OxO with @menace-to-society

Magnus's mouth was set in a hard line. Despite all of the rules against weapons in this hotel, he did have a knife on him. He had pretended not to, of course, since he doubted his new cop friend would appreciate him deviating from the rules, but now it might come in handy. Before that, he would need to find a way to get more of an advantage on the situation. He had been hoping the person would have shown themselves, thinking that maybe waiting and biding their time would be better than hunting them out, though he wasn't really sure how interrogation situations were supposed to work. He usually just did his job and was done with it, no questions needed. Stupid police work.

He sighed, eyeing up the intruder. She seemed like she could be a formidable foe, so it was best not to underestimate her. Magnus himself sometimes tried to get people to underestimate him by joking around and acting the fool before striking. Perhaps he could try that strategy here. He didn't recognize the woman, and doubted that she would know he was–he did not make a habit of letting people know anything about himself. Maybe he could use his silence and lack of much of the work that had gone into this interrogation as a way for the woman to underestimate him so he could gain the upper hand.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice," he said as he began to untie Jakob. He kept his eyes more wide and startled-looking. After all, he had looked startled as the woman had jumped out of the closet. He was really out of his element now, but once he could get closer to the woman without Mercy in the way, he would be able to take care of things. He just had to figure out how. Sure, he could have held his knife to Jakob's throat, but knowing the nature of those commonly associated with the gang, he doubted she would stop Magnus from killing Jakob if the alternative was to let them go free. He had to think like his opponent so he would be able to anticipate any moves they might make.

He worked clumsily as he untied the man, hoping it would look like he didn't know what he was doing. It wasn't often he really needed to tie people up, since most of his targets were wanted dead, not alive, so it wasn't exactly difficult to pretend he had trouble with the knots. This might give him a little time to gauge this woman's character and give him more insight to see what she might do. If he could guess his opponent's next moves correctly, then he would be on the path to victory.

The woman was still on guard because of the tense situation, but after seeing how I inexperienced Magnus seemed to be, she shifted more of her attention towards Mercy. She waited for Magnus to finish untying Jakob before she shoved Mercy into Magnus’s arms.

“Don’t try anything.” She was aiming the gun primarily in Mercy’s direction, but she could easily shoot Magnus as well. “One step towards me and you’re dead.”

Mercy stood against Magnus, beads of sweat trickling down her face as she clutched her bloody shoulder. She watched in silence as the woman backed towards the door with Jakob behind her. She knew that she had to do something— throw the woman off somehow— but how she would do that was another matter entirely. Well, for starters, the woman seemed to be more threatened by her than Magnus. Maybe she could somehow use that, and the fact that she had been shot, to their advantage.

“Shoot, my head…”

Mercy dropped her stance for a moment and leaned her forehead against Magnus shoulder, her hand going up to her face. She lifted her head, looking at the woman, before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she dropped to the floor.

Her stunt was quite dramatic, but it seemed to fool the woman. She believed Mercy was now knocked out cold, and Magnus— the supposedly incapable sidekick- was her only concern. The woman, clearly overly confident in this little rescue mission of hers, dropped her guard even more as she continued towards the door. Now Mercy had to count on Magnus to rush her before she could escape into the hotel.

That stunt that Mercy had pulled had seemed to work, so this would be his chance to catch the woman before she and Jakob disappeared into the hotel. He had to do this right. His own acting had payed off as well, since the woman didn't seem to view him as much of a threat. Good. Now he just had to distract her so she wouldn't shoot him as he was rushing in. His acting was good enough to carry him through, or the woman was overconfident enough not to think about it too closely. He just had to focus on the strategy now.

What would her next move be? Obviously she was trying to get out of the room and escape down the hall. However, she was still holding the gun, so if Magnus attacked, her first instinct would likely be to shoot at him. While he was fast, he doubted he could dodge a bullet, especially in such close quarters. The hotel room was just that, after all, a room. He wouldn't be able to find much cover here, either, and by the time he came back out from it, the woman would be gone. He did have one idea, but it might be a bit risky. She would seriously have to believe he was a fool for it to work. Well, other than rushing her directly or trying to throw his knife and hoping she would too caught off guard to shoot at him, it was pretty much his only option right now.

