#richard malik x oc

[kukukape]

Watch Dogs Legion: OC x Richard Malik, pt. 1

Summary: Teenaged Richard Malik is getting beat up in a back alley. Is it retribution for the future? Yeah, but Angel doesn't know that.

---

Cold.

Ruthless.

Insatiable in the business of death, and so very skilled too.

These are the things that I became over the course of my life. Not necessarily in that order, or even in succession at all. In fact, I don't think I can even say I really 'became' those things. I always had been. My youthful murders say that much.

When I look in the mirror, I do see a monster. I do. One that I don't hold anyone at fault for, as this demon, I am confident, is purely my own doing. And I often dislike her, with her jagged smile and scarred face.

But I cherish the memories that she has been able to acquire, pure and sweet amidst a journey beelining for nothing but death. I made good friends, lots of enemies (of the good and bad), and one lover. And in each I found smiles and human tears, and a mixture of other emotions that, at the end of the day, at least were something that I could feel.

My name is Angel Marcos, and I lived a bad life.

But there was beauty in it, although rarely mine, and I'd like to share it.

---

DedSec, in all its arrogant glory, often calls themselves 'Watch Dogs'. How fitting to label us animals, really. But even better, would be to call us 'little brothers', because all we ever seemed to accomplish was kicking 'big brother' in the shins and screaming Bloody Mary at spectators.

Anyway, DedSec was my final chapter. My longest chapter. And plenty of other chapters saw their beginning and end before that one (after all, nobody becomes a skilled monster overnight).

Life only began for me when I met Richard. A tall, lanky, awkward, and- well, cute, to be frank- thing at the beginning of secondary school.

As a teen, I took a back way to school. At least, one of the back ways available, because I knew several. A useful skill for a kid who found herself on the business end of a bully's instigated fist so often.

My rise was at the break of dawn, just as an extra contingency. Plus, it let me slow down for a much-needed morning walk. A teenager needed some peace before they wreaked havoc, after all.

I tapped my feet to a beat nobody else around me could hear, holding my iPod (it was 2001, fuck off) in one hand and the side strap of my backpack in the other. Gravel crunched under my feet and somewhere not so far off, some kid's grunts and cries of pain were unknown to me.

You rock my world, ya know you did,

And everything I own I give,

The rarest love, who'd think I'd find,

Someone like y-

I yelped as someone bashed into me right as I turned a corner, and nearly sent me right back around it. The peace of my mornings, interrupted by some idiot without a care to look around himself…

…which made sense, considering the sorry lump on the ground that he and some of his presumes friends were kicking.

Oh, shit, that's not a lump, that's a kid.

A lanky kid, at that. His scrawny arms obscured his face as he covered himself in a way you were supposed to when facing a grizzly bear. Near-girlish cries left him with every blow he was forced to take.

I must have looked either idiotic or simply unsympathetic in that moment, just staring dumbly (or blankly) as this kid was being pummeled into the ground. It took another shove my way to wake me the fuck up.

"Fuck off, Marcos," the perpetrator growled. I settled him with a look when he said my name. I didn't recognize him, but he must have been from school, given his now-bloodied uniform.

Another shove.

"I said fuck off, bitch! Ya wanna end up like this little wanker too?" He jabbed a finger at the primary victim.

My lips had yet to flap some sass back at him, which was honestly a feat in itself. I looked back at the kid on the ground, who hadn't cried out for help or begged for mercy. It almost made me not want to help him.

I shrugged my backpack off my shoulders and promptly swung it at my irritator's head. He hit the brick wall next to us and dropped to the ground cold.

…Apparently 'almost' wasn't enough.

His three friends looked up at the sound of a wanker's hollow head meeting an immovable force.

They looked at their friend on the ground.

Then they looked at me.

The kid on the ground had even started shifting up onto his elbows to observe me too.

I put my iPod in my pocket with a sigh, and bit the hair tie I had on my wrist.

"C'mon, let's get this over with."

---

Sound. Sound was the only thing I had, considering my glasses were snapped in half and tossed over the chained fence those four had cornered me at.

And sound by itself was almost too much, as I heard bones being cracked and the squelch of finer parts being crushed.

