This was wrong. Something about this set Mal’s skin a ablaze with a tingling unease. You’d think the guy had seen her only a week ago to be this laid back.

“Do you…wanna see him?” If she supervised, it should be fine…though every instinct in her body screamed at her to send him away, to lie and tell him Reina wasn’t here and bail without so much as a 30 day notice, it was Reina’s baggage, not hers. It wasn’t really her place to decide how best to handle the situation. 

“I-I...”

There was fear in her voice, as memories came flooding to the front of her mind, images she tried to suppress and ignore. For an instant, in front of Mal no longer stood the cranky, paranoid roommate she’d known since high school. Instead, a meek, frightened child took her place, holding herself tightly as she grappled with the cold, twisting feeling in her stomach.

Inwardly, the argued with herself--for years she’d tried to convince her parents, authorities, countless therapists that Zach was alive. But now that the proof stood right outside of her apartment, the weight was almost unbearable for her.

Even so, at least one thing managed to keep her grounded, and without a thought, Reina reached out to clasp her fingers in the fabric of Mal’s shirt, looking up for reassurance.

Mal’s face became the picture of confusion. Reina didn’t talk much about family anyway, but she didn’t even know she had siblings. The way she had siblings. And while with anyone else Mal could dismiss it as a careless lie, just looking at him was a challenge to that assertion.

“Hm…I’ll see if she’s in, think she might have a late class.” She lied, biting the inside of her cheek thoughtfully as she considered what might have drove Reina to keep this from her, assuming it true. 

No need to think on it, she thought. Ask her yourself. And so Mal reached back to open the door as she backed into it, gracing her guest with a quick “be right back” and quickly closing the door behind her before making her way down to Reina’s room. 

“Rei? Not that it’s my business but why didn’t you tell me you had a brother?” She asked as she approached the door to her bedroom. 

Zach simply continued to smile, letting Mal slip away without a word. He didn’t appear to be in any rush at a glance, though he’d stuffed both hands into the pockets of his sweatpants to hide the way his hand clenched and unclenched.

While this went on, however, Reina was sat fixated on her second monitor. The screen displayed footage from the security feed at the door, with Zach’s face displayed prominently. Reina had bitten into her knuckles watching the exchange, to the point that she’d managed to break the skin enough to bleed. Not that she noticed, eyes flicking between Zach and a photo that had been hastily grabbed from a locked drawer.

Mal’s voice was enough to startle her back into reality, turning with such force she almost fell from her chair. But her question at least confirmed this wasn’t some stress-induced hallucination--he really was standing outside of her door, as if he’d been living next door this whole time.

“I...n-no one...” she inhaled deeply, eyes flicking back to the screen, seeing a pair that mirrored her own staring straight into the camera. “...no one...believed me...th-they kept telling me he was dead--that it’d been too long...”

Mal maintained a skeptical countenance, her brow drawing down further at the mention of Reina. She feigned a yawn, throwing in a stretch for good measure as she spoke. “No prob, it was about time for me to cook dinner anyway.”

“Zach huh? How’d you say you knew Reina again?”  She knew full well he said no such thing, but he wasn’t  about to spotlight her location to any random passerby. Hopefully though, sounding as though she was roused from a nap would at least keep the tension light.  

There was a slight pause in the air from her question, but it was dashed away by an equally tired sounding hum as Zach considered it.

“Huh...did I...?” He laughed again, shrugging softly. “Well, it’s not like she won’t tell you the same when she sees me, anyway.” Zach ran a hand through his hair, appearing almost bashful about what he was going to say.

Now who could that be this late in the evening?  Certainly not anyone Mal knew–well, not anyone that she’d want to see, anyways. She rolled out of bed, contemplating whether it might be Honey delivering another reprimand from up top for her previous mission performance, or the landlord complaining about her roommate’s rather…she’d charitably call it “passionate”…gaming sessions. 

Opening the door, however revealed a baffling sight to say the least.  The man was practically Reina, if Reina was taller, shaggier, more sleep deprived, and a man. Regarding him curiously, Mal decided to assert herself, stepping forward and closing the door behind her, forcing the stranger to either take a step back or share an uncomfortable spate of close quarters eye contact. 

“…Need somethin’?” 

She wasn’t sure what else to say. The guy felt off somehow but she couldn’t well tell him to fuck off without knowing what it is he was after.

There was a mild look of surprise as the young man took a few steps back, though it was quickly replaced by a tired smile. He scanned Mal from top to bottom, his thoughts unreadable before finally speaking up.

“Hey...” His voice had a bit of a rasp to it, the tone low and almost unassuming in its own right. “Sorry for botherin’ ya. I was uh...wondering if someone by the name of Reina De La Fuente lived here? I was told I might find her in this apartment.”

It certainly wasn’t a time for your normal visitor to make an appearance, but especially not to the apartment whose door nestled comfortable at the end of the hall.

The knock itself was slow but deliberate, made by an individual who stood so close to the door, that the peephole could only witness a pair of mismatched eyes staring back. Green and blue, both dulled, with heavy bags underneath and a redness to the eyes that suggested the person either indulged or rarely saw sleep.

decoderfrog replied to your post: “…Do you ever just wanna be… mashed potatoes?”

“No, the superior form of potatoes are tater tots. Preferably oven baked.”

“I suppose at your size, that’s the best you could do, huh?” SHOTS FIRED, WOW.

“....”

Magical Aliases: The Soldier

Citizen ID: Currently unknown

An extremely dangerous, unregistered Magical. His identity is unknown, having only been noticed within the last five years. From those who have survived contact with The Soldier, his abilities are described to producing and controlling nuclear radiation.

Since his first appearance, he’s been documented as being sighted in large cities across the globe for up to fourteen days. Upon the final day, he will ignite a nuclear explosion in the heart of the city, destroying everything within a 50-mile radius, and leaving behind significant radiation damage that is still being dealt with today. His objective is unknown, and to date he has decimated a total of 4 cities since his appearance.

Tagged by: Stole it~

“Wow, that’s gotta be miserable.” A shining example right here.

“...”