{ sergeant turned guard }

Natasha frowned as he waved her off, ready to say something in response when his voice became sterner than he normally spoke to her. She imagined he used a similar tone as a guard and an officer and dropped her gaze from his face, finally, focusing instead on where her palm lay on his chest. “I’m sorry.” Nat said finally, still looking at their hands. “I don’t mean to push, but you don’t have to keep it to yourself. It doesn’t have to be that way.” She swallowed, glancing back up at him, “You let me in this far.”

She nodded as he spoke, “Then I’ll stay awake with you. And don’t argue with me, I can sleep after my class.”

-

Kaden couldn’t help but clench his jaw. Yes, he had let her in. He wanted to let her in. But it wasn’t that easy. He had baggage; things that he had done that he wasn’t proud of. Or times when he knew he could have done more and yet, he hadn’t. “Is there something specific you want to know?” He asked, finally glancing towards her, their eyes meeting.

“You will not.” He said, but a smile had formed on his lips now. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her down to the bed again. “I will hold you and watch you sleep all night long.” He said, holding her close to his chest. “I’m used to not getting much sleep, and I don’t want you to stay up for me.” 

Natasha felt his jaw tense beneath her hand and her gaze on his face softened even further. “I’m sorry for your loss.” She near whispered, heart aching that she didn’t know how to help him, make him sleep, or make his sorrow go away. Her eyes held his as he finally looked back at her. “It’s not fine. It’s okay to not be fine.” She knew he knew this, knew she didn’t need to remind him, but she wanted him to know that he didn’t always need to be so hard around her. This was a side of Kaden she hadn’t seen before and while she hated that it was this memory he was sharing with her, she was happy to be let in. 

“How long ago?” She asked gently, unsure how much longer the window would be open to ask. “What can I do if one happens again when I’m here?”

--

“It’s fine.” He waved it off, not wanting her to worry. He had dealt with it for years now so it wasn’t like it was fresh. It only felt that way whenever he’d wake up from a nightmare just like tonight. “Natasha.” Kaden’s voice was a little stern now as he glanced towards her. “It is fine. There’s nothing I can do about it, so why should I act any differently?” He hadn’t meant to be rude about it but this was just how he dealt with things; on his own. 

“Years.” He let out a sigh. “I was in my mid twenties when it happened.” He was too tired to sort through his brain for the exact date. That didn’t matter though. “I... I don’t know.” He muttered lowly. “I don’t normally have anyone around when it happens. I usually just... stay awake after. If I go back to sleep, it might happen again.” 

Natasha nodded, waiting for him to continue. Her own breathing had slowed by then and she kept her palm pressed to his chest as if the weight of her hand, though dwarfed by his own, could remind him that he was awake, there with her, and safe. This was the first time she’d stayed with Kaden overnight. He’d mentioned in passing having trouble sleeping and now she could understand why. 

She listened carefully as Kaden spoke, understanding how monumental it was for him to share his life with her before Grimstone, as he so rarely did. Her head began to tilt and her face grew increasingly sympathetic. Nat’s free hand came up to rest on his cheek, thumb slowly stroking the skin there. She kept her gaze on his eyes thought they weren’t looking at her. “And you saw it happen.” Natasha had meant it as a question but suspected she knew the answer. “Oh Kaden, I’m so sorry.” she sighed, meaning it sincerely, “It is a big deal. How many times a week do you have them?”

--

Kaden’s eyes averted away from her at her next statement. Yes. He saw it happen. He was right next to his best friend when he was shot and killed without mercy. His jaw clenched against her hand. “It’s fine. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Kaden insisted as he finally glanced back towards Natasha. He hadn’t wanted to tell her like this but if she was going to stay with him more in his bed, which is what he wanted, then she had to know what she was getting herself into. A lot of sleepless nights. 

“Ah...” He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. “Once? Twice? Sometimes I only have them once a month. It really just depends on how stressed I am throughout the day. Or... what day of the year it is.” He pressed his lips together into a thin line. “It’s fine. It was a long time ago.” 

