This fic is not meant to encourage, glorify, or romanticize abusive/toxic relationships! This is a very specific set of circumstances of an antagonist and an anti-hero together being in love, and is not in any way meant to show a healthy relationship.
In the Star Chamber, alone in the empty darkness, their final battle had come to an end. Even without his companions to help him, Fi'nalyn had won.
Hunter collapsed to his knees, coughing up spit and blood as he did, his hand clutching his side. His breathing was shallow and his body was riddled with pain. He was dying.
Cipher 9 ran to him, his chest heaving with weighted breaths and his blue skin bruised a dark purple. His vibroknife was still in hand, even with his opponent beaten and bleeding on the ground.
Fin crouched down next to him, eyes scanning him with dexterous efficiency.
"I- Hunter, I didn't want this. I never wanted this," he stammered in between labored gasps.
His brow was furrowed, and there was something close to concern in those deep, iris-less eyes. Were they glowing? He couldn't tell. It was a strange thing to notice at a time like this, he realized.
Hunter let out a weak laugh, "Never wanted this? You're about to ruin all our plans," -he coughed- "Funny how this stuff plays out."
Fin swept a lock of his silver, sweat drenched hair out of his eyes. He sheathed the knife as he fiddled with stims, and medpacks, and things Hunter didn't recognize. A second later, he deployed a portable med probe that emitted a soft green light as it scanned him.
"I would have joined you, Hunter," his voice was a whisper, as if he believed there was someone listening through the walls, "If you had just asked," he said.
"I know you would've," he rasped, a small smile on his split lip, "That's why I never did."
He hoped that with those words, he surrendered the last bit of control he had over his Cipher. It was the least he could do for him.
Frustration leaked through Fin's slipping facade as he stabbed him with a brightly colored stim pretending not to notice Hunter's hiss of pain.
He worked quickly; they both knew he was running out of time.
Hunter shook his head and cringed as his vision whirled, "But that doesn't matter anymore. I want to show you this. You deserve to know," he coughed.
Hunter went to the controls at his wrist, and deactivated the holo that surrounded him.
For the first time in so long, the body—the face he wore underneath was revealed to another person. He thought he had prepared himself for this, was ready to show his Cipher something he'd never shown anyone before, but he could never have expected just how exposed, how naked he felt right here.
He stopped breathing and waited, watching his Cipher's face. His eyes seemed to register what was before him, but showed no other reaction, negative or otherwise.
"Is this who you really are?" Fin asked. His voice was detached, almost far-away.
"No. The holo, Hunter, that's who I am," he spat out, and swallowed. The voice that came out of his mouth was one he was neither comfortable nor familiar with, "I'm a man, no matter what my body looks like," he affirmed.
The silence was suffocating despite the only sounds being the echoes of his Cipher's heavy breathing off of the metal walls around them.
Fin stared for only a moment longer before he pulled off his glove, reached out, and cupped Hunter's cheek, his hand warm against his cold, battered skin. His eyes were soft in a way he didn't think he was capable of.
"Then you didn't need to show me anything," he said, his mouth almost a smile but not quite.
Hunter closed his eyes and sighed into his hand, "You knew how I felt about you. I didn't- I never thought you'd feel the same," when his eyes opened they were wet and bloodshot, the green of his iris a sharp contrast against the red, "You're special, Fin," he said.
Fin kept his gaze on Hunter, as if he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away, and his fingers played with the ends of his disheveled blonde hair, "You are the best enemy I could have ever asked for. I can't do this without you."
He scoffed.
Hunter and Cipher 9. One could not exist without the other. Not anymore. They were drawn to each other, and it was that same dangerous, electric attraction neither wanted nor controlled that had been with them every step of the way.
Now, Hunter could no longer resist the temptation.
They were toxic for each other, but then, they were toxic for everyone.
Before anything more could be said, Hunter leaned in and slowly met Fin's lips with his own.
They both tasted of sweat and blood, metallic and salty, but neither seemed to mind. It was warm, and it was the first comfort Hunter has had in a long time. Fin reacted immediately, leaning into the kiss, and ran his hand through Hunter's hair. His other hand held onto him hard and tight, as if he were sand about to slip through his fingers and blow away with the wind.
