1963-09-05 - A Productive Conversation
Summary: Johnny and Sue have a completely, totally, not-at-all unproductive conversation that definitely doesn't result in any hurt feelings, and Reed in no way gets caught in the middle of it.
Related: Not So Flashy, Not Your Secretary
Theme Song: None
johnny sue reed 


The door to Sue's room opens a crack to peek out into the main living area shyly before stepping out all the way. Her loose fitting pyjama pants are with a men's even looser fitting t-shirt that definitely doesn't match the bottoms. Bare feet pad lightly along the floor as Sue continues to spy the main living area.

Her eyebrows lift slightly as she nearly-silently slips to the refrigerator. She glances over her shoulder for a several seconds, literally checking her back as she opens the freezer door and extracts a pint of ice cream. A mischievous grin tugs at her features as she silently slips over to the drawer to find her tool of choice — a larger spoon.

The lid to the ice cream is promptly removed, and she shovels a single spoonful directly from the large tub of rocky road. She glances towards the other rooms and then stealthily hops onto the counter to sit down. Her eyes lid and she blissfully plops the delicious confection into her mouth. Yeah, it was a rough day. Yeah, she deserves this; she's convinced.

*

Alone time and privacy are precious commodities when you're a member of the Fantastic Four. There are no guarantees — not even at this hour. Sue manages to have five whole solid minutes of bliss before the familiar jingle of keys sounds in the hall and the front door quietly opens.

When it's late like this, Johnny makes a point of coming in (or going out) as quietly as he can manage. This is no different. He opens the door precisely enough to let him squeeze inside before closing it just as quietly, flicking the locks back into place.

And then, very quietly, Johnny lightly thumps his forehead against the door. He's just. Gonna. Stand here, for a few minutes.

*

The sound of jingling keys prompts a very started Sue to hop down from the counter, replace the lid of the ice cream, and CLANG drop the spoon in the sink. Nothing to see here folks. Nothing to see.

She will not be caught eating ice cream this late, especially out of the container. Her head turns to the fridge and she opens the freezer to return the rocky road only to see Johnny thumping his forehead against the door.

She freezes and considers using the opportunity to sneak back to her room, but she wouldn't be able to sleep after that sight, anyways.

The light rustle of returning the ice cream to the freezer should interrupt Johnny's thoughts, and Sue isn't quiet about closing the freezer either. She takes a single step back and she manages a tight-lipped nearly reassuring smile. "Johnny?" it's a question rather than a greeting.

*

His forehead still resting against the door, arms dangling limply at his sides, Johnny is… frankly, kind of a pathetic sight. Even for him. He closes his eyes when he hears his name and draws in a slow breath. Well. Here we go.

"No statement. She doesn't want her name in the papers." Johnny sounds more resigned than anything else. He knows — or thinks he knows — what comes next. "I'm sorry."

*

It takes Sue roughly five minutes to process this information and its applicability to their current situation. There's a small cant of Sue's head followed by a nod of ascent. "Alright. That's fair — definitely worth a shot, and frankly, would've been useful for us if she'd agreed, but we work with what we have." Her arms cross over her chest and she swallows hard ever waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Annnnnd?" she lifts an eyebrow.

Her lips purse. "You may as well just tell me if you crashed the car. Or if you started another bar fight. Or if you have some illegitimate child you just learned about." Her lips twist to the side.

*

"That's it."

Johnny pushes himself back from the door to stand up straight, finally turning around to try and start trudging his way inside. He's pretty rumpled, but he did take the convertable, so that's no surprise. He just also seems completely and utterly deflated.

"You were right, by the way," Johnny adds, not looking at her. "About not flying out there. That would've been bad." Because the way it did go was so great.

*

Sue squints, "Well Reed and I really do try to give good advice…" But Johnny's expression is enough to cause Sue's heart to sink just a little. After Reed's pep talk, she is ready to provide some semblance of support.

