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They show the Eurostar attendant their tickets and make their way to their assigned seats. Wolfgang gestures for Kala to sit as he puts their cases on the overhead compartment before sliding into his seat himself.
“I didn’t see anyone following you in the station or onto the train,” Will says, suddenly occupying the seat across the table in their cubicle, craning his head to look up and down the compartment. “But we should keep an eye out just in case, at least until the trains starts moving.”
Wolfgang nods in agreement. They all take turns taking furtive looks at the other passengers, making sure no one suspicious joins the compartment.
Eventually, though, the final call for boarding comes and goes, the doors close, and the train begins pulling out of the station.
The three of them sit in tense, alert silence before Kala stands. “I’m going to see if I can get a chai, I saw the buffet car when we got on. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll go with you,” says Wolfgang, already rising out of his seat.
“No, stay. Someone needs to watch the bags.”
Wolfgang’s answering whisper is fierce, betraying his high-strung nerves.“I don’t give a fuck about the bags, you’re not going alone.” He reaches for Kala’s wrist, but she jerks her arm away at his touch, her anger flaring.
“I don’t need a minder, Wolfgang! Just stay here, I’ll be back in five minutes.”
She turns and stalks away quickly, leaving Wolfgang to slide slowly back into his seat.
Will stands and puts a hand on Wolfie’s shoulder. “I’ll go talk to her.”
Wolfgang leans his head back against the headrest as Will leaves, taking a deep breath and pinching the bridge of his nose.
He’s not used to the look of anger on Kala’s face. Not directed at him. It hurts more than he anticipated.
He’s caused her so much pain in the last few weeks. Filling her with hope that they could be together, then the kidnapping, the torture, the rescue mission... And now that they are together, he’s pushing her away, being overprotective, suffocating her. It would just be better for her, easier, if-
“Stop that.”
Wolfgang drops his hand from his face and sees Sun sitting across him where Will was a minute ago. She smokes a cigarette no one but him can see or smell.
“You know she’s stressed from the last few days. We all are. It’s not very hard for any of us to snap at the moment. That’s all this is. You’re safe now. You just need to let her breathe.”
He shakes his head and looks out the window at the city whizzing past. He stares in silence for a minute, knowing Sun will wait patiently for as long as he needs to gather his thoughts. Eventually, he speaks.
“Every person I see looks like one of them. Every time someone reaches into their pockets, or stands too close, or looks at us too long, I-” He cuts himself off and hangs his head, shaking it slowly. He’s going mad, he knows it. But he can’t stop.
Sun takes another drag from her cigarette, then blows the smoke out through her lips. “You’re being unreasonable.”
Wolfgang’s head snaps up in disbelief. “I’m being unreasonable? I’m the one who just spent three weeks in a fucking bunker getting all of you electrocuted.”
Sun puts out her cigarette on the table between them and leans forward. “Your fear is clouding your judgement. Think. Nobody followed us to the safehouse in London when we got you out. We were all together; if they’d known where we were it would have been the perfect opportunity to get us all at once. But they didn’t, because they didn’t know where to find us. All six of us visited you two all the way to the station and onto the train. No one is following you. No one is even noticing you. Nomi has been running background checks on everyone on the train since this morning. Wolfgang. Look at me.”
He forces himself to meet her eyes. Sun’s gaze is firm and insistent, but surprisingly kind.
“You are safe. You are safe now and you will be safe in Paris.”
“She doesn’t need you to protect her right now,” says Riley, appearing beside him. “It’s been a horrible few days, and we’re all stressed right now, but...” She reaches over the armrest that separates them, and Wolfgang stares down at their joined hands, startled. “What she needs from you is to be with her. You need to start this new life with her on the right foot, not paralyzed by fear. Fear never fixed anything, right?” Riley gives him a little half smile, gently shaking his hand on his lap.
Somehow, the tension in his chest that’s been coiled inside him since the cluster got him out of the bunker unspools a bit, allowing him to breathe just a bit easier than he has in days. He looks at Sun and Riley in turn and nods, a tight smile on his lips.
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Kala pays for her tea and stands at the bar to wait for her order. The bravado she felt back in the compartment has drained away as quickly as it came, and suddenly Wolfgang’s suggestion of coming with her doesn’t seem so absurd. She subtly eyes the man standing next to her, reading the paper. He seems harmless enough; early forties, business casual, dirty glasses. But what does she know about murderous BPO henchmen? Wolfgang’s the one who’s good at noticing these things, not her. And what is she supposed to do if someone attacks her, throw her tea at them and run? There isn’t even anything explosive she could use in a pinch, she doesn’t know how to fight, god, why did she leave Wolfgang behind in the--
“Oh my god, would you two stop? Nobody’s getting murdered.” Will sidles up to her next to the bar as the woman behind it hands Kala her tea.
Will is usually a welcome visitor, but right now the sight of him just brings the same anger back from before.
“Did Wolfgang send you to babysit me?” Nevermind that she’d just been about to spiral into a panic attack precisely because Wolfgang wasn’t there.
“No, actually, I managed to think of coming here all by myself.”
The anger washes away yet again as easy as it came, the coming and going of emotions leaving her deflated and dizzy and out of sorts. She feels stretched thin, strung out, like she could snap at any moment. She hates it.
