Ward For Dark Creatures

facelessandmasked​:

Red couldn’t help but look around the restaurant, taking in its appearance from the chandeliers to the art on the walls. Everything was so ornate and the aesthetic was so spot on to the point that she didn’t feel like she was in the Americas anymore. Whoever was in charge of the interior decor really knew what they were doing.

“I-ah-“ she paused, having to keep herself focused on her date and not the overall elegance of the building. “Apologies. I have been pretty well in general. Since the snow is beginning to melt away, it means there is about to be a lot more work soon, both personal and otherwise. Plants will need to be tended to, my master will most likely be summoning me more often, and I am sure you will be requiring my aide as well. So that is all something I am preparing for.”

“I am excited for Spring though,” she said fondly. “So much foraging to look forward to. My home even ends up looking as if it belongs in a painting what with all the flowers blooming around it. And the smell of all their pollen is intoxicating in its own way,” she said with a soft smile, raising a hand to rest her chin on. “Would you like me to make any soaps or perfumes for you? And by extent, wear any perfumes for you?”

“To be honest, I’ve never really been a woodsy kinda guy, but your house makes me reconsider that. It’s so pretty like...eight or nine months out of the year.” he said, pouring wine into each of their glasses. “A place like that seems like a perfect place to retire to. As for scents...do you think you could make like...a magnolia soap for me? I’ve always rather liked the smell of those.”

asknobody​:

“Maybe I do,” she said with a chuckle. “You think we should start dating or something?” 

“Alright, I’ll see you after work. I should be done in a few hours. All I’ve got left is a physical and bloodwork and then I’m gonna hit the gym for a bit. Hmm. Maybe I shouldn’t have had some coffee before my physical. Oh well,” Emma shrugged and then downed the rest of her drink before smiling like an idiot at Jonah’s affection. “See ya later, babe.” 

The Proxy got up from her chair and set her mug on a cart for dirty dishes before heading out shortly after. She was definitely looking forward to tonight. 

—

As for someone else, she had to deal with a coworker’s love-life apparently. And on her day off nonetheless. 

Text Sent [16:57]: Give me a few minutes and I will have extra clothing in your room. Feel free to keep them for future use as well. Buy me a few of those fancy puddings that come in the glass cups in exchange. Or a slice of raspberry cake from that fancy new café that opened up. 

After a few minutes of Red gathering spare clothes that she kept on hand for guests and other Servants, she teleported herself up into Jonah’s apartment. Once there, she was surprised to see that everything was clean and tidy unlike the other times she’d broken into it. Not like he knew. Or was sure that he didn’t know she’d been in his place before. 

Text Sent [17:04]: Your apartment is clean for once. 

When she was done sending him the text, she went over to his room and put the clothes into the drawers of his dresser. The sets of sweatpants in one and a variety of shirts in another. This man really needs to organize his clothing rather than toss everything into his hampers, she thought to herself. 

Text Sent [17:07]: Everything is put away into your drawers. Four sweatpants, four T-shirts, and four tank tops. If you need more, let me know. 

And with all of that done, she went back to her own place to relax again. 

Oh, dope. She was willing to help out. Even delivering it to his place. Real cool chick, that redhead was. 

Except...wait a sec--

> wait, how did you get into my home? < 

Okay, maybe she was a little weird. After sending off another message thanking her for the clothes, he locked his phone and put any thoughts of home invasion out of his mind. Now, it was time to get back to work. 

God, Jonah knew that it was probably only two more hours, but it felt more like forty two. He really just wanted to go home with his date and chill out, but he had responsibilities and tasks to do, like arranging a squad to kick in a couple different smuggling operations. Ugh! Lame! It sucks! Regardless, the shift was almost over, so he just had to be patient...which he wasn’t very good at.

As soon as the clock hit five, Jonah leapt over his desk, locked his office door, and sprinted through the halls of the building, barreling his small frame into the elevator and getting to his car as soon as he possibly could. He leaned against his car and wheezed, definitely not built for this sort of exertion. After a moment, he pulled his shit together and dusted himself off (how did his clothes get so dusty? Maybe he fell down when he got into the garage? No idea, he wasn’t paying attention.), and leaned against his vehicle.

