[ For that he actually turns to look at her, because honestly. How is she bored with all of that. And the doppelganger shit on top of it too - well, clearly she wasn't bored today, but. Still. ]
Would you like me to find you some more responsibilities? You can have some of mine. Might give me some time to go out with the redhead. [ At some point he might make more headway on that one if he learned the girl's name, but. One step at a time. ]
[ for once she's not trying to be cruel about it. just this once. Carefully she sets her glass down and stretches enough to nudge him in the side with her toes. ]
[ He doesn't even know how he feels about that. Just. He's leaning forward still, elbows resting just above his knees, and staring at the drink he's just poured for a little while. Actually, no, he's going to drink that too, it wasn't that big, and he'll pour another one but this one he's just going to look at.
His posture is apologetic, despite this. He shouldn't be so transparent, not in front of her, in front of one of his callsigns, in front of anyone. He's Alpha. He's the face of too much to have such ridiculous problems as a probably-dead-ex-wife.
And he's fully aware he hasn't actually answered her yet - that his actions are probably an answer enough in and of itself, but still. He picks up his glass and sits back like he had been before. Mostly. If he looks a little more defeated then it's not really something he's up for fixing at the moment, Alpha be damned. ] I don't know. [ He sighs, because this reaction couldn't possibly be more theatrical anyway and he wasn't even trying. He's not theatrical by nature in the least. ] Do what you want. If she is alive, it would be better for us to know. [ Think of it strategically. Divide and progress. ] She's potentially too dangerous to leave otherwise.
[ he's quiet for so long she's kicked into damage control mode. Considering what this silence could mean and what the knotted up tension would need to break. What if the rewrite didn't take? What if he's shorted out somehow and d she had tho kill him? , she hopes that isn't it with every twisted up fiber of jet bring. She's come to like athos genuinely.
But no it's just uncertainty. Emotional exhaustion and that has her slumping against the sofa in silent relief, fingers going loose around the poisoned dart she'd pulled from her sleeve. Just idle, normal, human worries. That she understands.
Well no, she doesn't. But she's trained to handle it.]
I won't tell you if I have to kill her.
[ the closest thing to kindness she can manage at the moment. That and her sliding free from the sofa, silent and fluid, to stand next tho him. She hesitates before curing an awkward arm around his shoulders. ]
[ He's normally better than this, would have noticed her tension and either called his own form of attention to it or filed it away for later. Normally, he pays better attention to his callsigns. She has, however, managed to find what is probably his most sensitive topic, and poke it with a stick. He doesn't even think she meant to - if he had, then his response would have been altogether different - but it's the combined that that he wasn't expecting it, that she didn't act like it was some kind of joke, and that she followed it up like this, that all have his response being so...
Well. Whatever this is. He doesn't actually shrug out of the weird hug, not even a little even if he thinks probably it's what he should do. Actually, he leans into it a little, before he realizes himself and pulls away. ] You should. [ He drinks again, but at least it's not enough to finish this glass too. It's close, but. The gesture - all of the ones she's just made - are appreciated, and somehow he conveys that in his tone even while he turns their comfort down. ] I should know.
[ She should feel somewhat guilty for having the knee jerk reaction of needing to kill him for this odd behavior- and in truth? She does. There's nothing that can be done for that reaction other than to try to batten it down. It's just Athos. Having issues with something that is highly complicated and sitting in a position that she's been in before. Save the whole actually being married bit.
Maybe this is a little of what Romeo lived with? Maybe not. She'll never know.
What she does know is that with a few rare exceptions, she'll do what he asks, and do so gladly. If he truly wishes to know if she kills his wife for the safety of Sanctum? Then she will tell him in the most detached, clinical way possible if it ever comes to pass.
Her hand remains light on his shoulder, her cheek tucked against his hair for a moment longer before she pulls away. Normally when she finds these weak points it comes through careful study and a deliberate plan of attack.
