Alright here we go here is the "Leland wakes up and actually reunites with Finn" chapter

Mild content warning for mentions of disassociation, heavier trigger warning for delusions

Enjoy!


Finn is lying on the couch, thinking it over. Even at home, he doesn't get much rest from what's going on around him. These last few days he's been coming here only to sleep and shower and change so he can keep going, anyways.

He shouldn't have gotten attached to her -for fuck's sake, his last field partner is lying in intensive care. And he shouldn't have said any of that in the car. He shouldn't have told her anything. If word got out that all those rumors were true, there would be hell to pay. This keeps happening, over and over again. Finn putting so much trust in field partners. To the point that he falls in love with the first one, then admits that he did to the second one almost right out of the gate. Old habits die hard. And it's hard not to feel some sort of bond -it's been a concerted effort on his part to hold Siddeley at arm's length all these years. To just have him be his pilot. But field partners… you work together, nearly die together, depend on each other… it's so hard for him not to get attached.

His phone buzzes, and he pulls it out of the pocket of the pajama pants he's wearing. Siddeley.

Finn you need to come down here now

Finn's heart drops at this. Sidd was still at CHROME when he left -Sidd works weird hours. It could be any time of day or night that someone needs to fly out. Which means he could be visiting Leland -not that he alluded to any of what happened that Finn needs to come there immediately to deal with in his message.

Fucking hell, Sidd, don't scare me like this. A little more information would be great, he thinks to himself. But that isn't what he types out in response.

"What's going on?" Immediately, Sidd starts typing.

"I think Leland's awake."

"You think?"

"He opened his eyes and tried pulling the breathing tube out, and then they had to restrain him. And then they kicked me out of the room." Finn's heart is going a million miles a minute. He can feel himself hyperventilating, and his hands are shaking as he types out a response.

"Do you know what's going on now?"

"No, this literally just happened. And I'm due to fly Percy out tonight. Thought I'd see him before I headed off." Percival Healey is another veteran agent of CHROME.

"I'm on my way."

Finn rushes to his car, having just thrown on some random clothes in a few minutes, not the usual suit or what he wears on missions. He gets in, and turns the Volvo on. Then, he floors it. The sound of the turbodiesel roars, but not as loud as the sound of his heart racing. He drives recklessly, not like his usual self. But he has to get there as fast as he can.

He thinks about what it would be like if their roles were reversed. If it was him in intensive care. He isn't even sure if Leland would leave to go home. IAnd Finn left him there, even just to get some sleep. He should have slept there. He should have had someone get his things from the flat and camped out there. But then all of CHROME would have definitely known the two are together.

He weaves in and out of traffic, trying to pass every single car on the road. He doesn't even think he'd stop if the police tried pulling him over. He'd probably lead them right to CHROME, let security deal with it. The flash of a speed camera goes off. So much for his immaculate driving record.

Once again, I've left him alone. Just like on the oil platform. He shouldn't think like this, but he wonders if Leland will be mad. First he didn't rescue him in time, now he's left him with Siddeley of all people when he wakes up in hospital.

There's only one way to find out. He hopes he isn't mad. Or maybe he does. Maybe some sarcastic comment from Leland just like old times is what he needs. "Here's my knight in shining armor" or something of the sort. He's trying not to think of the oil platform as he continues to put the pedal to the metal, but it keeps bubbling up. His heart is racing just like that night.

Finn is hiding above the loading dock, dressed in the standard CHROME black turtleneck and tactical pants. He speaks into the walkie-talkie.

"Leland Turbo, this is Finn McMissile. I'm at the rally point, over." Only static comes over the other end. That terrible feeling Finn had when Leland had left for this mission is getting worse.

"Leland, it's Finn. Please respond." More static. Fuck. He knows something bad has happened, he can feel it. He just doesn't yet know what.

A car is honking at him from behind. He had started to get lost in his thoughts there. The light is green. He speeds off again, trying to make up for lost time.

Trying to make up for lost time between the two.

Finn is observing the scene below, taking photos of a camera that Otto Zundapp, a wanted weapons designer, is telling his grunts is "extremely dangerous". There's still no sign of Leland. Then, all of a sudden-

"Hey, Professor Z!" A voice comes from somewhere Finn can't see from this angle. "This is one of those British spies we told you about."

"Yeah, this one we caught sticking his nose where it didn't belong!" Another voice calls out. Finn readies his weapon, tries to ignore the pounding of his heart.

"Agent Leland Turbo." A redheaded man is thrown forward onto the ground. And he doesn't get back up, or make any effort to. He's been stripped down to his boxers, and even from here, Finn can see that he's badly bruised pretty much everywhere. The sight sucks the air right out of his lungs, and at the worst possible moment, there's a gas flare behind him, and Zundapp and the others look up.

Finn stops paying attention to everything going around him, zeroing in on just getting there. Soon, he finds himself getting out of his car and making a run for the CHROME building. Then, static. Then he finds himself running down a hallway, towards where a young man with thick-framed glasses -Quinn- and Holley are standing. Quinn steps in front of the door.

