Chapter Text
Lune was being chased by Scythe members.
Again.
Lauren shouldn’t have been surprised. It was a regular occurrence for Lune, and yet, she had dared to hope that for one night, they would be left alone to spy on the Scythe’s schemes in the shadows. Sadly, a clumsy step by her had nearly sent her tumbling off their perch and Kieran’s rush to save her from falling to death alerted the members to their position. Knowing that was their cue, they promptly shot to their feet and climbed the nearest building, running across the rooftops and jumping between the buildings.
“I think there’s three after us,” Lauren panted as she raced beside Kieran, both of them already spent after only a couple minutes of running. Their bodies were still injured and battered from the factory explosion and Lauren’s mind begged her for sleep. But they hadn’t had time to recover fully, knowing that Lune’s work was far from done.
Somehow, they had survived the explosion. Broken and on the edge of death, Kieran had dragged Lauren out of the rubble and to the cave before passing out. At some point, they had woken up and bandaged each other, but those couple of days were a blur to her.
And by some miracle, their absence wasn’t questioned by the precinct when they returned only three days after the explosion. At least, they hadn't been questioned too much. Kieran claimed sickness and Lauren used the all too convenient alibi that she had been caring for Kieran, which was why she hadn’t been at the factory with the other officers. However, as a result, everyone now knew Lauren and Kieran were supposedly dating.
Lauren found herself caring less about the alibi.
“There’s a few more below us,” Kieran replied, breathing heavily from behind his mask. His body was still healing from his beating and burns, but he refused to let her go alone to any of the meetings of Scythe members.
“I have three bullets, but I’d rather not use them. We don’t need any more attention drawn to ourselves,” Lauren said, barely rushing the words out with her lack of breath. She stumbled, but Kieran was there, holding her upright as they continued pushing themselves.
“The next one, jump down into the alley,” Kieran said and Lauren nodded. As if they had been training together since childhood, they grabbed the ledge of the building in sync, jumping off the building and onto the fire escape below them. Neither of them looking up, they raced down the stairs, Kieran right on Lauren’s tail.
When they finally reached the alleyway, both exits were cut off, three men on either side. Lauren and Kieran stood back to back, Kieran taking out his knives while Lauren grabbed her gun. She didn’t plan on shooting it, but she hoped the sight of it would buy Lune some time. Using one of her hands, she slowly put it in her pocket, feeling the small weapon stashed there.
“So, this is Lune?” one of the men sneered, his tone dripping with mockery. Lauren heard Kieran chuckle and she smirked, flicking off the safety pin of the grenade in her pocket before tossing it on the ground.
An explosion sounded, smoke instantly filling the alley. Lauren heard the men shouting to each other, but she and Kieran were already opening the hidden wall in the alleyway, slipping inside and closing it again before the smoke dispersed. Even through the wall, she could still hear the men yelling at each other, trying to find Lune, but Kieran had assured her that no one would find them.
Sighing heavily, Lauren sat on an empty crate, lighting the lantern with a box of matches from her pocket. She set the lantern in the middle of the tiny room they were in, Kieran sitting opposite the lamp on another crate. He slumped against the wall, sighing much like she had. They were both exhausted.
“How do you know about this place?” Lauren asked, grabbing a water bottle from a corner and carefully observing it before taking a long gulp. Her arm was beginning to throb and she knew she shouldn’t have been using it so often, but she didn’t have any other choice.
“It’s helpful to have hiding places when being chased by the APD.”
Lauren hummed in response. She had suspected as much, handing the half-filled water to Kieran. He took it, his hands shaking slightly as he drank. Lauren watched him carefully, the little light not allowing her to see his full exhaustion, but she knew that whatever she was feeling, he was feeling worse. His eyes were sunken, his clothes hanging off his thinner frame, his movements without his usual gracefulness. It pained her to see him like this as much as her own injuries pained her.
“Kieran, are you bleeding?” Lauren asked suddenly, noticing a blood spot on his shoulder growing from a piece of debris from the explosion that had cut him deeply. Kieran waved his hand, finishing the rest of the water.
“I’ll be fine–”
“Kieran, I swear, don’t finish that sentence,” Lauren warned, already standing and opening other crates in the small room, looking for a first aid kit.
“The one next to it,” Kieran sighed, resigned. Lauren opened the next crate, smiling at the kit stashed there. She pulled her empty crate towards Kieran, sitting beside him as she pulled his coat and shirt down to see his shoulder. She winced at the blooming blood spot, opening the kit and grabbing a cloth along with alcohol.
“You’re an idiot,” she muttered, unwrapping his bandages to see the damage. The stitches she had done had held, but the wound was still bleeding.
“Well, I’m sure you’re right, but what prompts you to say that now?” Kieran teased, his voice still so tired. She indulged him, chuckling as she cleaned the wound gently.
