Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was 7 am when the alarm clock went off. It's loud blaring filled the room that had been peaceful a few seconds ago. Remus let out a grunt. Without opening his eyes he took out a knife from under his pillow and threw it at the clock. The noise disappeared.

"You can't keep doing that" Remy muttered, half yawning it out "Q is like running out of clocks"

"If he could make that morning star that also worked as a disco ball for my birthday he can make some new clocks" He replied.

The room (and the entire apartement) was of average size with just enough space for everything necessary. Which made sense, they didn't spend much time in there anyway. Soft morning light was shimmering in through the window.

The blanket had been wrinkled since Remy was laying over it with their head on the pillow. Remus had his arms wrapped around their waist. They were so close their hair twined together on the pillows. He leaned closer and gave his spouse a good morning kiss.

Their slow awakening was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. They glanced at one another as their expressions turned serious. Remus quietly got up and grabbed the gun laying on the nearest drawer. Butt naked as he was he sneaked over to the door and slowly opened it and at the same time held the gun out.

"Good morn- AAAHHHH!" Patton Moneypenny screamed when he saw the gun peeking out at him. He had on a dark blue knitted suit jacket with stylish bows instead of buttons. With it he had on wide blue matching suit pants.

Remus' posture relaxed when he saw who it was. He fully opened the door "Hiya Moneypenny. You should yell it's you next time or else your brain might paint the walls.....That would look kinda nice tho"

"You should take something on" Patton suggested with a cheerful smile while his cheeks went bright red.

"He should" Remy who had come up behind their husband agreed "One day someone will shoot your dick off"

"Naaaahhhh. They will be too surprised by seeing my massive cock to think about attacking me and then it'll be too late. Boom bang dead! It's a genius tactic!!"

Remy rolled their eyes. They sent Patton a warm smile before pulling him into a hug "Hiya PatPat! Wanna come in?"

"Yeah" As he looked around the room which he'd been in many times he continued with "M wants to meet you in 15 min"

M was the leader of the MI6, the organisation they all worked for. Patton had been his secretary for as long as anyone could remember. It would be weird to imagine M's office without Pat working tiredlesly on his desk right outside.

"15? Girl a lady needs time to get ready, what the fuck" Remy opened a drawer and pulled out the black suit pants, white shirt, black tie and black blazer that acted as their dress code.

"15? Oh! Too little time to spend with my Favorite person in the whole MI6!" Remus exclaimed. He still didn't have anything on.

He took Patton's hand and moved the other to lay on his waist. He spun him around in some sort of dance which made the shorter man giggle and blush harder. He tried not to look down at Remus'....

"Oh Mr. Moneypenny! Rotten apple of my eye! Every mission is spent missing you!" he continued to dramatically lament. He dipped Patton and playfully moved in for a kiss.

Patton let out a chuckle while leaning his head away. "I'm married"

"Ah yes! The greatest tragedy of my life!" Remus held his hand over his heart and all.

"Tragedy indeed" Remy commented before flicking their finger to the back of their husband's head. They dumped his clothes onto his head too "C'mon gal the sooner you get done the sooner you can go out and play fisticuffs with someone"

"Fantastic point dear!"

After getting dressed Remus jumped up on the bed and pressed a specific spot on the painting on the wall. It turned around to reveal a collection of guns, knives and various other weapons hidden behind it. He patted his morning star and throwing stars goodmorning, fully knowing that M nor Q would allow him to bring them on a mission. Instead he took a gun and carefully cleaned it as if he was cleaning a marble vase.

"I hate these fucking suits. They're so boring. No style. No style at all!!" Remy groaned out while tying their husband's tie because he'd been a spy for 7 years now and he still couldn't tie a tie.

Patton nodded along in sympathy "Very gay of you to think that" The duke chuckled.

They fixed his shirt which had been buttoned wrong "I don't think about fashion because I am gay as fuck! I think about it 'cause I've tots been the most fantastic disguiser here for years and fashion is like integral to a good disguise!! Besides my mothers are fashion legends and I gotta represent y'know"

"I know"

He handed over a gun (Handler ppk) and a few different knives to his spouse who swiftly hid it in different places on their suit. He himself preffered a bit more heavy handed attilery even when it came to handguns.

The couple followed Moneypenny out of their apartement. They lived in a normal looking apartement complex, a little bit fancier than a normal one. They went into a cleaning scrub.

Patton grabbed a mop standing in the corner. He pulled off the top of the handle revealing a scanner underneath. He pressed his thumb against it. A panel of numbers appeared on the wall. He quickly pressed in a code which finally made the inner wall open up, revealing an elevator.

They stepped inside and chit chatted about the weather and what they'd done on the weekend as the elevator went down.

The elevator opened with a satisfying ding. They were many many levels underground now. Long grey hallways stretched forward. It could be a maze for someone new to the place. Patton walked in front of the other two, he knew it like his backpocket.

After 5 or so minutes of walking he stopped by his secretary desk and sat down. There were stacks of paper work on his desk and cute animal posters hanging on the wall beside him.

Remus leaned over the desk and moved a piece of Patton's hair behind his ear "One day I'll get you on a date my dear Moneypenny"

"Sure you will mr. Octopussy. For now I think you will have to stay satisfied with taking whatever mission M gives you"

Remy took Remus' hand and dragged him with them into M's office. He was able to blow a kiss to Patton on his way in. Pat simple chuckled and rolled his eyes. They both knew neither of them were serious.

The office was an old fashioned one with walls and furniture of dark wood. Purple satin clad the windows. Plants and terrariums littered the room and all kinds of snakes slittered about.

Though the biggest snake of them all sat in the chair behind the desk. M. Most people called him Deceit. He had a menacing smile, ebony skin and dark hair pulled back into a braid that reached his shoulder. On his shoulder laid one of his most dearest and most deadliest pets.

"Look who finally decided to join us" M greeted as they came in.

"Aww you missed us so much didn't you??" Remus replied while sitting down on one of the chairs in a way no normal person should "It's okay Deecy. We can invite you to our next movie night"

"Yeah" Remy sat down on the desk and leaned close to Deceit "We're gonna watch Saw 4 and legally blond"

"I can think of much better ways to waste my time thank you. So onto ghe case. It's about-"

M stopped talking because the agents were obviously too busy flirting with each other to listen. It was nothing compared to how they used to spend entire briefings making out right when they'd started dating.

"Please if I wanted to get ignored I would go home to my children which honestly I wish I could" M muttered.

He gave one of his snakes a pat on the head before sending it to twist around Remus' neck which made them both shut up very quickly.

"So about the case. Agent 0012-"

"Like Emile Picani 0012?" Remy interrupted.

"No agent 0012 the giant whale. Yes Picani"

"Oh he's a great kisser! Babe y'know how I like worked in the Q department a bit before becoming a full fletched agent. Yeah I was Pic's quartermaster. We would stay together during missions sometimes. We made out lots and he showed me a bunch of like cartoons"

Deceit put on a more serious expression "He's gone off the radar. He was sent on a mission to Latvia together with 005. Agent 005 has been confirmed dead. Right now we're suspecting that Picani is the killer"

"He wouldn't!" Remy objected.

"We can never be sure. He could have gone rough or been paid to turn sides. Or he's being tortured right at this moment. Anything could have happened"

"I wish I was being tortured right at this moment" Remus who had completely zoned out until now added.

"Well you can gladly take his place if you found him then. He and 005 were supposed to attend a poker night. I suggest you two attend it in case he is there. Disguised of course. If he's gone rough we can't have him be hostile towards you if he recognises you.

"Non suspicious straight couple?" Remus asked while looking over at Remy.

"Non suspicious straight couple!" They replied while high fiveing him.

--

A bit over a day later later Remus was driving a silver aston martin. They were on their way to the casino which was placed away from any nearby town. Among the snowy hills the ice casino stood tall.

"Girl these shoes hurt worse than the time I got shot" Remy groaned while fixing their high heels.

"You can just change shoes y'know" Remus replied.

They looked at him as if he'd just spit in their food "No??? It's part of the character girl!! Like you can't do a great disguise if you don't dress like the character would"

"Which characters are we tonight?"

Remy shone up into a smile "Glad you asked! You are Louis Roy. French guy who inheritated his dad's company. Total asshole. Straight cis you know the type. You're 36-"

"Is that why you put all that make up on me? To make me look old?"

"Yep. And your mustache tots helped. I'm Chelsea Roy. 24. Model. Married you for the money. Housewife. I'm cheating on you with your dad"

Remus let out a fake audible gasp "In return I only married you because I liked your feet model work"

"Touche"

The car stopped in the parking lot of the casino. Remus leaned back in his seat and checked his gun. He glanced over at his spouse who was strapping a blade to their thigh.

"What?" They asked when they caught him looking.

"Nothing" There was a soft smile on his lips "I just love you. Like a giant elephants heart ripped out and bleeding on the ground love y'know"

"I know"

Remy unbuttoned the top button on Remus' tuxedo shirt. They pressed a kiss right below his shoulder, leaving a red lipstick mark, before buttoning it again so it was hidden.

"Just as a reminder" They explained with a cheeky smile.

Remy leanded against Remus' shoulder to fully look like arm candy as they entered the casino. A worker took their coats by the door. Uphead was a luxurious bar made of ice and a large area with tables here and there to mingle. To the left was the casino area. It was the only place where nothing was made out of ice. Instead glistening lights shone on red slot machines and people in expensive clothing were gathered around large poker tables. To the right was the entrance to the casino's hotel and the desk to get keys.

The couple casully went around the mingle area while looking for Picani in the crowd of hundreds of people.

"People are looking at you" Remus mumbled to them after at least 2 guys has been too busy looking at his spouse to not walk into walls.

"Who can blame them" Remy shrugged.

They had on a dark blue satin dress with an open back and a slit on the front so they could move easier. Their wavy light brown hair was pressed down under a blond wig and they had a fake sapphire necklace around their neck. Their dark eyeliner stood out against their pale skin. Remus had on a black tuxedo with a matching bowtie. His dark brown, nearly black hair had been slicked back. His olive toned bordering on brown skin honestly looked amazing in the lighting of the casino.

"Q said Picani was supposed to stay in room 235 so I'll like go and get the key while you like mingle or something I dunno. Kay?" Remy more commanded then asked.

"Yes dear! " He did a mini salute while sticking his tounge out before walking away.

All the keys to the rooms were hanging on the wall behind the desk. Remy took off their necklace while walking up to it. They fixed their posture and took a deep breathe to get ready to make their voice as high as possible.

"Exscuse me sir!" They put on a panicked tone as they walked behind the desk.

The man who presumebly worked at the hotel glanced at them before doing a double take and full on looking at them with heart eyes. "Something wrong?"

They put on a bright smile and twirled the end of their hair between their fingers "Yeah I uh just kinda dropped my necklace and it's like suuuper hard to put on by my own so could you like put it on for me? Pleease?"

"Of course!"

Remy handee him the necklace and turned towards the wall. While he was busy putting it on they took the keys to room 235 without making a single sound. In one smooth motion they stuck it to where the blade was already strapped to their thigh.

"Done!" He said.

They sent him another smile "Do I look good?"

"You look amazing!!"

"Aww thanks sweetie"

They sauntered of without another word. They took a glass of champange from a server they passed to look more casual. They inspected the key while looking for Remus. When they stuck their nails down into it a mark was left if only for a moment. It was a fake.

Remus was sitting by the poker table, loudly boosting about a made up story while betting way more money than he should. He shone up into a grin when he saw Remy. They leaned on his chair and moved one hand to comb through his hair. He moved an arm around their waist to pull them closer knowing fully well that his spouse was distracting everyone else in the poker game.

"Got the key?" He whispered.

"Got the key. It's a replica. I can see it"

"Okay so Picani has the other one. Makes sense. Now we know he's alright"

"Nah girl" Remy glanced around at the other players "Trick them into shoving their keys. Trust me"

"I always do" Remus put on a cocky smirk and leaned his elbows onto the table "Isn't this game becoming a bit boring? How about this: we all bet the amount of money our hotel rooms cost. Including the ones just for the ladies if you get me hurr hurr" He took out the key to his room he'd gotten from Q and laid it on the table "Just as a showing"

Most of the people had been drinking so they all threw up their keys without much thought. Remy subtly moved around the table and glanced at the keys while Remus continued with the game.

Remy stopped midstepped and quickly walked back to him. They made it look like they were kissing his cheek when they were actually whispering

"The mistah on the other side of the table was the one who threw the second 235 key. You know his name or do I have to like pretend flirt the ugly bastard?"

"Ron Stewart. Was real quick to introduce himself just to brag about his money"

"Good. Q can deal with like finding info about him. We gotta find Picani"

They grabbed him by his arm and dragged him up from the table. Remus made some comment about women always hurrying to the other people around the table while quickly throwing his cards away.

He took their hand in his and intertwined their fingers as they entered the hotel part. Ice chandelierd hung in the hallways and deep crimson mattresses where laid over the icy floor. He held his other hand close to where his gun holster was hidden under his jacket.

The door up to the second floor was locked. The two of them glanced at each other. Now they relly knew something was off. Remy took out 2 hairpins from their wig and unlocked the door in under 3 minutes.

The hallways were eerie and quiet. The lights were low and the sounds from the casino were now only dull faraway whispers.

Sudden footsteps were heard. Remy pressed their back against the wall and pulled Remus by his collar into a deep kiss. Out of the corner of their eye they saw a guard walk into the hallway. It was clear there was a gun hidden in a holster connected to his belt. The enby hoped he would just leave them alone if they made out hard enough. It usually worked.

When he saw them his already grumpy expression turned into a grimace. He grabbed onto Remus' shoulder and forced him out of the kiss.

"Visitors aren't allowed on the second floof" He said in a gruff voice.

"Oh come on. Whats a guy gotta do to get some privacy" Remus replied while keeping his arm around Remy's shoulder. They nodded along while blinking innocently and swaying back and forth.

The guard seemed to think for a moment. He took a step back before in a split second pulling out his gun and pointing it at them.

Remus went on instinct as he moved forward and forced the gun out of his hand. He stood like a shield in front of Remy in case it shot. The guard stumbled back as the gun was dragged out of his hands.

Remy shot forward. They dug their nails down into the guard's wrist and kicked his knee to get him off his balance. With a huff they turned around and with the motion swung him over their shoulder and down on the ground. Before he even had time to regain his breathe they kicked their foot onto his neck, knocking him out instantly.

"Should keep him out for long enough" They commented while leaning down to feel his pulse.

"I love it when you do that sudden kissy thing. I wish murderous people would walk in on us more so you'd do it more often" Remus replied.

"Babe you can literally ask me to kiss you whenever"

"It's not the same if the threat of death isn't looming over us!!" Remus did an overexagarated pout.

Remy stood up and moved the blade on their thigh to their hand "Leave that to when we've found Picani" They said while continuing into the next hallway.

Remus quickly followed them, even walking a bit before them so if another guard showed up they would shoot at him first. "So eager to see him huh?"

"Duh. He was like the closest thing I had to a boyfriend before I met you. Like sure we were never official but we kissed and did all that sorta couplesy stuff. I haven't seen him like years! I wanna catch up y'know"

"Do I have to be afraid of being replaced" Remus joked.

They bumped against his shoulder "Babe neva!"

He was about to reply with something lovey dovey but the conversation immediatly stopped as they both saw it. Room 235. The door stood slightly open.

They moved silently, weapons in hand. Remy was the first in. They looked around with urgency in their eyes. They searched through the entrance before going into the bedroom. Remus checked the bathroom but there wasn't a trace of him. No traces of other people either.

A sudden choked back sob came from the bedroom. Remus ran to it while holding back the urge to yell out his lover's name.

Remy stood with shaking shoulders by the door. On the floor with his back leaned against the bed sat Emile Picani.
Dead.

Chapter Text

Picani's body sat lifeless against the bed. His eyelids were still open but his eyes had rolled back into his skull. Parts of his shirt had turned red from blood.

The most gruesome part was his neck though. large chunks of meat and skin were missing, leaving only a bloody mess of nerves and bone. It looked as if someone had bitten down into it. It was an inhumanly large bite.

Remy stared at him with wide eyes. They'd seen dozens of dead bodies and yet tears pressed on. Remus lowered his gun for a moment and was about to reach out to hug them but stopped himself. They didn't have to time for comfort until the job was over for the day.

Instead he hunched down next to the body and inspected the gaping wound. "I think Jaws might have done this" He said after a while.

All Remy could get out as a response was a quiet sniffle and a nod.

Jaws had become an infamous killer among the MI6. He had single handedly murdered more agents than anyone else. If 005 and Picani was to be counted his total of murdered agents were 6 and that was only after at most 3 years of being a threat. Since most of the people who'd seen him was now dead all they knew was that he had a tall muscular, nearly inhumane stature and of course his teeth. His sharp metal teeth. Similar to a shark's. His usual murder method was biting chunks out of his victim's neck before letting them slowly die.

Remus could pick up Picani's corpse with ease. It hung limp in his arms. It was best to get it back to the MI6 so he could get a proper burial. He looked up and saw Remy stare at him with wide panicked eyes. They moved their finger up to their lips.

He stopped and listened. There was a ticking...a ticking...a...a bomb! He looked at Picani's body and in horror realized there was a bomb strapped to his back. A bomb that had began to count down when he moved it.

He dropped picani's body instantly. He instead heaved Remy up into his arms before dashing to the closest window. He shielded them from the glass as he jumped out. Right as the ticking stopped and an explosion went off.

He felt heat against his cheek as he fell down into the snow a story below. When he looked up all that was left of the hotel room was fire. His breathing was quick and his thought blurry. Boards and burning bedsheets were falling down around him. Glass pieces had pierced his skin.

"Guards- They have definitely noticed that. That guy wasn't there to like actually guard the place. He was there to make sure no one found Picani or to see Who would try to find him. There must be others. He must have told them by now" Remy heaved out in one big realization. They met their husband's eyes "Babe we gotta go"

They tried to stand up in the snow but fell down again because of their high heels. They let out a few swears words while taking off their shoes. Remus looked around for a quick escape route. To his luck the hotel guest's skiis were stored in a shed a few meters away from them. With a swift kick the wood door fell down. He took on a pair of skii boots while Remy stood guard.

His spouse quietly tapped on his shoulder. In the distance voices could be heard. Remus motioned for them to take a pair of boots as well but they shook their head. There was no time.

Remus gave them his gun before getting on the skiis. Remy wrapped their legs around his waist and held their arms around his shoulders. He was looking forward while they were keeping an eye on the back with the gun ready in their hand. The guards became visible from the side of the hotel. A shot was fired.

"Go!" Remy commanded.

With one quick motion they shot down into the steep hill. Trees blew by as he maneuvered across the thick snow. The guards weren't far away, they'd also found skiis.

Remy saw in a haze how a bullet blew past them just a few inches away. They tried to steady their hand enough to shoot back but it was all far too shaky and far too dark. They looked around and caught eye on a part of the mountain where the trees were even closer together.

"Babe! To your right!" They said quickly.

Remus nodded while turning. The trees were so close together he had to hold his arms against his chest to not run into anything. It forced everyone to slow down slightly, including the guards. Remy leaned their hand against their husband's shoulder and shot. The bullet landed right in one of the guard's thighs making him fall over.

Right as they were about to fire another shot Remus knocked into a tree and one of his skiis stuck. It made him go into a half circle before the skii fell off and he was left going backwards down the hill with only one skii on.

In a panic he grabbed on a tree and forced himself to turn around again. He flailed his free leg around to try and keep his balance. Remy teared off a loose branch from a tree and threw it at the guards before shooting anywhere and everywhere at them while they were busy trying not to get hit by the branch.

Left was a few guards. The trees disappeared and they came out into a wide patch of nothing but snow. Remus felt a bullet whine past his arm. He did an abrupt turn to give Remy a clearer shot. The snow became red from blood as another guard fell down.

He spotted a steeper part of the moutain and drove to it. When he got closer he realized it was a cliff. Far down he could spot a barn.

He heard bullets pass by him as he drove up to it. He tried to get as much speed as possible before diving off the cliff. While falling he kicked his skii off and took Remy into his arms. He hoped the snow would dampen his fall.

There was a loud crack as he collapsed down into the ground, it was probably one of his bones breaking again. Remy didn't give him a chance to breathe. They stood up and forced him over to the barn. The roof hid them from the guards seeing them.

"We gotta get outta here. Who knows if there's some otha way down here" Remy said while breathing heavily "Y'know otha than the ridiculously dangerous way you just took"

"Hey at least I took the fall instead of you!" Remus pointed out.

"That doesn't make it better! You still like probs got hurt"

The adrenaline rush from the chase started to wear off and Remy realized just how cold it was. They only had the dress and some tights on. They were so cold their skin ached. Remus noticed and took off his blazer, he laid it around their shoulders instead.

Remus stood up and promptly picked up his spouse bridal style since they definitely couldn't walk in the snow without shoes unless they wanted to freeze to death. He moved his bracelet so two specific parts connected. A quiet sound could be heard as the communicator in the bracelet activated.

"Q?" He asked.

It took a while and he repeated it a few more times before he got a reponse "I expect this to be important because I had to pause the documentary I was watching to answer" Q, also known as Logan answered.

"0012 is dead" Remus stated bluntly. Remy winced "But I can report more on that later. We need a warm and safe place to stay before our fingers freeze into bloody ice cream. We're-" He looked around at road signs "2 miles outside Reznekne"

"Excuse me a minute......There. A room has been booked under the name Juris Benzins for you. I have requested that the temperature would be heightened. I'll send you the adress"

"Thanks Q!"

"You're welcome, as always. Call me if you need anything more. Don't die because that would force me to fill out much more paperwork than I want to"

The call ended. Now all that was left was walking. Walking and walking. The snow kept coming down.

Remus noticed how his spouse was shuddering like a leaf in his arms. They were visibly close to falling asleep because of how freezing cold they were. Their skin had turned even paler than usual, almost looking blueish.

(He ignored how cold he was. Ignored how weak his body felt. Ignored his shirt getting spots of red from blood. It wasn't important. Making sure Remy was okay was the only thing that mattered)

"Hey babe" He lightly tapped their cheek "Stay awake. We'll be at the hotel soon. You can tell me your top 3 worst missions you've been on"

"You've...you've heard it before" They mumbled out.

"I just wanna hear my fav dork talk. I'll get anxious about carrying a corpse otherwise"

"Mhmm. Third worst...that mission..you were so stupid..and got so...so hurt. I neva wanna see you...that bloody..and beaten"

"Aww that's cute. I thought the bloody look fit me"

"Neva....second...second worst...we infiltrated that like the the beach place. having no choose but to disguise and...tuck-..horrible..more painful than....than like being shot" They let out a shaking breathe as a cold breeze blew by "Worst..worst...worst mission...easy...easy it...that time I" They grimaced "I had to seduce a lady to..to get...get her to to tell me a like code to stop a missile...Me and women neva go together"

Remus couldn't help but laugh.

"Girl dont laugh at m...my misery. I'mma be a dead- a corpse soon"

"I'm sawry. It's just so stupid that anyone would ever think you're straight"

"Shut up....you got like 3... got like 3 pairs of rainbow thigh highs"

The conversation came to a halt as they got to the hotel. The receptionist looked shocked as they entered. Who could blame her, they came in in a nice suit and a dress without any jacket while it was heavily snowing outside. She handed them the keys while barely saying anything.

Remy was still shuddering as they were carried into the room. Their lips and nails had turned purple. Remus carefully sat them down on the bed and wrapped all the blankets around them. He made sure they were still awake before going to fill up the bath. While the water ran he searched the entire room for cameras or listening devices. It was an instinct at this point.

With a few stumbling steps Remy got up and tried to get to the bath before collapsing onto their knees. Remus helped them up and gently assisted them with undressing so they could get in.

"When we get home I'm buying nothing except for giant cheeseburgers so you can get some godamn fat on your body to heat you up" Remus grumbled.

"I can like super get behind that" They replied. They closed their eyes and leaned back into the water. "Babe you should warm youself up too"

"I just need to make sure no one can get into the hotel room first an-"

They opened one of their eyes and gave him the look™️ "Babe"

Remus nodded. He grimaced as he took his shirt off, fully revealing the pieces of glass that had pierced into his skin when he jumped out the window. It was painful to get in the water.

Remy got a worried look on their face while inspecting his wounds. They cupped his cheek "We gotta take care of that"

He took their hands and intertwined their fingers instead "Later. Once we've warmed up" He gave them a long and tender kiss "You look so pretty"

"Gurl my makeup is running the fuck off. I'm looking like my skin is melting"

"Skin melting can be hot!" Remus exclaimed with a big grin.

Remy rolled their eyes. They cuddled closer against his chest and wrapped their arms around his waist "Stupid self sacrificing idiot" They mumbled with affection in their voice but their smile quickly disappeared.

Their eyes slowly got filled with rage as they stared out into nothing. Their voice turned cold as they nearly growled out "I'll find Jaws. I'll find him and hurt him over and over until he is begging me to kill him. I'll make him suffer for murdering Emile"

--

9 Years Ago

Lucia had spent the morning just like she spent most mornings, looking for cans and bottles she could use to make a few bucks. It was early December and the lake in the middle of the city had frozen to ice. She would go ice skating if she owned any pair of skates.

She caught eye on a bottle someone had dropped carelessly on the ground and hurried to pick it up and put it in her backpack. When she looked up again she noticed a small figure cowering right between 2 storefronts. Between the walls of the buildings a tiny inwards part was left, just enough to shield a person from the harsh wind.

At further looking she realized it was a teenager. A teenager dressed in nothing but a pair of worn out jeans, shirt and a light jacket. They could be 15 at most. Lucia had always been known as the parent friend so of course when she saw a shivering child she couldn't stop herself from walking up to them.

"Hiya kiddo" She greeted "I'm Lucia. Lucia Marinez"

The person didn't even look at her. They moved their legs closer to their chest to make themself as small as possible. Lucia hunched down in front of them and nearly let out a gasp when she saw their face.

There was a black eye around their right eye. Bruises continued down onto their cheek. Their lip was cracked and dried blood had dribbled down onto their chin.

"Oh dear" She mumbled to herself "I can get you some water to clean the blood up? Or help you get back home? If you have somewhere to go I mean"

No response.

"Okay well I know a place you can stay if you want. I can show you if you'd come with me"

They shook their head.

"That's good, you shouldn't follow strangers to random places. But I'm a good stranger I promise" Lucia wanted to facepalm over how stupid she was sounding. She fumbled around in her pockets "Here I got 3 dollars, take that at least"

She nearly forced the money into the teenager's hands. She let out a quick goodbye before getting up. To her surprise the kid started to follow her as she walked away. They kept their distance but was staring at her with wide vacant eyes the entire way.

It took 30 minutes until they got to the place Lucia was currently living at: under a bridge together with her 3 friends. She turned towards the teenager and put on a smile while doing jazz hands.

"Welcome!" She pointed at a short woman with long curly hair "This is Fray, she's nice" She pointed at her other friend, a lanky one with tired eyes "This is Róse. And last but not least" She pointed at a woman with oversized clothes and a kind smile "This is Lucy. She's my girlfriend. It was her idea to match our names when we choose them" Lucia still blushed when she thought about it.

The stranger still didn't say anything. Lucia's friends got excited and wondered who the hell they were. The attention only made the kid shut themself off even more. Though they accepted the sleeping bag and food the group offered them. (It was Lucia's sleeping bag so she and Lucy started to share one).

2 days went by. The teenager mostly stayed in their sleeping bag. They didn't sleep, didn't talk even though everyone in the group tried to start conversations with them, barely even ate. Fray thought they acted like a grumpy kitten.

It was past 1 am when Lucia noticed the kid shuddering even though they'd crawled into the sleeping bag. Everyone else was asleep so she went over to them. She took off her jacket and laid it over them. They flinched and looked up at her with scared eyes.

"Sorry kiddo. Did I wake you?"

They shook their head and sat up. After a moment of hesitation they put on the jacket. Lucia sat down next to them. It was quiet for a few moments.

"You do have a name right?" She asked "It's okay if you don't. I went without one for a few months before I met Lucy"

No reponse.

"You can vent about why you're here if you want to. I've been told that my shoulder is amazing to cry on"

Lucia looked at the teenager. The bruises were still there. She just wanted them to be able to trust her, she just wanted them to feel safe.

".....I used to be married before I became homeless" She confessed "Me and my ex-wife were planning on having children and I was so excited. It was just...just...I was close to crying every time someone talked about me becoming a dad. It made me realize I had never wanted to be a dad at all or anything like it. We'd been married for 5 years I thought my ex-wife would accept me but as soon as I told her I was trans she turned so...so...cold. She didn't even let me pack my bags before throwing me out"

For the first time the stranger was actually meeting her eyes. Not just staring at her as if she would tear them apart. They'd never met another trans person before.

"i-i was thinking about maybe the name r-remy?" They nearly whispered out "it's a pun on rem sleep...since..i...i'm not good at like sleeping"

Lucia chuckled "Aww that's a great name"

Remy looked away again. They held onto the fabric of their pants so hard their knuckles whitened "it was my fault i was thrown out. i was stupid"

"Oh honey it could never be your fault" Lucia assured.

"it was. i'd bought a trans pride pin. it was so small i thought i would be able to hide it but-" Tears were pressing on in their eyes "i came home from school and my mom had cleaned my room and she found it and my dad was at work i-i will never know how he would have reacted and-"

They choked on their own words. A tear rolled down their cheek. Lucia was about to ask if they were allowed to hug them when Remy buried himself against her chest and held onto her shirt as if their life depended on. The tears had turned into muffled sobbing, as if they couldn't physically hold it back anymore. She wrapped her arms around them and mumbled sweet words into their hair.

"s-she wouldn't stop yelling. she said she didn't w-want me as her child anymore. she would rather see me dead than that i w-would be- i would be-"

Lucia combed her fingers through their hair to comfort them "She was wrong. There is not a single chance she would have ever been right in what she did" Remy looked up at her. She wiped a few of their tears away as they sniffled.

"i-it wasnt the first time- she always- she would- there was always something wrong with me- i was never what she wanted an-and she just kept h-h-hurtin- i must be so h-horrible to have to deal with"

"Dear you didn't deserve any of it. You never did....I...I think that you would be lovely to have as a child" She cupped their cheeks and sent them a small smile "How about we look for a trans pin to replace your old one tomorrow?"

They wanted to say yes but instead "i'm not trans like you are- i- i don't- i want- i use they/them"

"Kiddo me and the other 3 are all old trans hags. I am 99% sure none of us will mind whatever pronouns you use. So then it is planned. We won't stop our search until you get yourself a nice trans pin"

Remy couldn't respond. They were too choked up on another wave of tears, but tears of relief this time. They sobbed into the hug again. Their bruises still hurt but for the first time they actually felt at home.

--

7 Years Ago

"-So y'know I panicked and like ran and it wasn't until like 4 days later I realized he'd probs been meaning to give me his number" Remy concluded.

Róse chuckled at the story. The enby was sitting right in front of her so she could cut their hair. She'd wanted to be a hairdressed for a while now anyway but she hadn't been able to get any work. Not having an adress made it a hundred times harder to get employed.

The two of them were having one of their 'Guy talks' since they were the only two in the group who liked guys. The other 3 were all useless lesbians. Todays talk had mostly been Remy flusteringly rambling about some cute guy with a mustache they'd met who'd made them realize that their new type was apparently guys with musatches.

"Thanks mom" They said while running their hand through their new haircut.

"No prob hun"

Remy quickly got up and got ready. It was their day to go out and look for bottles and other things that could help them survive. Right before they could leave Lucia grabbed them by their arm.

"Remember kiddo: no alcohol or drugs. You're not 18 just yet. And don't break any laws again! No stealing!"

"I know mom. You don't have to tell me every time"

"Don't accept any jobs from anyone. Not even 1 time things" Fray added on.

Remy nodded while walking away "I got it mom"

"And no intercourse you heathen!" Róse exclaimed.

They pretended like they didn't hear that one as they turned the corner. They immediately decided to head to the fancier part of town. The part where the police would probably force them away if they dared to even sleep in one of the parks.

Remy loved looking into all of the windows of the expensive stores. They daydreamed about owning fancy clothing and buying a house for their moms. They wanted to be makeup artist or costume designer or both. They wanted to reform people into new shapes.

They stopped by a window and stared at the luxurious makeup products. They made a mental note to try and steal something later. Fray's birthday was coming up and they wanted to give her something nice. None of them had the money to transition in any way so makeup or clothes was the best they could get.

