bakerstreet | like it's hard?

What other options are there, babe...? [He bites his lip and tries not to sound too worried. He didn't mean to turn the mood sour when they were supposed to be cuddling and watching a movie.]

Probably - just me hunting something down and someone being there to make sure I don't go too far and go after everything else?

[ 'Just'. Sure thing. ]

...is this the part where you tell me I'm absolutely not going to be the one that stays with you? Because I will. But it feels like a thing you're gonna argue against. [It becomes a matter of which thing Josh decides is more (most?) important, he thinks:

The trust he already has with Bob
VS
His (valid) concern about hurting him.

Bob has found that, even without being Sentry, some of the powers he has are a lot more... inactive than others? Like the healing factor. Which he hasn't forgotten about since he realized it was even a thing. He's going to use it to his advantage, he just... maybe has to find the right leverage to get Josh to agree to it.]

It's not like I haven't gone down this road of thought before. It's not new. But you're the only one who's seen any shade of what I could become and I don't want to risk hurting you.

So I end up deciding on nothing. But I can't decide that much longer, can I?

[ He's not committing, he's afraid to actually make the decision. He's going to need a little push. ]

It doesn’t seem like it, baby… [He hates it for him, wishes there was anything he could do to make it easier on him. But for now, he will do his best to help ease the pressure, and to offer distractions when needed.

He reaches up to draw his fingers through Josh’s hair. He keeps his rhythm slow and steady.] But you don’t need to do all this alone, okay? So, let me help. I’m here, and I think I’ve proven well enough I’m not going anywhere anytime without you.

I know. You don't need to prove it more.

[ He closes his eyes, leans into his touch a little. He just concentrates on that for a moment, and tries to keep his breath as calm as possible.

Hard with what they're talking about. Difficult with what he's about to mention. ]

I lost everyone else, you know? Outside this tower. Haven't talked to them in years. Hard when you grew up with the.

But I guess they figured me out.

Then let me help you. Really help you. [He moves to rest his chin on Josh's shoulder again, but his fingers don't stop their tread through his hair. He drops a quick kiss against Josh's temple before settling again.]

Have you tried? Talking to them, I mean. Or did you just... let it all fall apart because you think you deserve it? [Like calls to like. He can see it so clearly when Josh reacts in ways he's far too familiar with because he's been there himself.]

I tried with Chris. He doesn't really try back. I don't want to push it.

[ That's not who he wants to talk to the most, anyway. He doesn't remember Sam's body, he doesn't remember what he did in the end. He's convinced she's alive and just out there hating him. Number one Washington fan took a turn. ]

But I'm not entirely clear what allowing you to really help me would involve.

[ He's not dumb. Emotional conversations are just a struggle to keep up with. ]

Want me to talk to him? [Because- hey. He'll do it, he doesn't care. Anything for Josh.

The conversation isn't exactly an easy one, and Bob is trying to avoid certain, blatant points because phrasing matters, and he has to be gentle with this so he can actually get Josh on board.]

You know what I mean. [He says softly, his voice a quiet murmur right next to his ear, chin still resting on his shoulder.]

Let me... feed you. [It almost sounds innocuous, until the actual intent is pushed into place.]

... We'll circle back to you possibly talking to Chris, I can't handle thinking about two big things at the same time.

[ At least he's honest? He's trying to give this pitch enough energy and thought, so he has to focus on it alone. He has to pull back a little though, try to look at his face. ]

I don't know how much I can control this shit if I actually give in a little.

Okay, that’s fair. [It’s a lot, he knows. And he’s glad to put one thing off for later; doubly so when Josh doesn’t choose to shelve the part Bob thinks as more important.]

I don’t think you can hurt me, babe… I don’t think… Sentry would let it happen.

[He is… wildly overpowered for someone like… like Bob. It’s more power than he was ever meant to have. He still doesn’t understand how he was spared in an experiment that killed every single other test subject.

He ignores it. Pretends it’s not there and focuses all of his energy at Watchtower instead. Cleaning, dishes, laundry… he keeps up that side of things. Easy, repetitive work that passes the time if nothing else.

But he knows it’s there, just beneath the surface, waiting to be reached for again. ]

That's another thing - is he going to come out if I do this?

Are you ready for that?

[ It's very much like he hid his own other side, he thinks. Except a hell of a lot more complicated. ]

I can handle myself no matter what. It's about what you can stand after.

I don’t have a real answer for that… I don’t think he’ll need to, though.

[He realizes he might sound a little delusional… he has no counterpoint. That’s the whole thought.]

You've seen my teeth, right?

[ It's - kind of a thing, and he has to make a deliberate point of it. So for the first time ever, he tries to bring them out by choice, rather than it just happening.