[ It's probably telling of whatever odd friendship they have as much as whatever just serves to reinforce his own inadequacies about his position that allow him to act like this in front of her. He wouldn't do this in front of Foxtrot, or even Whiskey. He might shutter his expression - they might see that something was different - but he effectively just all but shut down for a few moments there. He shouldn't have done that.
But out of all the callsigns... He supposes that means that she is doing her job, and he wipes at his face - not because it's necessarily necessary, but just because the act itself is helpful. Her response might be laughable, if he were the sort of person to do that sort of thing, but as it is.
He just takes a deep breath and lets it back out. He's been Athos for a little while, but he needs to be Alpha for the moment. He was supposed to shed one title for the other but it's just too difficult to do it all the time, and occasionally he's caught too much by surprise at the wrong angle, apparently. The Immune don't tend to do this to him, but still. He needs to shape up. ]
It's not - [ god. ] If she's been alive this whole time, I need to know what she's been doing. It's not just morbid curiosity or self-flagellation.
[ His name, not his title, and that's something she's not supposed to do as a subordinate. Ever. But he's still young, still new to this for all that he remembers otherwise, and Anne's still a sore spot. There's no real way to explain what would happen if she actually found his wife.
None of it would be pleasant. It'd be better if she shot her as soon as she saw her. ]
You do not want to ask me to interrogate her. No matter what she was doing.
[ He knows her, to some degree. Knows how she works. Knows how she kills. What he may not know is how she cracks people open to pull out the secrets they'd die with otherwise. That's something precious few people have experienced and lived- and only after a rewipe. They'd been gibbering messes afterward.
If only she could forget as well. ]
I understand your reasons- but don't. Threats are to be eliminated. At least threats such as this.
[ The name is useful. It does make her the second person in the last twelve hours to use his actual name - which isn't actually his actual name but it's close enough - and he's not sure she actually wants to be in that group of people right now, but she continues
and
well, she's right. He was looking up at her, as the use of his name probably desired, but he looks away before his response is too obvious, blinks it away before he's too compromised, at least, because she's right. She's totally right, and he's not sure how to admit it at first. As much as he couldn't handle her being alive, he far more couldn't handle h-- well. What Juliett is saying, even without saying it. He hates it, but. ]
Don't tell me. Whatever you do with her. [ Would it be terr- yeah. It would. He's not even going to. ] Just... [ God. She's not even here and he has a hard time talking. This is a theoretical and he has a hard time talking around the lump in his throat. ] Don't tell me. Afterward, the aftermath, if it's important. I can't break.
[ She feels as though there should be something more that she could do for him. He's breaking quietly and that- that is her trick. That's her set of issues that she needs to tend to. Even before he'd been Alpha he'd been stable enough- at least going back through the three years worth of data she had on him. This is new. This isn't anything she knows how to predict- but she knows what she'd wanted when she'd felt like she was about to fall from a clip.
Juliett slides her other arm around his shoulders and pulls him in close, resting her cheek on top of his head. It's a tense, uneasy thing for a moment before she relaxes enough to soften and mold herself into the hard spaces left by his body. Makes a comfort of herself in a strange way that she's not at all comfortable with or suited to- but he needs this. Athos, not Alpha, needs this from her. And as she's ripped these stitches open the least she can do is be the one to sew them closed. ]
You won't. You aren't. And if you do? I'll send you my slinky little Redhead to kiss you better.
Athos is not entirely accustomed to hugs anyway so for a few moments it's just odd on both sides, really. She is too tense and he much the same before they both seem to recognise that there's no need to be and relax at least as much as either of them is ever able to. Two hugs in five minutes, and another earlier from his pirate - he's rapidly maxing out on his quota of familiar touch for the week. Possibly longer.
He doesn't lean into her, because that would be too much, but he doesn't lean away from her either. Just takes a deep breath and exhales - huffs a little when she speaks again. ] I'm sure they'll be thrilled with such a task.
[ She's not certain what else she could do for him like this. An embrace worked well enough on it's own for Delta, for Golf, for Keith when they'd had need of it but Athos- she does and does not know him well. Can and cannot recall how he copes, how he learns to smile, what pulls him out of the pit best. All she can do is toss a rope down and see if he'll take it.
