[ and even if he weren't concerned about her or pleased that she's willing to share details with him (that others can trust fitz as he is now, no longer just an earnest engineer, matters to him more than he can say), the tidbit about having to be invited into buildings is worth it. by now, he knows she bit into poe dameron, too.
something to be addressed at a later time. fitz has to help her, first. already decided that was the priority. ]
I'll walk with you. And invite you in. [ calm and firm, emboldened by how she asks him directly. ] If you don't have a jacket, you can borrow mine. [ he'd woken up with it on his lap, as if he'd fallen asleep beside peggy carter while using it as a blanket. ] Could nick the rest, if needs be.
[ that she demurs his other offer surprises him, after his experience in the dream, but he simply regards her with the same knit features as before, more pensive than anything else. ]
I don't know how much privacy we'll get with PRESERVE, or how long our briefing will last once we're there. It'll be easy enough to pair off for work after that, but if you can't leave the dorms until nightfall...
[ the train's not much better, in truth, with all roads leading to them sneaking off to the loo or somewhere equally suspicious. ]
Suppose I'll come find you in the last hour of the journey, anyway. See how you're getting on, and we can make a call from there.
Okay. [ it's that simple. a weight off her shoulders, a crisis seemingly magically resolved by his own certainty and assured willingness to help her. he'll give her his jacket — not permanently, not the way malone had shrugged his own off his shoulders and draped it over hers, but for the time being — and he'll invite her in, he'll make sure she gets from point a to point b without bursting into flames.
it's more than caroline honestly thinks she deserves, especially after she'd been so aggressive in the dream they'd shared, practically demanding he let her tap his veins in the process. sure, she'd taken care of him afterwards, but she wouldn't have had to if she'd had better control.
guilt, insecurity, nerves — they threaten to capsize her, and for a moment, caroline only looks down at her hands, gently wringing together in her lap. ]
Are you just helping me because you're afraid of me?
[ she doesn't know what the answer is, but part of her knows what she hopes it's not. ]
[ Partially, yes, because he's afraid of what she'll do to him or others. 'Cause he doesn't know if he has a choice (no matter how unsure she seems now, he won't forget her behaviour in the dream). It's the smart move, too. A variable is more dangerous if left unattended. And if she burns in broad daylight, they're all made.
It's also the right thing to do, as an agent of SHIELD and Morningstar.
Ultimately, Fitz thinks too much for his reasoning to be condensed to a single factor. ]
No. [ a beat. ] Does it matter if I'm afraid of you?
[ but he is. he should be, because fear is a logical response to a monster, but caroline doesn't want fear to underline every interaction they have. maybe that's the difference between dreams and reality — awake, caroline remembers that it's not quite as dire as she'd felt in the dreams, not quite so desperate for a live body to snack on as she had felt then. awake, she remembers her own self-control, the tools she has at her disposal.
she takes a sip of her drink, and holds the bourbon in her mouth for a moment to savor the burn. ]
I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anybody.
[ he tips his glass, watching the last of the liquid shift, before his eyes flash back to her. she'd said something similar in the dream — after she'd sunk her teeth in him and compelled him to let her feed.
after all this time, fitz is still fitz, so. ]
Then don't.
[ it's the same thing he said to ophelia. choose not to hurt anyone. choose love, not fear. choose empathy. ]
[ a bit of an extravagant promise when your physiology literally demands the sacrifice of human blood to continue on, but she means it. if there's any way to avoid hurting leo fitz, caroline will find it. even if it means sacrificing her own comfort in the process. he deserves that much.
he drains his drink, and she follows suit; the two empty glasses are then pushed aside, neatly stacked on the edge of their table as a signal to be swept away by whatever barkeep employ might do the task, and in the empty space they leave, caroline sets her hands, palms flat. ]
Do you want to meet me in the sleeping car, then? Before we get there?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
something to be addressed at a later time. fitz has to help her, first. already decided that was the priority. ]
I'll walk with you. And invite you in. [ calm and firm, emboldened by how she asks him directly. ] If you don't have a jacket, you can borrow mine. [ he'd woken up with it on his lap, as if he'd fallen asleep beside peggy carter while using it as a blanket. ] Could nick the rest, if needs be.
[ that she demurs his other offer surprises him, after his experience in the dream, but he simply regards her with the same knit features as before, more pensive than anything else. ]
I don't know how much privacy we'll get with PRESERVE, or how long our briefing will last once we're there. It'll be easy enough to pair off for work after that, but if you can't leave the dorms until nightfall...
[ the train's not much better, in truth, with all roads leading to them sneaking off to the loo or somewhere equally suspicious. ]
Suppose I'll come find you in the last hour of the journey, anyway. See how you're getting on, and we can make a call from there.
no subject
it's more than caroline honestly thinks she deserves, especially after she'd been so aggressive in the dream they'd shared, practically demanding he let her tap his veins in the process. sure, she'd taken care of him afterwards, but she wouldn't have had to if she'd had better control.
guilt, insecurity, nerves — they threaten to capsize her, and for a moment, caroline only looks down at her hands, gently wringing together in her lap. ]
Are you just helping me because you're afraid of me?
[ she doesn't know what the answer is, but part of her knows what she hopes it's not. ]
no subject
It's also the right thing to do, as an agent of SHIELD and Morningstar.
Ultimately, Fitz thinks too much for his reasoning to be condensed to a single factor. ]
No. [ a beat. ] Does it matter if I'm afraid of you?
no subject
[ but he is. he should be, because fear is a logical response to a monster, but caroline doesn't want fear to underline every interaction they have. maybe that's the difference between dreams and reality — awake, caroline remembers that it's not quite as dire as she'd felt in the dreams, not quite so desperate for a live body to snack on as she had felt then. awake, she remembers her own self-control, the tools she has at her disposal.
she takes a sip of her drink, and holds the bourbon in her mouth for a moment to savor the burn. ]
I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anybody.
no subject
after all this time, fitz is still fitz, so. ]
Then don't.
[ it's the same thing he said to ophelia. choose not to hurt anyone. choose love, not fear. choose empathy. ]
And I won't be.
[ second chances are very in right now. ]
no subject
[ a bit of an extravagant promise when your physiology literally demands the sacrifice of human blood to continue on, but she means it. if there's any way to avoid hurting leo fitz, caroline will find it. even if it means sacrificing her own comfort in the process. he deserves that much.
he drains his drink, and she follows suit; the two empty glasses are then pushed aside, neatly stacked on the edge of their table as a signal to be swept away by whatever barkeep employ might do the task, and in the empty space they leave, caroline sets her hands, palms flat. ]
Do you want to meet me in the sleeping car, then? Before we get there?
no subject
[ a little nod, then, accepting (if not yet fully trusting) her promise. it's enough for now — has to be. ]
Yeah. [ he stands. ] See you in a bit, Caroline.