I'd nearly grown irritated, watching the blur of a person- a girl, I had realized- in between the cracks of my guarding arms. I was never a begger, not until duty called for such. But it would have brought me more comfort to see her scamper away rather than spectate.

To this day, I don't know what was going through Angel's mind as she watched the scene. I'm sure my weakness crossed her mind, but her life was of constant choices.

I wonder which one she really made that day, as she put down four bullies twice her size and sauntered over to cast her shadow over me.

I flinched away as she knelt by my side, halfway sure she'd knock me out too for good measure. Then she put a hand on my arm- her palms were soft, to my surprise. I'd suspected callouses, rough like the gravel I'd been beaten down on.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked.

"Do I look okay?" I snapped back. A small part of me shriveled in shame, to snap at who was, admittedly, my savior.

But she didn't seem to mind, or perhaps she just didn't care. Carefully, she helped me to my feet, patting me on the shoulders in a (very weak) form of comfort.

I rubbed at my eyes, wishing they'd for once cooperate with me so I could actually see who it was who'd come to my rescue. She seemed to recognize my struggle as she looked around for a pair of glasses.

"I have contacts in my backpack…" I muttered. There was no way I'd be able to rummage through it on my own.

"You must be really blind," she quipped, but helped me nonethless as I grumbled. "Here," she put the pack in my hands and I quickly put the contacts in.

I let out a sigh of relief as my vision cleared, and the bloodbath of a fight before me became that much clearer, and my rescuer all the prettier. I had had more graceful first thoughts about people, and I quickly shoved those about her down.

"You really, erm…" I gestured with my chin behind her at the scene she'd created, trying to divert her steel gaze from me. "Beat them by yourself?"

She simply shrugged, leaning down to hand me my backpack and then picking up hers again. As she stepped over the head of the little gang's legs, she made sure to give his foot a sound kick.

My feet, however, had yet to agree to move. She looked over her shoulder at me. "Are you coming? We could make it to school early and get you cleaned up," she said.

"Oh… of course," I dashed up to walk by her side, and she cringed a bit at the obvious awkwardness my injuries had induced.

We walked in silence for a few minutes before she spoke up. "You're new in the neighborhood, aren't you?" She asked, though her tone wasn't inquisitive.

"…I am."

That made her smile. A crooked smile, her white teeth peeking out from the side. But the crinkle of her eyes was soft.

"Well, I'm Angel," she said as she turned forward again.

It took me a moment to get over my bewilderment that these were our introductions.

No, this interaction belonged to two people who'd crossed paths on the sidewalk to school. Not to a wiry teenage boy and the girl who'd saved him from the beating of his life.

But as far as I could tell- and can tell- Angel had already forgotten about heroics and dramatics and convoluted thank you's.

"I'm Richard," I said softly, "Richard Malik."

She snorted slightly, and I tossed her a look. She smiled apologetically. "Yeah? Do you like your drink shaken or stirred, Richard?"

I let out a dramatic groan, perhaps more pained than the ones I'd been letting out on that alleyway ground.

But I'd be damned to say I didn't smile.

~end~

[labaguettegameuse]

“Like tears in the rain”

Not a full fanfic. Not a oneshot since i think i’ll make multiple parts. Got inspired to write a little something after i talked with @kukukape

Context ; You’re finally done your with the basic final exams at the uni and you wanted to celebrate with your boyfriend. Turns out he was already celebrating with someone else. SO you’re slowly loosing it and you’re thinking about the past. And maybe...the future. ♪

__________________________

It’s been weeks since his last message. And her final exams as been preventing her from answering. Now she got all the time in the world doesn’t she ? No more exams or classes until the results. And no more boyfriend. He made it very clear that she wasn’t here, available enough for him. Since another woman was occupying her couch and Greg’s mouth. Why would she stay around ?

Cecilia was walking down the street on a rainy night with a little bag in her hands. A hood over her head. Nobody can see you cry in the rain after all. After an hour, she finally gained access to a abandoned rooftop. She sat on the precipice, putting her bag next to her. A bottle of wine was inside. She wanted to celebrate the end of the year with... someone dear to her. Instead of throwing it into the void, Cc started drinking. She went through her phone, looking at social medias, ignoring Greg’s and Winston’s calls.