It would seem the desire—the obsession, was mutual.
When they parted, Fin's usually cold and stoic expression was replaced with something that Hunter couldn't place. It wasn't the softness from before, or the almost smile. Heartbreak, maybe? Or something worse.
The Cipher was always so hard to read.
He smiled.
"Don't let them stop you, my love," Hunter said.
The last thing he saw were those beautiful red eyes.
It had been only a day since the Star Cabal had been dealt with and Fin's fate had been irrevocably determined. A puppet for the Empire.
The Phantom carried a thick, kinetic energy, and everyone was on edge, all due to one decision and an unwanted guest in the med bay.
Fin joined his companions in the conference room; all were present, excluding SCORPIO who—in her own words—could not be bothered.
Kaliyo leaned against the wall, arms crossed, as she scowled at the Cipher, while Lokin, Vector, and Ensign Temple seated themselves around the long table in the middle of the room, their expressions varying from relaxed to uncomfortable.
Fin was a mess: his clothes were wrinkled, his hair dirty, his face bare of makeup, and his eyes dragged from stress and a lack of sleep. He was exhausted, and they all knew it.
He had just finished speaking with the Dark Council via holocall, and his companions had been impatiently waiting to speak their minds.
He took a deep breath, and didn't need to wait long.
"You're a piece of work, Agent," Kaliyo spat out, anger and bitterness dripping from every word.
Though, she was quickly interrupted by Temple before she could follow her words with another jab.
"But Sir, what about the Dark Council," she said, unease obvious in her demeanor, "He's a criminal."
Fin leaned forward and pressed the gloved palms of his hands against the surface of the table. His mind raced for answers, but still was not fast enough. Eventually, he found something that was feasible, but it didn't matter. They all noticed how long it took him to find it.
"They have what they want. I will settle this with Darth Jadus soon, and he can make it so no one notices one person unaccounted for," he said.
"How certain are you that Darth Jadus would be willing to help?" Lokin asked, bringing his hand up to scratch his beard.
Fin turned to face him.
He paused for intentional emphasis, then said, "I am his Hand."
His relationship with the Darth may be hard to define, but Fin had no reason to doubt him. Yet.
"Cipher, if you believe you can give Hunter the help he needs, then we will put our faith with you," said Vector in his usual placidity.
Temple thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"You three are crazy," Kaliyo threw herself up off the wall, frustration oozing from her tone, "I know what you're thinking bringing that guy here. You're just asking for trouble having him around."
Fin did not have the energy to keep his thoughts from slipping onto his face, and Kaliyo could see clearly that her comments were landing where she wanted them to.
"The irony of the situation astounds me," he said, and crossed his arms to match hers.
She huffed and jabbed a finger at him, "I know you, Agent, and I also know your taste in men. You like all the wrong guys, and not even the fun ones," she said.
"I am amazed that you see yourself in any position to judge what I do, considering your record," he said.
Her eyes narrowed, "If you wake up tomorrow with a blaster in your face, it's going to be your own damn fault."
As Fin watched her storm out the room, he was left wondering if the person holding the blaster would be Hunter, or herself.
"You have a plan for when he awakes, I assume," said Lokin, calm and masked. He moved to follow Kaliyo's example, but paused to look over his shoulder at Fin, "I hope you know what you're doing," before walking through the door.
Fin looked to the two remaining. Temple and Vector smartly decided to keep all other opinions to themselves.
His eyes dropped to the table as they stood and exited.
There was no one left now.
Fin rubbed his face with his hands and sighed.
It had been some time since he'd felt like he had no idea what he was doing.
He'd run through hundreds of ways to solve this... whatever this was. He thought of every scenario, every outcome, every possible reaction Hunter could ever have, but it was worthless. He had no idea what to expect when Hunter finally woke up.
Fin hated that even without the keyword, Hunter still had the ability to strip away all his defenses.
He sunk into a chair, his eyes falling shut. No matter what, a permanent solution couldn't be found just yet.
Fin would simply have to wait to see if he made the right choice.