Colombia || Chiron & Darcy
Heâd noticed. Of course he had. Darcy had to wonder why heâd even bothered hoping that Chiron wouldnât have to begin with. On any ordinary day, Darcy felt like his life wasnât his own to live, but rather was an act played out upon Olivia and Chironâs script. Why in the world would that have changed now? He was an insect mounted on a microscope slide, his every move monitored, analyzed, and recorded. And these next few days werenât going to get any better either.
With a sigh, Darcy heaved his suitcase beside him, noting how his handler carried his own with ease. Despite the fact that they were both the same height, Chiron was blessed with, what he imagined, double his weight. And all in muscle too. Darcy really hoped his mission didnât involve heavy lifting. He was certain that Chiron could bench press him more than he himself would be capable of lifting anything over 45 kilograms. âNothing,â Darcy answered bluntly. âI handled it.â The last thing he wanted to do was give Chiron anything else to worry about or stress over - or give him any more reason to believe that he wasnât prepared for this mission.
Because, in actuality, Darcy wasnât ready. How was he supposed to be ready? How was anyone ready for their mission when it came? Heâd spent his months in the bunker coming to terms with the fact that heâd never get out of it. That the only way heâd get himself out of the vicious cycle of running laps, writing code, absorbing new languages, practicing combat was by letting himself bleed out in his bed. But that hadnât worked. And he was here. On his mission. Fuck, what if he couldnât do this?
He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts though when he heard Chiron speak again beside him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, blue eyes glinting with surprise completely devoid of amusement. âWait. Our room? As in singular? Roommates? With you? Division too cheap to afford me my own?â he rambled. âIâve thoughts of rooming with you before, handler man, but I can assure it was under very different circumstances.â Okay, that wasnât necessarily true. But if he could make Chiron uncomfortable enough, he might still get the chance at his own room.
âOur boss wouldnât approve of me letting the trainee out of my sight.â, Chiron replied without missing a beat or letting himself wrapped into Darcyâs playful reply. He was used to the sometimes inappropriate cheerfulness of the recruit, which stood in stark contrast with the moodiness that he sometimes sensed in the young man. It was a defense mechanism of sorts but Chiron had to admit that he preferred this version of Darcy over any other.
Things used to be easier. When he was still in the military he wouldnât need to talk in code like he had under Division. The uniform and the air of command it brought worked in his favour most of the time and people wouldnât question him for his decisions like they would a supposed civilian. Yet since Division thrived on stealth he had to pretend to be the business man that his passport told he was. Recruit became trainee, newbie or son and daughter even on some assignments. Chiron didnât mind the lying â he rather enjoyed the anonymity it gave him â but he couldâve done without the pretending part.
Instead of diving deeper into the conversation, Chiron walked up to the counter and quickly gave the man standing behind it his fake name. He didnât bother trying to speak any Spanish but instead addressed the concierge bluntly in English. Boredom once again spread over his features and he tapped his fingers onto the counter indicating that this was a complete waste of his time. It wasnât a far stretch to see him actually doing that but everyone who was familiar with the handler knew that he didnât get visibly nervous.
Finally he held the key cards in his hand and quickly thanked the hotel employee before returning to Darcy. âLetâs get settled in.â, he told him before heading towards the elevators. Chiron had visited quite a number of foreign countries in his life but he had rarely had the chance to go sight-seeing. It was always work that brought him there and he liked to spend his vacation days at home rather than where his work was taking him anyway. While they waited on the elevator, his eyes swept across the room once again but settled on his recruit for a moment. He hoped that he wouldnât go back to the States alone but he wasnât entirely convinced that it would happen.