They let themself disappear into the crowd of people on the street while looking for someone to steal from. They spotted a man walking next to a bit shorter man while holding in a baby stroller. Remy walked past them while looking in the other direction. They let their hand trail down into one of the men's pocket and quickly grab what felt like a wallet.

With the wallet hidden under their shirt they began to walk in the other direction. They fell into the crowd but sped up their step while looking for a quick exit route. There was a small alley which they quickly went into.

It'd been a good one. The wallet was filled to the brim with money. They took it out and hid it under their shirt while putting the actual wallet in their pocket.

Remy was too busy with happiness over the money to notice the shadow coming up behind them. Before they knew it a hand had grabbed their shoulder and forced them around. An arm slammed them back first against the wall. It was the man they'd stolen from. His cold yellow eyes seemed to stare into their soul.

They were severely underweight and malnourished so it was easy for the stranger to hold them still. He could probably break their bones with ease, like a toothpick.

Remy threw the wallet in his face. He lightened his grip for a moment because of surprise. They took their chance and shoved him away. They heaved themself up on the trashbin standing beside them and jumped so they grabbed onto the railing of an old rusty fire escape stair case. They landed on the stair case and made a run for it up toward the roof. They'd almost gotten halfway up when they heard a click from behind them.

"This is simply a suggestion but I think you should stop" The stranger said.

He was holding a gun. It was pointing right at Remy. Their heart was beating out of their chest as they moved their shaking hand to take the money out from under their shirt. They threw it down at the stranger who caught it midair. Still he kept pointing the gun at them.

"P-please you'll never see me again after this I promise" They stuttered out "I'm sorry but I-I'll disappear and-d ne-never cause trouble again"

"Get down here, and don't try to run" The man commanded.

It felt like their legs would give out under them as they quickly went down the stairs. They kept their hands over their head "I-I have a family"

"Good for you" The stranger replied druly. He motioned for them get closer.

Tears formed in their eye as the gun only was a few inches away from their chest "P-please" They cried out "If I die- I-I- they're no-not my birth parents- i-if I die no one wi-ill tell them. They won't k-know what happened. P-please take me to th-the police or so-omething instead. Do-o-on't please don't k-kill me"

The stranger's eyes stayed cold and uncaring even as they begged. He lowered the gun and shifted it so he was holding it by the barrel and handing over the magazine part to Remy. He pointed at a specific part of it "Is this point red?"

"N-no"

"Why do you think that is?" Before Remy could answer he continued "The safety trigger is on. Right now I am unable to fire. Besides"

He took off the magazine and showed the inside. It was empty. No bullets. He moved his hand down to his pants pocket and took out a bullet. He loaded the gun in a matter of seconds.

"Now I can hurt you" He said "But I won't"

He handed the gun over to Remy who held it lightly in their shaking hands. Their gaze flickered between the thing in their hands and the stranger. A small smile played on the stranger's lips.

"It took me a while until I realized you'd stolen from me. That's impressive"

He held out his hand. Remy didn't shake it.

"Please call me M. Though most call me Deceit" He sent them a warm smile "And you are?"

"Why would I tell you that?" They hissed out while taking a step back.

"That is a great attitude! So I would be very pleased if you would accompany me for dinner so we could talk about your new job. You can keep the gun by the way. Hell shoot me if you're feeling like you're in danger"

Deceit grabbed their wrist and pulled them with him as he walked out of the alley "Job?? Dinner? Wha- I- Weren't you taking me to the cops or something???" Remy sputtered out.

"Oh honey" Deceit moved his arm around their shoulder. He smiled as he whispered to them "If you accept my offer you will be above the cops"

Chapter Text

The sun had just about risen when the agents woke up. It was the morning after the mission and they were laying cuddled up in the hotel bed. Remus had plopped himself on top of Remy and wrapped his arms around them like usual. He said it was to snuggle while they slept but it was really so that he could act as a human shield for them even in sleep.

"g'mornin my dear dead heart of min-" Remus began to mumble out but Remy placed a finger over his mouth to shut him up.

He laid still and listened. The sound of someone opening the door to the hotel room could be heard followed by quiet steps. The agents glanced at each other. From the angle Remy was laying at they couldn't see much except for the ceiling and their husband's face. Remus slowly moved his hand under the pillow and grabbed the knife he'd hidden under it just in case.

The footsteps continued until they stopped by the side of the bed. Out of the corner of his eye Remus saw the person move making his instincts go off. In one swift motion he'd turned around to press the knife against the enemy's neck.

"What a charming greeting 008" Q also known as Logan muttered out. He eyed the knife held against his neck with an unimpressed look on his face. He had a black briefcase with him.

"Q!!!" Both of the Rems let out a happy exclaim.

"You should have said you were coming!" Remy said while sitting up in the bed.

"That's what she said" Remus added.

"I wasn't going to but then I figured it would be for the best if this mission got another step"

Remus moved the blanket aside and patted the spot between the two Rems "Cuddle up motherfucker!"

"008 please put some pants on. I've seen That thing enough for a lifetime" Q stated before sitting down in the middle.

The Rems promptly latched onto him. Hugging him. Remy ran their hand through his pressed down curly hair. Remus nibbled kisses by the start of his neck.

"So 008, you said in your report from yesterday that the man who held the real copy of the keys to Picani's room was named Ron Stewart correct?"

"Yeah"

"Well I discovered that he is on a train today towards Lithuania along with cargo for his company. His company is stated as an electricity manufacturer but it didnt take a lot of research to find he also has ties to something else. I am not sure of what yet but it is earning him a lot of income. For your information Picani's mission before he was killed was to find solid evidence of what this side business was"

Remy held back a wince at the mention of Picani "Aight easy. We get on the train. I Kill him. We figure out like what the fuck he's up to and like revenge Emile. Piece of cake" Remus nodded along.

"Yes well" Q opened the briefcase "In other news I took a few gadgets with me to aid you" He took out a pair of black high heels and handed them to Remy "Same function as always. Black like you requested"

"It's 'cause black tots goes with like anything"

A small box, not bigger than a thumb, was up next. Q opened it slightly to show white pills inside before giving it to Remy "I've tried to make it so the taste of poison is even less subtle"

The enby got a sinister smile on their face "They won't know what hit them!"

Remus dragged in Logan's sleeve "Me time!! I want gadgets too!!!"

Q nodded before taking out a long thin black straw and gave it to the duke "Be careful. Please! This is your 7th laser so don't break it. It's not a knife. It's not a stick. It's a laser. It heats things up. It doesn't cut through things. It heats them up. Please I don't want to have to make another one"

The duke looked at it with a giddy smile before looking up. A few moments of silence went by before his smile disappeared "That's all? I only get 1 gadget???? Rem got 2! You're playing favorites just 'cause you fuck them!"

"No. I am playing favorites because they don't break their gadgets!........But I do actually have another gadget for the both of you"

Q took out 2 pens and several coins. He sat the coin as far away on the blanket as he could. He pressed down on a specfic point on it before leaning back and pressing the pen up and down 5 times. The coin exploded leaving a hole in the blanket. The Rems let out oooohs and ahhhhs in response.

"Explosives. Each coin causes 1 explosion. Right now I'll give you 20 to use but you can always request more. Oh and 008" He took out 2 packages of pills "You forgot you stimulants" It was to help him focus better, his lil autistic rat brain wasn't good at that "And antidepressants at the base again so I thought I'd bring them to you"

"Aww thanks Q. How caring!"

"No problem. As your quartermaster I must care for you after all. INcluding caring for your mental health. Well I wish you good luck on your mission"

The Rems glanced at each other before sending Q puppy eyes. "You can wish us good luck better than that can't you?"

Logan let out an amused sigh and rolled his eyes before nodding. He gave Remus a kiss on the lips before doing the same to Remy. He was aro and didn't see kissing as a serious thing, neither did the Rems. The kissing before missions was just a nice tradition.

Remy traced their finger over their lips "I already have a feeling this mission will go splendid"

--

3 hours later Remy was sitting by a luxurious vanity in front of a mirror. They were meticulously filling in their lips with cheery red lipstick. Remus came up from behind and put his hands on their shoulders before leaning down to press a kiss to their cheek.

The enby took the blade laying on the vanity and held it up to his face "Dear if you kiss me now you'll ruin my make up and I will have to kill you for that"

"Sounds like a sweet death" He teased in return.

"If I wanted to make it a sweet one I would"

Remus glanced around at the make up products while putting on an overly extra pout "Why can't I ever get to be the lady???"

"Hun you have a giant caterpillar on your upper lip and it is the bane of my existance. If you could just let me shave it off-"

The duke gasped and covered his precious mustache with his hands "NEVER!!!"

" Well it would make disguising you much easier. If some baddie sees you once they're gonna remember that nasty ass muschie for like months! And secondly you don't really have like the right bone structure. Like girl you would look like the most beautiful lady I'd ever seen but you wouldn't look like the kind of gal these dirtbags want y'know?"

"I know"

Remy leaned their head against his chest and smiled up at him. "When we get home I can make you look nice and pretty kay? I'll evem lend you my fav mini skirts...As long as your dumptruck ass doesn't destroy them"

Remus grinned and let out a giddy laugh "OHOHOHOH let's get these bitches killed so we can get home PLEase!!"

After another half hour Remy was ready to go. They'd hidden a blade on their left thigh and stuck the box of pills on the side of their underwear. Remus took them by the arm and they walked out into the hallway of the train. They looked around various mini suites before coming out into a bigger cart. The bar.

Blue satin sheets framed the windows. Sunlight strimmed in onto dark wooden tables with comfortable seats surrounding them. The bar was ornate and it's menu was filled with expensive cocktails.

The enby bumped their elbow into their husband's ribs before pointing over to a booth in the corner. There Ron Stewart sat alone with a bowl of olives and a beer.

Remus mumbled a quiet 'you got this' before letting go off their arm. He sat down by the bar at such an angle so he could watch Stewart without it being noticeable. He ordered a glass of water and began to sprinkle copious amount of salt and pepper into it as he watched Remy go up to Stewart. Their body language was completely different. He overheard something about coincidences and seeing him at the casino. It didn't take long until Stewart had moved so Remy could sit down next to him.

The duke let out a content sigh and looked out the window. It was in quiet moments like these, while waiting for his spouse to do what they did best, that he admired them more than ever. All he could do was sit and think about how much he loved them. How he loved Every part of them. Thinking and thinking until it felt like his heart would burst.

It wasn't until someone bumped into him he got out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw Remy leaning on the bar.

"Vodka martini. Shaken not stirred please" Remy ordered.

Remus poked his elbow into their ribs plafully "Dork. Using my dad's catchphrase like that" He teased with a smirk.

They rolled their eyes at him before adding "And you can place a bottle of champange in suite 17!"

While the bartender worked on it the enby sat down next to Remus. They looked in the other direction while speaking so Stewart wouldn't notice.

"He's involved in human trafficking. That's where his like money comes from. Was supa easy to get it out of him. Dirty bastard. Didn't get what is in the cargo but he joked that it wasn't human at least"

"Okay good!" Remus exclaimed "So we go to the cargo see whats up. And then when we're done we can go back and arrest Stewart when we're done. Easy peasy pumpkin pie motherfucker"

Remy dug their nails down into the table so hard it left marks "Nah I'm murdering him now"

Remus opened his mouth before closing it again and thinking. He decided the wise and only choice was to support his spouse in their killing ways "Okay yeah sure. Have fun. If you're not back in 15 minutes I'll assume something has gone wrong and will come help"

They sent him a small smile "Thanks babe"

They downed the martini in one sweep and took a deep breathe before putting on their fake smile again. They went back to Stewart. All it took was a few flirty comments while leaning close to him to get him to walk with them to his room. Like a lamb blissfully going to the slaughter.

The champagne had been set on the bedside table in a bucket of ice like they'd requested. Stewart sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the place next to him. Remy obediently sat down. A taste of nausea filled their mouth when he placed his hand on their inner thigh. But they kept their facade of liking it up. Kept it up even as he whispered what he wanted to do with them into their ear and pressed kisses to their neck.

Remy leaned away when he tried to go for a kiss on the mouth "Shall I get the champange Dear?"

He eagerly nodded in return. They got up and made sure to move slow. They cast a look back at him while moving their dress up up to their right hip, just enough so a bit of their underwear showed. They ran their hand under their underwear line feeling where the small box they'd hidden laid. The box with poisonous pills in it.

They kept their expression the same as they caught hold of the box and in one smooth motion hid it under their bracelet. They kept their dress up as they poured up the champange. Out of the corner of their eye they could see Stewart only looking at their thighs so they took the opppurtunity to let a single white pill go down into one of the drinks.

It dispersed in the drink in under a second. They made a mental note to give Q an extra kiss for his excellent job the next time they saw him. They gave the glass to him before sitting down to straddle his lap.

"Cheers" Remy said.

"Cheers baby"

Their smile widened as they watched him drink. They waited until he'd emptied the glass before smashing their own glass against his skull. Stewart barely had time to let out a yell before they'd pushed him down with his back against the bed. They laid their weight on hips to keep him down while forcing his arms over his head.

"What are you-" Stewart didn't finish his sentence. He let out a strange sound as his face began to turn red. The poison was setting in.

Remy took the blade from their thigh and held it up to his neck. Close enough to let out droplets of blood but not close enough to cut him open.

"When I got home after staying out all night for the first time my moms cried of relief because they were sure I'd been taken by human traffickers working for the likes of you. I've had friends go missing just 'cause people like you think no one will notice if a homeless person disappears" They growled out.

"I will-" He forced out.

"Honey you won't do shit" Remy interrupted. They let out a cold chuckle "You'll lay there and wait to see if the poison or-" They cut the knife into his neck with such precision it hit the veins just enough to open them, like they'd done a hundred times before "the blood loss kills you first"

Stewart couldn't say anything more. He was choking on air and blood at the same time. The white satin sheets turned red as Remy sat still and watched every slight change in his expression. It went from anger to a pained one to complete fear of death.

His legs kicked to instinctively try and get Remy off and his hands flailed around his neck to try and stop the bleeding but it was to no avail. Soon his limbs stopped moving and the desperate sounds he'd been letting out quieted. Before finally his eyes became glossy and he stopped blinking. The blood had stopped dripping out.

"Blood loss huh" Remy said to of course no answer.

They stood up and hid the blade under their dress again. They let out an annoyed groan when they noticed blood stains on the dress. They'd liked this one! They searched around the room for anything useful.

In the drawer of the nightstand they found a key card to the cargo section of the train. They gave themself a pat on the back and was about to leave when they saw a document that had laid next to the key. They stuffed it down their top to keep it for later. Q was usually the one who told them if a document was important or not.

Remus shone up into a big goofy grin when he saw his spouse return. He held himself back from giving them a big long kiss. They took his hand, intertwined their fingers, and pulled him along to the small passage leading up to the cargo parts of the train.

There was a thick metal door stopping them from entering the cargo part. With a triumphant smirk Remy pulled out the key card and unlocked out while Remus gave them a small round of applause.

008 kept his gun ready in his hand as he entered the first cargo train with 009 right behind him. There were 2 guards who both immediately reached for their guns. Remus shot one of them at the same time Remy threw their blade into the neck of the other.

The couple high fived. Remy was using the new gadget high heels Q had given them. They took the heels off so the high heel turned into a normal shoe, it somewhat looked like a ballet shoe. Inside the heels 2 more blades were hidden.

The train was empty aside from a few meaningless boxes but there were one more cargo cart to look through. "How about I stay here and make sure no like bitches come at you from this side and you continue to the rest of the like cargo?" Remy suggested.

"Sounds like a plan!"

Remus pressed a kiss to the top of their forehead before quickly continuing on to the small outside part connecting the two carts. Remy closed the door behind him.

He pressed his ear against the door to the next cart. There were footsteps coming from the other side. He rolled up his sleeves before jumping up and just about grabbing on to the edge of the cart's roof. With a strained groan he heaved himself up. The wind nearly knocked him over as soon as he stood up. It was the last cart so whatever was important in the cargo section had to be in there.

The roof was made out of metal. Remus took out the black laser. He was careful to not point it at himself as he moved it against the roof. When he turned it a spark went off before it's cold blue almost fire looking laser burried down into the roof.

Slowly the metal began to melt. He moved it just as slowly around in a square motion. Until it had melted enough that he was able to move it. He made sure the laser created a small hole, just about to press a few fingers in, before turning it off. He covered his hands in the fabric of his shirt and let out a grunt as he grabbed onto the hole in the metal and moved it until a small opening down into the carriage had been made.

He peered down and like he'd suspected there were at least 10 guards inside. All of them were heavily armed. There was no way Remus would be able to take them all.

Luckily he didn't have to. He took one of the explosive coins and clicked on it before dropping it down into the carriage. He didn't even give the guards a chance to react before detonating it.

No more sounds came from inside the carraige. Remus dropped down from the roof and opened the door. The guards laid still on the ground. He checked their pulses. It was going slow and unsteady so they wouldn't be waking up soon (aka in several days probably).

There wasn't much in the carriage. A few box filled with guns and ammunition littered the wooden floor but aside from that all there was was a metal box in the corner. It was big enough to fit a human if they hunched down. It was thick enough that he doubted even one of the explosives would get it open. He tried the key to open it but it didn't work.

"What the fuck" He mumbled to himself.

On the sides and top of the box things were engraved. He was unsure if it'd been engraved a knife or...teeth.....somehow. The same sentences were written over and over.

Remus tried to read it but all the words swirled around and changed places. He hit his hands against his head and tried to concentrate. Usually Remy read things for him when on missions (and when home too honestly), and before he had them he had.....He had.....

He despised his dyslexia so much. Sensory overload could be avoided by Q ordering clothes with the exact textures he could handle and making him earpieces that filtered out just enough sound so he wouldn't panic. People didn't notice his lack of eye contact and fumbling with social cues and voice tones as long as he looked normal and blamed it on being eccentric. But there was no way to get around his dyslexia.

It took (in his opinion) an embarrassing amount of time before he was able to piece the words together. But when he finally did his body went coldbecause of what he read.

Targets:
0̶0̶5̶
0̶0̶1̶2̶
009
008 - Remus Smythe

They knew his name. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.

Remus felt nauseous. His heart was beating so fast he could feel it pulsing in his ears. How the fuck did they even know that. What more did they know?? He was used to people knowing his name as Remus Smythe the son of Octavia Smythe. But not as Remus smythe the 008 agent.

He knew his mom could defend herself. All of the women, his caregivers, on the floating palace could. but still. At least they didn't know Remy's name. At least- At least- They were after them though! They specifically wanted to murder the love of his life.

Sure people had been trying to kill them before. Many a times. But he and Remy had known the two of them were strong enough to proctect themself. But....but....these people had killed Picani. Emile Picani! They could- they would-

He took a step back. Logically he should figure out a way to open the box. That was why he has here wasn't it? But he had to make sure Remy was okay. Had to-

He turned around and quickly went towards the door. He stopped midstep as he heard something metal-like crash under his foot. He looked down and realized he'd stepped on a dogtag one of the guards had been holding.

The metal plate was cold in Remus' hand as he tried to read it. His eyes widened. He didn't have to struggle to make the words out. He would always be able to recognize that name in an instant.

His hand shook as he forced the dogtag down into his pocket. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe.

He stumbled out from the carriage before throwing the door open to the next one. He was hyperventilating as he collapsed onto his knees. He looked up through tears at the blurry sight of Remy.

They'd been sitting on a box cleaning one of their blades while using the bodies of the guards they'd killed as a footstool. When they saw their husband they quickly went over and sat down in front of him. They moved their arms around his shoulders while checking for injuries.

"What happened? Are you hurt?"

"R-remy" He cried out. He hugged them as tight as he could and slumped his head against their chest. Uneven sobs racked his body.

"It's okay. It's okay babe. Shhh. Breathe for me" They moved their hand through his hair to soothe him "Just follow my breathing"

"You c-can't be hu-hurt"

"I'm not. I promise. You always take my injuries for me like an idiot. I'm 100% okay"

"It's- They- He-"

With a shaky hand he took out the dogtag from his pocket. It felt like the name engraved on it burned into his skin. Remy held onto his hand.

"What- who's tag is that?"

Remus glanced up at them with tear filled eyes "The f-former 009. Roman"

Chapter Text

6 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰

Remus looked out of the car window. He felt like he wasn't supposed to be here. This was the wrong place. The wrong time. Maybe he should make the car turn around.

"You still here bro?"

A hand landed on Remus' shoulder making him jump in his seat. He looked over to the driver. To Roman.

His brother sent him a smile before looking back at the road "Seriously you good? You looked like you were going to mars"

"Just kinda zoning out" Remus replied.

"You took your meds right? I don't want you nearly getting us killed because you were too busy daydreaming about Beetlejuice again"

"He's the man of my dreams Ro-bro!!!.....and yes I have taken them"

"Re-Re I gotta get you a date once we get back. I can Not let Beetlejuice be your standard of men!" Roman playfully poked his elbow into his ribs "Hey that new Q assistant has been staring at us even since they read our files. I'm sure all it'll take is asking them out and they'll fall head over heels for you"

"They would probably only be interested 'cause of dad" Remus muttered out while crossing his arms "It's always like that. Either that or 'cause of mom"

"At least It's definitely not because of your horribly ugly monster you call a mustache" Roman got a bonk on the head for that.

"Whatever. You go and get yet anotha fling once we get home why dont you. One day you're either gonna get cannibalised or get syphilis. Or both!!!"

Roman let out a gasp "I am far too clean and princely to get syphilis you dirty heathen!!!" He smacked his brother with one arm while driving with the other.

Remus smacked him back "No-oh. Syphilis and gonorre and some weird blue stuff!!"

The smacking got more intense and the prince's gasps and shrieks of defence even louder and nasalier with every sex joke. Until he finally stood on the brakes. The car stopped so suddenly Remus had to hold himself back from flying out the windshield.

"We're here" He simply stated.

Remus let out an overly extra breathe of relief "Finally! Thought my skin was gonna rot off my bones before we got here!"

Roman leaned back and took out his usual weapons from the box sitting in the backseat while continuing to talk.

"Remember: this is a serious mission! Not just some ol' dragon we gotta arrest. Army of fire breathing dragon witches levels of serious. No unnecessary fighting and absolutely no inspecting dead bodies!!"

"You know I can't promise that" Remus replied while stuffing the biggest handgun he'd been able to get his hands (heh) on into the holster stuck onto the side of his waist.

"I know far too frick fracking well"

"PLEase just say fuck!"

"No. Fuck you!!"

They got out of the car. Their feet sank down into the sand the moment they stepped off the gravel road. For dozens of miles around them there was nothing but them, sand and a few even sandier hills.

And of course the statue. That goshdarn statue.

Enfuel, a company with ties to both energy and oil distrubution, had recently bought this random piece of land in the middle of the desert. A statue was placed in the middle of it a year or so later. It looked similar to one of the old egyptic statues and when they looked up information about it all sites said it had been around for hundreds of years. Of course MI6 had satellite pictures to show otherwise.

MI6 had been keeping check on Enfuel for a while. An anonymous worker had been selling them information for months. Even without the leaked information the vast buying of land and spikes of Enfuel employees dying in 'accidents' was enough to rise suspicion.

The agents made their way towards the statue. Guns ready in their hands. No one was around. It was a large one. Over 20 feet wide and at least 15 feet high.

Roman hunched down in the shade from the statue and took out a mechanical gadget he'd gotten from Q. It was a scanner. He placed it on the ground and activated it.

"And now we wait"

"Time to rant and or infodump?" Remus asked.

"Yes but not from you. You got to infodump the last time. It is my time to rant to kill time on a mission!"

He rolled his eyes "Yeah sure go ahead"

His brother instantly went on a long rant about the local theater production he'd landed a role in. It was the first time he'd ever acted. Aside from exercising and his special interest (disney) the theater was the first time he'd ever had a real hobby. His (now ex) boyfriend had been the one to take him to audition after introducing him to (and accidentally making him instantly hyperfixate on) musicals.

"And I just can't wait to-"

He stopped midsentence when the machine made a sound. He was still happy stimming as he checked it.

"Holy zeus" He gasped out.

He showed it to Remus. The scanner had created a blueprint of everything within a 10 feet radius. It clearly showed that there was something built under the ground. There was also an entrance built into the statue.

Remus went over and clicked on a specific point on the statue like the blueprint showed. A keypad appeared. They sent a photo of it to Q. Within minutes he'd somehow been able to come up with the correct code.

He put in the code and a hidden door nearly obscured between two pillars opened up. The brother sent each other excited smiles before entering.

There was a short staircase that led down into a corridor. The walls looked like something they'd find in a mourge and the dim lights shone a cold blue. Roman buttoned up the shirt he had on that was supposed to look like the uniform many Enfuel employees wore.

"Sure doesn't look ancient" Remus muttered.

It was practically a maze of corridors and rooms. Everywhere that cold blue light was the same. None of the rooms they passed seemed to have any important information in them. Having a secret facility wasn't enough for an investigation! It was just aesthetic as fuck!

They aimleesly stumbled around for at least half an hour as they got to the parts the blueprints hadn't showed. They probably walked in circles a few times too. Roman was about to suggest they call up Q when he saw guards, armed guards, out of the corner of his eyes.

He threw out his arm to stop Remus and dragged him back to hide behind a wall. He peeked out and saw how the 2 guards were staying outside a door.

"Bingo" He whispered. He turned to his twin "Wherever there are guards are the important things"

"The juicy secrets!" Remus agreed.

The brothers got out from their hidingspot at the same time. They tried to look casual while walking up to the guards. Right when one of the guards moved to stop them, to ask who they were, Roman took out his gun and shot them in the knee.

Remus elbowed the other guard right between his ribs before pulling his arm around the guard's neck. It didn't take long before he let the guard collapse onto the ground after choking him to unconsciousness.

The other guard feeble sat on the ground with their hands pressed to the wound on their knee. Roman held his gun to their head "Give us the key to the room"

They didn't even hesitate to throw the key over to Remus. They looked up at Roman with pleading eyes. With one swift kick they too laid on the ground knocked out.

The brothers pushed the guards to a good hiding spot in silence. The door opened reveleaing a quite small room but it was filled with computers, databases and of course at least 10 people working on those computers.

All it took was Roman holding up his gun to one of them to make the others freeze in fear. It was very clear that they were just doing their job so Remus tried to go as nice on them as possible when he knocked them out.

"Remind me to request instant sleeping pills from Q" He said after the last one laid still on the ground.

"Noted" Roman replied while barricading the door so no one could get in.

Remus glared at the computer with the biggest screen. He tried to read what was on it but only got a headache and some scattered words. Roman gently pushed him aside.

"It's probably better if I try to find what these guys are up to and you stand guard. Please try to not let me get shot"

"I'll do my worst! Maybe I'll even shoot you myself!" Remus joked.

He looked through the room while hearing Roman mumbling to Q about decoding and taking down firewalls. It didn't take long to realize there was actually a second door in the room. He wasn't sure where it lead but decided to barricade it as well.

"You're still free on Saturday right?" Roman suddenly asked while waiting for Q to hack into the database for him.

Remus rolled his eyes "Nah dude I suddenly got loads of friends and we're all gonna go raid a cemetery and create a zombie army. Supa busy that day sorry"

"Ha Ha" He let out druly "Well the new mission impossible movie is coming out so I kinda thought we could go see it. Y'know cinema caturday like we used to do"

"Oh yeah using our free time away from our spy work to watch a spy movie. Real smart decision Ro-bro"

"It can some other movie! I just wanted to do something" Roman slumped back against the desk so he was leaning on it "I know I've been kinda busy like whenever we're not on missions with the whole theater work-"

"Kinda?!" Remus let out a scratchy laugh "Bro you've been going to that theater like you'll turn to dust if you're not there all the time"

Roman plucked at the green bead bracelet on his wrist "Well it's exciting! I never really thought I could wokr with anything that didn't involve fighting or smugling. It's...nice..getting to do something else. I can't wait until it's time for the premiere and I'll actually get to hear the audience"

"Let's just hope no villain decides to try and take over the world during your perfomance nights" Remus joked. Roman's expression went from excitement to worry "Ro-bro I was kidding. I'm sure if anything happens I can just go with 0012 or something- or I mean like I'll come see you of course I just- It'll be chill!"

There came a silence. There always came a silence after talking about the theater thing. Spending an entire childhood learning about jewel smuggling, self defense and the innerworks of crime made any kind of work that didn't involve any of those shocking enough to warrant silence. Especially after it was Roman's idea to start working at the MI6 as soon as they moved away from their mom and the floating palace at 18.

He'd wanted to be a hero. Remus had just wanted to stay close with his brother.

"But yeah I guess I'm free on Saturday if you wanna go see that movie or whatever" Remus muttered while glancing over to his brother "More surprised that you're not busy honestly"

"Oh I was! Some friends from the theater heard I would get back from 'work' soon and wanted to hang out and I still got that guy who wants to go on a date with me as soon as possible and some guys from the Q branch asked me to test some gadgets for them. But I made sure to clear time in case you said yes" Roman replied with a smile.

"That's....That's....Ro-bro you're a sappy dork you know that right?"

"Of course! That's part of my everlasting and undying charm!"

The conversation was forcibly stopped as Q announced that the code was cracked. Roman flapped his hands in excitement to see the movie, Remus flapped back. They both turned back to what they were doing.

The duke to his surprise noticed a small crack in the wall right next to the door. He couldn't stop his curiosity from taking the better of him and looking through.

On the other side was a big room. There was a long dinner table in the middle with excessive amounts of expensive food on it. There were crystal candelabras hanging from the ceiling. The walls were white just like the floor but there were old paintings decorating the walls.

Most importantly there were 4 people in it. 3 men who looked to be at least 40. All of them were wearing suits but one of them was sitting in a chair by the luxurious table in a glistening dark purple suit. The other two were standing by the table with briefcases gripped in their shaking hands. Remus could see the sweat from nervousness dripping down their neck all the way from where he stood.

Last and least was the fourth person. A young boy, he was at the most 9 years old, sat on another chair by the table. He was holding the hand of the older man. His eyes were hidden by his hair and he had a large hoodie on.

"-So even though there has been someone selling important information about my company you two are 100% certaint that neither of you have destroyed my trust?" The man clad in purple asked.

The two men quickly shook their head. The purple clad man, who happened to be the leader of the Enfuel company, shone up into a wide grin. It was too wide. Too eerie. Not happy. Just sinister.

"How wonderful! I knew I could trust you both!" The leader took out a gun and shot one of the men in the leg.

He fell down on the ground and writhed in pain. The young boy let out a scream and flinched away. The other man bolted for the closest door which instantly made Remus take out a knife and get ready to defend Roman. But before he could get anywhere the leader had pressed a button on his chair which made all doors lock.

"I heard that the MI6 were on to us because of you fools running your mouths" The leader said while standing up. Remus nearly chuckled at how right he was.

The shot man simply cried while the other got down on his knees and begged "Please please I'll do anything. I have a family. I have 2 kids. I can- please don't kill me"

"How funny, I have a kid too" The leader held out his hand "Son come here"

The young boy quickly ran over and took his dad's hand. He was already crying. When the gun was reloaded he turned his head to look away. It resulted in the leader grabbing onto his son's head and dragging in it so he was forced to look at the helpless men, soon to be corpses. Remus could hear the boy whimper from pain.

"Do I-I h-have to see ev-every time?" He cried out.

"Until you learn to stop crying over some insect's death, Yes. These people are traitors. They're beneath us because they have hurt us. You have to see what we do to people who hurt us"

A bullet went off. One of the men collapsed dead on the floor. The other desperately crawled away until he hit the wall. The young boy's crying turned into sobs.

"You should be used to it by now" His dad said in a calm tone.

The leader forced the gun into his son's shaking hands. He held onto his hands so he couldn't let go. He moved his hands for him, reloaded the gun for him, held the gun to the living man's forehead for him. The young boy's entire body was shaking from fear. He closed his eyes. Pretended like the cold metal wasn't in his hands. Pretended like he wasn't one move of his finger away from taking a life.

"Open your eyes son" The leader commanded "You have to see. See the fear in his eyes. That is the look of a dead man. We could ask anything of him"

"I-I want him t-to live. P-Please dad w-we can send-d him to the b-bad room instead"

"The bad rooms are for those who are of use to us. This man has nothing for us"

A hand landed on Remus' shoulder. He turned around and pointed the knife at the person's neck. Thankfully it was just Roman.

