AN: Welcome to chapter two! Thanks for taking a look; I don't own tiger and bunny, or any of its awesome characters. I apologize for two things, first, that this chapter is horribly short compared to the first, and second, Yuri is horribly ooc. Anyway, forgive Echo, she tried. So, please read, enjoy, and don't forget to make Miss Echo happy by leaving a review! Thanks, and thanks again!
Fitz paced back and forth in front of Ivan's couch, where said hero sat quietly listening. Fitz let out a frustrated sigh and began again.
"Doesn't she see that she's letting him get away with it, she could stop it all, but she doesn't? We all know what's going on, why don't we just go down there and stop him!" It was true, Val was friends with each of the heroes, and they could all see the ugly marks all over her once smooth, milky skin. Still, when they confronted her about it, she gave the same excuse she had given to Fitz. "I swear, if only I were a hero too, I'd go down and take care of him myself!" he stopped and let his fists clench.
Ivan leaped up from the sofa and placed a comforting hand on his boyfriends shoulder. Fitz could do nothing but let his muscles relax and let the tears well up in his eyes as Ivan pulled him into a tight embrace. He hated seeing his best friend like this, and knowing she could put an end to all of her suffering, but didn't only made it worse.
In the morning, Valeriya went through her morning rituals as well as rewrapping her injured arm. She made sure that the bandage was not visible before she left for work, having covered the ugly bandages with the sleeve of a blazer. She didn't even look at Yuri as she entered the office, and he took note of her behavior. When she sat down at her desk, her face held no expression, just a blank, empty stare.
Reaching up to a shelf to retrieve a book, she took in a sharp gasp, having stretched the injured arm too far. She instantly brought the limb closer, cradling it to her chest while trying to keep her tears at bay.
Yuri had been plagued with thoughts of her all night, the gruesome scene replaying in his head. He couldn't believe that it was real. He was jolted from his thoughts as her gasp echoed through the small space. In an instant, he was at her side. He gingerly took her wrist and brought it closer to his face to examine after pushing up the sleeve of her black blazer far enough.
"What happened?" he asked quietly, acting as if he didn't know.
"Oh, my boyfriend just got a little angry, that's all, it was my fault, I should've known better." She let out a small, weary chuckle before gasping again in pain. She felt him unwrapping the bandage and his eyes widened at the number of deep gashes on her arm. He knew that the damage to her arm had been bad, but he wasn't expecting it to be as bad as he saw it now.
"I'm sure you did nothing to deserve this punishment, you are an innocent woman, and only weak men harm the innocent." He said with furrowed brows. Something about that phrase made Vals eyes jump to his, where had she heard that before?
"Your wounds are not properly cleaned; I'll escort you to the med bay." His tone was sympathetic yet firm.
"Oh that's not necessary, I'm fine, really." She smiled weakly, and he saw the pain on her face. He scowled at her and she stood in compliance.
They walked down the hall, one arm wrapped around her waist, while his other held her wounded arm up. She felt all the stares of the heroes in the gym as the passed. She knew they were judging her and she let felt a tear roll down her cheek, this did not go unnoticed by Yuri who was tucked closely at her side.
"You needn't feel embarrassed; this is not your fault. There is no shame in seeking help." He reassured as if reading her mind.
Inside the gym, all the heroes stopped what they were doing and watched the pair walk by through the glass. Outside, Yuri Petrov held gently onto Valeriya, supporting her as she walked. The frail woman looked like a ghost to them, pale, tiny, and tears now falling from her eyes. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, Ivan dialed Fitzs number as quickly as he could as he walked away from the others.
"Hey, where ya goin origami?" tiger yelled after him
"I have to make a quick call to my sponsor!" he lied.
Down in Saitos work room, fitzs phone buzzed.
'That's weird, what does Ivan want in the middle of the day?' he thought to himself after checking the caller id.
"Hello?" he answered cautiously.
"Fitz, it's me, something's wrong with Valeriya, Yuri Petrov was just taking her down the hall towards the sick bay, she was crying and she looked hurt." He blurted out.
Fitz eyes widened slightly at the news and he paused for a moment before answering.
"Alright, thanks Ivan" he thanked before closing the phone. Getting onto the computer, he accessed the cameras in the medical facility.
When Val and Yuri reached the medical facility, a nurse greeted them. She was an older woman with a gentle smile.
"Hello! How can I help?" she asked sweetly.
"I just cut myself on some glass, that's all." Val shrugged a bit. Yuri handed the womans small wrist to the nurse who eyed the lacerations carefully.
"Well, those are some nasty cuts you have! It looks like there are still some glass pieces in there. We need to get those out, disinfect them and get some bandages on them right away or you'll get a horrible infection! Now follow me and we can get that taken care of in no time." The two followed her and she motioned for Val to sit up on the examination table, which the raven haired woman reluctantly complied with.
Seeing that everything was under control, Yuri turned to leave, but felt a gentle tug on his jacket. Turning, his green eyes were met with her fear filled doe orbs.
"Please stay, I'm…I'm scared, it's gonna hurt." Noticing the tears, he stepped closer and sighed. "I won't go anywhere."
The nurse retuned in a flash with a tray of interments. Valeriyas eyes widened as the nurse picked up the tweezers.
"Alright, we have to get that glass out of there, you want it to feel better yes?" she asked in a sugary voice. All Val could do was shut her eyes and nod. Her eyes shot open when she felt a warm, larger hand encase her own. She looked up and her scared eyes met his gentle ones. She closed her eyes again as she felt the metal of the tweezers digging into the open wounds. She let out a strangled cry, and tilted her head back. This was when Yuri noticed the faint hand print circling her neck. At this, his anger soared and he grasped her hand tighter, causing her to open her eyes and look at him. His look of anger instantly washed away and became gentle as he reassured her. "Everything's going to be alright, you're not alone, I'm right here." he soothed as he stepped closer and his free hand began to rub tender circles in her back to distract her from the nurses work.
"There, all of the glass has been removed, so all we need to do now is disinfect and wrap!" the nurse informed after what seemed like forever.
Vals tired eyes opened and she looked up at Yuri who smiled warmly down at her. Leaning her head to the side, she laid it on his shoulder and he began to stroke her silky black hair.
"Now, it's going to sting a bit, are you ready?"
Val only nodded, her eyes already closed. She griped his hand tighter at the stinging and he continued to soothe her by stoking her soft raven lochs.
After the nurse had bandaged the wounds, she ended the procedure by saying "There, you're all finished!" and taking her tray to clean her tools.
Moving so that he faced her, he enfolded her limp body to his torso, being careful of her arm. She understood and laid her head on his soft, welcoming chest. She couldn't help the stream of tears that fell from her eyes.
"I'm sorry; I'm getting your nice suit all wet." She apologized and ran a hand down his colorful tie, trying to wipe away the tears she had shed.
"That's no concern to me, why don't you take the rest of the day off." He suggested. To this offer she shook her head. "No, I'd really rather not go home." She said quietly.
"Then let's at least go out and get a cup of coffee and let things calm down?" She nodded and took the hand he offered to help her down. That was odd; she had a strange feeling of déjà vu.
In his workroom, Fitz watched the scene with a solemn look adorning his features. He knew how things would progress. Frank wouldn't stop until Valeriya was dead. He had to do something, he wasn't going to just sit around and let that happen to her, but for right now, it looked as if Yuri had the situation under control.
AN: There's chapter two everybody! I hope Yuri wasn't too ooc for everyone. I apologize for that. Even still, I hope everyone enjoyed, and I hope to see you in the next chapter! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave Echo a review! Thanks, and thanks again!