She treads over to her brother to wrap and arm around his shoulders to issues a supportive squeeze. "What happened?"

*

The "Nothing," that Johnny offers comes a little too quick. He does lean into the contact, though, so at least whatever's bothering him hasn't reached Defcon 4. "We just — I can't go back out there," he explains awkwardly, folding his arms over his chest as he studies the floor. "They don't like flashy. Or cameras. It'd ruin everything." His mouth twitches into a smile. "I'd ruin everything."

*

"Pfffft," Sue replies. "You'd ruin nothing," she counters, shakes her head, and rolls her eyes. "You aren't always flashy. So if she said that, she's out to lunch." She easily flips into mama bear mode as she squeezes Johnny's shoulders tighter, "Did this girl seriously give you attitude when you rescued her from some some bar hounds in Hell's Kitchen?" The attitude Sue wears is clearly slipping into Sue-rampage-mode. Beware. Westchester may be seeing another fantastic visitor in short order.

*

"I butted in where I didn't need to and now you're stuck running damage control for me, again," Johnny counters, finally prying his eyes off the floor to give Sue a pained look. "You're always cleaning up after my stupid decisions. You shouldn't have to. I should be better."

He makes a face and immediately drops his eyes to the floor again. "We can't go out there, Sue," he repeats in a low, serious voice. "She made it pretty clear that bringing the area the kind of attention we do would be bad for the people there."

*

"It's Westchester — it's not some sacred land on a mystic mountain in Tibet! I'm going to go there, find this girl, and give her a piece of my mind." Sue rolls her eyes again as she reaches for Johnny's hand to pull him into the kitchen. Ice cream time! Once there, she goes about her work of fixing them bowls of rocky road. She tugs two bowls from the cabinet and then retrieves the ice cream from the freezer.

She sucks on the inside of her cheek, bites her bottom lip and then explains, "I like taking care of you. I'm used to it." Her lips purse. "And I run damage control for all of us. That's… that's part of my job. And it's not secretarial," she almost chokes on the last word as she scoops ice cream into both the bowls. She presses one bowl into Johnny's hand.

*

"I — what — nunim, no, I promised-" Johnny looks nearly panicked as he lets himself be dragged along behind his sister and into the kitchen. Oh God. He's doing it again. He's making everything worse. While she retrieves ice cream, he turns in place and anxiously rakes his hands back though his hair, mussing it further.

Johnny turns back around just in time to catch the bowl. "That's my point, you're used to it. You shouldn't be used to it, I should be better than thi-" He pauses. Wait. Immediately, he develops a thin frown, his brow creasing. "…of course it isn't secretarial. Did someone — do I need to hit somebody?"

*

Sue lifts a hand brushing away the protest, "You promised. I didn't. And Joon I have a mind of my own." Thank you very much. She sucks in a slow deep breath as she retreats into her own ice cream. "It's fine. Honestly. I'm fine," except she's kind of not. Absently, she glances towards the door to the stairs. Hopefully she didn't image it all earlier. Her throat clears, "Just… an attitude. Generally. And I just want… I'm stepping out of some of our administrative duties." Her lips purse lightly, "Reed and I discussed it. I'm going to spend more time in the lab and less doing legwork for us."

*

Still frowning, Johnny nods his head, casting a curious look towards the stairs when she does. Wonder what that's about. "Okay. Do you want me to — no, nevermind." He winces and takes a step backwards, hopping up to sit on the edge of the counter. Time to eat that ice cream. "Better if I don't help. Reed and Ben have got it." Surely.

*

"That's not it — " Sue counters as she sets her own bowl of ice cream on the counter, no longer hungry. "It's that I have it handled." She clears her throat, "Tony Stark mistook me for a secretary — one of his secretaries." How that happened isn't explained. "And it made me think about my role here and what I should and shouldn't be doing. Because. I do fulfill that role a lot. And then I wondered why I dress the way I do, why I stepped into that role even though none of you encouraged it…" she sucks on the inside of her cheek. "I think of myself as forward and progressive. I'm finishing a doctorate. Yet."

