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anne-chloe · 9 months ago

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Agent 666

Mystic Messenger

Seven/707 x F!Agent!Reader

WIP | Summary : Agent 707 made himself infamous in the Intelligence Agency by being the youngest and most successful hacker, being able to complete tasks set to him in half the amount of time expected. However, Seven finds himself in a difficult position when a newcomer joins, posing as his biggest rival yet. Agent 666.

Alternative Title: Rival

“Agent 707.”

Seven tugged off his headphones and swivelled round in his seat, a look of curiosity upon his round face as he engaged his superior face-to-face. He wasn’t so concerned with the fact that his superior was speaking with him, but more so that it was in person rather than through a senior colleague.

“Yes, sir?” Seven asked awkwardly, clearing his throat as it cracked on a few syllables. Having not spoken for a few hours, his throat was feeling somewhat dry and uncomfortable.

However, Seven’s attention then diverted to the young girl standing at his superiors side. She looked to be about his age, with long [hair colour] hair and piercing [eye colour] eyes. The girl seemed distracted as she glanced around the room, which happened to be full of computer monitors and various other agents busy with their assignments. There wasn’t much noise other than the tapping of keys.

“I’d like to introduce you to Agent 666,” the man said coolly, gesturing politely to the young girl at his side. Seven straightened in his chair, confused and curious all at the same time. He stuck out his hand and watched as the girl hesitated in shaking it; she eyed him skeptically before accepting the friendly gesture. “Agent 666 has joined our ranks and will be within the same unit as you. Seeing as you are both of similar age…”

Seven raised a brow in question, urging his superior to continue. But his superior stopped and cleared his throat, then stepping back and patting Agent 666’s shoulder in encouragement. “Agent Vanderwood will be around shortly to hand you off some assignments. In the meantime, allow Agent 707 to keep you company.”

Bewildered with the fact that he was being lumped with a newcomer, Seven continued to stare at Agent 707 with the deepest set of confusion. It wasn’t uncommon for new starters to randomly appear, but it was most unlikely for someone of his age to appear like this.

Agent 666 fiddled awkwardly with the sleeves of her shirt, shifting on the spot and avoiding Seven’s eye. They both remained quiet like this for a while, with nothing but the sound of clicking keys and tapping noises to accompany them. There were a few questions on the end of Seven’s tongue: Why was she here? How old is she? Where did she learn to hack? Is she good at hacking? What was her backstory?

Seven knew a lot of these were personal questions, and everyone at the agency had hidden secrets. Nobody knew one another’s true identities for the sake of keeping themselves safe from a life they ran away from. The work at the Intelligence Agency was extremely dangerous, and nobody wanted their personal life tied in with that. Seven had a lot of secrets too, many that he wanted to forget about but couldn’t.

But he couldn’t help his curiosity.

“Luciel, I see you’ve met our newbie already.” Agent Vanderwood approached from behind, smirking arrogantly. In his hands he held a stack of documents, which Seven knew to be case files based on the coloured wallet placed on top. “Agent six-six-six,” Vanderwood said slowly, coming to a stop in front of the new agent. He extended his arms and the girl took the documents in a very robotic motion. “Did you both get to know each other?”

Seven shook his head slowly. “No…”

Vanderwood chuckled, proceeding to nudge Seven’s shoulder in a playful manner. Seven tensed at the action and tried to play it off, but he was just as awkward as the new girl, if not more so. Considering Seven had been at the agency now for a couple years, he should have settled in better, but in reality he hadn’t. It was a life he struggled to adjust to.

“Never mind. Come along Agent 666,” Vanderwood called, gesturing for the new girl to follow him.

Seven caught Agent 666’s gaze before she walked away, leaving Seven to watch in slight discomfort.

…

“Did you hear?”

“About what?”

“Agent 666—she’s incredible! She brought down that black market in seconds! Our team was struggling with that one for weeks…”

After returning from a quick toilet break, Seven found himself eavesdropping on someone’s conversation. It was a group of middle aged men, all of them experienced agents and talented with hacking. However, their gossiping caused Seven to pause by the water fountain, where he found his eyes widening in surprise at the new girl’s abilities.

