[ 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. ]
I think I know what's going to be eaten last. I don't remember ordering shrimp enchiladas. [ Why would he have ordered shrimp enchiladas? Aren't those normally made with chicken? ] Does this redhead of yours have a name?
I think you get them if you order a certain amount of food. [ The chicken? Is good. Really good. ] Mm. If I just tell you her name it's no fun, darling, you need to guess. She's petite, though. Competent. Has a bit of an outsiders perspective on my business. And I think she was a gymnast for a short while.
That's an interesting group of modifiers. You've mentioned the gymnast thing before. [ He continues eating for a little while though, considering his way through. ] Jessica?
Jessica got married last month, darling, and she was a dancer, not a gymnast. Also had a terrible mind for numbers. [ But she was pretty and poured drinks well, and that's all that the casino needs. ]
That was either a quiet wedding or I was much busier last month than I thought I was. [ Another pause while he eats and thinks. He's almost finished with this burrito, and apparently the chicken is good so he'll try that next. ] Does that one with the tulip-looking tattoo still work for you?
Terribly small, and you were terribly busy. [ She snorts a little and has another sip of rum, stealing a chip of queso from him. Greasy and Mundane was a good call. ] Sarah? Yes, she's the pit boss for holographic blackjack. Also not who I'm talking about.
No, I didn't think she was, I just - remembered her. [ He doesn't even know why, to be honest. She just stuck in his mind somehow. Probably because he was puzzling over whether the tattoo really was a tulip or not, and it's strange how things will make you notice certain people over others. He continues considering. ] Is she a bartender?
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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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[ She may or may not have hit that herself, once upon a time, prior to hiring her. ]
Mmm...no.
oh i thought the reply to this had gone through before my laptop froze earlier oops
sawright
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