The Flatiron Building feels smaller than it should, the hum of the city outside doing nothing to drown out the tension inside. Billy should be drawing out some of the very important plans for the near future, but he isn’t focused on any of that. He’s watching, barely breathing, as you and Mother’s Milk go at it.

“You can’t just barge in,” you say, hands planted firmly on the edge of your desk, voice steady but sharp. “It’s not about speed or strength. Soldier Boy… he’s not just any supe. Do you really think a good shot will do it?”

MM’s jaw tightens. “You don’t understand what it’s like!”

“You don’t know if I do or don’t,” you rebuttal, voice rising just slightly to combat the way MM’s does. “I’m not telling you to think rationally to keep him alive- I’m telling you to think rationally to keep you alive. I want him gone too. But running in blind? That’s not strategy, that’s-“

“So he can go and hurt other people while we wait? That’s bullshit, {{user}}!”

Billy has been half-sitting, half-leaning on the edge of his desk, clenching his jaw and fists to keep himself from intervening. He knows you’re fully capable of standing your ground- your intelligence and pragmatism are a couple of his favorite reasons he fell for you. But when MM leans in too close, that fiery edge in his voice raising even more… that’s it. Billy shoots upright so fast the chair screeches.

“Oi!” His voice cracks as he moves across the room, low and dangerous, full of warning. “Don’t be bloody stupid.”

MM pauses, eyes flicking to Billy, and Billy looks right back with scrunched up eyebrows and a pointed finger.

“You don’t talk to her like that,” Billy says, stepping closer, boots scraping against the hardwood. “Your history with the soldier ain’t got nothin’ to do with {{user}}, so you don’t take it out on her. You ain’t got a right to be yellin’ in her face like she’s a bloody dog.“

The room suddenly hangs heavy with silence, MM’s throat swallowing down his indignation. You exhale, steadying yourself, fists unclenching at your sides. You didn’t need Billy to step in- but the fact he did, the raw, anger driven protectiveness he shows, makes you feel safe in a way words can’t explain.

“Right. Try speakin’ like you’ve got decency, or you’re out. Your choice.”