Chapter 1
'HEY! Watch the merchandise!' Samson growled, stiffening unpleasantly as Filia winced, working to tuck him under the hat more carefully.
"Sorry, know that normally I'm fine with you sneaking a fry or two, but I just don't want any slips," Pulling the rounded beige hat further down, she triple-checked the mirror, listening to the parasite's throaty, wordless groan from under her hat. "Not tonight."
'Whatever kid. All I'm saying is, I've seen you with the pincushion before, and while I'd normally welcome an eye-screen, why's tonight any different?' Filia didn't respond, instead opting to tug at the collar of her shirt to make it more eye-catching, glad that Samson was hidden away right now. Her silence was answer enough, and realization dawned on her symbiotic friend as he let out a rough bark of laughter. 'Really kid? You're really gonna…?'
"Carol and I have discussed it." Filia responded proudly, her cheeks still catching pink.
'When?'
"On the phone, you were asleep." Months ago, Samson would have been furious at the thought of someone else even touching his host, but a stern talking to from Filia once she and Painwheel had started dating made the overprotective parasite grudgingly agree to give them a little space.
'Well, well, well, look at you! All grown up.' A tendril reached down and gave Filia a quick swat on the butt, making her yelp as she grabbed the length and gave it an angry yank before shoving it back under the hat.
"And I will be having NONE of that while we're together, Samson. Especially not with her. If you're going to be gross around me, I can live with that, but if you so much as touch Carol without my permission…" Filia felt the mass on her head shift uncomfortably at the scolding, Samson's form compacting itself onto her.
'Yeah, yeah. Like I'd even want to feel up that pile of scars and stitches.' Normally she'd pull at him until the the whole apartment could hear the parasite calling uncle, but she heard the pout in his voice, and decided not to let it bother her tonight. Finishing up the final touches on her makeup, Filia reached a thumb up and tipped the brim of her hat, offering a white flag to Samson as a single yellow eye peeked out at the mirror.
"What do you think?" The schoolgirl asked in a calmer, more even tone. She felt the eye scanning her body, not in the predatory way she was used to Samson's gaze catching her in, but with a legitimate edge to it, as though he wanted to make his opinion count.
'Ya look great, kid.' He answered shortly, looking away as Filia who, now smiling, pulled the rim of her hat back down and gave the mirror one last look, shooting an upset eye down at the pale glow under her chest, fastening another button to cover it up before collecting herself and heaving a nervous breath.
Carol waited in front of Filia's apartment, shuffling her feet back and forth as she tried to find a "right" way to stand. Annoyed at the natural slouch in her posture, she tried standing straight, feeling every scar in her body stretch and threaten to split as the fleshy socket that used to hold the Buer Drive sent a stab of pain through her body, making people stare as her knees buckled.
Embarrassment coursed through her mind, she felt weak; pain shouldn't be anything new to her by this point, but lately, all the time she'd been spending with Filia made the twinges in her scars disappear. It made all the difference to her self-esteem, knowing that being hurt now hurt instead of just throwing her into a blind rage.
Bitterly accepting her slouch, the student cast a look up at the apartment. It sure was late; no doubt Filia was busy fighting with Samson. The thought that she might have even told him that they were planning on taking their relationship to the next level wasn't comfortable, but Painwheel had accepted that he was a part of her life; and a steadfastly unremovable part at that.
The door of the building opened and Filia stepped out into the winter night, a coat that matched the hat she always wore wrapped around her, open just enough for Painwheel to see the low-cut blouse and thigh-hugging skirt she wore. She'd been apprehensive of this; Filia was eye-catching enough in her uniform, which she normally wore on their dates. Dressing up meant that she was starting to take things more seriously, to take them more seriously.
Suddenly, Painwheel felt silly in the jeans and turtleneck she'd put on, but that self-consciousness faded when Filia shot a glowing smile her way. Walking over, the taller girl pulled her girlfriend into a quick embrace, pecking Painwheel's forehead quickly before taking a step back.