The case involving the black market had been something the Intelligence Agency were tasked with bringing down months ago. The case had swapped hands multiple times, with each agent involved explaining that the assignment was too deep rooted to get into. Seven wasn’t given the chance to even look at the document itself, which he found surprising.

“Excuse me.”

Seven flinched as a small voice called out from behind him. Turning around on his heel, Seven felt his heart hammer at the sight of Agent 666 standing there rather awkwardly. Her shoulders were squared and she looked uncomfortably stiff; her eyes were ducked downwards as she spoke, as if she didn’t want to make eye contact with Seven at all.

“Oh, you…” Seven mumbled, feeling himself fluster with nerves. He couldn’t understand why his heart was beating so strangely, nor why his cheeks were burning up like this. Seven cleared his throat, his hand flying up and scratching the back of his neck. “I, uh… I heard about your success in bringing down one of the black market assignments… congratulations.”

Agent 666 peered up shyly. She then quickly looked away as Seven caught her eye. “Um… thank you…”

Silence consumed them both. Seven took this opportunity to properly look at her. She wore a large black hoodie, which was definitely several sizes too big on her, and a pair of worn looking leggings with a small hole in one of the knees. Her hair was long and looked like it hadn’t been brushed, so there were knots and tangles.

It seemed as though that Agent 666 had been brought straight to the agency from wherever she had lived before. The neglect of her was glaring, and it reminded Seven of how him and Saeran used to look to others before he joined the Intelligence Agency—before Jihyun and Rika helped him escape from his home.

Seven blinked slowly at Agent 666. She was still standing in front of him, looking awkward and nervous and rather fidgety. Seven couldn’t understand why she had approached him like this if she wasn’t about to maintain a conversation—because isn’t that what she’s supposed to do if she approached him first?

“Are you… are you getting water?” She finally asked after stuttering so much. Agent 666 pointed at the water fountain behind Seven.

Seven’s mouth dropped slightly in surprise, and then embarrassment consumed him. Agent 666 hadn’t wanted to speak with him at all, she just wanted some water. It was then that Seven spotted the empty bottle on her hand, and suddenly he felt like a complete idiot.

“I… no, I’m not, sorry,” Seven mumbled, stepping out the way. Agent 666 said nothing else as she finally began filling her bottle, and once that was done she made a swift exit without even glancing at him. Seven could only contain the urge to bang his head against the wall.

“She’s really good, you know?”

Seven scowled slightly as Vanderwood appeared from behind, now leaning against the wall and grinning mischievously at him. “You’d better watch out seven-oh-seven, she’s coming for your title.”

Seven stiffened at the very idea. “What?”

Vanderwood, pleased that he caught his attention with such bait, merely hummed. “Nervous?”

Seven straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest, suddenly feeling protective of his position as the youngest and most talented amongst the agency. This was the beginning of rivalry, whether Agent 666 knew it or not, and Seven wasn’t about to relinquish his title to some mysterious girl.

“No,” Seven declared through gritted teeth. “Not at all.”

#fan fiction #angst #female reader #mystic messenger 707 #mystic messenger Saeyoung #mystic messenger #mystic messenger Vanderwood #Saeyoung Choi #Saeyoung #agent 707 #mysme 707 #707 x reader #mm 707 #707 x mc

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brighteststar707 · 11 months ago

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Faye!!! Congrats on your two years 🎉 I'm so so incredibly happy that we met through good old Mysme I could CRY fr. You are so special to me!!

So I was thinking for a while but didn't want the slots to go, so I'm gonna come outta nowhere and SHOCK HORROR not pick either of my two husbands, Jumin or Zen.

But how about number 30, confiding in them, with Vanderwood. The little tease we got in V's route just made me smitten at the time. He literally is thrust into the RFA drama and I can't help but feel he'd connect with MC. Like lord help us Vandy, wtf is going on.

Lola! Thank you so much for your message! I'm so grateful to have met you, you mean so much to me and I wish only the best for you <3

I'm pleasantly surprised by your request! It's a good event when I can write more than one fic for Vandy.

