Work Text:
*Yoosung★ has entered the chatroom*
Yoosung★: Hey guys
Zen: Yo Yoosung
707: Not playing games at this hour?
Yoosung★: I don't always play games...
Zen: Sure...
707: I saw you were playing until 5am yesterday
Yoosung★: Yes, but I didn't have school today :D
Zen: Still, it's important for your skin that you go to bed at a decent hour
Zen: And don't sit in front of your PC for too long, you'll get fat
Zen: Why don't you come over and exercise with me sometime?
Yoosung★: ...
707: Ooh, want to exercise with me sometime too?
Zen: You exercise?
707: Ofcourse! How else do you think I'm so fit?
Yoosung★: But all you do is sit in front of your computer and eat Honey Buddha Chips...
707: But I also stay fit for my work!
Zen: Then what do you do?
707: Ever installed a laser pointer on a fast moving object and tried chasing it?
Yoosung★: ...No?
707: Then you're seriously missing out!
Zen: ...
Zen: That's not exercising
707: Sure is exhausting!
Yoosung★: Yeah yeah...
Yoosung★: But guys
Yoosung★: Have any of you heard from MC lately?
Zen: Hmm, not really?
Zen: I think the last time I heard her... was in a chatroom 2 days ago?
Yoosung★: Yeah, me too
Yoosung★: She isn't responding to any of my texts or calls either
Zen: I also found it strange she didn't respond to my texts
707: Let me check it out
Zen: I'll try calling her
*Zen has left the chatroom*
Yoosung★: I'm worried
Yoosung★: What if something happened to her?
707: Dontworryimonit
Yoosung★: What are you even doing? Zen's calling her.
707: Lookinginto heractivity log
Yoosung★: You mean you're hacking her phone??
707: :)
*Zen has entered the chatroom*
Yoosung★: AND?!
Zen: She's not picking up. I called 2 times!
Zen: Seven. We need to get over there
Yoosung★: YES! WHATIF SOMTEHIGNS WORGN?
707: Typos
707: Andyouknowwecant
Zen: Dude
Zen: seriously
Zen: What if there's something seriously wrong with her?
Yoosung★: Yes!! That's what I'm saying!
707: Cantsorry
Zen: Why?
707: Classified remember?
Yoosung★: We shouldn't care about classified right now!
Yoosung★: We need to worry about MC!
Zen: What he said
Zen: Seven, come on
Zen: You know where this appartment is!
Zen: Can't you atleast check it out?
707: I see she was on her phone a lot today
Yoosung★: So... she's okay?
Zen: Then why isn't she coming to talk to us?
Yoosung★: Did we.. do something wrong? T_T
Zen: Nah dude..
Zen: ...
Zen: Did we?
Yoosung★: what was the last thing we chatted about with her?
707: Last thing she sent to us was something about... family and friends?
Zen: I don't think I was part of that chatroom
Yoosung★: Oh, I remember reading it. Wasn't she chatting with Jumin?
Zen: Ugh, that jerk
Zen: He probably said something to upset her...
707: That didn't seem to be the case
707: But work just called, seems like I got a new mission
707: I'll have to go now
Yoosung★: Okay... Let us know if you hear anything from MC, okay?
Zen: I'm always ready to run over to the appartment
Yoosung★: Same here
707: I'll keep you updated
707: Bye now
Zen: Bye
Yoosung★: Good luck
*707 has left the chatroom*
Yoosung★: ...MC
Zen: I hope she's okay
Yoosung★: I don't think I'll sleep tonight
Yoosung★: I'm worried
Zen: Me too
Zen: Let's stay alert and if we hear anything, let's be there for her
Yoosung★: ...yeah
Zen: I think I'm gonna go for a jog
Zen: Clear my mind for a bit
Yoosung★: Be safe
Zen: Want to join me?
*Yoosung★ has left the chatroom*
Zen: ...
