Chapter Text
-2- Dress and gasoline
(You know, girl stuff)
Axel wakes up only twice, embraced by a deep sleep for the rest of the time.
The first time is because it’s raining outside, and a particularly loud clap of thunder jolts Chris awake.
«What was that, an explosion?»
«No. Thunder.» Axel barely touches the back of her hand with his fingers, before realizing it.
Chris pauses for a moment, thinking, or more accurately noticing the sound of rain falling outside.
«Oh, okay.» she says finally, falling back asleep.
She snore a little in her sleep, Axel discovers, he too falling back asleep with a smile.
The second time, he’s awakened by a gasp of embarrassed surprise and something made of glass breaking on the floor. He and Chris open their eyes, only to see Eleina with her mouth slightly agape.
«I, uh. Sorry. I just came to get a glass of milk.»
Chris blushes and quickly got up from the couch, reaching Eleina before she risks cutting herself with the glass, which she’s almost trying to pick up with her bare hands, in her embarrassment. «Wait. I'll help you.»
It’s already morning.
Axel opts for going to the bathroom, yawning and feeling himself too blushing a little. But the warmth sensation of Chris sleeping beside him is still so pleasant, as if it has been imprinted indelibly in his body.
He still has dust from the rubble on himself, but a shower seems out of the question because of his bandaged wounds. He tries to wash the rest of his body anyway.
When he returns into the kitchen, Chris and Eleina have settled up something like a frugal breakfast for the three of them. Chris disappears almost immediately into the bathroom for her turn, barely looking at him.
Axel sits down to eat, running a hand through his hair, vaguely wondering if they were in yet another dimension, one where it’s daytime and they’re still facing a world that isn't about to end after all.
«Sorry again. I didn't mean to… wake you.» Eleina says, head lowered over her bowl of cereal.
«Don't worry.» Axel absently scratches his head, his gaze falling to a corner of the room, where apparently the big cat is gorging on tuna again. «Is it eating again?»
Eleina seems at least to be diverted enough from her remaining embarrassment. «Chris says it's our cat now.»
Axel considers for a moment, and then shrugs. «We should put him on a diet.»
Chris comes back looking refreshed from a quick shower and change of clothes, and sits down to eat her breakfast. «Did anyone come in touch with someone of the others?»
«Oh, yes. Sorry I didn't say it right away.» Eleina nods «Hersch says we can rest in the meantime. It'll be a while before they finish arranging the antidote. Doug is still in the hospital, being taken care of. And the doctor said Axel has a check-up appointment for today.»
He grimaces, but Chris nods. «I'll give you a ride, it’s in the early afternoon. And about Leland?»
«He called. Said he might need a few days, he has some things to take care of.» Eleina reports.
«Okay.» Chris stretches herself generously.
Axel diverts his gaze from her, still remembering too well the feeling of her sleeping next to him.
«And hasn't anyone mentioned a salary yet?» inquires Chris.
Axel smirks, and Eleina looks impressed. «I don't think so. You mean we'll have one?»
Chris frowns critically. «Well, I really hope so. I need clothes and gasoline.»
Axel and Eleina exchanges a look, smiling quite amusedly.
«Hey, what? You know, girl stuff.»
Hersch was reasonable, at least according to Chris, who calls her and manages to get a bank account opened with some basic funds for necessities, and a payment chip delivered to them by a drone.
«That’s better.» says Chris with satisfaction, asking Eleina if she needs anything.
She thanks her but declines the offer, and Chris decides to at least go get something to eat. And some cat food, Axel discovers when she returns shortly afterward.
He mostly tries tossing a toy ball Chris has bought to a cat who simply stares at it, as if having no clue about how that should make him/her get up and chase it, rather than lounging around between a can of cat food and the next one.
Axel finds this rather irritating. He doesn’t know what he would give for a bit of movement, maybe on the roof and up-and-down the eaves of the building, at least. But he has a distinct feeling that if he would try something like that with wounds still in the process of healing, Eleina would terribly worry herself, and Chris could nearly strangle him.
Chris disappears in her room for a while, and Eleina looks away from her screens for a moment, casting him a glance sideways. She has obtained from Hersch some work to help with the global administration of the antidote, as well as trying to sort out other datas that have been collected since the secret plan for the development of a bioweapon has collapsed. She seems satisfied and absorbed.
«Are you bored?»
Axel casts a mopey glance at her. «How much longer do you think I'll have to sit still?»
Eleina thinks about it for a moment. «Want to help me?»
Axel gets bored to death with the dictating some datas for her to check and sort out, and discovering even more details about the extent of the conspiracy to develop bioweapons is bitter, to say the least.
