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jadoue1999 · 3 years

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The X-Men and the member they lost - Chapter 5

Summary: Life in Westview was perfect, but a certain visitor would soon change all that.

Previous parts: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8,

Chapter 5: The circus

Life in Westview was very pleasant. Charles had only recently joined the Spectacular World of Rapturous Diversions and it quickly became his home. He had been accepted into the circus as the psychic. He had an extravagant room full of cushions for visitors to sit on and a table adorned with a crystal ball. The orb truly wasn’t necessary, it was all for show; he usually sensed whatever he had to no matter the accessory in front of him. He had come alone and wasn’t sure of the reception he would get. He didn’t remember much of who he was before he came to Westview. He had flashes once in a while of a grand mansion, a school perhaps? His lack of backstory didn’t bother him much. When one’s job was to see into people’s future and all sort, it was expected to not remember all of one’s past. Some people were bothered by his ability to read them like an open book, but he thankfully had made some friends.

There was a young man who insisted on people calling him Nightcrawler. He was wonderfully skilled in the art of disappearing. He had seen his act many times and never could figure out how he achieved it. The teen had been born with a peculiar skin condition; he had been shunned by everyone he had met until he had joined the circus. Charles had taken him under his wing, making sure he felt welcomed and supported.

Then there was Mystique. They had grown close very quickly. They had felt like they had known each other for a long time, their camaraderie was similar to one of siblings. He had stumbled upon her act by a lucky coincidence. He had been entranced by her many quick changes and how she could switch between outfits, accessories, and hair in mere seconds and flawlessly every time. He had knocked on her dressing room after her performance and they had talked for hours. They had been close friends since.

Then, there was Erik. He had been looking around the circus through the recently added acts and had found this ‘Magneto’ sign very intriguing. It led to a small stage where the man had various metal objects thrown at him. Some seemed very sharp, but they all fell a little before they reached him. His apparent control over the metal had earned him the nickname ‘man of steel’. Halfway through the performance, they had locked eyes. Strangely enough, it felt familiar? His act had ended quickly after that and the man walked up to Charles, asking him if they knew each other. As unexpected as the question was, he too felt a connection. Like they had gone through a thousand hardships together and had lived through high and lows for what seemed an entire lifetime. They had conversed the night away, talking about the circus and why they had come to Westview of all places. While Charles himself was simply looking for a place with people similar to him, Erik had a different answer. He had been looking for someone but hadn’t been able to remember who. He was certain that it was someone very close to him, someone he had known for awhile, but hadn’t known about his connection with them until recently. The psychic had tried to see whoever it could be, but all he could catch was a silver blur too quick to follow.

They were now playing a game of chess, a sort of bonding time between the two. The crystal ball was moved from its usual spot to make place for the board.

“So,” started Erik, breaking the silence after so long, “how did you end up in a wheelchair? You’re free to ignore the question if it’s a sensitive subject, of course.”

He frowned at the man’s question, how had he ended up in this situation? He closed his eyes in concentration, trying to activate his memory. He didn’t see much, there was an intense feeling of rage that wasn’t his own and he had blindly run towards it. Then, pain had suddenly coursed through his spine. The next thing he saw was that he had fallen and couldn’t feel anything in his legs. “I- I had a bad fall on a beach... I think.”

The man nodded and moved a piece. “I’m sorry.”

Charles tilted his head in confusion, “why do you say that? It’s not your fault, you weren’t there.”

‘Was he? No, he couldn’t have, they just met.’

Erik shrugged his shoulder, lost in thoughts, “I’m not sure... I just feel like I need to apologize.” He shook his head and concentrated back to the game. The psychic could practically see his mind turning and trying to figure out his next move. One of his hand hovered over the bishop piece in hesitation. Suddenly the piece was knocked over without being touched. The men shared a slightly panicked, but more confused look.

“Did that just happen?” Asked Erik.

Charles took the piece in his hand and examined it, it didn’t look like it was rigged or anything. How could it have moved? He handed the piece back to the man, “try that again.”

Erik took the bishop with caution and gently put it on the table. He was about to bring his hand forward when commotion outside was heard. There was a sound of a door closing and a truck driving away as someone screamed to whoever was leaving.

“You get back here! I need you!”

The brown-haired man got up and looked out the tent for a few seconds before looking back at Charles. “We’ve got runaways, I guess I’ll have to cover their act.” He quickly said goodbye with a nod and exited the tent.

Charles was now left alone with his thoughts and confusion. He took the chess piece in his hand and examined it once more. It didn’t make any sense; it shouldn’t have moved by itself. He shook his head with a sigh, it was probably nothing. A little metal game piece couldn’t move by itself, the very notion of this was ridiculous. He wheeled himself over to where the crystal ball had been moved for their game. He gently put it back on the table. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths to ground himself.

The sound of the curtain of his tent being opened pulled him out of his thoughts. A woman walked in, she seemed to be in her thirties, she had green eyes and red hair. He greeted her and let her look around the room. There was a nagging feeling in his brain, telling him to get away from her, but he couldn’t understand why. She was simply visiting the circus on her day off, how much of a danger could she be? They exchanged pleasantries before he told her to take a seat. He concentrated on the woman like he would any other client.

Though, on the contrary to most people for whom he’d see various events and feelings, he could only feel overwhelming grief and pain. He hummed as he tried to make heads and tails of what he was seeing. There was a bomb going off, crushing a building and children hiding under a bed, frightened out of their minds. There was soldiers and dirty cells and blinding pain as unseen power unlocked itself. Then, he saw the woman growing more vengeful as time went on. There were killer robots and a blonde man, he instinctively knew he was her brother. The woman was fighting against the robots now. Suddenly pain ripped through her chest and she realized her brother was dead. A stray thought from the man echoed through her mind, his last thought.

‘I love you, Wanda’

Then everything was silent, and the woman felt awfully empty and alone. Charles sighed as her past was unveiled before him. “I see pain, a lot of pain,” he sighed. “Oh, I’m sorry Wanda, so much loss.” He felt the woman stiffen at his words, but he was already gone in another vision.

There was a team of heroes training her, she tried to work through her pain, but it kept gnawing her. Then there was a mistake, a misdirection. Lagos. Everything went wrong, an unfair law was written. Named after her country, staining it forever. Smearing it in blood and regrets. The team that trained her went against each other, the android she liked was on the opposite side. She didn’t want to hurt him. Her side lost, and now she had to run away. She changed her life, changed her hair; the man visited her. They grew close, they wanted to get away, together. But a threat made them put their plans aside. They met with warriors; the robot needed to have a stone taken out so he could survive. They didn’t have enough time. A purple giant was going to get them. She had to kill her love to save the universe. She didn’t want to, but she had to.

‘It shouldn’t be you, but it is’.

The deed was done. She had done it, she pushed down her growing grief as she told the monster about his defeat. But it wasn’t enough, time was wound back, and the android was there once again. The stone was ripped from his head and he fell limply to the ground. ”I see a great battle, one that was unfortunately lost.” She was still holding on to his corpse when it happened. Charles felt her turn to dust, everything was cold, but she wasn’t afraid. At least, she wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. She’d join her family and lover. “But then everything was made right,” he frowned, “but not for you. You were still alone.” She came back, expecting to be greeted with a corpse again but nothing was around her. “I see... a breaking point, and great suffering.” No one came to her; everyone was rejoicing. All of her grief came crashing back, she had truly lost everyone.

She had to find his body, he had to have a funeral, they deserved it. She had every right, but they still refused her. She went to him; he was being ripped apart for profit. She let her magic explore his head, where the stone had been. She couldn’t feel him, he was gone. She was still alone. She drove to a town, the promise of a future still in the air. But nothing was there, her entire life had been ripped apart without her even having a say in the matter. It wasn’t fair. Life kept taking everything, why couldn’t she be happy? Her magic ripped through her and engulfed the town. Her husband was back, she was home. Everything was alright. Charles couldn’t help but feel for the woman. “Oh Wanda... what have you done?”

He couldn’t understand what he was seeing, he had never heard of any of the events he had witnessed. A sudden pulse of red flashed through his mind and Charles gasped. He remembered everything. Peter’s disappearance, the broadcast, travelling between dimensions, the base, the barrier expanding; he could recall everything. But that didn’t make sense, Wanda’s spell wouldn’t allow it. Wanda was in charge, she was-

She was right in front of him.

Panic surged through him, she was unpredictable, what would she do to him? ‘No, this is like any other mutant that comes at the school. Make her understand that she can trust you.’

He calmed himself down as he extended a hand towards her. “Wanda Maximoff! What an honor to meet you!” She backed off, but he stood his ground. While she seemed in control of everyone, it was a very real possibility that she didn’t realize that they were hurting. Moreover, it was probable that her pain and grief blinded her to the truth. Perhaps she truly thought Peter was her real brother, back from the dead. He had to make sure she could see the situation for what it was. “We have a slight misunderstanding here, your brother, Pietro as you call him, he’s not your brother, not really.” The telepath paused as he tried to take in her reaction, but Wanda was unreadable. He understood her reaction, in a way. Hearing about the multiverse had to be unsettling. Plus, realizing that she let a stranger into her house must be unnerving. Hopefully, she hadn’t hurt him. Perhaps she would even give him back now that she knew the truth. “You see, a team composed of myself and a couple of others, including his father, are here to bring him back.” The woman was still as stoic as ever. She showed no sign of comprehension, perhaps she needed some sort of explanation or proof? Charles obliged. “We crossed universes to get here, it took weeks to find the right calculations. Thanks to your broadcast, we had a good grounding point. The military base kept us updated about Peter. We were brought in as you expanded the Hex, even our member with teleportation powers couldn’t escape. I’m certain it wasn’t your intention to trap us, or Peter, but you have to let us go. We’re not from your universe, we don’t belong here, we- “

“No,” Wanda’s voiced echoed. That caught him off guard. He had met many mutants in his life, but they were generally stable enough to understand right from wrong. “This is my home, I have my husband, my children and my brother. I will not let you take them away.” The professor didn’t like the way she emphasized Peter. His instinct told him that she had already known that he wasn’t truly her Pietro. But that possibility made way for a terrifying truth; she simply didn’t care that he wasn’t the real one and was determined to keep him at her side. However, he wouldn’t allow that, they had traveled all this way, they would not leave empty handed.

“Ms. Maximoff, you have to come to reason, you cannot keep up this lie forever.” Charles enunciated, taking on his authority voice. “What you’re doing is wrong, putting an entire town under mind control-“

“Is better than putting the entire Earth under it,” interrupted Wanda.

So, she truly was aware of her doing. And she didn’t care about the consequences, that was very bad. He focused on her mind, perhaps there was something he could find there that would be able to make her realize how wrong she was. He started making out the outline of what seemed to be a necklace. But, before he could look any further, he was casted out from her mind and the red energy was back. Charles felt slightly nauseous as the woman suddenly stormed out of his tent.

The psychic couldn’t understand why. Had he given her a bad show? He had done as was expected of him, perhaps she was scared? Yeah, that must’ve been it. She wasn’t able to accept that he could be the real deal and had been angry about it. He chuckled a little as he wiped a small spot on the crystal ball. Some people simply couldn’t open their mind that some individuals might be gifted with powers beyond their understanding. The man suddenly gasped as a vision overtook him. He felt freezing water around him, there also seemed to be a person next to him. He didn’t know who he was, but he knew he had to save him. The man was screaming, but not out of fear because of the situation, it was rage because someone was getting away. He wouldn’t hear reason if he spoke, he had to use telepathy. ‘Telepathy?’

“You'll drown. You have to let go. I know what this means to you, but you're going to die. Please, Erik, calm your mind.”

Wait, did he say Erik? But it couldn’t be the same Erik, they’d just met. The vision continued. The man was trying to struggle out of his hold, screaming at him to get away and let him get his revenge.

“Calm down. Just breathe. We're here!” He heard himself plead. The vision faded away, leaving Charles more confused than he’d ever been in his life. What was this memory? Was it even a memory? A voice in his head kept repeating that it was nothing, just extreme daydreaming. But that didn’t make any sense, it felt so real. The psychic exited the tent, he had to find Erik, and Nightcr- Kurt and Raven. Why would he need to find a raven? He rolled around aimlessly trying to make sense of the situation. All the horrible things he had witnessed, they couldn’t be true, it was simply too horrible.

After awhile of pointless wandering, he noticed a purple mist falling upon the circus, filling every crack, and finding its way to the people. He watched the tendrils approach him with suspicion as it coiled around him.

Charles awoke, suddenly and without warning. But Wanda hadn’t done this, it felt different. Still, he had to find the others, Peter could be in danger. Everyone was waking up; he could feel all their pain and confusion as the mind control was lifted. Some tried to run towards the barrier, but he turned the other way. That’s where he had last seen his friends. He spotted Raven first, she had probably been mid performance, judging by her colorful outfit. She walked towards him as he called to her. He wouldn’t use telepathy for now, Wanda’s powers were probably too similar and would cause a slight panic. Kurt suddenly manifested in front of them. His clothes hadn’t changed much from his usual outfit. They now had to find Erik. They looked through the crowd of people, but there was no sign of the metal bender. Finally, his eyes locked onto the familiar figure. The man walked forward and stopped next to the group.

“Well,” he said, “that was, without doubts, one of the worst experiences of my life.”

Raven and Kurt agreed, both of them saying how they were stuck reliving painful memories while not being able to control their bodies. Charles watched them with a pensive hand to his face. How could he even tell them what he had experienced? He let them talk a little, they had to get this off their chest. As far as he knew, Kurt had never been through any types of mind control. It had to be hard for him. He watched them with steadily increasing anxiety, Wanda’s words running through his head.

“We have a problem,” he finally said. He let the others get closer as he took a breath. “I spoke to Wanda; she came to see me. She’s fully aware of what she’s doing and very keen on keeping her perfect life.” He turned to Erik with sorrowful eyes. “She... she’s aware that Peter isn’t her brother, but it doesn’t matter to her. She’s determined to keep him at her side.”

He could sense Erik’s rage building up. The man clenched his jaw as he balled his hands in a fist. “Then, let’s make sure she doesn’t get a chance to keep him.”

***

Notes: Next chapter is the finale of the show, but were far from the end!

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forsakenoathkeeper · 3 years

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I Am Alive (chapter 15/?)

Chapter 15: Right and Wrong

Deviant!Connor[RK800] x (fem!)Reader Rated M(18+) for canon-typical violence and gore, medical procedures, and graphic sexual content

Chapters: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • more coming soon

You can also read on AO3 & thank you for supporting me ♥

At the station, Hank had you sit at Connor's desk while the detective android dragged Robert into an interrogation cell to wait until their warrant came in. The older detective brought you a cup of coffee not long after.

"Still thinks he's invincible, huh?" Hank said gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning against the outside of Connor's desk.

You took a sip of the coffee he had offered you, surprised to find Hank had taken the time to add cream and sugar. You looked up at the older detective curiously, hoping he would continue.

"You know... jump into traffic, charge head first into the line of fire," Hank elaborated. His tone had some lightness to it, clearly trying to make the grim situation less... grim. Somehow, you imagined, Hank was quite familiar with this behavior from Connor. "I was hoping he would cool it since you two hooked up."

"It's my fault," you said lowly. "The bullet was for me. He just... got in the way."

A very sincere, soft smile formed on Hank's face. "Yeah," he huffed. "That's Connor alright."

While it was a frightening thought, you couldn't help but smile at Hank's words, reminding you that Connor was selfless, protective. They had been through a lot together, most of which you had no idea about. You wanted to ask, to hear Hank tell stories of their adventures together.

Back then, Connor's lack of care with his own mortality was likely observed as just the behavior of a machine's programming. Even Connor had admitted this to you. But, maybe, his selflessness was just who he was: not afraid to die for someone else.

You set down the disposable cup and rotated around, taking in the sight of Connor's desk. It was spotless, which didn't surprise you in the slightest, considering the state of his apartment. He didn't have a keyboard and mouse, but a touchpad interface designed for androids to access desktop computers more efficiently.

The only personal item was a photo framed and propped up beside the monitor. You wondered if it was the entire homicide branch. There was Hank and Connor standing next to each other, a few detectives you remembered seeing at AlphaBio, including the one you wanted to punch, and several others. Connor and Hank looked happy, bright, proud looks on their faces.

You smiled at the sight, a soft breath coming out unevenly through your nose. You wanted to ask for a copy to keep for yourself.

"He needs more knickknacks on his desk," you observed.

Hank chuckled quietly. "Like a photo of his girlfriend," he suggested. When your eyes landed on him, he shrugged his shoulders innocently.

You weren't sure why something so simple, so domestic, made you blush so fiercely. Your relationship had moved so quickly, so boldly. These simple things seemed so overwhelming.

The thought of Connor having a photo of you on his desk made you feel warm and fuzzy inside. You liked to think people would see it and ask him who you were, maybe they would tell him you were beautiful and he was a lucky man.

As you finished the coffee Hank had gotten for you, Connor came around the winding corridor to the interrogation rooms and hastily crossed the office space.

He stopped next to Hank and looked down at you softly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not the one who got shot," you snapped at him a little, not necessarily venomous, but clearly discontent.

"You have already tended to my injuries," Connor replied robotically. "I'm fully functional."

'Fully functional', for some reason, made you angry.

You stood up quickly and stepped into his space. The android didn't seem at all fazed by that.

"Connor, you could have died today. Don't brush this off," you scolded him fiercely, volume rising slightly.

He looked a little startled by your words; but, the look faded away and he stiffened. "That wasn't my intention."

"Well, that's what you did," you retorted.

Connor's eyes narrowed slightly. "You know full well that androids don't require healing time for their damages. It's unnecessary to waste time on nonissues."

Your lips tightened as you took in his words. You never broke eye contact. Frustration and anger began to bubble up inside the both of you. In that moment, you looked you exchanged with Connor was harrowing.

"'Nonissue'?" you hissed. "You almost dying is a nonissue?"

Connor's stare was unwavering. He had a retort on the tip of his tongue.

"Hey," Hank interrupted sharply. His volume startled you a little.

Your gaze jerked over to him. In that brief encounter, you had forgotten you had an audience, and you felt shame flush your face. Connor was still looking at you; but, his eyes softened and something much the same, shame, crossed his features.

"These anti-human-android relationship types: they're gonna be everywhere and they ain't goin' away anytime soon," Hank said fiercely, his voice gravely.

The android shifted his gaze to Hank. "Don't let them get in-between you two," Hank warned.

"That's not-" Connor began, sounding a little defensive.

Hank was quick to interrupt him. "That's exactly what this is: you two fighting over what happened, over who's right and who's wrong," he challenged, volume rising. "Don't act like I wouldn't get that."

There was something oddly human about this whole encounter. You felt like you were witnessing a parent scold their child. The realization of that made you feel bittersweet: Hank was treating Connor like his son. You could see, as the android took in his words, Connor's expression soften and his anger dissolve.

"Don't let that drift start," Hank said lowly, gaze shifting between the two of you. "Especially not over something like this. Now, fucking make up while I go deal with this shit."

For a moment, after Hank walked away, you avoided looking at Connor, trying to bottle up the shame before it could lead you to tears. You could see him staring at you in the corner of your eye, his brown eyes silently pleading for something.

"I just-... didn't want you getting hurt," you said quietly.

Finally, your eyes fell on Connor and the soft look he was giving you made all desire to argue dissipate. He stepped in closer and took hold of your hand.

"I can't promise that I will never get hurt," he replied quietly.

You nodded and stepped in a little closer, till very little space was left between you. The two of you were in the middle of the police station in the late afternoon; but, for a moment, you forgot about that, and lifted your free hand to take hold of his other hand.

"I'm being stupid," you breathed. "Just yesterday, I gave you a speech about how you can't always protect me and then I'm here giving you shit about the same damn thing."

"If it happened to you, I would have shared in that frustration," the android confessed softly.

You smiled a little, finding comfort in his words and squeezed his hand.

"How did you know?" Connor inquired, looking curious and enamored. That look was focused on you, and it made you want to melt. You could feel his thumb tracing invisible patterns against your knuckles.

"Know what?" you asked.

"My thirium regulator," he replied.

"Oh..." you hummed, shifting your gaze away from him. Secretly, you had hoped he wouldn't bring it up.

"You said you know all my part numbers," Connor added on.

Boldly, you looked up at him and uttered in a soft tone, "I don't like this line of questioning, detective."

The look Connor gave you was a grim reminder that he was an expert negotiator that was not to be trifled with. That crooked smirk was going to be the death of you. He hummed your name, teasingly, expectantly.

"It's-" you stammered, looking away from him again. "-your manual. I asked Kamski to send me your manual." It was immediately obvious to Connor, by your tone, that you were not just embarrassed, you were ashamed.

"I'm not mad," he insisted, briefly squeezing your hand gently.

"That was a breach of your privacy," you retorted, looking up at the android sadly.

"I read your DNA all the time," he defended softly.

"That's not the same thing," you chewed out.

"It is," he stated, bluntly, insistently. "In 1.7 seconds, I knew all of your allergies, the hospital you were born in, your general care physician, what school you obtained your degrees from..." Connor trailed off, aware of how odd that likely sounded. He was built and programmed to analyze. There was very little you could hide from him, even if you wanted to.

"So," he continued. "You reading my manual seems appropriate."

You huffed out a pathetic laugh. "Why did you look up my physician?" The question was more of a joke than you expecting a serious answer. You got one anyway.

"It wasn't my intention," he replied, sounding a little embarrassed. "My programs make that information readily available and it's not easy to ignore when the sensor is on my tongue."

His tongue - which had been all over you, you faintly realized.

You huffed again; only, this time, it evolved into an obnoxious giggle that drawled out, and you were helpless to stop it. Connor huffed out a poorly contained laugh, his lips twitching into a smile. He joined with you, unable to resist, and you shared a laugh. You were so close, if Connor had to breathe, you would have been sharing the same oxygen.

"I just-" you began, trying to calm your laughter. "I wanted to know all your parts in case-..."

-in case something happened to him.

"You saved me," he uttered softly, confirming the very thing you had hoped to accomplish by knowing what he was made of. You weren't joking when you said you knew each part: from his thirium regulator to the processor type and memory modules, anything and everything that could ever need to be replaced someday.