"Look over there!" he hollered, pointing to one corner of the room, hoping she would glance away just long enough for him to throw his knife in the opposite direction at the glasses sitting on the counter, stacked neatly as if in waiting. The subsequent shattering sound was loud, which would definitely draw her attention to the glasses, as well as possibly confusing the ever-loving shit out of her as to why Magnus would do that. Hoping she was distracted, he rushed her, ready to knock the gun out of her hands. In hand-to-hand combat, there were few who could overpower him.

“Really?” The woman rolled her eyes, not falling for his tricks. “Do you seriously think I would—“

Without any warning, Mercy sprung up, grabbed the small lamp off of the nightstand next to her, and hurled it at the woman. She managed to do this without getting shot as the woman believed she was out cold. While the woman dodged the lamp, it still distracted her, giving Magnus enough time to do whatever he was planning on doing. Jakob, on the other hand, saw the fight quickly turning against them. Without a word to his partner, he fled out the door and down the hallway.

Mercy stumbled to her feet, trying to go after him, but a sharp burst of pain in her shoulder sent her straight back to her knees. She couldn’t let him get away, but her injury from earlier was finally starting to get to her. She had done nothing to stop the bleeding, so all the blood loss was starting to make her lightheaded.

Magnus didn't have time to shoot Mercy a look of thanks as he continued to rush the woman, trying to knock the gun out of her hands quickly so they would have a more fair fight. Though his pure strength and experience would likely let him hold his own, if not enable him to win. He was confident in his abilities, but he would not assume the woman was the worse fighter just by virtue of his own prowess. He had seen her attack Mercy, and he knew that he would have to actually try to win the fight. Though by strength alone, he would likely win. He could do this.

After he had knocked the woman unconscious, he could go after Jakob, assuming the man wasn't too far away already. He had to be quick. Magnus was willing to fight dirty to ensure that this ended as soon as possible. The lamp Mercy had thrown had at least startled her, if not injured her a bit, so that would give Magnus an advantage. Time to kick some ass.

The woman was at a clear disadvantage during this fight; not only had she been started when she was almost hit with the lamp, but Magnus was also much bigger and stronger than she was. She tried to take a shot at him, but the gun was knocked out of her hand as Magnus rushed her. The woman didn’t go down without a fight, but in the end, she was knocked unconscious.

“Well, that’s just great. Jakob probably got a taxi and left by now…” Mercy stood up, trying to slow her breathing as she spoke. “Should we go after him or take care of him later?”

Mercy sat down on the sofa, blood the entire right side of her shirt stained bright red with blood. She looked incredibly dazed, like she was about to pass out at any moment, but she still tried to stay attentive.

“Maybe- maybe if you do go after him, I should stay here.” She let out a weak laugh as she held her head in her hand. “I’m pathetic, I know, but I’ll be here to make sure she doesn’t wake up.”

Magnus frowned at her, assessing her condition. She was obviously not doing well; she needed medical attention. As much as he wanted to pursue Jakob, he couldn't exactly leave her here. He knew enough to know that passing out from the injury would be bad, especially if she were left alone with the woman, who might wake up while Mercy was unconscious. God, who was he becoming? Since when did he care about anything other than saving his own skin? This was just great. Stupid goody two shoes Mercy was rubbing off on him.

He sighed, giving her a derisive look to show exactly how stupid her suggestion was. In terms of strategy, it was awful. Besides, wasn't this woman still connected to the gang? It would be better to bring her in to question than to potentially let her escape Mercy's watch. This whole night was beginning to give Magnus a headache. Why did cop shit have to be so damn complicated?

"That's a horrible idea," he added, in case the glare wasn't enough to make that message clear. "We should get you to a hospital, and we can take this lady to the station, or whatever it is you guys normally do with someone who has ties to a gang. You're clearly in no condition to watch her to make sure she can't escape, and Jakob could be miles away by now. I say we call it a night."

She smiled at the look he gave her at the suggestion of the idea. She wanted to tease him about how he looked when he was ticked off at her, but Mercy figured that might not be the best idea considering that they’d both almost died.

