Snake Eyes found himself awakening with a start sometime in the night. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he didn't question. Years of training had attuned his senses so that he would wake up if something was amiss. His eyes opened from beneath his nylon mask. He was greeted by the white ceiling of the hotel room. He shifted in his place on the hard floor of the room. This floor was going to be the death of him tomorrow.
As a snore ripped through the walls adjoining their room to a slumbering Heavy Duty's, Snake Eyes wondered if that was what had awakened him. His head rolled to the side, the fabric of his pillow rustling in his ears as he did so. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness as he looked to check on the woman slumbering beside him. But as his eyes adjusted, it became clear: she was gone. The blanket was tossed back-unused-and her spot on the floor beside him was vacant.
Snake Eyes' brows furrowed behind his dark mask. How had she managed to get up without him noticing? Was he really just that tired? Or perhaps she could move quieter than he thought. It was true. During their ritual training sessions back in the Pit, Snake Eyes had noticed a certain "lightness of foot" about her. She didn't appear to even be conscious that she was doing it. It was second nature to her. As it was to him.
The black clad ninja propped himself up on his elbows, his head craning around the room, searching for her. Maybe she couldn't handle the floor and had gone back to her place on the bed. But as he straightened into a sitting position, looking over the sleeping form of Breaker-who was undoubtedly drooling on his pillow-he noticed that the spot beside the Moroccan had not been reclaimed. She wasn't there. He swiveled around to see if she had managed to claim a spot beside Scarlet on her bed but stopped. There was a light on in the divided bathroom. As his groggy mind cleared, he realized that he could hear the sound of the faucet in the room closest to the door being turned on, accompanied by the sound of hushed curses.
Tossing back his blanket, Snake Eyes rose to his full height and made his way over to the bathroom.
Midnight's Shadow hissed through gritted teeth as she touched the damp cloth to her wrist, instantly jerking it away was pain ratcheted through her arm. She leaned forward heavily, her elbows resting on the countertop, and hung her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the throbbing pain to stop.
She sighed out loud. She was never going to get this done if she kept flinching away anytime she felt any pain. But it was a reflex that she didn't seem to be able to stop. It was normal to move away from something painful anyway. It was a self-preservation reflex.
But either way, she needed to get this done. Gripping the damp cloth with renewed resolve, Midnight's Shadow straightened up to her full height. She eyed her wrist which was dripping with fresh red blood, streams of it flowing from the newly opened slits down the side of her arm to drip in the sink. Bringing down the cloth, she swiftly wiped up any of the rivers of blood away from the cut. When she had finished she checked on the cloth. The once white cloth was now stained red in dozens of places. It wasn't going to be able to help anymore. It had too much blood on it.
Discarding it into the trash bin under the counter, Kate reached over to a nearby Kleenex box and pulled out several sheets. Holding them in her hands, she put them under the running faucet of cool water. When they were sufficiently damp, she pulled them away and squeezed them between her fingers. The excess water gushed out from between her fingers, falling into the sink. Turning off the water, Midnight's Shadow looked down at the Kleenex in her hand. It was just a damp ball now.
Bringing it up to her injured arm, which was now streaming new rivers of blood, she began to clean her wound. No sooner had she started than she noticed the sudden presence of someone standing in the doorway. Her head immediately snapped in that direction and was greeted by Snake Eyes standing in the doorway. His masked face shifted from her, down to her bleeding wrist, to the counter strewn with bloody cloths and assorted first aid items, and back to her. He gestured a gloved hand at her wrist.
Midnight's Shadow smiled sheepishly. "It's fine. I must have slept on it funny or it snagged on something so the slits reopened." She turned around, letting the small of her back rest against the edge of the counter as she leaned back. She brought the damp Kleenex down to her wrist and began to gently clean away the blood. Her lips pursed and her teeth gritted as a stinging pain raced up and down her arm, causing her to instantly flinch the Kleenex away. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain for a moment before opening them again. Her blue gaze shifted over to the silent ninja who still stood in the doorway, watching her carefully, his thoughts unknowable. "Did I wake you?" she asked.
Slowly, the dark clad ninja shook his head. His head tilted down a little. He was obviously looking at her wrist. Midnight's Shadow felt a little uneasy-just like she always did under the intensity of that gaze. Her eyes shifted down to her wrist and began to gingerly clean the wound once again only to stop a second later as another wash of pain surged up and down her arm.
