"it's fine." whitney's quick to wave her off, though she reckons this won't be the end of it. maddy's nothing if not persistent, whether it be when denying her powers or making sure whitney's well-rested. it would be infuriating if she didn't also find it the slightest bit endearing.

"i'm already here, so might as well keep watch - make use of the super-strength for something useful, y'know." she speaks as if she just happened upon maddy's living room, a pleasant coincidence at most -- when in reality, whitney's spent most of the day in maddy's driveway, making sure no one suspicious made their way onto her property. no matter how small of a town this was, the mayor was still a public figure, an easy target for crazy people with a little too much time on their hands. maddy's team dismissed the texts she'd been getting as just someone trying to get her attention, but whitney knew better. texts turned to phone calls, to showing up at their doorstep. she's no stranger to stalkers, and she won't let the situation escalate any further.

her joints complain when she stretches, still getting used to her new training regimen. now an official superhero, whitney couldn't be caught slacking ( though it didn't stop her from trying ). she supposes it's a good thing she's been working up her stamina, in case someone does break in.

"you're the one who should get some sleep - you barely do even when you're not being stalked," whitney points out with a raised brow.

elinor would be lying if she said there wasn’t a small part of her that enjoyed the terrified look on the soldiers’ faces. there was once a time where she resented the way people kept their distance, avoiding her eyes but keeping her name on their lips as they whispered behind her back. with years of practice, she’s learned to accept it as a sign of power.

yet, for all the times elinor has reveled in her solitude, she finds she’s come to enjoy having beth at her side. the princess, despite her timid air, did not shy away from her as others did. she was always graceful and sweet when addressing even the darkling – never fearing her dark armor or the blood on her hands.

elinor wishes she was half as brave and dared to show beth all of her. the idea of her toll of death and destruction proving too much for the princess makes her breath falter, weak when faced with the possibility of finally losing something she holds dear.

despite her resolve to steel her features around the crown’s army, they soften easily at beth’s quiet remark. she holds elinor in too high regard – it’s addictive and dangerous, the darkling realizes as she attempts to will the warmth in her chest to go away. never did she want to be seen so desperately, knowing it could cost her everything.

she almost points out beth is the only one to think it a loss, but deems it a disservice to the other’s kindness. elinor gives a smile and a grateful bow of her own head instead. what must the soldiers see when they watch them from afar? two dignitaries exchanging pleasantries? would they be able to spot elinor’s subtle fidgeting, suppressing the urge to take the princess’s hand in her own?

brows raise at the remark that follows, surprised beth mentioned the bluebirds. it had been an afternoon in equal parts lovely and terrifying, with elinor offering her a secret so close to her heart. no one knew of her birds, not even her father. it was something she had always believed she’d carry to her grave, a softness she was not allowed. yet beth didn’t even spare it a moment of judgment – and there’s nothing if not gentless in her features when elinor dares meet her eyes now.

“ – i miss them dearly as well, ” she confesses, voice low and tentative. “ they’re quite independent, but i do regret not being able to ask one of the maids to look after them. ” despite being otkazat'sya, harys could command fear into the royal staff as well as any grisha general. they’d tell him of anything they saw out of place – including elinor’s own behavior. she’s lucky she can pass her meetings with the princess as mere courtesy.

“ i may stay a few more weeks, depending on how everything goes. ” as far as everyone knows, the general is here to oversee operations regarding the recent fjerdan attacks on the northern border. her letters to her father will detail whether the search for the sun summoner has proved fruitful after hearing hushed reports of a nearby sighting.

robin’s visit comes unexpectedly. having heard of what happened to tony stark the night of the event and how it ended with him hospitalized, natalie expected her to remain at his side; robin may not seem the caretaker type on the surface, but natalie dares to believe she knows her a little better than that. that being said, she’s certainly glad to finally see robin. it feels like so much longer has passed than only a few days     that always seems to be the case when they’re apart.

the surprise visit does mean natalie’s sporting more comfortable clothes to wear around the house     her oversized nook’s cranny-themed tee is a far cry from her curated look at the event. hopefully robin won’t mind the former too much...

bright expression turns worried upon seeing how tired robin looks. natalie wonders if she’s slept at all since opening night; it’s just like robin to put her own needs on hold to tend to someone close to her. natalie means to ask how she’s feeling, but is surprised once more when robin hands her a box of donuts     her favorite donuts, with an apology carefully crafted in frosting. while it saddens her to see robin feeling so guilty, natalie can’t deny how much she appreciates the gesture. the fact that robin went out of her way for this when she could be resting... it means far more than she can put into words right now.

robin’s gift reminds natalie of her own, how she’d gotten flowers to give robin at the event. time may have passed since, but her affections have not lessened in the slightest. natalie only wishes she could’ve done this sooner, given robin something nice before disaster struck that night. it’s clichéd, but the idea had been on her mind since robin first asked her to attend. natalie always felt like a spectator admiring her from the stands, while she, the brilliant performer, dazzled everyone with her talents.