*

"Toby Stahlk?" Johnny echoes around a spoonful of ice cream, blinking owlishly at Sue. At least he swallows before he continues to speak. "Seo, unless it's an equation, you can't take anything that guy says seriously. He has his reputation for a reason," says the pot with regards to the kettle.

He sets his own bowl aside and reaches for her shoulders, still sitting on the counter. "Nunim. You do the things you do and dress the way that you do because you're good at it, and because you want to. I mean. Right?"

*

Sue issues Johnny a one-shouldered shrug. "Maybe. I like feeling pretty," her eyes train on the wall across form them. "But… is that because people expect that from me?" Her eyebrows arch higher on her forehead. "The world is changing, but it'll take a lot more change for me to ever get acknowledgment for my science. And I've worked so hard. Harder than my male colleagues." She hops up on the counter to sit next to Johnny leaning against him slightly as she notes, "But I know I have value here. Reed was — " her cheeks hue a pale pink " — actually kind of sweet about it. Said I'm the best organic chemist he knows."

*

"Really? Reed was sweet?" Johnny casts a curious look towards the lab — not Reed's actual room, the lab. His sister must have been in a state for it to have actually registered on the egghead's awareness that much.

Stark's name goes onto The List.

Ice cream forgotten, Johnny curls both of his arms around Sue's shoulders. "Pretty sure you're the team's MVP," he notes lightly, smiling down at her. "If I wasn't here or Ben wasn't here or even Reed wasn't here, things could still function. But it'd all fall apart without you." A pause. "No pressure."

*

Sue actually laughs at that. "This place works because everyone does what they do. Everyone. That means you too, Johnny." She actually smirks, "I love being the Invisible Woman. But I never would've embraced that without you. You know that, right? If Reed and I had got our ways we would be stuck in this lab still trying to find a cure…"

*

Johnny's smile doesn't falter, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes as fully as it had a moment ago. "I don't know. Maybe you two had the right idea. It'd sure be better for Ben," he murmurs, dropping his eyes to his lap. "I just wanted to help. I can help. But when I do, I'm not the only one who has to deal with it. It's stupid."

*

"And you are helping. A lot. This city would be a wreck without you, Johnny." Johnny knows his sister well, and right now she's honest in a way she usually isn't. "What you contribute is vital for all of us. You build and fix things. You keep me from getting too serious." She chews her bottom lip, "I would be a wreck without you."

*

"You'd be fine," Johnny says bashfully, giving her shoulders a tight squeeze. "I'm really not that… but it's sweet of you to say. Thank you." He leans over enough to pillow his head on top of hers and lets out an exhausted sigh. "This has been a day, huh."

*

Sue hums quietly. "You are," she doesn't mince words. "And I'm sorry if I seem too hard on you sometimes." Her voice cracks, "Abeonim and eomeonim were caring people, but they expected a lot from us. Both of us. It was never okay to do something half-hearted. And it was never okay to leave anyone behind." She blinks hard. "I don't know what you remember — " she's always a bit unsure what she should even talk about " — but they told me to watch out for you." A flicker of a fond smile tugs at her lips, "My first memory," she actually chuckles, "was taking you with me outside. You were barely walking and I was dragging you into…"her eyes squint. "…a garden, I think?" Her lips purse, "Abeonim came outside to scold me, but she was so proud when I explained I thought you'd be lonely without me." She clears her throat and rubs her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry — " her voice cracks again, and she just lets the apology sit there, lingering between them.

*

<Shhh, don't do that,> Johnny murmurs quietly, tensing slightly when her voice cracks. He's quick to shift to give Sue a much more encompassing hug, even if it's a little awkward with them sitting together up on the counter. "You take good care of me, nunim. They'd be so proud of you," he insists, reaching up to stroke her hair in an attempt to soothe. "You're not too hard on me."

