cxndyflvss

[cxndyflvss]

fist connected with his face , and marco staggered back , his head snapping to the side with the blow . pain flared along his jaw , but it was nothing compared to the storm of emotions raging inside him . a hand raised , wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand . then , he spat the rest onto the floor , his eyes locking onto nico . fire raged in his eyes , an uncontrollable anger that had always been present throughout his life . " you think i didn ' t try ? " marco ' s voice was raw , the emotion in it cutting through the tension like a knife . " you think i didn ' t want to find you , to let you know i was okay ? i barely got out with my life , nico ! and you ... you were just gone . " he took another step forward , his telekinetic energy flaring again , causing the rattling doors to shake even more violently . " i needed you . more than you ’ ll ever understand . " marco ' s fists clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palms again. " you talk about my self - absorbed bullshit , but where were you ? while i was under constant surveillance , pumped full of drugs , restrained every time i so much as twitched , where were you ? i got out and .. i looked for you , tried to reach out , but it was like you had disappeared off the face of the earth . " he took another step closer, the anger and hurt radiating off him in waves. " maybe you ' re right . maybe i am self - absorbed . maybe i had to be , just to keep from losing my mind in that hellhole . " marco ' s voice dropped to a whisper . " but don ' t you ever tell me i didn ' t care . because every single F U C K I N G day i spent in that place , all i could think about was getting out and finding you . "

Nico's teeth ground together, looking away from his friend and to the floor. This was his out. This was an opportunity to calm Marco down. But, it wasn't an opportunity Nico wanted to take. Not at that moment. He looked up at his friend, whose current closeness he didn't let himself think about. And replied: "Do you need an explanation?"

Nico listened to his friend's words, each and every one really sinking in. He'd never been in that place. He didn't know what happened there. But he could guess. Hell, that's why Nico had so desperately wanted to help. That's why he was with the radicals, too. Right? Nico's power didn't matter to anyone. Not even his parents knew he even had one. A good little kid who trained hard. But Marco's did. Marco's was one of those classic, highly-sought-after ones. And one of those that heightened with anger, obviously. That's what had got him there in the first place. And that was valuable. Of course he'd suffered there. Of course he'd gone through a lot. Of course Nico wasn't able to help him.

Marco mustn't have seen the pain that flashed behind Nico's eyes as he screamed those atrocities at him. Mustn't have known how Nico's heart broke for his best friend. Because, maybe, if he had, then Nico wouldn't have been sent flying towards the wall on the other side of the room. The breath left his lungs, and it would leave a bruise for sure. Good. Though he managed to just about catch himself on the fall - landing cat-like on the mailroom's floor. He took in a deep breath, catching it back as his friend's words billowed around the room. And then, he launched himself at him. It's true, Nico's abilities held not even a candle to Marco's. The equivalent of a good fighter, a warrior to a T. But, he was sure he could get a good punch in.

"Save me..." A closed fist landed square in the side of Marco's jaw. All that pent-up anger of Nico's was behind it. The emotion that he never allowed himself to feel these days. And not just that towards Marco, either. Just the fierce rage that bubbled inside his cadaverous exterior. "...your self-absorbed bullshit." He shook his head.

"If you cared that much, I'd have known you were out."

[cxndyflvss]

there ' s a dismissive wave of her hand in response to james' comment , a shake of her head then following . " psshh , they ' ll forget about us soon enough . then , they will let their guard down again as they always do . " aiko had been doing the radical thing for long enough to know government patterns , or at least she thought she did .

James agreed with a nod. "Not surprising that they'd be on high alert." They probably should have been on high alert from the beginning. Not that he was complaining. "It'll make staging another one a tad harder if they keep it up."

