Author's Note: This is my first attempt at RvB fanfiction. I hope you enjoy! Reviews are much appreciated :)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, nor do I make a profit off of this work.
"Yeah! In your face, North!" York shouted excitedly.
He finally managed to kill North in the intense game of Call Of Duty: Black Ops they had both been focused on for a solid hour. Sometimes the other agents milling about in the rec room would gather around to witness North wiping the floor with York's confidence. Others took pity and spared York the humiliation of witnesses seeing his failure. North was destroying York in a private free-for-all match with a score of 124 kills and 3 deaths, while York lagged way behind with the resulting 3 kills and 124 deaths.
Both men were still in their armour. In their haste to play against each other, they hadn't remembered to remove anything but their helmets after a standard fitness test (there had been a significant amount of trash talk during the test, which both freelancers were eager to prove to the other). Neither particularly cared when North had idly pointed it out soon after they began playing. All that really mattered to them at that time was who won bragging rights.
York stopped mid-celebration when his character was swiftly shot in the head by a vengeful North. York blanched. "Aw, come on! No fair, dude! You're way too good with that sniper rifle!"
North laughed. "Don't hate on my video game prowess, York. Maybe if you practiced more than you trash talk, you might actually kill me more than 5 times a game." He punctuated his statement by dropping York's player with yet another skillful headshot. York spat several colourful curses that would have made Mother Teresa turn in her grave.
"Yeah, well, maybe if you weren't so good with the sniper rifle outside of video games too then I'd have an even better chance," the tan armoured freelancer replied. "Why don't we both use a light machine gun to make it more even?"
"Alright, if that would make you feel like you might actually beat me," North taunted, grinning wickedly. York decided that for such a nice and soft-spoken guy, North was secretly evil. At least only towards York anyways. They were both in the middle of changing their respective class to the aforementioned agreed weaponry when FILSS' voice rang throughout the ship.
Would Agent South Dakota and North Dakota please report to the Director's office right away? Thank you and have a nice day!
"Ah, great," North groaned while getting up from the couch. He stretched out his back and turned to smirk at York. "Sorry York, I guess we'll have to have a rematch later. Oh darn. I guess I win then."
York narrowed his eyes, then grinned at his fellow agent. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you set that up on purpose," he teased.
North rolled his eyes and playfully shoved York off the couch. York gave an un-manly squeak of surprise as he landed on the floor with a thump. York glared up at the taller agent while an amused North looked down on him. "If I set it up, I'd have you going to go see the Director instead of me and South," North clarified.
North was suddenly nervous. It was rare for any agents to be called to the Director's office. But what made North even more nervous was that he was being called along with South, his twin sister. She resented being associated with and compared to North, claiming that she was always lost in shadow of her slightly older brother.
North could understand where she was coming from - he wouldn't like being compared to an older sibling either. But he couldn't help that the Director insisted on grouping them together all the time, like giving them similar code names and then similar purple with green highlighted armour. For safety reasons, North had to avoid South for a week after they were given the Dakota code names, and then another week following that when they were given their armour. South was furious when she learned the only difference between their armour was that North's was a slightly darker purple. He would have gladly accepted hot pink armour with unicorns and rainbows on it as long as it wasn't even remotely similar to South's.
York caught the not so subtle change in North's expression. He got up from his position on the floor and punched his roommate's shoulder lightly. "Hey, man. It'll be fine. It's probably about that infiltration mission he told you about, the one he wanted you and South to go on." He ruffled North's blond hair like he was a little kid, trying to cheer him up.
The purple freelancer swatted York's hand away. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll see you later, York." North waved and walked towards the Director's office.
While North had forgotten about the mission, he bet South hadn't. She trained hard before any mission in order to be as physically and mentally ready as possible. North respected his sister and often praised her for this, even though he knew South only did it to have a better chance of out shining him in the field. North was a hard worker himself, as was customary for any soldier in the military, but South's desire to beat North fueled her to try that much harder and be that much better.