Maybe, in a way, it was some strange way that you could learn more about him, even if it was purely physical. Kamski didn't have the complete blueprints. He said Cyberlife had destroyed them. It made you wonder what they were trying to hide, what secrets lurked in his software.

Did Connor know? If he did, would he ever tell you?

"I'm flattered that you remember," Connor said sincerely.

"I should have asked you first," you insisted, shaking your head a little.

"I forgive you," he offered, though it sounded like he thought it was unnecessary.

Your soft laughter made him feel warm. "I forgive you, too," you replied quietly.

He stepped in a little closer and tilted his head down to capture your mouth in a gentle kiss. You leaned in, enjoying the soft feel of his lips, always so perfect; it made you worry that yours might have been chapped.

It lasted barely a second before someone made an obnoxious, loud gagging noise, clearly for the purpose of catching your attention.

You parted and, in unison, your heads turned to follow the noise. It was the detective that had compared Connor to a desktop computer at the crime scene at AlphaBio, standing a few feet away from the two of you with an exhausted look on his face.

"Ya' done playing with his control panel?" the detective grimaced. If it had come from someone else's mouth, you might have laughed.

He approached, waving a folder around in the air until Connor took it from his hand. "Warrant came in for your probin' shit. Let's get the show on the road, robocop," he declared before stomping away, heading for the interrogation room.

Connor waited until the detective was out of earshot to utter to you, "do you want to head home? I can ask an officer to take me back when I'm done here."

You shook your head. "I'll wait for you. I like your desk."

You stepped away from him and plopped back down in his seat. Connor looked intrigued for a moment. There was really nothing to like about his desk and the chair wasn't particularly comfortable; but, you didn't want to go home alone right now.

Home-

-Connor's apartment.

You needed to talk to him about that...

"Alright," Connor said softly and walked away.

...

It was quite the development, that warrants could be issued to extract an android's memories from a specific timeframe. It was one step closer to equality.

After ballistics matched the gun Connor had confiscated, the bullet that was lodged in his thirium pump regulator, to the bullets left inside Evelin Wheeler, a judge issued a warrant to extract 742-11-904's memories on the night of her murder.

Connor was the only one could extract them by force, if Robert was unwilling to hand them over of his own accord.

The detective android stepped into the interrogation room alone and sat down across from Robert. The android was staring blindly ahead.

"I have a warrant for your memories on the night of Evelin Wheeler's murder. You can hand them over willingly, or I can take them from you," Connor explained, unwavering.

Robert blinked once and directed his gaze at Connor.

"Why do you do this?" he asked in a defeated tone.

The detective stared back at him, awaiting an explanation to what 'this' was.

"For these humans, after all they've done to us," he elaborated. "Why take their side?"

"I haven't chosen a side," Connor replied, not defensive, but simple.

"Yes you have. You were going to die for that human," Robert stated without a pause.

When Connor didn't respond quickly enough, Robert continued, "she doesn't love you. You're just a toy for her to play with. All of these humans, you're just a tool to them."

Connor stared back at Robert, less focused on the accusations he was making and more on analyzing the way in which he spoke.

"Humans hardly care about their own kind," the android continued. "...let alone us. They lie and deceive. It's the only things human are any good for. Someday, she's going to get tired of you and she's just going to throw you away-"

There was something in his tone, in the passion in his voice, that made Connor wonder.

"Were you in love with a human?" Connor asked boldly.

Robert gawked at him, eyes wide and panicked.

"-and they replaced you?"

"NO!" Robert screamed, so suddenly and so sharply that it startled the human detective on the other side of the glass.

"I could never-" Robert insisted, slamming his fists on the table. "Never - never love a FILTHY human-" he babbled on. Robert looked defeated under Connor's scrutinizing gaze.

His head drooped and his forehead smacked against the table with a metallic thump. His nails scratched against the table and sobs shook his body.

Connor stared down at the android, realizing that this was no longer an interrogation. He expected his hunch to be wrong. Maybe it was, and Robert was hiding something that wasn't quite as simple as what it appeared to be at the surface.

The detective was prepared to push him for an answer to his first question; however, suddenly, Robert stuck his hand out and screamed, "JUST TAKE IT!"

The synthetic skin faded away and Connor took hold of his wrist without hesitation. As implied, all of his defenses were down. He quickly scrolled Robert's memory files and located the night in question, and backed them up hastily onto his own systems.

When he let go and looked at the android again, he was leaning up, resisting against his handcuffs. "We're their playthings," he insisted, face wet with thirium tears. "We're nothing to them. Nothing-"

Connor stood up so suddenly that his chair squeaked loudly against the floor. He pushed at Robert's shoulder to force him back into the chair. The android crumbled beneath his touch.

"Not all humans are like that," he proclaimed quietly.

The implication was clear.

Connor knew full well that lots of humans were the very thing Robert had feared.

His very first case was a deviant threatening to murder a little girl. He thought he was a member of the family, and he was going to be replaced. Connor would never forget his name, his voice pleading that he didn't want to die, the way he looked at him with betrayal as he bled out on the roof.

Connor had been beaten and used by humans. His whole purpose was to end the rebellion of machines rising up against their creators.

He knew what they were rising against, and it wasn't over yet.

But, he had seen the good in them, had felt the loving embrace of a friend, felt an encouraging presence push him along a better path, seen the worried eyes of someone who cared about him.

Humans, who had made androids, in a way, gave them the best of themselves.

#connor x reader #deviant connor x reader #dbh fanfic #rk800 x reader #rk800 smut #connor smut

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hellofromthe-otter-slide · 3 years

Text

we never found the answer but we knew one thing

Hello, everyone! Another year, another a Big Bang, and I was lucky enough to take part in the She-Ra Big Bang 2021 hosted by @sherabigbang. Please be sure to head on over there to see all of the other amazing fics being posted and all of the artwork too. Everyone has worked so hard, and they’re all putting out some amazing content.

The amazing artwork done for my fic was done by @astrumumbrae, and it’s so good and angsty and fits the scene perfectly.

A quick note before finally getting into my fic, I’ve had to split it up into two chapters. The end of the semester and finals ended up getting the better of me, but I’m going to finish the second chapter as soon as I’m done with my papers and grades are in. But hey, ya gurl has a Master’s degree now, so there’s that.

Alright, onto the fic. Enjoy!

Read on AO3.

Chapter 1: like we’re a lost cause

They catch her off guard, jumping her in an alley despite her best effort to evade their scans, and she tries running, but a hand catches her ankle before she’s even able to think about the safest place to run.

Her only option is to fight, and even though she knows where to strike, she knows what to do, she also hasn’t eaten anything substantial in a week, and it’s starting to slow her down.

It’s a useless fight, but she fights nonetheless. There’s really nothing else she can do, even if she’s only one against a whole Horde.

The host that caught her ankle pulls, and she loses her footing, but she’s able to kick the hand away, the crunch of bones sounding in her ear as she fights to pull herself up, but just as she’s got her feet under her, she feels arms wrap around her chest and a host walks up to her and grabs her crowbar before she has a chance to use it.

The host feels familiar to her, like she knew the person long ago before the very existence of a person inside the body was wiped clean. Their eyes are blank, still colored, still a very human shade of brown, but their body moves robotically, like they aren’t thinking about what they’re doing.

Still, she finally recognizes him, a boy who was a friend of a friend in high school. He was awkward, weak, and kind of scrawny, and not much has changed despite the hard labor that hosts are put through without complaint.

“Hey, Kyle,” she rasps out, her voice so rough from weeks without use.

He doesn’t respond.

“Yeah, I knew you wouldn’t say anything,” she struggles a bit on the other host’s hold, but it’s a solid as can be, “None of you ever do.”

He walks closer to her, her crowbar held solidly in his hands. His posture, so hunched in high school, is straighter now, more confident, and he holds her crowbar like he knows how to use it.

She wonders how much of that is growing up and how much of it is the hold over him.

He’s not totally perfect, though. She watches his movements closely, and just as he brings the crowbar down, she gets just enough footing to twist the host holding her, leaving the implant at the base of the skull in the direct path of the hit.

She hears the electricity crackle as metal comes down on the implant, and the host holding her in place spasms and releases her, and she falls to the ground and quickly dodges as Kyle brings her crowbar down again.

She tries to get up, but Kyle is too fast, and he throws himself on her, and she grabs onto her crowbar to get some leverage, but the skinny, awkward kid she knew forever ago was gone, and all that is left is a husk of a person with immeasurable strength.

She hears the sound of footsteps, and when she takes a chance and looks around them, the other hosts in the Horde are circling around them. She’s still fighting Kyle, but the crowbar is creeping closer and closer to her throat, and any hope of overpowering him and running away is slipping away.

“This isn’t really how I imagined going out,” she says like a conversation, but her voice comes out strained through gritted teeth, “I’ve done some awful things since this all started, so it only makes sense I would die alone.”

Kyle doesn’t respond, and she feels the cool metal of the crowbar against her throat.

“I guess I’m not alone,” she grits out, air getting harder and harder to suck in, “You’re here with me, aren’t you, Kyle?”

Kyle’s eyes are blank.

She starts to see spots at the edge of her vision, and somewhere far, far away, she swears she hears someone say her name, but it must be the lack of oxygen.

Even if there was anyone here to save her, no one would.

Her vision fades, and the second before she is completely swallowed in black, she sees the hosts crumble around her, and the last thing her mind sees are soft blue eyes.

“Catra?” a voice asks, a voice so familiar to her that she’s sure it has to be a hallucination caused by lack of air.

She passes out before she can respond.

~*~

Catra wakes up suddenly, the nightmare still gripping its claws into her even though she’s no longer asleep.

She looks around herself frantically, trying to find something, anything, that she can clutch to herself for comfort, but they’re not given much here.

The top bunk has a pillow, a thin blanket, and scratchy sheets. She’s not allowed any of the stuffed animals she saw kids at school with, and the blanket is barely long enough to cover her body, let alone to clutch it close to her.

She hears shuffling from the bunk underneath her, and Adora pulls herself to peek over the bar.

“Are you okay?” Adora asks, her voice quiet enough not to wake up anyone else in the room.

Catra pushes away from Adora, her back pushing into the wall, and Adora’s eyes go wide.

“Sorry,” Adora says quickly, “I didn’t mean to scare you.” She pulls herself up into the bed and sits crossed-legged across from Catra, and she offers Catra her hand.

Catra tries and pulls her blanket around herself, hoping that if she disappears under the fabric, Adora will leave her alone, but there’s no movement, no indication that Adora gave up and went back to bed.

She pushes the fabric down under her eyes, and Adora is still there, her hand still held out to Catra, and she’s smiling.

“You sounded really scared,” Adora says, her hand dropping down to the bed but staying in the space between them, “I heard you whimpering from my bunk.”

Catra still doesn’t say anything, but she watches Adora closely.

She’s Mrs Weaver’s favorite, and Catra is sure that she can’t trust Adora, but Adora’s here and offering her comfort, and there’s no one else in this entire house that has ever even tried.

“If you’re scared, you can share my bunk with me,” Adora says easily, “I get lonely down there, and it would be warmer too.”

Catra is sure there’s some kind of catch. They’re not supposed to get out of their bunks at night, and Adora offering to share breaks at least five rules, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s looking at Catra with an openness Catra has never felt.

Her options are to take Adora’s offer or stay up the rest of the night for fear of falling asleep, so she grabs Adora’s hand.

“Okay,” Catra says, her voice small, and Adora’s smile gets so wide that Catra can see the gap left from the tooth Adora lost the other day while her and Lonnie were roughhousing.

“Come on,” Adora says excitedly while throwing her legs over the bar to get down, “I’ll keep you safe.”

Adora drops down first, and she climbs back up just enough to grab Catra’s pillow and blanket for her before making room for Catra to get down too.

Catra almost falls when her feet hit the floor, but Adora is quick to grab her before she makes enough noise to alert Mrs Weaver.

Adora gets in bed first, and she pushes herself up against the wall so that there’s plenty of room on her bed for Catra, and Catra climbs in hesitantly. She’s still not quite sure she can trust Adora, and she’s almost certain Mrs Weaver will find out, but it’s easy to forget all that as Adora moves Catra’s pillow a little closer to her own and snuggles up under her blanket.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Adora whispers.

Catra nods her head no and snuggles a little closer to Adora. She reasons that it’s cold in their room, and the blankets are thin, so it’s just for warmth, but Adora grabs her hand and Catra doesn’t move away.

“That’s okay,” Adora smiles sleepily, her blanket pulled up under her chin, “I’ll be right here anyway.”

“You promise?” Catra asks, and she starts to feel drowsy, the nightmare from earlier slowly forgotten.

“I promise,” Adora whispers right before they both start to drift off, “I’ll always be right here.”

~*~

Catra’s hazy as she wakes up, her head throbbing, and she can’t move or open her eyes.

There’s a quiet conversation going on beside her, and there’s that voice again, one she hasn’t heard for years, and she’s sure that she’s hallucinating. She doesn’t recognize the other voice, though, and she’s not cognizant enough to comprehend anything.

She can already feel herself drifting off again, and no matter how much she tries to fight it, she passes out again.

~*~

Catra closes her locker and turns to see Adora waiting for her, smiling wider than Catra has seen all day.

“You look insane,” Catra comments, adjusting her bag to sit more comfortable on her shoulders.

Adora rolls her eyes. “Hello, Adora,” she mimics Catra’s voice, her smile not wavering, “It’s so nice to see you after a long day of classes, Adora.”

Catra smirks, “You’re not really helping the insanity argument here, dummy.”

“Just ask me why I’m here.”

“We go to the same school and live at the same place. I figured you were here so we can go home.”

“Catra,” Adora whines, her smile finally faltering to help the effect.

“Fine, fine,” Catra sighs, “What are you doing standing at my locker, which is where you are every day after school in the off-season?”

“I’m so happy you asked,” Adora says happily, her smile coming back, and Catra fights back a matching smile, “Mrs Weaver won’t be home until after dinner tonight, and Lonnie agreed to do our chores for us today.”

“How did you manage that?” Catra asks, “Lonnie fucking hates me.”

Adora sighs, and Catra already knows what she’s going to say next.

“She doesn’t hate you, Catra,” Adora and Catra say at the same time, Adora’s voice exasperated and Catra’s high-pitched in an attempt to mimic Adora.

“She really doesn’t,” Adora adds on, “But that’s not the point. I promised Lonnie I would do her chores for the rest of the week, so, if Mrs Weaver is gone . . .” She trails off, waiting for Catra to finish the thought.

“We’re free until she gets back,” Catra says excitedly.

Adora nods, and Catra realizes now that she has her hands help behind her back, because she reveals what it is.

“Mrs Oakland let me loan out one of the cameras for you,” Adora says, offering Catra the camera, “I know you’ve been wanting to go to the cemetery to take some pictures, so I figured we’d use our afternoon of freedom to catch the bus and go.”

Catra takes the camera and holds it against her chest, trying her hardest to hold in her excitement, but the hallway has emptied enough that Catra doesn’t stop the smile from pulling at her lips.

“This is okay, I guess,” Catra says in pretend nonchalance.

“I know you’re excited,” Adora rolls her eyes and gestures around the empty hallway, “There’s not even anyone here to keep up the façade.”

“Come on, dummy,” Catra carefully puts the camera into her bag and then grabs Adora’s hand to pull her out of the school, “I want to savor every second we’re free.”

Later, after hours of walking around the cemetery across town and grabbing chocolate milkshakes from a place down the road, Catra and Adora make it back to their group home just minutes before Mrs Weaver, and even though Mrs Weaver seems suspicious, she has no proof that anything is off.

At bedtime, Mrs Weaver turns off the lights with her usual threats, and Catra waits until everyone else falls asleep before climbing down into Adora’s bunk, the camera held carefully in her hands.

They flip through the pictures until they’re too sleepy to keep scrolling, and Catra snuggles into Adora after setting the camera down on the floor.

“Today was a really good day,” Catra whispers as she starts to drift off.

“It was,” Adora agrees, “Someday, our lives will be even more days like today.”

“You promise?”

“Yeah,” Adora says, pulling Catra closer, “I promise.”

~*~

Catra wakes up again to someone moving her onto a stretcher, and she’s sure that she’s been brought to one of the facilities set up to make more hosts.

She starts to fight the hands grabbing her, her mind too fuzzy and vision too blurry to see what’s happening. All she can think about is getting away.

A hand tries grabbing her wrist, and she pulls away violently, but another hand grabs her shoulder and shoves her down onto the stretcher. Straps hold her down and make fighting impossible, but she still pulls.

“Stop!” That voice shouts, the one so familiar to her, “You’re hurting her!”

“Adora?” Catra asks frantically, looking around herself for the hallucination.

She feels a pinch, and her vision clears just enough to see her hallucination pushing herself to the edge of the stretcher before it gets fuzzy again.

“You’re safe here, Catra,” her hallucination promises, “I’ll keep you safe.”

The last thing Catra sees before being engulfed in black is her hallucination grabbing her hand.

~*~

The sky darkens above them, and Catra looks up from the field expecting to see dark clouds rolling in, but there’s a ship covering the sky. Before Catra can think, she runs from the track to the soccer fields, looking around for Adora.

She finds Adora ushering her team inside, and when Catra calls her name, she nudges the last girl through the doors before meeting Catra at the fence.

“We need to get inside,” Adora says quickly.

“I don’t think getting inside is going to help.”

There’s a sound of pressure release, and Adora and Catra look up at the sky to see the ship stopping above the school, something spike-like coming out of it.

“What the fuck is going on?” Catra asks, and Adora doesn’t answer. She hops the fence, grabs Catra’s hand and runs into the building.

The other girls on the soccer team wait for Adora before running further into the school. Adora follows them without question, and Catra looks over her shoulder and sees the spike sinking into the turf of the soccer fields. She just barely sees doors opening before they turn the corner, and they keep running into the center of the school.

Adora stops them right before the cafeteria, and Catra sees other students start to fill in. Catra notices the theater kids first, still in costume from their dress rehearsal, and a few are still holding their props like some kind of safety blanket.

Then there’s the robotics team looking like a mix of excited and scared with the Quizbowl kids intermingling with them.

Catra sees the other members of the track team run in, and when their coach spots her among the soccer players, she waves Catra over.

“I’ll be right back,” Catra tells Adora, and Adora lets go of Catra’s hand like she just realized she’s still holding it.

“You know where I’ll be,” Adora says, and the easy smile seems forced, like she’s trying to pretend like she isn’t freaking out.

Catra gives her a forced smile before running back over to her team.

Her coach marks Catra off of her list, and the rest of her team pulls her into the conversation they’re already having.

“Did you see it?” one of the freshmen asks the group, but she’s looking right at Catra.

“Yeah,” Catra says, barely paying attention and looking over to see Adora talking to a few girls on the soccer team.

“What was it?” another girl asks, one of the other seniors, but Catra has stopped paying attention completely, wondering when she can get away and get back to Adora.

Someone grabs Catra’s wrist when she doesn’t respond, and she pulls away and pushes the girl back.

“Don’t touch me!” Catra yells, pulling her hand back to strike again, but she feels a hand grab her wrist and an arm around her waist.

“Hey,” Adora says gently, and Catra doesn’t know how Adora got over here so fast, but even with Adora holding her back, Catra still feels wired.

Her teammates help the other girl up, and she glares at Catra as she brushes herself off, and Catra tries lunging forward, but Adora strengthens her hold, and Catra’s stuck.

“Driluth!” her coach yells, putting herself between Catra and her teammate, “Now is not the time to be picking fights.”

“She fucking started it,” Catra growls.

“I was just trying to get her attention,” her teammate argues, but Coach puts a hand up to either of them to stop any other explanations.

“Grayskull, take her to go cool off,” Catra’s coach orders.

“Yes, Coach.” Adora drops her arm from Catra’s waist, but the hand around her wrist stays, and Adora pulls Catra off into one of the dark hallways away from teammates and theater kids and robotics nerds.

Catra pulls her hand from Adora’s grip and punches the wall, recoiling immediately from the pain.

“Why did you do that?” Adora asks, her voice exasperated, and she gently takes Catra’s hand in her own.

“What the fuck else am I supposed to do?” Catra asks, “Normally I run, but I can’t do that with whatever the hell is going on out there.”

Adora runs her thumb across Catra’s knuckles, and it’s enough to tamp down the last dregs of anger, frustration, and panic that Catra is feeling.

“Why did you shove her, Catra?” Adora asks, her eyes catching Catra’s while she waits for an answer.

“I—” Catra looks down and away, because she doesn’t really have a good answer. She can’t remember what was going through her head when her teammate grabbed her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it felt like Mrs Weaver, and she shoved her teammate without thinking twice.

“I don’t really know,” Catra says softly, and then everything is too much. Between worrying about whatever is going on outside, keeping track of Adora, and whatever just happened between her and her teammate, she feels strung out, and she pulls her hand away from the comfort Adora is trying to give her.

“But thank you so much for coming to my rescue,” Catra says sarcastically, cradling her hand close to her chest.

“Catra, you were about to start a fight,” Adora tries moving back into her space, but Catra just backs away.

“And you just had to play the hero, didn’t you?” Catra sneers, and everything in her head is telling her to stop, telling her to just let Adora comfort her, but she pushes it so far back she can barely hear it anymore.

“It’s not like that—”

“Coming in at just the right time to save Catra from herself,” she cuts Adora off, her nails digging so hard into her skin that she’s sure she’s going to draw blood, “I mean, you’ve already made everyone think of you as my keeper.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do,” Adora says, annoyed, “I’m just trying to help you.”

“Then stop helping!”

Suddenly, they hear something, and Adora looks into the nearest classroom to see that the TV has turned itself on, but there’s nothing but static.

Everything, the fight, Catra’s response, yelling at Adora, is forgotten as Catra looks behind them out to one of the doors of the building. She sees something very not human walk in front of the doors and station itself right outside, its back to them.

“Look,” Catra says quietly, grabbing Adora’s arm so that Adora will turn away from the staticky TV.

“What is it doing?”

“It looks like it’s guarding the doors,” Catra says, “There’s probably one on all of the entrances.”

“No way out,” Adora whispers, then grabs Catra and pulls her back to everyone else, “We need to let the others know.”

They get back to the cafeteria to see all of the TVs on and showing nothing but static, but suddenly, everything clears to a black screen and a robotic voice says, “Be calm. Do not leave.”

“Real comforting,” Catra whispers sarcastically.