Picture this: It's V's route, Seven has saved you from Mint Eye, now you, V Seven and Vandy are in the cabin. Your relationship with V is.... not really existent at this point so this fic could be romantic when you squint hehehe

Love ya <3

Confiding in Them

✦Vanderwood x Gn!Reader ✦ Words: 1553

Time in the cabin feels like it has slowed down to a crawl. It is dark outside, and eerily silent. Inside, there are only the sounds of footsteps back and forth across the floorboards, and V’s harsh breathing in the next room. The repetitive nature of the noises has only added to the liminal feeling.

You had reassured the others that you weren’t tired, and then promptly fallen asleep on the sofa, still sitting upright with your jacket draped over your shoulders. When your eyes opened again, you weren’t sure how long you’d been asleep for, or where your dreams ended and reality began. Your life lately has been so strange, it has been hard to keep track. You had dreamt of car chases and cult initiations, the faces and voices of your loved ones so close and yet out of reach. How was that any different to what you had experienced over the last week?

Someone had covered you with a spare blanket when you were asleep, as well as lit a fire in the fireplace opposite you. It was warm, and you were still disoriented from sleep, so you stayed put, wrapping the blanket tighter around yourself and watching the fire dance over the logs.

You allow yourself, maybe for the first time, to process the fact that you managed to get away from Mint Eye and everything they had planned for you. In the (relative) silence of the cabin, with everyone else occupied, it starts to sink in. Back there, with a part of you constantly in fight or flight, it was hard to process the reality of your situation. You were just trying to survive. Now that you’re safe, it all hits at once.

The isolated compound, the flowery pink room, the wardrobe full of clothes made to your measurements. Ray, monitoring your conversations with the RFA, his kindness that teetered on the brink of desperation. The minty blue of his eyes, too vibrant to be natural. The silence in the hallways, so unsettling for a building so full of people.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

You jump and turn your head towards the speaker. You were too caught up in your own thoughts to hear him approach you.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Vanderwood says. To his credit, he does actually look apologetic.

His voice is quiet, deep, and still unfamiliar to you. You have grown used to the voices of the different RFA members, have even started to find a certain comfort in hearing them. On the other hand, he is still practically a stranger to you.

You had very briefly met Vanderwood when he first got to the cabin to help Seven, but you had said little to each other since.

“It’s okay. I’m just a bit jumpy, I guess.”

“From what I’ve seen tonight and what Seven told me – which isn’t much, mind you - that’s not surprising.”

Seven has been keeping an eye on Vanderwood since he entered with a vaguely threatening air you haven’t yet seen from him, reminiscent of someone keeping their attack dog on a short leash.

“What did Seven tell you?”

He joins you on the sofa, sighing deeply before answering. He has been at V’s bedside, tending to him in his terrible state, since arriving, and he has good reason to be tired.

“He has kept most of the story from me. I know that that guy back there has been fed more different drugs than I’ve ever seen before and that you’re his…?” He leaves it open-ended and throws you a meaningful look. He’s still trying to fill the holes in his story.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t even know what we are.” Thinking about V too much makes you scared all over again, so you change the subject. “What else do you know?”

“Nothing except that you were there with them. He’s smart enough to keep RFA stuff away from agency stuff most of the time. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures, though.”

“You can say that again.”

You sound wearier than you mean to. The longer you think about everything, the more ridiculous it all sounds. You watch as a log cracks in the fireplace with a satisfying pop and feel Vanderwood turn to assess you for a moment.

“And who are you in all of this?”

“That’s a long story.”

“And I am a very good listener. Literally, it’s part of my job.”

You laugh. He doesn’t.

“Really, I feel like I haven’t talked to a single person since I arrived - Seven doesn’t count. I need a change of scenery.”

It isn’t that his voice softens, but he sounds like he’s choosing his words more intentionally this time he speaks. It makes him sound more sincere. Maybe that’s what encourages you to indulge him. Or maybe, you just need someone to help ground you now that you feel like you’ve detached from reality.

“Well, I was sort of… kidnapped and held hostage in this cult?”

His eyebrows disappearing into his fringe is the only thing that gives away his surprise. He scans you once over, a well-practiced look. He’s looking for any obvious damage.