"Finn, it's not good." Finn pants, having sprinted all the way, he assumes. He takes a second to find his breath. Then-

"I need to see him! Please, Quinn, I-"

"Finn, he doesn't know what's going on. He's delirious."

"I need to see him, Quinn, I need to see him. Please, maybe I could get through to him."

"I don't think it's good for you to see him like this-"

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ANYTHING, QUINN?! YOU'VE NEVER BEEN OUT IN THE FIELD! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE YOUR PARTNER GET HURT LIKE THIS, AND YOU NEVER WILL!" It just comes out of Finn, like he can't hold it back any longer. Holley jolts, having never heard Finn raise his voice like this before, ever.

"Finn-" Holley starts. Finn turns to her, more than a little embarrassed by his outburst now that it's out of his system. "Finn, don't yell. He'll hear you." Finn looks down.

"Right." A sharp sigh here. He looks back over at Quinn -who stands at around where Holley would be without the heels, 5'5 maybe- and takes a second to compose himself like the good British agent he is.

"Quinn, get out of the way. I need to see him, and I need to see him now." Quinn steps aside.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Finn enters, with Holley nervously trailing behind -he can hear the clicking of her boots. He goes right to the side of the bed, and Leland looks up at him. The expression in his eyes is neutral, almost angry. The two stare right into each other's eyes like this for what feels like forever.

"Leland." The expression on his face changes, eyes widening.

Finn? He mouths. It's a good thing Finn can read lips from decades spent in espionage.

"Yes, it's me." His voice is low, delicate. A second first for Holley, hearing him like this. Holley -where did Holley come from? Finn had dropped her off at home just a little while ago. How long has it been? She came back to CHROME? He looks over at his watch. It's four in the morning. Sidd must have been here at a really odd hour. It felt like he had just got home when he got the text, though. How long had he been lying on the couch? Everything is kind of static-y when he thinks back to it. But now is not the time.

Finn, thank goodness you're here! They've been torturing me, and now they've done something to me where I can't speak! I try, but no sound comes out of me mouth! But don't worry, I haven't told them anything! Because I actually don't know anything -they might have kicked me in the head a little too hard. I think they were going to take me as a hostage, but that's obviously not going to happen now that you're here, huh? My knight in shining armor. Alright, let's untie me from this bed and get out of here -I'm afraid I won't be much help in a fight, though. But that's nothing you can't handle. I believe in you.

"Leland, I can't." Finn's heart sinks as he watches the expression on Leland's face shift.

What?

"I've already rescued you. You're at CHROME, Leland. In the sick bay."

No, no, that's not true. CHROME wouldn't have tied me up like this. And this isn't CHROME, because I know CHROME, and I have no idea where I am now. Don't kid with me, Finn. Untie me and let's get the hell out of here.

Finn isn't sure what to say at this point, so he says nothing. This turns out to make it worse.

You… You're with them, aren't you? You and this bird standing behind you. Finn, how could you? How long have you been in on this? Finn and Holley watch as tears well up in his eyes.

"Agent Turbo, he's right! You're at CHROME! He rescued you from the oil platform a week and a half ago!"

Shut up, just shut up! This doesn't concern you! So much for her trying to make this better at all.

Finn… can you do me one last favor? Kill me, Finn. Just kill me. Put me out of me misery. I'm hurting. Please, if you still love me at all, you'll kill me.

"Leland, I can't." Maybe Quinn was right about this being a bad idea.

Why? Come 'ead, just do it. Holley is thinking here, trying to figure out how to somehow salvage this situation. She looks over at Finn. He looks like he's in agony here. She can tell he doesn't know what to say, either. The three of them don't say anything. It feels like this goes on forever -this is so excruciating that it feels like every second drags on endlessly.

"Finn, I think we should just leave."

Don't listen to this posh bird.

"I'm not leaving, Holley."

So you do still care about me, huh?

"Do you want me to leave, Finn?"

Yes, you can right fuck off!

"Maybe that would be best." She nods and quietly excuses herself. Now it's just the two of them.

You know what, you can leave too. Since you're with them. Fuck off. I don't even want to look at you. He's not normally like this, and that's what's killing Finn. This isn't the Leland he knows. Well, accent aside -Finn is reading his lips in his Scouse accent, still. But this… angry and confused man tied to the bed, that's not him.

He really hates what Professor Zundapp's men have done to him. And he wants to tell him that, tell him he's so sorry, tell him he'll never let anything happen to him ever again, that he's safe, that it's all over, but-

Get out! Leave me alone! You and that bird, blaggin' me 'ead! I'm not at CHROME! I don't know where the fuck I am! And I know for certain you didn't rescue me!

"I'm sorry."

Sure you are.

"I'm sorry." He wipes his eyes -this has Finn McMissile, seasoned British intelligence agent, in tears. It's the first time he's actually cried over this, actually. He doesn't like crying. Even Leland has only seen him cry a handful of times -he used to tease Finn about it, how weird it was that Finn could just choose to show zero emotion. Under regular circumstances, at least.

These are not regular circumstances.