Even as kids, back when they were just Nicole and Nick, South had never liked being compared to her brother. She had hated the matching outfits their parents had bought them. At the ripe old age of 4, she threw her and North's matching stripped winter hats into her the blazing fire of the fire place. It made their parents realize they were two very different children, despite being identical twins. While North was quiet, friendly and caring to a fault, South was rude, brash and easily angered. Their differences in personality really become evident in social and work situations, like in Project Freelancer.
Breaking out of his thoughts, North realized he had arrived at the Director's office. He stood there unsure of what to do. He'd never been called to his office before. Did he knock? Or did he stand here and wait to be called in? Well, North figured he better do something. Just as he was lifting his hand to knock, the door slid open by itself.
The Director was seated at his desk, with the Councilor standing behind him. South was standing in front of the Director. As he entered, she turned and sneered at him, probably because he came later than she did. North gave her a tiny half-hearted smile in greeting and walked up to stand beside South. He stood at attention and saluted the Director. South did the same.
"Good afternoon, Agent South Dakota and Agent North Dakota," the Director drawled in his Southern accent.
"Afternoon, sir!" North and South said together, still saluting.
"At ease, agents."
North and South relaxed slightly out of their stiff, respectful stances.
"I brought you in here to remind you that I require your assistance. Our scanners have located a Resistance outpost with valuable information stored in their database. I need you two to infiltrate their base undetected and secure the data files. You are to leave no evidence of being there, or else you will not be extracted. Agent South Dakota, you will be infiltrating the base yourself. Agent North Dakota, you will act as recon using your sniper rifle. Am I making myself clear, agents?"
"Yes, sir!" North and South chirped.
Out of the corner of his eye, North could see South's lips threatening to pull into a smirk. He knew how prepared she was for this mission, and how ready she was to prove herself to the Director and the other agents. This was the perfect chance for her to do so.
"One last thing. Agent South Dakota, may I remind you that this mission cannot be a failure. It is of the upmost priority. If the Resistance learns of your presence and you cannot secure the data files in time, your ranking on the board will suffer greatly."
South stiffened, and gave nothing but a curt nod towards her superior officer.
"And as for you, Agent North Dakota," the Director continued. "If this mission goes well, you will be eligible to be one of the first to receive an Artificial Intelligence, one that will help you greatly in the field. I hope you two will not disappoint me."
"We won't, sir," North confirmed. South did not say anything.
The Director observed them both. "Excellent. You leave the day after tomorrow at 0600 hours. Please head directly to the armoury when we are done here. I would like you to gather your armour and any weapons you wish to take and bring them to our tech staff. They will make sure your belongings are in adequate condition for the mission. Agent North Dakota, that will require you to remove your armour first," the Director drawled in a condescending tone.
North's face flushed pink at the Director's obvious remark concerning his still armoured presence.
"That will be all, agents. You're dismissed," the Director finished.
"Yes, sir!" North saluted again. South still did not say anything, only offering a sloppy salute.
As they turned to leave, South stalked ahead of North. By the time the Director's office door slid shut behind North, South was already halfway down the hall. He jogged to catch up with her.
North was about to talk to her when he noticed the stiff set of her shoulders, the way she stomped her feet and that her hands were balled into fists so tight that her knuckles were turning white. North resisted the strong urge to face palm. South was pissed again, and he had no idea why. What did the Director say that made her so angry?
He was still mulling over their meeting in his head when they arrived at the armoury. South stomped over to the section that held her light purple and green armour and started ripping it from the hooks that held it to the wall. North watch her warily while he removed his own armour and changed into the white t-shirt and fatigues all agents were required to keep with their armour. He decided this was a good precaution. He didn't exactly want to walk across the Mother Of Invention to his room in the nude to get some clothes after changing out of his armour.
When he was finished changing, he decided to chance talking to South. He hoped she had calmed down a bit from whatever had made her so upset. South was still attempting to rip parts of her armour off the wall, as her anger had made it harder for her to remove the delicate hooks that required patience to do. South was all out of that at the moment. She had put on her hand armour and was using it to rip her chest plate out of the wall instead of just unhooking it.
