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The only sound that was capable of distracting Chris from the otherwise eerily silent debriefing room that stunk of cleaning supplies and a mix of both overpriced and cheap cologne was Adrien's foot drumming against the floor like a jackhammer. It was something Chris had grown used to, but that didn't mean he wasn't still irritated by the repetitive sound.
Chris's hand twitched at his side, itching to put his hand on Adrien's thigh to steady the movement, before reminding himself he had an image to uphold in front of these caped sons of bitches. Superman and Batman.
However, any chance of praise that Chris had secretly hoped to get hours ago from the men was either hanging by a thread, or completely gone. The Justice Gang's 'no kill rule' was weirdly difficult. Chris originally thought he'd be able to restrain himself before starting the mission, but it was proven to be difficult. Chris didn't mean to kill the guy he'd been told to detain, but it wasn't Chris's fault the man had tripped over his own feet and cracked his skull open on hard concrete. but… apparently Chris's truthful explanation didn't seem as truthful as it was.
"This is the most honest I've been in a hot minute... and you two stuck up pricks still don't believe me." Chris's brows knitted together, his voice rough as his tension crept up to his shoulders.
"Its… not that we don't believe you. I know you're not lying." Superman cut in, shifting on his feet and crossing his arms, his voice weirdly understanding despite their situation "You didn't intentionally do anything, but you definitely could've been more… careful. This could've been avoided."
Chris sighed, running a hand over his damp face. Honestly, whose shitty idea was it to not install a functioning fucking air conditioner in a debriefing room?! important shit happens in here, and being hot and bothered while explaining something wasn't something anyone fancied as far as Chris knew of.
"…Fuck. Fine, yeah it was reckless. But still, mission successful—" Chris began, before jumping as he was cut off by a hand slamming down on the table.
"Successful, Smith? You call a man losing his life successful?" Batman growled, glaring at Chris beneath his cowl. He was more tense than Chris was in that moment, which was surprising considering Chris felt his entire costume clinging to his sweat slicked frame.
"What is this, good cop, bad cop? I said what I said. It could've went smoother, but it didn't." Chris leaned forward, standing his ground.
"Which is why we're talking about this. If you two still want A.R.G.U.S agents working with the Justice Gang, you need to prove that you all aren't as reckless as you're showing us now."
Chris stiffened, before looking to the side at his helmet that was placed on the glass table, the metal glinting at him like a reminder of who he was meant to be. The Peacemaker. It's what he had to be, and he had promised himself — and Adrian that he'd live up to the title.
"Right…" Chris muttered, coming back to his senses and taking a deep breath, trying rid all of his irritation that was mostly from the heat. "You're right. I'm sorry, I'll do better."
"We!" Adrian interrupted, sticking up his gloved pointer finger. "We will do better." he continued, giving Batman a smile, curly hair sticking out in every which way from the humidity of the room.
With a seemingly exasperated sigh and a nod, Batman dismissed the two, running a hand over his cowl. "That'll be all." The gruff voice ordered, before Superman's gentle touch running over his shoulder eased his nerves. "Just… next time, be more observant." The Bat added, before exiting the room with Superman, his cape swaying with his movements.
Chris let out a groan as the two left, hand moving to his face, and rubbing the corners of his eyes with a gloved hand, the fabric dry against the wet skin.
And after not even a minute of short lived silence, Adrian's voice cut through the awkward tension left behind. "Hey dude, you wanna go grab something to eat now? Metropolis delicacies?" Adrian perked up, that big stupid grin plastered on his face as he looked at Chris
"Dude… right now? I have to… reflect now."
"When have you ever done that?"
"Now. Character development."
"That's… really dumb. No offense."
Chris sighed, before nodding with a slight smile. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Uh… what… delicacies does Metropolis have anyway? Pizza?"
"Um… yeah I think that's it. I don't know, dude! I'm just brainstorming."