Chapter 21: One More Night
Abel just stared at Hana, it had been nearly three months since he last saw her, and now, here she was. She looked thinner, her hair now reached past her waist, and her eyes, usually energetic and filled with a positive vibrancy now looked exhausted.
Hana stared right back, last time she saw him he was bandaged, and barely able to stand up, but now he was wearing slacks, a white button up shirt, a black vest and red tie. He was still bruised, in fact even more bruised than before, and he did seem more jumpy than usual.
The silence was deafening, unsettling, and just awkward, but eventually it was cut with the elevator's "Ding" as the doors closed. Hana quickly entered before the doors shut, and now was barely a foot away from Abel. Abel looked down at Hana as she slowly uttered "... Is it you...?"
Abel raised a confused eyebrow, then replied "Let's see... I can still make substance." he showed her his hand as a bubble of Substance inflated into a cube, then added "I can still teleport." appearing next to her, then finished by adding "And I still remember you kicking my ass for not knowing what video games were... So yes, I can safely assume I'm still me."
Hana however placed a hand gently on his bruised cheek, causing him to wince slightly, but lean into her small hand. She smiled and finally asked the big question "Where were you?"
Abel remained silent, then looked away from her, causing Hana to frown and ask once more "Where were you, Abel?" Abel looked down shamefully, then looked at her and replied "I've been riding with the Deadlock Gang..." Hana looked at him, then reached for his gloved hand and held it gently.
She ran her thumb along the bony knuckles, causing a small shiver to run up Abel's arm. He looked at her small smile, and listened as she whispered "You're alive and well... That's all that matters to me..."
Ding
The doors opened and Hana quickly hid behind Abel as she whispered "Take me up, please." Abel nodded, and as soon as the elevator was full and the doors closed did he teleport up, back to Hana's floor. She silently guided him to her room, gingerly holding his hand while he silently walked behind her.
Once Hana closed the door, and locked it, did she finally throw herself at him and wrapped her arms around him. He caught her out of pure reflex, then blushed as he felt her arms tightly around his frame.
"Ahem..."
They both froze and turned to find Yuna staring at them while setting up her own computer rig next to Hana's.
The other Korean blinked, then asked "What the hell is going on here...?" Hana quickly got off Abel and replied "He's back." Yuna rolled her eyes and asked "State the obvious Hana. I mean why is he here?"
Both turned to look at him, and found him just standing there, staring back at both of them. Yuna waited for him to reply, giving him the meanest look he's seen in hours, but it didn't hold a candle to Ashe's casual mean looks. So Abel simply replied "Ummmm the Deadlock Gang is here..."
Now both Koreans gave him a mean look, then asked simultaneously "Where?" Abel raised his hands in a surrender and replied "Server room, sub basement two." Hana quickly hurried to the door, but was stopped short when Yuna grabbed her wrist and told her "You are in no condition to fight Hana. You are sleep deprived and your back is still-"
"What happened to Hana's back?" Asked Abel, making Hana wince and mutter "Damn it..." Abel approached them and asked again, this time directing it to Hana "What happened to your back, Hana?" She looked away, then guided his hand to her shoulder and told him "Just feel for yourself..."
Abel raised a brow, then pressed his fingers against her pink shirt, slowly guiding them to the back of her neck then felt something metallic as he lowered them onto her back. He was shocked as he felt the metal spine run down all the way to her back's loin area.
Hana remained silent as Abel turned her to face him, then held the small Korean in his arms. This was a rather strange reaction from Abel, but one Hana didn't mind, then Yuna interrupted again by asking "Ahem... So how did you get here? Last we saw you, the Deadlock gang abducted you."
It was at that moment that Abel realized that Ashe and the gang would probably be back down in the parking lot at any moment, and swore out loud "Fuck..." then hurried to the window and looked down.
Before Abel could teleport down, and come up with some excuse to Ashe, did Hana stop him by grabbing his wrist and yelling "No!" Abel turned to look at her, her eyes looked glassy, and her grip was unimaginably tight, almost causing pain to his wrist.