An old selfie of her and Richard caught her attention. It was the last one they took before they had to part ways for their studies and military careers. Hesitant for a few seconds, she drank again, then went to Richard’s most recent messages. He was giving her advices, how to manage her stress and all the informations going through her head. He was giving her the keys to success basically. Then ask her how she was doing. How she was managing etc. She finally decided to answer. Wiping away the tears, putting her hair behind her ears and hiding the bottle.

« Hey Richie.... I’m sorry if I took so long before answering. I was... well uh busy. Exams and so on. I did my best to follow your advices. They really help me out. Now I just gotta wait a few days. » scratching her head, trying to think and hold back her tears at the same time, « Now I’m free. Sort of. I’ve got nothing left.. to do. Beside one thing. Meeting my old man. Face to face for the very first time. I’m.... not doing fine at all. I don’t know what to do anyway. Got nothing to loose so yeah. » She now finally faces the phone like she’s trying to face Richard. « You’re the only one I’m telling all of these. So please, don’t tell anyone anything. Keep this to yourself. Cause even if I don’t tell you were I’m going. You’ll know where to find me. Don’t come until I sort things out. Goodbye Richard. See ya soon. »

She stays put. Letting the message record for a few more extra seconds before she actually end it. Having trouble getting down the ladder cause of the wine she had earlier, the girl missed a step. She somehow manage to fall right on her feet, hurting her left ankle a bit. Slowly but surely, Cc finally made it back to her place safely. Once at home, she started to pack. At the moment, she didn’t feel anything. Not a single emotion. Emptiness perhaps ? Or the impression of being disconnected ? She doesn’t know. She’s doing her bag like she was a little robot until she saw her own reflection into the window. With an hesitant step, she got closer and closer to the reflection. « My god I look pathetic. » thinking to herself. Her makeup makes her look like a damn panda. Her hair looks like she hadn’t sleep for days. She slightly touch her own face before putting the hand away almost immediately. Instead of continuing packing, she took her phone and sat by the window. Looking for a long time for the first plane to Egypt available. Once she did find what she was looking for, she stand up. Looking longingly to the bags she was packing. Cc won’t need any. She don’t know what she’ll find over there. Perhaps nothing good. But she needs to know. As her only friend for the trip, she just took her purse and left her home.

After what seems an eternity waiting, Cecilia is finally on that damn plane. Siting near the window, she watched her beloved city getting smaller and smaller by the second. Sniffing, rubbing her eyes again from the painful heartbreak she’s in. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep with the relaxing soundtrack from blade runner in her ears.

Somewhere, at the other end of the world, a phone rings in the middle of the night. The man was sleeping peacefully for once. But he mumble something under his breath as soon as he hears the notification. He sat on his bed and finally dare to look at that message. He then took his glasses out once he recognized the face on the vid. Richard was happy to see Cecilia again for a fraction of second until he notice the crack in her voice. He was analyzing every details to know what was going on and to try to take a guess at what’s making her upset. Starting to get worried and overthinking, he puts a hand over his mouth and rewatch the message again and again. She has been drinking and is probably making a serious mistake. He puts the phone down and sight, massaging his temple. Richard suddenly had an idea. Getting out of his bed pretty quickly, he started working on his computer. He tried finding her with the many différents cameras of every airports in the city. Then launch a facial recognition with mid 50 years old men in Egypt. A few long minutes later, he finally find a results. Got the « wanted » mention all over his face. The man Cc was looking for was a very known and wanted mastermind criminal. Richard immediately thought she was walking straight into the biggest trap of her life. « Guess I’ll see you in Egypt. Please don’t do anything stupid. » he says. Richard then took a long hard look to the bracelet Cecilia gifted him in high school before they part ways. The inscriptions almost erased by the time. The most precious and secret thing he own so far. The bracelet is getting old, obviously. He’s slightly rubs it with his finger before getting up and ready to face the woman he had a crush on after so many months. Hoping it wasn’t too late.