*

The hug is returned. "Thank you. I try," Sue's head shakes, "but that wasn't the point. I said you'd be lonely without me, but the opposite was true. I'd have been lonely without you." She swallows hard. "I will always look out for you a little too much." She sighs softly, "But that's my job. I got it when you were born. And it's an honour to do it. You will always be important. To this team. To me."

*

"I love you too, Seo." Johnny has something in his eye, that's all. Sue must have been cutting onions in here earlier for another roast or something. He gives her another squeeze before loosening his hold. Not entirely. Just a little. <…I really will hit him,> he notes quietly, peeking down at her. <Stark. If you asked.>

*

"Reed had some choice things to say about him," Sue relies. "And I'm okay. I am. It's nothing I haven't heard before," the stopping to think about the ways she does actually fulfill the role though? That's new. She issues one of his shoulders a solid squeeze. <I appreciate the offer. And I'll keep it in mind.> Her eyes roll dramatically, "He thought we were a band. The Fantastic Four. Seriously, apparently had never heard of us… it was like adding insult to injury." She waves her hand flippantly. It doesn't matter. It's fine. Clearly.

*

Johnny actually looks a bit baffled by this information. "Never even — we went to space," he sputters, his eyebrows leaping up his forehead. "How can — he's a scientist, what do you mean he never — ugh." Mouth twisting to one side, he releases Sue so that he can grab for the bowls of slowly melting ice cream. One gets pushed back into Sue's hands, the other balanced in one of his own. "Men. Am I right?"

*

"RIGHT?!" is Sue's too emphatic response. "I mentioned space and then he wanted to make sure the RUSSIANS knew we went to space — " the point has her raising her hands in the air with obvious exasperation. "It was a BIG deal. A very BIG deal." Her lips clamp together and she just shakes her head as her hands clasp the ice cream. "Yeah! Men!" There's a pause as Sue's eyebrow arches and she stiffens again, finally voicing a single suspicion, "I think he he flirted with me. A the end. After he got my business card. Or during." She doesn't exactly describe what happened, but it's been enough to leave her thinking about "Maybe. Or he's just like that. I'm inclined to think he's just like that." She spoons a large bite of ice cream and shovels it into her mouth.

*

With a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, Johnny narrows his eyes dangerously. Just like that, Tony Stark's entry on The List is underlined three times in bright red ink.

"Let me or Ben handle meetings with him from now on," Johnny says, lightly bumping her with his shoulder. Reed isn't even an option he presents. "I promise I won't actually hit him or set his hair on fire or anything."

*

Sue's eyes drift from her eyes cream up to Johnny. "I — " they narrow slightly. "It was probably nothing." Probably. "Maybe. But first he said he was concerned he might not get the number right so he wanted a card. So. Fine. And then — " she lifts her fingers and just shakes her head. "I definitely imagined it. It's fine."

She swallows hard, "Sincerely. I think he's just interested in the vessel that got us to space. And its specs. He wanted me to schedule him an appointment with Reed. I said to call the Baxter Building. Then he wanted a card. Honestly, all of those tech science types are the same. Oblivious. Just in love with the science. That's all. I'm sure."

"Except…" she sucks in a deep breath and then just shovels another spoonful of ice cream in it instead of finishing her thoughts.

*

"He can't have our specs," Johnny states flatly, lips forming a tight line. Nope. That ship is his and Reed's baby, and Tony Stark doesn't get to cheat off of his homework.

He tilts his head slightly at Sue when she stops herself short. Uh oh. Johnny frowns at her and lifts an expectant eyebrow. "Sue…"

*

"What's not to love about science?" Reed says lightly on his way from the stairs. He only caught the last bit, seeing as he's holding some kind of device in one hand while he makes adjustents with a jeweller's screwdriver. "Exploring unknowns… answering the unanserable…" a smile for Sue and Johnny, "…best company one could ask for…" Yeah, okay, so the previous encounter is still on his mind, too. Must have left an impression to still be in there after more than five minutes upstairs with a gizmo in his hand.