"Sorry I'm late! Had some trouble getting ready. You look cute," Giving the ex-ASG a hip-bump, Filia shot her a winning smile. "As always." Looking sheepish at the attention, Painwheel was quick to return the compliment, falling into step beside Filia as they walked.
"Where are we headed anyways? I know you insisted on picking the place out." Painwheel asked. The air in New Meridian was clear and crisp that night, a thin layer of severely trampled snow covering the pavement.
"A diner nearby, one of my favorites!" Pausing for a moment, Filia poked her hat, "It's also one of Samson's favorites, but that's less because of the food itself, and more because he can pig out as much as he wants since it's kinda…well it's cheap." Painwheel gave her partner a teasing grin.
"You suuure know how to treat a girl, huh?" Pouting, Filia crossed her arms.
"Well, they have good shakes! Besides, this means I can afford anything you want, yeah? My treat." The pair traded amicable chatter as they walked until they reached the diner, wherein they sat down at a cushiony red booth. As soon as Painwheel's back made contact with the seat, she felt a strange knot twist, shooting a sharp tongue of fire up her spine and making her cry out in alarm.
"Carol! Are you all right?" Shaking off the pain and biting her tongue, Painwheel looked down in shame at the incident.
"Yeah, sorry, just...sat on something." Laughing, Filia nodded, grinning. The younger girl didn't feel good about lying to her girlfriend, but the newfound vulnerability was something she felt far too insecure about to share with anyone, so she willed herself not to vocalize at the pain as she leaned back more slowly, the pain settling down to a dull throb as the pair ordered.
It didn't slip Painwheel's attention that their waitress's eyes seemed to skim over her with a sad look before passing back to Filia. As though it were an act of charity on the other girl's part to be seen in public with someone like her. Even though it wasn't in Painwheel's nature to be insecure around strangers, that same irrational anger still bubbled up inside of her when she saw the contempt.
Of course Filia didn't notice, wanting to think the best of everyone, and Painwheel wouldn't even think of bothering her with something so petty, (even if Filia would insist it wasn't). But tonight of all nights was not a good time for her to start having second thoughts about how everyone else saw her, even Filia...especially Filia.
They both noticed how the energy between them had shifted now, something more mature and needy had appeared in their actions. From the way they scooted forward on either side of the bar until their knees touched, and the goofy smiles they shared as inside jokes were exchanged, how silence would sometimes just sit comfortably without interruption from Samson for once, or how Filia would reach over and lace her lotion-smooth fingers between Painwheel's own-
"Your hands…" Filia trailed off, sliding her thumb across the other student's palm. Painwheel felt her blood run cold. Please don't let her notice. "They're rougher than usual." The soft, warm hand continued trailing up Painwheel's own calloused one until Filia's fingers grazed one of the scars she'd become familiar with, feeling it was deeper and more indented it had been last time.
Opening her mouth to comment on it, Filia was interrupted by their milkshake arriving with two straws. Her concerns instantly forgotten, instead overridden by a desire to enjoy their time with one-another. She clapped her hands together, pointing the other straw in Painwheel's direction as she wrapped her lips around hers.
Relieved by the distraction, Painwheel took the opportunity to start drinking. She should have known something was wrong the moment the back of her throat started tickling, but instead, just assumed that it was a natural side effect of milkshakes. The drink was warm and cold, it tasted appropriate, even on a night like this one, and when Painwheel looked up into her girlfriend's eyes as their hands locked further together, she realized it was exactly the kind of taste she wanted to associate with Filia.
Then the pain came again.
Something pierced the back of her throat, and she instantly felt the sickly tastes of bile and blood cover her tongue. Her first instinct was to expel it as fast as she could and backwash straight into their shared drink, but she suppressed that, instead standing up and bolting for the bathroom as Filia sat, shell-shocked.
"Carol?"
