I can't help it, man! I'm all about stupid!

[onteamdyson]

Who: Kenzi Malikov and EVERYONE?!
Where: The nail salon, Rumlow's gym, Steve/Nat/Bucky's house, Main Street
When: April 1st to 5th
What: Catch all log for shenanigans, bonding, mischief, and conspiracy theories
Warnings: Will update as needed.
[Open]

I will match your tag style, prose or action! Either is fine!


Getcho nails did

Work for a living? Does she look like a chump?

...Apparently the answer is yes, because she DOES have a job. She doesn't remember ever applying, but she also definitely remembers working here and doing peoples nails and actually having fun most of the time. It's a creative outlet and it gets her off the couch and out of the house. Working doesn't give her time to mourn the loss of video games she thought she had and ... a person she just can't quite remember. Plus, she's got actual bills to pay now. She's not squatting in a crack shack with--... SOMEONE! Who is it?

It's fine. It's probably not important. She's got a life to worry about. A fresh start. Who needs to steal and con when you can apply rhinestones to peoples fingernails for eight hours a day? Hard work. Honest... work.

Whatever. It's fine. Come on in, sit down at her station, and let her rescue your cuticles. Damn.



He's never coming out.

Kenzi is starting to think she married a workaholic. Which is honestly hilarious considering she is the exact opposite. Of course, it's not all work for Rumlow. He gets to do pretty much his favourite thing ever, which for some reason is lifting weights and getting sweaty and teaching other people how to lift weights and get sweaty until everyone is just lifting things for HOURS! It smells like gym class in there. Probably because... it's a gym. A gym that is open FOREVER which means he leaves the house early and doesn't come back until late.

Eventually, it occurs to Kenzi that she actually misses her husband when he's not home, and that leads to her either visiting him while he's at work and she's on lunch or waiting outside until he's done work so they can head home together.

Watching people get buff gets boring after a while. Seriously, there's only so much ogling a girl can do before she starts to get antsy. Rumlow's busy. There's no way she's gonna touch the equipment when she could just be sitting around instead. The railing out front is a good a spot as any. Fresh air, peace and quiet, lot's of-- UGH, it's boring out here TOO! Someone please talk to her before her eyes roll out of her skull.


How do you even neighbour?

Knock Knock! Now that everyone's no longer dying, Kenzi finally got to bake a fresh batch of cookies to deliver to her neighbours. Okay, mostly they're for Steve, but she knows Bucky's probably going to inhale a few and she'd be super stoked if Nat had some. She hasn't actually talked to Steve since the "accident" and she hasn't seen Bucky or Nat since the party.

Enough of her memory is back that she's... conflicted... about things. Some stuff just doesn't add up, some stuff feels too real to not be true! It's hard to sort out. Kinda makes her head hurt. What she does know is that Steve was super freaking nice to her and she didn't even recognize him and she needs to do something nice to apologize/pay him back. She also knows that she really does care about Bucky, even if he's mad at her for a stupid reason.

Even if he might not actually... be...

No. Nope. Don't go there. Shake it off, Kenzi. Smile.

She continues to wait patiently with the container of cookies in her hands.


Choose your own adventure!

Not feeling any of the above? Hit me up with something else!

Comments

[onteamdyson]

How the frick is he so chill? Seriously? She squeezes his hand back and mentally thanks whoever stuck him with her for their epic judgement on that call. The walk home is filled with much lighter conversation as they make their way back into potential earshot of whoever-the-fuck. It helps. Her eyes are only the slightest bit red and puffy when they get home, but she audibly chalks it up to allergies.

Outwardly, she's looking almost as calm as Rumlow. Internally she's trying not to think about Bo while simultaneously clinging to the memories she's gotten back. Dwelling on it isn't going to do anyone any good. If Bo is here, she hasn't seen her yet. If she's not here, finding her is going to be something Kenzi wants to keep quiet.

There's also the inevitable talk she needs to figure out a covert way to have with Bucky and Steve. Something tells her speaking in Russian won't make much of a difference.

Kenzi is grateful to be home. Home. It kind of feels more like she's just playing house these days, but there's still that element of belonging that she feels here more than anywhere else. She unlocks the door and shoves it open, trudging heavily over the threshold and kind of just wanting to curl up on the couch or in bed. Emotionally exhausted much?

"Can I just faceplant into a soft surface or do we have plans?"

[comesfrompain]

"If you wanted to just chill, I was gonna make dinner then maybe we could zonk on some TV?"

Rumlow offers, shutting the door behind them and picking at the laces of his boots. Once they're off and tucked away, he walks back up to her, turning her to face him. He strokes her face and gives her a peck. Whether they follow through on the plan is up in the air, Rumlow doesn't have any firm ideas, just the notion that they should eat and have some personal time.