"Hey, South, about the –"
North was cut off by South abandoning her armour and roughly shoving him into the wall. She got right in his face and spat, "What about the mission?"
The dark purple freelancer knew he was walking on thin ice. When his sister got physical with him, she was beyond pissed. He had to step very lightly here. But how could he? He still didn't even know what went wrong! He noticed nervously that she was still wearing her gauntlets.
"I cannot fucking believe that he practically threatened me and not you!" South all but shrieked. "It totally applies to you too! I'm above you in the leader board for fuck sakes! And then you get offered an AI? That bastard knows I've been dying to have one! For the first time he isn't treating us as the exact same goddamn person and this is what he does?! This isn't fucking fair!" In her rage, she punched the wall beside North's head so hard that she left a fist sized hole.
Oh. That's what she's so angry about.
North swallowed hard. Physically, he was much stronger than his sister. He could fight back. But from experience, he knew when she got like this he needed to let her get it out and then offer some kind, calm words. That's what he usually did, and it normally worked quite well in both their favours. She calmed down, and he prevented any possible injury to himself or unsuspecting bystanders around them.
"I understand, South. What he said was not –"
North was interrupted once again by a punch to the face by South's still armoured hand. Everything was a blur of black and pain before North registered he was on the ground. He hadn't expected South to hit him. Sure, he'd taken hits from her throughout his life (but he'd never hit her back, because he wouldn't hit his own sister like that) but he honestly wasn't expecting this one. Especially because she had her gauntlets on, and they both knew the damage those could do.
He guessed she didn't care at the moment. North shakily pulled himself up into a somewhat sitting position. He brought his hand to his mouth and it came back very, very red. His dazed mind vaguely registered that was probably not a good thing. He looked up at South, trying to stem the gush of blood that was quickly soaking his previously white t-shirt. She looked livid, yet smug. Was she happy about this? What had he done to deserve that? It wasn't his fault that the Director said those things!
"South," he choked out, his words wet with blood. "What the hell was t-that for?!"
She just looked down at him, still quivering with rage. "Of course, you wouldn't know, would you?" she spat with nothing but coldness in her voice.
North decided to try to stand back up. He didn't want her to feel like she had a significant advantage over him, because she'd let it get to her head and it would affect her judgment. It wasn't often she had the upper hand with him, and he knew what she'd do if she got carried away.
He shouldn't have bothered trying.
As he tried to get up, South slammed her steel-toed combat boot into his stomach. North curled up and clutched his middle, groaning in pain. He fought the nearly overwhelming urge to vomit.
"You never knew what it feels like to always be second best. To always be trying to beat someone, and then as soon as you get close it's ripped away. I am so fucking tired of that, and of you." She kicked him in the stomach again. North squeezed his eyes and mouth shut, as he tried to keep quiet while pain bloomed in his stomach. He didn't want anyone walking in on them and getting his sister in trouble. She would be so angry about it and no doubt blame him.
"Well guess what, North!" She emphasizes his code name, mocking it. She walked over to his armour and picked up his helmet, the one so similar to her own. She stalked back over to her brother wheezing and bleeding on the floor. "I am better than you! I don't care what the Director or any of these other people in this fucking project say. And you need to remember that."
North looked up at her, so dizzy with pain that he could barely string two thoughts together. At this point he knew he should get up and defend himself. But he couldn't. He was too dizzy to even stand, never mind engage South, who was as highly trained as he was, in combat. But he also knew she wasn't going to stop until he did something about it. He didn't know what to do. Had it really only been maybe twenty minutes since he was laughing and playing video games with York?
South sneered at North's unsure expression. "Can't figure out what to do, big bro? Here, let me give you some help." With her last word, she slammed North's helmet into his chest.
The breath left his lungs in a sudden whoosh. He scrambled to breathe, just to get something into his lungs before he went into a blind panic.
South laughed. North couldn't believe this was happening. South had never gone this far before, and she was laughing? North was shaking – he was terrified of what his little sister would do now that he wasn't able to fight back anymore. At this point, he didn't even care if South got in trouble. North needed someone to walk into the armoury now.
