Rogue: The Uprising

[Elle Joyner]

---

Daisy​

"Hey now… I happen to be enormously fond of that child's father." Shifting closer, she tapped him on the nose, "You better be nice to him."

Squinching his features, Levi let himself smile lightly. "Oh, and what if I'm not?" He teased, musing to himself as he stroked his chin like a dim witted villain.

"Hmm…" Arms draping over his shoulders, she shrugged her own, "You'll incur my wrath. I'm quite scary, remember?"

Humming, Levi's arm looped around her waist. He smirked at her teasingly. "You are the most terrifying woman, buttercup. No one can match."

"Damn straight." Sinking into him, she pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose, "Which is why you're lucky I like you so damn much."

"I would hate to see what you would be like if you didn't." He teased, hesitantly leaning down to press a chaste kiss to her neck. "I'm sure I'd be begging for mercy."

"Oh, ho…" She half-purred, head tipping just slightly, "You have no idea. I've been told I'm… ruthless. A terror."

Hesitant, Levi pressed another kiss to the crook of her neck, only peeking up for a brief moment to ask "Could you show me just how ruthless you are?"

"I could…" She breathed, fingers raking gentle creases through his hair, "But I'm not so sure I want to, just yet."

At her request, Levi pulled away, his heart thudding wildly in his chest. "H-heh. Sorry." Resting his forehead against hers, he attempted to calm the temptation that continued to pulse through him. "G-got a little carried away."

"I wasn't complaining, Lev." Her fingers traced the contour of his jaw and she smiled faintly, "I know my limits. And you haven't hit any lines I'm not willing to cross."

"Just making sure." He breathed, finally finding peace within himself again. He chuckled sheepishly. "Just be sure to hit me if I cross any lines. Or being back-slapped works very well too."

Laughing softly, she shook her head, "I'm not gonna hit you, Juke." Sighing contently, she dropped her forehead to his, "And just so you're aware… because who doesn't deserve a good ego boost now and then, you are… exceptionally tempting."

"Same goes for you, buttercup." He whispered, grinning broadly as his eyes squinched closed. "You make it really, really hard at times. Not that that is a bad thing or anything but...I'm trying to be better here…" He kissed her quick before pulling back, making sure she didn't have a chance to respond in turn.

"Hm…" With the teasing kiss, Daisy chuckled softly, "Better… right. You're trouble, Levi. Don't think I can't see what you're tryin' to do. Break me down by being adorable and noble. I have half a mind to ruin your wicked plans."

"Do you now?" He questioned, eyes brightening as he smirked. "And what if my wicked plans come to fruition, my little flower?" He rested his chin upon her head. "Gonna be really scary I assume."

Laughing, Daisy poked his side, "Downright ferocious." Leaning back, she pressed up to steal a kiss of her own, "Quaking in your boots, yet?"

"Absolutely terrified." He mumbled against her lips, laughing softly as he tapped his shoes together. "Trembling from head to toe."

"Good…" Pressing in again, more definitively, she looped her arms around his shoulders and tugged herself close.

"You really do make this hard, Dais." He mumbled into her shoulder as he securely curled into her, attempting to distract himself by nestling into her.

"...I don't mean to." Sinking back a little, she brushed a thumb across his jaw, "...And if it's any comfort… I'm having a hard time remembering what I'm holding back for. I've said it before, but I mean it, Levi. I have never felt so safe… Not ever."

"It's not a bad thing." Levi reassured her, his voice somewhat muffled. "I'm glad I could make you feel safe, buttercup. It's a relief to know that you feel comfortable around me. I just don't want to break that feeling."

"I don't know at this point that you could." She murmured softly, sinking down onto her side. With a small sigh, she reached up to brush the hair from his forehead, "...But we don't need to rush. You want me to come to Miami, Lev… I'm there. You wanna stay here, that works, too. All I'm sayin' is… you're stuck with me."

"You...You would?" Levi felt a foreign guilt shoot up through his veins. This was Daisy's home. He couldn't bare to pull her away from it. Yet, at the same time, he didn't want to leave his own behind. "Y-you sure? I don't...I don't want to pull you away from this."

"I don't make decisions lightly, Lev. You know that. But Yul has Thad… and anyway, after everything that's happened, Miami could probably use a medic on hand. I know Rose can heal, but she's got a hell of a handicap with that immune system of hers, and I'd hate to see her burn herself out. And honestly? I'm pretty damn attached to one or two of you…"

"I just want you to be sure, because I know this is your home. And you do have friends here." He gently placed his hand along her cheek, slowly leaning down next to her. "If you are sure, I would love to have you with me. I just want to make sure you are absolutely sure."

"I'm sure, Levi. I promise." Breathing out, she leaned into his hand, "Never expected this, when I heard what happened in Miami. Never banked on it, but I wouldn't change it… not for anything. You want me, I'm there. No hesitation."

"I would love it if you came." Levi admitted, although it took him a minute to conjure his answer. "But only if you truly, truly feel like you'd be happy there."

Laughing softly, Daisy reached her hands out to cup his cheeks, "Sweetie… hear me, loud and clear, okay? You are in no way, shape or form, coercing me to make this decision. I am happily agreeing to the terms… and have no intention of regretting the decision. Okay?"

"Okay." Levi bobbed his head as it sunk in. He wasn't forcing her to do this, she would because she wanted to. He held onto her hands, smiling up at her sheepishly. "If you do come, and we've got the HQ all fixed up...I'm going to be really excited to have you. Is...is Yul gonna be mad about that?"

"Pssh. Yul. I told you before… he ain't so scary." In truth, she wasn't sure how he would take the news, but rightfully, she didn't care. So few times in her life, she'd done things just for her… it was about time. "Promise… if he tries to take you don't, I'll try real hard to beat him up for you."

"I could just kidnap you." He chuckled, poking her nose. "Turn us both invisible and smuggle us out of there. I doubt anyone would really mind…"

"As sexy as that sounds…" She mused, wrinkling her nose with a laugh, she shook her head, "That probably would give Yul reason to worry, and however much a puppy he may be, he can be pretty fearsome when he tries." Leaning in, she kissed his nose in return, "...I like you too much to let that happen."

"Sexy abduction." Levi rolled his eyes. "I won't even go down that route of possible joke making. What, he gonna track me down or something? Okay fine, we will go the legal, less fun route I suppose." He chuckled at himself. "Thank you Dais, for carin about me so much in that regard."

"I promise you, Levi… I will always care enough about you, to keep you from kidnapping me in the name of love."

"Mm. So I don't get to put you over my shoulder and carry you around in the name of love?" He teased, pressing her nose with his thumb.

"I didn't say that.." She answered with a coy shrug, her nose wrinkling again as she chuckled, "Just no kidnapping."

"No fun." He pouted teasingly, nuzzling his cheek against hers. "But I suppose I see where you are coming from. I'm just...really so glad you are deciding to stick around. You have no idea how happy that makes me."

Closing her eyes, she smiled faintly, "...Well, then… mission accomplished. Cause all I really want is to make you happy, Lev. I mean it. You… you kinda changed my world here, you know? Pretty big deal…"

"I changed your world, hmm?" He questioned softly as he brushed a stray lock of her hair back. "I think you've done the same for mine, my little flower. For the better."

"...Well, duh. I mean… have you seen me?" She teased, with a small grin.

"I mean I would be pretty damn blind if I hadn't." Smirking, he leaned back onto the mattress. "I think I've fallen for you, buttercup."

"...Oh, well...I guess that makes it easier for me, then." She whispered, his fingertips trailing along his arm, "...Cause… ditto."

"I'm sort of scared to say the words." Levi mumbled, gaze making its way over to her. He drummed his fingers against the back of her hand. "I mean, I don't think I've ever fallen so fast. It doesn't feel like weeks, you know?"

"...Feels like I've known you forever…" She murmured, her fingers brushing his hair from his forehead, "But I've never… I've never said it before, either. Not… not to anyone."

"Last time I said it someone laughed." He smirked, although bitterness pulled at the edges. "I don't expect you to but...I suppose it just makes me sort of scared."

"You don't have to be scared…" She returned, and her fingers wound down his cheek, along his jaw, "I promise you, Levi. You never have to be scared of that…"

"Is it too soon to say it?" He whispered, swallowing. He was sure of his emotion, he was. An underlying concern remained, however, seeming unwilling to shake itself off from him.

"Does it feel like it to you? If you're not ready, I'm the last person in the world to rush you." She breathed, with a small, gentle laugh, "I know what I feel, Levi. I know that somehow, some way, in the last few weeks, I definitely fell in love with you. And I don't mean… for anything… to lose that."

"I love you, Daisy." He whispered, finally, voice trembling. He grasped for her hand and squeezed it gently, although there was a form of desperation in his touch. He exhaled slowly, knowing he couldn't go back now on his words. "Honest to God I do."

It was enough… Bringing his hands up to her lips, she kissed the backs of them, gently, and her smile warmed as she pulled closer to him, a second kiss to his forehead, a third to his lips.

Relief flooded through him, his heart stuck in his throat. She had reaffirmed his words. She had meant what she said. Levi could feel his heart thud against his chest, a wild beat desperate to break his ribs. Slowly, he gathered the courage and strength to kiss her back, pouring as much graditude and affection into it as he possible could.

When she pulled away, Daisy smiled brightly, breathing in, and resting her forehead to his, she opened her eyes to meet his gaze, "...You sweet, sweet man… stealing my heart the way you did. Shameful." Kissing the tip of his nose, she squished as close to him as possible, "...What's it like, Lev? B...being with someone you love?"

"I think you stole mine first." Levi breathed, chuckling. His hand came to rest at the small of her back, his thumb tracing patterns along her skin. "Being with someone I love? I...I can't describe it. The way I feel now. It...It feels like the world around me is gone. Reality is tipping. Yet, I feel joyful. If not down right ectastic. I feel nervous." Slowly, he took a hold of her wrist and guided it over his chest, to allow her to feel the beating of his heart.

"Think I could get used to feeling this way…" She mused softly, fingertips folding as her palm flattened against his chest, "I'm not used to… to trusting. To wanting to trust. But I do. I trust you, Levi. With… with everything."

"I trust you too, Dais." He promised, closing his eyes and praying that when he opened them this wouldn't be taken away from him. "I promise to never give you a reason to doubt. I promise."

"No, Lev… Listen…" Smiling faintly, she peered at him, eyes meeting his, firmly, concentrated, "I trust you... with everything."

"E-everything?" He stammered, brushing his fingers through her hair as he attempted to quiet down the trembling in his chest. "T-t-that's a lot you know."

"Yes…" She continued, gingerly, her smile warming, "...It is. Think you can handle it?"

"I can." He traced his fingers gently down her arm. "I'm more than happy to."

"So…" Breathing out, she shrugged, "What's next?"

"I…" Levi mused, slowly lying down on his back and opening up his arms to her. He smiled "Can I perhaps interest you in a little bit it uh, you know, snuggles?"

A brow quirked, and she inched closer, elbows on his chest, "...Oh. Yes. Yes, Levi. I think that is a brilliant idea."

---

TAGS || @KatSea

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Fate's a Stinkin' Tramp
Collab with @Elle Joyner (And some @Mobley Eats cameos)

The journey back was wrought with strife, as Logan warred within himself over what he had done. He knew the decision he'd made was worth whatever personal anguish he himself would be dealt, but the task at hand… the mission handed to him was a mental torment. If it was anyone… anyone but Francis, he wouldn't even consider it. But he'd lost her once, and it had nearly killed him.

Clutching the case tightly, he approached the headquarters… He'd been smart about returning - took a dozen different routes, checking more than one to make sure he wasn't tailed. He'd looked the case over, inside and out for bugs of any kind, the folder as well… considered ditching both - but in the end, he was too afraid exposing the syringe to the outside world for too long would result in destroying the cure it contained.

Shortly before he arrived, he tossed the folder in a dumpster. It wasn't needed, and suspicion would hit heavy if anyone discovered it. Upon entering the base, he headed straight for the infirmary and as he slipped inside, his heart stopped in his chest.

Her bed was empty.

It was empty.

"No…" The case fell from his grasp and he started forward, the pounding in his chest moving to his head as his eyes burned, vision blurred. He was too late. All he'd done and it was for nothing. He was too late… and she was gone, again…

His knees quaked, legs feeling heavy as he made it halfway across the floor to her bed. Suddenly, a door opened to the left of him, and the air exploded from his lungs at the sight of the blonde, wandering in.

The solitary word escaped in a breathless whisper, "...F...francis?"

Walking back in with Lucas had renewed her. With a new friend by her side, apologies given, lioness balled tightly in her fist, she felt she could hit hard again. Step back into the world.

And then she saw Logan.

Her heart dropped all over again thinking of the pain he'd suffered watching her comatose. "Logan.." She said quietly, moving swiftly to envelop him in a crushing hug, pressing her cheek against his chest. "I'm right here. I'm good." She promised.

That was a good talk--a damn good one. In fact, if Lucas was being honest with himself, he'd say it was the most genuine he had in years. Or, like, ever. Either way, he was just relieved to be on good terms with Fran Wham Bam again. As he walked back into the infirmary with her, the new face caught him off guard, especially the amount of emotion it exuded in Fran's direction. Oh, yeah, he could smell a reunion vibe and this one permeated like nobody...no one's business. Quietly, he zipped his mouth shut and took a step back, giving the pair proper breathing room.

Well...he stayed, no matter what. Lucas couldn't deny that curious streak of his and any tea involving his new friend couldn't be overlooked.

The color had drained from Logan's skin, and as Francis plowed into him, he nearly lost his footing. Shock kept him rigid for a moment, but as her arms wrapped around him and he could feel her strength, her warmth, he breathed out and enveloped her with trembling arms, "...You… you're okay." He whispered, and the horror of that notion struck him, plowed a weight into his stomach. "You're alright…"

"I'm okay, I'm alright." Francis insistsed, holding him tight, too tight, wincing at the way he trembled underneath her. "Shit, Lo.." She forced out a laugh, pulling away and taking in his pale face. Too pale. "Don't you know better than to freak out over me? Thought I was the toughest girl you knew." She tried to elicit a laugh out of him, teasing like old times, but something felt desperately wrong.

Fighting a sob of desperation, Logan tugged her back in, reluctant to let go. Afraid what might happen if he did, "You… it was so bad, Francis. I thought… God, I thought…" He couldn't say it. The words hovered, but he couldn't say them. Bringing it to life - saying it outloud, it was a dam.. And he'd break if he said it.

"I was so scared…" So scared...

She knew it was bad. The moments she'd been conscious were blurry, but Francis remembered enough. The uncomfortable heat, the searing pain lacing her spine, head pounding, eyes unseeing. Three days, Logan had had to sit and watch her struggle for her life. She hadn't been able to reach out and tell him she was still in there, still fighting. If it were him in that bed, in her place… She shuddered at the thought.

"I know." Francis whispered reassuringly, letting herself be pulled back into the hug, a hand on his back. "But I'm here. I wasn't gonna let you lose me again, huh? I'm right here, Logan. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Should you accept this offer and then back out later, I will make you watch me while I kill Ms. Blanchard. You will not be able to hide because I have people who can find anyone. If you take the job and fail, I will kill her.

The words echoed in his mind… revolved like a sick carousel, and all he could see was Kaiden Hull's face, grinning, behind his desk. Watching. Waiting for him to accept. Knowing he would. He'd been so sure that Yul would let them die. He'd know the man too long to think otherwise… and yet somehow, some way…

"...How?" He asked, without meaning to, and releasing his grip on her, he held her out at an arms length, inspecting her, as if somehow, it were all some sort of twisted illusion, "How? Yul… he was… he didn't… There was no cure…"

Francis could instantly tell he was in bad shape. She'd known him too long not to notice the subtle glassiness in his eyes, the worry that made him tremble. "I.. I'm not even sure I know yet. Barely just woke up, Lo, but someone kept on trying." She tried to smile at him, tried to keep him from spiralling, but he seemed so far gone. "I ain't a ghost, Logan." She rolled the lioness over in her palm for proof. Her tone sombered. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"N...no, Fran." Shaking his head, his expression softened, "Please don't be sorry. It… it wasn't your fault. None of this. It's not you." It never was. The damn stick that left a scar in his side, the raid… this, "Hell. I'm just… just glad you're okay. Gonna take… take me a sec to get my feet, but I will." Forcing a smile, one that drained him of whatever energy he had left, he shrugged, "...Just… maybe stop tryin' to die, yeah?"

She laughed weakly, taking his arm and squeezing it. "I wasn't tryin'. I promise." Francis said, gaze flickering across him. She stepped closer, poling his chest. "Don't you be thinking it's your fault either." Francis said firmly. "I know you. Probably picked apart every second and decided if you'd said something different, it wouldn't have happened. Don't. Don't even fake a smile at me, got it? I know you. Don't try."

"Ain't fair…" He murmured, and his eyes burned as he shook his head, "You knowin' me so damn well. I'm sorry, Fran. I know it's not my fault, but I…" Swallowing hard, he blinked and cleared his throat, "God… I thought I'd gotten past this… Feel like a damn idiot. I'm just glad you're okay." He'd said it already. He knew it. He was repeating himself… repeating mistakes…

"I should go…" He breathed, wearily, "You… you probably wanna hang out with your friends."

"No, no no no." Francis said, tugging him back in. Fuck, he was breaking. She knew it and she knew it was because of her, no matter how many times he said otherwise. "I took your advice, Lo, your damn good advice, and we're good now. I apologized. Can ya believe it? But I want you to meet 'em. If I let you go you'll go sulk somewhere. C'mon, say hi with me." She begged, and while it was partially to make sure he didn't run off and cry in his room, Logan was her family just as much as Lucas, Levi and Nick were. It was time they'd met.

Reaching with his free hand, he squeezed hers, and his jaw tightened, as he shook his head, "...Y...you know I could never let you down, Fran." Biting hard as his cheek, he breathed in, "But I got this thing I gotta take care of, first. Raincheck?"

Her face fell, and Francis sighed. "...Sure. Okay. Can I come with you? Wherever you're goin'?"

She knew. She always knew when something was wrong. It wouldn't be any different, now. Of course it wouldn't…

Breathing in, he shook his head, and huffed a soft laugh, "...Clingy much, Fran? I'll be back. Won't take me long, I promise…"

Francis grimaced, cheeks red. "Yeah, yeah… listen, Logan… don't go do somethin' stupid, hm? I said I'm not going anywhere."

"Why you always think I'm gonna do something stupid?" He asked, with another weak chuckle, "...Not like it's habit."

"Pretty sure it is." Francis said, worry lacing her voice. "You know what?" She forced her gaze away, searching frantically for.. Of course Lucas had stayed to eavesdrop. Dickhead. "Lucas! Hey. Logan. Meet Lucas." With one fell swoop, Francis had yanked Lucas out of his hiding place and in front of Logan.

Wow...this conversation had been intense. Significant. And judging by the apparent closeness and comfortable trading of words between them, it didn't take much brain power for Lucas to connect the dots. Friends, for sure. Likely the best friend Fran had told him about, ole Mr. Resurrected. In all honesty, Lucas was perfectly happy remaining in the background, imagining a cup of tea in his hands to sip from, but that plan was foiled when Fran pulled him out into the open.

Welp. Shit.

"Gah! Welp, okay. I'm out here," Lucas muttered jokingly, rolling his shoulder a bit. Either way, he took Logan in, scanning the man up and down. Okay, alright, he could come to an immediate diagnosis. "Huh...Well hello to you, cutie. It's nice to put a face, err...and a name to the famous bestie." He held a hand out to Logan, smiling cheekily.

Francis. She couldn't let it go. She could never let it go… and he might've been infuriated, if it wasn't half expected. "Nice to meet you, to, Lucas. Fran told me a little about you… Didn't realize I was uh...." Looking to Francis, he smirked, "Famous."

"Oh, so famous." Francis said. "See, Lucas here.." She clamped her hands on the poor boy's shoulders. "Just had a real nice talk with me. We both apologized. He told me the truth." Francis lowered her gaze at Logan. "Something I feel like you ain't doing right now, Lo." Francis nodded her head over to the entrance Logan had come from, the silver case laying on the ground. "Like.. where the hell did you get whatever that is."

"Oh, she has?" Lucas asked, gaze shooting at Fran almost playfully. Well, mostly with curiosity and the tiniest hint of worry. Hey, he knew how taxing his awesome personality could be and a few weeks ago, their relationship wasn't exactly riding on smooth waters. But still, he decided not to worry too much about it, especially when her hands landed on his shoulders, making him tense once more. Touch was okay. Touch was okay… "Err...yeah, what she said about boxes and apologies and…"

He slumped, squinting in confusion at Francis. "Wait, sweetness, am I being used right now or…?" A beat. "If so then cool, kinda a tool anyways. A cute tool, but still. Kinda wanna know what's up with the case too, soooo." He flashed Logan a blindingly innocent smile.

Damn Francis…

Frowning, Logan didn't turn as she gestured to the case. He should've just walked away. He should've left. He should have known better than to think she would just let him go… let it all go. She never did.

"...It's a case. Something for Yul. I told you… I had a thing I had to take care of." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he stepped back, "...You gotta stop worrying so much, Fran. Please…"

"You're a very cute tool Lucas. Now." Francis quickly let go of Lucas, sliding up to Logan. She could see him stepping back. See the panic in his eyes. "Me? I'm the one that should stop worrying?" Francis said. "You gonna bullshit me right now, Lo? I just woke up from a three day coma and you're really gonna bullshit me?" She crossed her arms, gaze pointed angrily up at him. "I just got you back. You just got me back. Talk. Or I swear to god I'll find another stick to drop you on."

"Francis. Stop." The words were said softly, but there was edge of severity behind them, "I'm not thirteen, anymore. And this isn't dodgeball. I'm asking you… to let it go. Please. Just… I'm glad you're okay. But let it go."

The weight behind his words made Francis flinch. The anger shifted to confusion as her arms uncrossed, fists balling at her sides. "You did something." Francis said lowly. "Didn't you? That's why you won't tell me." Her eyes shifted to the case, mind swirling with possibilities. God… oh god. What had he done? "What did you do, Logan?"

Taking another step back, he shook his head, and panic filtered in, just slightly, "...I made a mistake, Fran. But I'll fix it. I… I can fix it. Just… just don't ask anything else. Just stop… please?"

Now it was Francis' turn to lose the color in her face, eyes widening. "Please? Please what… please let you go do the dumb thing you're about to do?" Francis hissed. Her voice was quiet, but dripping worry. "I… I'm not mad. Tell me and I'll help you fix it. You're not alone, Lo, please. I know you were but you're not anymore. I woke up. I came back. You don't have to hide from me."

"I wasn't gonna lose you again!" His voice rose, just slightly, before, paling again, he breathed in sharply, "I'm sorry, Francis. It… it's already done. I… I gotta go." With another step, he held up his hand, "Don't… don't follow me."

His shout jolted Francis, a wild look of terror overtaking her. Her posture stiffened, and she looked at him, begging, pleading…

Francis dashed for the case, sliding across the infirmary floor to pick it up and hold it to her chest. "Tell. Me." Francis growled.

He didn't stop for the case, though. He didn't have to. Flinching, he paused at the door and looking back at her, he shook his head, "...It's a cure, Francis. But you… you don't need it, anymore."

"H… h-how…" Francis stuttered, staring down at the case. "Logan… how did you… what did you…" She rushed in front of him, shoving the case at his chest. "Logan… please. Please. Whatever deal you made. Whatever you think you have to do. You don't. You don't!"

"It's done..." Reaching up, he covered her hands with his, shaking his head again, "Just… let me go. You have to."

"How can you say that to me?" Francis croaked, voice cracking midway, tears welling in her eyes. Again. All over again. "How can you ask me to let you go? You know…. you know I can't just do that! Can't let you leave again. Can't… can't lose you again…"

"It's…" Squeezing her hands, his eyes filled with emotion, and releasing her, he pushed back on the door, "It's you or me, Francis. And I'm not giving you the choice. You've always been stronger… braver… You know that. I'm crap at this… at any of this. But hell if I'm gonna let them hurt you. Not again. Not ever again."

"No… no!" Francis yelped, beating her fists on his chest angrily, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. "Fuck you! You can't do that! You don't get to decide! Let me help you! Let all of us help you! Logan… Logan!"

"...Fran." Arms coming around her, Logan swore softly, "...Fran, stop. Please don't do this. Please. You… you know I can't take it when you cry. Please…"

She struggled against the hug, weakly continuing to pound at him. "You're trading lives! Y-you son of a bitch! Y-you thought you were j-j-justified?" Sobs continued to wrack her core, even though she was trying so hard to fight against them. "You can't… you can't…."

"...Shh…" Breathing out, he pulled her closer, letting the door close again, "...I'm sorry, Francis. I'm sorry… I know I messed up. But I always mess up… and I fix it. I'll fix this… just… please… trust me."

Francis gave up, falling into his embrace, savoring it between the hiccuping sobs. "N-no… you always mess up… and we fix it together." She whispered. "Please... let me help you." What if this was the last time? Last time she got to hold him? He was so stubborn. So stupid. She didn't know what he'd done but she knew enough. She knew that the cure hadn't come from anywhere. She knew that Logan would do anything for her.

