Work Text:
Mira had gotten comfortable with the two small beings that lived in her home. They were quiet and easy to forget about at times. Then she had times when Corus wasn’t leaving her alone or Zeke wanted to try something he’d seen humans use. It was a bit hard to focus when they got like that, but she didn’t mind it too much. At least she didn’t when she didn’t have a job.
“Mira, are we watching that movie thing today?” Zeke asked.
She’d promised before the job came in. She didn’t hate the idea of movies with the two, but she was busy. All she could do was set it up and go back to work. She walked by Zeke without a word to start the setup of the movie. It was some animated musical Zeke had seen bits of in one of his homes.
Mira sighed looking for the two men. Neither were close and she couldn’t wait. She walked away planning to find them. She couldn’t hide her annoyance seeing them still on her desk. She grabbed the hook they’d set up to go over the edge of it. It was going to take too long if she waited for them to get there. She rolled the hook up and slipped it around her fingers before reaching for the two.
Zeke seemed to freeze as she grabbed him. She didn’t have time to find out what was bothering him today. She noticed the things they’d gathered around them. Another sigh before she reached for the pile and walked off leaving Corus on his own. She set Zeke down along with the things they’d gathered for the movie before stalking off. She didn’t have time for this.
Mira had to find a way to get near a popular politician without drawing attention. Even her most inconspicuous disguises weren’t going to be enough. She had to secure an invite to his campaign party which meant a lot of calls over the next few nights if she was lucky. She might even have to make an appearance for someone. She grimaced, this was an awful job. She grabbed Corus turning on her heel to go drop him off.
“Stop manhandling me!” he shouted. She froze. “I can get there on my own.”
Mira didn’t know how to respond. She was just trying to get the movie started so she could get back to work. She tried not to react as Corus kept squirming in her grip. She looked over at Zeke, he was frozen. He’d stayed in the spot she put him, he didn’t even get comfortable like usual. She fucked up.
Mira moved blindly again. She set Corus down on the nearest surface and backed away. This was why she didn’t get close to people. She messed up, she scared them. Kaya had been scared of her pretty often too. She shouldn’t be letting them stay. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Corus. She couldn’t think of a way to fix it. She just turned and left.
She couldn’t leave the house though, she had calls to make. She just couldn’t face them, so her room seemed the best bet. They’d told her a little of the past. A human had them before they wound up in her place. They had no control, always being grabbed and moved around. She did that. She promised she wouldn’t after they told her and she did. She didn’t even stop to think about Zeke freezing in her hand or taking the hook like she did. She stared at her hands.
“All I’m good for is killing,” she whispered. She’d thought about stopping before. No one knows who Lavender is, she could fade away. She isn’t suited for anything else though. She’s not delicate, she’s not kind, and she’s certainly not skilled outside of death. She doesn’t have anything else she can do.
Mira couldn’t dwell. She wasn’t allowed to dwell on this. She’d take out her target and then call Kaya. Kaya could show up, calm them down, and get them out of here. She took a deep breath to settle her mind. She snapped her head forward, she was Lavender now and would get what she needed. She went to her desk and started working. Every contact her employer had and her own were going to be needed.
She spent hours focused. Each call she had a different accent or voice. She pulled out burner phones and throw away emails to get what she needed. It wasn’t as easy as she wanted, but it came through. She leaned back staring up at the ceiling. Now she’s left with a week until she strikes. She closed her eyes, she’d messed up everything and this proves all she could do was kill.
“So you’re done?” Mira jumped to her feet, a dagger pulled from her hip and already stabbing the empty air. Corus was sitting next to her computer leaning back with his hands up. She was messing up again. Slowly, to try and avoid making things even worse, she started to put her dagger away. He stayed tense well after she slipped that dagger back in its sheath.
“…how long have you been there?” She couldn’t manage to relax. He snuck up on her. She was so focused on her job, if he was her size he’d be dead. She was a fool, she could truly only kill. She stared down at him just taking in the fact he could have died.