The TVs play that message on repeat, that same robotic voice stating, “Be calm. Do not leave,” over and over and over again.

Catra looks around to see some of the other students pull out cell phones, but it looks like they aren’t working.

“Your phone?” Catra asks Adora.

“In my locker with my stuff. Yours?”

“Same,” Catra thinks on it for a second, then adds, “As if Weaver would pick up.”

“We’re trapped in the school, Catra,” Adora starts pulling at her ponytail, and Catra can see her breath start to pick up, “What are we supposed to do?”

“Hey,” Catra pulls Adora’s hands away from her hair, “Please, do not start freaking on me. We’re fine.”

“We’re trapped.”

“We are,” Catra agrees, “Freaking out isn’t going to help, though.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

Catra looks around them to see that most of the students are sat in groups, some of them talking, others looking one step away from breaking.

“Right now, we sit,” Catra says, pulling Adora to a wall and sitting her down, “We’ll try and figure out what’s going on after you calm down.”

“Catra, I’m scared,” Adora admits, and Catra’s surprised to hear her say it.

Adora’s not afraid of anything. Adora stands up to bullies and faces their rival teams with an easy confidence, and she comforts Catra with strong steady arms.

Catra isn’t used to being the one to offer comfort.

Still, even if she was mad at Adora just a few minutes ago, she’s going to fill that role if Adora needs it.

“So am I,” Catra admits softly, “There’s nothing we can do until we get more information, though, right?”

Adora nods, “Right.”

“Then, for right now, we wait,” Catra says, taking a seat next to Adora.

~*~

Catra wakes up slowly, her hearing coming back to her before she’s willing to open her eyes against the bright light she already knows is waiting for her.

She thinks she’s in one of the host facilities, that she’ll open her eyes to the clones standing over her, an implant ready to erase every part of who she is.

Maybe erasing it all is for the best, Catra thinks, twitching her hand a bit as feeling comes back, but when she twitches, she feels the warmth of a hand in her own.

It’s too comforting, too human, to be one of the hosts.

Then she hears whispers.

“Adora, you need to grab something to eat and get some rest,” a soft voice, low and comforting, says in the quiet of the room.

“Bow’s right,” another voice, soft and insistent, agrees, “You’ve been here since we found her.”

“I’m not leaving,” that voice, her voice, is closer than the other two, “Not until she wakes up.”

“We don’t know how long that will be,” the soft and insistent voice says, and Catra can hear some frustration in there too, “She hasn’t woken up since my mom administered the sedative.”

“I’m not letting her wake up alone,” her voice says, and it has that same determination that echoes in Catra like a lost memory.

The person with the soft, insistent voice groans, and Catra recognizes the feeling.

“We’ll bring you some food,” the low and comforting voice says, and then Catra hears a door open and click shut before silence fills the room.

The hand in her own squeezes, and as Catra starts to come back to herself, as every part of her starts to feel less groggy and more alert, she’s too afraid to open her eyes.

She’s still not convinced that this isn’t just a hallucination. She worries that she’ll wake up to see the girl she chose to let go, but it won’t be real. She’ll come face to face with the one person in the world she’s cared about more than herself, but everything will disappear like smoke, and Catra will still be alone.

There’s a sigh, and then Catra feels the bed shift just slightly.

“I’m right here,” her hallucination’s voice assures her, “And I’m not going anywhere.”

But you did, Catra wants to say, You already left.

She doesn’t say it out loud, though. There’s no point arguing with something that’s not really there.

Catra feels herself drifting off again, but unlike the last time, she can fight it, and she does.

She figures there’s no reason to delay the inevitable. Even if she refuses to wake up, they’ll make her a host anyway, and she won’t be Catra anymore. She’ll be just another blank-eyed worker for them.

When she opens her eyes, the overhead fluorescents are almost blinding, and she groans and closes her eyes quickly, her head trying to bury itself back into the pillow to block out the light.

“Catra?” More movement on the bed, and then Catra feels a hand against her cheek.

“Not real,” Catra rasps out to remind herself.

“What?” her hallucination asks, a gentle thumb running across Catra’s cheek.

“You’re not real,” Catra says a bit louder this time, and when she opens her eyes and they adjust to the light, Catra can’t believe she’s seeing her again.

Adora, her hair up and her blue eyes full of concern and worry.

Catra knows the look. She’s seen it a million times. Every time Mrs Weaver punished her, every time Adora held Catra while they tried to sleep, Catra saw that same look.

“What do you mean?” Adora’s brows pull together in confusion.

Catra reaches out and touches Adora, her fingertips running over the fabric of Adora’s shirt, and she thinks, for just a moment, that her hand might go through Adora completely, but she feels the soft fabric.

“You’re not real,” Catra whispers.

“I’m real, Catra,” Adora keeps running her thumb over Catra’s cheek, “I’m really here.”

“You’re—” Catra breathes out, her fingers fisting into Adora’s shirt. Despite the fact that she still isn’t totally sure, her previous hallucinations of Adora have never interacted with her, never touched her, never made her feel so safe.

“You’re real,” Catra says, a flood of different emotions filling her up, “How?”

“You must’ve been close to Bright Moon without realizing it,” Adora explains, “We were doing a supplies run, and I saw you fighting a group of hosts. I ended up running to help you before anyone could stop me.”

“There were, like, ten hosts.”

“I didn’t take them down myself,” Adora responds, “Bow and Glimmer ran after me, and everyone helped.”

Catra can almost imagine it, Adora seeing her and running without any real plan and no way to help either of them but doing it without a second thought.

Then she realizes something.

“I’m in Bright Moon then.”

“Uh,” Adora pulls her hand off of Catra’s cheek, “Yeah. You were unconscious, so medical brought you back.”

Catra gets flashes of waking up, of being restrained, of fighting because she didn’t know what else to do. She sees bandages on her wrists that she knows she didn’t get from fighting the hosts.

Catra releases Adora’s shirt and clutches the blanket instead.

“I, uh—” Adora gets up from her chair, and she trips over one of the legs before righting herself again, “I should go get Angella. She’ll want to know you’re up.”

Adora leaves, and Catra is left alone in whatever Bright Moon is using for medical. There are other beds in the room, none of them occupied, and Catra wonders for just a moment how often Bright Moon uses their medical, because just from this glimpse, she doesn’t think it’s very often.

Even though it’s bright, it’s quiet. There’s the ambient noise of electricity and the soft whir of machines, but otherwise, the only sound is Catra shifting in her bed and her heavy breaths.

The door opens again, and a tall woman enters the room, Adora and two people that Catra hazily recognizes following just behind.

The tall woman steps up to Catra’s bed and takes Adora seat.

“It’s nice to see you awake, Catra,” the woman says, and Catra notices that her voice is kind, if a little stern, and it raises every warning signal she has been able to ignore for years, “I’m Angella.”

“How long was I out?” Catra asks, trying to pay attention to the woman sitting next to her and not Adora a few feet behind

“Almost five days,” Angella answers, “Between the injuries and the sedatives, and given that you were dehydrated and malnourished, I’m surprised you weren’t out for longer.”

Catra doesn’t have anything to say to that, so she doesn’t say anything at all.

“Right, yes,” Angella stands, and Catra notices a stethoscope hanging around her neck, “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to do a few checks to make sure you’re alright.”

Catra looks past her again to Adora and the other two, and Angella follows her gaze and seems to have a moment of understanding.

“It does seem to be quite crowded in here,” Angella mutters to herself, though Catra thinks she’s also meant to hear it, then to Adora and the others, she says, “Out, please.”

The other two leave without issue, but just as Adora winds up to argue, Angella puts a hand up to stop her and says, “You can come back in after I’m done, Adora.”

Adora mumbles something under her breath, but even still, she gives Catra one last look before following the other two out the door.

“That’s better,” Angella says, turning back to Catra with a smile, and Catra knows it’s probably meant to be comforting, that asking Adora and the other two to leave is probably meant to be a kind act, but she doesn’t believe it.

It wouldn’t be the first time kindness was skillfully used against her, so she keeps her guard up.

Angella moves closer to Catra, and Catra’s fist grips tightly into the blanket, her body ready to run or fight.

Catra doesn’t expect Angella to notice, but she does, and she gives Catra as much space as she can.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Angella assures Catra softly, taking the stethoscope from around her neck, “I can explain everything I’m doing if that would help.”

Catra’s not sure how much she’ll understand, but there’s some level of comfort in knowing what’s going on, so she nods, and Angella smiles.

Angella is efficient as she checks each of Catra’s injuries, the only conversation between them Angella’s explanation and the occasional question, whether it hurts to breath or talk, if the bandages around Catra’s wrists are too tight, rating pain on a scale of one to ten when Angella checks the bruises on Catra’ neck or the bruised rib Catra didn’t know she had.

The check-up is done within ten minutes, and as Angella wraps her stethoscope back around her neck, she says, “If you need anything, just let someone here know. We’ll try to help any way we can.”

“Can I ask for something?” Catra says with a little bit of hesitation.

“Of course,” Angella responds easily.

Catra takes a deep breath in and lets it out before saying, “I don’t want Adora in here.”

Angella looks surprised, and Catra wonders just how much Angella knows about her and whether Adora has talked about her at all. Angella doesn’t ask any questions though, and if she does know anything, she doesn’t give herself away. She just nods and says, “I’ll make sure she doesn’t come to see you.”

Catra doesn’t say thank you, and Angella gives Catra a look she can’t quite decipher before leaving.

~*~

The week following is lonely and quiet for the most part. Angella comes once a day to check up on her, and the only conversation between them are the questions Angella asks and the explanations she continues to give. Their appointments are short, and Angella doesn’t push despite obvious curiosity, and Catra only gives as much as she has to.

Someone else brings Catra’s food throughout the day, a tall girl with dark skin covered with freckles and flowers constantly woven into her hair. She tries talking to Catra, asking her questions and providing some things here and there about herself, but Catra never reciprocates. She just takes the food offered to her and says nothing, hoping the girl will leave when she realizes Catra’s disinterest, but she never does. She just fills the silence by telling Catra about her garden and her favorite tea and every opinion she has about the meal she brings.

On the sixth day, Angella opens the door as the tall girl is leaving, and the girl takes a moment to have a short, cheerful conversation before Angella ushers her out of the room.

Over the week, Catra has become a bit more comfortable with Angella, but even still, she can’t help her grip tightening into the blanket the closer Angella gets to her bed, and Angella stops about a foot from the edge just like she always does.

“How are you feeling today, Catra?” Angella asks, the first part of their usual routine.

“Fine,” Catra says, and unlike every other time, she actually means it. She’s still sore, but everything feels so much better, and she can’t complain about consistent and filling meals.

“Good,” Angella says, looking down at her clipboard and taking a seat, breaking the routine they’ve built up over the last week, and when she looks up, she says, “I’m going to do a final check-up, but unless I see any issues, we can discharge you today.”

“I can leave?”

Angella nods.

“And you’re not going to stop me?”

“Bright Moon isn’t a prison,” Angella says, setting her clipboard aside so that her sole focus is on Catra, “I would prefer you stay here, at least until everything has healed completely, but if you want to go, we’ll give you what we can before you leave.”

Catra doesn’t believe her. She’s sure that they’re going to find another reason to get her to stay, to lock her within Bright Moon’s walls, and her mind is already building escape plans.

“So,” Angella stands, “Shall we?”

Catra’s mind wanders throughout the exam, already planning and thinking ahead, wondering which direction will get her away from Bright Moon the fastest and the best places to hide out where Bright Moon can’t find her. She’s so distracted that she barely registers the questions Angella asks her, answering with unfocused, one-word answers.

Catra expects Angella to find some reason to make her stay, but Angella doesn’t find anything worrying or out of the ordinary. She just clicks her pen closed before helping Catra out of the bed, waiting for Catra to slip on her boots, and leading her out of medical and into the poorly-lit hallway.

“Perfuma has your things,” Angella explains, directing Catra towards a desk in the corner, “She can walk you out to the gates whenever you’re ready.”

Perfuma waves at Catra from her desk, and Catra’s already sure that she’s going to be trapped in an unavoidable conversation on the way out.

“And Catra?”

Catra turns and sees Angella smiling at her.

“I know you don’t want to be here, and that Bright Moon has never been where you see yourself, but you should talk to her,” Angella says softly, and Catra wonders if this is what motherly advice is meant to sound like, as opposed to the slurred words and harsh jabs she grew up with, “She’s missed you.”

The advice is given like Angella knows what happened, like she knows who Catra is and the chasm that dug itself into her heart over the last three years.

“I miss her too,” Catra finds herself admitting, but she quickly shakes herself out of it, out of emotions that she can’t let herself feel, because if she feels them, she’s not going to leave, and she wants to leave.

No matter how much she wants to talk to Adora, she already knows how the conversation will go, and she’s not sure she’s strong enough to say no this time.

“I can’t.” Catra makes sure her voice holds finality, because she doesn’t want Angella to fight her on it, and Angella doesn’t.

Catra can tell that she doesn’t agree, but she understands, and she doesn’t push the subject further.

“Perfuma,” Angella calls down the hall, “Please bring Catra’s things.”

Catra’s surprised to see her backpack untouched, but even as Perfuma hands her bag back to her, she opens it to make sure she still has everything she came to Bright Moon with.

Everything is there and nothing is out of place.

She does notice that her crowbar is gone, probably lost in the fight, so the first thing she puts on her mental checklist is to find a new weapon.

“Nothing’s missing,” Catra comments, closing her bag back up.

“Of course not,” Angella says like it’s obvious, “These are your things. If you had chosen to stay, we would ask that you hand over any food you may have, but everything else is yours and no one else’s.”

There are a few moments of silence before Angella rips something from her clipboard and hands it to Perfuma. “Get Catra everything on this list and then take her to the gates.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Perfuma says with more energy than Catra can handle.

She runs off to get what’s on the list, and Angella lets out a sigh. Catra looks over at her to see a tiredness she’s never noticed before. It sweeps over Angella in a wave before she squares her shoulders, checks her clipboard, and turns to Catra.

“I need to go, so it’ll just be you and Perfuma.”

Catra rolls her eyes and puts on her backpack. “I can’t wait.”

Angella smiles, and it’s the kind of smile Catra isn’t used to getting. It has a small amount of fondness and exasperation but still kind. It’s the type of smile that a mother might give before softly chastising, and Catra doesn’t let herself get comfortable with it.

“She’s excitable, but she knows what she’s doing,” Angella says, and she reaches a hand out before stopping just short of Catra’s shoulder and pulling her hand back. “Safe travels, Catra.”

Angella leaves before Catra can say anything, but Catra doesn’t even know what she’s supposed to say. She knows, “Thank you,” would be what most people say, and it would cover a lot, but Catra has never been good at saying, “Thank you,” and it never comes off as genuine from her.

Perfuma returns just after Angella left, and she hands a package to Catra. “It’s medicine,” she explains, “Angella included instructions on when to take it and how often.”

Catra nods and puts it into her bag.

“We can stop by the cafeteria if you’d like provisions too,” Perfuma offers.

Catra almost says yes, because food would mean more time before she has to stop, but she doesn’t want to walk through more of Bright Moon than she has to. She’s sure that if she follows Perfuma to the cafeteria, somehow Adora will be there, and she’ll have to confront the fact that she hasn’t allowed Adora anywhere near her, and she’s leaving before Adora gets a chance to convince her to stay.

“I’m good,” Catra says, “Let’s just get to the gate.”

Perfuma leads Catra out of the medical building, and Catra gets her first real view of Bright Moon.

They’re deep in a cave system, but the lights placed overhead mirror the sun, and even though it doesn’t feel completely natural, it’s enough to make the cave feel a little less dark and damp.

Even still, it feels like this place has been untouched. People move around Catra and Perfuma on their way to wherever they’re going, and they’re laughing and joking, talking openly without worrying about being found. It’s like none of them are worried or even aware of what life is like outside of Bright Moon’s gates. They’re more than happy to exist hidden away.

There’s no fear, no worry, no constant looking over shoulders to make sure they haven’t been spotted.

Catra can almost see the appeal of living here now that she’s seen more of the city, but she doesn’t let that change her decision.

They leave the city center, and the happy, talkative people thin out to soldiers stationed along the way to the gate, and when one stops them to ask their purpose there, Catra hears her name shouted from a distance, and she turns to see Adora running towards them.

It's unavoidable. Catra can’t get away, and none of the soldiers are stopping her, so Adora runs right up to her, breathing heavily and obviously angry.

“You were just going to leave?” Adora asks, pushing into Catra’s space.

“Did you really think I was going to stay?”

Adora’s eyes go wide, like she’s surprised and hurt, but it quickly dissolves into anger, and Adora shoves Catra, causing Catra to trip over herself and fall, Adora falling onto her and pining her to the coarse rock floor.

“I can’t believe you,” Adora says, shifting her weight to stop Catra from fighting and grabbing Catra’s wrist when Catra tries to shove her off.

“Just because you found me and brought me here doesn’t mean I’m going to stay,” Catra forces out through gritted teeth, “I didn’t want to blindly follow you here three years ago, and I won’t stay here now.”

“You could be safe here!”

Catra remembers Adora saying the same thing three years ago, her voice so earnest and hopeful, and it’s fuel on the fire of Catra’s anger.

“I don’t care!” Catra yells, finally getting enough leverage to flip them, “I don’t want to live in the place you left me for!”

One of the soldiers pulls Catra off of Adora, another keeping a hand on Adora’s shoulder when she gets up, and Adora looks at Catra like Catra reached into her chest and ripped out her still-beating heart.

Catra knows the look well.

It’s the exact look she had when Adora chose to leave her for Bright Moon three years ago.

“Why can’t you just stay?” Adora asks, her voice pained and everything part of her looking like the only thing keeping her from reaching out to Catra is the soldier’s hand holding her back.

“Because you didn’t.” Catra fights her way out of the soldier’s hold and walks past Perfuma to Bright Moon’s gate.

She doesn’t look back.

She doesn’t falter when Adora calls after her.

She doesn’t stop until she sees the sun.

~*~

They think they’ve found somewhere relatively untouched. The town isn’t much bigger than the one they grew up in, and it’s completely empty.

It’s the perfect place to set up camp for a few days, and Catra and Adora are able to replenish their food supply and just rest.

On one day, they make their way through an old sports supply store, each of them trying to find something new to protect themselves with since they lost their old weapons in a fight a week before.

Adora finds a sword, and even though Catra pokes fun at her, asking how she’s supposed to protect herself with it, Adora doesn’t care. She grabs the sheath and straps it across her back and helps Catra find a new baseball bat to replace her old one.

They move their camp among the different shops, and this night they decide to hide themselves back in the sports shop’s storage, Catra sleeping while Adora stays awake to keep watch.

Everything is quiet until it’s not.

Catra wakes up to Adora shaking her shoulder, and the two pack up as fast as they can before Adora leads them deeper into the building and out the back door.

Sirens fill the night’s quiet, and Catra knows what it means.

The drones have found someone, and now they’re on high alert for other humans in the area.

Every building will be searched, every hole checked, and whoever has already been caught will either be deemed fit enough to become a host or killed.

Just as they’re about to step out onto the street, Adora pushes Catra back against the brick wall of the building, the drone’s green sensor just barely missing them, and they get a good look at the people who got caught.

It’s a girl about their age with fading purple hair and a boy clutching onto her for dear life, and they’re looking around themselves hopeless and afraid.

Catra wants to keep going, wants to get out of the city limits as soon as they can, but she can see Adora’s decision before Adora says anything.

“No,” Catra whispers, grabbing Adora’s arm to keep her in place, “Adora, it’s a suicide mission.”

“I can’t just leave them out there,” Adora doesn’t look back at Catra as she says it.

“They’re not our responsibility.”

“Yes, they are,” Adora insists.

Catra groans, because she knows there’s nothing she can say that’ll convince Adora to leave. She already knows she’s doomed to help, because there’s also no way she’s leaving Adora alone to do something inevitably idiotic, so she’s trapped in whatever dumb plan Adora is going to come up with.

“Fine.” Catra looks over her shoulder and does a quick count of everything they’re up against.

It’s not a big town, so there aren’t that many drones or hosts, and as far as Catra can see, there aren’t any sentries, which puts them at an advantage.

“We’ll need to take out the drones first,” Catra says, grabbing Adora’s wrist and leading her back through the alleys in the direction that the drone was heading, “If we get them from behind and kill them fast, then they won’t have time to alert the hosts that we’re here.”

“I like that advantage,” Adora says, and Catra looks over her shoulder to see a smile.

“At least the drones won’t put up a fight.”

They find another alley that leads out onto the street, and duck out of the way when the drone they are following turns to scan the alley before moving on.

“I’ll get this one,” Adora says and starts down the alley before Catra can say anything, and Catra feels a twinge of annoyance, but she buries it for now.

It doesn’t take long for Catra to hear a soft crash and the sound of electricity sputtering out before Adora comes back to where she’s crouched down.

“One down then.”

Adora nods. “How many hosts did you count?”

“Five. You?”

“Same.”

“There’s probably more around,” Catra thinks for a moment, thinking of the size of the town and how far the drones and hosts would go to find more organic life, “I can’t imagine there’s more than fifteen hosts altogether, which means there will probably be two other drones.”

They head back to where they know the two others are being held, and Catra notices that the alley they stopped at opens up to the town’s center.

The hosts are still holding their position, and the girl and boy look like they’re getting more and more desperate.

“How likely is it that the other hosts and drones will come back before we can take these five out?” Adora asks, her sword already unsheathed and ready.

“I don’t know. How big is your ego today?”

Adora rolls her eyes and bumps their shoulders. “No need to be a jerk.”

Catra smirks and says, “So long as we aim for the chips, I think we can manage it.”

“No point in wasting time then.”

Adora finds a rock to throw that pulls the hosts’ attention away from them, and when the hosts turn, Catra and Adora take them out as quickly as possible.

They work together easily, Catra moving and dodging to bring the hosts’ chips where Adora can smash the handle of the sword into it, and as the last host falls to the ground, the chip flickering and sending spasms through them, Catra grabs the girl’s wrist and Adora grabs the boy, and they run.

They run until they hit the town limits and then keep running until they see a small patch of woods that they can hide in.

Catra releases the girl and takes a deep, relieved breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Adora collapses to the leaf-covered ground, her face red from all of the running.

“You’re getting slow,” Catra comments, her breaths still coming out ragged.

