So it goes with saying that only things I own with any connection to MARVEL I bought on Ebay or Etsy. MARVEL COMICS & MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE are their own creatures and I have nothing to do with either of them aside from the fact I enjoy reading or watching them, and am grateful for the ability to play in their world. I claim nothing, and I receive nothing for this, expect the pleasure of putting something out into the world.
You can also find this story on ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN under the same title and pen name along with a place to post suggestions.
Don't forget to check out the Photobucket album listed on my profile page too.
DAY TWO
CHAPTER NINETEEN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND 2012
1641 HOURS
SUBTERRANEAN BUNKER
LOCATION UNKNOWN
DUNCAN
The boss summoning me happened a lot quicker than I expected it to, mostly because I wasn't expecting it at all! I was under the impression he wanted to spend some time with his lady alone, but 'some time' as it turned out was only a matter of minutes.
Hearing his call it took me only a moment to turn around and open the door, considering I've been put on permanent guard duty because of the woman living in there.
Which also turned out to be the 'crying' woman living in there. I made that observation first thing after I opened the door and looked at her face. She wasn't making any sound while she cried, but the redness of her wet eyes made it pretty clear she was upset about something.
In fact, given his tense demeanor, he wasn't exactly happy either. He wasn't crying like her but he seemed no less agitated; or maybe frustrated by whatever happened between them.
She didn't make a move at first, even though I could I tell she desperately wanted to, given her fidgeting posture, but still she waited until he gave her his permission, telling me that 'the lady asked to be allowed to shower' and I was 'to ensure her complete privacy while within.'
Once he said that she practically sprinted out of that room! I hesitated at first because it sort of caught me off guard, the fact that she did that, but more importantly that I didn't see anything in his expression or posture that said she couldn't. He was okay with it which made me stop my initial reaction to grab her, and instead allowed her to create some distance between us.
The distance though wasn't even ten feet when I finally caught up with her and cut in front of her. It startled her a little, making her shrink back as she looked up at me nervously, right before she looked away again at the floor and started wringing her hands. "Please, I-I jus-just want to take a shower."
Jesus Christ, what the hell happened in there? She almost looks scared to stand still, like if she does she knows the tremors will snap her in half.
"An' ye will, don't fash yerse, if th' boss says ye can 'en ye will." I offer back, flashing her what would have been a reassuring smile if she actually looked at me, but she doesn't and only has the encouragement in my tone to maybe make her feel better. "But ye don't ken whaur th' shower is, ur hae onie clean clase tae change intae." That sentence catches her attention with embarrassing realization that I'm right. "Th' boss woods be furioos if Ah didn't gie ye whit ye need, sae lets deal wi' 'at first okay?"
At first her reaction is just what I'd expect it to be, she lifts her eyes up to meet mine, but they stop about halfway up, and drop back down with a borderline hysterical huff.
"I'm sorry..." I don't even get in the 'what?' before she adds "...I'm so stupid." I go to tell her she isn't, because it's a natural response and the only one I can think of really, but she just shakes it off and looks at me meekly once again. "Please Duncan, just take me to the showers."
I nod back mutely at hearing my name, a response that seems to please her given the microscopic imitation of a smile she offers me before fixing her gaze back on the floor and waiting for me to move.
Whatever happened in there, and whatever made her say that about herself, its pretty clear I'm not going to get the answer to it any time soon.
It doesn't take us long to reach the right supply cache. When the boss showed up with her in tow, he also seemed to show up with clothes for her. No one is sure when he brought them in, or where he had them in the first place since no one saw anyone carrying any of these packages in. Still whether we saw it happen or not doesn't change the fact that we have a small supply of women's dresses, undergarments, and toiletries available for her disposal.
Their existence once again adds weight to my theory about her importance to the boss. Especially since I've been getting more and more of the 'we puny mortals' vibe from this nut job lately, a vibe that she is apparently immune to somehow.
Since I'm in a hurry, and I know she is too so she won't care given the state she's in, I just grab the first dress I see. I snatch up a bra and package of underwear for her, all the while choosing not to focus on that part. I also grab a towel for her, as well as a hair brush, set of flip-flops, shampoo, conditioner and a bar of soap.
All of this gets shoved just as quickly into a tan rucksack, that I sling over my shoulder before I turn back to her, finding her once again focusing on the floor and waiting for me to move.
It's actually a smart idea on her part to not look at the people she has to know are looking at her. It will keep her out of trouble. I'm sure she is very tempted to look around and try to memorize the layout of this place, whether for an escape plan or just to try figuring out where she is. But by not doing it no one will accuse her of it or punish her for it, and she sees that as more important.
