[ It's not that he doesn't know what the stakes are here. He realized how high they were when things started to fall apart here just with trying to stop Max Lord. Reality settled heavily when he spotted crimson and he'd felt his breath leave in a rush, not realizing how much he'd taken her seeming invincibility for granted until it suddenly wasn't working anymore.
She's as stubborn as he remembers, perhaps more with how much this new and amazing world has sharpened the softer edges that he remembers. She's determined to keep pushing and pushing, unable (or unwilling?) to accept what might be new and permanent limitations. Steve isn't about to just stand idly by and watch her drive herself into the ground when there's something he might've been able to do about it. ] Will you just---
[ He lunges a step or two in order to grab for her elbow, ready to dig his heels if he has to. Not that it'll do much if she decides to shrug him off but he's hoping she'll see reason. He steps in close, grateful for the chaos for the moment so no one scrutinizes them too harshly. ] You're bleeding. Let me help you.
Edited 2020-12-26 03:14 (UTC)
i rudely deny you (also bullying you into ignoring that one thing re him being back)
[ diana thinks to shrug him off again, but the thought simply makes her feel sluggish and tired. never in her years has she truly felt this exhausted. when she worked late nights, stayed up until it was almost six in the morning, and had met impossible deadlines while being wonder woman on her lunch break had never worn her down like this.
sometimes she found herself jealous she would never feel the exhaustion he had when in veld. the human experience was one she had to learn without him, and diana, with him warm and her tucked against his side, doesn't wish to live that lonely existence once more. her face breaks and then she pulls herself back together just as quickly, not wanting to allow herself to even think of a life without him.
she wishes she could brush away his concern, steel herself once more, and be formidable and in control. she doesn't want him to worry about her; he's wasting precious minutes fretting. ]
It's just a little bit of blood. [ she says while inhaling deeply and wincing. leaning against him roughly, she pulls back to try and stand on her feet, losing her footing as she does. her boots feel strangely heavy on her feet.
in her quick bid to distract him from almost stepping on his toe, she reaches up to drunkenly brush her fingers against his forehead. with a smile, she teases, ] You're getting worry lines. They've very attractive.
wow that is v rude. (i will ignore the thing for u)
[ Steve's seen this kind of thing before. Not with her, of course, but in the war. The bullheaded pride that keeps men and women pushing forward past their limits after adrenaline is gone and reality creeps back in. It's easy to feel invincible in the heat of the moment. He's been there himself but he's sure it's more than a little jarring for someone who, before now, could actually claim to be just that.
He can't imagine the years between then and now. He's seen it in her eyes and written in what she doesn't tell him. Seen it hiding behind that joyously bright smile when she caught him eating poptarts in bed and spun up on too much coffee. ]
Yeah, from someone who doesn't bleed. [ He doesn't miss that wince and when she caves a little, he's there to steady her with his other hand up under her arm for support offered freely. Her attempt to distract would go a little better if he weren't half-holding her up and his pulse goes quick with worry, lips flattening into a thin line.
Still, he gives over a little, turning his cheek against her palm. ] Keep this up and I'll go gray on top. Not sure you could handle that much at once.
Edited (forgetting things) 2020-12-26 04:17 (UTC)
if i wasn't rude you would have to be super worried (thank you for your kindness)
Will you catch me if I swoon? [ diana laughs, peering up at his hair as if she can see the greys begin to bleed into his brown hair.
if he turned grey, it would mean that he's alive. diana wonders if he feels it. does he feel alive amongst his feelings of displacement? he acts like steve, breathes like steve, slept rather noisily like steve... she's been wondering long before any mentions of a monkey's paw what the catch was for him being here, and she supposes this is it. she couldn't win her games in themyscira by taking a shortcut.
wishing him back had been a shortcut diana refuses to not take again and again and again. she'll figure this out, just as she had figured out how to be an amazonian warrior, a secret hero, a woman of man's world...
she inhales roughly and regretfully pulls her hand away from his cheek to press her palm against her rib beneath her armour. ] I think I'm healing. You shouldn't worry.