[cxndyflvss]

to say the sight of him was unwelcome would be an understatement . seeing him only reminded aiko of her sister . once upon a time , her twin had chosen to wed this man , to love him and spend the rest of her life with him . jaw tensed as she saw a smile spread across his face . it almost seemed genuine . almost . but , aiko was fantastic at reading people , and she could see the bitterness behind those pearly whites . his voice made her skin crawl , irritation setting in as soon as he opened his mouth . fingers flexed at her sides , and she inhaled deeply through her nose , forcing her very own faux smile onto her face . " are you surprised ? " aiko scoffed , eyes rolling as she then shook her head slowly . " you shouldn ' t be . " avenging her twin sister would forever be in the forefront of her mind , and taking down lake grimstone was the way to do that . there was a time when she wished that joshua would see things in the same way she did , in the same way that she knew hana would have wanted him to .

( closed starter / @cxndyflvss )

As soon as Joshua saw her, his stomach twisted. Her very image disgusted him, mirroring his wife's visage imperfectly, with something distinctly ugly underneath. She was a painful reminder of his guilt and rage. But now was not the time. He was working. He clenched his jaw before painting on his charming smile, unable to fully contain the bitterness within it.

As their eyes met, and the air thickened with mutual hatred. The memory of Hana, of betrayal, and of loss, was vivid in his mind. "Aiko." He greeted. "You've certainly been busy."

[cxndyflvss]

head nodded slowly , lips forming a slight pout . " great work , man .. it can be pretty tough to overcome shit like that , and you seem well on your way . " a broad , entirely fake , smile crossed the man ' s face , the toothy grin of course not reaching his eyes . truthfully , marco could not give less of a shit . in response to the other ' s final comment , a very cagey answer to his question , the man then gave another slow nod . he clicks his tongue , then sucks in a breath through his teeth . " each to their own . personally , my hobbies are more of the conventional kind . "

Xavier grimaced at in mild disgust at the male's suggestion and did a fake exaggerated shiver. "Oh, no, not at all. I dealt with those years ago." Of course, what he really meant was that he had killed her years ago and no longer considered her an issue. The use of the word freak had him subconsciously stiffening and his eyes narrowing, the moment didn't last though as he quickly masked his features to the point you wouldn't have even been sure they had changed in the first place. His fingers twitched as a feeling of electricity swept over them, his powers buzzing to be used, the temptation to give in and use them. He would bide his time though. "What can I say, we all have our hobbies and interests."

[cxndyflvss]

brows arched , eyes widening ever so slightly in response to the explanation she was given . there ' s soft whisper of " give me strength .. " beneath her breath as she pinched her brow . " there are other ways of making people talk besides dangling them off the edge of buildings , you know .. " aiko then raised her hands , palms facing the other as a slight scoff left her lips . " f i n e , tell me what you found out . " the woman speaks again , interest piqued as she leans in , chin resting back in her hand .

Samantha's eyes flickered with a mixture of annoyance and amusement as she leaned back in her chair. "Look, Aiko, it was supposed to be a simple interrogation," she stated, her voice tinged with a faint edge of exasperation. "I had him dangling over the side of the building, right? It was just supposed to scare him into talking. You know, the usual routine."

She gestured vaguely, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the scene. "But then I got distracted. Something caught my eye. A bird, maybe. Or a shiny object. Who knows?" She shrugged, a rueful smile playing on her lips. "Next thing I know, my grip slips, and down he goes."

Samantha leaned forward, her eyes locking onto Aiko's. "So, yeah, I dropped him. Accidentally. But don't go thinking I didn't get what I needed first. Just… not in the way I planned."

[cxndyflvss]

henry + alex's shoulder

[cxndyflvss]

the comment stung perhaps more than it should have . thick brows furrowed , and marco thought for a moment . inhaling slowly , his jaw then tensed again . " what the fuck is that supposed to mean ? " although he may not always been the best at showing that he cared , that didn ' t mean that he didn ' t . he took a step forward , his presence imposing , his telekinetic energy subtly vibrating the air around him . he fought to keep his voice steady , but the raw emotion seeped through , the anger barely masking the underlying pain. " you think i didn ' t need you ? " marco ’ s voice was low and intense , each word deliberate . " you have no idea what i went through in there , nico . no idea what it was like to be locked up , experimented on , treated like a freak . " his hands clenched into fists , nails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood , but he didn ' t care . " what 's worse is they knew who i was , who my FATHER was . it only made them treat me worse . " with a burst of telekinetic energy , marco forced nico back , slamming him against a nearby wall . " four f u c k i n g years , nico ! " he was fit to burst , anger boiling to the surface . the doors on the postal storage boxes began to rattle , the metal bending to marco ' s will . " you left me there , you fucking LEFT me there . " the light bulb overhead shatters , raining glass down over the both of them .

