Chapter Text
The sudden appearance of a face, the screeching of brakes, and the clunk of machine hitting body were the series of events that led up to their first encounter.
“Shit!” Niner exclaimed, quickly slamming on the brakes and exiting her car, hurriedly going to see what the hell was going on. She quickly walked to the front of her car, the only thing illuminating the scene were the car’s headlights. At the front of her car, Niner saw a man lying on the ground, writhing in pain. “Oh shit, I didn’t even see you! Are you alright? Do I need to call an ambulance?” She said, her heart beating a mile a minute as she tried to keep herself from panicking.
The man weakly shook his head, making no attempt to move from his spot. “No… Hospitals are too expensive…I’m good.” He managed to say. “I-I’m fine...Really.” He muttered out softly. The man then tried to sit up, only to groan loudly in pain and lay back down. “Can you please...Take me back to my place?” He asked, looking up towards Niner.
She nodded, a bit relieved to see the man showed no signs of major injury. “I can but you look like a wreck, are you sure you don’t need an ambulance?” She asked, receiving a nod from the man. “Tell me where your apartment is and I’ll help you into my car, okay?” Niner said, bending down and doing her best to help the man up.
He grunted loudly, hissing in pain. “It’s like two hours north of here…” He said as Niner lifted him off the ground and placed him in the passenger seat of her car.
“Two hours? That’s way too far for you in this condition. Can I take you to my place? It’s only like ten minutes from here.” Niner replied, watching the man nod. “Okay, you hold tight over there. I’ll patch you up back at my place.” She said, getting into the driver’s seat and quickly driving off. “I’m really, really sorry about all this.” She mumbled, not taking her eyes off the road. “I didn’t even see you there. Shit. I feel awful.”
The man beside her shook his head. “I should’ve looked before I walked...My fault.” He replied. The two fell silent until they eventually arrived at Niner’s apartment. She then swiftly picked the (surprisingly light) man out of her car and ushered him into her home, laying him down on the couch in the living room.
“Stay here, don’t move. I’ll get you some ice packs and medicine.” She said, swiftly walking off, returning a few minutes later. “Put these wherever it hurts. When you’re done with that, take these. Do you think anything’s broken?” She fired off question after question, a feeling in her gut telling her something was wrong. She pushed that feeling away, excusing it as a guilty feeling. She did hit this guy with her car after all. Once the man had done everything she’d asked, Niner spoke again. “I should probably ask your name now shouldn’t I?” She said with a nervous laugh.
“Felix.” The man winced out with a chuckle, his orange tinted eyes looking up towards the other. Although he was obviously wearing colored contacts, the color suited him, it even matched the streaks in his jet-black hair. “What’s yours?” He asked after a short pause.
She brushed strand of her blue tipped hair out of her face. “Niner.” She replied. “Look Felix, I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am about all this. Is there anyone I can call to come get you when you’re in a better condition?” She asked, sighing softly.
Felix shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you took me in.” He replied with a sympathetic smile. “And no not really. Everyone I know is asleep right now. Do you think we can just mess with it in the morning? I’m so tired.”
“Yeah sure thing.” She replied, passing him some pillows and blankets. “I work tomorrow so I might be gone when you wake up. Is that gonna be a problem?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I’ll be fine. I just need to sleep this off. Don’t worry about me.” Felix said, a grin upon his face.
“And you’re sure you’re alright?” Niner added raising an eyebrow and staying silent until she received a nod from him. “Alright then. Well if you need me I’ll be in my room. Sleep tight.”
Once she was out of earshot, Felix let out a sigh of relief. “Phase one complete.” He mumbled to himself, standing up from the couch, completely unharmed. He scanned the room, picking out what he was going to grab as soon as Niner left for the the next day. “Hmmm, what to take, what to take.” He whispered quietly, looking through drawers, cabinets, and closets. The faint sound of television came from the direction of Niner’s room, reassuring Felix that he would not be heard.
He ginned softly as he brushed his hand over a gaming system, knowing that this apartment definitely was a good hit. He’d found gaming systems, a dvd player, tons of movies and games, a laptop, a desktop, and much much more. This woman had it all, but soon enough it would all be Felix’s. As soon as Niner left for work the next day, he’d have this place stripped clean. “I’m going to rob the shit out of this place.” He said holding back his laughter.
