forum OxO with @menace-to-society

Started January 17, 2023 by @Emmrii

tune

Magnus raised his eyebrows again, shifting to look at her better. He, too, tried to minimize the amount of space he took up so the two of them would both be comfortable–or as close as they could feasibly be in this small hospital bed. He knew that he could leave. He did have free will, after all, though part of him clearly didn't want to, or he wouldn't have stayed. Was it objectively the best choice? No, probably not. Did Magnus have a history of making good choices? Also no. So it was par for the course for him.

"It's okay, I don't mind staying for a bit," he said softly, trying to keep in mind her feelings. It was so weird, trying to do things for someone else's sake. Keeping her feelings in mind along with his own wasn't terrible, just…different. He hadn't done that sort of thing in a long time. As Mercy continued talking, he closed his eyes as well, listening. "It's fine, really. Though I would be lying if I said it didn't come as surprise."

“Aw, but it’s so romantic, isn’t it?” She smirked at him. “Offering to stay with your partner in crime after she got shot in the shoulder.”

Mercy snorted, turning her head slightly in order to steal a peek at him. Honestly, she was surprised that he hadn’t gotten up and left yet. Not only was the hospital bed incredibly uncomfortable, but her stupid comments were probably making this ten times worse for him.

It wasn’t long before the room’s lights were turned out, the only light source being the window near the bed. After lying on her back for a while, staring blankly up at the ceiling, Mercy turned onto her side to face Magnus. He may have been a trained killer, but she couldn’t help but smile at how much softer he looked now. Sure, she would never be besties with the guy, but she was beginning to think that maybe she didn’t hate him as much as she thought she did.

“Thank you again, Magnus,” she said softly. “You know, for the whole saving my life thing. I would probably be dead right now without you.”

Magnus's mind was racing with thoughts as the two of them lay there. He was staring at the ceiling until the lights went out and he felt his companion shift towards him. After several moments, he did the same, turning to face her.

"Don't mention it," he responded, the praise making him a bit uncomfortable. He didn't exactly want her to get used to this sort of thing. It wasn't as if he had a lot of experience with it. Usually, he did the opposite. "Really. You're alive, and that's what matters."

(sorry it's short!)

( You’re all good!! :))

“Oh, you should be glad I’m alive. You don’t wanna deal with my cop friends.” She laughed softly as she adjusted herself, trying to avoid lying directly on her injured arm. “They’re absolutely terrifying. I even think so, and I’m one of them.”

Mercy closed her eyes, listening to the heart monitor’s beeping and the cars going by outside. This all felt so… strange. As a cop, she’d always been a rather untrusting person. She kept tabs on everyone, and no one ever got too close to her. But with him it was different, somehow. Maybe it was because of their agreement. Mercy would leave him alone as long as he agreed to leave her alone.

“We probably should discuss the whole Jakob thing, but I dunno. I don’t wanna ruin the mood by bringing him up,” she said. “But I guess our next move is tracking him down. Maybe finding where the gang is planning to meet up next.

Mercy sighed as she lifted a hand and placed it on her forehead. Her head was pounding, and while part of her was anxious about the job she needed to complete, she also knew that she had thought about it enough for that night. Pondering on her work anymore would just worsen her throbbing head.

Magnus smiled weakly at the thought of her cop friends. He was certain he could take down anyone who got in his way, but he generally wasn't thrilled about hurting anyone not directly involved. Besides, he would like to not spend the rest of his life in prison. Or at least, not an American one. A Swedish prison, maybe. Those cells were extremely nice and not terrible-looking. That really wouldn't be half bad.

As the woman moved back to business, Magnus frowned. Would she ever let herself rest? Sure, her job was important or whatever, but she deserved a break too. She could afford to rest for one night. Besides, with her injuries resting was clearly the best course of action. There wasn't much she could do from a hospital bed.

"I think you should take it easy for tonight," Magnus said, glaring at her. "You need to rest right now. We can worry about Jakob later. Right now your well-being takes precedence." He sighed. "Seriously, keeping yourself alive is the number one rule. Remember that. The mission will still exist tomorrow."

“First you’re whining at me for my dumb plan, and then you’re whining at me for thinking about work.” She laughed softly. “But fine. I’ll stop thinking about it for now.”

