Disclaimer: I own nothing. The only thing (or person) I own is Victor. He's mine.
Victor was not looking forward to doing this.
It was rare for a Shadow on her off days to be called into work; Admiral Harlaown was a man who knew that his agents could only be pushed so far before they broke completely, and it was no secret that as of late he'd spent a great deal of time worrying over one Lutecia Alphine. The young woman was S-rank and one of the most powerful agents on active field duty.
She was also dangerously close to breaking. It was getting harder and harder for her to hide how ragged around the edges she was becoming, shaky and unsure of her actions even as she carried her missions out with a ruthlessness she'd never had in the past. She was beginning to crack, and it was the reason why Admiral Harlaown had started giving her breaks, more so than normal. Everyone knew the woman pushed herself too damn hard.
Now she was going to be called back in.
Victor didn't know what the mission was about, nor why the higher ups felt they needed Lutecia's power behind it; all he knew was that he had orders to find Lutecia and bring her in for the mission. Admiral Harlaown had grumbled, and as far as he currently knew, was still trying to get the decision overturned.
Sighing, Victor found himself at Lutecia's apartment door much too quickly and lifted a hand, knocking gently; and blinked as he saw that the door had been left open slightly, perhaps to let the warm breeze drift in as a comfort. He got curious and, unable to resist, cautiously peeked through the door, wondering what he'd see.
His heart twisted painfully.
Lutecia was on the couch, wearing dark gray pants and a short-sleeved black shirt; she was curled on her side, her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling with each breath she drew.
Her cheek rested trustingly against Vivio Takamachi's knee as the young high school student diligently scratched away at her homework, her hand lightly resting on Vivio's thigh as she slept. For all intents and purposes Vivio didn't even seem to be aware of her girlfriend sleeping peacefully beside her, long purple strands of hair falling across her face, if not for the fact that her free hand rested on Lutecia's shoulder, gently stroking down along her side, occasionally going to stroke her hair.
Victor didn't have to be close to the pair to know that Lutecia wasn't just napping, as she tended to do when she was at work or on a long mission; when she napped her body was tense, wound for action, and the lightest possible touch, the softest possible sound, could wake her up in an instant. No, right now, Lutecia was asleep: her body was relaxed, her muscles loose and easy, her breathing deep and even. She'd let her guard drop, completely trusted Vivio.
When she napped, Lutecia's face was constantly changing; a wince, a grimace, a whimper or a sigh. Nightmares haunted her when she slept.
But now her face was relaxed, almost happy; a small, content smile curved her lips as Vivio continued to stroke her hair, just enjoying the simple contact. Sleeping right now, she seemed to be hounded by no nightmares.
Swallowing slightly, Victor took a deep breath, straightened up, and walked away from the door, bounding lightly down the steps that led to Lutecia's apartment. He had no doubt that by now, Admiral Harlaown had managed to calm the team advisors.
Fuck the advisors and their objectives, he thought bitterly. Too many times they had broken good people, good Shadows.
Lutecia was resting now, without nightmares. That was all she needed.
Not much, but made some wording changes based off comments Dezo made when I originally posted this short, about how Chrono wouldn't actually have anybody above him, only people below him. Hopefully this still carries the main impact.