#dedse

It had been a simple note on your desk at work that did it. A simple blue sticky note attached to a manilla folder with the words “Leave the country, or I’ll tell everyone what you did” written on it. For many people, the folder was unassuming and normal, not even remotely considered packed with pages. No. It was the title on the folder’s tab that had you running for the hills.

The Masquerade Incident.

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It was something you wanted to forget. An incident that happened when you were a young teenager, barely 14 years of age. When you closed your eyes, you could sometimes recall the face of that man. The man you helped kill that night.

You weren’t supposed to be at Masquerade, not only because of your young age, but because your parents always conducted business there when they weren’t supposed to. The club was always packed even when you were young, and the married couple who owned it always established clear rules to their customers. Still, your parents didn’t pay attention to the rules and decided to hold meetings at Masquerade. The people that your parents dealt with were unseemly and shady, yet despite the warnings by both your parents and the club owners, you managed to sneak into the club one night.

The world was full of sick people, but you had yet to know that. The club looked lively. Various people of different social classes danced to the beat of the music, indulging in the drinks that the bar provided. You tried your best not to be seen that night, but the one of the club owners, Chikage, ended up spotting you after twenty minutes. Your first instinct, upon seeing the tall man’s intimidating red glare was to turn around and bolt. But when you did, you’d collided with a man with slicked back brown hair, dark shades, and an expensive suit. The man stumbled, his drink tipping over to stain his suit, and he glared at you.

Before you knew it, the man was angrily dragging you towards the bathrooms, growling that he would teach you a lesson. The people within the club didn’t seem to care that a young teenager was about to get beaten in the bathrooms, only carrying out their business with a blind eye. From the distance, you could see Chikage gently maneuvering through the crowd to find you, and you had tried to catch his attention. Chikage was scary, but he was kind, and you’d take a scolding from Chikage and Isa over getting beaten or killed by a stranger any day. But you were too late in crying out, getting thrown into the bathroom by the man. You fought back, throwing punches and kicks as the man descended upon you, trying to grab your neck. Unfortunately, the man was much larger than you and had easily overpowered you, sadistically pinning you down and choking you out.

You had grabbed at anything within reach, eventually catching hold of the end of the trash can and bringing it down on the man, prompting him to let go enough for you to slip past and take hold of the metal handled mob, bringing it down on the man as he was getting up. The adrenaline pumping through you made you bring the metal handle up and down in many quick successions even though you had long cracked the man’s skull. And you didn’t stop until your small form had been engulfed in two warm arms, and someone stopped you from bringing the pole down on the man again.

“Shhh. It’s okay, Y/N. The bad man won’t hurt you anymore.” Isa gently whispered to you, stroking your head. You glanced up at the arm that stopped you from continuing the violence against the man.

Chikage only gazed at you with bored but kind red eyes before addressing his fiance. “Isa, take the child up to the second floor. I’ll take care of the body.” You wanted to speak because the man on the floor was still making noise, but a look from Chikage shut you up, his red eyes looking like they were glowing in the dim light of the bathroom. “Not a word of this to anyone, Y/N. If anyone related to this man found out about what you did, everyone you know will be in danger. So let me take care of this scum.” You nodded in understanding and moved with Isa. As Isa led you out of the bathroom, Chikage caught her arm and gently pressed a kiss to the side of her head, “I’ll be with you soon, my love.”

It was only years later that you understood the true meaning behind Chikage’s words. The man that attacked you had been incredibly dangerous, and if he had been left alive despite all the damage you did to his skull, you would be putting yourself, your family, your friends, Chikage, and Isa in danger. But Chikage and Isa had erased all trace of the man’s body all those years ago. How did anybody know that you were involved in the murder?

You pondered this as you made your way to the Hackerspace. The first idea that came to your mind was to do as the note on the folder had instructed. If you didn’t leave the country immediately, there was no telling what would happen to the people closest to you. And as a result, you were on your way to see you closest friends. You had to leave DedSec.