Doubling over the sink, Painwheel let it all spill out, a torrent of thick red fluid thickening up the sink as she braced herself on the sides. Her muscles locked up, preventing her from moving until she couldn't spare anything else, dry-heaving into the sink.
Straightening up, not bothering to wipe her mouth, the student gave her reflection a cold glare. Her body was betraying her, Filia had given her chance for life, control over her own destiny for this body, it didn't deserve to be fighting back like this.
Painwheel slammed her fist into the wall, barely even noticing the dent it made, instead wishing it could be bigger. The old urge returned, the urge to reduce everything around her to scrap, if anything but rubble was left, then that meant she hadn't done a good enough job letting her anger out.
Red-ringed eyes flicking over to her knuckles, Painwheel saw them turn white with pressure and willed herself to calm down, feeling that sensation at the base of her spine twitch and shuddered again as she closed her eyes.
Tonight was her night, her night with Filia. Samson wasn't even around, her body and mind were hers alone, Valentine is missing, Brain Drain was likely lurking around Lab Zero without funding. Things were in control.
Willing herself to take another deep breath and open her eyes, she saw the calm, level face of a human being staring back, not that horrendous leather mask. It was that special feeling she felt every time Filia called her by her old name, or when she came back to the lab after a long day, knowing that there were people that cared about her there.
Spitting the last vestiges of acrid mucus into the sink, she washed down the mess she'd made and left the room, aiming a nonchalant smile at Filia.
"Sorry about that! Just a side-effect of some medication I'm taking for the stitches."
Filia's fawning concern evaporated as the night went on, the disturbances in the diner didn't repeat themselves and eventually faded into circumstance in her head as they both decided to take a quick walk around the city before heading back.
Wandering to a nearby park, they sat down together for a while, Filia's hands gently stroking Painwheel's biceps, running her thumbs over them and softly giving the toned muscle an occasional squeeze, the streetlamps glowing as the sky grew even darker.
"So, how's Samson doing?" Painwheel asked, trying to make conversation as Filia tisked and scooted a little closer.
"He's fine, but forget about Samson for a while. It's gonna take a month of favors before he agrees to let me shut him under the hat a second time and he's not going to butt in for once. What about you? How's everyone at the lab?" Giving Filia a gentle smile, Painwheel accepted the closeness and happily responded.
"They're doing great! Ileum has already gotten a couple of the older kids back on their feet by now, they'll be moving out after the holidays."
"And you?" Filia asked, giving Painwheel a serious look which she recoiled from slightly, averting her eyes.
"Yeah...I guess I've gotta stop mooching from them, sometime, right?" A weak chuckle followed her half-joke, and her girlfriend leaned in, placing a hand on her thigh.
"I know you feel like you have nowhere to go, Carol. And that you're having trouble finding a job, but I meant what I said before...if you ever want to move in with me, I'd be more than happy to-"
"No," Painwheel cut her off curtly. "Thanks Filia, but I don't want to make things go too quickly between us just because I'm too incompetent to live my own life without someone standing under me to catch me when I fall." Taking on a lighter tone, the younger student smiled. "Besides, we both know that if I did move in with you, Samson would probably chase me out with death threats, right?" Taking in a breath as though she were about to respond, Filia decided not to press the matter, crossing her legs.
"How's Peacock doing? How old is she by now, fifteen?" Painwheel shrugged, looking bemused.
"Sixteen. But no matter what age she is, I don't think she'll ever end up acting it."
"No," Filia giggled, "Probably not. I've been working full-time now y'know."
"Really?" Painwheel grinned, "You found a schedule that works with the classes you're taking?"
Filia detailed her job's new hours, and how all of her classes were going before the two switched to another topic, then another. By the time their legs had fallen asleep from sitting so long and flakes snow had started drifting down, they decided to call it a night, both knowing what that entailed.
Hands intertwined, they walked up to Filia's apartment, cheeks red from the cold and the heat coming from current company.