“Fine, but tie her up before we leave. There’s rope in my bag,” she said. “I’ll call the police while we’re driving away from here. They aren’t… exactly aware how closely we’re working, and I’m not sure I want them to know.”

She watched in silence as he tied up the woman, feeling a bit disheartened that Jakob had managed to get away. Like usual, she had started to blame herself; if she wouldn’t have gotten shot, she would’ve been in a good state to chase him down. However, she quickly put a haunt to this thinking. There was no knowing that she would get shot in the arm. Yes, Jakob did get away, but she had no doubt that either her or her department would find him.

“Well, now that that’s taken care of, let’s end this stupid night.” She smirked as she looked up at him, trying to lighten the mood a little. “Are you going to carry me, or are you going to make your injured partner walk all the way down to her car?”

Magnus rolled his eyes. He hadn't even considered that, if he were honest. He also wasn't sure how to feel about the police not knowing the details of the situation. Was it good for him that they weren't aware of how closely he was working with one of their own, or bad because she wasn't planning on giving him full credit for the work they did? He would have to find out what he could about that, though he was hardly a detective.

Magnus blinked. "You want me to carry you, huh? I thought you were supposed to be all tough and shit," he teased, shaking his head. In truth, he did know how to do a fireman's carry since it was relatively simple, and he was strong enough for it. Though he made sure as he spoke that it was clear his annoyance with her hadn't entirely faded. That was still a horrible suggestion for a plan.

At any rate, Magnus was ready to be done too. This whole night had been so weird for him, and he was certain that the strangeness would only continue.

Mercy noted the tone in his voice and rolled her eyes. “What are you annoyed about now?Look, I’m sorry for suggesting the idea, but I didn’t want Jakob to get away,” she said. “Besides, why are you worried about me anyways? If something happens to me, you get yourself out of a job. That’s good, right?”

Mercy knew that the plan had been stupid, but she didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t let Jakob get away; he could tell the rest the gang about what had happened, and their whole mission would be ruined. Besides, Mercy could take care of herself. Sure, she had been shot, but she had taken the woman’s gun after she passed out. That gave her the advantage, right?

“Just… bring me to my car. Please, Magnus. You can be annoyed with me later.” She stood up, clutching her side. “I’m not exactly feeling up to any arguing right now. You know, with me bleeding out and all.”

Magnus sighed, but he supposed that Mercy's injury was the most pressing matter here. She did have a point; Magnus would be angry later. For now, getting her medical attention was more important than Magnus's pettiness. He got in the position to sling Mercy over his back in a fireman's carry. That should hopefully be alright, as long as there was the least amount of movement to the wound possible. He was able to get her onto his back without too much trouble, letting out a breath as he rebalanced himself before doing anything else.

"Is this good?" he asked, no annoyance this time. Though he had to admit that Mercy's earlier statement about him now having to follow through on this job if she died was kind of nice, well, if he didn't factor in the other police who probably wanted him dead or in prison. Yeah, it would be easier just to keep her alive so he could do this shit and get immunity or whatever. No other reason.

She sucked in a sharp breath as he stood up, clinging to his shirt. “Geez, Magnus,” she teased softly, her voice somewhat weak. “When I told you to carry me, I expected a princess carry or something. Not… this.”

Of course, she couldn’t complain; the fireman’s carry was an effective way of getting her out the door, and she would likely be in a lot more pain if he had decided to carry her any other way.

Mercy clung to him as they made their way to the door, and for a moment, she caught a glimpse at the people in the bar. They had gotten even more rowdy since she’d been gone, blissfully unaware of what had been going on on the floor just above them. She couldn’t help but wonder, as they escaped the hotel, how many in the bar were in league with Jakob. They could’ve easily helped him escape, meaning that he was likely long gone.

“I suppose I should thank you,” Mercy said once they both got into the car. “Whether I want to admit it or not, you kinda saved my life…”

Magnus snorted a little at her comment about a princess carry. He supposed that sort of thing wouldn't be too difficult for him to work out, since a bridal style carry (or whatever it was called) seemed relatively simple, but this was the only carry he knew off the top of his head. Besides, she was hurt, so it seemed appropriate. At least it might save them both some awkwardness, though he could have used a more romantic carry as a way to tease her and flirt, but eh. His mind had gone crisis mode for a moment, and this was the result. He had a cool head in a crisis but he also always seemed to default to things he knew well. "I've actually never done that before, so you're going to be carried like this and you're going to like it," he said half-jokingly.