*

"Ah di'nt sauy he coould," the ice cream freezes her tongue, "juuust tha maybe a conversation had potential." Sue shrugs and stirs her ice cream into a soupy milkshake confection. She catches the eyebrow lift and talks to her ice cream again, "We had a weird handshake," there's an implied that's all behind the words, but something lingers in the air.

Reed's voice perks her attention and her eyes drift to the stairs. "Case in point," she offers towards Johnny with a smirk. "Nothing, Reed. Science is everyone's best friend." She presses a few fingers to her lips. "What are you working on."

*

Johnny is aware that Reed has joined them, but he is staring at his sister with that same expectant expression. A weird handshake? Johnny's a young man — he can translate that. His eyes narrow. <I'm going to set his car on fire,> he mutters lowly, turning his attention down to his ice cream. He's warm enough that is has already become soup all on its own. Look at how little he cares.

Johnny's eyes very briefly flick to Reed. "He can't have our specs," he repeats, then looks back down at his bowl.

*

"Of course it is," Reed agrees brightly. He gives Johnny an odd look as he finishes joining them. "Who's not getting our specs for what?" He's interested, but not enough to ignore Sue's question. "Oh. Calibrations," he explains, hefting the detached component-of-something-larger in his hand. But naturally he can't leave it at that. "The ring on the logo is the perfect shape for a feild generator for electromagnetic lensing effects" so of couse he built it in "but it's very delicate, so some of our support equipment needs adjustments." A pause, and he looks at Johnny. "I know maintenance is usually your job but…" Reed loves to tinker. he just shrugs and adds, "The new target range numbers are in the system."

*

"Joon!" Sue actually scolds now. <It was just kind of long. That's all!> And then, in English, she explicitly instructs: "Do NOT do anything to his car! It's happened before. Maybe I'm the odd one." With short handshakes. She decides to say nothing further so as not to further enflame her already hot-headed brother, even if there is more to say.

"And here I thought everyone was in bed." But she still wasn't caught indulging in her late night snack out of the ice cream tub. "Take a break for some ice cream?" her head tilts to the side and she hops down from the counter to get another bowl and the rocky road from the freezer once more.

"Sounds like you're working on something really useful." And, glomming onto the topic change, she inquires further, "What applications do you foresee?" Why yes, she is trying to take them down a science tangent. She eagerly awaits the bait to be taken.

*

<Did he do the finger thing?> Johnny asks his sister, giving her an expectant look as he brings up a hand to mime a shake, then flexes his index finger. <Because if he did the finger thing, I'm setting his hair on fire, too.> He refuses to apologize for this. Or say it in english so Reed has a prayer of understanding.

Johnny finally settles his attention on Reed now that he's explaining what he's working on, his eyes flicking between him and the bit of machinery in his hands. He's quiet for a moment, working his jaw, before he just nods slightly and drops his eyes to his bowl. "…it's fine. I'll get to any you don't in the morning."

*

Reed brightens. "Ooh, ice cream," he enthuses, and settles promptly into a seat. He takes Johnny's response at face value. "I just needed this one tonight," he agrees. And then…Sue. Wants to know what he has in mind. Hold on to yer butts.

"Oh, any number of possibilities. In the short term, lensing the ring should improve distance and clarity on the rest of the sensor and communications equipment we've got housed in the Four portion of the structure when we need it. There's plenty of other possibilities— you know, the other day when you called it a ray gun it got me thinking… that is not entirely out of the realm of possibility…"

*

"Joon Hyun, Johnny Storm, don't you dare!" Sue levels a dead serious gaze back to her brother. <And what finger thing?> the question causes her eyes to squint. "It was a long handshake. That's all. Longer than normal." But that's still not all. "You're overreacting." She scoops Reed some ice cream and observes, "Besides, if flirting was a crime, I'm pretty sure you'd be in lock up, baby brother."