After speaking with him for a few more moments, she leaned into him ever so slightly, trying to keep the bed railing from jamming into her back. It was an uncomfortable position to sleep in, especially with her throbbing shoulder, but Mercy was sure she could manage.

“Good night, Magnus.” She smirked and blew him a kiss. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Mercy closed her eyes, and while she had a hard time sleeping at first, she eventually managed to doze off into a pleasant slumber.

Magnus rolled his eyes at her as she complained, not giving her anything else to go off of. He let her lean into him, trying to relax in the small, uncomfortable bed. Maybe staying with her was the best option. She couldn't possibly get injured while he was there–and not preoccupied–to ensure it. He didn't feel very tired, though somehow Mercy being sleepy made him a little more so himself. He wasn't sure how that worked at all, but after she fell asleep, his eyes started to droop.

It was more and more effort to keep his eyes open, and eventually, he drifted into a dreamless sleep as well. Even Magnus couldn't stay up forever; he would have to sleep eventually. He hadn't even planned on staying here late enough to do that, but he felt like if he moved too much or left, Mercy would wake up, and she really needed rest. So he allowed himself to drift off at last.

While Mercy’s sleep was mostly fairly pleasant, she did wake up some during the night, groaning and squirming in the bed because of the pain in her shoulder. However, with the comfort Magnus provided along with medicine, she was able to sleep soundly for most of the night and late into the morning.

Mercy began to wake up around ten, and she was shocked when she found her partner still next to her. She could’ve sworn he had said that he would leave after she fell asleep, but maybe he didn’t want to. Or maybe he just couldn’t get up without waking her.

“Good gosh, Magnus.” She propped herself up with her elbow, gently nudging him. “You are one deep sleeper.”

Magnus, of course, was dead asleep. He was thoroughly out. People had told him before that he slept like the dead, and they were absolutely right. It was very odd, in fact. He could sleep through just about anything, but somehow the slightest inclination that he wasn't safe would wake him instantly. Even Magnus himself didn't know if it was a skill he had developed or simply the way that he had always been, but it was an interesting character trait nonetheless. So at the gentle nudging, he remained asleep. He also wasn't a very attractive sleeper, something that would offend him if anyone ever pointed out, prone to snoring or splaying his body like a starfish.

At the present moment, he had mostly stayed still during his sleep, not taking up too much space, but he was not going to wake up with just a slight touch. No, he was too deep a sleeper for that.

He may have been attractive when he was awake, but Mercy couldn’t help at how ridiculous he looked when he was asleep. But, at the same time, he looked strangely calm. It was much different from how he was in day to day life.

After a few more attempts at trying to wake him, she decided to leave him alone for now, letting him sleep. Yes, it would looked somewhat awkward if he was still there when the doctor returned, but Mercy didn’t care. It’s not like she would ever see the doctor again anyways. Besides, he probably needed the sleep. She wasn’t sure how many times he woke up during the night, but judging how uncomfortable the bed was, she figured that it was a lot.

After lying in bed for a few more minutes, Mercy sat up in bed, pulling out her phone. She was always the one to try to come to work no matter what, but she knew that would be impossible. Not with her injury. Besides, being off of work might be a good thing. It would allow her to focus on her job with Magnus.

Eventually, Magnus came to on his own, opening his eyes groggily to see the hospital room and Mercy on her phone. He shifted, having a horrible crick in his neck from his shitty sleeping position. He sighed, stretching as much as he could without shoving his hand into Mercy's face.

"What time is it?" he rasped, his voice thick with sleep. He ran his hands through his hair and sat up, wincing as his back ached like an old man's. Sometimes he felt like his joints were years older than the rest of him.

Mercy placed her cell phone on the table beside her as he began to wake, shifting her gaze over to him. Just a day or two ago, he hated her for manipulating him, and now, he was staying in the hospital overnight to make sure that she was okay. It was crazy how fast things could change, even if he was just doing it so that he wouldn’t get arrested.

“Ten fifteen, my love. We slept in a while this morning, but hey. We had a long night.” She sat up, stretching out her sore arm. “You… do realize you didn’t have to stay the entire night, right?”

Clutching her wounded arm, Mercy scooted herself out of the bed, her hospital gown falling down to her knees. She knew that the doctor and nurse would likely lose their minds if they saw her standing up, but she didn’t care. Her legs were starting to cramp.