As they both walked past the door, catching a glimpse of the people still at the bar, Magnus briefly wondered what his night might have been like if he were really there just to socialize, drink, and flirt. Maybe in another life he were someone who didn't have so much blood on his hands and the bad luck to get stuck in this sort of situation. Maybe in another life he had a normal, respectable job. How weird that thought was. But then again, no matter how he tried, he doubted he could ever have entirely avoided the criminal underground of the city. How many people in that bar were associates of the gang? How many had contact with them to carry out the things they didn't want to dirty their own hands with? How many might have helped Jakob escape? He huffed out a sigh. It felt like everything led back to the same people.

As they got into the car, his companion spoke again, and he glanced at her, raising his eyebrows slightly. He shrugged, though he had to admit it was weird to hear that. He normally ended lives; he didn't save them. Magnus wasn't the sort of person who cared or knew how to do that. But it wasn't entirely a bad feeling, just a strange one.

"Don't mention it," he responded, giving her a smirk. "I am a cop now, after all." Yes, he knew this wasn't technically true, but it might be fun to keep saying it to annoy Mercy.

“Oh, a cop, huh?” She smirked back at him. “Well, come back after a few years of police academy, and if you survive, I’ll give you a badge.”

She let out a weak laugh, leaning back against her chair. Her shoulder was still throbbing profusely, and blood was dripping down her arm. She was now feeling even more dizzy than she had been in the hotel, and she knew that if she didn’t stop the blood flow, there was a likelihood that she may not make it to the hospital.

Mercy picked up her jacket in the floor and, using Magnus’s knife, cut the sleeve off. She looped it around her arm above the wound and, using her vast knowledge of knots, tied it tightly to cut off the circulation. After she finished, she leaned back in her chair, gazing over at Magnus.

“You never asked you to dance with me tonight. Like you did back in the bar when we first met,” she teased softly. “Missed opportunity, if you ask me.”

Magnus chuckled, rolling his eyes as he started the car. He would make sure to get her to the hospital as soon as possible since it looked like she was losing a lot of blood. That was bad. As she picked up her jacket, he glanced at her in the rearview mirror briefly before pulling the car out and getting onto the road, making his way to the hospital. Luckily he had some knowledge of this area, even if it were not extensive. He knew the direction of the hospital, and that was enough for now. He just needed to get her some help, and quickly.

"Did you want me to ask you?" he said, coyly. "I know I'm charming, but try to not to fall head over heels." He chuckled. As he continued to drive, he checked their surroundings next to his internal knowledge of the city, trying to remember where to turn. At a stoplight, he pulled up a maps app on his phone to make sure they were headed the right direction as they continued on. They were close now. Soon Mercy would be able to get some help for her injuries.

“Oh, no. It has nothing to do with you and more to do with the fact that I love to dance,” she said. “I would much rather fall head over heels for a strand of grass than for you.”

She smirked at him through the rearview mirror before shifting her gaze back towards the window. For most of the drive, she seemed fine for a person who’d just been shot; she was quiet, sure, but she didn’t give off any signs of being in too much pain. The chaos didn’t break lose until they reached the hospital.

As Magnus pulled into a parking spot, Mercy tried to move towards the door, but her vision began to blur as her head spun. She collapsed against the seat, her heart pounding in her ears, before she let out a groan.

“Magnus—“ She clawed at her arm, tears burning in her eyes. “Magnus, I can barely breathe…”

As he finally parked, Magnus breathed out a sigh of relief. They were so close. Now all they had to do was–

"Magnus, I can barely breathe…"

At those words, his heart starting beating overtime. What?! He had to get her medical attention and now. They couldn't afford to wait any longer. Magnus quickly got out of the driver's seat and came around the car to open Mercy's door, pulling her quickly (but as gently as he could manage) out of the car. He once again put her into a fireman's carry, praying that he could get her into the building quickly enough. Luckily he had been able to park fairly close; the parking lot hadn't been too busy. He just had to hurry. Everything would be fine. This was all so he could achieve freedom. That was it. That was the source of his panic and nothing else. Luckily his line of work had taught him to work through the fear. Everything would be fine.

