Chapter XIII

All-nighters were the worst. There was nothing warm about the basement lab, at Harvard, which contained only cement and shining steel surfaces, and the long hours of darkness were filled with shivering and nearly complete silence. Every now and again a burst of Frank Sinatra lyrics would sound softly, and Astrid would pause in her typing only long enough to smile and shake her head, and then she would continue with her work. Tonight, it seemed, would turn out differently.

Walter loved horror films. Astrid, in turn, hated them. She still couldn't remember why she had agreed to watch the damn movie in the first place- she was a complete wimp, when it came to scary stuff.

They both sat on the sofa, in the middle of the damn night, watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers. After some time, Walter had discontinued watching the film, instead gauging her response to each episode of tension, finding her discomfort more entertaining than the feature. Every time she would squeak with surprise or terror, she would have to strike him on the arm for snickering, muttering bitterly, "Shut the hell up, it's scary."

Astrid wondered just what she felt she had to prove to Walter by seeming unafraid. And why it seemed like he was distracting her from her fear on purpose.

"I'm gonna get a soda from the snack machine," Astrid said at last, rummaging around for her jacket to avoid looking up at the gory, screaming depictions on the screen, "'You want anything, Walter?"

There was no reply, and Astrid looked over to see him, his elbow propped on the armrest to support his cheek as he slept quietly.

A smile glanced over her features, and she leaned forward to the coffee table to grab the remote and turn the movie off.

Walter woke suddenly, rubbing his eye groggily, "I was watching that."

"You were not."

"I was."

"Oh, yeah? Then who's the villain?" Astrid questioned with a smirk, "and you can't look at the case."

"Don't condescend to me, woman," Walter said, his animosity lost in his drowse, "it's those ugly little creatures that stick their tentacles in your nose and such."

"You're an ugly little creature with tentacles," Astrid chuckled.

"Am not," Walter yawned, resting his cheek on his knuckles once more, "you're a…a…"and another yawn overtook him.

"A what?" Astrid questioned.

"A truly wonderful individual," he murmured, closing his eyes and smiling, "that, admittedly, seems to escape her appellation, in my own, ailing mind. But I am very fond of you, none the less."

"Aw," Astrid smiled, "thanks, Walter. That's really sweet." she leaned over to give him a small, warm hug. She paused, holding his shoulder, "Jeez, you're chilled."

"Low circulation," he explained, "An asset of age, I fear."

"Well, you're going to get sick, if you stay like this," Astrid said, rising, "Come on, take off your shoes and pull up your feet. Get them off the cold cement. Here," she pulled up the throw, wrapping it around him, "I'll get you some coffee, or something."

Walter only watched her, seeming bewildered that she would give a damn, "You're really cute, you know that?"

Astrid ignored him, heading off to the office. Shortly afterward, she returned, pushing the Styrofoam cup of hot beverage into his hands, "Go on and drink that. It should help."

"You're amazing," Walter admitted, sipping carefully. His eyebrows rose, "That's good."

"It's just Folgers," Astrid replied, returning to her seat and starting the movie again. A fresh scene of a screaming, pointing woman filled the lab with noise.

Walter waited until the shrieking had receded, "It was just a compliment." he set down the cup on the table, then settled back with a shiver.

Astrid watched him for a few moments, and he pretended not to notice, watching the movie with half shut eyes. "Alright," Astrid said at last, leaning forward to grab him, "come here."

"Hmm?" Walter questioned, slightly alarmed.

Astrid pulled him in, tucking the blanket around them both, "I'm warm. You can't be cold, like this."

"Ah, youth," he replied wearily.

"But your ears are warm," Astrid puzzled, tugging one of them.

xXx

"OW!" Walter yelped, facedown on the floor, "ow-ow-ow!"

"Shut up!" Astrid hissed, grinding her knee between his shoulder blades as she twisted his wrist, yanking the gun from his gloved fingers, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Who said you could use a gun?!"

"I wasn't going to shoot you!" Walter protested, wriggling against the cement, "I was aiming for the interface!"

"Then don't point the damn thing at my face, jackass!" Astrid snapped.

"But I hit the interface!" Walter whined. He paused, and licked the cement curiously, then made a face.

Astrid shook her head, "I don't care what you hit. You made a big mistake coming here, Walter." She reached to her belt for her handcuffs.

"You're so angry," Walter grumbled, "besides, you can't go about arresting me just yet. I needed to talk to you, it's very important."

"Then save it for court," Astrid replied acidly.

"I should warn you that pain is a bit of a turn-on, for me," he sighed.

"Just shut up, Walter," Astrid glared down at her task of locking the cuffs around his wrists, but shifted her weight slightly on his shoulders, flushing lightly.

"You flirted with me," he teased in sing-song, grinning.

"Shut up! It was accidental flirting, damn it!" Astrid stammered.

"This building is about to explode," Walter said simply.

"What?!"

Walter suddenly wretched his arm from her grip, avoiding the handcuff as he twisted around, taking her over to pin her by the wrists to the floor, "Peter is setting explosives as we speak," he replied, slightly out of breath, "In a few minutes, this place will be cinders. What I need you to do, miss, is get everyone out of here."

Pain touched Astrid's features, escaping her hardened mask of authority, "Why, Walter? Why are you doing all of this?!"

Walter swallowed, seeming at a loss.

"Blowing up buildings? Shooting at people? Hacking into data bases?"

"I am rather impressive, aren't I?" Walter smiled weakly.

Astrid shook her head, "It's not you, Walter. This can't be you, doing all of this, it's too awful. But talking to you again, it's like you haven't changed at all. Were you like this all along?"

"Miss-"

"Don't look at me like that! I want to believe that you and Peter are innocent, but I know it's you!"

"It is. It is me. I have been like this all along," Walter replied quietly, "and now you can hate me. Does it make it easier, when I tell you that?" Astrid freed her hand and attempted to push him away. He caught her, forcing her down again, and his eyes narrowed, "You have to get out of here. You have to go upstairs, and tell them that you've found an explosive, and that they need to get out."

"And then what?!" Astrid demanded, tears welling in her eyes, "Just let you get away with the information?!"

A smile softened the sides of his face, "No, miss. I have every confidence that you will catch me."

"It can't be you," Astrid said, turning her face away, "I won't believe it."

"The word 'lie' resides in the heart of the word 'believe'," Walter answered softly, "So what you believe is simply the way you lie to yourself. You can simply pretend that I am not me." gently, he pressed a kiss to the side of her mouth, "but you don't have to pretend that I'm sorry." He released her, and got to his feet, moving to gather her laptop and stuff it into its case, slinging in over his shoulder.

Wiping her eyes, Astrid slowly rose, "Damn it, Walter."

"You don't have much time," he replied gruffly.

xXx