But then Reed follows the science tangent, and Sue feels relief wash over her. "That's fantastic, Reed! Sounds like some promising applications down the road too."

*

Johnny slides down from his seat on the counter and quietly carries his bowl to the sink, giving his sister a bit of the old side-eye as he rinses it out. But he doesn't actually say anything. At least, not in response to her.

Reed, on the other hand…

"Hang on. Let me get this straight," Johnny says slowly, turning away from the sink and holding up his hands. "While she was yelling at you," Because he remembers when she called it that. "Seo accused you of putting a ray gun on the roof. And your next move was to work out how to actually make it a ray gun?"

Now Johnny's eyes go to his sister again. "Why the hell aren't you screaming at him right now?"

*

To his credit… Reed is coming to a similar thought about the same time Johnny is. Which doesn't stop him from protesting. "It wouldn't ACTUALLY be a ray gun, that's just wehere the idea came from." But… yes, all of that and Sue is… not even cautioning him to not get carried away? That is decidedly not normal. He watches Sue for several moments. Then mulls over whether this is a good idea for a couple more. Finally, "If there's something you don't want to talk about right now, there's nothing wrong with setting it aside for now." There. Acknowledge the strange behaviour but do not be confrontational. Let's try that.

*

Sue's jaw tightens and she hops off the counter to rinse her bowl in the sink now. Being in the hot seat isn't something she's interested in, but in trying to get out of it, she got pushed right back in. She runs the water, and hums quietly, only to finally offer, "I was telling Johnny about my encounter at Stark Industries this morning, and he's less than impressed." She shrugs as if that explains everything.

"And," her dark eyes flit between the pair, "I was looking for a topic change," she finally admits while frowning lightly. "But having a ray gun on the top of the building really is a terrible idea. I didn't mean to inspire a terrible idea. But.. communications enhancement is good. Annnnd it's ingenious technology." There.

*

That's a fair answer. Johnny just grunts in acceptance and nods once, and slowly, his eyes slide back over to Reed. TARGET: ACQUIRED. He draws in a deep breath, setting his jaw.

"You and I are going to have a talk in the morning," Johnny informs Reed, eyeing him critically as he starts pacing towards the stairs. "I have one lousy job in this place and that means no more equipment modifications without talking to me first. I don't care how minor they are."

*

Reed nods slowly. Okay. Sue is acting normal, that is better. "I wasn't actually going to build one, but it *is* a potential application," he clarifies. Just… for the record. Look, she asked and the raygun thing is not theoretically impossible. That's all.

Johnny, however… blink. What is WITH everyone lately. "Okay. I didn't think you'd want me waking you up to turn a screwdriver." Sor-ry. Yeesh. They'll talk in the morning. Fine, it's all fine. Look, he just does science here.

*

Sue glances between the pair and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I don't think Reed was trying to take your job, Johnny." She rubs her eyes, "And it isn't a lousy job. It's a job you love. And not the only one you have around here. You do a bit of everything. We all do. And you definitely wouldn't have been happy getting woken for a screwdriver." Her jaw tightens.

"And Reed, Johnny is right. Let him do what he's good at." Defiantly her arms cross over her chest, "Plus you should've been asleep. You need to start exercising some measure of self care." She swallows the growing lump in her throat, "Do you even remember if you ate dinner?" She didn't bring it after their conversation she spent some time away.

*

"I wasn't in bed. I was schlupping it back from Westchester, remember?" Johnny stops next to Reed and turns back to eye his sister, adding, "Where we are not going, by the way. I promised her, Sue. If I can respect her wishes, you can, too." Aish.

*

Reed recognizes when it is time to not try and protest that he WAS being thoughtful and considerate, and just agree with those around him. "All good points," he lays down as a blanket statement. Johnny has good points. Sue has good points. He probably does, too. No need to keep going around in a circle restating the now-obvious.