Mercy’s chest tightened as he picked her up once again, and she groaned in pain as she clung to his shirt. Everything would be okay, she assured herself. The doctor’s would take care of it. She just needed to make it into the hospital, and everything would be fine.

As Magnus hurried across the parking lot, Mercy could feel herself starting to slip in and out of consciousness. Her vision blurred together and, despite how hard she tried to fight it, she knew that she would eventually pass out. She just prayed that, when she did, she would be able to wake up again. Eventually, when they made it into the hospital, she allowed herself to let go.

From there on, she only had a few glimpses from the short amounts of time she regained consciousness. She remember the doctors, and she remember their voices as they spoke to one another around her. She remember wondering where Magnus was and hoping— praying— that he was alright.

Eventually, as she began to fully wake up, one of the doctors left the room and headed over to where Magnus was.

“She’s awake,” the man informed him. “You can come in when you’re ready.”

Magnus had been very relieved when the doctors took Mercy off of his hands, though he stayed anxiously in the waiting room just in case. There was a selection of magazines which he leafed through with little interest, scanning of pages of one article from a magazine he had at least heard of once, but getting bored quickly. There wasn't much else in the way of entertainment, so Magnus merely replayed that entire night through his head, trying to think of what he could have done better. Perhaps he should have acted sooner, maybe he could have thought to check the room before they started interrogating Jakob. Maybe he should have changed his address and name and moved far away before any of this happened. He wished he hadn't gotten dragged into this mess. Maybe then Mercy would be partnered with a real cop who knew what to do and he could go on with his life.

As his thoughts churned and churned, and his stomach flip-flopped over itself in an anxiety he had never felt before, he was approached by a doctor. As the man spoke, Magnus blinked back to life, looking at him and then nodding. He managed a polite, "Thank you," before standing up. How long had he been waiting? He wasn't sure if it was half an hour or six hours, as time had gone weirdly slow and fast at the same time. At any rate, if she were awake, then she had to be in better condition, right? Hopefully that would be the case. This was all so weird and foreign to him.

Even thought she’d only been out for a couple hours, when Mercy woke up, she thought she’d been unconscious for days. While both her wound and her head were still pounding furiously, she was starting to feel better. With the nurse’s help, she sat up in bed and began to eat some of the food they’d offered her.

A few minutes later, Mercy heard the door open once again, and she lifted her head to meet Magnus’s gaze. She held it for a few moments before she dropped it back down to her plate, picking at some of the food. Gosh, why was she being anxious now? She’d never been awkward with him before.

After the doctors and nurses left the room, Mercy patted the chair next to her bed, motioning for him to sit down. “Look who it is,” she teased, her voice soft. “My hero.”

For a while, Mercy sat on her bed in silence, finishing up her food. She had noticed earlier how anxious he seemed, and for a moment, her heart skipped a beat. Was it because he was worried about her? However, she quickly put a stop to that thinking. If she died, there would be no one to stop the police from arresting him. That was the only thing he was worried about.

She turned onto her side, watching him for a few more moments, before she smirked ever so faintly and held his hand to her cheek. “Aw, our first trip to the hospital as partners,” she said. “How cute.”

As Mercy had motioned for him to sit, he followed her instructions and took a lazy seat on the chair, trying to look unbothered by this whole affair. His anxiety was mostly gone now, and it had only been because he was in danger of getting arrested if she died, anyway. Or that was what he told himself.

As she sat there in silence, Magnus did his best to calm himself, slowly stopping the anxious tapping of his foot against the hospital floor. His features shifted into a look of boredom as he waited for her to say something stupid, which she would inevitably do. As she turned, he braced himself for whatever weird comment she was going to make. Ugh, she was so annoy sometimes. He raised an eyebrow, awaiting her comments. As she brought his hand to her cheek, his mouth twitched in response before he groaned at her comment. Yep, called it.