His friend's anger heightened and Nico couldn't help but wonder what he expected. He wanted Nico to give a shit but didn't give a fuck himself? Well, Nico wasn't about to let his emotions through the well-bricked-up wall he'd built for himself. So, fuck that. Still, his eyes couldn't help but watch the other's tongue as he wet his lips. Swallowing, he met Marco's gaze. "You must be familiar with that." He didn't know why he said it. Not really. He'd spent four years longing for Marco to be back. Four years picturing what it would be like. Four years looking for his best friend. And now, what was he doing?

Mouth opened and closed, no time to say even a single sentence before the other had interrupted him. And he didn't deny it, either. He wanted Marco to hurt. To feel even a fraction of what he was feeling. Marco didn't need to know about how he raided his parent's folders looking for anything he could find to tell him where Marco was. How he'd even discovered Lake Grimstone's existence (named, anyway) through the process of looking for his best friend. Four years of hearing nothing about him. Of him basically just being a figment of his imagination. "You're out." He said, swallowing. "Seems like you didn't need me after all."

[cxndyflvss]

first , a smirk , then a slight dip of his head . elias ' hand slid inside his jacket , dipping in the pocket to then retrieve his lighter . " those things ' ll kill you , y ' know . " with a cloud of smoke billowing from his own , that was perched between his lips , he then tossed the lighter in the direction of the youngster . a quick wink followed , the end of his cigarette burning bright as he took a long drag .

Milo sat quietly in the dimly lit corner of the bustling bar, his eyes keenly absorbing the animated conversations and laughter that filled the room. Still relatively new to town, he found solace in observing the vibrant interactions around him, feeling the hum of the environment rather than hearing it. Though inaudible to him, the rhythmic clinking of glasses and the muted thump of music created a backdrop of lively chaos. Needing a break, Milo slipped outside into the cool night air. He pulled out a cigarette and, noticing another person smoking nearby, caught their eye. With a friendly nod and a quick gesture towards his unlit cigarette, he silently asked for a light, his expression conveying gratitude as the flame flickered to life.

[cxndyflvss]

CHARLIE HUNNAM in THE GENTLEMEN (2020)

[cxndyflvss]

the lack of reaction from his former friend was only adding fuel to marco ' s internal fire . his skin bristled , his jaw tightened and his nails dug deeper into the palms of his hands , trying everything he could to stop himself from lashing out . tongue passed over his bottom lip , wetting the flesh as he listened to the question his former friend posed . there ' s slight scoff , then a hand cascades back through ebony locks . " you really don ' t give a shit , do you ? " as hard as he fought against it , his voice managed to crack during that question . lips curved down in slight distaste , gaze snapping away as he shook his head slowly . after everything they ' d been through together , how could nico care so little about him ? " did you even consider looking for me ? " marco snapped again . before he even let nico answer , he answered the question for himself . " of course you didn ' t . " jaw tensed again as he peered back toward nico . the anger remained in his gaze , but there was also a hint of sadness now , too .

Nico could see the anger radiating from his friend's body. He watched it race through him. His own body, betraying him, moved to take a step forward until the stubbornness inside him won over, pinning him to the spot. Arms crossed against his chest, and he knew he shouldn't. But seeing him across from him, knowing that he hadn't reached out to him. That all that he felt for Marco... friendship and whatever else unresolved feelings snuck into his head in the dead of night. All of that was nothing. Not worth even a text. Or a note. Or anything. So that Nico knew he was okay. And all the anger, pain, hurt and betrayal he'd felt at Marco being gone, not being there when he'd needed him... Well, he'd internalised that. But now, it stung even harder.

