Whump
hello! this kinda just appeared after i reblogged this post sooo i hope you like it! big thanks to @santastokes for encouraging/enabling me and @gotomarvelgal for beta-ing this!!
rating: Everyone
word count: 1,062
TW/CW: a little bit of blood and violence, but nothing graphic
She took a deep breath and ejected the substance onto the petri dish. The lab was quiet, except for the quiet hum of the machines. She relished the quiet, trying to enjoy the small bits of peace she could get in a dark place like this. She reached for a long q-tip as she remembered the first time she saw the facility.
“State of the art.” He swept his hand over the room, “Everything you could ever want. And anything we don’t already have is easy to procure.” He looked over at her, but her eyes were focused in front of her. She tried hard not to show how impressed she was, and she could see his personal touches all over the lab. He always hated how their old lab never separated the waste bins or didn’t label anything.
“You definitely leaned into the black aesthetic.” She quipped, eyeing the mostly black lab tables and equipment. His face got darker and she gave him a small smile. She watched his face darken even more at the satisfaction on her face.
“You can’t tell me you aren’t impressed.” He took a step closer to her. “This is ten times better than that dump of a lab where you were.” The smile fell off her face and she clenched her jaw.
“I think I’m more impressed with how you afforded all this. Daddy paying your bills again?” She asked, pasting an innocent look across her features. He took another step closer to her, their faces separated by height alone. She craned her neck upward to keep looking him in the eyes.
“Watch your mouth.” It came from him almost on instinct and she smiled again.
“Eyes don’t work like that.” She responded and thoroughly enjoyed watching him try not to laugh at the inside joke from years ago.
She shook herself out of the memory to hear the door to the lab opening, and the pattern of boots on the floor. She left the q-tip leaning against the dish and turned to face the oncoming storm. She crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the table she was working on. He turned the corner and came into view, his dramatic black coat swishing behind him. He had a small group with him, some with visible weapons and others just walking behind him.
“You honor me with your presence.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she placed a hand over her heart dramatically. One of the men stepped in front of him.
“Watch your mouth.” He growled and she raised her eyebrow.
“Eyes don’t work like that.” She responded and the lackey took another step forward. He cracked a smile at her response but did nothing to stop his lackey, watching the scene play out in front of him. “Though I suppose it’s presumptuous of me to assume you would know that.” Her voice commanded the room, contempt for each one of them thick in the air.
The lackey narrowed his eyes and took another step forward. She started to say something else when he raised his fist and punched her across the face. She dropped to her knees from the force of it. Her lab glasses flew off her face, shattering against the floor. The lackey smirked over his shoulder, not recognizing the look of rage on his boss’s face. He bent down and punched her again, this time in the stomach. Her hands landed in the shards of glass as she fell backwards, struggling to regain her breath.
“Everyone out!” His dark voice cut through the silence in the room and his lackey turned to face him with confusion on his face. “Wait outside the door until I come to meet you.” Everyone filed out of the room quietly, the lackey walking past his boss with his shoulders slightly hunched. He stayed still, looking down at her on the ground. She had sat up and was trying to pick the glass shards from her palms. The door closed and he all but ran the few steps toward her. He dropped to his knees in front of her, landing hard enough that the floor could have cracked beneath him. She pulled back from him and looked at him with surprise.
“God, I’m so sorry.” He was whispering as he pulled her hands into his. “He’ll pay, I swear I’ll make him pay.” He grabbed a pair of tweezers from the lab drawers next to them. She let him clean her hands and noticed again the silence in the lab. She dropped her head back and closed her eyes, trying to find another small bit of peace. She didn’t know how much time passed while he gently cleaned her palms.
“Are you alright?” He asked quietly as his hand reached up and tilted her to face him. She winced as he traced the bruise already darkening her cheek. His eyes darkened as he looked at it, “I’ll kill him.” He growled out, and she couldn’t bring herself to ask him not to.
“I think I’m done for the day.” She whispered, her voice so different from the confidence he had heard minutes ago.
“Of course.” He said, standing up and holding a hand out to her. She took it and gently stood up, moving like she felt fragile. “Take the day. I’ll come see you tomorrow.” He put his hand back on her cheek and she didn’t move. He took a step back from her and she pulled back into herself. She turned and walked to the door in the back of the lab that led to her room. He turned around, preparing himself to face his men outside.
“Thank you.” She said, and he could have sworn he felt his heart break. If anyone had asked him, he had killed off his heart long ago. She was the only thing that reminded him of what it felt like to feel again.
“Don’t thank me.” He whispered in response and walked out of the lab. She stayed in her doorway, staring down at the remaining shards of glass on the floor. She heard muffled yelling from outside the lab, and then the distinct sound of a gunshot.
She hated that she didn’t hate him for it.
She closed her door and ignored her own smile at the sound of a body hitting the floor.