#watchdogsimagines

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.

~~~~~~~~~

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.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Horatio (he’s dead but...)

~ The Situation: Normal flu, bit of a cough, lots of sneezing... Just feeling all around miserable, honestly. You got sick from kissing Horatio when he was sick and you were taking care of him... 

~ But it was your week off, so honestly, you didn’t want to worry him. Your boyfriend already gets enough shit from work, so you didn’t need to drag him away from his job and get him into even more trouble. And besides, Horatio always made time for you, so it was about time that you let him have some time away, yeah?

~ No. Because Horatio notices when you aren’t around. Like he’s innately always looking for you by his side. Whenever he’s not at work, you’re usually next to him, or texting him. You were a constant by his side. So, yeah. Once you get sick enough to not want to go outside or go on your phone, Horatio notices.

~ Horatio will give you a call or two... and then text you. But when you don’t answer after his first few attempts, he’s quick to go to your place, ringing the doorbell until you drowsily shout out for whoever the hell it was to quit it and leave you alone.

~ Your boyfriend is insistent about seeing you. But you’re telling him to go away because you don’t want him sick as well. “Babe... I know you have work, so please just leave me alone, okay?” You care about Horatio a bit too much, and he knows it, so he’s stern in his next course of action.

~ He calls into work and takes the next few days off, ignoring your protests through the front door. And when it’s done, he opens the front door using your spare key. You call him an idiot, but Horatio is all smiles as he hugs you.

~ The world could end, and he’d still be there for you.

Josh

~ The Situation: You probably got sick from some sort of illness that’s been spreading around your university campus. You’d expect that with the amount of money that you payed to stay in Cali for schooling, that the school would go around disinfecting populated areas every night. But no. They don’t do that in my university and they don’t do it in yours. 

~ So now, you’re sick... like dry cough, sore throat, and migraines sick (it sucks. These symptoms together were just awful last year... my head hurts thinking about it). But you know? You’ve only been dating Josh for a few weeks, so letting him know about your being sick feels like you’re inconveniencing him. Plus the fact that Josh has a light phobia of germs, you just didn’t want to bother him. But, your roommate’s gone for a competition that week, so you’re alone... and sick... and you’re not very good at taking care of yourself. The symptoms just get worse... and you kind of end up in the hospital from dehydration... and you’ve been coughing so often that your throat has been scarred and is bleeding just a bit.

~ But here’s the thing... Josh... when he gets into his work, he barely notices how much time has passed. So it’s no wonder that you don’t get a visit from your boyfriend until much later that week. Sitara had pointed out that you had yet to call Josh, and it had been a few days. So, like the hyperfocused and dutiful boyfriend he is, he immediately skips calling you, and tracks you down via data mining... and reluctantly pays you a visit at the hospital.

~ There’s an unimpressed expression on his face, like he’s baffled that you had managed to get sick enough to be sent to the hospital, but he’s also glad that you weren’t in worse shape. He won’t kiss you for a while, but he’ll let you hug him. He’ll also feel bad that he wasn’t there for you, but he’s not comfortable showing it, so you’ll find that your hospital bill has been paid in full. Lol.

~ Give him some love... please... ;.;

Marcus (bit longer because I have literally nothing for our dear, dear Marcus)

~ The Situation: Since I’ve been basing my Marcus characteristics off of Ray Narveaz Jr. aka Brownman’s, playthrough... You kind of got a stomach virus... okay... maybe a really bad stomach virus... From eating tacos... Because your neighbor made tacos, and Marcus is always raving about the damn taco truck. So why not try it?

~ Erm... big mistake... You’re pretty sure the meat was cooked all the way... but you’re not quite so sure that the other ingredients were properly prepared. I would hazard a guess and say that the taco was stored properly by your neighbor after they made it. And if you cool something hot way too fast, or heat something cold way too fast, it’s called “temperature abuse.” And that type of situation promotes bacterial growth. (I’m sorry if you feel uncomfortable now.) So now the microbial ecosystem in your body is out of wack... and... well... diarrhea... and it gets progressively better as the week goes on because you have Pepto in your medicine cabinet... Still, you haven’t called Marcus yet and it’s making him worry a lot...

~ You’ve been dating Marcus since he accidentally tested the bank hacking software on your account. You’d been depositing your recent paycheck after a hard day at work (it didn’t help that your coworkers and superiors were all grade A assholes to you all the time.) And Marcus had seen how hard you work through your online info, and how little you get in return for your work... so he decided to give you money instead of taking money... but he made a mistake, and with a swipe of his finger, he’d given all your money away to needy children. And you, who have to work so hard to pay back for your student loans, pay rent and utility bills, as well as support your family... well, the sudden unfairness of life just caused you to have a mental breakdown at the ATM, just sobbing your heart out because rent was due that day. Marcus felt so bad about what he did, that immediately went into your account and added everything back and then some (like ten times the amount, lol)... and then he went to personally apologize to you... you’d hit him... but the two of you ended up dating so...