"Were you expecting something in particular?" He asked, brow raised. His tone didn't convey the hurt that he was feeling and didn't mirror Marco's anger. He felt stupid, honestly. So he wanted Marco to be angry.

[cxndyflvss]

nostrils flared as he took a deep breath , eyes fluttering closed . he wanted to scream at his former friend . he wanted to hug him . he wanted to grab and fucking s h a k e him for leaving him on that damn island . it didn ' t even cross marco ' s mind that maybe .. just maybe , nico may not have known that he was taken . rage fueled his every thought and pumped through his blood stream , consuming his entire being . at the two words he spoke , simple and lacking any sign of feeling , marco ' s eyes snapped back open . " are you F U C K I N G kidding me ? " his volume remained low , but gained a bitter hiss behind the words . " that ' s all you have to say to me ? " fingers curled , forming fists . rage was usually what made marco lash out , made him lose control of his power . digging blunt nails into the palms of his hands , he made an attempt at steadying himself . but how could he ? when the one person that he trusted more than anyone , more than even himself , stood there . seemingly unfazed by his return , by the fact that he had been missing for four years . it was infuriating .

Nico's chest felt tight as his eyes took in the form of his best friend. Stood there, in the doorway to the mailroom of his fucking apartment block. And after he'd reluctantly asked Lexi to find any information she could on him, and she came back with nothing. He hadn't known what to think, then. But he was here. Of course he was here. Why would he expect anything different? It'd been so long since he'd last seen him and when Marco had gone, Nico had thought there was a good chance the next time they saw each other would be never. But, he'd been out of there, and Nico didn't even know. Why should he? Why did he have the right to know? He didn't. He took in a breath, jaw tensing as he looked up from the floor to his friend.

"Welcome back." With about four years of practice, he managed to keep his voice neutral. Every part of his being was screaming at him that Marco was right there. But what did it matter? Apparently, he wasn't on Marco's contact list anymore.

[cxndyflvss]

for the most part , since his release , marco had been confined to his apartment . it was part of the deal that his father had struck with the government . stay out of trouble , keep your head down , and absolutely no use of his ability . the latter was the part he was finding the most difficult . on his way out of the apartment , marco decided to stop by the mail room , to see if his father had sent through his next cheque yet . the person who stood there , however , was not at all who he expected . lips parted and eyes widened briefly as he took in the sight of his former best friend . his jaw tensed , inhaling deeply through his nose . fingers flexed , lips twitching at the corners as he took a step back . " f o u r . fucking . years . " he spoke through his teeth , referring to the amount of time that he had been thought missing .

( closed starter / @cxndyflvss)

Nico rummaged around the mailroom for the parcel he'd had delivered. Finally finding the small box he'd waited perhaps six months for, he shoved it under his arm. Moving to the small mailbox with his apartment number on it, he looked through the mail. Bills. Flyers. Useless nonsense. And a letter from his father. He left that one and took the rest.

Turning around and brushing his hair out of his face, he was stunned to characteristic silence at the presence in the doorway.

[cxndyflvss]

eyes flicked in the direction that nico ' s voice was sent . there was a very nervous looking girl stood there , aiko would probably age her in her early teens . " nico .. " the young man ' s name was spoken as a soft warning . then , the young girl scurried away . aiko sighed . " come on , man .. she was just a kid . she ' s probably terrified enough as it is . "

"We're busy." Nico huffed, gathering the remainder of the previous lesson's supplies. After no sound of additional movement, he added: "Unless you plan on booking a lesson, leave."

[cxndyflvss]

dark eyes flicked from side to side , then a brow arched . " i ' m just looking , judy . " the nickname falls from plump lips with ease . " can ' t a girl look ? " mari spoke , lashes fluttering as she smirks to herself . then , she gave a small roll of her eyes .

