missingn000 · 6 months ago
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hey all! i wrote a what-if character study & action fic for if king fought sanji instead of zoro during the raid on onigashima. i'd really love if you gave it a read! thanks so much!
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toxiclizardwrites · 11 months ago
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Love and Rage
**Repost with better formatting etc. As I had a brain fart and deleted my first one because I'm silly. Thank you everyone for your reblogs and comments last time! Almost on AO3, should be later this month!
Tags: @fangbangerghoul @lisa-and-shadow @bearlytolerant @avani-telvanni and anyone else I missed the first time.
Chapter 1: Situation on Suvorov
Takes place during the quest Echoes of the Past
Takes place in The Lock on Suvorov
Liberties were taken with certain locations in The Lock and types of creatures encountered, as well as character roles (Mathis and Delgado switch places) 
18+, sexual content (choking, hitting) 
…..….
………
"I paid a small fortune for this, so it better work" Delgado voiced as he inserted the keycard into the door of The Lock. Toxic's spacesuit provided some protection against the bitter cold of Suvorov, but the freezing wind was so intense that jagged edges of cold would scratch her lungs with every breath. 
When the door of the Lock screeched open, it was almost welcoming to step into an area free from the wind. Almost.
Toxic's eyes immediately surveyed the large, open area that made up The Lock's foyer. It was a blocky, industrial building where every remaining rotten piece of furniture and room had a strict purpose: there was no room for luxuries here.
There was a frozen credstick on a nearby desk, but when Toxic went to grab it, a hand appeared seemingly out of nowhere and snatched it up quickly. 
The look of bewilderment on her face caused Mathis to laugh. "Finders keepers, losers weepers" he taunted in a sing-songy voice. Toxic grinned in response, firing back at Mathis with a moment's notice "You've got to stop getting so jealous at the size of the credstick, Mathis. After all, it's not the size of the tool, it's the skill of the user," she said with a slight chuckle. 
Mathis' mouth curled into a snarl, and he shoved Toxic in response. Hard enough that she almost lost her balance, the frosty floor not helping. "See?" She quipped, "sometimes the truth hurts."
You two better shut the fuck up before I put a bullet in both of your heads," gruffed Delgado, who clearly had enough of their banter. "Remember why we're here, and focus on what's in front of you. These walls haven't been breached in a long time."
Toxic moved her gaze away from Mathis, who took one last opportunity to flash her the finger before walking ahead. Her eyes landed on Delgado instead, who immediately noticed her look and fixed his eyes on her. The annoyance in his eyes Suddenly turned to curiosity, but there was no time to explore the moment further. A faint chittering followed like the sound of nails on metal interrupted their connection.
"We've got Gryllobas!" Delgado shouted, pulling out the Keelhauler. The gun made short work of the skittering crab-like bugs, and erie quiet returned to The Lock. "Be on guard" Delgado warned as the party pressed deeper into the frozen prison. 
They quickly reached the other side of the foyer, which had multiple doors that split the prison into different sections. At this point, it was clear the party needed to split up to cover more ground.
Delgado looked at the green lot of space pirate recruits in front of him, his eyes scanning each new member carefully. 
"Mathis, you take these two Rooks with you." He commanded.
Then Delgado's amber eyes rested on Toxic, and she swore she saw his lips curl into a small grin. But when she blinked, his facial expression was stoic and serious. 
"You. Rook. You're coming with me."
Toxic couldn't hide the surprise on her face, and Delgado noticed. "Just do as I say," he said simply "and you might just make it off this rock alive."
Toxic swallowed but tried to keep her expression fearless. It was essential the Leader of the Crimson Fleet didn't see her fear, even if he could feel it. 
Mathis and his team entered a set of doors to the left, while Delgado and Toxic took a single door to the right. There were also a set of doors directly ahead of them, but they were locked. The doors that Delgado and Toxic took led to a long hallway with several doors leading to small rooms decorating the right and left walls. As they explored each room, Delgado was silent and focused. He threw open drawers and scattered folders and notebooks, looking for any sign that could possibly point to more information about Kryx's Legacy. Toxic wanted to break the silence, but didn't dare try to make a sound. But when they reached the end of the hallway, a rumbling sound broke the silence for them.