Chris joins them and listens for a while as Eleina recounts the disturbing scenario, then shakes her head with a sigh. «Well, what a good riddance. Let’s go, it's time for your check-up.»
Axel finally abandons the toy, which the cat seems to think of as a decoration for the house and nothing more, and settles himself behind her on the motorcycle to return to the hospital.
He stays on edge as the doctor checks his wounds and changes the bandage, shaking her head because apparently some of the stitches have popped thanks to Axel’s maneuvers, after all.
«It could have been worse.» comments Chris, staring at her nails «Considering some crazy guy has brought down half the Tower of Babel.»
The doctor looks at Axel, half-impressed half-disapproving, her brows furrowed. «Were you there?»
Axel shrugs slightly. «I had an appointment.»
The doctor looks even more serious. «You mean that thing about meeting up... where the angel watches?»
«What are you talking about?» Chris looks at them, half-confused half-concerned.
Axel stares at the ceiling and sighs. It just seems pointlessly tragic, rehashing it. «The killer made an appointment with me.»
Chris looks at him, crossing her arms over her chest. «And you thought it was a good idea to go.»
Axel lows his gaze at the fresh bandages the doctor has placed on him. «He seemed… peaceful, when he died.»
Chris bites her lip lightly. The doctor clears her throat and asks if she could wait outside. Chris hesitates, but then nods and leaves the room. Axel waits.
The doctor sighs and shakes her head, then looks at him seriously. «I have to ask you. Do you have any… death wish?»
Axel frowns for a moment, then shakes his head and looks away. «I’ve almost died several times. And the world almost ended. But… no, I don’t think. It’s not a wish.»
His gaze slides slightly toward the closed door, and the doctor nods. «I thought the appointment was with her.»
«Huh?» Axel looks back at her, confused and then a little embarrassed, lowering his gaze. «No, it wasn’t…»
The doctor smiles. «Okay. Do you think you can avoid near-death situations for at least a few weeks?»
Axel sulks. «That long?»
The doctor raises an eyebrow, and he shrugs. «I can’t promise anything. But I’ll try.»
The doctor sighs heavily. «All right. That’ll do, I guess.»
When they run into Doug in the hospital corridors, Chris smiles brightly, waving the chip linked to the bank account Hersch has set up for basic funds.
«Hey there. Anything to eat? My treat.»
«Oh jeez.» Doug adjusts his glasses with a finger and nods. «Okay.»
They catch up on the last news around a table in the hospital cafeteria, going from how Leland is doing—he's called Doug too, saying he should be able to return in a few days—to the disturbing project for a bioweapon that has apparently been defused by all that mess with Hapna, passing through the fretfully preparations for a global vaccine.
«This place’s doing its part too, huh?» observes Chris, looking around the canteen.
There aren’t many staff members, but everyone seems to be eating hastily, talking animatedly, checking something on their devices, here and there answering a call and almost rushing off, abandoning food and whatever.
«Maybe they're only worrying about their very rich patients.» Axel comments.
«Not in this case.» Doug shakes his head «Dr. Millie convinced the hospital management to participate in the widespread administration of the antidote. This commotion is... an attempt to keep their regular patients from getting too much upset about their scheduled and not urgent visits, which will have to be postponed.»
«Really?» Axel is actually quite impressed.
Doug sighs a little. «Their clients will still get priority for vaccinations.»
«This makes more sense.» nods Axel.
«And how are you?» asks Chris.
Doug looks down at the table, frowning. «I'll have to undergo surgery for my injuries.»
«What? Is it so bad?» Chris's eyes widens a little.
But Doug remains calm. «Nothing dramatic. And most importantly, it'll be resolutive, so no need to be alarmed.»
Chris sighs. «Well, thank goodness. Would you all please stop trying to get yourselves killed when I'm not around?»
Doug looks patient. «I couldn't just let Eleina go by herself.»
Chris considers this, nodding. «Well done.»
Axel smirks to himself, and Chris notices and give him a light kick against his ankle. «Better than dating crazy killers, anyway.»
Doug seems confused. «What?»
Axel give a cursory summary of the matter, and Doug asks if they've learned any more details about the secret assassins training program. But when he learns that the last and only survivor is dead, he relaxes a little more, nodding.
«So we don't have a new assignment yet?»
«Nah.» Chris pops another spoonful of cake into her mouth. «Even if, you have surgery to undergo, so you’ll be out of the games for a bit.»
«Hmm.» Doug nods, crossing his arms thoughtfully. «Actually, Dr. Millie has learned about my incomplete studies, and offered to let me continue them under her supervision.»
Axel and Chris exchanges a quick glance.
«Sounds like... good news?» asks Chris, looking a little disappointed and trying to hide it.
