tcxastough

[tcxastough]

//i lived bitch

[tcxastough]

[tcxastough]

weroyals​:

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒   𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒      𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐂𝐇      𝐀𝐁𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘      𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐃      𝐀𝐒      𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃.      The   combination   of   sternness      &      femininity,      both   of   which   Soldier   responds   to,      not   only   got   her   his   undivided   attention   but   had   him   agreeing   readily   to   her   request.      When   he   stood,      it   was   with   a   solid   salute   ‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒   &      not   one   that   ended   with   any   rude   gestures.

❝   𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃   !!      I   will   go   at   once      &      set   that   delinquent   Engineer   straight   on   your   behalf   !!   ❞

Trust   that   he   took   his   massive,      barrel   -   chested   self   over   there   at   once,      catching   the   other   Engineer   in   the   process   of   coming   back   toward   Danielle’s   nest   not   only   figuratively,      but   literally,      his   beefy,      not   at   all   delicate   hand   snatching   the   other   man   by   the   wrist.      

Soldier   was   snarling   as   he   unleashed   the   full   fury   with  which  that   touch   had   imbued   him  upon   his   hapless   victim.

❝   I   understand   you   have   been   shirking   your   duties   as   an   Engineer      &      failing   to   heed   the   orders   of   a   superior   officer   !!      This   will   absolutely   𝐍𝐎𝐓      𝐁𝐄      𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃   !!      You   are   to   return   to   your   post      &      build   your   dispenser   at   once      &      I   am   going   to   watch   you   to   make   sure   the   job   gets   done   right   !!      Am   I   clear,      maggot   ?   ❞

【🔧】— She didn’t watch,  preferring to look the other way and sip on her coffee,  but she was definitely listening, and boy was it satisfying to hear.    The rookie apologized,  obviously flustered and embarrassed judging from his voice,  and gathered his things in order to do just as he was screamed at for.

             ❝ Thank you fer that, ❞  Engie said finally once Soldier had returned.     ❝ Guess I was right about needin’ a fella t’ tell ‘im what t’ do,  as usual. ❞    What she meant by that,  either her being right as usual or needing a guy to assist as usual,  she wasn’t clear on,  but she sounded disappointed either way.

               ❝ Ah dagnabbit,  misplaced mah screwdriver again. ❞    She hadn’t really,  more or less she just wanted to change the subject.   As tough a lady as she was,  people undermining her still got to her from time to time.

[tcxastough]

【🔧】— The engineer put a finger over her lip to instruct silence, closing the trap door from the ladder and pressing her weight on it to keep it from being opened. She had her ear to the floor, trying to listen to approaching footsteps over the loud gunshots and explosions.

         The enemy pyro was prowling around down there, somewhere, and instinctively after seeing them airblast the rockets back at her sentry to dispose of it and the viscous display of scout burning to death as he screamed in agony, the Texan decided to cut her losses and abandon the remainder of her buildings and find the closest place to hide until they were gone.

        No other enemy could quite send fear into the hearts of their enemies like that Pyro-- Danielle would have normally fished her shotgun out and tried gunning them down had they been any other class, like Spy or even Heavy. But she’d been fully engulfed in flames before, and that was an experience she’d never forget.

       “....Sorry ‘bout that.” she replied finally, after deducing that the coast was clear. “Guess y’ didn’t hear none of that happenin’ below, huh?”

@tcxastough​  ━━━━━    s.c

Warm  sunlight  filters  through  the  smashed  out  boards  covering  the  windows  of  Mundy’s  sniper  blind;  it  makes  the  shadowy  cubby  that  he’s  folded  himself  into  a  little  more  bearable.  With  his  hat  covering  an  exhausted  and  slightly  sunburnt  face,  he  tries  to  catch  a  few  relaxed  moments  before  the  chaos  starts  again.  It’s  only  when  somebody  bangs  open  the  trapdoor  into  the  room  that  his  heart  leaps  into  the  Australian’s  throat,  and  his  kukri  is  in  his  hand.

❛  For  christ  sake,  hard  hat!  Think  you  could  make  more  noise?  I  don’t  want  anybody  knowin’  I’m  up  here.  ❛  Then  he  squints  at  her  through  the  tint  of  his  glasses.

