Reality in Motion

wasting time

Reaching over, he put his hand on top of her knee to stop her restless leg. Q pulled her thumbnail out of her mouth long enough to give him an apologetic smile, which he ignored. She stuck her thumbnail back into her mouth, gnawing on it with her teeth as she looked back out the window. Dawson was driving...somewhere. She didn't know where, all she knew was that he practically tossed her into his Tesla and sped away from the Triskelion without a word.

"Why didn't Fury tell me about the breach?" she asked quietly. It had been on her mind ever since Steve told her about it. Dawson quickly glanced over at her, then returned his attention back to the road, "I mean, he told Steve and you, but not...me." she had been struggling with his reasoning. They were both two opposite people: one was Captain America, the other...was Dawson...Did he not trust her? Even after all this time? After she proved, time and time again that she could be trusted? Dawson's hand flexed around the wheel slightly as he thought of a way to answer her.

"He probably just thought you were going to be at the apartment with Rogers." he answered, shrugging carelessly as if were no big deal, "I mean you two are joined at the hip." he tried to say it sarcastically with another glance in her direction, but it sounded a little bit serious and a little bit envious. She didn't respond right away, trading out her nail biting for picking at the bed of her thumbnail.

"I still think we should -" she started only to have him cut her off with a sharp,

"No." she glared at him. He didn't even let her finish her thought, knowing exactly what she was going to say. It wasn't the first time she had brought it up since getting into the car. And every time she had brought it up, he had been quick to voice how terrible of an idea he thought it was. Apparently, her idea was just a way to deter them from his mission - whatever that was.

She really had no idea what was going on with him. Usually he was so easy to read, she could pick out what was specifically bothering him instead of the general everything, and she always knew what was up his sleeve - even when he was acting ultra focused and refusing to let anything distract him. While it unnerved her slightly, she knew she could wane down both his patience and resolve, if she just continued to poke at his defenses.

"Yes." she stressed, "We need to find him, Dawson." she dropped her hand to her lap, "Whatever's going on, he's in just as much danger as we are." she said seriously, "I can't just leave him to fend for himself."

"Why?" he asked as he slowed down at a red light, "Because he's your boyfriend?" his eyebrows raised up when he made eye contact with her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"He's not my boyfriend -"

"Oh, then your new friends with benefits." he clarified, cutting her off, "Glad to see you leveled up since Rumlow." he turned his attention back to the road, ignoring her huff.

"It's not like that or because of that. He's my assignment." she said, trying to make him believe it wasn't as personal as it was to her. But what happened at the Triskelion had rattled her nerves and she had been worried about him ever since he ran off.

After spending six months with Steve, she knew him like the back of her hand. What she didn't know was what happened in his meeting with Pierce or what was said or done that affected his decision making in such a drastic way. From what she did see - what with him busting through the ceiling from forty floors up, he had already started to make some rash, almost desperate choices. And while she already knew he could be a reckless person, there was something different about the things he did, which in turn made predicting the things he would do that much harder. She needed to find him.