A/N: My first Khanolly fic. I've only seen STiD so I don't know much about Khan's backstory.
Khan sat on a toppled pillar, facing the glowing panels and feeling a bit like a lost soul who'd found his way to a church. Not that he'd ever set foot in one, but if he had, he assumed the feeling would be the same – a sense of serenity in a universe gone mad. It was all because of the panels' color.
Yellow.
Her favorite color.
He tried not to let thoughts of her run loose through his mind. Usually, he succeeded. Then there were times like this when his loneliness threatened to consume him. When he couldn't stop himself from remembering her.
Dr. Molly Hooper.
She was there, in the lab where he was created and spent most of his life. Molly was the only person who treated him like a human being instead of a double helix with legs. Possibly that was due to her being an oncologist instead of a geneticist, but Khan knew it was much more likely because of her innate goodness and sympathetic heart.
He didn't meet her until he was nearly thirty, still in the compound where he was born, still a prisoner. She had heard of his resiliency and wanted to study his genes in the hopes of finding a cure for cancer. Every day that she came in, she greeted him the same way.
"Good morning, Khan." Her smile could always outshine the sun, not that he'd ever say that.
"Dr. Hooper," he'd say civilly. He'd always look her over, both admiring her petite figure and looking for the yellow. She always wore something yellow, usually something small. A bracelet, a pair of socks, a barrette in her long brown hair, something. He'd spot it but never comment on it.
"How is your morning going?" she'd ask pleasantly.
As if he, like her, had a life outside of the compound. He tried not to let the question hurt, she did mean it innocently, after all, but it still stung. "Fine," he'd always mutter. "What bodily fluid do you need from me today?"
She'd take her sample, usually blood, chatting while she collected it about her life, her friends, anything that came to mind. Though he was jealous of her ability to come and go as she pleased and the full life she had outside of the compound, her stories still managed to make him feel serene, comforted. It was like spending time just sitting in the sunlight on a beautiful day.
One morning, though, was different. "Good morning, Khan," she said quietly.
"Dr. Hooper." He looked her over, taking in her sad eyes and the complete lack of her favorite color. "Where's your yellow?"
"My what?" she asked, surprised.
"You always wear something yellow."
Molly looked down at herself. "Oh…" She looked back up at him, swallowing hard. "I … um … my cat, Toby, had to be put down yesterday. I guess I'm not in the mood to wear yellow today." She managed a ghost of her usual smile. "How is your morning going?"
On the day of their next meeting, Khan deliberately arrived late to their allotted exam room. He'd arrived early and left something there for her. Now he wanted to see her reaction. He walked into the room to see her sitting on her usual stool, holding the pin he'd fashioned in one hand, the other covering her mouth as she tried to hold back her tears.
Metalsmithing was a hobby for him, a way of passing time in this man-made eternity. But for once, he'd done something worthwhile with his skills. The hammered heart-shaped gold pin suited her, he knew. The heart was small enough to be discrete, just as she preferred. What he didn't know was whether her tears were good or bad.
He cleared his throat and she startled a bit before turning to him, and the suddenly unleashed tears started to fall. Khan was momentarily at a loss – the female Augments would rather die than be considered weak enough to shed tears – and she must have seen it on his face because she smiled through her tears.
"Don't mind me, I'm just overemotional, I guess," she said. Her smile grew. "But I want to thank you for this, Khan." She held up the pin. "It's perfect."
"So are you," he said without thinking. His eyes widened. Never in his life had he said something without giving it considerable thought before.
Molly stared at him, her cheeks becoming an attractive shade of pink. "Um … thank you. So are you. Not just genetically, I mean."
Khan found himself grinning at her, realizing an entirely new world was opening to him, a world that centered around her.
He took one last glance at the glowing panels before he closed his eyes and gave his body the rest it desperately needed. His last conscious thought was about her.
Soon.