[ she lets him pull her in, her forehead resting against his shoulder as her head tips down to ghost a kiss against her hair. she lets him tug her closer, and her hands flatten between them, palming out over his chest to feel the thump thump thump of his heartbeat beneath. it's an embrace they've shared before, quiet and calm — and it's not usually one she feels any need to break away from, either, but when he breaks the silence with an offer to call a ceasefire on his crusading ways, daisy's head does lean back. not a full breakaway, but just enough to level him with a concerned gaze. ]
Wally. [ think about this. ] I'm not — that's not what I'm saying. I'd never ask you to do that.
[ just like she'd never let him ask her to stop what she does either. they have their roles to play, their gifts to share. it was what made them who they were. granted, nowadays daisy does more on the 'training new arrivals' front than playing front-and-center superhero... but she still gets into her own fair share of danger. ]
Is that what you want to do? Or are you offering because you think I want you to?
[ Wally takes the underlying advice to think about what he's saying, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown, bottom lip slipping between his teeth, one of his hands idly stroking her lower back while his gaze never wavers from hers as he does. After the moment of internal deliberation, he breaks the silence with a sigh and gives an uncertain shake of his head. ]
I know you'd never ask that of me, and we both know you'd kick my ass before letting me do it for that reason. [ Neither of them would be leading the lives that they do if fear was allowed to control their choices. ] It's — I don't know. I've never been very good at slowing down.
[ The commitment to fighting the good fight has been driving him for as long as he can remember. As a result, always playing the part of the hero has strained almost every one of his relationships, with more than one of his exes accusing him of racing in and out of people's lives. Daisy understands the commitment and responsibility, better than most, but how much of the worrying, miss check-ins, and cold dinners can she take before she's had enough?
Maybe offering to give up the thing that defines him, even temporarily, was a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived dilemma. But racing out of her life is the last thing he wants to do. ]
The truth is I've never really had a reason to want to slow down. Until now. [ A flush comes over his cheeks as the words sound sentimentally sappy even to his own ears. ] I just — I really want this to work, Daisy.
[ she's quiet for a moment, considering. it's not an inherently strange thing to want — after all, even captain america got to take breaks every now and again — but it does feel strange for him. ever since they've met, his abilities and what he's able to do with them have been intertwined with who he is, not the defining characteristics but supporting ones, his speed only reinforcing his natural inclination to help others.
beyond small things (like building a bouquet of wildflowers in the blink of an eye, or hand-wringing water out of a jacket dropped into a cold pond), he's never used his abilities selfishly. not the way she would have, if she was in his shoes. he's a good person, and his speed doesn't contradict that.
so she doesn't mind that he uses his abilities to help others. she expects it. she doesn't mind if dinner is delayed or if plans have to be changed to accommodate, because saving the world is their thing. it's something they share, a calling they both aspire to, and something they both put above each other. but to hear him say that he wants this to work — and knowing, without question, that he means what lingers intangibly between them, a relationship they've never bothered to define but that they both hold especially close — and to hear him say that he feels like he needs to stop speeding to make it happen?
well. she doesn't like it, to say the least. ]
Do you think I'm going to break up with you because you're late to dinner?
[ is that what this is about? ]
Wally, I would never have let this happen if I didn't want you to be a hero. You don't think there aren't a dozen cute redheads out there without superspeed I could have chatted up at the gym?
[ okay, maybe a dozen redheads specifically is a bit of a stretch, but she hopes he gets the point. ]
If you want to slow down because you need a break, I'm never going to tell you you can't. But you don't have to do that for me. Or for us.
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no subject
Wally. [ think about this. ] I'm not — that's not what I'm saying. I'd never ask you to do that.
[ just like she'd never let him ask her to stop what she does either. they have their roles to play, their gifts to share. it was what made them who they were. granted, nowadays daisy does more on the 'training new arrivals' front than playing front-and-center superhero... but she still gets into her own fair share of danger. ]
Is that what you want to do? Or are you offering because you think I want you to?
no subject
I know you'd never ask that of me, and we both know you'd kick my ass before letting me do it for that reason. [ Neither of them would be leading the lives that they do if fear was allowed to control their choices. ] It's — I don't know. I've never been very good at slowing down.
[ The commitment to fighting the good fight has been driving him for as long as he can remember. As a result, always playing the part of the hero has strained almost every one of his relationships, with more than one of his exes accusing him of racing in and out of people's lives. Daisy understands the commitment and responsibility, better than most, but how much of the worrying, miss check-ins, and cold dinners can she take before she's had enough?
Maybe offering to give up the thing that defines him, even temporarily, was a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived dilemma. But racing out of her life is the last thing he wants to do. ]
The truth is I've never really had a reason to want to slow down. Until now. [ A flush comes over his cheeks as the words sound sentimentally sappy even to his own ears. ] I just — I really want this to work, Daisy.
no subject
beyond small things (like building a bouquet of wildflowers in the blink of an eye, or hand-wringing water out of a jacket dropped into a cold pond), he's never used his abilities selfishly. not the way she would have, if she was in his shoes. he's a good person, and his speed doesn't contradict that.
so she doesn't mind that he uses his abilities to help others. she expects it. she doesn't mind if dinner is delayed or if plans have to be changed to accommodate, because saving the world is their thing. it's something they share, a calling they both aspire to, and something they both put above each other. but to hear him say that he wants this to work — and knowing, without question, that he means what lingers intangibly between them, a relationship they've never bothered to define but that they both hold especially close — and to hear him say that he feels like he needs to stop speeding to make it happen?
well. she doesn't like it, to say the least. ]
Do you think I'm going to break up with you because you're late to dinner?
[ is that what this is about? ]
Wally, I would never have let this happen if I didn't want you to be a hero. You don't think there aren't a dozen cute redheads out there without superspeed I could have chatted up at the gym?
[ okay, maybe a dozen redheads specifically is a bit of a stretch, but she hopes he gets the point. ]
If you want to slow down because you need a break, I'm never going to tell you you can't. But you don't have to do that for me. Or for us.