~ But anyways! You’re always sending each other memes or he’s always texting you for dates, so it’s an established routine, yeah? But when you’re sick, you don’t really want to deal with phones, people, lights, the cold... So you haven’t contacted Marcus in a while and now he’s worried. After maybe fifty texts from him in a row, you finally answer and tell him that you wish to be left alone. (*cue a picture of a sad puppy) <- that... is what he sends you. And he won’t stop... so you eventually give in and tell him that you’ve caught a stomach virus and are recovering, “Please don’t come over, okay? I just want to get through this.”

~ Eh... nope. Marcus is having none of that. Instead, he shows up on your balcony... he used a lift to get up there... and he has a ton of water jugs and healthy foods... and a teddy bear that says “Get better” on it. Honestly, it’s too sweet that you can’t shut him out and you end up passing your sickness with your devoted boyfriend watching over you.

Sitara 

~ The Situation: Health-wise, there was nothing wrong with you at all. Simply put, all the stress of life just kind of piled onto your shoulders all at once one day, and you’ve been distressed since. You’d tried the adult way, simply working through your seemingly endless responsibilities, balancing work, bills, your relationship, social life, physical health, etc... But it’s simply to say that simply trying to work your way through problems with intense vigor doesn’t really help much. Headaches came and went, sometimes you had to try and fall asleep with a migraine. So, you decided to take a few days off. Mental health days. To take a step back from the responsibilities and reevaluate everything.

~ You let Sitara know of your decision because you know that she would probably go a bit ape shit if you suddenly disappeared off the face of the Earth for a few days. No. It’s simply not right to ghost on your significant other. NEVER. EVER. DO. IT.

~ Of course, Sitara is completely understanding of wanting to take some time away from your responsibilities. She would join you, but work with DedSec is a near 24/7 job. She’ll probably recommend some things for you to do on your time off, but she’ll leave it up to you in the end.

~ Though... if you do request her presence, with you during your off days... She’ll be glad to stay with you. Sitara can do work from your place. Though, expect her to mother hen you a little... or a lot.

Wrench 

~ The Situation: You’re new to this whole dating thing... and your boyfriend is Wrench... you’ve been dating him for only a month so far, so it’s still a fairly new relationship and you’re not really knowledgable about what Wrench is comfortable with, what he’s uncomfortable with... You’re a few years younger than him, but your mental age is higher. So when you come down with a simple cold (coughing, phlegm, stuffy nose, light sensitivity, and bodily aches), you play the ‘responsible’ adult and tell Wrench to leave you alone for a week... or two... depends how good your immune system is.

~ Wrench is... okay with you not being around him for like... the first few days... and then he’s missing you. First, he’ll text you. Then, he’ll call you. And like Marcus, if you don’t call back within the first few hours, then he’s booking it to your home. I don’t think he’ll even knock on the door, he’ll probably pick the lock open to get in... or hack into your apartment building’s security feed to check up on you.

~ You’re a student, and you’ve been too sick to attend lectures, but it still doesn’t excuse you in the eyes of your professors, so you’re probably still doing school work while ill. There’s textbooks spread out in your living room and notes pinned or taped everywhere because you either have exams, projects, research, essays, or homework problems to do... or maybe all at once. And the professor expects you to turn them in on the days they are due... so you still have to leave your apartment to hand shit in. (The professors in my university have no mercy) 

~ But yeah, even when you’re sick you work hard, and when Wrench lays his eyes on your form, huddled in blankets, but surrounded by work, he nearly walks back out and to your university to give your professors a piece of his mind. But you turn around and see him at your door. “Hey, Wrench. Did you come to see little old me? That’s sweet.” And there’s this loving smile on your face that has Wrench changing his mind, shutting the front door closed and strolling over to pull you onto his lap. And he just cradles you to him.

~ Don’t get me wrong, Wrench’ll probably scold you for working too hard because it’s been a few days and you don’t even look the slightest bit better. He’s probably going to stubbornly stick by your side as you do work, while also making you soup and other foods, keeping you hydrated. Because Wrench is used to living alone, so he’s had to know how to take care of a sick person. So, you have Wrench to give you extra lovin when you’re sick. ;3

~ If you don’t get any better though, I think Wrench will be the one to escort you to the hospital. He refuses to fuck around with your health.

