Chapter Text
The alleyway echoed in the splashing of water puddles. Heavy steps accompanied frantic panting as the blue Icejin hurried down the path, clenching onto the wet rag that covered his body. Slow calm steps followed behind him, unfazed by the distance he tried to put between them, because nonetheless, he was still able to stay close behind. Frost took one quick glance behind him, his heart thumping at seeing the coated figure still within sight, sending a quick shiver down his body before taking a misstep and dropping onto the ground. His elbow collided with the puddles beneath him, fresh from the rain that had recently taken place, yet he paid no attention to the possible scratches, only shooting his terrified glare back down the alley towards the legendary assassin, Hit, who took calm steps towards him. His eased expression only terrorized the Icejin even more, as if he was mocking, knowing very well what was to come.
Dear rabbit
My legs are getting weak
Because he knew what he was all about. The life he had taken.
Chasing you
Murder. Contract killing. No hesitation. No mercy. And it was coming for him.
The snowfields wouldn’t seem so big
If you knew
No matter how long he could try to flee or outrun him, he knew what Hit was send out to do. The only time he would ever listen to someone else. He never let a target get away.
That there’s blood on my teeth
It is far beyond dry
And he was next.
And I’ve captured you once,
But it wasn’t quite right
Once the leader of the team he fought alongside, now the very man that would end it all for him.
So I’m telling you,
Maybe then he would finally find peace.
That you’ll be safe with me
Frost sat on the cold puddle-covered ground, his chest heaved at an unsteady pace as his heart beat against it, looking straight back at those piercing red eyes of the legendary hitman. His mind raced on a decision to either accept his fate, or keep on one more fight before he’s ultimately defeated. Pride was such a fragile thing now. Life and death were the matter at hand, and he was the only one to blame.
Never did he doubt Hit, his universe’s most known assassin, would have eventually gotten a contract to end the same universe’s most wanted criminal. In a way, it was flattering, yet the rapid beating of his heart and the thought of his own life ending unceremoniously by his own once trusted ally, gave a whole new input in his situation. They had fought for the same purpose, for the same side, for the same life. Had that meant nothing?
“So, you’re finally going to do it?” he managed to say, putting up a bold stance in his expression, but the mild shaking in his voice gave away his fear to the hitman.
“How much? Hundreds? Thousands?!” the Icejin continued. At getting no response, his body agitated even further. “If you’re going to do it, don’t toy around and just get it over with!” His demanding tone did its best to hide the repressed disappointment Frost held within. He couldn’t believe it…
As much as he recognized his own strength, Frost had found himself being able to admire the power and leadership abilities Hit was capable of, something his team appreciated him for during the fateful Tournament of Power. He distinctively remembered after being brought back, the faint sense of pride he had of having him as an ally. Honorable and direct, truly worthy of being the head of his team. At one point, even for a moment, Frost had found himself… looking up to Hit, something he wouldn’t admit out loud, though now he wished he would have, but flattery could have only taken him so far. It did in the past.
Hit was in no way a weak mean, a thought he focused on so much at that moment that he vaguely remembered the hitman’s own compliment towards the Icejin from back then. A faded “You did well, Frost,” was fuzzy within his memory.
Even so, he knew Hit had a job to do.
His body tensed after his plea to have the assassin take his first and only shot towards him, knowing there was no point in fighting.
“That would be my usual approach,” he finally spoke. Frost jolted his view back up at the man, wide eyed at his response. Was it a warning?
And rabbit,
“The truth is, this isn’t the first contract I’ve had for your life. Frost.”
Frost’s body continued to tense, still awaiting at any moment for Hit to take the opportunity. He couldn’t trust to let his guard down for even a moment.
“However.. I always reject them.”
Except this one.
“…W-What?”
“Because I knew that if I ever did accept and take it.. I would hesitate.”
Hit noticed his eye’s budging only slightly in confusion before he continued, having stopped his walking to stand in the middle of the alley. “After the tournament.. I always had in the back of my mind the thought of where you might have gone off, after everything that happened. The contracts, I guess you could say they were the only indication I had that you were still alive.”
My claws are down now so don’t
Frost gripped his cloak. Why was he telling him this? “..W-Why would you reject them?”
Be afraid
A pause. “I knew that you wouldn’t go down in one hit. You could, but you would never accept it, in life or death. You’re a fighter. Even now.. I was surprised you were able to survive for this long on your own.”
Frost, blinded by his tension, found it difficult to accept the flattery, only focused on protecting his life. For all he knew.. Hit was only distracting him, but the assassin wasn’t going for that..
“Lesser men would of given up by now. But not you, Frost. You’re resourceful and cunning enough to survive, and you know it. .. Which made me even more confused, when you were erased.”
“We all were.”
“But you were first.”
Frost eased a bit when he remembered what he was adverting to. The Tournament of Power, when, after having been tricked by his counterpart, was erased, and only him from his team. He gritted his teeth again for a bit at remembering the feeling of betrayal. “Kyh! Why must you out of all people remind me of that?!”
“Only someone so out of touch with those around him, even to those he calls allies, would go so far as to trust the enemy. I never took you for that kind, Frost.”
“What kind?”
“Lonely.”
Frost’s eyes budged slightly. It was as if his wall of vulnerability had taken its first hit.
