Loose Lips Gossip - April 2, 2012

[ngm_miscellaneous]

04.02.12 - 9:07 AM Kisses for the Fools A Few Pecks Before You Go Here's some real gossip for you today, darlings. As opposed to what you all made blow up over social media yesterday and then had egg on your face because it was April Fools Day. I don't know why so many of you thought Tony Stark marrying me was the fabulous truth, but a girl can dream, can't she? First in our salacious bag, we have socialite Roxanne Danvers getting back up on her horse. Or two of them at once, my pets. As I broke the news to you precious readers not long ago, our favorite socialite Danvers has Cadet America living with her. Though after a particularly dour dry spell, she seems to be back on the prowl. While her cut blond cutie is there, she also has a dark and mysterious man visiting often. It doesn't matter what time, day or night, girl's getting back on top. Also seen about town is one Alistaire Shaw. While that's not particularly of note, what is is that he seems to have the same woman on his arm wherever he goes. It seems a Miss Alisa LeBeau has thrown her lot in with the one of the least mentionable Shaws. Sometimes, we forget he's even there, but he's out and about now. Of Miss LeBeau, we've picked up she's an art appraiser of some sort. She caters to the rich and famous. With her following a playboy about town, she's either in for a heartbreak or heavy pockets. I'd watch yourself if you're having anything authenticated by her and then it suddenly ends up in Alistaire Shaw's hands. Though let's just hope this is a nasty... rumor. Speaking of Shaws, we come to the most prominent living one we have in town. Miss Stephanie Shaw has apparently moved on from being dumped by the Brazilian Bronco. First it was a string of boys at Columbia. Apparently none of them measured up to her former mug of hot chocolate. Further solidifying that once she went black, she never went back, she's been seen out romancing Brooke Wyngarde. They've been seen together frequently in public and on a romantic dinner date. They were so taken by Languedoc that they bought it. Shortly thereafter, they went to the Diamond District. Together. I hope to score an invite to the impending nuptials. Since it is legal here in New York and in Miss Shaw's native Spain. It has come to my attention that young Miss Erin Sterling, daughter of Ambassador Maximilian Sterling, has been hanging around the young men of 890 Fifth Avenue. With Roxie Danvers oh so slowly getting back into the swing of things, (only two, dear? tut tut) it seems as though the Avengers have a new blonde minx who's been leaving a lot of wet in her wake. And we don't just mean her ability to control water. And finally, our usual Monday treat, which eligible singletons should you try to score by the week's end? No surprise, the number one guy is Tony Stark. Dress yourself up in nothing but strategically placed iPads and turn his head, darlings. If he's not your thing, try someone a little exotic: Marcelo Alencar da Silva. Rumor has it he's been out at a lot of hot nightspots lately. For those looking for the female persuasion, let's not forget brains and beauty as I have it on good authority Valeria Richards is still single. She appears a little down right now, but the right man could turn that frown upside down. Equally as lovely but a bit more hot-tempered is Eva Worthington. While she has been seen dressing down a few cabbies lately, it's nice to know a girl who knows what she wants and has a nice set of lungs. Don't you think, my cinnamon sticks? And that's the tidbits I have for this Monday. Let's be back on Wednesday with even more to talk about. Mwah, darlings!

Comments

[avengingwarbird]

"Humans are a very multi-layered race. Certainly more complex than, say, the Skrulls or the Brood, as a whole."

She looked back down at her iPad and frowned. "I don't know. I think..." She sighed. "This isn't his world, Alex. I don't want to bring him into this. He already has so much on his plate."

[call_me_phobos]

Alexander could tell that his sister didn't like the idea of Joe being in the tabloids but she didn't like the idea of not having him around either.

"If he is worthy of you, he will find a way to deal with it. If he is not, then you know it wouldn't have worked out anyway." he said, in the closest approximation of acceptance he would give her feelings for Joe, for today at least.

[avengingwarbird]

"I appreciate your civility, Alex," Roxie said. "I don't know if I'm worthy of him, to be honest. But that aside, I care for him, and I don't want to force him into something he wants no part of."

[the_next_avenger]

The door opened and Joe arrived just then with a newspaper in his hand.

"Hey, Roxanne, are you here? I gotta talk to you about--"

When he turned around from closing the door, Roxanne was sitting there with Alexander. Oh boy.

"Hey, Alex. How's it going?" Joe asked cordially.

"You will refer to me as Alexander, mortal." Alexander said, before looking to his sister.

"I have an article of my own to confirm the veracity of. You're more than worthy, Roxanne. Never, ever forget that." Alexander said.

And then he vanished without another word.

Joe blinked.

"Yep. He still hates my guts. Noted. Anyway, how are you? Did you see the paper today?" he asked Roxie.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie raised her iPad, on which there was a photograph of her apartment building, a blurry picture of Roxie and Joe, and even blurrier picture of Alex, along with the accompanying story.

"Kind of hard to miss when you set a Google alert about yourself," Roxie admitted. "How are you dealing with the, ah, journalistic intrusion?"

[the_next_avenger]

"They called me 'Cadet America'. That's kind of annoying. I mean, they could have called me Joe. Or at least Lieutenant America for god's sakes." Joe said.

"That's not the part that bugs me, though. It's the part where they have nothing better to do than spy on you and see who's coming in and out of your house. Landon could be reading this crap and trying to set something up to get me through you. That's the part I don't like." Joe told her.

"I don't care what they say about. I'm worried about you."

