#theoddsquad

The train ride was quieter than she was used to - not curled in the back alone next to the luggage.  Now, she was curled next to someone, and that seemed to make all the difference.  Ivory was with her. He was the cool-warm of another human pressed against her, and the feeling of him breathing had lulled Mallory into a calmer state than their frantic pack-and-run.

And he spoke. Mallory sat up slightly, blinking. Questions. Answer them in order. “Since you left.” That one was easy. “The day you disappeared, I started looking.”

A small pause. The rest, was all one question. One very hard one.

Mallory curled back in, placing her hand on his arm, breathing slowly. “Because...I love you.” One statement that seemed far too small for all it meant. “I was a fugitive before you. Overwatch is technically illegal, and before then I’d been running from Talon, so I was as good as a fugitive anyways. I don’t remember living any life that wasn’t on the run.”

“Alas, it must be wishful thinking. The mind is a powerful thing!”

He perks up immediately at the accusation--but is less than put off by it. “Exactly!” he says, pointing up into the air with a snap of his fingers. “I do want something from you, Grimm.” An alias, obviously (psh, as if names were that hard to come by), but he’s more than used to calling people by their handles. “Glad we got here so quickly.”

He leans forward, almost a mirror action of Adrian’s, though he crosses his arms instead. His mask defaults to two X’s as he stills. Now he means business.

“You’re not bad,” he says, a genuine compliment. “Normally we’d be happy to let you run off on your merry little way, but you’ve stepped on our toes a few too many times, now.” He puts his hands up, not allowing the chance for a reply, “Now--don’t worry, you can keep the money, if that’s what you’re getting from this. But it takes a long time to build up leverage and it’s irritating having the carpet tugged out from under you with no warning, y’know?”

theoddsquad

Adrian chuckled a little “guess she didn’t want me to somehow catch myself on fire trying to clean the mess up” he jokes as he follows Joseph in “Your home is lovely” he says as he looks around. Well he’s at least got pictures of his wife. Or who he assumed to be Joseph’s wife.

He smiles “It’s fine. Take your time. If you need any help with them let me know.” He says and he politely shakes his head “I’m alright, thank you” He murmurs. He doesn’t sit down, even though he’s friends with Joe he is a little awkward still. Instead he decides to examine the pictures placed on shelves and hanging on the walls. The woman doesn’t look happy in what he’s assuming on the more recent ones.

He hopes everything is okay, but he doesn’t ask- he’s worried it’d be too personal. He was sure Joseph would open up to him if neccisary if things were that bad. Maybe his wife just had resting ‘I hate my life’ face?

Shadow: yes. He sends me photos of you all the time, it’s adorable really!

Note to future self: don’t fuck demons, and don’t fuck with demons, either. There’s something deeply unnerving about knowing Ivory can feel Robert’s arousal just as much as his self-loathing, or his desperation. But, well. Robert’s standards are practically non-existent by this point, and he’s already hard, so they might as well continue.