*HIATUS* 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚 (𝙅𝙞𝙣𝙭 𝙭 𝙛𝙚𝙢 𝙤𝙘)

Strings That Bind

The faint metallic creak of the lab door felt deafening as Ryn stepped inside, her boots scuffing against the slick floor. She paused in the doorway, her breath caught in her throat. The room was dim and the hum of equipment filled the silence.

At first, she thought she'd gotten lucky. It seemed empty.

Then she spotted him.

Singed sat hunched over a table, scribbling into a worn notebook, his gaunt silhouette a shadow against the glow of bubbling vials. His head tilted slightly, just enough to let her know he'd heard her enter.

"You're late," he said, his voice flat but weighted, a scalpel disguised as sound.

Ryn forced her usual smirk and stepped further into the lab. "Late? Didn't realize there was a curfew," she quipped.

Singed didn't respond immediately. Instead, he turned, his sharp, calculating eyes fixing her in place. "It isn't about the hour, Ryn. It's about responsibility. You were entrusted with delivering something important."

Her fingers curled slightly, nails biting into her palm. "And I did," she said breezily, moving toward a counter and busying herself by rearranging some stray tools. "All three vials. Safe and sound."

Singed rose slowly from his stool, and the measured way he moved made her stomach twist. "Is that so?" he asked, his voice calm, almost curious. He strode toward her, hands clasped behind his back. "Good. Silco's trust is paramount, after all."

"Exactly," Ryn said, forcing a light tone. "Mission accomplished."

Singed stopped a few paces from her, tilting his head. His expression was unreadable, but his presence filled the space like a noose tightening. "And what took you so long?"

"Long?" Ryn laughed, a little too quickly. "I took the scenic route. Haven't been out in a while, you know." She gestured vaguely. "Bright skies, alley rats, the whole ambiance. Makes you appreciate the charm of this place even more."

He didn't laugh.

"Rynna," he said, his voice dropping to a quiet, steady note that felt colder than the lab's steel surfaces. "You are... indispensable to my work. But trust is a delicate thing."

Her pulse quickened, though she kept her grin plastered in place. "Trust? Come on, Doc, you're practically my dad at this point." She tapped her chest lightly, though the humor in her voice didn't match the tension coiling in her gut.

Singed stepped closer, his gaze piercing. "If that were true, you'd understand how... disappointing it is when someone forgets the terms of an arrangement."

And there it was. The reminder. Subtle, but not subtle enough. Ryn swallowed, her hands instinctively brushing her coat pockets, where the flask of medicine still sat. She didn't need him to say it outright to hear the threat: You need me.

"I didn't forget anything," she said lightly, though her voice felt like it was balancing on a blade. "You asked, I delivered. No need to overthink it."

Singed studied her, his gaze lingering just a moment too long. Then, he turned and walked back to his workstation, the tension in the room loosening just slightly.

"You were out with the girl," he said, his back to her now, his tone deliberately neutral.

Ryn froze. "What girl?" she asked, keeping her voice casual.

"The one Silco sent yesterday. Jinx." He glanced at her over his shoulder. "I noticed the residue on one of your gloves."

Of course, he'd noticed. He always noticed.