"You're going to give people the wrong idea," he complained. "That doctor was kind of cute, you know. I don't want you to ruin with my chances with him." Magnus didn't really have much intention of actually going on a date with the man, but he hadn't been lying when he admitted the guy's attractiveness. "You were much less annoying when you were out cold," he joked, though he was sure she had seen how anxious that whole injury thing had made him.

“Really? You’re worrying about that guy when you’ve got a perfectly attractive, single woman sitting right here?” She began to laugh, but quickly stopped, clutching her shoulder in pain. “I’m kidding, of course. I’m not that cocky.”

She took her hand away from his cheek before she looped her pinky around his. Sure, he had agreed to help her, so there was technically no reason to flirt with him anymore. But, when you work as a police officer, you need something to keep your mind off your troubles. Flirting with Magnus served as that distraction.

She tried her best to get her mind off her dark thoughts, instead looking down at her hospital gown. “Gosh, what the heck is this?” She pretended to gag at the white gown that the nurses had dressed her in. “Too bad I bled all over my dress. It was my favorite one too.”

She stole a glance at their hands, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. While Magnus was an assassin, it was nice to feel at least slightly loved. Sure, she doubted that he actually gave a crap about what happened to her, but for a moment, she liked to think that a person in this world cared that she was still alive.

“I’m sorry for making you so anxious,” she said softly. “I know this is mainly about you getting arrested if I die, but still. I’m sorry. I’ll be sure to make it up to you one day, alright?”

Magnus laughed at her flirting, rolling his eyes a bit as well. He glanced over at her as she paused in pain, but as she continued he let himself relax a bit. He glanced down at their hands, but made no move to pull away. She was already in the hospital, might as well let her have this, right? The overthinking of even the simplest of touches made him feel incredibly juvenile, but ah well. This was only a temporary thing until the mission was over and he could go back to his regular job.

He gave a smile at her attempts to joke around, glad that she was feeling well enough to make bad jokes. That was certainly reassuring. Sometimes she seemed to have the humor of a dad, which made him laugh. He certainly didn't mind it; it was a good distraction sometimes. That was why he made a lot of jokes in high stakes situations, to diffuse the tension. Though it had been difficult seeing Mercy being hurt, taking his mind off of that stuff. God, he must be really worried about getting arrested.

As his partner transitioned into more of a serious tone, his gaze sharpened to attention, glancing over at her with a raised eyebrow. At least she didn't have any sort of weird idea that Magnus cared about her, which he definitely did not. But still, he didn't feel like she really needed to apologize.

"Damn straight," he agreed with a slight nod. "Can't have you dying on me with that hanging in the balance, you know? If you die, I'm gonna kill you." He was mostly joking, his tone fairly light.

She laughed softly and adjusted her body to face him, her blue eyes glistening in the dim light of the room. “Oh, don’t give me that. I can die if I want to.” She smiled, but there was something sad behind it. “But I’m sure you would find a way to get around my coworkers, You would move on your life, finally able to get out of this situation. That wouldn’t be bad, now would it?”

Mercy went silent for a few moments, staring blankly at the wall. When she was younger, she had loved the idea of making a destiny for herself. Having some sort of name to leave behind. It was the reason she’d become a police officer in the first place. She had said she wanted to save lives, but she really wanted to give some sort of purpose to her life. Some reason to live. It was a selfish notion, really, and it wasn’t until she was older that reality set in. It was then that she realized that her life was nothing but a mist; it was there and it was gone, and no one would remember her.

She slowly took her trembling hand out of Magnus’s, her gaze shifting to the floor. She could feel her eyes burn, and tears began to roll down her cheek. Was she seriously crying?

“Gosh, what is this?” She let out a hollow laugh, sitting up to wipe her eyes. “This is so embarrassing.”

Magnus blinked as she began crying. Oh god. Oh god he was bad with crying people. He did not know how to comfort them, like, at all. What was with her? Well, considering her recent injury and brush with death, Magnus guessed he could see where she was coming from. Had she not considered that she could die in the line of duty before? Magnus knew his line of work was highly risky, but he had never broke down crying. Still. Part of him wanted to comfort her; he just didn't know how.