Dance in the Dark (closed)

Red smiled in return, excited for the evening. It’d been a while since they went on a date and to hear that he was up for something she chose made her happy. 

“Oh. Fancy,” she said softly as she looked out the window when they arrived. If she felt underdressed earlier, she certainly felt it all the more now. “Are you sure this is alright?” she asked while they got out of the car. “You know I am fine with going to some place simpler and not so expensive and-” she cut herself off, suddenly remembering just who exactly she was talking to. 

Ward was rich. He had no problem with spending money and had no budget. 

“Apologies. I am still not used to this.” 

Ward slithered out of the car and around the side, opening the passenger side door, extending a hand to his date. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry.” He helped her out of the car and led her into the restaurant, swiftly being whisked into a back corner booth. 

facelessandmasked​:

The redhead’s face immediately warmed the moment Ward’s lips moved over her neck. She was still flustered even after he pulled away, the blush refusing to leave her face for the time being. Oh the audacity of this man to tease her like that, especially before they were about to head out. She’d have to get back at him for that later…

“I was thinking of steak for dinner. You know just about every restaurant around here, so I am sure you would be able to pick out which of them is best,” Red answered. “And afterward, would you be alright with us going for a stroll in the park? It is unlikely anyone should be out at this hour what with the cold, so it will be just the two of us.”

“Mmmh, steak...” He mused, slipping his hand onto hers. “Yeah, I think I know a place.” He did a u-turn and headed back the way they came. It was a bit of a drive, but it’d be worth it. “Yeah yeah, we can talk a little walk. That could be cute.” A smile was cast over to Red, then he focused on driving.

facelessandmasked​:

“My day has been rather slow for once. Plenty of rest and relaxation. However, I do have to admit, I did receive a text from Jonah. It is safe to assume that Emmaleynna will be staying the night as he requested clothing for her and his apartment was clean when I went there,” she informed him. “He has been helped in exchange for dessert.”

Red ran her hands down the collar of his suit and then chest before moving to take his hand. “I feel underdressed compared to you; my winter dress is looking rather plain now,” she brought up his hand to her lips and planted a kiss on his knuckles. “Are you ready to go?”

 “Ah, you look fantastic. In fact...” He leaned in and placed a kiss on her jawline, his lips gently brushing across her neck. “...I’d be happy with just staying in.” A small chuckle left his lips and he stood up straight, his hand resting on her cheek. “Only joking with you, I like seeing you blush.”

asknobody​:

The blonde leaned over so that she could whisper into Jonah’s ear for a quick second. “And if I prefer to do you?” she asked half-jokingly before sitting back and taking a sip of her coffee. 

“We can head over to your place together after work if that’s chill with you. I know I have backup clothes in my locker to wear tomorrow, but I would have to steal something of yours to wear for the night if that’s ok,” she told him. “If you don’t have anything special planned though, there’s some new shows we can watch on Netflix together. I think there’s also a new season of Forged in Fire we can watch and be all judgy-judgy on if you’re down for that.” 

Emma blew on her coffee a bit, helping it cool off faster before she went back to drinking it. “You oughta be more careful when you cross the street if nobody is respecting jaywalkers. Can’t have my blue-haired babe get run over.” 

“Wow, do you like, care about me?” He jabbed, as if his face wasn’t completely flushed. “You’re soundin’ like you like me or something.” He leaned close and gave her a little peck on the cheek, lingering a little bit before moving back. He was just enamored with her, but at least they could be closer later. “But uh, yeah, I’ll find some clothes that’ll fit you, I think I got something that’ll work.”

“So, I gotta get back to work, so just meet me at my car once the day’s over and we can head on over.” He started to stand, taking her free hand and giving it a little kiss before fully getting up. “See ya later, sweetcheeks.” Ah, young love. It filled him with joy. However, as soon as he got around the corner, his fingers immediately started to type out a text to his boss’s girlfriend.

asknobody​:

Ugh.

The day had been socially exhausting so far. She normally didn’t have to talk to anybody, but there were plans that had to be discussed, some paperwork and statements needed to be filled out, and she even had a checkup and physical to do. There was just. A. Lot. Of. Talking. She could really use some time to-

“Babe, hi!” The blonde perked up instantly and pulled him in by the collar to give him a much needed kiss on her part. She may have been tired of work people, but she sure as hell wasn’t tired of her boyfriend. There was always time for him.

