14, 31, 36 for our beloved ewskers <3

14. anything they both dread?

oh i could talk about so many things here huh... losing each other, being controlled or manipulated, being forgotten, their research efforts and life's work proving meaningless etc etc a lot of stuff they probably won't ever admit lmao but yeah, the whole being controlled one hurts a lot for him especially if you know the whole 'was 46 years old when he found out he was basically a science experiment' so uh that causes a spiral. this is ironic for diana though considering certain situations. the being forgotten one i don't think they have to worry about though, considering the reach they had is still talked about many years after he died and she vanished

losing each other makes me mentally ill though. and that can be taken in any way you want, they're all fitting. but as you can imagine with their line of work, there is one way that's more pressing than the rest, considering it has almost happened multiple times on both ends. diana was almost killed in an attempt to "dispose" of her some time after these two got married, due to her undercover position being suspected, then she was dangerously close to being targeted again by her original employers a few years later because of her wavering loyalties. we all know the two major times he has uh. died. (or like... technically didn't die, but was clinging to life). and of course how much that second time really affected diana. early on before his infection with the prototype virus, diana did worry at times with his job, but afterwards they both got cocky with his almost invincibility, not thinking anything could really bring him down because of his abilities. that changes again after she spent years regenerating his body, she is a lot more paranoid that she will lose him again after that

an extension of that also is for a few years he actually dreaded that while he wasn't ageing, she'd continue to do so and eventually die before him, so i think that was a kind of hidden motivation for him with collecting the virus samples – to not just make something that would be profitable with bioweapons (or later, some grand goal), but to grant her the same abilities as him so that they would stay by each other's sides and be "immortal" together... it's the mutual obsession for me lmao

31. do they finish each other's sentences? pick up any phrases or habits from each other? know when the other is hiding something?

i don't think they've ever finished each other's sentences, no matter how well they know each other and can anticipate what the other is going to say next. the only time they would interrupt the other is if it was while they're being menaces (wink), to purposefully get on the other's nerves in a playful way, or if one of them (usually diana) is rambling while upset and the other needs to ground them. they both view it as extremely rude and poor manners, and at least for diana she wouldn't continue what she was going to say if someone interrupted her. it's one of the reasons she enjoys his company so much, because he always just sits back and listens when she speaks, and sometimes even remains quiet until he's sure she is done with her thought process

diana picked up "dear" from him lmao she didn't typically use terms of endearment before meeting him, but when she gets called "my dear" and "dearheart" so often, it's kind of inevitable. i feel like in terms of habits, diana like subconsciously starts to exercise a little more because of him, not really intense workouts or anything, but taking walks for breaks during her work day and joining in on some of his more active interests. also probably bringing little protein bars to work as snacks instead of the junk she was eating before. with him i can see him picking up differences in terms between where they're from, you know? diana doesn't really use slang per se, but just little things like calling them capsicums instead of bell peppers, runners instead of sneakers, icy poles instead of popsicles, i don't know, just things like that

they always know when the other is hiding something. they're both really good at reading people, him more so than her though, and they just know each other so well. so when there's the slightest shift in tone, little gestures or habits they've picked up over time that would indicate the other isn't saying everything they want to, they know right away. even early on in their relationship, despite the fact that he didn't know specifically that she was undercover in umbrella, he had a feeling she was hiding something, he just couldn't find evidence of what because of how well her company covered her tracks and how she was just good at her job

36. what's their greatest strength as a couple? their weakness?

funnily enough, considering how just reserved they both are, communication is probably their greatest strength as a couple, even though there's a certain timeframe when it wasn't at its strongest, but let me explain. whenever they're upset, they always bring it to the other's attention, they discuss it instead of sitting on it, then they apologise and move on. they take what the other has said and how it made them feel into consideration for the future and do their best to not let whatever happened happen again. the only time they ever fell short with this was during the whole uroboros project situation, and that's why tensions built up, but that's the only time out of the decades they've known each other, and it served as a lesson for them both to never repeat that mistake – because they realised why they'd always worked so well together before. (i could also probably say the whole telling each other their feelings, but that was more because of them not realising their own feelings rather than like not communicating over it, you know?)

and they always listen, giving their full attention when the other is talking and listening to each other's perspectives, which is extremely important. there are just rarely misunderstandings during disagreements or discussions because they always make things clear and don't tiptoe around things (obviously besides before they were actually together but alas). another thing as well is that when they know a certain topic is making the other uncomfortable, they don't push, either waiting for them to lead the conversation or dropping it until a later date when they want to bring it up instead. also just the way they speak and their humour in general really bounces off one another, like they just get each other, and there are very rarely moments of miscommunication

it's really hard for me to think of a weakness and idk this question kind of made me spiral a bit lmao because like it's "as a couple" which is getting me. because i was thinking about maybe something with emotions, but like that's not true for them. like even though diana sometimes has trouble articulating her feelings, it's not a weakness of them as a couple because he is always patient with her, and will prompt her and they can talk about it, but there's no difficulties between them because one of them may need a bit more time with something, if that makes any sense? idk guess they are just perfect together <3 (i'm joking, i just can't think of any big and like consistent difficulties that would be considered a weakness to their dynamic)

send me a ship and a number and i'll tell you!