After what seems like an eternity, Theo finally stops talking, leaving the both of them in but a pregnant silence accompanied by the echoes of some of his confessions. There's a potent look in Theo's grey eyes that has done nothing to hide the sheer desperation that seems to be directed at Scarlet - begging for her understanding.

Is he serious?

Scarlet quickly snaps her head to the side, avoiding the intensity of his gaze. Her eyes use the opportunity to dart around the room, feasting on its contents. The magenta lace curtains haven't been drawn, letting in only a subtle glow of the afternoon light. The weather's chilly, perhaps cold, with grey flurries of snow dancing in the wind outside the window pane and maybe Scarlet should be thinking about getting a jacket or something. But that's the least of her worries.

What a fucking mess.

She has just had sex with the person whose brother she killed. She's the reason why Theo decided to become a murderer. An assassin. Scarlet shuts down that thought before it grows. No time for sentiments.

Finally, she lets out a long breath and raises a brow at Theo. "I see," Scarlet says nonchalantly, even if she should be anything but. In a life like Scarlet's though, there's no space for feeling for the whole world, else she just might lose track. "So you basically stalk me for a living. Okay," she says. "Okay then, nothing weird about that, Steiner, but please do enlighten me on one thing."

Theo's attention momentarily drifts to her face in surprise the moment his last name leaves Scarlet's lips, before going back to his hands that are folded fists in his lap.

He'd better not touch her.

"Which is?" Theo asks resignedly.

"Who stabbed you the day you stumbled through my door wounded?" Scarlet doesn't know why she's asking. Though she knows that to whoever did it, she wouldn't mind returning the favour.

What the fuck?

"Well," Theo shrugs. "A person in my line of business makes more enemies on a daily basis than friends, Scarlet, you of all people should know. I really have no idea."

"Okay," Scarlet breathes, preparing herself for departure. For some reason, she wants to tell Theo that she's sorry, she wants to pull him into her arms and apologise a million times for taking away his only anchor in life. His brother. And apologise to him for having such shitty parents even if it's not her fault. But the idea of being close to him right now, seems, repulsive and ... she hates to admit it, but ... scary.

Scarlet nods. "True. So, won't you get your revenge then?" She has no idea why she just asked that.

Theo chuckles. "Oh I will Scarlet, of course I'll get my revenge."

What?! Scarlet wouldn't really enjoy the idea of killing Theo. Not him. She thinks.

Not anyone. Not anymore. The thought makes its way into her mind unsolicited.

"But on the right people," Theo finishes.

Oh.

"I see," Scarlet says, getting up.

"Where are you going?" Theo sputters incredulously.

What? Did he think they were going to cuddle up or something?

"Um... home?"

"But I want to ask you something too."

Scarlet's brows meet her hairline. "You do?"

"Yes, a lot of things actually."

"I don't have time for this, Steiner. Reign your curiosity in."

"Scarlet." Theo's voice holds an unvocalised warning and Scarlet can't help but sigh. Maybe she should give him something. He sure deserves that much after everything she's put him through.

"Alright Steiner, but choose your question carefully. You've only got one."

"But ..." Theo's shoulders sag in defeat when Scarlet throws him a dirty look. "Okay." He looks thoughtful and then, "what about Celine?" he asks.

Scarlet huffs. "Of course you'd want to know. Don't you have better questions? Something that's your business, like let's say ... how I killed your brother?"

There's a fleeting flash of hurt in the grey eyes that- much to her distaste -she's grown so accustomed to. But it's gone just as fast. Theo pins her with a glare.

Scarlet sighs. "Okay, sorry. That was a bit insensitive."

"It was," Theo says.

"Kassandra Morgan," Scarlet says.

"Huh?"

"That was her name," she says, feeling the emotions she'd tried to bury deep inside a cave for all these years surface. She didn't want to ever have to tell this story. Telling it makes it more real, telling it reminds her that one day she's going to have to tell it to it's owner - to Celine. And it scares her to think that when that day comes, Celine will never look at her the same.

Scarlet might be unbreakable, but that girl, Celine could just snap a finger and Scarlet would be in splinters at her feet. And she doesn't even know it.

"I was seven and she was nine when we first met," she says, bringing herself out of the wayward thoughts.

That little weird girl? That was the first thing that came to a seven year old Scarlet's mind when a security guard at the mall where her mother worked asked her to keep a certain "lonely" girl company. Scarlet thought Kassandra was indeed very weird. Not weird in behaviour, weird because she had straight long sleek black hair and a pair of big sea coloured eyes!