A ton of icy rocks and snow-covered debris suddenly fell from the ceiling above. It blocked the path back down the hallway, forcing Toxic and Delgado to continue forward. "Shit!" Delgado shouted, turning to look at Toxic. "Keep your wits about you, Rook, and let's keep going," he said with irritation in his voice. 
Toxic sighed in relief that she wasn't sent to an early icy grave and pressed on, following carefully behind Delgado as he moved forward. It wasn't long before they came to a room with a terminal and comms system, which Delgado went for immediately. "Let's hope this fucking thing works," he muttered under his breath as he pressed the keyboard. The screen flashed to life and he quickly activated the comms system.
"Mathis? Mathis?! If you can hear me you better respond!" He yelled into the comms device.
"Satan, is that you?" The voice on the other end quipped. 
Delgado rolled his eyes, he didn't have time for Mathis' games. 
"Our path back has been cut off. I'm going to use this terminal to open the doors on the ground floor for you."
"Thanks, boss," Mathis said with a sarcastic tone. 
Delgado's face tightened. "Don't fuck around; look for clues about Kryx's Legacy, and a way for us to get the fuck out of here!” He demanded.
"I'll see what I can do," Mathis said flatly, and the comms went off. 
"I hate that fucking guy," Delgado muttered before shifting his gaze to Toxic, who was standing busy picking a lock to a safe on the other side of the room.
"Leave it, and let's go" he commanded. 
"I almost have it," Toxic responded, focused on the digipick. 
Perhaps it was irritation, or Delgado felt it was time to show this Rook who is boss, but he suddenly lunged at Toxic, his amber eyes piercing into her own. Before she knew it, he had her by the collar and had lifted her effortlessly from her crouched position. "When I say something to you, you fucking listen the first time, Rook," he seethed. Otherwise, you'll get a one way ticket outside this shit hole without your spacesuit. Do I make myself clear?" 
For a moment, Toxic wanted to protest and tell him to not talk to her like that, but his intimidating eyes shut her mouth before any sound could come out.
Instead, Toxic nodded in agreement.
"Say yes, Captain," Delgado commanded. 
"Yes, Captain." 
"Good. Let's go." 
Delgado pushed open the door to his right, which he opened earlier with the terminal. As Toxic and Delgado headed through the door, he turned to face Toxic once again, and like he hadn't just threatened her life, he said, "the terminal in that room said Kryx was in in the D-Block, the cells reserved for high-risk criminals." His steps quickened, and toxic jogged a bit to catch up. "Cell D-118. Maybe there's clues there," he said with an uncharacteristic enthusiasm in his voice. As they walked, Dels demenaour seemed to relax. They finally had a shred of something that could lead them to more clues about Kryx's Legacy, and all they had to do in this moment was to get there. 
They went through a door that opened up to a massive atrium filled with suspended walkways. Toxic shivered “It's even fucking colder in here," she whined. 
Delgado laughed. "Imagine being locked in this frozen hellhole for the rest of your life. No wonder Kryx escaped," he said, getting ahead of himself. 
After what seemed like hours wandering the maze of metal platforms and stairs, Delgado and Toxic finally reached the D-Block. Cell 03-118 was easy enough to find, but it took a few terminal hacks and digipicks to unlock. 
Delgado scoured the inside of the cell, but it wasn't clear there was anything there. "Fuck!" He yelled I n frustration, but just when the lead seemed to be a dead end, Toxic noticed a flaw in a desk lamp that was left behind in the cell. After fiddling with the bottom of it, an Audio slate started to play. Delgado and Toxic listened intently to Jasper Kryx's voice detailing knowledge about a downed Galbank ship loaded with credits, and Kryx's ploy to escape via a crooked guard named Carter, who used the prison's showers as a drop point. Delgado turned to face Toxic and laughed. "We're almost there," he said with excitement, and started through the cell door to double back to the prison showers.
The sound of their boots hammering against the frozen metal of the narrow platform was suddenly deafened by a unusual sound that caused them both to stop in their tracks. "More Gryllobas?" Toxic asked out loud, to which Delgado looked up at the vast cavern above them. "Just keep going," he commanded, but after only a single step, a noticeable crack in the icewall on their left formed. 
"What the fuck?" Toxic said, confused.