“But seriously. Go home and get some rest.” She forced a smile. “I’ll be fine, and as soon as I get better, we can start back up on our job. It’s why we’re doing this, right? The sooner we get done, the sooner we can both go on our own separate ways and get back to our normal lives.”

Magnus snorted at her question, knowing full well that he hadn't intended to stay the whole night anyway. He just felt like if he moved it would wake her up and then he would have to say an awkward goodbye in order to slip away, which he really hadn't felt like doing if he were honest.

"I know," he said, smirking. "I just ended up falling asleep." He shrugged. As she got out of bed, he raised an eyebrow, not doing anything to stop her but also a bit confused about why she had decided to that. Eh, that was her own thing. He had already stayed over in the hospital room after taking her there, so he was done for helping people for now. It was exhausting; how did some people hack it?

She didn't have to tell him twice. He was going to go get some rest regardless of what she said, but at least she wasn't insisting he stay again. It hadn't been terrible, though he would never admit that. He was only doing it so he wouldn't get arrested. That was the important thing.

"Saying either of our lives are normal would a lie," he chuckled, knowing that wasn't entirely what she had meant but too tired to really care. Unsurprisingly, hospital beds didn't offer the best sleeping experience. "But yeah, as fun as this has been, I'm ready to go back to my own place." He got out of the bed and put his shoes back on, giving her a joking smirk. "Toodles."

“Aw, and I’m not going to get a goodbye kiss, am I?” she teased, sitting down next to him. “But get a good rest, okay? You look like you need it.”

She winked at him before she climbed back in bed and turned on the TV. She couldn’t help but let out a sigh when she saw what they were loosely covering the event that had happened only the night before. The other police officers likely tried to keep the shooting at the hotel hidden from the local news stations, but nothing seemed to stay hidden for long.

“I don’t think the gang has caught onto us yet. Not quite yet, anyways.” Mercy sighed, glancing over at Magnus. “Just… be careful, okay? Watch your back.”

She turned off the TV, and once Magnus left, she simply laid there in silence. Despite her food being brought to her, Mercy had a rather boring stay in the hospital, but luckily, it wasn’t long before she got released. With a matter of hours, she was back to her job, working vigorously on the next steps of their investigation. However, she failed to text Magnus at all. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten about him; she still needed him for his expertise with the criminal world. But there was some work that she needed to do alone.

On the fourth day after she’d been released from the hospital, Mercy took a trip to the more… dark places of their city. Some called in the Black Market, others called it the Den of Thieves. It was a place that Mercy and her cops heavily avoided; whatever happened in the Black Market stayed in the Black Market. But she also knew, despite her prejudices about this place, that it was a good location to find people who may know about the infamous gang.

As soon as she stepped into the Black Market, Mercy knew that it was much different than she thought it was. No, there weren’t bodies lying all of the sidewalks and streets. No, there wasn’t crime occurring openly in public. But the place tended to be a lot more… sketchy.

Mercy walked into a pub, and she immediately struck by how quiet it was. There weren’t many people here during this time of day, and most of them stayed to themselves and only talked to people they knew. It was how the criminal world was; full of secrecy.

When Mercy said that he needed rest, it wasn't as if Magnus could argue. He was definitely weary. But her saying he needed it made him scoff a bit. As if Magnus Helvig needed rest. He always looked amazing, whether he got eight hours or eight minutes of sleep.

"Gee, thanks," he replied sarcastically, but still lightly, after that comment. As she continued to talk, it struck him that she might very well care for him. What a weird idea. She probably just needed his help, since she hadn't seemed too happy about that earlier. "I'll be careful, don't worry." After that promise, he left the room and headed home. Once he got there, he quickly fell asleep, since getting even a little sleep in his bed was always better than a lot of sleep in a hospital bed.

Over the next few days, he did his normal job, ignoring the whole cop situation until Mercy decided to text him. He figured that unless she texted him, she probably didn't need him around, which was fine by him. It wasn't as if he cared about her, god forbid. Magnus did need his space.

While Mercy was in the criminal underworld herself, Magnus was doing something surprisingly mundane–grocery shopping. He needed to eat, after all, and he wasn't worried too much about Mercy, mind on other things. She was an adult; she could handle herself.