Abel raised his arm, lifting his wrist above Hana's reach, but she didn't let go, instead he actually lifted her, making him sigh and state "Hana, if I don't return, then Ashe will be suspicious and search for me... Killing god knows how many people... Let go."
Hana wanted to yell "No.", she wanted to shake her head, tackle him down, anything that involved keeping him away from Ashe. But she let go, against her own desire to keep him safe and out of harm's way she let go, against her own aching feelings. Abel looked down, making sure Ashe and the others hadn't returned, and sighed in relief when he didn't see them anywhere.
But before he jumped out, he looked at Hana, she looked at him with a saddened smile, which made his stomach wrench. He looked back down at the parking lot, then back to Hana, back to the lot, back to Hana.
He sighed, closed the window and asked her "What can I do to make up for this?"
Hana and Yuna gave him a surprised look, with Yuna asking "What about Ashe? If she finds out you are missing she will-" Hana cut her off by punching Yuna in the face, knocking her out, and making Abel swallow audibly. Hana then quickly ran up to Abel and wrapped her arms around his frame tightly, causing him to wince and stiffen.
Hana noticed this and asked him "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Abel remained silent, causing Hana to pout and sit him on the edge of the bed, then started undoing his button up shirt.
About three buttons down did she see the bruises and cuts, some were old, just leaving discoloration or scars, while others were at least a day old. Hana had grown used to seeing Abel's face bruised, but because of that she didn't notice that he was worse, and quickly hurried to the bathroom to grabs the small med kit.
Abel watched as Hana hurriedly disinfected his cuts, and asked him "How did you get these?" Abel sighed, then explained "Well, it started after I was taken.."
- Watchpoint, Gibraltar -
Lena and Emily exited the Orca as the hangar doors closed, Emily carrying her luggage while trying to keep up with a hyperactive Lena. Athena greeted them with a warm "Welcome back, hope you are feeling better Lena."
Lena chuckled then asked Athena "How's the search for Abel going?"
Athena remained silent for a second, then replied "No update yet, sorry." Lena sighed and took Emily to her room, then helped her unpack her things.
Emily looked around the room while she unpacked, examining the various aeronautical articles decorating the shelves and walls.
While Lena was zipping all around the room putting Emily's things away, and getting the redhead dizzy, did Emily decided to look around the base. She walked through the halls, finding it slightly eerie that they were the only ones at the base.
After about five minutes she reached a dead end hall with a single door with a black "31" painted on it. She opened the door then turned the lights on, the dull grey walls and bare bones amount of furniture gave the room a depressing vibe.
She sighed and walked over to Abel's bed, sitting on it gently then laying down. The bed was uncomfortably stiff, like laying on a stone slab, no matter how much she tossed and turned, it didn't get better. Emily frowned and muttered "No wonder he has a hard time sleeping..."
She laid kicked off her flats and laid down properly on the bed, placing her head against his pillow and looking at the ceiling. She continued trying to find a comfortable position, trying over a dozen ways of simply laying down, but nothing seemed to help, so she sat on the edge of the bed, then slipped on one of her flats, the other she kicked too far so she awkwardly made her way to it and slipped it on.
She looked at his workbench, sat on the small stool in front of it, then looked through the drawers. Oddly enough, she found various papers with designs and both writing and drawing materials. She looked through the designs, from bayonets, war clubs, pistols and shotguns, to assault, sniper, and battle rifles, rocket launchers and some vehicles.
While impressed by the talent on display, Emily couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy by the fact that all of his designs were weapons or weaponized in one way or another.
She sighed, neatly organized the papers and put them back in the drawer, just to find a hidden page in the far back of the drawer. She pulled it out and was shocked at the image on the piece of paper; on said paper was, what could only be described by Emily, a beautiful woman, long flowing hair, bright eyes, freckled features and a warm smile.
She wore a dark camouflage battle dress, a boonie, and carried a high powered rifle with a rather large magnifying sight to boot. The backdrop, even though it was unfinished, was clearly a jungle, the dense foliage and insects made it clear.