Her eyes got closer to the crack, and she noticed something moving behind it. A subtle and eerie sound emitted from behind it.
Scritch.
Scritch.
Scritch.
"What is it, Rook?" Delgado asked curiously.
"I don't know, it—"
SREeeeEeeeEeeeeeeEee
The crack shattered, and behind it towered a creature with massive praying-mantis apendeges for legs, and a inflated, bulbous head. 
SREeeeEeeeEeeeeeeEee!
Toxic readied her gun, but was immediately knocked down onto the cold steel of the platform. Delgado came up behind her and shot the creature in the face with the Keelhauler, knocking it back slightly and stunning it.
"RUN!" He screamed as Toxic scrambled to get up and follow. To their surprise, the creature retreated back into the wall instead of giving chase.
"Fuck me," Toxic said, stopping to catch her breath. Delgado slapped her on the back. "Just another day in paradise, Rook," he joked.
Looking ahead, Toxic could see the dingy prison showers fainty through a window covered in grime and mould. "There," she said, pointing. 
But Delgado wasnt listening. He put his finger to his lips and his eyes looked past her, behind her at the wall.
"Oh fuck, not again,"  Toxic sighed.
But The Creature was back, and looking for vengeance. Another crack in the wall formed, but exploded into shards of ice-glass just as quickly. One of the shards flew into Toxic's helmet with the force of a bullet, and cracked the glass so badly that she had to remove it and throw it to the floor to be able to see. Delgado readied his gun again as the creature lifted one of its knife-life talons, ready to strike. 
Delgado fired a few bullets into its chest, but the Keelhauler didn't knock The Creature back this time. Instead, it did damage, but not enough. The two braced for impact from the towering talon, but instead of bringing it down on them, The Creature opened its beak-like mouth to reveal a set of jagged teeth and released a scream. 
The sound was deafening, and the combination of what Toxic could only assume was saliva and hot air caused her to instinctively raise her arms to protect her face and head.
A sticky, tacky substance pale and slightly translucent, like thick mucous coated her spacesuit. Delgado managed to reload and fire a few more shots into The Creature, pacifying it enough so they could start running. 
"Get to the showers!" Delgado yelled, and they both sprinted the rest of the way without stopping. 
But the entrance to the showers was locked with an Expert level lock. Toxic immediately pulled out a digipick and went to work. But after a moment, Delgado's gruff voice interrupted her concentration. 
"What the fuck is that smell?" He asked, looking at Toxic. 
"Rook, your spacesuit." 
Toxic stopped picking the lock and looked at the arms of her suit, which were now smouldering and smoking from chemical burns. 
"Oh fuck!" She yelled, and immediately started peeling off the layers.
Delgado made a motion to wipe the sticky mucous from the glass of his helmet, but it caved in where he wiped like the glass was suddenly made of Jello.
"Fuck!" He yelled, and immediately threw off his helmet, which landed on the floor and continued to smoulder and burn. 
"Del, your suit!" Toxic yelled.
Looking at himself, Delgado saw large burn holes forming on his suit, pretty much everywhere. Just like Toxic, he had no choice but to remove the suit or be subject to chemical burns.
As Toxic peeled off the last layer of her suit, she noticed that the mucous had already gotten on her clothes underneath, as well as any exposed areas of skin.
Delgado was the same. Since he took the brunt of The Creature's wet scream, his spacesuit and clothes were quickly turning to useless mush.
"Get that shower room open!" He screamed. It was their only chance of survival. It would be slightly warmer in there, and if they were lucky, maybe the water worked. Toxic grabbed another digipick, throwing off her decaying T-shirt and pants in the process. After a minute, the door to the prison showers finally flew open.
Toxic and Delgado wasted no time in running to the nearest shower head, twisting the knob with the hopes that water would flow out. The pipes squealed in protest, but after a minute freezing water poured out of the shower head, drenching Toxic's bare body and saturating her underwear.
The cold water was shocking to the system. Toxic gasped as the pellets of water hit her skin. But it soothed the chemical burns, so she was able to tolerate the cold. 
Toxic stood under the flowing water, wiping her face and smoothing her hair away with his hands.