"The files are all here" Ro informed while holding up an USB drive. He had on a strained expression "It's sick. Q told you they made it so Enfuel was the only company avaible for like an entire part of Latvia right?"

"I wasn't listening but probably yeah"

"They're planning to make all electricy and fuel unaviable for those cities for months. And they're going to make it look like an accident so they won't even have to take accountability. They're planning to try and completely cut them off from the rest of the world"

"People are gonna die" Remus concluded.

"Bet"

"Why the fuck would someone even do that?"

Roman shrugged "Said nothing about that. At least we can stop it if we know it will happen. All we have to do is get out of here and get it to M"

Remus was about to nod but then he heard muffled sounds from the other room. He closed his hands into fists. There was a cold lump stuck in his throat.

"There's a kid here. Like 8? 9 maybe? Being made to hold a gun" He whispered.

"Mom teached us how to use pistols at 12" Roman replied with a shrug.

"She made us shoot at targets" Their mom is a very powerful lady so they had to know how to defend themself since so many people wanted to hurt them to get to their mom "This is-"

A gunshot went off. Gutwrenching screaming followed. It sounded like it came from the boy. Soon sobbing took over.

"Don't cry like that. You weren't even the one pulling the trigger" His dad snarled out.

The brothers at looked each other. They both knew that the mission was hundreds of times more important than one kid but....with that one look they both knew they had to do something.

"Okay new mission" Remus said "Protect the kid"

They searched the room and found an entrance to the vents in the roof. They climbed in and crawled as quietly as possible until they could see down into the other room. The leader had gone back to sitting by the table, he was drinking some wine. The son was still sitting by one of the corpses. His sobs was racking his whole body as he held onto the dead body. Quiet beggings to wake up could be heard.

The brothers took out their guns in anticipation. Remus slammed his foot down into the vent panel and jumped down onto the ground. He jumped back up on his feet and held the gun to the leader's head.

Roman was just as quick with getting down. He went over to the kid and hunched down in front of him, half to comfort him and half to be a human shield.

"It's okay now kid. We won't hurt you. We'll get you out of here. I promise" He whispered to him while sending him a warm smile.

He was full on hyperventilating "No. No. Please. Get out. I don't- dad will- I don't want to have to see anyone else die- I don't want to hurt anyone- please- NoNoNoNo"

"Shhh. No one will be hurt. Just focus on my breathing okay. In and out. Deep breathes. You'll be safe soon" Roman assured. He kept one hand on the young boy's shoulder and the other hand on his gun.

Remus held the gun as still as possible against the leader's forehead. The older man didn't look away even for a second. His cold blue eyes stared at him until it felt like he was digging into him. The agent tried to glance around for a clear exit. At best he saw another entrance to the vents close to the wall on the side of the room.

"I've buried people like you before" The leader let out in a dry emotionless tone. "Even if you do get anyway it won't do much. All of the evidence will be gone except for a meek little plan I can easily manipulate away in court. You're really just delaying the inevitable"

"Not letting people die isn't doing nothing" Remus snarled back.

A smile crept up on his face "Letting people die does just a little"

He pressed down on a hidden panel on his chair. All Remus could see was that it was some sort of controller before hearing a muffled shout. He spun around in time to see Roman sitting with his arms around the kid. Blood was seeping out of his shoulder.

By the press of a button a panel on the wall had turned around and a mechanic gun had become visible, useable too via the panel. The gun head moved again, readjusting it's line of sight.

Logically Remus should have moved his gun back towards the leader's head. Logically he should have shot his brains out. Logically he shouldn't have made a single sound. Logically he shouldn't have shown any ounce of care or emotion (weakness), it'd been drilled into them during training after all.

But Remus wasn't thinking logically. His brother was hurt. His brother was in danger. He had to protect him.

A guttural sound of terror left his throat. It sounded like something close to his brother's name. He wasn't fast enough. There was nothing he could. He watched as the bullet went into Roman's chest.

Remus didn't reach him. There was a hit to the back of his head. The hit was hard enough to make it feel like his brain split apart. He was already unconscious as he fell down on the ground. He was just close enough so the blood from his brother reached him.

--

The moment Remus awakened again his heart immediately began to beat fast enough so he could hear it. He wanted to yell out for his brother before he'd even had time to open his eyes.

The fear calmed won just a bit when he did look up and saw Roman, thank god he saw Roman, laying next to him. He didn't calm down completely because his brother was visibly hurt. Hurt badly.

There were swelling on his cheeks from soon to be bruises and his right eye had closed completely from a black eye. Blood had dried around the wound on his shoulder and the one on his chest was still bleeding. Thankfully it hadn't hit his heart but it was still heavily bleeding. The kid's hoodie had been pressed against the wound. His left leg from the knee down had been mangled and turned the wrong way.

Remus had rope tied around his wrists and ankles. They hadn't even bothered to tie Roman's ankles. Even with all the injuries his twin tried to send him a weak smile.

"don't speak too loudly" He whispered out. His breathing was uneven and raspy.

Normally Remus would have screeched in defiance. Now he glanced around the room while making his every move as quiet as possible.

The leader and his son were still in the room. The leader was polishing a knife. There were multiple knives and other gratuitous tools laid out across the table. Oh god he'd only kept them alive to make them suffer until death as much as possible.

When he turned back to Roman there were tears in his brother's eyes. His smile was strained.

"I was going to resign"

Roman let out a sob as his smile disappeared. It only left an expression filled with pain.

"I-I never really wanted t-this! I just- I didn't know what else I would be. Re I was planning to make this my last mission. I don't know if I want to be an actor. But fuck at least I-I want to be an actor ten times more than I want to be an agent"

Remus tried to move closer. He wanted to reach out and hold his brother. Comfort him. Tell him half the things he said didn't make sense.

"You- What-" He let out a nervous chuckle "Ro-bro what are you talking about?"

At first there was no reply. Just a choked back sob. Roman moved closer and stared at the ropes around Remus' wrists. Anything was better than looking at his face. He moved his hands to try and untangle the ropes.

"You have to hug mom for me. And tell her I love her. And hug Lucy a-and Macey and Amita-" Roman closed his eyes, tried to force back another wave of tears "-And Everyone on the island. All of them. And the people at the theater. A-And everyone in Q branch a-and Oh god Q. Please hug Q- Logan. Hug Logan for me. Please. And Patton and M even though he will hate it. Please. I wish I'd known. I just want to be able to say goodbye at least. I just-"

"Shut up you dork. We're getting out of here. I'll just carry you. What's some old weak boned guy and some kid gonna do against us"

Roman glanced up at him, just for a moment, before going back to the ropes.

"Remus I-"

He coughed. His entire body shook and writhed in pain. He ignored it and continued with the ropes. Blood was coming down his lips. He was coughing up blood.

"Remus-"

Roman met his eyes this time. He didn't have to say anything more. They both knew it. Even if one of them didn't want to accept it. It'd taken at least an hour to drive here. He wasn't going to make it unless he got medical help within the next minutes. He wasn't going to- He wasn't-

Roman wasn't going to make it.

"You can't- I- I'm sure- I can-" Remus stuttered out.

"You need to take the information and get back to M alive" He pulled the ropes away from Remus' wrists "There's a vent right above us. The bitchass dragon witch is too busy with torture devices to look at us. If you go now you can-"

"You will-"

"Remus I'm already dead! The kid isn't being saved either! He's stuck here! We failed! The least you can do is try to stop more death!"

"But you will-"

"Please I need you to survive" Roman pressed the USB drive into his hands. His hands were shaking "I-I'm trying to stay strong to make this easier for you b-but-" He let out a shakey sob "I just want to hug mom again. I want us to-to- I- I need you to survive. I need you to stay alive. Please. If I know you survive I can attempt to die in peace. I can't- I can't-" It continued into incoherent sobbing.

They couldn't hug each other, the leader would realize they were awake if they did. All they could do was press their hands together. They held onto each other's hands so tightly it hurt. Neither wanted to let go.

"....I love you...I wish- I don't- I just want you to- I love you" Remus choked out through tears.

Somehow Roman mustered a smile "I love you too" He wiped a tear away from his twin's cheek "I'm sorry. I wish I could stay with you. Please go. Please survive"

Remus tightened his grip on his hand for one last second. He wished he could drag it out. Even Continuing to exists in this moment of misery sounded better than spending the rest of his life without him.

He forced his hands away and sat up. Heuntied the ropes around his ancles in one rushed pull. He heard a yell from behind him. He jumped up and grabbed onto the vent. A bullet went past him as he climbed in.

He continued to cry as he hurried away. He kept the USB drive in his mouth. It felt like a part of him had been ripped out. A big part. A part he needed to live.

(He wished he'd never noticed the crack in the wall. He wished he'd just left the kid to be abused. He was horrible. He just wanted his brother to be okay)

It should have been him who was left for dead. Roman had so many more people who would mourn him. He had had a future. Goals. Dreams. Relationships. Remus was replacable.

Remus pushed himself out of the vent. His lungs were burning. He was numb. There were so many emotions he'd overloaded. He couldn't even feel the cold against his skin. Only the tears against his cheeks.

He escaped the facility and ran. In the distance he could see the car. He wanted to die. He couldn't imagine a life without his brother. Roman was the one who was supposed to come back with the information to save people. Roman was the hero! It wasn't fair!

Remus wanted to stop and let the guards catch up to him. Wanted to let himself scream and sob and be killed. Wanted to hug his brother again even if the only way to hug him was if they were both dead.

Instead he forced himself survive but only because it'd been Roman's wish.

Chapter Text

The train cart was filled with silence. Remy looked at the dog tag, the dog tag which had belonged to Roman. They looked up at their husband. He was staring right through them.

"I- I'll call Q. He'll get us home" Remy hastily let out.

They didn't get a reply. Remus sat perfectly still as they talked to Q. He seemed to be looking at a ghost. Maybe he was dissociating, maybe he was reliving the death. His hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Eventually Remy got up and took his hand. They held onto him until the train got to it's next stop. Held onto him the long car ride to an airport. Held onto him the entire flight back to England. Held onto him until they back to their apartement at MI6. They knew he would break apart if they let go right now.

Remy was sure M would give them a break from missions. Remus was barely eating, much less sleeping. No one could except him to work.

And yet here they were, 2 days later in M's office. Remus actually sat in a normal position in one of the chairs which was so unusual it even made M uncomfortable. Remy sat in his lap with their arms around his shoulders to comfort him.

"-I assure you 009 that I would let you two have a break if this mission wasn't urgent. Trust me I would be very happy if you two disappeared from my sight for a while" M aka Deceit said. One of his pet snakes had made itself comfortable around his neck.

"Sure girl. What's so fucking important then?"

Deceit pushed a paper over the desk towards them "This. Your luck was in your favor 009. You brought back a document from Ron Stewart's, the man you killed, room on the train correct?"

"Girl I dunno. 75% of the time I'm just like running on instinct and iced coffee but yeah sure"

"Yes well this document talks about Stewart's company partially being bought by this company by the name of Vigur. I didn't recognize it so I asked Q to do some research and-"

"It's a vampire sex ring!" Remy guessed.

Deceit blinked at them "Close. No it's a new company, actually it hasn't even started yet. It will have an opening this week in Manchester. It's an energy company and apparently it's lead by a young new business entrepreneur. It's strange.....When Q looked him up there was nothing. No history, no photos, no educational records. Only a few articles about him and his dad and that he was the leader of Vigur"

"I didn't catch the name"

"Virgil. Virgil Viverno"

Remus suddenly moved his arms around Remy's waist so tightly their ribs hurt. He buried his head against their shoulder. His spouse' placed their hands on top of his.

Deceit looked at him varily. He really did want to let the agents go on a break, he wasn't heartless, but, well, they had a mission to finish, even if it had become an intricate one.

"I suggest you two infiltrate the opening of the company. Find any information you can because somehow this has to be connected to the killings of agents caused by....Jaws...To aid I asked Moneypenny to follow Virgil around a bit and take a few pictures so you two know who to interrogate"

Deceit called for Moneypenny aka Patton. He entered the office with a stack of photos in his hands before sitting down on the edge of the table and laying out the photos. It was all of the so called Virgil. He was sitting in a car far away in all of them so it was a bit hard to see but they got the basic gists of him having short unkept black hair and sickly pale skin.

"Aww Patty I didn't know you got to work out in the field" Remy commented.

Deceit arched his brow "Don't underestimate him"

"I might not be as good in combat as y'all are but I can be sneaky and take a few photos every now and then"

Deceit sent him an unusually warm smile "You did a good job"

Moneypenny blushed slightly "Oh shush you snakecharmer. I'm married"

Remy grabbed one of the photos and looked closer "Betting on him being gay so time for some guy drag. Just 'cause I'm like tots too lazy to get into womany attire. We'll infiltrate the party, I'll take him to his hotel room and look for anything about why this new stupid company exists"

They were quiet for a few seconds before adding with venom in their tone "Or why they murdered Picani"

Patton leaned over and patted them on their shoulder to comfort them. "Yeah it's a bit weird. I followed him around for quite a few days but he rarely ever left the house he was staying at. He never even walked around. Either he was at that house or he was driven directly to the company building. He never stayed there for long so he couldn't have been working"

"Mhm" Deceit began "It could mea-"

Remus slammed his hand down into the table.

"You're all ignoring Roman"

Patton paled a little. Deceit leaned back in his seat. They were all silent.

"I- I mean the dog tag it- it has to mean this- the company- Picani it must have something to do with Roman doesn't it- I mean- I mean- Maybe- Roman could be alive"

Remus looked around at them while holding the tag close to his chest. He didn't look mad. He just looked like a cornered animal, a hurt prey.

"Kiddo" Patton held out his hand, unsure if to comfort or reason with him.

"Killing a 00 agent is quite a big thing. I can imagine that someone would gladly take the dog tag and keep it with them as a souvenir if they'd been in the same building as where it happened. From your reports of what happened there is no chance your brother is alive" Deceit stated bluntly "It is of far greater importance to try and find this 'Jaws' guy before he kills any more 00 agents"

All of the air seemed to go out of Remus. His arms loosened around Remy. They tried to comfort him and whisper sweet nothings to him.

"M don't be so cold about it!" Patton exclaimed. "It's okay kiddo. I'm sure- Maybe- We-" He pressed his lips into a tight line and tried to think about anything positive to say. He gave up and moved to try and hug Remus at least.

Remus stood up from the chair so quickly Remy nearly fell down on the floor. He banged his hands down into the table and leaned close to Deceit. His furious brown, nearly red, eyes stared into Deceit's cold black ones.

"I'll capture Jaws and I'll drag him back here. I'll drop him right here on your bloody desk if that's what it takes to make you take me seriously. And then I Will find my brother! Even if it's just his rotten corpse!"

He stormed out of the room without another word and slammed the doors shut behind him.

--

Remus was driving a black ashton martin towards the company's building where the opening party was being held. He had on a black suit. Remy sat in the passenger seat. They had on a looser fitting black blazer with a white button up under and pants. They'd styled it with a necklace and a few rings on their fingers.

"Babe you don't have to like do this you know that right?" Remy asked while looking over to their husband "Like it's really understandable if you want a break from work or something right now with the whole Roman thing. I can handle it on my own"

"I have to.........If there's a small chance Roman is...is.....out there I have to follow up on.....And even if he's....even if he's...gone....I want to at least stop the people who...killed....him" He held onto the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white "I want to tear them apart for hours upon hours until they're begging me to kill them"

Remy took his hand and intertwined their fingers "I'll be right here beside you" They pressed a kiss to his knuckles "I'mma be cutting people apart as well!"

Remus sent them a tired smile "Mhm. Love you my rotten lil sunflower"

They scrunched their nose "Gross"

"Nu-hu! You're my dear maggot infested heart"

"And you're the human equivalent of a mad scientist's experiment going wrong"

Remus pretended to blush "Awww you're always at your A game with compliments"

"Somebody has to be"

They leaned in for a kiss before getting out of the car. The tall building had an elegant opening door made out of glass.

Remy held onto their husband's upper arm and leaned on his shoulder as they walked in. The entrance was a grand room looking outmost modern. The reception had been turned into a bar and there were cocktail tables here and there.

The opening party was mostly to establish connectioncs between CEOs and such. It was all fake smiles and empty talking between glasses of champange.

"Let's say we're here for my mom's company" Remus whispered.

"Oh yeah the super legal one with a brilliant name" Remy chuckled back.

"Don't you dishonor the name of Octopussy!" He did a dramatic pout "But we'll say we're from the hotel business side of the company and not the y'know jewel smuggling-"

"Or circus business"

"Or circus business yes"

They mingled among the crowd while looking for Virgil. It was ironic how Remy was better at talking about the Octopussy company than Remus was. He'd always been better at the smuggling part than the business part while it was the reverse for his twin. Roman had been chosen to become the full time leader of the company once their mom retired...well that had changed obviously.

Remy was in the middle of making up an elaobarate lie about Octopussy totally being besties with the owner of this company to some business men when Remus pulled them aside. He pointed over to a dark corner of the room.

"Holy shit!" Remy gasped while their eyes widened "That's a total heart-throb!"

"What- No-" Remus looked at them with a confused look before looking back at the corner.

Remy was looking at a tall, broad shouldered, muscular guy in a slick black suit. He stood near the corner with his arms crossed. They were practically looking at him with heart eyes.

"Awww babe are you trying to find me a date? He's just my type!" They said while holding onto their tall, broad shouldered, muscular husband wearing a slick black suit.

"Sorry darling dearest but I was pointing at Virgil"

Next to the muscular guy a skinny man was sitting by a lone table. He had on a black button up shirt with a purple hoodie over. There was a glass of soda in front of him.

Remy pouted "That's not as fun"

"You can try to flirt with him while you get info from Virgil" Remus moved his hand to their jaw and leaned their head up "You horndog"

"Shut up your bundle of bacteria" They teased back before leaning in to kiss him.

"A demon would be jealous of your horniness......because....y'know....demon horns"

"Girl I could walk into a public toilet and press my finger against the wall and I would get the same amount of filth on my finger from that wall as I would get from your skin"

Remus kissed them again "Love you"

"Love you too" They smiled into the kiss.

"Be careful. If I see you leave with Virgil I'll follow you and cut in if I hear anything fucked aight?"

"Got it gal!"

Their hands lingered together for an extra moment before they both willed themself to let go. Remy walked towards Virgil. They unbuttoned the top 2 buttons on their shirt, dragged up their shirt sleeves slightly and fixed their hair.

They didn't get to Virgil. The tall muscular man stopped them beforehand by grabbing onto their shoulder. They couldn't honestly say that they were complaining.

"Mr. Viverno doesn't wish to talk to any more strangers for the rest of the night. He's already had enough people try to manipulate him with sweet talking and business deals" The man, who Remy assumed was a bodyguard, said in a stern tone.

Remy sent him a cheeky smile "Aww girl I'm not here for some money talk or whateva. I just hate parties. I was forced here just as much as the next boytoy"

The bodyguard sneered at them but from over his shoulder they could see Virgil glancing at them. In the low light it was hard to see the details of his face.

"Theo it's okay. You can let him in"

Remy had a shit eating grin on their face as they gracefully sauntered past the bodyguard apparently named Theo. They slumped down on the seat on the opposite side of the table to Virgil. He seemed okay with just sitting in silence, Remy wasn't.

"I'm Diamandis. Remington Diamandis" They reached out their hand after saying the totally real and not at all made up name.

Virgil just stared at their hand "You already know my name. You wouldn't be at the opening if you didn't"

They leaned their elbows on the table "Yeah well introductions are always nice either way. Know whats not like nice? Parties. Fucking hate them" They lied.

He quickly nodded along "Everything is so....loud....there's so many peoples. I've never been to any sort of party or anything before but I already hate them"

"Impressive. If I could choose I would have tots been...." Remy tried to figure out what Virgil would react to best "Been staying in my room all alone like just calm no sounds. Sadly my daddy is like involved with this like octopussy company so I gotta be here" They saw how Virgil immediately tried to hold back a smile at the mention of the name "It's okay, you can laugh"

He covered his mouth with his hand while giggling "Sorry- Sorry it's just- that's a bad word"

"I'm aware. I've been looking to get a new daddy anyhow. Someone less boring who doesn't drag me to all these stuck up parties"

"....Through....adoption...?...Or...?"

Remy realized they were talking to an innocent lamb and quickly changed the subject "So you wanna buy us drinks? A fancy cocktail would sound nice right about now" They leaned their chin on their hands and moved closer.

"I uh I can't. Maybe some soda I dunno"

"What? You're waiting 'till marriage to drink or something"

Virgil glanced up at him "No I- I'm not allowed. I'm 15. Theo said-"

Remy reared back into their seat. The smug look on their face was instantly gone as they buttoned up their shirt all the way up. Now when they knew he was a teenager it was blatantly obvious. Suddenly they noticed the subtle acne on his face, how his arms clearly had had a growth spurt before the rest of his body, how he still kind of had baby cheeks.

"I'm sorry. You should have said- I didn't think- I'm sorry that's like tots gross of me- The lightning is really bad I couldn't see- Sorry girl" They babbled out.

"What are you apologizing for?" Virgil asked while tilting his head.

"I the adult here flirted with you- which is so disgusting and girl I'm like-"

Virgil looked like he was one step away from slamming his hands into the table and standing up "Flirting??" His eyes widened "That was flirting??"

"Indeed it was. I was close to punching you the entire time" Theo muttered while eyeing Remy.

"This is almost as cool and as when I got to try out a phone for the first time a few days ago" Virgil pointed over to Theo "He has a bunch of games on his phone. They're really fun"

Theo let out a ridiculously tired sigh "The games are just there for my kids I swear"

Remy zoned out of the conversation. The sheer weirdness of someone who apparently is a CEO 1. being a teenager and 2. not owning a phone had taken them right out. Every step of this mission seemed to make it weirder and weirder. It made their head hurt with unanswered questions.

"-my room?" Remy got forced out of their thoughts as Virgil asked them something.

"What?"

"Do you want to go to my room? I have a room on the second floor in case I ever need to stay over for the night. The place I actually live is quite far away from here" He fiddled with his sleeves "You said you would rather be in your room like ehhh being calm so I thought we could go away from all the loud people at least"

"Sure kid" Remy almost felt bad for how easily Virgil had done exactly what they wanted him to.

He got up and mumbled something to Theo before setting off towards the elevator. Remy blew Theo a kiss before waving goodbye as they walked past him. In response he gave them the middle finger, clearly showing of the wedding ring on his finger.

One short elevator ride later they were following Virgil through a long hallway. It was all cold grey walls and light that gave them a headache. It was quiet apart from the muffled sounds from the people on the first floor.

Virgil suddenly reached out and held onto the sleeve of their blazer. He looked up at them with big eyes "Have you ever touched snow?"

"....Yes-"

He held onto them harder and a smile played at the edge of his lips "Can you describe it?"

Remy was a bit taken aback by the weird question but shrugged and began to describe it. Nothing had been worse than the freezing winters with nothing but their mothers and a cheap sleeping bag to keep them warm. From the corner of their eye they caught a glimpse of Remus following them.

Virgil's smile grew wider the more they described it. His blue eyes looked at them as if they were the most knowledgable person ever. Before they knew they'd reached his room. It was mostly bare. Just a bed, a nightstand and a few boxes. The bed wasn't even comfortable as they sat down alongside the teenager.

They glanced around for anything important. Drugging a teenager so he fell asleep so they could search through his room made them feel really disgusting but at least it was better than knocking him out. Hopefully it would just feel like a quick nap. Hopefully they could hide the sleeping pill in some soda.

"Are you looking for something?" Virgil asked.

"Nah girl. Nothing. I was just-"

Remy turned back to look at him. His smile was gone and his blue eyes suddenly seemed cold. It felt like his gaze was piercing through them.

"Oh 009. You should have paid more attention" Virgil murmured.

Their blood ran cold at the mention of their 00 title. They tried to speak but realized their mouth felt numb. Their whole body felt numb and as heavy as lead.

"Do you seriously think Theo would have let you be alone with me unless he knew you were so stupid you wouldn't even care to look at the most important part of this room" He scoffed at them.

Remy fell back on the bed. Their eyelids could barely stay open as they looked up. Their eyes widened as they saw dozens upon dozens of spiders sitting on the roof.

"Ruthie is such a good girl" Virgil picked up a big black spider that had been crawling around on the covers. He patted her while talking "All it takes is a small bite from her and a human can be passed out for up to 6 hours"

Remy wanted to muster up the strenght to snarl an insult at least. Instead all they could do was fall asleep as their eyes rolled to the back of their skull.

Virgil's smile widened "Goodnight"

He let out a few more of his dear spiders crawl up on his arms. He threw the bed lamp down on the ground and let out a few fake muffled cries. It was too trick 009's equally as stupid partner to rush in.

And he did. Of course he did.

Remus stumbled into the room with a neutral expression plastered on his face. His eyes darted around the room but quickly landed on his sleeping spouse.

"Sorry! I was uh looking for the bathroom!" He threw out "Oh wow one of you is unconcious that's not good especially not while in bedrooms! Maybe I should stay"

Virgil looked at him as he was the biggest idiot on earth. A few spiders started to crawl up Remus' legs. He looked down at them and quickly shook them off before stomping on them.

"YOU FUCKER!" Virgil yelled. He shot up from the bed and closed his hands into fists. He nearly teared up at the sight of the dead spiders.

Remus took a step back and raised his hands "Hey kid I'm sorry but-"

He didn't say anything more. A harsh hit landed on the back of his neck. He immediately fell down on the ground.

The whole room was spinning. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Virgil moving to hug a person. He seemed to be lifted from the ground and spun around in the hug.

The last thing Remus heard before he passed out was Virgil happily letting out a "Jawsie!!"

Chapter Text

Remus woke up in a cold sweat. His body ached and his head seemed to be banging in rhytm with his heart. He was staring into a grey concrete wall but it was weird because the ceiling looked like the floor and the floor looked like the-

Oh. Oh he was hanging upside down. He strained himself to look upwards and there was indeed rope all around his limbs that tied him to the ceiling. He could barely even move his fingers, much less his head.

"009?" He called out. He tried not to sound too worried but failed miserably.

"008!" Remy exclaimed back. To both of their's relief it didn't sound like they were far apart.

"I'm right here. Are you okay?"

"It doesn't matter but yes I'm tots 100% good"

"It matters to me!"

Remus swung a bit back and forth in the air and to his surprise his head struck something else. "009 are you-"

"That's me alright" Remy leaned their head back so they felt each other's warmth.

For a few moments they stayed like that without saying anything. As long as they could touch each other, as long as they knew the other were there, everything felt safe.

"You're okay right? Nothing happened after I blacked out?" Remy asked.

"Nothing too bad...but...I....I think I might have been hit by Jaws. Didn't see his face though"

Remy let out a quiet gasp "Jesus fuck. The bitchy brat got Jaws and everything on his side huh"

"I'm not a brat!" Virgil's voice came from somewhere Remus couldn't see.

The agent felt hands grab his shoulders and force him around. He saw Virgil with his back turned to him, he was turning Remy around the same way so the agents were looking at each other. The enby was tied to a steel chair. There even was a rope around their neck so they could barely turn their head.

"You gonna torture us? Gonna torture us with your lil baby hands?" Remy asked with a shit eating grin. In response they got a back handed slap to the face.

Remus tried to glance around. They were in what looked like a garage that had been turned into an improptu torture chamber. Tools (knifes, hammers, guns) laid on a table and next to it stood Theo, the bodyguard.

His eyes stagnated on Virgil. His hands began to shake.

"Where you hiding your lil Jawsie now tho? Aint so scary without him" Remy continued to tease.

"Do you seriously think the two of you pose enough of a threat to need Jaws here" Virgil rolled his eyes "I'm sure he's in his box or something-"

"You- You're-"

Remus' voice was shaky as he stuttered it out. He was staring at Virgil as if he was looking at a ghost.

"I know you"

Virgil glanced at him before looking over to Theo. He let out a few dry chuckles and the bodyguard laughed along.

"You're- Virgil- You're the kid- you were there when Ro- my brother died"

A sick smile spread over his lips "Of course I was. And you're Remus. And Roman is dead"

He expected the agent to lash out. To scream and shout and try to claw his way out of the ropes just to hurt him. Virgil knew he was the reason the previous 009 got killed. It was the only logical reaction.

"I'm sorry" The genuine, nearly tearfilled, tone on Remus' voice caught him off guard "You were just a kid. I'm sorry we weren't able to help you. We- I saw how your dad treated you. Me and my brother wanted to get you out of there I promise"

The teenager took a step back. He closed his hands into fists. His nails pierced into his skin until blood dripped out.

Remus lowered his voice and tried to keep eyecontact with him "We can help you now though. If you unbound us we can knock out that big stupid bodyguard and take you somewhere safe. No one will hurt you again. I'll make sure of it"

Virgil stared at him with rage in his eyes. He grabbed onto the agent's jaw and forced his head closer. "Your brother dying was a good thing"

Remus tried to say something back but it was as if his mouth had stopped listening to his brain.

"Y'know when I was younger I would always cry like a baby whenever I saw my dad kill someone" Virgil continued in a low voice "But your brother looked so Pathetic when he died that I never cried over another death again. That was the only thing he was ever good for. Just a maggot to look disgustingly pathetic before being crushed to death"

"Shut up" Remus growled out.

"And wow! Running away like a coward was a truly amazing move! The moment you left your brother started to sob. That bastard begged my dad to let him live and everything! He just kept going until-"

"Shut up!"

"-Until his voice was so hoarse and he was so close to death all he could do was keep crying out for you. I don't even think he was aware of it! It was all just sobs about hugging you and your mom until he died! Just as he deserved!"

"HE DIDN'T DESERVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Remus yelled out "HE DESERVED A LIFE MUCH MORE THAN I DO! YOU DON'T-"

"Darling. Darling look at me" Remy said calmly.

Remus stopped and glanced over at them. Tears were welling up in his eyes. "I deserve to die more than he did-"

"Babe that doesn't matter right now. Virgil is just trying to get you emotional so you'll be more likely to say what he wants you to say. Just follow my breathing okay? In for 4. Hold for 7-"

"Out for 8. I know. I know" Remus forced out between short breaths.

"It's okay babe just-"

"You shut the fuck up!" Virgil shouted "Theo make him shut up!"

The bodyguard promptly went up behind Remy and forced their mouth open. They tried to bit his hand but was stopped when a piece of barbed wire was pulled around their head so the largest part of it laid dangerously in their mouth.

"Thanks" Virgil took a deep breathe to try and not explode with annoyance "So Remus. 008. Whatever. You got the privilege of hanging upside down because you were such a heartless Bitch and killed 3 of my spiders! That's like killing 3 baby puppies you monster!!"

He went over to the table filled with tools and picked up a crowbar. It looked a bit too heavy in his hands. He rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie and took a firm grip on the weapon, clearly ready to swing it at the agent.

"Your brother's life was worth less than my spiders, you realize that right. So you'll pay for it" He lifted the crowbar above his head "This is for-"

"Sir!" Theo interrupted "You're holding it wrong. You'll easily hurt your wrists unless you shift your right wrist and move your left hand a bit up. It'll hurt the cretin more as well"

Virgil sent him a small smile and shifted how he held the crowbar "Thanks"

He slammed it into Remus' ribcage. "This is for Max!" The next hit landed on the side of his hip "This is for Dante!" The last one landed on his arm "And this is for Charlotte!"

He lowered the crowbar while letting out heavy breathes. His black hair had fallen in front of his eyes and his mouth was twitching upwards into a smile. Remus didn't even seem bothered by the hits. It really had felt like being hit by a kid. If anything the reminder of his brother's death hurt more than Virgil beating him ever could.

"So now when we all agree that your brother deserved to die and all 00 agent's lives are worthless we can continue onto the interrogation! Theo please let the maggot speak again so I can beat the answers out of both of them"

Theo made sure the barbedwire dragged into Remy's skin as he dragged it out of their mouth. Their teeth were colored red from blood. They immediately tried to spit the blood into Theo's face and let out a fake moan when he slapped them in return.

Virgil dropped the weapon on the ground and instead pulled out two rings from his hoodie pocket "So I found these matching rings on your fingers and with my deducting skills I've come to the conclusion that they are rings made for 00 agenst and therefore super impor-"

"Ehm sir I believe those are wedding rings" Theo interrupted.

