59 Interlude: Clara Williams

"-with that all being said our profit margin 𝘩𝘢𝘴 taken a hit, but we knew that would happen anyway and I am happy to say that our losses are actually barely one tenth what we expected them to be."

Satisfied murmurs spread throughout the conference room at the unexpectedly positive news, from everyone except for a certain someone who continues to stare into space, a lot on their mind.

"Good." Begins a stern, authoritative voice, "now, I believe that is the perfect segue to the next item on our list. Hideout-"

I startle at my name suddenly being called and snap my head to face Uppercrust, a faintly reproachful but sympathetic look in his eye.

Before I can even stumble over my words in a poor attempt of pretending I was actually paying attention, he continues what he was saying uninterrupted, no one else bothering to point out my inattentiveness.

"How is our guest settling in?" He asks and all of a sudden the attention of everyone in the room is on me.

I nervously swallow, not comfortable with having just about everyone more important and more powerful than me hanging off my every word.

Oh god, why did I have to get this job?

Oh right, because no one else wanted it and I'm not yet important enough to have turned it down.

Damnit.

Doing my very best to keep my voice level, I start to recite the report that I have all but memorised.

"She's doing well. Tear has also kept to the rules from what I can tell. She hasn't gotten into any fights that weren't expected of her and hasn't severely injured any Heroes or civilians. She has also limited her, erm, 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 to known criminals, only targeting rapists, murderers and other such people, while ensuring that there is no evidence of her involvement. In fact she's done it well enough that if not for the fact that we already know that she's been, er, 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, I would have never known that she's done anything."

The rooms jubilant mood takes a swan dive at the grim reminder of the nature of our hired help, but no one says anything about it.

After all, what can anyone say that hasn't already been said? That she's a monster? That it's reprehensible?

While all these are certainly true, Tear has been open with us about the fact that she simply cannot eat anything else, that she literally doesn't have a choice in the matter.

It's like those monster capes, only somehow even worse.

Because at least they can still say that they are human on the inside.

Tear? She's a monster through and through, and she never even had a choice.

Just a bad roll of the dice.

That's made the opinions on her rather split, between people saying she's a monster that we shouldn't be associating with and the others who simply pity her, conscious of the fact that the only reason our very own powers aren't forcing the same curse on us is simply a matter of luck.

Choosing not to comment on the uncomfortable topic of forced cannibalism, Uppercrust moves the conversation forward once more.

"And her accommodations? How is she taking to them?"

𝘈𝘩.

"About that." I hesitantly start, my tone somehow making everyone focus on my words even harder.

See, we gave Tear a flat to stay in during her tenure here with us which in and of itself, is nothing special.

The only problem is that all of our 'guest' homes are bugged to hell and back, both for audio and video.

Now normally this would actually be a good thing, since it lets us keep track of people.

Unfortunately...

"She found all the bugs."

The room stills as I drop that bombshell and I notice a couple of people nervously clasp their hands, no doubt worrying that they might have annoyed the super powerful psycho cannibal.

To be honest, I'm not really sure whether or not the truth of the matter is actually a better outcome or not.

"And her response to this was..?" Someone asks, but I don't respond right away.

I feel a faint heat start to crawl up my face and open my mouth a few times, trying to find the right words to explain the situation.

Then I notice the increasingly uncomfortable or annoyed looks of those around me and decide to try and just rip the band-aid off.

"She uhm. She gathered all the cameras and mics and she uh, she put them.." I pause slightly, trying and failing to fight my blush as memories I would rather forget surface in my mind, but with a deep breath, I eventually manage to rush out my words, "she put them all in the washroom. The shower specifically."

Nobody says anything and for some reason my stupid brain takes that as an invitation to keep talking.

"The shower that she 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴." I say with emphasis, but at this point I'm too lost in my head to leave things to ambiguity. "That she uses 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺. From multiple angles."

The silence of the room rapidly makes a transition from contemplative to awkward as they comprehend my words.

But yet again, my brain decides to just keep talking.

"She talks to the microphones." I add, furthering the awkwardness. "She's certainly not shy." Ohmygod can I just shut up for one second!?

Heedless of the serious image that we are supposed to be maintaining, I bury my face in my hands, not just from embarrassment but also just so that I stop talking.

Huuu, I'm never going to live this down.

But seriously, what is wrong with that girl!?

Who does 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, knowing that people are watching!?

Ugh, the memories are burned into my brain.

