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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ: sʟᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʀᴏᴀᴄʜᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ ʙᴇsᴛ ɢᴜᴇssᴇs
❝  ɪᴛ ɪs ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ, ɪsɴ'ᴛ ɪᴛ?  ❞

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INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE WASN'T THE ONLY THING YOU GAINED DURING YOUR TRAINING SESSIONS WITH BRENDON – they were bringing you and your stone pillar of a bodyguard closer together.

The first time you noticed it was during your fourth session; you made some corny joke about something stupid, and he gave you a sliver of a smile in response. At first, you thought it was just in your head. The two of you couldn't actually be getting along, could you? You hated each other.

Well, if we're being technical, you hated him when he wasn't within kissing distance of you. When he was... well, that was a different story. It was weird, really. The dynamic of your relationship.

Relationship.

Could you even call it that?

The dynamic of your... whatever it was. One moment, the two of you would be at each other's throats, handing out insults like gifts on Christmas day, and then the next, you would be only inches apart, and that little fire in the pit of your stomach would ignite, only to die down again once he regained distance from you.

It was strange, and you didn't have the slightest idea of what it was. It wasn't lust; you knew that. You didn't just want to sleep with him and then carry on as if nothing had happened. No, it was something deeper. But neither of you dared to explore it. Instead, you dealt with it the only way you knew how.

"I hate you!"

"So you've mentioned. Multiple times," Brendon said monotonously, readjusting his watch.

"You're the worst human being I have ever met! You're manipulative, sadistic-"

"Rude, angry, unnecessary, disgusting, repulsive, a bitch, a jerk, a son of a bitch, a demon, Satan himself, ridiculously handsome... yes, I know. You've mentioned all of that before too."

You stopped pacing for a moment and turned to him. "I have never called you handsome."

"Am I not?"

"I-You..." you stuttered, and he raised an eyebrow, "That's not the point! Stop trying to distract me!"

"I'm not trying to distract you. On the contrary," he responded, pulling up a chair and seating himself in it; he leaned back and set his one foot atop his opposite knee – the signature douche position, "Please continue with your rant. This is the most entertaining one yet."

"I really wish I could shoot you," you said, shaking your head and narrowing your eyes.

"Go ahead," he held out his hands in an invitation, "Knock yourself out. Then there'll be no one to save your sorry ass."

"My sorry ass wouldn't need saving if you hadn't put me in this position in the first place!"

"There are people who would put you in a lot worse," he reminded, "Now quit being a whiny brat and get over here!"

After one final death glare at your bodyguard, you lowered your gaze to the glass box next to you and gulped. Brendon had attached a shock vest to your body and placed you in a cornered off area; if you stepped out of the area, you'd be shocked.

You'd thought it to be a bit insensitive to use a shock vest on you considering what Ian had done to you, but according to Brendon, it was for that exact reason that he chose it; you knew how painful electrocution could be.

The key to unlocking the vest was in a glass box next to you. The only problem: the box was filled with cockroaches. You hated cockroaches. Downright despised them. Next to losing your loved ones, they were your worst fear. You freaked out at the mere mention of them; there was no way in hell that you would ever touch one. Hence, your current dilemma.

"Bren-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"PLEASE."

"No. You wanna get out, you have to get the key."

"Oh-ho-ho-ho, I hate you so much," you growled through gritted teeth.

"Uh huh."

Trying your hardest to keep your poise and stay calm and rational about this situation, you sluggishly reached your hand out and into the glass box, hovering just over the bugs.

"C'mon. You can do it."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP."

You swore you heard him snigger, but you didn't shoot him a glare as you normally would; you tried to focus on just getting the key.

When your hand touched the first roach, you recoiled immediately, doing a little fake cry; you were sure that you looked like a stupid little prissy girl, but you didn't care. After about a minute, you tried again. You fought the urge to throw up and forced your hand deeper into the sea of bugs.

"The trick is to not think about it. Focus on something else. Anything else."

Something else. Okay. Think of ice cream. Ice cream always makes you feel better. Except now. Now it's not. Think of something else. Think of....

You surprised yourself with what popped into your head next. But it worked. Your fingers grasped the metal and you yanked the key out, quickly unlocking yourself and sprinting out of that square.

Panting, you placed a hand over your heart, which you were sure was beating a thousand times faster than would be healthy.

"Well done," Brendon congratulated, handing you a water bottle, which you grabbed harshly.

"Piss off," you snarled, taking a drink.

