This seemed to hurt her and she glared at him. "It wasn't stupid. It was productive," she replied sharply. "I know that I'm able to get in and out of places without getting hurt."
"It was dangerous! You didn't even tell me what you were doing," he said, his grip on the door tightening.
Her gaze flickered over to his hand before darting back to his face. She seemed genuinely angry, tilting her head sharply. "Because I knew you'd say no. You were just talking to me last night that you were scared that you were missing something. Why not utilize everything you can to make sure this thing is worth it?!"
"I would have said no," he agreed, "because you're not just some.. some tool to utilize, Ophelia! You're my friend. And I'll be damned if I lose you over such a thoughtless act."
Something changed in her voice and she stepped back from him, her eyes narrowing. "You don't think I'm capable," she told him. "You didn't think it at the party and you didn't think it during the assassination and you don't think it now. You may have figured that my actions are thoughtless, Abel, but I am good at what I do." She pointed at the planning room. "If what you said in there last night was true, and you are really scared that this thing isn't going to come to fruition, then you need to start using me like a tool rather than your friend."
"Oh, now you're just assuming things," he said roughly. "I never would have let you come on those missions with me if I didn't find you capable. I'm worried because they're capable too. You don't know what they can do." He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling on the edge of a panic attack. "I'm not going to treat you like a tool because you're a *squee!*ing human, and you're my friend. The least you could have done was tell me."
"I didn't tell you because you would have said no!" she replied, her hand in front of her, her voice sounding like she was panicking a little too. "Abel, you had a *squee!*ing identity crisis last night and you told me that this cause that serves as the climax for you might backfire. What am I supposed to do with that information besides do whatever I can to make it succeed?!"
"Why couldn't you have just waited? I told you I was figuring it out and we could go in together! And instead you just run off and do it by yourself!"
"That's why I didn't blow it up, Abel. I got you a *squee!*ing map of the inside of the place you're trying to get into. What more do you want from me?"
"I want you to stop getting into dangerous situations on your own," he said, his voice low and harsh. "I do not want to be held responsible if anything happens to you."
She paused, her brows furrowing and her lips pressing together before she quickly turnedaway from him. "Oh, I got it. It's the responsibility aspect. Well, don't worry, Abel. If something happens to me, rest assured that the responsibility won't fall onto you. Your slate is clean. Don't sweat it."
"I'm sure that's what the problem is here," she replied sharply, her back still to him. "You literally just said you didn't want to be held responsible for anything happening. That's what you're scared of, here. And you know what? That's fine. Really, it's fine. I can understand that. I'll be more careful when I go out and you don't have to worry about any of this being traced back to you."
She crossed her arms, looking down at the ground, also going silent. "I'm going back out," she said again after a second, dropping her hands and heading for the door. "Don't worry, though; I'll make sure that anything that happens won't be traced back to you." This last part was said harshly, but her voice trembled a little at the end.
