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[ he shouldn't deny her. in point of fact, klaus would hardly be able to, in the same position.

fitz deals in facts and figures. that's what klaus asked for, and that's what he get. that is what fitz strives to do, but facts are never the sum of their parts. jemma could have been there for years, as far as fitz knows. years in which she didn't love him but loved another. time well enough to forget the sweet lab partner she once knew. for all he knows, all the heartbreak he feels is tangential to jemma's longings, in the wake of this.

she was there for long enough.

klaus is not one to suffer uncertainties, and he's not about to allow fitz's, or fitz, to get in his own way. his question is impatient and defiant, an expectation plain in his gaze. ]

And?

Edited 2016-11-27 23:24 (UTC)

[Oh, had he gotten bogged down in the details? How unprofessional of him, preambling like that... He shouldn't have bothered messaging Klaus in the first place; what had possessed him to initiate unwanted contact?]

And -- ah. So retrieving him will need to take priority. But if we can directly locate that particular planet, then it oughtn't be difficult to streamline the process to funnel others beyond that. It shouldn't be a substantial delay, all things considered.

[ fitz you sweet summer child :')

the supposed delay means little to him; it's obvious. despite his momentary agitation at its existence, it's not a detour he can avoid, not without intentions to fundamentally alter and manipulate both jemma and fitz's priorities. and even if he will decide to eventually, it's not particularly pressing at the moment. in fact, the added stimuli might only aide both of them to his ends. no, the point he meant to prompt fitz to admit is the one truly weighing in his friend's mind, and in his heart.

what is truly making him heavy. what has been a heavy enough burden to ask for help in sharing it.

(klaus knows what it is like to be heartbroken. he knows what it is like to love, and lose, and love again. now more than ever, he knows the tragedy of time's finiteness, when you do love, and lose, and love again.

and, well. a happy worker is always a more productive one.)

a soft sigh, a short, contemplative pause later, and: ]

May I ask you: what exactly have you told Jemma of your feelings?

Edited 2016-11-27 23:55 (UTC)

[He recoils then, as if Klaus had raised a hand against him physically.]

My -- I'm sorry, my what? I -- Oh, I don't think I've -- we're just friends.

[YUP THAT'S IT JUST FRIENDSHIP WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK OTHERWISE.]

[ YOU'RE FOOLING NOBODY, FITZ

he's definitely not fooling klaus, who, if anything, seems slightly amused at such an incredulous reaction

he rears back a little to take it in, and hardly pauses to respond. ]

Are you? So you don't love her? You weren't willing to move literal heavens and earths to find her; to save her life and be with her again? You're not in love with her. [ he's staring you down, fitz

deny it ok

just try ]

Edited 2016-11-28 00:07 (UTC)

[He goes quiet then, shrinking back.Jemma is the most important person in the world, maybe in any world. "Love" doesn't seem like a big enough word for it. It feels limiting, like it ties then into roles neither of them wants to play. At the same time, "Love" feels enormous. It could crush them both.]

Jemma knows how I feel. We've discussed it.

[In passing, before he drowned for her.]

[ klaus grows quiet too, at fitz's answer. he sits forward and is silent for a moment; clearly whatever the situation was, it had no happy ending.

still, it doesn't necessarily mean it's the end. ]

Now? [ has he said them here, now? has he repeated them? has he made his intentions and desires clear to the woman who wants to save another man?

klaus' head lifts; his eyes find the screen again. if he hasn't, he should. ] Did she return those feelings, when you did?

[He shakes his head at the question. Of course not now. They'd attempted a date, and then... And then all of that. He can't ever breach the subject again.]

There wasn't time for her to answer when we talked. We were in danger, and it just... Came out.

[He smiles, though his eyes still droop with sadness.]

She's too kind to hurt me on purpose. I wouldn't want to put her in that sort of position.

I doubt very much she would like to be culpable in how you are hurting now.

[ a grim honesty dealt for the sake of the truth: fitz is hurt, and he is only hurting because of himself.

klaus sucks in a breath, looks away, groping and searching for what wisdom he carries. what words of guidance and comfort he has; what pieces of himself might aide and not cut. ]

Love is... [ he trails off, looks to his friend, and tells the truth. ] It is a terrible thing. It will hurt you. [ it will certainly hurt fitz, as selflessly as he feels it. as cowardly and close as he holds it. ] To ignore it will only deepen and poison its roots.

Tell her. [ a certainty enters his gaze, his voice. ] Or you will regret it, and so will she.

[He shakes his head again. Klaus is drawing conclusions based on an incomplete dataset.]

After I told her last, I was... [There are a lot of words to describe it, and Fitz hates all of them.] Injured. I became a burden, and she left for quite some time. We were able to reconcile, but I couldn't endanger our friendship again.

If she's happy, then that's enough. Recovering Will is what she needs most.

[ what klaus hears is fear. that's what this is: fear of rejection, fear of being alone, fear of self and what little worth fitz places in his own. ] You can't know what she needs, or wants. You can't know what will make her truly happy, not until you admit what you need to, to her. You're afraid. You're afraid just as you were of your friends, that they would abandon you, but there is nothing to fear from loneliness. [ it was all he feared, for centuries, and still does. his hand curls into a fist in his lap. ] That is a terror you make all on your own.

Take my advice, or don't, [ he knows there's little he can do to force this kind of will, to heal this kind of damage. all he can ask is: ] but remember it.

[Klaus compares this to the last time Fitz found himself dissolving into feelings that ought to stay locked up where they can't hurt anyone. It's not productive to have these talks. And yet he can't seem to stop having these talks lately.]

I think it's become quite clear that those friends did abandon me. Quite completely, considering they left me to be strangled and mutilated, and subsequently couldn't be bothered with as much as an obligatory floral arrangement while I recovered. I mistook coworkers for true friends, and I've learned to live with that mistake.

[Klaus intervened then to help Fitz recover from a raw, bleeding wound. And though he's recovered well enough to talk about it now, what once was pain has since scarred over. There is no more worry, but nor is there any trust towards them.]

But still... Thank you. For talking with me. And for understanding. I'm sorry for troubling you unannounced.

[ klaus looks away. he cannot help it, for the harsh words that leave fitz are no doubt in part his fault, created through his influence. he was abandoned, yes, but that bitterness was not created in a vacuum. it's just as possible, even knowing fitz's anguish and anger over that day, that he had a hand to play in what is so vehemently expressed now.

fitz has been abandoned, yes. that does not mean he always will be.

klaus softens, something of a smile in his eyes, a lightness in his tone. ] Well, it's difficult to announce trouble.

[ that is to say: it was no trouble at all. ]

It was my pleasure, as your friend. [ he pauses. there is some encouragement and support to give. admiration, to depart. ] For what it's worth, it is the right thing: to help her.

[And what a friend Klaus is. As much as his heroes' betrayal has left him bereft and embittered, support from Klaus provides possibly the last vestiges of real hope left to him. He can't rely on heroes he once believed in, or on Jemma to ever reciprocate his feelings, but Klaus is a constant. He knows, deep in his bones, that Klaus will never betray him. It'll have to be enough to get him through.]

Thanks, Klaus. That means quite a bit, coming from you.

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