His mouth twitches with the silent open and close of his jaw, all the wrong words cutting ahead of the right ones, curses crowding up against the door of his self-control. The only thing that keeps his mind from spiraling out is what he's doing with his hand, both soothing him and adding to his unease with the same caressing touch. Even without the senior agent insisting their legs rub, insisting he keep his eyes on him unless he wants to risk him taking drastic measures to recapture his attention, it looks like Soleum is close to toppling over the side of their seat of his own defeated volition.
…
Okay.
It's not a precipitous shift, more akin to the progression of when the last act of a play wraps up, the lights slowly brightening over the dazed interior of a theater after the performing cast has finished their curtain call and the drapes have fully cloaked the stage. The nervous newbie in front of Agent Choi recedes back into Soleum, for a time, but not the furious blush staining his cheeks. Nor the put-off, narrowed stare that pierces from behind his glasses. People aren't seafood, apparently, but Agent Choi will gladly treat him like a fascinating curio he doesn't understand?
He could go for another cigarette. If Agent Choi really cared so much about Soleum's bad habits, he'd lead by example and put his taste for harassing his juniors to rest. ]
I don't need to understand everything you do, [ he tells him, slowly. Measured. ] I only need to know the place it comes from.
[ The declaration bears more strength than he truly feels. He said it, however, so he should stick with it. There's no way Soleum can predict his actual actions in a situation like that. Circumstances change, commands evolve, objectives clash. People promise one thing and do another. But he'll say whatever he needs to. ]
And, right now, I think you're just tired. And you want a distraction, but this… [ His throat clears, and he tries to straighten his spine back upright, the bones of his neck releasing a soft crack from the movement. ] is going a little too far, isn't it, Agent? I'm not your plaything…
no subject
His mouth twitches with the silent open and close of his jaw, all the wrong words cutting ahead of the right ones, curses crowding up against the door of his self-control. The only thing that keeps his mind from spiraling out is what he's doing with his hand, both soothing him and adding to his unease with the same caressing touch. Even without the senior agent insisting their legs rub, insisting he keep his eyes on him unless he wants to risk him taking drastic measures to recapture his attention, it looks like Soleum is close to toppling over the side of their seat of his own defeated volition.
…
Okay.
It's not a precipitous shift, more akin to the progression of when the last act of a play wraps up, the lights slowly brightening over the dazed interior of a theater after the performing cast has finished their curtain call and the drapes have fully cloaked the stage. The nervous newbie in front of Agent Choi recedes back into Soleum, for a time, but not the furious blush staining his cheeks. Nor the put-off, narrowed stare that pierces from behind his glasses. People aren't seafood, apparently, but Agent Choi will gladly treat him like a fascinating curio he doesn't understand?
He could go for another cigarette. If Agent Choi really cared so much about Soleum's bad habits, he'd lead by example and put his taste for harassing his juniors to rest. ]
I don't need to understand everything you do, [ he tells him, slowly. Measured. ] I only need to know the place it comes from.
[ The declaration bears more strength than he truly feels. He said it, however, so he should stick with it. There's no way Soleum can predict his actual actions in a situation like that. Circumstances change, commands evolve, objectives clash. People promise one thing and do another. But he'll say whatever he needs to. ]
And, right now, I think you're just tired. And you want a distraction, but this… [ His throat clears, and he tries to straighten his spine back upright, the bones of his neck releasing a soft crack from the movement. ] is going a little too far, isn't it, Agent? I'm not your plaything…