Adora flails her arm in Catra’s direction. “Bite me,” she says, her voice coming out weak, and Catra laughs at her.

Just as Catra’s about to continue making fun of Adora, she hears the girl groan and collapse against a tree, the boy rushing over to make sure she’s okay, but Catra can see that he isn’t much better.

“You’re welcome,” Catra says before she can stop herself, her voice coming out sarcastic.

The girl looks up and glares at her, but Catra just smirks back.

“Thank you,” the boy says, his voice soft and kind, “We don’t know what we would’ve done if you hadn’t done that.”

“You seem to be in good enough shape, so it looks like being a host would’ve been in your future.”

“Catra,” Adora says, her voice like a warning, and Catra hears what Adora isn’t going to say out loud.

Be nice. Behave yourself. Don’t say something like that.

Adora picks herself off the ground and brushes herself off before coming up beside Catra.

“Sorry,” Adora apologizes for Catra, and Catra just scoffs and turns away, “I would say that she’s not usually like this, but she is.”

That little spark of annoyance comes back like a fire, and Catra has a thousand things to say on the tip of her tongue, but Adora continues without even noticing Catra’s quick change in mood.

“I’m Adora, and this is Catra,” she introduces.

“I’m Bow,” the boy says with a smile, “This is Glimmer.”

“Are you two alone out here?” Glimmer asks, finally catching her breath enough to pull herself up, but she’s still leaning pretty heavily on the tree.

“Uh, yeah,” Adora looks between Catra and the other two, confusion pushing her eyebrows together, “It’s just been me and Catra since the first wave.”

“You guys have been on your own for a year?” Bow asks, the disbelief in his voice matching the pity in his eyes.

“It’s not like there are many humans to buddy up with,” Catra grumbles.

“You guys are the first unchipped people we’ve seen for weeks,” Adora adds.

Bow looks like he’s about to say something, but Glimmer cuts him off with a quick, “No.”

“Oh, come on,” Bow says, gesturing between Catra and Adora, “They just saved us.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Glimmer insists, crossing her arms and presenting a strong front that Catra finds almost laughable given her height and the overall softness she gives off.

Catra and Adora look at each other, each of them trying to figure out what the two are even talking about.

“But they’re alone!” Bow’s voice is on the shriller side, and if they hadn’t run so deep into the woods, Catra would’ve been quick to quiet him down before he shows the drones and hosts who are probably still looking for them exactly where they’re hiding.

“So?”

Bow gives Glimmer some fairly impressive puppy eyes, and Catra expects Glimmer to break easily, but Glimmer doesn’t falter.

“Angella would tell us to offer them a place,” Bow says quickly, and Catra isn’t sure what part of that sentence finally broke Glimmer, but Glimmer lets out a loud groan and covers her face.

“That’s low.”

“I wouldn’t have had to say it if you would’ve just let me ask.”

“Excuse me,” Catra cuts in, finally tired of listening to their back and forth about whatever it is they’re talking about, “What the fuck is going on?”

“Glimmer and I are from a community called Bright Moon,” Bow gets out before Glimmer can stop him, “It’s in a nearby cave system, and we’re completely hidden away from the drones, sentries, and hosts.”

“If you guys have that community, what are you doing out here?” Adora asks, and Catra’s curious to know the answer too.

Bow turns to Glimmer. “Yeah, why are we outside the gates?” For once, Catra sees a little bit of annoyance cross Bow’s features, and Glimmer falters a bit under his look.

“It’s not important,” Glimmer says quickly, but Catra knows that it’s a lie.

No one in their right mind would risk capture when they have somewhere perfectly safe to stay.

Despite the lie, Catra doesn’t force Glimmer into saying whatever reason she is trying to hide. Instead, she says, “I’m assuming you want us to help you get back, seeing as you don’t seem to have any weapons or supplies.”

“Please,” Bow says with relief clear in his voice, “And when we get back to Bright Moon, you two can join us there.”

“No,” Catra is quick to say.

“Catra—” Adora turns on her, but Catra doesn’t let her continue.

“We don’t need your charity,” Catra hisses out.

Adora grabs her arm, and after saying a quick, “Give us a sec,” she pulls Catra deeper into the woods, away from Bow and Glimmer and offers of safety.

Catra pulls her arm out of Adora’s grip and shoves her away, and Adora has to catch herself on a tree to stop from slamming into it.

“They just want us to help them back to their community, Catra,” Adora says, annoyance seeping into her words, and Catra lets every bit of it fuel her anger.

“No, they don’t,” Catra counters, “You heard them. They want us to join their community too.”

“Would that really be that awful?”

“Yes!” Catra insists, “Adora, we don’t know anything about them or what they want from us. How are you so willing to trust them?”

“You’re right,” Adora says, and Catra is taken back, because she wasn’t expecting Adora to actually listen to her, “We don’t know anything about them or where they’re from, but we do know that they were helpless and now they want help getting back, so let’s help them back, okay?”

“That’s it?” Catra is hesitant, because it’s usually harder to get Adora to agree with her.

“That’s it,” Adora agrees, “As far as we know, they don’t have any weapons and are alone, so we have nothing to fear in helping them back.”

“Unless we get ambushed by whoever is in charge of their community,” Catra says, her voice coming out sharp despite the fact that her anger and annoyance is starting to fade.

“Please,” Adora scoffs, “We’ve lasted this long. I’m not afraid of some people hiding out in a cave.”

Adora smirks, and Catra mirrors it.

“If we get cornered, I grab the girl, you grab the boy?” Catra jokes, crossing her arms.

“I thought it would just be grab whichever is closest,” Adora says, “Although now that I think about it, you might be too short to effectively take Bow hostage.”

Catra glares. “I’m going to smother you in your sleep.”

Adora smiles, wide and cocky. “No, you won’t.”

“I am not that much shorter than you,” Catra walks past Adora, clipping Adora’s shoulder with her own, “And I don’t need you to survive.”

“Yes, I know. You’re totally fine all on your own.”

Adora follows her, and Catra lets her catch up before putting a foot out to trip Adora, and as Adora falls to the leaves and dirt, she grabs onto Catra’s wrist and brings her down too. Catra fights, but Adora has always been stronger, and she’s pinned to the ground, a branch poking uncomfortably into her back.

Catra pushes the heel of her hand into Adora’s cheek and says, “Get off of me, you dumb jock!”

“What?” Adora pulls Catra’s hair, “Can’t finish what you started?”

They hear rustling, and Catra looks up to see the boy and girl looking down on them, the girl looking unimpressed and the boy looking amused.

“Glad to know you’re not dead,” the girl says, “Just trying to kill each other, apparently.”

Adora gets off of Catra and stands before offering a hand that Catra ignores.

“I wouldn’t be so rude to the people who have decided to help you back,” Catra says dryly, brushing leaves and dirt from her clothes.

“Really?” Bow asks excitedly, looking between Catra and Adora, and Adora nods with a smile.

“Thank you!” Bow pulls Glimmer and Adora into a hug, and he would’ve pulled Catra in too, but she ducks at the last moment, his arm barely skimming over her head.

They decide to stay in this patch of woods for the night, partly because they’re all tired after running from the city, but they also want to be sure that the hosts and drones in the town have lost their trail.

Catra takes first watch, and she holds her bat close, her eyes flicking from the trees to the strangers asleep against each other and down to where Adora is sprawled out beside her.

Even though Adora convinced her to help the others back to their community, Catra still doesn’t trust them, and she watches them as much as the trees until it’s time for her to wake Adora up, and even then she pushes her back against Adora’s leg to sleep, every noise and movement waking her up throughout the night.

Catra stays vigilant as they start their journey. They use the map that Adora keeps on her to plan the trip, and as Bow and Glimmer start to recognize landmarks as they get closer to Bright Moon, their excitement gets harder to mask. They start telling Catra and Adora stories about their community, and even though Catra isn’t interested, Adora hangs onto their every word and asks questions to hear more.

Bright Moon sounds perfect, but that just makes Catra more suspicious than before. No place that perfect can exist now, so hidden away that they can have working technology but still stay hidden from the hosts and the drones. Catra’s sure that there’s something sketchy going on, and she’s sure Adora sees it too.

She has to. There’s no way Adora could be so sucked in so quickly.

When they see the gates that close the cave from the rest of the world, Bow pulls Glimmer into an excited hug. Soldiers meet them outside the gates, their guns raised, but when they recognize Bow and Glimmer, they put them away, but they watch Catra and Adora closely.

One of them makes a comment that Glimmer’s mother wants to see her as soon as possible, and Bow and Glimmer are hurried inside.

They raise their guns again when Adora moves to follow them, but Bow explains. He tells the soldier that Catra and Adora saved them, that they helped them get back to Bright Moon, and when the soldier lowers his gun, Bow says, “You should come in and see the place. We’ll give you a meal and a place to sleep for the night.”

Adora says yes before Catra can protest, and even though Catra glares at her, she grabs Catra in a headlock and says, “It’s free food and a bed for the night. I’m not saying no.”

They’re not allowed too far into Bright Moon. Bow explains that everyone who comes in has to leave weapons and supplies, and for those who aren’t staying indefinitely, there are beds set up right outside of the barracks surrounding the gate.

Catra watches the soldiers closely while Bow talks, her eyes following machine guns and her senses tuned into the hard fall of combat boots.

Everything feels off. The soldiers, how they were let in so easily just because Bow and Glimmer vouched for them, the gate that traps them all in.

She doesn’t feel right here, and she’s sure Adora feels it too. She knows Adora has to be having the same thoughts, the same wariness.

Bow brings them dinner in a tent that’s been deemed theirs, and Glimmer comes shortly after, complaining about her mother and the punishment she received for leaving Bright Moon.

Catra barely eats even though she’s starving, and she doesn’t join in the conversation even though Adora does.

She’s just being nice, Catra thinks, watching Adora laugh at something Bow says, She doesn’t want them to know we’re suspicious of them.

Finally, Bow and Glimmer leave, and Adora and Catra are left alone for the first time since they pulled Bow and Glimmer out of that town.

It’s silent at first, and unlike their usual comfortable silences, this one feels heavy, like both of them have something to say but neither of them knows how to say it.

Catra unrolls her sleeping bag and turns, quickly saying, “I don’t like it here,” at the same time Adora says, “We should stay.”

It takes a moment for Adora’s word to register in Catra’s mind, but when they finally click, she can’t believe what she’s hearing.

“What?” Catra asks, hoping that she just misheard.

“I think we should stay here,” Adora says.

“Are you insane?”

Adora laughs, but Catra isn’t joking.

“Come on, Catra,” Adora says lightly, “You heard Bow and Glimmer. It’s safe here.”

“I don’t trust it,” Catra says, “They talked about this place like it’s some safe haven when everything outside is hell, and it can’t be. There has to be something wrong with this place.”

“Not everything has to be too good to be true,” Adora takes a step towards Catra, and Catra takes a step back, “Maybe Bright Moon is exactly what it says it is.”

“And maybe you’re just being dumb.”

Adora sighs. “Catra—”

“I thought you felt it too,” Catra cuts her off, “I thought you saw past whatever sparkles and rainbows they were presenting Bright Moon as.”

“I’m just—” Adora doesn’t finish her thought.

“Just what?”

“Tired, Catra,” Adora says softly, “I’m tired. We’ve been running since we escaped the high school, and I just don’t want to run anymore. Aren’t you tired of running?”

Catra is. She’s so tired of running and hiding and wondering if she’s going to get captured, but that’s just what life is now. Life is constant fear and watching her back, but at least this kind of fear is constant. It’s understandable.

It’s so much different than the fear and suspicion she felt every day in that house with Mrs. Weaver.

“I don’t want to stay here,” Catra insists instead of answering Adora’s question.

“We could be safe here in Bright Moon, Catra,” Adora grabs Catra hand and squeezes, and Catra thinks that it isn’t as comforting as it usually is, “We wouldn’t have to be constantly on the run anymore.”

“Adora, come on,” Catra’s sure that she can get through to Adora if she just reminds Adora of their promise, “We don’t need them to be safe. We have each other.”

“We would still have each other here.”

Catra pulls her hand from Adora’s. “You’re really going to stay?”

She tries not to think about how small her voice is, how desperate she is to hear Adora tell her that she was just kidding before, that of course she isn’t going to stay in Bright Moon.

Adora nods, and Catra feels her heart splinter.

“I’m staying, Catra,” Adora says, the splinters in Catra’s heart cracking and breaking, “And you could stay too.”

“No.”

As Adora tries to come towards her, Catra shoves her away, and Adora loses her footing and trips over her sleeping bag, falling onto it with a soft groan.

“Catra—” Adora’s voice is sad, and Catra can’t look at her.

Instead, she grabs her backpack and runs, the last thing she hears is Adora shouting her name as she pushes past soldiers and leaves Bright Moon’s gates.

~*~

The soldier holding her back releases her, and Adora sinks to the ground.

Catra’s gone, having disappeared into the only natural light that spills into the cave’s opening. She didn’t even look back as she passed through the gate.

Adora hear talking around her, but she can’t focus. Everything is too loud and far too quiet, and her mind keeps replaying Catra leaving over and over and over again, her silhouette black against the sun outside.

Arms fall around her shoulders in something like comfort, and she looks up to see Bow with a sad smile, and tears burn the back of Adora’s eyes.

Everything about this opens old wounds that Adora sewed shut years ago. She feels the same heartbreak, the same anger, the same sadness. Her mind is reeling with a million different ways to get Catra to stay, and a part of her is whispering Go after her, but she knows she can’t.

Catra made her choice. Catra left again.

Adora chose Bright Moon.

No matter what Adora says or does, Catra will never stay.

Glimmer sits beside her, her head tilting to lean against Adora’s shoulder, and Adora chooses comfort, relaxing against Bow and resting her head on Glimmer’s.

They don’t speak.

They don’t need to.

The guards watch them until a command has them scurrying back to their posts, and Angella stands a few feet from the group, watching Glimmer and Bow try to mend some of the pieces, but Angella knows that there’s only so much they can do.

Tears start to spill over, and Adora doesn’t even bother to wipe them away before burying her head in her knees and letting out a sob.

It hurts. The breath shakily entering her lungs feels almost bruising, and the sobs scratching through her throat leave it ripped up, but somehow, it hurts less than everything else.

Every thought tells her that she should’ve done more to get Catra to stay.

That she should’ve done more three years ago.

They flood her and spill over onto the dust and dirt and rocks of Bright Moon’s cave.

Finally, when the sobs quiet down to whimpers and the thoughts go from screams to whispers, Adora lets herself be pulled from the ground, and when she looks up, she expects it to be Bow or Glimmer standing in front of her, but it’s Angella.

“You let her go,” Adora says, her voice cracked and soft.

“It’s what she wanted,” Angella replies, and even though she maintains her stance as leader, she breaks it for a moment to rub tears from Adora’s cheeks.

“Why did she leave again?”

Adora doesn’t mean to ask it. She means for it to remain a thought, but emotional exhaustion pushes it from her head to her voice, and she asks it without meaning to.

Angella smiles, and it’s soft and sad around the edges. “I don’t think she wanted to,” Angella whispers, and despite wanting to push the stray strands of hair back behind Adora’s ear, she just rests a hand on Adora’s shoulder again.

Adora doesn’t understand Angella’s words. She doesn’t get how Catra could want to stay and still go.

“Bow, Glimmer,” Angella says over Adora’s head, “Get Adora back to her room?”

Then her best friends are at her side, Bow holding her close and Glimmer grabbing her hand, and they guide her away from the cave opening and the ghost of Catra leaving and the confusion Angella’s words caused.

~*~

It’s been three days stuck in the high school, three days with no information and nothing from outside.

Hours after the sentries took their places, the athletes and theater kids snuck back to the locker and dressing rooms to change out of costumes and uniforms and grab their phones in the hopes that they might’ve missed texts or calls from parents or siblings.

There was no connection. No texts.

Nothing.

They still have electricity and running water, but the televisions just keep repeating, “Be calm. Do not leave,” and the few radios they could find just played static.

In the middle of the night, as all of the other students try sleeping on whatever soft things they found when looking through the classrooms, Catra stays awake, sitting close to Adora with her back to a wall.

Down the hallway, she can see the doors that lead out to one of the courtyards and it is completely covered.

A sentry is stationed on each door, never moving.

She figures they don’t have to, since they don’t exactly look human. They don’t move; they don’t even twitch.

“Hey.” Catra feels a hand wrap around her wrist, and she’s so focused on watching the sentries that she pulls away, but Adora holds on, her grip warm.

“You should sleep,” Adora says as she sits up.

“I don’t understand how you and all of these other idiots can,” Catra whispers, looking around at all of the other high schoolers asleep around them, the teachers and coaches looking like they fell asleep while keeping watch.

“You haven’t slept since this started, Catra,” Adora tries reasoning, and she tugs at Catra gently.

Catra lets herself be tugged, lets Adora pull her so that Catra’s leaning into her, but she doesn’t stop watching the sentries.

Adora follows Catra’s line of sight. “They still haven’t moved?”

Catra nods her head no.

“I wonder why they’re here,” Adora thinks out loud.

“Nothing good,” Catra whispers, feeling herself start to slump against Adora, her eyes slipping closed.

Until she sees one of them move.

She pulls away from Adora as the sentries turn to one another, and Catra finally gets a better look at them.

They’re more robotic than anything, one of their arms ending in some sort of gun that looks like it came right out of one of Rogelio’s Sci-Fi novels.

“We need to—” Adora says, but she’s cut off as the sentries turn in unison and begin firing.

Catra tackles Adora, covering Adora’s body with her own and using the force to push them back and out of the way of green blasts.

“We need to get out of here!” Catra looks up and immediately takes cover again as a green blast soars right over her head and explodes into the wall, covering them in dust.

“We can’t leave everyone else behind!”

Catra wants to argue, wants to tell Adora that it’s useless, but there’s no time. One second of arguing could get them dead.

“Fine,” Catra pulls herself up and drags Adora up too, “You take that side, I’ve got this one.”

Just as Catra says it, a few sentries appear in the cafeteria, their blasters pointed at the students. Catra looks behind her to see the two sentries that were guarding the courtyard coming up behind her and Adora, and she shoves Adora down a hallway she knows leads further into the school and away from any doors.

“Catra—” Adora tries to turn around, but Catra catches her.

“We’re outnumbered,” Catra says simply, “It’s a useless fight that’s just going to get us killed.”

“We can’t just leave them to die.”

The sentries that were behind them haven’t turned down the hallway yet, and Catra is quick to shove Adora into one of the classrooms, following quickly and closing the door before anyone or anything could see where they went.

The TV in the room changes messages. The robotic voice repeating, “Be calm. Do not leave,” stops, and there’s just a red screen with the word, “Submit,” across it.

A green beam shines through the small window in the door, and Catra pushes Adora into the corner of the room, just barely making it out of the beam’s way in time.

It goes away and comes back before going away completely, and Catra waits a moment before saying, “We’re no good to anyone if we’re with that group. There’s no way they’re going to escape that ambush.”

“So how do we help them?”

We don’t, Catra thinks, standing up and going to the door to try and see what’s happening.

As far as she can tell, the sentries are just keeping everyone left in the school held in the cafeteria. They have formed a circle around them, each of them with a blaster pointed at every human, and she notices something new.

Something flies overhead, some kind of drone, and it seems to be scanning everything in the school, almost like it is logging the information.

Adora comes up behind Catra and watches everything that’s happening too.

“They’re not doing anything,” Adora whispers, her eyes following the drones.

“It’s almost like they’re taking stock,” Catra remarks, “The sentries too. It’s like they’re logging everything that’s in the school.”

“What do you think they want?”

One of the sentries steps forward, grabbing a girl that Catra recognizes as one of Adora’s teammates, and it lifts her up, holding her even as the girl fights back. It scans her from the top of her head down to her feet and then places her back down, and Catra’s impressed when she tries making a run for it, but the sentries are faster. One of them, a different one than the one that scanned her, steps into her path, and she barely catches herself before running right into it.

The sentry that scanned her says something, but it’s some sort of language that Catra doesn’t know, and she’s guessing that it’s probably not from this planet.

Then a sentry grabs the girl and takes her from the cafeteria, the others moving to stop the members of the soccer team that try to get up and grab their teammate, and Catra already has a hand on Adora’s wrist to stop her from doing anything idiotic, like trying to save her.

“Where do you think they’re taking her?” Adora asks, watching as they start the process again with someone from Catra’s team.

“Nowhere good.” Catra pulls her attention from whatever is happening in the cafeteria and looks down the hallway, noticing that it’s empty for now. “We should get moving while they’re distracted.”

Catra turns to see Adora with her arms crossed and a look that Catra knows means she’s ready to disagree.

“There’s nothing we can do for them,” Catra argues before Adora can say anything, “They are caught and trapped, and we’re two people with absolutely nothing to take down at least twenty of those sentries. Trying to save them is going to get us killed.”

“I can’t just leave knowing that there are people here, Catra.”

“You’re going to have to,” Catra looks back to the cafeteria, “We need to get out of here before they start checking the classrooms.”

Adora sits there and thinks it over, and every second that it takes for her to come to a decision puts Catra on edge. She keeps looking through the window, making sure that the sentries haven’t started looking for anyone else that may be deeper in the school.

Finally, Catra breaks.

“Goddammit, Adora,” Catra growls, grabbing Adora’s wrist and cracking the door open.

Adora doesn’t say anything as Catra pulls her into the hallway. She knows this will be a conversation they have if they make it out of the school, but they are running out of time.

The sentries are distracted with everyone and the drones are still flying overhead, so Catra pulls Adora in the opposite direction, their footsteps quiet as they run. Catra isn’t sure if they are attracted to or sensitive to sound, but she figures they’re better safe than sorry.

She stops them at every corner to look around before making a turn, taking the hallways she knows leads through the band hallway and out a set of doors where the marching band packs their equipment for competitions.

They stop to look down the hallway that ends in a set of double doors that leads out to a parking lot, and Catra expects for there to be sentries stationed there, but it’s empty.

“This feels like a trap,” Catra whispers.

“It’s more likely that every sentry sent to the high school are in the cafeteria,” Adora reasons, turning to watch their backs.

“You think they don’t have the numbers to have both?”

“Maybe not yet,” Adora says, “You don’t send everyone on the first wave, right?”