Most places he hit only had a few things worth grabbing, but Niner’s place was loaded as far as he could tell, and he’d only seen the livingroom and kitchen areas. Her room and another bedroom were still unknown to him, but judging by what he HAD seen, they were probably gold mines.
Eventually Felix thought up a plan for the next day, deciding it was a good time to get to sleep. He laid back down on the couch, situating himself as he had before, not bothering with any blankets. It was hot as hell in the room so he pushed his t shirt up towards his chest, letting cool air hit his stomach as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Niner awoke the next morning and got ready for work, washing up, getting dressed, and grabbing a light breakfast. She then peaked in the livingroom to make sure her ‘guest’ was still there, which he was. She frowned lightly at the sight of him, the feeling of guilt still heavy in her chest. She quietly laid a small breakfast for him, along with some water and pills. Then on a piece of paper she wrote down her phone number and a quick note about wanting him to call her if he needed anything.
Niner grabbed her keys and started walking towards the door until the feeling in her gut told her something was wrong. Very wrong. She paused and looked back over Felix, seeing him in the daylight for the first time. His black hair with orange streaks messily sticking up in random spots looked somewhat childish to her. Niner looked the short Korean man over, noticing his bare stomach. Something about this bothered her greatly, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Then suddenly it hit her. She hit Felix with her car. A car she was going pretty damn fast in and if she remembered correctly, he was facing her when he got hit. Niner looked him over one last time, biting her bottom lip. There was not a scratch on him. No bruises, no red marks, nothing. Not on his chest or his arms or anywhere.There was not a single mark on him besides his tattoos. Felix was completely unharmed. Niner wasn’t a doctor, but she was pretty sure if someone got hit by a car and could barely stand up, they’d at least have some kind of injury.
She sighed heavily and walked back into her room and quietly called her boss, informing him she wouldn’t be coming into work that day. She then grabbed the gun out of her bedside drawer. Taking a deep breath she walked to the front door of her apartment, opening and closing the door to make it sound like she had left. Felix, hearing the noise, began to stir, signalling Niner to quickly slip into a nearby closet, leaving it open just a crack so that she could keep an eye on Felix. Her breathing was quiet and she focused intently on him, not knowing what he may be capable of.
Soon enough Felix stood from the couch with a yawn, running a hand through his hair. Once he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched, he set his plan into motion, grabbing the suitcase outside of the bathroom he spotted the night before. Soon enough he began to throw everything expensive he could possibly find into it.
Niner swore under her breath, knowing her suspicions of Felix were accurate. She had had her fair share of strangers crash at her place before, but none of them had tried to rob her before. She tightened her grip on the handle of the gun, preparing herself to confront him. She waited until he turned away from her before walking slowly behind him, only about ten feet separating the barrel of her gun from the back of Felix’s head. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Niner said cooly.
Felix nearly flinched, the sudden voice behind him making his heart sink, but he still put on a grin and turned slowly to face her. “Wow a gun? Really? Is that any way to treat the guy you just hit with your car?”
Niner didn’t budge. “Yeah it really looks like I hit you doesn’t it?” She said, glaring at the shorter man. “Not a scratch on ya.”
He snickered. “I sure made a speedy recovery didn’t I?” His grin dropped for a moment. “Was that really what gave me away? You’re a lot sharper than most of my hits.”
“You’ve done this before?” She questioned, her deep blue eyes burrowing into his orange tinted ones.
“Darlin’ do I look like an amature to you?” Felix replied, raising an pierced brow at her. “Anyways are we just gonna stand here all day or are you gonna do something?” He added, a smirk returning to his face. “I mean I’m not complaining really. I could look at your face for hours, but I’m running on a tight schedule here.”
Niner paused. “Are you flirting with me? While I have a gun aimed at your face?” She asked, giving her gun a little shake to emphasize the fact that it was there.
Felix shrugged. “What can I say? This is the first time I’ve gotten a clear look at you and to be completely honest, I’d even consider inviting you back to my place if the circumstances where different.” He replied, the smirk on his face growing. “Now seriously, are you gonna shoot me or call the cops or something? I’d like to get out of here while I’m still young and devilishly good looking.”
