There was the sound of a muffled pounding somewhere in the distance. Midnight's Shadow rolled over in her bed, groaning tiredly. The hotel mattress' spring creaked loudly in protest as she did this. The dark haired woman briefly wondered how often they replaced these mattresses with new ones and how old the one she was currently resting on was. She lay on her stomach, her dark lashes covering her bright blue eyes as she sought to attain sleep. Maybe the pounding was some sort of waking dream. Kate Moon sighed and tucked her arms underneath the pillow, enjoying the way it cradled her head.
Then the pounding came again, a little louder this time. Midnight's Shadow's eyes snapped open, more aware now. Carefully, she raised herself up onto her elbows, making sure to not put pressure onto her forearms as she did so. Her wrists were still healing after all. Her dark head swiveled in the direction of the hotel door. Someone was knocking on their door? Kate's eyes shifted to the digital clock upon the nightstand to her left, sitting between her bed and Scarlet's. 1:33 am.
Kate was just about to wonder who could possibly be knocking on their door at this time of night when a loud noise ripped through the silence from the other side of their wall. It sounded like a muffled roar, almost. The sound was undoubtedly significantly quieter than it sounded coming from its point of origin, but it was still loud enough to feel like the floor should be vibrating. Midnight's Shadow hung her dark head. The noise revealed to her who was at the door. It was refugees.
Throwing back the covers, the young woman swung her legs over the side of her bed, her bare feet touching the hard carpeted floor of the hotel room. She braced her hands on the side of the mattress as she suppressed a yawn, her eyes squinting as she did so. She glanced over to Scarlet, who slept on the other bed just beside her. It was unknown to her if the red haired woman had actually managed to get to sleep or not. The snoring from the next room had been so loud that she had put in ear buds and blasted her iPod. From where she was sitting, Midnight's Shadow could actually discern what song she was listening to because it was so loud.
The knocks came again upon the door, once again more loudly than the previous time. Reaching up a hand, she swept back the messy black locks that had escaped from her ponytail. The action didn't really matter. They always fell back into her face anyways. Midnight's Shadow glanced down in the darkness, searching for something. After her eyes had sufficiently adjusted to the near darkness, the only light being provided by the moon and stars just outside their window, she spied what she was looking for. On the ground lay her gray jacket. She had worn it to bed but had grown warm and tossed it aside. Now, though, that the blankets were off her body, Midnight's Shadow was struck with how cold the night had become. Reaching down, she quickly snatched up the discarded article of clothing and began to put it on. She gingerly slipped each arm into the sleeves, making sure that her bandages didn't snag. When it was on, Midnight's Shadow stood up and quickly zipped it up about halfway. Her legs were still cold though. She had gone to sleep in a navy blue tank top and a dark blue pair of shorts. As she glanced down at her legs, she could see goose bumps rising onto her skin in the brisk air of the hotel room.
With one last tired sigh, she rose slowly to her feet. She began to pad quietly across the room, heading towards the door. As she walked, Kate glanced briefly at Scarlet. The woman still lay unmoving on her bed, giving no inclination that she knew anyone was up and about. Midnight's Shadow shook her head slightly and directed her attention towards the door. When she reached it, she placed her hands onto either side of the door frame and raised up onto the tip of her toes. Leaning forward, she peered through the peep hole. As she had expected, on the other side of the door stood Breaker and Snake Eyes.
A slight smile graced her lips as Midnight's Shadow leaned back down onto the flats of her feet. One hand returned to her side while the other fell down to the locks on the door. Scarlet must have put them on before they went to sleep. Her fingers nimbly flew over the locks, undoing them until finally they were all released. Her hand fell down to rest on the door handle, gripping to cool metal lightly. Tugging downward. Midnight's Shadow opened the door.
Light from the hallway flooded into the darkened hotel room. Behind her, Kate her the muffled sound of Scarlet groaning, apparently displeased at having so much light suddenly appear in their rooms. As she opened the door, the dark haired woman was greeted by the faces of Breaker and Snake Eyes standing before her. She leaned her shoulder against the door frame, her head resting upon it tiredly as well. "Do you guys have any idea what time it is?" she asked wearily, her voice scratchy and exhausted from lack of sleep.