And while he's cooking, Rumlow can go over what's been said. He hasn't quite let go of the idea that Kenzi's an agent, but he's trying to figure out why they were put together. There has to be something.

"You can faceplant in the meanwhile," he adds with a smile.

[onteamdyson]

Those are plans she can get behind. A night in, just quiet and chill and together. She completely forgot how hungry she was until Rumlow mentioned making dinner. Of course she's starving because she was waiting outside the gym for forever. He hasn't made a bad meal since she's known him. "Sounds perf."

The kiss surprises her more than it should. She figured some part of him would want to distance himself from all the crazy she was spouting back there. There's also the fact that they admitted they know this isn't real. But he did say he felt something for her. She obviously feels the same, it's written all over her face when he pulls away. His stupid smile is gonna be the death of her someday.

"Well. If you insist. I mean, as long as you don't neeeeed my help in the kitchen or anything." What. Is she actually not taking the easy out to nap on the couch instead of pitching in? Is she actually sort of kind of offering to help? Is she actually trying to be HELPFUL TO SOMEONE ELSE? Gross. Weird. Maybe she's still sick.

[comesfrompain]

"Need it, no. Want it?" Rumlow says, lifting a hand and waggling it. "Can't say I'd mind the company."

Whether she wants to cut vegetables, provide conversation or even just taste test, Rumlow doesn't really mind. He's pretty capable of splitting his attention. Even if she does decide to just languish on the sofa, he's fine with that too. It's definitely strange, this easy comfort he has with her. If he ignores the 'memories' of this place, Rumlow can't imagine having someone like this. Casual hook ups, sure, but this is a lot more than this. The affection runs deeper than just an appreciation of her company.

That's why he's so hung up on the idea that there's something more. It can't just be the result of these manufactured memories. Rumlow gives her hair one more pet and then he turns, heading into the kitchen. If she wants to follow, that's on Kenzi.

[onteamdyson]

She does follow him to the kitchen, fairly certain she'd follow him almost anywhere. Nothing really explains the trust she has for him beyond the fact that they got thrown together in this and he's seen her at some of her most vulnerable points since then. The trust was there from the moment he said her name, though. All the stuff she learned about him after just added to what was already there.

Keeping her hands busy helps quiet the din of her mind. It's hard to over-analyse everything and pick at all the little insignificant details that just won't form a bigger picture when you're focused on chopping and peeling and making dumb jokes just to hear your fake husband laugh. She feels so much calmer around him. Relaxed. It's like she knows she can let her guard down around him because he has her back no matter what. It's similar to how she felt around Bo. Being on her own for so long and then finally allowing yourself to trust someone... it's so much better. Easier. Kind of addictive.

By the time they're done eating, her heart's healed over enough to think about Bo and not immediately fall to pieces. She's quiet as she explores the new/old memories, pensive, all curled up against Rumlow's side on the couch with the TV acting as background noise. On the surface, this is perfect. Idyllic, even. Married bliss. But that's just the surface. Everything here runs so much deeper. Like the cameras and the notices. Like Rumlow's real identity and her own past.

At least she knows he's one of the good guys.

She sighs and tries to stop focusing on the past for a while, tries to stop picturing Bo's face and wondering where she is and how they got separated. She looks up at Rumlow, studying his face, reaches up to trace the tip of her nail along his jawline.

"Hey."

[comesfrompain]

Kenzi isn't the only one to have spent time mulling this over. There is a lot to consider between them, and the only constant seems to be Rumlow's connection to Kenzi. Whatever their past is, there is history between them -- why else would this relationship feel so right? She gives him what he needs and though she's playful, never demands things he can't offer. They fit together, and the way she reacts to situations makes him think she can't just be some average girl. There's something special.

It's after dinner and they're snuggled up on the couch, Rumlow considering what might happen if he pulls her into his lap when she takes the initiative to turn and drag her finger along his jaw. The nail scrapes against stubble and it makes a shiver run through his body. He hums a note, turning towards her with a particular look in his eye. One she ought to know well by now.

"Hey," he parrots back, sneaking a hand behind her and curling it around her waist, trying not to marvel at how damn tiny it is. Rumlow sees the way she's looking at him, like she's trying to remember more than she does. A familiar motion because Rumlow thinks he must do it to her a lot too. Definitely guilty of it while they were cooking together, in the brief moments of pause.

[onteamdyson]

Ooooooooh yeah, she knows that look. She is very familiar with it by now, enough that there's a visceral reaction when she sees it. Damn, Rumlow.

Kenzi smirks, huffing out a laugh as she cups his face and pulls him close enough that their lips just almost touch. Neck craned, head on his shoulder, she looks up at him, trying to imagine him as some kind of peacekeeping privatized badass following orders and shit instead of yelling at people to lift heavy things all day. It's weird. She can't see him doing that, but at the same time she can? He's too damn interesting to be some suburban business owner in the middle of nowhere.