“ it’s alright, ” she’s quick to reassure once robin starts apologizing. “ i get it, there was... a lot happening. ” natalie’s not so selfish to want her all to herself all the time... well, maybe not always. “ i’m happy you’re here now, ” she adds with a sheepish smile. there’s no point regretting their time apart... natalie would much rather make the most of this moment instead.

“ oh. ” the compliment catches her off guard. it brings a light color to natalie’s cheeks and has her eyes darting down in embarrassment. “ i     thank you. i wanted to look... proper, for the event. ” she chuckles. the outfit didn’t exactly match her usual type of style... but she did like dressing up for robin’s big event     she wanted to make her proud, after all.

smile softens at robin’s addition. second-guessing would often come for natalie when she compared the two of them, insecurities flaring up when she realized how inadequate she felt in the shadow of her... girlfriend? natalie wasn’t sure she could call her that yet. she’s certainly relieved by the reassurance either way, thankful robin’s always mindful of her feelings.

there’s much natalie wants to say. how much she’s missed robin, how she couldn’t stop thinking about her... how many times she almost went to meet her at the hospital herself, before ultimately deciding against it.

the small package seems to weigh twice as much judging by the way she slumps and drags her feet, postponing reaching her destination as much as possible. what will they even say to each other? after their last conversation and the angered words haphazardly spat out, any chance of reconciliation is long gone. perhaps for the best. a secret like that wasn't meant to be kept while seeing someone.

it wasn't as though haley meant to lie. but there was never a natural segue for bringing up being bitten by a radioactive spider and begrudgingly becoming a vigilante overnight. instead, she kept making excuses for always being late and rescheduling their dates, avoiding any contact to hide her injuries. haley figured it was only fair she be the one to break things off too, bearing the weight of that responsibility herself.

definitely not because she was scared of being dumped sooner rather than later.

she takes a deep breath as she finally reaches the house. the walk over had been too familiar, and her feet seemed to steer her the right way no matter how many accidental detours haley tried to make. she stands awkwardly before the front door, the package safely tucked under her arm. she could just leave it there. ring the bell and make a run for it before anyone even got up to open it - she was certainly fast enough now.

with a sigh, haley shakes her head to dismiss those thoughts. hasn't she been cowardly enough already?

the loud ringing of the doorbell makes her mouth dry, and haley's antsy as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. she's praying ash is the one to open the door - she'll shoot daggers at haley and hiss venom with every word, but that's infinitely better than the alternative.

no such luck.

"hey." her voice sounds foreign even to her own ears, and haley clears her throat in a futile attempt to strengthen it. her eyes are torn between avoiding beth's entirely and refusing to look away - did she look as miserable as haley had been feeling since the breakup? was it wrong to wish for that? that she wasn't alone in her regret and heartbreak, desperate to fix things?

it wasn't that yelena wasn't happy to see her. they hadn't managed to exchange more than a few words after she saved the girl from having her car thrown off a bridge - but she seemed nice enough, from the brief interaction in the aftermath. what she hated was that valentina orchestrated all this behind her back, a pr stunt as usual. had yelena rescued a nameless civilian, valentina wouldn't have given it a second thought. but because this was daisy bloom, suddenly she was getting invited to the avengers tower to meet her savior, tour included.

valentina will claim the paparazzi parked outside just appeared organically because of daisy, as if she didn't call each and every one of them herself. yelena only hopes there aren't any hidden cameras in the tower, otherwise she'll have words with her so-called boss.

she's wearing casual clothes against valentina's plan, loose and comfortable so she can actually relax on her free time. the suit helps sell the image, but yelena couldn't care less. she didn't sign up to be a brand ( or even an avenger, for that matter ), and she refused to play a part for the cameras.

