shield agent || scrabble cheater

usually five would order a coffee && maybe a Ruben sandwich , but he had never been in this diner before && honestly , he wasn't willing to risk it . cockroaches , rabbits , squirrels -- all fair game . this was much more life && death . && god forbid if the coffee was shit .

he sat back a little on the stool , before his human hand went to his metal elbow , nursing it slightly , then glancing over at the woman sitting next to him . ❝ hey , what's not gonna give me stomach cramps && leave a bad taste in my mouth ? ❞ five speak for 'what's good here' if he ever heard it .

She waits patiently while the customers at the other end are taken care of first, pretending to look over the menu like she doesn’t already know what she’s getting. It lasts about thirty seconds before a voice pulls her from her faux-perusing and she glances over at the kid. Okay, not a kid… teenager, probably.

. and i'm still a believer but i don't know w h y

       He'd  promised  that  he  would  let  her  go,  and  while  her  soul  wandered  the  mortal  afterlife,  Autumn  was  perfectly  capable  of  holding  himself  to  that  oath.  But  he  felt  her  like  a  touch  of  Summer,  searing  sunlight  that  heated  his  skin  and  left  him  breathless.

"Leave  it.'  Ambrose  chittered  sullenly,  backing  away  from  the  muffin  that  he'd  been  in  process  of  stealing.  "No,  not  you,  I  was  talking  to  myself.'

       Not  that  it  did  any  good,  slowly  following  the  shifting  of  the  earth,  bringing  autumn  chill  and  decay  with  him  as  he  went.  It  was  inevitable  that  he  would  once  again  find  himself  wandering  in  her  direction  through  no  direction  of  his  own.  Did  the  frost  creep  faster  as  he  walked?  Heels  of  his  shoes  sending  shocks  of  cold  through  the  ground  to  still  growth  at  the  roots,  body  leant  forward  as  his  stride  lengthened. 

       His  hand  is  reaching  out  before  he  realizes  it,  pulled  from  his  own  thoughts  by  the  movement,  time  slowing  to  a  normal  pace  as  fingertips  brush  fabric.  Stop,  just  stop.  But  he's  already  lightly  clasping  her  arm,  frost  gilded  autumn  leaf  held  in  his  fingers  with  a  smile  curling  his  lips. 

"Hello.'

@agntwells has been invited to tourney

So she did -- but for the last two weeks, nothing had changed. She’d walk the block or through the park, go for coffee or lunch, anything to get her out of her apartment. And maybe somewhere in the back of her mind she’d been hoping to come across that fox again, convinced that the critter was part of this… puzzle to her melancholy. Either that, or she was completely losing her mind… maybe she’d imagined the whole thing, hallucinated that a fox appeared in Central Park with a fucking thermos. Right, sounds like a one-way ticket to a grippy sock vacation, she thought with a heavy sigh.

Liza hadn’t even been aware of someone following after her, too lost in her own thoughts to catch onto the footsteps behind her. But a hand touched her arm and she sucked in a sharp breath, startling as she was suddenly pulled from her thoughts. She turned, but her first glance wasn’t up at the stranger’s face -- it was the leaf.

Oh no, I’m hallucinating again -- she thought, her gaze transfixed for a second before she glanced up. Her heart jumped into her throat at the sound of his voice, the smile on his lips and the way his eyes caught the late afternoon sun. Why? 

“How did…” Brows pulled together as her gaze dropped back to the leaf for a second, tempted to reach for it but afraid that the moment she did, he'd disappear right along with the leaf. So instead, she looked back up at him, curiosity swimming in her eyes. “Hi. Is… this might sound ridiculous, but have you seen a fox recently?” 

Her meeting had just ended and while she had ten minutes to herself, Ally thought she'd go say hi to a friend. Ally and Liza didn't hang out regularly, but she was a friendly face at SHIELD.

Ally knocked twice before swinging the door open, brows furrowing at first when she didn't see anyone. Then she heard the loud thump, eyes tracking to the desk, and she quickly figures out what is going on.

Ally’s lucky that Liza likes her -- nap time interruptions are practically a cardinal sin in her book.

“You’re not sorry at all.” Liza mutters, but a smile is already pulling at her lips as she runs a hand through her hair while she stands. Seeing Ally is something of a surprise -- and a pleasant one at that. A scoff leaves her lips when she’s asked if there’s no one else. “Please. Who else would be in here? Like I’m canoodling during my regularly scheduled nap time… or ever come to think of it. And you definitely caught me, I’m not prepping for anything.”

Golden brows raise at her question, as if he's silently saying, and...? The smirk still holds residence on his features to keep it all silly and lighthearted despite he's trying to keep the deep desire for her in check. He won't push anything given his current state, even if he wants to. Badly. But he will not put her in that awkward position if he can help it.

But that frays, especially when she teases his forearm with that sensual scrape of her nails, lighting every inch of him on fire. Surely she can see the goosebumps she's raised.

Doesn't mean she can't tease him -- he did ask for it.

When he leans against the counter, propping his chin on his hand, her expression softens to something warm and adoring. Liza can’t help giggling quietly when he teases with his question about her being so tempting while still looking at her like a man starved, but not for food. She isn’t sure if anyone’s looked at her with the same hunger Logan has in his eyes -- a look she isn’t unfamiliar with from him, though. Liza moves closer, hip leaning against the counter as she stands directly in front of him now. “In my defense, you did ask for me to be so tempting…” She murmurs, reaching out to brush her fingers against his hairline, moving his hair from his forehead before she simply just cards her fingers through his hair. This has to be the line, leaning close to him like this, letting her nose gently nudge against his, she knows she’s not going to go further.

The sharp hiss of pain the second he tests the movement pulls his focus immediately back in. “Hey, hey — easy,” he says quietly, instinctively easing the pressure again. His hand shifts just slightly higher against her leg, grounding more than restraining while he watches her expression carefully for another second. “That reaction’s actually helpful. Means you’re letting me know exactly where it hurts.” A pause, then a softer, “Still sorry, though.”

At the mention of surgery, Robby huffs a faint laugh under his breath, shaking his head once. “Alright, noted. No dramatic orthopedic speeches unless absolutely necessary.” He glances toward the monitor briefly before looking back at her, expression calmer now, reassuring without overdoing it. “But let’s not jump straight to pins and screws yet. First step is imaging. Then we see if your ankle’s just angry at you or planning a full rebellion.”

The apology is on the tip of her tongue when he loosens the pressure, but she doesn’t let it slip. If anything, she has a slight inkling he’ll tell her it’s unnecessary. When Robby’s hand moves higher on her leg, she almost waits for it to hurt again, but thankfully there’s none of that same shocking ache. Just a quiet exhale and a nod as she finds his gaze again before a smile starts pulling at the corner of her lips again when he apologizes. “You always apologize for doing your job?” She asks a little teasingly, trying not to focus for too long on the color of his eyes.

Liza feels a little lighter when he laughs, almost like it’s reassuring. Her fists unclench and she twists her fingers together in her lap instead when he walks her through the next steps. She wants to move her foot, the stubborn edge in her wanting to insist that it’s fine, but she knows better, stays still.

A playfully offended scoff leaves her lips and she rolls her eyes. “Please. Do I look like I’m in any kind of shape to be fighting inanimate objects? Though, honestly, depending on the context, I wouldn’t blame a guy for wanting to fight a parking meter.” Liza says before shaking her head once. “No way is guy in room twelve stealing my least nightmarish title. I refuse… well… as long as I can manage to keep myself from passing out, anyway.”