𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄
⋆⋅✧⋅⋆
(the majestic twelve)
𝐓he chilling burn of the icepack against Nyx's cheek was the only thing grounding her as she sat on the couch beside Diego and Lila. Her mind was spinning at a rate faster than she could keep up with. Everything around her just seemed to be cracking at the seams and she was unable to do anything to stop its destruction. She had found out early on in the morning when she had awoken that she wasn't the only one who had acquired injuries in recent days. Diego had a nasty stab wound in his lower abdomen that had left him bedridden for almost the entirety of her capture. At first, she found his predicament to be quite funny, especially when she discovered who it was who stabbed him. She saw it fitting as the perfect karma for leaving her to fend for herself. But then she discovered how hard he fought for her and how much harder Five fought against her. Despite how badly she wished it to be untrue, Nikolai was telling the truth after all. Five hadn't even tried to come and rescue her.
She'd be lying if she said the realization didn't hurt. It pained her more than any injury she had acquired from Sersi and Niko combined. She had thought to have found someone willing to fight for her. After all these years she had assumed that she finally wasn't alone. But alas he fell into the never-ending cycle of her trauma and only proved her right. She would always be alone. It angered her and left her utterly devastated. After everything she had done, he couldn't even try and look for her. Saying it didn't open her mind to question what other topics pertaining to him Niko had been right about would be a lie.
The door to the apartment opening roped Nyx back into reality. What little focus she had on her surroundings quickly amplified as she took in the sight of Five entering the room. "Well, Vanya was a no go..." His words died on his tongue as his gaze landed on Nyx resting on the couch. He felt his heart stop in his chest as his body froze. She looked like shit. There was no simpler way to put it. The skin underneath her eyes was dark, her hair had been tossed about, the cut across her nose dared to bleed at any second, and a big bruise was forming on her cheekbone. Guilt weighed heavy on his heart as he took in her cold stare. She was not happy to see him.
"Nyx," He said breathlessly as he made his way toward her. "You're alive?"
She wanted to scream at him. To unleash every single drop of her anger and demand answers. It was a wrath she could hardly contain. Her grip was slowly slipping and it was only a matter of time before she blew up. How could he throw her away like that? After everything how could he list her so low on his priorities? But she remained silent in the unsureness that she could even handle the answers to her own questions.
Five could sense her bottled rage from the other side of the apartment. It was a static that crackled wildly through the air. He deserved it, he knew he did but he would have thought her to have at least understood where he was coming from. Yes, he knew of her beliefs about the world. She had told him once long ago of her feelings of solitude. Doing what he did, abandoning her, only added to the long burning fire. He knew that. But the situation he had been placed in was nothing short of unfair. He loved her, he truly did. With every fiber of his being, he loved her. But he loved his family more and they would always come first. Always.
She may not understand it now, but in time she would. What he did or rather didn't do was for the greater good.
"You have no idea how worried I was." Five spoke softly as he cautiously wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as gently as possible all while testing the waters. She didn't bother to try and hug him back. "You scared me there, Nyx."
She said not a single word not trusting her tongue to obey her mind rather than her heart. With her newfound revelation, it was something she highly doubted she'd be able to control. She was always good at picking her battles it was a skill she prided herself on. Her heart was always left on the backburner when it came to controlling her actions it is what made her so skilled at what she does. But that control was beginning to rapidly slip from her tight grasp. It had started with Theo and now continued on with Five. She had let her heart get the best of her last time. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice, not yet anyway.
The silence that hung through the air was painful as Five slowly pulled away from her. She didn't even look at him, instead keeping her eyes trained on the wall ahead of her. She couldn't look at him. If she did, she would quickly regret what followed. Her actions were something Five had quickly grown to fear. Silence was never good, not with her. He had seen her at her absolute lowest, watched her anger burn through empires, but he had never seen her silent. Never.
He had betrayed her at the time she needed him most and abandoned her in a period where she believed to have finally not been alone. That was something she would never let go.