"You remember the last time you saw me." She murmured desperately. "The barn. You remember the song. You remember everything because I remember it too. That was the last time I saw you. You… you want this to be the last time? Want to make a new shitty memory? We can fight it this time. You can tell me instead of trying to hide it. We can fix it before it happens… before everything gets blown to shit." She was desperate. Desperate for anything except a repeat of her horrible life. She clung to him tightly. "Please."

"I… God… Damn it, Francis…" Letting her go, he rubbed the back of his neck, "I never regretted that memory… Not once. Not one damn time. That… that was the only thing that kept me going, all this time. Till you showed up here, till I knew you were alive again. And then… then the virus, and I just… I saw you there and I thought I was gonna lose you. There's nothing to hide. I can't… we… we can't fix this. Unless you let me go, right now…"

"That's bullshit," She blurted miserably, harshly dragging her hands over her face. "What, he said he's kill me? Kill you? We can stop them! We can fight back! What you're doing… what you're doing is worse than letting me die." It was a bold claim. She wasn't sure it was true. But she couldn't let him go. "Logan… I… how many times are you going to make me beg you?"

"Don't you get it, Fran? Nothing is worse than letting you die. Not to me." His eyes burned, and blinking, he took a step away, "...You should finish it, Fran. The song." Another step, "I meant what I said in the barn that day… It was good."

She could feel him pulling away. Slipping away. Leaving her all over again. Fuck. No… no… she couldn't lose him… he couldn't just walk away like that. Eyes stinging all over again, Francis cried out as she reeled her fist and thrust a punch his way.

The tingling sensation roared up his spine, the hairs on his arms standing on end and swiftly, Logan dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the hit as his eyes shifted to Francis, narrowing, "Stop it! Don't you get it, Francis!? You never get it! I would set fire to the Goddamn planet to keep you safe, and you just.. You never get it… It's already in motion! I can't reverse it! I can't change it! And I don't want to… not if it means…" Holding up his hands, he took a bigger step back, straightening to his full height, "...It's done. Just… stay here. Your friends will keep you safe. Stay here."

"Fuck you!" Francis spat, tears blinding her vision. "You're selfish and you think you're not! You think you're righteous? Th-think you're doing the right thing? Think leaving me here… watching you commit suicide over me is the only way?" She wrapped her arms around herself, out of options. Out of ideas. "Why… why do you have to do this for me? Why?"

"Because I…" Pausing… no, slamming into the wall as the words came to his lips, Logan grit his jaw, and his gaze fell, as he forced them back, forced them down, "...I really am sorry…" With two more steps back, he turned, and breathing out, he hurried back the way he'd come.

She knew the answer. That was the worst part. In the absence of his words it finally clicked. Finally came. Sobs spilled out of her as she watched him go, watched him run, and squeezing her eyes shut, Francis plowed her fist into the wall beside the door, once, twice, three times, desperate to make something hurt more than how much she was hurting now.

It had started off slow. It had started off playful, at least, it had in Lucas' eyes. He had been watching the entire conversation, even as it escalated into an extremely concerning altercation. Oh...Oh God. So many revelations and emotions and regrets and admissions that never truly came to light yet did all at once--his head was spinning. Spiraling into a pit of pure, unfiltered confusion and panic as Fran unraveled. This...What was he supposed to do? What did friends do in this situation?

It was the monstrous punches that yanked his fight back down to solid ground. Heart dropping through the floor, Lucas swallowed shallowly and, activating his diamond skin, he approached Fran. Slowly. Carefully. He attempted to reach out for her shoulder. "F...Fran? Hey, it's okay. It's...fuck." Words--why were words so damn hard? Why did his species have to rely on them so damn much? Talking had never been his strong suit, especially not in situations such as these.

Four. Five. Six. Her hand was cracking. She could feel it breaking, but she couldn't feel the pain. Her stupid powers didn't let her feel the pain. Lucas' touch snapped her out of her assault on the wall, and she swung blindly at him with her other hand, shoulders shaking, heart shattered.

Lucas saw the swing coming and took it to the jaw fully, completely, with open arms. His hide withstood the hit, but his head couldn't help but snap to the side at the moment of impact, stance faltering. However, he caught himself and approached again, gritting his teeth. He planted both hands on her shoulders this time. "Fran! Fran, stop!" he pleaded.

At the blurred sight of Lucas' head snapping back, Francis slowed, raising her fist weakly once more but dropping it at his pleas. "He left." Francis whispered brokenly. "He's not coming back."

Lucas didn't know what to say. What was the right response? What could fix this? Destroy the pain seizing her? Hatred threatened to race up Lucas' spine, the burning sentiment geared towards himself for being such a useless friend, towards Logan for reducing her to this heartbreaking state...Fuck. He never thought he'd ever feel like this again. So weak and... He forced the thoughts aside, opting instead to look at Fran's busted hand, a shaky sigh escaping him. "Fran...Ch-christ, sweetness…" Carefully, his fingers curled around her wrist, studying the injury with stinging eyes. He hated this. He locked eyes with her, shaking his head. "I, I-I'm sorry, Fran. I'm so sorry. I don't know what...w-what to say or…"

It's okay. He just wanted to say that everything would be okay, but the crippling distraught in Fran's eyes set those flimsy words aflame. Nothing but useless ashes resting in the back of his head.

A weak hiccup escaped Francis as his fingers curled around her broken hand. She was pathetic. This was pathetic. Face a mess of tears, still shaking with sobs, Francis collapsed onto Lucas, wrapping her arms around his middle. She couldn't do anything but cry.

Lucas accepted the hug without hesitation, his diamond armor receding. It wasn't the wisest thing to do; Fran was upset, broken down, and could lash out again at any moment, but he understood this level of pain. An agony so tauntingly out of reach from logic and comprehension, that you can't do anything but let it destroy you from the inside out. And in those moments, it was the warm, living touch of another person that hauled them back to the surface, no matter how long it took.

"I'm sorry, Fran," he echoed, hugging her close. One hand slid up to run through her hair. It was what he'd want, what he'd seek out in the midst of falling apart, so he would do everything in his power to provide that for his friend. "It's gonna be okay. I p-promise, it's gonna be okay. You'll see." He repeated this over and over, his voice dwindling to a pained, shaky whisper.

She tried desperately hard to cling onto his words. They were soft and gentle, something she lacked at the time being. Slowly the pain of her mangled hand began to creep in, and Francis couldn't figure out which type of pain the tears were for anymore. She thought about how helpless she was. How she had tried every single thing to keep Logan from running off and it still didn't work. It had happened all over again. The raid. The deaths. It was going to happen again, and once more, Francis couldn't stop it.

Lucas was the only thing keeping her from viciously slamming her other hand into the wall. His soft words and soothing touches kept her from lashing out, kept her warm in his embrace, sinking in defeat, drowning in regret. She wanted to run. To hide. Like a coward. But she couldn't. The only thing she could do was sink into Lucas, clinging on for dear life.

 

[KatSea]

Collab: The Makings of a Bromance, Thaddeus @Elle Joyner

Levi couldn't help after a long(but shorter than he would have liked it) period of time cuddling Daisy, uncurl himself from her. He figured he should go double check on the infirmary. He wasn't entirely sure if his friends were ready to rock and rumble, but he wanted to make sure they were at least still their normal selves. Besides, he had grown to miss them once again. The odd amount of serenity and solution sent shivers down his back. Everything felt...well, better. It didn't necessarily sit well with him, and without hesitation, he made his way back down to the infirmary. He felt a slight tremble at his hands and he clenched them to muffle it out.

"I shouldn't be gettin separation anxiety already." He grumbled, recalling something his brother had informed of years ago when he was first entangling himself with other women. Something referred to as the honeymoon period. A chemical upset after an extended period of time was spent with physical or romantic contact. A phase of sorts. Peter referred to it as "the fuzzy brain" affect. An physical addiction to another person. Levi thought it was silly at the time, although now he realized there may have been truth in Peter's words. He didn't like to admit when his brother was right(which was most of the time).

Grumbling, he pushed himself through into the infirmary. He blinked. Huh. He cuddled longer than he had expected. It's no matter. He could probably find the others easily. Lucas and Francis most likely didn't go far. There were only their rooms and the cafeteria he could truly think of, as well as the sparring room. Nick probably lied in the same area of thought, so relief flooded through him. Tempted to turn on his heel, his eyes caught a glance of Thaddeus, his appearance seeming weary. Levi couldn't blame him. This whole situation was beyond exhausting, and despite himself, gratitude flooded through him.

"Hey there, uh, Thad." Levi greeted with a small smile, swiveling back to face the man. He cleared his throat. "Um, I was just comin to check in on the patients, but I see that they are back up on their feet…" His eyes glided over to the wall, blinking a he noted a large hole plastered into the wood. "I'm not going to even ask." He grumbled, shaking his head. "I just wanted to say thank you for what you did. I'm very appreciative."

Thaddeus looked up when his name was called and for a moment, he was confused by the commentary, before it clicked that he had seen the man before, hanging around those plagued by the virus… those folks and Daisy.

A brow lifted, and he nodded, "Just doing my job. Have we met? Sorry, if we have… Your name escapes me…"

"Oh! Sorry." Levi let out a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "I just knew you were one of the healers that helped out. I was here to check up on some folks and uh, they seem to be gone now. I just figured I give you some thanks anyway. You pretty much helped save my family. Um...I'm Levi, by the way. I'm sorry if I never properly introduced myself. I keep forgetting my name isn't embedded into my shirt or something."

Looking down at his own name, labeled on his jacket, Thaddeus smirked faintly, "Yes. Me and Daisy. Though I believe the two of you have met? Well, nice to meet you, Levi. And I appreciate the gratitude. It's been a trying few days, but I'm sure your friends will be alright, now.

"Yes yes. Daisy did a wonderful job patching me up after Miami went to hell." He rolled his shoulders back at the recollection, swatting at the thoughts cascading in his head about how he also shared pie and snuggled beside her. He grinned instead of letting it get to him. "Good. Good. That's a relief if I ever did hear it. Those kids mean the world to me, you know?"

"I'm sure. We've got a pretty close knit bunch here, too, so I imagine it wasn't easy to go through all that. For them or for you." With a shrug, Thaddeus returned his attention to organizing his desk again, but not dismissively, continuing with an even, easy tone, "So… You're the GSW to the shoulder?"

"Well, they are safe now. For which I owe you and the Orlando base an arm and a leg." He commented with a polite nod, his head tilting as he watched the man work. He felt a similar atmosphere when his brother would pull out his notes but continue the same conversation. Im gonna do my smart stuff but I don't want you to leave because you entertain. "Oh, er, yes I was. They always dramatize the getting shot thing you know? Or under so. I didn't exactly cradle my wound and tell my loved ones goodbye. It more felt like, er…" Pain shot up in his shoulder, a grimace pleasant along his face as the illusion returned. "It felt like fire." The mirage trickled away and he returned to his normal demeanor. "But hey, ladies dig the scars."

"Daisy left a scar, did she?" The question bore an edge to it, the corner of his lip tipping up in an amused smirk.

"She did an amazing job on it, actually." Hesitantly he lowered his collar, just to reveal the edge of where the wound used to be. "There's practically no sign of it."

"Yes. I suspected as much. She's gifted." Looking up, he shrugged, "Of course, I wasn't necessarily referring to your injury."

"Very gifted. Healed my ears a few times too." His head tilted "Hmm, what do you mean? The virus victims I assume?"

"I mean your relationship." He stated plainly, shifting a pile of papers, before pulling out another, "You and she… You've been spending quite a bit of time together."

If Levi had tea to choke on, he would have in this instant. He pounded his fist once against his chest as he worked to catch his breath. He let out a nervous chuckle. "Ah. I see you've noticed. We just spend time together, you know? I like her a bunch."

"A bunch…" There was half a smile at those words… The way you might smile at a particularly clever child, "You're aware of her rules, then? That she doesn't exactly do casual relationships?"

"Who said I was making it casual?" Levi found himself defending, cheeks burning. He cleared his throat, hoping to keep his friendly demeanor. "I am particularly aware of what and what she doesn't want."

Looking up, a brow lifted, and after a moment, he managed a smile, "Good. Daisy deserves to be happy. After everything she's been through. She's a good girl, and not enough people in her life have let her know that." Returning to his organizing, he smiled thinly, "I imagine you're aware if you hurt her in any way, you'll find yourself on the receiving end of a great deal of pain?

"If it makes you feel better I care about her very much." Levi stared down at his shoes sheepishly, feeling heat creep up on his face at the threat. He saw it coming. He would have done the same if it were Francis, to be frankly honest. He bobbed his head "Trust me, I would never hurt her."

"I can't say I trust you, as I don't exactly know you. But coming from someone who's… made mistakes, I understand to some degree how Daisy functions. And if you know that, and you're willing to commit to that, then I suppose that speaks a great deal to your character."

"Ah trust me, who hasn't screwed up royally?" Fumbling as he realized what he said, his head shot back up. "And by that I mean I've learned my lesson before hand. I… We've put down our boundaries and I'm willing to stick to them, you know? I care about her so I don't really wanna try anything, you know, uh...dumb."

Smiling dryly, Thaddeus nodded, "I know what you mean, yes. And I hope you do, Levi. Stick to them. Like I said… she deserves as much." Shuffling a few folders into bins, he looked up, "Asters… by the way. They're her favorite flower. In case you ever need to uh… repair damages."

"She deserves a lot." Levi didn't want to say that she deserved better than him, although he knew it was true. He didn't exactly want to say that in front of the man who would probably be able to remove his ability to reproduce if he hurt her. He swallowed. "Aster? Oh! Those cute little purple flowers. Thanks for the advice. I doubt I'll ever hit critical level, but if I do trip, I'll be sure to take your advice. It's much appreciated."

"And if they Asters don't work, she's got a sweet spot for pie. Any kind. Honest to God, you'd think the woman would weigh as much as a whale with how she can eat pie." Chuckling, he shifted, straightened, giving Levi a glance, "Either way… just take care of her, yeah?"

"You wouldn't believe how many pies I've already smuggled for that woman. And hush. She'd be cute no matter how much she stuffs herself with pie." Clearing his throat, he squirmed slightly where he stood. "Yes sir. That was my intention from the start"

"Then I suppose there's nothing to worry about." He said, with a smile, "I wish you well, Levi. Truly."

"Thank you." Levi bobbed his head. "I was almost scared you wouldn't. But truly, i promise I won't be a doofus. Well, I take that back. I won't be a harmful doofus. Keep up the good work in here. Keeping all of our lucky asses alive."

"Will do…" He answered, with a chuckle, "Though maybe no more plagues, yeah…"

Levi made his way up to Thad's desk, and with a stone cold demeanor, he rapped his knuckles against the desk. "Oi, no jinxing us Thad." He broke out into a smile without thinking as he stepped back. "No promises though."

"God. You Miami people…" Thaddeus mused, with a smirk, "Get outta here, before Daisy thinks I was interrogating you or something."

"Gnarly bruh." Levi, despite himself, held out his thumb and pinky and shook his hand. Rolling his eyes he stepped to the door. "Just tell her I was brave if she does assume that. Because honestly you nearly scared the crap out of me for a moment."

"Sure… Cause I'm a terrifying bloke…" He grinned, shooing a hand towards the door, "Now get…"

"With those sweeping locks." He rolled his eyes and leaned against the door frame, resting the back of his hand on his forehead "Hate to see me go but love to watch me leave.."

With a palm to his face, Thad shook his head, "And suddenly, I get why you appeal to that little nerd." With a salute, he waved.

"She's always loved you like a brother!" He exclaimed mischievously before slipping out the door into the hallway. He made sure it shut on the way out

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Someone to Lean On
Collab with @Elle Joyner

Finn knew he'd promised Luna he was going to sleep, and he meant too, but he just needed to go make sure Rose was alright. It was probably time to bring her back to her own bed. Exhausted after the overflow of emotion, Finn trudged back to the infirmary, not exactly keen on being back in the place, but happy that he was going to take Rose away.

"Hey," Finn hummed tiredly, smiling weakly up at her. "Ready to get out of this place?"

Rose had sat as patiently as she could manage, knowing fully that if she'd left on her own, Finn might panic and assume the worst. He was spent. She could see it when she woke… the exhaustion, physical and emotional, lining every inch of him, and it was all she could do when he finally returned not to tell him off (in her own loving, gentle fashion) for not going straight to his room to sleep.

With a smile of her own, she pushed out of bed and carefully, rose to her feet, "Yes. Oh, so ready. And you…" She mused, with the barest edge of insistence, "You need to rest…"

Finn let out a sighing laugh, reaching for her hand and trying to drink up her presence. Her warmth bit away the iciness that had built in the pit of his gut, and beneath the exhaustion his eyes glimmered. "Who… me?" Finn said quietly, a hint of playfulness behind his time. "Maybe if you stay with me… I'll consider. But you.. you probably don't want to go back to bed after being in one for so long."

"I don't mind…" She murmured softly, lacing her fingers through his. The last time they'd rested together, he'd been cruelly yanked away by Yul, accused of a terrible crime. It felt like ages since all that had happened, even if it was only a few days… and she was ready to get back to whatever semblance of normal they could achieve, "I'd rather be with you than on my own, anyway…"

Was it good that she wanted to be with him? He wasn't sure. He was a wreck right now, and Finn wanted more than anything to be her rock. So much had happened. Rose needed stability… he didn't think of himself as exactly stable. But the thought of collapsing into his bed alone, left with unfiltered thoughts, scared him. So he simply nodded, guiding her to his room, focusing on her hand in his. Her presence. "Luna's getting married." Finn mumbled absentmindedly.

Blinking, Rose took in the news with a bit of uncertainty, before a small smile formed, "Good for her. After all everyone's been through… A little happiness goes a long way." Her other hand came up to his forearm, and she leaned gently against him, smile softening, "Been a lot of bad stuff… maybe we're finally moving towards something better."

He thought about Penny's dad. Deck's kid. The virus. Were they even moving in the right direction? Every rescue lead to another type of defeat. "..Maybe." Finn echoed, glad for her comforting touch. "We're probably gonna have to go rescue Deck's kid soon. I mean.. I.. I will."

"Wait…" Blinking, Rose paused, looking to Finn in confusion, "Deck… Deck has a kid?? When did… You sure it was only three days?"

Swearing under his breath, Finn brought a hand to his forehead. "U-um.. it's… confusing. But it's only been three days, I swear…" He tried to figure out how best to explain. "So we… went on this mission to rescue Penny from Deck's crazy ex wife Alys who murdered Rebecca… Alys also took Penny's dad.. so we rescued him too… then Alys was all like… 'Deck, our child is alive and I gave him to Keegan's evil twin brother!' So now we gotta… gotta go do that." Finn rambled, exhaustion lacing his words. "It's probably not good."

"P...Penny's dad… Aly… ex… wow." Breathing out, Rose blinked slowly, "That… that's not exactly what I was expecting to wake up to, "That's crazy… You okay? Bad enough you had to deal with being in that cell… And then the virus. But the rest… that's a lot."

"Uhm… I…" Finn murmured, gaze low. "Yeah… It's… I don't know. I'm.. not doing so great. It's been a rough couple of days… but I'll be okay. Things will lighten up a bit."

Frowning softly, Rose's grip on his hands tightened, "Finn… You know you don't have to do this with me, right? That… that you can talk to me? I know I was out of it for a few days, but… but please don't feel like you can't tell me what's bugging you."

His gaze fell on hers, eyes filled with uncertainty. "I…" Finn swallowed, feeling the dryness of his throat. "Rose… I know I can talk to you. I do. Just… not sure what I've got left to say. I gotta rest, after all that's happened… I think that'll be enough."

"O...oh. Okay." She wouldn't push. She could see the strain. See the weariness. But if he couldn't confide in her, because he was tired, or because… well, for whatever reason, then she could only hope he would find someone to talk to, "Let's get you back, then."

Finn nodded, still keeping close to her as they made it to his room. His barren room. One bed. One desk. One dresser. Not home. Finn dragged himself to the bed, despite barely wanting to collapse on it. "Please… stay." He begged her quietly. "Y-you can go once I fall asleep, I just… I don't wanna be alone."

"I wasn't planning on leaving." She said softly, settling down beside him, "Why would I leave?"

Gingerly, she reached out to brush the hair from his eyes, frowning, "I know that I'm not Luna… or Keith… and that… that we haven't been together very long. But I… I'm never not going to be there for you. These last few days, I know that it was hard on you. Please… please let me hold some of the weight?"

He blinked at her in shock, her words striking a chord in him that hadn't been played before. He'd been so obsessed with not telling Rose anything, because he didn't want her to have anymore weight on her shoulders. But here she was… asking for it. Finn nodded, and reaching out, he fell into her arms, wrapping his own around her as he buried his face in her shoulder. "There's so much happening to everyone… I… I keep feeling like I shouldn't feel. I just want to be able to help everyone else… but I feel like such shit." He murmured into her shirt, clutching tightly.

Running her fingertips through his hair, she sighed softly, "Only good thing Harper ever taught me, Finn… is that you can't always be the hero. Sometimes, someone's gotta save you. Sometimes, you just have to… leave it up to someone else, entirely. This fight… it's important, but not if you go and knock yourself out fighting it. And you're no good to anyone if you stretch yourself too thin, trying to save the whole world."

His eyes fluttered closed, relaxed by her touch, though still clutching onto her. "But… I.. I'm supposed to be stronger than this.. aren't I? Everyone else has gone through so much and they're still going and I'm breaking. I've finally got a hold on my powers… I'm finally useful… why can't I keep it together?"

"Stronger than what, sweetie? Feelings? Emotions? No one's stronger than that. They may be able to take more, but that doesn't mean they don't all have breaking points. It's not weakness to care…" Leaning back, she sighed, arm looped around him, "You try too hard to bear everything alone, and you're always gonna fall apart."

Finn clung to her every word, trying to quench the aching in his heart. "I was so scared." Finn mumbled. "These past few days… I.. it just never stopped. The fear. I watched you get sick… they locked me in that c-cell and I could almost hear Harper's voice." He whispered shakily. "Then Penny…. and it all just… I felt like I couldn't breathe."

"One of those at a time is a lot to deal with, Finn. You went through all of it at once. Honestly? I'd be more worried about you if you weren't a mess." Fingers slipping into his, she sighed, "You need to sleep. Take a few days to recharge. It's okay to let someone else hold up the world there, Atlas."

"Hm." Finn said with a small smile, considering the nickname. Holding her hand, Finn laid himself down fully on the bed, staring up at her. "Okay." He whispered. "Thank you."

Sliding down beside him, she brushed back his hair, leaning in to kiss his forehead, "Don't need to thank me. It's just what you do when you love someone."

He relished in the kiss, of the touch of her lips against his forehead. Squeezing her hand, he looked her in the eyes, searching for an answer. "Am I doing a good job at it?" He murmured. "...loving you?"

"Not exactly super experienced…" She admitted softly, "But I don't see how you could be doing anything but a good job. Since I don't think I've ever been so happy…"

Finn sighed, eyelids drifting shut. "I just want to do right by you." He said quietly. "I just want the people I love to be happy."

"Well...I can't speak for anyone else, but so far, Finn, I don't have any complaints." Smiling brightly, she let her hand fall, hooked over his waist, "Now… no more worrying. That is… um… an order."

He laughed lightly, and pressed their foreheads together. "Okay, ma'am. I'm gonna go to sleep now. Sound good?" Finn said gently, a smile present on his lips despite the dark rings under his eyes.

"Sounds perfect." She mused, tipping her chin to give his lips a peck, "...I'll be right here, when you wake up. Promise…"

Promise. The word sent a shiver down his spine, and he barely reciprocated the kiss, eyes squeezing shut. "What if you get wrongly accused of murder?" Finn mumbled against her lips.

"They can try to move me… but I'm not budging. For the next few hours, anyway, Finn… nothing… not anything on this planet… is gonna get near you but me." Smiling, she let her own eyes fall closed, surprised to find out tired she still was, "Now… didn't we agree, no worrying?"

Finn tried to stop himself from stiffening against her touch, watching as her own eyes fell closed. But how did she know? How did she know nothing wasn't going to interrupt them? She didn't. But she looked so peaceful, laying beside him, and he did agree. No more worrying. It was so hard not too.

Shifting, Finn closed his eyes too, swallowing through the lump in his throat. "Um… y-yeah. Okay. Right." He took a deep breath, curling against her. "Good night, Rose."

A sigh escaped, and she let her fingers trace along his arm, "...Good night, Finn…"

 

[Mobley Eats]

More Than One Broken Thing | Interactions: Lucas and Francis @CloudyBlueDay


In Lucas' arms, after all the chaos, time slowed. She was in pieces, in shatters, and as much as Francis wanted to run away, she didn't have the strength. It was hard for her not to have strength. But never had she felt so powerless, and even though she tried so hard to be strong… it always escaped her when she needed it most.

After a while Francis regained some lucidity. Realized she had fallen into Lucas' arms like a helpless little girl. Her hand throbbed, but there was no doctor around to coddle her, and Francis had absolutely zero energy to explain why she'd punched a bloody hole in the wall.

