You - he didn't. [ bobbi doesn't hide how her gaze sharpens a little, the curiosity in the turn of her head. she lies with her body, with her expression as much as she lies with her words - more, sometimes. he deserves to see at least a fraction of what it means that she's bobbi morse, shield agent, not katelin philips, civilian scientist. ]
I know about your blood. [ because he'd told her. ] And that you had some power before.
People are like that, sometimes. Give them something they don't know, something they don't understand and they lash out. Us versus them. Most of the time, the boundaries of that are arbitrary.
[ she offers a smile, tinged with a hint of sadness, a hint of anger at the world. ]
For what it's worth, I don't care. I care about what someone does, whether they hurt others, not what they can do or what they are.
[ they're pretty words, but there's conviction behind them and bobbi reaches out for his hand again, both to offer a measure of comfort and because she wants him to know that she means it. the empathy bond'll help with that. ]
Yeah. [ and sometimes those people included those who were supposed to love you and support you no matter what. sometimes those people looked at you like you were the worst thing to ever happen to them too. he doesn't go that deep into his past though. just blows out a breath and smiles a little when her fingers curl around his.
the bond sparks to life and he's able to feel that she means it, that she's not just saying words she thinks she wants him to hear. ]
I got lucky. If you look at me, you can't really tell. I know people who had a harder time because their mutations were pretty obvious. Hard to go out in public so they either hid themselves behind makeup and masks or just hid.
I'm not aware of anything like mutants in my world - at least not yet. I've heard from others from my world's future here that I'll come in contact with Inhumans, though. People who have genetic mutations due to alien experimentation on their ancestors. They can develop superhuman abilities because if those genetic mutations are triggered.
[ sound familiar? ]
I'm good friends with at least one of them.
[ actually with daisy, who's here, but while bobbi doesn't think daisy being an inhuman is a secret, it isn't really her story to tell. especially given that she doesn't remember any of it because it hasn't happened for her yet.
of course, daisy is no less inhuman now than she was before coming here and they're still close, so what difference does it make? ]
I don't know what to say other than that I'm sorry. [ but she can listen. maybe squeeze his hand again in a silent show of comfort. ]
Sounds similar. Similar enough that I'm sure they probably went through some of the same crap we do. You learn to live with it which is...terrible but unavoidable unless you do wanna go to ground. Which some people do.
[ and then it was their job to support those that couldn't support themselves. it was one of the things he missed about home, being able to help in that way. the squeeze of his hand keeps him from getting too far down that rabbit hole and he exhales. ]
No need to be sorry. You didn't do anything. I appreciate it but don't worry about it. I've gotten used to it. [ unfortunately. ] Anyway, I'm making this about me and it's not. I appreciate you being honest about things. You didn't have to but I appreciate that you trusted me enough.
I don't mind. [ another quick squeeze of his hand. she doesn't offer any more sympathies than she already has, but the sentiment is there, flowing through the bond. there's some anger, too, not directed at him but at the injustice of it, although she tries to keep that contained. ]
I may have had an ulterior motive in telling you.
[ her lips quirk up a little. ]
You need a place, I need new roommates - but you mentioned not wanting to endanger anyone. [ a shrug. ] I can take care of myself.
[ he's not going to lie, he'd like to be somewhere stable. bouncing around from the safehouse to jyn's place and then adding in a brothel just to keep out of sight was kind of exhausting. it'd be nice to live in one place. still... ]
Are you sure? [ it's not so much doubt for her abilities but he remembers all too vividly how dangerous the men who'd grabbed him were. and while a lot of them were dead, there were still more where that came from. ]
I appreciate the offer and really, I'd like to get in a place where I'm not constantly moving but I don't want you to say that if you're not sure.
[ and she is. through the bond, he'll be able to feel her certainty, her confidence in her own abilities. it's steady, not the kind of confidence of an overblown ego but the kind of confidence that comes with experience, with being tested and finding herself capable of rising to the challenge time and again, with knowing her own strength and ability inside and out. ]
I want roommates I trust and that I'm not constantly lying to.
[ it's easy to feel the confidence she has in herself and her ability to deal with whatever trouble he might bring to her door because of all this. he hopes that it won't happen but she deserved to know and decide for herself.
and it seems that she has with what he's getting from her. he bows his head, thankful, and gives her hand an answering squeeze, letting his own feelings of gratitude and appreciation slide over. ]
I've heard of him. We haven't met personally.
