goneawaycomms | Agent North

[ He is a bit surprised, but he accepts and returns the hug without complaint. ]

Yeah, I cornered it. In my defense, I didn't expect it to be hiding an actual sword in its innards. And I did have some people to help.

[ She isn't being at all careful about his burns at first, but at the first sign of any pain she'll adjust her hold even if she doesn't let go. ]

Even if it didn't have a sword it's a literal fucking shapeshifter we know nothing about! You have no idea what it could have done and I don't know if you've fucking noticed, but we don't have our stupid armour, just shitty fucking jumpsuits, so you're just a big, lumbering, fleshy fucking target! [ She pulls back just enough to look him in the face ] And you cornered it in a tiny straight-shot room.

[ Obviously he knows this, but that doesn't mean she's not going to drive it home. ]

[ North has a ghost a smile on his face, just a slight upturn at the corners of his lips. He does have a bit of pain from her pressing against the burns, but not enough to complain about. ]

I didn't know that I had the luxury of time when it happened. You know? It could have switched targets and disposed of yet another person before we noticed if I didn't confront it.

[ Try as she might she doesn't actually have an argument against that, so she just huffs and squeezes tight. ]

...you being right doesn't make you any less of a fucking idiot. Did you even think to pick up at least something you could use to defend yourself, huh? What if no one had come to help your dumb ass before it fucking did something?

[ He does wince a little at that. He still doesn't remark about being in pain, though. ]

I went by the broom closet first but would you believe I couldn't find a broom?

A fucking—? [ she groans and actually laughs, just for a second, face against his shoulder ] In this place? Yeah I can believe it. Fucking hell, Drew.

[ She releases the hug but keeps her hands on his shoulders. ]

But— I'm fuckin' serious. You could've been hurt way worse than some pissy little burns that your stupid boyfriend can help you with. Way worse. Sword or no fucking sword and even with a fucking broom.

[ He chuckles at that and pats her arm for a moment. ]

Sorry, Sis, I just found the necessity of protecting people around here outweighed my self-preservation instinct.

Yeah yeah, you're a real fuckin' selfless idiot, I get it, but I'm not and— [ she huffs, lowers her voice, casts her eyes to the side ] —I don't want you to fucking die again. There's no fucking take-backs this time.

[ It's more open than she might have been in the past, but they both promised to make the effort so she's trying. ]

[ He reaches up and gives her a quick ruffle of her hair. ]

I don't intend to die here, no matter what. You know there's a guy who knows how to get us home to make a new timeline where we can fix things?

[ She pulls a face and bats at his hand lazily— and then he says that and she just... stares. Blinks. ]

...there's a what now?

Someone who knows the principles of time travel or whatever. Problem is you have to be careful how you try to correct the multiverse, because you don't want to create a paradox.

[ More dumbfounded blinking. ]

Where the fuck did you hear this?

Wash told me.

[ Yup, he's on speaking terms with Wash, despite him having killed her back where they came from. ]

He kind of has some elaborate ideas about us faking our deaths when they're slated to actually happen, so we don't mess up everyone else's idea about us being dead.

I... hold on a second. What the fuck.

[ She sits herself down on the edge of one of the beds and rubs her face, processing the information he's just dumped at her feet. ]

Okay, first-of-fucking-all— you know he claims he fucking killed me, right? I'd be faking him killing me, apparently, in that grand fucking plan, and second, what. the fuck. I— so, what, I wouldn't even get to fucking chose to not do... what I did, you'd just have to fake it?

Yeah, details haven't been sorted out. It's kind of all completely hypothetical at this point anyway.

[ He shrugs. ]

I'm not really counting on it. We'd have to somehow upend Jorg and take over, before anything like that could possibly happen. I'm just living for now.

Right, living by getting into potentially deadly fights.

[ She groans, leans back until her head thunks the wall. She immediately regrets that and sits back up, rubbing her head. ]

Whatever. If that happens, it's not like I'm gonna say no to not getting a bullet in the face. But I'm not gonna rely on something so batshit either, let alone when it came out of Washington's mouth. I can't fucking believe—

[ —that he's still talking to Washington, knowing that. Only, she can, and even she'd feel like a hypocrite for finishing that sentence when North's still talking to her when she all but killed him. ]

I believe him. Or at least, I believe he believes it.

[ Obviously not what she meant, but she doesn't rush to correct it. ]

Yeah, whatever. We'll see. I'll believe it when I fuckin' see it. Until then...

[ She sighs. ]

Be fucking careful, Drew, I mean it. I know this is rich as fuck coming from me, but one of us is supposed to be the fucking sane one, we don't need both of us doing reckless shit. Especially when we're not always able to watch each other's backs.

[ He shakes his head slightly and sighs. She knows he doesn't back down from certain things. ]

Yeah. I'll do my best.

Your best better be damn fucking good. You can help people without putting yourself at risk of dying, Drew, that's... all I'm fuckin' asking. And you know I don't usually ask fuckshit of you.

[ There's that hint of vulnerability in her eyes, like when they talked before. She doesn't know if she could take him dying again. Once was hard enough, even if it was her own fault, even if she pretended it didn't bother her until recently. ]

[ He turns his head to look more directly at her. ]

You don't. So I'll remember.

...thanks. Love you, Drew. You pain in the ass.

[ She reaches up to lightly punch him in the arm. ]

I'm not fuckin' helping you put any shit on those damn burns if you have to, by the way. You can fuck off to York's for that shit.

[ She caught enough whilst waiting to come in to yell at him to use that as teasing ammunition, trying to alleviate the serious tone she's still not used to. ]

[ He laughs. ]

I think he'd be a lot more gentle with them than you would be anyway.

He's a pretty good nurse, honestly.

Oh yeah?

[ It takes some real restraint not to take that opening for a 'playing doctors and nurses' jab. It's right on the tip of her tongue before she stops herself and settles for a subtler, dry: ]

Is it the bedside manner or the lockpick's hands?

[ He can't help laughing again. ]

Little of both, I think. But yeah. I'll go to him for treatments. I'm supposed to put this on like four times a day.

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