Thread: Human Connection [Avengers -- Sprouts & Virginia]

She heard him before she saw him. It amused her a little bit, but Theresa couldn't let it show on her face. A scramble like that to try and get to someone he didn't know just because he cared about their well-being wasn't something she really understood, but it was something that she could appreciate. It was one of those things that good people did. She kept on the expression of pain and the slightly uneven breathing that would have been more natural to anyone who'd just been stabbed,even though it felt more fake to her than just gritting her teeth and saying that she was fine. That was how things were supposed to go. She just wanted to be able to handle things on her own, getting help felt wrong. The touch of his fingers was as noticeable as if he'd dropped his hand down with all his weight but she didn't respond to it. Instead she focused on his words because that was what she figured would get through better to someone who'd just been stabbed for the first time and would probably be struggling to keep their composure. I-- yeah. I noticed that part, she said weakly and offered up a grin that did nothing to hide the pain in her expression. It was a delicate game pretending on top of a layer of trying to fake, but it was a skill that she was confident in. Nobody ever nominated agents for acting awards, which was a pity because they were the best at it. Carefully she pulled her arm out from under the blanket to look at it, only to turn away quickly like the stitches were distressing and shoved her arm back under where she couldn't look at it. His stitching was neat and well spaced, which was about what she had expected. There wasn't unnecessary damage to the skin that she'd been able to see in that brief look. Better than what would have happened if she'd done it on her own like she intended. She took a few deep, shaky, panicky breaths, closing her eyes tightly like somehow that would push back pain and whatever else Bruce wanted to read her as having from the action. Fear, at least. There was often fear with too much pain, and fear was an expression she played especially well. She wanted him to think that she was trying her best to remain calm. Where am I? The apartments all looked a little alike, but that wasn't an observation that someone would be making right now, that was something that got pointed out during small talk over a cup of tea and some crackers while making small talk. Have you got anything for...? The words faded off into a grimace. Even if he did, she wouldn't actually take it, any form of pill would be going straight into her sleeve. Tere was still a man out there who would be reporting back to whoever paid him about the situation, and that meant that she couldn't afford to be anything but at the top of her game. That was clearly impossible given the state she was in, but it would be harder if her senses were dulled by medication. Powering through pain was possible, trying to force herself through a medicated haze was much harder. Being weaponless stressed out Theresa out more than pretty much anything else in this situation. Well y'know, beyond the fact that this was the worst failure she'd ever experienced. There was still a man out there and by now he had probably reported back to whoever was paying him, and that meant that eventually at least one person would be here and she wasn't going to be able to protect Bruce with some chairs and a book. She needed to get her hands on a weapon. He didn't really seem the sort who would have a pocket knife lying around to be stolen without it being noticed. On the other hand he also didn't seem like the sort of guy who kept neat track of the cutlery in his kitchen, so the immediate goal was going to be finding a way to get in there and taking a knife so that she could feel prepared again. She could stash it in her sleeve, but that would require having a sleeve first. Her shirt was gone, which was probably to be expected. That could be acknowledged later, now was not the time to pretend to be flustered about it. Maybe in a little while when her questions were answered and she was done pretending that being stabbed was a traumatic situation that was keeping her from being entirely focused. How did she get out of the more serious situation of him knowing her face? She had memorized the files, had all the information that had been given over by agents Barton and Romanoff, knew everything that could be picked up from following a man around without his knowledge for months without end. Somewhere in all of that information were the things she needed to put together to create a situation where she could get back to work even now that he knew she existed. She couldn't make a bad impression, that was the kind of thing that stuck. And she couldn't put off this thinking until later, the game needed to start now. Ah. She could make him like her. Tony Stark hadn't been especially cooperative when it came to information but they knew that things hadn't ended on bad terms. She had seen the way Bruce kept people at a distance, she could make him do the work for her. Are you the one who stitched me up? Thank you. Also ow.