“Stupid, shitty, selfish, sociopathic asshole.” You muttered, stabbing away at a block of ice with an ice pick. It was around 3pm on a Wednesday in the middle of October, and you were the only patron at the club, Masquerade. Isa, your friend, was the owner of the rather popular and respectable nightclub. You didn’t often visit Masquerade, as some of the people here were very arrogant, but Isa often made things better. You’d asked for a drink initially, but Isa had scolded afternoon drinking and given you the ice pick and ice block instead. Granted it was a very questionable alternative to what you had in mind, but Isa was never quite that right in the head to begin with.

So, yes, there you were, sitting at the bar in Masquerade, taking your anger and frustrations out of the icy block. You’d broken up with your boyfriend of three years early that day on account of diminishing feelings and his infidelity. He was a douche, plain and simple, though it explained why his first name sounded like the word. Yes, your ex-boyfriend was Dušan Nemec, CTO of Blume Corporation.

But for now, you didn’t want to talk about your ex-boyfriend. You just wanted to stab the block of ice.

From her position behind the bar, Isa prepared herself a Tanqueray and Tonic, adding some extra lime, and sipped gently. You continued to stab at the ice block, which now looked more like a small rectangular prism, but raised an eyebrow at the petite woman in question. “I thought you said that it wasn’t good to drink in the afternoon?”

“Hmm?” Isa took a deep sip from the glass and placed it down, licking her lips as they curled into a grin, “But I’m not drinking my feelings away. Besides,” your friend pointed at the windows, “it’s not the afternoon anymore.”

It seemed that while concentrated on your murderous thoughts toward your ex-boyfriend, the sun had begun its descent in the sky, and the sky was now dark, bringing with it, the influx of Masquerade’s customers, allowed in by the bouncers at the front entrance. You’d only just realized that the club DJ had started playing music in the background, and that the bar was starting to run out of seats.

The club serviced a variation of clientele, from what you had observed in your previous experiences. Sure, there were regular people who came in small groups together, then there were the wealthy, but then there were these people that came in and had an unsettling feel to them. They looked like normal humans, except they didn’t feel like humans. These people only came to Masquerade seemingly for Isa’s company or to be let into the very exclusive VIP lounge in the club’s basement. You didn’t know who these people were, so you ignored them for the most part. And then, one took a seat right next to you.

Isa smirked in welcome at the arrival, “Sven! What a delight!”

He’s tall. That’s the one thing you notice about the man that sat next to you. He looked to be a man in his late twenties to early thirties, and was dressed like a European gentleman right out of the stories, so perhaps he wasn’t from here. “Ms. Lachance, I’ve come to introduce a friend.” The gentlemanly man, Sven, apparently, raised a finely manicured hand to gesture towards his companion, who sat on the other side of him. His friend seemed much more normal than he, what being dark skinned of the normal variety, sporting a Twitch hoodie and stylish purple glasses to match.

The friend stood from the bar stool to shake Isa’s offered hand, an easy smile stretching across his face, “Marcus Holloway, nice to meet you.”

Isa grinned, one that looked predatory to those who have never met her. It was a grin that exposed her unusually long and sharp canines, something she often did to intimidate someone into seeing if they had a pair of balls on them. “Isa Lachance, owner of Masquerade. Nice to meet you, Marcus. So what brings the two of you to my bar?”

Sven licked his lips lightly before leaning forward in his seat, his blue eyes squinted in mirth, “How about you and I go on a date, Ms. Lachance?”

“Don’t think that’s a good idea.” You chimed in with a final stab at the remaining piece of ice, sending bits of cold at everyone within a five foot radius of you. “Chikage isn’t going to like you flirting with Isa.” True enough, while Isa was quite friendly towards any of her patrons, she was engaged.

“Oh, and the murderous human speaks.” No, Sven was definitely not what he presented himself as, though he was certainly oily. “And what’s your name, dear?”

You twisted the ice pick in your hand almost threateningly, then directed a glare at Sven and a smile at Marcus, “Y/N L/N. Not sure if it’s a pleasure or not.”

There was a tension in the air that Marcus seemed to grow uneasy by, and he spared Sven from your wrath by asking Isa, “We’re here for some information on Dušan Nemec. ‘Heard that you’ve been fighting against Blume for a while.”

Your eyes narrowed at the mention of your ex-boyfriend. Had his company been harassing Isa again? “What the hell has Douchen done, Isa?” You demanded, your face promising revenge on your ex.

“Dušan Nemec has been attempting to coerce my beloved into using their security network for Masquerade.” a husky voice responded from behind you, sending shivers up your spine.

The next thing everyone involved in the conversation knew, Isa had thrown herself over the bar to lovingly latch onto her fiance, “Chikage!” Chikage, always careful with Isa, immediately caught the petite woman and held her gently. The man in question was of European and Asian descent, though not nearly as tall as Sven, but stood at a graceful 184cm with an arrogant yet dangerous air about him. He had styled blonde hair, a defined face, and piercing red eyes (he insists that they’re contacts, but you don’t think they were). Without a doubt, Isa’s fiance was intimidating.

You nodded at your friend’s fiance in greeting, “Good to see you again, Chikage.”

“Wait, a minute. So this place doesn’t run on ctOS 2.0?” Marcus seemed pretty interested, sitting up in his seat some more. “Why’s that? I’m Marcus by the way.”