"But- but they're guys" He pointed at the agents as if Theo had missed it somehow. Virgil slumped his shoulders forward and grumbled something under his breathe "Anyhow! They're still important! So if you two don't tell me the info I want I will smash them with a hammer!!"

"You want info on how to deal with acne or something?? 'Cause girl it looks like you need it" Remy replied.

Virgil's cheeks went bright red "Shut up! What I want is M's real name! And Where MI6 keeps all their documents and files because I know you have info about me and my dad there and I want to destroy it!"

"M's real name is Gilbert Dickface!" Remus loudly announced. He forced a fake smile on.

"That's not a real name you...you....idiot!"

He held out his hands while an angry grimace played on his face. Theo happily handed him a large hammer. The teenager laid out the rings on the table and made sure the agents were looking at them before smashing them to bits.

Neither of them even winced. Remus' mom was literally a jewel smuggler. This just meant they got to have yet another romantic ring choosing date.

"Want to try some malachite stones this time 009?"

"I would love to 008"

Virgil pouted and dropped the hammer on the floor. He picked up a knife instead. He grabbed onto Remy's jaw and pulled their head close.

"Alright you're going to tell me or I will cut up your stupid Remus"

Remy had a smug smile on their face "Sure Jan"

"Can I request a cooler torture scene?" Remus asked "Maybe a shark pool....red laser table.....giant hotel slowly being put on fire....Being strapped to a rocket and launched into space without a space suit if I don't say the info sounds cool! Just some suggestion! Totally brainstorming here!"

Virgil hit him over the face with the back of the knife. "Maggots like the people at MI6 don't deserve to have info about me or my dad. I want it gone as soon as possible so tell me!"

"Your bitch of a dad can go shove a cactus so far up his ass it comes out of his nose!" It'd hadn't been that hard for Remus to put together that if Virgil was the kid who'd been there when Roman died then his dad had to be the leader of Enfuel...Aka the man who'd murdered his brother.

"Shut up!!"

"Girl Isn't that like the opposite of what you want us to do. Real bad interrogation you got going on otherwise. Can't even call this torture"

"I'll hurt Remus if you don't stop saying such stupid things you maggot!"

"Maybe your daddio should have sent out someone better to interrogate us. I mean like no offense girl but you aint exactly threatening. You're as short as like a 12 year old and your voice is cracking like supa intensly"

Virgil didn't even bother to reply. He sent them an angry look while cutting the knife deep into Remus' shoulder. The agent tried to focus on the sight of Remy to ignore the pain.

"Sorry babe" 009 said.

"It's okay dear. I've had worse. I'll just get another sick scar!"

Remy looked over to the teen "What I'm wondering more is how the hell you know 008's name but you don't know mine"

Virgil stagnated and glanced over to Theo. His smile grew a bit, showing off his sharp yellow teeth. Theo broke out into a laugh. A cold and controlled one. The kind you could imagine hearing before being shot to death.

"Oh you can't be serious" Theo exclaimed between chuckles "How can you expect your husband to be a 00 agent and not be known among the underworld when he's the son of James Bond!"

Remus froze "Exscuse you I don't acknowledge that cunt as my parent! I've never even met the guy! I was raised by 1 mother and her many many girlfriends and wifes! If anything you should know my name 'cause of my link to the Octopussy conglomerate!"

"You mister should be happy I don't know you because you're an octopus pussy or whatever" Theo replied "Literally every professional henchman I've met at least knows someone who's been fucked over by the Bond bitch before he disppeared. I know at leats 2 guys! One of which is dead because of him!"

"Exactly!" Virgil added "Honeslty when Theo told me about this Bond guy I thought you would be harder to catch. But nope! Easy as murdering a baby!"

"I'm glad I'm nothing like my 'dad'!" Remus spat back "For one I'm gay so I won't go around and imprenate women I don't give a shit about! And secondly I'm ace so I won't be impregnating anyone!"

"I literally do not give a flying fuck!" Virgil replied "All I care about is getting you two to talk"

Virgil's eyes darted around the room before stopping on Remy. He stared at them as if his eyes would pierce through their skull.

"You know what-"

His stare was cold as he stabbed the knife deep down into Remus' thigh.

It was enough to make Remus let out a whine. He bit his tounge and gritted his teeth to keep himself silent. Blood was already running down from the wound. He could hear it dripping down onto the floor.

"Since you clearly don't care if I hurt him-"

Virgil left the knife in the agent's thigh. He moved his hand into his hoodie's inner pocket and took out a pistol. He held it up against Remus' forhead. The metal was cold against his skin.

"I'll just kill him if you don't tell me the adress of where all of MI6's info is"

Remy glanced at Remus. He was starting to look lightheaded from hanging upside down and the slow blood loss. They bit back bile that had formed in their throat from seeing their love in pain.

"You'll just kill him anyway" They replied coldly "And I doubt your bitchass could even-"

Theo hit them at the back of their head so hard it left them dizzy. He pushed past them and grabbed onto the barrel of the gun. With a twist of his wrist he'd forced it out of Virgil's hand.

"I do the killing"

"I can do it!! I'm not some wimp! They're just things in our way anyway! Their deaths mean nothing!"

Theo hunched down slightly so they were eye to eye "Kid. Go. To. Jaws. I'll come get you in 20 minutes. You can choose what's for dinner afterwards okay?"

"Even waffles?"

"Even waffles yes"

Virgil rolled his eyes "Fine. But if you don't come back with their maggot blood on your hands I'll let Jawsie chew them up!"

"Sure kid" Theo moved to ruffle his hair but Virgil had already turned to storm out of the room.

Theo waited until the sound of footsteps were further away while slowly rolling up his sleeves. Normally Remy would have made some crude joke but the numb look in the man's eyes as he checked the gun made them bite their tounge. It wasn't that he'd killed before, they all had, it was that he saw it as just another day of work.

"The address please" He said coldly. The gun was pressed to Remus' temple.

"It's up your ass!" Remus chuckled out. His eyes were blood shot from hanging upside down.

Without hesitating Theo picked up the crowbar and slammed it into Remus' ribs. He hit hard enough so even Remy could hear a bone break in two. The agent bit into his cheek to keep himself quiet but pained whimpers still slipped out.

"For every thing either of you say that isn't the answer I want I will break another one of his ribs. And once I'm done with the ribs I'll move onto the fingers. You get the deal" Theo warned.

Remy gripped onto the wooden arm of the chair so hard their knuckles turned pure white. Their legs were desperatly straining against the ropes.

"You're favoriting him! You're getting your rocks off to hurting the 'son of Bond' or whatevs. Just- just don't just- You can hurt me instead!"

Theo shook his head "Didn't I just tell you what would happen-" He hit the crowbar into the agent's side once more. Remus couldn't stop a hoarse yell from leaving his mouth. "If I didn't get my answer!"

The bodyguard playfully poked at the agent's broken ribs. Remus did a feeble attempt at biting his hand which only resulted in Theo punching him so hard he got a nosebleed.

Remy glanced between Theo's stone cold expression and Remus' bloddy face and vacant eyes. They gritted their teeth together in thought.

Remus let out shallow breaths as his bones ached. With each gust of wind that rocked him back and forth in the air his ribs cracked and hurt. When he closed his eyes all he could see was Roman.

"Okay okay gal I-I-" Remy began.

Theo gripped onto the crowbar.

"WAIT NO STOP!" Remy's voice was shrill and desperate "I'll say just- just- I know once either of us says somethang you're probs gonna kill one of us and keep the other to try and I dunno torture more info out of? keep as inscurance-"

"Get to the point. I don't have all day. I have a traumatized teenager to look after"

"008 has been an agent longer than I have. He knows more. So- please- just- if you're gonna shoot someone just shoot me instead. Please" Remy begged.

Remus' eyes widened. He tried to fight himself free from the restraints "No! No! Don't hurt them!"

Theo looked between and seemed to think for a moment before turning towards Remy. He grabbed a handful of their hair and forced their head back. The barrel of the gun got pressed against their neck, his hand laid dangerously on the trigger.

Remus kept screaming for him to stop. To not hurt his lover. To please just kill him instead. Tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"Say the address" Theo said with a cold tone "Don't worry. I won't hurt your husband more than I have to. Even if he's the son of Bond, I can't imagine how I would feel if someone hurt my wife"

Remy shone up into a sly smile "Oh trust me, you won't have to apologize"

They thrust their entire body back making the chair jolt back too. Theo let go of them out of surprise. Remy took the chance and used the momentum to move themself forward. They put all their power on their toes and lunged forward.

Their forehead crashed into Theo's head. The bodyguard stumbled back as Remy, along with the chair, fell down on the ground.

Remus took his chance. Adrenaline was spearing him on as he swung forward in the air and bit onto Theo's right ear.

He didn't let go even as Theo fumbled his handss around. Remus forced his teeth down and ripped his ear straight off.

Theo let out a pained scream. Remy pushed their hands against the ground to make themself and the chair move to slam right into the back of Theo's knees. He fell down on the ground.

Remy didn't even give him a chance to get up. They landed the chair over his head. A whimper was all that got out before Theo passed out. Blood was running from where his ear used to be.

The agents looked at each other and smiled. Remus spit out the ear and it morbidly landed on the ground.

Remy managed to crawl over to the nearest knife. Their wrist nearly popped out of it's socket with the way they had to bend it to cut the ropes but it was worth it. They quickly cut the rest of the ropes and got up.

"I'm so glad you're okay honey. I love you" Remus beamed.

"Love you too. With all my heart"

They held onto his shoulders as they cut the ropes so when he fell down they lightened his fall. He tried to stand up but his knees buckled umder him. The knife was still stuck in his thigh and it felt like needles were being pressed into his ribs. Choked back whimpers left his throat.

the couple held onto each other in silence for a few seconds. Remus cupped their cheeks and kissed their forehead while crying. Remy tried to send him a warm smile but couldn't help but worry about his injuries

"Should we kill him?" Remy whispered while glancing over at Theo.

"He has a family. We can't. We should-"

Remus never got time to finish the sentence. Loud footsteps came from the other side of the door.

Chapter Text

Loud footsteps came from the other side of the door. The agents glanced at each other with panic in their eyes. Remus put his hand over his mouth to quiet his heavy breathing.

"Theo!!" Virgil's shrill voice rang out "You better have killed the maggots! I'm coming with Jawsie! He wants waffles too!!"

Remy reached out and grabbed the gun laying next to Theo's passed out body while looking around the room for a way out. Their eyes landed on something hidden in the garage's corner under a dirty sheet of fabric.

They stood up and helped Remus up on his feet. He nearly fell over again but he moved his arm around their neck and leaned his weight onto them. Blood was still seeping out from the wound on his thigh but if they tried to take the knife out the bleeding would only worsen.

A knock came from the door "Theo?? Theo you're done right? I don't want Jawsie to smell some blood and go all murdery"

Remy didn't have time to wonder if their husband even could walk. They dragged him along over to the sheet of fabric. Under the sheet was an old rusty moped. The key was already put in.

"Okay. Okay we. We just" Remus was practically slurring his words out. He had to stop to let out heavy breaths "You drive. I-I take the gun and I sit behind you and I shoot anyone who follows us"

"Babe I can't drive. I've never even like taken a class!"

"You've played mario kart. Close enough"

"Girl even I know mario kart aint even close to real driving!"

"It's fine. Just think back to our wedding night" ah yes the 1 time Remy had won 10 to 0 against Remus in mario kart. (what better way to spend a wedding night when the groom was ace than to play mario kart?)

Remy sighed as they sat down. Remus pretry much collapsed onto the seat behind them. He held onto them with shaking hands. He was sickly pale which was hard to do with his skin tone.

The door swung open suddenly. Remy put their foot down onto the pedal. They screamed as the moped swung into action and drove towards the wall.

They put all their weight on the pedal and shielded their face as the moped crashed through the wall and continued out into the street.

Bits of now broken wood was flying around them as they continued to scream. Out of the corner of their eye they saw Virgil running up to Theo. Behind him, in the shadows, a dark figure was looming. The only part of him Remy could see clearly was the glistening from his metal teeth. It was Jaws.

Remy turned back to look at the road. It seemed like they had been at a random house in the suburbs. Perfectly non conspicious. The moped zigg-zagged over the road.

"Someone- car- car following us" Remus forced out between pained whines.

In the rearview mirror a black car that had been parked outside the house was visibly chasing them "Don't worry. We'll be fine....hopefully"

Remy's thoughts was going haywire thinking about the best course of action. Their husband wasn't in any shape to try and shoot back at the car. They were driving like a drunk kangaroo so driving on main roads could hurt other people. But driving on the main roads would probably force the car to stop following them.

A turning point was coming fast towards them. In the last moment Remy turned to the left and out onto the main street. With their small vehicle they easily blended in among the crowd. They didn't stop driving on full gas until the car had been out of their sight for over 20 minutes.

They took a few deep breaths and looked around. By now the clean and mind-numbingly similar suburbs were gone, replaced with slowly rotting 3 story buildings and old alleys.

They squinted at a building they drove by. "Hey I think I know were we like are! A guy gave me like head behind that building and then the day after he showed up on the news as a wanted serial killer. Ain't forgetting that!"

No joke or mutter about how every part of England looked the same came from Remus. It was all just strained breathing. Remy glanced back and saw that his eyes had rolled back into his skulls. The only reason he hadn't fallen off yet was because all his weight was leaned onto his spouse.

Remy let out a short squeal of panic. They tried to keep the steering straight while forcing their belt off. They managed to move the belt around both of their waistes and tied it together so it was keeping Remus on the moped.

"It's okay dear. Everything will be okay. You'll be okay. Just hold on" They whispered to him.

Their and their mother's house shouldn't be too far away if they were walking. They knew a lot of shortcuts after all. But Remus was far too heavy to carry.....

Remy looked over to a tight alley they usually walked through. They took a sharp turn and nearly ran a guy over to get into it. The bike got close to knocking into the wall and without thinking they pushed their elbow against the wall to push it away. A quiet scream left their mouth as the skin on their elbow was scrapped off, leaving a bloody mess.

It felt like their neck was tightening until they could barely breathe as all they could hear was their husband's pained whines.

The sight of their home filled them with so much relief they nearly crashed into a stop sign. Remy was able to stop the bike next to the house and untied the belt around them. Remus fell down onto the ground. There was a small staircase leading up to the porch and entrance of the house.

Remy grabbed onto Remus' arms and tried to drag him up the stairs but their hands were shaking too much to get him anywhere. Tears filled their eyes.

"Mom!" They yelled out. "Mom I-I-"

The door opened and a very worried Lucy appeared, closely followed by Fray. Sadly it wasn't the first time the agents had shown on up on their doorstep badly hurt.

"Mom he- he's- he's not awake"

Lucy hunched down and pressed her finger to Remus' neck. She cupped Remy's cheeks and wiped a few tears away "It's okay honeybee. He's breathing"

Fray lifted Remus's upper body and with Lucy's help they carried him up the stairs and into the living room.

Fray promptly proceeded to drop Remus head first down on the ground. No sign of waking up came from him. The woman cracked her knuckles before giving him one hell of a bitch slap.

Remus sat up. His eyes were wide awake "Ma'am!"

It took a moment before the feeling of his injuries caught up to him. He started to howl in pain while his body writhed in agony. Remy took his hand. His skin was cold against theirs.

"Darling?" he looked at them with vacant bloodshot eyes.

"Right here. Just stay awake you're doing so good" They turned to their moms "Is the first aid still in the bathroom?"

"Of course"

"Aight. Help me carry him"

They sat down Remus with his back leaned against the bathtub. Lucy gave him a painkiller before her and Fray left to guard the front door just in case.

"Remy-berry?" Remus slurred out while staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm here. I'll take the knife out alright? Alright"

They used a scissor to cut off his pant leg so no fabric would come into the wound. They moved Remus' hand to grab onto their shoulder so he had something to inevitable hold onto.

Remy laced their fingers around the knife's handle. With each small moment more blood dripped out. They could hear the flesh move.

In one quick motion they tore the knife out of his thigh. Remus threw his head back, his eyelids shut tightly as his teeth gritted together. His nails pierced down into Remy's shoulder, turning their pale skin red.

It only got worse as Remy carefully disinfected the wound. Sweat was making Remus' forehead glisten like a newly polished pearl. The pain was making him dizzy.

The gaping wound left behind was close 2 inches wide. Remy fumbled around in the first aid kit for a needle and a thread. They pulled his skin together with their bare fingers as they pierced the needle through the first patch of flesh. It was good that they'd stitched before, including skin, it didn't take long into the bloody mess was as closed as it could get.

They dabbed a wet cloth against the wound. The floor right under his leg got colored pink. Remus' mumbled out something incomprehensible out as Remy took out a roll of bandages. They swiftly covered the wound in bandages.

They didn't give themself a movement to breathe out, instead moving on to taking off his shirt. Just the simple act of lifting his arms made his broken ribs ache enough so it felt like he was going to puke. They let him dig his nails down into their shoulder again as they wrapped the bandages around his upper body.

"I think- I think I'm done" Remy sighed "You feeling better?"

Remus took their hand and intertwined their fingers. He stared at something far away while nodding.

"Aight. Cool. CoolCoolCool"

"You're....you're..elbow bleeding" He forced out. His eyelids were close to closed.

"It's fine"

Remy dabbed the cloth against their elbow while looking at their husband. His chest was a portrait of scars patched together by glimpses of unhurt skin. It ranged from long white scars still protruding after years of healing to small purple ones only visible in certain lighting.

In contrast Remy barely had any signs left of injuries. Aside from a scar left from a shot wound they looked like they'd never been hurt. Sometimes they felt guilty that he took all the injuries for them.

Remus let out a tired laugh while tracing his hand over the bandages. Remy looked up at him.

"What's so funny babe?"

"Nothing. I just-" He put on an annoyed expression while mimicking Deceit's voice "Oh 008 I see you've gotten yet another scar blah blah I've worked for triple the years you have and yet the only scars I have are the ones from my top surgery OHOHOH!"

Remy chuckled and mimicked their boss' voice as well "Oh you think your job is hard??? I inherited the M position all while beggining to transition and taking care of 2 kids"

They both broke out into equally as exhausted laughter.

"I'm keeping the knife by the way" Remus added.

"Obviously" They squeezed his hand "Sleep time?"

He let out a long relieved sigh "PLEase"

Remy moved their arms around him and helped him up on his feet. He leaned most of his weight on his uninjured leg and the rest on his spouse.

They left the bathroom and were greeted by Fray and Lucy alongside Lucia and Róse who'd hurried home as soon as Lucy had called. They swarmed around the agents. Worried questions interweaved with hugs and cupped cheeks.

Remy wanted to stay in the hug until it turned into a giant cuddle pile like usual but Remus was looking like he would pass out if as little as a gust of wind touched him so they excused themself.

Their bedroom was next to the stairs on the first floor. The only thing that had really changed about it since they moved was that they'd bought a queen sized bed after meeting Remus.

They helped their husband lay down. No matter how he layed his ribs continued to hurt. And yet he fell asleep almost the moment his head hit the pillow.

Remy sat beside him for a few minutes. They let themself breathe out. The room was quiet. They could still feel the blood on their fingers.

They moved to get up. They should probably talk to their moms. They should probably scrub their hands raw to try and get the feeling of blood away. They'd barely gotten to the edge of the bed when a quiet mumble made them stiffen.

"Roman" Remus still had his eyes closed but his hand was moving to grab onto them "Roman don't leave" He whined out while deep in sleep.

They looked at his shaking hand and forgot all about leaving bed. They let him grab onto them and laid down beside him. he pressed himself close to them, fully burying his face into their chest. His arms laced around them and his hands dug down into their skin as if he was afraid they would disappear otherwise. It hurt but Remy didn't try to move him away.

"Don't leave" He mumbled again.

"I'm right here. I won't go, I promise"

--

Remus woke up with an aching headache and a body that felt like it'd been dragged through a lake of stones for the past 2 days. The pillow was wet from sweat and the blanket had twisted around him.

The room was filled with warm sunlight and next to him sat Remy. They stroked their hand through his hair while holding a gossip magazine in the other. On the nightstand stood a tray of breakfast food and, of course, coffee which Lucia had dropped off.

"G'mornin you tall pile of worms formed into a human" Remus mumbled while rubbing his eyes.

"Goodmorning you disgusting dribble of horrendous ideas" Remy leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. Remus leaned his head up so they instead kissed him on the lips. "Oh so we're having a kissy day?"

"Mhm" (With how ace he was kissing on the lips was a bit here and there sometimes).

He moved to sit up but Remy immediately put their hands on his shoulders and forced him to lay down again. "You just slept for like 15 hours babe. Thought you'd gone into a coma or somethang. You ain't leaving that bed for like days! And once you do there's gonna be crutches....Bitch!"

Remus held his hands up "Alright alright. Don't shoot me. I won't leave bed. Though I am glad to have such a handsome nurse taking care of me"

He sent them a smug smile. They did a dramatic pout. He moved to kiss them but stopped midway as it suddenly felt like needles were pushing in on his ribs. He doubled over in pain while whining.

Remy tried to help him to a position that wouldn't strain his broken ribs. They took out a painkiller from the first aid kit beside the bed and put it on his tounge. They cuddled him while waiting for the meds to kick in.

"Wanna watch some movie? Even one of those you've already shown me like 6 times when you were like hyperfixated" Remy suggested.

"I want to interrogate Virgil so I can murder his dad" Remus replied bluntly.

"We can like think 'bout that once you've recovered" They leaned closer and pressed a kiss to the edge of his kiss "Right now the only like dad...dy you should focus on his right here"

Remus didn't look at them "It all feels like a waste of time"

Remy thought for a moment before getting up and getting a notebook. They sat down crossed legged on the bed "Aight girl if nothing but work will cheer you up let's just like try to clear the whole mission up. Like babe I dunno if I'm just stupid but I'm confused as fuck. And I know you know more than me"

"Sure-"

"I mean like only if you wanna talk about it like I don't wanna make you like all crying and stuff"

"Dear it's fine. A bunch of people had to interrogate me about the details of Roman's death right after it happened. I can handle talking about it" He lied. He kept scratching at his wrists to try and stim the want to break down away.

"Cool. So like where do we start?"

It took a while and a lot of notes until they'd made up some sort of timeline of events. A lot of things were still a mystery. Such as why there were no records of Virgil existing before now or why the leader of Enfuel, his dad, would have given him his company. But no matter what it all came back to Enfuel and the man who had murdered Roman.

"Dad- Bond would have been able to keep Roman alive" Remus muttered out.

"Don't say that"

Remus hid his face in his hands and sighed. He didn't respond.

"Aight so in short. The leader of Enfuel went off the radar for like years after....after the..death...and before that he was like planning to take away like thousands of people's water and electricity for unknown reasons. And now his son who like no one has heard of has gotten his own company and both Virgil's supposed company and Enfuel is expanding and taking over other companies. And also Virgil is a brat who barely knows anything about like normal human stuff and has a bodyguard, Theo, who follows him. Aaaand Jaws is killing agents who are investigating the company. Missed anything?"

"Sounds right"

"Good. Gonna call Logie tomorrow 'bout next step in the mission...AFTER you've recovered!!!!" Remy closed the notebook and tossed it aside. They laid down beside Remus and sent him a smile "You gotta get that sour look of ya face. I know just the thing. How about weeee" They took out pills of the first aid kit and showed them off "get high of morphine and make out?"

Remus' vacant expression didn't change. He closed his eyes and kissed them "Sure"

--

Remus was bedridden for the next 4 days. The house was never quiet. The first floor hosted the bedrooms for the moms and Remy, the kitchen and the living room. If the ladies were home there would usually be music playing or the tv was on or laughter could be heard and so forth. The second floor hosted several bedrooms, more like free hotel rooms really. The ladies let homeless people they'd met live there until they could get them more help. Those rooms were also rarely quiet.

It all gave Remus a headache. Even if he could he didn't have the energy to leave bed. When Fray asked him if he wanted to watch a gorey but cheesy 80's action film with her her words just sounded like static. Instead of finding Lucia reading aloud to him calming like he usually did it made him exhausted enough to want to sleep for days.

Sometimes he dragged himself out of bed just to hear the things he usually did from afar. He sat on the staircase and listened as Remy and their mothers baked. (Remy was ridicolously vocal about how much they loathed all kinds of housework including cooking and baking.....but they still did it with their moms just to spend time with them)He laid in bed and listened as the others had movie nights and 'spa days' that he'd said no to.

All it took was overhearing the others watching a disney movie for him to be unable to stop sobbing for the next hour.

Two weeks or so later Remus was sitting in the garden. He'd been aimleesly throwing glass bottles at the fence for the past half hour. He liked the sound of the glass being smashed.

"You better not be hurting any of my tomato plants with that" Lucy's calm voice came from behind him. She sat down next to him.

"I'll try. I'm planning on taking all the glass pieces and painting them and putting them together into a statue of the man who murdered Roman and then I will smash the statue with a hammer and create a new statue of the man with the new pieces and repeat that until I actually get to kill him in real life!"

Lucy blinked at him "That sounds....very creative hunbun. Rem said another one of your wedding rings had been destroyed. Is this the 3rd? 4th time?"

"Fifth"

"Honeypuff You got to be more careful. Me and Lucia haven't lost a single ring in all of our years"

"Well our lives are just a tiny bit more dangerous sooo"

"Wish it wasn't"

For a while it was silent. Sounds from the house could be heard and the crashing of the glass kept ringing out but besides that they were both lost in their own thoughts.

".....You've been quiet" Lucy finally said "I mean hun I can't remember a movie night where you didn't try to make us watch one of those gorey things much less where you didn't even be there" She looked over to him "Are you okay?"

Remus dug his fingernails down into his skin "Sometimes...Sometimes I just kinda wish my mom lived over here, like you do. Or like that she wouldn't be so busy all the time. I mean- I- I get it. I just-"

He let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes with the back of his palms. Lucy reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I - Having her here would just I dunno. I would feel like ripping off my face less I guess"

"Oh dear yeah that must be rough.....Even if your mother isn't here you still always have us here. Deary I know it's not the same as your actual family but reminder that you've been a part of our lil family ever since we met you"

"Don't say that. Of course you're as much of my family as everyone on the floating palace....Thanks"

Remus glanced over at her. Lucy sent him a small smile. He slowly moved to lean against her chest. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her chin on top of his head. She gently stroked her hand up and down his back.

"Oh and also I haven't taken my antidepressants in many many days!" Remus added "That might be making the whole ehhh PAin worse"

Lucy let out a gasp while grabbing onto his shoulders and shaking him around "Those are important!! KIDDO!!!! You're going to go in and take them! Now! That's a mom order!"

Remus did a half hearted salute "Yes ma'am"

She gave him a kiss on the forehead before he stood up. She stayed in the garden to take care of her plants while he took his crutches and went into the house. Jazz music was coming from the kitchen.

Lucia was pouring something into a stew while quietly humming along to the music. Róse and Remy sat by the kitchen table. They were helping each other with doing their nails. The enby shone up when their husband slumped down in the chair next to them. Remus gave them a gentle kiss before leaning his head on their shoulder.

"Girl look who decided to come outa his grumpy lil mancave" Róse exclaimed "Wanna get your nails painted?"

Remus held out his hands as if he was a zombie. She picked a bright green color for him.

Remy gently bumped their head into his "You good?"

"Yeah I uh. Just missing mom and...like stuff....ribs all fucked"

"I know"

"Really fucked"

"Aware"

"Like if someone put a dildo on a drill and drilled it into someone's ass levels of fucked" Remus rambled out.

"Sounds like a nice scenario" Remy and Róse said at nearly the same time.

Lucia sat a chopping board and some vegetbles next to him since she knew he liked pretending to be a mad scientist chopping up body parts with his giant knife. She ruffled his hair "Well kiddo your ribs are going to heal and you can just call your mom y'know. Me and Fray talked to her last night. She invited us over to the palace for Christmas like usual"

Remus bit the inside of his chin for a few quiet seconds before quietly admitting"I....I don't think it's my mom I'm missing"

The room turned quiet aside from the music. Everyone knew who he meant. None of them had met Roman and yet...yet it felt like static had filled parts of the room where someting- someone was supposed to be whenever he was mentioned.

Remus glanced around and quickly burted out "Sorry seems like bees are eating my brain again haha. I just forgot antidepressant I'm just-"

Remy's smacked their hand into the table "Girl! I knew I'd forgotten somethang! I'll get them"

They moved to get up but Remus grabbed onto their arm so hard his nails nearly dug through their skin.

"Don't Leave!"

His eyes were wide and his heart was beating out of his chest. Both Lucia and Róse had stopped what they were doing midmotion and was looking at him. Remy slowly sat down.

"Okay....not leaving"

Remus pulled his hand back as if their skin had burned him "Sorry. Sorry" He leaned against them and buried his head against their shoulder. He shut his eyes so tightly it hurt "Sorry"

"Babe it's okay"

"Sorry. I just. I can't take anyone leaving right now. I can't take being alone. Sorry"

Chapter Text

"You sure your ribs are fine?" Remy asked.

"Yes. You don't have to keep asking" Remus grumbled back.

He kept tapping his finger on the steering wheel. They sat in a slick black car parked just right so they could see the entrance to Virgil's supposed company. A few hours ago they'd seen the teenager and his bodyguard walk in but they hadn't left yet.

If Remy had choosen Remus would have stayed home to recover for a few more weeks. But no their husband was so stubborn he just had to continue the mission even though he could barely walk properly.

Remus leaned towards them "I would much rather hear you ramble about some more gossip than hear you worry about me. Spill the tea y'know"

"Pff I've already told you all 'bout the gossip for hours"

Their husband let out an overly offended gasp "How dare you ever imply that I wouldn't want to hear you talk on and on for even more hours!!"

He took their hand and pressed a kiss to it before slowly moving up their arm all while giving gentle kisses. Finally he pressed a big passionate one to their cheek. He smiled when he heard Remy giggle and felt their cheeks heat up from blushing.

Remy held onto the collar of his shirt to pull him closer. Their lips graced each other "Maybe you should spend the time thinking 'bout what you'll get me for our 4th anniversary"

"OHOHO babe it's gonna be spectacular!"

"Better be"

He leaned in to start a make out session and or infect them with his bad breathe, but instead his lips crashed into Remy's jaw as they suddenly turned their head. They pointed out the window.

"VIRgil!"

Virgil was indeed leaving the company building. Theo was walking a few steps in front of him and was pretty much dragging him along by the sleeve of his hoodie to a car. Remus quickly sat back in front of the wheel and started the car.

"Just a teenager but already a talented cockblocker. Impressive"

While Remus drove after the car Remy checked so all of their weapons were ready to go. They still had the small explosives and poison pills Logan had made them. Remus had broken the laser pen a few days ago when he'd tried to use it to shave. The car with virgil stopped for a few minutes outside of a waffle house before continuing towards the edge of town.

It drove down to the harbor and stopped outside of a tall metal gate. Theo rolled down the window and talked to the guy in charge of the gate and soon they were let in. Remus parked behind a fish shop so they were hidden.

"Aight I texted Logie the coordinates. He said that stuff behind the gate belongs to Enfuel. No idea what though" Remy informed.

Remus looked at them "You think you can get us in?"

"I know I can"

They gave him a quick kiss before moving to the back seat. They opened a suitcase and started taking out clothes and makeup products. They handed their husband a slick suit.

"I'll do the lying. You can be my bodyguard so just like stay behind me and look pretty" Remy said while using bronzer to make their cheekbones look higher.

"I'm great at looking pretty!....I think"

"You are!!! Also babe they're tots gonna have cameras so I gotta get you looking different. They know our faces kay"

Remus happily nodded along. He sat still while Remy gave him a quick make over and glued a fake mustache onto his real mustache so he looked like a different person. It made his mustache tickle.

After changing their clothes (and hiding a ridiculous amount of weapons under their suits) they got out of the car. Remy put on a confident swagger as they went up to the person controlling the gate. Remus stood back and admired them as they effortlessly made up lie after lie about who they were and why they should be let in.

It didn't take long until the guard opened the gate and they walked in. Remus nearly stopped in his steps out of sheer surprise at how big the place was. It did look like quite the usual harbor with boats, rusty storage buildings and enough people running around so no one took notice of them. At the farthest away part of the harbor a bigger, more modern looking, storage bulding towered.

"We're not leaving until we find info about where Roman's murderer is. Or at least what he's planning" Remus muttered out.

