Alfred had expected her to start backing down, but it seemed she was determined as ever. Ugh, he thought with no small amount of frustration as she narrowed her eyes at him. He knew she was stubborn, and usually he liked that about her. It was probably the only reason they were still together, after everything they'd been through that would have made it easier to walk away. Now, though, he really wished she would have just taken no for an answer, because he had other things to be doing with his day than standing on the midships deck arguing with her.

"Well, I don't have time to explain it to you," he snapped irritably.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Alfred so rarely snapped at her that Zelda blinked at him, a little startled. "So, what," she said, her voice pitching upwards with irritation, "I'm supposed to just hear you say no and not do my job?" It was unlike Alfred to say anything negative about her job at the Ministry, at least to her face — negative things about the Ministry itself, sure, maybe, but that was still a far cry from preventing her from helping with a catastrophe.

This was something, too — the Voyager was his ship and if he really didn't want her there, she wasn't going to be able to go. Ugh.

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AMAZING set by MJ

Her tone wasn't helping his own irritation at all, and neither was the fact that they were having this conversation on the deck of the Voyager where his crew might overhear him being berated by a twenty-two year old woman. His cheeks flushed and he took a step back — maybe because he wanted a little more distance between them, or maybe because he wanted to reach out and put his hand on one of the bollards protruding from the deck of the Voyager, as though he could draw whatever he needed to get through this conversation from the ship beneath him.

"You're supposed to just listen for once," he shot back, which wasn't what he'd meant to say at all. He regretted it immediately, particularly the for once bit, and it showed on his face. He bit his lower lip and he looked at her as though he was a little afraid of how she would react.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

She wavered on her feet at Alfred's sniping, and her eyebrows shot up. Zelda puffed herself up like a housecat preparing for a fight — just to remember herself and her location and resettle. (Not entirely — her eyes were narrowed and she shoved her hands into the pocket of her coat in a manner that projected defiance. She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again before she could think better of it.

This was his ship, but she'd saved it, and he didn't want her help in saving people.

"If it's that important to you, Captain Darrow," Zelda snapped, emphasis showing exactly what she felt of his captaincy at the moment.

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The following 1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post:1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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AMAZING set by MJ

Well, shit. Alfred had 'won' in that he'd gotten her to agree to leaving the ship, but he had almost certainly made more of a mess of things than was necessary. It wasn't as though he'd had time to plan for this conversation, though, or strategize, because he hadn't expected her to be here. And of course she couldn't see why it was important that she stay behind, but there was no way he could let her come with him. Not for something like this.

That didn't mean he was happy to see her like this, though. "I'll see you when I'm back in port," he said. His features had softened significantly and he extended one hand to try and touch her elbow, just to have some physical reassurance that they were still them, argument aside.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda frowned; she'd expelled most of the energy she had for keeping a neutral expression on not yelling at him. He was going to see her in port and she was going to, apparently, spend the next who-knew-how-many days agonizing at home instead of actually helping anyone. Fine. Great. She glanced at the hand on her elbow and then up at his face, which had softened, perhaps because she had gone and decided to listen. Her eyes were still a little narrowed, as if she still stood a chance of sussing him out.

"Yeah, alright," Zelda said. The sharpness of her tone had declined, but it was still there, rounding out the edges of her words. "I'll see you then."

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AMAZING set by MJ

She was obviously still angry, but she hadn't pulled away from his touch. Maybe things were alright, then, despite his having said things he hadn't intended to. Or maybe they'd be alright by the time he returned, at any rate; she already appeared to be coming down from it and he didn't think she'd gotten angry enough to stay mad at him while he was away for days, or weeks, or however long it took.

"Alright," he said, letting go of her elbow and pushing his hands into the pockets of his coat, mirroring her stance. Then, a little hesitantly, he offered: "I love you."

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda's eyes narrowed a fraction more as she absorbed that. "Do you, now," she said, slowly — she was not catastrophically angry with him, but she was angry with him, and Alfred was sailing into dangerous waters by trying to disarm her so soon.

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred blinked at her tone, at how slowly and deliberately she had to say the words. He hadn't been expecting that, but obviously he'd misjudged how angry she was. He'd mistaken her professionalism for calm. He'd thought that telling her he loved her would be reassuring, or comforting, but obviously not. He'd only meant to convey that in spite of his tone a moment ago and his resolution not to let her come along, he wasn't actually angry at her. Instead, it seemed he'd made things worse.

"I do," he said, brows furrowing with concern. "More than anything in the world. That's why you can't come."

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda's eyebrows drew together. Do you not trust me? she thought, but couldn't say here, when the answer might be no and her coworkers would be here to maybe see whatever reaction she mustered. "Alright," she said, although she didn't sound happy about it, "I love you too."

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AMAZING set by MJ