“I’m fine, you say quickly, “Seven managed to save me before anything really bad could happen.”

He nods. “You can trust him with these things.” He thinks for a moment, before quickly adding, like a sudden thought that came into his mind “were you with the hacker?”

“Yeah.”

“You met him? What was he like?”

The questions tumble out of his mouth faster than he can stop them. Is this what he sounds like when he’s excited? You had heard him discussing the hacker with Seven earlier, asking questions with his eyes wide. Turns out it’s rare for someone to give Seven this much trouble.

“Strange. Kind of sad. I wish there was something I could do for him.”

Vanderwood’s enthusiasm vanishes.

“Then he sounds just like the rest of us.”

In the silence that follows, you both turn your attention back to the fireplace. The flames seem to have a life of their own, and your cheeks feel warm from the heat of it. Somewhere, from another room, you hear Seven’s voice. You wonder who he’s talking to, or if it's just to himself.

“So, if that guy,” Vanderwood gestures back to the bedroom where V is sleeping, “was drugged to oblivion by that cult, how did you get out okay?”

“He has a bit of a personal history with their founder. The whole RFA does, actually, but his is more… delicate, from what I understand. See, I’m the stranger in this equation.”

“Huh. I don’t know why I expected this to be simple. Nothing Seven involves himself in ever is.”

“They used to all be like a family once apparently. I’m still trying to understand it all myself.”

He puts his head on his hands for a second in a show of exhaustion. “Maaaaan…. how are you staying sane through all of this? Just hearing the gist of things is making me tired.”

You’ve been asked this question a few times, but you’ve never given the real answer any thought before. Next to V, who could barely stand upright and was talking to the air last time you were at his bedside, you were always fine. It felt wrong to even imply otherwise.

But now, when you think about where you were a week ago and how much has changed since then, you aren’t so sure. You can’t remember the last time you felt rested and, even though you’ve been reassured that you’re safe here, you’re scared someone is watching you. You can’t even think of walking down the street by yourself before you break out in goosebumps.

"Oh. I guess you hadn’t gotten that far yet, had you?”

“No… I guess not. Is it that obvious?”

He holds out a gloved hand in front of your face and taps your forehead once, lightly.

“You’re easy to read. Or maybe it’s just me.”

With only the flickering firelight on his face, his expression is hard to make out, but you find some comfort in his gesture.

“I feel like none of it is real. At least if you can see it, it means that I’m not making any of this up.”

He nods and you lapse back into a comfortable silence.

“Hey, I know it may not be much coming from me, but I think you’ve got some good people on your side at the moment.”

You’re not sure what possesses you to ask, “Is that including you?”

He seems to be stunned for a moment before he smiles. It transforms him into a brand-new person, and you can imagine what a different life might have looked like on him. Your anxiety gets pushed down by a wave of pride at managing to elicit that expression from him. You have a feeling it’s quite rare.

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

Suddenly, V groans loudly, startling the both of you. Vanderwood jumps back to his feet and quickly follows the sound to the bedroom door. Before he disappears completely, he turns to you and says, “Listen, I need to go back to playing nurse, but can we talk more a bit later?”

You smile.

“I’d like that.”

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger vanderwood #mary vanderwood 3rd #mysme #mysme vanderwood #blogiversary 2 #my writing

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stormflypirateskin · 1 month ago

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14. Headcanon!

I really like the idea/headcanon of Vanderwood teaching Saeyoung how to cook proper meals for himself after all the stressful stuff they went through. No drama, no anything.

#mystic messenger #mm mystictober2024 #saeyoung choi #saeyoung #vanderwood #mystic messenger saeyoung #mystic messenger 707 #mystic messenger seven #707 #mystic messenger vanderwood #seven #my art

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yanderefan-kimi · 1 year ago

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I am VERY late but....

Happy birthday Choi twins!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

#mystic messenger #mysme #my art #fanart #mystic messenger fanart #luciel choi #mystic messenger 707 #saeran choi #707 #mystic messenger seven #mystic messenger vanderwood #mystic messenger mc #wanted to draw the whole family together...!!#this is very late (and scuffed) because i hurt my hand and couldn't draw for a while T_T #my hand is still recovering but #hopefully i will be able to draw a lot more soon!#anyways #happy birthday choi twins!