[ she's not healing, and she's a little worried. best he doesn't worry—she doesn't want him to be here and experience such negative, tumultuous emotions. ]
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SPOILERS i would like to humbly request the presence of one badass lady pls
[ It's not that he doesn't know what the stakes are here. He realized how high they were when things started to fall apart here just with trying to stop Max Lord. Reality settled heavily when he spotted crimson and he'd felt his breath leave in a rush, not realizing how much he'd taken her seeming invincibility for granted until it suddenly wasn't working anymore.
She's as stubborn as he remembers, perhaps more with how much this new and amazing world has sharpened the softer edges that he remembers. She's determined to keep pushing and pushing, unable (or unwilling?) to accept what might be new and permanent limitations. Steve isn't about to just stand idly by and watch her drive herself into the ground when there's something he might've been able to do about it. ] Will you just---
[ He lunges a step or two in order to grab for her elbow, ready to dig his heels if he has to. Not that it'll do much if she decides to shrug him off but he's hoping she'll see reason. He steps in close, grateful for the chaos for the moment so no one scrutinizes them too harshly. ] You're bleeding. Let me help you.
i rudely deny you (also bullying you into ignoring that one thing re him being back)
[ diana thinks to shrug him off again, but the thought simply makes her feel sluggish and tired. never in her years has she truly felt this exhausted. when she worked late nights, stayed up until it was almost six in the morning, and had met impossible deadlines while being wonder woman on her lunch break had never worn her down like this.
sometimes she found herself jealous she would never feel the exhaustion he had when in veld. the human experience was one she had to learn without him, and diana, with him warm and her tucked against his side, doesn't wish to live that lonely existence once more. her face breaks and then she pulls herself back together just as quickly, not wanting to allow herself to even think of a life without him.
she wishes she could brush away his concern, steel herself once more, and be formidable and in control. she doesn't want him to worry about her; he's wasting precious minutes fretting. ]
It's just a little bit of blood. [ she says while inhaling deeply and wincing. leaning against him roughly, she pulls back to try and stand on her feet, losing her footing as she does. her boots feel strangely heavy on her feet.
in her quick bid to distract him from almost stepping on his toe, she reaches up to drunkenly brush her fingers against his forehead. with a smile, she teases, ] You're getting worry lines. They've very attractive.
wow that is v rude. (i will ignore the thing for u)
[ Steve's seen this kind of thing before. Not with her, of course, but in the war. The bullheaded pride that keeps men and women pushing forward past their limits after adrenaline is gone and reality creeps back in. It's easy to feel invincible in the heat of the moment. He's been there himself but he's sure it's more than a little jarring for someone who, before now, could actually claim to be just that.
He can't imagine the years between then and now. He's seen it in her eyes and written in what she doesn't tell him. Seen it hiding behind that joyously bright smile when she caught him eating poptarts in bed and spun up on too much coffee. ]
Yeah, from someone who doesn't bleed. [ He doesn't miss that wince and when she caves a little, he's there to steady her with his other hand up under her arm for support offered freely. Her attempt to distract would go a little better if he weren't half-holding her up and his pulse goes quick with worry, lips flattening into a thin line.
Still, he gives over a little, turning his cheek against her palm. ] Keep this up and I'll go gray on top. Not sure you could handle that much at once.
if i wasn't rude you would have to be super worried (thank you for your kindness)
if he turned grey, it would mean that he's alive. diana wonders if he feels it. does he feel alive amongst his feelings of displacement? he acts like steve, breathes like steve, slept rather noisily like steve... she's been wondering long before any mentions of a monkey's paw what the catch was for him being here, and she supposes this is it. she couldn't win her games in themyscira by taking a shortcut.
wishing him back had been a shortcut diana refuses to not take again and again and again. she'll figure this out, just as she had figured out how to be an amazonian warrior, a secret hero, a woman of man's world...
she inhales roughly and regretfully pulls her hand away from his cheek to press her palm against her rib beneath her armour. ] I think I'm healing. You shouldn't worry.
[ she's not healing, and she's a little worried. best he doesn't worry—she doesn't want him to be here and experience such negative, tumultuous emotions. ]