Zen: I'll get you to join me someday
*Zen has left the chatroom
* *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seven shut down his computer screens. He picked up his hoodie from underneath the bags of chips on the floor. As quiet as possible, he snuck through his house to the door. Just as he turned the doorknob- ''HEY!''
A shudder went through his body.
''Where do you think you're going."
Seven turned around to meet the glaring man sitting on his sofa.
"Vandy! When did you get here?"
"I've been here for the past 6 hours... How did you not notice me until now?" A cigarette was burning in the agent's mouth and lit up his face just enough so that Seven could see he wasn't amused.
"I must have been too busy working, I didn't hear you at all!" Seven says cheerfully.
He knew. He just hoped he wouldn't be caught sneaking out. He swiftly turned around again to open the door and try to escape his home.
"Have you atleast finished some of your tasks?" Smoke blew out of the brown haired man's nose, disappearing into the cold, dark room. Vanderwood never bothered to turn on the lights. The way he was sitting there in the dark, with only a tiny orange cigarette light illuminating his face, made him look even more like a villain.
Seven took a step outside the door. "Don't worry! I worked so hard, I just need a break. Just gonna go take a jog around the block! Maybe pick up some snacks!"
Vanderwood sighed. "You? Jogging? Heh, what a joke." He took another deep take from his cigarette. "You better be back soon. And bring me some more cigarettes while you're at it, I'm almost out."
Seven grinned "No, because that's bad for you! And I don't like it when you're smoking in my house! See ya!" He quickly closed the door behind him and ran to one of his cars. He pressed a button on his cellphone and his garagedoor slowly started rolling up. His key turned and revved up the engine with a load roar. The tires eeped when they started moving and turning over the smooth tiles of the garage floor, freshly cleaned. Thank you, Vanderwood.
Out the door and onto the streets, Seven turned on his navigation system and put in the address. First, a quick stop at the supermarket.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was quiet.
It was dark.
No lights on.
Silent background noises from outside. Occassionally the elevator in the building would start moving up or down, the door opening with a chime and the hallway would fill with creaking. Some footsteps, some doors opening and closing.
A cellphone vibrated. The white light filled the dark room. The ringtone kept playing until it came to a sudden stop. The screen read: 16 missed Calls, 24 new messages, 11 chatrooms opened, 1 unknown notification.
The screen went black again.
Silence returned. But not for long.
A silent knock on the door.
No answer.
Another knock, slightly louder this time.
"MC?"
No answer.
"MC, are you alright?"
"Who... Who's there?" A hoarse, quiet voice answered.
"MC... Good to hear you. It's me, Seven. Is it alright if I come in?"
Before she could think of an excuse of why she didn't want to see anyone, the door opened up. The slowly increasing hallway light revealed the state of the appartment bit by bit, until it hit the target; MC. A messy hairbun, a pyjama worn for a few days, covered in a blanket, lying down on the couch. Her eyes were locked on the person who stood in her doorway.
Seven looked around. The appartment was dark. Curtains were closed, no lights on. Used tissues, empty bags of chips and soda cans spread around the room. Some pizza boxes laid stacked on the coffeetable, one with half eaten pizza still left inside.
"Are you trying to copy my lifestyle? Didn't know I was a trendsetter." Seven chuckled.
No reaction.
"I'm... Gonna close the door and come to you, okay?" His tone suddenly sounded more serious.
The door closed. The only light in the room came from the soft glow of the moon through the curtains.
Taking slow careful steps, Seven made his way through the mess to find MC.
"Hi MC, nice to finally see face to face, right? It's our first time meeting each other." An awkward silence followed. Seven broke it after a few seconds. "Didn't know you were part of Blanketianity! I wanted to join too, but I'm too devout to our sweet Lord and Saviour! I should pray later."
He reached the couch. MC seems to have hidden herself under the blanket.
"Oh! I didn't know you were praying to The Almighty Blanket! I'm sorry to have interupted you. I'll just go to the kitchen real quick. I brought some stuff." He shakes the bag in his hand he's been holding. "I hope you like chocolate icecream?"