Natasha jolted awake when she felt the bed violently rock with Kaden’s movement, mouth hanging open and a scream ready to burst forward before she swallowed it quickly, realizing there was no intruder. She whipped her head to look at Kaden next to her, her braid crashing over her opposite shoulder. He stared straight ahead, his eyes wide and anguished, before his eyes found her at his side. Nat sat up straighter with him, pressing one palm to his now bare, but damp chest, feeling the way his heart raced under his skin. 

“You don’t have to apologize.” She said softly, scooting herself closer to his side but angling her body so she’s facing him. “This is your house, Kaden, you’re not leaving.” Natasha stopped, putting her hands on either side of his face and rubbing his cheeks with her thumbs, “Talk to me.” She pleaded.

--

He wasn’t used to having someone so close to him during one of his panic episodes. He hadn’t even shared a bed with anyone in a long time. But feeing Natasha close to him, placing a hand on his bare chest and being there with him was relieving. “I had a nightmare.” He explained as he lifted a hand to hers, the one that was on his chest, and interlocked his fingers with hers. 

“I ah... I lost someone, during my time with the police force.” Kaden explained, finally telling her a little bit about his past. “Every now and then, I get nightmares about it. Sometimes more frequent, depending on my stress levels.” He let out a sigh as he stared down at their hands that were clasped together. “It’s no big deal.”

“Backup. We need backup.”

“Drop your–”

BANG!

Kaden shot up in the bed, his whole body clammy and sweaty. He blinked rapidly, trying to bring himself back to reality. You’re not home. You’re in Lake Grimstone. You’re not in danger. Jason is still gone. You’re okay. He changed to himself in his head. His eyes flickered to the side of him and he noticed Natasha there, laying in his bed with him. Fuck. “Ah--sorry.” He muttered softly as he then ran his hands over his face and then through his damp hair. Kaden grabbed at the back of his shirt and tugged off the soaked fabric, tossing it to the side. He wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep. “Sorry for waking you.” He said again. “I can ah... leave and let you sleep until morning if you want? Just so I don’t bother you again.”

“Hmm…” Natasha exaggerated her expression and tapped her finger to her chin,·“Maybe it’s less about the thrill and wanting to push you out of your comfort zone.” She teased, grinning at him and giving his hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Really, she didn’t care if they did any more than sit on a bench together and watch the world go by. So long as she did it with him. Laughing louder at him than she meant to with the rasp of her voice, she reached over with her free hand to give a quick squeeze of the muscles he was showing off.·“Sure, you might have the brute strength but not everything is about the size of your muscles.” She said with a wink, tapping at her throat, allowing herself to be pulled along to the game in question. Rolling her neck as they sidled up to it, she mimed a cracking noise.·“Game on?”

“You do remember that I had a job that did exactly that for years?” He chuckled and shook his head as they came upon the station. He loved some friendly competition and he liked it even more that it was with Natasha. It gave him an opportunity to see a different side to her. “True.” He said as he leaned over and grabbed one of the balls. “Game on.” It was his turn to wink at her. He dropped her hand and then began rolling the balls up the ramp, his competitive side slowly coming out as he did so.

“Well at least Kristen came out with more of a physical memento than I did.” Natasha laughed, both able and unable to imagine Kaden’s sister in a crown. Her cheeks deepened to a dark pink as he trailed his hand down her arm, goosebumps rising where his fingertips brushed her skin, and returning his squeeze when their hands came together, fingers intertwined.·“They shake a bit too much to really feel safe and maybe that’s the thrill of it. I’d be willing to bet I could kick your butt in skee-ball.” She challenged, her grin widening.

“I suppose so. She enjoyed it, at the very least.” Kaden shrugged his shoulders as he let his thumb brush over hers as he held her hand. “I mean if you genuinely want the thrill, we could ride them?” He suggested with a smirk. “Kick my butt?” He scoffed as he showed her his muscles on his opposite arm. “I mean, I can throw a ball, Natasha. You’ll have to try hard if you want to win against me.” He winked at her playfully as he tugged her towards the skee ball station.

