#podlesok

AS  SOMEONE  WITH  PLENTY  TO  HIDE  ,  sebastian  doesn’t  like  that  prompting  .  his  eyebrows  go  up  before  he  speaks  ,  adding  weight  to  the  delay  in  his  response  .  he’s  not  trying  to  act  like  a  man  with  many  secrets  ,  but  maybe  it’s  obvious  .  maybe  he’s  obvious  .  ❝  i  do  pride  myself  in  remaining  somewhat  of  an  enigma  .  ❞  it’s  the  best  response  he  can  conjure  .  he’s  playing  dumb  .  ❝  sometimes  i  take  my  coffee  black  ,  and  other  times  i’m  ordering  the  most  expensive  concoction  on  the  starbucks  menu  .  ❞  more  deflection  .  maybe  sebastian  is  trying  to  keep  their  mind  on  normal  things  ,  AVERAGE  THINGS  ,  rather  than  drag  up  the  possibility  of  his  own  covert  life  .  the  hits  ,  the  killings  .  things  she  doesn’t  need  to  know  .  maybe  he’s  reading  too  much  into  this  .  maybe  she  really  DOES  mean  the  simple  things  with  her  remark  .  maybe  she’s  baffled  by  his  collection  of  wine  corks  .  ❝  when  you  say  YOU  WONDER  ABOUT  ME  ,  what  do  you  mean  ?  if  i’m  living  up  to  my  enigmatic  persona  ,  let  me  know  .  i  like  compliments  .  i’d  take  a  few  .  ❞

if she's with someone, other than giving her a moment of quiet or holding her hand / letting her hold their arm ... sometimes the best thing they can do is to give her a long and tight hug, to keep her from feeling like she's breaking apart into pieces.

@podlesok

     YOU’RE BOTH RELICS FROM A DIFFERENT TIME  ,  AN OLDER TIME  .  broken and bent  ,  used for their gifts in service of PROUD COUNTRY  .  there was a time when bianca had believed in all of that  ;  that her servitude was for the greater good  .  BUT IT WAS ALL A LIE  .  a truth that she’d only discovered after it was too late  . . .   ❛❛   old habits die hard  ,  i guess  .   ❜❜   WE’RE BOTH WEAPONS  ,  AND VIOLENCE IS ALL WE KNOW  .  it follows us  ,  and we’re drawn to it  ––  a relationship of push and pull  .   [  RUSSIAN  ]  :  <   𝘪 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦  .   >   icy blues look the other woman over as fingers unscrew the silencer from her pistol  .   <   𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺  ,  𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦  .   >

HE’S  MID-SIP  OF  WINE  WHEN  SHE  MAKES  HER  OBSERVATION  ,  and  immediately  sebastian’s  eyebrows  shoot  up  ,  darting  high  across  his  forehead  as  he  scrambles  through  his  brain  for  answers  .  that  was  far  too  stratetic  a  question  ,  and  dottie  is  far  too  smart  to  simply  ask  things  offhand  without  purpose  ,  without  a  goal  or  expected  answer  in  mind  .  after  finishing  his  sip  ,  sebastian  sets  his  glass  down  and  allows  the  familiar  red  liquid  to  soothe  the  sting  in  his  throat  .  ❝  me  ?  well-behaved  ?  MAYBE  I’M  COMING  DOWN  WITH  SOMETHING  .  ❞  it’s  sebastian’s  first  attempt  at  lighthearted  deflection  ,  gauging  the  glow  of  her  eyes  and  the  way  her  face  changes  in  response  .  when  he  comes  up  empty  ,  he  presses  on  .  ❝  oh  ,  you  know  .  THIS  AND  THAT  .  been  quite  busy  lately  .  school  is  starting  back  up  again  ,  you  know  ,  so  i’ll  be  back  to  teaching  my  usual  courses  within  a  few  weeks  .  i’m  looking  forward  to  a  new  round  of  students  .  ❞  a  pause  .  the  waiter  finally  delivers  dinner  to  their  table  ,  and  in  the  bustle  of  setting  out  plates  ,  sebastian  manages  to  divert  her  line  of  questioning  away  from  the  REAL  answers  .  ❝  what  about  you  ?  i  could  say  the  same  about  you  ,  you  know  .  REMARKABLY  WELL-BEHAVED  .  i’m  used  to  more  insults  than  this  ,  to  be  honest  .  you’re  usually  armed  with  plenty  of  little  jabs  to  get  under  my  skin  .  today  ,  not  so  much  .  don’t  tell  me  you’re  starting  to  like  me  .  ❞

“ life is  full  of cat and mouse chases and for once in my life,  i want to be the  cat. “ 

«     i know your ways,     i don’t subscribe to them anymore.     »        quite a convincing choice of words for a pawn who hasn’t found herself yet,      while the lineaments in her face speak to at least a certain degree of honesty,       𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈.         yelena proceeds to assess the situation at hand,       his fingertips nonchalantly brushing against the fabric of her jeans,        while a handgun reveals itself before the stranger’s eyes.          «     are you here to kill me  ?       дерьмо,      you have guts,      i’ll give it to you.     »

irene is a soft thing in this dull, night-time light, but her eyes remain clear despite the odd hour. slipper-clad feet have drawn to a halt upon the landing and she blinks only once before continuing her path down the stairs, only now with a hand motioning for her to follow. “i was just heading to the kitchen,” there’s no need to waste breath on ME NEITHER when that much is obvious in her dressing gown and the fact she is up and about at such a dreadful hour. besides, down that road lies questions that are bound to arise at some point, but irene thinks they would be better asked in a handful more minutes, “for some tea and whiskey, if you’d like to join me.”