With the need to wash off the toxic bug ichor off of her body taking over, she had completely forgotten about Delgado. She suddenly realized that she was completely naked, cold, wet, and vulnerable in front of him. The thought filled her with panic and she turned to search the room for his location.
To her surprise, he was standing right behind her. Her eyes were met with a muscular chest pockmarked with a few dark, curly hairs. Delgado's skin was wet, dirty, and had a few patches of chemical burns. Toxic's eyes travelled down and she saw that he somehow managed to keep his pants, but there was a large burn mark on each leg exposing part of his boxers, unlike Toxic who was naked except for for her now sopping wet underwear. She quickly shifted her eyes to his face, which was framed by his wet, dark hair. 
Toxic could feel the warmth rise in her core. She tried to use her arms in a futile attempt to cover herself, but doing this made Delgado let out a slight chuckle. 
"Arms by your side, Rook."
Toxic obeyed. Not because she wanted to but because it was useless to try to hide her naked body against Delgado's eyes. 
He brought a curled finger to his lips, his eyes fixed on this Rook, drinking her in. Her wet naked body stood in front of him, her breasts heaving in time with every deep breath she took. Her expression conveyed both embarrassment and vulnerability, but also readiness: he saw her eyes scan the room for a weapon, or anything, that she could possibly use to defend herself if it came to that. This scene gave Delgado all the information about the Rook that he needed. She was scared, but observant. Vulnerable, but strong. It was like he was seeing her for the first time, and it surprised him how much he liked it.
He dropped his hand and made on small step toward her. In time with his step she took a step back, but was quickly stopped by the shower wall. Delgado leaned forward and placed his hands on the wall, one by each of Toxic's shoulders. He brought his face close to her ear so that she could feel his hot breath against her face. Each breath that they released disapated into vapour that swirled around them and disappeared. 
"Now what?" Toxic whispered, not taking her eyes off Del's.
Delgado hesitated for a moment, which was uncharacteristic, but he was getting lost in this Rook. A thought scattered across his mind that wondered how she might feel against his body, how she might taste...
He dropped one hand from the wall and turned his head to one side. 
"Find something we can burn and something to light it with, otherwise we're going to fucking die in this shit hole." He said before turning away from Toxic, shaking his head slightly in an effort to remove intrusive thoughts. 
Toxic sighed, but she wasn't sure if it was in relief or not. Her senses were overloaded; it was cold as hell but she could feel her cheeks flushing. She pushed herself from the wall and looked around. There were a few lockers lining one side of the wall, but Del was already checking them.
She noticed that they never closed the door to the showers in their hurried state. Walking over, she saw what was left of their spacesuits and clothes littering the floor. 
"Maybe these'll burn?" Toxic suggested. 
But Del wasn't listening. Something in the lockers caught his attention—another audio recording and a journal entry apparently written by Kryx himself. 
At this point, Toxic cared more about getting warm than finding out more about the Legacy. Kicking what remains she could find into the room, she searched for something, a lighter, anything that could be used to start a fire. 
To Toxic’s delight, the locker beside where Del found the audio recording had a rusted lighter and a towel. She quickly wrapped the towel around herself and tucked in the top, but did the lighter still work? Toxic striked it and a small, withering flame appeared. 
"Yes!” she said with excitement and bent over to place the lighter's flame near the pile of goo and clothes. To her surprise, the mass lit instantly, like it was doused in gasoline. 
Toxic forced herself backwards but had a wide grin on her face. "It works!" She yelled, turning her head towards Delgado. But he was lost in thought, staring at what she assumed was Kryx’s audio slate thoughtfully.
"Del. Del? Boss?" Toxic repeated. 
Delgado's eyes head slowly turned, first to Toxic, then the fire. 
He wandered over to it and kneeled near it, taking in the warmth. Toxic sat on the floor near him.
"What did it say?" She asked. 
He turned his head towards Toxic, who was sitting there with her knees against her chest and her arms wrapped around them. 
Casually, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an audio slate and pressed play, causing Toxic to lift her head from her knees and meet his eyes with hers.
The slate was Ikande's voice, giving details on Delgado and Naeva, as well as the Crimson Fleet in general. Somehow, Delgado saw it as Toxic was throwing off her clothes and pocketed it before it was destroyed by corrosive bug slime. 
“Do you mind explaining what the fuck this is?” He asked assertively.