"…and I agree with Johnny on Westchester. He went, he asked" Reed assumes "she declined. We'll have to handle whatever fallout without, seeing as how we want to protect people, not cast spotlights where they aren't wanted. Let's keep some perspective. It was a minor barfight in Hell's Kitchen." He shrugs his shoulders. "You had a good and totally valid point, Sue, but we're overthinking it now."

He pauses, thinks, squinting an eye. "I was hungry before I went up to the lab, so… yes, I ate. There was something in the fridge; I wasn't really feeling picky."

*

"Let me be clear, Johnny. I don't follow Tony Stark's orders. And I don't follow yours. And I promised nothing. If I want to go to Westchester to give this girl a piece of my mind for making you feel like you can't be somewhere perfectly public without being on fire — " pause. " — you weren't on fire… right?" Because that is, actually, a valid question.

Sue shrugs back at Reed. "I made my peace with that already. It's more the whole random young woman who he," she points at Johnny, "helped making him feel inferior in and around Westchester. It's ludicrous! She can decline all she wants, but commenting that he will somehow damage the quiet lifestyle simply by being there? It's not okay."

Sue squints, "It wasn't my mushroom experiment was it?" Because that might have vaguely resembled food. And it may have vaguely resembled Sue's cooking.

*

"No, I was not on fire," Johnny replies tiredly, lolling his head back to stare up at the ceiling. There's more he could say to try and counter, but really… he just glances askance at Reed, his head still tipped back, in silent gratitude for the back-up.

"She didn't make me feel inferior," Johnny mumbles, loosely folding his arms over his chest as he drops his chin. <…just unwelcome.>

*

Reed puts in, knowing that whatever Johnny said in korean… he didn't catch it. Still. "He was there, we weren't. I think we should accept his version of events and interpretation of them." A pause. "And I'm not saying we can't go to Westchester. Just that we should respect the basic wishes of the people living there, as we would anywhere else." Probably. As to the question, Reed thinks. And Thinks. Did he eat mushrooms? It doesn't SEEM likely. "I… don't think so?" He adds, "We need to buy a laboratory refrigeration unit."

*

Sue visibly stiffens. "Johnny seems to think we're unwelcome in Westchester," she finally removes the ice container from the counter and puts it in the freezer once more. A slow shift of her weight demonstrates silent consideration of something followed by a vague nod. "Yes, we need to be a lab fridge. And probably label things better."

*

"A person who lives in Westchester thinks we're unwelcome in Westchester," Johnny clarifies. To Reed, he explains, "She was very adamant that photographers and a fuss could be bad for the people there. And someone has been impressing upon me that it's our responsibility not to make things worse for those around us," he adds, looking askance at his sister.

*

Reed pinches his nose. He knows he's the defacto leader and all, but roles on the team is a sore subject right now for understandable reasons. "I think we all know what she meant, And what Johnny means, and what Sue means. All we're doing" all they're doing, but he's not gonna say that "is going around in circles making each other upset. Which I know none of us really want to do." He pauses, looks over at Sue with an odd expression.

"Seo, all we can do right now is tell you we are genuinely on your side, and people are, yes, kind of dumb about things and need to change. It's okay to be frustrated. But you shouldn't let them affect who you are and what you do." that includes doing admin things if she wants.

Johnny gets a turn, too. "Joon, you did well with the bar. And the girl, and this Stark disaster. I know you're not going to set fire to his car. Or hair." Probably. "But you don't need to pretend you like the guy in private." Maybe not in public, either. Depends.

"And Reed, you did good remembering to eat and saying yes to ice cream," he declares. And eats some.

*

ROLL: Sue +rolls 1d2 for a result of: 1

*

Johnny's remark stings. Sue's hands disappear into her pyjama pants and she takes a slow step backwards towards her room as she outright stares at the floor. She doesn't turn around. She doesn't look away. She just slides backwards another step. And then Reed reasons his way through the discussion. She remains silent. Painfully silent. And frozen. In place.