[quierorodarnojodan]

Estábamos bromeando con un amigo @mcdonneeli sobre que tenemos muchos ships similares si no casi todos, pero que irónicamente ambos nos peleamos por el mismo pj a usar y por eso jamás podemos rolear las ships xDD entonces me puse hacer la lista a ver que dice mi compatriota desalmado.

Anime/Manga

Axis Power Hetalia

Alemania x Norte De Italia

Austria x Hungría [♥]

Dinamarca x Noruega

España x Sur De Italia

Prussia x Hungría

Prussia x Austria [♥]

Bleach

Ichigo Kurosaki x Uryuu Ishida [♥]

Ikkaku Madarame x Yumichika Ayasegawa

Kyouraku Shunsui x Ukitake Jyuushirou [♥]

Carole & Tuesday

Carole Stanley x Tuesday Simmons

Cyborg 009

Jet Link (002) x Albert Heinrich (004)

Digimon

Ishida Yamato x Yagami Taichi [♥]

Dragon Ball

Goku x Vegeta

Durarara!!

Celty Sturluson x Kishitani Shinra

Kadota Kyohei x Izaya Orihara

Fairy Tails

Levy McGarden x Gajeel Redfox

FullMetal Alchemist

Maes Hughes x Roy Mustang [♥]

Get Backers

Kakei Juubei & Fuuchouin Kazuki

Haikyuu!!

Ooikawa Tooru x Iwaizumi Hajime

Haru wo Daiteita

Kato Youji x Iwaki Kyosuke [♥]

Hunter x Hunter

Hisoka x Illumi Zoldyck

Leorio Paladiknight x Kurapika [♥]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Joseph Joestar x Caesar Zeppeli

Jotaro Kujo x Noriaki Kakyoin [♥]

Mohammed Abdul x Jean Pierre Polnareff

Kuroko no Basket

Atsushi Murasakibara x Tatsuya Himuro

Kiyoshi Teppei x Makoto Hanamiya [♥]

Midorima Shintaro x Takao Kazunari [♥]

Naruto

Uzumaki Naruto x Uchiha Sasuke

Hatake Kakashi x Umino Iruka [♥]

Haruno Sakura x Yamanaka Ino

One Piece

Eustass Kid x Trafalgar D. Law

Roronoa Zoro x Vinsmoke Sanji

Saint Seiya

Manigoldo x Albafika [♥]

Hyoga x Shun

Sailor Moon

Kunzite x Zoisite

Michiru Kaiō x Haruka Tenou

Sakura Card Captor

Touya Kinomoto x Yukito Tsukishiro [♥]

Shingeki no Kyojin

Erwin Smith x Levi Rivaille

Marco Bott X Jean Kirstein

The Prince of Tennis

Inui Sadaharu x Kaidou Kaoru [♥]

Tiger & Bunny

Kotetsu Kaburagi x Barnaby Brooks Jr.

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru

Hotsuma Renjou x Shusei Usui [♥♥♥]

Cartoons

Adventure Time

Marceline Abadeer x Princess Bubblegum

Marshall Lee x Prince Gumball

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Jet x Zuko [♥]

Ed, Edd n Eddy

Kevin x Edd (Doble D)

Generador Rex

Rex Salazar x Noah Nixon [♥]

Happy Tree Friends

Lumpy x Russell

Shifty x Lifty

Splendid x Flippy

Scooby-Doo

Daphne Blake x Velma Dinkley

The Dragon Prince

Rey Harrow x Viren

The Legend of Korra

Korra x Asami Sato

Iroh II x Bolin

Voltron

Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane x Adam [♥]

Xiaolin Showdown

Chase Young x Jack Spicer

Series

9-1-1

Edmundo "Eddie" Diaz x Evan "Buck" Buckley [♥]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Angel (Angelus) x Spike (William) [♥]

Willow Rosenberg x Tara Maclay

Carmilla

Carmilla Karnstein x Laura Hollis

Class

Matteusz Andrzejewski x Charlie Smith

Common Law

Travis Marks x Wes Mitchell [♥]

Cobra Kai

Daniel LaRusso x Johnny Lawrence

Deadwind (Karppi)

