#ars0nists

her tracks are covered, her pace is steady, but he's caught on to both and a peppering of streetlights give her away. a new target, her name a black line labelled classified but her face committed to memory ; the mission was to capture, not terminate, though the means hadn't been specified. no red box to stay within the parameters of. implying that the number of pieces he dragged in weren't as important as the pulse they were attached to. it made things simpler. let the soldier line her in his crosshairs, finger heavy on the trigger and—

the shot isn't silent, bystanders turned frenzied pose as a reminder why that bothered him. good samaritans went down as easy as anyone else. a blocked path nothing but obstacles to step over, his mark now a blur amid the commotion.

@ars0nists [ ➶ ]

" help me out with this, would ya? " undercover is ... so not his style. starch prickles under the bulb of his adam's apple. he wants to plug his index finger in behind the top, notched, button & pull until he can breathe again. the fabric is too tight, too clean, too white. plus ... he's kind of an avenger? see that winning smile glimmering off the impish feathering winked out from the corner of his eye? everyone's gonna clock him the second he walks in the door. clint's hands tangle up in violet silk, knotting & unknotting while the frown trenching both sides of his mouth only bundles tighter. " i need a fancy knot. "

"Keep   pushing,   and   you’ll   regret   it." @ars0nists

the look rick gives her simply says what he’s thinking. that he doesn’t give a damn. he doesn’t know this girl. not exactly sure why she’s insisting on keeping herself in his presence, but if she can’t handle the attitude, she’s more than free to walk away. for whatever reason, she hasn’t yet. rick wasn’t pushing her buttons on purpose. since he came back, he was a lot more prickly than he used to be. more spikes and spice, less tea and sweet sugar. he’s even taken up smoking again, which he had quit long before corto maltese. 

the match comes to life with a burning flame, and Rick brings it up to the end of his cigarette before shaking the match to extinguish it. he still hasn’t responded to her statement, and for a moment, he wonders if he’s going to. putting the cigarette to his lips, he draws in an inhale, holding it in his lungs for a moment, and exhaling with a soft sigh and closing his eyes.

“ Not my intention, ma’am, ” he finally speaks, eyes opening once again and turning to her, but holding no sign of emotion or care, “ I’ll watch my step from now on. ”

LIDS   FELL,   CRADLED   BY   A   SENTIMENT   THOUGHT   LONG   FORGOTTEN;   PEACE.   body   relaxed   on   @ars0nists   's   presence,   cranium   [   𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛   𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍   𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑   𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚎𝚍   𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 ]   tilted   towards   her,   couch   embracing   form   as   karina   seemed   to   alleviate   all   his   aches.   somewhere   between   a   long   breath   and   a   blink,   dermis   felt   lips   amid   hair,   gentleness   offered   in   a   simple   touch   that   awakened   him   to   a   reality   depicted   like   a   dream.

❛ sorry,   i   dozed   off.   ❜   drowsiness   dragged   words,   lips   curling   in   a   lazy   smile   before   posture   straightens,   arm   encasing   her   shoulders   to   press   cheek   against   her   temple.    ❛   i   can   make   it   up   to   you.   be   your   pillow.   ❜

❛❛ mhmm... they had it under control so i waited here instead. ice cream? ❜❜