[ He'd barely tilted the bike to a side for it to rest when she was scrambling off it, no care whatsoever of how high her skirt just went. Christ. Derek swung his leg around while taking off the helmet, letting it sit on the seat she vacated only to have the one she was wearing flung into his chest. ]
Angela.
[ He might as well have said nothing. She continued ranting at him furiously. What she said made sense and a heavy pang of guilt hit him by the time she stopped for breath. Derek set her helmet into the nearby saddlebag without having to break eye contact. His face was probably the most serious she'd ever seen it while holding something of an apology in his gaze. ]
I didn't wanna be that guy here. Back home, I would've disclosed it just like you said. Here? I wanted a break from the job that's consumed my life. I've got no one to come home to at night other than a dog because someone's always out there doing the unimaginable that needs to be stopped. Monsters that don't just torture or kill helpless people that are strangers to me but even people I know and care about. In some cases, right in front of me. ...
[ It wasn't a guilt trip by any means, even if the apology in his eyes had started to fade. Derek might have gone about it all wrong but he couldn't stand being compared to any of the unsubs he'd chased with his team. He brought himself down a notch when the anger bubbled in his chest. Angela had every right to be angry with him. His anger was at feeling like once again, his career choice ruined something good for him. ]
...I don't know how you feel about it. I know how I feel about it and I projected my mindset on you, I'm sorry. I've avoided being around law enforcement types while I'm here. Just for a little while, I wanted a life where my biggest worry is making sure my dog gets walked.
[ Derek dared to close the distance between them as he spoke. If it was goodbye, he wanted her to really see him first. All the scars on his body she might have thought were from football or DIY projects were something else. Yet, he'd done so much dodging that maybe she didn't give a rat's ass what his story was now. He waited for a response with a pleading gaze that she'd understand. ]
no subject
[ He'd barely tilted the bike to a side for it to rest when she was scrambling off it, no care whatsoever of how high her skirt just went. Christ. Derek swung his leg around while taking off the helmet, letting it sit on the seat she vacated only to have the one she was wearing flung into his chest. ]
Angela.
[ He might as well have said nothing. She continued ranting at him furiously. What she said made sense and a heavy pang of guilt hit him by the time she stopped for breath. Derek set her helmet into the nearby saddlebag without having to break eye contact. His face was probably the most serious she'd ever seen it while holding something of an apology in his gaze. ]
I didn't wanna be that guy here. Back home, I would've disclosed it just like you said. Here? I wanted a break from the job that's consumed my life. I've got no one to come home to at night other than a dog because someone's always out there doing the unimaginable that needs to be stopped. Monsters that don't just torture or kill helpless people that are strangers to me but even people I know and care about. In some cases, right in front of me. ...
[ It wasn't a guilt trip by any means, even if the apology in his eyes had started to fade. Derek might have gone about it all wrong but he couldn't stand being compared to any of the unsubs he'd chased with his team. He brought himself down a notch when the anger bubbled in his chest. Angela had every right to be angry with him. His anger was at feeling like once again, his career choice ruined something good for him. ]
...I don't know how you feel about it. I know how I feel about it and I projected my mindset on you, I'm sorry. I've avoided being around law enforcement types while I'm here. Just for a little while, I wanted a life where my biggest worry is making sure my dog gets walked.
[ Derek dared to close the distance between them as he spoke. If it was goodbye, he wanted her to really see him first. All the scars on his body she might have thought were from football or DIY projects were something else. Yet, he'd done so much dodging that maybe she didn't give a rat's ass what his story was now. He waited for a response with a pleading gaze that she'd understand. ]