Sofia Karppi x Sakari Nurmi

Downton Abbey

Tom Branson x Thomas Barrow

Richard Ellis x Thomas Barrow

Eyewitness

Lukas Waldenbeck x Philip Shea

Grey's Anatomy

Mark Sloan x Derek Shepherd

Hannibal

Hannibal Lecter x Will Graham

Hawaii Five-0

Danny Williams x Steve McGarret [♥]

Hemlock Grove

Peter Rumancek x Roman Godfrey [♥]

How to Get Away with Murder

Oliver Hampton x Connor Walsh

Iron Fist

Danny Rand x Ward Meachum [♥♥]

Julie and the Phantoms

Alex x Willie

Las chicas del cable

Francisco Gómez x Carlos Cifuentes [♥]

LazyTown

Sportacus x Robbie Rotten

London Spy

Alex x Danny

Merlin

Arhur Pendragone x Merlin

Once Upon a Time

Regina Mills x Emma Swan

Regina Mills x Robin Hood

Shadow and Bone

Aleksander / The Darkling x Kaz Brekker

Jasper Fahey x Kaz Brekker

Star Trek

James T. Kirk x Spock

Leonard MCCoy x Spock

Malcolm Reed x Charles "Trip" Tucker III

Stranger Things

Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington

Teen Wolf

Derek Hale x Stiles Stilinski

The Alienist

Laszlo Kreizler x John Moore

The Boys

Billy Butcher x Homelander (John)

The Irregulars

Billy x Leopold

Sherlock Holmes x John Watson

The Order

Hamish Duke x Randall Carpio

The Umbrella Academy

Diego Hargreeves x Klaus Hargreeves

The Walking Dead

Daryl Dixon x Rick Grimes

The Witcher

Geralt de Rivia x Jaskier

Torchwood

Jack Harkness x Ianto Jones [♥]

Travelers

Trevor Holden x Philip Pearson

Vampire Diaries

Alaric Saltzman x Damon Salvatore

Warehouse 13

Helena G. Wells x Myka Bering

Películas

Cloud Atlas

Rufus Sixsmith x Robert Frobisher

Sonmi-451 x Hae-Joo Chang

Inception

Eames x Robert Fischer

Dom Cobb x Robert Fischer

IT

Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak

James Bond

James Bond x Q [♥]

Rise of the Guardians

Sandman x Pitch Black

Star Wars

Baze Malbus x Chirrut Îmwe

Poe Dameron x Armitage Hux​ [♥]

The Old Guard

'Joe' Yusuf Al-Kaysani x 'Nicky' Nicolo di Genova

The Road to El Dorado

Tulio x Miguel

U.N.C.L.E.

Napoleon Solo x Illya Kuryakin

Libros

Harry Potter

Albus Dumbledore x Gellert Grindelwald [♥]

Harry Potter x Draco Malfoy

Blaise Zabini x Theodore Nott [♥]

Pansy Parkinson x Daphne Greengrass [♥]

James Potter x Severus Snape [♥]

Sirius Black x Remus Lupin

Shadowhunters

Magnus Bane x Alexander G. Lightwood

The Raven Cycle

Ronan Lynch x Adam Parrish

Richard Gansey III x Blue Sargent

Comics

DC Comics

Apollo x Midnighter

Clark Kent x Bruce Wayne [♥]

Diana Prince x Steve Trevor

Garfield Logan x Rachel Roth

Hal Jordan x Barry Allen

Pamela Isley x Harleen Quinzel

Jason Todd x Dick Grayson [♥]

Maggie Sawyer x Kate Kane

Roy Harper x Dick Grayson

Cassandra Cain x Stephanie Brown

Hernan Guerra x Kirk Langstrom

Michael Jon Carter x Ted Kord

Marvel

America Chavez x Kate Bishop

Azazel x Janos Quested

Gambit x Rogue

Erik Lehnsherr & Charles Xavier

Logan x Scott Summers [♥]

Natasha Romanoff x Bruce Banner

Shatterstar x Julio Richter (Rictor) [♥]

Steve Rogers x James B. Barnes [♥]

Theodore Altman x William Kaplan

Tony Stark x Loki Laufeyson [♥]

