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fedorah-the-explorah · 6 months ago

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Prompt or inspo for writing! 👇

"please just breath......"

It was a dirty trick, and stupidly, Graham hadn't thought to expect it.

It was a real shitty night. Rain fell in sheets, and powerful gusts of wind were hitting up to 80MPH. Most sane people sat safely in their boarded up homes, sheltering from the hurricane force winds; but Graham Calloway worked for an organization that quite literally had the words "villainous" and "evil" right there in its name, so. Personal safety was not something they'd call a "concern."

It was an archeological site; much like the one from the ill-fated Casa Blanca heist a couple years ago. And Graham, to his credit, was on a roll.

He'd planned the entire thing down to every last detail. El Topo and Le Chèvre had been placed on perimeter with strict instructions to let Carmen win without making it too obvious. Sheena was placed within the site itself and made for the perfect decoy while Graham pulled off the rest.

Artifact secured, he now lurked in the shadows, watching as the women fought from above. He smirked, pleased with himself for his rousing success. The mission was over, and Carmen had remained totally oblivious to his presence. Now it was time to gloat.

He stepped out into the moonlight and shielded his eyes against the slowing rain as he whistled up to Tigress.

"Oi!" He cried, "Job's done, you can give it a rest!"

The women stopped, turning in sync to look at him. Tigress grinned and cocked a hip. She flicked her hair and raindrops went flying. Next to her, Carmen stood rigid as she leered down at him. The rain had slowed to a steady drizzle, and he could see from there the hurt flashing in her eyes.

A small part of him faltered. She had left him, but...

Well.

He had tried to rip out and kill the piece of him that still cared for her, and he had failed. The heart kept score, and it was not so quick to forget. It had been years, but still, he occasionally found himself pulling a punch or two.

If she sometimes did the same, they never talked about it. And why would they? They barely spoke at all. Carmen might've been quick-witted with the others, but she iced him out with silence. Since that night on the train a year ago, the two had barely exchanged more than three words.

He blinked and shook his head free of any love lorn angsting. They made their choices.

Suddenly, Tigress lunged.

The battle had already been won, but what did that matter? When an enemy leaves herself open to attack, why the hell shouldn't you?

Carmen was quick, but she had the disadvantage of distraction. She turned to meet Tigress a second too late and instead caught a blow that sent her staggering over the edge.

She fell fourteen feet, and Graham watched.

Maybe he could have done something. Maybe he couldn't have.

It didn't matter, he watched.

She twisted before hitting the ground and prevented a landing that would have killed her. Still, she didn't quite stick it.

Her body thudded against the floor, and her left arm, which she had used with her right to break her fall, lay broken at an awkward angle.

Tigress cackled from above and called out, "That'll keep her down for a while!"

Graham glanced from Carmen to Tigress and did nothing because he was useless.

"I'll meet you at the hotel," She said, flicking her pretty blonde hair.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and watched her stalk off. He thought about following, and he thought about helping. Both options were as appealing as they were not.

He didn't want to care about her anymore. It was tedious, and painful, and more trouble than it was worth. They made their choices.

He turned his back to her and started after Tigress. There was no need for guilt; she would do the same.

He stopped suddenly, staring at his feet. She would do the same. In a way, she already had. Granted, the straits had not been so dire...

She groaned softly, and though it was almost inaudible, it cut straight to his heart. It occurred to him then that it didn't matter what she would do.

He closed his eyes and felt a headache forming.

"Ah, fuck." He said, kicking up dirt.

He turned back around and trudged over to her. He crouched down and poked her.

"Hey. You good?"

She let out this sort of displeased, animalistic groan that did a really cool job of showcasing both her displeasure and pain. She attempted to sit up, and her left arm spasmed. She cried out and collapsed, breathing raggedly. She squeezed her eyes shut tight.

"...Fuck...You..." She wheezed.

He rolled his eyes. "Alright," He said, taking hold of her, "Heeere we go."

"Wait--" She gasped, but he didn't listen. He pulled her up, and the motion forced a hoarse scream. He startled, yanking his hands away.

"Woah, hey--"

Letting her go in this state was not his brightest idea, and this became evident when she keeled over approximately two seconds later. He caught her, held her, and questioned his sanity-- all in that order.

She trembled against him, her breath hitching in soft, pained gasps. His hands hovered awkwardly over her back.

"C'mon, Lamb, it's just a broken bone...?"

She shook her head.

"No?"

"Hurts..." She wheezed, "...breathing."

"Oh."

"Oh." She mocked.

His eyebrows creased, and he scowled. "Are you kidding me?" He grabbed her and laid her gently on her right side, "Don't mock me if you're having breathing problems."

"Kill... y'self... I...dowhatiwant..." She winced and screwed her eyes shut, curling in on herself. "Ow."

"Uh huh. And how's that working out for you?"

She coughed once and brought up blood.

He inhaled sharply and his eyes blew wide.

"Shit!" He swore, "Carmen!"

"Nnnnngh."