Toxic's eyes widened and she quickly rose from her position on the floor, backing away from Delgado and scanning the room for a weapon. She knew her cover was blown and in a futile attempt to protect her life, she found a rusted prison shiv hidden in a gap under the metal bench in the center of the showers. She held the shiv in front of her, her heart pounding furiously and her breath quickening.
Delgado laughed at this pathetic display, and slowly rose from the floor with the slate in hand, still playing. Almost in tune with every word that escaped its speakers, he took a step forward towards Toxic, his eyes mixed with anger and confusion. 
"And to think I was starting to like you," he said angrily.
There was nowhere to go. The prison shower room was only about 5 or so meters across in each direction, so they were effectively trapped in a box. There was no way that her fighting skills could hold a candle to Delgado's and she knew it. It was only a matter of time before he would likely just kill her and be done with it. 
Toxic found herself with her back against one of the shower walls again, still holding the shiv in front of her. Delgado let out an angry growl and reached for her throat with one hand, grabbing the shiv with the other and throwing it to the ground like it was a child's toy. 
"I should fucking kill you where you stand" he said through clenched teeth, spraying saliva in Toxic's face. 
Toxic struggled to breath, her hand clamped around Delgado's trying desperately to pry his fingers from her throat. Light danced in front of her eyes and she could feel herself slowly pass out. But just as her eyes started to flutter close, he released his grasp. 
Angry, cold and having just found out that this Rook is a fucking traitor, Delgado drew his first back and punched her square in the face. 
Toxic fell forward, almost completely losing her footing, but Delgado caught her shoulders and pushed her back up again. She realized the force of his punch wasn't near what it could have been, otherwise she would have been missing teeth. Wiping some blood away from her nose, she looked up at him readying herself for the next blow.
“Talk.” He commanded, placing his arms against the wall and leaning forward into her so their faces were almost touching. His amber eyes locked into hers, almost pulling the information out of her brain.
Toxic tried to hesitate, but there wasn't much she could do. With Delgado towering over her, she started talking.
“They gave me no choice. It was either go undercover or rot in a brig for the rest of my life,” she breathed.
Delgado didn't move or take his eyes off of hers. “Continue” he commanded.
“I didn't know shit about the Crimson Fleet. Of course I'd heard about them, but until I was kidnapped by Sysdef, I'd only heard stories.”
Out of impatience Delgado grabbed her face with one hand, pinching her cheeks together. “Get to the point, Rook, I'm losing my patience,” he growled, releasing her face so she could talk once again.
“Ok fuck…I just…I already decided I wasn't going to follow sysdef’s orders.”
“And how can I be sure of that? Why should I trust a Rook that I've known for a week?” Delgado asked. 
“Because I’ve followed all of your orders. I killed Austin Rake. I could have let him go.”
Delgado nodded his head thoughtfully, a snide smile appearing on his face. 
“We confirmed that you did, as well.” He said, biting his lower lip.
“I also found the audio slate in Kryx’s cell. I could have just pocketed it and kept it to myself,” she continued.
Delgado moved his face closer to hers, so the only thing she could do was stare into his eyes.
“But now you're a liability. And you know what I do with liabilities?” He asked. 
Toxic didn't want to answer the question, and she didn't need to. Delgado had already grabbed her by the shoulders. She tried to struggle free but between his strength and the slippery floor, it was near impossible for her feet to get a grip. With her movements and Delgado’s grip on her shoulders, the towel that she had wrapped around herself fell to the floor.
Whether it was pent up rage that needed to be released or just pure energy, Delgado’s tone shifted slightly and he threw Toxic up against the shower lockers, pinning her to the door with his forearm. Then, he shoved his face in between her bare breasts, licking the droplets of water on her skin. 
Toxic was surprised but the sudden shift in their dynamic sent a shockwave of pleasure through her body, and when Delgado bit down on one of her nipples, she let out a moan that was half pain, half pleasure. 
Delgado took her sounds as a sign to continue. He pressed his body as close to her as possible and then whispered a single, pleasure-laden command: 
“Spread your legs.”
Toxic immediately obliged and, with his forearm still on her collarbone, Delgado pressed his hardened cock onto her groin, causing her to moan and reach down trying to grab his hips. 
