((Oh, one of her foster brothers pretty much beat her to shit with a crowbar when she was 12. Broke a bunch of bones, and he shattered her one cheekbone. It's sunken in now because of that. He's dead tho—her first kill))
Tessa huffed a laugh. "Well, isn't that where the saying came from?" She cocked her head to the side when she heard the faint sound of a door moving.
((hardcore))
nik grinned at her back, until he heard the sound. all traces of emotion left him, and he looked blankly at the source, trying to figure out where it came from.
The guy casually heading down the stairs was not much older than Tess—only two years. He was tall, roughly around 6'4, and dark. His t-shirt and jeans were dark silver and black, respectively. His hair was black and fluffy, some strands falling into his dark and observant eyes. He was clearly built for stealth with a lean frame and narrow-ish shoulders. His skin had a slight tan to it but was otherwise somewhat pale.
Tessa relaxed when she saw the guy, lazily waving in his direction. "You could've answered me when I announced my presence," she said.
The guy shrugged and leaned against the staircase railing. "I wasn't aware that I had to."
(our boy black lungs is gay and intimidated)
nik almost wanted to laugh at their interaction, but kept stock still and completely silent. he was determined to not get noticed, or just brushed over.
((Demitri, the one that just popped up, is pining after Cinthia. Has been, actually, since the two were kids))
Tessa rolled her eyes and flipped him the bird. "Ass. It'd be nice if you announced your presence every now and again."
The guy just rolled his eyes and sighed, pushing off of the railing and heading over to the fireplace to light it. As he crouched down and grabbed the lighter, he said, "Who're you?"
((ohhhhh shit. drama.))
nik almost imperceptibly jumped when demitri addressed him, but overall kept his cool.
"amory smith, solo journalist and tessa's partner in escaping (name of the facility??). who're you?" he kept it neutral, turning slightly to gaze impassively at demitri's turned head.
((1. Cin's oblivious and too busy to really notice 2. I suck at naming places, so I have no clue what it'd be called))
"Demitri," the guy said, starting the lighter and holding it to the kindling he had put into it just before.
"He's a spy," Tessa said, turning on her side to watch Demitri out of boredom, "Probably the best, actually. Won't even know he's there until it's too late."
"mm. congratulations." nik mumbled, for lack of better things to say. he was debating between being open so demitri wouldn't murder him for being suspicious, and being closed off so he didn't get uninvited visitors who knew his name and number.
The fireplace was lit, and Demitri set the lighter aside and stood up, dusting off his hands. He turned to look at Nik and Tessa. "Cin and I are going to be busy tonight, so don't expect us to save your ass for the thousandth time this week." Tessa did the adult-like thing and stuck her tongue out at him. He fixed his gaze onto Nik. "Keep an eye on her for me, will you?"
nik took a moment to process, but after it passed he made eye contact with demetri.
"aye aye, cap'n. you have my word."
Demitri nodded, then disappeared through the front door. Tessa watched him go, then crossed her arms and smirked to herself. "I'm sure they'll be plenty busy tonight."
"oh?" nik turned to her, quirking a corner of his mouth. "so they're an item?"
"No, not officially," Tessa sighed dejectedly. "Demitri and Cinthia have been friends since they were kids, and he's had a crush on her for almost as long. She's oblivious, though. Kinda disappointing."
(aaa sorry)
"really. have you tried uh, encouraging him? maybe a bet?" he raised a shoulder, leaning towards her slightly.
(I'm back!)
Tessa raised a brow in Nik's direction. "No, and it'd be a lost cause. A spy he may be, Demitri's loyalty and respect for Cin is unwavering. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their relationship. Such a bum."
(hello!)
nik sighed, going back to his original position. "truly."
(I officially hate stairs, all thanks to business camp)
She hummed and tapped the couch, head angled to the side in a predatory manner. "I mean, we could give him a small push without directly being involved," she mused.
(christ im so sorry my mental health has been garbage and i haven't been doing much of anything, hope we can keep going)
nik immediately brightened, moving his head back up to look her in the eye. throwing her a sly smile, he reached to lace his fingers together. "could we, now? i'm interested."