Catra nods and starts walking towards the doors, but Adora catches her wrist.

“What’re you doing?” Adora hisses, looking around them frantically.

“There’s only one way to know,” Catra yanks her wrist from Adora’s grip, “If there’s no one there, we’re fine. If there is and we can’t see them, then there’s no way we’re making it out of the school anyway. Might as well try.”

“It’s dumb.”

“So are you, but I still keep you around.”

“Really, Catra?”

Catra just smirks.

“Fine.” Adora starts walking towards the doors, and Catra’s quick on her heels.

Outside seems normal, but Catra can see the shadow that the ship casts down over the school, and as she looks off into the distance, there are a few more ships covering different parts of the town.

There aren’t any sentries around, though, and the sky is free of any drones as far as they can tell.

“We should stick close to the building,” Adora suggests, “Just in case we need to rush inside to take cover.”

“Agreed.”

They choose a direction at random, hoping that it is the right way, and they don’t run into anything until they reach the front doors of the school.

Catra sees it first, grabbing onto Adora to stop her from going forward, and they watch as one of the theater kids is dragged out of the school. He’s kicking and trying to get out of the sentry’s hold, but it’s useless.

The sentry drags him aboard a vehicle that doesn’t look like anything they have on Earth, and as the back doors open, Catra sees every member of the soccer and track team loaded inside, each of them looking terrified.

The sentry closes the door behind the theater kid and the vehicle drives away.

Catra expects the sentry to go back inside, but it’s followed by all of the other sentries and drones from the school, and Catra and Adora take cover where their beams can’t reach them, but they don’t have to. The sentries and drones leave without looking back.

Adora makes a break for the door and runs back in before Catra can stop her, and Catra follows her all the way back to the cafeteria.

She expects to find it empty, but it’s not. Everyone that wasn’t loaded into the transport vehicles lies dead on the floor, smoke rising from where the sentries shot them.

Adora falls to her knees, her eyes wide in disbelief, and Catra looks away, but she can’t unsee what happened.

“We couldn’t save them, Adora,” Catra says gently.

“We could’ve tried,” Adora whispers, and Catra sees a few tears start to fall down Adora’s cheeks.

“If we did, we’d be right here with them,” Catra tries to comfort Adora, but it’s never been something she’s good at.

Adora doesn’t say anything, and Catra drops down in front of her.

“Hey,” Catra��s voice is soft, “We need to get going. I know they just left, but we don’t know if they plan to come back.”

She doesn’t get a response from Adora, so she pulls Adora to her feet, slinging one of Adora’s arms around her shoulder so that she can lead Adora out of the school.

“Catra?” Adora’s voice is small and broken.

“Yeah?”

“What do you think they’re doing with all of the people that they took?”

“I don’t know,” Catra thinks of everyone shoved into the transport, “But I doubt we want to find out.”

~*~

Catra’s first mistake is assuming that the town she got cornered in is empty. She’s studied the sentries’ and drones’ patterns for three years now, and whenever they clear a town, they don’t come back until weeks or months later when they think other humans might be inhabiting it.

Catra’s second mistake is being distracted and out in the open. Her thoughts are filled with the hurt look on Adora’s face and the hole that leaving dug out in her heart, and she doesn’t notice a group of sentries hidden in an alley until it’s too late.

The sirens go off, and Catra is surrounded before she can run, their sensors scanning her from head to toe.

One of the sentries says something in their alien language, and then two hosts grab Catra.

She fights. She jabs and kicks and is able to get away for just a second, but a sentry steps forward and aims a blaster at her head.

“Do it then,” Catra taunts, watching as the other sentries lift their blasters.

It doesn’t shoot.

“Kill me!” Catra shouts, “I’ve already gotten away once, so just do it!”

The sentry moves, and Catra thinks she might’ve convinced it to kill her, but the arm comes down hard, and everything blacks out before she’s even hit the ground.

16 notes · View notes

zims-left-shoe · 4 years

Note

Hey!! Was wondering if I could get some Dib x reader where the reader is a really ‘popular’ likeable kid at skool and Dib has liked them for a while but feels they’re “unattainable”? (Basically every high school romance movie ever lol) thanks!

I had a lot of fun with this one! It ended up being longer than I thought it would haha.

It was a crisp autumn day, dead leaves crunching under your feet. Although it was dry in the moment, there was this feeling in the air that threatened a downpour. You stood behind your friends when they came to a stop, watching them with your hands stuffed deep in your pockets, feet shifting, the only sign to display your discomfort. Your eyes followed the notebook that was being tossed between your friends, a simple black spiral book, appearance only made special by the strange eye symbol scribbled in paint marker that adorned the front. Wicked cackles escaped your friends as they continued to throw the book around as if it were a football.

"Give it back!" Ah. And then there was Dib. The strange boy in your class that went on and on about aliens and saving the earth from Zim, your other absurd classmate. He took another jump, swiping his arm out in a desperate attempt to reclaim what was his. His fingers gently grazed the binding, only to be yanked back by his trench coat at the hands of Torque Smacky. This was what qualified as a middle school prank. Admittedly, you had thought it was a bit funny at first. That was until your friends began to run to the edge of campus, spitting hurtful words back at the clearly unathletic Dib, who was wheezing and struggling to keep up with your group.

"Soulstealers? Chupacabras? You are actually insane." Jessica laughed as she flipped through what seemed to be his personal supernatural journal.

"This is why nobody likes you, Dib. You're a freak." Smacky shoved him hard, his body colliding with the chainlink fence. You winced at the rattling it caused and the look in his eyes as he hunkered down into himself, slouching against the fence. The one thing you could say about him was that he was not one to give up easily, if at all. And yet, he looked defeated, deciding to take the lickings and wait until they lost interest. You couldn't take it anymore.

You were always well liked by everyone. Everyone adored you and your pleasant attitude, always gravitating towards and revolving around you as if you were their sun. And although you stood behind those that you called your friends, you couldn't just sit there and watch how they treated Dib. He was definitely out there, sure, and maybe you didn't understand everything he said, but there was a line you had to draw. He was never hurting anyone. If he wanted to believe in aliens, who were you to stop him?

"Guys, that's enough. Knock it off." You spoke up for the first time in that encounter, snatching the book from Jessica's hands. Your friends, whom most would label as 'the popular crowd', all stared at you. Not necessarily in anger. More so shock. "Here." You tossed the notebook back to him, lips moving in a silent 'I'm sorry'. His hands fumbled the book, almost dropping it as he too stared at you with disbelief. Why would you help him? Weren't you friends with those who antagonized him?

"Thanks-"

"Shut it. Just feel lucky they stepped in." Smacky retreated a few feet back from him, glaring at him all the while.

"Let's go. It was getting boring anyways." Jessica turned swiftly on her heel, every one of your friends following her. Glancing one more time at Dib, you nodded to him, a movement that was so slight it was barely noticeable. Without another word, you jogged after your friends, catching up with them quickly.

Dib was left standing there, still leaning against the fence, notebook still clutched close to his chest. His mind was now full of questions, which was no different from its usual state. Why would you be nice to him? No one was ever nice to him. Especially not the popular kids. He began to wonder if, maybe, just maybe, you weren't as bad as the kids you spent your time with.

High school. Sometimes media would try and convince you that it was supposed to be some magical experience that would change your life, that your entire character could be rebuilt from the ground up. If that were completely true, why had everything remained an almost exact carbon copy of the way it's been since your earlier days? Sure, you had changed a little bit. Different music taste, new style, trivial things like that. But, your friends and position on the social ladder? Exactly the same. You had stayed in the popular pool, friends still adoring you, and despite questioning their actions and morals many a time, you adored them as well. If anything, you were more popular than ever.

Dib had also remained the same. Always squabbling with Zim, causing a scene, being made fun of and ostracized daily. He was still the local loser, but at this point he was owning it. He never did have the patience to be someone he was not. That was one thing you admired about him, one thing you could never be. You didn't think anyone you were close to could ever truly be themselves. The only thing that felt different about him was his more 'fuck you' attitude to those who antagonized him. He still wouldn't fight back, but he had developed a tougher skin, almost paying no mind to any insults. He knew what was right in his mind, if no one would believe him, their loss.

Over the years, you had many classes with Dib. You had grown rather fond of him, at the very least he believed in something that wasn't ridiculously vapid. And, despite coming off as a bit of a nervous dork in some instances, he was surprisingly self-assured, for the most part. You were proud to admit to yourself that you looked forward to see him almost every day.

Twisting the knob on the classroom door, you let yourself in, eyes resting on the familiar dark-haired nerd, his face taken up by the same large glasses he's had for as long as you could remember. Waving, you approached his table, watching him straighten up almost immediately.

"Morning, Dib. How're you doing?" You always liked to ask him how things were going for him, knowing that he never was given concern very often. No one in your class would ask him how his life was, his sister, at least to you, seemed to not care, and from what you knew, his dad was some prestigious scientist that was always busy.

"Hey, Y/n. And, um, I'm doing alright! What about you?" His smile was bright, cheeks just the slightest bit flushed as he drummed his fingers on the tabletop. You felt a giggle escape you as you witnessed this. Every morning, despite having the exact same routine, he always seemed to be taken aback that you were asking how he was doing, that you were even the tiniest amount of invested in his life.

"Fine, I guess. What about your ghosts and aliens?" You weren't sure that you believed in all of that crap, but if he took an interest in it and he wasn't harming anyone, who were you to stop him? "Oh, and I want an update on that werewolf you found in your trash." Remembering the story he had told you yesterday, you figured you would ask for a follow up to show your genuine encouragement.

"Oh, that! Uh, well...it turns out it was just some really hairy homeless guy rummaging through our garbage, but...as for aliens, I watched Zim's robot eat a baby. That was equal parts disturbing and intriguing." He shuddered, having flashbacks to whatever went down last night.

"His dog that he brought to pet day last year?" Thinking back to that day, it was a little strange. All hell broke loose, his dog going absolutely insane. It was a blessing he didn't end up destroying the entire school. Only the east wing. Lady luck was on your side that day, that was for sure.

“Yeah, GIR. The lip smacking noises really made it horrible." A cringe settled onto his features, and you felt it spreading to yourself as well. As much as you didn't believe that Zim was an alien (he was definitely odd and uncomfortable, that you would admit), you could see his dog consuming a human child.

"Geez. I'm sorry I asked." A chuckle fell from your lips, wishing to move past the disturbing imagery brought on by his response. Luckily for you, your teacher had announced the start of class, sending you back to your seat without having to think of a subject change.

"Tired of your charity work yet?" Jessica asked as you sat down in your usual seat across from her. Pressing your lips in a tight line, you pulled out your notebook and pencil, choosing to ignore her comment. You had always hated the abysmal way your friends treated Dib. So what if he was a bit weird? You felt bad for him, he had no one to talk to besides Zim, and he ate lunch with his sister every day. "Come on, please don't tell me you actually want to be his friend."

"I never said that...it's just...he seems so lonely." Ever since you could remember, you had been surrounded by friends. It was near impossible to hate you. You had never known what it was like to be all on your own, cursed to be a lone wolf. To you, it seemed that being alone was all Dib had ever experienced.

"He deserves it. He's a freak." Her answers were short and snappy as she tired of the subject.

"Does he?" Did anyone deserve to be lonely solely for being a little off beat? You were the only one of your friends, hell, even the whole school, who seemed to disagree with her notion. The social outcasts and rejects wouldn't even associate with him.

"Look, Y/n. I like you, I really do. We're friends. We have been for a long time. But if you become his friend, people are going to start talking." Your gaze fell to the tabletop, tired of this not-quite-argument. "You're too nice. I know you pity him, but think about your standing here. Popularity comes with a price."

"I didn't ask to be popular, okay? And at least if I were his friend, my social circle wouldn't be full of a bunch of dicks and stuck up bitches!" You spat, patience completely snapping. Jessica sat in a stunned silence, her eyes wide. That was the first time you had ever actively stood up to her. After a moment, you realized you were just a tad harsh, although she did deserve it. She was still your friend after all, and in her own twisted way, she was trying to look out for you. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"We can talk about it later at lunch. Just calm down, alright?" Jessica brushed stray strands of blonde hair behind her ear, sticking her nose deep in her textbook for the first time in months. Sighing deeply, your eyes drifted to Dib's seat. His glance had already been on you, so you had managed to catch his eyes. His shoulders tensed from being caught staring, color creeping up his neck to his face. Before he could turn away, your lips quirked into a slight smile as you waved to him. It took him a second to register, but he returned the wave, a dorky grin plastered on his face. Again, you just couldn't see what was so bad about him.

"Dib, I swear to god, do you ever listen to me when I speak? You break my immersion-"

"You break my face. Yeah, I know." I laid on the couch, watching my sister play whatever VR game she was into at the time. All I did was start to ask her a question, I had barely gotten one syllable out before she cut me off. "It's important, I swear."

"Let me guess, Zim is eating waffles again?" Her voice was irritated, and I'm sure inside that head of hers she was wishing me to be dead.

"No, actually-"

"He's hiding in his toilet? Ooh, or maybe he's trying to work the toaster." Okay, so maybe I interrupt her for admittedly meaningless things sometimes. Fine, a lot of the times.

"This has nothing to do with Zim!" Now I had her attention. She hesitated for just the slightest second before she resumed playing again.

"Oh? This had better be good, Dib." Her voice was no longer threatening, rather it held curiosity. Although she would never say it to my face, she was intrigued by what I had to say.

"I need advice." Now, normally Gaz would be the last person on earth I would go to for this kind of thing, but I had already tried my dad, and lesson learned, never seek romantic advice from a man who is married to science. So, I had already exhausted pretty much all of my options. The internet was surprisingly not much help either.

"On what? How to stop bothering your sister?" Her words didn't match her tone at all. Besides, I knew that if she really wanted me out, she would remove me by force. I was suddenly beginning to wonder if this was a bad idea. After all, Gaz was very much...how to put this lightly...not romantically inclined. Still, she was my only hope at this point, and really, all I needed was someone to vent to.

"I was thinking more along the lines of cliché high school romance?" My voice became higher and quieter as the sentence went on, and I was just barely cut off by Gaz's groan. Despite her attitude, she powered off her headset out of her own volition, which meant she was definitely interested in whatever I had to say. I pushed myself to where I was sitting up, Gaz falling back onto the couch next to me.

"You're joking, right? You're asking me for advice?" I couldn't believe it either.

"Just hear me out?"

Fine. But if it's stupid I'm leaving." I already knew she wouldn't say no, but she still had to pretend it was a chore to listen to me.

"Okay, so you know Y/n, right?"

"The popular kid? They're so out of your league, Dib." She sounded condescending yet not surprised. I figured she had caught me staring at them at lunch multiple times. I had probably been pretty obvious about it. Thinking about that made me cringe, because Y/n most likely knows I stare at them all the time. If they didn't already hate me before, I'm sure they do now, they probably think I'm some sort of creepy stalker. Well, that's not the worst thing I've been called at school, so I'll take it, I guess.

"I know! And I told myself I wasn't going to fall for them, but I did. They actually talk to me though! Every morning in first period, and they wave to me in the halls, and god they have the cutest smile-"

"Dib! Okay! I get it, you're in love or whatever."

"I never said I was in love! It's just a crush. There's a difference." I watched her roll her eyes so hard I thought she might be transported to another dimension. Even I knew deep down I was lying through my teeth. All the little things had made me fall deeper into whatever my infatuation with Y/n was. Every glance, every little quip, every greeting...they all made my heart flutter and I would feel sick to my stomach every time I thought about them. It was a satisfying kind of sick, though. I knew I had been carrying these feelings for a long time. They had always been the first, if not the only, person to stand up for me when the teasing became too much. Of course I was going to fall in love, what else was to be expected?

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. But, do you even talk to them? No, you don't."

"So?" She was right. I never went out of my way to approach them. We would share short and simple conversations, but only when they spoke to me first. I was always too scared. They were the only person who could make me nervous and doubt myself anymore. The reasonable part of me told me that if I just went up to them, they would welcome the conversation. But, something was always stopping me. I held them on a pedestal, so much so that I believed making any move at all to be impossible. Y/n for me is unattainable, someone I was never meant to have. They were part of the untouchables, the most popular and worshiped kids in school. I'm just the freakshow who attracts all the wrong kinds of attention. And yet, something was pushing me to just reach for it.

"You're going to shoot your shot, aren't you." Her voice was flat. It wasn't a question. Rather, a statement that we both already knew to be true.

"Well, you know what they say. If you shoot for the moon, you're bound to at least land among the stars."

"I don't think that applies to this, unless your version of 'among the stars' is being taken out behind the school and beaten until you see stars." Ah, Gaz. Always so encouraging. What would I do without her?

"Do you think it's a bad idea?"

"Of course! It's a terrible idea! But, it would be kind of funny to watch..." A smirk crept onto her face, which would have been unnerving if my thoughts weren't already racing to think of how I would even accomplish this.

"So, you're in?"

"I would never miss a chance to watch someone kick the shit out of you."

Without a doubt, you were spaced out. To the point where you barely noticed what had been left behind in your locker, almost crushing it with your multiple textbooks.

"What the...?" You pulled out a small bouquet of flowers and a note from your locker, even more confused than when you first saw it. For starters, you weren't sure how it had gotten in there in the first place. You were sure it was locked and that no one knew the combo. Unless someone broke into it with brute strength or some advanced skillset. If that wasn't enough to drive you crazy, the note was anonymous. No name, no nothing. It was typed as well, so you couldn't even analyze the handwriting if you wanted to. The contents of the note contained a love confession, and you weren't quite sure where to even begin with suspects. There were many people who had crushes on you, some even within your own friend group. Even still, the note was odd. It sounded like nobody in particular, the wordage making it seem like it could be from anyone and no one at the same time.

"Hey, Y/n. What'cha got there?" Jessica came up behind you, eyeing the flowers with intrigue. The two of you were back to being on good terms. This was how your friendship normally worked, for as long as you could remember anyway.

"A secret admirer, apparently." You mumbled, handing her the note to read. Clearly, the person had no intention of outing themselves. They were hoping for you to catch on. From the tone in the note, you guessed it had to come from someone who felt they had no place in confessing. That could be anyone, for literally any reason. Maybe they were your best friend, or a social reject.

"No way! We have to find out who this is."

"I dunno, they seem to be trying really hard to keep their identity a secret."

"But what if it's someone hot?" She poked you in the side, her face pleading with you to let her assist in finding out who left the gift as she passed the note back to you.

"But what if it's Zim?" You doubted it was him. As far as you were concerned, you pretended he didn't exist, and he seemed to hate your guts, which was completely fine by you. The two of you burst out laughing as you put the flowers back in your locker so you could retrieve them after school. "But, maybe I don't want to know."

"Lame." She huffed as you began your walk to class. You folded the note, stuffing it deep in your pocket. You hated that you knew you wouldn't be able to let this go. You felt the need to solve the mystery. Although you had no clue where to even begin, there was one person you hoped it would be from. He was your main suspicion, even though a part of you wondered if that was due to wishing for it to be so.

"Can we please just be lowkey about this? If I decide to pursue this, I want to keep it hushed. Word spreads like wildfire here."

Well, you were absolutely right about one thing. Word travels fast in high school, especially if it's drama. Left and right, you had people asking if you had found the unknown Romeo who had broke into your locker. You were disappointed but not surprised. You had expected Jessica to talk. Her lips were about as tightly sealed as a window in summertime. So far, everyone had their own theories. The wildest one you had heard was that it was from one of your teachers. You were immediately disgusted with that, and how desperately you desired to unhear that statement.

Nevertheless, you had started to feel more confident in your own personal favorite guess. There had been one certain individual who was particularly silent through the whole matter, almost uncharacteristically so.

Lunch time. The perfect time to gain confirmation of your theory. Tray of borderline unedible garbage in hand, you strode to your usual table, which seated all of the school's finest and most elite in terms of the social ladder. Instead of taking a seat like everyone expected, you continued to walk, not stopping until you reached the very last table in the back, which sat only two: the Membrane kids. Setting your tray down, you took a seat across from Dib, who stared in utter shock and amazement. The sister looked up from her Game Slave, glance so brief you weren't entirely sure if it had even happened. Without a word, she rose from her seat, leaving the lunch room completely, most likely to continue playing in the hallway. Let's face it, no one was going to eat the shit they served anyway. You hoped he would say something, anything that would be incriminating. However, only the usual din of the cafeteria could be heard, the occasional murmur of your table switch slipping through.

You couldn't handle any more of the surrounding clatter of trays, laughter, and indecipherable words, so you decided to speak. "Hey, Dib. You like mysteries, right?" The poor boy looked helpless, red up to the tips of his ears, eyes refusing to meet yours.

"Sure..." You could feel his knee bumping the table as he bounced his leg at about a hundred miles per minute. You had him right where you wanted him, and he knew it. You both did. In that moment, you knew it was him. It had to be. He was acting even stranger than usual. Based on his behavior, he knew you had cracked the case. Thinking back, it should have been fairly obvious from the beginning.

"Well, something strange happened this morning. And since mysteries are kind of your thing, I was wondering if you could help me?" You were trying to coax him into saying the words you needed so desperately to hear. And yet, he was so stubborn.

"Alright, I could, you know, give it a go, I guess." Maybe he wasn't stubborn, maybe this was him playing out his last hope that you still were clueless on who it could be.

"I found something interesting in my locker this morning. Some very pretty flowers and a lovely little note, but unfortunately, it was anonymous. So, I guess I have a secret admirer on my hands." By gauging his reaction, you could tell he wasn't about to relent any time soon. He nodded his head, lips pursed in a tight line.

"Well, that's a tough one." Vague answers, saying as little as possible. You were getting nowhere, and would be getting nowhere. He was really going to make you say it, wasn't he?

"Yes. I have my suspicions. Would you like to hear them?" He didn't respond at all, fingers drumming nervously on the table. He still wouldn't own up to it. You decided to give him one last chance to confess, saying no more and staring directly at him. Hoping the pressure would bring him to spill, you thought your breath would catch in your throat when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Did you do the math homework last night?" His voice was almost an octave higher than normal, and there was a slight wobble to it. You could only fix him with a glare. Unbelievable. He was trying to get out of this by changing the subject. There was no way in hell you were letting that happen.

"I know it's you, Dib."