He seems to have. That's more than enough. Slim fingers reach up to brush his hair back and after a moment's hesitation, she brushes her lips against his forehead. ]
I'm certain she will be. You are quite handsome when you smile, little wolf.
[ Well he wouldn't be that useful if he couldn't set himself back to rights relatively quickly when it was necessary. Shore up his walls again, pull himself together and do up those laces. His posture shifts again, slightly, a little straighter than a few moments ago but still friendly to her.
Oh no, compliments. Kindness and compliments, and wow he totally shouldn't have lost the moment like that, like he just did in front of her. But they're swerving around that particular hair-pin, and he'll be fine, and so will she. It'll work. The comment does probably have the intended effect, making his slight amusement before a little deeper, coaxing a lift to one side of his mouth. She is so very good at people. If he were a more paranoid man, if he had the time or the energy, he might worry about that a little bit more. As it is - well she's hardly the only person around here skilled in that sort of thing. ] The food should be here any minute now.
Oh I don't know. Maybe if the Immune did swoon they'd be more agreeable.
[ There's a knock and she doesn't even pretend that the hand not on the knob isn't carrying a gun. It is. She pays and checks and grabs the food easily, wandering back to the table to set out a nice spread of food. Greasy, mundane, not terribly memorable. Mexican food and beer, dinner of champions. ]
I'd never get anything done if I had to constantly encounter or step over swooning people.
[ He's going to get up for the paper plates he promised you. Maybe top off their glasses. ] Did it cost like it was actual beef? If I'd known you were going to pay for it I might have sprung for something better, but we agreed on greasy. [ And he's made it over to the table where she was laying things out. ] Actually they might do a blend. Sixty-forty maybe? Which personally I think is worse somehow, so I'm going to forget I might have remembered that.
I don't know, Alpha, I manage to get all my work done around the swooning.
[ But that's her bit. Not so much his. She's accustomed to it, he never truly has been. ] Just about, yes. Surprisingly much for ground but It smells wonderful.
[ Then again anything smells good if you season it properly. Chairs? who needs them. Juliett settles on the floor by the coffee table and stretches out, leaning against the sofa where Alpha sits. Against his legs, even. ]
[ He's attempting to sit back with a half a paper plate of food while also trying to eat it because apparently he's impatient all of a sudden - he must have forgotten to eat before. Things have been so much busier lately, and they'll only become more so. It would be nice to have a Beta again. ] We've already established that I can't do your job to begin with, so I don't know how much that comparison counts for.
[ It's nice though, to return to this familiarity. They have an odd friendship, but it works. They don't call attention to the little things, only poke at the big ones when out of sorts or if it's necessary. Or by mistake. ]
I think I'd rather just eat it than contemplate its constituent parts at the moment. Can you pass me that one there?
Queso. I multitask just fine. It's comforting to know I could start practicing it further solely with the use of up to sixteen facial muscles though, so thank you.
[ Hopefully it's meat. Mostly meat. This is the life. ]
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Would you like me to find you some more responsibilities? You can have some of mine. Might give me some time to go out with the redhead. [ At some point he might make more headway on that one if he learned the girl's name, but. One step at a time. ]
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Or I could try to find Anne. That could be interesting.
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gonna pause for a second there and then casually
finish the rest of his drink, and then even more, sit up enough to grab the bottle and pour himself another. ]
She's dead. [ She has to be. ]
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[ for once she's not trying to be cruel about it. just this once. Carefully she sets her glass down and stretches enough to nudge him in the side with her toes. ]
I won't if you don't want me to.
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His posture is apologetic, despite this. He shouldn't be so transparent, not in front of her, in front of one of his callsigns, in front of anyone. He's Alpha. He's the face of too much to have such ridiculous problems as a probably-dead-ex-wife.