❛  Why  are  you  up  here?  ❛

[tcxastough]

What kind of fanbase does your character have?

people don't care about this character enough:((

most fans completely gloss over this character and are obsessed with another character. even if this character is well written and has a cool plot :(( smh these fans need to pay attention to this character :(((

[tcxastough]

【🔧】— The engineer’s hands (or hand, rather) was a conundrum. Strong and calloused, but at the same time, delicate and ladylike. When she wanted to be threatening, she used her prosthetic fist of cold, hard, metal, but when she wanted to be persuasive, charismatic, almost, she used her left hand, her human, feminine touch.

      “Would ya’ be a dear n’ go tell that new Engineer that he needs t’ build his dispenser so he’ll quit comin’ over her t’ take materials from mine? He don’t seem t’ be takin’ any ‘a my advice n’ I think he’d do better if another man told ‘im what t’ do instead a me.”

       Danielle always seemed a bit hostile towards newer engineering recruits, but no one could figure out why-- turns out it might have been unspoken sexism geared at her. or the people who picked Engineer didn’t know what they were fucking doing build your dispenser first goddamn it stop stealing my fucking metal.

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒   𝐒𝐇𝐄’𝐒      𝐆𝐎𝐓      𝐇𝐈𝐒      𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.      Probably   there’s   nothing   more   effective   at   achieving   just   that   than   physically   grabbing   a   man.      Nevertheless,      the   Soldier’s   bent   down   to   the   Engineer’s   height,      his   back   curved   while   she   grips   his   broad   chin   in   her   hand,      all   rough   glove   against   rough   skin.      She   could   order   him   to   do   just   about   anything   right   about   now,      &      he’d   probably   forget   that   she   doesn’t   outrank   him.      Of   course,      her   mind's      likely   more   on   that   rocket   launcher   he’s   still   holding   than   on   what   she   can   make   him   do.

❝   Engie   ?   ❞

@tcxastough​​​​​   ::    🤞 To Soldier     ↳   Send   🤞   to   grasp   my   muse’s   chin

[tcxastough]

【🔧】— “Y’know, I c’in build a lot. Ah c’in build weapon-based machinery that can deal a massive amount ‘a damage fer a short period ‘a time, while also able t’ build a dispenser that c’in deploy an infinite amount ‘a ammo n’ medical assistance. Along with teleporters that c’in traverse th’ subject through vast distances in th’ blink of an eye... But y’know what I cain’t build?”

              “Another GODDAMN SECOND ‘A PATIENCE ‘A DEALIN’ WITH YER BULLSHIT!!!”

[tcxastough]

【🔧】— The Engineer had been working overtime per the Administrator’s orders and it showed. Trying to crack the code on how the robots worked, how to possibly reprogram them or find a way to deactivate the whole bunker on wheels of them. Just studying the remains of them wasn’t enough, she needed one intact and still operational. 

       She’d been working with Demoman on an EMP grenade that would possibly allow them to capture some robots intact so that she could experiment, but she was beginning to think the development would take more time than it was worth. Spy’s sapper was also a no-go, as the robot’s circuitry would simply fry up from the inside, as she was very well aware when having to deal with sappers herself.

       Without a word, Danielle took Jane up on the offer, and pressed her tense forehead to his chest, then closed her eyes and fell asleep for a moment. It only lasted long enough for one to realize she had actually fallen asleep before the egg timer on her work benched dinged, jolting herself back awake with a startled and confused look.

        “Ah damn, th’ processor...” 

                                 ❝   Well,      if   you   need   a   shoulder   t’   lean   on,      mine’s   available.      What   with   you   bein’   tired   .   .   .      unless   you   mean   that   figuratively,      that   is.      But   you   could   still   lean   on   me.   ❞

@tcxastough​   ::    i’m  so  fucking  tired. –to solly    ↳   aggressive  ❛  fuck  ❜  prompts

[tcxastough]

RP starters: Concern.

“It’s midnight, where the hell were you?!”

“Stop keeping your phone in silent, you got me worried!”

“Blood? Are you bleeding?”

“I don’t like the idea of you walking down the streets all alone.”

“I thought I would never see you again…”

“We should get you to hospital.”

“Where did all those bruises came from?”

“I have the right to be worried!”

“Have you been drinking? You look terrible.”

“Sleep at my place tonight.”

“I don’t feel safe letting you be alone when you’re in that shape.”

“Please talk to me about it.”

“Let me take care of you.”

“You need to rest now. Don’t move.”

“How many times have I told you to not go there?”

