Severo’s face pinched. “Um, Ender, when was the last time you slept?”
“What does that have to do with anything?!”
“Because that would be the only way to explain why you think Cyrus Grimm was blushing while talking to you.”
“W-well, he did!” Ender sputtered. “Toddles saw it too! The first time, at least. And Killian called him shy!” He smacked Severo’s hand away when the Dweller felt his forehead. “I’m not sick!”
“I mean…you do tend to be extra paranoid this time of year.”
“Boy, I swear to fuck, this is not my paranoia acting up! Cyrus was BLUSHING!”
Ender hissed threateningly when the Dweller tried to feel his forehead again.
Cyrus walked into the room they were using to hold joint meetings, and did his damn best to not look at Ender, which was hard as the Gorgon was staring, or more like glaring.
Without looking around, he took a seat at the head of the table and cleared his throat. “Last night we had to move the collective food supply from Brick Bond to Red Herring and Threadless UGA91. Some supplies were lost, so let’s start with that before discussing updates on repairs and so on.”
Despite not meaning to, as Saffire began to speak, he found himself locked in Ender’s gaze. His face instantly felt as if it had been lit on fire, and it took everything in Cyrus to not get up and run away when his heart started to race. Even more sothe moment an odd look of triumph entered Ender’s eyes, as an almost vindictive smile slipped onto the Gorgon’s face.
With Cyrus’face red as can be, and the man spectacularly failing to avoid looking at Ender, for the most part, it was a struggle for Killian to keep the smile off his face, but he managed. Well, he did when it was his time to talk, as the information he was presenting wasn’t exactly a happy topic.
Killian met Ender’s oddly smug yet tired gaze, and said, “After some pointed questions, Agent Ambrose has managed to narrow down and create a list of seventeen children who would in no certain terms be safe if returned to their parents and/or guardians.
“Further digging brought us to the conclusion that it would be in the best interests of ten of those children to be taken under the care of Cryptid Means.”
“That—” Ender started to respond, but was cut off.
“You can’t be serious, Killian,” Agent Ludvik Burrow, a Fire Sprite, snapped. “We can’t just?—”
“Agent Burrow, I don’t believe you were asked for your opinion,” Cyrus cut in, his face still flushed, but his tone was clipped.
“He indeed wasn’t,” Killian mused with a smile, his gaze flicking around to the faces of the other Bureau agents that were present. Seeing that many of them looked like they had way too much to say, he added, “But I’ll excuse the rudeness, for now, by being ruder. Agents who don’t need to be here for this conversation—and you know who you are—get out.”
“I—”
Ludvik tried again, and he cut him off, letting just a hint of his ability to compel seep out as he spoke in a warning. “I know it’s been a while since we’ve interacted, Ludvik, but I’d think after our last interaction you’d remember clearly that I don’t like repeating myself.”
At his words, the Fire Sprite stood, his face pinched. He obviously wanted to argue, but left quickly with the others, leaving him and Cyrus alone with the upper-level individuals from Cryptid Means. Ender’s people were surprisingly quiet, even if they did appear amused, but he’d noticed that they usually were more quiet when near them. Or more suspicious. Yeah, the line of trust between their groups was very thin.
“Now, as I was saying, it would be in the best interests of these children if no one, government included, knows where they are.”
There was barely anything in the world that would prompt Cyrus to even consider, let alone agree, to skirting procedures and laws, but this was a special case. The group of children were all rare species, and there just wasn’t a way for them to guarantee their safety if they were to take them back.
If this was under normal circumstances, they would have tried, but in this case, with the safer, even if illegal, solution being right fucking there, it hadn’t really taken much for Cyrus to agree—hadn’t even been an argument. The Fate had just quietly listened to what he and Severo had come up with, and agreed after a few moments.
“That won’t be a problem,” Ender drawled with a smile. “I do ask that you avoid digging into those children when we are connected to the world again. The less flags raised the better. One can never be sure someone isn’t watching.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” Killian agreed, before hesitating for a moment, and then asking, “I would be grateful if you could findsome way to communicate to us when they have all been sent to safe homes.”
The Gorgon pursed his lips, before nodding. “That shouldn’t be an issue.”
Ender leftthe meeting feeling completely vindicated. Fucking asshole Severo!I’ll show him fucking paranoid, the motherfucker!
Oh...but what if it was just in his head? No! It couldn’t be…
He wasn’t the only one who saw it the other day, and like, everyone at the meeting at least noticed something was off with the Grimm! The looks alone proved that!
But what if he was having multiple hallucinations at once?!