Niner shook her head. “No cops. That’s not happening.” She replied.
Suddenly the apartment door swung open. A tall man, skin dark like Niner’s as well as matching eye color, and short, golden blonde, wavy hair stood there, a smile on his face. From his position he was unable to see what was happening between the room’s two other inhabitants. “I am home!” He said with a wide grin.
Niner quickly hid her gun behind her back, turning to face the newcomer. “Michael! Hey there!” She said, a smile on her face covering the surprize and mild fear she felt at the moment. “I thought you were staying at Church’s with Tucker until next week.” She replied, watching Felix out of the corner of her eye.
Caboose nodded. “I was, but Tex got back in town and Tucker decided it would be good to leave. So now I am home!” He said cheerily. “Who is that man behind you?” He asked, looking over at Felix with interest.
“Tex is back? It’s been like a year...” Niner said, surprise layered in her voice. She stopped herself before she could question her brother further. She shouldn’t talk about Tex with Felix in the room. “This is uh, Felix.” The man behind her waved. “He’s just um…” Niner looked down at the suitcase full of her things. “Helping me pack.” She added, smiling over at Caboose. “I was just going to go out of town for the day, but since you’re home I’ve changed my mind. How about you go unpack and I’ll be over there in a little.”
Caboose nodded. “Okay. You and your new friend play nice!” He replied, cheerily.
Once Caboose walked off to his room and shut the door, Niner turned around quickly to face Felix. “Get out.” She said softly, anger laced in her words. “Now.”
“Whoa, whoa there sweetheart. No need to get so testy.” Felix said with a grin. “Is that your little brother? How sweet, you’ve got a soft spot.”
“If you don’t get out of my home right now this gun is going to leave a ‘soft spot’ in the middle of your forehead.”
He snickered. “I really don’t think you’re gonna shoot me with your baby bro in the next room over. But fine, if you really want me gone, I’m gone. There’s obviously no need for me here anyways.”
Niner breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank god..” She said as she gestured towards the door.
“One last thing before I go.”
“Make it quick.”
“Say hi to Tex for me. I haven’t seen her in a looooong time.”
“Get the fuck out.”
Niner spent the rest of the day with Caboose, relieved to finally have Felix out of her hair. She became much more relaxed as the day went on, listening to the stories Caboose had to tell about the week he had spent with his friends. The fact that Felix knew Tex nagged at Niner for reasons she couldn’t fully understand. She brushed those thoughts away the best that she could, but she was unable to fully shake the feeling away.
The next day, Niner didn’t have to work so she slept in, per usual. Typically she’d sleep until she woke up on her own, but today was not the case. “FRECKLES, YOUR FRIEND IS HERE!” rang through the apartment.
Niner groaned and rolled out of bed, cursing whoever was causing her to get up so early. She ran her fingers through her hair, throwing a jacket on over her tank top and yawning. As she glanced over at her clock, which read 12am, Caboose’s voice rang through the apartment again. “FRECKLES!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Niner groaned, walking slowly out of her room and over to the door. “Thanks Michael.” She said before looking at the person standing in the doorway, her eyes growing wide.
Caboose walked back to his room before Felix could speak. “Freckles?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at the woman, a familiar smirk upon his face. “That’s cute.”
Niner pushed Felix out into the hallway, rage in her eyes. “Why are you here?” She questioned angrily, closing her door so that it was only slightly ajar.
He just laughed. “Aww you’re cute when you’re angry. Listen Freckles, I want to talk to you.”
She looked as if she might kill Felix then and there. “You don’t get to call me that.” She growled, pinning him up against the wall opposing her apartment door with one hand pressed against his chest. “Get the hell out of here. You tried to rob me yesterday. I honestly should call the cops on you.”
“Buuuut you won’t.” He said in a singsong voice. “But yeah whatever. I tried to rob you, big deal. We’ve all got to make a living somehow. Anyways that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about. I’m here to talk about you.” He said, pressing a finger to the middle of her forehead.
