyone a bit, really, but more so. During the winter she sometimes needs some space or gets a little more aggressive." He shrugged, shooting his wife an apologetic look; it wasn't the most flattering description but it was what she'd wanted him to clarify. "Honestly, she thinks she gets a lot worse than she really does."

[alderwitch]

Talya's brow briefly furrowed as she watched the interplay and Min's concerns before her expression eased at the explanation. "Well, everyone has their ups and downs. Some of us a little more cyclical than others," Talya added with a quirk of her lips. It was on the tip of her tongue to deflect with another light rejoinder but it was clearly important to Min that this concern be heard. The fact that it was in front of other people was... inconvenient. The brief internal struggle never touched Talya's expression, her smile remained light and her head tipped to the side as she sifted through responses, discarding half of them before she continued on, her voice a little gentler, "I don't make the mistake of presuming that you're human, with human responses. I know that it isn't the case. I appreciate the forewarning but it'll be fine. I am markedly resilient."

She smiled, humor lighting her blue eyes as if the phrase had deeper meaning for her. Reaching out to lightly cover Min's hands with one of her own, the touch brief but affectionate, "That's a fact that you can bank on. We all have our darker moods. Yours just happen to be a bit more predictable than others' might be."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Thank you for the information," Steve quietly rumbled, nodding to both Erik and Min. He wasn't sure why he needed to know the information - there was nothing Min could say that would injure his feelings. But it is good to know these things about one's teammates, he decided, especially since Min was also the wife of one of one of his best friends. Though winter need not be a time for death. He considered mentioning the upcoming birth of Christopher and Elizabeth's child in the context of changing life brought by the seasons, but decided that story was not his business to tell. "I will remember it."