InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Know all the questions."

Marian Carlyle | Rogue (notmaidmarian) wrote in toboldlyrpg,
@ 2017-10-10 22:50:00

Entry tags:

! enterprise, ^ log, napoleon solo | man from uncle, rogue | marvel

WHO: Rogue & Napoleon Solo
WHERE: Napoleon’s Quarters
WHEN: 226410.08
WHAT: Serious Talks and Flirting
WARNINGS: F for Fluff
STATUS: Closed, Complete

So cradle your head in your hands

It was weird to know that Napoleon and Illya were government agents. Rogue hadn’t had a very good experience with those back in her own world, having been forced to work for Weapon X and then when she’d been on the run from SHIELD. She’d left all that behind a couple months ago, though, and she just kept reminding herself that she wasn’t there. She was here, in space, on the Enterprise - and she hoped that Remy was out there still, waiting for her. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure she’d be okay as she acted all the time.

When she reached Napoleon’s quarters, she pressed the button that would signal him that someone was out there, then crossed her arms over herself. Her hair was loose, the white streak in front almost directly over one of her eyes, and she wore a long sleeved top and pants, covering up the powers-dampening suit underneath. Rogue also wore a pair of black gloves that were pulled halfway up her forearms despite the long sleeves, and she stepped back a little to wait for the door to open.

Napoleon had better mornings, but he also had worst ones. He had left Daisy's early that morning, having barely acknowledged that Illya had dramatically posted about his (and by association, Napoleon's) true identity around the same time. She hadn't seemed all that bothered and that wasn't much of a surprise given that she was a spy as well. She knew the profession, she could appreciate the necessity of keeping a cover until the situation was assessed. It's why he had been comfortable enough to drag himself to her place after leaving Sara and Rogue and crashing on her couch until she insisted he take the bed. And despite how he very much would have liked to have done more than just sleep, he had been too drunk and too out of it to manage anything more than a few handsy kisses.

He had been in his own bed for barely an hour before he made plans with Rogue to answer any questions she had about his identity. He wasn't actually dreading Rogue's arrival. Other than his complicated feelings for Illya, he managed his expectations and feelings well and didn't feel anxiety over the conversation that was about to happen. Hopefully Rogue promising him a punch had been a joke, but he did brace himself when he dragged himself out of his bed at the sound of the "doorbell."

Clothed only in his sleep pants and nothing else, he mustered up enough pep so that he didn't look like death when he got the door open. Giving the woman standing there a roguish grin, he said, "Morning, sweetheart."

That kind of charm was always a punch to the gut for Rogue, but instead of letting him know that, she narrowed her eyes in mock anger at him. “Hey yourself, sugar.” She didn’t punch him, exactly, but Rogue did push him back into his room with a strength that didn’t show itself in her slender frame - and all based on her own experience and past, rather than having been sapped from anyone else’s skills.

She wrinkled her nose as she walked on in and passed him. “Damn, you even smell like a bar. You should really get a shower.” Not that she actually minded him like this because really - he was a very nice sight to see, particularly when he wasn’t wearing a shirt, but because she was keeping up her own bravado. There she was on a ship full of strangers, and she hadn’t connected with too many - mainly just Kitty, Illya, and more recently, Napoleon. So yeah, she cared.

He didn't quite fall, but he did stumble back when she gave him that shove. She was stronger than he had expected, but he caught himself enough that he didn't fall on his ass and look like an idiot. Letting the door swish close behind her, Napoleon turned and followed her, letting her choose wherever she wanted to sit before heading straight back to his bed "I'll shower when the room stops spinning. I'm liable to drown in it at the moment," he groaned, stretching out and showing off rippling muscles under a surprisingly hairy chest. He pulled a pillow close so he could rest his head against it.

Eyeing her with speculation, he asked, "How likely is it that I can get that head rub out of you?" He was, without a doubt, too old to be drinking like he was a young teenager still and the headache he was sporting was enough to show him that.

Tossing her hair out of her eyes, Rogue glanced around the room idly before heading into the open doorway which she assumed was his bedroom. She’d been just about to sit on a chair when she looked over at him as he lay down again, and found her resolve quickly faltering in the wake of the look he shot her.

