aubergines | ( #002 ) FAKE MARRIED AU

Sure thing.

[ He turns briefly, hand going to his ear. (When he was younger, he always thought that was kind of funny. A near universal sign for, "I have a high tech comm and I'm talking to someone."

What follows is a quick conversation of, with Peter repeatedly telling them how fucked up this place is. (They're turning 'em into Husks. I mean, what the fuck, right?) Eventually he gets to the point at hand and gives them coordinates for a rendezvous point. He turns back to Kasumi. ]

We'll need to meet 'em. Don't really fancy the idea of having the Milano land anywhere near this complex.

[ While he's chatting on the comm, she's totally making a show of how he's not getting to the point, tapping her foot and folding her arms and looking at the pretend watch on her wrist. Eventually her eye wanders over to the dead phantom at their feet and she does what the Kasumi would do and. Takes a souvenir. That being the phantom's blade.

By the time he's done, though, she's resumed her usual stance, hiding the blade behind her back like a child hiding something from her parent. ]

Oh, yeah, that sounds good.

[ He blinks and-- there's something weirdly stiff and guilty about her posture. ]

... What's wrong? [ And he sounds suspicious, and his eyes are narrowed, even if she can't see it. There's something about that stance that reminds him of when Drax or Rocket are smuggling one too many knives or grenades off the Milano and know Peter told them to do otherwise. ]

I can't tell if you're kidding or just kind of -- messing with me.

[maybe he did a minute ago, but now that she's still pushing it, he's uncertain, and he doesn't want to say or do anything that might make this awkward, if she is just kidding. but if she's serious ... maybe he could get behind that. maybe]

[ Kasumi? Guilty? Noooooo. You're totally imagining things! ]

Hm? Nothing's wrong.

[ She's not really making any effort to hide her cheekiness at stealing this phantom's blade. Probably because she's busy already imagining where on her shelves she's going to put it that most says, take that you Cerberus phonies, or if she's going to mount it on one of the walls... ]

Kasumi, seriously. What have you got behind your back?

[ She's just smiiiling as she holds her hands up like she's just been told to drop her weapons and put her hands up, except she's still totally holding the blade in one of her hands. ]

[ The look on his face is one that looks so unimpressed, made clear by the shake of his head and his heavy sigh. ]

Seriously, Goto? What, rocks aren't cuttin' it for you anymore?

[ She pouts at him, and it's probably the best pout to ever be pouted this side of the galaxy because she has to compensate for the fact that the upper half of her face is shadowed by her hood. ]

Can I keep it... pretty please?

[ ... Considering the intimidating way his eyes glow red with this mask on, his hard stares are usually amplified, like, a million times.

But-- the overwhelming power of that pout-- god damn you, Kasumi Goto. ]

Fine. But don't come cryin' to me when you accidentally skewer yourself on it.

[ Victory. ]

Quill, please. Remember who you're talking to.

[ Never mind the fact that she's now tossing the blade so that it's spinning a couple times in the air before she catches it--by the hilt of course--in her hand. Don't try this at home, kids. ]

[ He totally steps back when she does that, because he does not want to be stabbed today, thanks very much.

When she's done, though, he huffs a breath. ]

Show-off.

C'mon, let's head out. I don't want them thinking we got ourselves killed and try to take my ship.

A girl can have a little style now and then, can't she?

But yeah, let's blow this popsicle stand. I'm so done with Cerberus.

[ Fun stuff aside, Kasumi's itching to warn Shepard--or anyone, really--but especially Shep. What she doesn't know, though, is that her favorite commander is at the very same moment coming upon the same discoveries on Horizon. ]

[ ward lifts his hands, placating, palms open. like fitz is wounded in some way and likely to snap. ]

Hey, we're in this together right now.

[ he doesn't point out that he's done fitz a favor, is continuing to help him out. he's gonna let his actions speak for themselves, even if fitz won't trust him. he knows that if he just keeps acting like he used to, like agent grant ward, he can get it back. the admiration and respect, the position as a hero... he can get it all back. ]

Besides, you need access. If that goes green it's practically an all level's pass. Comms won't matter: you could just go straight to the team.

Yeah, but— [ ward's the one who said together, the reason things got so wildly misinterpreted, but that placating gesture still gets fitz to stop and listen. getting upset doesn't accomplish anything, anyway; it just makes words harder to come by.

so he calms down, if only just enough to stop throwing out petty accusations. placing blame isn't going to accomplish anything. it's certainly not going to get him out of this room, or in contact with the rest of the team.

the only thing that'll accomplish that is a green light, literally, and they've already established how to get it. he gives ward a steady look, too walled off and focused to convey anything more personal. ]

You think we should play along.

[ play along here meaning touch, but he leaves that up to inference. there's something testing in the inquiry, like he's asking what ward wants instead of what he thinks — wonders whether want ever had anything to do with any of it. ]

I do.