Niner batted his finger away. “What about me?” She said, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Well I doubt if you’ll want to talk about it here, these walls are paper fucking thin.” He replied. “Why don’t we head in your pla-”
“No not going to happen. You’re not going in there.
“Fine, fine. My place?”
“You fucking wish.” Niner replied, rolling her eyes. “The coffee shop two blocks from here in an hour. Sound good?”
Felix nodded as she took her hand off his chest. “I’ll be there, Freckles.” He said with a laugh as he walked off.
She sighed and returned to her apartment, getting dressed to go out and letting Caboose know she’d be out for awhile. Niner knew agreeing to see him was a stupid idea. I stupid, dumb, careless idea, but if Felix said he knew something about her, it was probably worth the risk.
Once she left her apartment, Niner zipped her leather jacket up halfway, considering if she should just blow this whole thing off. It would be safer that way, but that might mean Felix might come back again. She definitely didn’t want that. Not around Michael. Ever since he moved in with her she made a promise to herself to keep him out of her...Affairs. She’d given that stuff up, got a job, and made an honest living. It was better that way, harder for sure, very boring, but safer.
Niner walked to the coffee shop quickly, her boots snapping sharply against the pavement. Her blue, mohawked hair swayed softly in the cool breeze. Once inside the building, she scanned the room for Felix, not seeing him. She then sighed and got herself a coffee before taking a seat near the door. She flipped through her phone as she waited, hoping it wouldn’t be much longer.
Soon enough the sound of the chair across from her being moved broke Niner’s attention from her phone. “You look significantly less irritated than before.” Felix said with a chuckle, sitting his cup of coffee down on the table as he sat. “That’s surprising considering you looked like you were going to kill me this morning.”
Niner looked over to him, slipping her phone into her pocket. “Well you’re not the most pleasant person to wake up to.” She said, taking a sip of her drink.
Felix let out a mock gasp. “I can’t believe you’d actually think that. I’m the best morning surprise!” He said jokingly, taking in Niner’s unamused gaze. “Alright, alright. Business time.” Felix darted his eyes left and right, making sure no one was paying attention to them. His voice was low, just loud enough for her to hear. “I had a little chat with Tex yesterday.”
Niner’s eyes grew cold. “I don’t want any part in what you have to offer.”
“You don’t even know if I WAS going to offer anything.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you?”
“Weeeeelllll….”
“No.”
Felix sighed. “Will you at least listen? You might be interested. I know she said you quit, but I think I can change your mind. Besides, she’s not involved in what I have planned, she was just providing information.” He waited until he got a small nod from Niner before speaking again. “Thank christ. Now as I was saying. I talked to Tex about you yesterday. It was very interesting. Told me all about you. When you two served together, your previous ‘occupation’, your little brother, the jobs you’ve done, why you quit, everything.”
She huffed in annoyance. “If you know why I quit then why are you even here? I’m not about to change my mind.”
“Well from what Tex’s boyfriend and your brother’s friend told me, ‘Caboose’ might be moving out soon.” Felix said with a grin.
“Move out? Church said that? With who?” Niner said curiously.
“Some guy named Donut, they referred to him as Michael’s boyfriend.”
She let out a sigh of relief, knowing it was someone she knew would take care of him. “He hasn’t said anything about that to me.”
Felix shrugged, “Why that is, I don’t know. Now, since you won’t have to worry about your lil bro in a few weeks, I’ve got a proposition for you. And trust me, there’s no way you can refuse this. I mean first of all it’s coming from me, and who can resist a guy like me?” He fluttered his eyelashes at her flirtatiously, chuckling softly.
“Just get to the point already.” Niner replied, taking a long drink of her coffee.
“What you don’t think I’m hot as fuck? That’s kinda rude.” He said sarcastically. “I’ve got a job that I need a little help with.” He lowered his voice slightly. “There’s a bank in the next town over. A tiny place but it’s got plenty of cash. Next week they’re switching security systems, they’re gonna be down for a full half an hour. They’re doing it after the place closes so at most there’ll be three people there. Two technicians and one security guard. What do you say?”
Niner paused, lightly rubbing her fingers on the sides of her cup. “I haven’t done anything like this is nearly three years…” She trailed off, thinking for awhile. “Besides I can barely trust you anyways.” She added, looking over into his eyes.
