#lovemaim

" is this oil or acrylic? " the urgency in her tone is palpable — they've entered a true life or death situation here. paint, meet cuff of her jacket. " this is new, " brooke whines, her concern only growing as she's met with him stifling his laughter. " answer the question, felix. seriously! "

" spandex? really? " betty knew that running into one of these masked eccentrics was a symptom of her latest assignment in the big city, but never did she think one was going to be welcomed at the fbi branch with open arms. she wasn't opposed to collaboration, but she was opposed to the fact that her boss thought she needed help in the form of one of robin hood's merry men ( see: the tights ).

" if we're going to work together, there need to be some ground rules. " there she goes, good ol' take-charge cooper. " one, none of this mask business. " she has trauma. sue her. " i'm not going to trust you if i don't know who you are. "

of course she can't, in good conscience, ignore the bruises of cuts that appear on peter routinely. a fight club joke had seemed the lightest way to bring it up without immediately putting him on edge.

@lovemaim said : i do not "rough people up." / from pete DGGKJFDJJK

the kettle whistles just as there's a knock on the door — coincidence, perhaps, but not likely. she isn't expecting visitors in the traditional sense, but a few hours back, she had a hunch that there'd be someone showing up at her doorstep. one quick text to lydia confirmed her suspicion. she just has a way of knowing these things.

allison takes her time, first turning down the burner as to stop the kettle's incessent cry. her guest will be patient. after all, he's not even certain that she's home in the first place. it's only then that she makes her way to the door, met with the sight of isaac with his familiar rucksack slung over his shoulder.

some might say the weather's absolutely dreadful, but she's grown to love the way the rain pounds down on the roof of her flat. she's on the top floor and when it hits just right it drowns out all the bad thoughts swirling about. it's rare for her to get that sort of silence these days. still, she feels bad leaving him out in the rain, even for just a moment.

" you should've called, " she states simply, ushering him inside. she knows him well enough to know that he won't argue back that he has — over days, over weeks, over months. it's allison that's stopped answering. it's allison that's dropped off the face of the earth. that's why he's here isn't it?