*

Under other circumstances, Johnny might echo Reed's praise, or at least acknowledge the praise that was offered in his direction. But he's a little busy watching Sue's reaction. The way his posture and expression slowly change, it's clear that he realizes he made a Very Big Mistake, his eyes widening and his mouth forming a small o. Shit.

<I'm sorry,> Johnny says quickly, turning fully towards Sue and holding up his hands. <I wasn't trying to — Seo, please, I apologize. Don't go. Please.>

*

Reed buries his face in a hand, and when he inevitably pulls the hand down his face… elongating his face to approximately mid-chest before letting it return to its normal shape. Not really on purpose. Well. Great, he tried. At least Johnny sounds like he's hurriedly apologizing, that… could help? This is why he thinks twice about leaving the lab sometimes. Not that he'd admit to hiding on occasion.

*

A rueful smile draws Sue's features upwards. "It's fine," she says as earnestly as she can manage, yet Johnny can't get too close. The invisible field around Sue cannot be breached. "It's late. And Reed is right," small victories, "we're talking in circles. We're all tired. We should just," the saccharine smile she thought she'd reserved for Stark draws over her features, "call it a night. The ice cream was ate. The topics have been visited and revisited. And no one wants to make a third pass." The smile tightens, but retains it's ridiculous sweetness. Her cheeks hurt.

"We're not going to resolve any of this because it's unresolvable." Her hands clap together. But she doesn't move because Johnny requested she not go.

*

Johnny stays put next to Reed, which is just as well. He doesn't know the force fields are there — he just assumes approaching would make matters worse. And the more she smiles and the sweeter her tone, the harder Johnny winces. Ohhhh, boy, he screwed up.

"I'm really sorry," he repeats, hurriedly shaking his head. "It was a low blow and unfair and I'm a petty asshole." Johnny takes a step backwards, casting a very apologetic look towards Reed. "This was all me, I'm — I'm gonna go to bed. Sorry. We can go over those mods in the morning," he says awkwardly.

*

Reed, for his part, just nods. stopping Johnny is just going to prolong the current problem, they'll talk it through tomorrow while up to their elbows in grease. It's usually better that way. "Good night," he murmurs. He casts a look towards Sue, mulling over saying something. Not right away, of course. Maybe once Johnny's escaped if she doesn't prevent it.

*

Sue's Barbie impression continues. "It's fine. Honestly. We're fine," she tries to sound reassuring. Johnny takes the blame and the sweetness of the smile cracks, just a little. Anyone watching her expression can see the distinct twitch of her eyebrow, an odd juxtaposition with her still present does-not-reflect-in-her-eyessmile.

"Good night, Joon." She still remains frozen in place, heeding Joon's previous request.

*

How many times, and in how many languages, can Johnny quietly repeat "I'm sorry. My fault." as he backs towards his room? Quite a few, as it turns out. Though he does break the pattern to offer a hesitant, slightly stammered "Good night," when his back finally bumps up against his door. He gives Reed a brief, almost plaintive look before he gets the door to his room open and backs out of sight. No slam — just a very quick, quiet closing of the door.

*

Reed does a decent rendition of The Man Who Is Not Here while Johnny makes his escape. He mulls over everything for a bit, watching Sue thoughtfully, and makes a decision. Which is just to say something simple.

"If you want company," he offers mildly, "I am surprisingly good at being absolutely silent sometimes."

*

When Johnny leaves, Sue's smile fails. The forcefield falls, and she pensively watches his door until Reed speaks. Slowly, her head turns to watch him. There's something painfully open about her expression. Her weight rocks from one foot to the other ambivalently.

And after momentary indecision, she steps towards Reed and reaches for his hand to interlock her fingers with his. She nods slightly.

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