the aftermath // marius von hagen 🍇 w.c 0.5k, not edited
“find me again,” he whispers, his voice fading in a broken melody as he pushes you around a safe corner. it scratches unbearably at your ears and thrums deeply in your chest, so uncomfortable for a moment that you can’t tell if it’s smoke fumes you’re inhaling or just your own stark disbelief.
“i’ll fix this, you need to get to safety."
he is telling you to leave him amongst the chaos of the venue around you, but all you can think about is how the man that holds your shoulders is absolutely insufferable.
yet your worried eyes betray your thoughts, and your heart betrays every sensible instinct you have.
“you’re the worst attempt at a hero i’ve ever seen.” you try to sound condescending, to remind him of just what situation you’ve gotten yourselves into, but your voice, too, betrays you. you talk to him with the care you hide in the hidden corner of your heart — the care that is so undeniably pure that marius has a hard time responding.
“listen to me.” you plead, dominant hand raising up to take hold of his tie and bring his face closer to yours. “you can’t fix everything, and there’s nothing wrong with that. so please,”
“think about yourself too."
it was a simple trap you set, the chance of failure present no matter the strings you pulled. you just hadn’t imagined the counterfeit painter to come to the showing armed with such a startling backup plan. a smoke bomb lays sputtering somewhere around the painting meant to act as bait, no doubt covering the tracks of the inevitably stolen piece of art.
it’s not within either of your capacities to go after them alone, and for fear of the smoke fumes doing collateral damage… your lips thin in anticipation. quickly, you let go of marius and cover your nose and mouth, ushering for him to do the same.
“i’m sorry, i wasn’t expecting them to go to such lengths."
your lips twist into a slight frown as his shoulders drop. on the flip side, marius had been rather confident that tonight would go down without a hitch, with appraisers and officers alike at the ready for the fraudulent “Z”.
“none of this is your fault.” you finally speak, eyes turned to his as you shake your head. “I wasn’t expecting it either."
a few empty moments pass before he takes your free hand in his and leads you away from danger, making the decision that you can only pray proves to be fruitful. the venue is big, very much in tune with marius’ extravagant style. but as you go through the twisting halls, you can’t help but notice that it looks more and more like a crime scene.
people linger on the outer edge of the building, the last bits of the crowd still trying to get into the open as red and blue lights flash in the near distance. you sneak a look at your companion’s face, and are unsurprised to find his expression tense.
you squeeze his hand that still grips yours, sending a reassuring smile as soon as his gaze finds you.
“we’ll catch them.” leaning slightly into his side to whisper the words only he can hear, you’re relieved to see the small smile that gradually curls at his lip.
“i know we will."