She abruptly pulled herself away from his soothing embrace, looking up at him startled, face streaked with tears. "I.. I…" Francis pulled her injured hand to her chest. What… what was she even supposed to say to him? They'd just barely pieced their relationship back together. He probably had no clue what to do with her pathetic display.

"I should go." Francis whispered.

He never let go of Francis, of course he didn't. He might've been new to this whole friends deal, but he wasn't blind to pain. He understood the concept, of the overwhelming sensations that could swallow someone whole. Surviving that ordeal all boiled down to a hand reaching out for theirs, holding on for dear life, pulling them to the surface, and Lucas was going to fight tooth and nail to be that person for Fran.

When she pulled away, Lucas had to summon a will power composed of pure steel, refusing to deflate before her. It sucked to see her like this--no, it hurt like Hell. Shaking his head, he took a step closer and curled his fingers around her wrist. "Okay then...let's go."

There was no way in Hell he was going to leave her alone. Not like this. Not after what she'd just cried over.

Francis froze in shock. Staring down at his hand around her wrist with wide eyes, she blinked. "W..what?" She blubbered. He wasn't letting her go? Why wasn't he letting her go? "Y..you… you don't have too… I can… I can go…" Go do what? Cry some more in her room alone? Wait to hear about whatever Logan was about to do? Wait until the wounds weren't so fresh, simply aching scabs? "You don't have too…" She repeated weakly, still staring at his curled fingers.

"I mean...I know that, sweetness. I know I don't have to," Lucas said, almost shyly. At first, he thought he had done the wrong thing when Fran looked at him in shock, but he couldn't fathom how caring for her could be a mistake so...Screw it. He was following his instincts and all of them were ringing like alarm bells, refusing to let his new friend suffer in loneliness. Shrugging, he continued, "But I want to. So much that I'll probs lose my head if I don't, so...yeah. You've gotta deal with me a little longer."

Francis ripped her gaze from his hand, looking up at him in shock. Her lip trembled. "I.. I've.. gotta deal with you?" A frantic laugh bubbled up out of her mouth. "Y-you're the one dealing w-with m-m-me." She stuttered.

"Nu uh, I don't wanna hear that, sweetness," Lucas said, voice firmer than before. "Don't talk about yourself like you're...some kinda chore or some shit. You're human. And my friend. Whatever...things you go through, I'm always there, got it? That's how this works."

She couldn't believe her ears. Days ago she knew an entirely different Lucas. Granted, a few things had happened along the way, but… he wasn't letting go. He wasn't running away, like someone just had. And as much as she wanted to lift her chin, puff her chest, call it a day… she couldn't.

"Got it." Francis echoed quietly. She was stunned, but in a good way, in the best way. "Can… we… we go to my room?"

Lucas brightened a little, cheeky smile and all. A disguise, a cover up for the concern slowly eating away at his insides like a rabid beast, but if his powers involved turning into a humanoid shiny rock, then he had to be one for Fran. "As long as you got a First Aid Kit there? Then hell yeah, of course we can," he chuckled lightly.

Oh. His comment had her attention snapping back to her mangled hand, which she held up awkwardly. "I have some supplies in my pack." She murmured, unable to reciprocate any joke. Francis was dimly aware of the uncomfortable hospital gown she'd been saddled with, but she hadn't seen any of her belongings nearby. "Th-they.. probably put our stuff in o-our rooms." She mumbled, nodding him forward, but waiting to go until he was fully by her side.

"Cool," Lucas said, relief coiling about the underbelly of his voice. It was nothing powerful, nothing easy to pick up on, but it was steadily growing by the second. At Fran's gesture, he walked with her to her room and entered almost on awkward feet. Huh, now that he thought about, he'd never been in her room. Neither in Miami or Orlando. It shouldn't be a big deal, especially since Yul sapped all signs of...life from each room with his strict rules, but it was...in a way impossible for him to describe. Regardless, he tried to shake the thought away.

Patch up Fran's fist and then...patch up whatever else he could. Would attempt to do, anyway. His hand had never left her wrist during their walk and so, when he turned to her, he gave a gentle tug and said, "Soooo...about that pack, sweetness? Point it out and you take a load off, kay?"

Her head was running a million miles a minute on the walk to her room, but his presence beside her, the touch on her wrist was keeping her calm. She was filled with anger and hurt but it no longer spilled over. Francis had found herself reduced to a quiet sort of pain, holding both physical and emotional ache. Her eyes were glassy as they entered the room, and she caught sight of her neatly folded clothes and waist bag placed on the dresser.

For the first time Francis finally pulled away from Lucas, and pointed out her pack silently. Then she moved to the bed, sitting awkwardly on the edge, fingers uncurling to place the little lioness on the bedside table. With a shuddering breath, she leaned back on the bed, bringing her mangled hand to her chest and closing her eyes. Just for a moment. Just to try and breathe.

Lucas expected her to pull away at some point, he obviously did, and it was nothing short of common sense after he told her to have a seat. Logical. Completely. And yet, a worried thump set off in his chest and he distracted himself with retrieving the pack. He searched the contents quickly, snagging some pain pills and a small roll of gauze, among other things. He grinned, "Jackpo…"

And then he saw something else. It wasn't his place to snoop, hell no, especially not right now, but he couldn't help but notice a few things. Retracting the polaroids, he approached Fran and sat next to her, and held them up for her to see. "Hey, uh...got pills and bandages and, uh, pics. I-if that's not cool touching them, I can't totally put them back. I didn't mean to, like, invade or anything, sweetness, just…" He swept his hair back, a tad annoyed with himself. Damn, was he babbling? Seriously?

If it were any other day… she probably would have smacked the pictures out of his hands. But it wasn't any other day, and it was almost ironic that Lucas pulled them out now of all times. Silently Francis forced herself with a grunt to sit back up and took the polaroids from his hand, gently, ignoring the medicine and gauze, one by one laying them out on the bed. Her eyes glistened.

There were five. One depicted a gathering of children on a grassy field, a football in the hands of a startlingly familiar blonde headed girl as she ducked and ran from a herd of bigger boys. Another was a young boy, startled by the picture, hand outstretched in a failed attempt to block his face. The third had the both of them posing, cheeks pulled, tongues outstretched. The last two were family photos; two smiling, prideful parents, one little blonde with missing front teeth, and one dejected teen boy. The fifth picture seemed a continuation of the fourth, except with the teenaged boy half out of frame, and the mother pressing a kiss down to her daughter's forehead as the father crossed his arms.

"My family." Francis said quietly, brushing the last two. "...And Logan."

"Look at you," Lucas cooed, shifting to a more comfortable position as he took in each picture. This was Fran's childhood, well, a glimpse into it. The first one nearly weeded a laugh out of him; it was insane how easily he could envision this, Fran Wham Bam just whooping the boys' butts in football like a champ. Defying the odds and blowing peeps out the water, it was so her. However, when she confirmed it was Logan in the memories, his smile faded a little, only for a moment, before cementing back into place.

"Man...I always knew you were a cutie, sweetness, but these just confirm it." Lucas almost wiggled his eyebrows, but figured stepping over that boundary wasn't smart right now. It was odd. Ever since that conversation with Devon, he was starting to realize how much effort was needed to crank the flirting down to something less...troublesome, he guessed. It would take some getting used to. "And that's, uh...Logan. You guys look so happy, man. With your family and everything too…" he trailed off, unsure how to approach the topic further. He didn't want to accidentally tread into sensitive territory.

"Yeah." Francis muttered, picking up the picture of Logan and her grinning at the camera. She studied it with a new sense of dread. "We were happy." Abruptly, Francis turned away from him, taking the picture and curling onto the bed. It took everything she had not to crumple the picture right there. Anger radiated from her in waves, as if glaring into the memory of that little boy's eyes would fix the problems of the present.

"Whatever Logan's about to do… I hope you… I hope you don't blame me for it, Lucas." She whispered.

Lucas sighed, sitting forward to rest his elbows on his thighs, hands clasped over his mouth. He wasn't sure if his hearing was failing or if reality was playing cruel jokes with him, but he could've sworn that he heard Fran say that he would possibly blame her. He shook his head in clear disbelief, casting her a side glance. "I'm...going to act like you didn't just say that, sweetness," he muttered. "His actions are his and his alone. I mean...there might've been motivations or whatever that you think is because of you but...at the end of the day, he made the choice. I just don't wanna see you beat yourself up over anything that might happen, you know?"

Weak. So weak. He wished he could say something better, more eloquent and uplifting, but it was all his mind could scrape up in this moment. The only aspect he could lean upon was the pure honesty within them.

"He made a choice for me." Francis muttered. "He's doing something in my name." She swept her thumb over the photo. "He always did stuff like that. Always tried to take the blame. Always tried to protect me." Though she wasn't crying or trembling anymore, her voice held a different type of raw emotion. Brokenly empty. Not quite enough to betray the fact that she was simply out of tears left to spill.

"It's not fair," She decided, placing the picture face down on the bed and screwing her eyes shut. "It's not fair."

"Fran…" Lucas fell silent, retreating back into his own head as he tried to formulate the right words. What Logan did, what he had seen and heard...it was awful. Simple and clean as that, no matter whatever circumstance was lurking in that man's closet. At the end of the day, he was something amazing and worthwhile...Fran's best friend. And as a best friend, his actions had done this...Fuck. Fuck.

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck, looking ahead. "You're right. None of that was fair, sweetness, none of it. Man, I...The world's real good at fucking us over sometimes. A lot of times. But uh...I'm at least glad you're way stronger and supported than it gives you credit for. I...don't wanna just say that this shit will pass, cuz emotions like the ones you're feeling just don't...work like that." He reached out to give her arm a supportive pat, froze at last second, then retracted, hands folding tightly in his lap. "Just...now it's high time to make a choice for yourself, sweetness. Let the pain and past swallow you up or let it push you forward? You don't need an answer to that now, but…"

Francis laid still as Lucas spoke. She hung on to his every word, no matter how much he thought they weren't eloquent enough. Fact of the matter was that she wasn't an eloquent person. She peered over her shoulder at him, just in time to watch him retract his hand, and finally her heart felt something other than strife. He was trying. Harder than anyone had in a long time, and damn it, harder than Logan had.

She pushed herself up with her good hand and rested her bad one on his thigh. An invitation to begin assessing the damage. A start. "No… you're right." Francis murmured, taking a deep breath, trying to find her strength again. "I'd prefer if it pushed me forward." She joked meekly, rubbing her arm. "I'll… I'll start working on that."

Lucas blinked in surprise when her mangled hand appeared, leaving it open for treatment. That...Words couldn't describe how relieved he was to see at least a speck of a reaction, a non-negative one. For the slightest moment, he was certain that he had said the wrong thing somewhere, but apparently that wasn't the case. Flashing a lopsided smile, he cradled her hand carefully and started patching her up. "Good. Cool. And uh...you'll start working with us by your side. Me, Nick, Levi...We're all here, sweetness," he said. "And heads up...might sting a little." He hadn't forgotten the mistake he pulled while dressing Levi's wound.

A smile bubbled up on her lips through the winces of pain. "With you." She echoed, feeling lighter every second. Francis had never thought of her small Rogue family like this. It was so hard for her to lean on someone else, but she was coming to realize it was an option. Something she needed now more than ever, no matter how hard it was.

Sharply inhaling as Lucas dressed the wound, her eyes wandered to the photos strewn about the bed. "I need one with you," Francis murmured quietly. "And Levi… and Nick. A picture."

Lucas followed Fran's gaze, his smile widening a tad. "Not a bad idea," he said, voice lighter at the thought of sharing a photo with her and the others. A family photo. There was the brief spike of anxiety, but it withered and died rather quickly. Movies always glorified the concept of a family photo, a sentimental tradition, universal. It'd be nice to finally understand it, to experience it. "Don't know if we'd be tall enough to fit in the frame though...I call riding on Nick's shoulders. He's got the muscles for it, I felt them earlier," he chuckled.

She laughed weakly. "Guess I'll get a ride from Levi, then." With her free hand she brushed her hair behind her ear, watching the bandages envelop her bloodied knuckles. Francis knew she would have to go get it actually fixed, but.. this was good for now. Gave her a moment to bask in the repercussions. Gave her a moment to breathe with someone she trusted by her side.

The thought shocked her for a moment. She trusted Lucas. Had she always, or was it new? She had always tried to fight against it. Trusting someone, for fear of losing them again, losing them like she had her whole family and.. and.. Logan. But Lucas was sitting right in front of her, meeting every unsavory thought with a reassuring warmth, cleaning her wounds, making her better. Francis couldn't help the realization that she was suddenly looking at him.. differently.

"Thank you, Lucas." She murmured, eyes meeting his. An apology was rare. A thank you was rarer. The emptiness in her eyes had been penetrated by something a little bit warmer.

"No problem," Lucas said, eyes trained on her hand. He knew his way around treating wounds in a time crunch, but this wouldn't work for long. He...wasn't sure if he'd be able to convince Fran to venture back to the infirmary anytime soon, but he'd keep trying, keep thinking of ways to gently sway her. It was the most he could do. No, the least.

However, when he looked back up, intending it to be a casual trading of glances, he gave pause, noticing the warmth in her eyes. That was...new. Definitely new. And definitely not unwelcomed. Was this what friendship produced? The impossibly fragile and unbeatable comfort draping over him? If so...then he almost wanted to slap himself for taking so long to bond with Fran Wham Bam like this. Why the Hell had he been running away from this?

Awkwardly, he cleared his throat before muttering, "There, done. Your hand will be okay for now, but we'll get around to visiting the infirmary in a bit?" He said this with a more suggestive and questioning lilt, shrugging sheepishly.

Francis blinked as he cleared his throat, looking away awkwardly, cheeks red. "Um.. yeah. In a bit." She murmured, trying to push it off for as long as possible. Her hand still hurt. Her heart still hurt. The image of Logan, turning, running, giving up on the both of them would haunt her. The sad part was, she wanted to feel the sting of her broken hand for as long as possible. Both to remind her of what had caused it, and to try and focus on something other than her spinning head. It still hadn't fully sunk in. Hell, finding Logan again after five years hadn't sunk in.

Now he was gone.

The warmth left her eyes but her hand didn't leave his lap. Francis looked down, trying to hold in any other spout of emotion. "I'll just rest for now." She said weakly. "You can go."

Lucas almost pouted when she looked away, but decided not to press about it. Besides, her next statement warranted more of his attention. Cautiously, he asked, "I mean...do you want me to, sweetness?"

She fell silent. Shoulders hung weakly, Francis stared intensely at the bed covers, trying to hold in anymore tears. Trying so hard not to let go and break all over again. "...No." Francis whispered, feeling horrible for saying it. Lucas had patched her up. Held her as she cried. He'd done enough. He shouldn't have had to do it all over again, so damn it, why couldn't she just suck it up?

Lucas hummed casually, though he watched Fran carefully. The dejection that followed her answer wasn't missed; hell, he'd be blind or an asshole to skim over it. He didn't know the exact origin of the change, but he was a guy who ran on hunches. This was all personal turmoil, internal conflict, and something about the answer hurt Fran. So, he wouldn't prod. "Well then, guess I'm staying. And uh, between you and me?" His voice suddenly dipped into a playful whisper, as if he was sharing a scandalous secret. "I'm clingy as hell, sweetness. It'll be a pain in the butt, but you know I'm needy like that, so," he shrugged again, "Yeah. I'm here."

For all her self doubt, Lucas didn't seem to mind an inch of it. He never flinched. Never jumped and ran off. Despite what she thought was her own pathetic melodrama, Lucas continued to hum, to joke, pulling her out of her sadness. She couldn't help it as a smile graced her lips, tugged at her warm cheeks. With her good hand, Francis tugged at the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for a hug, once again allowing her head to dip into his shoulder, breathing a soft sigh of relief into his shirt.

Lucas almost yelped when he was literally pulled into a hug, but relaxed as soon as Fran's intentions clicked, hands resting rigidly in his lap. The rest of him slumped, hoping to be a comfortable shoulder for her head to rest upon. He almost didn't know what to do with his hands, himself, anything; before all of the scares and dangers had befallen their lives, a hug from him promised wandering touches, but now...He had to stop and think. Truly figure out what to do and where.

Biting the inside of his cheek, he went for a semi-safe approach and rested a hand on Fran's back, patting it soothingly. "Well, shit. Somebody pinch me," he chuckled gently, "You're a damn good hugger, sweetness. Kinda rude keeping all this to yourself. Just saying."

She laughed into his shoulder, grip tightening. "Y-you think so?" Francis mumbled, finding it hard to pull away. It was times like these she wished she could just… jump out of her own skin. Stop thinking her own thoughts. How did you escape your own guilt and pain? Right now, it seemed, in the arms of another. Something she'd never allowed herself to do.

Francis didn't know how to say that she hadn't let herself let anyone in since the raid on her home. Didn't know how to say that when she found Logan, she thought she could try again, only for it to be ripped from her hands. And she didn't know how to say that somehow, in Lucas' presence, she hadn't entirely lost hope.

And she still hadn't let go. "I know I said it already, but.." Francis murmured. "Thank you. Again."

"Man, I know so, Fran Wham Bam," Lucas said. His pats had transformed into small circles, recalling how many times he envisioned the sensation upon his own back during low times. If he wanted something like that, then she probably would as well. "I'm like, a hug expert. Know all the ins and outs, the criteria and stuff. You're acing this with flying colors. Honestly?" His other hand came up to cradle the back of her head. "Might come to you for hugs more often. Err, I mean, like...I don't mean anything flirty by that. Just, uh...Yeah, I'm gonna shut up."

A brief pause, before another chuckle escaped him. "And you're welcome, sweetness. Again…Now I'm shutting up."

His touch on her back morphed into something new, a whole different type of soothing that had Francis' muscles relaxing. "N-no… don't… don't shut up." She whispered, and now if she had had any intention of pulling away, it was gone. "I'm… not… the most welcoming person, but.. I-if you want to come.. Just… do. And I'll suck it up."

"Brave soul," Lucas muttered teasingly, though his visage softened all the while, "Not very many can face up to my company. But hey, if you think you can handle it, sweetness, then game on. You'll be seeing me more often now." He paused again, the wheels in his mind turning, fighting to crank out something else. Anything to keep Fran's mood above water. "...I mean, as long as you're sure, Fran. But like, just give the word, and I'll shut my trap for real, kay?"

She nodded wordlessly against him, exhaustion overtaking her quickly. The throbbing of her hand dulled as he continued to rub circles in her back, and her free hand drifted to fall against his arm, fingers curling. "I'm sure." She whispered. "...got no word to give." It made sense in her sleepy mind.

"Brave soul and a good listener," Lucas chimed, the volume of his voice lowering more and more into something softer as he took note of Fran's peaceful breathing. What started out as sobbing breaths had now evened out, the steady rise and fall of her back against his palm reassuring. He shifted ever so slightly, making sure she was still comfortable. "So, uh...Fran? I know you...you had a rough time and all, so like...focus on getting rest soon, kay? Sleep always helps, sweetness."

Except she was already fast asleep, curled against him, lulled into a peaceful haze by his soft attention. The day had taken more out of her than she ever even knew she'd had, but after all the destruction, in wake of her rage, there was nothing left except a small girl asleep in the arms of someone who'd pulled her out of the dark.

Lucas blinked at the lack of response. It was a moment later that the realization struck him and he had to bite back a laugh at how quickly Fran fell asleep. Despite her already being unconscious, he refused to stop rubbing her back, heaving a soft sigh as he gazed ahead at nothing in particular. "Man, Fran...I'm so sorry. This whole fucked up situation. You…" He glanced down at her, his chest squeezing into itself. "You deserve better, sweetness. Way better."

He'd see to it that she'd receive just that. That was his pledge as her friend.

 

[DarinValore]

Rogue: Orlando Bunker
Deck, Penny, and Keegan
Collab: @Elle Joyner​

It had been a crazy few weeks, and while bad things...horrible things...had happened, good things had happened, too. He had discovered that Adelaide and Vance were his niece and nephew that he'd thought he'd lost all those years ago. Then there was the fact that many of his people had survived the attack and found their way to the Orlando base some of which had already been redeployed to bases around the nation. Then the most recent developments of Josie's cure and vaccine and Penny finding her father only seemed to shine even more light in a dark time. Alys had even been brought in to pay for her crimes against Rogue.

Keegan leaned against a desk, Yul only a few paces away, as he looked up at the monitors. With a nod he pushed off the desk and turned to a guard, "Fetch Deckard and Penny, please."

Since their return to base, Penny had spent as much time as possible on the task at hand. Over the course of those few days back, she had only taken a break from trying to locate Deckard's missing child to visit with Nathan… an event that was in so many ways odd as it was endearing. For years, she had assumed he was dead. For years, she had forced herself to move past his death. Now he was suddenly back in her life and in a fashion she'd never imagined before. At first, their conversations had been stilted, largely regarding how he came to find out about her, and why he'd never told her who he was, but over time, they settled back into a casual comfort that she'd found with him when he'd first come to Lola's.

Between Nate and the mission, she was about ready for a vacation... But it wasn't over yet… not by a long shot.

When the guard came to gather her and Deck at Keegan's request, she didn't waste time packing up whatever notes she and Deck had gathered, nodding to the man a little ways from her before rising, "...Ready, Big Guy?"

"Am I ready?" he asked with a smirk, "Bet your ass I'm ready."

After gathering what he needed, Deckard walked with Penny to the conference room where Keegan awaited. Stepping through the door, he offered a small nod to the man before placing his things on the desk.

"Deckard," Keegan nodded in return before turning to Penny, a small smile gracing his lips, "Temperance," he paused, "How is Nathan?"

Rubbing the back of her neck with a small, easy smile, Penny shrugged, "Other than related to me? He's good. Settling in pretty well… the folks in the Infirmary got him healed up nice. Been a long time since he just had a room with a bed and fresh coffee."

"I'm glad he's acclimating well," Keegan shifted and continued, "You've got more for me?"

"Ya," Deckard spoke up, "Kaiden has my kid."

Keegan's brow knit and then he glanced to Penny, "His kid?"

"Surprise…" Penny deadpanned, waving her hands in feigned celebration, "...Apparently the one Alys said she lost… wasn't so lost. Sounds like Kaiden took her, though I'm not entirely convinced Alys didn't just…" Looking to Deck, she bit her lip, clearing her throat, "Anyway… She spilled about it, and we've been running some recon… but we're gonna need a team."

"For one child?" Keegan replied before looking to Deckard, "I mean, can't the two of you handle that?"

"It's a nursery, Keeg." Penny answered, "In DC. I've been researching, but it doesn't look like a one-room unit in some storage facility. I think this is bigger than the two of us…"

"I see. Have you seen the schematics for the building? How many do you think you'll need? How many children are held within the facility?" Keegan asked.

"The schematics aren't public record so I'm guessing the number of children won't be either. Maybe we could have Luna look into it or something. Either way, it shouldn't really matter how many children are in there. If there are kids being held by Kaiden and RIEF, we need to get them out," Deck answered.

"Deck's right, Keegan. I seriously doubt Kaiden's teaching these kids how to count to ten and sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Whatever he's holding them for, it's bad news… The sooner we get in, the better. I'm guessing a team of… five… maybe six? I ran with Levi during Michael's rescue… He's handy to have around. Hear good things about that Ozno guy on base… maybe some heavy hitters… Francis… Lucas? I don't think stealth is gonna be the way to go with this, so the more tanks, the better."

"You're right. If my brother's involved, it can't be good. Take who you need, and have Luna look into what she can find out about the base - security, any hidden files, anything we can use against Kaiden," Keegan ordered.

Deck looked at Keegan, "Thank you," he spoke soberly.

Keegan nodded, "It wasn't too long ago I found out that members of my family were still alive. Had I known it sooner, I would have moved Heaven and Earth to find them. Good luck you two."

Pausing, Penny looked from Keegan to Deck, smiling faintly, "I'll catch you back at the room in a sec, yeah?"

"Ya," he replied, "Just don't be long. We've got work to do," he spoke with a sense of urgency, not intending to be rude before he headed for the door.

When he'd gone, she looked to Keegan and for a moment, there was something almost sheepish in her expression. Breathing out, she shook her head, "Hell...I'm just gonna say it. Keegan… I know this hasn't been a easy few weeks. And it doesn't look like it's gonna get any easier. But I want you to know that just cause I apparently have this father figure profoundly returned from the dead thing going on doesn't mean I'm gonna forget the person you've been for me all these years. You've always been like a dad to me, and… and I'm sorry if I haven't been exactly easy to deal with with all of this. But… I just didn't wanna rush off on another mission without saying something."

Keegan flashed a thin smile, "I couldn't be happier for you, Temperance. After all that you've been through, you deserve everything that's come to you, Nathan," he looked down and the corner of his lip curled up a bit more as he looked back up, "Even Deckard. He isn't the man I thought he was. Besides, you won't hear me complain about the woman you've become since you joined us. I couldn't be more proud of you."

"Damn, Boss. Gonna go and make me cry." She teased, with a smile, "Couldn't have got here.. without your guidance. And I definitely never would've been ready for a guy like Deck. He's amazing, Keegan. Thanks for givin' him a shot."

