The Return; [open]

[codenamepyro]

The journey back from wherever the hell they'd been was pretty tense. Between the numerous burns, the bullet wounds, broken bones and lingering threat of smoke inhalation, the group weren't really in the chatty mood

Comments

[watch_the_nails]

The brief look he gave her was one of a caged animal, a beast who knew it had made a mistake, but was powerless to hide it and was now cornered; Victor was trying desperately to cover up what had happened, trying to suppress all the thoughts and memories connected to Evan, the things he'd felt and seen just before everything had come to a head. The pleasure he'd felt when he'd glimpsed Pyro's flame dancing over the boy's skin, the vicious joy as Jack's bullets had buried themselves within his flesh, and the depth of his regret that it wasn't his claws dealing a final blow - taking one of his most hated rivals for Emma's affection out of the picture for good.

He glanced down and away, unable to even look her in the eye, even though he knew she'd probably have managed to see at least a glimpse of his thoughts. He wanted her, he needed her, taking a step closer and doing his best to broadcast those desperate feelings. Couldn't she see what had happened to him, the way his feelings had been drawn out and twisted up inside him? Couldn't she see how much he just wanted to wrap his arms around her, to have her return his embrace and tell him everything would be alright?

Even as he approached her, his desire for affection conflicted with the guilt of his pleasure, the two emotions curdling and cloying inside his mind, confusing him and making him need her more than ever.

[icecoldwit]

Everything leaked through, all his memories of the mission. The moment that the flame touched, the bullets, the jerks and collapse. His guilt didn't outweigh the fact that all he felt guilty about was feeling glad. He wasn't sorry about what happened, instead he was sorry she would find out.

Her face set, her heart breaking even as she glanced to the side, spotting the one bed with the curtain drawn around it. She didn't care for his need, his affection seeping towards her through the link.

"How did this happen?" She knew that Victor didn't like Evan for the sole reason that Emma had slept with him. He'd been the past that Victor didn't want brought up and that was fair enough. But for Victor to revel in Evan's demise. "What the fuck happened?"

Her voice would echo in his mind, even as she recoiled from his advance, glaring at him.

[watch_the_nails]

"Baby..."

His voice trailed off into nothingness; he couldn't even look at her. He knew just what she'd be seeing, feeling his jolting thrill of excitement at watching Evan fall, even though what had followed had been less than pleasant - and she was right. He didn't feel any sadness or regret at what had happened to Evan, only fear and regret that she'd discover his enjoyment, which she inevitably had. He gave a whine and shifted uncomfortably, swallowing nervously as he tried to explain himself. He knew that glare, he'd seen it before, and he knew that it wasn't good.

"..it wasn't me, baby, I swear. I swear it wasn't me."

And it hadn't been; that much was clear from his thoughts and memories, from his own experience of the situation. But he wished that it had been him. He really wished that it had.

[icecoldwit]

It really wasn't good, the glare told of more terror to come, and Emma was not happy. "Oh, I know that. I can see that." She could see the instant Victor saw Evan die. The duel moment of flame and bullet killing the male.

"But you wish it had been. You wanted to do it, and don't even bother trying to lie." Emma was aware of his possessiveness, she knew how he got and his threats. She'd seen what had happened to Sarah in the past. But this would not be accepted.

The whining, the shifting, the nerves. They didn't reach her at all. Her eyes turned to diamond first. "We'll see just how relieved you are now." And with one whisper of Pet in his mind, Emma closed the link.

Abrupt and cold, mental communication just halted. There was no sense of him in her consciousness, no presence but her own in her mind. The crystallised diamond spread, just to stop the tears, because she wasn't about to cry in front of him. "Still so smug?"

[watch_the_nails]

His whole body tensed up as soon as she shut down their mental link. He recognised the feeling, she'd done it to him before, and more than once; and, just like every other time, he couldn't help but give another whine as she did so, because he feared that this time, it would be permanent. For him at least, it represented a lot more than just being able to speak to her whenever he felt like it. It was a connection between them, a bond so much more intimate than any other kind of contact, he was learning that now.

"Princess, please..." He hated himself for pleading like this. It made him sound weak and pathetic, and he knew that he wasn't. He didn't need her, he could survive without her... couldn't he? "Please, baby, don't be like this. Don't shut me out. Don't push me away like this."