"Dunno babe. Like of course I wanna find him but maybe we should be looking for Virgil. I mean he is just a kid. Maybe-"

"We can take care of that later" There was a far away rage in Remus' eyes as he stared out at the harbor.

Remy patted his arm "Sure babe"

They began to aimlessly look around the harbor. Remus moved to hold their hand without thinking about it but Remy moved their hand away.

"We're undercover. No handholding"

"Aww" Remus pouted "Which modern business person isn't romantically involved with their bodyguard"

Remy looked at his begging pouty face and chuckled while playfully shoving him away. They were about to give him a quick kiss when they saw someone in the crowd.

"Theo!" They exclaimed while pointing. The bodyguard was indeed standing several feet away and seemed to be arguing with another man.

Remus sighed "I see where Virgil gets the cockblocking from"

The agents followed Theo from a distance. It was easy to notice the bandage wrapped around the bodyguard's head. One of his ears was gone after Remus had bitten it off. It left a nasty injury and soon an even nastier scar.

He entered the more modern looking storage building after talking to a guard. Remy fixed their clothes and slicked their hair back and was able to sweet talk their way in and somehow get the guard's number as well.

The inside of the building looked like a normal storage hall. Piles of boxes stacked up to the ceiling and containers ready to be shipped onto boats. Forklifts and people working took up the extra space.

It took a moment before Remus saw Theo. The agent lightly tugged at Remy's sleeve to follow him. Theo walked through the chaos as if he'd walked there dozens of times before, which he had. He stopped by a corner of the building. He took out a keycard and swiped it against a screen on the wall. A hidden door opened up and Theo quickly walked in before it closed behind him.

The agents stared at the wall in surprise "Girl they got some fancy shit"

"Fun shit too"

The agent looked around. His eyes caught on a man in a pristine suit who clearly had a gun under his clothes. He was also walking towards the hidden door.

Remus threw his arms around the stranger preventing him from fighting back. With one hand over the man's mouth he dragged him behind a stack of boxes. Remy took one of their sleeping pills and forced it down the man's throat while their husband held him still.

Once he'd fallen asleep they searched his clothes. "Bingo" Remy said while holding up a keycard.

They bound the man and hid him between two of the boxes before holding the keycard up against the screen. The door opened again and the agents stepped in. To their surprise door didn't lead to a corridor or anything of that sort. Instead it was an elevator. An elevator without any buttons.

It took a few seconds but the elevator suddenly started to move downwards. Remus checked his handgun while Remy moved a few blades to their front pockets. The elevator ride was eerily long.

Remy leaned against Remus' chests and cuddled close to him "When we get home I am really feeling for like a warm bubble bath with like strawberries. And also you give me a massage"

"What do I get in return?"

"You get to be in my presence"

Remus nodded "Sounds like a fair offer....Can I try to set the water on fire again? I'm working on some new theories on how to do it"

"Of course! And then tomorrow we can go out for like karaoke. Been too long. I need to sing along to Britney while drunk again or I will like melt"

"I can scream like a raccoon to metal songs!! I will be a nuisance to everyone!!! Muhahahahah" He flapped his hand.

Remus had a grin on his face as the elevator door suddenly opened. A stranger, a guard, stood on the other side. He looked at them with surprise before moving to grab his gun. Before he even had a chance 008 had lunged forward and used the back of his gun to hit him over the face. 009 kicked him in the stomach without moving away from the cuddles.

The guard fell down on the ground already unconscious. The agents stepped out of the elevator. Remy hunched down and checked him for anything useful. They let their husband destroy the guard's intercom.

"How dare they interrupt our very important date planning" Remus said in an overly serious tone.

"A horrendous crime!"

They looked around. The elevator had opened into a long grey corridor leading off into multiple other similar hallways. Only thing that stood out was the big windows, or more accuratly the things outside of the windows.

"Holy shit we're underwater" Remus said very eloquently while looking out the windows.

"Gotta admit this Enfuel guy got some nice lairs"

"D-DON'T MOVE!" An unsteady voice came from behind them.

Remus turned around to see a guard holding a gun towards them. Her hands were shaking. The agent held his hands up to look non threatening. Remy was hunching down with their eyes towards the window.

"To your left. Gun eh 120 cm above the ground" Remus heaved out.

In one swift motion Remy turned around while at the same time throwing a blade so it perfectly knocked the gun out of the guard's hands. Without giving her a chance to react Remus ran forward and moved his arms around her neck.

"It's okay. It's okay" He mumbled to her while trying to knock her unconscious as gently as possible.

They hid the guards as well as they could. Remus tried to move them so their bodies wouldn't hurt when they eventually woke up.

"Nice job babe" Remy said.

"You too" They high fived. Remus gave them a quick peck on the cheek.

008 walked a few feet in front of his spouse as they began to walk down one of the corridors. Cold blue fluorescent light illuminated the halls. Remy suddenly tugged at his sleeve and moved their finger up to their mouth. They pointed down the hallway. When Remus concentrated he could hear voices coming from there.

"There's no reason for Mr. Imper to come here! I know he has much more important things to do elsewhere!" It was undoubtedly Theo's voice.

Remus' chest tightened at the mention of Mr. Imper. The name of the leader of Enfuel. The name of the man who'd murdered....He tightened his hands into fists.

"Maybe if you hadn't let the agents escape he wouldn't have to" An unknown voice replied.

"They're 00 agents for a reason. They're not exactly easy to take care of"

"Say that to Jaws" The unknown man chuckled "Where's that freak anyway? I heard he's here. Speaking of freaks it's weird to see you without the brat tugging at you. Where's the kid?"

Theo seemed to sigh "I let another guard escort him to his room. Along with Jaws. In case anything happens. I was going to do it myself but then someone thought to tell me Mr. Impur was coming and I had to check so everyone here hadn't lost their bloody minds! It's a waste of time without any reason"

"Oh come on. We both know the reason Mr. Impur is coming"

"Abuse isn't a reason Charles!"

"Y'know Theo you should be more grateful. You got to be getting a mighty paycheck for what is really just a glorified babysitting job"

It was quiet for a few moments "How about you go and do your work then if it's so important. I'll go check on Virgil. At least I know that if any of you Pests were in charge of taking care of him he wouldn't be nearly as cooperative as he is because of me"

"If that's what makes you sleep at night then sure! Delude yourself! Good luck on taking care of the freak!"

Footsteps could be heard then a quiet sigh before heavier footsteps walked away into the other direction.

The agents glanced at each other before rounding the corner. The hallway split off into two paths, in one of them Theo's broad back could be seen walking away.

"Aight babe time to split up. I go after the Charles guy you go see if you can find more info by following Theo" Remy said without even stopping walking. It wasn't until a hand grabbed onto their wrist they stopped midstep.

Remus was looking at them as if he was a puppy who'd just gotten his tail stepped on "Split up?" He intertwined their fingers and held onto them harder.

"Yeah duh. I can either follow Charles and like hope he leads me to some important stuff or I can just beat him until he tells me where all the info is. But y'know Theo has info too so you gotta-"

"I don't want to leave you" Remus interrupted.

Remy looked at him with pity while moving their free hand to cup his cheek "It'll be fine dear. Once we get home we'll have dinner, whatever you want, and we'll cuddle in the bath and everything will be okay. We'll be one step closer to getting revenge for Roman and Picani and all the other 00 agents. Okay?"

".....Okay" He leaned forward and kissed them.

They tried to walk away to continue with the mission but the grip on their hand hadn't loosened. They looked back at their husband. "Dear you have to let go of my hand now"

Remus hesitated. "Stay safe....Please" He finally said before letting go.

"Always" They replied with a smile before turning their eyes towards the hallway. They took out their pistol and had soon turned the corner.

Remus stood still and looked after them for a few moments before looking to where Theo had gone. He took a deep breathe and continued on with the mission.

For a while it was nothing but grey concrete walls and silence. He passed a few doors but all of them were locked. He glanced inside the one that wasn't but it was just a supply closet filled with extra parts for electronics.

A crackle came from the intercom built into his watch.

"Babe?" Remy's voice was heard.

"Right here deary" Remus replied while continuing to walk down the hallway.

"Logie is sooo gonna kiss me when we get back. I just found a goldmine! I barely had to threaten the guy to get him to tell me where all the data 'bout like info is stored! Gonna send it all directly to Logie as soon as I can"

"Lo-Lo isn't the only one who wants to kiss you for that"

"Aww babe. It'll take a while for it all to like download. We can meet up here once you're done. I'll send the coordinates"

"Sounds good. Don't go and melt into a blob monster while I'm away!"

"Can't make any promises"

"Love y-"

Remus didn't end the sentence. A scream echoed through the walls. A blood curdling scream. The kind of sound a person made before meeting death. The silence that followed was even worse.

He whispered out an assurance that he was alright before lowering the volume on his intercom. He rechecked so the trigger of his gun was off while fastening his pace. He could hear running footsteps not far away from him.

The wall was cold against his back as he pressed himself against it and peeked into the next hallway. He caught a glance of Theo hurrying towards something, someone. Quiet whimpering could be heard.

Theo turned around suddenly. Remus quickly moved away. His heart beat faster than usual. When the agent glanced again the bodyguard was sitting hunched down in front of someone. Blood was on the floor.

He tried to listen in on what Theo was saying "-at happened?"

There came a painful cough, it almost sounded like choking on blood really, and then a raspy voice "It just- it- I didn't do anything- it attacked me for- for no reason"

"Jaws isn't some brainless killing machine!" Even from a distance Remus could hear the seething anger in Theo's voice "If He attacked you he had a reason! What happened? No lies or I will prolonge your suffering!"

A whine and then "V-Virgil was- he- he wouldn't shut up- he- annoying- annoying brat- I just- I wanted to shut him up- I didn't- it wasn't a hard hit- Jaws just went crazy-"

"You idiot! I gave you a simple job to escort Virgil and Jaws to a room and you can't even do that! Literally everyone knows you shouldn't hurt Virgil when Jaws is there!"

"Please....Please..you have to....help me" The man begged between strained breaths.

A cold chuckle came from Theo "Buddy you brought this on yourself. I'm gonna go and make sure Virgil is safe. You know what I'm gonna do after that?" There was venom in his voice as he continued "I'm gonna let Jaws run around and destroy as much as he wants! The more shit he fucks up and more money he costs Mr. Impur bitchfucker the more happy I'll be"

"Theo....p...please.....help"

"It's too late for you buddy. Enfuel is about to get EnFucked!" (please don't judge his puns, he's literally a dad)

Remus heard footsteps moving away from him. The rattled breathing and whines became more and more pained by each second. Until finally they stopped completely. Only silence remained.

He waited for a few minutes before moving into the hallway. He stumbled into the body, the corpse, almost immediately. The man sat on the ground with his back against the wall. A large chunk of his shoulder and neck had been torn out, seemingly with teeth, and spitted out on the ground beside him. The blood painted the wall behind him and the floor underneath him.

Suddenly an alarm rang through the halls and the blue lights turned red. The alarm gave him a headache with how loud it was. He assumed it was to warn the other workers that Jaws was killing. With his pistol raised he continued towards where Theo had went.

He expected Remy to say something over the intercom about the alarm but nothing came. He shrugged it off. Maybe the alarm could only be heard in this part of the base.

He didn't have much time to think about the silence either way. He got startled by quick footsteps and a shrill voice coming towards him. He ducked into a random room and hid behind the door.

When he glanced out he could see Theo dragging Virgil along with him. The teenager kept going on about staying and calming Jaws down. The bodyguard didn't listen.

Remus glanced around the room while waiting for them to disappear. It looked like a cell. It was as small as a closet and entirely made out of concrete. A shower head stuck out from the corner of the ceiling.

Aside from that only thing that really stuck out was the metal box taking up most of the space and even that was a quite small. Maybe a human would be able to fit in if they hunched down. Remus got up and went towards it. He closely inspected it. On the side of the box words were written.

Targets:
0̶0̶5̶
0̶0̶1̶2̶
009
008 - Remus Smythe

A cold feeling spread in his chest as he realized this was the same box that had been on the train. The marks, the words, on the side had been made by teeth. By Jaws' teeth. He'd been on the train. They could have arrested him. If only Remus hadn't been so stupid. If only he hadn't gotten distracted by the dogtag...by Roman's....

He took a few steps back and looked at the room once more now with the knowledge that this was Jaws' room. Or maybe more accurately the room they were keeping him in. He should get back to Remy. It wasn't a good idea to-

Strong arms locked themself around Remus' upper arms and shoulders. A gasp of surprise left his lips as his gun was knocked away. No matter how hard he strained or tried to fight back the grip didn't loosen.

Teeth sunk down into Remus' neck and his body froze for a moment. Blood began to drip out as he looked down and realized that the arms around him were Jaws'.

Remus kicked his foot into the attackers knee but it didn't seem to affect him at all. He moved his hands back and tried to press Jaws' jaw upwards so the metal teeth would be forced out of his flesh. His head barely budged.

In desperation Remus bit down into Jaws' hand with all his might. The attacker flinched back and the teeth were torn out from his flesh. A grunt came from Jaws as he loosened his grip around his shoulders, but before Remus even had a chance to move rough hands had grabbed ahold of his neck, choking him.

Sweat dripped down his forehead as air left his lungs. The alarm kept blarring out. His strength was nothing against who was suffocating him.

He felt lightheaded as he gasped for breathe. His limbs aimlessly flailed around searching for any chance to get away. His hand touched something sharp through the fabric of his pants. He felt around in his pocket and took out one of Remy's blades.

His sight was filled with black dots and it felt like his eyes would pop out of their sockets. He held the blade in his shaking hand and stabbed it into Jaws' side.

A louder nearly whining grunt left Jaws' mouth. He held on harder onto Remus' neck and lifted him off the ground before slamming him face down into the ground before letting go and taking a step back.

Remus gasped for breathe. Everything was spinning. His lungs and ribs were burning from pain. Still he knew he had to get up. He knew he had to keep fighting. He knew he had to get back to Remy. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Jaws' legs coming towards him.

Remus looked up and stared into Roman's deep blue eyes.

At first Remus thought he was hallucinating. Or maybe he'd passed out and was dreaming. Maybe he'd even died! There had to be some explanation. His brother couldn't be standing in front of him. His brother was dead!

Roman- the person in front of him- he opened his mouth slightly. Metal teeth were glimmering in his mouth as clear as day.

Remus felt like he was going to puke. Or scream. Or cry. But all he did was sit there and stare at Jaws- at his brother- at the person who'd murdered more 00 agents than anyone else.

"R-Roman?" It was nothing more than a meek whisper. A whimpering breathe.

Jaws didn't listen. His expression didn't even change as he kicked Remus in the face. The agent laid on the floor as blood dripped from his mouth. He desperately wiped away the makeup and any trace of the disguise Remy had given him. A part of him hoped it was a simple matter of Roman not recognizing him.

"Ro- Ro it's me. I-I'm sorry. Sorry I'm- I'm the worst brother ever. I'm sorry-"

He didn't even try to fight back as Jaws grabbed onto his neck and lifted him off the ground again. He let out a few weak begs.

Their identical blue eyes met for a moment. The sight of his brother's vacant and cold eyes made it feel like someone had torn Remus' heart out.

He was thrown towards the concrete wall with so much force that he broke through the wall and landed on the cold hallway floor on the other side. It felt like all the energy had left his body. He coughed up blood. With every small moment he could hear his bones crack while it felt like his head had been stuffed with cotton.

Everything was blurry, even the sounds around him. Something seemed to be coming from his intercom maybe a voice. He tried to keep himself awake.

"Babe? Remus? you there?" Remy's stressed voice came from the intercom "I-I- I should have seen him or heard him coming or something but I didn't and I've- I've stopped the bleeding don't worry but he shot me in the leg and- there's some alarm blarring. There's more guards than I like thought they were gonna be- Is the alarm 'cause of me??? 'Cause they saw me? I- I was able to transfer some of the data to Q before- ugh I know you're not giving a shit about the mission if I'm hurt- I-"

Remus let out a few raspy breaths. Jaws was moving towards him.

"....Remus?...Remus you're- you're there right? I-I'll try to get away but- where are you? Having you here would- I know we could- Remus....I...I'm scared"

He had to force his wrist and intercom up to his lips. Three of his fingers were bent the wrong way. "Dear I'm-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence. He barely had time to see Jaws standing over him before a foot landed on his ribs. The already fragile bones snapped and cracked under the kicks. Remus couldn't hold back the screams growing in his throat anymore. He whined and screamed and his brother didn't even seem to hear.

The kicks stopped and Jaws hunched down. He put his hand around Remus' throat. He stared at the agent for a moment before moving his head slightly above the ground. He didn't look away as he smashed his head down against the ground.

"Ro- Ro please- I'm sorry-" Remus forced out. It hurt just to breathe "I didn't- Please don't tell me you think I left you- I didn't want to- I've missed you-"

His head was hit down into the ground once more.

"I don't know why- Why you would do this- I- If they're- If you're afraid- I can protect you Ro- If- If they're hurting you I will protect you! Always! No matter what! I just want you to be safe! And- I didn't- I'm sorry"

He could hear one of his teeth crack in two as his head hit the ground.

"Please- Ro- Mom misses you- We all miss you- Please- I'm sorry- I'm so sorry- I'm sorry- I should have- I should have died- I'm sorry"

Jaws was about to hit his head down into the ground again but stopped midway. For a moment hope filled Remus' chest. Maybe Roman was listening to him! Until he realized he was staring at the intercom on his wrist and that he'd probably only stopped because it was making noise again.

"Remus?" Fear filled Remy's voice "You still there? where- I- I- Okay- Babe you gotta listen- I don't- I'm not sure I will get out of here-" They took a deep breathe "I've planted those like explosives Logan- That Logan gave us- I-I think I've put them right so this whole thing will blow up- I- I will try to wait as long as I can- I passed a hallway close to the elevator before and saw emergency like pods? exits? I dunno- You can- You can use them- Okay?- You gotta get out- Remus? You have to- I love you- You have to- Maybe if you get here- The elevator isn't working- I thought I could- If I move they'll see me- but if you- Remus you gotta- Don't think about me- Remus- Remus you have to get out of here"

He Wanted to scream and cry out to them to wait. That we would protect them. He wouldn't let anyone hurt them ever again. But Jaws covered his mouth the moment he tried to.

"Remus? You're there right? Right?" A few sobs were heard "They haven't already taken you right? Please- Please answer me.....Remus?-"

Jaws grabbed onto the intercom. Remus tried to fight back but Jaws quickly grabbed onto his elbow and cracked it with ease so his arm broke. The intercom was forced off and destroyed with it his only way to talk to Remy.

He didn't get a moment to think. Jaws held onto his neck and forced him up on his feet before slamming his back into the wall. Remus couldn't tell if the crack he heard came from the wall or his bones.

Metal teeth pierced down into his neck and shoulder deeper this time. Just like how the flesh had been ripped from the dead man he'd seen earlier. Remus screamed. Blood seeped out. He could feel his own meat and muscle being torn away from his bones.

A part of him wanted to let it happen. A part of him wanted to stand still and let himself die. How could he continue to live like someone who'd left his own brother for 6 years. He deserved it. He deserved it. He deserved-

Remy didn't. He had to continue.

"I'm sorry- Ro I'm sorry but I can't let you- I know- I know you don't know this but I have someone I have to get home to"

Remus grabbed onto Jaws' jaw with his still working hand to try and push him away. He used all the power he had left, which wasn't much. He could feel his body working on overdrive just to keep him awake. The teeth sunk deeper into him. He screamed.

He shoved his knee against his stomach and forced his broken hand to push against his jaw as well. Adrenaline filled his body enough to override the pain. He gritted his teeth together and moved his leg back to instead push himself from the wall.

The pain made his sight darken as he pushed Jaws away from himself. The teeth were forced from his flesh and he stumbled forwards.

The whole room was spinning. Remus felt like he was going to pass out. He couldn't. He couldn't rest until Remy was safe. He couldn't get Roman to safety when he was this injured.

"Please Roman. Please just come with me. I- I need you. Roman. I'm sorry" He begged.

Jaws stared at him with his empty blue eyes. The metal teeth had been painted red by his blood. He wiped it off on his shirt sleeve before beginning to move towards his brother. His cold scarred hands reaching out to hurt him.

Remus didn't look at him. He turned away and ran.

He ran through the empty hallways with the alarm still ringing through his ears. Running wasn't even a good word for it. It was more like he was using all of the last energy in his body to force himself forward. Blood and bile was filling his mouth. He was pretty sure his left foot was bent the wrong way.

In the distance he could see the elevator. He didn't even think about taking out any weapon in case he had to defend himself. He was only thinking about Remy.

"009? 009? Please tell me you can hear me. 009?"

No answer came. He didn't even see any guards. He looked through ever nearby room while continuing to call out for Remy. It started to sound like the alarm was taunting him.

Until suddenly he swore he could hear something. Just something small far away but still something. He walked towards it. His sight darkened and came back at random at this point. He'd lost all feeling in his neck and fingers. But the sound was there.

Remus got closer and realized the sound was something ticking. Two rooms away the first explosion went off.

Chapter Text

Remus stopped in his steps as he realized the sound he was hearing was something ticking. 2 rooms away the first explosion went off.

A wave of heat washed over him right before the impact of the explosion slung him into the wall behind him. The air got dark from smoke. As he forced himself up on his feet he could hear a chain reaction of explosions going off. Of course it did, Remy had planted them.

The rooms had quickly crumbled into melting metal and fire filling the ground. A loud crack came from the ceiling. Remus got out of the room just in time to watch the ceiling fall in on itself. It took him a moment to realize that the hallway he was standing in had began to slowly fill with water.

Remy would be pissed off at him if they knew he was staying in a dangerous place just to try and hope that maybe he could save them. Logically if the bombs had gone of they'd probably done it right before being taken. Logically it was already too late. Maybe he was just prolonging having to realize it.

A whimper left his throat. Tears filled his eyes but he quickly rubbed them away. He had nothing to cry over. He was going to find Remy and they would leave together and then save Roman and murder Mr. Impur and everything would be fine.

"Oh please please jesus christ please"

Remus' eyes widened at hearing the words. He didn't recognize the voice but he heard that it was close by. His still working fingers twitched a little as he pulled out a smaller handgun from the inside of his jacket.

He had to lean against the wall as he walked. He rounded a corner and saw the elevator that had taken him and Remy down here. A person was desperately pressing the button while mumbling out swear words.

His breathing quickened as he stumbled towards the person. His contorted foot was more being dragged behind him than actually used to walk. The water was nearly reaching his knees.

The stranger turned around suddenly upon hearing Remus' footsteps. He looked shocked for a moment before his expression melted into relief.

"Oh great! I thought I was alone down here! Do you know any way out? I'm honestly pretty scared"

Remus didn't answer. He grabbed onto the stranger's shoulder and shoved him up against the wall. His eyes were bloodshot and wide as he held the gun to the man's forehead.

"WHERE. ARE .THEY?" He yelled between ragged breaths.

The stranger was staring at the gun. His lip was quivering and his entire body was shaking. His mouth opened but no sound came out.

"WHERE ARE THEY? I KNOW YOU TOOK THEM! WHERE ARE THEY?"

"I-I don't- I don't know- I'm sorry- I don't know who you're talking about- I-I- Please don't- I just want to-" He stuttered out. Tears were already streaming down his cheeks.

He used the gun to hit him across the face "LIAR! YOU HAVE TO KNOW! I HAVE TO PROTECT THEM! WHERE ARE THEY? YOU TOOK THEM FROM ME!"

"I- Sorry- I'm sorry- I don't- Sorry- I just- I just want to get home- Please just-" It erupted into incomprehensible sobbing.

The agent stared at him as he cried. Remy was gone. He'd been too late. He couldn't do something as simple as to protect his own spouse.

Remus pulled the trigger.

The stranger's brain painted the wall behind them. He flinched and let go of them. The corpse collapsed onto the floor.

He took a step back and dropped the gun. Blood had splattered onto his hands, he could taste blood and flesh in his mouth. He stared at his shaking hands for a moment before lurching forward and puking.

The water was up to his thighs. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and realized that he'd been vomiting stomach acid and blood. His sight was going dark. He couldn't breath. His body ached. Everything was spinning.

He wanted to lay down and die. He couldn't. He had to save Remy and Roman........He was so tired of being the one to survive.

Somewhere at the back of his mind he remembered Remy telling him there were emergency exists near the elevator. He traced his hand against the wall as he forced himself forward. In his head played image after image of Remy being hurt or worse. God he hoped Roman was alright.

His hand trailed over something sticking out of the wall. He rubbed his eyes to get them to focus enough to see that it was a button. He wanted to hesitate and stay, to try and keep up the hope that maybe he could save them, but instead he pressed it.

The wall opened up and revealed 10 or so small oval pods. He collapsed into one. His broken ribs seemed to light up in pain at being pressed against the wall but his legs were shaking too much to stand.

He was barely aware that the pod was moving. One moment he was underwater and in the next the emergency pod had disintegrated leaving him floating near the edge of the harbor.

A fisher stood by the edge and was staring at him. She hunched down and reached out for him. He took her hand. His body was so numb he didn't even feel it. The dissociation also helped. She dragged him up onto land, his ribs hurt so bad from his waist stretching he nearly screamed.

He tried to stand up but his knees buckled under him. The fisher held onto him so he didn't fall flat on his face. Yelling and panicked voices could be heard from the part of the harbor belonging to Enfuel. The destruction of the underwater base had sent the whole location into chaos. Theo would have to fill out SO much paperwork.

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital? No offense young man but you look horrible" The fisher asked.

Remus stared out into nothing, his mouth half agape, for nearly a minute before his brain finally got the message that maybe he should respond. "Ehm I-I- can you- there's an adress- could you take me there?"

She patted him gently on the shoulder "Of course"

She helped him over to her car and he collapsed onto the backseat. He groggily mumbled out the adress. If it weren't for the image of his brother's empty eyes constantly playing in his mind he would have passed out while she drove.

The car stopped outside of an apartement building in the midst of London. She asked him if she should helped him to the door but he denied it. After thanking her he forced himself to stand and stumbled out into the house.

Everything was foggy, like in a dream, as he took the familiar steps towards apartement nr. 3. It was nearing 2 am as he knocked on the door. It took a while before the door opened. When it opened a gun was pointed towards him.

"Oh...It's just you" Logan muttered as he lowered the gun.

He was wearing a star patterned pyjamas and his hair was a mess. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn that somehow sounded annoyed.

"What the hell are you doing here at this hour? You woke my cats"

Remus grabbed onto his shirt, his nails dug down into his skin and his bloodshot eyes stared up at him. "Lo- I- Roman- A-And- they- They're not- They didn't- I didn't-"

Logan held onto his friend so he didn't collapse. He felt startingly awake as Remus continued to stutter out incomplete sentences.

"Where's.....Where's Remy?" He suddenly felt nauseous "Remus where's Remy?"

"I'm sorry- I-"

Remus' eyes rolled back into his skull as he passed out.

--

The sun was blaring in through the window when Remus woke up. All his thoughts were scrambled and his body hurt like hell. He tried to stretch but immediately regretted it.

He rubbed his eyes to properly wake up while turning towards the other side of the bed. "G'morning darling deares-"

The other side of the bed was empty. A sinking feeling filled his chest as he remembered everything that had happened yesterday. Remy was gone.

Tears pressed on in his eyes but Remus quickly blinked them away. If he cried it felt so much more real. He didn't want it to be real.

He looked around and realized he was in Logan's bedroom. A black cat, who looked weirdly pissed off at him, sat on the end of the bed, unfinished gadgets and opened books were scattered over the floor, an aro flag was hung over the desk and posters for sci-fi series filled the walls. All his injuries seemed to have been tended to. Around half of his body was wrapped in bandages, especially his chest and neck. A tube, connected to a bag which he assumed was some sort of painkiller, had been placed into his inner elbow.

"You're finally awake" Logan said from the doorway.

He moved over to the bed and sat down closely to Remus. Yet another cat cuddled up in his lap.

"How are you feeling? Is there some injury I missed? I must confess that I was quite worried"

Remus reached out for him so Logan leaned down and embraced him. He held his arms carefully not to hurt him.

"Thanks" Remus mumbled out through chapped lips.

"Always" Logan glanced into his eyes "I need you to tell me what happened"

Remus immediately started to shake. If he had anything left in him aside from stomach acid he would have been worried about throwing up again. The words caught in his throat and all he could do was shake his head.

"The sooner I know what happened the sooner it can be fixed. You can write it down if you want"

The agent looked away from him.

"The last thing-" Logan sighed "Remy sent something to my computer and then nothing else happened. It was the locations of almost all of Enfuels and their bought companies locations, which is good, and I know you two were going to infiltrate a harbor base. I need to know what happened after they sent me the locations"

Remus parced his lips to say something but his body couldn't will itself to speak. He gripped onto the blanket while staring at nothing.

Logan let out another even more sad sigh. He rubbed his temples as if to rub a headache away while standing up from the bed. He fumbled around with the medical supplies. He took a handful of pills.

"Please just take these. You are too injured to fight back right now anyway"

He willingly took the pills, he didn't bother to ask about them because it was Logan and Logan would never hurt him. It only took a few seconds before his body was completely numb and his head was floaty and faraway. Suddenly he didn't feel the urge to sob anymore. Suddenly it became easy to say what had happened. The other man quickly wrote everything down as he said it before letting Remus doze off into a dreamless sleep.

--

The next time Remus woke up the drug was still affecting him. He drifted somewhere between sleep and alertness. The only thing keeping him from fallng asleep again was the weird sounds coming from the other room.

He tried to move out of bed but just turning on his side hurt so much he nearly teared up. His eyesight was blurry but he could see Logan sitting on the couch in the living room with his head in his hands.

He slowly realized that the sound he was hearing was Logan crying. His thoughts were too far away to remember why he would be crying.

The numbness took over and he passed out again. He kept flowing in and out of sleep for the next 3 days as he drug slowly wore off. He kept getting the feeling that there was something he Needed to do but he could never grasp what it was.

Until he finally woke up gasping for breathe in the middle of the day. His hand was scratching at the part of his neck where Jaws had torn into him. The drug had stopped making his memory foggy.

His first instinct was to try and get out of bed. A string of swears left his mouth as simply taking a step was a struggle. Logan appeared in the doorway, alerted by the sudden sounds.

"Your injuries aren't even close to being healed enough for you to move around" He muttered out while trying to get him to sit down again.

Remus scratched at his face to get him away "I need to save Remy! ANd Roman! And fix everything and-"

"Remus Octopussy Magda Bond Smythe I am not afraid to fucking taze you. Get back on that bed!"

The agent pouted while sitting down. Logan sat down next to him. He fixed his glasses and sighed.

"I've been trying to calculate in which facility they are most likely to be. If I just get more time maybe I can..." Logan's words trailed off into nothingness. "I'm sure in time we will....they will...they won't be gone for too long...I hope"

Remus wordlessly leaned his head against the other man's shoulder. Logan pressed a kiss to his forehead. They sat together with their sadness.

Until there came a knock on the door. The agent flinched and via instinct his hands struck up into his usual fighting position.

"I haven't invited anyone over" Logan informed.

He got up and took out a gun from a drawer before quietly leaving the bedroom. He could hear the door open and a mumbled conversation before Patton Moneypenny entered the bedroom. He had his usual bright smile plastered over his face. He wore a knitted work jacket and a matching blue pleated skirt.

"Hi Smythe" He greeted while doing an awkward little wave.

"Hiya Moneypenny"

"Ehm I....Q...." He seemed to be searching for the right words "Q told us what happened during the mission a few days ago. WE as in me and M I mean. And uh I just thought you should know that ehm M sent a message to your mother telling her about...Roman...and uh I don't know if she's read it. I mean it's not like she's sent anything back but uh I can imagine it is quite turbulent news to get"

Remus' eyes widened. He hadn't even thought about how to tell her. "That- That- you should have let me tell her!"

"I know kiddo, I'm sorry" For a moment it seemed like he was moving to hug Remus but then hesitated and instead sat down a bit away from him. "How are you feeling? You don't look so good"

"Havent' felt this good since an army of zombies came up from the ground and ate my entire body" He muttered back.

"...Oh...Okay"

Patton sat still on the edge of the bed with his hands resting in his lap. It was quiet for a while. He stared out the window, his eyes nearly looked glossy. When he finally spoke again he was holding onto the fabric of his pants so hard so his knuckles had whitened.

