A Visceral Fear
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When Penny encountered Hyper Beam too closely, an animal part of her locked up her knees. Gray eyes went sightless save for the blinding light gathering in a wild Alpha Dragonite’s mouth aimed right at her. Almost point blank. Her heart went into overdrive and she shook all over. Even her ears popped as the air pressure ramped up from the power of the priming move.
Yet all she could actually see was frightening memories of death coming. It wasn’t a Dragonite but Shinryu. Shinryu gathering aether in its mouth, jaws popping wider and more prominent. Zenos piloting Shinryu atop the Ala Mhigan Palace. Shinryu looming, dragonic and deadly. Fear, fear, fear and she was unable to bring herself to fight it for once! The memories were too overwhelming. How had she defeated it before? Perhaps it was a different sort of desperation that she was lacking now.
A scream built up but got stuck in her throat. Penny didn’t hear someone yelling for her to move. She only stood there. Resigned because she couldn’t force herself to run. Flight or fight not even there. Just her frozen like some prey animal in the sights of a vicious predator.
Death had finally caught her after years of dodging its grasp as the Warrior of Light.
And then Penelope was tackled down, sailing through the air. A strong hand cradled her head as she hit the dirt of Wild Zone 20. Some distant part of her was aware of her Gardevoir blocking the Hyper Beam and decimating the Alpha Dragonite with a blast of Fairy moonlight. Penny sobbed as her fear finally let her loose enough to become aware. She clung to Corbeau’s suit jacket, shaking apart in his arms as she wailed. And he held her tight, murmuring soft words into her golden hair. Lilting Kalosian in his familiar voice, both comfort and affirmation of being in the present again. He carried her past the zone holotech barriers before collapsing on a bench out of the way. One of the few hidden ones without the seat barriers that prevented anyone from laying down. He cradled Penny in his lap.
“…the palace!”
“Shh, cherie, there is no palace. You’re in Lumiose City. Breathe for me, sunshine.” Corbeau breathed slow and deep and she matched him. “That’s it, Penelope, good girl.” He pressed his lips to her temple, taking a shaky inhale of her scent that was still tinged with her fear. “You’re alright. I’ve got you.” He exchanged a nod with her Gardevoir before she gave him the last of the reins to take care of her trainer before going back into her Pokeball.
A part of Corbeau wanted to lambast the woman in his arms for not even trying to dodge but he recognized the fact Penny had a flashback that prevented her from reacting like she normally would. A war veteran, he reminded himself. She was a war veteran who fought gods and monsters beyond his imagining. Of course she had bad memories and reactions to certain things. No wonder she hated Pokemon battling despite his own enjoyment of it.
“Safe?” Penny whispered against his dress shirt, face tucked into the curve of his neck. “Everyone?”
“Safe, everyone’s safe, cherie. I’ve got it from here.” The way she immediately relaxed in his hold and dropped off into an exhausted doze made something in his chest swell. That implicit trust was going to be his downfall and his saving grace. Corbeau cupped her nape. He took a deep breath before he summoned up his Rotom phone to call Philippe for a pickup. His afternoon stroll had turned a little too exciting.
Philippe was silent and solemn when he arrived. He helped his boss put Penny into the car with its darkly tinted windows. It wasn’t a kidnapping but no need for anyone to see the savior of the city so vulnerable. She had trusted Corbeau to take care of things and he would.
Penny woke up later laying down on one of the super comfortable couches in Corbeau’s office. The pillow beneath her head was firm yet soft. His stylized black and magenta suit jacket had been draped over her torso like a blanket. The boss of Rust’s scent of expensive woodsy cologne and almond sweet poison surrounded her from the silky fabric. She sat up, the jacket pooling into her lap. Oh…
Someone had braided her hair so she could sleep more comfortably.
“Good afternoon, sunshine,” Corbeau called out from behind his desk. And there he sat, his broad (for his stature) shoulders highlighted by the purple of his dress shirt. His sleeves were rolled up which exposed the thick lines of his Kanto style tattoos on his muscled forearms, the ink disappearing further up under that finely woven purple cotton. Without his suit jacket, he looked both rougher, half undone yet soft. Or perhaps it was his expression aimed her way, those golden eyes from behind round tinted glasses looking at her with such gentle emotion.
“Hello,” Penny croaked. She clung to the jacket on her lap. “How did I…?”
“Philippe picked us up. Don’t worry, we were discrete on bringing you inside.”
“Shady.”
Corbeau barked a laugh. He ran his hands through his purple hair. “You know what I meant, cherie. Anyway, Philippe is out taking care of a few things for me regarding Wild Zone 20. So don’t sweat about that either.” Leaning back into his chair, she saw the way he shifted that indicated he had crossed his legs, likely an ankle resting on the opposite leg’s knee. “Do you want to talk about what happened, Penny?”
“Not particularly,” Penny replied. Her fingers twisted into the fabric of the suit jacket. “It’s irrelevant.” Her gaze darted away to the side.
“That I doubt.” Corbeau looked at her patiently until she glanced back up at him. “Whenever you want to tell me, I’ll listen.” His sharp gaze noted the way her breath hitched. Which wasn’t in the way he had ever wanted it. “But perhaps not now, hm.”
“You’re not yelling at me…”
“Why would I?”
Penelope squirmed. “I should have dodged,” she said.
“No use dwelling on should-haves, sunshine. I saw how scared you were. It’s okay.” Corbeau made a punched out noise when he saw her mouth tremble and tears gather in her pale gray eyes. “Oh darling, no. Don’t cry.” He got up and hurried over to the couch to cup her face with both hands.
“Why didn’t I dodge?!”
The Poison-type trainer clicked his tongue. “Because your brain decided to be a bastard,” he said so bluntly that it startled a laugh out of her. “But hey, I got to you in time, didn’t I? And Divina sent that Dragonite straight to hell.”
“She did?” Penny said in a high-pitched tone. “Of course she did, that’s my baby.” Her giggle was a little wet sounding from unshed tears. She leaned into his touch, eyes fluttering closed. “I’m tired.”
“Then sleep some more, sunshine. Told you these couches are comfy.” Corbeau gently guided her back down to lay. He tucked his jacket over her and brushed his fingers through her bangs. “I’ve got the watch.” He stayed seated on the edge of the couch next to Penny until she drifted back to sleep. Curling forward, he kissed her cheek, lingering just a moment before tearing himself away. He still had work to do after all.
But a part of Corbeau preened about the fact that Penny was relying on him so sweetly in this moment. Maybe someday, she’d always would for everything. How he enjoyed taking care of her, especially since she needed it so rarely. The Rust Syndicate Leader sat back down, loosened his tie, and got back to work.
And if he daydreamed about Penelope cradled in his arms for completely different reasons, that was just business between Corbeau and his brain.
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END