“Ooh inviting me to your place?” She asked playfully before pushing a button on the coffee machine to get herself a drink. “What’ve you got in mind? And do you want me to stay the night or just hang out for a while? I don’t mind staying over, I just need to know if you have anything I can wear or if I should go home and pick something up.” When the machine was done pouring her drink, she took her mug and added in some flavored creamer and sugar before plopping down on a chair.

Emma gestured at the seat next to her for Jonah to follow suit. “Where’ve you been all day anyways? I feel like I’ve been all over the place but haven’t seen you.”

Gosh...

Once she let him go, he practically melted into a nearby seat. This was what he needed. “Y-yeah...I’d really be, well, like, okay with anything. Whatever you’d prepf-prefer to do, y’know?” He stammered. Even after all this time, talking to her was really sort of an uphill battle. “b’yeah if you wanna, stuffs open or ya.”

It’d been a few days since the last time Jonah was able to hang out with his girlfriend. Things just just sorta didn’t match up time wise, what with Ward having him do recon work at night and Emma crack skulls during the day. It was important work, but the little man was starting to miss her. Finally though, the blue haired mercenary was getting a night off and he planned to use it.

Unfortunately, every time he was gonna approach his blonde bombshell, something came up. First, he saw her headed into the building and nearly got hit by a car when dashing across the street. Then, he was gonna ask during lunch, but spilled a soda all over himself and had to change. So yeah, fucky day all around. This time though, he was gonna do it.

During the final break of the day, he dashed down a few flights of stairs, across the building, stopping at the break room Emma usually hung out at. He stopped to compose himself and walked in, sidling up to his girlfriend. “Hey-o, howsit? I uh, was wonderin’ if you maybe wanted to like, come over to my place tonight.” He said in his typical stuttered twang. “We haven’t gotten to hang in a while, and when we do we’re usually at your place so like, i thought it’d be a nice change. I even cleaned my apartment for it!”

asknobody​:

“We could just head over to some store on the way to your place if that’s chill with you, that way there’s not a ton of back and fourth,” she answered as she watched him scan the papers. “You could probably buy yourself some clothes to leave at my place too if you want. That way you don’t have to borrow my clothes again.” 

When the Proxy heard the door slam paired with a loud voice, she went on guard and followed her boyfriend’s instructions, going over to corner and keeping quiet. Then when everything was quiet, she nodded back at Jonah. “Yeah. Let’s head over to the equipment room real quick and then head out,” she said in a whisper while making way for the door. She held it open for him and when he was out, she speed walked over to the equipment room and slipped into the next room. 

Once they got into room and the door was shut behind them, she started searching, but not before doing her ‘job’ and writing a few notes. At first, it looked like your basic ass office supply room. Papers, staples, sticky notes, and all sorts of other things you’d expect for an office. Hell, there was even a spare photo-copy machine in the corner. But after a quick minute, she noted a few things that were a bit off. The placement of some of the shelves weren’t where they’d generally be for most offices, and parts of the carpet were worn off. After pointing them out and feeling out the area, all of a sudden there was a-

-*CLICK*-

One of the walls moved forward like a door, revealing a set of artillery on the other side. No wonder the carpet was worn out here, this door was used often enough to cause the damage. Not only that, but it didn’t look like much effort was put into the bottom of the door to keep said damage from happening. 

Ludenberg really is a fucking dumbass. Can’t even hide shit right. 

The blonde didn’t say anything to her partner and instead just gave him a nod before she closed the door. Whenever he was done with his part of the search, she had them leave the room and head over to the front desk. There, she gave a quick recap of the work that Conner would be needing done and any information that they’d be needing before he met up with any more of the crew that would work on the building. She also apologized for having to tell the woman the information and not the boss, but seeing as he was in a meeting, she didn’t have much of a say. Then, with all that done, she didn’t say anything again until they got back to the truck, and even then, all she really did was let out a heavy sigh of relief since they didn’t get caught. 