“Wrench…” He was so good to you, your boyfriend, and he would no doubt fight you on your decision. He would fight and kill if it meant keeping you by his side after all. But you’d hesitate in involving him or the other members of DedSec in another problem on top of the work you guys did against Blume. No. That would be burdening them, and you didn’t want to do that.

Waving hello to the few employees of the game store that covered for the Hackerspace, you quietly strolled into the back room, glancing around before activating the trap door into the basement. You smiled fondly at the artwork across from the doorway and slowly made your way down the stairs, pausing just before you rounded the corner, physically preparing yourself for what would come next. And when you resumed walking, a body collided with yours, and you found yourself pressed to the wall as your boyfriend lifted his mask to give you a loving kiss.

With the mask hanging off the top of his head when he pulled back, you could only see the bottom of Wrench’s nose and smile, “I missed you, babe.” the anarchist confessed with a pout before going back to smiling, kissing you again.

You giggled against Wrench’s soft lips and wrapped your arms around his neck, “If I didn’t leave occasionally, you’d get bored of me, hun. And we can’t have that.” you teased, pressing a kiss at the crook of his neck.

Wrench moaned in delight, “Oooh, don’t tempt me, Y/N. The others won’t like it if I lose control.” And then, Wrench pulled away, “But first of all, I want to know why you bought a one way ticket to Sweden.” The sudden change in mood startled you into turning your head away, and Wrench clicked his tongue disapprovingly, sliding the mask back onto his face properly. “Babe, if there’s something wrong, you have to let me know, okay?” The mask changed, ( /_\ ) and Wrench’s voice seemed sad, “It’s not something I did, right?”

All at once, your boyfriend’s posture changed to that of a kicked puppy, ready for punishment… ready to retreat into himself. And you didn’t like it when Wrench was sad in any way, and you certainly didn’t like it when the man felt like you were upset with him. Immediately, you had your boyfriend in a tight embrace, “No. You didn’t do anything wrong, Wrench. It was me.”

“‘It’s not you, it’s me’ huh?” Wrench’s voice seemed despondent, “That’s what they all say before they lea-”

“I’m not breaking up with you, Wrench.” you insisted firmly, tightening your embrace to emphasis. “I’d never…” you whispered into the studded vest, pressing closer despite your cheek’s discomfort. “I love you too much.” It was quiet, your declaration of love, but Wrench heard it regardless, and his arms were around you once again.

“Then why are you leaving?” ah, the million dollar question.

Taking in a deep breath, you sighed and began your explanation about the events at Masquerade all those years ago, and the subsequent blackmail folder this morning. “I didn’t want to bother any of you, so I decided to comply with the blackmailer’s terms.” You glanced away from your boyfriend and the rest of DedSec, who had gathered around to listen to your explanation. “I just didn’t want to inconvenience any of you.”

Everyone was silent for a few moments before Marcus came up to you with a solemn look on his face. You thought that perhaps you would be asked to leave when Marcus lightly fist bumped your forehead, earning a yelp from you. “You’re an idiot, you know that?” Marcus grinned and ruffled your hair, “You’re problems aren’t an inconvenience. And if that fucker thinks that they can get away with blackmailing you, then they’re in for a wake up call. Josh?”

“I’m already searching through the security footage.” Josh was at his computer in a flash, typing away.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. You won’t have to leave the US.” Sitara winked before turning around and going back to work.

Ray merely grinned, tipping his hat at you, “Looks like your friends have your back, so don’t be afraid to rely on them, kid.”

“Y/N.” Wrench gently turned your face back to him, his back facing the rest of DedSec as he took his mask off to look you in the eyes. There was determination shining in his blue green orbs, and love. “You remember what I said when we first started dating right?”

You furrowed your brows in thought before you smiled fondly at your boyfriend, nodding, “Yeah. I remember.”

Taking your face in his hands, Wrench brought you in for a passionate kiss. Pulling back, he muttered, “I love you, Y/N. So believe me when I make my promises. I’ll always be by your side-”

You closed your eyes and enjoyed the embrace.

“-hardships included.”

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