From her place in Chikage’s arms, Isa answered, “We serve a variety of patrons here at Masquerade. And it is within my duty to keep any activities within this club confidential. If I allow Blume to come in and install their cameras and systems, then my clients will be compromised, and we can’t have that.”

“The douchebag hasn’t sent anyone after you guys right?” you sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. From the corner of your eyes, you could see Marcus raise his brow at your behavior in interest. “Dušan Nemec’s my ex-boyfriend.” you elaborated with a wry smile, “True to his name though, he is a fucking douche.”

Chikage’s red eyes narrowed dangerously, his hold tightening on Isa, and you could see Isa’s hand gently run through his hair, calming her fiance. “Indeed. Though there is no legal proof, several groups of armed men and women have tried to ambush us at my apartment a few weeks ago.”

Your eyes widened in shock, as did Marcus. Sven, however, merely smirked, “How bold of them to attack the Prince and his beloved.” Prince? You didn’t quite know what Sven meant. It probably had something to do with what Isa referred to as “dirty business.”

Chikage clicked his tongue in annoyance, “How foolish and annoying. If you do not require my beloved’s attention for much longer, we have a few visitors from Los Angeles to greet.” And with that, the strange red-eyed man escorted his fiance away to the downstairs lounge.

Sven chuckled, his eyes wandering after a particularly shapely brunette, “The Prince was always so territorial, now if you would excuse me, Y/N, Marcus, that beauty is calling for me.” And with that, another of your strange group stalked away and into the crowd of patrons, leaving you and Marcus at the bar with a seat in between.

You heard more than saw Marcus switch seats as you played with the ice pick. “So what’s your interest in my ex?” you inquired, eyes shifting over to look at your newly made acquaintance.

“He’s fucked over a ton of people with what he’s been doing at Blume.” Marcus reasoned, before calling the bartender over, “You want anything, Y/N? I’m buying.”

Normally, you don’t accept drinks from people you just met, but in this case you would make an exception, “I’ll have a TNT.”

“And I’ll have a beer, no preference on the brand.” Marcus ordered before spinning in his seat to face you, “So why did you break up with him? I mean, besides the obvious douche qualities.”

The bartender quickly came back with your drinks, and you quickly took a sip, “Well… he just wasn’t into relationships, I guess. He was too focused on his work to give a flying fuck about me unless he needed his libido satisfied.” You face scrunched up and you took another quick sip, “Wonder why I even fell for such an asshole. He’s not even my type.”

“I mean, he’s got a pretty face, right?” Marcus raised his brow. “There had to be something that attracted you to him.”

“Eh.” your head tilted from side to side in thought before sticking your tongue out in disgust, “He wasn’t that good looking. Exotic, probably, you don’t see many Yugoslavian descendants around here, after all, but I’m less about the looks and more about the personality.”

A smirk graced itself onto Marcus’s face, “Oh? And what about a personality do you like?”

“Hahaha, interested, Marcus?” you teased with a light blush, wondering if the world was so nice as to give you someone who could distract you. Marcus wasn’t bad looking either, the more you looked at him, the more you noticed that there was this attractiveness that Dušan didn’t have.

“And if I am?” Marcus leaned in closer, “So, what about a guy do you like?”

“Hmm… they’ve gotta be romantic.” A grin lit up your face, “i’m not talking about the suave and princely romantic from fairy tales, I mean the dorky romantic. Like he has to be able to use pick up lines.”

“Pick up lines?” your companion seemed surprised at that.

You blushed a deep red, “They’re kind of funny and I adore them.” Marcus had a deeply contemplative expression on his face, and you smiled hopefully. “Why? You know any?”

The man next to you thought for a moment before looking at you seriously, “Tonight, this Han doesn’t wanna fly Solo.”

Your face twisted up in bemusement before you broke out into a snicker. “Holy shit, that was terrible, Marcus.”

“If I had to rate you from 1-10, I’d rate you a 9 because I’m the one you’re missing.” He wiggled his eyebrows teasingly as he fired off another pick up line without hesitation.

This time, you nearly choke on your drink, “Marcus… how many do you even know?”

Instead of answering, a smug grin and another pick up line left his lips, “I lost my teddy bear, will you sleep with me instead?”

“You’re starting to sound like a horny frat boy, it’s ridiculous.” Marcus had successfully gotten you to forget about Dušan, “Are you religious? ‘Cause you’re the answer to my prayers.”

That got a laugh out of him. Yup. You had a feeling that you and Marcus were going to hit it off just fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You’d been pacing for nearly an hour now. And it was honestly beginning to worry everyone in the Hackerspace. Pacing meant that you were anxious about something, whether it be a thought or something you wanted to say. But no... pacing was not something you usually did.

But this didn’t bother most of your friends in DedSec... Marcus went about his business, running errands outside in the San Fransisco sun. Sitara managed the social media pages as diligently as she normally did. Horatio was doing work on his laptop, and Josh was busy data mining away. The only one who seemed bothered by your pacing was your dear boyfriend, Wrench, who’s head has been following your pacing path.