North watched as South walked back over to his armour and grabbed his chest plate. She proceeded to smash it into the ground beside him.
"Hey North, your armour is on the ground. Why aren't you picking it up? The Director will not be pleased with you. But it's okay. Because he won't move you off the board, you're too damn perfect for that," South said in a deadly calm voice.
North just looked up at her. His shaking arms reached for his chest plate to try and pull himself up once again. He had to put a stop to this. Just as he gripped the chest plate, South immediately looked furious again. She must've thought he really was worried about what the Director thought.
"Are you fucking kidding me?! You piece of –" South reared back her armoured fist to hit North again.
Before she could hit him again, North summoned all his remaining strength and roared, "NICOLE."
The use of her real name jarred South. It seemed to snap her out of her rage, replacing it with shock. She looked down at her big brother, slipping on the floor in his own blood while gripping his chest plate for dear life. She took one step back, then another.
North, having used up all his energy, collapsed on his chest plate. Blackness was quickly creeping up on the edges of his vision. He saw South swiftly move back towards her own armour, calmly placing all of it on the loading station. Before she left, she glanced back at her brother. The two siblings made brief eye contact before she was out the door.
North didn't know how long he lay on the floor in between reality and blackness. He knew his blood was seeping into his chest plate, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He tried to move, but he couldn't will his muscles to work with him. North passed out just as he saw the door to the armoury open.
York was looking for North. He wanted a rematch with him in Call Of Duty. There was no way North won without cheating! York wasn't that bad at video games.
In his search, he passed by South who was wheeling her armour on a loading station. She had a weird look on her face, one that York couldn't quite identify. He asked her where North was, but he didn't get an answer. She acted like he wasn't there, passing by him without even looking at him.
York raised an eyebrow. Okay, that was odd. Not unusual for someone like South, but odd. Normally she glared at him or insulted him in passing. She did, however, give him a clue. Those loading stations were from the armoury (as was the armour, obviously) so maybe North would be there too since they were in that meeting together before. He headed off in the direction South had come from.
When York entered the armoury, he froze in absolute horror. There was North, half propped up on his chest plate on the floor. His white shirt was soaked from the blood pooled around him, and that which continued to leak from his mouth and the jagged cut over his right eye. York could already see the same eye blackening and swelling shut. North was doubled up, with one arm around his stomach and one clutching his chest plate. It looked like he was having trouble breathing. His helmet was a little to his left, the visor cracked down the middle.
York felt like he was going to throw up. He scrambled over to his beat up roommate and kneeled down beside him. What could he do? He couldn't move him, what if something was broken? Better yet, who did this to him? York immediately thought of South and her strange expression but decided against it. South might be a huge bitch, but she'd never do this to her own brother. Even for South, who was known for taking out her frustration on North, this was way over the line.
North stirred, which shocked York out of the panic attack he was about to have. York, feeling utterly useless, watched as North blearily open his large blue eyes. He was startled to see the raw terror in North's eyes, which widened considerably when they spotted York hovering over him. North's mouth opened and he attempted to say something, but all that came out was wet, gargled sounds. York helped his fellow freelancer turn slightly so that North could spit out the blood collecting in his mouth.
The purple freelancer looked up at York from the floor and tried to smile and act nonchalant, like 'Hey, what's up? What's with the sour face?'
York wasn't buying it. He didn't even smirk at North's attempt to defuse the situation. This meant York was, for once, entirely serious.
York took a deep breath to calm himself. He tried to look at anything but North's numerous injuries, which filled him with uncharacteristic anger. "North," he began slowly. He gently turned North's head so he was looking directly at him. "What the hell happened? And don't give me any bullshit answers."
He saw North take a shaky breath. Then he looked... unsure. Did he not remember what happened, or who did this to him? North appeared to doze off.
"North," he repeated again, trying to keep North's attention on him. He didn't want to be pushy with North, especially when he was in such a state, but York needed answers.