[ but he's seen the name on the network, at least. ]
He the other guy you're thinking of asking? Or you've already asked?
[ kidding kidding. he's house trained and he's good at not leaving the seat up unless he's exhausted or drunk. but he was trying to make those less of an occurrence these days. ]
I'll see if I can't track him down. I've been laying pretty low since everything went down just in case. No need to drag my baggage and drop it at some unsuspecting person's feet. Seems like a bad first impression to make.
Some people would argue that I am just as bad as I say I am.
[ none of those people were here so guess it was his word against hers or something. ]
However you wanna work it is fine with me. I just appreciate the offer. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do when I realized that going back to the safehouse was a no go.
[ not that her apartment was some oversized mansion or anything. but still, a tour sounded like a good idea especially if he was actually going to pull the trigger on this move. ]
I wouldn't wanna move out of a place this nice too. Don't get me wrong, the places people have offered me while I've been kind of getting myself back together have been nice but it'd be nice to just be in one place.
[ bobbi takes another sip of her wine before getting up, taking the glass with her but letting go of marcos' hand in the process. she turns to him, walking a few steps backward. ]
I haven't packed up all Fitz's stuff yet, but this is one of the free bedrooms. [ a door opens to a bedroom that also doubles as a workspace. it's spacious enough. the entire apartment is, really, at least for the prices of new amsterdam real estate.
it doesn't compare to the apartment daisy and jyn have, but it's all right.
bobbi shows him the other free bedroom (currently storage and two desks), the bathroom, her bedroom. ]
I can help you do that, if you want. [ he's made some headway on a new job but he hasn't started just yet so he still has some time that he's mostly been spending moping around.
this would probably be better. ]
Nicest apartment I've ever been invited to share. [ west lake hadn't been bad at all but there were some pretty nasty memories clinging to that place. ] I'll keep it neat and tidy, I promise.
[ it'd be a favor to him to give him something to distract his mind and he'd feel like he was helping her out when she was going above and beyond to help him out and there was no real way to show appreciation except be on his best behavior. ]
I promise, I'm not as bad as I'm making myself sound. I've lived on my own before, I know how to keep things in good working order. My best friend's a former marine. He'd never talk to me if I was a slob.
[ it's a win-win situation. bobbi likes those, even if she doesn't like that fitz is gone. still, peter and marcos will be good roommates, she thinks. they won't replace fitz, can't - that had been too close a friendship.
they don't have to replace him. it can be something new. ]
Well, if you've got a marine's stamp of approval... [ another quick flash of a grin before bobbi leads them back to the living room and the couch. ]
How about we tackle Fitz's stuff the day after tomorrow?
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I know about your blood. [ because he'd told her. ] And that you had some power before.
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[ got the fancy codename and everything. but god, he hates that codename. ]
It's a genetic thing. I've got something called an X gene that made me...well, this. And people don't always take kindly to this.
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[ she offers a smile, tinged with a hint of sadness, a hint of anger at the world. ]
For what it's worth, I don't care. I care about what someone does, whether they hurt others, not what they can do or what they are.
[ they're pretty words, but there's conviction behind them and bobbi reaches out for his hand again, both to offer a measure of comfort and because she wants him to know that she means it. the empathy bond'll help with that. ]
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the bond sparks to life and he's able to feel that she means it, that she's not just saying words she thinks she wants him to hear. ]
I got lucky. If you look at me, you can't really tell. I know people who had a harder time because their mutations were pretty obvious. Hard to go out in public so they either hid themselves behind makeup and masks or just hid.
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[ sound familiar? ]
I'm good friends with at least one of them.
[ actually with daisy, who's here, but while bobbi doesn't think daisy being an inhuman is a secret, it isn't really her story to tell. especially given that she doesn't remember any of it because it hasn't happened for her yet.
of course, daisy is no less inhuman now than she was before coming here and they're still close, so what difference does it make? ]
I don't know what to say other than that I'm sorry. [ but she can listen. maybe squeeze his hand again in a silent show of comfort. ]
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[ and then it was their job to support those that couldn't support themselves. it was one of the things he missed about home, being able to help in that way. the squeeze of his hand keeps him from getting too far down that rabbit hole and he exhales. ]
No need to be sorry. You didn't do anything. I appreciate it but don't worry about it. I've gotten used to it. [ unfortunately. ] Anyway, I'm making this about me and it's not. I appreciate you being honest about things. You didn't have to but I appreciate that you trusted me enough.