That was weird in Scarlet's books, she had never in all the seven years of her life seen such a person before. Eyes like those usually came with blonde hair in Scarlet's school.

The girl was really pretty nevertheless, prettier than all the blonde girls with the same eye colour in her school.
Scarlet was intrigued as her small feet skipped, leading her to the bench where the girl sat licking a lollipop.

Who on earth gets black hair and blue green eyes? That should be illegal! She thought.

"Hi, weird girl," Scarlet had greeted with a grin.

"You think so too!" The girl exclaimed. She didn't look sad about it, so Scarlet nodded. It was bad to tell lies after all.

"Who else does?" She asked curiously.

The girl shrugged, popping the lollipop out of her mouth. "I do," she said, her legs dangling beneath the bench. 

Scarlet plopped down beside her, her brows connecting as she gazed down at the girl's dangling feet yet her own were planted firmly on the ground.

She wondered how someone could be so short. "Scarlet," she said, offering her a hand. "Scarlet Renee Greene."

The girl grinned and took Scarlet's hand.

It turned out that her name was Kassandra, Kassandra Morgan. And she was anything but weird.

They became friends since that day, they skated through the mall together every day after school, piffled chocolate chips together, among other bad things.

They were bad news.
And they lived happily ever after. Not.

Their friendship was strong, so strong that years later, fate found it necessary to land them in the same place of work. Scarlet had never been more relieved, for she had thought she'd never see her best friend again. Due to reasons known by her.

But then she was right there, like fucking magic.

Scarlet should have been feeling bad, and sad that Kass had to land in the hell hole too but she was happy, however selfish that sounded. And since then, together they worked. she was her sister, her best friend. But above all, Kassandra Morgan was Celine's mother: biological mother.
For Scarlet knows she is and always will be Celine's mother.

Kassandra went out on a mission. It was to take out a deserter: a person that went against the rules and left the organisation. They were not allowed to leave as it compromised the organisation's secrecy policy and information safety. And death was the penalty for any agent that broke the rules.

The day the organisation had finally got a lead on his whereabouts, they sent Kassandra to take him out. And that day changed everything.

Because that day, Kassandra fucked up. Literally

Whatever happened when she got there, Scarlet didn't know. She just knew that Kas did the deed with the guy. And stupidly fell in love with him.

Now that was where she did fuck up figuratively. Because later even after she'd tried to play the bosses, the organisation still found him and sent another agent who killed the guy. Kas was crashed, she was broken hearted. She was pregnant.

Scarlet consoled her friend. Day in day out. Promised her that she'll be alright with time even if she didn't believe it herself. But Kas no longer ate or drunk anything.

That evening, six years ago. The evening Scarlet never saw coming, the evening that changed her life forever, the evening she wouldn't change for anything in the world, however selfish that sounds.

She was in her bedroom, her old bedroom, pizza boxes were sprawled out all over the carpeted floor with a bowl of mushroom soup that smelled like new shit.
Scarlet was sitting beside her best friend whose eyes were puffy with unshed tears. Her voice was always so groggy that Scarlet worried that she may have been crying each time she was alone. She really loved the guy. Scarlet had given up on begging her to eat something. It was all pointless really, so they just sat there in the company of  silence.

"I don't want it Scar," a voice so small and broken whispered against Scarlet's shoulder in the middle of the long silence. Bile rose up Scarlet's gut immediately, replaying the words she just heard.

'She doesn't want it?  What does she mean she doesn't want it? What is it that doesn't she want?'

Scarlet braced herself to ask it, she had her own assumption on the "it" but there was no way she was meaning that "it". Of course, her wild imaginatión was running away with her. So Scarlet asked:

"What don't you want Kas? Is it the soup? Look I know I suck at cooking but I promise you it would have tasted the same if Chef Bryan made it. Mushroom soup is always gross. Just swallow it, you need to eat it, you need it, you haven't eaten anything. I ordered us pizza but you still haven't touched yours. Eat Kas, think about your health! Think about the bab-!"

"The baby Scar! That's right! The fucking baby!" Kas screamed pushing her head off Scarlet's shoulder. "I don't want it you hear me? I don't fucking want it!" She cried, crouching down at Scarlet's feet. "Please help me Scar," she begged, her voice was now trembling. "Help me get rid of it."

What?!  Scarlet had- somehow- expected this to be the it. Yet she was mentally willing it not to be.

Scarlet got up and shakily stepped out of her best friend's hold, putting a bit of space between them. Her throat immediately felt parched and a trembling hand grabbed at her neck, rubbing circles there - trying to soothe it. No, no, no. This was not happening.

