#kiaria things

5 Years Ago

“I just- I feel so alone.” Marshall is pacing, the way he always does when he’s nervous or stressed or angry. Lorelei nods patiently, her coffee mug held loosely between her hands. “Do you ever feel that way?” Marshall looks at her, his brown eyes meeting her green ones. Lorelei hesitates.

“Of course, Marshall.” She answers after a moment. She catches a glimpse of the relief in his eyes in the moment before he looks down, almost seeming shaken by the conversation. Lorelei seizes the moment. “But you’re not alone. Neither of us are.” She waits for him to look up, meeting her eyes again, before she continues. “We have each other. You’re the only one I can count on. Really.”

Present Day

“Do you understand me, Marshall? Do you?” Lorelei is nearly growling now, though her voice had been a high shriek mere moments before. Marshall nods, wordlessly. “Good.” The mayor grins. “Then get it done.” Marshall nods again, stepping out of her office.

In the hall, he presses his back to the wall almost desperately, as if he needs it to hold him up. Maybe he does. He lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and pauses. Now is the time when he would typically set up his next moves. This is hardly the first time Lorelei has asked him to kill a rival. Usually, the way forward would be clear. Marshall shakes his head. The way forward is clear. He pulls out his cellphone and dials.

Six Months Ago

“W-we can’t…” Richard sighs against Marshall’s lips. Marshall pulls back slightly, smiling. For a moment, he nearly looks affectionate.

“Of course we can.” He smirks. “There’s no rule against it.” After another moment’s pause, he adds, “I would know.”

Present Day

“It’s a standard mission, Royce. Typical of what we’ll expect from you here.” Vale explains, clinical as usual. Royce nods, trying not to look too overwhelmed. The orders, as usual, have been handed down from the mayor herself. Royce understands that now. Sometimes he wishes he didn’t. “So you’ll need to be prepared.” Vale almost smiles, looking Royce over.

“Of course.” Royce only barely manages to speak without stuttering. This will be the first mission where he’s doing more than being a lookout for Vale and the rest of the team.

“Good.” Vale nods. “Especially because he’s coming with us.” Royce doesn’t have a chance to ask who Vale is referring to; a moment later, Marshall enters the room.

“Good to see we’re all prepared.” He smirks.

One Month Ago

“I don’t think we should do this anymore, Marshall. M-Marshall…” Richard sighs. Marshall rolls his eyes, kissing him again.

“It’s fine, Richard. Still no rule against it,” he teases softly, though he knows very well that Richard isn’t worried about rules. “You can quit the council if you’re so concerned.” Marshall shrugs. Richard huffs.

“You know I can’t do that.” He responds. This is hardly the first time they’ve had this discussion. Marshall sighs.

“I know that you won’t.” He shrugs. “But it was worth a shot.”

Present Day

“Marshall, where is our target?” Vale asks. Royce is secretly glad that he has. They’ve been sitting on this balcony in the dark for nearly two hours now-not that he’d complain, really, but still. Marshall gives Vale a scathing glare, raising a finger to his lips.

“He’s meeting us here.” Marshall smirks again. Even in the darkness, Royce can tell that the expression doesn’t meet his eyes.

One Week Ago

“I love you.” The confession is met with silence. Richard sighs, getting up. “I should go.”

“We’re not even dating.” Marshall responds softly. Richard nods.

“I know. I shouldn’t have said that.” He shrugs. Marshall sighs.

“No. But it’s okay.” He pulls Richard back over to the bed. “Stay with me.”

Present Day

Everything is chaos. Marshall pretends he hates it. None of the team will see through his mask. He knows because this is hardly the first time his confident callousness has been a mere mask. “Do it, Royce,” he snaps. He doesn’t wait for Royce to follow his orders before turning away. Marshall isn’t smirking as he raises his cellphone to his ear, waiting for her to pick up. He speaks immediately when she does. “It’s done.”

“Hello, fellow humans,” Sinclair’s tone is joyful, proper for a man who’s just won an election based on write-in votes. “I am honored to be here today as a result of you, my fellow humans’, votes for me.” He grips the sides of the podium, leaning forward as he continues speaking.

“Seriously?” Marshall stage-whispers at Lorelei, both of them safely concealed by the curtains at the side of the stage. Lorelei sighs, shaking her head and crossing her arms. “You’re seriously telling me you can’t fix this?” Marshall presses, stepping closer to the mayor.

“I can’t fix an election,” Lorelei hisses back this time, glaring at Marshall.

“Oh, really now?” Marshall’s tone is contempt. “I’m pretty sure those last 10,000 votes for me the last time I was “fairly elected” didn’t really come from the lower levels.” He snaps. Lorelei rolls her eyes.

“I can’t rig something like this. The people wrote in another name!” She responds, shaking her head. Marshall knows she’s likely only pretending to seem sympathetic to his plight. He sighs, running a hand over his face.

“Mayor Carmine, we both know that ‘resident alien’ refers to me. I have the Internet memes dating back from as long as six months ago to prove it! And he keeps referencing his ‘fellow humans’. Do you really want an actual alien as your vice-mayor?” Marshall makes one last plea. Lorelei looks him over, thoughtfully this time.

“Fine. I’ll fix this.” Lorelei nods. Marshall sighs in relief, holding a hand out to the mayor thankfully. “You’ll share the position.” She continues. The expected ‘thank you’ dies on Marshall’s tongue as he gives the mayor a horrified look.

“What?” He stares at her, wide-eyed. On stage, Sinclair’s speech finishes and Lorelei’s aids rush to get her to her position, handing her the pages of her own speech. She glances back at Marshall, smiling.

“The vote counts haven’t been released yet. We’ll say you tied,” she laughs lightly before stepping out onto the stage. Marshall runs a hand over his face again, tiredly.