“You could’ve died, you know…”

“I don’t care if you don’t want my help, I’ll do it anyways.”

“You really need to stop drinking. I’m serious.”

“This time you got yourself into a hospital. I think that’s a sign.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“You need to stop doing stupid shit like that or you will get yourself killed.”

“I’m your friend, of course I care!”

“You know I’m always here for you, right?”

“You’re not okay.”

“I’m just trying to help you.”

“Let me clean your wounds…”

“Why did you do it? Tell me.”

[tcxastough]

Don't chase the rabbit.

Send me “Don’t chase the rabbit” and your muse will be shown a random memory from my muse’s past.

     Beyond, in a clearing overlooking the river, Dell and the governor’s son came upon a boy and a girl playing at knights. Their swords were wooden sticks, broom handles from the look of them, and they were rushing across the grass, swinging at each other lustily. The boy was years older, a head taller, and much stronger, and he was pressing the attack. The girl, a scrawny thing in muddy overalls, was dodging and managing to get her stick in the way of most of the boy’s blows, but not all. When she tried to lunge at him, he caught her stick with his own, swept it aside, and slid his broom handle down hard on her fingers. She cried out and dropped her weapon.

      The governor’s son laughed. The boy looked around, wide-eyed and startled, and dropped his stick in the grass. The girl glared at them, sucking on her knuckles to take the sting out, when Dell approached.

       “Dani?” He called out incredulously.

      “Go away,” Danielle shouted back at them, “What are you doing here? Leave us alone.”

      The governor’s son glanced from Danielle to Dell and back again. “Your sister?” The older brother nodded in response, slightly embarrassed. The other boy examined Dani’s friend, an ungainly lad with dark skin and coarse jet black hair.  “And who are you supposed to be?” He asked in a commanding tone that took no notice of the fact that the other was a year his senior.

      “Tobias,” the boy muttered. He recognized the younger boy from the campaign stage at the park while the governor was giving his speech. 

       “He babysits Dani sometimes,” Dell said.

        “He’s my friend,” Danielle said sharply. “You leave him alone.”

         “Want to be a sword fighter, do you?” The son of the aristocrat stepped forward, taking a pocket knife out and flicking it open. “Pick up your sword, boy,” he said, his eyes bright with amusement. “Let us see how good you are.”

        Tobias stood there, frozen like a statue. The younger boy walked toward him. “Go on, pick it up. Or do you only fight little girls?”

       Tobias said nothing, and only glared at the younger boy in contempt.

       The governor’s son neared, lifted his pocket knife, and laid its point on Tobias’s cheek below the eye, a bright bud of blood blossomed where his knife pressed into Tobias’s flesh, and a slow red line trickled down the boy’s cheek.

        “Hey now, that’s uncalled for!” Dell said, “put your knife away and let’s all just–” But Dell was too slow. Danielle went for him.

       She swung her broomstick with both hands. There was a loud crack as the wood split against the back of the boy’s head, and then everything happened at once before anyone knew what was happening. The aristocrat’s son staggered and whirled around, roaring curses. Tobias ran out of the park as fast as his legs would take him. Dani swung at the boy again, but this time he caught the blow with his hand and snapped the stick in two. The back of his head was all bloody and his eyes were on fire. 

      Dell stepped back, knowing already that there wasn’t much he could do to stop his nine year old sister from unleashing hell upon her target. Danielle scooped up a rock and hurled it at the boy, but missed his head and hit his arm. Her oppenent stood up and slashed at her with his knife, screaming obscenities. Danielle jumped back, frightened now, but the boy followed, hounding her toward the woods, backing her up against the tree.

       The older brother had seen enough, and ran over to the mess of a fight before launching his fist into his new friend’s jaw. The knife fell from his fingers as Dell put his whole body into the punch and knocked them both off their feet, and they rolled in the grass as Dell continued to hit him, the other boy shrieking in pain. “GET OFF,” he screamed. “GET OFF!”

     Dell let go of the boy and moved to Dani’s side. The child lay in the grass, whimpering, cradling his jaw. His blonde hair was soaked in blood. The girl picked up the knife where it had fallen, and stood over him, holding the weapon with both hands.

      The Governor’s son made a scared whimpery sound as he looked up at her. “No, don’t hurt me. I’ll tell my father.”