Emily was in a strange mix between absolute awe, and a small amount of worry. While the drawing was impressive, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the fact that the woman on display could be her. As far as she knew, he could be interested in her due to her being so similar to his older sister.
But before her thoughts could possibly take her somewhere she might regret, Lena peeked over her shoulder then stated "Well bloody hell, who knew the chap was good at drawing."
Emily jumped at the sudden appearance of her girlfriend.
- Madeline Bay Hotel, Hana's Room, 00:25 AM -
- Insert Song: One More Night by Phil Collins -
"-then I hopped onto Ashe's hover bike and we came here..." Abel finished explaining, sitting beside Hana as their backs were pressed against the wall. Hana had her head laying against his left shoulder, her right arm wrapped around his left arm, and a blanket covering both of them up to their waists while she asked "...She does that every night?"
Abel looked over at her, then replied "Yeah... Only times she wouldn't beat me would be when she left me working on something for the whole night..." Hana's hold on him tightened gently, causing him to wince slightly, by not complain. Instead he sighed and told her "I gotta go... Ashe will be waiting for me..."
Hana shook her head and finally said it "No."
Abel looked at Hana, her cloudy and baggy eyes begging him to stay, along with the vice hold she had on his arm made it clear she didn't want him to leave. He sighed and asked her in a whisper "Why do you want me to stay? I just bring your trouble, and don't say I don't, I do, and you know it."
Hana looked away with a soft blush on her cheeks, then whispered "... You do bring some trouble, but I don't mind it... It makes things more interesting." She then pulled him down to the bed, both laying one in front of the other now, and continued "When I saw you the first time... I thought you were a problem... Then I saw you trying to... Shoot yourself... And I saw that you were just so... Damn, I don't even have the right word for it..."
She eyes were glassy again, and she continued "I saw you were so... broken... So sad." Abel looked away briefly, then Hana added "I know how it feels to be alone... To lose those closest..." For a brief moment she remembered the giant robot attacking Busan, one moment her parents were there, the next they were gone.
She took a deep breath, intertwined her fingers with his and continued "I know you feel you don't deserve it... But I want to help make you happy... So please-" She climbed on top of him, causing him to blush, then asked him "- let me help you... Please?"
Abel was speechless, so instead of replying with words, he replied with a nod, causing Hana to smile and lean her face close to his. Abel could feel his heart beating against his chest, the bed felt cold compared to his body temperature, his good eye was dilating, and his heart rate was skyrocketing.
Hana wasn't any different, she felt like she could pass out from the sudden increase in her heart rate, but she kept I under check, leaned down further until their lips met.
It was a short kiss, an innocent and chaste kiss, but for Abel it felt like a blow to his negative space. He felt warmer, relaxed, and maybe even, if it was possible for someone like him, happy.
Afterwards Hana laid on top of him, and fell asleep, making him sigh, remove his holster and gun, placing them on the nightstand, and get some real sleep for once in the last few months.
Kapitel 21: Fertig.
And I am so sorry for not posting sooner, but had to get back on track with work and my studies. Besides that, finally got the parts i ordered, and upgraded my computer (Something our guest can't understand, but this is all the attention i'll give to that subject.)Besides that, things are going rather smoothly on my end, so nothing much to say. On to the the reviews:
BlueN0va: Don't worry, my schedule is a mess, so don't try to predict when or how i'm gonna post. Also replied to your PM, awaiting your reply.
He23t: No it wasn't interesting, but i promise the next one will be better.
Guest(Not the OG):And i will continue to be for the coming years, thank you.
BlueCrimsonFlames: It's not that hard, i am studying my masters in programming, so i gotta know how to do maintenance on computers.
InsanityRadical:No worries, getting my masters in programming myself, so i know the hell that is college. And let's try to keep reviews on the more civilized side of things, and not get to perverted, m'kay? Last thing we want is to give the guest (OG who reviewed most recently) more fuel and ammo to throw our way.
And that's all the reviews, not really much to say, so...
Until next time, I'm still in the Trenches, and I hope You Enjoy.