North's eyes shot open again, like he just remembered he wasn't alone anymore. There was a moment of silence as they looked at each other. York had a feeling that North wouldn't tell him who did this to him because knowing North, which York did, he wouldn't want to get anyone in trouble. Which was ridiculous, considering someone very much deserved to pay for this.
York examined the fist sized bruise on the right side of North's face. It was small, but it looked like it caused a lot of damage where it hit. He deduced that meant it couldn't have been Maine and his massive fists (though he knew for a fact Maine wouldn't hurt someone like this for no reason, he was actually a really nice guy). Come to think of it, it couldn't have been any of the male freelancers. The size of the hit was just too small. That meant it had to be one of the girls. But all the girls liked North, even Texas had a soft spot for him. Hell, everyone liked North! Well, except South most of the time.
South.
York didn't want to believe it, but suddenly it all made sense. He remembered her weird expression while she wheeled her armour away from the direction of the armoury, and how her and North had just been in a meeting with the Director about an upcoming mission. York knew how intense South got with any mission, and how much it pissed her off when something didn't go her way. And, of course, how she was all too willing to take out that anger on her much kinder brother.
He felt like he was going to throw up again. The worry that had just dominated York's mind was quickly replaced with an anger that would rival South's. She was going to fucking pay for this. This was not okay, she went way too far this time. No one beat up one of his best friends and walked away like that. No one. North did not deserve this.
Despite his uncharacteristic anger, York carefully got North's attention again, trying not to jostle him. "Nick," he spoke softly, controlling his voice. York knew using North's real name would really get his attention. "It was South, wasn't it?"
North refused to meet York's eyes. It looked like he was trying not to cry. The lack of answer from North confirmed York's accusations. York nodded to himself, thinking of what he was going to do from here. Okay, I'll get North to the medical wing, then I'll find South. No, wait, maybe I should get her to confess to the Director. But how would I do that...?
York noticed some of North's armour scattered around him. Why had South been wheeling her armour away? York remembered the last time he went on a small scale mission. The Director had wanted him to get his armour checked to make sure it was in good enough condition for the mission. That's most likely what North and South had been instructed to do as well.
The tan freelancer gently settled North back down on the ground, who was clearly so out of it he didn't even notice York moving away. He just curled up on the ground, clutched his stomach and whimpered. York shuddered. Hearing a highly trained super soldier whimpering on the ground was something he never wanted to hear again. It just wasn't right. And the fact it was North, the nicest guy he knew, made it that much worse.
He assessed North. How was he going to get him to the medical wing by himself? York decided to call for reinforcements.
Maine and Wash arrived within seconds, both bursting through the door in their haste to come to North's aid. The two freelancers went through the similar emotions York had earlier: horror, revulsion, then rage. They both looked at York for some kind of explanation.
"South," was all York said.
Wash cursed violently. Maine didn't say anything, but fury was clearly displayed on his features. If South was smart, she'd stay away from the large freelancer for a very long time after this.
Together, the three friends carefully picked up North (who had passed out again at some point) and carried him to the medical wing.
When they arrived, the medics flew into chaotic activity at the sight of North. York had to admit, North looked even worse than he did when he first found him. The blood had finally stopped, thank God, and had dried down the side of his face and all over his torso. His bruised face was turning an impressive shade of purple, and his eye was completely swollen shut. And, judging by the way North had been holding himself, he had several fractured or broken ribs.
Once North was settled on a cot, York turned to Wash and Maine. "Guys, I have something to take care of. I'll be right back." The two freelancers nodded solemnly as York left.
York headed back to the armoury. The last thing North needed was to get in trouble with the Director because he didn't submit his armour to the tech staff. York was going to help North any way he could, since he was clueless with the medical stuff. When he entered the room, the sight of the blood sparked another rare bout of heated anger in his chest.
Trying to ignore the blood, York quickly gathered up North's bloody armour and set it on a loading station.
When he was finished, he wheeled the loading station towards the tech wing. He was surprised to find that South was still there submitting her armour. What the hell was taking her so long?
