#⤑ 𝚛𝚘𝚡𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚎 // memes.

[slicecfsunshine]

“Will you tell me how it happened?” adrian @ rox

Roxanne sniffed, tears clouding her eyes as she quickly tried to blink them away. She dropped her chin to her chest, taking a breath and trying to organise her thoughts. “I was just at the restaurant, like I usually am...it was pretty busy, y’know, evening rush and all.” A haphazard hand lifted to wipe underneath her eyes and she cleared her throat. “I didn’t even see her come in - I wasn’t on hostess duty or anything - not that I would’ve known what she looks like anyway, I should’ve probably asked you for a picture or something so I could keep an eye out...” She was rambling, avoiding getting to the point because quite honestly she was rattled. Evelyn Cox paying her workplace a visit was the last thing she’d expected from that evening.

“My shift finished at eight, and when I was leaving, she was just...there...waiting for me outside.” Roxanne swallowed down a lump that was forming in her throat. “She had some bodyguard dude with her, not that she needed him, I mean what the fuck was I gonna do?” Roxanne rolled her eyes, a small semblance of fight returning to her. Her gaze lifted to meet with Adrian’s finally. “She knew exactly who I was, and she asked about you. I didn’t really know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. I guess she didn’t like that, and then that’s how I got this.” She gestured to the ripe, swollen bruise that had formed on her cheek. A warning. A way of making sure the message was passed on. Evelyn was pissed off, and she was watching.

@haywired​

[slicecfsunshine]

13. (adrian/rox)

13. for one muse to kill to protect the other

Adrian had given her a gun for emergencies. Naively, Roxanne had never expected to ever actually need to use it, and had just left it in the bottom of her bag. They’d been out for lunch together, and then she’d accompanied him whilst he was doing some kind of job. She didn’t ask what, she just sat in the car and waited. Fully engrossed in her phone, watching stupid cat videos, Roxanne suddenly heard a scuffle coming from outside the car. A gunshot. Her heart stopped as she ducked down in the seat. She had two choices - stay low in the car and remain unseen, or get out to make sure Adrian was okay. She went with the latter.

Practically crawling out of the car, she dug into her bag to retrieve the weapon he’d given her. Of course, he’d made sure she knew how to use it so she didn’t end up doing something stupid, but that didn’t mean she could remember what he’d said...something about taking the safety off? She didn’t even have time to Google it for fuck’s sake. 

As luck would have it, whoever Adrian was meeting hadn’t noticed her presence in the car, so sneaking around the back of the vehicle proved to be easier than she anticipated. There were perks to being inconspicuous, clearly. Roxanne could see a gun in a stranger’s hand pointing right in Adrian’s direction. A body lay just metres away from him. One of Adrian’s guys? She couldn’t be sure, but assumed so considering Adrian didn’t currently have a weapon in his hand. She swallowed down the lump of fear in her throat. This was pure insanity. What did she think she was going to do, ambush the guy from behind? What if she missed? She couldn’t throw a ball with any accuracy, let alone fire a weapon. And now she was overthinking it- fuck.

Sweat began to bead on her forehead and the back of her neck, trickling down and tickling her skin in a very distracting way that she didn’t like. She crept closer, still tucked out of sight, quieter than a mouse. 

“You’ve had this comin’ for months, Rinaldi.” A click. “Evelyn sends her regards.” Okay, there was no time left to linger. Roxanne stepped out, aimed and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight into the stranger’s back. It all happened faster than she could comprehend. She didn’t even give herself time to breathe properly. 

The recoil from the shot sent her stumbling backwards, slumping against the car for support. She was trembling like mad and dropped the gun to the floor, watching as the man crumpled down to the ground in a heap of flesh and blood. Her heart began to thump like it wanted to leap out of her chest and all she could do was gasp like some kind of stricken woman. The reality of what she’d just done was yet to hit her as she glanced over to where Adrian stood, his gaze fixed on her. She couldn’t move even if she wanted to. 

[slicecfsunshine]

“  i want you to know i’ll always be here for you. whatever you need.  ” rox/adrian

"You will?” It wasn’t that she was surprised by what he’d said because he’d already proven through his actions that he cared for her, more that she was taken back by the softness of the statement. Adrian was a man of few words most of the time, and she was usually the one running her mouth in every which way, so when he said things he really meant them. Roxanne lifted her gaze to meet his, quiet for a moment as she studied him. “I’m gonna be serious for like five seconds,” she thought it best to pre-warn him because when was she ever serious about anything? “I really appreciate you being around, and not just for, y’know, the fun stuff we get up to. Not that I don’t appreciate that, because I really do believe me, but you just being here is nice and it feels weird when you’re not around for me to annoy.” Rambling was one of her special skills, and she knew that the word vomit was just gonna keep on coming and she was powerless to stop it. “I guess what I’m trying to say in a really stupid, long-winded way is thank you.” She shuffled closer, leaning in to press a slow, gentle kiss to his lips, not their usual hot and heavy way of showing affection. Pulling back, she hovered close to his mouth, breath ghosting against his lips. “And I’ve got your back too - with anything and everything - I’m always here.” That felt like a pretty big thing to admit, considering what Adrian was involved in, but Roxanne meant it. Every single word.