He relaxes ever so slightly as she steps away. Not fully; some level of tension remains in the line of his shoulders, the way his hands wander restlessly over the partially disassembled engine components spread out on the workbench. But here in his workshop...here of all places he doesn't feel the need to put up the front of cavalier indolence that was his armor long before Iron Man was the barest spark of inspiration.
It shouldn't reassure him that she's looking tense again too. It really shouldn't. But this at least it familiar, having her at a distance, behind various defenses. It's infinitely easier to deal with than the strange intimacy of a moment before. He has no idea what he was thinking. Not that he didn't want to help, but like this she was like a wolf in a trap. No matter how much sympathy you might feel there was still a fair chance of getting your hand ripped off if you got too close.
"I figure once they've got you sliced open they can probably do pretty much whatever the hell they like anyway," he responds, quirking an eyebrow.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-06-18 02:26 pm (UTC)It shouldn't reassure him that she's looking tense again too. It really shouldn't. But this at least it familiar, having her at a distance, behind various defenses. It's infinitely easier to deal with than the strange intimacy of a moment before. He has no idea what he was thinking. Not that he didn't want to help, but like this she was like a wolf in a trap. No matter how much sympathy you might feel there was still a fair chance of getting your hand ripped off if you got too close.
"I figure once they've got you sliced open they can probably do pretty much whatever the hell they like anyway," he responds, quirking an eyebrow.