She squeezed her eyes shut, as if she could will away the pain. Suddenly, she felt something wrap itself gently around her wrist, making sure not to touch the newly opened wound. Midnight's Shadow's eyes immediately snapped open and found herself looking at Snake Eyes. He had just materialized in front of her. His masked face was tilted downward, examining her slits carefully. He held her wrist captive, his black gloved hand holding her wrist gently, yet still with a degree of firmness. Midnight's Shadow felt her heart jump, not bothering to hide the shock from her face. Snake Eyes didn't seem to notice though. His attention was directed downward.
With his free hand, the dark ninja reached towards her other hand-the one that still clutched the damp Kleenex. But instead of grabbing it from her hand, he simply opened his own hand palm up, wanting her to hand it to him. Midnight's Shadow's blue eyes shifted back and forth between his outstretched hand and his face. The surprised expression was still present upon her face as she looked at him, now realizing his intentions. "You don't have to…," she began, but stopped when Snake Eyes shifted his attention up to her and gave her a look of what she could only assume to be impatience. Uttering a short sigh through her teeth, Kate reached out and dropped the damp cloth into the ninja's hand, letting her own fall back to her side. She was having trouble on her own anyway. Perhaps someone holding her in place was just what she needed.
Slowly, Snake Eyes brought down the cloth. Kate gritted her teeth and mentally prepared herself. Her other hand reached up to grip the counter beside her. Then, the cloth touched her skin. Almost instantly, a fire ripped through her arm. Midnight's Shadow involuntarily tried to jerk her arm away from the source of the pain, but the dark ninja held her fast. The dark haired woman averted her eyes and pursed her lips to keep from whimpering. Right now, she was glad that her hair had escaped her ponytail, providing a sheen of dark, messy hair between her and Snake Eyes, not allowing him to see her. Her nails dug into the underside of the counter as the pain continued to ebb. She felt Snake Eyes pause momentarily, his masked face glancing up at her for a moment. Midnight's Shadow wondered what it was that he was thinking when he looked at her, but didn't look at him, keeping her gaze directed towards doors of the closet, as if it had suddenly become so interesting. A moment later, Snake Eyes resumed his work upon her wrist.
To be perfectly honest, Midnight's Shadow was surprised at how gentle he was being. She wondered if he had experience with this kind of thing. Maybe he tended to his own wounds after a brutal fight. Who knows? His strokes with the cloth were long and soothing. After a while, the pain began to slowly subside, as if had grown used to the action and her body no longer recognized as a threat-needing to initiate a pain response. Midnight's Shadow found herself enjoying the feel of the cool, wet cloth upon her skin. She felt her eyes fall half closed as a wave of exhaustion fall over her. It had been a long night with very little sleep. Her blue eyes shifted to the dark ninja standing just in front of her. She felt suddenly guilty. He hadn't had much sleep either, and yet here he was-staying up with her to help tend to her wrist. She couldn't help but feel grateful to him. If he hadn't offered to help, who knows how long this would have taken her? She could have be up all night, for all she knew.
Her eyes drifted down, now able to watch him work now that there was less pain. The only thing she felt now was a light stinging. She watched as he ran the damp cloth slowly and gently between each gash, wiping away any excess blood. He gingerly ran the cloth over the edges of each cut, making sure to clear away any of the old crusted blood that may cause an infection. When the cloth touched these areas, Midnight's Shadow couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath at the sudden flare of pain. Snake Eyes would look up at her for a moment, watching her carefully. Was he concerned? Then, after mere seconds, he would return to his work. As she watched him, she noticed that he was being carefully not to squeeze any water into the open wounds. No doubt if that happened, a few choice words might slip from her mouth.
For the next few minutes, a silence hung between the two of them. Midnight's Shadow was content to watch and Snake Eyes was completely focused upon his work.
She paused. Wait a minute. Silence? She listened more intently now, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. A slight smile cracked onto her face. She uttered a small laugh, drawing Snake Eyes' attention. "Maybe we should all sleep in here from now on," she smiled. She looked over at the dark ninja and saw him cock his head slightly to the side, obviously confused. Releasing her grip on the counter, she brought up her hand and pointed to her ear. "Listen," was all she said. So, they stood there, listening for the sound that wasn't there. Her smile widened slightly. "You can't hear Heavy's snoring from in here."