York saw her jump and turn to look at him when he slammed the door open. He gave her a glare so vicious it actually made her physically flinch back. York had never looked at anyone like that before, but she more than deserved it. It took all the restraint he had and the good manners his mother taught him to not say anything he may regret later.
He saw her face pale when she processed it was York bringing in her brother's armour, and not North himself. She paled even further when she saw all the blood on North's armour.
York submitted North's armour without sparing another glance at South. The tech staff gave him weird looks when they realized the armour was covered in blood, but they wisely did not comment on it. When he was finished, he looked in her direction to find she was just standing there with her mouth slightly open. It appeared she was about to say something.
York didn't give her the chance. "If you give a shit about your brother, he's in the medical wing. I suggest you explain to the Director why North looks like he got run over by a tank," he spat at her. As he left, he saw her shocked expression and her lips mouth 'medical wing?'.
York walked briskly back the way he came. As he walked into the medical wing, he saw that Maine and Wash were still there, but outside of the private room North had been given. Wash's face was practically pressed up against the glass of the window, while Maine had a comforting hand on his smaller companion's shoulder. Both looked up when they heard York arrive.
Maine growled something at York. "Yeah, good question Maine," Wash reiterated. "Where did you go, York?"
"Just helping North out with a favour." He shrugged. "How is he?"
Wash looked back towards the curtain that North hidden behind. He sighed. "Docs say he has three fractured ribs and some internal bleeding in the stomach area. They needed to give him a blood transfusion to replace all the blood he lost. He has a concussion from whatever hit him in the face. They can't figure out what it was though, but it caused a lot more damage than something like a normal punch would. They said it's a miracle he isn't comatose right now." Maine nodded in sad agreement.
They were all startled by a sharp intake of breath behind them. They whipped around to see South half leaning against the wall, mouth opening and closing like a fish. She looked completely flabbergasted. She started forward towards the door to North's room, but a wall of protective and very pissed off freelancers blocked her way.
South looked up at them, not feeling nearly as intimidated as she should have been. "Get out of my way. I'm here to see my brother."
"Fat fucking chance, South! You're the one who landed him in there in the first place. Like hell we're gonna let you waltz in there and inflict more damage than you've already done." Maine and York approved of Wash's spirited rebuttal.
"It's not up to you," South growled. She started towards the door again, but Maine stepped forwards and looked down at her. He folded his arms across his strong chest and glared. Okay, now she felt intimidated.
Before their standoff could escalate any further, two things happened simultaneously. The Director, followed by the Councilor, entered the medical wing just as the head doctor walked out of North's room. At the sight of the Director, South shrunk back into the wall. York, Wash and Maine saluted respectfully.
The Director nodded at his men before looking at the doctor. "Excellent timing Dr. Hernandez," he drawled to the head doctor, his southern accent somber. "Can you give us an update on Agent North Dakota's status?"
York wondered how the Director found out so quickly, but then realized the medical team were probably obligated to inform their superior officer that one of his best super soldiers was severely injured.
"Of course, sir." Dr. Hernandez replied. He recounted all of North's injuries that Wash had reported to York, and also indirectly to an eavesdropping South.
The Director nodded, processing the information. "I see. Thank you, doctor. That will be all." Dr. Hernandez nodded and retreated into his office.
"Agents," the Director began, studying his soldiers with intelligent bright green eyes. "Do any of you have an idea as to what happened to Agent North Dakota?"
Three pairs of angry eyes turned towards a meek looking South. The Director followed their gaze and also rested his gaze on her. "Agent South Dakota, do you know anything about what happened?"
South decided she was royally fucked. If she even tried to lie, the three infuriated male freelancers blocking her way to her brother wouldn't hesitate to tell the Director otherwise. She knew all evidence pointed at her. Even the Director was all too familiar with her rebelliousness and easily-angered temper. She also knew that North couldn't lie for her like he usually did. South never really appreciated all the things North took the blame for until now. What an awful time to be thankful for her brother. Feeling defeated, she realized she didn't have much of a choice at this point.
