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[ yeah, he does drop everything for this, shoving his blazer in his bag and braving the sweltering subway (wah wah). hafid doesn't seem like the kind of guy who pauses for long, or lets someone into his life but for small windows of opportunity.
as promised, fitz will round the exit of the stop that faces the river and hope to see damian there, stark against the waterline. ]
Hey. [ a calm opener, waiting to see how damian acts. ] Didn't mean to shoot you down at first, so I'm glad you've got time to chat.
as promised, fitz will round the exit of the stop that faces the river and hope to see damian there, stark against the waterline. ]
Hey. [ a calm opener, waiting to see how damian acts. ] Didn't mean to shoot you down at first, so I'm glad you've got time to chat.
[ Damian shoots him a glare.
He didn't expect things to go so sour so fast - but that's what you get when you lead everything with venom and rage. Bruce is here. It was going to happen anyway. They were always going to fall to Bruce's side, that's what they did. Falling into step behind him. They were going to focus on the right and wrong of it and not the immediate threat it posed to everyone.
His arms are crossed tight. Clenching so hard his knuckles are white underneath his gloves. ]
There's nothing else to discuss. I offered the most practical solution and they blew a gasket.
He didn't expect things to go so sour so fast - but that's what you get when you lead everything with venom and rage. Bruce is here. It was going to happen anyway. They were always going to fall to Bruce's side, that's what they did. Falling into step behind him. They were going to focus on the right and wrong of it and not the immediate threat it posed to everyone.
His arms are crossed tight. Clenching so hard his knuckles are white underneath his gloves. ]
There's nothing else to discuss. I offered the most practical solution and they blew a gasket.
[ Okay, so they're walking and talking at a rather quick pace, and Damian's got some height on him, sure, but he can keep up. He drags a hand across his jaw, forcibly keeping his features even. ]
It's an option that merits consideration. [ so measured. he does believe that. ] But people are afraid right now.
[ and upset, for more than the obvious reasons, perhaps. ]
It's an option that merits consideration. [ so measured. he does believe that. ] But people are afraid right now.
[ and upset, for more than the obvious reasons, perhaps. ]
It seems like you have a lot on your mind. [ a shrug. then, in short explanation, ticking off the reasons with a rhythmic wave of his hand. ] You're an asset to the cause, and I care what you think, so. I'm here. 'Course you can send me away, if you like.
[ which means i think you're dealing with a lot, and i didn't want you to be alone without the weighty connotations. he wouldn't be surprised if the offer is shoved away, even though he spins it in largely neutral terms.
a blink, as he opens his neural interface to clear out his afternoon meetings. ]
But I did just wipe my schedule, so I hope we can find something better to do than spin our wheels on that bloody post with the rest of them.
[ which means i think you're dealing with a lot, and i didn't want you to be alone without the weighty connotations. he wouldn't be surprised if the offer is shoved away, even though he spins it in largely neutral terms.
a blink, as he opens his neural interface to clear out his afternoon meetings. ]
But I did just wipe my schedule, so I hope we can find something better to do than spin our wheels on that bloody post with the rest of them.
Edited 2019-01-11 01:16 (UTC)
[ He does. And he is. He feels lost. When he had Kal-El to fall back on things were easier. He always had someone to direct all the anger, someone to help him channel it into making the world a far better place. He doesn't know what to do, not with Bruce here, not without a tempering influence on the other side who he knows won't drop him to return to Bruce's fold. ]
I... [ he starts, stops. shuts his mouth and then just keeps moving. ]
They don't know what they're talking about.
I... [ he starts, stops. shuts his mouth and then just keeps moving. ]
They don't know what they're talking about.
[ the hesitation is new. worrying. ]
They don't. [ it comes quick, firm. ]
[ no one does, but nebulous "they," it is. fitz wonders if he means his brothers' very public attempts at wrangling him, specifically. ]
My friends, they — I'm further ahead of them in the timeline, and I've changed in ways that they don't understand. Ways that scare them, too. [ or should. ] Maybe it's like that for you.
[ a different man from different circumstances, changed where they couldn't see. with he and dick acknowledging they're not the right brothers for each other, it seems safe to bet on the multiverse playing pic 'n mix with spacetime ]
They don't. [ it comes quick, firm. ]
[ no one does, but nebulous "they," it is. fitz wonders if he means his brothers' very public attempts at wrangling him, specifically. ]
My friends, they — I'm further ahead of them in the timeline, and I've changed in ways that they don't understand. Ways that scare them, too. [ or should. ] Maybe it's like that for you.