This was like a blow. The big blow that knocks the breath out of the opponent. Scarlet sucked in a breath, she wanted to understand her best friend. She wanted to look at her and tell her it would be okay. That they would do it, they would get rid of the life in her womb and move on. They would go back to how they were before; two indestructible killing machines.

But they still bled red. At least, Scarlet was sure she did. But she couldn't  for the life her see her best friend, the sister she knew and took Kas to be, do that to an innocent. Scarlet looked at her, just once more, waiting for her to say it was the biggest prank she's ever pulled on her, that she should look at herself, and that it was a joke. 

None of that came. After all, they'd been through that. They'd been trained to be robots, to cry whenever it benefits them, to put on a 'smile' whenever it's necessary. And most of all, never to say things they don't mean. Since a single "joke" could get them killed.

"What?!" Kas wasn't joking.

At that moment, as Scarlet looked into Kas' eyes, she saw determination, she saw an unchangeable mind. She saw a person who is capable of killing an innocent baby. She saw a monster.

Scarlet wanted to cry, she wanted to scream at the woman in front of her. But she knew better, Kas, like Scarlet was immune to pep talks and screams and tears.

"I will take her," Scarlet found herself croaking out, surprising her own self at the determination in the words. What would she do with a baby at sixteen years? Scarlet didn't know. Nevertheless, she would figure it out. Or maybe Kas would have changed her mind by then.

"Just- just...Please don't abort that baby. Oh my god!" She held her head tightly. It was spinning.

"It's not a mission gone wrong Kas!" she screamed. "Open your eyes. You can't just abort it!  It's a life. A fucking life. I know what we do is take lives but those deserve it, this is an innocent! A baby Kas. Do you have any idea what that means?" Her voice was rising with each syllable. Kas opened her mouth to protest but Scarlet raised a palm, shutting her up, much to Scarlet's surprise. Kas was not one to be silenced. But an angry Scarlet wasn't a force to be reckoned with either.

"Do you have. Any idea. How fucking happy. That baby could make you? Do you? Do you know how much it could change your life. For the better? Hell, let's be honest here, we--" she motioned in between the two of them. "--have no lives. That baby could give you a life! You claim you were in love with Liam whatever his last name was, don't you want something, someone to keep what you had alive?" Scarlet threw her arms up in exasperation as she continued to yell at Kassandra.

She realised as she went that she was no longer trying to convince her friend to want the baby.

She was only trying to make her agree to keep it. For her. If she didn't want it, then Scarlet would. She was going to want it, take care of it, love it.

Because it was her dream, a dream she'd chosen to bury deep, deep down a black hole in her soul. Scarlet had once been the fairy tale kind of girl. She'd once believed in finding prince charming and having kids and living happily ever after. She'd thought that the bad guys come wearing black cloaks and have horns protruding through their heads. But as she grew, Scarlet realised that she was wishing on paper planes. Prince charming doesn't exist, and the bad guy is always good looking and has no horns. He's gentle and hugs you when you need it and makes you laugh and tucks you into bed at night.

The bad guy calls you baby girl.

She'd accepted that. Because life, it isn't a wish granting factory. Your perfect life could take a dramatic turn faster than you can say blink. And since hers did, Scarlet knew she didn't want to bring another life into it, she wasn't planning to get pregnant at sixteen, yet not ever. Hell, even if she wanted to, despite her age, Scarlet had been touched enough by perverted men. So much that she was disgusted by the touch of men. That pretty much ruled out any possibility. And then there was the organisa-

"The organisation will still kill it Scar, remember? We aren't supposed to have children! They will kill it and me both! Why don't I just get rid of it now? I can save myself from the pain of both delivering it and watching it die. Never mind my own life!"

Scarlet gaped. It was all she could do. Was the girl for real?
"Let me get this straight." She chuckled humourlessly. "You think by murdering your own baby your doing her/him a favour?" Scarlet shook her head. "You're sick Kas."

Kas glared at her. The greens and blues of her eyes that Scarlet always found beautiful looked lifeless, empty, devoid of any remorse at what she was planning to do.

She lunged forward, toward the bedside table on which Scarlet was leaning. Scarlet knew what was coming, of course, instead of talking about this like two sane human beings, they were going to rip their heads off like the animals they were.

They always did.

Scarlet casually glanced around for anything breakable, she wouldn't want to waste anything precious. Kas was no match to Scarlet and she knew it. She just couldn't accept it. But as she looked around, trying to act unfazed and all, Kas leapt at her, yanking her by her ponytail. She punched her hard in the stomach, all the air left Scarlet's lungs. Kas threw her onto the bedroom couch.