[ it's steady, direct, his eyes meeting fitz'. it's impossible to tell if there's something else underneath that earnest seriousness: the possibility of manipulation, maybe, of restoring fitz' faith in him simply by renewing what they were to each other. or perhaps at the core of this practicality is simple loneliness. he spent a long time in a shield cell. he's gone a long time without touching anyone. ]

It'd be faster and safer than crawling through the air vents.

[ he gestures back to the bathroom, though his gaze doesn't leave fitz. ]

[ safer. fitz seriously doubts that. he resists the urge to look away, but the way he watches ward is more akin to how someone would watch a dangerous animal, a threat — there's nothing open about it, nothing intentionally intimate.

faster's correct. the truth is that fitz can't think of any alternatives, doubts he'd have the gear or fine motor control to tamper with alien nanite technology if he even had a clue where to start. ]

Fine.

[ but he doesn't move. not right away, at least. it takes a few seconds to get up the nerve to do anything, and when he does all he does is offer his hand up, willingly this time. the gesture's still tense, running contrary to instinct. ]

[...it occurs to Wanda that he hasn't actually said anything to give her the impression he would be opposed to this. Wanda studies his face silently a moment. Her smile fades slightly, becoming something less teasing and something more sincere.]

Well, I was trying to get a reaction out of you the first time I said it, I admit to that, but it doesn't mean that I wasn't also telling the truth.

[ ward looks at fitz's hand for a beat before brushing their fingers together, and then lacing fitz' through his own. watching the glow shift orange. ]

You can touch me however you want.

[ it's embarrassingly broad permission. what he doesn't add is that he won't touch fitz anywhere without an invitation, won't push like that. that's not really anything new: ward's continual obedience may have been tainted by the revelation of where his loyalties lay, but that doesn't make it any less real. ]

Whatever it takes.

[It's supposed to be a quick job. Grab a thing, head to the buyer, get some units, and go out to eat. Oh and stop anyone evil along the way. It's a nice balance between duty and trying not to starve to death. The trouble is they stick out like a sore thumb as a group. It's down to her and Peter to finish this... as a married couple.

She'd be more upset if she didn't see the logic in it. Drax is too honest, Groot and Rocket are half the reason they can't blend in, and people will draw the conclusion anyways upon seeing them. They may as well roll with it.]

Try to keep up, beloved.

[ it sounds sincere, embarrassingly honest. enough to cause his heartbeat to catch slightly, make it more difficult to hold ward's gaze.

he still can't trust it. if ward wants to play loyal, like he's suddenly still part of the team or a decent friend, fitz doesn't want to put stock in any part of it. that doesn't make it any less useful.

still, easier said than done. his gaze finally drops to their hands, and he tightens his grip when he realizes his is trembling slightly, isn't entirely sure if it's because of ward or... well, because of ward. the next step's obvious. more touching. maybe even just holding hands, except the idea of it's ridiculous, too innocent and tender to have any place in this. he spends enough time being treated like he could break, feeling like he's about to; this is only control in the most fucked up definition, but he's still desperate enough to take it.

when he looks back up, the anger's there, just at the edge of his voice. ] Kiss me.

[ Even if it's not hard, he still lets out a high-pitched, Hey! and sucks in a breath between his teeth.

As the guards are talking among themselves, low and concerned and above all suspicious (though it seems they're more concerned about the human thing than the couple thing), Peter grimaces at her. ]

I coulda sworn you nearly broke my foot, there.

[ there's a frisson of electricity down his spine at the contradiction between fitz' command and the look in his eyes. there's still so much hate in there, blame and fury and pain. and ward wants to respond to those edges with edges of his own, but that won't get them anywhere. ]

[ he touches fitz' face, first, just clinically, to tip his chin up, angling his mouth where ward wants it. he lets go after, hand hovering short of touching as he leans down and obeys orders. ]

[ it's gentle and not at a all chaste. he remembers how to do this, fit his mouth to fitz' just so, damp lips and a brush of his tongue, the promise of more and deeper, of ward's mouth however he wants it. ]

[ he hates the way this is getting to him, how his heart pounds when she calls him 'beloved' and how he's absolutely positive she can hear it. but he does lengthen his stride, swallowing his fears and telling himself it's for the objective when he grabs onto her hand. it's softer than he remembers and he doesn't have to fake the way his thumb immediately strokes over the back of it with affection. ] I have a long torso, dearest. Whereas your legs...

[ god why is he talking about her legs, now he's looking at them. he has to clear his throat and face forward again, shaking his head and finishing the statement meekly. ] Go on forever.

[ peter lets out a little breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding onto and does a better job of cellotaping himself to her side. it's a mixture of relief and quiet panic whenever they get near each other, and lately it's been happening more and more. ]

So, you kind of want to ...

[actually share the bathtub. which, again, he could maybe get behind that, but he wants to make sure that's what she means. he's still terrified that this might get real awkward, real quick if he just assumes anything. and he offers her an apologetic look for that, for leading them around in circles, conversationally, but ... he needs to know]

( #002 ) FAKE MARRIED AU

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pats ward on the head

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wasn't this fake married what happened here

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we have failed at the meme that's what.

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