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jinjinranran · 1 year ago

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Vanderwood x Dawn 🤎

Anyone else gets agender/enby vibes from Vandy? Just me?

Idk he just strikes me as a dude that doesn't really care about gender, neither his own nor partner's (as long as they're not annoying like a certain younger redhead hacker lmao)

Other characters: 💛 💜 🧡 💗 ❤️ 💚 💙 🤍 🤎

Dawn's story under the cut:

🤎 Dawn / Saebyeok Han ♡ she/he ♡ 29 yo ♡ bisexual aromantic, bigender

[𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚊...]

[𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛: 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚊_𝚗𝚘𝚝_𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍]

[𝙳 𝙰 𝚆 𝙽 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐...]

𝚘𝚑? 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚎?

𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚌𝚞𝚝𝚎.

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝?

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑. 𝚒 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝚜𝚘 𝚒'𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝. :)

*ahem* lol okay. So, Dawn is part of the agency, and has been there for a little longer than Vanderwood. While she does hacking stuff as well, is mostly sent to work in field. He can kick ass VERY WELL, but only when needed - he doesn't lose his temper easily.

Despite the lack of romantic attraction, Dawn wouldn't mind being in a relationship - if it wasn't a risk due to his job, that is. She IS capable of love after all, just not in a "standard" way.

But honestly, Vandy doesn't strike to me as a guy who is into the traditional, lovey dovey romance either. So they both just vibe.

Their relationship actually started as a sexual one, as a way to reduce stress from a - quite literally - deadly job. Only after a while they both fell for each other in a much deeper way, but, for safety reasons, never made it official.

#cmc pride series 🏳️‍🌈#mystic messenger #mysme #vanderwood #vanderwood x mc #mystic messenger vanderwood #mystic messenger cmc #custom mc #headcanon #mystic messenger hc #my art #pili oc #oc: han saebyeok

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meeranart · 2 years ago

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Vanderwood doesn’t get nearly as much love as he deserves!

So I decided to do a redraw of an old Vanderwood fanart from 2019.

#mystic messenger #mysme #mystic messenger vanderwood #vanderwood #mysme fanart

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erimeows · 3 months ago

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Again And Again (NSFW)

Seven shifts awkwardly, unsure of where he should direct his gaze as he lies in his bed. Vanderwood is to his right, and Seven is all too aware of what they’ve just done.

Alas, he can’t bring himself to say anything.

Apparently, Vanderwood can’t either.

The room is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The first time it happened, Seven was drinking after a long night of working on a project for the agency. For whatever reason, Vanderwood joined him. One drink turned into so many that they lost count and things went down that probably shouldn’t have. Seven remembers waking up in his bed by himself the next day with a bottle of water and two pain pills left on his nightstand, but no other trace of Vanderwood to be seen.

Part of him wondered if it was a dream, but the giant bite marks and hickeys on his chest, neck, thighs, and ass were living proof.

Fine, he thought. It’s one lousy hook up that he doesn’t even remember. Something that happens between coworkers all the time. As long as it doesn’t affect their work, it doesn’t matter.

Seven pretends that he doesn’t notice Vanderwood’s refusal to look at him for the following week, and he tries to move on. But then he drinks again. And then Vanderwood joins him in drinking again. And, with noticeably fewer drinks than it required the first time, they’re on the floor. Again.

This time, Seven wakes up on the couch with a blanket pulled over him and a cup of hot coffee on the table. Vanderwood is there, in the kitchen washing dishes to keep himself busy, but of course, they don’t talk about it.

Eventually, they start doing it without alcohol involved. Seven remembers each and every instance, now that they’re usually sober, and even finds himself looking forward to the occasional rendezvous. Still, neither of them talk about it.

Seven wants to talk about it. Or, sometimes he thinks he does. But what would he say? ‘Hey, that sex was phenomenal, let’s make this official?’ Or maybe ‘Hey, isn’t it weird that we fuck weekly but don’t ever actually talk about anything that isn’t work?’. Seven has no idea. Would Vanderwood even care? Maybe this is all just some plot to get his mind clear so he can be more productive. Or maybe Seven is just an easy, convenient target for Vanderwood’s stress relief.