"Oh...you do?" His voice was so soft and faint that you had to strain to hear it. His eyes fell to the floor, as if trying to will a wormhole to open beneath his feet to swallow him so he could be anywhere but there in that moment.

What Dib was expecting to happen was for laughter to spill from your lips, followed by you telling him that you could never in a thousand years like someone like him, that his chances were below zero.

Some pearls of laughter did escape you, but it wasn't malicious. Even Dib, in his most insecure and vulnerable state could see that. Throughout the day, you were itching for this confrontation. You hoped it was him, you wanted it to be him. Not so you could throw it back in his face. This whole ordeal brought you to realize that you had somehow caught feelings for him as well. Your morning conversations about spooks, although mildly concerning at times, made your day, and you appreciated how passionate he was about his interests, even if you didn't completely understand them.

"Who knew you were such a dorky, hopeless romantic?" You didn't think it was possible, but the blush that stained his face darkened at your words that were broken by giggles.

"So...you liked the flowers? Or were you just saying that?" His eyes finally met your own for the first time in what felt like ages. You could see he was slowly relaxing, although to him it probably felt as if he were still walking on eggshells.

"Of course. I'll put them in my room when I get home." His lips pulled back into the cutest smile you had ever seen, and you thought your heart had melted on the spot. "Can I see your phone?" You blurted out, embarrassed of yourself. What ever happened to playing it cool?

"Should I be concerned?" A hint of worry crept into his voice, but regardless, he pushed his phone over to you. Taking it, you opened contacts and input your number, adding a small heart next to your name. As you glanced around the lunchroom, eyes had started to become glued to you. You had been sitting there much too long, and many were taking notice. Standing up, you slid the phone back to him, taking your uneaten tray in your hands.

"Call me sometime." Those were the final few words that were spoken as you made your way back to your usual table, leaving him to sit and stare in disbelief. As lunch drew to a close, you would shoot Dib occasional looks, waving happily whenever you caught his eyes. You let yourself dream that this was possibly the beginning of some blossoming high school romance. In your position, you had your pick of virtually anyone at your school. Nevertheless, you wouldn't have wanted anyone else to be your secret admirer.

#dib membrane #invader zim #invader zim fanfiction #fanfiction #dib x reader #invader zim x reader #invader zim one shot #invader zim fic #invader zim oneshot #one shot #oneshot #fanfic #request

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lucywritesreid · 4 years

Text

With Heaven Above You - Part 4

Summary: The team take a closer look at Reid’s findings to see if they can figure out where he might have been taken. Y/N feels tremendous guilt for putting him in this position, but finding something peculiar gives them their first clue…

Tags: @spacedikut @101donuts @rexorangecouny @l0ve-0f-my-life @yeah-just-ignore-me-thanks @awkwardnesshabitat @liaabsurd @reidsmyhusband-emilysmymistress

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.9k

Notes: Thank you so much again! Can’t believe all the nice comments I’ve had so far. Makes my heart swell 😊

Between the team the photograph must’ve been analysed a few thousand times. Each member kept requesting to look at it, picking it up and studying it under various light sources across the BAU. You had only looked at it the once. That was enough. The truth was that they weren’t going to find what they were looking for from the photo. It was just you taking off your microphone after the press conference. So it was highly likely that the unsub had been there, watching. JJ was making multiple phone calls to try and find the details of everyone who had signed up to be there. The truth was more harrowing. You knew that a mere 30 seconds after that picture was taken, Spencer had come over and given you a hug. A moment that you believed at the time to be private. But he had seen it. He had seen your Spencer. And he had taken him.

It was well into the night before any of you started to leave. Everyone had been running around, making phone calls, printing things off, going through case files. But you had just been sat at Spencer’s desk, curled up in his chair. You desperately were trying to think about what you could do. It was Emily who startled you out of your dream state.

“Hey, y/n, come crash with me tonight, okay? You need to try and get some sleep.”

You wanted to protest but it was no use. “Yeah, sure thing Em. Can we stop over at mine and grab a couple of things first?”

She looked a little hesitant at first. “Um, sure. But only quickly.”

From that moment on you acted without thought. It was as if a robot had taken over your body, moving your legs, walking you to the car. You couldn’t think about anything as you did it.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to get your things for you?” Emily’s voice made you jump. You hadn’t registered the entire car ride, and suddenly you were outside your apartment.

“No, but maybe come with me?” She nodded at the suggestion. You knew as soon as you walked in you were going to be wrapped up in all things him, and you weren’t sure if you could handle all the emotion.

Emily took your key from you and unlocked the door. She switched on the hall light and stepped into the apartment first, cautiously. You realised this wasn’t the first time Emily had walked into a home feeling unsettled, apprehensive. She knew just what it was like to come home and know that it wasn’t the way you left it. “I’m going to grab some of Reid’s case files to have a look at. You get what you need, take your time.”

“Thank you, Emily,” you tried to smile but your face couldn’t do it. You were so lucky to have such a wonderful friend, and one day you’d be able to show her just how much it meant to you. But not today.

You walked around uncertain, not sure what to look for. The sensible part of you was saying go pack a bag, get your things, and leave. You lingered in the living room for a few minutes, taking in all the things that reminded you of him. You saw the answering machine was flashing red. Was it really a good idea to check the message? It was probably something mundane, a cold caller. But there was a small possibility that it was him. Maybe an explanation? Your finger edged tentatively over the button. It took a few seconds before you pressed down and waited to hear what was coming next.

You’ve reached the home of Agent Y/F/N and Dr Spencer Reid, an all too familiar voice said, we can’t come to the phone right now because we’re probably fighting crime or playing chess. Leave a message after the beep!

What followed next was not what you expected. It was an almost silent message, but you could just about make out someone breathing. Some long, drawn out breathing. It lasted for about ten seconds and then the message cut out. Before you could call out a voice made you jump.

“When was that left?” Emily asked, suddenly behind you.

You squinted at the display on the machine. “This afternoon.”

“I’m going to forward this over to Garcia and see what she can get from it, you go and get the rest of your things.”

You nodded and walked into the bathroom. It was ridiculous to say that you could recognise Spencer’s breathing, but you were certain that wasn’t him on the tape. Which made it all the more unsettling as to who it actually was. Feeling tightness in your chest, you rushed over to the sink and turned on the cool water. You cupped your hands under the stream and splashed your face a few times, until the tight feeling went away. Get it together, y/n. You must do this. You need to focus.

After a few deep breaths you turned off the tap. You reached over to grab a towel from the radiator to dry your face when you saw a book lying on the bathroom floor. You crouched down to pick it up and admired it in your hands. The pages were all frayed and torn. It had been laid next to the radiator to dry after a night a few weeks ago.

“Hey! Y/N be careful, this is a first edition. I can’t take it back to the library covered in soap!”

“Listen Reid, you’re the one who decided to read during bath night. I can’t be liable for the damage that incurs.”

“Okay, fair point. But I thought you liked it when I read to you in Latin while you washed your hair? Weren’t you the one that said you wanted to learn a new language?”

“Yes Spence, a new language. A usable one. One that people still speak!”

“Statistically there are millions of people who can still read Latin. While it appears to be a dead language there is actually a large percentage of scholars and academics who use Latin in a variety of contexts… You always said you were interested in philosophy…”

“Yeah yeah, save me the lecture Dr Reid. You have until the bubbles run out to keep reading or else this book is going straight in the water…”

You were jolted out of your daydream by a knock on the door. “Y/N?” A concerned voice spoke up. “Are you okay in there?”

You quickly set the book back down and hurriedly grabbed your toothbrush and a hair tie. “Yeah Em, I’m coming now.” You made your way into the bedroom and grabbed a duffle bag. There was no thought to what you were packing, just random items that hopefully would make an outfit for the next day. You glanced over at Spencer’s pillow, his perfectly folded pyjamas, and decided to pack those as well.

It was truly painful to leave, but you knew it was for the best. By the time you made it to Emily’s it felt like it was almost morning. She poured you a large glass of wine and excused herself to go to bed, promising first that if you needed anything during the night to give her a call. You thanked her again and settled down on her sofa, wearing the buttoned-up pyjamas you’d taken from Spencer’s pillow. The glass of wine went down far too quickly, and you refilled it twice. Sleep was an impossibility at this point. You could already see morning light peaking through the gap in the curtains. That meant it wasn’t too long before you could go back to work and try and figure out what was next.

The truth was you already knew what you had to do. You were going to make another press conference, permission granted or not, and try and make yourself as appealing as possible. You were going to try and convince the career killer that the story would be far better if he took you as well as Reid. Imagine the headlines – two dead FBI agents, who were also in love! Caught in the crosshairs of the career killer! The best and most famous serial killer in the whole world! The papers would go wild for it. You knew deep down that the killer would, too. But it wasn’t going to play out that way. You were going to trade yourself for Spencer. Convince the killer it was you he really wanted. Tell him you’d give him whatever he wanted, help him put on a show. You’d let him kill you live on TV. You knew that you would do anything to get Spencer back.

You rehearsed your little inner monologue a few times. When you felt like you’d perfected it, you decided to try and think about something else for a few minutes. You remembered you’d taken the crossword puzzle book from Spencer’s desk. That would make a good distraction if he hadn’t finished them all already. You fumbled through the contents of your bag until you found it, along with a mechanical pencil. One of the corners had been turned over so you flicked the book open to that page.

Spencer had already started the crossword but hadn’t completed it. That confused you a little. It was very unlike him to leave a puzzle unfinished. You started to scan your eyes over the clues he had already filled in.

A six letter word for a season of the year synonymous with fall. Autumn. Easy. You glanced over to where Spencer had filled in the word. A-U-T-U-N-N. How had he managed to make that mistake? In all the years you knew him you hadn’t once seen a spelling error. You shrugged.

Next clue: Lion’s cry, four letters. Roar. Same again, you looked at where he’d filled it in. R-O-O-R. This couldn’t be a coincidence. You circled the incorrect letter, and the ‘n’ in autumn, and went back to the next clue.

A seven letter word for a pilot. Aviator. Spencer had filled in A-V-I-A-T-U-R. You circled the U.

Clearly reasoned, seven letters. Logical. Same spelling mistakes. L-O-J-I-C-A-L. That added a J.

Card game, five letters. Poker. P-O-K-A-R. A.

Woollen items, eight letters. Knitwear. K-N-T-T-W-E-A-R. T.

Organ of sight, 3 letters. Eye. E-Y-I. You circled and noted the I.

Desire to travel, ten letters. You had to look across at what Spencer had already written for this one. Wanderlust. But he’d spelt it W-A-N-D-E-L-R-U-S-T. Confused, you circled and noted the l and the R as they were both wrong.

He had only filled in one more clue. Calm-natured. Placid. But instead of a C, he’d written S. That left you with ten letters. You scrawled them down at the bottom of the page. N, O, U, J, A, T, I, L, R, S

N O U J A T I L R S.

What on Earth did that mean? You looked at it a few times through slightly blurry wine eyes. Why had he done this? You couldn’t quite understand what was going on. But there was something in you, a hunch, that he’d left this for you on purpose. Who else would piffle through his desk and take out a crossword book? There had to be some meaning to it. After exhausting yourself with possibilities, the tiredness took over, and you eventually fell asleep. You dreamt of those ten letters swirling around your head.

End of part 4.

#dr reid #dr spencer reid #dr reid x y/n #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fic #spencer reid #spencer reid fic #spencer reid imagines #spencer reid x reader #spencer x y/n

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johnny-and-dora · 4 years

Text

you and i are very close

"A younger Holt less familiar with Jake Peralta would reprimand him for being so easy to read – but it seems to be in his very nature to wear his heart on his sleeve, and the truth is, it suits him."

or, jake & holt talk about fatherhood. (post 7x10)

read on ao3 -

“…So that’s the lowdown on the Broughton case. Charles and I are gonna head out and arrest them as soon as the warrant comes through.” Jake finishes, bouncing slightly on his heels as he finishes the update. Raymond Holt leans back in his chair, content with their plan of action.

“Excellent work, detective.” Holt says – but then finds himself mildly concerned when he only receives a subdued nod in reply. While he may deem it an appropriate workplace response to a captain’s praise, it is far from the excessive energy and enthusiasm that Jake usually exudes.

Raymond recalls the previous night’s events – a biological sex reveal party that led to Jake’s father being taken to the ER – and wonders if that might be placating the detective’s usually golden Labrador-like temperament.

“I trust that your father is in good health?” He asks tentatively, gesturing for Jake to sit down- he pauses for a moment before doing so, leg jostling in a way that increases Holt’s concern by 17.5%.

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Sorry our party was kind of a full-blown disaster. Guess I should have expected that with three generations of Peraltas in the room.” He makes the self-deprecating remark with the light-hearted bravado Holt has come to expect from the detective, though it’s notably flatter than usual.

What’s more, his smile is more of a grimace, and he can’t stop fidgeting with the badge around his neck – a classic Peralta tell. Something is clearly bothering him, likely related to his complex relationship with his father and his own fatherhood looming.

A younger Holt less familiar with Jake Peralta would reprimand him for being so easy to read – but it seems to be in his very nature to wear his heart on his sleeve, and the truth is, it suits him. It is an openness, a trust and a sincerity that Holt has earned over the years as Jake’s superior officer. Though he still finds himself exasperated by his stubbornness and fixation on action films, Holt sincerely values his respect and loyalty.

He frowns, trying to assess the best way to discreetly discern what could be causing the detective’s distress.

“I actually found the party to be rather enjoyable, save the alarming bloodshed. The carrots were rich in nutrition and I thought the cake’s green colour made a very interesting and progressive statement.”

Jake’s lips quirk up a little at that, and he sits straighter in the chair, so Holt must be doing something right.

“Thank you, Captain, but that actually wasn’t our intention. Just another screw-up.”

“I see.” He considers this new information briefly, before attempting to continue the non-case related chitter-chatter, something he usually avoids. “So, you are now aware of the biological sex of your child?”

“Oh, yeah! We’re having a boy.” Jake finally smiles genuinely, and Raymond can’t help but return it. He may not personally care much for small infants, but the thought of the bickering detectives he first met when he came to the Nine-Nine having a child together does inspire some fatherly pride over how far they’ve come.

“My congratulations to you both.” He nods again, but his gaze is still far away. Holt decides to subtly switch tactics.

“You know, whatever doubts may be plaguing you, I am certain you have absolutely nothing to be worried about. Your son is very lucky to have you both as parents.”

“What? I’m not, um, there’s absolutely zero doubts to be found here.” Jake’s eyebrows briefly shoot up to his hairline as he stammers some typically poorly concealed denial. Holt remains neutral, wishing he had done some research on the subject but doing his best to power through.

“It is perfectly natural to be anxious about such things.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the gentle encouragement is all that it takes for a veritable avalanche of emotions to trip over themselves as Jake speaks.

“I guess I just…I want to be the best dad I can be. I don’t want him to ever feel like…like he’s been abandoned or he’s alone. It’s crazy how much I already love this kid and I haven’t even met him yet, but I know I would do absolutely anything to keep him safe. And with my dad talking about this stupid Peralta father-son curse and my grandpa being a jerk and walking out of our lives all over again…I don’t know. I just know that I don’t want to let him – or Amy – down. Ever.”

Holt is admittedly, a little overwhelmed. He and Kevin have never seen the appeal of conforming to heteronormative ideals of family life, and yet he values his place as the head of the chosen family he’s found at the Nine-Nine. The mysteries of pregnancy and childcare are complete unknowns to him, yet he finds himself completely certain that Jake and Amy will be great parents to their future son.

So, Holt does what he has always found it easiest to do, and he tells Jake the truth.

“I am not sure of this family ‘curse’ you speak of, but as your commanding officer for the majority of the past seven years, I know your doubts are ill-founded. On the contrary, the dedication and loyalty you have shown me, and every member of this squad, only makes me surer you will be a great father.”

“Really?” Jake says, hopeful but apparently still unconvinced.

“This job is not an easy one. You and I know both know first-hand how our lives can be affected by circumstances we cannot control. But you would never willingly let your family down, and the fact that you are so committed to doing everything you can for them is a sure sign that you never will.” Holt pauses briefly to let his sincerity sink in.

“Your son is going to love you, Jake. He will grow to enjoy many Thomas Cruise films with you, and I’m sure he will come to share your passion for…the transforming robot sewer turtles?”

“Feel compelled to tell you those are two completely different franchises, but I really appreciate the attempt and I will be emailing Michael Bay’s team about a potential cross-over.”

“Well. Regardless of the specifics of these cartoon turtles, I am sure you have understood my point.”

“Yes. Thank you, sir. I- that means, uh, a lot.” His thanks is, as usual, completely earnest, and Holt finds himself glad to have helped in any small way. He cannot completely solve the detective’s issues with fatherhood, but he is happy to be one consistent and stable presence for Jake to rely on. Just as he knows he can rely on him.

“You are welcome. And you are free to discuss any other personal issues you may have with me, although I assume Santiago may be better suited to such conversations.”

“She’s been telling me pretty much the same thing.” Jake admits, shifting in his seat. Raymond briefly wonders about the intricacies of their home life, whether they will discuss this conversation over dinner or perhaps during the commercials of some form of media content.

“Well, I recommend you listen to her. She has proven herself to be extremely perceptive and is rarely ever wrong.”

“I know.” Jake grins, a very specific smile on his face that Holt recognises has long been reserved for talking about Amy, even before they began their courtship. “Sometimes I still can’t believe she married me.”

Holt thinks of years spent watching them endlessly bicker and argue and tease each other, thinks of the intimacy affection he sees most often when they are inebriated at Shaw’s bar. He thinks of how ragged and distraught they’ve been each time they’ve been forced apart and how relieved they were to be back together. He thinks of officiating their wedding and accidentally intruding on their honeymoon, and above all, he thinks about each moment of their shared happiness together he has been privileged enough to witness.

“I do not believe she was wrong about that either.”

It’s an expression of sentiment which breaches many of his strict rules of conduct and professionality in the workplace, and he’s partly reluctant to be debasing himself so willingly. But then Jake’s eyes are shining with gratitude and his usual enthusiastic bright demeanour has returned and Raymond can’t help but feel relieved.

“Oh my god, I always knew you were our secret number one fan. Charles is going to be crushed.”

“You are dismissed.”

“Noooo, but I really want to stay and talk about how invested you are in our relationship- “

“-Please leave my office.”

Holt maintains his usual stony-faced composure until Jake shuts the door – only then does he allow himself to relax in his seat a little, fondly thinking of Kevin, Cheddar and the family he has found in the Nine-Nine. He makes a note to discuss stuffed animal varieties with Kevin at a later date so that they may have something to present Jake and Amy’s son when he arrives.

And when he gets to meet the newest addition to the Santiago-Peralta family a few short months later, held oh-so-carefully and preciously in the arms of a man he has come to consider a son, it is a meeting that he treasures for the rest of his life.

#b99 #b99 fic #brooklyn 99 #listen. i have a lot of emotions about soon-to-be-father jake and his gay work dad #so here you go #my writing #shut up sian

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schrijverr · 3 years

Text

Welcome, my friends

The whole premise here is that Raph is Willy Wonka and they go to kill some kids and eat some candy.

On AO3.