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jude questioned, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

[cxndyflvss]

a light chuckle passes plump lips , a smirk then settling as he arches a brow at his friend . " of course , you ' re right .. how could i be so ridiculous ? " he chuckled , watching her flick her hair . for a brief moment , his breath caught in his throat . she truly had no idea the effect she could have on him sometimes . well , most of the time really . " maybe the lack of oxygen up here is getting to my head . " he chuckled again , knowing damn well that they were not high enough for that to be a possibility . not yet anyway , one could never really know what was going through faye ' s head , or what she would do next for that matter . " what about v i p ' s ? frequent flyers ? where s first class on this thing ? " he teased , chuckling to himself . as they continued up the wall , dex kept his hand joined with hers , his grip tight . not quite trusting his own balance . of course , he knew that she ' d catch him should he fall but .. he ' d rather not fall . her question brought a softer smile to his lips . " trust you ? absolutely , " he replied without hesitation . " i trust you with my life , breezy . you know that . "

Faye simply laughed at his suggestion. "Now, isn't that impossible? Who would want to escape my company?" She flicked her hair in punctuation, walking further up the wall. A light giggle filled the air as she watched the imaginary dagger plunge into his heart. "So dramatic." Shaking her head, she clarified: "Air Faye," she laughed, "has had some willing passengers. Much fewer than it should have. Who doesn't want to soar in the wind?" Her voice held only genuine notes in it. She truly couldn't comprehend why anyone would refuse the chance to surf the wind. Granted, they didn't have the power to change things like she did. God, how exhilarating it would be to just dive through the sky without the ability to catch yourself.

Faye felt firm grip on her hand and assuming Dex was nervous, asked: "Don't you trust me?"

[cxndyflvss]

head tipped to the side , watching as the tennis ball took a beeline toward the girl . brows furrowed , eyes narrowed . " huh .. " jay hummed , raising a hand to clasp his chin . " ya ' know .. i coulda ' sworn that was going over there instead .. " there ' s slight smirk toying at the corners of the young man ' s lips .

Faye smiled as the green-haired boy retrieved her ball. His throw was a little off-course, but nothing a subtle re-direction with the wind couldn't correct. Instead of falling a couple of feet from her, it made it's way back to her hands. "Good throw!" She smiled wide, holding the ball up and waving.

[cxndyflvss]

there ' s a pause , then her dark eyes narrow as she peers up at the man . frustration was evident in merely her gaze , but she kept her voice low and controlled . " an update ? " she hissed , her eyes flashing with irritation . " are you serious ? " the beauty scoffed , then shook her head in faint disbelief . " these things take time ! you can ' t just rush in here and expect instant results . the new arrivals have been pretty interested in talking to me about their trauma on the inside , thanks to your pals on the island . " there ' s a slight scowl that crosses her face following this comment . she took a step closer to him , her voice dropping to a whisper . " you showing up like this is a risk . if they even catch a whiff of me being compromised , it ’ s over for both of us . " then , mariana took a deep breath , trying to steady herself . " i have not forgotten about the fire - starter . but i need more time to dig deeper without raising suspicion .. i need to tread carefully , otherwise i will miss something , or leave a trace of myself behind . " her tone softened slightly , a light sigh passing plump lips . " just .. trust me . i will get you what you need . "

Joshua had been waiting, patiently he might add, outside the building for the best part of ten minutes. People had come and go, and he'd made sure that in their mind, he was just a blank face barely worth noting. Inconsequential. It was natural to him at this point. Oftentimes, he'd find himself doing it even as he entered a store to buy a coffee. It was part of the day-to-day. Now, it was strictly necessary. It was good planning on his part that he knew where this safe house was. He shouldn't be too conspicuous. But, at the same time... there were two escapes recently - one that caused a great deal of damage to the island, too. It was necessary that they deal with that quickly.

It took not two seconds for his raven-haired mole to start screaming at him. "I've come for an update." He said, matter-of-factly. "You've had all day, and still nothing?" He raised a brow. That was concerning. "No need to fret. They'll never know I was here." He crossed his arms over his chest. "But we need to hurry this along. The fire-starter is priority." There were others too, of course. But none quite so dangerous.