"It's okay," he ended up saying awkwardly, putting his palms up as if in surrender. "You did get shot. So, um, cry it up." Yep, that was apparently the best he could do. It was that or make a really ill-timed joke, and he actually didn't want to be an asshole right at this moment. So at least he wasn't doing that.

“No, no. It’s fine.” She forced a smile as she used her gown to wipe off her face. “Life has just been weird recently, but…”

She glanced over at Magnus, and she couldn’t help but snort softly as she tried desperately to stop her tears. She knew he likely didn’t have too much sympathy as he was an assassin, but she never knew he was this bad at comforting people. Eventually, Mercy managed to gather her emotions again. She laid back in bed, her arms folded around her.

“Good grief, it’s already almost midnight,” she said. “You don’t have to stay here with me Magnus. Really. I won’t die.”

Magnus watched awkwardly as she wiped off her face before glancing away in a feeble attempt to give her some privacy. Did she even want to be comforted? Maybe she just wanted to be alone. Whenever Magnus had cried (admittedly not very often), he always wanted to be alone. He had always hated people seeing him cry. Crying was vulnerability and vulnerability was weakness. But Mercy hadn't asked him to leave. So maybe she didn't want him to? Damn kind people and their need for sympathy in their times of weakness. Magnus had never quite grasped how that all worked. He liked being alone. That was how he operated. But part of him didn't want to leave Mercy all by herself.

As the woman spoke again, Magnus looked back at her. Was it really midnight already? This night had gone by in a blur, except for the weird fast-slow horror that was waiting to see if she would be okay. Now that was over, Magnus was starting to feel his exhaustion catching up with him. Despite his tiredness, part of him wanted to stay. But what was he going to do? Sit around awkwardly some more? Crack bad jokes? No, it would likely be best for them both if he went home. He needed some sleep, and she needed some rest as well. Might as well leave her to it then.

"If you promise you won't die," he sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Then I guess I should get going."

Part of her wished that he would’ve decided to stay longer. Yes, she knew it was a selfish request. He had a life outside of working with her, and he needed rest. But the cold white walls of the hospital room and the constant beeping of the heart monitor gave this place a strange feel. It was nothing like her home.

“But if you want to stay here, I can make room for you.” She scooted over in the hospital bed. It would be squishy, but he could probably fit. “I swear I don’t snore.”

It was a strange request— Mercy knew that— but it was the only thing she could think to say. Of course, she would be fine alone. It was only one night, and she was an officer. She could handle it. But it just felt better with him. Even if he was a literal assassin.

Magnus raised an eyebrow at Mercy’s words. She seriously wanted him to stay? Did she have no self-respect? But still, something told him that had he been in her place, it might have comforted him to have someone familiar around. Did she not have any family or close friends to be by her side? Why him? Why the assassin who she was more or less forced to work with? What had he done to deserve any sort of trust?

Against his better judgment, Magnus hesitated. He was this close to being free for the night and he hesitated. He should just be able to walk away, right? So why couldn’t he?

At last, Magnus sighed, giving in. “Fine,” he huffed. “For now, I’ll stay. But don’t expect me to stay all night.” With that, he awkwardly clambered onto the hospital bed to join her, leg almost off the side. This was not really pleasant, but somehow…it wasn’t terrible.

She tried to make as much room for him as she could, but it wasn’t a big hospital at all. In fact, the only thing keeping her from rolling off of the bed and onto the floor was the bed railing, which was jammed into her back. However, despite the slightly uncomfortable situation, she felt oddly comfortable with him by her side. She convinced herself that that sense of comfort only came from the fact that he could help her if she had a medical emergency in the middle of the night. Nothing more.

“You act like I’m forcing you to stay here,” she said softly, a slight smile breaking out on her lips. “You can leave if you want, Magnus. It’s not a big deal.”

She turned onto her back and kept her arms to herself, trying to give him some space. Having to stay here with her was probably a big inconvenience for him; she didn’t want to add to it by making him uncomfortable.

“This is probably not how you thought this night would end, huh?” She snorted softly, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry about all this…”