"You're the crazy bitch!" She screamed. "What sixteen year old wants to raise a baby. More less one that it isn't theirs?" She kicked Scarlet's legs. "This-" she gestured to her belly "-thing is in me, my body! I get to decide what happens to it, you hear me? ME! It's non of your fucking business! Hell I'm older than you, I know things you don't! I know how a baby complicates life!" she screeched.

"You're eighteen," Scarlet growled, trying to breathe again. "Doesn't make you much older. And besides, how does being older benefit you if you can't even remind yourself that fucking without a condom leads to babies, among other things?"

Scarlet leapt off the couch and flipped them so that Kas was beneath her, deciding to hit her back. There was a reason she was Agent A. She didn't take shit from no one or she'd put a bullet in between their eyes before they could blink. She grabbed a handful of Kas' blonde dyed locks, tilting her head so she was looking her in the eyes. Despite Kas being older, Scarlet with her almost abnormal height towered over her.

"You," She punched her across the jaw. "Are," hit "the," hit "crazy," hit "bitch!" Scarlet threw her on the bed, she was sure her cheeks were several sizes bigger and redder now, but she didn't care, she couldn't risk hitting Kas anywhere lower than the face. It could hurt the baby. She pummelled her face until the rage she felt towards her best friend had subsided.

But once done, Scarlet realised Kas had made up her mind, so she improvised. Plan B, that Scarlet didn't know about until that moment was going to have to get to work.

"You have options," Scarlet growled, "quite a number of them actually," she was tuning into team leader mode as she moved in circles around her best friend on the bed and she hated it. It hurt to do this to her, it did. But Scarlet couldn't sit by and watch her kill her innocent baby. "You're either keeping that baby and I'll find ways to keep you safe from the boss until you can give her to me," she sucked in a harsh breath. "or you move on with your plan and I get you killed by the organisation."

Kas gasped.

Scarlet held her hand up, indicating she wasn't done. "I'll report you Kassandra." She smirked evilly, even if she was feeling anything but. Deep inside, Scarlet was crying. She was weeping at how everything had gone so wrong. After everything they went through with the agency just to be allowed to stay friends, their sister-ship was sinking with not a storm, but just a single wave. But she had to, Kas would thank her later, she would.

"You know I can," she said with determination. "And I will." With that Scarlet walked out and slammed the door on her best friend. She let her sit with her thoughts. Maybe she'd finally realise how monstrous she sounded. Maybe, she'd take it back. Maybe, she'd realise she wanted the baby and maybe, she'd not hate her, she'd realise that all Scarlet wanted was the best for the person she considered family. And that the threat was just that; a threat. Scarlet would never get Kas killed.

Maybe....

"Scarlet!" Theo's  voice is a mixture of exclamation and pity. He can keep that because Scarlet doesnt need it.

Moving over, Theo raises a shaky hand as if desperate to hold her, but Scarlet clinches.

"Don't ... don't touch me!" She silently grinds out and regrets it immediately. There's pity, and confusion and hurt in Theo's eyes, and Scarlet can't stand it, but most of all, she doesn't need his pity, he doesn't even get it.

"Wow!" Theo says. "That's ... that's, wow!"

Over her bleeding heart, Scarlet manages to pull her lips up into a smirk. "I know, Steiner. But tell anyone that Celine is not my biological daughter if you're tired of living."

"You know I wouldn't do that Scarlet," he says. Scarlet shrugs and gets up. "Where are you going?" Theo asks.

She raises an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, this wasn't my house. And I need to see my daughter."

"Oh, right." Theo says. "Can I at least ask you something else?"

"No you can't," Scarlet says impatiently. "Lost your ability to count lately? Have a nice day Steiner." She picks her shoes up off the floor and starts out of the room. Leaving Theo staring blankly into space. She's almost out the front door when he calls after her.

Scarlet sighs exasperatedly but continues walking out. "What?"

"How are you getting home?" Theo asks. "At least take my car."

Scarlet is about to accept when something beside the car in the driveway catches her eye. "No," she says with a smirk, excitement repressing the pain in her gut. "I'll be taking this."

She walks over to the motorbike and swings a leg over it before taking a deep, content breath. It's been a while.

A subtle smirk plays on Theo's beautiful lips as he eagerly tosses the bike keys to Scarlet, as if he's been waiting for this moment the entirety of his life. "Its all yours, Greene."

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There, an update after ages. Lol