"I like your face. It's a really good face. Congrats on that."

[comesfrompain]

"Yeah? Likewise, sweetheart. You got lips so perfect I can never decide what they look prettiest around."

She goes for cheesy, he goes for sultry. It's kind of how they work. Rumlow's nose flares as he takes in the scent of her, somehow delicate as much as it is intoxicating. He sees the game she's playing though, trying to get him to make the next move. It is tempting. He's got the self control she lacks, however. Knows she'll give in well before he does.

He curls his fingers against her back, drags them slow from one side to the other. His nose bumps against hers, lips so close they almost touch more than once -- but he doesn't give in. Rumlow smirks instead, waiting for Kenzi to press herself against him.

"You look like you want something."

He purrs, fingers drawing up her back and under her silken hair until they reach the nape of her neck. A subtle reminder of who's in control. Rumlow stares at her, watching, waiting. Letting the anticipation build until Kenzi can't stand it.

[onteamdyson]

She swears he does it on purpose. Whenever she tries to keep it light, he goes right in for the kill and presses every goddamn one of her buttons like a kid in an elevator. Her plans never quite pan out the way she wants them to when Rumlow's involved. He just always has the upper hand in these situations.

Not this time, buddy. Nope. No freaking way. Not even when she's picturing what she thinks her lips look prettiest around. His fingers could be a problem. Yeah, it's definitely a problem when his hand gets under her hair, making her shudder visibly until it reaches her neck. She sucks in a sharp breath, mentally cursing herself because she's trying to prove some kind of point now.

Kenzi bites her lower lip, not moving an inch even though it's practically torture when he's right there and she could just be all up on him but now her pride's getting caught up in this.

"Nah. I'm good." She firmly plants her hands under her butt, literally sitting on them in case her steely resolve melts under his stupid, fiery Italian smolder. She is RESISTING! She can DO THIS!

...She probably can't do this.

[comesfrompain]

Of course he does it on purpose. She just makes it so easy. Though, in this instance, she totally started it. Really Kenzi can blame herself, though if she really does want to resist, he'll wait. He's a patient man. Rumlow simply smiles an unfathomable smile, knowing all too well how hard she's trying.

"You sure about that, sweetheart?"

He asks, eyes flicking down to where she's sat upon her hands. It might stop her -- for a minute or two. Rumlow is very sure of himself, always has been. Seducing his wife is really no different. Though really, if all she wants to do is make out, he's okay with that too. Either way, it's fun to play with her, get her all riled up.

His fingers squeeze at the back of her neck, massaging the muscles on either side of her spine. It usually works pretty quick to make her slump against him in appreciation for the touch, but he decides to turn things up, just a little. He tugs at her hair, tilting her head back while his own tips forward, the barest catch of stubble on his cheek ghosting across her own while his lips find her ear.

"Suit yourself."

[onteamdyson]

Just because she started it doesn't mean he has to finish it! This is beyond not fair. Between the hand on her neck and the tug to her hair and-- goddfuckingdammit. How dare he go with the sexy, scratchy, whispery ear move!

Her eyes squeeze shut and she exhales shakily. "You... are actually the worst?" The best. "And I'm totally sure about that." Totally sure she WANTS HIM. "Aaaaaaaaaaand-- fuck it."

So much for resisting. Look, it's been an emotionally exhausting day and she waited for him and everything and you totally can't judge her for crawling into his lap and making out with him hardcore. He's freaking beautiful! It really doesn't take a lot of convincing on her part. Especially when he's the only thing in this house that doesn't make her feel like she's aimlessly walking through a movie set every day. He's real and this is real and no matter what, even if they don't actually have a history, she's not gonna bail on him.

This is the first time the thought of staying with someone hasn't made her want to run.

"Maybe we should relocate?" To spare Jefferson at least. She figures the cameras are gonna pick it up no matter what room their in. Pervs.

[comesfrompain]

Called it. He so called it. Like a moth to a flame, or a Kenzi to a Rumlow. Whatever. Doesn't matter, she's in his lap, kissing him and his hands are at her waist, pushing under her shirt. This is why he thinks there has to be more -- this feels too normal, to right for this to just be some fling or whatever. It's more than just physical. He likes her. Really.

"Mm, might as well. Don't need more of an audience than we already have..."

At that, Rumlow stands, arms around Kenzi to keep her right where he wants her. He gathers her up and holds her close, giving her another kiss before he promptly carries her towards the bedroom. Shutting the door behind him, he advances towards the bed and plops her down on it -- for only a moment before he's pouncing on her and grinning like a wolf. She had given in, and now, Rumlow's about to give her that reward.