"You're welcome," he jerked his head toward the door with a smile, "Now go save some children before we both get emotional."

Laughing, she gave a salute, "Aye aye… Stay outta trouble while I'm gone." And with a nod, she turned and slipped out of his office.

 

[Elle Joyner]

---

LOGAN​

"Sometimes, Logan… you're just a barrel full of stupid, you know that?"

Glass crunched under boots, as Irene continued to sweep the remnants of the broken tumbler, tears still drying on her cheeks. A bruise was forming where the streaks had carved grooves in her blush, and Logan stared at it… glared at it.

"I don't care that he left, Rene. The creep deserves to get hit by a Mack truck for what he did to you…"

"How many times do I have to tell you?? It's not your business. It's not your place to fight my battles for me, Lo. He could've killed you." She paused her sweeping and brushed the back of her hand across her cheeks, grimacing softly.

"I'm not scared of that jerk. And I'm not gonna let him smack you around, just cause you think he's got some stupid, convoluted right…"

"He's my husband."

"He's an ass. I have half a mind to sic Fran on him."

"Logan Tyler Graham… you leave her out of this. And you stay out of it, too… I mean it. It's not your place."

It's not your place…

Outside of Keegan Hull's office, Logan paced back and forth until he'd worn the tread from the bottoms of his shoes. He'd stalled long enough… The hours locked in his room, the note he'd written… The thinking. Planning. Doubting. Hating… He had a job to do and it was time. It was time.

He was gonna throw up. Again.

Breathing in, he pressed a hand to the door, folded it into a knuckle, once… twice… stepped back. Not for the first time in the last few hours, Francis's last words to him rung in his skull, pounding, tearing at him and burrowing them deeper into his conscious mind, he balled up his fist and knocked.

Keegan was looking over the notes for the two missions underway when the knock sounded at his door. Deep in thought, he kept his nose buried in his notes as he approached the door and slowly opened it, "Come in," he spoke absentmindedly before looking up, "Oh, Logan," he snapped the file shut, "Come in, come in."

Staring at the man for a moment, Logan couldn't breathe. Every thought, every plan, every action fell out of his head, and tears burned his eyes as he stepped inside, pushing the door closed. He'd had everything worked out. Everything thought through. Every little detail.

Except how he was actually going to do any of it…

Weak...

Grimacing, he ran his hands over his face, "...S...sir… I… I think I made a mistake."

"Oh?" Keegan asked as he slid the folder under his arm to give Logan his full attention, "What mistake?"

Hand shaking slightly, Logan reached behind him, and from his waistband, he pulled out a handgun. It was guard issued, found in the locker of one of the poor souls the plague had killed. In his mind, it had seemed like the easiest option. Now it felt like he was holding an anvil on the older man.

"...I'm gonna need you to sit…"

Keegan's eyes bounced from the gun to the man before him and despite the weapon's presence, he was unnerved, "Logan, what is this about?"

"P...please…" He gestured with the barrel of the gun to the chair behind his desk, "Sit?"

A sigh slipped through Keegan's lips as he nodded and then headed around the desk. Dropping the file on the desktop, he sunk into the chair behind it, "I'm sitting," he said unamused..

"...Th… the virus, sir. I… I thought…" Gripping the gun tighter, he swallowed, "I thought they were gonna die. I… I thought Francis was… So I… I went for help."

Pressing his lips thin, Keegan hummed before he spoke, "You went to Kaiden."

"...I thought if he engineered it, he… he would know how to fix it. I didn't know it was Josie's work. I didn't know they would find a way to… I couldn't watch her die, not again, Sir. And Yul… he doesn't… he's never once changed his mind on something. Not once. I had to do something."

"You should have come to me."

"...I know…" He breathed in, shakily, "I...I panicked. I thought… I just thought… God." Palming his face with his free hand, he shook his head, "I messed up, so bad, Sir. I… I don't know what to do. When I came back... they were already out of bed, and I… It was too late. He will kill her. He will find her and he will kill her, if I don't..."

Shaking his head, Keegan tried to reassure the man, "We can move Francis every once in a while without a paper trail and keep the information on a need to know. Together - you and I - we can keep her safe until Kaiden is dealt with. You don't have to do this, son."

"H...how can you guarantee that? How?? He got to you! Destroyed Miami… Got inside this facility! There's RIEF agents here, right now! Your own nephew! How can you promise she'll be okay??" Hands shaking worse, he kept the gun raised, but his aim shifted, lowered, "I don't wanna do this… but she… I…"

"We'd have to figure that out together, but if you pull that trigger, I won't be able to help you or Francis."

His breathing staggered, eyes frantic as he fought the tears that continued to threaten to fall. Francis was strong. So strong. But RIEF had taken down stronger. He'd seen it.

Raising the gun again, his jaw clenched, shoulders tensed, "I'm sorry, Sir…"

Gripping the trigger, he shut his eyes… squeezed a little tighter…

"Augh!" Dropping his arm completely, he stumbled back, away from the desk, a hand covering his face as a sob escaped.

"It's alright, son," Keegan spoke as he stood from his chair slowly and walked around, "We'll figure this out together," he reassured Logan as he reached for the gun.

"I just wanted…" he didn't fight as Keegan took the gun, shaking his head fervently, "I just wanted to keep her safe, like I couldn't before…" looking up, Logan frowned, "They're gonna come for you, Sir. You… you won't be safe." Stepping back, Logan breathed out, "...But I… I can give them something. I can give them something to chase for a while."

"Don't worry about me," he flashed a gentle smile, "We'll focus on keeping Francis safe here. Are you sure that running is the best option for you?"

"She… she's pretty pissed. And when she finds out the whole story… well… this… it's better. I need to do this… If they're hunting me, then she can… She'll have a chance. Better than if I sit here, waiting for them to show up. I… I know don't have any rights, Sir… to ask favors of you, but could you…" Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out an envelope, holding it out shakily, "Could you give her this?"

Taking the envelope, he drummed it against his leg a few times, "You be careful, Logan. Reach out to any Rogues if you need any help, and keep your head down. Take this back. You'll need it more than I will," he extended the weapon out.

"...S...swear to me you'll keep her safe?" He asked, taking the weapon, hand still trembling, "M...maybe let her know I…" Running the back of his neck, he flushed, "Maybe tell her I couldn't… I dunno… might mean something if she knows I didn't… couldn't…"

"Sure," he smiled sympathetically, "I'll tell her. And don't worry, I'll keep Francis safe."

"I'm real sorry, Sir…" He whispered, gaze falling, "About all of this…"

"I know," Keegan told him as he squeezed Logan's arm, "Now get out of here. Kaiden won't know right away that you didn't follow through. You could get a good head start."

Moving to the desk, Logan took a pen from the holder and scribbled something onto a notepad, "You could, too, Sir. This… this is the address, where they took me. Where his office was. Might be nothing, but… but it might be more." Drying his cheeks with a swipe of his sleeve, he nodded, "Take care…"

"Thank you, Logan," he took the note, "You, too."

---

TAGS || Collab with @DarinValore

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Fragmented, Not Broken
Collab with @Mobley and @Elle Joyner

Fran slept for longer than Lucas anticipated. Of course, he had no problems with that prediction being proven wrong, hell no. Despite the numbness and light aches that permeated up his back, he had no reason to complain about his position. Holding Fran, letting her sleep, just to have an inkling of peace in the eye of this shit storm...Yeah, Lucas could definitely deal with it.

Well, not eternally. After an hour of thought, he swallowed back hesitation and gently rearranged them, laying Fran down. He reclined next to her, a small gap of distance between, but hopefully still close enough for her to sense his presence beyond the land of slumber. Security, support, promises, friendship--he wanted to exude all of that. As to whether or not it actually worked? Christ, if only he knew.

Carefully, he rolled onto his side and his gaze fell to Fran Wham Bam's face. Pain, lingering, burning, persistent--Lucas saw all of it. And yet, there was also an unaware bliss about her features that helped him breathe a little easier. It was a start. All that was left was lending her a hand whenever she needed it and the only difficulty behind that was catching the signs. But he would, no questions about it.

Lucas' thoughts expanded and folded and twisted within themselves, growing so convoluted and serene all at once that he fell into a trance of just...watching Fran. There was something nice about the action and he didn't feel like stopping anytime soon...He squinted. Was that considered creepy? ...Yeah. Probably. He needed to stop, like, yesterday.

Sighing, he forced his gaze to the ceiling, hands clasped over his stomach, silent.

She did in fact sleep much deeper than expected. The circumstances had worn on her harshly, and cradling her injury to her chest, Francis was lulled into a peaceful darkness. It was a strangely restful sleep, despite everything, and when she finally woke, it was the calmest she had felt coming out of slumber in a long time.

Coming to her senses, she looked around the room. It was her room. She was still in the hospital gown. There was breathing, a presence beside her, and Francis pushed herself up off the bed with a grunt. "L… Lucas?" She murmured, dazed, bringing her hand up to rub her eyes only to remember the bandages wrapped around it.

Everything after that came back quickly, like a punch in the gut. Logan running off, insisting the damage had been done. Rogue didn't look to be in flames yet. But that sinking feeling washed over her once more and Francis' shoulders sagged as she stared at her hand.

Fran's shifting registered before her voice did, and Lucas blinked back to reality as she woke up. Whatever contemplation or musings were running through his mind faded; another time, he could mull over them. Sitting up as well, he flashed Fran a grin. "Afternoon to you too, sleeping beauty. You slept okay?" But then her demeanor sombered, a change that Lucas caught so readily that he surprised himself. He also glanced down at her hand, biting the corner of his bottom lip. "Um...You think you're ready to get that looked at, sweetness?"

She took a while to respond, fingers curling along the bandages. "No, I… y-yeah. I slept well." Francis murmured. It was entirely true. It was just that… things didn't stay in the dark. No matter how surprisingly soothing the dark had been.

"Uh.. I.. I think so. In.. in a minute." Francis finally pulled her gaze up, looking up at Lucas. "You're.. Still in the hospital gown. You didn't go change?" She whispered, realizing that he hadn't left her alone. Thankfulness washed over her, and guilt as well. Had he felt stuck? Did he even want to stay? Yet Francis was certain that his presence had helped her rest peacefully, and she tried to swat away the pit in her stomach.

"Oh, this?" Lucas scoffed, picking at the gown in question, "I mean, I think I look pretty good in this, so I figured I start a trend or something." Not his best work. He could've drawn up a better joke than that, but it was something, at the very least. Then, his voice softened, only slightly, as he continued, "Seriously though, sweetness. You needed sleep. I wanted to be here." He shrugged. "Simple as that."

Warmth spread across her cheeks as a soft smile grew with it. She looked down, picking at the gown as well. "I think you make it work." She hummed, radiating gratitude. "I.. appreciate that, Lucas. A lot." For some reason, she felt.. Shy. It was weird for her to feel that way. It was a different type of intimacy, letting someone watch over you in your weakest moments, and Francis could feel her own anxiety radiating in waves, mixed with the softness of the moment.

"Is it okay if I.. get out of the hospital gown, first? I know we look… like.. Runway models. But I think I'd just prefer to get out of this thing."

Heh, yeah. He had seen that coming, but at least Fran was cracking jokes with him. He'd always take that as a positive sign. Nodding, Lucas stood up, adjusting his gown with a hum. "Can't agree more, sweetness. We literally do look like models, but I know you're cuter in normal threads." He almost winked, but reeled that in and continued a slightly more sober tone, "I'll go get dressed back at my room and wait for ya in the hall, kay?"

Francis nodded gratefully, a small chuckle falling out of her as she pushed herself to the edge of the bed. "Sounds good." She said, voice a little bit firmer as she offered him one last smile. It wasn't perfect, but it was something to make him at least feel a little bit better about leaving her alone.

The moment he left Francis let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair as she greeted the near empty dresser drawers. It was a relief to peel off the hospital gown, and even if nothing here was actually hers, it was still an improvement. Opting for a hoodie and yoga pants as per usual, Francis slipped out into the hallway as quickly as possible, trying not to leave herself any more time than necessary to deal with her own head.

Lucas made sure to move quickly. Well, not to the point of where he let the nervousness show in his steps, but he sure as hell wasn't going at a slow pace either. He hated this; not the feeling welling up in his gut, but the fact that he had no idea how to handle it, how to keep it in check. For someone who spent so many years keeping his emotions in order, this was a daunting experience.

But still, when Lucas slipped into his room, he wasted no time. He settled for jeans and a sweater that was...a tad big on him. Very big. Fine, he could own up to that, and he did so with pride. No man could rock noodle arms better than him. So...there.

Right before he left, he couldn't help but pause and realize how...wrong his wardrobe felt. All of his favorite outfits and supplies, gone, blown to bits in Miami. Damn...He really needed to talk to Penny about that at some point; it would suck, but he'd have to ask her for help eventually. At the rate he was going...Lucas shook his head. Fran. Fran was waiting.

Soon, he came upon her waiting in the hall for him and nearly pouted. "Man, you change fast, sweetness! I'm holding a rematch over your head for later, got it?" A teasing smile pulled at his lips.

Francis grinned at him lightly, hands hidden in the pocket of the hoodie. Now that she was well rested, the pain had been dulled to an ache, even though she knew it was worse than that. It dawned on her that she'd have to explain the origin of the injury. Uh.. training incident. Dropped weight. Hopefully the Orlando med team didn't pry.

"Just a talent of mine." Francis retorted, sticking alongside him as they began to walk towards the infirmary, memories of all that had happened washing over her. The raging fever, the worry over her friends.. Logan. Francis fell silent, brows furrowed in thought as they approached the infirmary. "I'm not related to the hole in the wall, if… anyone asks." She mumbled quietly, right before they stepped inside.

"Ugh, talented peeps," Lucas grumbled before giving Fran's arm a gentle nudge, "Eh, can't live without competition like you anyhow, sweetness." He then nodded as he walked alongside her, mood leveling out a bit. "No worries, Fran. Forgot already," he said, letting her enter the infirmary before him.

Daisy straightened as the door opened, and catching sight of the pair wandering in, she smiled faintly, "...Good to see you two up and moving around… What can I do for ya?"

Clearing her throat awkwardly, Francis offered Daisy a small smile before bring her hand out of the hoodie pocket. "Slight… training accident." She murmured, gaze pointed down. "Hit Lucas a little too hard."

As Fran spoke, Lucas seated himself casually, gaze trading between her and the doctor. He hummed in agreement, rubbing his cheek with a heavy pout delivered Daisy's way. "Should've seen it, Doc. Thought my cute face was gonna be a goner…"

A brow rose as Daisy shifted, rising from her chair to take a look at the wound, "Here… Hop up on the table, yeah?" Looking to Lucas, she smirked faintly, "Can't have that, can we? My Levi would be crushed if you went at messed that pretty mug up."

Fran propped herself up on the table, legs dangling as she shared a confused glance with Lucas. "Sorry… did… you say.. your Levi?" Francis questioned, a playful smile falling on her lips. Levi had found himself a lady and she hadn't even known it. Figures… She seemed to be quite blind to that lately.

Lucas caught many things in that moment. First was the "my Levi" bit, second was Daisy's confirmation of a long denied truth (his pretty mug), and third was the fact that Levi had the audacity to keep this juicy bit a secret from him. Oh...unacceptable. He knew better than to hide tea from Lucas. Hands folding neatly in his lap and adopting the picture-perfect demeanor of evil innocence, he said, "Oh, damn, Fran, I think she did say my Levi. So, uh…" His head cocked ever so slightly. "What's up with that, Doc?"

Her cheeks flooding with color, Daisy looked between the pair, before a smooth smile spread to her lips, "My, my… I have severely overestimated the power of gossip in this here location. I figured you two pretties would've heard by now." Tucking the hair back behind her ear, she shrugged and gingerly taking Fran's hand, she unrolled the makeshift bandages, "Oof, sweetie. That's… grisly. Anyway… We'll just get this cleaned and I'll patch it up right quick."

Moving across the room to the sink, she started to collect what she'd need to clean the wound and without looking back at them, continued, "I should warn you, if I'm to be prey to the best-friend's new girlfriend interrogation routine, I'm quite the stubborn young lady."

An amused chuckle fell out of Francis, trying to envision Levi with the girl before her. When that had happened, she had no clue, but the fact that Lucas didn't know either made her feel at least a little bit better. Daisy seemed sweet, and she seemed to like Levi too.

As she unraveled the bandages, Francis winced at her comment. At least it could be healed easily. No questions had been asked so far… maybe she was in the clear. "I think we're up to the task." Francis said teasingly, nodding to Lucas. "We're a force to be reckoned with.."

"Yep," Lucas, popping the "p" with a nearly perfect smile. "We like a challenge, Doc. Appreciate the heads up though, nice to know that Levi's new boo thang has a sense of mercy up her sleeve. So, uh," a pause, his lips pursing and brow furrowing...Meh, screw it. "You two just on fuck buddy terms or is this for real? I gotta look out for my bro, you know?"

Laughing, Daisy glanced back at them again, collecting her supplies and returning to the table. Setting the things on a tray, she wiggled a finger at Lucas, "He warned me about you, you know. What was it he said? Half sass, half ass… and loving every bit of it? Hm… Or maybe that's just what I say, but either way, I've got a face full of freckles and I look ridiculous when I blush, so be kind, please." With a wink, she took Francis's hand again, and gently, worked a damp cloth over the deeper wounds, "As for your question, sweetie, it's for real. The man brought me contraband pie. I have no intention of letting him go… Or, well, I suppose it's the other way 'round. He's asked me to come to Miami, once it's rebuilt."

"Half sass, half ass, and loving every bit of it." Francis echoed with a laugh. "Oh.. I'm using that one. Don't I know about it with the freckles there, sugar." She rolled her eyes. "And for real… contraband pie, and we didn't even get a slice?" It was nice to be joking around, enjoying a more light hearted tone compared to everything that had happened previous, even if the stinging of her hand reminded her of what she'd left. Francis was a little surprised to hear how serious Levi was with her, and how they hadn't heard a single word of it. She was torn between congratulating them and teasing them along with Lucas. "Sounds pretty serious," Francis hummed, with a slight wince. "Pretty strange we ain't heard a word about all of it…"

"Oi, Levi's spreading lies about me now?" Lucas chuckled, eyeing Daisy's finger in amusement as she wagged it at him. Oh…Oh. So that was the road they were rolling down, huh? Fine by him; this was the type of conversation he flourished in and judging by Fran's reaction, he would maintain the atmosphere as long as possible. He pointed cheekily at Fran. "And sweetness? Correction--it's all sass, damn that ass, and loving every bit of it. Typos man. It's crazy how those pop up," he sighed, shaking his head.

However, the last bit about Daisy coming back to Miami caught Lucas off guard, his brow raising. He leaned back in his seat, humming lightly. "Oh damn. That's like...the moving in stage. That's serious shiz, Doc. You do realize there's the whole "guaranteed multiple hell-raising roomies to boot" clause? Down at the bottom? Print too damn tiny to see unless you squint?" He shrugged. "Point is, I'm happy for Levi. He's happy. You seem happy. Cheers to longevity and all that jazz."

 

[Mobley Eats]

Fragmented, Not Broken, Part II | Interactions: Lucas, Francis @CloudyBlueDay and Daisy @Elle Joyner


Leaning back just slightly, all while still cleaning Francis's hand, she gave Lucas a quick glance, brow raised appraisingly, before she straightened again with a small smirk, "Mm. Alright. I can see that. Fair ass...essment."

Clearing her throat, she moved onto the rubbing alcohol, looking up at Francis, "Gonna sting just a touch, honey." Watching what she was doing, she smiled carefully as Lucas continued, "You learn, in my line of work, to always read the small print… but I've spent the last several years with Thaddeus as my partner, so I don't imagine there's much I can't handle. But thank you." Her expression softened, warmed, as she nodded, "It wasn't what I expected, but… we're happy. He's a good man… and… patient. And you don't get that in a lot of men, these days."

Now Francis really laughed. It was a rare feat to watch anyone keep up with Lucas in banter, perhaps even surpass him. "Wow, I.. I'm impressed. Honestly, I think I see why Levi likes ya." Francis said with a growing grin. She flinched at the rubbing alcohol, but fought to keep the smile. "I think you two look good together. We approve… can't guarantee we'll letcha off easy, though." She flashed Daisy a mischievous smirk, but in all honesty, she liked Daisy. And if Levi liked her, then… she had to be good.

Lucas blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"Did...did you just?" He glanced behind him, back at Daisy, to Fran, and then back to the doctor. At first, his expression was riddled with shock...before it melted into mirth and he snorted, eyes downright gleaming. He crossed his arms. "Well hot damn. I like you, ma'am. You understand the importance of eye candy and that's like, a lost art form these days...You're alright."

She seemed like a cool chick all around, though he couldn't deny that lingering worry, that last little inkling of doubt. Maybe he was being overly protective or stupid, maybe both, but he could see himself growing comfortable with the addition to their family circle in due time.

Upon hearing Fran's laughter, Lucas smirked. "Do that more often, Fran Wham Bam. Laughing, I mean." He winked. "It's cute."

"Good, because I like you, too. The both of you, and it's really awkward when you like someone and they just don't care for you, you know?" Setting the alcohol soaked gauze aside, she held her palm flat beneath Francis's, "Try to keep steady, alright? And I'm gonna need quiet for a half sec, so I can see what's going on in there, yeah?"

Lucas' comment sent the blood rushing to Francis' cheeks, especially at the wink. "U-uh… s-sure." She stuttered, looking away as the smile stayed on her face. Daisy's comment stirred something in Francis, but she bit it back. "Us.. quiet? Jeez.. not sure we'll be able to pull that off, Doc." Francis murmured, but otherwise fell silent to allow Daisy to do her work.

It's really awkward when you like someone and they just don't care for you…

Heh. Yeah, Lucas could understand. Everyone in that room could. But he decided to overlook that comment, not in the right headspace to currently deal with it. Instead, he took note of the heat that had unexpectedly filled Fran's face and his smile widened a tad. Good--she believed him, and he meant every single word. Laughter was one of the best medicines out there.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he watched Daisy work on Fran's injury closely while muttering, "No promises, Doc, but I'll try to crank the charm down. Just for a little, since you recognized my nice butt and all."

"Thank you kindly…" She murmured, with another smile, before her eyes closed and she cradled her other hand over Francis's. After several seconds, a warmth would build, followed by the subtle pressure of skin and bone shifting back into place where it ought to be. It was a relatively quick job, and as she released Fran's hand, it was good as new, "...And there we have it." Turning to grab a towel to wipe off her palms, she looked up at Francis with a coy smirk, "So… Your training regiment generally involve punching holes in walls, sweetie? Cause you might wanna consider something a little softer…"

The sudden rush of color drained from Francis' face as she turned over her newly fixed hand. "Uh…" She stalled, unsure of how to respond, gaze trained intently on the floor, as if it would save her. "I'll… think about taking that advice." Was all she said, clearing her throat and hopping up off the table. "Anything else, Doc?"

"Oh, dang...that's it?" Lucas asked, a hint of awe in his voice. Of course, he should've known that her abilities probably involved healing, but the process was so fast, so smooth. He was almost tempted to ask Daisy details about how in the heck she pulled that off...only to clench his jaw and tense.

Figures.

People were just way too observant sometimes. Well, actually, he should consider that to be a blessing since Daisy was on their side, but it still sucked to see Fran's reaction. He just wished the woman had kept that little bit to herself, but what was done was done, he supposed. "Yeah, Doc," he echoed casually, smiling, "Anything else? More Levi deets...more butt ogling…"

"Oi.." Looking to Lucas, she smirked faintly, "Appreciation is not ogling. Mostly. And if you want Levi deets, you're gonna have to ask him. Or bring me pie. I can pretty much be swayed into just about anything with pie." Her eyes flickered to Francis, softening and slowly, she shook her head, "Otherwise, nothing else. Should be good to go, but take it easy for the rest of the day. Cells get tired, especially chatty ones like yours."

Francis swallowed, running her fingertips over the newly healed skin. She'd lost the desire to joke around, but still mustered an appreciative smile towards Daisy. "Thank you," She mumbled gratefully. "And.. don't know if we said it, but.. Thanks for everything you did when we were sick, too. Means the world, cuz.. Uh.. obviously.. We're not dead." Francis nodded. She looked back to Lucas, a little surprised to see him so suddenly tense, even though his words were casual. "We'll get out of your hair now, Doc. And we'll be sure to send word to your Levi."

"Oh yeah! You made us like...not...die!" Lucas said, realization striking him and some of the ice melting from his posture. Whoops--how in the hell did he manage to forget that (not so small) tidbit? At the least, he had enough manners to feel sheepish about this and without waiting for permission, opened his arms to give Daisy a tight hug, patting her back for extra measure. "You're the bomb dot com, Doc. I'm sure your Levi knows that already but...meh, just putting it out there."

As soon as he released her, he trotted over to Fran's side, smiling at his friend with his hands in his pockets once more. "Mmkay, think I harassed Doc enough for the hour."

