home.

"mmmm, dunno. watch a movie? cuddle?"

just the usual things he's come to appreciate. his own smile is warm and affectionate.

"you gonna fall asleep again before the movie ends?"

giada morgan

☉

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]oooh cuddles... okay, that's a good plan. she squishes herself a little closer to his body heat, happily content to tuck herself into his side after food and wine.

"no promises," she chirps. "especially if you play with my hair again." and if he rubs her back? she'll be out like a light within seconds.

they realistically make it only a few more feet before the air shifts. she doesn't notice it. not really, anyway. goosebumps rise over skin and she associates it with the february chill, pressing into cian's side to steal more warmth from his body.

"what movie do you wanna watch?"

CIAN MAHER
mission

the lingering warmth from the wine earlier is nothing compared to what she provides. he presses his body, meeting hers as his arm wraps around her waist.

"the same one we didn't finish, maybe?" he chuckles. "i dunno how it ends and it's killing me."

the air shifts, and still, cian remains oblivious. there's no reason to be cautious or wary, so why would he notice anything?

a group of men stumble out of the bar, drunk, laughing, and rushing away from them.

"that's weird."

giada morgan

☉

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]his arm coils around her waist and here, it’s safe. warmth spreads like sunlight on a nice day. and maybe it’s just her but there’s this silly little notion that this is everything she’s wanted and it instills a sense of security.

”okay,” she giggles. truthfully, majority of the movie was a sleepy blur but she’ll watch whatever he wants regardless. ”we can see what the ending is.”

the sound of drunken laughter echoes against empty alleyways. her head snaps up slower than it should and as cian touches upon the weirdness of the group’s escape, she stares. the creeping feeling that something is off sinks in too late.

there’s a pause, a muffled yell, and then an explosion.

CIAN MAHER
mission

boom.

"—!"

the impact sends him flying off to the side, away from the bar, and into the side of a car. his elbow breaks the glass while the rest of his body collides against the steel frame.

he drops to the ground as the heat around them starts to rise.

with blurred vision, he coughs, looking up.

"g—gia!"

giada morgan

☉

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]there's two things giada is certain of. one: this fucking sucks. two: there goes another one of her lives.

debris scatters with their bodies and god, the heat is blistering. her body hits pavement with a sickening crack. and based on the way her vision goes blank, it's her head. fuck.

coming to takes a few moments of stillness. and when she does, it's nothing but searing pain and the stench of charred flesh.

faintly, she hears him coughing, hears him calling. it's off, as if in a different dimension than her. she blames it on the explosion, on the way it ripped into her ears.

"ci?" comes in a soft, strangled gasp. smoke billows from the raging fire before them. and she tries to hoist herself up... really, she does, but glass bites at probable burns and her vision is being stained red. she blinks and it's worse.

in the distance, a figure emerges from the pyres.

CIAN MAHER
mission

fuck this shit.

even through the chaos of it all, cian manages to find the right pokeball. it pops open, revealing his politoed who brings with it a DRIZZLE.

soon, rain pours, cooling all around them. droplets of water sizzle as they meet concrete and steel and flesh.

"gia?"

still, he doesn't see the figure.

giada morgan

☉

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]rain comes as a blessing. it drenches everything and her body sings mild praise from relief of the cold water. it turns muddy as it runs off her body in little rivets, mingling with the dirt and blood clinging to her skin.

"cian?" she calls. it's meek, scared. "where are you? i -- are you okay?"

and what would she do if he wasn't? that... isn't given life in her mind. she can't.

the figure stills at the rain, at their voices. and faintly, the smile is vicious against the remains of pyres. it begins to move again. steps are soft, practiced, precise, and getting closer.

she tries to sit up with a groan. her head screams with pain, as if her skull is about to split open from the impact. god, this fucking sucks. vertigo comes with blackening vision, a rush between head and ears, and the rising sensation of nausea.

and yet, she can't think of anything else but his safety. fuck.

CIAN MAHER
mission

his back rests against the steel door of the car. warm droplets drench his hair, his shirt, and everything. finally, as he takes a moment to gather his bearings, he sees someone approaching.

"gi—?"

he's cut short by a kick across his jaw that easily knocks him out.

his politoed hops over too late but it does stand over cian, protective of its trainer as it belches out a HYDRO PUMP.

giada morgan

☉

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]she can barely hear him over the pitter patter of rain and the incessant ringing.

and just as quickly as his voice rises, it's cut short. the dread that coils in her veins is instant.

"cian?"

it goes unanswered for a moment. hydro pump follows and then, amused laughter. it settles in her bones, gnawing on marrow with the most unpleasant sound.

she tries to get closer, tries to claw her way to him. glass scrapes across skin and when she picks her head up, her vision blurs out the figure turning toward her.

"oh?"

god, the voice is worse.

"still kickin, huh?"

definitely a lot worse.

CIAN MAHER
mission

cian's still out cold.

politoed, too occupied with the scyther that buzzes into the scene, can do nothing more but continue to fight as it tries to fend them off in hopes of keeping its unconscious trainer safe.

with nothing in his way, the man is free to approach giada.

"i'd stay down if i were you, hot stuff."

giada morgan

☉

[attr="class","giada"]

[attr="class","giada b"]

[attr="class","giada i"]he approaches with an ease that chills her down to bone.

and part of her wonders if he's a weird hallucination. real or fake, there's still dread clawing at her insides.

"why?"

blood still pours, her body still screams with pain. it's becoming increasingly clear for both of them that she has little to no fight in her... not like this.

her eyes dart toward cian's slumped body and the fear grows into a festering monster.

and almost surprisingly, she finds no words wanting to clamor out of her throat.

what can she say, anyway, in the face of this?

CIAN MAHER
mission

"because you rocket cunts think you own everything."

light from the lamppost reflects off the metal of the gun. the man holds it at giada only to shift it over to cian.

"i'm taking back what's mine — this fucking city."

he grins, then starts walking towards cian.

"now watch me kill your boy."

giada morgan

☉