His eyes roamed her body for any large injuries. He could make out the smaller ones fast. The cut on her nose, the bruise on her cheek, the small scrapes on her arms. None of those worried him. What worried him was the haunting image of the knife impaling her lower abdomen. He couldn't help the lingering gaze his eyes left on where the wound should have been. He was surprised to find no trace of the injury at least none he could see. His brows pinched together in confusion as he looked up to Nyx's face for some kind of clarification but she gave him none, still refusing to look his way.
"Are you alright?" He wasn't foolish enough to ask her if she was hurting. The amount of pain she was in was as clear as day. Asking if she was alright was a broader term. It allowed for more room for answers. He knew physically she wasn't alright but that was not the goal of his question. Something was off with her, it had been for a while now but this...this was different. This was uncharted territory for both of them.
Nyx simply nodded in response, still not bothering to actually acknowledge him. She leaned back further on the couch cushion, her head now lying against the back cushion. She and Diego mirrored one another to almost perfection as Lila rebandaged his wound. "She got beat up pretty bad," Diego spoke, his voice laced with the slightest amount of anger with his pointed gaze aimed at his brother. Nyx adjusted the placement of her icepack to rest higher on her cheek as she closed her eyes. "She's lucky to be able to move around as much as she can right now." Diego's sympathetic eyes fell to her.
He felt guilty for what had happened but Nyx never blamed him. He was the only one to fight for her but he would have been useless against Sersi and Nikolai. Their power heavily outnumbered his own and his ability to sneak around easily was useless against Niko. There was no way he would make it out with her alone. Five on the other hand was more skilled in that area. Sersi would have proven a challenge but he could have beaten her if he cornered her just right. Nyx even bet he could sneak up on Niko. He could have saved her. Though the truth of it never stopped Diego from feeling immense guilt toward Nyx. "She needs to rest," Diego said as he moved his hand to place it sympathetically on her shoulder. Normall Nyx would have slapped it away but this time she welcomed the gesture. Five nodded in understanding, though his worried gaze never left Nyx as he moved to walk behind the couch. "How'd it go with Vanya?" Diego inquired.
"Adequate at best," Five said in dismay.
"So what, you just let her go?" Diego inquired with a confused look.
Five paced back and forth behind them as he said, "Well, Vanya had a lot to process." A soft sigh fell past his lips as he shook his head. "She'll come around." Though he didn't entire know if he believed his own words.
Diego turned his head to look at his brother as he inquired, "What about the guys that went after her?"
"The Swedes?" Five asked as Elliot entered the room, two coffee mugs in hand. He handed one to Lila before placing the other on the table before the three.
"Yeah," Diego confirmed, his gaze following his brother as he walked out from behind the couch to grab the lone cup of coffee. "I mean, how do you know they won't go after her again?"
"We don't," Five answered truthfully.
"Mmm, any idea who sent them?" Lila asked before taking a sip from her mug.
Five reached down to grab his cup, his gaze turning to Lila as he smiled, "Oh, I have my suspicions." Diego raised his hand to take the cup from Lila, wanting a drink of his own before it was all gone. "But right now, our priority is finding Dad and getting answers. 'Cause everything else depends on it."
"Which for the record," Diego chimed in as Five took a seat on the couch opposite of them. "I already found him."
"And then let him go." Five quickly reminded, cutting off anything more his brother could say. "Mind you, before we could have a meaningful conversation."
Diego's face turned sour as he stared at Five in disbelief. "He stabbed me." He bluntly reminded.
"I'm surprised he waited this long, Diego. We've all had the urge." He snarkily remarked causing Lila to erupt into a fit of laughter. She stuck her hand out to Five waiting for him to give her a high-five. "Good one," She applauded him but Five didn't bother to feed into her game.