[ a different man from different circumstances, changed where they couldn't see. with he and dick acknowledging they're not the right brothers for each other, it seems safe to bet on the multiverse playing pic 'n mix with spacetime ]
Edited 2019-01-11 01:44 (UTC)
[ Damian doesn't say anything for a long moment, staring ahead as they walk. ]
A psycho dropped a bomb on one of the biggest cities in my world. It wasn't his first offense - he killed some other people I knew. Crippled others. This was just the latest thing. He nuked it cold after making a man kill his pregnant wife. Killed eight million people, and probably another million more with radiation sickness. I could've killed him ten times over at any time, but I stayed my hand because I lived by someone else's moral code.
Some people are better off dead. Some people are too dangerous to be on the streets.
A psycho dropped a bomb on one of the biggest cities in my world. It wasn't his first offense - he killed some other people I knew. Crippled others. This was just the latest thing. He nuked it cold after making a man kill his pregnant wife. Killed eight million people, and probably another million more with radiation sickness. I could've killed him ten times over at any time, but I stayed my hand because I lived by someone else's moral code.
Some people are better off dead. Some people are too dangerous to be on the streets.
[ Jesus Christ.
He listens and waits, eyes widening as Damian goes on. It's a scale of horror he's only familiar with in history, as his own sins were enacted on a more intimate level, and his trials and traumas were encountered on SHIELD's missions, with the team at his back. Sometimes you lose, sometimes people die, but — eight million and then some, that's an impossible weight on Damian's shoulders, like to tip him over. The admission deserves an extended pause to acknowledge the sheer vastness of it.
As he searches for the words to respond, he recalls the sight of Ward's chest caving inward, crushed beneath the weight of Coulson's palm. He deserved that, and Fitz should have choked the life out of him when he had the chance. If he did, no one else would have died (Bobbi wouldn't have been captured; Jemma wouldn't have been tortured; and on and on). ]
Some people are better off dead. [ Echoed back, soft but firm in his shared conviction. he lifts his hand, hovering over Damian's shoulder so he can see it in his periphery and dodge the touch, if he chooses. If he doesn't, there's a faint brush, testing, before Fitz settles into a reassuring grip. Otherwise, he'll drop the hand without comment. ]
I can't understand how that weighs on you — but know this. We'll do what needs to be done, Hafid. [ if it needs to be done, they remove the threat. that's not just his own policy; that's SHIELD. ] And we won't let it get that far here, I promise. [ a beat. ] Don't look back.
[ The now is a new world. ]
He listens and waits, eyes widening as Damian goes on. It's a scale of horror he's only familiar with in history, as his own sins were enacted on a more intimate level, and his trials and traumas were encountered on SHIELD's missions, with the team at his back. Sometimes you lose, sometimes people die, but — eight million and then some, that's an impossible weight on Damian's shoulders, like to tip him over. The admission deserves an extended pause to acknowledge the sheer vastness of it.
As he searches for the words to respond, he recalls the sight of Ward's chest caving inward, crushed beneath the weight of Coulson's palm. He deserved that, and Fitz should have choked the life out of him when he had the chance. If he did, no one else would have died (Bobbi wouldn't have been captured; Jemma wouldn't have been tortured; and on and on). ]
Some people are better off dead. [ Echoed back, soft but firm in his shared conviction. he lifts his hand, hovering over Damian's shoulder so he can see it in his periphery and dodge the touch, if he chooses. If he doesn't, there's a faint brush, testing, before Fitz settles into a reassuring grip. Otherwise, he'll drop the hand without comment. ]
I can't understand how that weighs on you — but know this. We'll do what needs to be done, Hafid. [ if it needs to be done, they remove the threat. that's not just his own policy; that's SHIELD. ] And we won't let it get that far here, I promise. [ a beat. ] Don't look back.
[ The now is a new world. ]
Edited (weeps nitpicks) 2019-01-11 02:34 (UTC)
[ He lets the touch fall. Tries to ignore how desperately, hopelessly needed it was. The affirmation that he's not wrong, he's not crazy even if they think he is. He glances to the hand and then away, shrugging it off after a moment.
Remember Metropolis had been a mantra for so long that sometimes he forgets there was a time before it... no. No that wasn't exactly true. He'd forgotten a little, while he was here with his brothers. When he had dinner with Noctis, or baked with Prompto. When he sparred with Connor. It had lingered in the back of his mind, but it hadn't been in the forefront. For a while, he had existed outside of the bodies and the ever-present stranglehold that the past had on him. ]
Can you handle being hated, Fitz?
Remember Metropolis had been a mantra for so long that sometimes he forgets there was a time before it... no. No that wasn't exactly true. He'd forgotten a little, while he was here with his brothers. When he had dinner with Noctis, or baked with Prompto. When he sparred with Connor. It had lingered in the back of his mind, but it hadn't been in the forefront. For a while, he had existed outside of the bodies and the ever-present stranglehold that the past had on him. ]
Can you handle being hated, Fitz?
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