“Do you even realize how pathetic you look right now?” Her Southern accent was heavy as she shook her head, and after a minute Rogue straightened again and walked over. “Don’t you dare mention this to anyone, alright?” She sat lightly on the bed, shifting so that she was behind his head a bit, her back against the wall, and reached down with her gloved fingers to go ahead and give him the head rub he was practically begging for. This was actually a little odd, but she didn’t really like seeing him in pain and this was the only way she could really help right now.

“Maybe you should go to medical and get something for the headache? The shower’ll help with that, too.”

"Might look pathetic, but I'm getting what I want, aren't I?" He asked with a smirk, though he knew that he was pushing his luck now. Shifting when she joined him, he added, "Maybe when I start feeling like a human being again, I'll work on that," he said, grimacing at the initial touch of her gloved fingers, before finally relaxing into the massage. "Honestly, it's nothing more than being too old to drink like that anymore and not hydrating at all before sleeping." He knew better than to get this bad, but last night he just had given up on any kind of responsibility and had looked to get buzzed thoroughly.

Looking up at her as she worked, he added, "You're free to ask me whatever you want. That's why you're here, right?"

“Yeah, yeah,” she responded with a roll of her own eyes, but then settled more on the bed. “You should,” Rogue retorted. “Especially since you only have yourself to blame. Speaking of, why didja let it go so far last night, with the drinking? Shouldn’t a CIA agent know better than to do that kinda thing?”

Her eyes lifted a little so they met his as her fingers moved slowly, taking away the sting of her earlier annoyance, and she shrugged, dropping her gaze back to his hair. “What kind of missions did you go on? S’it a good organization?”

"Sure, but emotions don't always follow logical decision making. Last night was an example of that." No one was perfect, least of all him. "Something bothered me and I didn't feel like acting like an adult. So I indulged myself instead." He had character flaws a mile long and emotional decision making was just one of them. That's how he ended up working with Illya in the end.

Eyes closing as he took in her questions, he chose his words carefully. He didn't feel good about revealing the reasoning behind him joining the CIA, so he had to think about it for a minute. "Mostly intelligence gathering. I would gather intel for missions and provide auxiliary support if the mission went sideways." There were other, more uncomfortable things he had done, but he decided she didn't need to know about his honeypot missions or kill missions. "The last mission was a joint venture between the CIA, MI6, and the KGB. We stopped a Nazi with a nuclear weapon from starting a third world war."

Oh, she knew exactly what he meant by a mission going sideways - but the thought of it didn’t really make her want to discuss it even slightly, so she kept those questions to herself. There were things in her own past that she wasn’t proud of, and that she’d had to do, that she didn’t want to tell Napoleon about - though she’d already started to tell their mutual friend a little about it.

“A joint venture, huh? Congrats on stopping that war.” Rogue’s head tilted a little as she thought that over for a moment. “...Is that how you met Illya? Or did y’all know each other before that whole deal?” Shifting a bit, she kicked off her shoes and moved around until she sat cross-legged, then continued the light massage.

"Thanks," he said, wryly, remembering there was a distinct lack of thanks when they had actually stopped that bomb. About how their organizations had been willing to have their fellow partners killed after their mutual interest had been met.

That was the moment he and Illya had forever changed the nature of their relationship; from temporary partners to something more like friends who were willing to turn their backs on their organizations for each other. A defining moment. "We were partnered for the first time during that mission. It wasn't too long after that we were brought here." He paused, eyes opening again and meeting her eyes. So much like Gaby. "Our third partner, Gaby Teller, she looks like you."

“Anytime, sug,” she said absently as she continued. While he talked, her own eyes shifted to travel down his chest a little - mainly because he was damn nice to look at and she was in the perfect position to do so. “So when you said y’all didn’t know each other too well, you weren’t lying.” About that, at least.

When his eyes opened, hers snapped back to meet them, and she gave him a half smile. “You know, when he first showed up, Illya said I looked just like a girl he knew ‘back home’. Is that this Gaby Teller?” It only took her a moment to connect what he was saying. “And so she’s MI6 - that’s British, right? Wonder how I’d sound with that kind of accent.”

"In some ways, we know each other better than most people know each other. The mission we were on tested us in ways that normal life doesn't," he explained, remembering how Illya had saved his life from Rudi's torture chair. How he had saved Illya from drowning before that. How they had both made the decision not to kill the other even though their commanding officers had demanded it. "But we didn't spend more than a few weeks with each other before here. When we decided to continue our covers here, other than the spy business and occupations, most of everything was as close to the truth as we could get it." That was the trick to a good cover. When it's essentially the truth, you're less likely to get caught up in a lie.