But he grabbed her hand and pressed it to her side, and slid his forearm down to pin her other arm in place.
“Get on the counter,” he said pointing to a row of sinks attached to the wall. Toxic struggled to lift herself so Delgado grabbed her and sat her down on the countertop facing him. 
“If you continue to be this obedient, I might just let you make it up to me.” He said. 
Toxic’s lip formed a slight smile, waves of pleasure building in her body. “If you fuck me, I'll do whatever you want.” The words escaped her mouth before she could really understand their impact.
Delgado grinned. “That's a good Rook,” he murmured as he lowered his head between her legs and pushed his thumb between her folds so he could view her throbbing, wet pussy properly.
He began licking her entrance, moving up occasionally to place his lips on her clit. He sped up, then slowed down, and repeated the process. The sensation drove Toxic mad as the pressure continued to build in her body to an unbearable level. Suddenly he withdrew his touch.
“Tell me about what Sysdef’s plans are” he demanded.
Toxic snapped back to reality but was still in the throes of pleasure. She blinked a few times in an attempt to clear her mind enough to answer.
“They…ikande…wants to take the Crimson Fleet down” she said with shaky breath.
Delgado responded by taking two fingers and slipping them inside of her, using his thumb to stimulate her clit. She moaned, and then he withdrew his touch again, telling her he needed more. 
“B…but…the higher ups don't believe the fleet is enough of a threat, so he needs evidence”
Delgado thrust his fingers into her once again, eliciting more moans. He leaned over her to swirl them inside and get them deeper inside of her. 
“I…I…they want me to meet with them periodically for updates” 
Delgado responded to this information by grabbing her face and forcing her to look into his eyes as he continued pumping his fingers in and out while rubbing her clit. 
The pressure kept building in Toxic's body until she could no longer control herself. 
She felt the tension in her body release as waves of pulses travelled from her abdomen to the tips of her toes.
Seeing her hips writhe in pleasure and hearing her moans gave Delgado lease to grab her hips and pull her off the counter and throw her up against the wall of the showers. 
“So obedient for me, but why? He asked.
“I want this,” she said breathlessly, “I want to be respected and feared” 
Delgado laughed. “That takes time. But if you're serious, I can help you,” he said.
“But first you'll have to prove your loyalty to me. For now, I want to feel the inside of your body”
With one hand keeping Toxic pressed against the wall, Delgado unbuckled his pants and took out his cock, using his knee to spread her legs as he positioned his tip at her entrance. 
Toxic let out a loud moan as he roughly plunged his entire length inside her. Del let out a muffled “oh fuck” at the feeling of himself inside her and his eyes closed for a moment in ecstasy.
He continued to fuck her hard, burying his face into hers and stealing her breath with his tongue as he moved his hips. They were both lost in pleasure, moaning, grunting, and contorting their bodies to greedily take as much of each other for themselves as they could.
Suddenly, a clap. Then more. Clap. Clap. Clap. 
Lost in pleasure, they ignored the noise at first. 
Clap. Clap. Clap. What? Applause??
One more thrust and a loud moan from Toxic was all that Del needed to finally hit the point of sweet release. He moaned as he emptied himself in her, and removed his mouth from her chest to give her a few kisses on the neck. Toxic’s eyes fluttered open, and with Delgado’s cock still inside of her, her eyes landed on a figure standing at the entrance to the showers, a man who was slow clapping, the gloves of his spacesuit coming together in what felt like slow motion. 
It was Mathis, with a huge shit-eating grin on his face. 
Toxic gasped loudly and Delgado reacted in confusion, pulling himself out and turning his head to look over his shoulder. When he saw Mathis standing there, his demeanor immediately switched from lover to leader, and he quickly tucked his wet cock back into his pants before turning around, somewhat blocking Toxic from Mathis’ view. 
“It’s about time you showed up.” He tugged at his pants slightly, repositioning himself. 
Mathis laughed. “Doesn't look like you were bored.”
Delgado grabbed the towel that had fell from Toxic’s body earlier and handed it back to her. She immediately used it to cover herself back up, feeling embarrassed that Mathis had to see the events that had just unfolded. She tried to hide her embarrassment but could feel her face turning beet red. 
“Trying to fuck your way to the top, eh?” Mathis prodded. 