        Danielle whirled and heaved the knife into the air, putting her whole body into the throw. The steel of the blade flashed in the sun as the knife spun out over the river. It hit the water and vanished with a splash. After the ripples died down, the younger sister ran off into the field and out of the park. 

        She didn’t know what Dell did after that, nor what became of the governor’s son, but as soon as she got home, covered in grass stains and mosquito bites, she was put to bed without dinner and was not allowed to leave the home for a month.

[tcxastough]

thoseknighted​:

“ Ah ,     meine  Liebe ,      come in,  no need to linger in zhe doorvay !    You have come at just zhe perfect time ! ”    The sincere pleasure in his voice,  the warmth to his expression as he lifted a hand    ( ungloved )    to beckon her in,  it was all so very unlike his usual candor.    “ Say hello to zhe new arrivals ! ”

There were,  indeed,  still bits of shell on the desk and in the nest in the cage that was sitting there,  even a chip still stuck onto the very tiny creature in his other hand,  settled in the center of his broad palm.    Archimedes cooed again,  and Medic hushed him.

“ It’s only Danielle, ”    he soothed the bird.    “ She is fine. ”

【🔧】— The Engineer was a bit hesitant, at first, and would have suspected the uncharacteristically affectionate man to be a spy in disguise, but the doves would know who he was from scent, and they seemed more than familiar with him, so it didn’t give Danielle too much to worry about. She approached to the man’s side to take a look.

     She had assumed he kept the birds more as a hobby than keeping them for any emotional attachments like a pet, like one did with fish or bees, or chickens, like she had used to before getting hired here. It was quite something to see the maniacal, crazy scientist calm and complacent, cuddling the small avians as he cooed back at them affectionately.

       Danielle looked down at the baby doves, still pink and fleshy with large, bulging eyes shut tightly over thin eyelids. Noticing the eggshell in the incubator hadn’t been cleaned out by the parents yet, she guessed they could only be a few hours old at best.

       “Well I’ll be,” she mused, before an overprotective member of the flock decided she was too close to the babies for comfort and swooped down to butt the top of her head. She let out an indigant grunt, and took a step back, the nest still within sight. 

      “How many does that make fer ya now?” She didn’t know how many doves he actually had, but could only guess at least six, perhaps.

[tcxastough]

thoseknighted​:

“ Whatcha  talkin’  about ?      I didn’t need any help makin’ this.    You sayin’ you don’t believe I can cook ? ”

Scout was too busy being proud of himself for impressing her to actually think why she would ask that at first,  misinterpreting her meaning.    After a moment,  though,  he seemed to make the connection,  and he looked down at the soup.

“ Come to think of it,  Medic did pop in for a minute to grab a few bottles of water.    He didn’t come near my cookin’,  though. ”

【🔧】— “Hrm...” she leaned back against the bed post for a moment, idly stirring the soup with her spoon, lost in thought as she debated with herself whether to risk eating it knowing that Medic had indeed been in the presence of the food. 

       She very well remembered the last time she left her food out in the open around the doctor’s presence, and she wound up waking up the next morning with a few extra surgery scars and missing half of her liver. She wasn’t too keen on losing any more of it until it grew back, nor any of her other functioning organs without consent, she was already being careful enough as it was not alerting Medic of her cold.

       “....Did you take your eyes off the soup when he was nearby?” She asked. Call her paranoid, but could Scout really blame her?

[tcxastough]

weroyals​:

thoseknighted​:

Medic  was  at  her  side  in  an  instant ,    and  it  was  like  she  didn’t  even  see  him.      His medigun stayed trained on her,  but he knew it had already done its job —    even with the power of hellish medicine on his side,  coming back to life was a business that could knock the strongest off their feet.    That included her.

Thank God that she had been brought to him by Soldier with such alacrity.

He had lost people before,  many of them —    no living family remained to him except for his birds,  and those for whom he cared in his young adulthood somehow all seemed to meet grizzly ends.    He would lose people in the future,  including the other mercs,  all of whom he was going to outlive,  that wasn’t even a question.    But he just didn’t like the idea of losing her.    How strange,  peculiar,  an utterly unique feeling to the female engineer.    Normally,  he would be excited by the successful resurrection.

Now,  instead,  he put the medigun to the side as she finished retching and spoke,  kneeling beside her to rest a gloved hand at her shoulder.    The word that slipped out of her parted lips,  he couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of.