Her head drops in apology. “I know. Please, forgive me.” She looks around at the few other passengers sitting at the bar. “I’m not myself right now. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Kala’s surprised to find her vision blurring, eyes welling up with tears. Will wraps his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close.
“What’s wrong with you is that your soulmate just very narrowly escaped BPO, after spending far too long suffering before we could get him out. Believe me, I know how that feels more than I care to remember.”
Kala realizes that Will is the only one who actually knows how she feels. After all, he went through it himself with Riley when she got caught in Iceland. She buries herself deeper into his arms.
“We’re all tired and stressed, ok? Including Wolfgang. You know he goes insane if he thinks you might be in danger.”
“I didn’t mean to snap at him like that. I just want to remember what it’s like to feel normal again, not having to look over my shoulder all the time and waiting for something to happen.”
Will gently pulls her away, holding both of her shoulders and gently but firmly focusing his blue eyes on Kala’s brown ones, forcing her to look up.
“Things are normal again. We’re all safe, we’ve tied up all the loose ends for now. We lost them, ok? All you need to do now is go back to Wolfgang and make things right so you can get to Paris and start fresh. We’re as safe as we can be, and right now, that’s pretty damn safe. Alright?
Kala gives him a watery smile and nods, wiping the few escaped tears from her eyes. Will is gone when she opens them again, so she takes a fortifying breath, downs what’s left of her now lukewarm tea, and heads back to their seats.
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Sun and Riley are gone by the time Kala returns to the compartment. Wolfgang stands immediately when he sees her, nearly reaching forward to touch her before stopping himself.
They stand in front of each other awkwardly for a few seconds, unsure of where they stand, before a dam seems to break and they both rush towards each other at the same moment, Kala throwing herself into Wolfgang’s arms and Wolfgang holding her close for dear life.
“Please forgive me, I-”
“I’m sor-.”
“No, I’m sorry. You don’t-”
Wolfgang presses his lips to hers in a quick, fierce kiss. It only lasts a few seconds, but their lips communicate everything they’re feeling - the desperation, the fear, the apology, the love - through every push and pull between them.
Their lips pull apart but their bodies don't, pulling each other into a tight hug instead. Wolfgang strokes the back of Kala’s head slowly, and the soft gesture, the eye in this hurricane of emotions, serves to soothe her frayed nerves.
They pull apart and make their way back into their seats, settling in as close to one another as the armrests allow. Kala adjusts herself so she can card her fingers through the hair at the nape of Wolfie’s neck, and Wolfgang can see his own reflection in her watery eyes.
"You’ve just been through hell, I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I’m sorry.”
Wolfgang’s hand lifts to her face and wipes the single escaped tear rolling down her cheek.
“That wasn’t your fault.”
Kala opens her mouth to argue, but Wolfgang interrupts before she can even begin. “It wasn’t.” Her eyes squeeze shut and another tear escapes. Wolfgang wipes it away with his thumb, then brings his forehead forward to rest against hers. “I’m sorry too. I don’t want to suffocate you. But I just-”
He can’t bring himself to say it, his jaw clenching against the words that threaten to spill forward, but he hopes she understands all the same.
Kala takes a few shaky breaths, then wraps her hands around Wolfgang’s and brings them down from around her head, pulling back a bit to try to catch Wolfgang’s gaze.
“We have to start this together, Wolfgang. We need to do this right. We can’t start a brand new life looking over our shoulders.”
Wolfgang nods, but can’t bring himself to lift his eyes from their hands now clasped together over her lap.
“I know it won’t be easy,” she adds, easily voicing his thoughts, “especially at first. But we have to work together if we want to give this a chance.” A gentle hand to his cheek makes him finally lift his gaze to meet her own. “Alright?”
Wolfgang takes a deep breath, his jaw clenching. “Alright. It’s just...” His eyes close again, his head tilting forward until his forehead rests against hers, taking a fortifying breath. “I came so close to losing you. I’m not doing it again.”
“You won’t. You’ve got me. Right here.” The whisper makes Wolfgang shiver before Kala leans in the few remaining centimeters and presses her lips to his.
It’s a fierce kiss for all that it’s soft, and it reminds them both of the one they shared when Wolfgang first woke after being rescued, the first they ever shared in direct contact with each other. Wolfgang still marvels at the softness of Kala’s plush lips, and the sensation of Wolfgang’s stubble beneath Kala’s fingers sends tingles up and down her spine.
Some other passenger in the compartment clears their throat, so they reluctantly break apart. Kala readjusts her position and leans further towards him, burying her face in his shoulder as his arm comes up around her back. Wolfgang’s t-shirt is soft under her cheek, smelling faintly of laundry detergent and cigarette smoke and just a hint of clean sweat, and while she definitely plans on having a serious conversation with Wolfgang about that second ingredient, she simply closes her eyes for now and breathes in deeply, letting the scent of him wash over her, her frayed nerves settling more with each inhalation.
They stay in that position for a long time, Wolfgang’s lips against the top of Kala’s head, brushing silent kisses into her hair every few minutes. Her arm wraps around him, slowly rubbing the side of his stomach with her thumb until eventually she falls asleep in his arms.
Wolfgang looks out the train window, his hand still grazing up and down Kala’s arm, and watches the landscape slip past them, hoping to God or whoever else that they can keep this momentary peace for as long as they can.