"𝘈𝘩𝘦𝘮. That aside, has she done anything that would indicate maliciousness or otherwise unfavourable behaviour?" Uppercrusts voice brings me back to the room and I quickly shake my head clear of distracting thoughts.

"Uh, no. I mean. No Sir. She is a little unpredictable when she fights but I think that it is, somewhat ironically, the Butchers presence that is keeping her from doing anything extreme, since she seems to be more focused on when he will make another appearance than any of her other fights."

Left unsaid is what will happen when the Butcher 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 show himself again, which will be sooner rather than later in all likelihood, seeing as it's nearly been a week since he first showed himself and got pushed back.

"Do we know what she is doing right now?" Someone else asks and I almost sigh at the question, answering blandly.

"She's probably playing solitaire." Since it looked like he wasn't going to be satisfied with that, I continue before he can ask me to. "She spends about seven to nine hours every day listening to music and playing solitaire."

Now 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, more than anything else somehow manages to cause the most eyebrows to rise, which makes me sigh in defeat.

As the person responsible for Tear, it is incredibly tedious for me to keep watch of her and I decide that I might as well explain what her schedule looks like while the topic is relevant.

"To my knowledge, she gets up early every morning and trains for a couple of hours before shitposting on PHO until she gets banned, which usually only takes about half an hour, then she disappears for a couple of hours and comes back with a bag of uh, 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥. After that, if nothing comes up she just plays solitaire, or occasionally some minesweeper, until it's late and she finishes her day with some more training before going to sleep and repeating it all again."

It was somewhat startling to realise just how 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 she is, for a given definition of normal.

With my part finally over, the rest of the meeting proceeds normally, but I barely pay any attention to it, only enough that I won't miss anything important.

By the time the meeting ends, I am glad for it to finally be over and I allow myself to finally get lost in my own thoughts as I walk back to my car to head back to where my comfy bed is waiting for me.

As I drive, I find my thoughts drifting back to Tear, something that has become increasingly common as the days go by, and how our relationship has changed so drastically in such a short amount of time.

When we first met I was, quite frankly, terrified.

We'd all already been given a brief on her known capabilities as well as what she had done up till that point and to be blunt, there was little I wanted more than to simply have nothing to do with her.

But orders are orders, so I pushed down my fear and did my job.

Then she actually 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 and at first all was well, for about ten seconds before she suddenly started staring 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, despite my power being active and I felt all of my newfound confidence dissipate into air.

I felt like the wight of the world was holding me in place, like those crimson orbs of hers were looking straight into my soul, like the eyes of the Devil.

For a moment, I'd stopped breathing.

I thought that I was dead.

It was such a simple thing, almost relieving in a morbid sense.

Because as I looked into her eyes, I realised that to her? I was nothing.

She was a predator and I was the prey. I knew in that moment, that should she want to kill me, there would be absolutely nothing I could do to stop her.

It was the single most terrifying experience of my life.

Yet I live, and Tear is thankfully a lot less homicidal than I originally thought.

It didn't take long before I was treating her more like a friend than someone who's going to kill me.

She is surprisingly magnetic, like she has a charisma that she herself doesn't even seem to notice.

I'm not sure what it is exactly. Maye it's her simple zest for life?

She always seems to be enjoying herself and she makes sure to try and let the people around her find that same kind of enjoyment.

It makes it very easy to lower your guard around her and treat her as if she's a friend.

That's not to say she doesn't still scare the shit out of me, but it's just not for the same reason anymore.

Now, what scares me is that I don't think she really sees people as 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.

It's like she's one step ahead of us on the food chain and she's only entertaining us because she thinks we're cute or something.

To put it simply, it's like she sees us the same way we would see a pet.

I don't really like the idea of being seen as a pet, but it certainly beats being seen as food.

Almost without realising it, I have made it to where I am staying currently, a flat in the same building as Tear. The flat opposite hers for that matter, to better help me watch over her.

Part of me thinks that someone just wants to kill me and is going about it in a really roundabout way.

Mindlessly, I put the key in the keyhole and twist, granting myself entry to the temporary accommodations.

I drop the keys in a pot as I walk past, towards the kitchen where I try to make myself some tea, only to notice something odd.

A brief look around shows that there are many things that are not where I left them and while that would normally put me on edge now it merely makes me feel exasperation.

Shaking my head, I make my way over to my bedroom and to my none existent surprise, I find it to be already occupied with Tears lone head sticking out from under the covers.