A light tap on Nyx's shoulder caused her to peek her eyes open. Elliott stood before her, a warm smile hugging his lips as he held out a mug to her. She peeked into the cup and a look of disgust formed on her face as she breathed in the bitter smell of coffee. "What the hell is this? I asked for a hot chocolate." Elliott's smile fell as he began to fiercely apologize to her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I swear it was an accident. I'm so sorry." Nyx groaned as she slumped back onto the couch, waving her hand at him to go away. "Yeah, yeah I get it. I accept your apology or whatever just get me a hot chocolate." He nodded before running off back to the kitchen.
Five reached into his pocket and grabbed a piece of paper before leaning over and reaching out for Diego to grab it. "Good thing I know where Dad's gonna be tonight." Diego snatched the paper from his hand and drew it closer so he was able to examine it. "Where'd you get this?" He asked as his eyes scanned the page. "Found it at his office while he was busy stabbing you." Five retorted.
Diego fought the urge to roll his eyes as he laughed sarcastically. "Hoyt Hillenkoetter and the Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas cordially invited you to a gala."
"Whoa, wait." Elliott interrupted as he returned to the room, another mug in hand. "Hoyt Hillenkoetter? Are you serious?" He asked while he approached Nyx. "Here you go Miss Nyx."
"Miss Nyx?" Nyx repeated, her brows raised as she grabbed the cup from him. She shook her head in disbelief. "Jesus Christ."
"We should go," Lila suggested as she placed her finger on the paper. "Says here there's gonna be a seafood tower."
"No, Hillenkoetter is one of the Majestic Twelve." Elliott clarified for the group.
"What the hell is the Majestic Twelve?" Deigo asked as Nyx sipped on her hot chocolate.
"It's a secret committee." Elliott ran for his desk, his rambling continuing the entire way there. "Uh, scientists, military, uh, deep state. No one knows what they really do."
"Wait so they're the government?" Diego asked.
"Shadow government." Elliott corrected as he rifled through all of his papers. "Yeah, Kennedy was the first president to try to push them into the light but these guys are not to be trifled with. Oh," His words died out as he pulled a piece of paper from his pile. "Here we go." He said as he returned to the group. "Ah, right here."
Nyx leaned forward in her chair to get a look at the image Elliott had placed on the table. It was a picture of a group of men sitting at a table. "That's Hoyt right there."
"I only count eleven," Lila stated as her eyes roamed the faces while she recounted again to find some kind of mistake.
"Well, that's because they've only identified eleven so far," Elliott explained.
"Who's the twelfth?" Diego asked causing Nyx to roll her eyes. "What part of they've only identified eleven did you not understand?" She shot at him.
Diego's brows shot up in surprise at her snarkiness. "Hey, you watch your mouth okay? I dragged your ass into a bed last night if it wasn't for me you'd be sleeping on the floor."
"Oh, whatever. If it wasn't for me you'd be dead." Her gaze then turned to Five and for the first time since he had appeared before her again, she looked at him. "If it wasn't for me you'd be dead too. On multiple occasions." She stated, anger lacing the words as they fell from her lips. "The both of you owe me the fucking world and neither of you have given me anything."
Five stated silent, not wishing to agitate Nyx any further but also not knowing what to say. Mostly because she was right and he knew it. Diego on the other hand didn't share such a belief and crossed his arms over his chest all while muttering one singular word, "Ungrateful."
Nyx's glare snapped to him. "Oh, I'm ungrateful? I'm ungrateful?!" She shook her head in disbelief as she pointed at him. "You are walking on thin ice, Diego. Thin."
Lila looked back and forth between the three as she sipped on her coffee. "Awkward," She said in a soft sing-song. An awkward laugh soon followed at the glares her comment had received. She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck before changing the subject. "So, who do we think the twelfth member is."
Having been steered back on track, Five was able to focus his mind instead of letting the wild thoughts of what to say to Nyx consume him whole. His pointed gaze was aimed at his brother, implying something he hoped Diego to be smart enough to catch onto. Luckily Diego was thinking the same and returned Five's knowing look. There was only one thing left for them to do now.
Prove it.