"Remy's mothers should also know- I mean we should call them. If their child is.....They...They have the right to know. They will notice eventually anyway"

Remus stared down into the bedsheets just to avoid looking at the other man. There was a lump in his throat and something aching behind his ribs. Just the mention of Remy made him want to sob.

"I- I can't talk to them right now" He choked out. "They'll hate me for not being able to protect them. I was- I had to- I-I can't talk to them"

Patton reached out and gently took his hand "It wasn't your fault"

He couldn't get himself to reply.

"I can call them, if you'd let me" Patton suggested.

Remus weakly nodded.

The older man tried to send him a reassuring smile but it looked more like a grimace. He took his phone and walked into the other room. He closed the door behind him so the agent wouldn't hear.

The phonecall took 15 minutes. With each passing minute Remus got more and more anxious until it turned into nausea. When the door opened again he nearly flinched away from it.

Patton wiped a tear away from his cheek while setting the phone down on the nightstand. "They...They didn't take it well"

"I knew they would hate me-"

"They don't" Patton interrupted. He sat down on the bed again. This time closer to him. "They wondered if you were okay and everything. Kiddo honestly I think it would be better if you went to recover at their house instead of here or at MI6. You and them are really the only ones who can understand each other right now. I mean I can't imagine how I would feel if my husband or daughters were taken. It's the kind of support you need. I can sadly not give it to you kiddo"

"I don't need it. As soon as I can walk properly I'll get back to work. They will barely even notice Remy has been gone. I'll make sure of it"

"Kiddo don't! You need to let yourself heal. You can't do anything if your bones break apart!"

"I'll be fine!" Remus said through gritted teeth.

"Kiddo-" Patton reached out to take his hand but Remus flinched back "You have to take care of yourse-"

"I don't want to talk right now"

"Hurting yourself won't do anything to help Remy" Patton tried to say it as nicely as possible.

"AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT" Remus snapped "ALL YOU DO IS SIT BEHIND A DESK AND ANSWER CALLS FOR M! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BEING ON ACTUAL MISSIONS!"

The strained smile fully disappeared from Patton's face and he quickly looked away. "I'm sorry 009. I know you have a lot to stress over right now. I still think you should spend time recovering" He stood up, still not looking at him "I hope you feel better soon, at least physically"

With that he left. Remus turned around and buried himself under the blanket. Even though he'd been sleeping for so long he was still so tired, it felt like he was sinking down into the bed. His heart hurt as he passed out.

In the dream, or maybe it was more of a memory, he was 8 years old and climbing around on the slippery rocks that extended from the edge of the floating palace. He was looking for lizards to kiss just in case they transformed into a monster companion. Roman was standing on the solid ground of the island and held onto his t-shirt so he wouldn't fall in.

Roman had his dark brown hair in a braid that nearly reached his waist. One of their caregivers had helped him weave flowers into it. He'd never understood why he would cut his hair if barely anyone around him had short hair. Remus had tried to make his hair look like Edward Scissorhands.

The slightly younger twin looked out at the water while the other gremlin continued to try and seduce lizards.

"When do you think we'll get to leave the island for the first time?" Ro suddenly asked.

"Dunno. Maybe when the zombie apocalypse stops" Remus joked back.

"I hope a magic carpet comes here like in Aladdin and some handsome ehm princess???" He was 8, he had no idea who he liked "Takes me away on an adventure and shows me the entire world. Agrabah isn't even that far away from here!....I think"

Remus was making plans on how to make him as miserable as possible when he finally told him Agrabah wasn't real "I liked the scene where Aladdin nearly drowns better"

"Of course you do you disgusting maggot dribble. Unlike you who will do nothing with your life IIIII the magnificent Roman shall become a hero and save the earth like at least 3 times and then IIIII the extravagant Roman shall live in an even bigger palace with my ehm wifeband and then IIIII the dazzling Roman shall carry on my legacy via an alligator bringing me an offspring just as it did for Mama"

Yes the twins really did believe they'd been given to their mom by an alligator. Octavia had the wisdow to not yet tell them that she fucked the man (James Bond) who killed her father after he rode in onto the island in a fake alligator. And then the next time she saw that man (still James Bond) he interrupted her circus' perfomance while dressed up as a clown to defuse a bomb and then they fucked AGAIN like 5 hours later while on a boat because James has a boat fetish and constantly ends his missions with fucking on a boat, it is concerning at this point. JAMES!!!! YOU!!! BOAT BITCH!!!!

....Anway....

Remus moved onto another stone to try and get closer to a lizard. Roman had to lean forward to not let go of him.

"You think mama will be back soon?" Roman asked.

"Oh yeah totally! Magda said the jewel affair should be done in like a week as long as nothing goes wrong" Remus looked back at his twin "Y'know I would much rather leave the island to go help mama smuggle stuff than get married or whatever you're dreaming about. Marriage is gross and stinky! I'll never get married! If I do you're legally allowed to kill me!"

"Better sleep with a gun under your pillow in like 20 years then because I will never pass up the chance to kill you!"

"Not if I get you fir- LIZARD!" Remus tried to stretch his arm as far out as he could to grab onto the green shimmering lizard he saw.

"Dukey I think what I'm looking forward to the most in life is to be left behind and tortured for 6 years"

Remus froze midmotion. He slowly turned back to look at his brother. "W-what did you just say?"

"That I'm looking forward to travel all over the world with mama" He chuckled "What else would I say"

He gulped back a chunk of bile that had formed in his throat. He couldn't get himself to move nor speak. He watched on as his brother's face seemed to morph. It nearly looked like it was melting before it was reformed again into something different.

His neatly braided hair turned into unkept long chunks of oily hair that trailed down to his shoulders. It looked like it was rotting from his scalp as it cast shadows over his empty blue eyes and sunk in cheeks. His mouth was half open showing the sharp metal teeth filling his mouth in such a way it looked painful.

Remus stared at the distortred version of his brother's face. "I-I- Roman I'm-" He felt nauseous. It was a mirror of his own face as well. "I'm- I'm sorry"

Roman let go off his shirt which made him stumble and fall back onto the slippery rocks. The back of his head hid harshly against the stone. He looked up and saw his brother moving down from the solid ground of the island. He walked towards him and hunched down right in front of him.

He expected him to bite those horrible teeth into him again but instead his mouth sloppily opened and he slowly said in a calm voice "Do you think they'll do the same thing to Remy that they did to me?"

The question made Remus' blood freeze. He couldn't get himself to respond. He couldn't breathe.

His brother moved his strong hands around his throat. He squeezed the air out of his lungs before shoving his head down under the water. His hands didn't let go. The air slowly left his body until he finally-

Remus woke up in a cold sweat. He gasped for breathe while his hands desperately clawed at his neck. He couldn't get the feeling of suffocating away. The taste of vomit filled his mouth.

With wide eyes he stared at the clock and realized he'd only been sleeping for an hour or so. He forced himself to sit up and dragged himself over to the edge of the bed. He had to lean his entire weight onto the nightstand to be able to stand up. He gritted his teeth together in pain.

His heart was still beating out of his chest the entire time he got ready to leave. He stumbled out into the living room. Logan was asleep on the couch with two cats curled up on top of his face.

The agent sneaked out the door. He nearly doubled over in pain while waiting for the elevator. Once outside he called for a cab and his head was spinning so much he had to look up the adress for MI6's headquarters to tell the driver where to go.

The secretary sitting in the lobby looked at him with wide eyes when he staggered in. She was visibly close to calling security on him before he shower her his card.

He barged in on Patton's mini office that lead into M's bigger office. "009 what are you doing here? You should be resting"

"I'm doing my fucking job!" He slurred out.

Patton got up from his desk and tried to stop Remus from barging in on M as well but the agent pushed him away. Patton sighed and stepped aside, he knew he was fighting a losing battle when it came to making anyone around him take care of themself.

Remus slammed the door to Deceit's office open and slammed it just as hard again to close it. He took a deep breathe and pointed at him "YOU MOTHERFU-"

The door slammed open AGAIN and a woman entered the room. She had on a white silk dress that reached her knees, an overly big black sun hat and matching sunglasses. She was in her mid fifties but didn't look a day past 42, so about as old as Deceit was. On the back of her dress an intricate pattern made out of sapphires and citrine formed an octopus. It was Remus' mother: Octavia Charlotte Smythe.

She took off her sunglasses and the look she gave Deceit was enough to frighten any man to their core.

"Where the hell is my son" It somehow sounded more like a threat than a question.

Deceit pressed his lips together into a thin line. He was suddenly Very aware of how close he was to someone attempting to murder him again. "Ma'am I'm sorry but we do not have that information right now"

"Oh darling trust me I am aware how little information all of you empty headed fools of this organization have"

"It's only been two days or so since we got the information that your son is the murderer-"

"MY son Is Not a murderer!" Octavia nearly yelled out. Remus tensed up. He dug his nails down into his skin.

"Mrs. Smythe I'm sorry that might have been the wrong word to use but it is confirmed that he has killed several of our agents for reasons we do not know yet. Anyhow we only got that information two day ago so please understand that it will take some time to-"

"Oh please. Aren't you supposed to be the most powerful organization in England or something" She crossed her arms. "I've done better work on finding someone with just me and a couple of my girls"

Deceit pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed "Allow me to remind you that we are aware of your many years of jewel smuggling and we can arrest you at any time. Just so you don't start interfering with the mission"

Octavia slammed her hands down into the table and leaned closer to Deceit. Her voice was calm and silky smooth as she said "The Octopussy clan has done more good than MI6 ever has. All you do is send young people out to die in your place" She chuckled "And besides that, If you arrested me you would have to arrest all those other rich stuckups that use illegal means to get where they are. I know you won't. I know those people are who MI6 really was made to protect"

Deceit leaned back in his seat to try and move away from her "Mrs-"

"And besides that it would be useless to hold me back from helping the mission that is about MY son and my child in law since I have the resources to do just as much as you can do. I may even be nice enough to let MI6 loan some of my help"

"I am very sorry ma'am but we're not allowed to create contracts with a criminal"

"Oh you" Octavia let out a string of swearwords in hindi that even made Remus widen his eyes. She glanced back at him "Son how about you leave so me and M can have a nice discussion"

Remus knew better than to say no. He simply nodded before leaving the room. The moment he closed the door behind him he could hear Octavia loudly announcing that Deceit was a motherfucker!

Patton sat by his desk and stared at the door with an uncomfortable look on his face. Remus walked by him without saying anything. He walked back to his and Remy's apartement at the MI6.

The apartement was dark as he went in. He didn't bother to turn the lights on. He pretended that it was a late night and soon Remy would come home from another one of their impromptu coffee runs. But he knew it wouldn't happen. Once more tears pressed on in his eyes but he forced them away.

He moved to curl up in the bed and pretend he didn't exists but his foot hit something hidden under the bed. He hunched down and grabbed onto it. It was a shoebox, on top of it laid a note.

'WIP of anniversary gift !!!Do not open!!! Don't!! If you do I Remy will be very sad and you don't want that! Don't open!!!'

A cold empty nothing appeared in Remus' chest....Right....the anniversary. He opened the box. Inside 2 small plushies laid. They were clearly hand sewn and not done yet. It was 1 rat with a mustache and a green tank top and 1 sloth with sunglasses and a leather jacket.

Remus' hands shook as he held onto them. He buried his head against the sloth plushie. Remy's familiar scent of strawberry perfume and coffee beans came from it.

He couldn't hold the tears back anymore. He collapsed on the floor and sobbed. The kind of ugly sob were his nose ran and his throat hurt. The plushie got wet from his tears.

"I-I'm sorry so sorry I'm sorry" He sobbed out. He wanted to tear his skin off and hit his head against the floor until his brain splattered out and gauge out his eyes after dipping them in hot wax. He deserved it. He deserved all the pain in the world.

A knock came from the other side of the door "Sweetie?" His mother's voice asked as she quietly opened the door. "Oh dear" She softly gasped when she saw him.

She sat down next to him and gently wrapped her arms around him. He leaned against her chest and pressed his head against the crook of her neck while continuing to sob. She mumbled sweet nothings while rubbing her hand up and down his back.

"Dad would have been able to- to save them. Save them both. I'm just- I'm just worthless. I-I can't be a hero like R-Roman or dad ever was"

Octavia leaned his head up so he looked at her "Oh shush. Your dad was never a hero, he couldn't even bother to be a gentleman most of the time"

She wiped a few of his tears away before leaning closer so their foreheads were touching "I'll put everything I can into finding them. We'll get them back soon enough. I know it. It'll be okay. Okay?"

Remus nodded while the sobs continued to rake his body "Okay"

Chapter Text

It had gone an entire week since the failed mission. No one had any clue on where Remy, or Roman for that matter, could be. Or maybe more importantly, what was happening to them.

Remus traced his finger over the shelves of documents and mission reports. They were piling up with dust surrounding them. If he tried to take one out the entire pile would probably spill out over the floor.

He was at MI6's second base. (Logan had allowed him to go out as long as he used crutches) The base which no one outside of the agency and goverment people knew about. It was better to keep all important infomation like this on paper or someone with a Q like mind could easily hack it all away. The base was stationed in what looked like an accountant agency. It was a small and easy to miss building with no windows.

The agent went over to the shelves with newer documents and took out the binder detailing everything in the case surronding Enfuel. He held it in his hands as if it hurt just to touch it. He had a lot of reading to do.

The old wooden chair creaked as he sat down on it. He spread the papers out on the matching table in front of him and sat the crutches down beside him.

He didn't need to look through the first part of the documents. He couldn't forget that information if he tried. It was about when he and Roman first had done an investigation on Enfuel. When Roman had...been taken.

Remus bit his cheek until his mouth got filled with the taste of copper. He hadn't written the mission report but all the information had come from him. The memories of being questioned over and over again was stuck on his fingertips and he couldn't wash it off no matter how hard he tried.

The feeling of the cold metal table under his hands. The people he didn't recognize forcing him to answer questions through tears or else they would suspect him of having murdered Roman. His brother's blood still being on his clothes. It'd gone less than 5 hours since the mission, they hadn't let him change. He had refused to say Roman was dead. It'd gone on for hours until Logan had come and argued with them to at least let Remus rest before continuing with the questions.

He shook his head to get the memories away and moved onto the papers about the newer mission surronding Enfuel. Maybe if he reread all of it now with all the new information he knew some solution would suddenly be obvious to him.

The words swam around on the page. He tried to concentrate but it went so slowly. He didn't have time for this.

Remus hit his hands to his head over and over "Stupid stupid stupid" He mumbled.

If Remy had been the one to not get captured he was sure they would have completed the whole mission by now. Anyone would be able to do this better than him. All he was good for was being a human shield. First for Roman and then for Remy. And now he couldn't even do that.

He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes. "Not leaving until I've read it all" He promised.

By the time he was done his head was aching from a headache and it was dark outside. No one was at the base aside from him and the nightguard who'd asked him if he was okay twice already.

He'd written up a list of all of Enfuel's different locations and buildings (Easily reaching 250) and only been able to cross 10 or so were Remy and Roman definitely wasn't. It felt like he hadn't done enough to deserve a break.

So he stood up and stretched out which made all his joints crack, before going over to some of the older documents. He took out a whole bunch which made his broken fingers hurt just to hold. The table creaked as he dropped the papers onto it.

He opened the one he and Roman had read the most: Mission - 26 Octopussy. Agent - 007.

His dad, Bond, had been the one to write the report. Reading it was the closest Remus had ever gotten to him. He liked running his hand over the signature written in ink at the end and imagine his dad's hand touching that exact piece of paper 27 years before him.

Remus stayed up the rest of the night looking through old files from his father's mission. He'd lost counts of how many he'd tried to piece together what kind of dad he would have been if he'd stayed.

"Whatcha looking at kiddo?"

All the instincts that made up Remus' skin reacted before he did. He turned around in the chair and moved his arms in the direction of the voice. His right hand latched onto person's neck and his left was used to shield himself.

Patton held up his hands to look innocent "It's okay kiddo. It's just your pappy Patton. Heh I should really learn not to sneak up on agents huh"

Remus' heart was beating out of his chest and his breathe was caught in his throat as he let go of the other man "Why are you here?" It sounded more standoffish than he meant it to.

"Oh lil me? Well a little birdy" He faked cough "The nightguard told me you'd been here for quite some time and no one is better at collecting overworked 00 agents than a Moneypenny!"

"I'm fine. I got more stuff to read"

Patton sent him one of his usual smiles. He had on a loose blue pencil skirt and a grey cat hoodie so it looked like he'd just checked into work. In his hands he held a coffee cup and a store bought sandwich.

"I got you some breakfast. At least take that kiddo" He held forward the cup and sandwich. Remus hesitantly took it.

"Thanks" He mumbled out.

"No problemo extremo.....gosh didn't rhyme

Remus fiddled with the packaging of the sandwich to avoid having at look at the other man "Sorry that I latched out at you- I mean a few days ago when I said that you I dunno were like notimportantorsomethinglikethat. A parasite took over my brain and ate all my braincells"

"The parasite Again?! kiddo you better get that looked at" Patton joked back.

"Might just take a fork and pull out my whole brain through my ear to get it out" Remus forced a smile.

"Noooooo. Bad kiddo. No forking"

"Can't make any promises!"

Patton chuckled "But it's fine really. MI6 wouldn't function if I didn't already know I'm one of the most important people here"

"Yeah. You're like the glue holding the oozing bloody wound together"

Patton grimaced a little "Not very nice imagery but sure"

He picked up a paper and skimmed through it. His grimace turned even more grimacy and he quickly put it down again. Remus watched on in silence while eating.

".....Did you ever meet him?" Remus asked quietly.

Patton was caught off guard. His hands fumbled together for a moment before he stiffly pointed at the documents "007?"

Remus pressed his lips together into a thin line while nodding.

"Well once or twice. He- 007 disappeared right about the time J- Deceit became the new M and I became his secretary so I didn't have much time to see that 007" He wrinkled his nose "All I remember is him asking about my mother before insulting my clothing. I will have you know I dressed extra nicely right when I started this job to try and impress....a certain person"

"That does match up with what my mama has told me about him"

Patton leaned against the desk. "To be honest I'm glad he disappeared- I mean I' not glad he disappeared disappeared, it would have been nicer if he'd just quit but I think-"

"I get what you mean"

"Ah. Okay. M was under a lot of stress already at that time, he really didn't need a forking unpleasant person like 007 to be around. The only thing Bonds know is how to disregard orders and break equipment"

"But....But I'm technically a Bond" Remus pointed out.

"I'm aware"

Remus let out an overly extra gasp and clasped at his heart "Such utter betrayal! I would never break equipment!!!"

"Kiddo you've broken over a dozen cars"

"They were unsexy cars! They deserved it! And have you seen how cool a car looks when it's exploding. It's worth it!!!"

"I'm pretty sure the people in Q branch who has to rebuild them disagrees"

"I'm sure Deceit disagrees as well with how much he nags me about broken equpment"

Patton let out a half hearted sigh "You know I hate how y'all call him Deceit right?"

"I know" Remus replied.

"He's not deceituful. He just has to keep a lot of secrets which are two very different things!"

"I know"

"Also you've fallen perfectly into my trap of taking a break from work by talking about mindless stuff" Patton added with a cheeky smile.

"I- Hey Yeah" Remus poked at him out of fake anger "You fucker!!"

"Mhm! And now we'll get you back to your apartement so you can get some actual rest" Remus opened his mouth to disagree but Patton placed his finger over his lips to shut him up "No Nos or buts kiddo"

The agent gasped "You're taking away my butt privileges now too!??"

Patton stared at him with extreme intensity "Y E S"

Remus dramatically collapsed onto the table "Noooooooooo"

The older man snickered while neatly putting the documents together. He handed the agent his crutches before slunging his arm around his shoulders and making him stand up.

"C'mon 008. The papers will still be here tomorrow. Let's get you some sleep"

Remus leaned against his shoulder "And a bagel" He mumbled with closed eyes.

"And a bagel"

A car ride and 2 bagels later they broke paths as Patton went to work and Remus went to his apartement at MI6. He hadn't been able sleep in the bed there since Remy was captured but maybe now he was just exhausted enough for it to work.

He stopped outside the apartement door and fumbled after his key. It took him a moment to realize that the door was already unlocked. He silently moved his hand up to the holster under his shirt and took out his handgun.

Every muscle in his body was tense as he threw the door open. He pointed the gun at the first thing he saw.

"Oh there you are son" Octavia said with a relaxed smile.

She was sitting on his bed in an ocean blue summer dress with a white blazer over it. She was sipping tea from one of Remus' cups. Behind her stood a woman with a gun. The agent didn't recognize her but she did have the Octopussy symbol tattooed onto her shoulder so he assumed she was a new recruit.

Remus put the gun back into his holster "You could have called me"

"Honey you know how old fashioned I am. Besides I thought you'd surely be here" She put down the cup and instead stood up to hand him a black blazer "Put this on"

"Is the fashion police after me again or?"

"Oh no no" She fixed his hair so it didn't look like a hurricane had gone through it "I've gotten a meeting with a higher up at Enfuel"

During the car ride to the company building Octavia explained her plan of creating a parthnership between Enfuel and the Octopussy conglomorate under the gist that they will give her hotels a bit of free power and she can give them some valuable information and workers in return. When in reality those workers would be stealing information from Enfuel and hopefully find where Remy and Roman were.

"So hun right now you're not a 00 agent. You're just my son and a diligent member of my company. Okay?" Octavia concluded.

"Okay"

The car stopped outside of a 4 floor tall office building. Octavia walked in front of him with confident steps while Remus tried to take in every single detail of the rooms and hallways they passed.

They took an elevator ride up to the second floor. Octavia pointed down a hallway "It should be this way. The man on the phone-"

Remus stopped listening. His eyes were staring in the other direction. Towards them Theo and Virgil were coming. The bodyguard had a soft smile on his face and was holding onto the teenager's hand in a comforting way. He had leaned down slightly to be more on Virgil's level to listen to him ramble about something.

Theo glanced up and immediately stopped in his step when he saw Remus. Virgil looked over to Theo with a confused look on his face before he saw the agent and his eyes went wide. There was clear bruising forming on his cheek, it only looked a few hours old.

The teenager moved to reach out for Remus but Theo promptly clamped his hand over Virgil's mouth and grabbed onto his shoulder to force him to turn around. It was glaringly obvious that Virgil was doing his best to get himself free and run to the agent but the bodyguard easily pulled him along so quickly they'd soon rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.

Remus stood a bit confounded and stared at where they'd gone. Most of his brain was screaming at him to run after them. To pummel Theo's face into the ground until it was completely ruined.

Octavia put her hand on his shoulder "Hun? you alright?"

He took a deep breathe and reminded himself he had a cover to keep up "I'm as good as a molten piece of cheese on a hot pavement"

"Son you really need to learn some more easily understood metaphors"

Remus leaned closer to her "Mr. Impur is here, or was here recently at least" He whispered "The bruise on the kid was new"

Octavia snapped up to look to where Virgil had went "That's horrible"

"I know. I'll fix that later. We should focus on the meeting"

A secretary met up with them and escorted them to an office. A man sat behind a modern looking steel desk. It wasn't Mr. Impur. Octavia looked him up and down before swiftly shifting into her business voice as she sat down on the other side of the desk and introduced herself. Remus stayed standing slightly behind her. He bit the inside of his mouth, unsure of what to do.

After a minute or so of empty talk Octavia looked over to Remus "I'm sure you'd be okay with my son looking around the building while we speak, yes? It would be useful to know how your locations hold up if our companies will go through with our deal" She added a chuckle "I mean it's not like you have anything to hide"

The man keept up a forced smile "Of course" He said while wiping his sweaty hands off on his pants.

Octavia sent her son a smile and he nodded back at her. He closed the office door quietly behind him and looked around the hallway. If he was a conniving villain would he hide his secrets on the top floor or in a hidden basement?

He went for simply looking around at what he could while trying to not look suspicious. It looked just like a normal office building. Most rooms were filled with cubicles and people mindlessly writing on computers.

Remus couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. If there weren't other people around him he would have taken out his gun by now.

Here and there were small texts about the history of the company, at least 1 on each floor. It wasn't anything uncommon for companies, it was just a way to make them look better. It just seemed more sour since Remus knew enough about the company to know how much of it were lies, how many skeletons the company really had in it's closet.

Maybe the strangest thing was the mentions of Virgil, or rather how little he was mentioned. The lie told to the public was that Virgil was the ceo of the sister company to Enfuel, the one he'd gotten from his father. And yet it was at most tacked on at the end that his son 'had a succesful company just like his father'.

No mention of Virgil's age or his mother or anything, it was written as if suddenly he'd just been spat out into existance this year. Remus was getting a headache. He so wanted to punch someone.

Life finally listened and gave him a punching victim because when he turned around he could see Theo standing far away. He was staring at him but turned around and left the room as soon as Remus saw him.

The agent moved to catch up but a hand landed on top of his head "There you are" Octavia said.

Remus spun around and looked up at her. He hadn't even ntoiced nearly 40 minutes had gone by "Did you fuck him up?"

"Not quite. Some dicussions happened....Enfuel doesn't want to share resources" She quickly moved her arm around Remus' shoulders "Don't worry hun, I'll still send my best girls to infiltrate the company. It'll just take longer than if Enfuel weren't-"

"Stuck up snot filled bitches" Remus cut in.

"Yes. Honestly it was really insulting how Mr. Impur didn't even bother to show up to our meeting. As if I don't have just as much power as him" She sighed "How about we drive back to your apartement. We can watch one of those stop motion movies you like, try to get our minds off of.....things for a little while. You look tired"

"You go ahead to the car. I just have to check up on something first"

"Sure" She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead "Love you"

"Love you too mom"

Remus immediately went to where Theo had gone a few minutes before. He was nearly fuming as he turned the corner and came into what looked like some sort of break room. Theo was sitting in a lounge chair. He had the detatched look he usually wore as he met eyes with the agent.

"Surprised they let a 00 agent in on the premise" He said with a cold tone.

Remus forced a gritted smile as he sat down in the chair opposite to him "00 agent? Never even heard of it. I'm just the right hand man of the Octopussy conglomorate here to help my mother"

That actualy got an amused smile from Theo "Must have mistaken you with someone else then. Someone really nasty. Maybe even abhorrent. Not going to lie here, I might have punched the guy if I saw him again"

"Oh really? Could that be the same cool guy who gave you that injury???" Remus pointed at his bitten off ear.

Theo leaned forward in his seat "Yes actually! How did you guess that"

He shrugged "Intuition"

"Amazing! My kids were quite horrified when I came home all bandaged up. It was a real nailbiter whether I would retain my hearing on that ear or not....Or should I say...a real earbiter" He chuckled at his own pun "Did I mention that the guy had this Awful mustache? It looked like moss was growing on his face"

The agent laughed a bit half hearted along with him "Well people really have to stop underestimating the power of a man with a fucked up mustache"

"Wise words" Theo replied along with a half hearted laugh "Hey, just a question" In an instant the smile disappeared from Theo's face "Wasn't there a second right hand man before? Another brother?"

Remus grabbed onto the seat so hard his knuckles whitened "Shut up"

"disappeared 6 or so years ago?"

"Shut up!" He growled out.

"Roman was it? I heard he liked sharks"

Remus slammed his hand down into the cushion "SHUT UP!"

"Thought so"

Theo stood up, making him tower over the other man. He looked Remus up and down in silence. Something seemed to soften in his eyes for a moment.

"....Your husband is still alive" His mouth moved into a forced sneer and the softness in his eyes seemed to be replaced with his usual emotionless expression "He keeps crying out to you when he's passed out. It's annoying"

Remus' blood turned cold in an instant. He stood up so fast the chair along with his crutches fell down onto the ground behind him. He grabbed onto the collar of Theo's shirt.

"YOU TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE RIGHT IN THIS INSTANT OR I WILL-"

His hand moved into a fist. He's punched Theo right in the face before Remus even realized he'd been moving. The larger man didn't even flinch.

"Ow" He said in the most detached voice possible.

"Just- You have to tell me where they are" Remus tried to make it sound threatening but it sounded more like begging.

"I wish-" Theo sighed "I have people I have to protect too"

He grabbed onto Remus' wrist and forced him away from him. He didn't even give the agent a last look, he just walked away.

Remus gritten his teeth together "I'll kill you! Next time I'll see you will be the last time! I'll make sure of it! I'll make you suffer! I WILL KILL YOU!"

Chapter Text

The concrete floor was cold against Virgil's bare feet as he ran through the corridors. He held the keycard close to his chest. He could hear the guard running after him, the swearwords mixed with panting.

He turned the corner. In a panic he grabbed onto the handle of the closest door he saw while pressing the key to the keypad. He lept into the room and slammed the door behind him.

Virgil held his hands over his mouth to quiet his heavy breathing. His whole body was shaking as he heard footsteps run past. He didn't get a chance to calm down as a voice came from behind him.

"What the hell are You doing here?" The You was said with such venom it nearly made Virgil flinch.

He turned around and met eyes with Remy.

They sat on the ground. Thick iron chains locked their wrists and ankles together while at the same time chaining them down to the ground. A final chain that hung from the ceiling went around their neck making it look hard to breathe.

All they had on was a pair of boxers. A bandage was wrapped around their right thigh and bloody bruises covered their face. Virgil thought they looked awfully mentally stable for someone who had been captured for nearly a month.

Virgil crossed his arms and grimaced at them."Maybe I should ask what YOU're doing here!!?"

"I'm being tortured bitchhead"

"Yeah well good! I hope that continues to happen! You- You meanie maggot!!"

He stuck out his tounge before turning away from the agent. He made sure to slam the door behind him when he left.

--

In virgil's opinion his room at this base was quite nice. At some other places they'd made him live in decorated torture chambers but here they'd decorated one of the cells instead! He had a steel bed with a matress and a pillow, a desk, a lamp and it was connected to a small bathroom.

The door usually wasn't locked but he avoided leaving his room as much as he could. If he left there was a chance he would meet somene who wanted to hurt him.

His favorite place was under the bed. It was cold, dark and lots of spiders lived there. Virgil liked laying still and letting them crawl over his face. He was idly patting a big spider on it's cute head when a knock came from the door.

Virgil had a big smile as he got up and opened the door "Hi The-" His smile instantly disappeared as he looked up at the guard "You're not Theo"

"I'm aware" They replied.

"It's 6 pm. Theo usually comes with dinner now"

The guard shoved a plate and a water bottle into his hands "He's on a break"

Virgil looked down at the food "Oh......oh okay....thanks"

He closed the door and sat down on the floor. Theo's work schedule was a bit like an oil rig workers but Virgil always forgot about that until he was gone. It was even worse now with Jaws having been gone for longer than usual. He let the spiders take whatever they wanted from the food before eating.

Several hours later, around 2 am to be exact, Virgil was forced awake by heavy footsteps and mumbled swearwords coming from the hallway. The teenager had moved himself and a blanket under the bed to sleep next to the spiders. He crawled closer to the corner to hide as he stared at the door.

For a moment he thought maybe it was his teacher coming to take him to the make shift classroom. He didn't have a clock and the base didn't have windows so he never had any idea what time of day it was. But that was quickly forgotten as the door opened and a person was shoved into the room.

The body landed harshly on the floor. The door slammed shut again casting the entire room into darkness. Virgil's breath hitched and he stayed hidden. The person laid still for a while before quiet whimpering came from them.

Virgil's eyes widened at the sound "Jawsie!"

He got up and turned on the lamp before sitting down next to his friend. His hands were locked in what could be best described as mittens out of steel so he couldn't move his fingers at all, and a similar steel cage had been forced onto the lower part of his face so he couldn't open his mouth.

"Jawsie- I was- Did they hurt you? Are you okay? Don't worry I'll get this off of you" He assured "They're stupid for putting them on you. You would never hurt anyone without meaning"

Virgil threw the handcuffs and mouth lock as far away as he could. Jaws seemed dizzy as he let out a whine from deep in his throat. His eyes were cloudy when he finally looked up at Virgil. He moved his hand up behind the teenager's neck and pulled him close.

He gladly threw his arms around Jaws and snuggled up on his chest like a cat "Don't worry Jawsie! I won't let them hurt you ever again! I'll protect you!"

--

The next day when Virgil came back from a full day of classes Jaws was sitting on the floor. He was staring out into the air while his hand moved a pencil across a paper he'd laid out in front of him. The last of the breakfast the teenager had saved for him sat cold on its plate.

"I'm back Jawsie!"