A small laugh escaped at their praise and Daisy didn't so much as flinch at the hug, giving Lucas a pat in return before nodding to the pair of them, "Don't mention it, really. You two mean the world to him… and if anything had happened,.. Well, I'm just glad I could do something." She didn't need to mention that she'd nearly burned herself out on it… that she'd had to be kicked from the room, before she so much as rested. It was enough, knowing the appreciation was there, "It was really nice, getting to meet both of you. Try to stay out of trouble, yeah? Especially you…" She pointed to Lucas, with a coy grin.

"Yeah, yeah… we'll try." Francis said, lightly nudging Lucas. "I'll watch this one. Don't worry. See you around, Daisy." She said with a little wave, before turning away, trying to keep the smile as she looked up at Lucas. "I think you harassed her plenty. In all honesty…" Once they were out of the infirmary, Francis looked back over her shoulder. "I like her. And I imagine Levi likes her too." She sighed, looking at her hand again. "Even if she is a little brutally honest."

Lucas slapped a hand over his heart, feigning offense. "Moi? Trouble? Ma'am, I prefer the phrase, "bringing life to the party." Not my fault some peeps can't handle all this." Despite himself, he laughed softly and walked off with Fran, shooting Daisy little finger guns along the way as a form of...creative farewell.

Once they were out, Lucas' brow pinched at Fran's comment before rubbing the back of his neck. "Boy is she...I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it though, sweetness. All doctors are like that, aren't they? And hey." Gently, he lowered her hand and warmly covered it with his. "I don't care how many times we look back on this. Shit escalated and got...rough and in times like that, sweetness? There's no telling how we react. Just...We're gonna look past it. Pushing ourselves ahead, remember?"

Whatever she was about to say next fell short as Lucas' hand fell over hers. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to find the words again. "...Pushing ourselves ahead." She echoed, blinking herself out of a trance as she awkwardly pulled her hand away, shoving it quickly back into the pocket of her hoodie. Her cheeks were red all over again.

"Er… n-now what?" Francis said. They'd gotten her hand fixed… she wasn't a heaping mess of sobs. He was probably due for a minute alone, and even though Daisy had recommended rest, Francis couldn't help but find herself thinking longingly about the gym.

Lucas tried not to think much about the way Fran pulled away, but a miniscule hole formed in the pit of his chest when she did so. Regardless, the feeling didn't last too long and he was at least pleased to hear her uttering the words back. Pushing ourselves ahead. It was always okay to live in the present, to reminisce about the past, but the mysteries of a tomorrow was cool too. Sometimes better.

At Fran's question, he shrugged, a casual smile pulling at his lips. "Well, I don't really have much of a life around here outside of missions and stuff, so...I guess I'll just be hanging around, sweetness." Carefully, he locked eyes with her and asked, "And uh...and you? Do you, like...need anything or want something or...you know, whatever?"

She was caught off guard entirely. By everything. The touch on her hand, the eye contact, his insistence on not leaving her side. Francis thought about ruling it off as just.. Lucas and his clinginess, but she knew there was more to it than that. He… he was worried about her, and she wasn't sure whether or not to be flattered.

"No, I.. I don't need anything or.." She was flustered. It wasn't often someone was ready to bounce at her request. "I was.. I was just maybe going to go train, or something.."

Lucas fell silent, staring at Fran with an unreadable expression. Then, he blinked a few times before running a hand through his hair, heaving a small sigh. "Fran...sweetness...train? As in physical exertion? As in the opposite of rest? As in the thing that Doc just got finished telling you about?" His hand lowered, biting his lip anxiously. "You...you sure about that? Like, come on, I'm not a doctor or whatever, but…" he trailed off, shifting a bit from foot to foot.

For that brief moment Lucas held an unreadable expression, Francis felt a rush of anxiety hit her. She felt almost guilty for admitting her plans, especially with the way Lucas reacted. Or, lack of reaction, at first. That moment of silence had her already reeling in her decisions, and watching him shuffle from foot to foot, Francis swallowed. "I.." She began. "Don't.. Know what else to do."

Fran's answer immediately smacked Lucas with a wave of guilt. Damn, he should've worded that response a little better. And then...all she did was train. That was it. There's nothing wrong with keeping physically fit, especially as a member of Rogue, but even then, to have no other option was upsetting for some reason. He forced himself to stop squirming, slapping on another playful smile for Fran.

"Well, that's…" Lucas faltered a moment, his gazing snapping down to the tiles, before venturing back up to Fran's. "That makes sense. Not much to do around this strict place, with the way Yul drains life out of here. Look, just...maybe we can...make a deal?" His shoulders scrunched up a little, not entirely a shrug, but still somewhat along those lines.

Francis blinked, looking up at him in confusion. "Make a deal?" What kinda deal? Less training, more rest? Fun. Great. She couldn't wait to lay in bed and rip her mind apart. She wasn't good at rest. The only way she knew to keep her head quiet was to hit, and kick, and punch.. But she didn't want to worry Lucas anymore than she already had. "Sure.. a deal. Shoot."

"So, here's my offer, Fran Wham Bam," Lucas started, "Against all better judgement and the preservation of my beautiful body, I'll join you in training for a little while--just a little. And after that, if I don't die?" He retracted his cell phone from his back pocket, holding it up for Fran to see. "In return, you can help me get started on those new memories. We're pretty damn photogenic so, why not?"

Her expression changed entirely as he spoke. Lucas didn't say a single thing she'd expected, and that seemed to be a theme over these past couple days. She stared at his phone, and even before her mind had fully processed his words, she was nodding, a new excited glimmer in her eye. "Yes… yeah. Yeah." Francis piped up, a smile forming on her lips. "Deal."

Lucas' excitement matched Fran's as he said, "Awesome! Um, here." In the next moment, he was next to her, their cheeks pressed together as he focused the camera on them. "Alright, sweetness. I know you don't even need to try, but look cute and say all the sass, damn that ass," he laughed, a wide smile already making home on his visage as he looped an arm around Fran's shoulders.

She was absolutely frozen at first, unsure of what she had even been expecting as Lucas wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smushed their cheeks together all in one fell swoop. Her cheeks were already filled with redness, and at his words, a glowing giggle began to fall out of her. "All the sass… d-damn… th…" And she couldn't even finish the sentence, for her laugh became too infectious and took over the rest of her, barely even able to pose for the camera.

In the middle of their giggling, Lucas snapped the picture. He couldn't bring himself to look at first, because he was wrapped up in laughing with Fran, basking in the good memory they just fossilized with a click of the button. This was it. This was what he had missed, always wanted to know about, the bonding, the genuine happiness. "Hey...h-hey," he said between gasps of laughter. His arm, with it still around Fran, gave her a playful shake as he pulled an impish grin. "Guess what, sweetness? You pulled that cutie laugh again. You never disappoint, huh?"

When Lucas finally had enough composure to look at the picture, his grin morphed into one of pride and appreciation. He showed it to Fran. "Now that? That's what I call a perfect shot."

In that moment, just laughing with him, Francis couldn't have asked for anything more. Nothing else mattered except them and that stupid picture, and it brought her a strange amount of joy. She hadn't seen a picture of herself like that in a long time. With nothing but a smile, like when she was a kid, and Lucas beaming beside her made it all the better. "Perfect." She said through a radiant grin, and then grabbed his shirt collar, giving a comedic tug. "Now… deal's a deal, punchin' bag!"

Lucas yelped at the collar grab, but knew damn well that he didn't have the physical strength or willpower to resist Fran. And, as much as it terrified him to acknowledge, a deal was indeed a deal. As he was helplessly dragged along like a man on death row, he chimed miserably, "B-be gentle, please."

It was anything but gentle.

 

[Mobley Eats]

Faces of the Past, Promises of the Future | Interactions: Lucas and Francis @CloudyBlueDay


After hauling around Lucas' ass in the gym, Francis had promised him she'd rest. After they departed, Francis did as she planned. She scooped up the polaroid photos they'd left strewn on the bed, laid them out beside her, and curled under the covers. Sleep took her quite quickly, coupled with the exhaustion of the training and the healing Daisy had performed.

However, it wasn't quite a restful sleep. Nightmares plagued her vision, pictures of Logan past and present twisting in her mind. One second he tugged at her wrist, pulling her away from the fires drowning their home, and the next he was walking away from her, the white walls of the infirmary closing in, making him disappear from sight. Her brother was always taunting her in the back of nightmares, threatening her behind Logan's disappearances.

Maybe someday I'll stuff your boyfriend, put him in your bed.

She woke up with a strangled gasp, thankful to watch the images fade from sight, replaced by her bare Orlando bedroom. Francis sat up in the bed and flipped through the pictures. There were more, once, but the rest had been lost along with her home. She was lucky to even have these at all.

Oh so lucky…

It hurt to look at Logan and Neil's faces in the pictures. It had always hurt. Letting out a defeated sigh, she collapsed back onto the bed, tracing her fingers over their faces. Trying to find the peace she had all those years ago. Damn, it was hard.

Lucas couldn't sleep. That wasn't really new for him, but the reason behind it was. Most times, he would sit up in bed, knees pulled up to his chest, as he reflected. So much reflecting and regretting and grimacing at that one stupid thing he said or rolling his eyes at that one flirt that had crossed a line even he felt uncomfortable with. All that judging and it wasn't surprising to see the time fly until it was three in the morning.

But it wasn't the judging. It was the worry; it lingered and prodded at his mind, chucking images of a broken Fran to the forefront of his thoughts. They had a generally good time at the gym, despite him being certain that he was on the brink of snapping in half so many times. But still…still.

And so he found himself roaming the halls, heading straight for Fran's room. He moved slowly, the weight of hesitance slowing him down; what if she turned him away? Looked at him like he was crazy? Who in their right minds randomly visited someone's room at a late hour like this? ...Lucas, apparently. Biting his bottom lip as Fran's room came into view, he raised his fist, paused a moment, two more moments, then forced himself to knock softly. "Uh...Fran? It's Lucas. Mind if I come in or…?"

The knock jolted her out of her reminiscence. Francis tensed at first, placing down the polaroid as she looked up at the door. Then, the voice came through, and the tenseness fell away, at least a little. Lucas. Was he.. Was he still that worried about her? Was something wrong? His voice was gentle. It didn't sound urgent, but it did sound tentative.

"Hey.. uh.. Sure. Come in." She called out, unwilling to leave the warmth under the covers.

At Fran's response, Lucas entered, albeit cautiously. He was surprised to hear her answer so quickly, hinting that she hadn't been asleep when he knocked. Or, maybe she actually was? Damn, he hoped not; he should've thought this through more. Regardless, once the door shut behind him, he remained on the opposite side of the room, fingers curling into his pajama bottoms unconsciously. "So, uh…" he cleared his throat awkwardly, "I just came by to like...see how you're doing and stuff, sweetness. If it's too late or whatever I can head out."

Twirling her fingers in her hair, Francis sat up slightly. The polaroids were still pretty clearly placed around her bed, and in her other hand she still held two. A small blush came upon her cheeks as she watched him shift around awkwardly at the farthest corner of her room. "You.. can come into the room, Lucas." She said with a small giggle. "I'm okay. Wasn't sleeping, so don't worry about it."

"Uh...yeah! Yeah, I knew that, sweetness." Sheepishly, Lucas crossed the room and seated himself on the foot of Fran's bed. His gaze immediately strayed down to the pictures before zeroing in on the ones in her hand...Dammit. He should've known she'd be looking at those. "So we're insomniac buddies now, cool. Err, actually," his features softened a bit, "Not cool. You uh...can't stop thinking about it, I'm guessing," he muttered.

The smile on her lips flickered, but she forced it to stay put. "Never been a great sleeper." She admitted with a sigh, turning over the pictures in her hand. "No.. I.. It's still a little too fresh. You know? Nightmares n' shit. It's hard.. not to think about it." It was strange how easily it fell out of her. How it wasn't so bad to explain what she felt to him. "Sometimes I just get.. I get lost in the memories. I hold on a little too tight."

"I get that, sweetness," Lucas sighed, "I mean...it's only been...less than a day. I don't expect this to leave you alone overnight but...damn, I wish it could." He scooted a bit closer, leaning in a bit to catch a glimpse of the picture. Of the hold she had on them. "You uh...you wanna know something about holding on so tight for too long? You're strong as hell, Fran Wham Bam, no doubt. But...sometimes? Letting go? It's...you might lose some things, but you'll find yourself along the way, right?"

Lucas couldn't help but bite the inside of his cheek, hating his hypocrisy in that moment. He needed to listen to his own words sometimes. At least a little, but this was about Fran. Fran needed this, not him.

Francis shook her head, laughing slightly at his words. He knew they were true. It was obvious, and a frequent life lesson that people liked to pass around. But it was hard to hear, and even harder to do. "You're good at giving advice, Lucas, but are you good at takin' it?" She said with a smirk. "I know.. I know. Just… hard." She held up the photo in question; the near picture perfect family, save for Neil's angered pout. "You know… you know how I said I lost 'em in a raid, right?" Her voice was surprisingly smooth, only betraying a flicker of emotion. Her heart hurt, but she held strong.

"Oi, I feel attacked," Lucas said playfully, a small grin tugging at his lips. Damn, did she read his mind or something? Anyone else and that would've creeped him out. However, he registered her mood sobering up once more and shifted a bit, one leg folding underneath him as he faced Fran fully. "I...yeah, I remember that." Caution entered his tone. "Um, what about it, sweetness?" he asked.

Francis swallowed. She hadn't said a damn word about her brother to anyone in a long time. At least, not someone who didn't know about him. But she wanted to act a little different. And letting go… sounded appealing. It really did.

"This is my brother. Neil." She said, pointing to his frame in the photo. "He's… not quite dead."

"Your brother," Lucas echoed softly, staring at the photo with a newfound perception of...everything. He knew that the happy bunch in this depiction was Fran and her family, but in light of everything that happened and the pain that plagued her as she looked at it, he couldn't fight off the dread bubbling within him. He swallowed back the feeling with everything he had, and forced his gaze away from the polaroid, opting instead to look at Fran. "So...how long you've known he's been alive?"

"I, uh.." She swallowed, looking down. "Well, I always knew, I guess. Kinda dead to me, for the most part." Francis flashed him a very weak grin. It was hard to joke about it, but hell, she was trying. "So.. he… he… j-joined RIEF. Willingly. When they raided my home, he… went with them." Fran grit her jaw. Harshly. "He was always.. A little… off his rocker."

Lucas listened patiently, not even daring to utter a single word. Fuck...this was traveling down a road he anticipated, yet wished with every ounce of will that it wouldn't come true. Fran's last shred of family, working for the enemy...Christ. Slowly, he reached out, resting a hand over hers. A wordless message, the only form of comfort his mind could offer in that moment. His touch said that it was okay. That it would be. Had to be.

His hand over hers helped to calm some of the growing tremors. It was hard to think about. It always set off a fire of anger and sadness within her. Anger, for his abandonment of their family, for his traitorous ties and horrible deeds. Sadness for the fact that she had never really had a brother, even as much as she had desperately wanted him to be, and somehow… she always wondered if there was something different she could've done to change him.

"It's okay." She mumbled quietly, even though it really wasn't. Francis focused on his reassuring touch. "'M tellin you this 'cause I plan to punch the living daylights out of him if I ever find him again. Just so you know."

"Then bring on the night," Lucas whispered; he meant for it to come out as a joke, but there was nothing about the secondhand pain in his voice that eluded to one. He paused, stewing over the rest of what she said, trying to put the pieces together. If her brother was causing this much strife and emotion within Fran, what would happen once they faced one another? She said she would punch him, but… "H...how far," he asked, voice just a tad above a whisper, "How far will it go, sweetness?"

Her gaze darkened, brows furrowing. Francis slowly placed her other hand on top of his, a fury creeping into her eyes like no other. "Far enough." She muttered grimly, shoulders hunched, lip ground beneath her teeth in thought.

"Fran…" Lucas' hand was warm against hers and yet, a certain coldness seeped into his bones. That fury in her eyes...Nothing about it sat right with him. He swallowed shallowly, lips barely parted enough to speak. "I know I said...you've gotta move forward, but not like this," he whispered, "Sweetness, what if you...you know."

Francis growled lowly. "What if I.. what. Kill him like he killed my parents?" She said sharply. "Ain't it karma?" She was scaring him, she could tell, she was scaring herself, but the fire that had raged within her for years still hadn't quieted. She didn't truly know what she'd do if she got her hands on Neil… but she knew it wasn't going to be pretty. She wasn't going to let it be pretty. She wanted it to hurt, hurt like he hurt her, and she only knew how to make things hurt one way. By driving her fist home into its mark.

Francis was right, she was scaring Lucas. Fear spread through his body quickly, merciless and unannounced, coating his skin in frost. And yet, the feeling didn't originate from a fear of Fran herself, but of the repercussions. Of what could happen to her if she killed Neil. There was no way she'd escape that ordeal emotionally unscathed and the only thing--the absolute only thing--that Lucas wanted to do was help her heal. This...this could be detrimental.

"Sweetness...killing someone, taking a life, that's…" He paused, eyes fluttering closed, just taking a moment to gather himself and will his heart rate to slow into something relatively normal. Lucas didn't like sharing, didn't like revealing too much to the ears of too many, but this was Fran and hell if he didn't trust anyone more than her. When he spoke again, a shiver slithered down his back. "Killing someone...it takes away something from you. And you never get it back, Fran. You hear me? Never. That emptiness, it...that shit taunts you, follows you, breathes down your fucking neck and I…" Blinking away wetness in his eyes, he locked a hard gaze with Fran's. "Look me in the eyes. And don't lie. Are you going to do it…really do it?"

She was content to let the anger swallow her whole. She nearly always had been. Sitting before Lucas, the rage present was consuming her like no other. She could feel the end game coming, and if there was ever a time Neil was coming to pop up out of the blue… she knew she couldn't hide from him forever. Couldn't hide from her own fury, and her own mistakes. And she was stupidly content to let her fists do the talking.

Lucas' broken voice pierced that fury like a dagger. It slipped away from her visage, even though she clung to it like a lifeline, and forced herself to stare into his watery eyes, even though she quaked with anger. "I don't know," She whispered honestly, biting back her own tears. "I don't know." Terrifyingly, she could see that emptiness he talked about in his own eyes. Something was broken inside of him, and she'd been too wrapped up in her own pity to even realize she didn't know jack shit about Lucas at all.

Lucas sucked in a sharp breath, not quite out of relief, yet not out of defeat. A medium of sorts that alleviated some of the pressure in his lungs. "Then whatever you do, whatever decision you make...I'm not letting you break again, sweetness. You hear me? I...I fucking refuse." A crack entered his voice towards the end. Never again. He had no idea if his support could do it, could help with anything, let alone save Fran from… It didn't matter. He had to anyway. "I'm here, Fran. Always."

Francis sucked in a sharp breath, nodding furiously. She fought harshly against the waves of emotion that pushed against her, that threatened to break her dam. That threatened to break them both. She didn't have a plan, but she knew… rage blinded her. It blinded her more often than she liked, and she didn't like to admit it, but sometimes she preferred being blind rather than facing the hurt.

"Have…" She looked back at him, begging for truth the same way he just had. "Have you killed someone, Lucas?"

Lucas could've sworn fire burned behind his eyes, vision blurring. He...was expecting the question. He really was, but hearing Fran utter those words proved that no amount of time would cushion the blow. He ran a hand through his hair, coming to rest on the back of his neck as he heaved a long, hollow sigh. Slowly, his gaze landed on her once more. "Um… y-yeah… yeah, Fran. I have," he whispered.

She looked away, because it felt almost wrong to bore into his eyes when he was reliving a moment with such intense fire. Francis closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. She had never found herself wondering about Lucas' past. It was something she tried hard to avoid. To get involved with people, it required not wondering, not questioning. He had been baring her load, the weight on her shoulders like no one else. And suddenly, in finally realizing she wanted to do the same for him, she could feel pain radiating off of him, so intensely it made her own heart ache. She didn't know a damn thing about him. Not a damn thing.

"Do you regret it?" She asked quietly. It was a stupid question. Of.. of course he did, otherwise he wouldn't be sitting here and advocating for her sanity. But she wanted to hear him say it. Wanted his reply to hit her hard enough to shake away the blanket of anger that was suddenly suffocating her.

A shudder threatened to shatter him then and there. "Every moment I'm breathing, Fran," he said.

She nodded silently, shifting to bring her knees up to her chin. Her head was spinning. The guilt that crawled up her chin only made her feel sicker by the second. "Do you ever get overwhelmed?" Francis murmured. "By the need… t-to hurt someone. Hurt someone like they hurt you."

Lucas shrugged, a hint of lightness to the motion that signaled the beginning of his retraction, receding slowly back into his shell of nonchalance. If he broke right now, he'd never get a chance to answer Fran properly. As if running on autopilot, a small, warm part of his mind willed his thumb to stroke her knuckles comfortingly, though his eyes were still haunted. "I used to," he muttered, "But not anymore. Cuz I...I don't ever wanna go back there, Fran. To me, going back is the same thing as admitting defeat to myself. I just can't."

A shudder ran down her spine at the feather light touches on her knuckle. Her gaze ran around the room, searching for something that was easier to look at it. Anything. "Guess you're doin' better than me." She muttered wistfully. "Sometimes… I like it more.. I like feeling angry more than I like feeling anything else."

A fragile laugh escaped Lucas as he shook his head. "Trust me, Fran. I'm not. I uh...just know how to ignore my own shit and keep smiling." He mimicked her position, also pulling his knees up and draping an arm across them. His cheek rested against it, looking at Fran. "Cuz it makes you feel like...you've got power over the situation. Yourself. And you just...feel in control, like all the bullshit around you isn't spiraling for once?" Lucas didn't really...want to say all of that, it wasn't his intention, but once he started, there was no hope of stopping. "It's all about that grip, while looking for release…" Another bittersweet chuckle. "Or, uh...something along those lines, sweetness."

"R… right." Francis mumbled, trying to cling onto his words. She wasn't sure how Lucas sounded so together.. And not together.. All at once. "Sounds easy when you say it like that." She sighed. "It all sounds easy… and I still just…" Don't ever own up to anything. Keep happily drowning in anger. Maybe she was a willing victim. Maybe it was easier this way. Francis squeezed her eyes shut, batting away the thoughts.

"It's not," Lucas insisted, giving her hand a soft squeeze, his voice even softer, "Fran, I swear to God, it's not. Dude, I...I'm not an empath, but I know that the shit you're feeling? It doesn't go away easy, especially...especially when you're fighting it on your own. Sweetness, I...man." His nails curled into the fabric covering his leg. "I tried doing that. And now I'm in a place I really wish I wasn't. I don't want you to end up there too. So just…" He stroked her knuckles again. "We're gonna tackle this one day at a time, kay? We. Not you. Not alone."

We. A concept she had long given up on. Here he was, driving it into her skull. It was so scary. It was so fucking scary, and for the first time in such a long time.. She wanted it more than anything. Francis kept on nodding along to his words, showing she was listening, showing she was hanging on. She was. "You're… you're still in that place?" She murmured, quietly, gently. "I'm… here for you too, Lucas. I'm gonna try my damn best to be. I swear it."

"I am," he said, without hesitation but with the heaviest of weights sitting on his lungs. It hurt to admit all of this, it pained him inside out, but God did he want to do this. Needed this. It'd been so damn long since he'd allowed himself to unveil the load like this, no matter how minor or major. Lucas rubbed the side of his face; there was that tingle, that indicator in his senses of a dam breaking within the next handful of breaths, and it was almost as if he could feel it rising to the surface. "And...honestly, Fran? You don't need to swear or whatever, cuz I…" A grin pierced the fog, slow to form and dripping with relief, "I know you will. It's weird but like...I don't know. I can just...tell. I believe it. Damn, I really believe it, believe in you."

Tears finally started to brim in her eyes as a whisp of a laugh escaped her, but they were good tears, tears that burned for something other than pain. No matter where her mind wanted to run, his thumb against her knuckles kept her in place. "Damn it," She whispered, shaking her head as she brought up one hand to wipe at her eyes. "Damn you. Damn you, I just.. Shit." She laughed again. "Where the fuck did you come from, huh? This.. I.. we're.. Gonna get out of that place. That godforsaken place. We."

"Damn you," he shot back quietly, a small laugh bubbling up his chest. Christ, his chest. Lucas longed to place an exact word to it, to describe the frazzled serenity swimming about in there, but he couldn't. He nearly joked that he came from the miracle of life, but held himself back and settled for shaking his head, watching her, taking her all in. Tears of happiness. If Lucas was being completely honest with himself, he'd admit that there was a point in his life that the Francis Blanchard he knew would never cry. Not around him, at least. And never ones of joy because of him. It...The realization boggled his mind.

"I'm looking forward to it, sweetness," he said, "Never really thought...getting out was possible before but...yeah. We can go anywhere now." He shrugged, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Can't wait to, uh, see where it takes us."

Francis giggled, slowly untangling herself from the fetal position. "We can go anywhere now," She echoed, and the thought was simply marvelous. She'd barely explored. Not ever, not anything, she'd been in one place her whole life and then moved onto the next place to stay in. The thought was novelty, and somehow, at her fingertips all at once. With another bubbling giggle, her fingertips wrapped around the back of his neck, pulling him in gently and resting her forehead against his shoulder. In the midst of the bubbling giggles, a hum of a song fell out of her, and she felt no reason to let it stop. Just feeling him, his warmth against her. She hummed and she giggled, all while dancing her fingertips against his skin, embracing the feeling like no other.

