"I'm aware."

His neck throbbed with phantom pain. There's a moment where Killian's hand twitches as if he's about to reach up and rub his neck. It remained at his side, however. The urge stifled with a deep breath.

"I appreciate that." They were extending each other the same courtesy. "That professionalism is part of what I like about you, Gavin." but that made things no less tense between.

Problems set inside a pressure cooker would burst eventually.

Killian smiled, though it's weak and felt almost fake on his lips. "That's good to hear. This would be hard to fix if we both hated each other."

"You do things -" wrong is the word he wanted to use. Killian can feel his tongue against the roof of his mouth. The w and r are already partially formed. "The hard way."

"But that doesn't work on everyone. It won't work on me, and it'll only get you so far with Lex."

Killian sighed and pulled another cigarette from his pack. That's two so far today. So much for trying to quit. "Frankly, I don't care how you treat the rest of Rocket." lighting it, he took a drag and let the smoke settle in his lungs.

"But leading from a position of fear breeds discontent. All these books around you, I'm sure some of them are filled with stories that will tell you the same thing."

Cillian Quinn