none of it was daisy's fault, though. so yelena plays nice when she welcomes the other inside, walking her to the lounge as she thinks on what to say.

on the admittedly not very long list of audrey's skills, nursing was certainly not part of her repertoire. she'd never had any need for it, sheltered from birth, with a handful of nannies following her around to make sure she never so much as scraped her knee. to go from that to a life at sea, where danger was always around the corner - even moreso when their captain kept inviting it at every turn - was an enormous leap for audrey. she regretted it on some days, when her clothes reeked of salt water and kvas, and the blisters on her feet made every step torture. but when she remembered the life that awaited her if she had stayed at the palace, suddenly the ship didn't seem like such a bad makeshift home after all.

she had people who actually cared about her now, too. and audrey, in turn, found herself caring about them right back. even captain sturmhond, who managed to get on her nerves like no one else could, with a devil-may-care attitude that was nothing short of frustrating.

seeing her injured is nothing new, with sturmhond sporting a new scar every other week - but she makes no fuss about why she's limping or holding her side as she heads for her quarters, no theatrics or grand tale to share with the crew. it's instantly suspicious and makes audrey worry more than she'd care to admit.

it's how she finds herself here now, scrambling to desinfect the long gash on the captain's forearm. she's watched naya and kaya tend to people's wounds in the past, but never really paid attention. she's banking on muscle memory coming to save the day, that maybe her body will simply know what to do ( or perhaps just her instinct to want to help sturmhond ).

audrey rolls her eyes at the other's teasing, finding it more distracting than usual now that she's struggling to stay focused on an unfamiliar task. "primitive and yet, it still got the best of you," she promptly points out. the bite in her tone is only for show, but her expression quickly grows serious, her voice graver. "you should be thankful it wasn't worse."

audrey reaches for a small ball of cotton and gently dabs the disinfectant along sturmhond's cut. she still has no idea whether she's doing this right. a part of her just wants to step outside and call for naya; another, smaller, quieter part wishes she could've been born corporalnik instead, to be swifter in her treatment.

even when they first met, toni had always been the one to effortlessly work the crowds, charming cast, crew and audiences alike. elena, far more comfortable working behind the scenes, would stand back and watch in awe, admiring her spark. she never imagined that same distance would stretch out until there wasn't room for her anymore.

the air is dripping with tension and unsaid words, and still toni speaks to her with ease, joke around as if the past few years haven't happened. but elena wears her heart on her sleeve, the agony of their divorce palpable in the half-smiles and averted gazes. she wonders if toni will still notice - if she'll still care.

in hindsight, she shouldn't be surprised for toni to bring up old times so casually. it's just like her. yet there's a part of elena that worries the nonchalance equates to indifference. the possibility of her ex-wife trying to plant the seeds for a would-be reconciliation is tempting to believe in, but elena knows she shouldn't jump to conclusions, nor should she forget the reason they separated in the first place.

looking into toni's eyes now, however, it all feels like a distant memory in the back of her mind. elena wants to reach out and fix the loose strands of hair sticking to her forehead, or point out how toni forgot to bring a basket for her groceries while already reaching out to get one, just like old times. but it's not her place anymore. she can't take care of toni like she once did, even if everything in her body tells her otherwise.

"very on-brand for us," elena agrees, trying to match her relaxed tone. if toni isn't bothered by any of this, she doesn't want to stick out like a sore thumb. elena has enough of a reputation as a wet blanket as is.

her smile does diminish at the mention of a tragic love story, turning into something almost saddened. she wants to ask if there's some last minute twist, something to save the so-called doomed love. but it hits too close to home, and elena retreats into herself once more instead of trying to reach out. "a shame," she says instead. "but i'm sure you'll manage to keep the audience on their toes anyway." elena had always believed her to be a visionary, and that much had not changed, even after everything that happened between them.

her eyes inevitably dart to the biscuits once more. to a passing customer, they might not even notice them tucked under toni's arm - but to elena, it's all she can see. her imagination plagues her with scenarios of toni and a new girlfriend, sharing a box as they snuggled up on the couch, watching a movie. would she listen to toni dissecting the directing choices as elena once did? would she know she's actually brilliant despite how aloof she comes off as?

she almost chokes on the weight of her jealousy, only realizing a moment too late that toni had kept talking. "yeah, she's alright," elena manages to croak out, but her smile isn't nearly as convincing this time.