"I, uhm... It was uh, me, sir. I was the one who did this to North." She hung her head, waiting for the worst.
The Director kept his face carefully neutral. "Understood. Would you follow me to my office? I have a few things I would like to discuss with you." He turned to leave, with the Councilor following. South walked out the door without sparing a glance at the three freelancers that remained.
York was satisfied. South was going to get a new one torn by the Director, which was quite alright with him. She more than deserved it.
York turned towards North's door, Wash and Maine following. The three freelancers entered and took seats around North's bed. The blood had been washed away and the cut above his eye neatly stitched. He looked a whole lot better than he did earlier, which was a relief to North's worried friends.
Maine, Wash and York sat there and watched over their unconscious friend for hours, making small talk to pass the time. Dr. Hernandez would walk in every now and then to check on North's vitals. Every time the doctor reported good signs, the tense set of York's shoulders lessened a bit more. North was going to be fine, he just needed rest.
Eventually, Wash and Maine were forced to leave for a training match, but asked York to update them if something happened. York stayed with North, waiting for him to wake up.
The first thing that North registered was pain. A lot of pain. Especially his face and his midsection. What the hell happened to him? Did he get hurt on a mission or something? Was it that mission he was supposed to go on with South? Wait, was she here? Was she hurt too? Eager for information, he tried to open his eyes, only to quickly give up when the light practically burned his retinas.
"Jesus," he murmured. York, who had been sitting next to North on the brink of sleep, lurched back to life at the sound of his roommate's voice.
"North? Hey, you awake man?!" York asked hopefully. North murmured something unintelligible in response. York quickly pressed the button that would alert the doctor and bring him here. With Dr. Hernandez on his way, York turned back to North, who had managed to open his eyes a sliver.
York sighed in relief. A smile stretched across his face. "Hey buddy. How are you feeling?"
"Like I got mauled by a bunch of angry brutes," North mumbled roughly in reply. York managed a chuckle. Suddenly, North's eyes flew open.
"Wait, what the hell happened? How did I get in the medical wing? Where's South? Is she okay, is she hurt? Was it that mission we –" North seemingly endless slew of questions was cut off by York.
"Dude! One question at a time." Then York looked confused. "Why would you care about how South is?" York asked, voice cold and normally lively brown eyes dark with anger.
Now it was North's turn to be confused. "Why wouldn't I? She's my little sister. Did she also get hurt on the mission?"
York then realized North probably didn't remember what happened due to the blow he received to the head. He'd also been out cold for a solid two days, which didn't help the matter.
Just then, South walked in. North noticed York glare at her with loathing. Now North was really confused. York never looked at anyone like that, he was so nice to everyone. What the hell was going on?!
North turned to look from York to South. As soon as he saw the blank expression on her face as she looked at him, the memories came flooding back. He remembered her hitting him with an armoured hand, the pain and the blood, the denial and then the disbelief. He felt the pain in his chest, where she had slammed his helmet down. North started to shake. As South started to walk forward, he shrank back as far as he could in his bed. York placed a hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him.
South noticed his reaction to her presence, and stood still. She dropped her head in what York desperately hoped was shame for what she'd done.
"North..." South began, but stopped. She didn't know to do. What could she possible say to him that would make all of this okay?
"Why, Nicole?" North whispered around the lump in his throat.
South shuffled her feet, then gave York a pointed look. He shook his head in response – he wasn't going anywhere. York wanted to leave to give the siblings some privacy, but he wasn't going to leave South alone with North. Not while he could be there to protect his friend from his sister's childish rage.
"Look, Nicky..." South sighed, using her brother's old nickname. "I know nothing I can say now is going to make things any better. But I'm sorry. I guess... I just get so damn angry sometimes. And when that bastard threatened my place and offered you something I've been dying to have, I just sorta snapped, you know? It just wasn't fucking fair!" South finished what she hoped was an adequate apology. While she waited for her North to say something, she played with a lock of her hair the exact same colour as her brother's; A nervous tick of hers that he recognized.