I don't so much as blink at her lack of a mask, having known her face since her first day here.

She has taken to breaking into my flat instead of staying in her own, something I neglected to mention during the meeting, mostly out of embarrassment.

"Tear," I sigh, getting her attention, "how many times do I have to tell you. You have your own bed, stop using mine."

Her blood red eyes stare into my own, alight with amusement and I feel an involuntary shiver go down my spine, forcing me to be the one to look away first.

"And how many times do I have to tell 𝘺𝘰𝘶, that you can call me Lusia, or just Lucy?~" She practically purrs, her voice taking on a sensual, seductive quality that has me studying the floor intently.

"Will you just get out of my bed? Please?" I ask, trying not to sound like I'm begging.

"Sure.~" She says, and in my surprise at her compliance, I make the mistake of looking back up at her.

I am greeted with the sight of Lusia slowly lifting herself up, my covers falling down her chest with agonising slowness, first showing her smooth, pale shoulders before falling down completely to reveal her whole upper body, completely in the nude.

I catch myself staring, entranced by her smooth, unblemished body for a moment before snapping back to reality and turning to face the ceiling, ignoring the slight weakness I start to feel in my knees.

Without bothering to put on any clothes, she walks up to me, completely nude, until she is standing not a hairs breadth away from me.

She is taller than me, by about half a foot. It's not much but it's enough that she has to lean forward before her lips can reach my ear.

"But do you 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 want me to go?~" She whispers, barely loud enough for me to hear and my knees almost give out as I remain rooted in my spot, her words making me unable to move. "Or would you rather.."

Her hand reaches around me to land on my ass and she pulls us closer together in a sudden movement.

With my breathing as heavy as it is, I almost miss her words entirely as she finishes her sentence.

"..I stay?~" Her hand travels up my back, a single finger tracing my spine all the way up until it reaches my bra strap.

Legs shaking and voice quivering, I try my best to reject the feelings blooming in my chest.

"I'm s-straight." My protest sounds weak even to me.

She moves her head back slightly so that she can put her face right in front of mine and she takes to large steps forward, forcing me to go back with hem until I feel my back hit the wall and another jolt of pure 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 pulses through my body.

Her lips ghost over mine for a moment and I find myself leaning towards then, even as she pulls away.

"So is spaghetti.~" She says as I pull my head back, my blush taking over my entire head.

Her other hand moves lower this time, starting on my stomach and moving 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.

"𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 wet.~" Her whisper, as well as everything else is too much for me and my knees buckle completely, causing me to fall forward, where she quickly catches me.

I feel myself get lifted and the next thing I know I am on the bed, lying on my back with Lusia above me.

Her eyes look deep into mine and I see that same predatory glint and just the same as when I first saw them, they terrify me.

Only now I cannot deny that fear isn't the only thing they make me feel.

Her body leans over mine, pinning me to the bed and I feel my heartrate quicken, from fear or excitement I couldn't say.

"Now,~" she purrs at me, moving her face right in front of my own, "what is my name?~"

A whimper escapes my throat, but I am too lost in the moment to even feel embarrassed about it.

Instead, I look back at her and I answer in a moan.

"Lucy.~"

A devilish smile that causes conflicting feelings inside of me grows on her face as her lips finally capture my own, her fingers drifting deeper, and 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳.

"𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭."

A soft mewling sound escapes my throat and I swiftly lose all coherent thought as I am drawn into her gravity, lost in her eyes and overwhelmed by her 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦.

-----------------------------

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

So! This kind of came out of nowhere. Didn't see it coming. Literally, Hideout was gonna be uppercrusts daughter and there was gonna be this whole thing of him trying not to give preferential treatment but doing so anyway (I was basing it of the green guys in John Carter)

But I guess that's prolly not going to happen anymore lol.

ALSO ALSO! Keep in mind that if ya want smut, you're gonna have to bribe me (I really want someone to bribe me(Cuz it means I get more money(and I'm broke)))

Also Also Also, I ended up sleeping for 14 hours before forcing myself to get up, only to go back to sleep about 12 hours later for another 13 hours, so everything is more or less evened out now :D

(5+)Advanced chapters with the links below!

pat/reon.com/user?u=41732867 (get rid of the first slash)

or

https://ko-fi.com/bored_works

Also, join the discord!

https://discord.gg/Pj3Dttwses