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I may have had an ulterior motive in telling you.
[ her lips quirk up a little. ]
You need a place, I need new roommates - but you mentioned not wanting to endanger anyone. [ a shrug. ] I can take care of myself.
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Are you sure? [ it's not so much doubt for her abilities but he remembers all too vividly how dangerous the men who'd grabbed him were. and while a lot of them were dead, there were still more where that came from. ]
I appreciate the offer and really, I'd like to get in a place where I'm not constantly moving but I don't want you to say that if you're not sure.
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[ and she is. through the bond, he'll be able to feel her certainty, her confidence in her own abilities. it's steady, not the kind of confidence of an overblown ego but the kind of confidence that comes with experience, with being tested and finding herself capable of rising to the challenge time and again, with knowing her own strength and ability inside and out. ]
I want roommates I trust and that I'm not constantly lying to.
[ a beat. ]
Do you know Peter? He might move in, too.
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and it seems that she has with what he's getting from her. he bows his head, thankful, and gives her hand an answering squeeze, letting his own feelings of gratitude and appreciation slide over. ]
I've heard of him. We haven't met personally.
[ but he's seen the name on the network, at least. ]
He the other guy you're thinking of asking? Or you've already asked?
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[ thanks for that, dreamscape. ]
He's a good guy, but the two of you should probably get a beer or something so you can see if that'd be a good fit, too.
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[ kidding kidding. he's house trained and he's good at not leaving the seat up unless he's exhausted or drunk. but he was trying to make those less of an occurrence these days. ]
I'll see if I can't track him down. I've been laying pretty low since everything went down just in case. No need to drag my baggage and drop it at some unsuspecting person's feet. Seems like a bad first impression to make.
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[ might as well be the three of them in this space already for a test run, right? ]
And I bet you're not that bad.
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[ none of those people were here so guess it was his word against hers or something. ]
However you wanna work it is fine with me. I just appreciate the offer. I wasn't sure what I was gonna do when I realized that going back to the safehouse was a no go.
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[ she gestures vaguely with the hand not holding his, the one holding the wine glass, a gesture meant to encompass the entirety of the apartment.
it's a nice place.
maybe she should give him a tour of the place. ]
Do you want to see the rest of it?
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[ not that her apartment was some oversized mansion or anything. but still, a tour sounded like a good idea especially if he was actually going to pull the trigger on this move. ]
I wouldn't wanna move out of a place this nice too. Don't get me wrong, the places people have offered me while I've been kind of getting myself back together have been nice but it'd be nice to just be in one place.
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[ bobbi takes another sip of her wine before getting up, taking the glass with her but letting go of marcos' hand in the process. she turns to him, walking a few steps backward. ]
Well, here we've got the living room.
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[ he keeps the wine with him as well, sipping it as he follows her path. ]
It's cozy. Comfortable.
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it doesn't compare to the apartment daisy and jyn have, but it's all right.
bobbi shows him the other free bedroom (currently storage and two desks), the bathroom, her bedroom. ]
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this would probably be better. ]
Nicest apartment I've ever been invited to share. [ west lake hadn't been bad at all but there were some pretty nasty memories clinging to that place. ] I'll keep it neat and tidy, I promise.
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[ he doesn't want to spend the time moping around. bobbi doesn't particularly want to go through what remains of fitz's life here on her own. ]
We got lucky with this one. And you can see the state it's in right now. Keep it as neat as this and we'll be good.
[ it's not... that neat right now. decent, but it shows that bobbi spends long hours at work. ]
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[ it'd be a favor to him to give him something to distract his mind and he'd feel like he was helping her out when she was going above and beyond to help him out and there was no real way to show appreciation except be on his best behavior. ]
I promise, I'm not as bad as I'm making myself sound. I've lived on my own before, I know how to keep things in good working order. My best friend's a former marine. He'd never talk to me if I was a slob.
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they don't have to replace him. it can be something new. ]
Well, if you've got a marine's stamp of approval... [ another quick flash of a grin before bobbi leads them back to the living room and the couch. ]
How about we tackle Fitz's stuff the day after tomorrow?
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[ he's a great errand boy. lots of experience. ]
Thank you again. I owe you. [ between listening to him retell some of what happened to him and now this, he feels like he owes her big. ]
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[ but at the second part of that, she shakes her head. ] Hey, none of that. You don't. [ owe her anything, that is. ]
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wanna leave it here and write their pizza night next?
yeah, i'm down!