Wanda's good at mustering her shield back into place, but that smile still feels like fragile-spun glass, on the verge of splintering. And he almost immediately regrets his words.
(He wasn't always capable of that kind of regret. He used to leave people stinging and humiliated in his wake, and never bothered with something as quotidian as other people's feelings. Nowadays, though—)
"Well," the sorcerer says, and clears his throat. "He always was the more inspirational Steve, by all accounts."
It's a bit of useless pithy humour, to try to paper over that stilted little moment. But they're reaching the end of their cleanup: the shattered-mosaic look of the flooring is starting to return to view, visible once more through those last inches of water as it drains away. The distraction is petering away with it, and he's just left with this: his words, his hands, and he's never quite sure what to do with those meager tools. Should he offer a companionable clap to the shoulder? An apology if he stepped all over a sore subject? Just ignore it and press on?
He's never been very good at this.
In the end, Strange settles for what little olive branch he can offer. "Anyway, it's a moot point from where I'm standing. You'll always have a place here, if you want it."
no subject
(He wasn't always capable of that kind of regret. He used to leave people stinging and humiliated in his wake, and never bothered with something as quotidian as other people's feelings. Nowadays, though—)
"Well," the sorcerer says, and clears his throat. "He always was the more inspirational Steve, by all accounts."
It's a bit of useless pithy humour, to try to paper over that stilted little moment. But they're reaching the end of their cleanup: the shattered-mosaic look of the flooring is starting to return to view, visible once more through those last inches of water as it drains away. The distraction is petering away with it, and he's just left with this: his words, his hands, and he's never quite sure what to do with those meager tools. Should he offer a companionable clap to the shoulder? An apology if he stepped all over a sore subject? Just ignore it and press on?
He's never been very good at this.
In the end, Strange settles for what little olive branch he can offer. "Anyway, it's a moot point from where I'm standing. You'll always have a place here, if you want it."