Lucas was supposed to seize. He was supposed to fall as still as a statue, with insides quaking like the frightened girl he once was. Still was. He was supposed to seek refuge in physical distance and laugh off the touch, shattering the bond completely. That was what Lucas had always done, always relied upon to survive in a world distorted by his own pain and doubts. But as soon as Fran's laughter hit his hers and the warmth of her touch filtered into him, all thought of resisting was lost. Without preamble, he mirrored her, raising uncertain fingertips to her neck as well, his palm warm against her skin.

And then the humming. There was barely any volume to it and disrupted with giggles, but Lucas was thrown by the familiarity it sparked in his mind. He...he had heard this tune before. He had. Lowly, Lucas whispered, "I feel like...I know this song. Actually, uh," a sheepish chuckle escaped him, "I think I dreamed about it, sweetness. Crazy, I know, but...yeah."

She didn't move from her place against him, the smile only growing through the laughter. "R-really?" She mumbled, and shook her head against him. Of course. "That's, uh.. Hm…" How do you tell someone you sang to them while they were in a coma? Francis wasn't really sure. But the thought still brought light to her heart, and she kept on grinning. "I don't think it's a song you would hear anywhere else." She murmured.

Lucas' brow furrowed. If he wouldn't hear the song from anywhere else other than Fran, then when had she told him about it? From what he could remember, she never once hummed in his presence, let alone played a song for him. Regardless, he shook his head and continued, "You've never told me about it before...Either way, it's damn beautiful. I honestly can't get it out of my head; it's been there since I've woken up from that virus situation."

For a moment, he fell silent, focusing on that memory as it floated to the surface. That song was magical, the voice even more so; it must've been, since that sound alone was what stirred him awake. "I think the words were like...Oh you, you weaseled your way in. Oh you...you found the cracks I couldn't fix." He said the lyrics under his breath, making sure he was on the right track.

Absentmindedly, her hand traveled to the side of his neck, thumb brushing the edge of his chin. "All my life," She sang quietly against him, heart beating out of her chest. Overflowing. She was singing. "I been searchin' for a cure that doesn't exist. I never thought it'd be you.. Who would lead me to the places I've missed."

As soon as Fran's singing filled the air around them, Lucas never wanted to kick himself so badly in his entire life. That was Fran. Wholly. Entirely. Without a shred of doubt. The voice that had soothed his feverish nightmare and hauled him back to reality, comforted him, grounded him, was Fran's. This was her. "So...you're my mystery siren," he teased, before his features softened further. "Why'd you have to cry. I...I wasn't ready to say...goodbye." He didn't know what was happening between them, what any of this meant, but he understood with deep certainty that he never wanted it to end.

She hadn't felt so warm in a long time. Everything about the moment felt right. Every word that fell out of each of their lips. She was dumbfounded, and uplifted, all at once… he knew every lyric. Without any hesitation. She was tingling all over, giddy. Giddy. Francis only laughed once more to his siren comment, before continuing with the song. "Cause all my life… I've been swimming in regret." She still had her head against his neck, her hand tracing along his jawbone. "Of the things… of the things I should have said."

"No one told me we...we…" Lucas faltered, the lyrics actually clicking in his mind. It was hard focusing on it while the sensation of Fran's touch blanketed his perception of...of everything. This was...dangerous. Very dangerous. Insanely dangerous. But...Christ, he was so tired of playing it safe with his own emotions, of running away at the drop of a hat. He didn't want to shy away from this, not when Fran was so happy against him. The thought alone filled his face with heat and his stomach with a frantic fluttering. Carefully, his voice dipped into a tentative murmur, "No one told me we...were gonna fall this hard."

"What I wouldn't give…" Her voice crackled with emotion, dripped happiness. She waited patiently for him to find the words… she'd wait forever. The next lyric didn't seem right anymore, even if the words were on the tip of her tongue, and her touch against him paused, just for the briefest flicker. "To.. to let you hold my heart." She mumbled, same melody intact, just.. New meaning.

Those weren't the lyrics. Fran changed them...she changed them, in that very moment, and if there was anything he could admit to himself without a single drop of regret, it was that he couldn't have longed nor asked for anything better. A shiver overcame his body, something within him crumbling from head to toe like the domino effect. His throat grew dry with emotion, his tongue like cotton. "You...Fran y-you don't have to give...a single. Damn. Thing." Fingertips, trembling, shaking like crazy, played with her hair. "Just...p-please promise to hold mine too. Don't let it fall again...please."

It was strange, how she could feel him breaking and being pulled back together all at once. Feel it against her, in his trembling touch, so vulnerable. Nothing had ever felt so damn right in her entire life, no matter what little voices picked at the little holes in her head. It didn't matter. They didn't matter. Not anymore. Such a promise… it wasn't just something you said. Not if you didn't mean it with your entire being, and she furiously nodded against him. Don't let it fall again. She barely knew anything of his hurt, of his world.. And she knew then and there she'd never let it hurt him again. She'd never let his heart fall again.

"I promise." She insisted. "I promise, I promise, I promise." Francis spoke it into his skin, spoke it into existence. Made sure he knew it, made sure the whole damn world knew it.

She promised.

"But you know what'll really hurt? What'll really suck?"

He cupped the bandages covering her left chest and squeezed. Lillian yelped, body curving in from the pain. However, her head was then forced back and smacked into the headboard as Nobody's free hand encircled her throat with a vice grip. She swallowed back a whimper.

She promised.

"He's turning out to be a real beaut. Good natural jawline, but young cheeks," he hummed, "I wonder where he got the hairstyle from." That last bit was coated in pure sarcasm as Gus shot Nobody a sideways glance.

Nobody grinned in response, intensely proud upon hearing the praise. "What can I say? I've got a good eye for the perfect person. My little Lilly is all I need, ain't that right?" he cooed while leaning down to kiss the top of Lillian's head.

With every promise, a chunk of pain in his heart numbed and decayed into ashes, taking a single horrid memory along with it. He was breaking. Falling apart. And he couldn't be happier doing so in Fran's embrace. His head fell to her shoulder, muttering a "thank you" with every promise, with every shard of ice melting away from his mind. He couldn't bring himself to say anything else in that moment, his tongue failing, his heart pounding. Reality boiled down this woman and her words. Her everything.

Francis enveloped him fully, without hesitation. Her hand fell along his back and rubbed it in soothing circles just as he had done for her days ago. Her other hand entwined with his, squeezing it tightly. She closed her eyes, resting her cheek against his hair, holding him tightly. She wouldn't let his heart fall. She wouldn't. They had places to go. They could go anywhere. Something had changed now, and she embraced it. Head on.

"I got you." Francis murmured. She wouldn't ever let go. "I got you… I promise." Over and over again.. Until that promise couldn't be taken away. It was a burden to some, to hold someone's heart. Not to her. Not to them. "We can go anywhere." Francis reminded him gently, smiling against him. "Anywhere at all."

Lucas held on just as tightly, one hand looping around to Fran's back and balling a fistful of her top. These promises suddenly washed over everything, painting his world in a reassurance he never thought he'd have the courage to face again. In the next moment, he heaved a sobbing laugh, feeling lighter than a feather, yet so damn heavy with the overflowing heart in his chest. "We can...w-we can go anywhere," he echoed shakily.

It required a will mightier than anything he ever mustered, but he forced himself to lean back, just slightly enough to lock teary eyes with Fran. "But right now, I-I just wanna be right here, next to you. If…" For the briefest moment, his gaze fell. "If I could...just...stay? With you? I just don't…" He raised their intertwined hands between them. "I don't think I can imagine myself leaving your side, Fran. Not tonight."

She smirked lightly, squeezing his hand once more. "If you could just stay?" She echoed with a teasing tone, bringing the hand that wasn't holding his to wipe away any tears. There was a relief in Lucas she had never known, and even if it still held weight, it was different. He was different. So was she. "You kiddin'? Think I'm kicking you out?" Francis shook her head. "I can't imagine askin' you to go, stupid." She lightly pulled him down, onto the mattress, curling up against him. Fully at peace. And exhausted enough to drift off to sleep against him.

"I'm gonna dream about it." She whispered. Like it was a little secret between them. "Leaving the place. Going anywhere." Somehow… she knew nightmares wouldn't get to her again tonight.

Lucas didn't resist in the slightest as he laid down with her; if this was leading to what he thought, to...to holding her close, to rubbing soothing shapes into her back, to enjoying a blissful night of sleep with her presence right next to him, then he was nothing short of over the moon. At first, Lucas enveloped her with caution, inexperience, but as soon as his arms wrapped around her and his face buried into her hair, he melted. Inside and out. "Good," he whispered back, an excitement that was so blinding and gentle all at once welling up inside him, "I'm...not sure what I'll dream about, since I'm living one right now, but...doesn't matter." He nuzzled her head, sighing gently. "It'll come true anyway."

Francis giggled at his comment, sparks of excitement rippling through her as well as a soothing blanket of safety as his arms curled around her. Safe. She felt absolutely safe and cared for and held… her heart was being held. Her eyes fell closed and she tugged the blanket up onto them both. Warm… she was so warm and fuzzy and happy. Wordlessly her free hand fell to the arm he had wrapped around her and she dragged her fingertips along the skin. She had nothing left to say, even if it was simply the start. The silence was hardly daunting. In his presence, it was light and comforting, and drifting off to sleep didn't seem like a bad thing at all, especially when she knew he'd be right beside her.

Goosebumps sprouted, following the trail of her fingertips along his arm. This was...so new. And amazing. If Lucas wasn't already lulled into a foggy bliss because of Fran's warmth, he would've had strength left to sob again. But he didn't. Instead, he allowed his eyes to flutter closed as well, mind and heart and body and soul absolutely elated. As slumber started cascading over him, his hold on Fran instinctively tightened and a single realization existed in the silence between them.

He was a goner for her.

No, he always had been.

 

[Elle Joyner]

---

Logan​

He wasn't supposed to. He knew he wasn't supposed to, but there was a small part of Logan, that couldn't let go as easily as he wanted to… It hurt, the idea of leaving Francis with just a letter. She deserved more. Deserved better. And all he wanted was to say goodbye. To give her that much, at least. He'd left Keegan's office and had intended to head for the door, but… his feet betrayed him, his heart betrayed him, and before he knew where he was going, he found himself outside of her door.

He raised a hand to knock and paused, as voices from inside stole his attention. Two voices. Fran and another… She wasn't alone. She wasn't alone… and she was singing…

And in that moment, Logan felt his heart crack… Felt the weight of the years of carrying it, carrying her, crash down upon him. She'd never understood. All their lives, the time the spent together, and she'd never understood. And maybe that was his fault, but it hadn't stopped. It hadn't stopped the way he felt. It hadn't changed anything…

Francis would never love him. Not the way…

His hand fell to his side, and his head rested against the door as he listened to her, listened to those last few lines. A palm brushed the door and closing his eyes, he whispered, "Goodbye, Fran…"

Then turning away, his feet carried him the way he'd meant to go… the way he needed to go.

 

[Mobley Eats]

Time to Find the Chilluns | Interactions: Luna, Penny @Elle Joyner & Deck @DarinValore | Location: Penny's Room


After leaving Keegan's office, Penny made her way back to find Deck, but only long enough to suggest that he gather up what they needed, and she find Luna. The sooner they could find a concrete location, the sooner they would be able to get out there and do what needed to be done. DC was a big city, and with no way to narrow it down, all they could rely on was the tablet that Luna had stolen from RIEF's HQ.

It was an intimidating obstacle, but if anyone could overcome it, it was Luna. Or at least, Penny had to hope as much. If they couldn't find the location, then they were back at square one, and she wasn't entirely sure Deck could hold onto patience that long.

Luna wasn't sure what to do with herself after the conversation with Finn. So much had been unveiled, so many tears and confessions were shed free of his person; hell, she was surprised liberty weren't ringing when it happened. Or perhaps, liberty wasn't the right word. Surrender. Crumbling. Something along those painful lines. Either way, it had shaken her to her core and those words would be branded into her skull forever.

She needed to think. To recuperate in silence. So that was what she did; she sat on her cot, just...existing there, staring at nothing in particular as thoughts raced, her temples pounding in a scarcely uncomfortable way. It was manageable, easy enough to ignore...but the stagnation wouldn't do. If her head was moving, then so did the rest of her body. She left her room and opted for roaming the halls slowly, lips pinched and eyes downcast. Thinking, thinking, looping back around, thinking and deny, wandering and doubting, then back to thinking again--

And then she caught sight of someone familiar. Penny. A distraction would probably do Luna good, so she smiled gently at who she considered to be more than a leader. Family. "H-hey, Penny," she greeted, voice more hoarse than she expected. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Hey there… Just who I was hopin' to find!" Penny answered back, when Luna called out to her. She noted the unusually croaky voice, and the look of someone who was more than a little anxious, but Penny was hardly surprised. It had been a rough few days for all of them. The sick were better, Alys behind locked doors, but that didn't mean the fight was over… far from it.

"I need your help, actually. Could you come back to mine and Deck's room? Bring that tablet you yanked from RIEF? There's a hidden facility in DC and we wanna try and see if we can't locate it with your mad hacking skills."

"M-mad hacking skills. I like that," Luna giggled, her mood lifting somewhat...only for it to crash back down to ground zero as everything else Penny said clicked into place. A hidden facility...in DC? That was some serious traveling, but she wasn't one to complain about this; any opportunity to take down RIEF, the same people who had planted that chip and virus into her family and fiance, would be taken. The hacker nodded. "I-I can do that. Just g-give me a sec, I'll be right back."

Luckily, she hadn't walked far from her room and finding the tablet proved to be a quick job. She approached Penny again a few moments later, device in hand, the onset of fire kindling behind her eyes, and dread sparking in her gut. "L-lead the way."

"Just gonna fill you in on the way… Try not to freak out. It's a lot, but I think you can probably handle the brunt of it." It was easier, Penny found, to just have out with it, than try to sugarcoat it - even for the more anxiety-prone hacker. Beating around the bush led to question, and questions led to chaos…

"Basically, we're going to this facility to rescue Deck's son. His ex-wife, turns out she's a crazy psychotic bitch… but she's also a really good liar. Told Deck she lost the baby, here we find, not so much. He's being held in this place, along with what we've been told are a whole bunch of other children… and Lord knows what that bastard is doing to them, but we gotta get them out, ASAP."

Luna paled, her brain failing to function during the first half of Penny's elaboration. "Wha...O-oh god, hold on. This...w-what?" she babbled, sweat coating her palms. That was so much information exposed in such little time, and this wasn't the same as decoding a wall of feedback in some system's hard drive. This was...Christ on rice. She never wanted an inhaler so badly until now.

Swallowing shallowly, she parted her lips to speak, to say something, but all that could escape her was a shaky and low, "U-understood. I'll...I'll d-do my best."

Penny looked over at her with a small, weary smile, "Sorry, Lu… I know that was a lot. It's… there's more, but I'll wait, cause I don't want you fainting on me before we get there." Slowing, she approached their door and pushed it open, holding it for Luna, "Deck? We're back."

Papers were scattered all over the bed and Deckard scanned them over and over again, picking up any that might have had any information that jumped out at him, "Hey," he simply stated at first before dropping the current sheet of paper and turning to Luna, "Right, Thanks, Luna, I know there's probably something else you'd rather be doing, but it means a lot that you'd be willing to take some time to help out."

"N-no, it's alright," Luna insisted, shaking her head in an attempt to clear the fog. It was overwhelming but, even then, she could handle it. Had to, anyways. She grinned almost sheepishly in thanks as Penny opened the door for her, though the expression shifted to curiosity at the mess of documents. She was already in the process of pulling up the tablet's core system as she approached the bed, squinting at a random paper thoughtfully.

"D-don't need to thank me, H-Hulk," she murmured, a teasing smile gracing her lips. Well...for a fraction of a second. Then it vanished quicker than it came, shyness nipping at her skull. She trusted Deck. Knew he was a part of the team. But she hadn't really talked to him much, besides the first day he came to Miami. Her gaze traveled back to the papers. "So...w-what're we working with? I...I've got s-serious fuel on this t-tablet, but not much h-heat. Err...if...if th-that makes sense." She shrugged. "I just need a s-starting point. And time."

"Not a lick of sense…" Penny said, with a small grin, before she dropped down beside Deck, putting a hand on his arm, a gentle encouragement, "But that's why you're the brains, he's the braun and I'm… well, hell, guess I'm the pretty one. Starting point, DC… that… is… unfortunately about all Alys gave us to work with."

"I-I think it's a blacksight," Deckard added, "Maybe a sight that, on paper, looks all researchy or whatever, but might have the space for something bigger than suggested?"

Luna seated herself on the opposite end of the bed, a hint of amusement flickering through the building dread. "D-don't worry, you're definitely th-the beauty, brains, and m-muscle." A pause, then a quick comment tossed in Deck's direction. "N-not to take away from your j-job or anything. It was j-just, err, a...a r-really bad joke, so I-I'll stop now. Bean Talk. D-don't look too much i-into it, please."

Wanting to skim over that cringe moment, the hacker forced her vision back to the tablet, mind running over a hundred miles per hour as Deck mentioned a blacksight. He was likely right. Anything RIEF involved always worked in covert layers, always hiding more than what the surface suggested. "Y-you're likely right," she muttered, "If anything, RIEF's w-working on something, th-they always are and if i-it's involving something as huge and...t-terrible as h-holding innocent children, then th-they're collaborating. So...cross-reference for any c-communication with DC. In a recent t-time range. I'll work with th-that for now and s-see if it'll crank out a l-logarithm for me to pinpoint possible l-locations."

Grinning softly, Penny shook her head as Luna rambled. Her expression shifted, however, when she started into her work, "Look for something that Kaiden might roll into, personally. Anywhere he's visited recently."

Luna nodded, "I-I can try that," and poured all of her focus into the tablet, typing away like an insane cat. With purpose. At first, she was slapped in the face with a long list of possibilities, before working her through the mess of information, filtering out what she could with Penny's suggestion. After a few minutes, her finger came to rest on the screen.

A single result.

The hacker grinned pleasantly at the pair, a hint of pride peeking through. She turned the tablet around to show them her victory. "I-I think I've got a lock on it," she said.

Deck moved faster than he probably needed to as he moved from his papers to Luna's side. Peering over her shoulder, he asked, "You sure? That's the only possible place? Can't be the wrong one, Luna, or we'll tip off Kaiden and then my son'll be gone for good."

A brow rose, and Penny's smile softened, as she shook her head, "...No pressure or anything, Lu."

When the actual linebacker of a man rushed up to Luna, the poor woman almost yelped, jolting back a bit as Deck approached. A faint tremor entered her voice after she took in his and Penny's response, nodding nervously. Christ--were her palms sweating? Likely. "I-it definitely is," she said, "I would sh-show you unless I was c-certain." She locked eyes with Deck, reassurance and determination sneaking to the surface. "W-we're going to get your s-son, Deck. Promise."

"That's why you're the best, Luna…" Penny added quickly, "We're gonna get him, Deck."

"Not soon enough," he muttered before he stepped away from Luna, "Is there anything else you might see on that thing that might help us out? Security, staffing? Things like that. I don't want to go in blind."

Luna shook her head, still skimming the content on the tablet thoughtfully. "Not really...W-well, I could take a w-whack at it, see what kind of m-maximum security we're working with, but I d-doubt that…" she trailed off, brow furrowing. Something caught her eye. Seemingly another location that had bypassed her filters, matching up scarily close to the first facility she found. "U-um...hold on, guys. There's something…"

She dove into the establishment's core, nitpicking until the name popped up on the screen. Luna's eyes narrowed. "O-origin...Release Sites? What even d-does that--"

And then another bleep. Followed by four numbers. A time. Sixteen hours...and it was counting down.

"G-g-guys," Luna wheezed, turning incredibly pale as she frantically waved them over. She couldn't think. Couldn't function. Not with the anxiety threatening to suffocate her on the spot.

Blinking, Penny shifted to look at the tablet, and swearing softly, she looked to Deck, "...That… Is that a countdown? Keep breathing, Lu..."

With a clenched jaw, he returned to Luna's side and glared down at the tablet, "Sure enough. What are the chances something good's gonna rain down around the facility when that timer runs out…"

"S-s-sixten...h-hours," Luna gasped, a trembling hand pressed her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. No...no, no, no, no--this couldn't be happening. It wasn't. This was a ploy--a bluff set up by RIEF. Surely. That was how they always worked. Predicted Rogue's next move without failure and toyed with their emotions, made them believe, made them quiver with fear, made them squirm, like ants burning underneath a giant magnifying glass. RIEF, the giant bully on the field who loved torturing the little guys...Christ. "I...i-inhal...er," she said, watery eyes switching back and forth frantically between the pair.

"Damn it…" Standing swiftly, Penny looked to the hacker with a small frown, "Where? Focus on breathing. Where's it at?"

Shakily, she retracted the inhaler from her pocket and fumbled with it, scratching against the cap fruitlessly. She couldn't open the damn thing to save her life. Literally. She quickly handed it to Penny, her panic spiking as the shortness of breath grew even worse. "P...p-please o…"

Grabbing the inhaler, Penny popped the cap from it and shaking it, handed it back to Luna, carefully moving the tablet from her lap and handing it to Deck, so it didn't roll to the floor. All they needed was for that thing to crack or break…

"...Easy, Luna. You got this, girl. Too badass for this anxiety crap.."

Taking the tablet, Deckard shifted to give Luna more space, "Breathe," he told her.

Luna accepted the inhaler gratefully and breathed in two puff, paused to steady her lungs, then took in one more. God. That was...so damn pathetic. She couldn't even bring herself to lock eyes with either of them, though she had enough courtesy lower the inhaler and mutter, "Th...th-thank you." That same hand returned to its previous spot on her chest, recounting the proper steps for breathing and once she was certain that her chest was no longer caving under the weight of an elephant, she continued, "F...Florida. Here. The b-bomb's close."

Swearing, Penny shook her head, reaching for Luna's free hand and giving it a pat, "...Of course it is… When it rains it pours, don't it. Luna… You think you could handle taking this to Keegan, right now? We need to get a team assembled for the nursery, but looks like we got a whole mess to sort out here, too…"

"M-more like a...a damn thunderstorm," Luna whispered, her insides on the brink of freezing over with dread. This was...horrific. Almost as paralysis-inducing as the day she woke up in captivity, bound to that lonely and cold chair, trapped in that lonely and cold room...And despite the fear, she fought her way out. Never gave up. She would do the same now, oxygen or no oxygen. She...she couldn't afford to lose anymore family.

"Y-yes. I...I can do that." She stood on weak legs, using Penny's grasp on her hand to steady herself. The hacker swallowed shallowly, eyes glimmering with desperately restrained tears. And yet, the heat of defiance burned bright in her visage. "You can count on me."

Looking at Luna, Penny hesitated a moment, before shaking her head, she pulled the girl into a tight hug, "We're gonna be alright, sweetie. All of us. We're gonna get through this, just like we have before." Releasing her, she stepped back and nodded, "...Now go on… Deck? Let's roll."

Luna returned the hug, squeezing Penny tight as she refrained from unraveling in her arms. She couldn't afford do that, not now. A confession almost rose up to the back of her tongue, wondering, fearing that this would be her last chance to tell Penny...No. It wouldn't be. Like the woman said, they were going to be alright and it was time for Luna to believe and fully commit to that. She bit back the words, swallowed them down, and forced herself to say instead, "I-I know we are."

As soon as Penny released Luna, she was out the door and heading straight for Keegan's office.

 

[Elle Joyner]

---

Two teams. It wasn't ideal, throwing them into another mission so soon after recovering from the devastation of the last, but there wasn't much to be said for Kaiden's patience, and waiting wasn't an option. The first team assembled in Orlando's small, modest hanger, where Deck and Penny would lead Ozno, Levi, Francis and Lucas via jet to the Rogue base in DC. From there, they would strike out for the location Luna had discovered.

The other team, Luna, Vance, Finn, Nick, Josie and Shiloh would head to the second facility, located in Miami, racing the countdown to what they could only presume was a bomb of some sort. Their objective was to get in, neutralize the threat, find the bomb and disarm it. No.big.deal.

As they were dismissed from the briefing, Penny went with Deck and the others, cautiously optimistic that the small team of tanks would be enough to get them through the clandestine facility. Standing outside of the remote jet, a small eight-seater with a decent cloaking system, Penny turned to address the team.

"We aren't worried about blending in on this one, folks. Gloves are off. These people took children, took Deck's son and hell if we know what they're doing too them, we aren't gonna let it continue. We'll go in teams of two... clear floor to floor, room to room. I want everyone on comms, and if you find anything, report in, straight away. If you come across enemy combatants, you're clear to engage, however the hell you need to. Because there are children involved, you need to be prepared that RIEF will throw some pretty messed up crap your way... Use your heads, and you should be good. That said, let's roll out."