Why were you pacing? Well... there could be a great many reasons why you were pacing, but the main reason was that it’s around the time that you should be getting your period... and it’s late... by nearly four days. Every time you’d had sex with Wrench, you’d been careful to have a box of condoms in your bedside drawer, so you couldn’t have gotten pregnant, could you? And then your pacing stopped as you thought back, Shit. We didn’t use protection the first time we did it. You thought, wincing noticeably.

“Okay, babe. What’s wrong?” Wrench suddenly stood from his seat and crossed his beautiful tattooed arms. It seemed that he was fed up with your pacing and various expressions. 

You could only pale, only half acknowledging that your beloved had stood up in worry. The other half of your mind was busy calculating the possibilities that you had gotten pregnant... and the consequences. And suddenly, it was like the world was bearing down on you. Because oh God what was Wrench going to do if you were pregnant? He wouldn’t want to have anything to do with a kid, right? And just how were you going to handle caring for a new life for nine months?

It took Wrench’s embrace to make you realize that you had stopped breathing and that your vision was going black around the edges. Quickly you took a deep breath of much needed air, closing your eyes and just calming yourself while in Wrench’s arms. Breathe in... and breathe out... Through the nose... and out from the mouth... You thought until you had regulated your essential life motions enough to speak, though in a very soft whisper... “I’m late.”

“Late?” Wrench’s mask changed into two question marks, not really getting your meaning. “Late for what?” 

And he hadn’t bothered to lower his voice, so Sitara immediately heard and pieced everything together. “How late?” Was your friend’s immediate question, shot back to you without hesitation.

“Four days...” You responded, fear lacing your voice. Because damn it, you didn’t want nor need to be pregnant at such a time in your life.

“Did you take a test, yet?” Josh stood from his position across the room and started walking towards you. It seemed that even Josh had caught onto what you were talking about. You shook your head, and Josh immediately went to the comms, “Marcus, it is urgent that you pick up what I’m about to send you.”

And through the comms you could hear Marcus go, “Oh shit... this is for Y/N isn’t it?” Well, Marcus sure connected it quickly.

Horatio sat up straighter and held his hands out in a ‘wait a moment’ gesture. “Wait. Wait. Are ya’ll talking about what I think ya’ll are talking about?” And now it seemed Horatio was somehow on the same page.

“What test? And how late?” Wrench’s mask was now flashing the question marks as his head whipped back and forth between everyone in the room. “What the hell is going on?” It seemed that your boyfriend was the only one in the room that had no clue what you were all fussing about.

“I... I might be...” You began hesitantly, because you wanted to be the one to bring it up with Wrench. “I might be-”

“Holy shit, you’re not dying are you?” Wrench cried out in alarm, mask turning into exclamation marks as he pulled you into a crushing hug, “NOOO! I won’t let you die! There has to be a cure! I’ll get the money for your treatments, Y/N! I’ll threaten the doctors, too!”

Your head was swimming as you processed Wrench’s dramatic autofill to what you were going to say, “What? NO! Wrench I’m not dying!”

The overdramatic anarchist calmed down mask all happy, “Oh! You’re not? That’s great! So what were you going to say?” (^.^)

You gulp and opened your mouth to respond, but then Marcus ran in from the garage in all his fashion disaster glory, “I GOT THE PREGNANCY TEST!”

“You’re PREGNANT?” Wrench screamed, his mask displaying two zeros (0.0) as his hands came up to grasp his head. The very picture of shocked horror. “Y/N!!”

“I’m not sure if I am-”

“YOU CAN’T BE!” Wrench wailed, falling to his knees.

“I said that I’m not sure, Wrench!” You yelled, silencing his dramatic antics. “Look, if I can just go and take the damn test, we’ll know for sure.” you reinforced your statement by shaking the box that Marcus had passed to you. Then, you sighed, “Listen. If it turns out that I am pregnant, I won’t ask you to stay with me, and I won’t ask you to help support the child.” Your eyes met his mask, and he could see that you were serious, “Whether I want to be a parent or not, if I’m pregnant, I’m keeping the baby.” Because it’s a life that you and I made.

You left it unspoken as you stalked towards the bathroom to take the test. All you had to do now was wait.

After a time passed, you left the bathroom, only to be assaulted by Wrench’s arms. “Wha-”

“Y/N. I’m sorry.” Wrench apologized solemnly as he held you. “I shouldn’t have reacted that way. And I want you to know that if you do have a baby, I’ll be there to support you.”

“Wre-”

“Shhh, you don’t have to say anything, babe.” Wrench pressed a finger to your lips, “You know I love you, right? If we do make another life, I want to be there. I won’t let you raise the kid alone. And even if I’m not ready... I’ll do the best I can to be ready. I’ll stand by your side, always.”

You went a bit teary-eyed before you grinned, “Thanks, Wrench.” The two of you went in for a kiss.

“Soooo... Will we have another Wrench Jr?” Marcus asked from the back, effectively ruining the mood again.

You glared at your friend and threw the stick at him, finding it hilarious that he squeaked while dodging it. “Negative, Marcus. I’m not pregnant.”

~ Let’s do some real talk, okay? Having a hacker as your boyfriend can get weird, but it’s got its perks. I mean, Wrench might actually be constantly cyber stalking you, and let’s be frank, that can get a bit weird.