Even though there was no movement from him, Midnight's Shadow could still feel Snake Eyes' amusement at this. She smiled inwardly. She could feel it. How long had she been dreading that she would never get to that point with Snake and yet here she was. The ninja had somehow become one of her closest friends. It was a bit unclear how it had happened. One day, she was terrified of being alone with him and the next she was joking around with him in the training area playing I Spy. True, they were forced to spend a lot of time together when Snake Eyes was trying to help her regain mastery over her actions in a fight. But still, after they had gotten over the boundary of trying to figure out how to talk to one another, interacting just came naturally.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Snake Eyes resumed his cleaning, eliciting a sharp intake of air from Midnight's Shadow. She looked down as the silent ninja pulled away the damp cloth from her pale skin. Gripping it in his black gloved hand, he swiftly tossed it into the trash bin below the counter. Taking a step closer to the counter, he began to search for something. Kate's blue eyes shifted over to look at him and see what he was doing. His hand was rummaging through the first aid kit, looking for something, while his other hand still held her injured wrist. After a few moments of searching, Snake Eyes pulled out what he was looking for-a small spray bottle. Midnight's Shadow instantly knew what it was. "No, no, no, no. You are not putting that on me. I don't need it," she said hurriedly, never taking her eyes off of the small bottle clutched in his hand-an anti-bacterial spray.
Snake Eyes shook his head at her, tightening his grip on her wrist as she tried to pull away from him. His masked face shifted downward as he popped the cap off the spray and began to point it at her wound. Swiftly, Midnight's Shadow twisted her arm to the side so that the slits were facing away from the spray. But this stretched the cuts as well, eliciting a sharp whimper to escape her lips, despite herself. She could feel the irritation radiating off of Snake Eyes, his gaze stern as he looked down at her from his full height of six feet. He shook his head at her once more, telling her exactly what he wanted to say: "Knock it off."
She knew that the spray was supposed to help but she also knew what it would feel like when it came into contact with her open wounds. Her eyes lingered down to where Snake Eyes held her wrist firmly in a vice like grip. And-for just the briefest moment-Midnight's Shadow was reminded of Storm Shadow. Then, before she could react, Snake Eyes took advantage of her obvious distraction, moved her arm back to where it was and sprayed the anti-bacterial onto it. Instantly, a pain like thousands of tiny needles jamming themselves repeatedly into the insides of her slit wrist erupted in her arm. Midnight's Shadow bit her lower lip, preventing a long and colorful stream of choice words from escaping her lips. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, trying to tune it out. But she was unsuccessful. It was all she could feel. All she could focus on. There was nothing else except the pain.
But then, there was something. Something gentle rubbing soothingly against the inside of her wrist. At first, it was barely noticeable through the onslaught of pain. But as the pain began to slowly subside, she began to notice it more and more. She felt her pulse slow and her breathing return to normal. Slowly, she peeked open her eyes to see. Where Snake Eyes held her wrist, she noticed that his thumb was gently trailing up and down the inside of her wrist in a calming motion. The nylon fabric of his glove was cool against her skin, doing its best to comfort her and help her through the momentary pain. Midnight's Shadow's eyes flicked up to look at the silent ninja who was watching her carefully, obviously waiting to make sure that the pain had subsided before he continued.
She smiled lightly at him, feeling suddenly uncomfortable by the gesture of him rubbing the inside of her wrist-though she knew it was only meant to help her calm down-which it had. "I'm fine, Snake," she said simply, her voice still a little strained from the still present stinging in her wrist. "Really."
Instantly, Snake Eyes stopped the movement of his thumb and returned to gently, yet firmly, gripping her wrist. His other hand was empty now. Midnight's Shadow looked over and saw the anti-bacterial spray sitting on the counter with the cap on. He must have put it there while she was trying to deal with the momentary pain. She suddenly felt embarrassment and disgust at herself. She was getting all whiny and upset over something as trivial as getting an anti-bacterial spray? Snake Eyes had probably dealt with things much more horrible than this: bullet wounds, knife cuts, broken bones. He must think that she was so weak and pathetic right now.