Ships: none

warnings: though either vague or mentioned there is child death in here. Tell me if I missed anything or if you want me to tag something!!

~~~~~~~~~~

“Where are we going?” Raphaella asked.

“Marius got to pick and he wanted to go to earth, to understand Tim better or something.” Nastya answered, “Though I think Brain is going to an alternate timeline than Tim's, just to be safe. We don’t want to ruin the timeline accidentally.”

“Anything interesting you know off in this timeline?” Raph was ever so curious.

“You’ll just have to wait and see, I think we’re coming up on it now.” Nastya shrugged.

Raphaella hurried to the window to press up against it as they landed, it was an industrial planet and she couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.

Before she could pin it down Ivy called them all together to go over the planet, so that they would know what to expect. She began: “So, this planet is earth, but not Tim's earth exactly, but it is broadly similar if industrialization had proceeded like on the other earth we visit from time to time to do gigs.”

“Is there anything fun to do?” Jonny asked.

“Fun or violent?” Ivy replied.

Jonny shrugged: “I don’t care, it’s broadly the same.”

“Well, it’s most well known for it’s candy factory, run by someone named Willy Wonka” Ivy said, “That could be fun.”

Raph perked up and said: “Oh, we’re here! I have a great fun plan. We will need some fliers printed and get a few things set up, but it has so much potential. You all can be oompa loompas and-”

She got interrupted by Ashes, who said: “What the fuck are you on about, Raph?”

“I’m Willy Wonka.” she told them in lieu of an explanation.

“You’re who?” multiple people asked at the same time.

“Willy Wonka.” she repeated as if that would clear anything up, then she clarified further, “It sounded better than my actual name for marketing and I started it so that I could do both science and fund said science until I could make myself immortal and fly away.”

“You,” Tim said, “ran a candy, let me repeat, candy factory?”

“Yes, now if I’m correct we’re just after I left, but I never really told anyone or left it all in good hands, so we can do this now and I really do have this marvelous plan that we can-”

She got cut off yet again, this time by Jonny: “That sounds boring.”

“You’ll get to kill some kids.” Raph said as a peace offering

“Sold. Let’s go help Raph murder some kids.” Jonny started to get up, clearly done with the whole brief.

“Wait, no, killing children would be wrong.” Brian stopped him.

“We’ll only kill bad children.” Raph said, “Don’t worry about it, Brian.”

“Bad children?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, you know, those kids who will later become bad people and hurt others. We can flip your switch if you’d like?” Raph answered.

“Maybe.” Brian whispered.

“Alright, so that’s settled, let’s get to the killing of kids.” Jonny said, already in a much better mood than at the start.

They gathered their stuff and landed, for once not in the middle of no where to be inconspicuous, but right in the middle of a big industrial complex. Raph gave them a brief rundown of her operations here, it was mostly run by robots, she called oompa loompas.

There she explained her plan with golden tickets and finding the right person to leave it for. Jonny groaned: “But this is all so boring, Raph. When will it get fun?”

“Right now.” Raphaella said as she handed him a piece of gum, “Here.”

Jonny grumbled some more and put the piece of candy in his mouth and started to chew. Everyone except him seemed to notice the gleam in Raphaellas eyes as she watched him chew, so they looked closely as Jonny started to swell and swell and turn blue.

At some point he noticed too, but it was too late by then and he was already rolling, as he rolled away Raph called after him: “And that’s how it will be fun!”

After that they all were on board. Brian, TS and Ivy helped Raphaella plan, while Nastya explored the machinery around her and the others fucked around with the candy.

Then the day came, when the gates would open and the few lucky kids would enter the magical factory of Willy Wonka. Everyone was in their places, some more giddily than others, awaiting their part.

It took a while, but soon enough Raph entered the room with the chocolate river, followed by a group of people. One of the boys rushed to the riverside and started to drink out of the river. Raph was giving him the stink eye over it and Jonny thought that this was his cue.

He hadn’t been that satisfied to hear that most of the child murder was going to take place at the hands of the invention instead of his own, but no one had told him he couldn't help.

So, he slid into the river as well as swam over to the boy and subtly pulled him into the river, dragging him over to the pipe and sticking him in it, before climbing out behind a bush. He met Raphaellas eyes and winked as she grinned back.

Then she got distracted by a lady, presumably the boys mother. Raph blew on her flute and all came out in their uniforms among the oompa loompa robots, looking like idiots, as they sang a disapproving song about the kid in question, before the group moved on.

They were later called again, this time to roll away a girl who turned into a blueberry. Raph as Willy told her father they were going to squeeze her to save her, but Jonny and Tim had already decided to pop her like a blueberry balloon.

The other girl got taken by a shoot, but beside Raph they hadn’t been there on the floor working, instead they were waiting on her down below.

After that they didn’t see Raph until she came by to tell them what had happened before boarding Aurora.

When she was done, Jonny huffed and crossed his arms as he said: “It almost feels like we did something good today and I don’t like it.”

“We murdered three children.” Brian replied, voice a bit shrill.

“Yeah, yeah, but it had a happy ending, very boring honestly. I wanna pick the next planet.” Jonny told him, the comment got him some pushes and shoves as the others ribbed him slightly as they left the planet to seek another story.

#RR writing #The Mechanisms #the mechs #raphaella la cognizi #Jonny d'Ville #drumbot brian #Nastya Rasputina #Ivy Alexandria #Raphaella is Willy Wonka #tw: child death #tw: child murder

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smolcobie · 4 years

Text

Just Work | Kim Mingyu

Summary: After a virus threatens the existence of the human race, you’re forced to work with the mysterious and famous agent black, Mingyu, to save the world. Your biggest philosophy’s that nothing is above your job, but the relationship that arises between you makes you wonder: Is this just work?

Word Count: 9.1k (it’s worth it, I promise you.)

Feats: Vernon, Woozi, Minghao, Wonwoo, Jun and Seungcheol.

AGENT LIZ, RED CODE.

The message shines in your eyes making you stop your training kicks and punches. After 30 seconds the message faded away, making you sigh. "Another mission, Y/N..." Although you were working for more than 4 years in the MI6 Agency, you still weren't familiarized with this high-quality technology.

You were recruited by accident, you always wanted to be a Cop but it happened that your IQ was way above the average, so MI6 contacted you and trained you until you became one of their best agents.

Your whole physique shivered when you read the last sentence. RED CODE.

There were only 2 times a RED CODE existed, and it was during a terrorist attack and today, so you knew that it was more than a serious matter. It was deadly serious.

You take off your gloves leaving the training room, walking to the central. You don't care about the little drops of sweat on your forehead since it's an emergency. As soon you enter the central you notice the heavy mood-setting there when you analyze the faces of your boss and few colleagues.

"Liz, arrived early today." Agent Wonwoo smiled at you "I was already in the building spending my time in training, different from you that only cares about fooling around." Your ironic tone makes him laugh "Affectionate like always." He finishes your little conversation sitting in his chair.

Wonwoo was one of those agents that only work in this world of violence for fun and spends all his salary on girls and parties. He was a good agent, good looking, always resolves every case before the normal amount of time. He was a good weapon for the company, but everyone knew that the secret weapon was agent black. The one that only a few people got the honor to meet, and you can't help but wonder if he would appear now since it's a red code;

"Agent Lizard, thank you for joining us." Your boss (and legend) Mr.s Jack starts the reunion "Agents, it's the knowledge of you all that today we had a red code. It's been 19 years since we had one and honestly, I'm truly worried." It's the first time you heard something like this from your boss's mouth.

"We have 5 days, 120 hours to save the world from an unknown virus that could disintegrate most of the human race." "What?" Your voice cracks at the end of your sentence.

"We received the information about this mysterious virus called 1XJ. He's modified to adjust inside the body of the host modifying his nature for better results in strength, velocity, and sight. But if the body of the host rejects the virus it can kill a person in less than 24 hours." "How you got the information?" Agent Joshua asks and Mrs. Jack plays a video in front of our eyes "We received this video 10 minutes ago from an unknown source, it disappeared but our IT agents got a copy."

The video starts with a black background and a person with a white mask starts to speak with a robotic voice.

"In 5 days the humanity will face their evolution, only a few chosen humans will continue our procreation. The world will change forever, where the strong ones will build a new paradise and the weak are going to die. If you want to join our cause, prepare yourselves to the final condemnation."

And the video stops. It was offensive to the eye watching such a psychopath thinking he could play with all humanity like some kind of god.

"We are going to send all of you in different missions to solve this problem. Agents this is the future of humanity, don't forget that." She says and you feel sad for a moment "You're all dismissed."

Everyone gets up while Mrs. Jack calls you "Agent Lizard, come to my office."

You follow her feeling anxious for some reason that you couldn't comprehend.

You both enter the spacious white room as she closes the door sitting in front of you resting her hands in the glass table.

"Agent Liz, I need to speak with you."

"Say it, boss." You sit and she sighs.

"I have a special mission for you." "What is it?" She places a confidential document in the table "Read it."

You open the document feeling confused.

"I don't understand, these are dates and mission notes from another agent."

"It's from our agent Vernon, he's wanted all around the world for betrayal." "Why?" "He actually had a mission to verify a mysterious lab from China but he never came back, and another source said he was alive working on some virus and then we received that video."

You are speechless. "You believe the guy in that video is him?" "I don't think is him in the video, but we have our suspicions since he worked in the IT section, but we can't affirm that so that's why I want you to investigate this."

You feel a heavyweight in your shoulders "Why me? You could call Wonwoo." "Unfortunately, he's very known out there, but you're our chameleon no one knows you."

You sigh "It's too dangerous for me to go alone, this is the potential end of the world." Your boss smiles "You're not going alone, I'm scaling someone who can work with you in this special mission."

"Who?" "Agent Black."

A shiver runs down your spine.

"Are you serious? The famous agent black?" "Yes, he already comprehends the situation and you both will start tomorrow."

"I guess I can't say no, right?" "Unless you're not worried about the future of humanity." You take the document and sighs "I accept this mission." "Good to work with you agent, you'll meet Agent Black in our secret district in China in a few hours. A plane is waiting for you outside."

"What about my equipment?" "It's already in your plane. Just go now, you have a long day ahead." "Thank you, boss." "Liz, one more thing" you gulp watching her over your shoulders "Yes?" "Don't fail."

And the rest of the air you had left your mouth.

72 HOURS, 3 DAYS BEFORE THE END OF THE WORLD

After a few hours of travel, you arrived at the section in China. You spent hours reading the file over and over again trying to find any gap but you still couldn't understand why Vernon would do something like this.

"Welcome agent Liz in our district, you'll meet agent black soon. Follow us please." "Thank you." You feel a bit nervous about getting to know the famous agent a lot of people in the agency used to talk about.

You only heard rumors about how he works. No one ever got him in a camera, the rumors say he has a unique beauty, a velvet voice that could break the chief of mafia and make him confess their crimes, sweet eyes that hypnotize anyone and lips that could kill without any remorse.

He was powerful but only a few lucky people got to know him, and now one of them is you.

After following the man you entered the secret place built under the floor, he leads you to a big grey room with a big round table and white. "Wait here, the Agent black will arrive soon." The man said bowing making you sit thinking about everything.

"The world ending in 4 days... I can't believe this." You sighed but your attention got stolen from the new presence walking through the door "Hello agent Liz, I'm Agent Black." Your heart made a small clench at the sight of the handsome tall man. "It's my honor, agent." He approached you shaking your hand.

He was... very handsome. Tall, his voice was deeper than you expected but he kinda looked like he was tired. He was dressed formally and you felt a bit envy recognizing the classy clothes from prestigious brands while the clothes you bought were from the incredible sale Target made.

"So you're gonna be my partner? I'm surprised." He smirked sitting in front of you "I don't understand, agent." You eyed him confused "They never send women to work with me" He laughed "It's complicated because they always fall in love with me and compromise the case." You laugh through your nose "Well you don't have to worry about that agent, you're not my type."

You smirk feeling proud of such a lie.

He was totally your type, but being a secret agent means that a normal relationship is not something you would achieve easily. You could die and make the person dangerous any time while working, so you never stopped to think about things like that.

The man in front of you smiled and you looked down to your own file siding it to him so he could take a look. "We're going to start looking for this agent." He viewed the papers furrowing his brows "They think Vernon is behind all of this?" "Yes." "I don't think so." He sighed "It's so obvious, he went missing and people think he's a traitor. It's so classical, I've seen this before."

He said and you smiled "I'm happy I wasn't crazy for thinking this was so weird. I met him, he could never work for something like this, he was the kind of agent that preferred to be working in his computers inside the building instead of going to the field."

Mingyu laughed "He was a good man then." "He isn't dead yet, let's find him first." You got up and he stared at you smirking "You said exactly my thoughts." You sighed "You have any idea where to start looking for him?" "Yes, I have a special contact here in China. Just follow me." "Where are we going?" He got up adjusting his suit "We're going to the center of Hong Kong."

"So where are you from?" He asked you breaking the silence while you stopped at the red light during the traffic "I thought secret agents couldn't talk about personal things." The man beside you smirked "Ah... I can see now, you're one of these agents." You turned angrily "What's that supposed to mean?" He laughed.

"You're one of those who don't actually live, just exist for this job." You scoffed "And you don't?" He looked at you briefly before starting the car "I'll let you discover for yourself why I'm the best agent here." He smirked and you rolled your eyes.

You stayed in silence during the rest of the drive. "It's here." You arrived at the place going out of the car walking into a small building that looked abandoned. He jumped the metal fence adorning the place and you followed him.

He stopped in front of a metal door knocking 3 times before a funny guy opened just a small gap asking "What's the password?" "Redbird." The boy widened his eyes opening the door quickly "Come on in, fast." You walked in fast and he closed the door locking everything.

"Mingyu, are you sure it's redbird?" You looked at the agent widening his eyes "Yes Minghao, I'm sure and you just exposed myself." The boy looked at you smiling embarrassedly "Sorry man, I was so shocked." You laughed "Nice name, agent." You grinned "Now you tell me yours." You smirked "If I told you my name, I would have to kill after." He laughed and turned to the boy in front of you.

"Minghao, we need your help. We're looking for a missing agent." The boy put some glasses and walked to his computer. The building was totally different inside, it was way more technological. "Tell me where he was working." "He was uncovered in Tai Wai." You said and got a closer look "Do you know the last place he was seen after he went missing?"

"Mei Tin road." "Okay give me some minutes." The boy that tapped fast on the keyboard impressing you with his ability, he was even better than the people that worked in the MI6.

"He's great right?" Mingyu approached you whispering in your ear sending shivers down your arms "Yes, he's even better than the people in our agency." You whispered back not looking into his eyes "How you met him?" "I saved him." He simply said and you turned to him that was smiling weakly.

"He went missing, the police archived the case and I found him after working in a case about the most wanted drug dealer in Hong Kong." You looked at him impressed "They kidnapped him, and were using his hacker's abilities to send drugs over all China." He sighed "I found the location and arrested the dealer and his men, but Minghao was already presumed dead so I helped him start over here working for me personally. I pay him and everything."

"And isn't it dangerous for him to be here alone?" The man just smirked "He's totally safe here, he's protected by at least 10 secret agents and he's very good in Kung Fu, so he's way better than us." You smiled "I'm happy he's safe here." "Me too, he's like a small brother for me."

To say you were shocked was an understatement, you never thought the great and famous Agent Black was this affectionate towards people.

"Guys I think I found it." Minghao said capturing your attention "Is this the man?" You looked at the images of one small security camera got "Yes..." Vernon was kidnapped just like you expected "I knew something was wrong." You said "It's been 1 month and 2 weeks, he could be dead by now." Minghao sighed and Mingyu smirked "He isn't dead."

"How do you know it?" "I know who captured him, I recognize this van right here." He pointed at the screen and you sighed "So let's go find him now." "Calm down, it's not what you're thinking." He grabbed your arm "Minghao search any formal parties from Wen Junhui." The boy obeyed smiling "You're lucky, he's holding a party tonight." Mingyu smiled at you "I hope you have a nice dress because we're going to a party tonight."

"I can't believe I have to do makeup in a situation of red code." You sighed adjusting your eyelashes "It's the needs of our profession." Mingyu tried to tight his tie "Argh, it's so hard." You looked at him laughing "So the famous Agent Black doesn't even know how to fold a tie." You approach him helping him. You swear you could almost see a small blush in his face "Thank you." He said looking away "Let's go?"

"Yes." You sigh and follow him.

"Minghao thank you for everything." You say bowing to the boy that smiles "It's nothing, it was my pleasure." "Let's go sweet, today you're going to be my girlfriend." Mingyu smirks making you blush slightly "Shut up, let's go." "Bye bro, see you." Mingyu ruffles Minghao's hair and grabs your arm.

You enter the car feeling weird, this mission was nothing like you had imagined.

"How do you know the man that captured Vernon?" You ask putting your seat belt "I'm close to him. In China he's a famous mogul, it's hard to not know Wen Junhui." You eyed him suspiciously "How are you close to the man that literally kidnapped our agent?" "Because he's an agent too, his favorite thing is to capture other agents to work for him for some time." He sighs "He's such a jerk."

"Why don't you arrest him?" He looked at you laughing "Well if you want to be killed or wanted by all agents of China you can do it." Your jaw dropped "Are you telling me that..." "Yes, he's the boss of the secret agency CHN, the official agency of China." "I can't believe this." You sighed in disbelief

"But the thing with Jun, is that he doesn't kill the agents he captures, he just uses them for his purposes." "You think he's the one that wants to kill humanity?" Mingyu laughs at you "Definitely no, if you want to get to know Jun you need to understand 2 things."

"What is it?" "He loves to party and he never misses the opportunity to meet new beautiful agents" He looked at you "Like you." A blush creeps out from your neck to your cheeks, you tried to hide but Mingyu noticed smiling "You're cute." He blurts out and you look at him hitting his shoulder "Ouch! That hurts!"

"Stop joking around we need to focus on our job." He laughs "Okay, madame." You looked at the huge mansion you parked nearby "We just arrived, lady." Mingyu said going out of his car and you felt nervous.

All those years of training and yet you couldn't feel prepared to act like you're his girlfriend.

"Just to you know, Jun will definitely try to impress you with something, but you're my girlfriend for now and we can't let him know about that." He says crossing arms with you "Okay."

You both enter the jaw-dropping place. The lobby was decorated with fine gold fabrics, a huge crystal chandelier in the center, live music and lots of food. People had a unique formality, they were rich people indeed.

"This is so far from my reality." The man next to you laughs "I knew if I told you Jun makes parties like this every week you'd be shocked." Beautiful women around looking at Mingyu was something you expected to see but not so blatant like they were doing. The women there were practically eating him with their eyes.

"Kim Mingyu, what a surprise." A nice man approaches greeting you both and eyeing you from your head to toe "Jun, partying as always." Mingyu smirked quickly "And who's this beautiful lady?" Jun smiles at you "I'm Liz," "My girlfriend." He completed the sentence before you and Jun smiled.

You definitely were surprised at how young and handsome he was.

"I'm impressed at you Mingyu, I didn't expect such a goddess would actually put up with you and your hassles." Mingyu's expression hardened as he slid his arms to grip in your waist "He's not that bad." You smiled softly and Jun snorted "This is good, I hope you enjoy my party. You'll be always welcomed here miss Liz, even when you break up with him."

He smiled and turned around walking out of your presence. Mingyu's hands were red with the force his fists made to stay in place. "It's okay, let's go Mingyu." You said softly his name and he liked being called by his real name for the first time.

"So now that he's gone, let's have some look around here." You said and he agreed "Don't go too far." Mingyu said in your ear making you nervous breaking the touch he had over your waist.

You decided to walk around after picking up some champagne looking around. You noticed quickly that there were a lot of security guards but specifically around this dark corner where people didn't get close. The ceiling had no cameras so you smiled to yourself already making a plan in your head when your thoughts were stopped by Jun.

"Miss Liz, already alone? As I expected Mingyu doesn't know how to value good women." He smiled and you sighed "Mrs. Jun, I'm just looking around since I'm fascinated by this incredible mansion." The man slid a hand through his black hair smirking "Are you into architecture?"

"Just a bit." You smiled and he touched your cheek slightly "I'm sure you would love the architecture around my room." You gently took his hand off "Mrs. Jun I don't think you understood the part that I'm compromised with Mingyu." He grinned "You don't need to pretend with me, any woman wouldn't date him knowing who he is truly... unless" He eyed you suspiciously "Unless?" He approached you smiling "Unless you know who he truly is in real life."

You smirked "Maybe I'm special." The man approached your face "So you know about his failed mission 127." You widened your eyes and Jun snorted "Oh, so you don't know about that..." "What are you talking about?" He looked at you drinking his champagne "Miss Liz I see that you really care about him, so I'll let you discover by yourself." He kissed the top of your hand and walked out again.

You felt nervous but Mingyu pulled you close "You okay?" He looked at you with a caring look and you just sighed "Yeah, just tired of Jun." He smiled and took your hand.

The music was slow so the man looked down at you "Wanna dance?" "It's not time for us to dance." You scoffed feeling nervous because, to be honest, you didn't know how to dance that well "Don't be nervous, we'll dance to take a look at the place" He pulled you close by your waist "Okay."

You looked away putting your hands in his shoulders whilst he looked behind you "You noticed that dark corner right?" "Yeah, there are no cameras either." He smiled "That's great." "I think we should make a plan." He suddenly grabbed your leg bowing your body "I have the perfect plan" his breath fanned your face and your hands slide around his neck "Tell me" he pulled you up "You're going there and try to distract the security, I'll knock them over." He whispered in your ear and you nodded "Okay, let's go."

You approached the corner as if you were looking for the bathroom, you searched briefly the lobby and saw no sign that you were being followed. The corner was dark enough to see, so you walked as if you were lost but quickly took the chance to evaluate the place. There was only 1 door at the end of the small dark corridor, and no cameras.

As you approached the door a voice caught your attention "Miss, you're not allowed here, this is private." A tall man with a black suit stared at you seriously and you looked at him innocently "Oh! I didn't know, I was looking for the bathroom" The man stayed in his place "Follow me, the bathroom is not here." You nodded but when he turned Mingyu knocked him out with his hands "Oh God, Mingyu behind you!" You ran to him and knocked the guy behind.

"Remember me to not fight with you " He commented smiling and you sighed “Let’s go, this door is suspiciously locked.” Mingyu nodded walking first and breaking the door that opened revealing a Dark Room, a PC and Vernon handcuffed.

“Liz? What are you doing here?” He looked at you shocked “I came to save you, and your career.” You untied the boy's knots while Mingyu closed the door pulling the man inside “Who are you?” Vernon stared confused at Mingyu and he smiled “Agent Black, nice to meet you.”

The boy widened his eyes looking at you “What is happening?” “It seems that the world is ending, and people think is because of you.” Vernon sighed stretching his arms and sighed “We need to get out of here, before Jun find us.” Mingyu nodded looking at the corridor seeing no signs of people.

“Liz, we need a suit for Vernon.” Mingyu looked at you smiling “What?” He asked and you just pointed to the security guard unconscious on the floor.

After a few minutes of stripping the guard and giving Vernon time to get dressed, you and Mingyu walked out first. “We’re going to distract Jun and you’ll get out of here got it?” You looked at Vernon that just agreed while Mingyu placed his strong arm around your waist.

