𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱'𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻 (𝗠𝗮𝗳𝗶𝗮!𝗡𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘂)

4

~nihachu~

i could feel her eyes on me the whole time but i was just as bad at keeping my gaze to myself. her cheekbones were defined like the muscles were on greek statues, her hair defied the very laws of gravity, and there was the tiniest gap between her two front teeth that shined brighter whenever she smiled.

i'd worked against attractive people before, i just hope my resilience against the wiles of god would still stand strong.

"what do you do for a living?" a question from the smooth skinned girl next to me brought from my thoughts.

"i run a small company that works with foreign individuals that don't speak english," i said easily.

"that's so cool! what languages do you know?"

"german and spanish, though i have coworkers that know seven languages and like to flex," i giggled. she also laughed quietly.

"what about you?" i could see her brain turning up a blank.

"oh, it's nothing as interesting as what you do, trust me."

"still," i shrugged, enjoying her scramble for words. "i wanna know."

"i help run the town from behind the scenes, really. i do odd jobs and other bits and pieces to keep the world going around," she said vaguely, which i accepted with a nod.

"that sounds pretty cool to me," i said, smiling with a hint of flirt. i could see her melt a little and it made my heart beat. that was surely because of the thought of ending this mission sooner than i had previously imagined.

"well, if you say so, then it must be," she chuckled. i rolled my eyes and sipped wine from a glass. we'd sat down at one of the more private tables and had food brought over.

"i feel like i've seen you before too," i remarked. might as well cut to the chase like any well-meaning citizen.

"what do you mean by that?" she asked, stiffening up very slightly.

"i'm not sure... i'm sorry if that offended you," i said quickly, doing my best to keep in the innocent, good books.

"no need to apologize, i'm just..." a subtle rumble beneath our feet shut her up immediately and she shot to her feet. the other men in charge of this casino all seemed to look at her and her eyes shot to the window.

"niki, get do-" a loud explosion interrupted, breaking tall windows, and i did what i was told without second guessing it. glass shards rained down and panicked shouts rang out all around the room.

i didn't think i'd get caught up in actual trouble, i was just an undercover worker, after all, not a real spy. i thought some heavy flirting and maybe a tense chase sequence where i ran out with a bunch of files that were stored in her room would be as terrible as it got.

the ringing from the blast still clouded my ears and my brain was starting to flit back and forth between my mission and fleeing. i couldn't just abandon this, though, i'd already complained to cap. that would be awkward, considering she already boosted my ego for this mission.

"-iki! please come, i don't want you hurt!" i could feel someone tugging on my arm and let them lead me away from the gathering smoke and debris. the damages were sure to be costly.

"what...?" i managed to get out before coughing, i hadn't realized the smoke clinging to my throat when i breathed in until just now.

"it's magnolia, don't worry, i know somewhere safe," the voice that should frighten me was now soothing and lulling me into a strange calm. i really hope that food wasn't drugged.

"what happened?" i asked after clearing my throat.

"a bomb was hidden out by the garbage disposal area. i think some sickos may have snuck in when we had the trash hauled away yesterday," she said grimly, almost tossing me onto her shoulder to get around the overturned chairs and tables that had become an accidental blockade.
"i'm terribly sorry about how unorthodox this may seem to you."

"is it not to you?" i asked, genuinely shocked. she grunted while kicking aside a chair and descended a staircase, only loosening her grip on me to hold me differently. now in a classic-wedding hold, i could look at her face.
"well?"

"i need to get you safe, they may have seen you with me and it wouldn't be right to just let you loose on the streets to get ambushed," she muttered to herself, not hearing my question.

"what's happening?" we were still going down stairs, dusty lanterns becoming more frequent.

"magnolia!" i finally shouted, making her stop on a platform and look at me indecipherably.

"what the hell is going on?" i demanded, trying to be as assertive as i could while being held.

"there's people after me and i can't have you hurt because of that. i've only known you for a few hours, that would be awful of me," she said with tight lips, continuing the descent a bit slower than before.

"where are we going?" i asked, looking around for the signs of some kind of dungeon. that would not be on my health insurance plan.

"a safe place. don't worry," she answered, watching the wall behind my head carefully before knocking something with her foot and getting a satisfying creak in return. she let me down from her arms but immediately pulled me through a tight doorway that looked like it would blend very well into the wall.

"are you sure about this?" i said skeptically, holding up my dress with one hand and clinging to her arm with the other. heels weren't the best choice for tonight.

"yep. i hope you don't get motion sickness, though," magnolia said mysteriously.

"what?"

we rounded a dimly lit bend and a rickety cart and rail track was waiting for us.

"oh hell no."

———

it had turned into a 'hell yes' when she heard suspicious rumbling from behind us.

niki had since taken to squeaking at every high speed turn that we took and i was honestly just glad she wasn't trying to jump out.

"almost there, don't worry," i murmured, squeezing her shoulder in a way i hoped was comforting.
"and again, i deeply apologize about all that has happened this evening."

she chose to not answer, which i did not hold against her. poor girl had been through more action in one night than she'd probably ever seen in her life.

"where are we going?" she finally asked, tiredness starting to fog her words.

"my home."

don't eat scented candles
i know they smell good but don't
-Cat ^•w•^