“It was only after that that I started to wonder.. of how alone you must have felt to trust someone that would eventually end you. Someone as proud as you..” Hit continued to walk towards him, the familiar sound of the calm step against the puddles reminded Frost in an instant that his life was on the line, or so he believed. “I told myself it wasn’t my business, or even to blame, but I couldn’t shake the feeling…”
As Hit tried to explain himself, he could only stare back at Frost’s fearful expression as he compared it to the last time he saw him, right after the tournament. How in a moment of calm and even curiosity, he had asked Frost where he would go, to which the Icejin never responded him, but after that silence, Hit found himself unable to stop thinking about him, something that confused him even weeks after. He told himself he had no reason to, and tried to move on as he could, yet he couldn’t help but every now and then wonder where the Icejin would have had ended up in.
He had to admit that at some point, he respected Frost for who he was, and what he was able to accomplish. After all, not just anyone could put on a facade for an entire universe for years. Someone so reliable, determined, skilled and graceful… Which made him even more confused on how he gave in to his enemy’s charm so easily. Just how low had Frost hit, both mentally… and emotionally.
From the moment he first met him to the night he recruited him in that alleyway, how much he had changed, and yet, still the same. He had no reason to care for him, and he repeated this in his mind for weeks, so much so, it was the only thing he could think even during his usual assassination runs. How much of an impact Frost had made, what he was capable of, telling himself what he was feeling for him was respect and not, as his mind once dared suggest… admiration, the way he fought, even the way he lied was only something he had seen in brief encounters with a very small number of targets but this time he had the chance to interact with at a much closer level than just a simple target.
But was that the only reason…?
“I couldn’t shake you off my mind.”
Seeing him come closer, Frost took another step back, wanting to keep a distance between him and the red eyes that stared back at him. Frost tried to find meaning in his words, only taking them as mere mocking before he ended him, reasoning that if they were anything else, Hit would of said so by now.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know Hit was also the one struggling, not only to find the words, but to come to terms on his own wants rather than what the world wanted. Even if his universe wanted Frost gone, Hit felt it was a shame if they would lose someone like him, until he realized..
It was him who didn’t want to lose him.
I could keep you warm
“And I believe.. I understand why. That’s why I was so hesitant to take those jobs. Because if I ever met you again, I would have no other choice.. but to accept it.”
As long as you can just try
“Why would you need so much time to finish me when you’ve never done with any one else?!”
To be brave
“I’m just another target for you! Whatever it is you have to do, just do it!”
Yes I know I’m a wolf
Hit slowly took his hand out of his pocket, a gesture Frost was too familiar with knowing what was to come as he took his last step back before hitting a wall.
And I’ve been known to bite
Looking behind him once, he knew he was cornered, the final piece he needed to let himself accept his defeat, but not easily. He took one last glance at Hit’s approaching figure before gripping his rag and shutting his eyes.
But the rest of my pack
He embraced for what was to come, oblivious to Hit’s emotions and true intentions. He could try to flee or hide, but that game was long gone now.
I’ve left them behind
Because he knew it, Hit…
And my teeth may be sharp
Was the only one he couldn’t escape from.
And I’ve been raised to kill
Yet as for Hit…
But the thought of fresh meat
Frost was the only one he couldn’t finish.
It is making me ill
He could feel his looming figure over him, his body tensed as the seconds seemed to dragged on.
So I’m telling you
Hit’s fingers positioned themselves under Frost’s chin tilting his face upwards towards him, a gesture that made Frost dare flutter his eyes open…
That you’ll be safe with…
…Just as Hit leaned in to press his lips against his.
Me…
Frost opened his eyes in a state of shock and confusion to meet Hit’s closed eyelids, his larger hand holding his chin up gently as their lips locked thanks to the assassin. The dread that drained from him was replaced by utter shock as he held their moment, as he expected pain and death, he received affection in a gentle gesture that was nowhere near his mind, and from Hit of all people.
Mixed with panic, shock and confusion, as well as the possibility of Hit feeling something for him became too much for Frost as his eyes glinted and a tear rolled down his cheek. The overwhelming emotions got a sniffle from him as Hit pulled back, separating his lips and meeting Frost’s distressed expression.
For the first time in many years, Hit felt guilty. Both from having given Frost an awful wave of emotions from terrified for his life to utter confusion, and not accepting his own feelings sooner. Maybe then he could have avoided the isolating look in his eyes.
It was then Frost came back to reality to realize how vulnerable his simple gesture had made him, gripping his cloth once again and shutting his eyes in shame, lowering his head to the side, hating and cursing at himself for being so weak when he promised himself to always maintain self control. His shivering body was a jab to Hit’s pride. If only he had been more direct, he wouldn’t have caused both his object of affection and himself such distress.
But he promised himself, it was going to make up for it.
So rabbit
Hit lowered both his arms and as gently as he could, took in Frost’s trembling body within his grasp, holding the Icejin in his arms close to his body, but Frost would not ease in the slightest, keeping his head down not wanting to look at him or the world.
Please stop looking the other way
He didn’t care where Hit would take him now, but fortunately for him, Hit was not planning to cause him anymore pain. If anything, he wanted Frost to be just like his old self again. Graceful and in control of himself. But first, he needed somewhere he could feel safe.
It’s cold out there
With someone who could provide it.
So why not stay here
He lifted the Icejin into his arms as he made his way back to his ship. To somewhere nobody would ever find them.
Under
To safety
My
To warmth.
Tail