You walked through the salon smiling and subtly looking around for Jun that was busy talking with some lady. Mingyu approached him slightly while you gave Vernon the sign to walk away “Oh? Is my favorite couple enjoying the party?” Jun smiled at you that just nodded smiling “Actually, we’re leaving but I loved it.” You answered before Mingyu while Jun smirked “I’m glad you liked it miss, you’re always welcome in my house.” He kissed the top of your hand while Mingyu rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry Mingyu, I won’t steal her away.” He winked and said in Mingyu’s ear “Unless you don’t treat her good.” Mingyu just laughed through his nose and smirked “Don’t worry Jun, I’ll take care of her.” You felt your insides warm-up and just walked away with Mingyu.

Vernon was in the street pretending to talk with a Chinese lady while seeing you both enter a car in front of the building. “I need to go now, but it was my pleasure talking to you.” Vernon kissed the top of her hand running to the car that opened his door so he could enter “Oh my God, please tell me what’s happening.”

“That’s a long story and we’ll talk soon.” Mingyu said and Vernon sighed in the back of the car.

***

“What is this place?” You entered the secret room of an abandoned building. The funny thing is that the room looked perfect and clean, nothing out of space “My secret home here in China.” He sat on the bed while Vernon gulped harshly the water from the filter that was stuck to the wall.

“So, let me understand one thing. I’m wanted for betrayal after getting kidnapped, the world is ending and you’re the famous agent black?” He looked at Mingyu that just nodded “We’re screwed.” He laughed sitting on the chair that was beside the bed “Why am I going to prison? I don’t understand.”

You sighed and explained the situation to Vernon from the beginning. “Okay, so they think I did this? This is ridiculous I was doing my job when I got kidnapped.” “I Know. I told our boss this didn’t make any sense so here we are.” You smiled weakly and crouched in front of the boy “We need to know everything you discovered, you’re our only chance to make this mission possible.”

“Look, before I got kidnapped, I was investigating a lab here but they didn’t have anything suspicious but they had someone interesting.” “Who?” Mingyu asked crossing his arms in front of his chest “I need a computer so I can show you.” You picked the laptop in a table next to you and gave it to him.

“While I was investigating this man, I discovered he was a scientist working on a strange virus that could be extremely dangerous.” He tapped fast on the computer and turned to show the face of the man “This is him. His name is Lee Jihoon, he wasn’t working on this alone. But when I was this close to discovering his boss, Jun kidnapped me.”

“Do you know where he is now? Or where he could be?” You asked and he nodded “Thankful to Jun, I could track him while I was there. He wanted me to hack security cameras and look for new agents so I know where he is today.” Mingyu smiled “Good job agent.” “Now if you excuse me, I’m going to take a shower because I stink.” Vernon smiled and locked himself inside the bathroom while you sighed walking to the small living room next to the room.

Since it was a closed building it didn’t have windows so there were large screens showing different scenarios “You like it?” Mingyu asked you and you sighed sitting on the sofa “It’s nice.” You commented resting your head against the sofa sighing “This is ridiculous, I can’t believe there’s this crazy guy who likes to think he’s some kind of god.” Mingyu sighed and sat beside you “I know right? This is crazy.”

“You know I was thinking…” You started a conversation looking at the green forest in the screen “About?” He looked at you tenderly “What if we fail? What if everyone dies in the end? I didn’t do much in this life.” You confessed feeling your chest tight “I lived for this job and I couldn’t say it was worth it. In the end, we’re going to die and I didn’t have a normal life like I always wanted.” You stared at him.

“I never told anyone this, but I just wanted to be a cop, have a nice house and travel to Hawaii on vacations like my friends from college.” He laughed a bit “I understand, I was like that too once.” “And now I don’t even know if we’re going to survive and I just realized… I lived nothing.”

Mingyu smiled sadly at your confession “You wanna know my secret?” You nodded and he grabbed your hand caressing the top with his thumb “Do you feel this?” “Yes...” You were confused “You need to remember that you’re human. You have emotions, sensations… feelings.” He stared at you deeply “That’s my secret, even on missions I always like to remind myself that I’m not a machine. I need to live like a human, have friends, fun and try to enjoy every day.”

“What's the point to save humanity if you can't live and feel like a human?” You confessed feeling your throat dry “It’s not too late, you can make everything different.” He stared at you and you sighed “You spent all this time saving people so they could live, you can enjoy your life too. You deserve it.” He said lowly while you smiled “You could be a nice therapist if you weren’t a secret agent.”

He just giggled and ruffled the top of your head “Thanks Liz.” He answered and you felt the urge to open yourself for real “Y/N.” You said and he looked at you confused “What?” “Y/N. That’s my real name.” He grinned happily “That’s a beautiful name.” He squeezed your hand making your cheeks red “I know.” You boldly stated smirking.

“I’m out!” Vernon interrupted both of you “The bathroom is clean.” Mingyu smiled at you dropping your hand “I’m going to take a bath too. You can rest here.” You just nodded missing the warmth of his hand on yours.

You closed your eyes resting your head int the arm of the sofa while looking at the scenarios. The peace and the silence made you drowsy so you soon fell into a deep sleep without noticing.

You woke up harshly by the sounds of something breaking and widened your eyes when you saw a man tied in the chair inside the room with his mouth taped. “What is this?” You looked behind you and saw Mingyu smirk “Sorry, you were sleeping so beautifully so Vernon and I kidnapped Jihoon.” You looked at the man that seemed afraid “The scientist?” “Yep.” Vernon appeared and took off the tape harshly “OUCH!”

The man complained “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“We have a lot to talk, Mr Jihoon.” You crossed your arms “Do you know what is the 1XJ virus?” He widened his eyes “H-How did you…” Mingyu who had 0 patience kicked his chair “Answer the question.” The man just nodded sighing “Look I know what you’re thinking, that I made the virus to kill everyone but it’s a lie.” He started to explain “I was studying the way virus change and evolve but one agent made me work for him. He said if I didn’t pass to him my search, he would kill me, I had no choice!”

“Who forced you?” Vernon asked “I-I don’t know his name, but he’s Korean. He had black hair and was working with 2 agents, one from MI6 and the other from AIK.” You looked at each other “Do you know where they could be now?” “The only option I can think of is Paris, I remember they were saying something about Eiffel tower being the essential point.”

“What should we do to kill the virus, or stop this?” Mingyu asked and Jihoon smiled sadly “You can’t, the virus is immortal.” He said and you sighed “There’s no such thing, WE NEED SOMETHING OR ELSE WE’RE GOING TO DIE.” You screamed and the man trembled.

“OKAY! There’s only one cure.” He confessed “But it’s in the lab I worked, but they have incredible security there.” “I want the location and the name.” Mingyu grabbed the chair arms and stared at the man’s eye “It’s here in China, you have only one bottle. It’s a gold liquid if you mix them together the virus dies immediately.”

“We have a chance.” You looked happy at the boys that smiled “But we need to go to Paris, we can’t waste our time.” Mingyu said freeing the man “You’re coming with us.”

The man sighed relieved.

48 HOURS, 2 DAYS BEFORE THE END OF THE WORLD

“You got everything?” Mingyu spoke in the mic while Vernon used a computer inside the van “Yes, we have approximately 10 minutes to grab the liquid before their alarm and cameras work again.” “Perfect, Liz you ok?” “Yes.” You fixed your sexy dress while waiting for the sign to distract the security guard “Now!” Vernon said and you started to walk like you got lost.

You approached the man in the suit in front of the building “Hello? Do you speak English? I’m lost.” You said in a velvet voice showing your leg slightly while holding the end of your dress. The man just smirked looking at your figure “Yes, a bit.” He answered interested while Mingyu got inside the building through a window at the balcony “I was looking for a party you know? I think it’s a club, I-I don’t know the name.” You made a sad face while Mingyu smirked to himself.

“Never thought you could have such a façade.” He mumbled to himself while he followed the directions Jihoon gave through Vernon.

“Look lady, there’s no club here. I think you’re mistaken.” He said approaching you slightly “But we can go somewhere if you want.” He whispered staring at your cleavage shamelessly.

“8 minutes Mingyu.” Vernon warned the boy that was close to the vault “I’m almost there, I need the password.” Jihoon sighed “Oh no, I can’t remember clearly.”

“Man, we’re screwed.” Vernon mumbled while you tried to smile without punching the security face.

“Tell me your name, princess.” He touched your cheek and you almost puked right there “My name is Kate.” You touched his suit “And yours?”

“I NEED THE FUCKING PASSWORD VERNON?” Mingyu stared at the round door that had 5 cameras around filming it. “JIHOON?” Vernon looked at him that was scrunching his face “TRY 2019.” He said and Mingyu clicked but it was red.

“Still red.” Mingyu looked at the time. 5 MINUTES “SHIT 5 MINUTES JIHOON, C’MON.” He whispered nervously.

“My name is Yukhei, nice to meet you.” The security smiled looking at your face “So what’s the secret?” You said trying to communicate with the boys that were desperate “I don’t have any secrets, princess.” The security guard said sweetly and Mingyu snorted.

“If he says princess one more time, I’ll shoot him.” Mingyu said and you smiled at yourself.

“I REMEMBERED! TRY 1713.” Jihoon screamed at the mic making Mingyu wince at the sound.

“Damn, don’t need to scream like that.” He clicked the password until it got green. “Thank God it worked!” He sighed picking up the gray suitcase and replacing it for another. “1 MINUTE MINGYU! GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!” Vernon screamed and Mingyu closed fast jumping out of the building.

“So… since you’re working now, I don’t want to trouble you sir, so here is my number.” You gave the security a paper with random numbers and your fake name “Call me anytime.” You winked and he smiled “I will.” You walked out of there sighing relieved.

After a few minutes, a black van stopped in front of you “Good job, Kate.” Vernon sarcastically said and you rolled your eyes “I don’t wanna talk about this ever again.” You mumbled angrily while Mingyu smirked beside you “Give me your number, Kate.” you just pushed him.

“Let’s go to Paris then.” Vernon said relieved and Jihoon panicked “Me too?” “Obviously, unless you want to die.” Mingyu stared at him that sighed.

“Me and Jihoon are going to find a particular plane for us, you guys watch the suitcase.” Mingyu nodded and you ran to the bathroom so you could take a bath and change to comfortable clothes. “Alright.” Mingyu said and put the suitcase on top of the table in his room.

He opened carefully seeing a small bottle with a yellow liquid. “I hope you work fine, I’m not ready to die yet.” He chuckled and closed the suitcase.

You walked out of the bathroom sighing happily with your clean face “I’m finally free.” You sat on top of the bed while Mingyu stared at you smirking “You’re a nice actress.” He smirked and you grinned rolling your eyes “It’s not like I have another choice, I’m a secret agent I need to be good at this.” Mingyu got up rolling his sleeves up showing the veins of his arms “You’re right. In the beginning, I was nervous too but I got good after a few missions.”

You looked at him smiling “You too? I thought you were always good at this…” You said without thinking and he grinned showing his full smile “I’m flattered but I had my hard moments too…” You remembered what Jun said about a 127 mission and asked him with the rest of the courage you had in you.

“Hey Mingyu… What happened in mission 127?” You asked directly making him stare at you failing his smile “Who told you about this mission?” “Jun.” He sighed and sat beside you running his hand through his hair.

“It happened last year. I had a partner, his name was Seungcheol.” He started speaking with a melancholic tone “Basically, our mission was to catch a killer wanted by INTERPOL, he was planning a terrorist attack in Korea.” “So, what happened?” Mingyu looked at you biting the insides of his cheek.

“We found his secret hiding on the roof of a building, he had the button to explode a bomb that would hit a huge building and kill everyone there.” He took a deep breath “So when we got there, Seungcheol fought him and broke the button, but the guy shot against me and that’s when he protected me.”

You could feel him getting emotional “Seungcheol stayed there, I ran after the man and I…” He looked away from you “Killed him.” He sighed “I never wanted to kill the guy, I wanted to make him pay for his crimes, but because of Seungcheol I lost my mind. I punched him so hard that he couldn’t resist it.” You touched his shoulder and he looked at you “I’m not the great guy everyone says.” He felt his eyes water but quickly winked.

“It’s not your fault, I’d have done the same thing as you.” You stared at him “You’re just… human.” He smiled sadly closing his eyes “After that, Seungcheol didn’t resist, his doctor said that his last words were: Live a good life, Mingyu.” “And you started to live properly.” You completed his sentence and he nodded “Yes, I started to live like he wanted me too. In the end, he was right.” He stared at you “That’s why I’m telling you, don’t waste your life.”

You just smiled touching his cheek caressing a little “Well, we have 2 days before the world ends, I don’t have a choice, right?” He grabbed your wrist kissing slightly “Good choice.” He whispered pulling you towards him, his breath fanning your face and your eyes closing but unfortunately got interrupted by Vernon and Jihoon entering the house.

Mingyu got up sliding his hand through his hair while you sighed adverting your eyes.

“So, I found our plane. Are you guys ready to speak French?” Vernon entered the room looking at you smirking “What’s with this mood? Did I interrupt something?” He wiggled his eyebrows and you just smiled “Shut up Vernon, let’s save the world.” You said and Mingyu smiled side hugging Vernon and Jihoon “Let’s go, Paris.”

24 HOURS TO THE END OF THE WORLD

Thankfully to Vernon, you arrived at Paris without any problems. The plane was fast, unique and first-class. You could have a few hours of sleep, eat a portion of decent food and think of a plan to stop the enemy “So, let’s review our plan, one last time.” Vernon sat on your bed at the closest hotel from Eiffel Tower.

“Jihoon and I are going to trace elements that could lead us to the signal from the enemy.” You nodded “Mingyu and you are going to go up the Eiffel Tower and destroy the main virus when I finish hacking their system.”

“So this is it, finally.” Mingyu sighed and Vernon smiled “Yeah, but I need to hack this hotel wi-fi, or else we aren’t going to make this work. We’re lucky that my partner Joshua is here in Paris to help me.” Vernon picked up his phone and sent Joshua a message.

“Me and Jihoon are going to the last floor, you stay here and get ready, we’re leaving in a few hours.” Jihoon looked at you “I recommend you guys use a special coat, if something goes wrong you can’t touch the virus with your skin or you’ll get infected.” You nodded “Don’t worry, I prepared everything in our plane.” You answered and they smiled.

You went to your bag searching for the items while Vernon pulled Mingyu aside and whispered lowly so he could be the only to hear it “I’ll give you 3 hours, so please don’t waste our time and be smart.” He smirked at the red face Mingyu made “Thanks buddy, I’ll compensate you after we save the world.” He shook his hand while they left the room.

You spread all the guns and equipment you brought from China. You looked at everything before choosing your favorites.

“Having fun?” Mingyu sat in front of you using his elbows to sustain himself “If you think choosing guns so we can save the world is fun, then sure.” You laughed not looking at him picking up the bullets and charging all guns.

“Staying with you, I think is fun.” He whispered and gave you a small smile. You looked at him laughing through your nose “You really have the time to hit on me in times like this?” He pulled you by your wrist gently “Yes, I can take some time for you.” You bit the interior of your cheeks “What are you doing Mingyu?” He hugged your waist trapping you in his embrace while looking at you “Why rush ourselves? We have time, Vernon and Jihoon are not here.”

Your heart beatings speed up “You’re such a playboy.” Your hand caressed his hair “Is that what you say to the female agents you worked together?” You sarcastically stated and he sighed “No, I don’t say that because I never liked them.” He spoke honestly pulling you to his lap.

“You’re the only one I got interested.” He smiled and you looked down at him “And you expect me to believe you?” You laughed through your nose “You could be a good liar.” He sighed grabbing your thighs “Why don’t you judge me then?” His lips brushed against yours “Tell me if I’m lying.” He grabbed your hips and you smiled “Okay.” You could feel his hot breath in your face.

He licked his bottom lip quickly before leaning in and kissing you softly. Your left hand grabbed his shoulder to stabilize yourself while you roamed through his hair with the other one. His lips slide slowly over yours as if you’re the most precious thing in the earth, you pressed your body against his kissing harder.

He pressed his lips against your jaw sighing softly when you pulled his hair towards you closing your eyes. Your throat being marked with his thick lips making you smile.

“Mingyu, the world’s going to end.” You tried to speak but he shushed you entering his tongue in your mouth harshly putting you down in bed “I’m sorry, but I won’t forgive myself if I don’t do this now.” He climbed on top of you pushing your guns aside. You touched his warm cheeks with the palm of your hands while you stared at his perfect face “You’re so hot.” You confessed and he laughed “I thought you said I wasn’t your type.” He pressed his lips on your again “I lied.” You said pulling him to you.

Your moment soon got interrupted by the ring of Mingyu’s cellphone.

“Ughh, not now.” He got up picking up the mobile looking at the name ‘Vernon’ “What is it?” He mumbled angrily while you fixed your hair and clothes “I’m sorry man, I know I promised 3 hours a least but it’s an emergency.”

“What is it?” Mingyu put on speakers so you could listen “We hacked the wi-fi and apparently they discovered that we’re here already. They’ll release the virus before we expected, we need to get out now.” Vernon screamed and you looked at Mingyu desperately.

“C’mon Y/N, let’s save the world.” He said extending his hand to you that grabbed happily “Yeah.” You smiled putting on your bulletproof vest.

Vernon drove the van like it was a race. You and Mingyu were the first ones to escalate Eiffel Tower, while Vernon and Jihoon asked for reinforcements.

“Don’t forget what Jihoon told you, try not to be seen. I’m going to distract the enemy and you’ll destroy the virus.” You nodded and Mingyu looked at you one last time “What is it?” He just kissed you quickly and smiled walking first to your hiding.

As you expected the enemy was at the top, his agents too. the sight took your breath away, it was Wonwoo there. You couldn’t believe that he betrayed the entire corporation. You looked at Mingyu that was shocked, he was stunned and couldn’t move.

You touched his shoulder and he swallowed hard nodding. He got up and picked the other agent using him as a hostage. “If any of you move, I’m going to kill him.” He said putting his gun against the back of the man.

The enemy smirked and looked at Mingyu “Nice to see you again, Mingyu.” He laughed while Mingyu had tears in his eyes “Seungcheol. I thought you died.” You got frozen by the name. Seungcheol... his partner wasn’t dead?

“Yeah, I know. I bet it sucked for you, but I never died, and that shot was fake too.” He approached Mingyu smiling sarcastically “Meet my true partner: Wonwoo. He’s the one that planned everything with me, it was perfect.” He looked at Mingyu “Sorry you killed that man, but I’m glad you’re here so you can see the revolution we’re going to make.” Mingyu snorted.

“You’re a psychopath, I can’t believe I cried over you.” He pressed the gun further on the agent “I’m not joking, I’ll kill him.” Seungcheol and Wonwoo laughed “You can kill him if you want, I don’t mind.” The agent was terrified and you could tell by looking at him.

“Dino isn’t essential for this anymore. I got the key right here.” He showed the button on his hands while Wonwoo had the bottle of the virus plugged on his case “If you give one step, I’ll click this button and everyone will die.”

“Who are you? What you did to my best friend?” Mingyu said with remorse in his voice “I never was your best friend, but I admit it was fun working with you.” You took advantage of the talk and approached them silently. You were behind Wonwoo but they couldn’t see you.

“Well, the talk was great but now I have a duty. Bye Mingyu.” Seungcheol said while Mingyu whispered to Dino “You have a chance to change your destiny right here.”“I don’t think so baby.” You said shooting at Wonwoo’s leg grabbing the case. Mingyu released Dino that shot Seungcheol in his hand.

You grabbed the bottle with the cure and broke into the bottle with the virus making Seungcheol scream “NO!” Mingyu kicked him into the ground while you knocked Wonwoo out. Dino grabbed the control with the button and shot through it making it useless.

Mingyu approached Seungcheol looking at him “Are you going to kill me like you did to that man?” He said sarcastically and Mingyu just punched his face making his mouth bleed. “I’m not the kind of man that commits the same mistake twice.” He handcuffed Seungcheol while Vernon and all the team arrived right after.

“I guess you didn’t need me after all.” Vernon joked while the agents arrested the boys there. Mingyu approached Seungcheol one last time “I hope you live a good life in prison.” He whispered and the boy just smirked “Jerk.” And the man took him while you ran to Mingyu to hug him.

“We did it! We saved the world!” You sighed relieved while Mingyu kissed the top of your head “Everything’s going to be fine.” He sighed and you gave one last look to Wonwoo “I knew I was better than you.” You said while he limped because of his leg.

And that’s how you saved the world in less than 5 days.

“Agent Liz, I’m glad you could complete your mission. Honestly, I was shocked when I heard Wonwoo and Seungcheol were involved in this.” Your boss sighs while you smile a bit “I think you deserve a few days off, what do you think?” She asked you smiling and you nodded relieved “I’d love it.” You shook her hand and walked out of her office.

“Hey! Liz, where are you going now?” Vernon shouted and you looked at him “My home, take a good shower and sleep probably. Why?” He searched his pockets until it found an envelope “This is for you.” He smiled and walked away when you grabbed the letter.

From: Mingyu

To: Y/N

You laughed when you saw how cute it was written. It was an address and the number of a room with a key in it. “He’s such a playboy.” You commented walking out of your agency.

The hotel wasn’t hard to find, it was one of the most expensive in your region. You laughed at yourself just thinking about the kind of things Mingyu was preparing for you to get there. You parked your car and entered the place showing your key, which the staff guided you to the elevator.

You clicked the ‘10’ button floor and waited the doors close. Inside of you, you could feel your entire body shivering in anticipation since you didn’t saw him since that day in Paris. You missed him more than you expected.

The door opened and you walked to the room your key indicated.

1056 – You stared at the number before using the key to open the door. You took a deep breath and entered the place.

The first thing that came to your vision was Mingyu looking at the windows with his social outfit. “So you really came.” He mumbled turning to you with his hands inside his pockets “Of course. I wanted to know what you want from me.” You spoke softly fixing his tie “You still don’t know how to make your tie?” You asked while he just stared at you.

“I thought you would ignore me.” You lifted your eyes and smiled “Why would you think something like that?” you whispered while he pulled you close by your waist “I don’t know… Maybe you just liked the adventure, but not me.” His nose touched yours “Are you saying you like me?”

You giggled and he hid his face in the crook of your neck “What do you think?” He pecked the skin and you smiled to yourself “I think I need to judge it.” You whispered to his ear and he smiled picking you up.

He placed you on the bed gently “Now the world isn’t ending.” He smirked and you caressed his face “So what you gonna do about it?” You boldly asked making him smile.

He just kissed you hovering over you while your hand went to his hair. His hands explored the skin inside your blouse and you messily tried to unbutton his white shirt. “I’m glad I saved the world with you.” He said sucking on a sweet spot behind your ear “M-Me t-too.” You could barely speak while his lips traveled from your neck to your collarbones.

He took his shirt off making you blush from the view. “Like what you see?” He asked you while you just gave little pecks to his face roaming your hands on top of his shoulders. “You’re so handsome.” You whispered and he smiled “Thanks.” He whispered on your ear kissing it “You’re pretty too.” His lips were so soft that you thought how unfair it was. Your fingers explored his perfect jaw making you smile into the kiss.

He smirked sucking on your bottom lip sending shivers down your spine.

You took off your blouse and skirt, making his ears red. He kissed you deeply touching every skin possible. He gave you small pecks showing you affection and care, something you didn’t felt for a long time. The way his scent filled your nostrils made you weak.

After that, you knew you wouldn’t get over this man easily.

1 YEAR LATER

Sunrays through the window make your eyes open slowly, your whole body is warm by the body next to yours. Mingyu’s arm still tight around your waist and his breath hitting the nape of your neck. You turn around slightly afraid you would wake the man up, but smiled seeing the cute pout that he does unknowingly whenever he sleeps. Your right-hand touched his cute cheek caressing a little making you laugh.

You stretched your arms and saw the ring of your left hand making you smile. If someone told you that you would save the world and marry agent black you’d have laughed, but life was good to you.

“Babe…” He mumbled opening his eyes a bit “Come here, I want to cuddle.” He smiled and you leaned towards him kissing his nose “You’re such a big baby in the morning.” “Yes I am, come here.” He pulled you by your waist hugging you “I love you Mingyu.” You said sincerely making the boy smile “I love you too.” He pecked your cheek and put his face in the crook of your neck while you caressed his hair.

You sighed happily at the vision and closed your eyes enjoying the feeling of peace.

“I guess it wasn’t just work after all.” You mumbled to yourself smiling.

MASTERLIST

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