Using his phonelight to make his way through the appartment, he rummages through the many drawers in the kitchen, trying to find 2 small spoons. After a minute, he returned and put everything on the table. While making a spot for himself to sit on the floor, MC suddenly spoke from underneath the blanket, her voice trembling slightly.
"Seven. I'm-- Embarrassed for you to see me like this... I'm sorry."
"MC, don't worry. I've seen all your cute selfies in your phone, so you don't have to worry about me seeing you like this. By the way, the blanket is kinda in the way of your face right now. Just saying, it matches your pretty eyes."
A minute in silence passes. Seven takes the icecream out of the bag and opens it up. He puts the spoon in it and puts it in front of MC.
"Why are you here, Seven?"
The question lingers. The silence deepens. A car honks in the distance. A deep inhale and exhale.
"Because... we all care about you. We were worried."
"But you guys don't even know me. I'm an intruder. I showed up in a stranger's appartment a few days ago, started chatting with some strangers and--" a deep sigh. A sob?
"MC. Look, I don't know what's up. But we truly care about you. You are a kind and nice person. We enjoy chatting with you and talking with you through the phone. The situation doesn't matter. We like being friends with you."
More sobs.
"MC. You are a part of the RFA now. Your heart has spoken to each of us. Everyone's so happy you joined. You... mean a lot to us." A short pause. "I know this sounds weird after only knowing you for a few days... Hahaha." Seven chuckles to himself. He does find it weird. What was it about MC that made them feel that way? Even he feels the change in everyone's demeanor. The group has become more active, their moods uplifted. The chatroom is buzzing with life twice as much as it used to. Everyone's... happier. Even him.
"...You guys mean a lot to me too."
Seven sighs relieved. "Thank you for joining us, MC."
Seven takes a spoonfull of icecream and eats it. Another big spoon quickly followed.
"AAH!"
MC jumps. Sitting upright in the couch, her blanket falls of her face. She looks startled at Seven. He's rubbing at his forehead, hissing through his teeth. "Brainfreeze..."
MC looks at him for a moment. Then she starts shaking. A chuckle escapes her lips. She giggles. Seven looks at her and grins. He joins her in laughing.
A few tears escape MC's eyes and Seven quickly offers her some tissues from the tissuebox on the table. "T-thanks..." MC blows her nose and curls up into her blanket again. Hugging her knees, she stares out in front of her. Seven scoots over and offers her her tub of icecream. "Psst, it's melting."
She takes the tub and stares at it for a while. Slowly she takes the spoon and puts a small scoop into her mouth.
In silence they both eat their icecream. MC hers with chocolate with pieces of brownies, Seven his with cookiedough with peanutbutter.
10 minutes must have past. No words were spoken. Just eating.
Suddenly a vibrating noise started, together with a ringtone. The room was illuminated again.
It was MC's phone. Someone was calling her. Seven glanced at the screen: it was Yoosung. He noticed MC looking at the screen from the corner of her eyes and... ignoring it. Her eyes were getting wet again.
"You want to get something else to eat? Or a drink?" MC shakes her head.
"You up for a game? I could always install Lolol on that computer over there." MC sees him pointing and hears the grin in his voice. But once again she shakes her head.
"Alright. Just let me know when you need anything!"
Seven gets up from the floor. He dissapears for a while. MC takes her phone and lies back down in the couch. She can hear noise all around the appartment. Seven is humming a song, then he bumps into something and curses, followed by lots of rummaging. What is he doing?
She decided to get up and look for where Seven is. The noises seemed to be coming out of the bathroom. Entering the room, she squinted her eyes against the bright light. A flowery scent hit her nose. She could hear water running. A bath?
"Oh no! You caught me! I was about to take this nice, hot bubbly bath myself! Guess I'll have to let the lady go first..."
"Seven..." She blushes. This was awkward, yet... So sweet.
"Hush hush, we don't wanna scare away the bubbles. I'll leave this to you!" He pushes MC into the bathroom and closes the door behind him. The water was still running, foam was starting to rise. There was a bathbomb at the edge of the tub, a pile of clothes resting on the sink.
