ASH HATFIELD
xxxeven while we sleep, we will find you
xxxacting on your best behaviour
xxxturn your back on mother nature
xxxeverybody wants to rule the world
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
xxx
But not Luciana, Ash reminded himself. Out of everyone, he could trust Lucy. He needed to be able to trust her. And she, at least, seemed to trust him. Her spilling the truth about Elena made him glance over and raise an eyebrow, almost subconsciously. But she didn't give him a chance to actively comment on it, just staying talking. Ash could feel himself calming down, regaining control.
And then she brought up Darius, and the flare of anger snapped any little control he did have. "Seriously, Luciana?" He asked, straightening up and turning to face her. "You're judging me? After admitting that you've got those funny little feelings in your stomach about the first hero who flutters her eyelashes at you and pretends she doesn't want to murder us? Funnily enough, you not being able to keep it in your pants and giving your number to any pretty girl who asks is what got us nearly killed." He snapped. Somewhere, deep inside, he winced at the harshness of his tone, but he was too far gone to stop. "And just because I treat Darius like a goddamn human being doesn't mean shit. When all you do is attempt to tease him and annoy him, one of us has to play good cop. If it wasn't for me, he probably would have left at this point. They're tools, Luciana. A means to an end. Do you really think we're all going to be the best of friends after this? Like they won't try and turn us in the moment after we're all safe and sound? They're still heroes, Luciana. And we need to trust each other more than we trust them. Don't lose your head."
Turning off the water, he exhaled, running his hands down his face. "My couch is free if you want it tonight." He said, his voice level and even, before turning and leaving. The short distance between the bathroom and the break room gave him time to regain his composure. "Come on, time to get the hell out of here," he called as he passed, not stopping to chat. He wanted to leave this evening behind for now.
ELENA RAMSAY
xxxyou want the heart all to be saved
xxxbut even good guys still get paid
xxxso watch my back and keep the blade
xxxi think it got you laid
xxx
xxx
And with time, it seemed to fade, Elena telling herself that it had all been a figment of her tired, stressed imagination. Time apart helped as Luciana and Ash compiled what they'd been told and Elena and Darius attempted to track down any other potential sources of information, as well as making sure that the man's disappearance got buried. It was a few days later when they met up again for the first time in person. And, in an uncharacteristic turn of events, Elena was running late.
They'd had a stressful few days. So, when some of her non-hero friends had suggested a night out, Elena hadn't hesitated before she'd said yes. Even if it had been the night before their meeting, Elena was so goddamn tired of doing hero work and of seeing hardly anyone except Darius. So she'd made sure there was plenty of food in the fridge and had told him that she was staying with a friend instead.
She'd ended up across town in the apartment of some French diplomat or something. She vaguely remembered him discussing it at some point, but mostly she just remembered them flirting in French and... then when they'd gone back to his place. It was, of course, the other side of town to where they were meeting, and public transport was not working in her favour. She'd texted Darius to let him know she was running late, and had used the time to throw on some makeup and make herself look a little less exhausted. So she arrived to the little, obscure café about fifteen minutes late, but still managed to compose herself. "Hi guys. Sorry, had a few things I needed to sort out this morning," she said, flopping in to the seat at the table with her mocha and muffin in hand.