“ Be still.    Soldier,  how long was she dead for ? ”

— @weroyals​

                                 ❝   The   time   it   took   for   me   to   carry   her   from   the   shed   back   here,      &      then   for   you   to   work   your   magic,   ❞            Soldier   answered   readily.      He   didn’t   know   how   long   that   was.      10   minutes,      maybe   ??      He’d   always   tended   to   pay   attention   only   to   the   cardinal   times   ;         sunrise,      noon,      sunset,      midnight.      Like   the   points   on   a   compass,      they   directed   him      &      his   day   both.      Shorter   spans   of   time   .   .   .   they   never   really   mattered   to   him.

                                             Especially   not   now.      Not   when   he   was   facing   such   a   personal   loss   so   directly.      Were   it   not   for   the   Medic   there’s   no   telling   what   he   would   have   done.      It’d   been   such   a   long   time   that   he’d   been   on   his   own.      From   boyhood,      making   himself   into   a   man,      without   anybody   else’s   help,      chasing   that   great   American   Dream.      You   pull   yourself   up   from   your   bootstraps.      You   don’t   need   a   soul   in   the   world   but   your   own.

                                                It   was   hard   seeing   that   change.      Even   harder   being   hit   with   the   cold   hard   fact   that   he   could   end   up   alone   once   again.      Now   he   had   made   a   kind   of   violent,      chaotic   family   around   himself      &      now   he   had   seen   a   member   of   that   family   die.      Felt   her   skin   cooling   with   his   bare   hands.      Felt   the   pain   of   loss      &      the   rain   that   doesn’t   stop   coming.

                                                That   was   the   first   time   he   ever   wanted   to   go   back      &      apologize   to   anyone.

                                                Only   Medic’s   warning   kept   him   from   running   right   to   Engie   now   that   she   was   waking   up,      but   fortunately   he   was   a   soldier,      &      as   a   soldier   he   knew   well   how   to   follow   orders.      Easy,      now.      Easy.      

                                               He   didn’t   know   who   she   was   talking   to.      He   wished   it   was   him.

【🔧】—  “S-soldier? Medic...?”

       She heard them, but couldn’t exactly make out what they were saying, just the first voice saying “dead for?” and the other responding “work your magic.”  Was she dead? Is that what was happening right now? Trying to remember the vision she had, the figure at the desk, she could only conclude that had to have been a demon or something, and if Medic was here, too, that could have only meant one thing.

         “Are... Am I in hell?” her brain was telling her to get up and run as fast as her legs could carry her, regardless of whether she could properly see just yet, but her body was not willing to move, keeping still under her team mate’s gloved hand. 

       Surely, her vision came back into focus, going from darkness, to blurs, to finally back to normal. Breathing heavily and shakily, pale gray irises darted from one corner of her eye to another, taking in her surroundings. The back of her head throbbed with pain, and her throat burned a harsh, wet burn with a nasty, sour taste of blood and stomach bile on her mouth, but she was alive. Slowly, she moved her left hand and held it up to her face, flexing her fingers experimentally.

        “Ah... guess I’m not.” She paused, “Unless this is one of them ‘personal hells’ where everythin’ looks th’ same but is twisted n’ much werse, like in Twilight Zone.” She was able to finish that thought just before dry gagging, then rubbed her throat as she lifted her head and glanced around the area.

       She was slowly starting to piece together her perception of reality back, looking over between Medic and Soldier “...What happened? Did we win? How much money we get?” She paused. “...Where’s Rad?”

[tcxastough]

Oh fuck MILF ENGIES BACK

【🔧】— "STOP CALLIN' ME THAT."

[tcxastough]

[tcxastough]

DANIELLE.

【🔧】— You could tell she was fighting, struggling to keep herself holding on, but a strong will to live could only take you so far when your body was broken and bleeding from the inside out. Though the pain and discomfort was starting to fade, in her last moments; pituitary gland going into overdrive, flushing the body with endorphins now that it had run out of adrenaline, its last ditch effort to try and keep the body stable.

      The moments drew on longer and longer, and it was clear at this point that what the Engineer said was true… Medic wasn’t going to come, not until it was too late. The siren of a bomb approaching the hatch to their base was heard, but then stopped, indicating that one of their team mates had staved off its destruction. The others could use Soldier’s help, and Danielle wasn’t going to be able to stick around much longer.

        Her ungloved hand struggled to reach up and cupped Jane’s cheek, smearing blood on his face, but surprisingly affectionate, especially for Dani. Her face nuzzled a bit into his chest, body starting to seize up as the nervous system began to shut down.