«A good opportunity, also.» Axel tries to do more or less the same.
Doug nods. «It is. I'll ask Hersch if it could be… considered as compatible.»
Chris and Axel seems practically relieved.
«Double work, huh?» jokes Axel «You really are a slogger.»
Doug makes a mildly amused noise, but then reasons seriously «Given the Hapna situation and everything else that was secretly swirling around it, it's still likely that the global trend regarding wars and conspiracies will continue to have a significant portion of its efforts invested in the medical-biological field.»
Axel stares at him rather impressed, the spoon still practically in his mouth. «You mean that those who only know about hand-to-hand combat will become... obsolete?»
Chris smirks and pushes half of her remaining dessert in front of him. «Here, finish it. I'm full.»
He looks at her, instinctively trying to measure the potential confidence of the gesture.
Chris stands up and walks away toward the counter, announcing she’s going to get everyone coffee, armed with the chip linked to the bank account.
Doug raises his eyebrows slightly, watching Axel unconsciously shifting his gaze between the dessert left for him and Chris as she walks away. «What's going on between you two?»
Axel tries to keep his expression perfectly neutral, as he pops a spoonful of cake into his mouth. «What do you mean? Nothing.»
Doug smiles to himself. «Yeah, sure…»
Chris has gone back to sleep in her bedroom, and certainly not on the couch with him. Axel tries not to be disappointed, even though - yeah - it probably doesn’t sound particularly reasonable, sleeping on a couch when you have an available bed.
He mostly keeps napping on it. The cat seems to have decided it might as well settle in and sleep on him. Axel pets him absentmindedly, even though he still miss the feeling of Chris sleeping next to him.
When Doug and Leland come back, the former having successfully recovered from his surgery, the latter looking more serene, Chris's expression suddenly become serious.
«Okay, now that we're all here, we absolutely have to do a thing.»
The others look at her a little surprised, but immediately serious and focused.
«Do what?» asks Eleina.
Chris smiles and pulls out the ATM chip she seems to have appointed herself as the guardian of, though in reality she also regularly uses it to insist on getting everyone else whatever she thought they might need.
«But a celebratory dinner, of course!»
When they call her, Hersch thanks them a little surprised, but declines the invitation. Doctor 909 / Donald McDonald overhears a conversation and asks where the fun is going to be, before freezing under the looks several of them give him, and dropping an invitation that in the first place he's never received.
So there they are, just the five of them, sitting around a table in a restaurant not overly fancy but more than decent, so that they can pretty much figure out what the hell is written on the menu.
However, Axel pretends to need more time to choose. It’s an attempt to get used in making his gaze behave, considering it tends to constantly drift toward Chris.
It’s anything exaggerated, really. But she’s wearing a dress that suits her very well, a bit of makeup different than usual, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and she looks contented and calm.
Doug keeps making little smiles to himself, as if he's noticed Axel's new difficulty about not staring at her too much, and he almost kicks him for it. At least, Eleina and Leland are much more honestly occupied, trying to decide which dishes to order and exchanging observations on the menu.
Axel beams. Maybe they looks like some kind of strange family, all gathered together for dinner like this.
«So, how’s your sister doing?» starts off Chris toward Leland, once the waiter has left with their orders.
He lows his gaze for a moment, furrowing his brows thoughtfully as if making a decision. When he looks up again, he takes a breath and spills the beans to Eleina and Chris.
«I come from… an extraordinarily wealthy family.»
Chris and Eleina exchanges a look, then Eleina nods, a little embarrassed. «Um, I know.»
Leland’s jaw almost drops. «How?»
«Hersch has me clean up our records, to remove criminal reports and everything, so… I’m sorry. It was a side effect.»
Leland seems a little taken aback that his isn’t—again—such a shocking revelation. «Oh, I see.»
When he looks at Chris, she shrugs. «It's obvious from the way you dress.»
Leland looks down at himself, even though he isn't wearing anything overly elegant that evening.
Chris smiles, gently amused. «I mean, when you went on that mission with Doug and Axel, managing to get in contact with a doctor who works in a hospital reserved for ultra-rich people? And when you changed to visit your sister.»
«Oh.» Leland blinks and nods, looking relieved after all. «She's... better, anyway. We're finalizing the last details, and after that she should officially be the leader of the family.»
«You did it, then.» Axel smiles. He has suspected that something like this has been his goal.
Instead, Chris looks at Leland with a certain empathy, a touch of sorry. «Does there have to be a formal head of the family?»
Leland nods, lowering his gaze. «I'm afraid so. But truth be told, my sister doesn't mind it.»
«Hmph. Well, a toast to career girls, then.» Chris raises his glass, grinning approvingly.