Mercy went around the pub, trying to speak to people, but she got little to no cooperation from those gathered in the bar. Despite the fact that she wasn’t wearing a badge, the people there seemed to know she wasn’t a criminal, and they weren’t too keen on talking to one of their own. Maybe if she brought Magnus here, things would change. That’s what she’d been intending to do anyways.

After she finished speaking to everyone in the bar, she sat down at a table alone and pulled out her phone. She noticed the eyes of some of the people sitting around her linger on her for a bit too long, but she tried her best to pay them no mind as she began to text Magnus.

‘We haven’t chatted for a couple of days. Sad I’m not dead?’ she typed. ‘Anyway, I’m at a pub in the Black Market, and I can’t seem to get any cooperation from anyone here. Think you could give me a hand later today or tomorrow?”

As Magnus was trying to decide which pack of frozen fruit to buy, he felt the vibration of a text in his back pocket. He was not a popular person, and didn't give out his number often, so he guessed it was likely Mercy. He had an entirely different phone for work. He stared at the different options in the frozen food isle for several more seconds before deciding on a pack of mixed berries, putting it in the cart. He then checked his texts, reading through what she had sent with a snort. Did she really expect people like that to give her the time of day? With her clean-cut appearance and somewhat righteous attitude, of course people would know she was a cop. No one in that part of town had any love for law enforcement, and obviously Mercy had caught on to that. If she had wanted to talk to people there, she should have just told him.

He responded before he finished up shopping and went to check out, getting in line behind an old woman who was buying a surprising amount of eggs. Weird.

'i'm devastated' he typed in response, adding a couple of emojis for emphasis. 'ofc you cant get them to like you, you're a cop. if you can wait an hour i'll be there.'

She smiled as she read the text, rolling her eyes. If any of her friends or family members were here, they would likely tease her about smiling at her texts. If only they knew who she was talking to.

‘a whole hour? not sure I can wait that long’ she replied. ‘but fine, if you get here in an hour, maaaybe i’ll have enough patience to wait around for you.’

Mercy placed her phone back on the table, stealing yet another glance around the bar. Most of the bar goers were talking with their groups, minding their own business, while others were looking in her direction. Some of them were even glaring at her. Hopefully they wouldn’t try anything; Mercy was in no mood for a fight. She had gotten in one just a couple of days before, and her shoulder still ached from it.

She picked up her phone again. ‘if you can’t find me when you get here, i’m prolly dead,” she said. “i get a feeling that most of these guys hate me.’

Magnus checked out, making polite conversation with the girl working the register. He paid for the groceries, set the bags in the cart to take to his car, and left the store. After everything was put in the car, he quickly checked his phone before heading back to his house.

'you just now realized that?' he typed in response. 'try not to die until i get there so i can at least avenge you' And then he added several more emojis. He was the sort of person who used them liberally to punctuate his texts, and that was becoming more obvious the more texts of his one saw.

Once he got home, he put everything away as quickly as possible before changing and getting ready to head out to the bar. Seriously, why did she do these things by herself when she had a perfectly good criminal at her beck and call? If she had just invited him, then this would have gone a whole lot smoother. As it were, they might have to make her look like she was a dirty cop or something to even get these guys to tell them anything. He understood that she was dedicated to this case, but jeez. Some things were just better for him to take care of.

Mercy slipped her phone back into her pocket before she began to gnaw on her thumbnail. Yeah, this probably wasn’t the best idea. She had thought that she could handle it, but she had severely underestimated how many criminals lurked in the shadows of the Black Market.

Feeling uncomfortable, Mercy got up from her table near the corner and headed outside, standing by the curb as she waited for Magnus to arrive. She knew standing outside was likely not safer than being in the bar, but for some reason, it made her feel better.

As soon as Magnus pulled up, she hurried to his car, tapping on the window. “Took you long enough,” she teased. “I hope you didn’t miss me too much while you were away.”

Magnus chuckled as he turned off the car, opening the door carefully and stepping out. "I was absolutely devastated I couldn't see you every day," he joked, checking his parking job was satisfactory before locking his car and putting the key in his pocket. This place was one he hadn't been to in a while, but surely someone there might recognize him. Plus, he didn't have the obvious cop mannerisms and tells that Mercy did. It would be pretty clear that he was not any sort of upstanding citizen to those at the bar. However, he couldn't say the same for his companion.

