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A Troubling Reunion || Darren & Moria

The sounds of sparring grunts and bodies colliding with the floor mats resounded all across the gymnasium where Nexus field agents and recruits were working their asses off to be better. This is where Darren had been devoting a lot of his time for the past eight months or so, serving time as an instructor and working himself in the down times. Things were simple enough this way, but there always had to be a few recruits with no sense to ruin a perfectly good day. After hearing the obvious whispers of a few people sitting on the bench, the man decides to nip things in the bud before it progressed into something more. “Torres!” An authoritative shout is given before he waves for the recruit to join him in the sparring ring. 

“What’s so funny?” Darren asks through gritted teeth as he secures some bandage tape around his wrists. “We were just talking about switching trainers since we hear you’re ju-” Torres tries to explain himself to no avail before being cut off, this time with Darren speaking loud enough to be heard by the rest of the trainees. “Gear up for a sparring match.” An ominous silence fell over the area as the men prepared themselves and began to circle before moving in to begin the fight. 

The recruit begins with a two-hit combo followed by a kick, which was easily dodged, leaving an opening for Darren to grab the man and give him a few good knees to the gut. Now things were heating up, just the way he liked it to be. Between hits and blocks, the man spat out his words . “You heard I’m just the class clown, don’t think you’ll learn anything.” The recruit lands a few punches before having his feet swiped and losing his balance. “But I’ve been out in the field, I’ve seen what other posthumans are capable of, I almost lost my life after going toe to toe with one of the top ranking Rogues. Because I wasn’t serious about my training .. well.... you won’t make that mistake.” While the recruit was down regaining his balance, Darren managed to make a clone. The moment he was able to stand straight and get ready to throw another punch, Torres was assaulted by both Darren and his clone relentlessly.

One after another, both copies of the man were landing hits on the recruit, hardly leaving him time to try and block or make a reversal. It was unfair, but so was life as a field agent. Besides, Darren could not afford any blood on his hands. For a few more moments the recruit is beaten down before a woman’s voice rang out from the distance. “Darren! Stop this now!” A chill went down the man’s spine upon hearing the voice, and almost as if he was under some spell the man instantly froze in place. That voice... After letting the recruit go to recover, Darren turns around to see none other than the woman he never stopped loving. 

Her brown eyes were filled with an anger and disappointment that was all too familiar and it made his heart sink. That anger the man was accustomed to, but the hard part was having her so close to him. This was the closest the two former lovers had been in god knows how long, much less the most eye contact they’ve made. Darren and Moria had become ghosts of their former selves , strangers who only match for the slightest glance on occasion then disappear from sight. “Moria.” He states in a confused tone. “Long time no see.”

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Husband goals

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“I think Dexter would be more surprised if I didn’t slack off to be honest. I have to be consistent y’know.” He speaks sarcastically before walking to find the nearest food. Walking confidently and with little thought, Darren ends up accidentally makin his way right by Moria. The boy keeps his eyes forward and his pace steady, but mumbles ‘shit’ under his breath. “So, Tori! Any trainees that stand out in this batch?” A horrible attempt at small talk.

“And abandon your job post just like that–But what would the boss say?” Tori feigns a gasp before breaking out into a grin. “Why, I thought you’d never ask.”

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“Well the way you were staring I would hope you had the decency to say something.” Darren scoffs at the girl, her attitude actually a welcome change to the boring flow of things at the event so far. Moving away from the table. he folds his arms with a scoff. “So, who pissed in your frosted flakes this morning?”

Felix finds the displays and inventions interesting, in an objective, science perspective sort of way. If she brings her personal feelings into it, she’ll scoff at it, not wanting to find anything Nexus did impressive. Most of their progress is on the backs of post-humans. Hell, the whole corporation is. She notices a guy leaning against a booth, which makes her move closer to see what it is, since his body slightly blocks it. She raises her eyebrows, though, as the guy speaks before she even has a chance to see it. “And who says I was going to ask you?” 

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“At least bein the Nexus’ bitch comes with perks.” He laughs before winking at Tori. “Even if it means wasting away in nerd-vana..” The boy sighs and looks around in a judging way before quickly moving to change the subject “Wanna go grab a hot dog or something?”

“You let ‘em take advantage of you and they turn you into their bitch.” Tori clasps him by the shoulder and gives him a pat. “You poor bastard.”

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I certainly don’t have time for that. Unfortunately Jon made sure I got put on patrol duty so I have to endure for the sake of a paycheck. The science department is enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame outside of the lab at the cost of our boredom. And it’s a convention so no free drinks like the ball, why did I even clock in today?

Well, that makes two of us then. I mean look at all this shit, just screams nerd convention amirite? Though I guess it wouldn’t kill to read a few pamphlets, but psh, who’s got time for that?”  