Once that is taken care of it doesn't take us long to reach the shower room of this underground bunker and head inside. I just need to check first and make sure it's empty after all I don't want to catch the hell that would rain down on me if I let her be alone in here with another guy, or worse still that bastard who brought her in.
Throughout the whole check of the room she once again just reverts to looking at the floor instead of watching me, and she even continues to do it once I finish and walk back up to her. I actually have to clear my throat to get her to look up at me. "Miss?"
The look she gives me is probably the most timid look I've seen from her yet, and her sentence, once I translate it back into words explains why. "C-Ca-can y-you at le-least-t s-stan-and in the c-corn-ner?" She thinks I'm gonna watch!
She thinks I'm some asshole pervert that's really gonna stand here to watch her strip down and shower! Well, maybe she doesn't think the asshole pervert part, I get more of the impression really that she just assumes that those are my orders and as a 'good' soldier I'm going to follow them whether it makes her uncomfortable or not.
Except those aren't my orders, and I'm pretty sure if the boss even thought I ogled his girlfriend in the shower, he'd kill me himself.
Plus part of me checking the shower was to make sure that there wasn't anything loose that she could get her hands on to do something stupid with so I could safely leave her alone.
"Nae Lil Hen..." At first she thinks my no is to her request to stand in the corner, and I watch her face drop in response as I drop her bag. "I'm gonna be ootwith th' duir." Hearing that her face lifts again, with a sort of hopeful disbelief, like she is afraid to accept reality would be so nice to her all of a sudden.
And Jesus Christ, that's kind of heartbreaking. I need to get out of this room and away from this woman before I do something stupid. "Duir locks frae th' inside but Ah got a key, ye tak' as lang as ye need, an' caa me when yoo're brain new again, okay?"
Still caught up in her dismay all she manages to let me know she understands is a weak nod, but it's enough, and with it I turn to go out the door and breath some safe air.
But her voice stops me. "D-Duncan..." Crap lady, please don't say my name like. She makes it sound she's talking to Jesus or something. I really don't need a woman with a Savior complex right now.
I also don't need to be rude to her either cause ignoring her will get me in trouble too, no matter how much I should for the sake of my sanity. "Yeah, ye need somethin' else?"
"No, just..." She shakes her head, that smile of hers shaking too as she wrings her hands and tries to order her words. "Thank you."
"Don't fash yerse abit it." I offer back with smile before I finally succeed in closing this door, and letting my back rest against it. I'm doomed.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND 2012
1649 HOURS
SUBTERRANEAN BUNKER
LOCATION UNKNOWN
NORA
He left the bag, a tan canvas rucksack with brown leather straps, on the ground next to where his feet just were. It's still sitting there of course, standing up-right and waiting patiently for me to move and take it. It takes me a moment before I can do so.
I said I was so stupid... My feet finally move, first the left, then its opposite. They register that the floor here is cold, but they don't really care any more because the floor has always been cold here. The only difference now is the cold floor isn't covered in sand.
That was such a foolish thing for me to do... The floor is cold against my knees too even through the barrier of the dress I can feel the smoother and unforgivable firmness of the tiled floor. The floor is white, the bricks of the walls are white, even the pipes over my head are white. But the dress that I pull from the bag is green.
I wasted it, I wasted one... It is a pretty dress. The green is specifically emerald-green and it has two strips of fabric over the shoulders, that connect to the rest of the dress and dip into a shallow V, while below the jeweled empire waist it hangs in gentle creases down to the floor. It's a very nice gift I suppose, I should like it very much.
How could I waste that? He threw in a bra and a package of unopened underwear, which I'm not so much bothered by as sort of amused over.
I had a promise, and I spent it on this... I'm even more amused when I find a pair of rubber sandals in the bag of supplies. That's very nice gesture from a man who doesn't have any reason to care about me.
I spent it on a shower?!... Then I pull out the towel as well. It's a very nice towel, even more so considering the kind of people around me. It's very plush and soft, and larger than most towels. It is also bundled around the rest of my supplies which I remove as I carefully unroll and fold it methodically.
All because I panicked... I do the same with the rest of my things, until I have made a nice stack of my supplies that I can carry over to the cubby next to the shower. I think it was originally a small window or maybe a ventilation duct, but it's since had the back of it bricked up as well, so now it's just a square shelf recessed in the wall where I can put my things.
I panicked because he said he loved me. After situating my 'gifts' I end up but a step away from being in the shower itself. It is it's own little stall, the white bricks stacked from floor to ceiling on three of the four sides with a white hanging curtain down on the fourth.