Her smile only grew as he agreed to go to the festival with her, giving his hand a squeeze as their fingers intertwined, goosebumps rising on the skin of her arm where his fingers had trailed it.·“There was a county fair every summer growing up. Dominic and I used to beg and nag our parents to take us until they did.” Natasha rolled her lips together, hating how small her voice always seemed to get when she spoke about her brother,·“We had a funnel cake eating contest and then got on that ride that spins you until you feel weightless. He might’ve won the eating contest, but I didn’t throw up.” She laughed, mostly to herself, though it came out more as a wheeze. Natasha took a large sip of her tea, trying to force her thoughts away from her twin,·“What’s the first thing you want to do when we get over there?”

Kaden smiled. He liked hearing about her past. It helped him understand her more as a person. Unfortunately, the past wasn’t something that came easy to him. He tended to avoid parts of it and pretend like they didn’t even happen. “That sounds like a fun time.” Kaden chuckled. “I used to take Kristen to those fair’s too. Although, she was more into the beauty pageant part of it than stuffing her face with the ridiculous amounts of junk food.” He ran a hand down her arm and then clasped his fingers with hers, giving her hand a squeeze. “I don’t really trust the rides, if I’m being honest, so maybe see what kind of games they have?”

Her eyes fluttered closed for just a moment of peace when Kaden’s lips touched her head. Despite having a power, a fairly powerful one at that, Natasha felt the most secure - the safest - when she was near Kaden. She felt the most in control of her power, herself. Maybe it was the confidence he had in her or his dedication to keeping the residents safe. The more time she spent with him, the less she felt a need for an explanation. Things felt right with him and that’s all she needed to know. 

“Well,” she paused, taking a hearty sip of her tea, “There’s the festival going on. If you’re not feeling up to it, we could always go for a walk. Sit by the lake?” Really, she didn’t care what they did. So long as she was with him.

“We could definitely go to the festival.” Kaden said with a smile as he glanced down at Natasha. He watched as she sipped her tea and he really hoped it did help her throat. “I’m usually working every year when they have it so thankfully, this time, I’m not.” His smile widened as he ran a hand down her arm and interlocked his fingers with hers. “Let’s go see what the festival has to offer.” He tugged on her hand as he motioned towards the door of the coffee shop.

She felt almost entirely relaxed as he squeezed her closer to his side, wishing she could stay there folded against him but taking a half step away, remembering they were still in public. A snorted laugh escaped her as she smirked at the comment of her ‘beautiful voice’. “I think you’re the only person that thinks of it that way.” Nat tried to laugh but made no sound. Keeping a tight lipped, grateful smile directed at him, she reached for his hand, squeezing it gently, “Thank you. I’ll get better. At controlling it, I mean.” She didn’t elaborate further, knowing he knew what she meant. 

She made another attempt at laughing, producing only a small squeak that she covered with her hand, cheeks turning pink. Natasha gave Kaden a small smile in return, taking the tea from him and taking a cautious sip to test the temperature. “Are you working soon?” Natasha asked, whispering, “Or can I steal you for the day?”

“That’s okay.” Kaden said with a smile. He enjoyed every one of the resident’s powers. Sure, some of them could be deadly but he didn’t care about that. He was actually jealous of all of them and really hoped that Keegan could find a way to give him a power in all of the experiments she was doing. “I know you will.” Kaden leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

They had been on a few dates and Kaden was already comfortable around the girl. But they had yet to dive deep into their past, or even share intimate details about themselves with one another. He didn’t mind. These things took time and he wasn’t one to rush anything. “I don’t work today so you can definitely steal me for the day.” He chuckled. “What did you have in mind?”

Natasha turned almost instantly into Kaden as he wrapped a strong arm around her, hoping she could melt into him in her mortification. In any other situation, she would’ve smiled at how he always seemed to be exactly where she needed him but she couldn’t bring her lips to form anything other than agape shock.