Seven doesn’t know, and to be honest, he doesn’t really care. Trying to have an open dialogue with Vanderwood would be like pulling someone’s teeth out with a rusty spoon. They don’t really know each other, after all. Seven is an agent, and Vanderwood is his handler. They aren’t friends. They aren’t lovers. They’re coworkers.

What would be the point of anything more, anyway?

Seven lies in his bed, boxers clinging to his curvy hips as his golden eyes stay trained on Vanderwood- yes, that’s where he decided to direct his gaze, against his better judgment. The other man is still undressed, a lit cigarette dangling loosely between his lips. Seven’s bedroom reeks of sex and the chip bags and soda cans on the floor remain unscrutinized, for now. Vanderwood is too out of it from the sex- from Seven- to scold the hacker for the mess in his room. Seven smiles, knowing that once Vanderwood is out of his post-nut clarity, he’ll surely throw a fit about the disaster that is Seven’s home and go on yet another cleaning spree.

For now, though, things are peaceful. Seven thinks to roll from flat on his back to his side so he can curl up against Vanderwood’s chest, only to stop himself and wonder… Does he really want that, or is he following instinct now?

Seven isn’t sure that he likes Vanderwood. He likes the sex, and he likes having Vanderwood around, but the man is cold and doesn’t seem to understand Seven’s sense of humor at all. Seven doesn’t understand Vanderwood, just like Vanderwood doesn’t understand Seven. And maybe that’s the way it’s meant to be.

So, Seven finds himself surprised when the words, “You know, you don’t have to leave after we do this if you don’t want to,” fall from between his lips before he can stop himself from saying them.

Vanderwood’s face doesn’t change. No, the man is a trained informant used to doing undercover work. His expression is always still, unchanging unless he wants to get a point across- even then, every new face Vanderwood does make is extremely calculated.

Vanderwood sits up, tosses his legs over the edge of the bed, and lets his hair down. Seven almost assumes that Vanderwood isn’t going to bother with a reply until the man says-

“You shouldn’t tell people things like that. Might give a person the wrong idea.”

‘And what would the wrong idea be?’ Seven thinks the words, but freezes instead of speaking them aloud when Vanderwood glances back at him over one of his broad shoulders.

Seven swallows tightly, watching the muscles on Vanderwood’s back, shoulders, and arms flex and pull as he tugs his white t-shirt back over his body. Seven memorizes every detail of Vanderwood; every odd scar that maps over the other man’s sunkissed skin, those scars on his neck that Seven suspects are from cigarette burns, the gaudy cheetah print pattern that’s painted onto his long and immaculate fingernails.

Seven isn’t sure why he pays so much attention, but he does. He memorizes everything. Maybe in case this is the last time- in case Vanderwood finally decides to get tired of him and leave, or to report him to the agency for all of the rules he’s broken, or dies on a mission. Something terrible like that. And in that moment, Seven realizes… He would actually miss Vanderwood if he were to leave.

He realizes that he wants Vanderwood to stay.

And, worst of all, he realizes that he does, in fact, like who Vanderwood is as a person. Because even though Vanderwood threatens to tase him daily, he ensures that Seven is covered by a warm blanket and has water on his nightstand before he so much as thinks of leaving, and he ensures that he keeps coming back. Each and every time.

But Seven can’t say anything. Can’t voice it. He’s still speechless, a quality that’s so unlike him that he wants to scream out in frustration. Instead, he stays in the bed, simply watching as Vanderwood finishes getting dressed and exits the room without another word- or, even another glance in Seven’s direction.

Seven debates on what he should do after the revelation. He’s not in love with Vanderwood- no, it would take a lot for either of them to fall in love. He does, however, like the other agent, and as a result of that, he wants to get to know Vanderwood better than he does currently. After all, Seven wouldn’t have had sex with someone he didn’t like all that much- no matter the circumstances. He was an idiot not to put together his budding feelings for Vanderwood before things got this… Well, this far.