No response came. Virgil dropped his books on the ground before moving to sit on Jaws' lap. Strong arms latched around him to hold him close. The drawing was messy but he could just about make out that it was showing a figure laying on the floor with a piece of their neck missing.

Jaws usually drew the person after he'd killed them. Virgil had always assumed it was some sort of coping mechanism. Maybe to try and forget it.

"It was a good day today" Virgil said "Not as much of those pesky maths and economics and stuff like usual. Look I got another book to read!" He shoved it straight in front of Jaws' face "It's a fiction book!!"

His homework was to read till chapter 7 so he opened up the book and started to read aloud. He knew his friend liked to hear. Jaws gently played with his hair the entire time.

-

Day after day when Virgil got back Jaws was sitting in the same exact place drawing. He thought it was a bit strange since he normally only drew the one he'd killed once before moving on to just doing nothing.

But now the sketches were piling up. Jaws held them close to his chest most of the time Virgil was there. The teenager didn't really look at the drawings that much. He was much more interested in the book.

At night, when he couldn't sleep, he would reread the passage where the male protagonist was introduced. He loved how the author described him. His auborn eyes and warm hands.

"So dreamy" He mumbled to himself. Jaws grunted in his sleep.

The teenager traced his fingers over the words imagining instead tracing his fingers over the character's cheek. Over his chest. Over the agent's bare che-

Virgil sat up and slammed the book shut. His cheeks were as red as stop signals as he tried to force the image of the 00 agent out of his brain. He'd tried to keep it out for days now. Jaws stirred awake. He let out a yawn, showing off his sharp teeth, before eyeing the teenager.

"I uh I was just imagining ehm living like the characters in the book like usual. I mean like going outside regularly and ehm touching grass and ordering sandwiches and stuff like that. Haha like I usually do!!" Virgil stammered out. His blushing had somehow gotten worse.

Jaws poked his finger right under Virgil's eye while huffing.

"You don't have to tell me reading in the dark is bad for me every single time"

The older man simply took the book out of Virgil's hands before moving his arms around him to show him it was time to sleep. He fell asleep in an instant like a toy being turned off while the teenager stayed awake.

He did his best to fill his mind with something besides daydreams about the book character or well... the agent thing..He even tried solving math equations but not even that worked.

"There's something wrong with me" He mumbled to himself.

A lump was growing in his throat. It felt like it was suffocating him. He glanced over to Jaws and waited with baited breaths for what felt like forever before finally deciding to move. He carefully inched out of the bed and grabbed onto some leftover food and water.

Virgil lastly grabbed onto the keycard from under the pillow. The hallway looked exactly the same as it always did when he left the room. There were no windows anywhere, only blue fluorescent lights. Still he knew it was night because there were less guards.

His nerves were tensed the entire time he walked, until he finally got to the door he wanted. He quietly opened it and looked inside as if he was expecting it to have been magically emptied. Virgil had never really understood why the characters in books described it as having butterflies in their stomach. But now when he looked at Remy he got it.

The agent flinched at the sudden light coming through the gap in the door. They were sitting in the same chained up position as the last time the teenager saw them.

"Oh jeez you again. Girl the fuck you doing here? The only torture you can bring me is the pain of like mild annoyance"

Virgil closed the door behind him. He searched for words while biting the inside of his cheek. "I....ehm I..water" He threw the water bottle in Remy's direction and it hit them right on the forehead.

"Ow"

"I uh got some food too" He took a nervous step closer and held out a piece of bread.

Remy looked him up and down. There was dried blood on their lips and chin. "Girl you think I'm an idiot or something? Like if you're gonna try to like trick me into trusting you just to get info from me at least be like subtle"

"No I uh I'm not"

"Suuuure gal. Trying it with the food is stupid as well. I was literally like homeless right in the peak of puberty. I've been hungrier"

Remy gave Virgil a look that made him want to shrivel up and disappear. He awkwardly placed the food back into his pocket and sat down a feet or so away from the agent. He began fiddling with the sleeves of his pyjamas.

"So uh" Virgil forced himself to speak again after a few minutes "You're uh- Remus he's- he's a-"

"Don't you dare bring up my husband!" Remy interrupted with rage in their voice "Don't you dare try to use him against me! The other people have already made sure to remind me of how I can't be with him!"

"I-"

"Just fuck off! His brother is dead because of the people here! I'm not even sure if Remus is being hurt or not right now, so you can take your lies and fuck them right off!"

They actually spat in Virgil's direction. He flinched back and quickly stood up. The words laid dead in his throat as he turned around and fumbled to open the door.

His hands were shaking. He stared down into the floor of the quiet hallway and tried to reel his hyperventilating in. His body tensed up when he noticed a shadow towering over him.

Virgil flung his head back and looked up at Jaws. He was standing right outside the torture cell, as if he'd been waiting for him. For once seeing the larger man didn't calm him down.

The teenager opened up his arms and Jaws gently took ahold of him and lifted him up to carry him. As he began to walk back to their room Virgil burried his face against his shoulder.

"You're not dead. You're happy to be with me" He mumbled more to himself than to Jaws. "You're my Jawsie"

They got back to the room and Jaws set him down on the bed before sitting down next to him. He got that dead eyed expression he sometimes wore as his hands fumbled around under the pillow and took out his drawings and a pen.

Virgil crawled into his lap to cheer himself up. The things Remy had said kept repeating in his mind.

He looked over at the drawings to try and distract himself. It was more of the usual stuff. The victim's face frozen in an expression of horror, a body bloody and battered on the floor, the person desperately trying to run away. It just went on and on drawing after drawing.

Until slowly Virgil noticed that the person in the drawing albeit sketchy looked similar in all of them. The same messy hair, the same broad shouldered muscular stature, the same mustache.

A lump formed in his throat "Jaws stop drawing"

He didn't. Virgil stood up and tried to take the drawings away from him. Normally Jaws listened to him but now he didn't let go of the papers no matter what.

"You've drawn enough. You can move on now. You were just protecting me. No need to feel guilty okay. Just stop drawing him"

Both of them continued to pull at the drawings until they ripped in two leaving a scattered mess of papers on the floor. The teenager got ready to apologize but Jaws didn't even seem to notice he wasn't holding anything anymore.

Virgil choked back the bile in his throat "You- You want to be here right? Right? Jawsie you chose you stay with me right? Theo told me you did- they- No one is forcing you stay here right?"

Jaws didn't answer. He kept staring out into nothing.

Virgil tugged at his shirt "Please answer. That agents- he- he's lying right? He's wrong. It's one big misunderstanding. You're with me willingly right? You're the only one- you're my only- Please tell me you're here willingly"

Tears filled Virgil's eyes.

"Please- I know you usually don't talk- but- but say something please- Why haven't you-"

His breath hitched and his hands froze midmotion.

"They haven't- They haven't cut out- your tounge- they haven't cut out your tounge right? Right?" The tears were rolling down his cheeks "Dad said- before we- before I left the base for the first time that if I told anyone- if I said anything- I don't know to who- but if I told anyone about- he would- they would cut off your tounge- they haven't- Jaws please tell me- I DIDN'T TELL ANYONE I swear- please-"

Jaws moved his hand to gently pat Virgil's head to shut him up. He sent him a warm smile. He opened his mouth slightly showing that his tounge was still there.

Virgil let out a shallow breathe. He collapsed onto the bed and pressed his knees to his chest. His shoulders shook from crying as he buried his head in his hands.

"It's all so confusing Jawsie it's all so- I don't want to- First the agents keep telling me you're not- I don't want them to be right- I want you to be happy- And then I'm just- I'm just so wrong- Everything about me is so- I'm not supposed to be like This- There's something wrong with my brain and dad has to know that- If there wasn't anything wrong then he wouldn't- he wouldn't- it hurts- It's all so confusing. I don't understand what info the 00 people want or why or what my dad is doing or why he's kept me like this. It's all so confusing"

All he got in response was more head pats from Jaws.

He tried to wipe away the tears before turning to his friend "....Remus...Do you recognize the name Remus?"

Jaws continued to give him the same dead eyed look. His hand continued to stroke up and down his hair. A smile spread on his lips.

"Virgil" He simply said.

"No- Jawsie please. I just want to know if you're willingly here or not. How can you keep drawing him if you don't even react to his name!"

"Virgil"

"Please stop" He tried to force Jaws' hand away from his hair.

"Virgil"

"ROMAN STOP!"

Jaws didn't react. It wasn't until Virgil pried his hand away he moved to sit still on the edge of the bed and stared out at nothing. Virgil buried himself under the blanket as far away on the bed as he could.

--

When Virgil got back from classes the next day Jaws had meticolously ripped apart every single drawing. He held out the book the teenager had read from the day before but he felt far too anxious to do any homework right now.

"Please Jawsie are you sure there isn't anything else you'd rather talk about right now?"

No response. Virgil sighed. He picked up the new water bottle and some food. He opened the door and waited to see if his friend would react but he simply sat on the ground and looked at the pages of the books, looked not read.

He went through the same exact corridor as the last time. His heart was beating out of his chest when he reached the torture cell. He opened the door with baited breathe and looked inside.

Remy was laying on the ground. Their wrists and ankles were still chained together but now only their hands were locked down into the floor. Their right arm looked like it'd been broken over and over again. Their fingers still twitched from the pain. It looked so mangled Virgil felt sick to his stomach just seeing it.

Their turned their head to look at him "Not you again" Their words were more slurred than before.

"I uh food I brought food"

The agent gave him that look again that made his entire body feel cold. Still he sat down on the dirty concrete.

"So uh Remus he's uh he's-"

"This again. Girl shut the hell up"

His hands were shaking slightly. He took a deep breathe and forced it out "Remus is uh a guy right?"

Remy looked at him as if he'd just said broccoli was made out of human meat "What kind of question is that??? Aren't you here to like I dunno get like real info? I mean yeah he is but girl what's going on"

Virgil nodded along "And you're a uh guy too eh right?"

"..........sure"

"So ehm if you're- you're married and you're both guys- so- ehm- have you- do you ever ehm kiss?" His cheeks were bright red.

It took a moment before the cold expression on Remy's face melted away into an amused one "Oh I see. I get it now. You really are just a kid huh" They chuckled "And like yes obvisouly we do"

Virgil leaned closer and intertwined his fingers "Oh okay! Okay! Cool! cool cool cool. Do- what- like ehm what does it feel like- ehm to kiss?"

"...Is that water bottle cold? Hand it over"

They contorted their left hand in a way so they were pressing the water bottle against where the swelling from the broken bones was the worst. They let out a breathe of relief and leaned their head back.

"For your information kissing feels soft. My husband has that big ass mustache so our kisses get all fuzzy. I've like sneezed right in his face while kissing a ridicolous amount of times 'cause of it. At first it's a bit awkard then just fun...calming...a nice reminder" They let out an incredibly sad sigh "His kisses always made me feel safe, even when we kissed while being shot at"

Virgil's eyes were so wide it looked like his eyeballs would roll out of his skulls "Oh wow. Cool. Cool. That makes me feel...normal things"

"Sure kid" They snapped their fingers "Food"

"Oh right!"

Virgil had forgotten he was a living moving person for a moment. He handed it over and watched on as they ate.

"..So...ehh....about the ehm his eh dead umh brother thing..can I just ask is- what- do you- do you like have any idea what the brother was like? before the whole ehm not alive thing?" Virgil stammered out.

Remy immediately changed back to looking at him with that cold expression "Do you realize how suspicious sounding that question is"

"Oh sorry. I- uh I guess I'll go I have uh homework" Virgil stared at them for a few seconds hoping they would tell him to stay but nothing came. He stood up and took a step back "I guess I'll uh see you maybe uh tomorrow"

--

"-And this is the guy I spent most of my biology lessons daydreaming about buying a hamster and eating waffles with" Virgil said while pointing at one of the pictures in his biology book. He'd brought some of his books to the torture cell to do his homework while talking.

Remy laughed "Holy shit gal at least I had like dudes from movies to get crushes on. Beetlejuice and Hercules were like so fucking hot. You only got crumbs huh"

"I don't know who those people are"

"Don't worry 'bout it. Girl don't tell anyone but like my first full on crush was on my P.E teacher in middle school. He had a mullet and a goatee. Full on looked like an 80's porn st- Fuck I shouln't use that word around you"

"I don't know what that word means"

"Good" Remy let out a breathe of relief.

Virgil did a lil shoulder shimmy "Oh it's kind of exciting getting to talk to someone about this ehm....gay..stuff. I mean Theo is cool about it, he was the one who told me the word for it but he's still ehm...normal so it's not really the same"

"I getya girl"

To the teenager this conversation felt so weirdly normal. Even though when he'd walked in the agent had been puking up water from being waterboarded. Even though he was pretty sure one of their fingers had completely been turned to the other side. Even though their cheeks had sunken in from starvation.

"Is it unusual to not feel real?" Virgil asked while fiddling with the cover of the book "I mean I've spent so much time daydreaming about living a normal life like the people in the books so when I actually got to leave the base for the first time a few months ago the real world felt kind of underwhelming and my daydreams felt more real and-"

"Wait wait wait...Did you....Did you say you only went outside for the first time this year?? You are 15 right? Not like a genetic experiment or something?"

Virgil glanced down at his fingers "Uh yeah pretty sure I'm 15"

Remy chuckled "Fuck. I thought it was kind of weird my husband's mom didn't like let him off their island until he was like 10 but y'know that was a mini island! with air! and like trees and stuff! Virge what the fuck"

"I-I- I didn't know- I'm sorry-"

"No. No kid it's fine. You're not the one who's supposed to apologize" They hurried to assure.

"O-Okay. I mean I didnt- at the base there- there was barely any windows or I mean not closed windows I didnt- I didn't really see outside until I was 10? I guess? I saw snow!! First thing I saw! And then I uh first time I went outside ehm we went to that party! Where we met! And Theo took me there in a car and he gave me a nice shirt to-"

"THAT was the first time you- Oh shit- Oh girl- I- Oh- I'm sorry- That was- Oh no" Remy's brain had stopped working for a moment. "Seriously I'm sorry that should not have been the first time-"

"It's fine! It was exciting! Theo took me to a park before the party. I got to hug trees!"

"Girl I dunno how to make you get that going outside shouldn't be exciting" Remy couldn't help but wonder if he even Knew he owned a company.

Virgil moved closer and leaned his chin on his knee "Okay then tell me. Tell me about the normal"

Remy struggled for words. They hadn't exactly had the most normal childhood either "Okay well first of.........First of....."

--

Virgil got back to his room late at what he think was night after talking to Remy yet again. They'd told him about holidays. Of course he knew they existed because of his books but getting to ask about every single detail was exhilarating.

Jaws looked at him from where he was sitting on the floor with a few spiders crawling around in his hair. The teenager laid down next to him and rested his head on his lap.

"Did you know some people give cards on valentines day Jawsie? I should make the agent a card....for whenever valentines is"

He got a confused look from Jaws.

You're right" Virgil sighed "He's married.....WHich is why we need to kill his husband!! Jawsie you're a geniu-" He very quickly remembered that the husband was in fact his brother "I uh I mean me and Theo will go and kill him! As soon as Theo gets back!"

Another judgemental look.

"Ah right. Good point. I should know the agents name before I kill his husband. Killing Re- the husband is okay since he's a 00 maggot an-"

The older man suddenly tensed up and moved Virgil behind him to protect him. He stared at the door like a blood sniffing shark while baring his teeth.

"Jawsie what a-"

The door opened and 3 armed guards stepped into the room. Two of the guards aimed their guns right at Jaws while the one in front waved his arm dismissively towards the pair "Calm down you...you. We're not here for the kid. Just for you"

Jaws relaxed slightly and stood up. He held out his hands and shut his mouth. The guard chained his hands and put the restraint over his mouth. Virgil watched on while anxiety filled his throat.

When they turned away from him and moved towards leaving the room Virgil lunged forward and wrapped himself around one of the guard's leg. "You can't take Jawsie!!" He whined.

The guard tried to shake him off "It's just a standard job. He won't be hurt if he does it well"

Virgil only held on harder "He doesn't want to kill anyone! He told me!! You can't make him! I won't let you!!!"

The two guards in the back grabbed onto Jaws' arms and took him out into the hallway while the tall man leaned down and held onto Virgil's hood to force him up into the air. "If you don't stop being a nuisance I will have to tell your father"

"Bug bitch" Virgil muttered out while trying to claw at his eyes.

The guard sighed. He kept holding him in the air as he left the bedroom. They went through hallways lined with cells and mold until they stopped by a locked door, to the part of the base Virgil usually didn't have access to.

The sunlight coming through the door as soon as it was unlocked was so much brighter than the old lights down among the cells it made Virgil's eyes hurt. There were only windows in the roof so all he could see was the sky but it still fascinated him so much he nearly forgot he was there to protect Jaws.

He was dragged into his father's office. Virgil was dropped on the ground in front of the ebony desk with marble details. The guards lined up near the wall while continuing to hold onto Jaws. The symbol ingrained into the wall behind the desk made his father's silhouette look even more imposing than it usually did. It was the same symbol he had on his ring.

"What's this about?" Mr. Impur asked in a cold voice. He barely even looked up from his papers.

"Uh sir we-" The guard quickly explained what had happened.

Mr. Impur glanced over to Jaws for a moment before standing up. Virgil quickly stood up as well and hid his shaking hands in the pockets of his hoodie. His father walked up to him with his hands locked behind his back.

He didn't say anything, didn't even bother to take his ring off. He gave Virgil a backhanded slap that made him crumble to the floor as if it was nothing.

the teenager's entire body trembled and tears pressed on in his eyes but he forced them back. Growling come from behind him. Virgil looked back to see Jaws straining against the guard's grip. There was a burning anger in his eyes as he stared at Mr. Impur.

"You will do the job will you not?" Mr. Impur asked.

Jaws continued to snarl. He slammed one of the guards into the wall so hard that he instantly passed out.

Mr. Impur shook his head at him. His rough hand grabbed onto the collar of Virgil's hoodie to force him to sit up. Another backhanded slap that left Virgil whimpering.

"You won't fight back again right?" It sounded like Mr. Impur was asking them both.

The rage didn't disappear from Jaws' expression. His breathing was fast and ragged as he forced himself to stand still. He looked down at the ground and nodded.

"Good boy" Mr. Impur said in the same cold voice while moving his hand across Jaws' restraint. He looked over to one of the guards "You can take my son back to his room"

"Yes sir"

Virgil didn't fight back as the guard took ahold of his lower arm and forced him towards the door. He was too afraid they would hurt Jaws for his misdeeds.

The room seemed even colder than before as he was pushed into it. The door closed behind him. The tears pushed up into his eyes again. This time he let himself cry. He crawled in under the bed and sobbed into his hands. The spiders crawled onto his legs and into his hair.

"If I didn't cause so many problems dad wouldn't have to h-hit me so much" He sniffled out to the spiders "I'm so pathetic- I-I- I can barely even speak when I'm with dad- I get so scared- I'm- I wish I wasn't so wrong" Another sob racked his body "I wish just a single thing about me wasn't wrong"

--

Virgil didn't go to Remy for an entire week. A dark blue bruised had formed on half of his face, on the places where his father's ring had hit him the bruises were deep purple. He didn't want the agent to see the injuries since then they would think lesser of him for being such a problem.

Instead he spent the days rereading his books over and over. he imagined living in the woods like the couple in the book did. Jaws would have his own room, his spiders would get the nicests insects to feast on and he and the agent would go sleeding and lay in the snow when it got cold.

In the imagined future his father would come over for dinner every Saturday. They would hug and his father would remind him that he loved him every single time they said goodbye. His father wouldn't have to worry about his plans or work anymore because Virgil would have helped him succed by then. His mother would be there.

Virgil's entire body tensed up when a knock came from the door. He tried to comb his bangs over his face to hide the bruise before he cralwed out from under the bed. With a shaking hand he opened the door. Hopefully it wasn't his dad. Hopefully it wasn't his dad. Hopefully it wasn't his dad.

"Hiya kiddo" Theo looked down at him with a smile.

"Theo!!" Virgil jumped up into his arms and let the guard embrace him.

He looked into the room "No tall heavy cuddler to crush me in a hug?"

"He's on a job"

"Oh" Theo forced a smile and patted Virgil on the shoulder "I'm sure he'll be back soon. I'm on my lunch break so we have an entire 30 minutes to catch up! Have you gotten anything new to read?"

Virgil shrugged. He sat down on his bed and crossed his arms. Theo sat down next to him but the teenager didn't look at him "Meh"

"Aww is someone going through some grumpy hormonal time"

"Shut up" Virgil muttered out.

"Can't do that. I've got these buns to eat" He took out 2 buns from his bag "Want one? My wife baked them" The teenager pouted while taking one "She made enough to last my entire work time. They'll probably go stale in a few days but they'll still be great....because she made them!"

"Marriage is overrated actually"

Theo chuckled "Oh really? Thanks for the wisdow kiddo" He squinted ".....Have you been hurt? It looks faded but that is a bruise right? You don't have to tell me what happened. It wasn't your fault. Do you want a bandaid or-"

Virgil tensed up "It's okay. I just fell out of the bed"

"......Sure..." Theo moved his arms around him in a sort of hug. He knew he couldn't help him in any way that mattered. All he could do was be there. He hated it. All he wanted was to take Virgil and Jaws with him and leave this godforsaken job without risk being murdered by Them.

--

After a few more days Virgil finally willed himself to sneak back to the torture cell. He quietly opened the door. The first thing he heard was whimpering. Constant pained whimpering.

He stepped inside and gasped at the sight of Remy. A thick chain was around their neck, keeping them hanging in the air. Their hands were locked together too. The only thing stopping them from hanging themself was their toes just about touching the ground.

Their bloodshot eyes moved to stare at him "V...Virgil...You...The chain..I can't...I can't breathe"

Virgil couldn't breathe either. He swallowed his anxiety and nodded. He fumbled around the room looking for how to get them down. Behind them he found where the chain was connected to the floor and swiftly unlocked it.

Remy fell to the floor. A whine left them as they landed on their brutalized ribs. They curled in on themself and tried to hold back tears. The chain had rubbed their skin off leaving bloody gashes. Only now did Virgil notice how their left leg seemed bent out of shape. Oh god they'd been made to partially stand on their broken leg.

He felt sick to his stomach as he looked at them. It could have at most gone a week and half since he saw them and yet....Their ribs stuck out so much it looked like they could cut through their paper like skin...The bags under their eyes were so deep it made their face look skeletal....Their teeth had started to yellow and their skin nearly looked grey from grime and filth.

"I'm sorry" Virgil mumbled out.

"How long....how long has it been? How long have I been here?" Their voice was raspy and weak.

"Ehm uh I think maybe a bit over maybe 2 months. We've been talking for a month I think"

Remy somehow paled even more "Oh- oh god remus- and my mothers oh god it can't have been"

"I'm sorry" Virgil choked out again.

"The stupidest fucking thing is that I keep feeling dysphoric...and like thinking about my bio mom....It's pathetic....Like I have much worse stuff to be worried about than how much mom used to beat the shit out of me"

Virgil's eyes widened and moved closer "Your parent hurt you too?! I knew it! I knew it was normal! Theo keeps insisting it's not but he's like 49% norwegian so it must be cultural differences!"

Remy let out a deep sigh. Their eyelids felt like lead, it was so hard to not pass out "Kid I- I really- I don't have the energy to like tell you how not normal it is. Just- take my word for it. You really- you should have better-"

He didn't really believe them but he still nodded "I trust you on it....Do you....Do you wanna talk about what normal life is like again? Like what people do on their birthdays maybe?" He just wanted to try and cheer them up. To take their mind off of the torture.

They took one look at him before their eyes completely filled with tears. They broke down and started to sob. They were in so much pain. They'd been in it for so long. They wanted to know Remus was safe. That's all they wanted. Then they could die for all they cared.

"I-I'm so- sorry" Virgil reached out to comfort them but stopped midair. He was too afraid of them getting angry to dare do anything more.

All he could do was stand up and leave. The moment he closed the door tears started rolled down his cheeks. There was lead filling his throat until he couldn't breathe. He wished he wasn't so worthless.

--

Virgil kept going back every day. Kept asking questions about normal life. Remy's answers became more and more slurred with each day. Less like answers and more like rambles. It was like they constantly where somewhere else than he was.

He was told the way the leaves outside the homeless shelter used to change during spring. How the dessert at their wedding tasted like. What they gave one of their mothers on her 40th birthday. The movie they and Remus saw on their first date.

Most of the time when Virgil got there they were shaking from being waterboarded. Sometimes they were chained to the floor, beaten and bruised. He wished Jaws was here so he could bite the torturer's necks in two.

After two or so weeks Virgil carefully opened the door and looked inside. Remy was laying on the floor in a pool of their own vomit. They were staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes while holding their hands close to their chest.

"009?" Virgil asked in a nervous tone. They didn't respond.

He took a step closer and hunched down next to them. Something stuck out among the vomit. Virgil carefully picked it up. It was a cut off finger. He let out a quiet squeal and flinched so hard he dropped it.

"009? Did you bite the torturer's finger off?"

Remy barely moved. They parced their hands slightly. Bile rose up in Virgil's throat. The middle finger on their right hand was gone.

"Oh no. No No No. I need some bandages or-" Virgil glanced around the room in a panic "Why can't you just tell them the info they want!? MI6 isn't worth all this!"

They weakly shook their head. It didn't matter if they said the info or not. They wouldn't be let go either way. At worst they would be killed when they weren't useful anymore.

"Please there has to be some way to-"

The door opened. Virgil threw his arms out in front of Remy in an attempt to protect them.

"Virgil?" Theo asked. He quickly closed the door behind him. He leaned down and grabbed onto the teenager's arm "I knew I heard talking. You shouldn't be here. I'm not letting you see these kinds of injuries again"

"Did you- Did you hurt him?" Virgil asked with a quivering lip.

"Of course not kiddo. I'm just a guard. Not a sadistic a-hole" He glanced over to Remy and nearly gasped "Who in the hell cut off his godforsaken finger??? And then didn't bandage??? Are they trying to kill our prisoners or something! I'm working with a bunch of idiots!!"

Remy didn't say anything. They simply let up into a cold laugh while staring right at him.

Theo let ge off Virgil. He grabbed onto a chunk of Remy's hair and forced them to sit up. "You shut up!"

"Girl why should I?" They slurred out "Not like you can hurt me any worse"

"I know......But I can hurt Remus"

"You're lying. My husband is a reckless idiot who is probably working himself to death right now trying to find me"

"But you can't be sure can you? You have no way to know if he escaped the harbor base or not. Heh maybe your stupid explosion killed him! Or he's being held here just like you. Those screams you hear at night could they be him? Could we be hurtin him just as bad as we're-"

"The other torturers have already been taiting me about him, I'm not falling for it"

"But you have been thinking about it" Theo replied "Somewhere at the back of your mind you're constantly worrying about him. 2 months is a long time, shouldn't he have found you by now? It's a constant stream of possibilities isn't it? All those possibilities of where he could be, how hurt he is, if you will ever see him again. And there's no way for you to know. All you can do is hope he's alright and give us the info we want. Like the adress to the MI6's second base"

Remy nodded "Aight. I'll tell you......To access the second base you have to go out into the desert, find a cactus and shove it so far up your ass it impales your stupid fucking brain"

Theo sighed and let go of their hair. He stood up and took ahold of Virgil's hand "Let's go" He glanced at Remy "Have fun worrying about Remus!"

--

Virgil waited for 3 days until sneaking out of his room again. He knew Theo was on his lunchbreak so he should be fine. He threw the door to the torture cell open.

"009 I'm ba-"

He froze midword. Remy wasn't alone. A tall lanky man with yellow eyes stood towering over them. Only their hands were chained this time. Their right hand had been bandaged.

"Virgil?" The man shone up into a sinister smile "Have you gone and sided with a maggot?"

His heart was beating out of his chest "Of-of course not!"

The man took a step closer. Virgil pressed his back into the wall. The man dug his sharp fingernails down into the teenager's wrist "Lil Virge am I gonna have to take you to your dad?"

He shook his head so hard he got a headache "No! Please no! I promise I'm not- I don't- Maggots deserve nothing! I know that! I swear!"

Somehow his smile turned wider "Good. So then you'll help me hurt him" It wasn't a question, more like a command.

"He's just a kid" Remy butted in.

"The only time you should open your mouth is when you answer my questions! Virge put the water on" He pointed over to a rusty trough.

Virgil did as told. The man grabbed onto the chains around Remy's wrist and forced them up to their knees. He began to drag them towards the trough slowly filling with water. The agent desperately fought back. They gritted their teeth in pain and pearls of sweat rolled down their forehead.

"No no. Stop. stop" They mumbled to themself. It was the time Virgil heard pure fear in their voice. It was horrible.

The man turned off the water and shoved Remy so they were sitting right in front of the trough. He took out a knife from his backpocket and held it out to Virgil.

Virgil felt naseous "I don-"

"Take it!"

He did as told. It laid heavy in his hands. The man hunched down and forced Remy to hold out their arm.

"cut into him. Draw as much blood as possible"

Virgil's entire body was shaking from fear. Remy stared down into th water "Kid, it's okay" They said.

He let out a shaky breath. He put the blade against their skin. Tears made their sight blurry as they slid the knife across their lower arm. The blood dripped down into the water turning it into a pretty pink.

"Stop" The man comanded.

Virgil dropped the knife within an instant. The man forced their arms behind their back and placed his hands on the back of their head.

"Put your hands on his arms. Don't let him move"

Virgil did as told.

"So 009 feel like telling us the lil adress to MI6's second base?" He asked with a toothy grin. Remy stayed quiet. "Too bad!"

He shover their head underwater. He held them down the way a farmed holds down a pig before cutting their head off. Remy strained and fought back in any way they could but it was useless.

After 30 seconds the man dragged them up from the water. They gasped for breathe. "The adress 009 and then I'll stop"

No response. He shoved them back underneath while their mouth was still open. 40 seconds. The white of their eyes had turned red.

"How about the real name of M then?"

They tried to elbow him in the face but Virgil stopped them. 50 seconds. Their body had nearly stopped moving right before he let them up.

"The name of Q?"

They spat the bloodied water in his face. They were shoved down under the water so roughly their forehead hit the bottom. A full minute and 10 seconds. They weren't moving.

"He's- You-You're killing him!" Virgil stammered out.

"I missed when you became the expert you brat"

The man let them up. They let out raspy breaths. Their tears had mixed with the water. He only gave them a few seconds before forcing them down under again.

Over and over again. The time got closer and closer to 2 minutes and the time between got shorter and shorter. The man kept repeating the same questions over and over. It was maddening.

Until finally after at least half an hour Remy coughed up bile and water and through heavy gasps begged "Please stop. Please"

The man combed his fingers through their hair "Aww only because you asked so nicely"

He stood up and let go off them which Virgil also quickly did. Remy collapsed on the floor. They puked up water and kept gasping for breathe.

"Last time he didn't say please" The man whispered to Virgil "It's a slow breaking but I am breaking him still. Soon enough he'll be so desperate he'll tell me everything I want"

Virgil shuddered "T-thanks for not telling dad"

The man smiled at him before leaving. Virgil sat down on the ground tried to calm his breathing.

"009 we- I-If I take away your chains I-I can help you escape. I can open the door!"

"No use" Remy murmured out "I can't walk, you can't carry me. You don't know the exit from the whole base. You don't know where we are. I would get taken again and hurt worse........and....and maybe Remus is here too....I...I can't leave him"

"....Sorry"

Remy broke down into tears. Their hopeless sobbing and mumbling about Remus was the only sound in the room for several minutes.

Virgil was quiet in thought. He fumbled with the sleeves of his shirt while thinking and then finally

"....If.....If you tell me where the base..I-I mean the second base for the MI6 is I could- I dunno- I think I could figure out where Remus is- If he's okay at least"

Remy glanced up at him. Their eyes were foggy and their thoughts jumbled "Really?"

"Yes! Really! I promise! We're friends aren't we? I'll help you! All you have to do is tell me! Like friends do!"

"...Friends....yeah...It's...It's disguised as an accountant business in London.....it's called secure wealth CO.....it's all MI6"

A rush of happiness made Virgil dizzy "Great! Thanks! I'll- I'll fix it all! I promise!"

He didn't waste any time. He got up and left the room without saying anything. The happiness grew as he ran through the hallways. Nothing about him would be wrong anymore. He would deserve to be loved.