And he's fully aware he hasn't actually answered her yet - that his actions are probably an answer enough in and of itself, but still. He picks up his glass and sits back like he had been before. Mostly. If he looks a little more defeated then it's not really something he's up for fixing at the moment, Alpha be damned. ] I don't know. [ He sighs, because this reaction couldn't possibly be more theatrical anyway and he wasn't even trying. He's not theatrical by nature in the least. ] Do what you want. If she is alive, it would be better for us to know. [ Think of it strategically. Divide and progress. ] She's potentially too dangerous to leave otherwise.
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But no it's just uncertainty. Emotional exhaustion and that has her slumping against the sofa in silent relief, fingers going loose around the poisoned dart she'd pulled from her sleeve. Just idle, normal, human worries. That she understands.
Well no, she doesn't. But she's trained to handle it.]
I won't tell you if I have to kill her.
[ the closest thing to kindness she can manage at the moment. That and her sliding free from the sofa, silent and fluid, to stand next tho him. She hesitates before curing an awkward arm around his shoulders. ]
Alright?
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Well. Whatever this is. He doesn't actually shrug out of the weird hug, not even a little even if he thinks probably it's what he should do. Actually, he leans into it a little, before he realizes himself and pulls away. ] You should. [ He drinks again, but at least it's not enough to finish this glass too. It's close, but. The gesture - all of the ones she's just made - are appreciated, and somehow he conveys that in his tone even while he turns their comfort down. ] I should know.
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Maybe this is a little of what Romeo lived with? Maybe not. She'll never know.
What she does know is that with a few rare exceptions, she'll do what he asks, and do so gladly. If he truly wishes to know if she kills his wife for the safety of Sanctum? Then she will tell him in the most detached, clinical way possible if it ever comes to pass.
Her hand remains light on his shoulder, her cheek tucked against his hair for a moment longer before she pulls away. Normally when she finds these weak points it comes through careful study and a deliberate plan of attack.
Not like this. ]
As you wish.
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But out of all the callsigns... He supposes that means that she is doing her job, and he wipes at his face - not because it's necessarily necessary, but just because the act itself is helpful. Her response might be laughable, if he were the sort of person to do that sort of thing, but as it is.
He just takes a deep breath and lets it back out. He's been Athos for a little while, but he needs to be Alpha for the moment. He was supposed to shed one title for the other but it's just too difficult to do it all the time, and occasionally he's caught too much by surprise at the wrong angle, apparently. The Immune don't tend to do this to him, but still. He needs to shape up. ]
It's not - [ god. ] If she's been alive this whole time, I need to know what she's been doing. It's not just morbid curiosity or self-flagellation.
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[ His name, not his title, and that's something she's not supposed to do as a subordinate. Ever. But he's still young, still new to this for all that he remembers otherwise, and Anne's still a sore spot. There's no real way to explain what would happen if she actually found his wife.
None of it would be pleasant. It'd be better if she shot her as soon as she saw her. ]
You do not want to ask me to interrogate her. No matter what she was doing.
[ He knows her, to some degree. Knows how she works. Knows how she kills. What he may not know is how she cracks people open to pull out the secrets they'd die with otherwise. That's something precious few people have experienced and lived- and only after a rewipe. They'd been gibbering messes afterward.
If only she could forget as well. ]
I understand your reasons- but don't. Threats are to be eliminated. At least threats such as this.
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and
well, she's right. He was looking up at her, as the use of his name probably desired, but he looks away before his response is too obvious, blinks it away before he's too compromised, at least, because she's right. She's totally right, and he's not sure how to admit it at first. As much as he couldn't handle her being alive, he far more couldn't handle h-- well. What Juliett is saying, even without saying it. He hates it, but. ]
Don't tell me. Whatever you do with her. [ Would it be terr- yeah. It would. He's not even going to. ] Just... [ God. She's not even here and he has a hard time talking. This is a theoretical and he has a hard time talking around the lump in his throat. ] Don't tell me. Afterward, the aftermath, if it's important. I can't break.
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[ She feels as though there should be something more that she could do for him. He's breaking quietly and that- that is her trick. That's her set of issues that she needs to tend to. Even before he'd been Alpha he'd been stable enough- at least going back through the three years worth of data she had on him. This is new. This isn't anything she knows how to predict- but she knows what she'd wanted when she'd felt like she was about to fall from a clip.
