GOLDEN AGE | ON HIATUS

XVI | NARCISSA

She wanted to help people feel safe, if she couldn't feel that way herself. It was disgustingly heroic of her, but she held back her embarrassment long enough to force her eyes open, new energy buzzing in her muscles.

In her ears, a steady thump of a heartbeat sounded, but as Narcissa readjusted to her surroundings, she became more and more aware that it was not her own. What she had thought to be a pillow was now much more firm as she pulled herself up, a flash of mahogany skin telling her what she'd been dreading. Scowling, Narcissa forced herself to face him, trying to hide the flush that heated her cheeks. 

"You're like a little kitten when you sleep, you know," Finn grinned, eyes sparkling with energy. 

Narcissa grumbled as she gripped the edge of the bed, hauling herself up and making her way to the door. "I hate you," she muttered, trying to hold back the smile that tugged at her lips.

Two days back home, and she was already back to acting like a kid - it made her want to break something. So that had now become her short-term plan; get down to the training rooms without anyone noticing, destroy every punching bag they had, maybe a few swords for good measure. Some time at the shooting range was bound to clear her head, to make her finally think straight, wouldn't it?

"Where you going?" he asked as the door slid open, plunging them into eye-wateringly bright light. It had always been like that for as long as Narcissa could remember, making the nighttime walks that she used to enjoy when she was younger even more invigilating, such a contrast from Semper City's smog-ridden skyline.

She loved it.

"Training. You wanna go?"

"Leggo."

Narcissa stifled a snort, starting down the hallway with Finn close behind her. The spring in his step made her want to take off running, pretending that she didn't know him, but from the gawks they gathered from interns as they took the twenty-floor plunge down to the training facilities, she knew that the two of them were far too famous around Crux to go undetected. That meant, unfortunately, that she would have to deal with Finn for a while longer.

When they were downstairs, at least, she could kick his ass.

As the elevator doors opened, Narcissa held back a gasp of relief at the sight of the training rooms. They looked even better than before, with laser beams in cages for agility courses, huge foam pits and mock-skyscrapers, climbing walls and sparring rings. She wanted to run straight towards all of them with open arms, but Finn's hand held her back and guided them both to a changing room that hadn't been there before. There, he pointed towards a closet full of gi suits, belts neatly arranged beneath them.

A smirk playing on her lips, Narcissa picked out a seventh dan black belt from the lines of taekwondo belts, raising an eyebrow as Finn selected one of the exact same rank. He'd improved far more than she expected - the last time they had trained together, he was a mere second dan. 

"Good job." She took a fresh set of workout clothes, walking into a cubicle to her left and locking the door behind her. The click that followed wasn't enough to reassure her, not after so many years of picking locks, but Narcissa knew that she would have to get used to it. At least the familiar weight of a holster around her waist let her breathe a little bit more easily, knowing that she wouldn't have to settle for a pair of karabiners to gouge an attacker's eyes out.