     She felt like she needed to say *something* to him before she went. He had tried his best, after all. And in a way, they were sort of lucky. It was rare in situations like this for a proper goodbye. Death on the battlefield was usually instant, and often gruesome in ways that one wouldn’t even be able to have an open casket funeral. She wished she could have said good bye to her brother, too; something along the lines of ‘I’m sorry for holding so much resentment against you and your success;’ but it looked like that just wasn’t in the cards of her fate.

       “Yer… a good sarge, y’know that?” That was the last thing that passed her lips before bubbles of blood gurgled and flooded her mouth, and, with grey eyes still looking onto the Soldier, started to become glassy and unfocused as they dilated.

        The Engineer was dead.

                              This   was   supposed   to   be   the   part   where   he   screamed   to   the   heavens.      Where   he   collapsed   to   his   knees.      Where   he   ran   into   the   enemy   ranks   like   a   lone   berserker,      blinded   by   a   blood   rage   as   he   single   —   handedly   chopped   down   every   last   one   of   the   advancing   robots   into   scrap   metal      &      so   much   bolts.      Where,      ultimately,      he   would   fight   like   a   man   with   nothing   left   to   lose      &      then   he   would   vanish,      all   in   Danielle’s   name.      Touched   by   her   words   ;         motivated   by   her   sacrifice.

                                       But   he   did   none   of   these   things.

                                       He   held   her   tight.      He   stared   at   her   face.      Tried   to   wrap   his   mind   around   it.      Reeling.      He   was   cold   all   over.      It   was   a   chill   that   burned   harshly   in   his   tight   throat,      in   his   shadowed   eyes.         Jane   didn’t   notice   how   bad   he   was   shaking.      He   wasn’t   good   with   emotions.      He   had   never   been   good   with   emotions.      He’d   often   been   told   he   was   too   cheerful,      but   .   .   .

                                       Oh   .   .   .   it   was   raining.      Little   drops   were   landing   on   her   face,      collecting,      dripping   down.      Glistening   on   her   paled   skin.      Mingling   with   the   blood.      Funny,      though   ;         there   wasn’t   a   single   cloud   in   the   sky.

                                       ❝   &      you’re   as   fine   a   man   as   I’ve   ever   served   with,      Engie.   ❞            

                                       He   didn’t   move   from   that   spot.

[tcxastough]

【🔧】— The Engineer liked to think herself a good judge of character, and by that, meant that she was usually quick to judge what kind of person someone was after a while of observation. Medic was no different; she had taken him as a jovial, charismatic, and even friendly fellow, but it was apparent to her, watching him work, both on and off the battlefield, that he held little to no sympathy for anyone.

       In a way, she was right, as it seemed that most of his work in healing more or less involved experimenting on people and seeing what would happen, among other, more gruesome examples. It caused Danielle to believe that, were it to benefit him, he would throw any and/or all of them under a bus just to achieve what he wanted.

       But over the years, she’d catch glimpses of another side of him, a more caring side, a softer side, like right now.... but was it a genuine sense of affection, or some twisted sense of trying to manipulate her? The question was rising moreso now, with his reluctance to share his real thoughts on anything in the moment. 

She rolled over to her belly,  and gently took her hand away to put it to her brow, using both arms to prop herself up on the pillow, facing the bedpost to stare idly. 

         “Medic... I’m grateful fer everythin’ you do, really, I am...” She trailed off.  But don’t pretend this thing we’ve got going on, this feeling you have, is anything more than you just wanting to sleep with me, she finished her thought silently, and instead, finished her sentence verbally with:

        “But I’m not entirely shore what that ‘something’ is that I bring out for you.”

“ didn’t realize you had it in you. “ “ what? “ “ to care for another person. “ for Medic (つ ͡ꈍ ͜ʖ̫ ͡ꈍ )  ♞  @tcxastough 

“ Vhy ,    vhould  you  not  say  caring  for  others  is  my  whole  profession ? ”      So he said,  in the teasing fashion of someone who knew exactly what she meant and was not about to give her the satisfaction of hearing him admit it.    Instead,  he took her hand in his and traced the pad of his thumb over her knuckles,  bare without his glove.    How strangely intimate,  to allow another person to feel the skin of his hands.    “ Surely you realize also zhat you bring out somezhing in me. ”