"That's the test that usually makes or breaks an agent," he explained, "most people fail. They're not able to get to a safe-enough place mentally that enables them to overcome their fears. You did really well, considering the pass rate. What did you think of to help you through it?"

"Ice cream," you lied, "What was your fear?"

"Liar," he scoffed, "but alright." He turned to clean up.

"You didn't answer my question? What was your fear?" you repeated.

"Ice cream."

~

"What's your price?" The Director quizzed, circling The Asset.

"I don't have a price," the assassin replied, his head down – like it had been the for the past few weeks.

"Everyone has a price."

"I'm not like everyone."

The Director let out a weak chuckle. "That, I know." He stopped in front of the assassin and placed both hands on either side of his chair's armrests. "But there has to be something you want."

Slowly, the assassin raised his head. "I want to speak to the girl."

~

You woke up the next morning feeling more despondent than usual. Upon checking the date on the digital clock that accompanied your bedside table, you deduced that it was probably because today was your birthday. Your first birthday without your parents. Your first birthday without anyone – locked away in this place.

Birthdays were always an important part of your life; it was one of the only two times of year you actually looked forward to – the other one being Christmas. You would always be surrounded by your loved ones, and to you, that was everything. But this year, you would be alone. Sure, you would have Brendon, and The Director – and everyone else at S.H.I.E.L.D, you supposed – but you wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even know it was your birthday. They had more important things to worry about, like preventing the fifth mass extinction, for example.

Like clockwork, as soon as the clock read 8:00, there was a knock on your door and when you didn't voice any protest, Brendon walked in.

It was the usual routine; he'd come by at 8am to wake you up if you weren't up already, knock on the door to announce that he was about to enter, and if you didn't yell out for him to wait, he'd walk in and hand you a cup of coffee. Today wasn't any different, except that in the hand that wasn't holding coffee, he had plate with a cupcake and a candle on it.

"What's this?" you questioned in awe, straightening up so that you could take the mug and plate from his hold.

"It is your birthday, isn't it?" he asked carefully, forehead creasing as he questioned himself.

"It is," you confirmed and he relaxed, "I just... I wasn't expecting this, is all."

"Oh," he nodded before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter. After holding it up to show you, he then proceeded to light the candle. "Make a wish."

"What?" you mused, "You're not gonna sing 'Happy Birthday'?"

"I don't sing."

"Right," you smiled.

Brendon cleared his throat and shifted his gaze uncomfortably. "You better blow it out before it dies," he gestured to the candle.

Closing your eyes, you made a wish and then blew it out. When you were done, you took the remaining piece of wax out of the cake.

"Happy Birthday, (Y/N)," Brendon said softly, and you smiled genuinely at him, "The Director hopes to see you later, but it's not likely and he said to extend his wishes too."

"Thank you," you nodded, swiping a bit of the icing and tasting it. "Mm, this is good. Did you make it?"

He scoffed. "I may be able to cook, but my baking skills are atrocious. No, Agent Hill made it."

"Wow," you widened your eyes and made an impressed face, "Looks like I just found something Agent Brendon Urie can't do."

"Careful," he warned, "I could still kick your ass if I wanted to."

You giggled as you swiped some more icing, and Brendon's lips just barely twitched upwards.

"Hey, I meant to ask you," you spoke, tone turning a bit more serious, "When I first brought up wanting you to train me, you said that The Director would find out if you did. Well, we've been at it for almost two weeks now... how come he doesn't know?"

"He's been quite caught up with Ward and finding Hydra; it's demanded his full attention. That's why I haven't been too secretive about our sessions; I know that he's been too preoccupied to notice. And as long as I'm still looking after you, I doubt he feels the need to look into what we're doing. Either that, or he knows and he's just buying time to figure out a plan to kill us both. It really could be either one."

"How reassuring," you mumbled through a mouthful of cupcake, "Speaking of training... I should probably get ready for our session, huh?" you pulled the blankets off of you, moving to get up.

"That won't be necessary. We're not training today."

"Why not?" you frowned.

"It's your birthday, you deserve a break. Besides," he stood up and started for the door, "You'll need to save your energy for tonight."

"What's happening tonight?" you quizzed, utterly perplexed.

"It's a surprise."

"The last time you said that to me, you tortured me with cockroaches. For some reason, I'm not feeling too good about tonight."

All he offered in response was a shrug, and he exited the room, leaving you alone to wonder what the hell he had planned.

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Thank you for reading x