Breaker have her a well-executed "are you serious" look. "I think we know VERY well what time it is," he said, suppressing a yawn. He was obviously as tired as she was. "I believe you heard the avalanche next door?"
Midnight's Shadow scoffed. "Hard not to."
"So…on that note," he glanced behind him at the dark clad ninja before returning his brown gaze to Midnight's Shadow. "We formally request sanctuary."
Kate laughed lightly. She let the door open fully and gestured for them to enter. "Come on in. Though I should warn you, you can still hear it, even from in here."
Breaker walked past her and into the dark room, temporarily lit by the lights of the hallway pouring through the open door. The dark haired woman took a quick note of his unkempt hair, his rumpled gray t-shirt, and his dark pants. As Snake Eyes passed by her, she noticed for the first time that he was dressed differently than she normally had seen him. Gone was the body armor and the thick mask. Instead he wore a light weight nylon mask with a smaller visor, a nylon shirt-probably similar to his under armor-, and black pants. Of course, being Snake Eyes, not an inch of skin was visible. Gloves covered his hands and socks covered his feet. Midnight's Shadow found herself staring at him for a brief moment, not used to seeing him out of his armor, before she snapped out of it and shut the door behind them.
As soon as she had done so, the room was plunged into darkness. Blindly feeling along the wall, Kate quickly felt the knob protrusion of a light switch and quickly flipped it. Once more, the room was brightly lit. As soon as the light was turned on, there was a loud, angry moan that Midnight's Shadow knew instantly had come from Scarlett.
Breaker turned towards the bed, putting on a look of mock horror. He pointed finger. "Look out, Snake! It's right behind you!"
The dark ninja, who currently had his back to Scarlet's bed, turned around rather leisurely, apparently not all that concerned. Or maybe he was tired. Either way, he turned around and glimpsed Scarlet sitting up in her bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Her red hair was a mess and her light blue tank top was slightly askew from tossing and turning. Her iPod lay at her side, the music turned off and the ear buds discarded for now. "You know," she began, her voice sounding just as weary and scratchy as Kate's had a moment ago, "I normally have a policy against killing people this early. But I think that I'm going to make an exception just this once." Slowly, she began to reach towards the nightstand to where she had set a small pistol, just in case.
"Down, Scarlet," the dark haired woman said bluntly. She walked past Snake Eyes and then Breaker before she reached the side of her own bed. Bending her knees, she sat down heavily upon its edge.
"Yeah," Breaker seconded with a slight smile. The smile instantly disappeared when he saw the glare he received from the red head-the red head who still firmly clutched a gun in her hand. "I was only joking."
Scarlet rolled her blue eyes. "Not really in the mood for jokes at this time of night, Breaker," she said as she leaned over and set her gun back on the nightstand.
"I noticed," the Moroccan snorted. "Besides, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for Heavy."
"Oh, I know," the red head groaned. "I swear, if I put a glass of water on the nightstand, you would think a T-Rex was coming."
Breaker snickered in response.
Midnight's Shadow's brows furrowed in confusion. "What?" Suddenly, all eyes were on her and she felt rather stupid for asking.
"Oh…sorry," Scarlett said apologetically, obviously feeling bad for using references around her that she didn't understand due to her memory loss. She usually did avoid them, but sometimes they did slip out. Midnight's Shadow didn't mind as much as she thought she did. It was just frustrating and hard when they did it a lot at first and she couldn't keep up, making her left out of the conversation. Now, though, Midnight's Shadow didn't blame her either. Scarlet was obviously too tired to be concerned with such a thing. "It's from a movie." The red head pointed a slim, pale finger in her direction. "Remind me to show that to you."
The dark haired woman nodded. "It's officially on the to-do list."
Scarlet's lips quirked up in slight amusement before she looked up at Snake Eyes and Breaker. "So it was too much for you again, huh?"
Breaker's head hung low in response. "I think I lost some hearing."
"Why don't you guys just wake him up?" Kate inquired, one elegant black eyebrow cocking upward.
Their eyes shifted back to her. "We tried, but he just rolls back over and goes back to sleep. Most of the time he doesn't even wake up." The Moroccan jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the black clad ninja behind him. "Snake Eyes even threw a pillow at his head. Absolutely no change."