~ But it also means that Wrench-babe always has an idea of what to get you for gifts, yea? So like, that’s one plus, balanced out by fact that he often teases you with several of your kinks. ;P Internet browsing history, lol.

~ So you can definitely count on him stalking you through city camera feeds and shit to make sure you get back home okay, Or just in general, making sure you’re safe at all times. Usually he’ll see danger coming form a mile away, and stop it before it reaches you. So if you ever happen to walk by as a man in a hoodie gets attacked by electric shocks from his cell phone, or walk down a street and see a bunch of cops ganging up on someone... it’s most likely Wrench’s doing.

~ But on the off chance that he doesn’t protect you in time, and you look like you’re about to get mugged or kidnapped? oh... well...

~ May I present to you Operation: You’re Fucked.

~ In which Wrench will go apeshit crazy and hack all the fucking shit he can just to get you out of a situation, and if you aren’t able to get away, well... he goes in guns blazing.

~ I mean, you’ll get mugged... and Wrench will track that mother fucker down and TNT their whole goddamn base... Or torture them via the internet and hacking first, then go in guns blazing. That person who mugged you? He’s as good as dead... the Fucker’s last thoughts will be of regret for messing with Wrench’s beloved. Only you have a slight chance of stopping your boyfriend’s rampage... otherwise, not much can be said by the rest of DedSec that’ll calm him down...

~ And if you get kidnapped? Oh boy... Wrench would be the one mostly pissed off, but damn, whoever kidnapped you will have to deal with all of DedSec. First of all, if you’re Wrench’s s/o, then you’re a part of the DedSec family, yes? And nobody messes with anyone in their hacker fam. And then, let’s say that, well, chaos will ensue. Like trucks are going to get blown up. It’ll be like dealing with the mugger, but on a grander scale, yah? And Wrench will personally go in to get you, with Marcus by his side of course. He ain’t stupid to go in without back up.

~ Oh... But if, let’s say it’s an attempt at mugging you or kidnapping you, and Wrench is just down the street from you? Welp, you can guarantee that Wrench will sprint to your rescue. I mean, the whole hacking as a distraction things will happen, but you can throw your attackers a funeral. Wrench won’t be using any guns unless the people attacking you are armed. He’ll be using his fists. And he won’t stop until you make him stop, or until your attackers are dead.

~ The gif above? It’s basically what’s going to happen if your attackers do have weapons. Just... BOOOM!!!

It was abnormally silent in the Hackerspace, with the threat of the FBI on DedSec members and other hacker groups, everyone was hard at work, hacking and data-mining within the depths of the internet and the hacked files. Josh was doing his thing, Sitara was managing the social media, Wrench was banging on something, Horatio was at work, Ray was off somewhere, and Marcus was doing some footwork. The only one not needed in doing something was you, who had finished your work already.

But then, you realized how bored you were… and it occurred to you that with all your talent in mechanical engineering, you didn’t know how to hack. I mean, you work in DedSec, a group of hackers, why didn’t you know how to hack yet? It was never an interest of yours. But then… you started dating Wrench. And you figured that since hacking was something that your boyfriend loved to do, you would try and learn as well. Though, at first, you considered possibly asking Wrench to teach you, but now with all the work and pressure on your boyfriend, you couldn’t possibly bring yourself to bother them. The same train of thought applied to the others.

So, here you were, sitting at your usual working space, spare laptop open, and a textbook on coding and hacking open to the side of you. You had always noticed how difficult data mining was, and you admired the complexity of being able to patiently work through the various systems. But honestly though, you personally prefered the simplicity of mathematics instead of having to think in various directions. Perhaps that’s why you didn’t major in anything related to complex computer work. But honestly, you were absolute rubbish at his, you decided with a huff, closing the textbook with a frustrated slam.

You groaned, shoving your wheeled chair backwards and away from the workstation, hands finding their way through your hair as your head tilted backwards. “This is tedious.”

A pair of tattooed arms found their way around your shoulders. “What’s got you worked up?”

Your lips curl in a mischievous smirk as your hands find a way around Wrench’s head. “Hmmm… Maybe you? At my place? Later tonight?” You wink, hand sneaking around your boyfriend’s hoodie to get to the hair at the nape of his neck.

Wrench’s mask ended up displaying asterisks, clearly tempted by your offer of an after work rendezvous. “Sounds tempting. But maybe later. I was asking about the heavy looking book that you nearly threw across the room.”

You pouted heavily, blowing your cheeks up so Wrench could affectionately poke the air out with a cute laugh. “I was trying to learn how to hack, you goof.” Wrench’s mask display changed to question marks, so you elaborated, “It’s a bit difficult, babe.”

“Hmmmm…” Wrench hummed in thought for a moment, head tilting this way and that before pulling up a seat next to you, “How about I teach you the basics… annnd then we head over to your place for a while?”

You grinned at the proposition that your boyfriend proposed, liking the idea all too much, “Well? What are we waiting for?”

