Owner Pose
Martin Blackwood     Martin is seated in the living room area of the suite he shares with Jon. Agnes was in the room that used to be their office, it had taken Martin all of one day to put together the funds needed to make the room the girl's. The suite was relatively quiet and Martin was busy looking over a book.

    Today's choice reading was a book on the more modern aspects of warfare in the Middle East. There is a soft ambient song playing on the smart speaker near his reading chair, more to override the loud and quite distracting snores of the giant ball of fluff that rests at his feet in the general shape of the dog, Lady Grey.
Cael Becker     There's a chime at the door - and standing on the otherside is Cael, dressed casually in sweats and a tank top, with her new tattoo showing prominently on the back of her left hand, which holds a canvas shopping back. In her right hand is a bottle of whiskey - the same brand as she'd brought over before the angels began to arrive (a Midwinter's Night Dram) - but this one is still sealed.
    Her hair is damp - implying she's taken advantage of the shower in her own quarters while taking this brief respite to the Triskelion. Soon she'll be back to Grand Central Station, with its comparitive lack of ammenities.
Martin Blackwood     Martin smiles at Cael. "We really ought to just get you a keycard for the suite" he says softly and gestures for her to come in. "Taking a moment away from Headquarters to get a shower in?" he asks taking note of her damp hair. "Can I get you anything?" he moves to the kitchen to grab a pair of small tumblers. Obviously he presumes that they can open the bottle tonight while they talk.

    He glances past her expecting to see the massive figure of Bear with her. "Bear still at the Station?" he asks, moving to set the pair of tumblers on the bar separating kitchen and living area.
Cael Becker     An uncertain look crosses Cael's features as she steps in, at the thought of being given her own keycard for their quarters. "...I'm not entirely sure I'd be comfortable just... barging in on your home unannounced," she replies. "I mean, not that I'd expect to step in on anything, It's just-" It's their //home// - and they're a family. It seems to strange to her.
    "Left him with Jon, actually," Cael confirms - offering a small smile, and a shrug of one shoulder. "I mean. I told Jon to look after him for me, but-" she'd honestly intended things the other way around. Maybe Jon needed a little time on his own - but he didn't need to be //alone//.
    She sets the bottle on the coffee table as she adds, "I brought that because - I don't know. I'm sure you've got everything you need for tea, and being on your own here for a while - thought it might be nice to have something you could sip." And hopefully wouldn't simply down wastefully. "...how's Agnes been? How're you?"
Martin Blackwood     Martin nods. "I appreciate it" he says with a smile. "Feel up to sipping it with me?" he asks. "Things are okay. She's settling in slowly. There's a lot about her that is unusual, but at the same time, she's a teenager. It's..." he pauses.

    "Lyra died when she was 14 so it's not my first rodeo with someone her age and..." He offers a sad smile looking towards the room where the girl was either sleeping, reading, or simply residing. "to be honest I think I'm in a better place now than I was back then. Lot has changed in three years." He brings the two tumblers over to the coffee table and sets them down.
Cael Becker     "I wouldn't mind a glass," Cael confirms, flashing Martin a brief smile. "I'm glad she's settling in - I wish it didn't have to be //like this//. She and Jon deserve better." They both deserve to be able to spend this time together.
    Before dropping onto the couch, she pauses to gently scratch at the sleeping pup - not trying to wake her, but apparently not quite able to resist dog. ...maybe she misses Bear when she leaves him behind - on the rare occassions when she does.
    That done, she settles onto the couch and adds a bit sheepishly. "These, uh - are for Lady Grey. A figure a pup her size - she'll probably chew her way through a lot of stuff, you know?" Inside is a mix of toys - from heavy-duty kongs, to balls, to soft toys with squeakers in the middle. One of them is Captain America's shield - because, honestly, that amused the hell out of her.
Martin Blackwood     The god snuffles a bit as she's scritched but otherwise doesn't stir. Apparently, she's a heavy sleeper.

    "Oh! Thank you!" Martin replies as he looks over the toys. "I imagine she might do just that," he says. "I got a few things but hadn't had a chance to pick up more." He takes out the Captain America shield. "I bet Rodgers just -loves- this..." he says and tosses it back into the bag.