Midnight's Shadow couldn't help but the crack a wide smile as she pictured Snake Eyes chucking a pillow across the room at a sleeping Heavy Duty. "Seriously?" she laughed. "A little temperamental, are we?" she asked, directing her question at Snake Eyes. The dark ninja just shrugged in response.
Breaker scoffed, drawing their attention back to him. "I looked over at Heavy at one point and saw Snake standing over with a pillow in his hands." He uttered a small laugh. "It looked like he was debating whether to smother him or not."
At this, Kate couldn't stop herself from laughing. She leaned back onto her bed a little, using one of her hands to prop herself up and keep her upright.
"Remind me to never get between you and your beauty sleep, Snake," Scarlet said, a smile on her own exhausted features.
"He needs all that he can get," Midnight's Shadow gasped through her laughter.
Snake Eyes' masked face turned in her direction. His response was a pronounced shrug. It seemed as if he was saying "What did I do to you?"
As Midnight's Shadow covered her mouth attempting to hide her last few bits of laughter, Scarlet looked up at the two men standing rather awkwardly in the middle of their room. "So, how exactly are we going to do this?" she asked. "Because neither of you are crawling into bed with me."
"How about Shadow sleeps in your bed and Snake and I take the other?" Breaker offered.
"Oh, come on!" Scarlet groaned. "Why don't you get your own room for once? This is OUR room. We shouldn't have to share it. You know what Heavy is like and yet you still share a room with him. So, the way I see it, this is your own fault. You made your bed, so now you get to lie in it. And right now, your bed is on the floor." Finishing her rant, Scarlet rolled over, making sure to spread out under the blankets as if to further her point, and went to sleep.
Midnight's Shadow sighed. "You can share with me, Breaker. I really don't mind." She scooted over onto the other side of her bed.
Breaker looked over at her, obviously grateful. He sat down on the newly vacated side of her bed, the mattress dipping in his direction a little. He pulled back the covers and lay down on his side. He removed his glasses, setting them onto the nightstand, before letting his head rest on the pillow.
The dark haired woman looked back up now to Snake Eyes. She felt a pang of guilt. Was everyone going to sleep in a bed while he was forced to sleep on the floor? "Here," she said, rising from her seat on the bed. She felt that intense gaze of his immediately focus upon her, but she didn't look at him. She walked past him, heading towards the closet. She could feel the ninja shadowing her, following close behind. She swiftly opened the doors and was immediately greeted with what she was searching for: a blanket and some pillows. She grabbed them and turned around. Her arms outstretched towards him, offering them. Her blue eyes flicked upward, looking up into his masked face, wishing not for the first time that she could see the expressions on his face. Reaching up dark clad arms, Snake Eyes took the blankets and pillows from her, his face not moving from her face. He nodded his thanks.
A light smile graced her face. "No problem." Tearing their gazes from one another, Midnight's Shadow closed the closet and walked past him. She made her way to her side of the bed. Her eyes glanced over at Breaker, who seemed to already be asleep, his mouth hanging slightly open and his breathing deep and even. Kate pulled back the covers, straightened the pillows into an adequate position and began to climb into bed. Her blue eyes looked over the room and saw Snake Eyes laying his pillow and blankets on the ground, preparing to go to sleep. Suddenly, Midnight's Shadow remembered something she had forgot. "Hey, Snake," she whispered, trying not to wake their now sleeping comrades. The black clad' ninja's masked face instantly looked up at her. "Can you get the light?"
Snake Eyes nodded. He turned and began to stride across the room towards the light switch. Midnight's Shadow chewed her lower lip as she watched him, still feeling guilty for having him be the only one to sleep on the floor. Finally, making up her mind, she swiveled around in her seat and grabbed two of the pillows leaning against the headboard. Tucking them under her arm, she rose to her feet. She padded around the side of the bed. Snake Eyes had started building his makeshift bed upon the ground in the aisle between the two beds. As she walked past, Kate tossed the pillows down the ground beside them and kept walking.
