carol’s laughter arrives softly, warm as champagne bubbles and twice as dangerous. ( of course he says things like that so easily. ) that effortless jordan charm, reckless & sunlit and impossibly sincere when it wants to be. men like hal jordan should not exist so beautifully in a universe already crowded with disasters, & yet somehow he sits across from her now, tie loosened slightly beneath the restaurant lights, smiling at her as though she is the easiest thing in the world to adore. it would be unfair if she did not love him so much. ❝ careful, jordan, ❞ she murmurs, dark eyes gleaming over the rim of her wine glass. ❝ flatter me any more and i might start thinking ferris air should put you in marketing instead of a cockpit. ❞ the tease comes easily, polished smooth beneath years of matching his banter step for step. but carol notices things, always has & always will. her thumb strokes once against his knuckles again before she fully realizes she’s doing it, the gesture instinctive in its tenderness. grounding. perhaps for both of them. ❝ i’m okay, ❞ carol says softly at first. then, with the faintest arch of her brow: ❝ mostly. ❞ because the truth is more complicated than she knows how to explain. there has been a strange restlessness living beneath her skin lately, something shimmering and volatile just beyond the edges of herself. exhaustion, perhaps. stress. too many board meetings and too little sleep. ❝ and for the record, ❞ she continues, mouth curving softly at the corners now, ❝ my assistant is a traitor with absolutely no respect for corporate structure. ❞ a pause. ❝ though she may have a point. ❞ there is something almost wistful in the admission. the idea of escape unfolding carefully between them like silk sheets and ocean air and mornings untouched by responsibility. for a moment, carol lets herself imagine it. hal at the controls of some absurdly expensive private plane, his hand tangled lazily with hers somewhere over the atlantic. a world where she is simply carol and not ferris air’s relentless golden daughter carrying an empire on her back. dangerous fantasy. more dangerous still because of how badly she wants it. ❝ a weekend away does sound tempting, ❞ she admits quietly, gaze lifting fully to his now. there is affection there so bright it nearly softens her entirely. ❝ though i should warn you, once a ceo gets accustomed to five-star hotels, there’s really no going back. ❞ her fingers curl more fully around his hand after that, slow and deliberate and impossible to mistake for accidental. ❝ besides… ❞ carol’s voice lowers slightly, velvet-soft beneath the low restaurant lighting and clink of distant glasses. ❝ if you’re going to fly me somewhere beautiful, pilot… ❞ a smile flickers there, fond. luminous. ❝ i’d hate for you to think i wasn’t planning on keeping you all to myself while we’re there. ❞