~~~~~~~

It had only taken an hour of lessons from Wrench before the two of you became too weary of hacking… well, more like Wrench was getting a little agitated with how you couldn’t figure out “simple hacking.” No. It wasn’t simple hacking first of all, it was actually pretty advanced compared to simply picking out a string of numbers. You remain by your position that hacking was still difficult. Feeling that you were slightly dejected, both from Wrench’s impatience with you, and your lack of success in learning, your boyfriend decided to cut the learning session short.

That how the both of you ended up setup on your bed with your back pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around you. The lights were dimmed to give a more horror-like feel to the scene, and your laptop was positioned in front of the two of you.

“Couldn’t we have played Surgeon Simulator instead?” You whined, tilting your head back to rest between the crook of Wrench’s neck. “Why do we have to play this?”

[Why indeed, dear reader.]

Wrench only laughed a bit, hugging you tighter. “But I thought you wanted to learn how to hack?”

You frowned and watched the game start up, “Wrench… If I have nightmares, you’re taking responsibility.”

For on the screen of your computer was a picture of a padded room with a singular chair positioned beneath a ray of light. Wrench had suggested that the two of you play the game “Welcome To The Game 2.0” in order for you to better learn how to hack… but honestly, you weren’t too sure about this. The game did not seem like something that could properly teach you how to hack.

And when you clicked “New Game,” and went through the tutorial, you were absolutely sure that this was not going to help at all. “This isn’t at all what hacking is like, is it, Wrench?” You sounded a bit unimpressed, because come on, hacking was not typing in a string of code within a given time frame, nor was it solving a puzzle by clicking on squares.

“Nope!” Wrench sounded all too chipper as the game really started, “Now pay attention, Y/N. You don’t want to get killed or kidnapped, okay?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that?” You nearly yelled, scrolling and clicking through various pages in the game to look for pieces of a web code, only to scream when you got hacked. “FUCK NUTS!”

It wasn’t that bad, actually. And after several hacking attempts performed on you, you had begun to get confidant. “This isn’t that bad.” You commented, getting through the seventh hacking attempt, only to feel Wrench chuckle behind you. “What’s so funny-ARGH!” You screamed when your character was turned around to a tall burly Russian man knocking you out. The screen went blank, and you heard Wrench burst into full out laughter.

“When there’s a tracking arrow at the corner of the game desktop, it means that someone is tracking you.” Wrench informed after so ‘coaxing’ from you. (You pummeled him with your pillow.)

Once back into the game, you went into a hyperfocus mode, constantly checking on the corner of the screen for the arrow. And then, whenever there was an arrow, you shut off the power in the game and waited for the Russian man to walk away. So far, so good. But then, the phone in the game rang. And when your character picked it up, deep and heavy breathing sounded. Unsettled, you immediately turned off the light and had your character walk to the door.

For a while, you didn’t see anyone outside of the door, so you went back to the computer, where you continued to search through the various sites. Then, the phone in the game rang again, and again, there was heavy breathing. This time, when your character glanced through the front door, you saw a hooded figure walking around. Wide eyed, you braced against the door with a click, trying to prevent the serial killer from breaking into the house… and then, you had the foolishness to peek up.