Vision x Wanda Maximoff

Wade Wilson x Peter Parker

Videojuegos

Assassin's Creed

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad x Malik Al-Sayf [♥]

Ezio Auditore da Firenze x Leonardo Da Vinci

Bayonetta

Bayonetta x Jeanne

Detroit: Become Human

Captain Allen x Gavin Reed

Connor, RK800 x Gavin Reed [♥]

Elijah Kamski x Gavin Reed

Elijah Kamski x Leo Manfred [♥]

Kara, AX400 x Luther, TR400 [♥]

Markus, RK200 x Simon, PL600 [♥]

Nines, RK900 x Gavin Reed

North, WR400 x Chloe, ST200

Ralph, WR600 x Jerry, EM400

Simon, PL600 x Gavin Reed

Devil May Cry

Dante x Vergil [♥]

Nero x V

Final Fantasy VII

Cid Highwind x Vincent Valentine

Final Fantasy XII

Basch fon Ronsenburg x Balthier [♥♥♥]

Kingdom Hearts

Saïx x Axel

Metal Gear

Solidus Snake x Raiden

Overwatch

Gabriel Reyes x Jack Morrison

Resident Evil

Chris Redfield x Leon S. Kennedy [♥♥♥]

Claire Redfield x Moira Burton

Jake Muller x Leon S. Kennedy

Jill Valentine x Chris Redfield

Jill Valentine x Carlos Oliveira [♥♥]

Jill Valentine x Claire Redfield

Rebecca Chambers x Billy Coen

The Evil Within

Sebastian Castellano x Joseph Oda

Podcast

Welcome to Night Vale

Carlos x Cecil Palmer

Crossovers

Samurai Jack/Johnny Bravo

Johnny Bravo x Samurai Jack

Canon x Oc

Deadwind (Karppi)

OMC x Sakari Nurmi

Downton Abbey

OMC x Thomas Barrow

Locke & Key

Tyler Locke x OMC

OMC x Duncan Locke

Lost in Space

OMC x Don West

Pokemon

OMC x x James

The Dragon Prince

Soren x OMC

The Irregulars

OMC x John Watson

The Lord of the Rings

OMC x Legolas

Political Animals

OMC x Thomas James "T.J." Hammond

Resident Evil

Jake Muller x OMC

Star Trek

OMC x Julian Bashir

Warehouse 13

OMC x Steve Jinks

Wizards: Tales of Arcadia

OMC x Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan

Duplas de Actores

Aaron Paul x Hugh Dancy

Bradley James x Colin Morgan

Chris Evans x Sebastian Stan

Daniel Craig x Ben Whishaw

Daniel Sunjata x Aaron Tveit

Dominic Purcell x Wentworth Miller

Edward Holcroft x Ben Whishaw

Gabriella Pession x Richard Flood

Gabriel Macht x Patrick J. Adams

Hanno Koffler x Max Riemelt

Jamie Dornan x Cillian Murphy

Jensen Ackles x Jared Padalecki

Landon Liboiron x Bill Skarsgård

Mads Mikkelsen x Hugh Dancy

Matt Davis x Ian Somerhalder

Michael Fassbender x James McAvoy

Rami Malek x Martin Wallström

Scott Caan x Alex O'Loughlin

Shemar Moore x Matthew Gray Gubler

Tom Hardy x Cillian Murphy

[kukukape]

Richard Malik x Operative: The Whistleblower

This the first time I've posted a fic in a while, but I'm excited! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist 😊

Tags: @simping-for-sandayu-oda @luciewarrenx3

•••

Richard had to admit, he'd come up with more... enjoyable plans than this one. He grunted as the Albion thug's knee collided with his stomach, again. Wanker was enjoying this way too much.

His eyes flicked to the camera ever so subtly. Not that the bastard would've noticed, he was too busy trying to decide which way to assault Richard Malik next. But he could see it moving around a bit sporadically, as if its operator were trying to get his attention.

And even in the midst of great pain, he had to fight a smirk. Things were already going accordingly.

"U-ugh!" He grunted as the Albion guard pulled him up by his hair and punched him in the face.