"Going in there by yourself was a real blunder," he sighed, trying to think of a way to fix this. "But maybe if we go in together, they'll think you're a dirty cop or something and be more trusting. Still, the people here generally don't even put much faith in other criminals, so just warning you up front. I'm not sure exactly what information you're hoping to get here, but I'll do what I can."

“Oh, you could always come see me, my love. Visit me at my home,” she teased. “Aw, unless you’re too shy…”

She laughed, slipping her arm through his. Her relationship with Magnus was… odd. They were supposed to hate each other, and sure, they definitely weren’t anything close to friends. But, surprisingly, she didn’t dread having to see him during her work. In fact, it could be nice at times.

She listened to his next comment, smiling faintly. “Me? A dirty cop? Never,” she replied. “But I better start acting like one if I want to get information from any of these criminals.”

As soon as they opened the door to the bar, the strong smell lavender with a hint of lemon forced its way into their nostrils. For a bar on the rougher side of town, it was actually pretty nice, and Mercy felt a bit strange not dressing up more for the occasion.

“How cute.” She glanced over at him and winked. “Reminds me of the bar we met in.”

Magnus rolled his eyes, play-acting that he was annoyed. Though if he were honest, the memories of that night did give him mixed feelings. There was a sort of bitterness that still tainted it, coating his tongue with a bittersweet flavor. “Eh, that bar was a lot more neutral,” he responded. “Don’t let the niceness of the bar fool you.”

He walked inside confidently, scanning for anyone he knew. He glanced over at his companion again, trying to pretend that this was just a regular day and she was the sort of guest he might bring to a place like this. Magnus was by no means ever a regular here, but it was possible that he’d be recognized due to his coming here in the past. So far, though, no patrons caught his eye as being someone he had associated with in the past. There was a face or two that he might have spoken to one drunken night and barely remembered, though.

He leaned in a bit, putting his lips near Mercy’s ear to whisper, “Follow my lead.” And with that, he made his way to the bar itself to order a drink. Here, some of the drinks were actually codes, so what he ordered would actually matter. Even he didn’t know all of them, but he did know the basics of what to order for certain situations and definitely what not to order because it would make him look like a cop.

She grew slightly flustered when he leaned towards her, but that expression quickly vanished when she heard what he had to say. She snorted and rolled her eyes. Sometimes, he made her want to push him down a set of stairs.

“Alright, Magnus,” she whispered back. “Lead the way.”

She followed him over to the bar, sliding onto the stool beside him. Her insides felt a bit jittery, but she tried to hide her nervousness as she glanced around the bar. She had her doubts that she would be able to get any information out of them, but it was worth a shot.

She glanced over at her partner, bouncing her leg. “See anyone you know?” she asked him softly. “Or anyone you think you would be able to get information out of?”

It was strange to be in a bar with this many criminals, but she had to admit that it was exciting. She knew there was someone here that had to have some correlation to the gang; she just need to figure out who that person was.

Magnus was scanning the bar, looking for just that. There wasn't any old friends or lovers that popped out in his gaze, though he did notice a man in the corner who looked vaguely familiar. Perhaps he had associated with him at some point? Magnus wasn't sure. He frowned, trying to get a better look at the guy's face. As the man caught him looking, Magnus quickly looked away. Yes, he definitely knew the man, and now he knew why. This man hated his guts. Just perfect.

"Not anyone who would talk to me," he responded, trying to see if he recognized the bartender, either. That was a negative. Man, maybe he should hang out in the criminal underground more often. Well, he could try speaking to one of the two somewhat familiar people. He might have talked to them when he was drunk, back when he used to try and drink his problems away. Yeah, that had been a dark era of his past. Well, a lot of it was kind of dark, considering his job as a hired killer. But that part had been extra dark. He was completely embarrassing when he got plastered, and he wasn't sure he wanted to face people he had only ever spoken to drunk, but it helped him get out of his current predicament, maybe he could try.

"Well, there are a couple people who miiiight be familiar," he admitted, looking back at Mercy. "Granted, I don't know them well, and I haven't been to this place in a while, so I wouldn't be surprised if we get nothing useful out of them. This mission might be a bust."