They fuck almost weekly, but Seven doesn’t even know basic things about Vanderwood like his favorite color, favorite foods, the kind of television he likes to watch, or any of his hobbies outside of making empty threats with a taser and vigorously cleaning his surroundings. It’s a little embarrassing, really, so the next week when Vanderwood is over, Seven decides to try and fix the issue.

“Hey, Vandy,” Seven calls out as he walks into the living room. It’s half past noon and he’s only just now getting up for the day- the norm for him since Vanderwood has been making him work most nights. Vanderwood is sitting on the couch with his computer in his lap, hair loose and freshly washed. Seven suspects that Vanderwood wears his hair long and down to cover the many scars on his neck and back, but he knows better than to ask about that this early on. Instead, he bounces further into the room, approaching Vanderwood from behind and draping his arms over the other man’s massive shoulders. “What’s your favorite color? Mine’s red!”

A typical strategy- offering information about himself first. Plus, it’s something as simple as a favorite color. Seven can ask about the deeper stuff later. What could go wrong?

Much to Seven’s surprise, Vanderwood ignores him, clicking and clacking away on his keyboard instead of giving any sort of answer to Seven’s question. Fine- whatever. Seven is good at getting what he wants out of people and has no problem with being annoying to achieve his goals.

“Hey, hey, hey-” Seven resorts to annoyance, now circling around the couch and sitting down far too close to Vanderwood. He wonders what Vanderwood is working on that’s so important, but the man had the foresight to put a privacy cover over his laptop, so Seven can’t see what’s on the screen. He frowns and pokes Vanderwood’s cheek repeatedly. “Vanderwood, Vanderwood, Vanderwood-”

“What? My God,” Vanderwood rolls his chesnut-hued eyes as he slaps Seven’s hand away. Seven pouts in response. “I’m trying to work, Agent Seven Zero Seven.”

“Ah, hitting me with the ‘Agent Seven Zero Seven’ today instead of ‘Seven’, huh? That’s not my name,” Seven playfully scolds, and is ignored once more. “What, are you just gonna ignore me?”

“Pretty much,” Vanderwood answers, as if it’s obvious. “Unlike you, I know better than to ignore my work.”

Seven pauses, racking his brain for a new strategy. He needs to get Vanderwood’s attention, and he needs to get Vanderwood to lose his composure. The easiest ways to do that are A) sex, B) things that are unhygienic, and C) things that could jeopardize Seven’s productivity or their jobs in general. If they simply hook up again without anything about the encounter changing, Vanderwood will leave like he has every other time and Seven will get nowhere on his quest for information. If Seven appeals to Vanderwood’s freakish obsession with cleanliness by doing something gross or making a mess, he’ll receive a cold shoulder born from disgust for the rest of the day… So, he does something that will make Vanderwood panic instead.

“Do you wanna know my name?”

“I don’t care about your name. It’s Luciel, anyway, isn’t it?”

“Nope,” Seven answers with a grin. “Saeyoung Choi.”

“You…” Vanderwood slams his laptop shut and sets the device on the coffee table in front of him before shooting a pointed glare in Seven’s direction. “What the hell are you getting at? You know, if the boss knew you were telling me these things, he’d torture or kill us.”

Seven internally cheers. Vanderwood has put his work down- Seven has his attention.

“And my legal birthday is-”

“Shut up!” Vanderwood interjects, raising his voice and slapping a hand over each ear. “Are you really trying to get us killed?”

“Oh, and I actually have a-”

“Shut up,” Vanderwood practically growls, to which Seven pauses. He can feel his cheeks turning red as Vanderwood grabs him by the hips and drags him onto his lap. “God, you’re something else. What’s with that shit eating grin of yours, huh?”

Seven laughs and adjusts his knees so they’re on either side of Vanderwood’s thighs, resting comfortably in the grooves of the couch cushion. Vanderwood’s hands remain locked like handcuffs on his waist.

“It’s so easy to rile you up.”

