"That was about the stupidest thing I've ever seen a surface-dweller do, and that is a particularly high bar."
Brian looked around the barracks awkwardly, looking for cues as to what to do next. Finally, he mumbled something about finding a pub and made a beeline for the exit.
"Oh, right, and your running right at the tank was a military strategy for the ages.
Jaqueline coughed, played with her hair a bit, then bounced to her feet and followed her brother.
"I went after that infernal machine only to stop it from blowing your empty head off while you busy trying to take down the Neptunian Man with your bare fists."
Toro finally succeeded in catching Bucky's eyes. He jerked his head towards the door. Bucky's face flooded with relief and he nodded. They got up and Toro said they would follow the Falsworths. Steve raised an eyebrow. Bucky jumped in and said they were actually going out for a soda.
"I was the only one who could take the Curies that monster was throwing off. If you'da tried to take him down you'd be a fishstick in seconds."
"You should have cleared it with the rest of us, before you rushed headlong into throwing out your neck. And I resent your implication that the Ruler of Atlantis would be bested by some freakish Nazi lab experiment."
"Now it's the king routine. Listen, don't get your panties in a twist, princess."
"Mind your words, as long as we're talking about lab experiments."
All right, Steve thought. He got to his feet and cleared his throat. "Hey, guys, that pop actually sounds pretty darn good right now. You two want to head out with me-?"
"No!" they chorused.
Steve sighed. At a certain point, he had to just resign himself to letting these spats run their course. He left the barracks with thoughts of going for a walk, or trying to find some odd jobs that needed doing around the base.
With everyone else gone, Jim and Namor were left staring at each other, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
A few charged seconds went by, before Jim finally cracked. His shoulders slumped and he dropped down onto a bunk. "Sometimes I don't even know why I love you," he said to the ground."
Namor let his arms drop and watched as the curtain of blond hair fell in front of the android's face. The tiniest of smiles twitched at his mouth.
"I feel the same way often," he said. "But, you do have your moments."