“Fuck you!” Toxic yelled in response. 
“I'm sure you would if it would earn you points with the boss.”
Toxic lunged at him with closed fists, but Delgado stepped between them. 
“Both of you need to shut the fuck up, we need to figure this out,” he said, his eyes fixed on Toxic. 
“Mathis, we need spacesuits. I have extras on my ship. Since you managed to find your way here, you can get them and bring them back.” 
Mathis raised his gloves hand to his beard and stroked it thoughtfully. This was perfect, Delgado and his little whore were in a precarious position. All he had to do was walk away and they could fuck themselves to death, for all he cared. 
“And why should I do that?” Mathis said with an evil grin. 
Delgado rolled his eyes. “Because I'm fucking telling you to, Mathis. Are you going to leave me here—I mean us” he quickly corrected himself. 
“You know,” Mathis said with hatred in his voice, “I think I just fucking might.” 
He turned to walk away, but Delgado already had the Keelhauler next to his head. Mathis tried to resist, but Delgado used his other arm to shove him into the wall with a force Mathis couldn't match.
“You would disobey a direct order, captain?” Delgado seethed. He cocked the gun and shoved it forcefully into Mathis’ temple. 
Feeling the rage emanating from Delgado, Mathis finally relented. He even looked a little scared. It seemed that Mathis was a pro at pushing his luck with Delgado to the point of guns being drawn, but was either too smart or too much of a coward to see his smartass threats through.
“Ok, Ok! I'll send the Rooks to do it,” Mathis said, his voice slightly shaky. 
Delgado removed the gun from his head but pushed him towards the door, where the Rooks had just arrived, bewildered. Mathis shouted the orders at them and they were off, but Mathis stayed behind.
A thought passed through Toxic’s mind. It was clear Delgado had little patience for bullshit, but he seemed to tolerate hers much more than someone like Mathis. He says one smartass comment and gets a gun to his head, while she admits that she's undercover with Sysdef and he responds by fucking her. She allowed the thought to bounce around in her mind a bit, trying to make sense of why, but ultimately decided to deal with it later. After all, the first priority was to get off this rock. 
As the three waited for the Rooks to return, the awkward silence was deafening. Toxic stayed leaned against a wall clutching her towel, while Mathis fiddled with the doors of the lockers. The noise caused Delgado’s eye to twitch and he shouted “For fuck sakes can you fucking stop.” At Mathis, half angry and half exasperated. 
Mathis didn't say a word but instead raised his hands in surrender, walking away from the lockers to stand near Toxic. She turned away from him. He scoffed but didn't change his position. Instead, he reached over and pulled at her towel. 
“What the fuck are you doing?” Toxic shouted. 
“Just trying to see if there's more of you to go around, that's all,” he chided. 
Toxic gave him a disgusted look, but before he could respond a fist came out of nowhere and knocked him to the floor. 
“If you touch her again, I’ll cut off your cock and choke you with it,” Delgado raged. 
Fear washed over Mathis’ face once again, and although it seemed he was a slow learner, Delgado’s tone and deadly eyes told him that this was the time to finally shut the fuck up. He picked himself up off of the floor, muttering apologies, and wandered over to the opposite wall, avoiding eye contact with Toxic. 
The Rooks returned with the spacesuits and a grey labour jumpsuit. Toxic snatched the jumpsuit and immediately put it on, trying her best to avoid Mathis’ prying eyes as she dressed. 
Now in their spacesuits, it was time to get off Suvorov for good. As they made their way back through the prison and onto Delgado’s ship, Toxic started to become nervous. It would only be a matter of time before everyone on The Key heard about what happened on Suvorov, especially with Mathis being the way he is. She knew it would cause a clear divide amongst the pirates, those who would be extra nice to Delgado’s little plaything and those who would threaten her for getting in the boss’s good graces so fast. She suddenly realized that The Key would be even less safe for her than it was before she left. 
A knot in her stomach, the ship docked at The Key. As they walked through the airlock, Delgado placed a hand on her shoulder. “Get some rest. But come to the operations center first thing in the morning.” He then patted her once on the back and picked up his pace, leaving her alone to contend with the prying eyes of the other pirates around her, as if they already knew what happened on the frozen planet. 
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