“I haven’t lied to you since you had me at gunpoint.” Felix said, attempting to ease her worries. “Honest.”
“Very comforting.” She said sarcastically. She let out a sigh, mulling over the idea in her head. “Why me?” She asked after a moment. “I’m sure you’ve got plenty of others to consider for this.”
He shook his head. “Not really. I’m kind of a solo guy myself. Besides I’m a little low on funds right now since I left empty handed yesterday morning.” He said, earning an eyeroll from Niner. “But why wouldn’t I pick you, you were part of one of the most successful gangs in all of Blood Gulch. You freelancers were top dogs around here until that director guy kinda…” He placed his fingers to his head in the shape of a gun. “I think you’re exactly the partner I need for this job.” He said, lowering his hand and taking a sip of his drink. “I need someone cunning and quick thinking. No one else around here has that. So, what do you say?” He asked, raising a brow at her, a look of seriousness on his face.
After a short moment Niner sighed, running a hand through her hair as she thought. Finally she nodded softly. “Fine. I’ll do it, but I have a few conditions.”
“Lay ‘em on me.” He replied, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
“No business is done at my house, no meetings, no planning, nothing. We do that elsewhere. I don’t care where but it’s not at my place. If we decide to make this more than one job, I’m not doing anything with drugs. That’s the fastest way to go down and I’m not getting my ass into that. If we need to partner with anyone else, I get final say. And most importantly, we keep my brother out of this at any cost. He’s not to know about this. If he so much as suspects anything, I’m out. For good. End of story. Got it?” Niner replied, seriousness heavy in her voice, her eyes not leaving Felix’s.
He nodded slowly, the smirk on his lips growing. “You’ve got yourself a deal sweetheart.” Felix said, excitedly staring at his new business partner. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.” He said with a wink. “So since we only have a week we should probably get planning as soon as possible. How about we meet at my place tomorrow at like three?”
“I can’t I’ve gotta work.” Niner replied, shaking her head.
“Niner, baby, you’re gonna have to quit your job if you wanna make this happen.” He replied, eyeing her.
She snorted. “Yeah I’ll just quit my job and somehow explain to my landlord how I’m still paying rent. That won’t raise any red flags.”
He thought for a moment. “Okay how about this, you quit your job, keep living there until your brother moves out, and then you move in with me.”
“Move in with you?” Niner said with a laugh. “You’re kidding right? I don’t even know you for fuck’s sake. How will I know you won’t slit my throat in the middle of the night and take my money?”
“Okay wow, is that the kinda guy you take me for? That really hurts y’know.” Felix said with a frown. “Do I need to pinky swear or some bullshit? I’m not going to kill you alright? Not only do I need you, but it’s not good practice to kill a partner. Makes it harder to get a new one. Oh, and why would I bother killing a nice face you like you? Yours is almost as nice as mine and I wouldn’t want to waste that.”
“Again with the flirting?” Niner asked, rolling her eyes.
“Natural reaction to someone as hot as you.”
She laughed lightly. “Keep dreaming hotshot.” Niner replied. “But fine. After Michael moves out, I’ll move in with you, but only if I feel I can trust you by then. Fuck me over even once and I’m out.”
“I’d like to fu-” She cut him off.
“Don’t.”
“But-”
“No.”
“Fiiiinnnneeee” Felix said with a frown. “No more flirting...For now.”
She rolled her eyes. “So we meet tomorrow then?” Felix nodded. “Here.” Niner pulled out her phone. “Type your number in.”
Felix eagerly took her phone. “First date and I’m getting your number?”
“This isn’t a date.”
“Whatever you say, Niner.” He laughed.
“You sound like one of my brother’s friends, jesus.”
“Which one? Lavernius?”
“You know Tucker?” She asked, raising a pierced brow at him.
Felix nodded. “Sure do. Don’t mention me to him though.” He laughed uneasily. “We didn’t get along. At all.”
“Good to know.” Niner replied, taking her phone back from Felix. “See you tomorrow then?”
Felix nodded eagerly. “Sure will sweetheart.” He said in a flirtatious tone, darting out the door before she could even open her mouth to say something sarcastic.
This was the start of a rather interesting partnership.