“You still have the nerve to think that you can fight with this arm,” she quipped, setting the bloodied cloth aside and rewrapping his wound with clean bandages. Kieran scoffed at her answer.
“Says the woman who just healed from a bullet wound. And I’ve fought with worse injuries,” he argued and Lauren would’ve known it was the truth without her ability. She finished up with his wound, replacing everything back in the kit.
“When do you think we can leave?” Lauren asked, sitting on her crate that was now beside Kieran, leaning back against the stone wall.
“Maybe twenty more minutes. They’ll give up soon, but just to be safe,” Kieran sighed, eyes closed when Lauren glanced at him.
Both of them silently agreed that they didn’t have the energy to carry on a conversation, instead deciding to keep their tranquil environment uninterrupted. Lauren’s eyes were drooping and she felt her head bobbing, but she couldn’t bring herself to stay awake.
Before she knew it, Kieran was gently shaking her, whispering her name to wake her up. Her eyes fluttered open and she processed her surroundings far too slowly. The room came into view as she blinked rapidly and she shifted her head to try and wake herself up faster.
Then she realized that she had been leaning on Kieran’s shoulder.
“Sorry,” Lauren muttered, sitting up quickly and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She heard Kieran stand and gather their things, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
Really, after everything they’ve been through, she shouldn’t be so embarrassed about falling asleep on him.
“We should get going. It’s late and I’m sure your uncle is worried about you,” Kieran said, smiling teasingly at her when she finally looked up at him. She couldn’t help but return the smile, though it took more energy than she would’ve liked.
Using their combined strength, they opened the wall back up again, revealing the now empty alley. Closing the wall back up again, they started towards the cave to drop off their Lune gear. They had to be very cautious, however, keeping both eyes and ears open for any signs of Scythe members or innocent citizens.
After a few minutes, Lauren was starting to think that the Scythe members had really left and her shoulders slumped in relief. She could tell Kieran was starting to think the same thing, his posture more relaxed than before and his eyes not darting around quite so often.
That was their fatal mistake.
It was only a single Scythe member, nothing they couldn’t handle. That is if they hadn’t been injured and they had actually been listening to their surroundings.
Before Lauren could process what was happening, the man appeared behind Kieran, bringing his gun down on Kieran’s head hard. Normally, Lauren suspected that Kieran would’ve been able to handle the blow or sense it and defend himself. But not this time.
This time, Kieran’s eyes rolled back into his head and he fell face forward.
This time, Lauren barely caught him before he smashed his face into the concrete.
This time, she feared that she may have just lost her partner.
Somehow, amidst her growing panic, she managed to stand, gun raised and pointed at the Scythe member, his pose mimicking hers.
“Drop your gun, Lune,” he sneered, confident in his capture. Lauren’s hold on her weapon tightened, her finger pressed against the trigger. She didn’t want to shoot him because of the noise, but Kieran was seriously hurt, maybe even dead…
No. She wouldn’t let herself think like that.
“Drop your weapon. You can’t beat me,” the man repeated, evidently impatient. Lauren started lowering the gun and the man’s smile grew.
Right before she managed to kick him in the face.
He fell back with a grunt, his gun clattering to the ground as he groaned, blood spurting from his nose. Lauren didn’t even allow him to regain his senses, knocking him out before he could sit up.
Instantly, she remembered Kieran.
She tore down her mask and rushed to his side, panic growing as he remained unmoved. Quickly checking his pulse, she sighed in relief at the steady heart rate. Lauren felt the back of his head, finding no blood but instead a huge bump. He would likely be fine, maybe a concussion, definitely a massive headache when he woke up. And she would’ve let him sleep if not for the fear of another Scythe member stumbling upon them.
“Kieran, wake up,” Lauren said, flipping him over onto his back. His face was peaceful when she pulled down his mask and she knew he was getting better sleep than he had in weeks, but they needed to leave.
“Kieran,” she said, louder this time, but he still didn’t budge. Wincing at what she was about to do, she raised her hand and smacked it across his face.
Kieran’s eyes snapped open, pupils darting around in confusion. Lauren sighed in relief, helping him sit up slowly. He seemed as if he was in a trance. Eventually, he seemed to come to consciousness, eyes focusing somewhat.
His gaze locked on hers and for a second, it was almost like he was seeing her for the first time. His brows furrowed as his eyes traveled across her face as if he was memorizing every detail of her face. It was unnerving but also… interesting. She had rarely seen his expression this vulnerable before.
She shook herself from his eyes, focusing on getting out of there.
“Kieran, are you okay? Can you stand?” she asked, gripping his shoulders gently. Kieran’s eyes filled with confusion and he leaned back away from her slightly. She knew something was wrong by the way he looked at her.
With suspicion.
“Who’s Kieran?”