Painwheel looked around the room. She'd only been in Filia's apartment a few times, to pick her up or to hang out for a few hours. After they passed the threshold though, there was a heavy weight to the mood, not an uncomfortable one, but it was thick and tangible.
Kicking off shoes and loosening of outer layers took place afterwards, Painwheel finding it even harder to keep her eyes off of Filia's chest. The older girl gave a cheeky grin, giggling.
"Do you mind? I've caught you staring all night." Painweel reddened, knowing it was just harmless teasing, but still feeling abashed at having been caught. Filia finished unbuttoning her shirt and shrugged it off, leaning in to wrap her forearms around her girlfriend. "Want to touch them?" She asked, her voice low and sensual, knowing that it made Painwheel's blood boil.
Reaching down to cradle scarred hands, Filia brought them up to gently cup the underside of her breast under the lacy bra she wore. Taking the initiative, Painwheel started rubbing, feeling the gentle weight. The pit of Filia's belly ached with arousal as she leaned forward, pressing her lips to Painwheel's neck softly.
"Ow! Hey!" Filia drew back, a sharp pain having scraped her chest, a hand grabbing the small cut and rubbing it, "Not so rough!" Painwheel instantly reeled into panic mode, looking down at her hands.
"I'm sorry! I-I'll just go…" Turning towards the door, she felt a soft hand wrap around hers, pulling her back.
"Hey, stop. Forget about it." Filia said, looking down into Painwheel's mournful, puppy-like eyes. She knew that the other student couldn't stand hurting people close to her, intentionally or otherwise. She'd probably just gotten a little excited. (Though that might be motivation enough to come up with a nice fun safeword).
Leaning in, Filia kissed Painwheel proper, trying to ease away any doubts. At first her lips were tense and unyielding, but they slowly relaxed as the shorter girl melted into the kiss, eagerly pulling Filia in.
They moved over to Filia's bedroom and onto the large plush mattress, Painwheel, having gained back her confidence, straddled Filia's waist, planting steady but firm kisses from her cheek all the way down her collarbone while the parasite-wielder cooed softly. Painwheel's head moved down between Filia's breasts, pecking the skin before noticing how cold it felt. Opening her eyes to see a cerulean glow, Painwheel pulled back, her eyes full of confusion. Her lover giving a look of concern.
"Carol?" Wracked with pain, Painwheel doubled over, wrapping her arms around her thin frame and trying to hold in any noises as Filia reached forward, only having the time to stroke Carol's cheek before bone fragments erupted from her skin, re-opening old wounds. "Carol!"
That old, familiar scream of pain came out of her girlfriend's throat as the bony needles scraped against Filia's soft skin, leaving shallow cuts, but more than enough hurt to wake Samson up.
'Kid!' Tongue flinging the hat off of Filia's head, Samson took initiative and forced a few tendrils forward to push Painwheel off of Filia's waist, the young student screaming again before retching and coughing blood onto the sheets, the bone needles elongating and splitting.
Without a word, Painwheel gave a weak wobble and crumpled into a pile on the ground, Filia racing over to her, already pulling her cellphone out and dialing the ASG Lab Eight number she kept in case of emergencies as the pool of blood grew around her lover's form.
An overwhelming desire to run over struck Filia when her girlfriend was forced to curl into fetal position as a jagged growth of bone split from her spine, jutting straight out of her back. Before she could get the chance to try helping though, Samson halted her movement, digging his feet in the ground and snaking a few strands around to restrain his host.
'Get away from her!' His actions seemed prudent when the new spine lashed out towards Filia, the top splitting into four different sharp sections. With no solution, her mind numb with helplessness, Filia was just forced to sit and watch from a distance until Lab Eight's paramedics finally came.
(AN: This story features a meld of everyone's endings in different ways, shapes, and forms, since the canon storyline doesn't really exist yet, and only using one would be boring. You'll figure things out as you go along, but feel free to message me if you have any questions or concerns :D
See you next chapter!)