She listened as he ordered for her, knowing exactly what she would’ve gotten for herself, but Nat’s eyes stayed trained on Kaden’s shirt, as if she were studying the intracacies of the weaving. Her eyes finally met his as he pulled her aside, the corner of her mouth automatically ticking upwards into what could be considered half of a smile. She nodded solemnly as he pushed the strand of hair from her face, “I moved 4 of the sand bags last week. They upped the weight to 200 hundred pounds today. I couldn’t go until I moved them.” Her voice was quiet, Natasha careful to let whatever noise she could make come out as it was, a hoarse whisper. “I’m sorry.” She glances back, wincing, to the damage behind the counter, hoping he didn’t feel as embarrassed as she did.

Originally posted by pennyhopped

He hadn’t really expected her to try to speak, so when she did, he knelt down slightly so he could hear her. He didn’t want her to try to have to raise her voice for him. Kaden nodded slowly as he squeezed her against him gently. Sometimes he didn’t like how strict Point was when it came to the resident’s powers. But he knew that if they weren’t pushed, they wouldn’t be able to gain the control they needed over their powers. 

“Well now you get a few days to recover your beautiful voice and I can buy you as much tea and honey as you need.” He offered Natasha a gentle smile before his eyes moved to where she was glancing. “You don’t have to be sorry.” He insisted. “Things like that happen all the time.” He released her for a moment as he stepped towards the counter to grab her tea that was in a to go cup. “Here’s your peppermint tea with extra honey, my lady.” He bowed as he held it out to her with a smile.

Ever since he met the scientist and figured out what she was doing, he always made himself available when she needed something. No one knew this about Kaden, but he really wanted a power. He had always been jealous of Kristen and when Keegan told him that not only was she working on figuring out how to take away powers, but to also gift them to people, Kaden was automatically in. He couldn’t say yes fast enough. 

He walked into her lab, glancing around to try to find her. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He said with a smile. He had just finished his guard duty and while Keegan hadn’t necessarily told him to come to her office, he did anyway. Just to check on how she was doing, as well as the experiments. “So...” Kaden sucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, making a clucking sound. “How’s everything going?” 

Natasha’s throat felt raw and sore in a way she had never known possible. They had been pushing her exceptionally hard the past few weeks to take her power - her scream, farther and farther until she left the training facility as she did today: croaky and light headed. With heavy limbs, she pushed her way into the coffee shop in search of something warm with honey. When it was her turn at the counter, Nat was frustrated to find that she had no voice and could produce no sound no matter how hard she tried. She opened her mouth and closed it twice, brow furrowed as she swallowed thickly and tried again, pushing hard at her vocal chords to produce a whisper, only this time she produced a powerful sound. To her horror, a tiny wail rose from her throat, small but strong enough to shatter the glasses behind the counte. Natasha covered her mouth in shock, mouthing an apology to the barista. “I’m so sorry.” She croaked, looking around to the person next to her, avoiding their gaze.

Originally posted by duelipa

Kaden knew that Natasha had been training that day and tended to know where she went after. Her power was strong. One that made her throat raw and her voice hoarse. He tended to think she was adorable when she tried to talk after but he knew it could also prove to be upsetting or frustrating to her. 

He walked into the coffee shop, only to hear glass shatter and Natasha cover her mouth from shock. Kaden moved forward swiftly, wrapping a reassuring arm around her waist and then offering the employee behind the counter a smile. “She’s like some tea. Preferably with a little bit of peppermint and extra honey.” He shoved his free hand into his pocket and pulled out some Grimstone Dollars. He placed them on the counter. “Keep the change.” He said to the male that was working before he pulled Natasha aside. “Another hard session?” He asked, lifting a hand to brush a loose strand of hair from her face. 

I don’t pay attention to the other guards and their work ethic much. I’d hope they are all as hard working, or close to it, as me.