https://archiveofourown.org/works/65330779
Interaction On AO3 Appreciated!
Fleetingly, Donald had to wonder why they let this particular cell be so dim these days. A series of lucky breaks on his part didn’t mean that any real stability had been found in their experiment, and it hadn’t even been that long — a few months, at best? — since the last incident. Sure, his reports on that night had been skewed for his own selfish, stupid reasons, but that wasn’t the point! It was the damned principle of the thing, and well… There wasn’t exactly a non-zero chance of something in here going to merry Hell, that’s all.
In an ironic twist of fate, the rest of him — and the part that was quickly winning out — was more focused on how attractive his beast looked under the low-lights of his glorified cage. X-24 was sprawled out across the excuse-for-a-bed, muscles pulled taught beneath the fraying fabric of a black shirt, lips curled into the faintest smirk.He seemed as unbothered by the discomfort as he was by Pierce’s presence in the room, but that was nothing new. He considered, distantly, if that was a common trend in that family tree, or if it was the result of their all-too-successful conditioning… and quickly decided that he didn’t want to dwell on that. Best to focus on the task at hand — which was not getting eviscerated for misreading a signal.
Stepping over the rest of the way, he couldn’t help but notice how damned loud the sound of his own combat boots sounded against the concrete of an otherwise silent cell. It didn’t matter — should have been expected when alone with a creature that barely spoke. He threw himself unceremoniously onto the cot at 24’s side, draping across the scratchy fabric of the sheet – letting his lips curl up into a wolfish smile, as though his heart didn’t start pounding every time he did something this fucking stupid.
— As though his favorite animal couldn’t hear that.
Those frequently-absent eyes had darkened, and it almost looked like he wanted something. The thought made Pierce’s stomach twist, though it was less with nerves than one would expect. A quiet exhale, cybernetic fingers reaching out to lightly trail over those perfectly toned muscles; his own voice was all breath, no bite, encouraging a moment of simplicity wherever they could find it. “Good boy…”
It felt like the next several minutes were suspended in time as he waited — watching for telltale signs of agitation, half-expecting to be across the room with broken bones at a moment’s notice. When none of that came, the air between them warm and calm, silent in a more comfortable way than it had been before, he found his smile softening despite himself. Mechanical fingers shifted, moving to scritch lightly through the beast’s hair, the action as affectionate as it was demeaning.
“Mm… Y’er such a good pet, when ya wanna be.”
