some nights [for steve] august 1st

[withmyshield]

 Houseguests. Who the hell would have thought?

The heavily armed strangers that swooped in to 'save' them from imminent destruction agree to stay for the night, maybe longer, and they need a place to sleep, necessitating either the reallocation of current bunk space or setting up a shelter in the hub, which seems like more trouble and a generally crap idea, given that it means more alone time for the new arrivals to rally in total privacy. No thanks. So those who were comfortable double up, and though they've been sleeping apart most of the time recently, Sharon makes a brief and clearly not-to-be-argued invitation to Steve. 

It makes sense and raises no eyebrows, which is good, because she needs to discuss a number of things with Steve; strategies to deal with this new development in their already complicated lives. The incident from earlier in the day is also on the list. 

Before she knows it, the day is over, the 'guests' settled with even a few tight smiles exchanged here and there, and Steve drops his duffel on the floor by her bed. She wastes no time getting to business; the patented Agent 13 form of Tourette syndrome. 

"What the hell was that all about?"

Comments

[theycallmecap]

Steve has known this was coming; it's probably why he manages not to cringe, and simply looks over at Sharon. "You were adding fuel to the fire."

And he would do it all over again.

[withmyshield]

"Nice of you to notice there was a fire, Steve. You sure weren't acting like it." She's pissed but past the point where yelling will feel good.

"But that's not the point. You don't give me orders, ever, and you sure as hell don't take someone out at the knees like that in front of hostiles."

[theycallmecap]

"I do whatever I need to to make sure nobody gets killed, Sharon," Steve answers, calmly and simply, but there's an iron thread in his voice that says he's not going to give.

[withmyshield]

"Weakening our position in front of these people wasn't really the best way to do that either, wonder boy."

His Teflon-like inability to be scolded is one of the things Sharon always finds the most frustrating about Steve. It's that morally superior mode that he perpetually operates in. He should just consider himself damn lucky that there's been too much going on to get the piece of her mind he so richly deserved earlier in the day. The broken record act is starting to annoy her, though, and she digs deep to find the will to let it go.

"What's our next move?"

[theycallmecap]

"Sleep, if we can pull it off," Steve answers, after a beat. She's just let go, but he keeps expecting the other shoe to drop. Because it can't be that easy, can it. "And keeping an eye on them. Getting to know them. Zoe's going to be working on what she got off of Brink. Lauren's going to want blood samples, and hopefully some of them will be willing."

[withmyshield]

Sleep? It's the furthest thing from her mind, basically. She wants to compile an informal dossier of the major players, strategize who might be the best fit to get the most information out of them, come up with contingencies to keep their more vulnerable citizens safe... But sure, now sounds like a good time for a nap as well.

She grabs a blanket and pillow off her bed and thrusts them out to Steve.

"Knock yourself out."

[theycallmecap]

Steve grabs them reflexively, and finally, irritation shows through. "If you only offered to share to bite my head off, there are other places I could be."

[withmyshield]

Other places you could be?

Maybe it's petty to get bent out of shape over phrasing when everything else is legitimately so dire, but seriously, what the hell kind of thing is that to say?

Plus she'd offered to let him stay only partly to have the privacy to bite his head off. He's really the first and only person she trusts implicitly with her half formed plans and hunches. The fact that he apparently has dozens of better invitations definitely smarts.

"Don't let me keep you."

[theycallmecap]

The blanket and the pillow get thrown onto the bed in an uncharacteristic show of temper. What can he say? It turns out that nobody can get under his skin like one Sharon Carter.

"Just tell me one thing," he requests, and he honestly is that close to walking out, go find Hawkeye and have an actually productive conversation - or get some much needed rest, given everything they would have to do tomorrow. He is that close, but it would feel like walking away from a battle, and Steve has never done that in his life. He's going to ask what he has to ask, and if she throws him out for it, at least he hopes that there will have been a point. "How much of this is actually about me, and how much is about you not being in control?"

[withmyshield]

The fact that it was a pretty valid question didn't make her one iota more receptive to it. Helplessness was about Sharon's least favorite feeling in the world, and the fact that Steve nails it to use as a weapon against her makes her feel that much more exposed.

"Get out." It's not quite the icy command she wants it to be; emotion pushes it out loudly and less than steady.

[theycallmecap]

He holds her gaze for a beat, and then he picks up his duffel bag and does just that. There are bigger things at stake, he keeps telling himself, the way he had when he had been in that plane. Except he's not saving much of anything as he walks away; he is, in fact, just walking away.

August 5th

[withmyshield]

Sharon is staking out the kitchen tonight. One of the shiftier looking new arrivals has made it his haunt, and he's on her list of people that need to be questioned by her personally. So she's been continuously making snacks in an attempt to 'casually' run into him alone.

Steve walks in as she's buttering her fourth piece of toast. They haven't spoken, except in the presence others when it would look odd to stay silent. For a moment, it looks like their streak will remain unbroken, but something makes Sharon give just the barest inch of ground.

"Hey."

[theycallmecap]

Steve isn't sure how to play it, when he comes into the kitchen and Sharon's the only one there. They've been talking when they've needed to, about organizational matters, and strategy, but not anything private like this. There's that twist in his guts, because it feels like a lapse on his part, the way they haven't been able to really communicate.

"Hey," he answers, for lack of anything better, and he walks forward, steps a few feet from her. "How're you?" he asks, except he's asking so much more than that, too.

[withmyshield]

"Peachy."

It's a little flat, and more than a little tired. Not sleeping well has become the standard for Sharon, except for the odd evening's reprieve [which generally miraculously coincide with nights Steve stays over], but she's really feeling it this time.

She slides the plate of toast toward him. "Any interest before it goes in the incinerator?" Three is sort of her limit.

It's inane, totally not a conversation that logically follows the bitter fight they had last time, but Sharon usually can't bring herself to just dive into the deep end of the pool where actual emotion is involved.

[theycallmecap]

Steve hesitates a moment, because there are so many things he wants to say. He doesn't know where to start or if it's even right to inflict that upon her, so he ends up closing his mouth, and taking the plate of toast. "Thanks."

[withmyshield]

Sharon hops up on the counter and just watches Steve chew for a minute, trying to collect enough words to make a worthwhile sentence this time.

"Anything new I ought to know?" Like business is the only thing on her mind. It's a start though, an invitation, and one Steve is probably pretty used to by now.