Summary: Em as stalking Tao.
Imposter
By Dark Ice Dragon
Part 33
Em was stalking Tao. It wasn't that weird -Em used to do that a lot before- but Tao was pretty sure Em was just there every time he left Security. Hanging out. Like it was nothing.
It could have been Em really had that much difficulty with the wiring just outside Security, but Tao could see how Em kept looking up and down the corridor on the monitor.
"Hey, Em," Tao said as he walked past.
Em nodded, and just. Trailed after him rather than going in another direction.
Before the attack, Tao would have assumed Em was waiting for him to be alone (not that hard here), but now...?
It couldn't be, could it?
Tao had made assumptions before and been wrong, so he wasn't going to settle on anything yet.
[-]
It was weird knowing Em was always at his back. It didn't bring the burst of adrenaline it used to though, Tao scrambling for a route to get away.
"Sooo," Tao started as he slipped his helmet on, [know any interesting songs?]
[No.]
Tao didn't expect him to, but Tao didn't like the silence when he was aware of it. Sure, he could sit alone in Security for hours at a time, but that was just it: he was alone there. He might mutter to himself, but he didn't expect an answer.
When he was with someone though? Tao wanted to talk.
[Would ya like me to give you some recommendations?] Tao had found the folders that some previous users had stashed some songs into, and he'd made a list of the ones that didn't melt his ears. But maybe Em would like those ones. Tao doubted Em had developed a music taste, so it could be cool to see what he leaned towards. If he liked any of it.
Em didn't answer straight away. [...All right?]
Tao grinned, and okay, he wasn't that relaxed to try to pat Em's shoulder, but he'd thought about it. That was already a major leap, all things considered.
Tao poked his head into Weapons. "Yo, Takeo, you ready?"
Takeo was already walking out, and when Tao looked over his shoulder, Em was gone.
Hmmm...
[-]
"Sooo, Em's not trying to kill us," Tao said, running his fingertips over his cast as he curled up on their bed. It itched but he couldn't get to it.
"He hovers around your door too?" Takeo said.
He nodded. Em did other tasks, but it seemed to be more like a patrol route of things to do between going between his and Takeo's door.
"I think he's keeping an eye on us," Tao said, scratching at his cast. It didn't do anything, but he had to do something
"It seems like it." Takeo picked up his hand, interlacing their fingers.
He wouldn't do that much damage if he kept scratching, would he? Tao sighed anyway, gripping Takeo's hand as the urge to scratch reared its head again.
Tao grumbled as he squinted at his cast. Maybe he could think about how to get some relief - at least that would give him feedback.
He doubted he'd get a straight answer if he directly asked Em what he was doing.
...But that was him assuming how Em would act again, wasn't he?
[-]
"Hey, Em," Tao said as he dug into the boxes in Storage, "do you know where-"
He looked up when he heard the door hiss open, Orange stepping in.
Orange didn't say anything, heading for one of the shelves away from them.
Em watched Orange's every move, his eyes narrowing when she stepped closer in Tao's direction.
She collected what she needed and left, Em's gaze following her the entire way.
Oh. Huh.
Tao exhaled, leaning his good hand on the shelf as he peered through it to look at Em. "Hey, so..." he started, trying to get the words in the order he wanted, "are you protectin' me and Takeo?"
Em frowned. "I'm...watching you. Just in case."
Protecting, yeah. Okay. He was actually right about this. "Thanks," Tao said, returning to searching through the boxes.
It was kind of nice having Em there, in a weird way.
[-]
Frankenstein continued making their notes when they heard the lab doors open. They had to make sure to finish their thought before they forgot it.
"Takeo and Tao are doing okay," they heard, and they smiled when they looked up, seeing Em leaning back against a wall.
"You've been keeping an eye on them?" It was nice to have a better idea of the pair's progression, rather than only finding out at a later check-up.
Em shrugged. "In case someone else tried to attack them. No-one did."
"That's good to hear." Though it shouldn't be that surprising - if anyone had tried to hurt either Takeo or Tao, Frankenstein was sure they would have found out about it far earlier.
"I'm not going to fuck Takeo or Tao though," Em announced, and Frankenstein grimaced. They were never going to get Em to understand the difference between sex and kissing, were they?
They opened their eyes just in time to see Em wipe a smirk off his face, watching them.
...Wait. They mulled it over, but Em still had a triumphant look in his eyes.
Then... "You've been teasing me...?" Frankenstein said faintly. They hadn't thought Em could joke, but how well did they really know Em?
Em's grin snapped back into place, all teeth as he rumbled almost like a laugh. "It got to you." He dashed for the door as Frankenstein made a strangled sound.
"You cheeky little brat," they called out after him, not able to smother their own laughter.
Had it been so obvious? Yes, they hadn't tried to hide how much it pained them whenever Em described their relationship with Muzaka.
Well. They knew that in the future if Em tried to use that again, but if Em decided on something else to needle them with... Maybe they could find something to tease Em with in return.