𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀; ❝ just because i'm a woman doesn't mean i still can't kick your fucking ass. ❞
in which a boy and a girl are
forced to come together in
order to defeat a common enemy
𝗢𝗥
where two heartless assassins
learn how to love again...
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ATHENA WAS ON HER BELLY, CRAWLING INSIDE the air vents, cursing the stars at the overwhelming heat and thick air she was inhaling. Trust Boss to hand out the only mission involving shifting through tight spaces to the claustrophobic girl. Grade A teamwork there, Bruce.
Sliding one hand in front of the other and pulling herself along, beads of her sweat causing friction between her skin and the metal of the vent, Athena was acutely aware of the boy tailing behind her, silent and barely breathing.
Well, of course he was breathing. But over the slick noise of her shimming down the small area and the suction of her palms on the metal, he really could've been dead and she wouldn't have even noticed. Damian, unlike her, apparently never got hot. Never knew what it was like to break a sweat and have his chest feel leaden. Never gotten so outrageously uncomfortable in a small cramped space where the walls were just that few inches too close, where they looked like at any moment to collapse around him, that the only way his body could react was to coat itself in sweat in an attempt to cool itself down only to realise that there wasn't even the faintest bit of a breeze coming in through the pipes so it had to just stay wet and soggy and saturated, sending his mind into a state of constant paranoia that the walls were shrinking. No. Apparently Damian was far too advanced for that.
Athena didn't like this kid already and it had only been an hour. But it wasn't the type of dislike she had for Jason. For Jason, it was a raw unadulterated loathing. The one that sets her skin on fire every time she looks at him. One that makes her palms sweat. Well, at least that's how she should feel about him. But for Damian... It was more of the dislike you get for a younger sibling that's favourited heavily by the parents. The ones you're annoyed at consistently because they try to one up you in every tiny aspect of your life but get away with everything. They could quite literally burn a city to ashes and daddy dearest wouldn't blink an eyelid. Damian was that kind of dislike.
"Hey kid," Athena said, trying to disguise the panting lacing her speech as she came to a stop above an air vent. Her heart was racing and she knew the sweat dripping down her forehead wasn't just there because of the heat. She didn't turn to face him as she spoke—like hell was she going to give this kid any sort of hint that she hated tight spaces. Instead, she peered through the slits of the vent. Athena was immediately greeted by what she initially thought was some sort of animal enclosure judging by the wired fence circling an arena of dirt and gravel. For lion? Tiger? Some fighter dog? She wasn't sure. But as two figures began to creep into view, she knew she was entirely wrong. Especially when one lunged at the other, arms swinging and collided their fist against their opponents jaw.
No. This most definitely wasn't an animal cage.
"Don't call me 'kid,'" Damian remarked, halting only inches away from the back of her feet and snapping her attention away from the fight below. He must've somehow seen the surprise on her face—which would've been incredibly difficult due to only source of lighting available being the white leaking in through the tiny gaps in the metal vents and the occasional blue flash from the earpiece in her ear, not to mention she was literally facing away from him—because he then said, "what is it? What's wrong?"