He caught where her gaze had been and couldn't help the grin. "See something you like?" He wasn't in the mood to do anything more than flirt at the moment, but he never gave up the opportunity to tease. "She was actually recruited by British Intelligence for the mission - she had a connection to some of the people involved in the nuclear weapon plot. She's actually German and I know exactly how she would sound. It's delightful."

Rogue gave a slow nod. “Yeah, I know how it can be in that kinda situation with someone. It’s almost better than just meeting someone out and about, ‘cause it means you really get to see how people react. Is it weird that y’all can’t contact the CIA or KGB since you got here? I mean - are y’all still agents, when you’re a couple hundred years in the future and no where near Earth?” She hadn’t been a part of any group for a while, and wouldn’t count herself among them now, even if she had been.

Smirking, she booped his nose with her fingertip. “There’s nothing wrong with lookin,” she replied boldly. “Especially since you’re so determined to show off like this to anyone who comes to the door.” As he went on, her hand returned to his hair and she half wished she trusted herself and her suit to take off the gloves and see what it felt like. “Was she still your partner after the mission ended? Yours and Illya’s?”

"Honestly? It's a bit of a relief that I have no contact with the CIA now. I think I'm ready to move on from that part of my life," he admitted, not ready to talk about how he had been forcibly inducted into the organization in the first place, about his life before Gaby, Illya, and the CIA. That was a conversation for another day. "This place is almost like a vacation, truthfully. And we were complicated when we left. I honestly have no idea what was going on, in regards to our status as partners."

He chased after her gloved finger with a fake out of a bite, smirking as he laid his head back down. "Nothing wrong with looking, nothing wrong with touching either." There was no denying he was attracted to her and, now that he knew her better, it was more than just her face that he was attracted to. He eyed her ever present gloves as he settled, but bit his tongue before asking why she was always so covered up. He was waiting until she was done with her questions before shifting the focus onto her. Napoleon didn't want her to feel like he had taken the opportunity to get to know him better away before she was done.

“Have you thought about getting a job here on the ship? I joined the morale team,” she said lightly. “Haven’t done much for it yet, but I’ll get to it - though I know what you mean about this place being a vacation. It’s nice to not have to worry about...well, much of anything, I guess. What kind of skills do you have that aren’t CIA related? Like Illya - I know he can draw. What do you do?” Now that she’d realized just how little she knew about him, she was eager to hear more.

The fake out had her chuckling a little, and after a moment her hands shifted to his neck and shoulders, still rubbing softly. She’d been on the Enterprise for close to three months and she still missed Remy every day - but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t attracted to other men. Three months and he still hadn’t shown up - what was she supposed to do if he never did?

"I am entertaining the idea of teaching math and accounting. I have to talk to someone about that. That just wasn't a cover, I do have degrees in those areas." Napoleon's life before the CIA was mostly a mystery to most people, but he didn't lie when asked questions head on. "So that's something I'm considering. Susan Pevensie expressed a genuine interest in learning, so there could be a spot for that here. I made a post about it, but I didn't get much of a reply."

Surprised that she had moved on from his head to his neck and shoulders because he had been sure that she wasn't interested in him at all, he peered at her expression, watching as she got lost in thought. "Hey," he said softly, reaching out to stop her hands with his own for a moment. "What are you thinking?"

“Yeah? I might want to learn a little about that, too. You should go ahead because I’m sure that despite all the science wizzes around, there are a ton of people who’d be interested in learning. And who knows - maybe you’d make it interesting enough that someone like me won’t fall asleep in the middle of a lesson.” Yep, her turn to tease.

Her hands stilled under his, still a little surprised - despite the fact that she was wearing gloves and had been for half her life, she wasn’t used to other people touching her. Rogue’s eyes returned to Napoleon’s, and she gave him a smile. “Nothing much, just - all this talk about your life before the Enterprise has me thinking about my own. I mean - it sucked. A lot. But there was this good part in it too and I dunno if I’ll ever have that again since I’m here now.” The smile faded, and she shrugged uncomfortably.

Napoleon was still in the dark about her powers. He hadn't asked about her penchant for covering up yet and she hadn't offered that information up. So he didn't have any fear or uncertainty when it came to grabbing her. It was just lucky that they hadn't found themselves in a more intimate setting where he would feel comfortable enough to touch her face.