Her lip turned into a deep frown, her eyes directed downward at her bare feet upon the floor. Either Snake Eyes chose not to address her change in mood or he simply hadn't noticed. He reached past her and grabbed something else from the first aid kit. Midnight's Shadow looked over momentarily to see that it was a few sheets of gauze. Delicately, the ninja placed them over her sliced wrists before reaching back to the first aid kit to grab something else. His hand immediately found what he was searching for and wrapped around it. He drew it over to her wrist and Midnight's Shadow noticed that it was a roll of bandages. Snake Eyes glanced up at her. Kate looked back at him, not entirely sure why he was looking at her like that. A moment later, she realized why. Slowly, Snake Eyes released his grip on her wrist, his eyes lingering on her face for a moment before looking down at the roll in his hand. Unrolling the bandages, the silent ninja began to expertly wrap her wrist.
As before, a silence fell between them. Midnight's Shadow watched while Snake Eyes worked. As her wrist was wrapped, Midnight's Shadow couldn't help but have her thoughts drift back to the connection she had made only moments ago.
The way that Snake Eyes held her wrist-it had reminded her of the way Storm Shadow had held her wrist anytime he would lead her somewhere back when she was being held prisoner. She thought, not for the first time, if Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow knew each other. For one thing, they were both ninjas. Her eyes shifted up Snake Eyes' muscled arm to his bicep, where a red tattoo was imprinted onto the fabric of his shirt. Another thing was that tattoo. After spending time in the Pit, alone with her thoughts and thinking over her time being held prisoner, Midnight's Shadow had realized that Storm Shadow had the exact same tattoo upon his twin katanas, near the hilts. That was way beyond coincidence. But yet, something had still stopped her from mentioning Storm Shadow-not only to Snake Eyes, but to the rest of the team. She couldn't understand what was holding her back. Did she feel some obligation to protect him as he had defended her against some of the things that could have happened in that facility without his protection?
Kate mentally shook her head. That didn't make any sense. He was a part of it all! He had been helping to keep her captive. He was the bad guy. But yet, somewhere in the back of her mind, something nagged at her. Something important. Something that she had forgotten…
Her blue eyes flicked over to Snake Eyes who was intent upon gently wrapping her wrist. She felt a pang of guilt strike her heart. Snake was her friend. He didn't deserve her lying to his face. Who knows? Maybe Storm was someone important to him. But that still didn't change the fact that the white ninja was a bad guy-the person who had aided in keeping her captive. She wasn't sure how Snake would react, but she had to tell him. She owed him much. The least she could do was tell him the truth.
She was jerked out of her thoughts as she noticed Snake securing a clip over the end of the bandage, ensuring that it didn't unravel. He released his hold on her wrist, letting his hands fall back to his sides. His masked face shifted to look at her. The dark haired woman drew her arm back towards her. She moved and twisted her arm experimentally. The wrapping stayed in place and there was no pain from her wound. Her other hand came up to wrap almost protectively around the newly re-bandaged wrist. "Thanks, Snake," she said gratefully, her voice oddly quiet. "You do good work."
Snake Eyes nodded. He turned away from her and began to clean up the assortment of first aid supplies strewn across the counter that she had dragged out. She didn't look at him-finding herself staring at the closet doors in front of her. She swallowed thickly, trying to get up the courage to confess-to tell him the truth. If there was anyone who needed to know about the existence of the white ninja, it was Snake Eyes.
When he had finished, the black clad ninja cast one more look at her before he turned around and began to walk back into the other room, apparently returning to sleep.
"Snake," Midnight's Shadow blurted, still not looking at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the silent ninja stop and turn halfway around in the doorway to look at her. "I need to talk to you." Mustering her courage, she turned her head to look at him. His own head was cocked ever so slightly to the side, obviously perplexed as to why they needed to talk now at this time of night. "It can't wait."