And while the jet loaded, Team B filtered down into the garage to the pair of jeeps awaiting them. While Team A was largely comprised of grass-fed bulls, Team B was a wily crew of grit and brains. Taking them in, Vance gave a small nod of encouragement, "This won't be a cakewalk... We're headed into the unknown, and without RIEF involved, that's scary as hell. With them, who knows what we'll find. I haven't been a part of this long... And coming from the other side of the fence, I can promise we're not at an advantage. But we got something RIEF doesn't. Something to fight for. Keegan wants us to stick together, much as possible. Luna's gonna need space to hack those servers, which means we're all watching her back. I plan to marry this girl... So I'd appreciate it if we all got back here in one piece. Let's get going..."

---

TAGS | @DarinValore , @Mobley Eats , @KatSea , @CloudyBlueDay , @WingWong , @Kat

 

[DarinValore]

The Nursery
Boy (A799) and Girl (A794)
Collab: @Elle Joyner​

Four-hundred and twenty six thousand, nine hundred and fifty four. There were four-hundred and twenty six thousand, nine hundred and fifty four floor tiles. She had counted them in rapid succession fourteen times, and not once had the count varied. Tiles were stationary. Tiles were linear. She liked that.

Nothing else felt that way. Not in the nursery. There were timetables and rules and structure, but it was all flux. Fluid. Mercurial. People had names. She was a number. She was five years, eight months, two weeks and three days old, but her mind was not... None of this was logical…

Her eyes were leaking again. The lights went out and the moisture appeared on her cheeks, coupled with a discomforting sensation that formed somewhere in her stomach or chest.

"Are you there?" She spoke in whisper into the darkness, "Little boy? Are you there?"

He had been so alone despite being surrounded by so many other children. It wasn't that they didn't play with him, or that they didn't speak with him...it was that he knew everything about them. There were no secrets...there were no new things to discover. There was nothing they could hide from him that he could not discover and understand.

Except for her.

Pulling the pillow from off his head...a failed attempt to keep the voices out...he moved to the edge of his bed and sat up, "Yes," he whispered back.

Sitting up as well, she drew her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them, "I'm in a quandary, Little boy. My thoughts are jumbled up again." Laying her cheek flat, she looked over at him, though she could not fully make him out in the darkness. He was like her, but he wasn't. They were nearly the same age… or… the numbers matched. Other things did not.

"Why are they leaking again? My eyes? They keep doing this… Am I broken? Defective? Will they take me away like… like the others?"

"It's called crying," he answered, "it happens when you are sad," he could hear her thoughts...jumbled up in a confusing mess. He tried to concentrate to follow them, but was easily lost, "It's okay. I think it's normal. Other boys and girls do it, and they are still here."

Frowning, she sat up a little, "...Okay?" Pausing, she sifted through the words in her head, "...Satisfactory or acceptable, but not exceptionally or especially good." Rubbing her eyes, drying her cheeks with her palms, she shook her head, "None of us are normal. That word is a fallacy. Do you think… do you think we're meant to be here?"

"Fallacy?" he repeated, pronouncing each syllable to ensure that he repeated it correctly. Then he shook his head, "Not from what I hear," using the term loosely…, "Some of the others want their mommies and daddies. So we must have come from somewhere else."

"Fallacy… A failure in reasoning, rendering argument invalid." She chimed, then shifted a little, "...Do… do you remember yours?" It made sense that they had parents. They had to. Human beings were not spawned from air. They were made. Born. Produced. And while she was certain she had her own forebearers, she had no recollection of who they were.

Shaking his head despite her inability to notice, he replied, "No. I only know what I've heard from the Doctor and the nurses. My mommy gave me away.," the thought cutting into his chest, "I haven't heard much about my daddy."

"Why would she do that? The other children… did their parents give them away, as well? What do the nurses says of my family? Tell me? Please…" Why it was a curiosity, she didn't know… but it was, and it made her stomach clench in the worst way…

"I-I don't know. It's not easy for me to know which child they talk about all the time," he admitted, "I know that some have parents that gave them away..some were tooken..and some were born here, but I don't know which ones. I'm sorry."

"...Taken." She muttered with a cringe, "They were taken. Do you think I'd be in trouble if I asked? They tell me I ask too many questions… that I shouldn't when… when the Big Man is around. But I can't help it. There's errors in their logic and they lie. A lot."

"Ya...they do, but I think that grown-ups don't like it when we say that. I think it might be better if you didn't know about your parents. It hurts my feelings to know my mommy didn't want me," he flashed a tiny smile, "makes my eyes leak."

"Some mothers lack the ability to connect emotionally with their offspring due to hormonal imbalances within their brain chemist--" Blinking, she bit her lip and folding her chin back onto her knees, shook her head, "Sorry… That… that she didn't…"

He smiled softly, "It's okay," he paused a moment, "How come I can't follow your thoughts?" He asked plainly.

"In theory, because my brain is far superior to that of the average child, thus rendering your telepathic abilities incapable of comprehending my mental projections with sufficient… Um." Pausing, she smiled sheepishly, "My brain moves too fast…?"

"Hmm," he hummed as he placed his feet on the cold tile floor, "Interesting. It's nice to not be able to understand you sometimes...Makes me feel...normal."

"I don't ever feel normal…" She whispered, and there was a small note of bitterness behind it, "It's… a paradox. To know what I am. What I'm supposed to be, but to have a mind that… that doesn't fit. To be here… to be numbered. Labeled… and know, logically, out there, we would have names and families… People who care for us. Our needs, material and emotional. I hate it."

"Names, huh?" he stood to his feet and shuffled as quietly as possible across the room and plopped down beside her on her cot, "What would your name be?" he asked.

"My…" Blinking, she shook her head, "That's an odd question. What does it matter? I won't ever get to keep it. Why should I name myself?"

He shrugged, "Why can't we have names? We don't have to tell the doctors and nurses. We'll keep them between the two of us."

"...Wh...what name would you pick?" She asked, "I'm only asking for… for curiosity's sake."

He hummed and shrugged, "What about…" he paused and thought some more, "Zoey? You look like a Zoey," he smiled.

"Oh… I… I meant what…what name would you pick for yourself." Uncurling her knees, she considered his words. Zoey. It was a name. It was just a name. Four letters. Two syllables. Nothing big. Nothing that should elicit any response within her, yet she felt…

Something...

"Zoey? You… you really think so?"

He smiled, "Yep!" Then quieted down when he realized he'd spoken a little louder than he should have, "That's your name. Now...you pick mine!" This was exciting for him, because it didn't matter how hard he tried to read her thoughts to 'cheat' they were too fast for him..as she put it. Her name for him would truly be a surprise.

"Y...yours?" Blinking, she squinted through the dark, "How… how do you even pick?" She thought about all the names she had heard, guards, mainly… and nurses. None of those seemed right. Which was a ridiculous term… Right. It was letters, strung together to make a word. How could it be…

"Travis." She stated softly, "...There."

He smiled from ear to ear, "I didn't know you'd pick that one," he told her with a bit of excitement, "I didn't know," he stressed, "That's why it's perfect," his smile faded with a brief pause and silence, "Zoey….Thank you, for being...you."

"Who else could I possibly be, Little b--" Pausing, she breathed in, and on the exhale, sighed out in resignation, "...Travis. We should sleep. Double calisthenics tomorrow."

 

[Elle Joyner]

---

Alys & Guy​

Life in containment, alone and secluded from any kind of contact was not what Alys had hoped her future would contain. She envisioned a cured Deckard playing in the yard with their normal child while she looked on from the window with a grin plastered on her face. Instead, every time she closed her eyes, she saw his anger and hatred glaring down at her over what she'd done to Penny. She remembered the pain that washed over her as he pressed her against the wall, using his ability to try and press her into a pancake. She saw the disgust when he discovered that his child lived and she'd done nothing to try and procure him from Kaiden. She didn't see a sliver of the man she'd loved, only the monster that had consumed him from inside out.

She'd destroy that monster the same way it had destroyed her. She'd take away everything it loved - Rogue, Penny… the Kid. When it begged for release, only then would she consider giving it a chance to die, though the idea of keeping it around grew more appealing with each passing moment in her cell.

Despite her plans and desires… there was one thing that was in the way… the stupid cell.

Click

With a soft hiss, the door opened, and in the frame, a guard stood, hands on his hips. He wore a frown, not a particularly pleasant one, and bruises smattered across his face, maring olive-skin, "...We need to talk…" Was all he said.

Fear washed over Alys only a moment before she plastered a smirk on her lips and tried to be more confident, "Pretty bold to come in here with me alone. What's to stop me from just taking you out and forgoing the conversation."

"Cause last I checked, Alys, you ain't stupid. Crazy. But you ain't stupid. You won't get halfway down that hallway without runnin' into another guard patrol, and they ain't gonna wait for you to try something before they do. You behave, and I can help you get out of here."

She didn't like his tone..not one bit, but he was right. If she really was going to get out of here, she'd have to listen to him first, "What is it you want to talk about?" she asked as she leaned against the wall and slid her hands in her pockets, knuckle deep.

"You're done here, at Rogue. You and I both know that. But that doesn't mean whatever little deal you got going with RIEF can't be rescued. I think you know how…" Cracking his neck, the guard shrugged his shoulders, "He ain't fit to lead us… Hull. He's old and weak and blinded by bullcrap compassion. Someone like Director Yul could fit Rogue into what it should be, but not with that old crackpot on the throne…"

Alys' lips parted in a grin, a small chuckle passing through them as she pushed off the wall, "Are you suggesting that I kill Keegan Hull? Why, Mr. Guard, that's a pretty tall order you've put in."

"Yeah, well…" With another shrug, his hands slid into his pockets, "Bastard let three of my friends die, and he's got the guy who did it waltzing around here like some kinda somebody. I don't care what you do with him, just so long as it makes that little prick nephew of his hurt inside…"

"So let me get the straight. I agree to do 'something' to Keegan Hull, and you'll just let me stroll right out?"

"Yep. I don't care where you go after you leave here… Ain't no skin off my teeth, so long as my problems get taken care of."

"You sure you want this, Big Guy?" she asked, "Can't have you having any second thoughts when I walk out that door. That's the last thing I need. I have plans, too. You know?"

"Used to mean something, being in Rogue. We were makin' a difference. Ain't nothin' but a joke, now. I'm sure. Hell, wish I could do it myself… frankly. But you got the means…"

"Done!" she spoke with a squeal of excitement, "I'll take care of your 'problem' in exchange for a solution to mine," she started toward him and then pointed to the opening at his side, "Now if I could just…" she flashed a friendly smile.

Stepping aside, the man held out his arm with a nod, "Just stick close to me. If anyone asks, I'm taking you to Yul's office for more questioning. Maybe don't look so happy, yeah? Might give us away there…"

"Oh, don't you worry, Big Guy," she smiled, "I know how to play my part," the smile disappeared and she pushed out her bottom lip in jest before sobering up, "Lead the way."

Eyeing her up and down, he shook his head and from his back pocket, produced a pair of leather gloves, before pulling cuffs off his belt hook, "...First things first. Gonna need to make this look legit, in case we run into anyone… Arms out, please."

Putting her arms out, she sighed, then winked, "I usually have a man buy me dinner first, but we'll skip that step this time."

Shaking his head, he secured the gloves first, before looping one cuff tightly around her wrist, and bringing the other around her back. As he linked it, he leaned in and his voice dropped in pitch as he neared her ear, "Do the job… and we can talk about dinner, or whatever, later." Giving her a small nudge, he started down the hall.

"Oh!" she tucked her chin and smirked, "Don't tease me, Big Guy," she slipped beside him, arching her back, "Try not to stare while we walk. Might give others the wrong idea," she winked before she walked with intent to make it difficult.

Gripping her arm with the gloves, he continued, eyes straight ahead as a frown crossed his lips, "Ain't you married or something?"

"Now why you'd have to bring that up? Trying to be a party pooper?" she frowned and sighed, "No matter...I'm not in the mood now. I was married, if you must know," she spoke matter-of-factly, "Turns out, my ex is the real monster in all of this," a slight hop to her step returned, "But no worries, I'll make him pay."

"Yeah?" He asked, a brow raised just slightly, "How you gonna make him pay? Sounds like an idiot, if you ask me."

"Well, aren't you a big sweety," she perked up and shrugged as if it'd be no big deal, "I'll just take everything he loves away from him like he did to me. My time with Keegan will be the first step in doing just that."

"Happy to be of help then…" He muttered with a shrug, "You're kinda twisted, there, Alys. You know that, right? I mean… I don't mind, but…"

"We all need a little spice in our lives," she giggled, "Things are much more exciting now, Big Guy. I have a fresh perspective and understand that if I want something, I just need to take it because no one is going to give it to me. Besides, being normal's boring."

"Don't see nothin' wrong with that philosophy…" He noted, with a small smirk, "People are full of it around here. Act like they're damn saints or something. Walk around like they're better than everybody else. If you ask me, seein' a chick like you… who ain't afraid to get messy? It's refreshing. I hope you rip his heart out and step on it… Hell, I'll hold him down for ya."

"Mhm, I might just have to take you with me," she turned and reached out to place a hand on his chest before pulling back, licking her lips and shaking her head, "He is a big guy like you. Having someone like you to help hold him down might just make it easier."

A brow arched, and he shook his head slowly, "...I'd say I wasn't interested in workin' for the other side, but… hell… these days, I'm not sure I see the difference. Can't say I mind their incentive package." Giving her a once over, he shrugged.

"You like what you see?" she gave him a small twirl after looking to ensure no one was around, "You can have as much as you want when we get out of here."

"Since when can you control it like that? I mean, I don't mind a little rough, but what you do… it ain't a tingle, sweetheart."

"Just need a little something between me and you," she winked, "No skin to skin, but we can work around that."

Shaking his head, he smirked again, and grabbing her arm, turned her back around, leaning in again, "I think we could come to some kinda arrangement. But work first…"

"No problem for me," she bit her bottom lip, "I prefer no distractions during playtime."

"...I ain't exactly sure which is playtime for you, girl…" He shrugged, taking her arm again to continue leading her down the hall.

"I'm just eccentric," she glanced over her shoulder as she walked, "You'll get used to it."

"Hm… We'll see." He smirked again, nodding. They walked a little ways further, before he paused, and reaching to his belt, he pulled out the keys to the cuffs, "...His office is the third one there, on the left. How long you think you'll need? I can get a jeep ready…"

She rubbed her delicate wrists, and shrugged, "As long as it takes. Just keep the engine warm," she said as she started toward the office, waving delicately to him as she walked away.

 

[DarinValore]

Panorama Tower - Viral Release Ground Zero
Detective Tony ​

Tony leaned over the table in the debriefing room of RIEF's Miami Branch HQ. Other men, many he didn't recognize, were present all discussing strategy concerning the security of the Panorama Tower in Miami. It was the tallest structure and Mr. Hull had some big plans for it that he was certain some Rogues would want to spoil, so he called for this meeting of the minds.

Tony had never really been a man who was interested in the details. When a superior gave him a task, he completed it especially when Lady Justice was challenged, but he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't interested in what Kaiden had planned that had him so on edge...so worried that Rogue might ruin it.

By now, they had set up checkpoints from southwest 1st avenue, all the way to the Atlantic's edge. There were dozens of extra boots on the ground, dressed in plain clothes, all equipped to handle the most aggressive mutants Rogue might throw at them. On top of the security normally within the Panorama Tower, word had come that a couple of men from a special task force known only as the Six would be there as well. From Tony's perspective, Rogue would be a fool to make a move on the building.

That did little to ease his nerves, though.

"You need to relax, Tony."

Turning up from the table, he flashed a forced smile, "I would, Rick, but something doesn't feel right."

"Those are just your nerves talking. I get the same way when a big op is about to go down. Don't worry, though, we've got enough men and precautions in place that no Rogue will be able to make it within a block of the building before it's put down," Rick crossed his arms of his chest confidently.

"I don't know," Tony turned back to the map on the table, "Whatever Mr. Hull's doing has him confident that Rogues will move against the building," he shook his head, "I don't normally question what we're doing because it protects the people and upholds the law, but…" he growled, "Aren't you the least bit interested?"

Rick's head swivelled before he scooted closer to Tony and sat on the edge of the table. Leaning toward Tony, he spoke in a low tone, "My sources tell me it's some kind of Mutant-End-All device, and he's setting it off."

"Mutant-End-All?" Tony repeated. Despite that, there was still an unease that churned in his stomach, "I don't know, Rick. Something's off about all this. I can feel it in my gut."

"Stop worrying, Tony," Rick slid off the table and slapped a hand against Tony's back, "When this thing goes off, whatever it is, this whole thing'll finally be over. We can get back to some form of normalcy around here. Think about it. When you're making a bust and you charge through a door, you won't have to worry about whether or not the person on the other side is going to rip you apart with their mind or freeze you in place with ice. You'll only have to worry about whether or not they've got a gun who's rounds will be stopped by your vest if you get shot. It'll be back to traffic stops and the occasional murder. I for one am looking forward to more simpler times. Mutants scare the hell out of me."

"Ya," Tony replied though his mind was elsewhere. Was this really the right thing to do? He sighed as he stood up and checked his weapon. Forcing his thoughts down, he followed the others and they exited the room. They didn't pay him enough to ask these questions.

 

[DarinValore]

D.C.
Deck and Crew​

The two and a half hour flight was the longest flight Deckard had ever been on. His hands were sweaty, his knees bobbed up and down, and his heart threatened to burst from his chest. The only other time he remembered ever being this nervous was when he was waiting for Alys to walk down the aisle. This, to him, was similar. He was about to meet a little boy for the first time that would change his life forever...for the better. This little boy would make him a better man, a father that would be better than his own, and it would bring Penny closer to him. So, if anyone pointed out the fact that he was nervous, he'd undeniably agree.

Between his bouts with nervousness, Deckard and the team meticulously went over their plans. Penny had ensured that the heavy-hitters went on this mission, and they were given the greenlight to make as much noise as was necessary...and Deck planned on making a lot of noise. These people...this facility...separated him from a son he never knew he had, and who knew what they were doing to him. He tear that building down brick by brick if he needed to in order to reach that boy.

The plan was simple….ish. They'd land in a private airfield, split into three groups of two and take the three SUVs waiting for them to the blacksite building. Francis and Lucas would enter through the basement garage, securing the escape route and a pair of vans to transport everyone away. Ozno and Levi would slip in through the service entrance with intent to start a fire in the kitchen. Penny and Deck….they'd make the most noise allowing for the others to move with lesser resistance. If everything went according to plan, they'd end up meeting together in the nursery ready to lead the children out to safety.

Despite everything, Deckard hoped that they all were aware of the risks they were taking. They could have planned for months on this and still, there was no guarantee things would work out. People could die...his friends could die...to save his son and any other children there. There really weren't enough words that Deckard could say...or even right ones for that matter..to show just how much their willingness to go through with this meant to him. So when the plane landed and they disembarked, Deckard stopped them only a moment.

"Hey," he started, rubbing his hands on his pants, "Thanks," he cleared his throat, "All of you," the corner of his lips flicked up a moment before he nodded, "Alright, let's go."

 

[Elle Joyner]

---

Bomb Squad​

The building was a minefield of RIEF agents. From where they sat in the jeeps, a short distance from the Panorama Tower, Vance could see their fortunes hadn't suddenly flipped. Lady Luck was a cheap slut. But there was no time to waste - literally. The time had continued to tick by, even as they drove and there wasn't much of it left by the time they'd arrived where they needed to be.

Looking at the clock on the dash, Vance frowned and glanced back to the crew behind him, "I don't need to tell you this ain't gonna be easy, and that's without the countdown on our backs. Our best bet's to try and find the narrowest entry points and bottleneck the guards. These guys won't hesitate to shoot first, ask questions later, so do what you gotta do…"

Turning back to the building, he frowned, "I'll take Luna with me down the middle… We need to get into that building to where the servers are, and get to work as soon as humanly possible. Shiloh and Josie, you take the right flank, Finn and Nick, the left. We have…" Checking the clock again, he frowned, "Eight hours and forty-seven minutes. Should be more than enough time, but hell if I wanna risk it ain't…"

Eyes flickering to Luna, he nodded, "You ready?" And without waiting for a response, cause he was pretty sure none of them were really ready, he pushed the door opened and slipped out of the jeep.

---

TAGS | @Kat , @KatSea , @Mobley Eats , @CloudyBlueDay , @WingWong

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Go Time
Collab with @Mobley Eats

It had been straight from one perilous journey to the next. They had just barely recovered from the virus attack and now they were being thrown into what was apparently RIEF's child abduction plans. It was horrifying, and terrible, but Francis took it on with a new sense of purpose. She had more to live for, to fight for, now more than ever.

She was scared. Their tiny team was going to take on what had to be a monstrous battle. Lives were at stake. Children's lives were at stake. But slipping her hand into Lucas' on that petrifying plane ride helped to calm her nerves, and she swallowed every word of the plan like her life depended on it.

She couldn't imagine going in there to rescue your own kid, a kid you'd never met. But she would fight like hell for it.

"Ready?" Francis whispered to Lucas, a fire burning in her eyes.

Lucas didn't dare to let go of Fran's hand during the flight. He needed the contact as much as she did; he knew he wasn't immortal, he knew that his diamond and wurtzite hide couldn't hold up against everything, but none of that mattered. Safety wasn't a guarantee, it never was the moment he joined Rogue. And he had accepted that wholeheartedly, because fending for himself, the risk of losing his life...It wasn't a terribly high cost.

But now, now he had a reason to preserve his life. Starting with the woman next to him, the innocent children holed up in that hellish facility. He had a chance before to help kids in need and overlooked it like a damn coward. Lucas refused to make that mistake again.

Despite the weight crushing his shoulders, he grinned confidently at Fran and said, "Always, sweetness. These baby snatching assholes won't know what hit them."

A grin spread across Fran's face, as she nodded firmly. "Let's kick ass." She reaffirmed, pushing up her sleeves. And walking in to hell's gate.

She could already see a few guards stationed around the garage, estimating about six. It wouldn't be hard for her and Lucas to take on two at a time, but if they jumped on a pair, the rest would come running. No… they needed them all in one place, for one foul blow. Her gaze travelled to the cars parked. They only needed two… the rest were leverage.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Francis murmured, nodding her head towards the car, and out of her waist pack pulling out a pack of matches.

Lucas followed Fran's gesture, catching sight of the car, before grinning as she revealed the matches. Oh...this could be fun. "See? This is why you're Fran Wham Bam," he chuckled, peering about them to make sure the coast was clear, "Okay, so...best you save those muscles for...bigger things, sweetness. If we're pulling Operation Bombay, best not to set it off while too close." He raised his hand, willing the skin around it to shift into diamond. "I can make a leak. Sound good to you?"

Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she looked back up at him, though a glimmer of something more sincere was behind it. If there was anyone she wanted fighting by her side, it was Lucas. Breaking off a match from the bunch, Francis nodded. "Sounds good to me, Shiny."

"Awesome." Giving one last nod, Lucas lowered into a crouch and stealthed across the short distance to the car, just barely avoiding detection. Christ, he didn't want to admit that his heart was racing a little...but it might as well have been moving faster than the speed of light. If they didn't orchestrate this just right...Things could get complicated.

Upon reaching the vehicle, he looked underneath, spotting the tank instantly. Jamming a diamond hand into this bad boy would make noise for sure...which was just what they needed. Holding his breath, he drove pointed fingers into metal, nearly wincing as a loud creak pierced the air. There was already the hushed murmurs of guards erupting, startled by the noise, which was quickly followed by rushing footsteps. Crap, crap, crap! Frantically, Lucas gave another stab and the material finally caved in and fuel gushed from the exit.

"Success~" he whisper-cheered before turning sharply and weaving around to the back of vehicle to sprint back to his hiding spot with Fran. The tampered vehicle rested on the slightest and most miniscule incline, but it should be enough to guide the trail...Yep. Yep yep. In their general direction, just enough for Fran to work her magic. "So, uh," Lucas muttered, trying to steady his heartbeat, "While I have a heart attack, you can do your thing, sweetness."

"Please don't die," Francis retorted, already pushing forward with the match in hand. The guards were already coming their way, and while Francis could've reached the oil spill quite quickly, she decided to take her sweet time, waiting until all the guard's attention had been piqued, until they traveled closer… maybe she'd catch one in the boom.

Francis flicked the math across the emery, and dropped it into the puddle, darting back with a little added boost of speed just to make sure she wasn't taking any collateral damage quite yet. "Down!" She yelped at Lucas.

Lucas wanted to say something else cheeky in reply, but the combination of his nervousness and watching Fran be a badass kinda scrambled his words. Which was fine. He was perfectly content standing there...until the fuel trail was lit. It traveled to the car quickly, far quicker than he anticipated, and instantly bolted off with Fran as three guards inspected the damage.

They realized their fate far too late.

A scalding explosion shook the garage, bits and pieces of flaming shrapnel flying every which way. Swiftly, Lucas transformed his entire body into diamond and wrapped his arms around Fran, protecting her from the onslaught. There would likely be holes in the back of his jacket now, but screw it. As soon as the deadly shower subsided, Lucas cracked an eye open. "...Oh shit did that work?" he muttered.