    He sobers then. "Yeah... it is... rough. But she's safe and that's what's important. They will have time together when... well... when he gets back. I expect that they will be essential for each other at that point." He's shed a lot of tears on his own about Jon's impending demise, mostly about how he can't go down there to get him back, but he clings to the fact that Jon -will- be back and that keeps him stable... for now.
Cael Becker     "Yeah. When he gets back," Cael agrees quietly. She opens the bottle of whiskey while Martin is inspecting the toys - giving them both a generous pour, and pushing one of the glasses towards Martin before she caps the bottle, and picks up her own. She studies the liquid in silence for murmuring in a bare whisper, "I'll get him back." She has to. She //has// to, or she'll go mad.
    "I get it now, you know - why you put up with me. We do make each other stronger. I don't know how I could handle all this without him, and- well. He needs you too, that's for certain, but... I don't know that either of us could face this mess without the other."
Martin Blackwood     Martin sips his whiskey and manages to not choke on it. The swallow is a bit hard though. "'Put up with you'?" he asks. "Cael... I..." He sets the glass down and gives her a long look in silence for a moment before he speaks.

    "Okay... this is going to sound harsh, but I mean it in the nicest of ways. Cael, I don't 'put up with you' being a part of this family" he starts. "I don't tolerate your presence. If it was a matter of tolerance, I would've said so at the outset and likely, I'm the type of prissy bitch that I'd say it more often than even that." He looks at Lady Grey and then at the door that is Agnes' room.

    "That's just is... you're a part of the family. You helped save Agnes. You love Jon. Jon loves you. Hell, if I was the sort of man who believed in fate, I would find a great deal of humor in the fact that the first op I get put on after returning from the 'dead'" he air quotes it, "had me saving your ass from getting shoved off the side of a boat." He smiles at her.

    "Am I happy that you and Jon make each other stronger? Absolutely. But that is an icing to the cake of you simply -being here-" he says frankly. "Not the -reason- for you being accepted. I accept you because you and him love each other, and honestly while my feelings toward you are not the same as Jon's, I look at you here and I see a friend. And I'd hope, that you see the same when looking at me."
Cael Becker     Cael stills - her expression akin to a deer in headlights as soon as Martin calls her 'a part of the family.' "No, Martin - I'm not... I don't..." Cael protests weakly, and uncertainly. "This is //Jon's// family. //Your// family, I'm just-" Just what? She was still trying to work that out.
    "I don't really... //do// 'families.' That's just not- that's never been a part of my life."
    So - somehow - Martin has this all wrong. He must.
Martin Blackwood     Martin laughs at her. "Cael... I'm going to ask you a series of questions. Answering yes to them is pretty much proof that you are a part of this family" he says and fixes her with a direct gaze as he takes up his glass again.

    He takes a sip and then asks, in the same plain and conversational tone, "Do you care about me?" He's going to let her get the possible easy "no's" out of the way first before he starts throwing the emotional fast balls.
Cael Becker     It's a nice theory - if only there were any easy 'no's to be had. "Care?" Cael repeats a bit uneasily, staring down at the cup in her hands. She shrugs her shoulders before offering a quiet, "Yeah." But 'caring' isn't eactly the highest bar.
    Besides - he's important to Jon, and that practically obligates her to care.
Martin Blackwood     Martin shrugs a shoudler to her acknowledgement. "What about Agnes? I mean, you went out of your way to help save her from a madman who heads a cult" he asks, taking another sip. "Do you care about her?" he regards the woman with a soft smile.

    It's a pretty blatant trick obviously, but he'll get to his point eventually. Most of the questions he already knew the answers to, at least he imagined he would, and he understood the meaning behind the answers as well. While most revolved around the relation to Jon, it didn't diminish the meaning any in his opinion.
Cael Becker     "I don't know her as well," Cael admits. "I mean, I don't know her at all, really. But- yeah. I care," she answers simply. That hardly makes someone family, though.
    She lifts her glass to her lips for a sip, refusing to knock back the valuable liquor, even if that's what she feels like doing at the moment - as she fights back the urge to once more protest that she simply //can't// have a family.
Martin Blackwood     Martin nods, accepting the woman's answer well enough. "And what about Jon? What do you feel for him?" he asks curiosly. There is a probing level to his question, he wants to hear her feelings about it. More than just accepting it second hand from Jon.