Snake Eyes reached the light switch and turned around, about to turn it off, and found himself stopping when he noticed her walked towards him. He watched her carefully, keeping his hand positioned over the switch, ready to flip it when she finished with whatever it was she was doing. She moved over to the closet and pulled open the doors. Reaching inside onto one of the shelves, Midnight's Shadow pulled off one of the neatly folded cream colored wool blankets, taking it into her arms as she closed the closet doors once more. As she turned to walk past Snake Eyes, she noticed his head cock to the head slightly in obvious confusion. Ignoring him, she continued past him and walked over to the makeshift bed on the ground. She gripped the edges of the blanket in her arms and let it unfold, falling to the ground.
Kate Moon looked over at Snake Eyes when the light still didn't turn off. The dark ninja just stood there, looking at her, obviously not understanding why she was doing what she was doing. "Just turn off the light," she told him very simply, turning her eyes back down to the bed. She kneeled down, starting to settle herself in. She straightened to pillows into an adequate position before laying back onto the ground, drawing the newly acquired blanket over her. Her head sank into the pillows, cradling her head. Midnight's Shadow shifted a little in her new bed, her brow furrowing. The ground was much harder than it looked. No doubt she would have a horrible backache tomorrow.
As soon as she had settled back, the light turned off, plunging the room into darkness. Midnight's Shadow's eyes widened in the darkness involuntarily, trying to see in the darkness. After a few moments, they adjusted and noticed a dark shadow that moved through the darkness. The ninja, true to his title, moved soundlessly through the room, his footsteps eerily quiet. He didn't trip or stumble into anything as he made his way to his bed.
As she watched him, Midnight's Shadow briefly wondered how well he could see in the dark-if his mask had some sort of built in night vision. Though, it probably would be his other mask and not this one. This one was obviously made for sleeping in. Then, another thought occurred to her as she watched him carefully. Did he even wear the mask when he was alone, sleeping in his room back in the Pit? Or was this mask made only for use in the field, when he had to sleep in the same room as other people? Midnight's Shadow mentally shook her head. It didn't really matter. It was just one of the many questions that surrounded the silent ninja. She could always ask him about it, but she worried that it might be considered rude, so she decided against it.
Snake Eyes nimbly stepped over her outstretched legs. He walked forward a little until he reached the makeshift bed. She watched as he bent down in a similar fashion as she had done only moments before. He adjusted the pillows to his liking, pulled back the blanket, and settled down, right beside Midnight's Shadow. The dark haired squirmed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable, wondering why exactly it was that she did this when there a nice bed with a vacant spot only a few feet away. She hear the fabric of the pillows shift as Snake Eyes looked over at her. The dark haired woman didn't look at him, directing her attention towards the ceiling, as if she was studying the ceiling light intently in the darkness. But, Snake Eyes seemed to sense her discomfort and moved away from her a little, giving her some extra room. On one hand, Midnight's Shadow felt a little relief. On the other, she felt a little bad that she had given him the impression she was uncomfortable near him. She sighed out loud. It was too late now.
Rolling onto her side, facing away from Snake Eyes, Midnight's Shadow closed her eyes. She had started to fall asleep until a loud snore vibrated through their adjoined wall with Heavy Duty. Kate groaned. She reached underneath her and began to pull out one of her pillows. That was when she noticed the blanket shaking. She glanced over her shoulder at Snake Eyes and saw the rapid rise and fall of his chest and realized that he was laughing at her.
"Shut up, Snake," she growled. As if to further her point, she gripped the end of her pillow and slammed it into his face. Or, at least, that was her intended target. The ninja easily deflected the attempted blow with a raise of his arm. Midnight's Shadow retracted the pillow, a scowl on her face as she realized that her attack hadn't hit home. She rolled back over with a huff, once again facing away from the dark ninja. Taking the pillow, she placed it over her head, pressing it against her ear. It was going to be a long night, was all she could think as another loud snore sounded through the thin walls.
A/N: There you go! Another chapter! I hadn't posted as fast as I had hoped but it's certainly faster than the last one. And I also made sure to get in a little fluff between Snake Eyes and Midnight's Shadow. I read in some reviews that you thought that the previous chapter was a little dull for you. I'll admit, that's how I felt too, but I thought it was a necessary chapter in order to get some development on the character of Kate Moon.
Any who, I would LOVE some reviews on this chapter to let me know what you think! Or shoot me a PM! Whichever works for you! Welcome to any new followers or favorites!