That shouldn't be terrifying, most people love the idea of being loved by someone, I know they do... For a moment I just sort of stand there, letting my gaze linger on the difference of the rusted drain in the middle of the white tiles, musing that he had a reason for the sandals after all. Then I add my own layer of white to the floor, letting the dress I woke up in crumple to a forgotten heap around my ankles.
But I'm not most people, no matter how hard I've tried to be, I want that idea so bad, but it's so terrifying to me, even from the one I wish would love me. The next few of my actions happen rather quickly. I don't bother unclasping my bra so much as just lifting it over my head, and shrug out of my underwear with the same concern. The flip-flops that he left me are treated just as poorly, I drop them haphazardly on the floor, kicking over the one that landed upside down, and sliding my feet into them before my feet carry me into the stall, and my hand twists the handle.
But once the water hits my face I finally let myself cry, unknown to anyone who isn't unfortunate enough to be me. Somebody save me, I don't know what to do.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND 2012
1653 HOURS
SUBTERRANEAN BUNKER
LOCATION UNKNOWN
LOKI
I answered her question, I declared my affection for her because she asked for that truth, and then I watched her falter under it!
I watched her strength crumble, both from her body as it retreated from me on weakening legs, and her spirit as she started to cry, as she all but begged against the single step I approached.
She pleaded between tears and sobs to for me to let her leave my presence, and I did because I too had reasons to fear.
I let her leave because I know myself well and had no wish for her to see the emotions her reaction inspired. I did not want to scare her, I did not want to risk losing her more than I may have already.
I called her beloved, and she looked on me in fear! She refused me!
The pillar at my side caves in, creating a small crater before the force of my fury. It is a poor substitute to the damage I want to inflict to make these feelings go away. If she only knew what they did to her, if she only knew what I have done for her, she would not run from me like that!
But if I were to tell her the truth as it stands now, she would call me a liar, and trickster and monster like everyone else! It is bad enough she thinks me cruel!
I could vent my fury and tear apart this room, this very shelter brought down around us in the process, but it would accomplish nothing for me. I need a new tactic to figure out how to get through to her. I need to find a way to convince her of the truth, but in my presence she is too guarded and timid.
But perhaps... the thought occurs to me, and a smile spreads over my cheeks as I recall a different life form that I can sway to my purposes. Someone she feels more accustomed to would do better.
It does not take my eyes long to seek out the reflection of a different pair, the kitten's eye gleaming at me nervously from my angry display. It also does not take me long when I move over and extend my hand under the bed to beckon it out from its shelter. Such a useful and trusting creature I will make of you.
It is hesitant at first, naturally as a small creature would be in the face something larger, but after a moment of sniffing my fingers and licking my cool skin, it no longer protests the idea of me picking it up, nor do I protest its curious examination of the metal cuff of my sleeve.
"You and I little one..." Running my fingers over its coat I grin at the green shimmer that starts drifting down into its skin. The first contact making it ruffle its own fur in confusion and discomfort, before it escalates into trying to wriggle out of my grasp with a protesting nips and almost frightened cries.
That lasts only until the first shimmer skims over its eyes. Now it does not wish to escape me, but pushes itself eagerly into the caress of my fingers, seeking out the addictive sensation of my magick, with a thoroughly pleased purr. "We will crack the mystery of you 'mother's' mind."
NOTES FOR THE READERS:
TRANSLATIONS OF DUNCAN BLACKWOODS SCOTTISH ACCENT.
IN STORY: An' ye will, don't fash yerse, if th' boss says ye can 'en ye will.
TRANSLATION: And you will, don't worry, if the boss says you can then you will.
IN STORY: But ye don't ken whaur th' shower is, ur hae onie clean clase tae change intae.
TRANSLATION: But you don't know where the shower is, or have any clean clothes to change into.
IN STORY: Th' boss woods be furioos if Ah didn't gie ye whit ye need, sae lets deal wi' 'at first okay?
TRANSLATION: The boss would be furious if I didn't get you what you need, so lets deal with that first okay?
IN STORY: Nae Lil Hen...
TRANSLATION: No Lil Hen..
IN STORY: I'm gonna be ootwith th' duir.
TRANSLATION: I'm gonna be outside the door.
IN STORY: Duir locks frae th' inside but Ah got a key, ye tak' as lang as ye need, an' caa me when yoo're brain new again, okay?
TRANSLATION: Door locks from the inside but I got a key, you take as long as you need, and call me when you're decent again, okay?
IN STORY: Yeah, ye need somethin' else?
TRANSLATION: Yeah, you need something else?
IN STORY: Don't fash yerse abit it.
TRANSLATION: Don't worry about it.