Welp, time to fall back into character.

"I-I'm not who you think I am, I-I swear!"

A slap across the face. Backhanded. Richard had to admit, that hurt his pride more than it did his face.

"You're Malik! A SIRS officer and a leaky fucking twat!" Richard, with his forehead resting against the cold concrete, found himself wanting to smile at his own notoriety.

Malik. That name carried weight in SIRS. In London's infrastructure of justice and security. This scared, begging persona wasn't him. This was a choice.

He was a spy. Slippery, and willing to relinquish his true character for his mission.

His breathing quickened with faux fear as the Albion officer picked him up by the collar, bunching up his silken silver tie amidst the action. "That's not me, I s-swear to god, please- PLEASE-"

---

Angel's heart nearly stopped when Bagley cut the feed. "Fuck…" she whispered. She had half a mind to curl up on the curb and let a grey gloom consume her, but Bagley was too much of a dick to allow that.

"Fuck is right! And fucking dead is what he'll be if you don't hurry," he said in his not-so-robotic deadpan.

Dead. Murdered. Killed?

All words and possibilities that resonated with Angel. She took a deep shaky breath, squeezing the steering wheel of her Atterley. "Drop a pin please, Bags," she said.

"I already did, while you were having a little panic attack."

Instead of meeting his snark with her own, Angel kicked the car into gear, speeding towards the construction site. From first gear to third, then sixth... and she was skidding to a stop by the sidewalk before she knew it.

Her optik buzzed as someone got onto comm. It was Brian, the team's most senior hitman. "Scope the place out before you go in. This could be a trap for all we know, so-"

The soft patters of a silenced P9, followed by two separate cries cut Brian off.

"Angel! Bagley, what's she-"

"She's storming the place like the baboon cousin she is!" Bagley exclaimed, "You know for a spy, she's rather uncovert." Which only said the absolute least.

The bodies were shrouded before the spy moved on, picking off another soldier just as they were turning the corner. A bullet between his eyes before he even knew he was in danger, and cloaked to make his death even less apparent.

Pressed against a corner wall, Angel took her phone out and let the news drone above become her eyes. "Bagley, help me find him," she said urgently.

"There's a closed off room in the back. Try there," he said. Angel jumped from camera to camera, her heart squeezing a bit every time she didn't see Richard.

Just when she was about to crack her phone in her grip, she saw him. Wrists tied, on his knees, gaze trained on the floor as he tried to catch his breath.

Angel knew this picture of him. Years ago, in a dirt-floored cell where they huddled together for just an inch of warmth. The image made her shudder, so forcefully mentally that she did so physically too.

She flinched again when Brian came over the comm. "Alright, there he is. I suggest you take out the rest of the guards before you go in," he said.

From soldier, to spy, and now to soldier again. Angel nodded as she squeezed the hilt of her gun. "I'll get right on it."

---

Richard chewed the inside of his cheek as he stared at the floor. He could feel a pair of eyes on him once again, staring through that same metal lense. He didn't dare turn to look, didn't dare break character.

Until he heard the camera screech, as if it wanted him to turn. And, flinching in surprise, he did.

He looked at the camera, wondering why the DedSec operative who'd come for him wanted to make their presence so known. Richard eyed the camera for a moment, searching for something deeper beyond the blank, metallic lense.

Of course, he found nothing. But just the notion of the operative- who he was all too sure was finally here- trying to communicate you're safe, it's okay, made him want to chuckle.

He gave the camera an acknowleding smirk, and ever so slight tilt of his head.

"AHH!" A soldier just outside screamed.

Richard's head whipped around again, and he heard some indecipherable yelling, along with the heavy footsteps of Albion-approved military boots. Somebody was obviously getting their ass kicked outside, because he only heard one person grunting in pain as limbs connected with their target.

Then silence.

He never really liked the quiet. It meant that nothing was happening, and for Richard, something always had to be happening. He couldn't predict quiet. Couldn't scheme it, outsmart it.

Thank god it didn't last long, before the metal door squealed open and quiet footsteps pittered in.

Richard kept his gaze down, as would a man currently fearing for his life. He'd been that enough times to know how to imitate it.