«I am… going to a therapeutic community, instead.» says Eleina.
Chris almost spits out the sip of wine. «What?? Why?!»
«Uh, no, no.» Eleina waves her hands a little, as if to clear up the misunderstanding. «I mean, to make a visit to someone who’s in there now.»
«Hmm. Your mother, I presume?» asks Doug, with a serious and understanding expression.
«Yeah.» Eleina folds her hands between her knees and nods. «I thought I'd at least visit her and... see how she's doing.»
Chris smiles softly and reaches out to gently caress her shoulder. «You really are a good person, you know that, right?»
Eleina blinks, unsure of the compliment, as if trying to weight it for the first time in her life.
Doug takes a breath. «Since it seems we're making announcements, Dr. Millie has officially managed to place me in an advanced study project. I'll have to catch up on some basics, but she thinks it won't be difficult for me.»
«Great. Go for it, big brain.» Chris smiles, and ignores his eye rolling with an half smile of patient bemusing.
«And she told me I can start exercising again.» says Axel with satisfaction.
Chris narrows her eyes and give him a meaningful look. «With moderation.»
Axel drinks some wine, pouting. «How do you know she said that?»
Chris shrugs. «Female intuition.» she jokes, before realizing the others are ogling her a bit.
She considers for a moment, then leans back in her chair, crossing her legs and calmly sipping her wine. «If you want to know, I’m throughly enjoying my break.»
The others smile or chuckle a little, and Chris beams to herself.
She ends up drinking perhaps a little too much wine, all things considered, but between the excellent food and the flowing chat, after all it’s been a very nice evening, so she doesn’t really have any regrets. Actually...
«That was a great idea!» she congratulates herself, as they returns to... well, she supposes their secret base is their home now, right? She should remember to talk to Hersch about it, just in case. Maybe they’re practically entitled to something better than that sort of building disguised as a secret base disguised as a suburban scrap.
«Yeah, it’s been nice.» admits Leland, though a little embarrassed by the way he and Eleina are essentially flanking her, here and there reaching out reflexively when she sways a little too much.
Chris has decided that if that would reassure them, she might as well let them do it. They just couldn't seem able to convince themselves that she’s perfectly capable of balancing on heels, even if she’s probably drank too much wine. But it was good, and expensive. And they've been able to afford it. It’s the first time that being... not exactly a spy, but still a secret agent is so satisfying in terms of colleagues, free time, and funds available for personal needs.
She ends up saying out loud something along that line, summing it all up, and the others smile.
«Although, I’m not exactly sure the term ‘working dinner’ would justify what we’ve payed.» comments Doug, as they enter the building disguised as a secret base disguised as…well - etcetera, etcetera.
«Pft, it wasn’t too exorbitant.» Chris waves a hand in the air a bit.
Eleina smiles but covers her mouth to yawn. «I’ve been… really fine. But I think I’ll go to sleep. I have to check some datas tomorrow morning.»
Chris looks at her, pouting. «You’re always working, aren’t you? It’s not good for your health.»
Eleina nods kindly, probably considering her slightly tipsy state. «Maybe I’ll take the afternoon off when I’ll have done.»
Chris smiles approvingly. «That’s talking. Goodnight, then.»
Leland casts another slightly worried glance, as Chris wobbles unsteadily on her heels. «I, um...»
«I think we can go to sleep too, Leland. The situation is... pretty much under control.» Doug correctly interprets his hesitation, and glances quickly at Axel as if he should understand.
Axel completely ignores the allusion. «Goodnight, guys.»
Chris leans back against the wall with a contented sigh, bending over to take off her heels. She staggers but remains perfectly balanced. «So, that was nice, wasn't it?»
Axel smiles softly. «Yeah.»
«We should do it again sometime.»
«Sure.»
Chris peers at him from under her bangs. «I mean you and me.»
Axel looks at her, his eyes slightly wide, speechless for a moment.
Chris lowers her smile as she finishes taking off her shoes, then stands up, turning her back to him. «Can you open the zip please?»
Axel hesitates a moment, then reaches out and do so. With seemingly calm efficiency, but taking every care not to even accidentally risk brushing her skin with his fingers.
«Thanx. G’night.» Chris bites her lip lightly, and leaves with a small smile plastered on her face.
«‘Night...» Axel realizes he's answered several seconds late, Chris already disappeared into her room.
He runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head, smiling to himself as he goes to settle on the couch. The overweighted cat jumps onto his chest shortly thereafter, purring a familiar greeting before settling down to sleep.
Axel grins, petting him absentmindedly. The wounds have healed very well, according to the doctor, and tomorrow he would finally be able to restart moving a little.