    He can accept that the woman loves his husband. Her actions up to this point and out in the field were evidence enough of that, but hearing it from her directly would make it more than just hearsay. Words matter to Martin, more than almost anything.
Cael Becker     "I love him," Cael says immediately, and without any hesitation. "I need him. I'm terrified for him." Her fingers tighten around the glass as she still refuses to look up, staring through the amber liquid and down at the table and carpet below. "I've never felt this way about anyone before, Martin, but I love him. I'm certain of that now."
Martin Blackwood     Martin nods. "And yet, you can't be a part of his family because...?" he asks. "Why, if you've never felt this way for a person before can that not change other aspects of your life, Cael?" he asks, almost philosophically.

    "You've never loved before, I get that. And you seem to have this aversion to being a part of a family... I suspect it's nbecause of your past..." It's a safe bet, most trauma and aversions come out of past issues. "And yet, you've found a person who you love emphatically... why not allow other aspects of your life to shift -with0 that change?"
Cael Becker     Cael doesn't answer for a while, staring fixedly at the floor without really seeing anything, as her thoughts whirl in circles, and her heart aches in her chest. Finally she starts to speak in a quiet voice. "You're going to tell me I'm being ridiculous, or that I'm nuts," she says quietly. "But I've only said 'I love you' to three people in my life. My mother died when I was twelve. Alis, my foster sister, about five years later. I haven't let myself get close to anyone for eight years, and the next person I //love//?" Jon.
    "Twice is a coincidence." Three times's a pattern. "I'm not supposed to have a family, Martin. I don't know why. That's just the way it is."
Martin Blackwood     Martin didn't think Cael was crazy or ridiculous and he said as much. "I don't think it's ridiculous or nuts that you feel that way" he says. "I think you're a product of circumstance... poor circumstance up to now." He says sipping his drink.

    "But that's exactly why I think it can change. You can be a part of a family now, one who accepts you and wants you to be a part of it" he says. "Jon, obviously does... he wouldn't love you otherwise. Agnes clearly likes you..." He pauses. "And I do to. You've been a good friend to me and that's not something I've had in a while." Not since the fire that consumed the house where his old friends died.
Cael Becker     Cael shakes her head. Doesn't Martin understand? "...and what if it ends up getting you and Agnes killed?" she asks bluntly. "It's silly, and it's superstitious, and- and a few months ago, I would have told myself I was being ridiculous. But apparently magic is real, and Gods, are real, and angels are real. So... why not curses? I'm scared to really love or care about anyone else - because what if I get them killed too, somehow?"
Martin Blackwood     "Have any of those people before had magic themselves? Jon's homo magi, I'm... something else, not really sure of what but my father is from another dimension it would seem..." he gestures to the bedroom where Agnes sleeps (she should be asleep by now), "and she's the avatar of what is likely the most powerful Egyptian god in terms of pure strength."

    He grins at Cael. "What I mean to say is... why not let yourself have a bit of happiness and allow the people you care for to take care of themselves -with- you instead of isolating yourself like you have been?"
Cael Becker     "...she's a child, though," Cael protests weakly, glancing for a moment towards the girl's bedroom and then taking a sip of the whiskey again. Her heart aches from the fear clawing at her, even as she tries to listen to what Martin is saying. Can she really accept something like that? Would she put them in danger if she did? "This frightens me, Martin," she admits in her quiet voice, before abruptly adding more forcefully, "Though if you went around repeating it, I'd punch you right in the jaw."
    Not that she would - but deflecting was easier. Safer.
Martin Blackwood     Martin gives Cael a grin. "Because I'm the type of guy that's going to go around HQ saying that Cael's afraid of feelings?" he asks, his tone skeptical. "You should know me better than that by now." He sips again, emptying his glass and setting it down on the coffee table.

    "Cael, I think it's time to move past the fear... you're in a situation you haven't ever been in before with people who care about you. Agnes would love to have you in her life... she likes you. I am so far beyond 'tolerating' you it's laughable and Jon loves you. I know it's scary... being in love usually is, but you have to make a choice after a while. You can let it paralyze you or you can move with it and accept the changes it provides."