He needed her, now more than ever. He needed her, wanted her, missed her, but with the severing of that link - and the assuming of her diamond form - she wouldn't be able to pick up on his feelings, on the spike of mental anguish that suddenly rose up from his consciousness. He'd enjoyed seeing Evan die, that much was true, but not at the cost of losing Emma. Because - and he knew it, and she probably knew it too, but it wasn't something that had ever been acknowledged between them - he loved her.

Tears were already starting to gather behind his eyes, he could feel it, and he'd be damned if he'd let her see him cry.

[icecoldwit]

Emma didn't feel it, but he wouldn't feel her despair. Not just over Evan, but the wonder of how or if there was a going back. His enjoyment at watching Evan die, someone she'd been so connected with, someone she cared for and hoped to keep in her life. They'd started to move past things, started to move towards a steady sort of truce.

Esme had liked him, Emma had adored him at a time. And Victor took pleasure in the harsh end to his short life. She couldn't stand to let him feel her right then, couldn't take seeing that from him. She folded her arms over her chest, then dropped them to her sides, then shifted them to her hips.

"No Victor, you'll be glad I'm shutting you out." Because the alternative was a mental overhaul. She was worried what she might do, lash out in some way to cause injury or mental pain. She was already starting to think about Jack's fate.

Pyro, while not innocent, wouldn't suffer her wrath. Esme's love for him secured his safety from Emma. But Jack was fair game. And Stryker would get his soon. St John Allerdyce had special meaning to the girl Emma looked to as family. Stryker was not the one who would take that from Esme.

The rage at Victor however, it boiled and bubbled inside her, with no outlet, her glare hardened to match her skin. Her hands dropped back to her sides, and then her fist swung, straight at Victor's jaw.

[watch_the_nails]

He hissed as the hit connected, the force of the blow powerful enough to send him reeling, his head snapping to the side as she smashed her fist into his face; his first reaction was instinctive, his bloodied claws unsheathing themselves, his fangs bared as he slowly turned back to glare at her with a snarl on his lips. But there were tears behind his eyes, and what little fight he'd had left in him had vanished with the shutting down of their link.

At just about any other time, he wouldn't have hesitated to throw himself at her and give her all he had, even with people in such close proximity - but not now, not here. In a way, he could almost understand her pain; almost. He'd hated Evan, but even so, he'd been able to see that Emma still had a soft spot for the boy. That was what had made him such a threat in the first place. That was why he'd feared her finding out his true feelings, as she inevitably had.

All he could do was look at her, hurt, the majority of his pain mental rather than physical, hiccoughing and whimpering slightly as he tried hard not to cry.

[icecoldwit]

If the anger had dwindled any, she would've probably reverted to her own skin and made an attempt to soothe him. Instead, she was still mad, still mourning, still seeing Evan go down from Victor's perspective and feeling that horrible thrill that he had.

She did have a soft spot for him, the same way she did for Rictor, the same one she was developing for Martini by proxy. Victor had to know that she wouldn't stand for his insecurities ending the lives of those around her. That she wasn't simply going to stoke his ego each and every day.

She loved him, truly. In their own way, it was natural. But at that moment, all she could do was shake her head and walk away, still in her crystallised form, still locking him out of her mind.

[watch_the_nails]

He could have gone after her. He should have done, tried to explain himself, maybe try and smooth things over as soon as possible before giving them both time to heal and grieve - or at least, give her time to grieve while he came to terms with the situation. But he wouldn't, his stubborn pride just wouldn't allow for it, and so he just watched as she walked away from him, trying to stay strong and not to let it show just how much it was affecting him that she could stroll so casually away from him. Turn her back, be so callous and cold.

"Princess..."

He gave one last strangled whine as she disappeared from view, allowing his claws to retract as his shoulders slumped. He wasn't in an aggressive stance any more, he just felt tired, weak and defeated. At that moment, he truly felt the weight of every one of his years, just a pathetic old man with nothing to show for his life except a brother who didn't need him any more and a woman who thought he was worthless.

Choking back a sob, he adopted a sullen, moody expression, hoping that his pain would be seen as anger as he made his way out into the snow alone.