Jonah led the way to the equipment room, keeping an eye on Conner’s office while the pair darted across the hall. He scanned around the room, scoffing at all the supplies. “Man, can you get more cliché?” When the Proxy opened the wall, a giggle left his lips. “Well, there you go.” He pulled out his phone, snapped a few photos, then followed his girlfriend out of the room and out of the office.

asknobody​:

After they had gone out of the room and were a decent ways away from Conner’s office, the blonde finally let out a laugh. “Oh my fucking god. I can’t believe he started looking through it right there in front of us. Did you see how red his face got?” she laughed again. “Pretty sure he’s gonna think that some dude was watching porn in the server room.” She smiled stupidly as they entered the records room, still not over what just happened. 

“Damn, he really is a dumbass,” she agreed. “How’re we gonna get all this info? Should we snag some pictures or something? I know I didn’t bring anything to photocopy with and I don’t think we can get away with faxing either…” She pursed her lips and exhaled through her nose before scribbling on the clipboard some basic notes about the room like she did for room they were in earlier. 

“If anything, I think we could take a few pictures? Maybe. I don’t know if I wanna risk stealing the paperwork since they know we’ve been in here…” Emma let out a heavy sigh. “Any ideas, pretty boy?” 

Jonah rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a half tube-like electronic device that he proceeded to unfold. “I’ve got a scanner that’ll send things directly to Ward’s servers. I’ll go through these, you keep lookin’.” He started to slide the device over paper after paper, the tube making soft beeping noises as he went.

“So...what do you think about tonight? How are we gonna go about getting you clothes to sleep over? Should we just like...buy you some stuff to keep at my place, just in case?” After a moment, he blinked and realized what he said, spooking himself and pulling his arms in, the device buzzing angrily as he fucked up his scan. “I’m sorry, that too much? I shouldn’ta asked.”

Suddenly, the front door slammed. “WHERE THE FUCK IS CONNER?” An angry booming voice sounded through the building. It was gruff, brash, and violent, and was pissed. Next, there was heavy, thudding steps down the hall...stopping at the door. Jonah glanced back and saw a large looming silhouette through the frosted glass of the door. He frantically waved at his girlfriend to get to a corner not near the door, pulled a rather large knife from his boot, and mantled the wall right next to the entry way.

A door opened. “Ah, Ronnie. There you are.”

“Wait a minute...some shit ain’t fucking right around here. Someone else is here.” Jonah gripped the knife hard, slowing his breathing down until it was nearly stopped. 

“Yeah, I got some people here giving me a quote on that sublevel we talked about.”

“Eh, whatever.” The man grunted. “So what the fuck do you want?”

“I’ve got someone for you to waste. Come into my office, we’ll talk about it there.”

asknobody​:

“No cafeteria?” Emma pursed her lips in mild disappointment. “Mr. MacLeod has one, thought you’d have one too,” she said with a shrug. Maybe using her boss to one-up this guy would make him want to spend more money for extra renovations.

“Oh right, yeah,” she nodded and shoved a hand into her pocket, pulling out the flash drive and handing it over to Ludenberg. “We found this in the server room, one of your staff must’ve left it in there. We don’t know anyone here so we thought it’d be best to hand it over so you could look through it and find out who’s it is. But ah, you should probably pick out some better staff if they lose stuff like that. This is supposed to be some high-end motel business, I don’t think you’d want any trade secrets out.”

The Proxy stretched her arms out nonchalantly and then rested a hand on her hip. “Before we head back to check things out again, anything you want us to make note of? I dunno if you want anything added other than a sub level. You didn’t even say what you wanted it to be for, and that’s stuff we gotta know to build it right for you.”

Conner looked over the drive, clearly confused. He plugged it in, and immediately his face went red. Well, it was working at the very least. The silvered haired man looked back at the pair and coughed. “It’s, eh, numbers. Charts. You know.” He wheezed, leaning back in his chair. “You uh, no no, I don’t have any notes. You just uh, do you.”

The merc rolled his eyes and stepped out of the room, proxy in tow, and headed into the records room. A cramped room filled with filing cabinets, Jonah immediately started to leaf through folder after folder, page after page. After a few minutes, his eyes widened and a large smile crossed his face. “Hey, you know what you don’t do when you’re committing crimes?” He said, turning to Nobody and holding up a fat folder. “You don’t keep a paper trail.” It was full of transactions, very clearly showing embezzlement, thievery, and other illegal dealings, and even where all the money was being held.