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In the midst of all the clueless masses of people gawking at Nexus’ latest feats, Darren stood alone -- not particularly intrested in the event, just keeping watch like he was assigned to. It wasn’t th most fun of assignments but it beat being in the field chasing someone. Leaning against one of the nearby booths, he sees someone approach him asking questions about the device. “Sorry, I’m just working the event -- I have no clue what any of this junk is.”

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“Okay.” Darren huffs out before stroking his chin to think. This stranger chose one of the worst places to get lost in -- but thakfully she ran into him and not Vivian or the Petrovs. “Look, you obviously shouldn’t be here.. just stay calm and follow my lead. If we play it smart, it’ll be as if this never happened.” Such fear radiated off of the girl, shook her voice, that it was nearly palpable. And as fucked up of a person Darren might be, he wouldn’t be able to handle something happening to her because she stumbled into a lions’ den. 

“Uh.” Where was she? Her eyes wander a way from the man, her eyes scanning the room, until she finds something so utterly frightening, she can’t help but freeze. “I– I was just–” She couldn’t– think. Couldn’t talk. She was in one of two places that could get her killed. One of two places she feared, but the one that had killed– “I hadn’t realized–” Why was she still trying to talk herself out of this? She needed to go. 

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“Far from it, sweetheart. The question is what brings you here? ”

“Are we over the rainbow, then?” 

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“You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.”

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“There ya go, buddy. See it wasn’t that hard.” The boy replies in his usual demeanor before picking up a magazine and flipping through some of the pages absent-mindedly. Darren was never one for serious situations, so he acts as if seeing his best friend pale, bruised, and laying in a hospital bed doesn’t faze him -- however nothing could be further from the truth. Since there was nothing he could do to help the man heal quicker, the least the boy could do was offer his company and try and keep Adrian’s spirits up. “Oh man, that was a fun night.” He laughs shaking his head at the memory of the last time thw two had seen each other at Envy. “I was wasted, dude. Oh the woes of a heartbreak.” Had it really been that long since he and Moria separated? A question that brought a small flicker of pain to his heart. “I’m good though, just workin my ass off mainly. Which apparently you’ve been doing too, seeing as you’re here. I’d hope being a bodyguard comes with some amazing insurance and benefits if it entails getting your ass kicked from time to time.” Darren chuckles and winks at the man. “Any hot nurses thus far?”

Wincing at the young man he tries to smile but ends up with a grimace on his pale face. Giving a Darren a small shrug with nonchalance, ”Uh I guess its nice to see you…and what kind words to say to a friend” he replies with a hoarse chuckle at the end. He thinks over the young mans question directed at himself. Adrian more often than not forgets that he is not invincible. That one small thought of not being able to help those in need brings a pang in his chest. A careless mistake that led him to where he was now made him more irritated at himself than upset. “I’m fine. Just a little tired I guess. Waiting for the CT scans I took earlier today. And you? Last time I saw you we were…let’s just say a little intoxicated“.

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"Yeah let me just call my family right now and ask them. Nothing like a quick seance to start the day. Yeah they all say it's just me." The boy responds with his normal amount of sarcasm. "But we're here now, what sort of torture do you have planned for me today?"

"Is complaining a family thing or is it just you?” says Caleb, immediately sighing afterwards. It’s cold and he holds his arms crossed in front of his chest as clouds form from his breath.

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[Caleb]

"I dunno if you're a werewolf or chupacabra or whatever, but you see we humans like to do things after the sun comes up in the sky. Not 4 in the morning." He sighs with a sarcastic expression.

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Irresponsibility was the pinnacle of Darren's personality, which is what made him a huge hypocrite. He felt it okay for himself to be put in dangerous situations , but it was inexcusable for those he cared for. When news of his friend's accident reached the boy, he immediately called out of work and made his way to the hospital Adrian was being treated at. Thankfully, a lot of hospitals in the city were indebted to the Nexus so all he had to do was flash his badge and he was granted immediate access. After knocking on the door, he walks into the cold hospital room and responds. "Yeah for starters a 'Hello Darren, nice to see you' would be great." He chuckles befoe taking a seat beside the bed. It was strange seeing such a strong man in such a weak and vulnerable state. "Wow man you look even shittier than usual. About time someone finish what I started." He whistles to emphasize his point before continuing. "I'm just messing with ya. How are you feeling?"

Staring at the white florescent lighting above him, Adrian knew he should look away knowing that any second his head would start to hurt. The whiteness was all around him enveloping him in a cold embrace. It was his second day in the hospital and the man who was staying across from him had stopped his agonizing whimpers. The bodyguard some way knew it wasn’t due to taking more pain medication. Hearing a rasping knock he looks over and tries adjust his vision to the moderate light.

“Can I help you?” he says while scrunching up his eyes due to the harsh pain.