Coffee Shop Construction is a go!

[widows_kiss]

Who: Natasha Romanoff and anyone conned into likely to swing by and help
What: Before it can open, the coffee shop needs a little tlc and a few touch-ups.
When: Friday, May 10. Possibly extending into the weekend.
Where: The future location of A Shot In The Dark coffee shop. (AKA, Building M)
Summary: Natasha calls in a few favors and bribes a few friends and teammates into helping her get the coffee shop ready to open. Anyone able to hammer a few nails, wield a paint brush or broom, or move some furniture is invited. Or come ogle some of the shirtless males she's put to work, that's acceptable too.
Rating: PG. Probably. >.>


Natasha's still not entirely sure why she's doing this. Most mornings, she wakes up with the inevitable realization that she's probably lost her mind. She's not one to put down roots, to make a commitment to anything, because things don't last, situations change and her lifestyle choice of 'don't get attached' is slowly getting buried under a mound of teammates, friends, and persistent pests that somehow end up being debatably endearing.

And, apparently, a coffee shop.

Yup. She's definitely lost her mind. That doesn't seem to stop her from going each day and working on the little shop off the plaza, although she's reached a point that there's not much else she can do on her own. She needs help. A galling realization, but hey, that's what teammates are for, right? So, on a bright and sunny Friday morning, she rounds up what help she can find to pound out the last few renovations needed for the place.



((OOC Note: Most of the work needed is inside the cafe itself, although some work can be done outside as well. The doors will be propped open for people to come and go and they're taking pretty much a blank slate of an interior and turning it into this. So, work your character could possibly be doing is helping construct the coffee bar, painting the walls, hanging light fixtures or the shelving behind the coffee bar. Cleaning up the tables and chairs or the other surfaces inside once the sawdust and nail-pounding clears up. And if someone wants to get creative and make her a sign, she will be eternally grateful.

There will be a constant supply of drinks and snacks as well, for people wanting to take breaks or those wandering by to eyeball the proceedings. Hop in, help out, or just stop by to chat.))

Comments

this log is lacking in half naked men. you're welcome

[neversurrender]

Steve arrives on the scene early, carting in some left over supplies from the work he did on the art gallery. Nails, hammers, blocks of wood, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff can be found in the boxes he brings in. Immediately he begins to work on building the coffee bar. He's never been one for construction, but since coming to Luceti, he's had more practice at it than he expected. He's also not all that bad at it provided he's able to follow the design plans.

When not working on the bar he can be found helping people carry things or hanging light fixtures and shelves, particularly the high ones. As the day goes on and it gets increasingly stuffy in the building, Steve will pull off his t-shirt and stuff it into his back pocket before getting back to work.

/surreptitiously ogles

[widows_kiss]

She'd been hoping someone would wander along who could help her build the coffee bar she'd sketched out plans for and marked out on the floor. She hadn't expected it to be Steve, but she certainly wasn't complaining.

Taking a break from painting the back wall, she grabs two bottles of water and brings one over to him, having noted he'd been working on it steadily for a while now. "Here. You looked like you could use a breather," she interrupts with a crooked smile, holding a bottle out to him.

[neversurrender]

He looks up from the boards he's been steadily hammering together and accepts one of the bottles with his free hand. Setting the hammer down, he twists open the bottle and takes a long drink. It's refreshing and cool and just what he needs.

Grinning up at Natasha, he nods. "Thanks. I have going to wait until I got this to start shaping up. Didn't realize how dry my throat had gotten."

[widows_kiss]

"It's the dust," she remarks wryly, moving to crouch down beside him, her gaze taking in what he'd been working on assessingly. "And it's already shaping up, from what I can see. You're certainly a lot farther than I would have been by now."

[neversurrender]

Steve looks it over as well. "It's still not quite where I would like it. But a couple more hours and it might be just about done. Then it'll just need a good sanding down." He runs his hand along the wood.

[widows_kiss]

"Careful you don't give yourself splinters in the meantime. I don't think even you are impervious to those," she countered with a quirk of her lips. Her gaze drifts over what he'd done so far. She's still having a hard time grasping that this is... actually happening. It's a little boggling to her normally-practical way of thinking.

"And maybe some stain, but that's easy enough to accomplish. Everything's coming together more quickly than I anticipated. It's a little astonishing to see it become a reality like this."

[neversurrender]

He looks at her curiously, trying to figure out what she's thinking. Not surprisingly, he can't get a good read on her. But her words do give some of her thoughts away. "Starting to feel the pressure?"

Steve puts his water bottle aside and reaches over for the next piece of wood he needs to connect. "I have to admit, running a coffee shop isn't something I would have seen you doing."

[widows_kiss]

That earns a short huff of laughter from her. "You and me both. I'm fairly certain I'm losing my mind."

She watches him work, staying out of his way, offering a hand without prompting as he reaches for the next plank and slots it into place. Her expression's turned a little thoughtful as she does, gaze going distant a moment before she gives him a faint, crooked smile.

"It's actually not the first time I've done it. Run a coffee shop, I mean. Sort of," she amends, lips quirking as she hands him his hammer.

[neversurrender]

The hand holding the hammer pauses, hovering over the wooden boards, as he gives he a strange look over his shoulder. Again, he shouldn't be surprised considering her line of work. Owning a coffee shop would make a solid cover.

"Really? Maybe you're not losing your mind after all. It could just be nostalgia."

