And I will stumble & fall (But I'll be there to catch you)
"Hey Rox beautiful, careful with those knives. You could easily get hurt." Charlie said to Roxy with an evil smirk.
She was in the training room, trying to improve her skills in throwing knives, but here again, that snooty bastard was here trying to get under her skin. This was just like in her military training. She was the only girl of her unit and boys gave her no favours : every pranks, every little sexist remarks, even some beatings. She had a hard time getting used to it and just not hearing them at all at the end, and so she had drowned herself in her training to defend herself from them. She got in fights quite a few times, and she had finally been respected or feared at least. But here, training to be a Kingsman, she had to be better than that. Just beating Charlie until her anger and frustration would be gone would just get her expelled from the only hope she had to be useful to the world, to be valued and do something she had skills for. She kept quiet, still throwing her knives, but stronger this time, picturing Charlie's face in the silhouette drawing she was throwing at. But letting emotions taking over wasn't the best idea : how would she do on mission ? If she wasn't able to handle the boy's remark, then she wouldn't survive to anything. Stay focus Roxy, you're better than that, she tried to remind herself. But he was still here, staring at her like she was an animal about to be eaten by a lion. She threw her remaining knives and none touched the silhouette, one even fall on the floor, no fast enough to be planted on the wood wall.
"Tss tss tss, Rox…" Charlie began "Such a shame some agents are blind to think recruiting girls are a good idea. Was there any girl in the knights of the round table ? I think not." He proceeded, walking toward her with an almost feline way, one of predator fixing his prey. "But we could still arrange things. I could help you make it to the last round. What do you think baby ?" He finished while his hand was cupping her waist and the other caressing her cheek, slowly going down. But just as he was going to touch her breasts, she slapped him hard on the cheek and kicked him in the groin.
"I think I can handle myself just fine, thanks." She said before she left him, still groaning in pain on the floor.
However, she couldn't help but to be upset about he had said : the snooty bastard had won. She thought that a good night rest would help her : terrible mistake. She had nightmares all night long, living again her harassment in the military training, that one time when a guy almost raped her, that one time she had a broken nose because she refused to play strip poker with the guys, that one time when they just thrown her things away, everywhere in the base she hadn't been able to find back half of it, and finally Charlie, with his everyday derogatory remarks, his looks. She hardly slept and when she couldn't find rest anymore, around 5 in the morning, she carefully and quietly rose from her bed, making sure to wake up no one, not even her dog, got dressed, and went outside for a walk. Everything was quiet and peaceful and though the air was cold, she found some warmth, finally to be able to let it go and just enjoy what was surrounding her. But the moment didn't last long as her mind wouldn't leave her alone for more than just a few seconds. Her nightmares of the night replayed again in her head, and when she was fed up of walking, she crashed her back against the trunk of a tree, far enough so no one would see her or try to find her since it was their day off. When she was finally seated, her breathing hard, she burst into tears. She could handle many things but she also needed to let go sometimes of all she was keeping back inside her. She stayed crying here for only god knows how long.
The day was cloudy and cold, but fortunately, Merlin didn't have to go out and train the recruits today. Today was a day off in the training and he could be back to stay inside his lab for all day, working on several gadget's improvements. However, when he showed up for breakfast, he had been confused : usually, Roxy, being the one in the recruits to get up earlier than anyone else, would always be there, eating something after some physical training he knew she was doing. One could not easily lose military habits. But today, she hadn't shown up. Merlin had been confused at first but then thought she must still be sleeping, enjoying a good night rest for once. However, what made him suspicious was that she didn't show up for noon either. It wasn't unusual for some recruits to go in town to see family or just make some shopping, but she had not talk about going into town. The technology genius couldn't help but to worry. He shouldn't feel that way but he had developed an affection for the young woman : he knew it wasn't always easy for her, and though he had never witnessed it, he was almost sure that some of the guys were playing it hard for her. It kind of reminded him of his own training. He wasn't from the richest family, he was a nerd, let's be honest, some sort of an outcast and a lot of his fellows made him remind it every day.
Some minutes later, when Roxy's dog went to find him, he knew something was definitely off and the animal seemed to want to show him something. He followed, and he was soon outside, the cold air attacking him. But he didn't care, for the moment he was focus to follow the young woman's dog that would maybe lead him to her. After what seemed like ages to Merlin, he found the recruit, back against the trunk of a tree, at the very end of the park : she was crying and it seemed she had done so for hours now. She looked up to his stern figure before she saw something else in his eyes, something she couldn't quite put a finger on. She sniffled and dried her tears, not wanting him to see her in this state any longer. To her complete surprise, he didn't say anything and just sat next to her, facing the horizon. To say that Roxy was surprised and confused was an understatement, but she said nothing, watched him for a while before imitating him, facing the horizon. After a while in silence, he extended his hand to her, handing her a chocolate bar. She took it and that was then she realized how hungry she was. How stupid she had been to find herself crying for hours and skipping breakfast and lunch because of that snooty bastard of Charlie. She was beginning to get angry at herself when she felt Merlin's strong hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to him and when she stared into his eyes she calmed down. He knew. Somehow she understood that he knew everything she was feeling, what she was living and it made her feel a little bit better. But what reassured her the most, was that he formed a small smile on his lips : he never did that, not even Galahad, who had known him for years, could see him smile. But here she was, seeing him smile to her, something that comforted her. She didn't have to be angry, it was okay to let it go sometimes, his eyes seemed to say to her. After a while, he got up and extended his hand to her. She took it and he lifted her up on her feet.
"Thank you Merlin." Roxy said, meeting his eyes.
"Let's get some lunch, you're starving." He simply replied before they began to go back inside.
Some days later, as the remaining recruits had to overcome their worst fears for a test, he made a point to make it harder for Charlie and when he saw he didn't succeed in everything, Merlin couldn't help but to feel a satisfied smile on his lips.