He did all this... for me?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Emerging from the bathroom, in fresh clothes, hair wet and smelling like flowers, MC entered the living room.
The lights were on. And she could see Seven wiping off the coffee table. Had he just cleaned her entire apartment?
"Seven?"
"Oh! You've arisen!" He throws his hands in the air as if to praise the Lord. A small chuckle escaped MC's mouth.
"I... I see you've cleaned." She looks around. All her trash was picked up and put into bags. Her blanket was nicely folded and pillows rearranged.
"Thank you..."
Seven stands up straight and salutes. "707, Defender of peace and justice, at your service!"
MC giggles. He did it to cheer her up. And he had succeeded in his mission.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was nice talking to someone. And to laugh again. It was a pleasant evening.
The appartment was clean, apart from the newer empty cans of Phd.Pepper and bags of chips laying on the table.
MC laughed at Seven's heroic stories about the times he snuck into Jumin's penthouse dressed as a bodyguard just to catnap Elly. The story about the time he hacked Yoosung's computer just make his cursor move away anytime he'd try to click on the Lolol shortcut. The time he replaced Jaehee's coffee beans with decaffeined ones but she immediatly noticed and made him buy her a new pack. Or the times he edited Zen's fanpage so his fans would all send him pictures of them dressed as cats!
Hours must have passed, but they didn't notice. Until Seven starting yawning.
"Hey, Seven. Thank you." MC says, barely any louder than a whisper. "Eventhough we haven't talked about what's wrong, I... I feel better. I appreciate it."
Seven's shoulders relaxed. He sighs. "I'm just glad you're okay now."
"It's just..." She sighs "...nobody has ever done these things for me. Hell, I wouldn't even have known how to deal with someone like this myself."
"I used... to have moments like these too. And Vand- uh, my maid also did these things for me!" He quickly corrects himself, scratching the back of his head.
"Your maid?"
"Yeah... I guess she uh... really cares for me."
"She sounds really nice... Maybe you should tell her sometimes you appreciate her? Haha, maybe even give her a raise!"
Seven smiles and nods. Maybe he should.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The gate beeped and opened. Shoes thrown in the corner, a hoodie dropped on the floor, a shadow moving through the house. The light of a cellphone shining through the hall. A new chatroom had opened, its participants: Yoosung, Jaehee and MC. Soon Zen also joined in on the ungoing chat. The chat filled with worries, apologies and soon laughter. Seems like the mission was a succes.
Yawning, Seven slumped through the dark towards his bedroom. He just wanted to drop down on his bed.
"Hope you haven't forgotten anything?"
"WAAh!" Seven screamed and turned around towards the noise. "You're still here? Thought you went home by now!"
"My mission is to keep watch over you. And I'm doing that right now. So technically, I'm still on the job." Vanderwood finally turned on some lights. His eyes looked small. A couple of burn out cigarettes were in the ashtray on the table in front of him. A magazine or two, a can of beer and his taser next to it. "How was the jog?"
Seven huffed and stretched: "Really really REALLY tiring! Like, I could literally drop down right here and now! But it was... also relieving."
Vanderwood looks him up and down, eyeing his clothing suspiciously. He definitly did not go for a jog. And he was gone for hours... Vanderwood gave up trying to track him after an hour and just took a nap. "I'm glad. I just expect you to finally finish some work tomorrow, before the Boss starts complaining." He crosses his arms. Seven nods and says he will be a good hacking slave again starting tomorrow morning. The older agent stood, picked up his trash (and Seven's) to throw them away. Seven watched him pick up his jacket, getting ready to leave.
"Hey, Vanderwood."
The man looked at him, halfway through putting on his jacket. Something was pressed into his hands.
"Thanks. For everything. See ya tomorow."
Seven turned on his heels and walked towards his bedroom.
Vanderwood blinked a few times as he watched Seven close his bedroom door. A smirk crept upon his face. He walked outside the bunker and lit a fresh cigarette, dissapearing into the night.