Hiding under Lucas' embrace was both terrifying and exhilarating all at once. There he was once again, with that feeling of safety, and damn it, it even carried over in a full blown RIEF battle too. When the fire storm died down, Francis only peeled her eyes open when Lucas spoke, and a strained but thankful laugh tumbled out of her as she pressed their foreheads together momentarily, before breaking away with a fist pumping in the air. "Hell yeah it did!" Francis exclaimed enthusiastically, but the moment was short lived when she heard the release of a safety on a gun. "..Sorry!" She chirped and ducked, fully intending to let Lucas and his diamond hide take the hit, diving for the guard's legs the moment the shot had been fired.

Alright. It ain't fair to be that cute in battle, Lucas thought, blinking a bit in a daze as she suddenly disappeared. Hell, he would've been distracted for much longer if it wasn't for the bullets suddenly cracking against his chest, bouncing off in random directions. Luckily, it wasn't too many of them at once and his hide held up fairly well. The guard Fran apprehended fell hard under her tackle, his rifle effectively useless in that position.

Heh--good luck, moron.

"Don't you move!" Lucas jolted a little when the voice barked from behind and whipping around, his chest came inches away from the barrel of another gun. He could've sworn the guard was pinker than a pig's bottom. Constipation? Maybe? Probably.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow. "Don't do it, bro."

Of course, his warning went unheeded, and the guard pulled the trigger--

Ping!

The guard unleashed a pained yelp and doubled over, the bullet having bounced off Lucas and right into his abdomen. As soons as Lucas saw him bending over, he cracked a diamond knee into the guard's nose, knocking him unconscious. He shrugged, almost feeling guilty. "I tried to tell you…"

The guard Francis had knocked off their feet didn't have much of a say at all, because she was up in the next moment delivering a harsh kick to his face and knocking him out. Dusting off her hands just in time to hear another gun go off, panic lacing her spine before she realized Lucas hadn't even earned a scratch so far. Instead, yet another toppled over. She flashed a grin his way. "Not bad at all, Sharkboy…" Francis glanced around, nose wrinkling. "'Cept I swear I counted six…"

Ah. No. There were indeed six. She spotted the other one promptly bolting in the other direction. Either he was scared for his life (rightfully so) or he was off to tell his superiors. Probably both, but she'd give him the benefit of the doubt. "I got it." Francis announced, sprinting after the guard, speed increasing and increasing until — she tackled him like a linebacker, except a very small one, bringing the man to the ground due to the pure force and intensity with which she had pummeled him. In the next instant Francis was on top of him, throwing the guard's face around until he fell limp.

"I got it!" She waved to Lucas, and in standing up she kicked the guard over. Whoops.

Lucas...may or may not have swooned a little. Damn, this tiny lady was like an unstoppable war machine of cuteness. He just shoved his hands into his pockets, enjoying the show until she signaled that the last guard was taken care of. He waltzed over, beaming in Fran's direction. "You are damn amazing. Just a friendly reminder, sweetness," he said cheekily. Then, his gaze roamed the garage with a slightly more sober glint to them. "Welp...we need two cars and I'd say we've got more than enough to pick from."

Francis wiped the sweat from her brow, beaming pridefully up at Lucas. Damn, that really reminded her of her childhood football games. She had indeed broken a couple bones… none of them hers. "Aww, thanks. You too." She replied, glancing back at the cars lined up. "That we do." The peg board of keys wasn't hidden at all, and waltzing over, Francis picked up one of her choice, before glancing over at Lucas and gesturing. "Now you."

"Don't mind if I do," he cooed playfully as he snagged a random key, twirling them around his fingers casually. Holding out the clicker and pressing a button, he kept an ear out for a beep, and when it resounded, he turned around to realize it was a nearby SUV. Nice. They had their getaway vehicles, dismantled all immediate threats in the garage, and could now move up a floor…

But then his gaze landed on Fran again and his thoughts ran away from him. Despite all the fun they just had blowing up cars and tackling assholes, this was...an insanely dangerous situation. With their lives at stake. One wrong move and Lucas could be staring into the face of Death… He swallowed at the image, heart sinking. He promised with everything he was that he'd never leave Fran's side, so that wasn't going to let that happen. He wouldn't allow it.

But still… "Hey, uh...Fran? I know this is a shitty time to bring this up, but," he took a step closer, enveloping Fran's hand within his own and staring down at her, "I feel like, if anything, you know…happens, I just want to...um…"

It was fun on the surface level, blowing things up and kicking guards down. And she wanted to be steely, to be nothing except strong. But it wasn't ever like that… the fear never left. Swallowing, she looked down at their intertwined hands, and some of the fear receded. Francis locked eyes with him. "Yeah?" She murmured, trying to will the world to slow down just a moment, to let her hold his hand.

One word. It was just one word. But hearing Fran's voice, hearing her say anything never failed to douse Lucas in comfort. It was scary how quickly and effortlessly she could right his world. And yet, even then, an anxiety survived, persisted, and nagged at his diaphragm with no end in sight. Breathing shakily, he leaned in. Slowly. Cautiously. "I just want...to…" His eyes fluttered closed, a mere inch left between them…

And he couldn't do it.

An entirely new species of red flooded Lucas' visage as he pulled away, eyes diverting as shame and embarrassment threatened to burn him inside out. Just a pathetic little wimp turned into a pile of ashes. "Um...we uh, w-we're heading up, right?" he mumbled, clearing his throat awkwardly.

In the moments he had leaned in, leaned closer, Francis could feel that fear seizing her body again. It was so hard to let anyone in. Let anyone near. She could see Lucas radiating that shade of pink, and she knew.. he was just as nervous. Just as terrified. Her heart had never ached in this type of way… and even though her mind was full of jabbing questions, guilty and broken promises… she could see him shrivelling away the same way she was, and suddenly, Francis didn't want it anymore. Didn't want to waste another second beating around the bush, not saying what was meant to be said. It had already cost her too much.

She paid no mind to the rest of the words that fell out of his mouth, only reaching with her hand to envelop his cheek in her palm, fingers curling through his hair, before she pulled him back down and met his lips, eyes closing as she kissed him deeply.

Lucas froze and melted all at once, pure shock striking his being like a bolt of lightning. Oxygen no longer existed. Time stopped. His brain failed. Everything happened at once and he couldn't do anything except wrap his arms around Fran, holding on for dear life. He'd kissed before in the past. Of course he had. So many uncomfortable and forced times. In those times and in recent years, he was so certain that he'd never understand the mythological magic of a kiss. As far as he was concerned, it never existed. It was nothing more than fairytale bullshit used to lull children to sleep.

But hell if Fran didn't come in and demolish those thoughts like a wrecking ball. He never knew such a feeling could be this perfect and amazing and awesome and overwhelming and all-encompassing and wow and--Frick, he...His legs felt weak. Breath stuttering with a laugh, he pulled away and pressed their foreheads together, the red of his cheeks having softened to a light pink. He still held her close. Having her anywhere else felt wronger than a sin. "Um...I...w-wow," he breathed gently, eyes glimmering in wonder, "Fran, I…" He chuckled again. "I-I can't feel my legs."

It was so right. She always second guessed every decision, even after it was done and gone. Francis tossed and turned, night after night, playing back every moment in her head for every stupid little thing. But she didn't regret this. She would never regret this. Her mother had spun stories like this… fairytales. You always remember your first kiss. Make it one worth remembering.

Well, here I am mom. Turned out pretty great.

Pulling away was harder than she'd expected, and Francis was thankful he pressed their foreheads together again, just because she didn't want to let go. Didn't want to let go… and didn't want to watch him face all this danger the world kept throwing at them. But they had too… they had no choice.

Just five more seconds. Just five more seconds.

"W-was it…. Was it that bad?" She whispered with uncertainty, but even if she was, she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Mom hadn't said anything about losing feeling in the legs.

Lucas' features were colored in absolute disbelief at Fran's question. At first, he was left speechless. Reeling for so many reasons. "Wha...Fran. Sweetness. That's the opposite of bad. Just...holy shit. You," another pause, his thoughts just now starting to function at a normal rate, "You really have no idea what you do to me, do you?"

Taking on a shade of pink herself, Francis sucked in a breath. "Er.. I… I hope it's only good things." She mumbled, glancing away even though her hand was still curled in his. "I.. really wish we could just… kinda freeze time, right now, but we.. we're technically on a mission." She jingled the keys, and Francis took a moment, biting her lip, to brush his cheek again. "Don't… do anything stupid, okay? I want to be able to do that again."

"More than good," Lucas chuckled, his voice shaky with nerves. At the sensation of her hand skimming his cheek, he nuzzled briefly into the touch, breathing in deeply. "That does sound mighty appealing," he rolled his eyes playfully, "But you're right, duty calls and all that jazz."

By this point, he had regained at least a fraction of feeling back in his calves and toes, which was enough to bask in a moment longer of forehead contact before reluctantly pulling away. "And that's a damn tall order, sweetness. Doing stupid shit is part of the charm, but since you asked, I'll make an exception. Cuz I...Yeah, I'd love to do that again too," he said, the blush on his face seeming to last an eternity. He stowed the keys away in his pocket, gaze once again straying to the stairway leading up. "...You ready to do this, Fran?"

To feel Lucas reciprocating her touch, even nuzzling into it set fireworks off in Francis' chest. She was ecstatic. It was probably the adrenaline coursing through her veins, or maybe it was just.. Maybe it was butterflies. For all the right reasons. That blush on his cheeks… damn it, he was cute. And that had her blushing too, and shit, now they were both blushing, and…

Francis shook her head and out of her pouch pulled out a scrunchie, pulling her hair out of her face and grinning up at Lucas. "Hell yeah I am." Grabbing the fabric of his shirt, she determinedly tugged him upwards as she bounded the stairs. "Let's wreck some shit n' save some kids."

 

[Mobley Eats]

A Stealthy Plan, Part I | Interactions: Luna, Joel and Vance @Elle Joyner | Location: Bomb Site


As the others filtered off to their designated areas, Vance came around the other side of the car, where Luna stood. Anxiety had already begun to claw at him, despite not even having begun, an ironic feeling, given the life he'd led before she had come into it. With the Ten, he'd had little to lose on missions… Ade was locked away, but safely so, and his biggest fear was pissing off Maxine and having to listen to her whine to him about protocol. This was an enormous undertaking, his first mission as a Rogue agent, and frankly, more terrifying than anything he'd faced with RIEF…

"...How you holdin' up, Love?" He asked her, as he looked down at her with a small, reassuring smile, "Ready to do this?"

"H-holding up the only way I can," Luna said, flashing him a comforting smile of her own. This was her strength, the only one she could express without crumbling into an anxiety-riddled heap. To maintain face while in the throes of danger and stress--it was every Rogue member's finest skill. Unwillingly obtained feat. And it was high time that she started filling her shoes and being there for her family in this ultimate period of need.

And yet, her head fell to Vance's chest anyway. "...I'm s-scared like nobody's business, Vance," she whispered. "I know that I c-can't feel like this right now. T-time's running out and...a-and it's hard not to."

As she collapsed into him, Vance raised a hand to smooth down her hair, and shaking his head, leaned forward to press a tender kiss to her crown, "...Eight hours, baby girl. You could do this in your sleep. I've seen you work through way worse, on a crappier time crunch. All we gotta do is get inside, which… uh… now that I think about it might be the tricky part." Pulling back, he looked down at her with a small chuckle, "You got any bright ideas?"

Luna's eyes fluttered closed as he kissed her head, hanging on desperately to the warmth it inspired within her. She needed that comfort more than she needed breathing. It granted her mind peace, though only for a moment.

A moment was all her brain needed.

Sighing shakily, she refused to move as she muttered, "I...I-I might have a way to g-get in, but…" She wasn't going to like it. At all. She hated manipulating others, but her morals and opinions had to take another backseat.

"What're you thinking?" He asked. He could sense the hesitation in her, but now wasn't the time for any of them to hang on to doubts or uncertainties. Whatever Kaiden was planning, it was going to be bad, and they needed to move… fast... "Just lay it out, Love."

Suckin in a sharp breath, she rushed out, "I'll change a guard's m-memory and have him...guide us inside for...h-holding. But he'll take us s-straight to the servers."

A brow rose, and Vance's lip curved in a small, smooth smile, "I ever tell you you're incredible, Luna? That brain of yours is a damn miracle." Pulling her cheeks into his hands, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "We just need a guard… I can give you a few seconds eye contact, but we'll need to sneak up on 'em…"

"I-I wouldn't say all that--" But then she melted a little under the second kiss, an a fraction of the tenseness eased from her shoulders. God, this man barely had to bat an eyelash and he could put her at ease. Balancing on her tip-toes, she pressed her lips to his chastely, fighting down the heat rushing to her head. That...would still take getting used to, but in the best way. The hacker lowered, hands resting reassuringly on Vance's chest. "D-don't worry...I can do it b-before they even try to g-get a single scratch on you."

"My girl…" He grinned, smoothly, giving her a nod, "Takin' care of me already, and we ain't even hitched. C'mon… Just stick close and keep low… You see a guard, gimme a nudge and I'll take him down for you." Stepping away from the car, he started for the path, keeping his eyes ahead, but Luna in his peripherals.

"M...m-my fiance," Luna answered back, the blushing growing twice as hot. She couldn't get enough of saying that out loud, she doubted she ever would one day. Well, until it was changed to husband...She was getting distracted. Already. Shaking off the pleasant thought, she nodded and followed suit, sticking close to Vance. It was a short distance to travel, nothing more than a city block away from their destination. At first glance, there were many guards...far more than she anticipated, but pursuing any of them would be dangerous. She didn't dare utter a word until…

And there it was.

One guard seemed to be excusing himself from post, hand already diving into his pocket for a pack of smokes. Perfect. Gently, Luna nudged Vance and pointed in the straying guard's direction. "H-him. He's going a-alone," she whispered.

Nodding slowly, Vance gestured for Luna to stay put, and keeping himself low, he started around the bend of a retaining wall, decorated by palm plants. When the guard neared and pulled out a cigarette, canting his head towards a lighter, Vance shifted forward off the balls of his feet and with his arm around the guard's neck, the other covered the man's mouth, dragging him back over the wall. With the man off his feet, mouth muffled, he turned swiftly to where he'd left Luna.

The muted scuffle almost made Luna's stomach flip, not because of the image it provoked in her mind, but at the fact that it signaled the beginning. The beginning of twisting yet another victim's mind against their will. The beginning of no turning back. Swallowing dryly, she rushed up to the restrained man and, cupping his face, she dove into his mind.

The guard seized up and his thrashing all but vanished. The lock between them lasted a heartbeat longer before Luna blinked and backed away. She immediately nodded at Vance. "L-let him go."

Releasing the man, Vance stepped back, his eyes shifting to Luna with a small, reassuring glimmer in his gaze, "...All set?"

"Yes, all fucking set," the guard grumbled saltily, adjusting himself as Vance finally let him go. His gaze snapped down to Luna, the annoyance rolling from him as clear as day. "You could've told your boy toy not to manhandle me."

Luna's fingers fidgeted with one another, forcing an apologetic grin. "S-sorry, Joel. Kinda f-forgot to warn him ahead of t-time," she said.

"Uh huh. Yeah," Joel scoffed before reaching inside his coat, retracting two pairs of handcuffs. "Let's just get this over with. The sooner I can call quits on this undercover bullshit, the better. Gimme your wrists." Despite the confidence Luna had in her abilities, she hesitated to do as Joel asked, not exactly keen on using bindings. Not after what she went through the last time she was bound.

"U-um...okay…" she muttered, holding her hands out in defeat. Joel merely grunted and started cuffing the pair, making sure they weren't on tight enough to cause any discomfort.

Holding out his own wrists without hesitation, Vance gave Luna a look that suggested he was more than a little impressed. Her abilities were terrifying, but hell if they weren't handy as anything, "Yeah, sorry about that, Joel. Hope I didn't jostle ya too bad."

"Hope I didn't jostle ya too bad," Joel mocked in a grumble, shooting Vance a half-hearted glare. He nodded in Luna's direction. "I swear, if you weren't this little bean's bed partner, I'd--"

"J-Joel! Please!" Luna whined.

"Fine, fine! Christ." With a roll of the eyes, he finally started forcing the pair out into the open, his expression hardened with a rage that came so easily to him that Luna almost did a double-take. For a moment, she feared that her powers somehow faded. "Got a couple of mutant shits! Tried to jump me while taking a smoke, the fuckers!" Joel growled, sending sneers in their direction before marching up to his fellow guards. They nearly flinched as Luna and Vance grew closer, clearly uncomfortable in the presence of mutants.

"You managed to…" one guard started, brow furrowing in equal parts disbelief and admiration. He traded gazes with the guard next to him, before nodding and standing aside, giving Joel access to the front entrance. "Well, we've got an open holding cell. Lock 'em up."

"That was the plan, genius," Joel said sarcastically. Regardless, he ignored the glares tossed his way and entered the building, biting back a smirk. Heh, dummies.

"Picked a damn charmer…" Vance muttered softly to Luna, as they started for the building, but as they neared, he sobered, his eyes narrowing to slits as he glared at the back of the guard's head, "More like this dick jumped us! You bastards think you can just do whatever the hell you want…"

His anger resonated until they'd been led inside, and there again, he fell quiet, waiting for Luna's lead.

Luna merely shrugged in reply to Vance's little comment, before slapping on an expression of pure fear and helplessness for the guards. Luckily, Joel and her fiance's acting were on point and they were inside the facility, avoiding suspicion completely. Either her plan turned out to be smarter than she thought...or RIEF had a habit of hiring incompetent employees. The hacker couldn't tell.

"N-nice work, Joel," she said, a small grin forming.

Joel smirked smugly in response, his chest puffing out ever so slightly. "There you go spouting obvious shit, lil bean. I know my way around these idiots," he said.

"Err...I-I'm sure you do."

Joel grimaced. "Was that sarcasm?"

"N-no! Of course not."

A beat.

"...Just shaddup," Joel grumbled, his bravado not quite as bright as before. Jeez--Luna didn't him to have such a fragile ego. Either way, any further banter fell silent as he guided Luna and Vance to the room holding the servers. The door itself...was free of any guards. Strangely enough. "Alright, this is it." Joel started taking off their cuffs.

"Um...sh-shouldn't there be guards here? It's a p-pretty important room," Luna asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

Joel shrugged. "Eh, not really sure what's going on with that, lil bean. Don't have time to worry about it, though. Now get your asses in there before someone sees us."

They made it through the building and to the server room, but it wasn't exactly the trek he'd been expecting. When they arrived, Vance picked up on Luna's uneasiness as well, and his lips fell in a frown as he looked into the room, then back to Joel with a small shake of his head, "...I'm gonna need to stand guard while you work, Luna. You gonna be good, inside, Love?"

Her heart dropped as soon as the implication behind Vance's words sunk in. She...she had to go inside alone. What her fiance said made perfect sense, but it did nothing to alleviate the fear eating away at her lungs. Inhaling shakily, she nodded. "I-I'll...I'll be alright. T-ten minutes is all I need, a-at most," she said.

"I'll keep watch too," Joel said, nodded down the hall, "And take post further up around the corner. At least this way, your boy toy gets an earlier heads up...Hey, lil bean."

Luna stopped just as she grabbed the knob. "Y-yeah?"


"You got this. Won't be any fuck ups around here," Joel said, and with that, he quickly paced down the hall and just out of sight, eyes roaming the area. Luna's gaze fell back to the door, to Vance, and back again. She...She was shaking. As she always was. But fear wasn't an option; not anymore. Gulping back her emotions, she forced the door open and stepped inside.

"Ten minutes," she repeated, just before the door shut behind her.

Heart hammering, Vance watched as Luna went inside and as the door closed, he turned his gaze to the hallway ahead. Joel would be the first line of defense… Joel… then him. They wouldn't get past him. No one would get past him.

Inside the room, eleven servers lined the room, all of them buzzing softly. Switches and toggles lines the servers, and several had input and output jacks for USBs and HDMI cables. The room was empty, otherwise, but for a single camera in the corner, no bigger than a pencil eraser, slowly revolving back and forth, back and forth… On the wall, a clock was counting down, nearly the eight and a half hour mark.

The tiny camera was the first thing Luna noticed and instantly knew that hiding from it would be a waste of energy and time on her part. Which was fine. She had eight hours to hack into these servers, disable that camera (along with its memory drive), and shutdown this bomb for good. She just...needed to have faith in herself. For once.

Quickly, she logged onto the nearest server and started diving into its database. Security seemed as loose as she hoped, no harder than the systems he hacked from previous RIEF facilities. In a matter of seconds, she was perusing the camera's hard drive and with a three second flourish of typing, the memory on it was wiped clean. "There," she said, releasing a breath she had no idea she was even holding.

Now for the bomb.

This would fine. Simple. Straightforward. RIEF had never been able to thwart her hacking in the past--well, not entirely. They had yet to ever rebuke her advances or misdirect her pathways; her mother taught her well, almost too well, and that devil woman was finally paying for it--

What happened next ripped Luna's heart out of her chest.

It was a beep. Harsh but simple, and with it came a change in the eight-hour countdown. Suddenly, the time dropped...all the way down to fifteen minutes.

And just like that, her composure shattered. A horrified yelp escaped Luna, before slapping a quivering hand over her lips. She backed away from the server. She could see, taste, feel, or hear anything except for that horrendous beep. Repeating and bouncing about in her ears over and over again. She fucked up. She royally fucked up. "Vance...Vance!" she yelled, feet unable to move her towards the door.

The door opened before his name escaped her twice, and Vance appeared on the other side, eyes wide with concern. He looked around the room, but when no immediately threat revealed itself, he swiftly made his way to Luna's side, hand on her back, "Luna?? What… what's--" Gaze flickering to the clock on the wall, Vance swore under his breath, "Look at me, Luna. Right here…" He gestured to his eyes, his free hand cupping her chin, "You can do this. I have watched you take down firewalls faster than I can spell it. I have never doubted you, not for one damn second, and I'm not gonna start now. You take a breath. You take a second, and then you get over to that computer, and you fly, Luna. You hear me? You fly."

Luna clung onto Vance's every word tightly, desperately, like the last lifeline in existence. Her vision was already blurred with tears, salty trails rolling past freckles as sobs shook her insides. And yet, through the panic and kindling horror and doubt, she refused to break eye contact with him. If she did, she'd crumble completely. She'd be the collapse of a building without its supporting foundation. Bottom lip trembling, she wiped away as much mess from her visage as she could and said, "O-o...okay...O-okay…" She did as Vance said and took a long quivering breath. He believed in her. Believed that she could fly.

"Fly away, little moth. Just fly far, far away…"

Emmanuel...Her brother always told Luna to fly away, to keep going until she burned to ashes in a beacon of death. It was a constant reminder of how he hated her, how much he still hated her now. And for the as long as she could remember, Luna thought she deserved that scorn; some days...some days she agreed--she was better off dead. Or never being born to begin with. If it wasn't for her, so many people would still be alive and living a life that wasn't twisted by her own abilities. Walking in the shoes of a fabricated story.

But then she would remember Rogue. Her family. Her bestfriends. Her colleagues. Her partners. Her allies. Her better half. Every single one of them holding a piece of her heart and soul until there was nothing left.

And she'd be damn to give up on them.

Luna sucked in another breath, hands balling into fists at her side. "F… f-fifteen minutes is… child's play," she whispered, voice fragile and determined all at once.

"That's my girl…" He whispered, brushed a kiss to her forehead, before he released her, "I'll be right here, waiting… I'm not gonna leave your side, Luna, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

The kiss to her forehead was the final kick she needed. Her stance adopted more strength to it, the most her body ever dared to hold in years, as she nodded and headed back to the servers. "I-I won't make you wait l-long," she said, eyes glued to the screens as she set to work. She typed away at a frantic pace, not even allowing herself to blink more times than necessary; sometimes, in the hacking world, a blink's worth of time was all it took for a system to stab you in the back and reject you immediately. And she wasn't going to let that happen.

But then her movements faltered. Briefly. Only briefly. But the adrenaline that was already pumping through her had skyrocketed. Without turning to face Vance, she called out in a rushed breath, "We've got more than one. The toxin sights. It's…" A curse almost escaped her. "There's several of them, b-but I think I can sh-shut them all down from here."

"...Hell." Rubbing his forehead, Vance stepped closer to look over her shoulder briefly. He didn't envy her. Not by any stretch. She could do it… he had every confidence she could do it. But he couldn't imagine what was going through her mind in those moments…

"If I keep saying you've got this, am I gonna sound like an idiot?" He asked, with a dry, uneasy laugh.

"N-never," she replied immediately, gaze still trained ahead, "Honestly, Vance? I n-need you to keep saying that. P-please."

"Baby girl?" He leaned in and kissed her temple, smiling despite the circumstances, "...You got this."

"...Does she, though?" The voice came from behind them, and Vance spun around so swiftly it was a miracle the man didn't get whiplash, his eyes narrowing as he stepping front of Luna without hesitation.

"...Manny. My favorite son of a bitch. What a surprise." He deadpanned, as Emmanuel stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"Somehow, this doesn't surprise me. Could you two get any more predictable? Seriously… This is borderline embarrassing, how dead-on Director Hull was about what you'd do if you saw it…"