The 'fwoop' of a knife unsheathing made him flinch genuinely. But a steady, smooth... familiar voice eased him.

"Easy. It's just me," she said. Just me, she said. As if he were supposed to know her.

And he did. Oh lord, he did. And the mixture of fear, anger, regret, and happiness in him was too genuine for somebody so used to lying in the face of everyone short of his mother and father's graves.

The fearful part of him was scared to turn around and look at her as she cut through his restraints easily. But he didn't have a choice really, as she walked around and kneeled in front of him, cupping his face with both hands and searching for any injuries to his visage.

Richard was a confident man. Strong, assured, and decorated from head to toe in awards that highlighted his ingenius.

But he looked like a dumb fish in that moment, his mouth slightly ajar and eyes wide.

"…Angel?" He asked softly as her calloused fingertips subconsciously brushed across his brow, stretching down to touch his jaw.

---

"That's my name," she said dryly as she searched his face, looking anywhere but his eyes. Her hand reached into the pocket on his shirt, where she knew he kept a handkerchief. "Hold still, you look horrible," she said. Not that a handkerchief was gonna fix that, but whatever.

She wiped blood from his jaw, and the bits that had gotten onto his cheek. She chewed on the inside of her cheek to keep more words than necessary from escaping her.

I missed you.

Are you okay?

I know this is a farce, so what are you playing?

All reasonable, but Angel couldn't utter any of them. Because Richard Malik, her friend for all of their youth, her partner in war, her lover for that one night back in college, was right in front of her.

She raked a hand through his hair, which was as close to saying I'm glad you're okay as she was gonna get. And he grabbed her wrist gently.

Brown eyes met a lighter shade. Both of them soft, affectionate, and untrusting.

"You're Dedsec," he said it firmly but quietly. Looking for confirmation. Hoping she'd say no, she just happened to be walking down the street and decided to shoot up a restricted Albion area for shits and giggles.

But she nodded. And a pride she never had while working at SIRS shined in her eyes.

Angel helped him to his feet and cleared her throat. They clearly weren't gonna do the whole "So what've you been up to the past six years?" thing, so she spoke first, "We got the call from you. What was that all about?"

A look of shock passed over Richard's eyes. And Angel could tell what he was thinking. Probably wondering where that smile she always used to greet him with had gone.

But he remembered himself quicklyc straightening his tie with a nervous hand. "I'll upload the intelligence onto an anonymous FTP. You can sort through it-"

"No, I want to hear it from you," Angel cut him off rigidly.

Richard inhaled as his whole "My name is Richard Malik, herdyderdyder," speech was thrown out the window. "I believe I've discovered who Zero-Day really is; rogue SIRS officers from the CT unit who then framed Dedsec for the TOAN bombings."

"Men working under you?" Angel raised one elegant brow. "I always got the impression the CT unit was always fiercely loyal," she commented.

And back to the games they went. This time, for the first time, against each other.

He let out a humorless laugh. "You know how good I am at making enemies," he said, reaching for the door handle.

"Wait, Richard," she said quickly. Angel's hand shot out to grab his arm. He looked down at her in surprise.

…Down at her.

Since when was he so damn tall? And handsome…

No, no, stop it, monkey brain.

"I…" Angel's jaw moved uselessly for a moment, before she simply yanked him into am embrace. Richard made a surprised sound. Way too many surprises for one day for him.

But this one, he could tolerate.

Hesitantly, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders while hers linked around his neck tightly. Her cheek was pressed against his chest, and he could smell the shampoo drifting from her hair. "It's… good to see you again, Angel," he said quietly.

Angel chuckled once, before inhaling sharply and slowly pulling away. Out of his reach once again.

"We'll, uh... check out the info," she said, nodding before moving to step by him. But she paused by the door, then reached back over to him. Richard watched dumbly as she fixed his silver tie, straightening it back up and patting his chest twice. And she smiled.

"You grew up nicely, Richard," she said, before slipping out the door.

Richard stood there dumbly for a moment, a thousand different things racing through his head.

But the one thing that stood out the most was the fact that his plans had definitely just been shaken.

~end~