“You. You’re always dying for my attention… And it’s even worse than usual today. I have to wonder what it is you’re wanting out of this,” Vanderwood sighs. In an uncharacteristically tender display of affection, he reaches up with a single gloved hand and caresses Seven’s cheek. Seven leans into the touch before he can even process what he’s doing or how intimate this feels. It’s different than before. He wonders if Vanderwood likes him, too. “What you’re wanting out of me.”

“I want to get to know you,” Seven answers honestly, for once. He’s not sure why he’s being so candid. Offering up information about himself to get information in exchange- that’s what he tells himself. Deep down, though, opening up feels sort of… Good. He just hopes it doesn’t bite him in the ass. “Who are you outside of this?”

“This isn’t smart.”

Vanderwood starts to break. Seven can feel it; that deep down, Vanderwood wants to be honest with him, too. If he just pushes a little more, he’ll get what he wants- what he needs.

“Neither was sleeping with me to begin with. Doesn’t seem like you care all that much considering you keep coming back for more,” Seven points out. “Instead of reporting me to the boss for not doing my work, or asking for a reassignment, or anything else. You keep coming back- again and again, day after day, week after week.”

“You’re insufferable,” Vanderwood groans and tilts his head back into the couch to avoid Seven’s eyes.

“Then why do you keep sleeping with me?”

“Shut up, Seven,” Vanderwood whispers, retracting from Seven just enough to bury his head in his hands. “You know why.”

“I really don’t.”

Vanderwood puts his hands back on Seven’s hips, seemingly because he doesn’t know where else to place them. Seven doesn’t complain, instead leaning into the touch. He notices that Vanderwood is losing control of his calculated, calm demeanor and expressions when Vanderwood furrows his brow whilst struggling to come up with a decent response.

“Why would you be interrogating me like this, if you didn’t already know?”

“Because I want to know? Interrogating people is how you figure out things that you want to know,” Seven scoffs. “Duh.”

“No, asking people about things like a well adjusted human being is how you figure those things out… Instead of this weird tactic you’re doing.”

Seven blinks. They both know damn well that if Seven were blunt in how he chose to lure answers out of Vanderwood, Vanderwood wouldn’t respond. He’d shut down, maybe call Seven some nasty names, and storm out of the house.

“Are you stupid?” Seven laughs out the words, not really meaning them, but Vanderwood appears offended regardless as he pushes Seven off of his lap and stands up.

“Apparently, because I have no idea what the hell is going on with you- what, did you go and catch feelings?”

And, instead of leaving like Seven expects him to, Vanderwood paces the living room while waiting for the answer to his question.

“Shit, Vanderwood, I think I’ve had feelings,” Seven confesses, to which Vanderwood freezes in the middle of the living room and stares at him with wide brown eyes. When Vanderwood stays silent for an uncomfortable minute or so, Seven continues. “...You think I would’ve slept with you in the first place if I didn’t like you in some way? I don’t- I don’t just do that with people, y’know?”

“You can’t like me,” Vanderwood crosses his arms and shakes his head. “You don’t even know me.”

“I want to know you,” Seven quietly argues. “Because I like the person I’ve gotten to know so far, even if I don’t know much about you yet. Don’t you want to know more about me, too?”

“Hell, you really like me?”

“Uh, duh. That’s what I just said.”

“You’re annoying, but,” Vanderwood chuckles. The pleasant sound shoots straight to Seven’s heart, effectively making it skip a beat. “I do like you”

“Do you, uh,” Seven stammers as he tries to find the right words. Now that he’s really thinking about it, he realizes he’s never asked someone out on a proper date before. “Want to… Wanna… Maybe, um-”

“Jeez, with the kind of dirty talk you spew in bed and that entire interrogation you just put me through, I didn’t expect you to have trouble asking me to do something with you,” Vanderwood teases with a hint of a smirk and a smug look in his eyes. “But yeah, we can do something together. How about we go grab a bite to eat?”

“R-Really?” Seven questions.

Honestly, he didn’t expect this to go so well- let alone for Vanderwood to ask him on a date.

“Yeah,” Vanderwood nods. “Throw some decent clothes on and meet me outside in ten.”

Then, Vanderwood is walking off, leaving Seven on the couch to ponder just how well his strategy seems to have worked.

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