    He sits forward, elbows on his knees. "I can't make that choice for you. Only you can. But I can tell you that the second one... while painful sometimes and difficult to deal with, is infinitely better than the first."
Cael Becker     "I wish it were that easy to just... let go of the fear, Martin - I really do," Cael answers with a heavy sigh. "I'd like to have- I mean, what would I even be in this family?" she asks in bafflement, lifting one hand to run it through her hair in frustration.
    "The fear's not just gonna... go away. But I mean- I haven't run out the door, either, so..." That at least was something.
Martin Blackwood     Martin shrugs to Cael's question. "That's something we all figure out together" he says. "But Agnes likes you already and you obviously like her so... you work that out together." He says checking the woman with his emotive eyes.

    "I know it won't go away, but it is clear that you're trying to overcome it... it means a lot. You should know that I acknowledge it and appreciate it." He smiles and waves a hand. "But did you come by to deliver whiskey and check on us or was there something else you were looking for? I know I've hit you with a big ask myself... only fair you should have your opportunity as well."
Cael Becker     "Honestly... that was most of it," Cael answers, giving an uneasy shrug of her shoulders. "I, uhh... Things are probably going to get pretty dire in the next week or so. We're coming down to the wire, and Jon's going to need us - both of us - so I just... I don't know. I guess I wanted to make sure you're ready for all this shit. If there anything I can do to help - I'll try to. If there's any questions you have, that you haven't been able to ask, or- I don't know." She lifts her glass for another sip, some of the tension starting to ease out of her shoulders.
    What did it say that talking about the impending torture and death was //less// stressful for her? Probably just a sign of how inured to it all she's finally grown.
Martin Blackwood     Martin thinks for a while before he shakes his head. "I'm alright. At least, as alright as I can be... there's not a lot anyone can do. I'm not hurting any more or less as it draws near. I will want to speak with him before Saturday if I can. Make sure he gets a moment to step aside and call? Talk to me. Talk to Agnes. Say..." He swallows. "Whatever he want to say. Just in case."

    "It's going to be tough, but we will be here for him... all of us... regardless of what happens" he says. "I've watched enough telly to know that even coming back from the dead comes with a whole host of possible baggage."

    He snifs a bit. "As for questions? How is he? Really? On the front lines. In command?" he asks. "I don't get to see it much... especially since I'm here with Agnes. Is he handling the responsibility well?"
Cael Becker     "He will. I'll make sure he does - you guys all deserve that," Cael promises firmly.
    "And- well, the responsibility, I think he's handling it pretty well. In front of the others, as least. I get to see a bit more that others don't, obviously. In the heat of the moment - he's collected, decisive, commanding... He doesn't always make perfect decisions, but we've been winning with relatively small losses."
    She lets out a sigh before adding, "But the deaths weigh on him. He takes a statement from each of the fallen - and contacts as many of their families as he can - personally. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, and it hurts him."
Martin Blackwood     Martin nods. "That sounds like him..." he says. "And it's not sometihing you can expect to change. He's always been like that... he carries a lot of the weight of those he helps." He smiles a bit sadly and sits back again. "Do me a favor?" he asks her.

    "Make sure he takes time for himself? Time to decompress? I know you're doing that now being here, but I also get reports from the field and I know the next few days are going to be rough." He nods giving her a look of respect and weight, letting her know he trusts her without giving the words.

    "I don't want him to burn himself out worrying that every little thing is perfect. Combat can't be perfect. 'No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength.'"
Cael Becker     Cael nods her head in confirmation. "I do," she promises. "I try to. To make sure we get some private time - to just talk, or be together. Or for him to talk to you or- whatever he needs. I'm doing the best I can to keep us //both// sane," even though it certainly isn't easy.
    She takes a deep breath in, letting it out slowly, before adding, "We'll find our way through this. There isn't another voice." After finishing her glass of whiskey and setting it aside she adds, "I should get back - unless you have anything else...?"
Martin Blackwood     Martin rises from his seat. "No. Nothing more. You take care of yourself too, okay?" he says. "I'm worried for the both of you. I'll be here if you need me. Okay?" He gives Cael a smile. "Thank you. For the toys and the talk. It was nice to have an adult to speak to. I've been on teenager duty for a few days, forgot what it was like to talk to someone closer to my own age." Though he does have almost a decade of age over her.