“I CAN SEE YOU IN THERE!”

You squealed in fright and continued to hold down the button. “NuhUh, Motherfucker! You are NOT GETTING INTO MY HOUSE!” You screamed, completely immersed, and then you heard Wrench’s snickers, “What’s so funny, Wrench?” You only had to divert your attention for a mere moment, and your finger slipped, letting the serial killer over power your character and murder him. “NOOOO!”

“Ahahahahaha!!!” Wrench full out collapsed in laughter behind you, “Oh GOD! Your face!!!”

“Oh you think this is funny, do you?” You snarled, setting the laptop to the side. “I’ll show YOU FUNNY!” You screamed, tackling your boyfriend to the bed and hitting him with your pillows.

“Ahahahaha! Ow! I give up, Y/N! I give up! You got me!” Wrench surrendered, throwing his hands up, mask knocked askew. When you’d stopped hitting him however, Wrench pulled you into a hug, “So… Are we going to finish the game?”

“Nope!” You chirped, grinning evilly, “But I will punish you.”

Cue the heart eyes on Wrench’s mask as he tilted his head to the side, “Oh reaaally?” then his voice lowered, “What are you going to make me do, babe?”

“Hmmm” You hummed, biting your lower lip in thought, “First of all… I demand that you don’t leave.”

Wrench chuckled and sat up, hands on your waist, “Check~ Annnnd then?”

Now it was your turn to laugh as your eyes went a little dark, licking your lips while caressing Wrench’s sides. Your boyfriend shivered below you as you descended, pressing a kiss on his anarchy tattoo. “Hm~ We’ll figure it out as we go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Okay, so it’s like a major struggle to get Josh to agree to go with you to your family’s holiday gathering in the first place. Like, you have to beg him a few weeks in advance first, then continue begging until he reluctantly agrees. Simply put, he would rather spend the holidays, alone, in your company, than have to socialize with irrelevant people.

~Yes, even your family is irrelevant because all that matters to this genius… is you! Gosh he’s such a sweetie! (*shot)

~ Josh just wanted to wear his usual. You know? Hoodie and jeans? Not the suffocating suit and jacket that his family used to force upon him. (I would, too, never did understand why my relatives wanted to dress so festively.), but you were able to nag him (just a little) into some nice dress pants and a handsome button down. You also combed his hair, but allowed him to keep his beanie on. And holy skinny Wrench ass does Josh clean up nicely. Like, if he didn’t find social interaction and other things irrelevant, he’d for sure be a heartthrob of some kind. (Makes me want to hide and keep him away from normal people, my smol child, I don’t even care if he’s a bit older than I >:( I will protect him!)

~ Okay, so like, you know how there are all different types in a family? Josh will have trouble dealing with it all. Like… heaps of trouble. Political relative? No interest, walks away. A relative that likes to gossip about you? Honestly, he would listen if it were about cute moments in your childhood, but if it were just bullshit, Josh really could not care less. He likes you as you are, dear reader!

~ He’ll spend most of his time around you, simply by your side, trying not to draw too much attention, or in a quiet corner where the young children won’t find him.

~ At first, most of your family judges Josh a terrible amount, save your immediate family, who have already met Josh before, and understand your love for him. But these family members will talk about how weird and unsociable Josh is, even when he’s within hearing distance. (Can you spell rude? “Eat the Rude” I say!)

~ And you takes serious offense on Josh’s behalf, because they don’t have the fucking right to judge your boyfriend so effing harshly! And your family will have to hold you back for a little, or else you might hit your asshole of an uncle. I mean, Josh doesn’t pay it any mind because, first of all, he’s used to it. Especially growing up in special ed classes and being ridiculed by people his own age and deemed incapable by his teachers (This is how special ed was like in my school district. You either were friends with the kids in special ed, you made fun of them, or you stayed away. You could probably guess which one I was) Josh has learned whose opinions matter to him, and your opinion does. <3

~ All he does, when you start a bit of a rant at your relatives, is pul you into a rare hug (rare in that he initiates physical contact), or he gets your close relatives and the following happens.

“Damn it, Uncle Bill, I don’t fucking care if my boyfriend is a bit quiet, you do NOT get to judge him for it! And back off, TIm! You don’t hear me talking about your three divorces!”

“Y/N! Stop it! You’re ruining the holiday!” You heard your aunt scream from the background.

“Be silent, Aunt Pattie!” (If you know where I got this line from, good job!) You pointed without looking.

The next thing you knew, you were pulled into warm arms, and Josh’s soothing voice whispered into your ear, “It’s okay, Y/N. Calm down.” And you stopped simply because Josh had pulled you into a hug first. “Look up.”