[avengingwarbird]

"Funny," Roxie replied. "I'm worried about you." She stood up and walked over to him, bare feet silent on the wood floors of their home. "I'm used to being watched and spied on and photographed. It's been my entire life, in and out of cameras. I don't mind it anymore. Not where it concerns me, at least. But you on the other hand..." There were words that she was about to say that she didn't want to say. "Given Landon and everything. Joe. If you need to not...if this is something you can't..." Roxie couldn't bring herself to complete the sentence. "I'll understand."

[the_next_avenger]

"Hey, stop." he said, placing a finger over her lips gently. He thought she might try this. If the situation was reversed, Joe might do the same thing to her; give her an out, find a reason or ten that she wouldn't want to be around him.

"I'll get used to it, too, then. I spent a long time trying to stay off the radar. I'm still in that mode sometimes but...my dad is a hero. My mother is a hero. My friends' parents are heroes. My best friend's dad keeps the world safe from stuff it doesn't even know is out there. Like it or not, I travel in pretty good company." he chuckled.

"And the woman I'm into is in the society pages and tabloids. I don't get to come into your life and change it around to suit me. But I can't promise I won't punch some guy if he's trying to take indecent pictures of you. You might have to bail me out of jail if that happens. Or call Sammy so she can explain it to my parents and /they/ can come bail me out." he teased.

[avengingwarbird]

A look of obvious relief flooded Roxie's eyes. But still. "I just want to make sure that, you know, one year or five years down the line, you won't regret this." For once, when it concerned a man in her life, Roxie was trying to do the mature thing, and look out for his interests and safety. "I mean, your coming into my life...it is going to change yours." Just as Roxie's going into his will change her life. It's a step she's more than willing to take, though. They just need to find that balance between her life and his. "I don't want you to come to hate me for it." She's seen it happen to others. It's never pretty, and it seldom ends well.

[the_next_avenger]

"Roxanne, where you're concerned, the only thing I regret is waiting so long to tell you how I feel. And I know that being in my life has already impacted yours. Your doorman got attacked because you let me stay with you. I hope you won't regret me someday, too." Joe said honestly.

"Other than that, a few guys with cameras are not going to be an issue. You have any tips for dealing with the paparazzi since you've had all the experience with them?" he asked.

[avengingwarbird]

"I was kidnapped before you came into my life," Roxie pointed out. "I've faced Doombots and giant dragons and so much else, too. Your coming into my life, it's maybe added a little extra danger, yes, but the pay-off - having you in my life - that makes it worth it." She grinned, then, and added, "Well, with the cameramen, I've learned to just stop, pose, and smile. They get less of a thrill that way, and sometimes less money because tabloids can only do so much with happy pictures of you."

[the_next_avenger]

"Then next time we're out, let's smile really big and cheesy with wide eyes so they think we're insane. Isn't that a good story for the tabloids?" Joe jokes.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie laughed. "They'd love it, I'm sure. Crazy in Love, the captions would read. And then they'd write about us going to rehab for love addiction or something."

[the_next_avenger]

Suddenly, a very big grin appeared on Joe's face as he looked at Roxie.

"Love addiction?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "So you're addicted to me already, Miss Danvers?" he asked causally.

Joe thought he was starting to get the hang of flirting and asking questions that could make a person blush. After all, he couldn't let Roxanne have all of the fun. He wanted to see her talk her way out of this one.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie closed her eyes and snorted. She could feel herself start to blush - a rare thing for her - and opened her eyes again. "So many answers to that, each one cheesier than the last," she replied. "But is it too soon to say yes?"

[the_next_avenger]

"No, it's not. I like it and the feeling is pretty mutual." Joe said.

"I think about you pretty often, so...yeah."

[avengingwarbird]

She grinned.

And then she hesitated.

Saying something like, Oh, that's nice to hear didn't quite seem like enough.

So, instead, she slowly reached up and brushed her lips against Joe's. It was a soft, chaste, short kiss.

A thank you, really.

She pulled back. "I'm sorry. I know you're more the traditional type but...sometimes words don't seem like enough, you know?"

[the_next_avenger]

Joe returned the kiss, his eyes closing as he enjoyed the moment. Somehow, that kiss was both everything and nothing like he thought it would be. It was far better than he'd imagined and the only thing he wanted in that moment was a bit more.

"Don't be sorry. I really...oh, to hell with it."

Joe then pulled Roxanne close to him and kissed her for all that he was worth.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie had kissed many guys before - both men and gods. They'd put her in states of wild eroticism, deep passion, and - sometimes - complete and utter boredom. She'd become weak in the knees before, gotten lost in a haze of lust and desperation for more.

And yes, it was true, she was feeling some of these things right now as Joe gave her that kiss.

But she was also feeling something which she'd never felt before.

Giddiness.

A pleasant warmth spread out from her core as she melted into the kiss.

[the_next_avenger]

Joe would have been happy to keep kissing Roxanne had his cellphone not rang just then. He was content to ignore it, but it kept ringing, so he pulled back and took it out of his pocket.

He had a text message from SHIELD.

Report in immediately.

"Hey...I just got a text from Director Fury. They might have something on Landon. I have to go." he said quietly.

[avengingwarbird]

"Yeah, you do," Roxie nodded, understanding. She pulled him in for one last, warm hug. "Go, do your thing. Stay as safe as, you know, circumstances allow you to." She didn't need to tell him to check in if he got a chance to. She knew he would. She gave him an encouraging smile. "Tell Sammy I said hello, too. It's been too long since I've seen her."

[the_next_avenger]

Joe hugged Roxie and nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell her. Maybe she'll come back with me after we handle this. But I'll talk to you soon." he said.

Joe made sure he had his gun and then headed for the door to go to his bike. Soon, he was on his way toward the pick-up area for the helicarrier.