Re: B&B: Janus, Steve, Atticus
They were bickering. Atticus and Allen went back and forth in synapse snaps, one man curled in on himself and the other derisive. Distance opened between them, and, to be fully honest, Steve wasn't focused or worried about the heat. He might get there, sure, if it increased precipitously, but for now, it was out of his forefront awareness as he watched the intimate drama play out between the men in the room. There was no expression of judgement on the Captain's face, but there was a mild concern—he had definitely walked in on something, and he was aware the edges of the issue were beyond him.
But, of course, he tried.
"Alright." He said to both men at once, with a hand up. He wasn't disapproving, so much as intervening. "That's enough. It's not help offered if you guilt people after the fact for making a different decision." That was dictatorship, actually. Steve shook his head. "I understand your worry," he told Janus earnestly. "I think we all do. But let the man's black eye be punishment enough." And to Atticus, "It's good to remember too there's no shame in asking for help. I'm not always good at it either, but..." He gave both men the slip of a smile, before he picked up the other two boxes with ease.
"I think you just got yourself a pedantic neighbor, Janus." Steve neared the other man, amused. He glanced at Atticus to make sure he was right on that count. "Oh,—am I...? Is there a key?" Boarding houses he had some experience with, but not bed and breakfasts.