"We've never fought like that before, Nicole. You've never gone that far, ever. I just... I just don't know how to react to it," North responded quietly after a few minutes.
York resisted the urge to mention that not only did South go way overboard, but she hit him with an armoured hand. That was just cruel, and very well could have been fatal. Yesterday, the tech staff found the blood on South's gauntlets and well, two and two makes psycho bitch sister gone insane.
"I know. It was like I wasn't even controlling my body... I was seeing red. And there you were, way too convenient for me to blame. I didn't use my judgment. I am so, so sorry, bro." South looked up from staring at the ground. Her eyes looked shiny, but York thought maybe it was just from the light reflecting in them.
"The Director didn't end up kicking me out of the project," South continued. "Though he was close to. He said I was only still here because we make such a good team." South smirked at her brother, who couldn't help but offer a little smile back. They did make a really good team.
"He has me enrolled in these ridiculous anger management classes now. I didn't even know they offered those here, but whatever. Maybe it will help, I guess. He also postponed our mission a few days, which I was really surprised about. He really wants us to do it for him, for some reason." She shrugged.
South tried taking a hesitant step forward, gaining more confidence when North didn't flinch away again.
North felt York's hand tighten on his arm. York must be really pissed with South. He watched her like a hawk as she approached her brother and tentatively touched North's forehead with the tips of her fingers. North couldn't hold back a smile. They used to do that when they were kids to comfort each other when they were scared or nervous about something.
South gave genuine smile. "Get some sleep, bro. We do have that mission to go on in a few days. And I need you to have my back, like always." South turned and walked out of North's room, shutting the door softly behind her.
There was silence for a few moments before it was broken by North.
"Uhm, York."
York looked at North when he said his name. "Yeah?" he responded, looking deep in thought.
"I can't feel my arm."
"Oh." York let go of North's arm, noticing his hand print was impressed in North's skin. "Sorry, man."
"S'okay," North slurred, suddenly sleepy. He yawned widely. York didn't seem notice - he still looked lost in his thoughts. North knew he was thinking about South and her apology.
"Hey, York. Go easy on her. She is going through a lot right now. I know she meant what she said, because I know when she is being genuine and telling the truth. Don't hold any grudges, okay? It's not like you to be this angry."
York looked at his friend, bed-ridden because of his sister's rage. It baffled him that North could forgive such a heinous act so easily. But that's just who North was. York decided to heed his advice, though. What was the point of remaining angry? It wasn't like he was great at holding grudges anyways. He, like North, had trouble staying angry at anyone. It was just one of the many ways they were alike.
"Alright, man," York agreed. He patted the purple freelancer's arm. "Get some sleep, you look like you're about to pass out any minute now." He stood up and headed towards the door. "Oh, and we're definitely having that Call Of Duty rematch when you're up to it, you cheater." He smirked before exiting the room.
North chuckled softly at York's comment. He shifted slightly in his cot to get more comfortable. He quickly fell into oblivion.
York stood just outside North's door. He peeked in the window to see North was already sound asleep. York ran a hand through his short brown hair and rubbed his face.
He felt bone-deep tired. Not physically tired, but mentally. While it was nice to see South offering her brother a genuine apology, York knew this wasn't to last. That didn't stop him from desperately wishing otherwise, though. He knew South had too strong of a personality for anger management classes to offer any significant change. It would probably just end up making her resent North, the Director and the Project more.
But he didn't know her like North did, so who was he to talk and make predictions? If North was comforted by her attempts to control her anger, then he'd have to be satisfied with that. He'd give her a chance to prove him wrong. What else could he do?
A few days later, the siblings returned from their mission. York watched with sad eyes as North was rushed into surgery to remove the turret bullets he'd taken for South, while his twin sister walked away in the opposite direction, muttering angrily about how North fucked up her chances to prove herself.
York didn't bother going after South. Instead, he hurried towards the room where North was being operated on. York would be damned if North woke up from surgery and there wasn't someone there who genuinely cared deeply about his well-being. After all, someone needed for be there for him, since York doubted South would be.
Because some things never change with siblings.