Snake nodded and turned fully around. He took a few steps towards her so that they were at a normal talking distance. He crossed his arms over his broad chest as he waited for her to speak.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Midnight's Shadow began, keeping her eyes downcast-unable to meet his gaze. "I haven't been entirely honest with you." She noticed Snake Eyes cock his head a little more but kept going before she could think better of it. "Remember when I told you guys about when I was being held captive by the terrorists-how there was one soldier who would escort me to wherever it was that I needed to go?" Her eyes briefly flicked up to see Snake Eyes nod his affirmation before returning to looking at the floor. "Well, that soldier was a little more…unique than I let on. He gave me my name, but he did more than that. Though no one ever said anything, I knew that he had taken some sort of special interest in me. At first I brushed it off as them needing someone stronger than me in a fight to take me from place to place. But later…it didn't seem that way." Kate took a deep breath in an attempt to still her rapidly beating heart before she continued. "After the first time I escaped, he was the one who tested my fighting abilities. He hadn't been told to. When I asked him about it, he said that he was curious. I don't know…I'm not entirely sure I understand what his full motivation was." She shook her head slightly before continuing. "He was also the one who personally escorted me onto the place and handed me over to the waiting convoy of soldiers-which is when you guys found me." She bit her lip nervously. Bravely, she raised her eyes and looked right into the masked face of Snake Eyes who was listening intently to her every word. "The reason that this one soldier stands out is because…" she swallowed thickly, feeling suddenly sick to her stomach, "well, he was a ninja like you."
At this, Snake Eyes instantly stiffened. Midnight's Shadow could see every muscle in his body become taut-like a spring preparing to release.
The dark haired woman nervously tucked a black strand of hair behind her ear and averted her gaze, not wanting to stop before she got everything out. "He, uhh," she cleared her throat when her voice began to show the signs of a slight tremor. "He was always dressed in white and…ummm…," she pointed to the tattoo on the dark ninja's shoulder, "He had that same mark on his swords and…well, he told me his name was," she mentally braced herself, "Storm Shadow."
At this, Midnight's Shadow could feel rage pouring off of Snake Eyes. She could feel the ferocity of the scowl on his face. She could feel the fire in his eyes. His arms released from their crossed position across his chest, falling to his sides. His gloved hands balled into tightly wound fists. His entire body seemed to be quivering in a barely contained fury.
Despite herself, Kate flinched back, suddenly fearful at this sudden change in demeanor. She had never seen Snake Eyes like this. And it was terrifying. She couldn't tell if his wrath was directed at Storm Shadow or her, but she suspected that it was both of them. "Snake, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep this from you. I just…I don't even know why I did it. I'm so sorry. I should have told you sooner," she said in a rush. Her voice belied what she truly felt-fear. Fear of this six foot tall, heavily muscled, well trained in the arts of killing man before her. She swallowed thickly. She could hear her heart beating rapidly in her ears, feel her blood pumping wildly through her veins, sending adrenaline throughout her body. This was how she felt before a fight. It was like her body was preparing to defend herself. But Snake Eyes wouldn't attack her…would he? That small bit of doubt was enough to worry her as she took a few fearful steps backward, trying to put some distance between her and the obviously livid Snake Eyes. Her hand gripped the counter, more to hide the petrified shaking of her hand.
Then, suddenly, Snake Eyes turned on his heel and walked out the doorway. Midnight's Shadow thought, for a brief moment that he was actually going back to bed. Instead, the enraged man turned right. He gripped the door handle to their hotel room, the door flying open. "Snake, I-" she started, taking a step towards him. But, without a backwards glance, Snake Eyes went through the door and was gone, the door shutting behind him.
The room was suddenly silent, filled only with the sound of Kate's rapidly beating heart. She released the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding slowly through her teeth. She hung her head low and said quietly into the dark, "I'm sorry."
A/N: Gotta be honest, didn't think of this chapter until I was nearing the end of writing the last one, but I'm glad I did. A lot of moments between Snake and Shadow, both good and bad. I would like to clarify one scene in this, though, that I'm sure you were all getting hopeful at. It was the part where Snake was trying to calm her down by rubbing the inside of her wrist. No this is NOT a sign of the beginning of their relationship. It is NOT starting yet. Just think of that scene more like a friend trying to help a friend-which was how it was supposed to be intended, though I know it doesn't come across that way. Anyways, just thought I should clarify.
Any who, I would really LOVE some reviews on this chapter especially to know what you think! It would mean a whole lot and may help to encourage me to write the next chapter faster. *wink, wink*