Juliett slides her other arm around his shoulders and pulls him in close, resting her cheek on top of his head. It's a tense, uneasy thing for a moment before she relaxes enough to soften and mold herself into the hard spaces left by his body. Makes a comfort of herself in a strange way that she's not at all comfortable with or suited to- but he needs this. Athos, not Alpha, needs this from her. And as she's ripped these stitches open the least she can do is be the one to sew them closed. ]
You won't. You aren't. And if you do? I'll send you my slinky little Redhead to kiss you better.
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He just needs to not.
Athos is not entirely accustomed to hugs anyway so for a few moments it's just odd on both sides, really. She is too tense and he much the same before they both seem to recognise that there's no need to be and relax at least as much as either of them is ever able to. Two hugs in five minutes, and another earlier from his pirate - he's rapidly maxing out on his quota of familiar touch for the week. Possibly longer.
He doesn't lean into her, because that would be too much, but he doesn't lean away from her either. Just takes a deep breath and exhales - huffs a little when she speaks again. ] I'm sure they'll be thrilled with such a task.
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He seems to have. That's more than enough. Slim fingers reach up to brush his hair back and after a moment's hesitation, she brushes her lips against his forehead. ]
I'm certain she will be. You are quite handsome when you smile, little wolf.
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Oh no, compliments. Kindness and compliments, and wow he totally shouldn't have lost the moment like that, like he just did in front of her. But they're swerving around that particular hair-pin, and he'll be fine, and so will she. It'll work. The comment does probably have the intended effect, making his slight amusement before a little deeper, coaxing a lift to one side of his mouth. She is so very good at people. If he were a more paranoid man, if he had the time or the energy, he might worry about that a little bit more. As it is - well she's hardly the only person around here skilled in that sort of thing. ] The food should be here any minute now.
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[ He'll push her away for that but she laughs all the same, sliding out of not quite his lap and peering out the front for said delivery. ]
Honestly darling if you smiled at least once a day even I might start to swoon.
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It helps. ]
It's probably better for us all if I control myself then.
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[ There's a knock and she doesn't even pretend that the hand not on the knob isn't carrying a gun. It is. She pays and checks and grabs the food easily, wandering back to the table to set out a nice spread of food. Greasy, mundane, not terribly memorable. Mexican food and beer, dinner of champions. ]
Is this actual beef or vat beef?
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[ He's going to get up for the paper plates he promised you. Maybe top off their glasses. ] Did it cost like it was actual beef? If I'd known you were going to pay for it I might have sprung for something better, but we agreed on greasy. [ And he's made it over to the table where she was laying things out. ] Actually they might do a blend. Sixty-forty maybe? Which personally I think is worse somehow, so I'm going to forget I might have remembered that.
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[ But that's her bit. Not so much his. She's accustomed to it, he never truly has been. ] Just about, yes. Surprisingly much for ground but It smells wonderful.
[ Then again anything smells good if you season it properly. Chairs? who needs them. Juliett settles on the floor by the coffee table and stretches out, leaning against the sofa where Alpha sits. Against his legs, even. ]
It might be mostly meat.
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[ It's nice though, to return to this familiarity. They have an odd friendship, but it works. They don't call attention to the little things, only poke at the big ones when out of sorts or if it's necessary. Or by mistake. ]
I think I'd rather just eat it than contemplate its constituent parts at the moment. Can you pass me that one there?
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[ She lifts her glass to tap it against his in an abbreviated toast, sipping rum and stirring fat and beans and meat together with her fork.
At least she thinks it's meat. It might not be. ]
The Queso or the Pico?
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[ Hopefully it's meat. Mostly meat. This is the life. ]
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Baby steps, darling, baby steps...oh. I think there's some actual chicken in this too.
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You mean. Mixed with the beef or -
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oh i thought the reply to this had gone through before my laptop froze earlier oops
sawright
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