((It's alright my dude! I totally get it, as I've been doing almost the same as you as of late))
Her lips twitched up in amusement at his reaction to her statement, threatening to turn into a mischievous smirk. "We could, but only if we use discretion. Any ideas, reporter?"
"discretion is my expertise, mon…" he quirked his head at her, straight faced. "you seem the reliable type. it's nobody's business what languages i speak, therefore discretion is what i'm best at, mon amour
"so, we could just peer pressure demitri, but from what i've heard that wont go well. so, we could organize group outings. double dates, if you will. we could pretend we're friends, or in a relationship for more realism, and invite them out on said outings. i can play dumb and say i thought they were a couple. just subtle stuff, you know."
Tessa quirked a brow and said flawlessly, "Sono circondato da lingue diverse ogni giorno, il mio amico. Non mi interessa che lingue si parla." She then tilted her head and tucked her legs beneath her so that she was sitting cross-legged and facing Nik. "That might actually work. The only time they really are alone together is when they're on missions, and that's not exactly the most romantic setting. Double dates would be the most harmless push to get them…" She gestured with her hands as she trailed off, indicating what she meant without words.
(i figure he'd be able to get the general of what she's saying because they both speak love languages)
he took a second to process, and smiled at her italian. "thank you, but it's more of a media thing. privacy, if you will. according to me, nikolas a. fischer speaks fluent german and english, and amory the writer only speaks at all if you flash him the right stuff."
nik took a breath to address her english.
"i'm glad that appeals to you, cause i've got nothing else unless i think for a while how do we pull this off?"
Tessa shrugged, then flashed him a grin. "How're you at improv?" she asked him. Improv was pretty much her way of life if she was being honest. Dance, fights, nosing into people's business—it was all made up on the fly. "But in all seriousness, you'd have to meet Cin first and earn her approval. She doesn't just hang with anyone, even if it is a double date and I've already signed off on you. My word means squat, especially considering my usual tendencies. She's the one on the other end of my leash."
his mouth quirked at the use of the leash metaphor, almost a full smile.
"i'd like to say i'm pretty good at improv. how do i meet this 'cin?"
((want to timeskip to their meeting))
((Yeah))
Tessa's eyes darted around his face for any sort of indication of what caused that half-smile. "Just stick around until they come back. She owns this place."
"great."
after a few hours of switching between quiet lounging and swapping stories, nik bolted up as the door handle jiggled and then opened.
Tessa was slower to react, and she already knew who it was just from the pair of footsteps. "Eyyy, the shadows are back."
Demitri was the first to enter, and he went straight to his bedroom upstairs to change. Another figure silently stepped through, shorter than Demitri, female, and covered head to toe with black cloth and leather. She kicked the door closed behind her with her heel and strode in, tugging at the leather gloves covering her slim hands. Her eyes found Nik, however, and they narrowed as she stopped in her tracks. Her right eye (their left) was a pale blue, and the skin around it peppered with red marks, while the other eye was a forest green. Her hood was pulled over her face and shadowed most of her face, and from the nose down was covered with a cloth mask.
((this is what Cin's wearing: https://pin.it/dr2tpjhuj2qa6u))
((impressive.))
nik met her eyes, smothering his anxiety and giving a nod before sitting back down and arranging himself appropriately.
Tessa lazily gestured to Nik. "Let him introduce himself. I'm just gonna say that he's a friend and you can trust him." She then gestured to the girl, turning to address Nik. "This gorgeous woman here is Cinthia, a three-year-long friend of mine and the one who's taken up the job of keeping me under wraps."
Cinthia pushed back her hood and pulled down the face mask, showing more red marks along the side of her face just before her dark mass of tightly coiled curls spilled out and over her shoulders and face. "It's a full-time job," she said, cutting an unamused look Tessa's way, then looked back at Nik, expecting a better introduction than the one Tessa gave.
nik smiled faintly at tessa, turning to cinthia after a moment.
"hey. i'm nik, and i swear you can trust me. i'm tessa's plug for certain hits. if you want to know my full name that can be arranged."
he offered a crooked grin, holding his hands out in front of him.