painted red to fit right in

By Alasse Fefalas

Flynn watched as the sea of black ink around him got sucked into a box. The lid closed with a loud slam when the last tendrils of the demon was caught. He quickly locked the box with a heavy padlock and cast a spell over it, ensuring the entity inside wouldn't escape again. He gave it a once over, making sure it was fully sealed. Satisfied, he turned around and ran to Eve.

His Guardian was on the floor, her right hand holding on loosely to a tall glass cup. Flynn slid to a stop next to her and knelt down beside her, checking her pulse. It was weak but steady. Taking the cup from her hand, he glanced at her from top to toe, making sure she wasn't bleeding. Dark red lines ran under her pallid skin, mapping out her veins. The demon had possessed her and she had ingested the poison voluntarily to flush it out, to Flynn's protest. He might have caught the demon but losing his Guardian in the process wasn't what he had in mind.

"Eve?" Flynn tapped on her cheek tentatively. "Eve, honey? I need you to wake up now."

There was no answer from her, not even the slightest twitch of a finger.

Feeling a little desperate, Flynn shook her shoulder. "Eve, wake up." Her head rolled, but there was still no response from her. His insides felt like ice. A knot formed in his throat. He cupped her face and placed a light kiss on her lips. "My Guardian, please wake up."

Eve's eyes flew open as she took in a deep breath. Her hands gripped onto Flynn's wrists and twisted them away from her face. She pulled him down and rolled them over until he was under her, between her legs. She pinned his arms above him and growled, her face twisted into an angry animalistic scowl. Flynn could see red specks in her blue eyes, the remnants of the possession and poison still coursing through her veins.

"Hi Eve," he said calmly. "Feeling better?"

At the sound of his voice, Eve immediately stopped growling. She blinked twice and let go of his wrists, quickly scrambling off him and withdrew into herself. "What– what did I do?"

Sitting up, Flynn pulled her into a tight embrace. "You helped stop the apocalypse."

"I can still hear him in my mind," Eve said quietly. She buried her face in his chest, her arms going around him. "I can still feel him in me, taking over my body."

Flynn pressed a kiss on the top of her head and stroked her hair gently. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Eve…"

Eve looked up at Flynn and gave him a wry smile. "Sorry I attacked you."

Chuckling, Flynn gave her a peck on her cheek. "It's not the first time someone's been out for my blood but still, apology accepted." Pulling away, he helped her up to her feet. "I think it's time to go back to the Annex and get you all sorted out."

Eve looked at her arms and pulled up her pants to check her legs. The dark red vein markings were still all over her body but her skin had regained some colour. "What happened?"

"Possibly the simultaneous reaction to the poison and the extraction of the demon from your body. Jenkins probably has something to counter it," he assured her. Walking over to the small box, he picked it up and held it close to his body. "This one isn't going into anyone else now."

"You should double seal that box with a 'DO NOT OPEN' sign all around it," suggested Eve.

Flynn slipped a hand in Eve's and led her to a doorway. "Good idea. I might just do that."

"Good, because possession really sucks the life out of you," she said dryly.

Flynn stared at her and lifted an eyebrow. "Colonel Eve Baird, are you actually telling a pun right now?"

"Maybe," grinned Eve as she opened the door.

Laughing, Flynn gave her a kiss and jumped through the door to the Annex, hand holding tightly onto Eve's.

Fin.

A/N: This was supposed to be a drabble. HOW DID IT TURN OUT THIS LONG OMG. Self-control: zero, apparently. Forgive the errors. This was written at 2am lol. Hope you liked it! Tell me what you think about it. Anything and everything is much appreciated. Thanks for reading~