The problem is he doesn't really know how to do that, and in the end it's more like a feral baby monster mouth than anything. He can feel it's a weak result.

He Tried. ]

Yes, babe, I have. [He smiles a little as he tries to bring the teeth out on purpose.]

I know it’s scary, and I know I’d argue against it if it was the other way around… but you’d be just as insistent about helping me, right? [He doesn’t need Josh to answer that question because he already knows the truth.

Still. He frames his boyfriend’s face with both of his hands.] I already know you don’t trust anyone else enough for this… it’s me, or… nothing. And I don’t think you can keep going on nothing forever. [He kisses him softly.] C’mon… please…?

...it would be stupid to keep saying no, but my attempt now was weak.

[ Like. How is he supposed to bring out the real teeth? He can't do anything with whatever's going on now. He huffs, frustrated with the fact that whether he cooperates or not, he's kind of fucked. ]

Where would I bite you, anyway? What's least risky?

[ Maybe he can make it happen if he closes his eyes and concentrates on the permanent smell of meat he's constantly filtering out around everyone, but he's afraid of that.

He doesn't want to cross and never go back. ]

You’ll get the hang of it, I’m sure… [It’s admittedly an odd thing to be encouraging about, but that’s not going to stop him.]

I mean- [He realizes this is an awkward way to say it but it’s already coming out of his mouth before there’s time to stop it.] somewhere meaty, I guess?

You're encouraging me to be more of a creature? [ The fact this absolutely tracks is just - yeah, he's lucky. ] If I didn't already believe you about not leaving, that would do it.

But that's weird, you know?

[ He can't help but give him a quick kiss, it's just required at this point. ]

You're weird. I love you.

[ That's also required to say, okay? But now he's considering how to actually do this. If he forces and jumps into it, he won't have time to think it through. ]

Look, I'm not picking where. Feels like too much. Offer something up.

Just a little. [He says, pinching his fingers close together in show.

He kisses him back and scrunches his nose at the comment.] I love you, too. [A beat. Two.] And if it's weird to support your boyfriend's very specific dietary needs, I don't wanna be normal.

[He smiles a little and runs his fingers through Josh's hair.] I won't make you pick. Just thinking out loud. [He thinks he gets why Josh doesn't want to make that choice, it's too much like the idea of eating his own kills, when he gets deer for Hannah, just something he can't force himself to cross the line on. And he's barely just starting to entertain this offer at all, so Bob doesn't mind being decisive on this.]

Let's go with thigh, okay?

...see, I don't want to be thinking about that the next time I go down on you, but if you think it's the best place.

[ He considers where they are, though, and scrutinizes the door to the cinema room. He can't really tell - ]

We're moving if this place doesn't have a lock on the door. If someone walked in, they could heavily misunderstand and then I'd be toast.

Easier to hide. Nobody’s gonna ask questions. [Whatever degree of acceptance there is of having Josh hang around the tower, he’s not sure he could get away with that. He’ll heal a lot quicker than most, but… it’s still not something he wants to put either of them through with the rest of his friends.]

No lock in here, where do you want to go? [His own room seems most logical- but Josh is already feeling some type of way about this whole thing, and maybe that would be a link too far?]

It won't heal up as quick?

[ Because if that's true, that's a concern to him. He considers the question - his room would make sense and he could be okay with it, except one thing. ]

There's probably going to be a mess? It has to be somewhere that can be cleaned with little fuss.

It will, I just don't know exactly how long it'll take. I don't have- like- reference for it? I mean, besides Bucky and Alexei, but their serums don't even work the same, and what I got was different than both of theirs.

[Limits. He hasn't tested them. Mostly because he's been too busy burying his head in the sand over his abilities after The Void Incident.]

Shower, then?

[The planning and logistics part of this feels... strange in a way he can't quite pinpoint. Maybe that's how it should feel when you're offering the Hannibal Lite Dinner Plate to your own boyfriend, though... At least, if this does become more than a one-off thing, they'll have this part under them already. Though he won't discount that Josh might just... not be able to repeat it, but in that case, they'll just pivot and shift to some other idea. He can't just watch Josh deteriorate in front of him.]

Okay.

[ He doesn't get up yet, though. He just moves in close and takes in his warmth, the feel of him, his scent. He closes his eyes for a long moment, then finally stands. ]

Let's get it done.

[Bob doesn't rush him, just lets him soak up the warmth and the comfort he's seeking. But when he stands and seems so decisive about it, Bob gets up too.

He lets Josh choose whether to linger closer or put some kind of distance between them as they walk out of the cinema room; if he seems receptive to it, he tangles their fingers together as they weave through the tower.]

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Idk why this is so funny to me… I blame the Magnus archives lmao

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