[widows_kiss]

"I think nostalgia still equates to losing my mind," she quips dryly, meeting his gaze. "I'm not exactly the sentimental sort."

She lifts a shoulder in a shrug, but the faint smile lingers about her lips. "It was an assignment I had once, although you probably guessed that. A little corner cafe in Prague. I was there for eight months or so, running it with the actual owner. Imagine my surprise when I found out I was actually enjoying myself."

[neversurrender]

"I don't think so. It's been my experience that when you've been away from home a long time you start to miss things you never really considered before. It can be something as simple as the brand of toothpaste you used to...the coffee shop you once ran during a cover." His gaze seems distant for a moment, as if he's looking ahead but not really seeing his surrounding. Then he shakes his head.

"Anyways, I think it's natural. Even if you aren't sentimental."

[widows_kiss]

"That usually requires having a home." She says it lightly, her lips curving with wry amusement, but she can see his point. Maybe it is a hint of nostalgia. She has been indulging in that more than usual in the past few weeks. Or at least the occasional lengthy walk down memory lane. "Maybe it is. Still not convinced temporary insanity isn't a better explanation, but I suppose we'll see how it goes. I have been missing coffee shops in general, though. I've heard that a few times since coming here, actually. It's become sort of a staple, back home."

She pauses, glancing sideways at him, head tilted slightly to the side in an inquisitive manner.

"...Toothpaste, huh?"

[neversurrender]

"Considering the popularity of Starbucks back home, I'm not surprised. It's easy to miss when you don't have one on every corner anymore." He colors slightly at her question. It's not really the toothpaste he misses the most, or anything like it. But Natasha appears to be reading more into it.

"It's just an example."

we all appreciate the sacrifices Steve makes--especially the shirt off his back.

[handing]

Steve's making pretty good progress with the bar; Pepper's caught a glimpse of it from time to time, and the work seems to be steadily coming along. She's in between jobs herself at the moment, so she walks over just to check and see if Steve might need a hand.

"Hey. How's it going so far?"

[neversurrender]

A final nail is pounded into the section he's working on before he notices her presence and looks up. "Pretty good, actually. Once I finish this section it'll be about halfway done."

[handing]

"This is halfway done?" Pepper takes a better look at the piece under construction now that she's standing closer to it. "Wow. It's a pretty big undertaking, isn't it? Do you need a hand with it or anything?"

[neversurrender]

"Well assembling it is only half the battle. Once I get that down it'll need to be sanded down and possibly stained." He pulls another piece of wood aside and begins hammering it into place. In between nails he shrugs in response. "I can handle it. The only thing I can really give you to do is to mark where the nails need to go or some hammering, if you think you can manage."

[handing]

That earns a grin from her. “If I can’t handle hammering, then I’ll have to blame my teacher.” Pop quiz: does Steve remember talking Pepper through it all those months back? Including the part where they broke down in laughter over irresponsible nails and their failure to attend business commitments.

“Just tell me what you need me to do.”

[neversurrender]

Steve looks at her blankly for a moment before the memory hits him. He grins and shakes his head. "I'd almost forgotten about that. Well, here..." He holds out hos extra hammer for her to take. "Let's see what you remember."

He takes the rough designs of the counter and spreads them out between them so Pepper can see the look they're going for. "I need those boards over there connected to the edge here." He points to the things as he says them.

[handing]

She just grins, watching Steve’s expression until he puts the pieces together. “It was a while ago—and a lot has happened since then.” To put it lightly. Some were pleasant memories and others were things that Pepper would be very happy to forget. For the moment, however, she has to focus on the present, or Steve will have the chance to give her a hard time.

So hammer in hand she takes a careful look at the plans once they’re laid out, plus various items Steve points to as he gives instructions. “Alright. I think I can manage that.”

[neversurrender]

He nods, glad that she seems to understand. The plans are fairly simple but it's sometimes easier just to show what needs to be done instead of explaining. He sorts out some of the boards, pushing the ones Pepper needs closer to her. "Good. Let's get started then. Maybe we can finish getting it built today."

[handing]

“With any luck.” Pepper gets started maneuvering her boards into place, first by measuring and marking where each is to go. She takes her time with it; she hasn’t exactly done much construction since the gallery, and she doesn’t want to make things harder on Steve or Natasha. But she thinks they can manage a little conversation while they work without doing any real damage to their efforts.

“How have you been? It’s been awhile since we had a chance to talk.”

[neversurrender]

Steve mimics her work, measuring, marking, and even sawing longer pieces in half. He enjoys the work; it helps him to clear his head. Something that is becoming increasingly harder to do as the amount of things he doesn't want to think about increases.

Like the last time he and Pepper spoke, for one. He's only recently pulled himself out of the funk that resulted from Henry's death. He hadn't wanted to talk then. He doesn't want to now. Not about that. But...he had promised her an explanation.

"I've been fine. Much better now than I was...then."

[handing]

With that moment of hesitation, Pepper remembers exactly what their last conversation had entailed--and what it hadn't. She paused in her work, glancing over at Steve for a moment. He had promised her, yes, but he had also seemed like he'd been in a good mood up until that moment.

"Steve...we don't have to talk about this now. Not if you don't want to."

[neversurrender]

He stops hammering one of the boards into place and brushes his bangs out of his face with the back of his hand. At first, it doesn't seem like he's going to respond. Finally, he shakes his head and sighs.

"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to talk about it. But if you have things you want to know, ask. Won't know if I don't try."