"How could you let her do that to you? You're better than this!"

"What?! This 's--"

He backpeddled. "No, no, don't speak. I shouldn't have said that. We all have the occasional miss. Just focus on breathing, okay? Is your team around?"

She nodded. "on their way..."

She wheezed and wrapped her right arm around her midsection. She curled further in on herself as her brow creased with pain. "...this's humiliating..."

"Carmen."

"...once fell... off... moving truck."

"I'd heard."

"...was 'pletely fine..."

"Yep. Mhm. You're very impressive, I mean it. Now please, just breathe. You're only hurting yourself."

She attempted to smirk, but it presented more as a grimace. "Just thought you should..."

"...Know who I'm dealing with. Yep, I get it. Now shhh."

She glared at him. He frowned at her.

"Just take it easy, okay?"

She grunted. "wha'ver"

He sighed and sat cross-legged, settling in to wait for her team. He warily eyed their surroundings and decided to call it luck that this of all nights, they were hit with a tropical storm. It was unlikely anyone else would be out in this weather, and that helped their odds.

He turned back to Carmen and watched her. Her left arm was held close to her chest, and every so often, she would twitch her fingers or rotate her wrist as if to confirm they still worked. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, ragged breaths, and with every short inhale, he heard what could have been mistaken for whimpering catching in her throat.

He worried on his bottom lip as something he tried to keep buried stirred within him.

For the sake of the heist, he had planned things so Carmen wouldn't see him until the last minute, but it was more than just the mission.

He's never regretted doing VILEs bidding. From the day he graduated, he knew what he was signing up for, and that didn't bother him. The maiming and the cheating and the stealing? Call him a bad person because he was, but he didn't regret any of that stuff.

That night on the train, however...

He had almost crossed a line that night. When he set his crackle rod to kill and pointed it at the woman he--

He...

He couldn't bear to see her hurt.

Consumed with self-pity and remorse, Graham did not immediately notice when Carmen's already quick, shallow breathing turned harsh and rapid. He only snapped out of it when she reached for him with her trembling right hand and weakly grabbed his knee.

"Carmen?"

Her eyes were wide with fear, and her skin had taken on a deathly pallor as she struggled to breathe. She brought her hand to her throat, mimicking the choking gesture.

"Can't..." She croaked, "...get 'nough air."

He wasn't sure what possessed him, but before thinking better of it, he reached over and cupped the side of her face.

"You're hyperventilating, love. Try taking deep breaths."

Her eyes welled with tears, and her bottom lip quivered. Her breathing was still erratic.

"Shh. Deep breaths, hon. You're okay."

She nodded and closed her eyes. She drew in a shuddering breath but stopped suddenly as she sobbed. Tears slipped past her eyes, and he wiped them away.

"Keep going."

She whimpered, and he could only guess how painful this must've been for her. He'd cracked a rib or two in the past, and the pain of that had made him consider the merit of simply ceasing to respirate. Based on her everything, Graham would venture a guess that she suffered much more than a cracked rib or two. If he were in her place, he might have also chosen asphyxiation.

He brushed the hair from her face and rubbed her temple. "Help is coming, Carmen. Just keep breathing, okay? You're doing so well."

"...don' patronize me."

He snorted and retracted his hand. She was so...

She opened her eyes to leer at him. "...didn't tell you t'stop..."

He stared at her incredulously. "You're really something else, you know that?" He returned his hand, "And didn't I tell you to stop talking? Doesn't it hurt?"

"...not bad... as.. breathing."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well. Unfortunately for you, breathing is something of a necessity, so."

"Hmm." She leaned into his touch and said nothing.

He gulped, and his heart did this weird skippy thing. Her weird moment of panic had passed, but she was still acting so... strange.

They'd gone an entire year of saying nothing to one another whenever they crossed paths, and now he was cradling her face while comforting her. And she was letting him.

As much as it should be, hate was not the word he'd use to describe his feelings towards her.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed before her red-headed lackeys came shouting her name, but by the time that they did, the rain had settled, and the wind died down a little. The storm was passing on.

"Carm!"

Graham turned his head and saw the girl lackey racing down the makeshift stair case two steps at a time.

"Carmen, I am so sorry," Ivy said, crouching down on her other side, "The storm made getting around absolutely suck. Are you okay? Sorry, that's a stupid question. Get your hands off her!"

He yanked away from her and held his hands up, feeling oddly intimidated.

"She needs a hospital," said Graham.

"Yeah, no shit." Said Ivy.

"No hospitals!"

"Hush!" Said Graham and Ivy.

Carmen grumbled, finding it within her to pout. "'m gonna need... the three of you... t'stop yelling a' me."

"Three?"

"She's delirious," Ivy explained, "She's forgotten how to count."

Graham narrowed his eyes and pretended he didn't notice the way her eyes flickered to Carmen's earring. "...Okay."

"Alright, Carm. Let's get you out of here."

Carmen yelped as she picked her up, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Graham scowled.

"Careful with her!" He snapped.