"Did you leave someone behind, when you were brought here?" He thought about his own family that had disowned him. There wasn't a lot of love lost there, which is why he could stand to be here without much sadness. "I don't mean to shift the focus, you can still ask me whatever you want, but you looked so sad just now...I couldn't help but notice."

“S’okay,” she replied. “I need some time to come up with more questions anyway,” she said, then returned to his question. “And yeah, I did. This guy….his name’s Remy. We haven’t slept together or anything like that - we haven’t even known each other too long,” though thanks to her powers she did know just about everything about him now - and they’d kissed several times, “But we got close pretty fast. Funny story - he, uh, actually kidnapped me.” She smiled again at the memory, her eyes dropping to their hands.

“The people he was working for wanted to recruit me to work for them too, and decided that was the best way to convince me. But then when I turned them down and he saw how serious I was about not wanting to be there, he and I left together and we’ve been, well, stealing from them since. They own different buildings and casinos and stuff, so…” Rogue shrugged. “We were in Vegas right before I got here. But that was three months ago, which is about how long I knew him before that. Who knows what’ll happen now.”

Squeezing her hands before letting them go and sitting up, he bumped his shoulder with hers. "I'm sorry he's not here with you now. But I am glad you're away from that place because it honestly sounds like a hellish situation to be in."

She sat back a little, leaning against the wall again as she pushed her hair back, then gave him a small smile. “Thanks. And believe me when I say that wasn’t the worst of what I’ve gone through over the past few years - but it’s not really something that’ll make your head or my mood feel any better. And speaking of,” Rogue nodded towards his head while trying very hard not to look down this time.

“Is your head feeling better than earlier?”

"Much better now," he said, smiling at her before turning and stretching out onto his belly grab the shirt he had discarded earlier that morning. Pulling it on, he ran a hand through his hair and said, "I appreciate you not punching me, by the way. It'll make the shower I'm about to take a lot less painful."

“I’m withholding it til another time,” she replied, and crossed her arms over herself as she watched him pull on the shirt. “I’ve still got questions, but since you’re about to go wash up, I can hold onto those too right now, if you want.” Rogue uncrossed her legs and scooted over to the edge of his bed, ready to get to her feet and head out if he said the word, absently tugging the gloves on a little higher - out of sheer habit, if nothing else.

"While the offer to join me is always on the table, I don't think you'll have a lot of fun covered up." But he nodded, gesturing for her to go on. "I'm in no rush. What did you want to ask?"

“I already showered this mornin’, thanks,” she said dryly, then studied him as she stayed at the edge of the bed, not getting up yet. “Where are you from originally? Is Napoleon Solo even your real name?” Realizing that that might be a little more personal, she followed it up with something about herself - it was only fair, right?

“My real name is Marian. Marian Carlyle.” She hadn’t actually told anyone on the ship that until now.

He hesitated, this getting a little more personal than he originally signed up for. Napoleon hadn't gone by his real name in years. It was something he had buried down deep when he had been disowned. "I appreciate you offering that up, but I'm not ready to share that part of me with anyone yet. I hope you understand."

“Oh - yeah, sure. It’s fine,” she said, then smiled over at him. “Just as long as you keep mine a secret, Mr. CIA.” Her smile shifted into a light grin - it didn’t really bother her that he hadn’t told her, but at least now she knew that there was more about him to find out eventually. Stretching her arms up over her head, then dropping them, Rogue moved to her feet.

“I hear that name anywhere outside of these walls, and I know who to come after for it.”

“Ms. Carlyle who?” Napoleon asked with a grin. He would keep the secret as long as she wanted. He understood the importance of revealing things in your own time. “Well, if that's all and if you don't intend to join me, I think this is where I take my leave of you.” The man offered his arm to her to escort her out.

“Sorry sugar, but I’ll let you get cleaned up on your own.” When the arm was offered, there was only the barest hesitation before she slipped her arm through it and headed for the door. Once they reached it, Rogue tugged her arm away and looked at him.

“You don’t have to lie to me, just so you know. I’ll see you around.” And since she had the suit and a couple seconds wouldn’t be dangerous, Rogue moved onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek in a soft kiss. Pulling away before she could pick up anything from him or he could feel any effects, she pressed the pad by his door so it would open and she could leave.

Surprised by the kiss, he smiled as he watched her go. “Next time, then,” he called out after her. A moment later, he retreated to his room to finally wash the hangover away.