“About an hour,” his voice was shaking. He got to his feet and came closer to her. She stepped back without thinking. “I would have been here sooner, but you left my hook with Zeke.”
“Fuck,” she hugged an arm to herself. Grabbing the other elbow, refusing to look at him. “I’m sorry.”
“So, what happened with the movie thing?” She stepped back again, all she could do was kill. They should go to live at Kaya’s. Although they have a lot of animals it would be better to avoid their place. Maybe she could just take an extra job to afford getting them their own place entirely. “Mira?”
“Nothing, I can go turn it on if you two are ready.”
“Mira… Zeke’s not exactly ok. I think you need to tell him what happened.” Mira shook her head. She couldn’t go near them, her hands were covered in blood. “You grabbed us looking like you were going to kill us and now you won’t even talk about it! He thought for sure you were done pretending to be nice. Just talk to me!”
“Stop.” She was seething. She knew she messed up. She knew she had brought up memories. She knew she wasn’t good enough. She stepped closer glaring down at the small man. “Do you think I don’t know what I did? I know what I can do, what I’m good enough for. If you two aren’t happy here you can leave. I don’t care.”
She kept a glare on him. He didn’t even start to back down. He came closer to her. She could see him shaking as he took each step. He stopped close enough to reach her. He reached out and poked her with one of his miniscule fingers. She placed her hand on the table on either side of him. She bent closer bringing her head close enough she could see her breath blowing the loose fabric of his clothes. He was shaking more as she got closer.
“S-stop pretending it’s fine. You’re upset too. T-tell me what’s going on!”
“Why should I?” she growled. His shaking grew worse. She should back off. She knew she needed to back off. She couldn’t admit it. They should leave.
“Because you care about us…right?” The last word came out as a squeak. He sounded more terrified than the first time they spoke.
He broke her. The master assassin Lavender who no one knows, broken by someone the size of her hand. She tried to keep glaring, to stay angry, but she couldn’t. She slid down and Corus backed away. She landed on her knees, her eyes now level with him. She was trying so hard not to let them in. He asked one thing and it so clearly terrified him she couldn’t stay strong. She nodded hoping that was enough for him. A small hand touched her head and started to pet her.
“What happened? You don’t usually grab us like that or, ya know, look like that.” He didn’t sound scared. It made her feel almost better, but she hurt them. She wasn’t enough for them.
“I have a job, I wasn’t thinking. I just had to get it done and you weren’t there. It was faster to move you and start it then get back to work… I’m not… I’m not good at this Corus. I don’t talk to people or interact with anyone besides Kaya. All I’m good for is killing…” she said the truth. Now he could go back to Zeke and they could prepare to leave. She’d call Kaya and her life would go back to normal.
“So you got focused again? Like when you cut into the wall?” She nodded, the small hand staying on her skin the whole time. “Then I forgive you. It’s not like we’re not learning things too. Zeke just has it harder. He had a lot more humans keeping him trapped before I met him.”
“I’ll try to talk to him, if he’s even still out in the open.”
“He is, he couldn’t move.” She grimaced, but climbed to her feet. At least getting this done would be better. She never would have thought she’d actually have someone that could make her say how she felt. “Wait! Take me too, he still has my hook.”
“What? How did you even get up here?” She offered him her hand. The smallest hint of a smile finding its way on her face as he climbed on. He didn’t care, it was like she hadn’t grabbed them earlier. Zeke wouldn’t be as easy, but she would try.
“I’ve lived like this my whole life. I know how to get to the top of a table without some fancy hook and string. Plus if I was in trouble you’d save me.”
He winked and smirked at her, sending the hint to a full blown grin. She started walking, almost able to forget the fear she’d caused. Zeke looked at her as she came in, but relaxed seeing Corus in her palm. It would take a lot for all of them to adjust, but maybe it was time she let herself get close to people. At least these two she could protect more easily. If he was up for it they could even watch the movie still.