Virgil stopped outsie the door leading off to the rest of the base. He banged his fists against it "Dad! Dad! I got the info! I got the info from the agent!"

Chapter Text

The sun hadn't even risen yet but Remus was already on his way to MI6's second base. He'd woken up from a nightmare and also had a sleep paralysis where he'd seen Roman standing over his bed. Didn't really feel like falling back asleep after that.

Instead he was planning on rereading all those files about the mission while drinking his breakfast (a coffee, he'd nearly ordered an espresso for Remy as well through sheer habit).

He was so zoned out as he walked into the parking lot of the base he nearly got run over by a car. He looked up at the building while yawning. The sky was grey and filled with clouds. It felt like his whole world was filled with static.

Remus took a step closer. An explosion blew one of the building's walls open.

The shookwave slung Remus down onto the ground. He landed harshly on his back. For a few moments he couldn't move. His heart was beating out of his chest and his sight was blurry. The sky had turned black from smoke.

He let out a few raspy breaths and forced himself to stand up. His legs were shaky and his left ankle ached but that didn't matter. The damage left by the explosion had opened a perfect opening into the base. Well perfect aside from how the building looked like it was moments from crumbling in on itself.

Remus took out his gun from his holster and reloaded it. He ran into the close to collapsing building. There was a constant ringing in his ears and his lungs hurt from the smoke.

He got to the room filled with every mission file. The first thing he saw was a car, a big black car. It'd been driven into the room right through the hole in the wall. Secondly a man who stood by one of the pile of files, he was trying to take as many as possible.

For a moment both of the men froze as they saw the other. A second later the stranger yelled "AGENT IS HERE! DRIVE!!"

He sprinted to the car while the engines reeved up. Remus aimed his gun towards the man's leg. He pulled the trigger. A perfect shot. The man fell into the backseat of the car while blood seeped out from his ankle.

The car began to drive away as the man continued to scream in pain. Remus did a desperate attempt to run after it and jump onto the back of it but it drove out into the street before he even got close. Even worse was that he saw another nearly identical grey car also drive away. There were 2 cars he had to somehow catch up with on foot.

Remus' heart was beating out of his chest and he was close to hyperventilating. He couldn't. He couldn't do anything. Mr. Impur's men had tortured information from his spouse and used it to get to the files and he hadn't been able to stop it. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do it. He couldn't-

"Calm down. Calm down for Remy's sake" He mumbled to himself. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths and focus "Check if the important files have been taken first and then panic"

The agent turned around and ran over to the bookshelfs. His eyes wandered across the neatly written text on the spines of the files. It was all gone. Every single one of his and Roman's missions. Every single one that had any information on Mr. Impur. Even the few ones that had any hint of information about Deceit.

A sound came from behind him. A footstep.

Remus' entire body tensed up. In an instant he turned around and pointed his gun right in the forehead of the assumed attacker.

"Oh 008. We have to stop meeting like this" Theo said with a wide smile. He held his gun to Remus' forehead as well.

"My dear motherfucker we will actually stop meeting like this because in 2 seconds I will have blown your fucking brain out!" Remus growled back.

"You will do no such thing" He held out a key "This goes to a motocycle standing in the parking lot. You will take it and you will drive after those cars. Virgil is in the grey car. You will capture him, take him to MI6 and you better not dare lay a finger on him or I will make sure your lovely lil 009 looses even more fingers"

His words made Remus feel nauseous but he ignored it as much as he could "Bullshit. Why the fuck would I ever trust you. You're just trying to distract me"

"Are you seriously so stupid so you think you have any other choice than trusting me. How else will you get the files back? Teleportation?"

Remus got ready to pull the trigger. He took a deep breathe and looked into Theo's dark eyes. He expected them to be emotionless like usual. Instead they looked worried.

The agent didn't say anything. He simply lowered his gun and took the key. Theo relaxed slightly and moved his gun away as well. 008 turned around and ran towards the smoke filled exit.

Getting out into the parking lot was literally a breathe of fresh air. He pressed the key and a blue motorcycle lit up a few feet away. Remus hit the gas pedal as hard as he possible could the moment he got on. The engine roared to life and he drove out into the street.

Firetrucks and police cars was already on their way to the base. He speed past them without putting a second thought on them. All he could focus on was the cars. He couldn't see them but he knew they'd droven down this road.

He maneuvered between lanes and fast cars to catch up. The roads were busy so he drove up on the sidewalk. He turned a corner and nearly ran into an old lady. But his eyes caught on the cars nearly a half a mile ahead of him. A gray one and a black.

He pressed down even harder on the gas pedal. A dark cloud of smoke rolled up behind the motorcycle. But no matter how fast he drove the cars kept being ahead of him. His eyes darted around the road desperately looking for a way to catch up.

There was a truck stopped by the side of the road with a pile of pallets stacked on top of the back. Remus didn't have time to second guess. He used the truck as a ramp and drove up onto the rooftops.

The motorcycle was accelerating in the air at such speed so he nearly slid off the roof once he landed. He gritted his teeth and did a quick turn to keep the wheels on the small part of the roofs where he could actually drive.

He kept his eyes locked on the cars as he drove. With no one else in front of him he quickly caught up. Most of the windows we're tinted but he could see the drivers. The drivers had the same muscular stature as Theo. The one driving the grey car looked like he was talking to someone in the backseat.

The driver in the black car looked over and his eyes widened at the sigt of someone driving a motorcycle on a rooftop. The car speed up. Remus quickly got out his gun and aimed at the driver's head. The motorcycle started to go zigzag and he was inches away from crashing, and yet he kept going.

Right when he was about to shoot, ignoring how shooting him would probably cause several car crashes, A cross road came ahead. One road went to the left, to a road with less people, while the other continued onward on the busy road.

The grey car drove down the left road while the black one continued forward. The grey one with Virgil. Fury rose up through Remus' chest, filling his throat. He put his gun back into his holster.

With a sudden turn the motorcycle flew off the rooftop and crashed down into the road. It continued down into the left road with enough speed to leave marks behind it. No one was on the tight road except for him and the grey car.

He got up to beside the car. The driver sneered at him and tried to drive into him but he quickly turned out of the way. He fumbled around in his pocket for the mini explosives Logan had made. He maneuvered so he was right behind the car. He threw the explosive so it stuck onto the car.

He let the motorcycle stop and watched the car drive a way for a few seconds, before taking out the trigger to the explosive and pressing it.

The car's side blew open. It flew into the air and spun before landing upside down. The wheel's where stilll spinning when it stopped.

Remus took out his gun and slowly walked towards the car. He could hear sobbing. Virgil crawled out from one of the cracked open doors. His back was turned towards the agent as he with desperate heaves tried to open the door to the driver's seat.

"Joel? JOEL? Wake up!" He cried out.

Virgil snapped his head up as he heard footsteps. His breathe hitched when he saw Remus. His hands started to shake as he tried to get away. Blood was dripping down his forehead and he limped on his right leg.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

With his hurt leg Virgil didn't have a chance to flee as Remus took a few quick steps and grabbed onto the collar of his shirt. He held the teenager in the air. All he could do was quick his legs around and scream.

"Where are the files you took?" Remus spat out.

"They're- I- the other car- I- we- we were just- it's in the other car- Joel is-"

"SHUT UP!" Remus couldn't breathe. There was no way he could catch up with the black car. How could he have fallen for a trick this stupid.

Virgil forced a smile through the tears "But- but it's good! I-I mean now they- dad will get the information!! So they will let 009 go! if they have the information they would have gotten from him they will let him go!"

A tear rolled down Remus' cheek. He stared at Virgil with wide hollow eyes.

"You idiot! They won't just let them go! Once 009 is useless to them they will kill them! All you've done is doom them!"

--

It was bullshit. It was all bullshit. Virgil had gotten the nicest cell they could possibly find at the MI6 headquarter. He didn't have to wear handcuffs. He didn't even get interrogated! What kind of bullshit was this!!!

Remus was practically fuming. He stood with his arms crossed watching into the cell through the one way mirror. Virgil sat on his new bed. He was honestly overwhelmed by how nice the room was. He got a bed, desk and even a fluffy carpet!

The agent watched as Patton entered the room. He'd visited the kid a lot the past 3 days, mostly to bring him food. Remus drove his fingernails down into his arms so hard he started to bleed. The anger bubbled inside him just thinking about Patton with his sweet voice and soft hugs comforting one of the people who must have had a part in torturing his spouse.

Finally after at least half an hour of Virgil barely even responding to anything the older man said he got up and left the cell. Remus took one last look at the teenager before quickly catching up with Patton.

"Moneypenny!" Remus gripped onto Patton's arm to stop him midstep.

He turned around and looked up at him with that nearly unaturally wide smile "What is it kiddo?"

"Why the hell are you treating that bitch like THAt!??"

"You mean Vi-"

"Remy has been gone for 74 days! Why aren't we interrogating him until he tells us where they are! Why not let Deceit take care of him?? No one who's ever been interrogated by deceit has not told us what we want!" Remus exclaimed.

Patton forced the agent's hand away from him "008, Virgil is 15. I- We are not letting him go through what Deceit sometimes does to people"

Remus clenched his teeth together to try and hold back the rage "Oh so you're just going to spend ages coodling him until he Maybe feels like telling us where my spouse and my brother are??? Huh? Moneypenny is that it?"

"We don't even know if he knows anything"

"OF COURSE HE DOES! He's a sniveling unsympathetic manipulator! AND right now he's our only lead!"

"I talked to Deceit about my plan and he agrees it's better to try and make him trust us. So yes. I know what I'm doing. It won't take long" Patton sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "I'm sorry 008. I understand what you're feeling. We are all under a lot of stress right now-"

"You understand?" Remus' hands formed into fists "You really think you understand. If you understood you would listen to me! I KILLED SOMEONE BEFORE I TURNED 14 I'M PRETTY FUCKING SURE VIRGIL CAN TAKE BEING INTERROGATED!"

"Oh dear" Patton moved to hold onto him "So so remember to breathe"

Remus pushed him away "I don't need that stuff. I. Am. Calm! I am as calm as someone who's head has been run over by a truck!"

"....Sure....Kiddo do you want me to drive you home?"

"I want to interrogate Virgil! And I want- I need to find Remy!"

Patton sighed "Well kiddo I know what I'm doing so you really don't have to worry"

"You can take that knowledge and shoved it so far down your throat it comes out your ass! Deceit will listen to me! I will make sure he does! And then I will make sure Virgil gets what he deserves!"

"All he deserves is a childhood" Patton said as Remus walked away but the agent didn't listen.

When Remus got into Deceit's office there were weirdly enough only a few snakes in it. Usually there were dozens slithering around as if they owned the place but now only a few were wrapping themself around Deceit's body as he stood by his desk. He was packing papers and a few guns down into a box.

"Oh hello 008" He greeted without looking up "What could be so urgent so you barge in without knocking?"

"Take a wild guess" Remus grumbled back.

"I've already talked to Moneypenny about it. I trust his decisions. Especially more than I trust yours right now with the state your in"

"What state?!" The agent nearly shouted with eyebags bigger than the atlantic oceans, a heartrate that was consistently up in dangerous numbers and a rapidly lowering weight.

"Exactly"

Remus threw his arms in the air "Deceit just listen to me! We could have all the answer about where Remy and- where they are tomorrow! I could fix it! The mission could be over! How do you expect me to trust any of your decisions when it's my family that is being hurt!"

Deceit let out a long sigh. He put down the paper he was holding and rounded the desk to get closer to Remus. He leaned against the desk and fixed his gloves.

"I don't have a simple answer to that question.....But here's a start..." He looked up and met eyes with Remus "My real name is Janus Moneypenny....And if that information leaves this room I will have to kill you"

For a few moments all Remus did was stare at him- at Janus with a shocked look before finally forcing out

".......You........You....You and Patton are brothers?"

Janus facepalmed "We're married 008. We've been married for nearly 10 years. We have 2 kids together. Somehow I still get surprised by your stupidity"

Suddenly a lot of things clicked together ".....Oh......Well that still doesn't change anything! Good for you for having a husband I guess!"

"But it does. Don't you get it 008. One of the files Mr. Impur's men took contained my name meaning they will be able to find my adress meaning they know where my daughters live meaning they are probably out to hurt them"

"That is...bad"

"Yes! It is!" To be honest Janus was looking more stressed than the agent had ever seen him as he went back to packing "So I am taking my daughters and 2 of my best agents-

"Me?"

"Not you. And going to a hideout only me and Patty know about. I will not return until the mission is over and every single one of Mr. Impur's men who knows my real name is dead. I will not let a single bad thing happen to my daughters" He continued while loading a gun and putting it in his holster "Until I am back Patty will be in charge- the M for the time being if you will. And if my husband thinks he can make Virgil talk you will goddamn listen to him-"

"But-"

"He's the smartest most capable person I know. No buts"

That nearly familiar rage swelled up in Remus' chest again "So you just get to take your loved ones and hide? And leave the work to me? Where the fuck was Remy's choice to just fucking leave this all behind when You sent us to take care of this bullshit?!"

Janus looked back at him with pity.

"For someone who has been grieving for so long I thought you would have been past anger by now"

Chapter Text

"You like the books kiddo?" Patton asked in a gently tone.

He was sitting on the edge of Virgil's bed. The teenager had pressed himself into corner, as far away from him as he could. A stack of books had built up on the floor in only a few days, all of them brought in by Patton.

He nodded shuly.

"You know you can always talk to me about anything. It must be quite scary to suddenly be taken to a whole new place filled with strangers"

Virgil didn't answer.

"Once this whole ordeal with your father's company is over everything will go back to normal in no time" He lied. In reality he would probably be left at an orphanage while his father rotted in prison.

".....Is 009 here yet?" Virgil mumbled out the question. He looked at Patton with fragile hope in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry kiddo but we haven't heard anything from them"

"Oh...Okay" He crumbled in on himself even more than already had. He was so stupid. He had really thought he would be able to save them.

"I am sure they will be back soon!"

Virgil didn't say anything more. He sat still with a blank look on his face. His hands tirelessly dragging in his sleeves to find Something to hold onto. Patton assumed he wouldn't be able to get anything more from him for the day.

He gently put his hand on the teenager's shoulder and motioned for him to lay down. Virgil buried his head into the pillow as Patton tucked him into bed.

"I hope you have a good sleep kiddo" He patted his head before leaving.

--

When Patton came back a few days alter the first thing he heard was crying. He quietly stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. The breakfast another worker had come with several hours before sat on the floor untouched.

Virgil laid curled up under the blanket of the bed, softly crying. Patton carefully walked up to him, not wanting to startle him. He lifted the cover and moved his hand to wipe a tear away from the teenager's cheek.

"You alright kiddo?"

"Mhm" He mumbled back, trying to keep the tears in.

"Anything you wanna tell me?"

He looked into Patton's big blue trustworhy eyes "...I just..miss.....people"

"Aww that's okay kiddo. Y'know I miss my daughters when I'm away at work. It's only natural"

Virgil suddenly got a serious look on his face "Do you hit them? Your daughters? When they're bad children and doesn't listen to you do you take your cane and hit them on their backs until they're crying and have learnt their lesson?"

Patton froze "No. No of course not. If either of your parents did that that's-"

"Okay" Virgil interrupted, his voice cold "Okay"

The older man was quiet for a moment. Unsure of how to cheer him up. He finally put on a soft smile and looked at Virgil "Say do you have a favorite animal?"

"...Spiders...Oh! Sharks! I really like sharks! They remind me of...a friend"

"Well then kiddo I'll be back in a just a moment"

He returned 15 or so minutes later, carrying something behind his back. Virgil tensed up expecting something a punishment. Maybe crying had been a bad thing. Maybe he'd eaten too much. Maybe giving him such a nice room had just been a trick.

Patton took out what he'd bought. It was a stuffed toy shark with big goofy eyes and fluffy fur.

"Ta-da!!! It's yours kiddo"

Virgil anxiously stared at it for a while before slowly taking it. He'd never gotten anything like this before. Not even from Theo, it was too much of a risk. The fur was so soft he couldn't help but bury his face against it's soft tummy.

When he looked back up at Patton there were tears filling his eyes. "Oh dear. Is there something wrong?" The older man immediately asked in a worried tone.

He shook his head "No...No...These are happy tears...T-thank you" A genuine smile played on his lips.

"Aww no need for thanks kiddo. C'mon don't you wanna name it?"

He bit his cheek in thought before replying "Jaws! He'll be called Jaws. reminds me of my friend. I really miss his hugs"

"I'm sure he misses you back!" Patton knew fully well who Jaws was and the murders he had caused. "I can at least give you a hug, if you want it"

Virgil shuly nodded. Patton opened his arms and the teenager cuddled close to his chest. Like a kitty. He held the shark plushie tight in his arms and closed his eyes to pretend he was hugging Theo or Jaws instead.

--

Virgil was drawing when Patton came back the next day. The shark plushie laid tucked in under the covers of the bed. He sat down the lunch sandwiches he had with him onto the desk and leaned closer to look at the drawing. He must already be making good progress because the teenager only flinched a little when he got close this time.

To be frank the drawing was clearly amateurish. It showed a tall man with black hair and a missing ear. Theo. He was hugging a smaller skinnier person. Another muscular person with metal teeth and and long hair hanging in front of his face was joining in on the hug. All of them were smiling.

"What a pretty drawing kiddo" Patton said with a smile "Is it your parents?" He asked hoping to get some information about his father.

He hesitated before mumblign back "Wish it was"

"Well I'm sure you'll see them again soon"

"Yeah right. You keep saying that but MI6 are all maggots trying to hurt my dad. You will never let them go" He muttered.

Patton gently put his hand on his shoulder "That's not true kiddo. We're just-"

Virgil stood up so fast the chair fell down on the floor "Stop Lying! I know what you're up to! My father has told me about you for years! All he is doing is trying to create a better life for me and him! And all you do is destroy his plans and hurt him and if you succed you'll take all of them away from me! You'll hurt them! You'll hurt my dad more than you already have!"

"I can assure you that hurting people is exactly what MI6 doesn't do"

"You hurt Theo! You gave him a scar! He was bleeding! I saw it!"

"Sometimes accidents happen but they're just that" Patton assured while holding up his hands to look innocent.

Virgil's hands were shaking from anger "I've been told my whole life that all of you are evil maggots so you have to be!" His entire body was shaking "It has to be that way! You have to be evil! My dad has to be right! Otherwise all I've done is wrong! Otherwise all of the pain and beatings and- and- it will all have been for nothing!!"

Patton took a step closer "Take a deep breathe okay? It'll be alright-"

He hunched down on the ground. With his legs pressed close to his chest he hid his face in his hands "I don't understand. You and the agent were so kind. I don't understand. You're supposed to be bad! You're supposed to be bad! My dad said you were bad!"

"It's okay kiddo. It's okay to be confused" He sat down next to him "Everything will make sense eventually, I promise. And by that time you'll be surronded by good people. Like the agent and your friend and your mother! And me of course! If you'd want me there! And your father won't be able to hurt you anymore!"

Virgil held back the thoughts about how he probably deserved to be hurt "My mom won't be there. I've never even met her! I don't even know her name! No one has ever told me about her"

"Well I'm sure she would be very happy as long as are happy" Patton assured while moving his arm around the teenager's shoulders "And proud. She would be proud to"

He had such a childish look on his face as he leaned into Patton's comfort "Promise?"

"I promise"

Tears welled into Virgil's eyes. He grabbed onto Patton's shirt as he sniffled "It's all so confusing. It's all so confusing. No one tells me anything. I- I just- I swear I'm trying my best" He cried out.

"Shhh. I know kiddo. I know. You're doing so good" He replied while moving him into a hug.

Virgil buried his head against his chest. He continued to cry but this time it was just to let all of his feelings out. He cried and cried until it was nothing but whining sniffles. And Patton continued to hug him and move his hand up and down his back the entire time.

It made him feel safe. Safer than he had felt in as long as he could remember.

--

Remus hadn't slept for over 2 days. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Remy. There were endless intrusive thoughts about all the ways they could be hurt constantly eating away at him. He hadn't been able to stop picking at the wounds left from Roman, His clothes had bloodstains from how often he ripped the injuries open again.

There were no leads on where they could be. Not even his mother had found anything. All they had was Virgil.

The agent stood by the corner near the teenager's cell. He watched through the see through mirror. He and Patton were eating dinner, some soup, Virgil seemed to be talking more than usual.

He waited until Patton left. Of course he had access to the room. Every agent had. He moved his keycard and pressed his thumb against the keypad and the doors slid open.

"Pat?" Virgil turned to him. He paled when he saw who it was. It made him nauseous to see just how identical Remus and Jaws were. It was an unbearable reminder that maybe Jaws hadn't willingly stayed with him for all those years.

The door closed behind Remus. Virgil backed as far away on the bed as he could. He pressed the shark plushie close to his chest. The agent towered over him as he leaned close to him and grabbed onto the collar of his hoodie.

"You know where they are don't you?" He more growled out than asked.

Virgil violently shook his head "No. No. I don't know anything. I promise. No one has told me anything"

Remus' held onto him so hard his knuckles whitened "BULLSHIT! If you were just some mindless puppet you wouldn't have done all this! I know you tricked them! I know you made Remy tell you everything! I know it! You hurt them!"

Tears welled up into his eyes "I- I'm sorry- I-I I thought- I was- I wanted to- I tried to- I tried to protect them- I tried to protect Jawsie I swear" He let out a broken sob "I wanted- I tried to save the agent. I swear!!"

He saw the shark plushie Virgil was holding. The rage filled his chest, his throat, his whole body. He tore the plushie away from him and held it in a stone grip.

"You're mocking me aren't you? I know it. You're a dirty manipulator doing everything for your father. You're pathetic!" He ripped the shark in two. Virgil let out a scream "Pathetic enough to still try to hurt me in any way you fucking can even after being captured"

"No. no! I only wanted a shark one because it reminded me of Jaws! I wanted him to comfort me! I miss him! I want him near me again!" Virgil cried out.

Remus stared at him in horror "You can't miss him! He's my fucking brother! That you and your father hurt over and over until he didn't even recognize me! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM!"

He threw the stuffie into the wall before grabbing onto Virgil even harder. He forced the teenager down onto the ground and put his leg on his stomach to hold him down.

"YOU TOOK THEM FROM ME!" He yelled.

He threw a punch, right in the middle of Virgil's face. He didn't try to fight back. He froze and stared up into the ceiling. He tried to imagine Theo telling him about Christmas to distract himself.

If he didn't fight back. If he didn't make a single sound the pain would end. His father would stop hitting him if he did as told and stayed quiet. As soon as he'd learned his lesson and stopped being a bad child it would stop.

But Remus didn't stop. He couldn't stop. There was no end to his anger, to his grief. "YOU TOOK THEM FROM ME! THEY ARE BEING HURT BECAUSE OF YOU! I CAN'T SEE THEM BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Blood was running down from Virgil's injuries. Something in his nose had cracked. He couldn't see from his right eye. And Remus just kept hitting him, over and over and over again.

"ROMAN WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN CAPTURED IF YOU WEREN'T THERE! HE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN HURT IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU YOU PATHETIC BITCH! HE WOULDN'T HAVE BECOME JAWS! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT"

Virgil couldn't stop his sobbing anymore. He sobbed and cried out for help. For Jaws. For Theo. For 009. Anyone.

Something wet landed on his face. Virgil looked up. Remus was crying. He kept hitting him with tears in his eyes.

"You took them from me! You took them from me!" He continued. Voice far too weak. "It's all our fault! I should be hurt instead! You should too! Anyone but them! You took them from me!"

"I-I'm sorry" Virgil sobbed out. "I'm sorry. I wish I was dead. I wish I was dead every day so dad had a better child and Jaws was never hurt and 009 was never taken and Theo could spend all his time with his family. I'm sorry"

Remus raised his fist but he couldn't get himself to hurt him again. He sat in a purgatory of hate and pity.

He looked into Virgil's eyes. He looked like a child. Looked far younger than he actually was. He looked so so frail, like he would break apart at any moment. He had the same vulnerable, frankly traumatized, look in his eyes Roman had when he was bleeding out in Remus' arms. He didn't yet know he was going to be captured.

Remus sighed "You're just a puppet. You can't do anything"

Virgil was still sobbing, still bleeding, still only barely holding onto his breathing. "Not all of MI6 is bad is it?....You're not all maggots are you?......Jaws- Roman was an agent wasn't he?....You can't all be bad then" He whispered out with a hoarse voice.

"The only maggot here is me"

Remus stood up. He looked down at the teenager, at the injuries he had caused. Guilt hurt his heart. He turned to leave.

"We both deserved better fathers......We both deserve to see Roman again"

Chapter Text

Roman sat next to Remus. The moonlight shone in through the window as they sat on the couch. Far away they could hear their mother and her girlfriends talking. But that wasn't important, they were watching Aladdin together again and that was all that mattered.

It was a dream. Of course Remus knew it was a dream.

And yet he leaned his body against Roman's and let himself feel his warmth as if he was real. He wanted it to be real so so badly.

"I'll make sure this becomes real soon. I promise" He mumbled to his brother.

His brother sat staring at the tv with blank eyes. He didn't sing along to the songs like he usually did. Didn't make a joke about how Remus always liked the most horrific scenes the most. Didn't comment on the luscious animation. Nothing. He was just a shell. Even in his dreams.

Remus buried his face against his brother's shoulder. He closed his eyes and took in his scent. Blood and dust. His throat hurt from holding back tears.

"I miss you"

Jaws didn't respond. The tv turned off. The pleasant talking quieted through the halls. The lights turned off. Somewhere in the house someone started to scream.

Remus woke up with a gasp. He sat up and looked around his room at MI6's headquarters while catching his breathe. His clothes were sticking to his body from sweat. Even though all he wore was loose shorts and a tank top the dream had made him shake from silent horror.

He could still hear the scream.....It wasn't a scream....It was real.....It was a siren. Every muscle in his body tensed up. It was the kind of siren that went off if the headquarters had been attacked.

It was so loud it was piercing his ears as he got up. He didn't even bother putting on shoes. All he took was his pistol before slamming the door to his apartement open and running for the elevator to take him down into the deeper halls of MI6.

When he got down the corridors were bathed in red from the lights. Normally they shone light blue. The uplifting posters on the wall about gun safety looked more like a horror movie poster now.

The cameras hadn't been destroyed so whoever was attacking hadn't been too careful about it. Maybe they didn't care. Maybe they hadn't had a plan. Remus still held his loaded gun as tightly as he could. He assumed danger was lurking around every corner.

Far away he could help someone scream for help. It only took a few seconds before the screaming stopped and the person went completely silent. Remus started to run in that direction.

He couldn't help but wonder where all the other agents had gone. Shouldn't there be guards running? Where was Patton and Logan? Where was anyone?

Remus turned a corner and was met with a hallway filled with bodies. For a moment he froze in horror. Bile filled his throat. The air stenched of rot and blood. He hunched down next to the closest body.

It was agent 0013. He moved his hand over her nose. She was still breathing. Remus let out a shaky breathe of relief. They weren't corpses. Only injured people.

There had to be at least 7 people here. A mix of guards and agents. How many people had gotten in if they could take down all of these. And leave this many injuries in their wake. Blood was everywhere. Even under agent 0013 nails, as if all she had been able to do in defence against the forces was to try and scratch them.

He ripped off a piece of fabric from his shirt to try and bandage her injuries. She stared up at him with eyes filled with terror, like she'd seen a monster. Her shaking hand moved to grip onto his wrist. Her nails dug down into his skin.

"0014......0014 already...patched the worst....worst of us all up..she ran ahead" 0013 whispered "Please....please call back up....please...I'm worried about her"

Remus held onto her hand "I'll handle it. Trust me. I'll handle it. I won't let anyone get hurt"

He got up and maneuvered between the bruised and bloody bodies to get to the end of the hallway "I won't let anyone ever get hurt again" He mumbled to himself.

He ran until he got near where prisoners were held. He could hear footsteps. He gritted his teeth together. His hands were shaking from tension.

Cries of pain tore through the hallways. Out of the corner of Remus' eye he saw a flash of a human figure. He ran after it but stopped dead in his track as he saw a person sitting slumped over with their back against the wall. A mark of blood had smeared out on the wall behind them.

It was agent 0014. He ran up to her. Her eyes were dim and her body unmoving except for weak, barely even there, breathes.

"Hey hey talk to me. Where are you hurt?" It sounded more like begging than a question as he gently cupped her cheek to look for injuries.

He moved her head slightly and froze. nausea took over as he saw her neck. A chunk of flesh was missing leaving muscle visible. Blood was still dripping down along her ripped apart skin.

It was Jaws. Jaws had done all this. Roman had hurt all these people.

Remus didn't let himself get caught up in his thoughts. He carefully laid her down in a position that would help her breathe and stop some of the blood flow. He used pieces of his tank top to bandage up the worst of her injuries.

"0013 is alive. She's okay. You'll both be okay. I promise" He mumbled to her. She couldn't speak, could barely even react.

Her breathing had gotten just a bit steadier. The alarm was still blaring. He forced himself to get up.

"I'll be back as soon as I can okay? Just gotta go stop my bitch of a brother somehow!"

His heart was beating so fast it was leaving him dizzy as he ran. He rechecked so his gun was loaded in case there were other people with Jaws. He knew fully well where he was going. To Virgil.

When he got to Virgil's cell a guard laid passed out on the floor right outside the door. The door which was open. He could hear muffled voices from inside. He pressed himself close to the wall and looked inside.

Virgil was sitting on the bed with the remnants of his destroyed shark plushie in his arms. His face was still bruised from Remus hurting him. Jaws stood in front of him hunched down to meet his eyes. He was holding out his hand.

Jaws let out barely a audible raspy whisper "virgil" He moved his hand closer.

Getting to hear his voice again made static go through Remus' body. A bittersweet taste filled his mouth.

"Home. Go home" Jaws continued.

"Jawsie" A part of Virgil's voice broke as he took his hand and moved to hug him.

He buried his head againsy Jaws' chest, letting the familiar scent of his shirt calm him. The older man picked him up and carried him out of the cell.

Remus moved behind a corner and hid. He looked with grief burning in his chets at his brother. The old worn out clothes. His long dirty hair. The scars running along his neck down under his shirt.
The blood smeared over his metal teeth.

Jaws relaxed as he began to walk towards the nearest exit. His hand combed through Virgil's messy hair. The teenager leaned his chin against his shoulder and looked out at the hallway. His eyes widened as he saw the agent.

A shaking breathe left Remus' lips as he moved out from his hiding spot. He cocked his gun and aimed it right at Jaws' back. Tears were making his sight blurry.

"I'm not letting you leave!"

Jaws stopped and glanced behind him. His glazed over eyes stared right through Remus. His eyes slowly wandered down to the gun and his muscles tensed. He carefully put Virgil down before opening his mouth enough so the sharp metal was fully visible.

He took a few quick steps and threw his fist right at Remus. The agent ducked out of the way. His hands were shaking too much to properly hold the gun. Jaws let out a snarl before chucking his fist right into his stomach.

All the air went out of Remus. He tried to keep moving swiftly but another punch landed right on his cheek. The pain rang through his body, making him drop his guard for just a moment. Jaws took the chance and grabbed a fistful of Remus' hair and slammed his head so hard into the wall he could hear a crack coming from his skull.

His eyesight turned blurry from more than just the tears. He stumbled against the wall as blood ran down from his forehead. Everything was spinning. His fingers twitched and a loud buzz rang through his ears.

Remus collapsed onto the ground, his body going numb. He watched on as Jaws went up to Virgil, who had been standing frozen in place staring at them. He took the teenager's hand and dragged in him to make him move.

"home" He forced out. Virgil took a few reluctant steps.

A broken sob left Remus' lips. Everything hurt. Watching them walk away hurt. He couldn't do this. He couldn't let anyone he loved ever get hurt again.

He forced himself to move. To lean his hand against the wall and push himself up on shaky legs. To grit his teeth and keep going no matter how badly his head ached. To hold his gun steady and run after them even though spots covered his sight.

"y-you're not leaving!"

Remus ran up in front of them and took up as much space as he could to block them from continuing. Jaws expression didn't change in the slightest as he gently pushed Virgil aside before taking ahold of the agen't wrist and twisting it behind his back.

He let out a scream of pain as his shoulder got close to dislocating. He got shoved down back first onto the ground. He barely had time to glance up before Jaws had kicked his foot right into his stomach. And again. And again.

The taste of copper filled his mouth as blood dripped down on his lips and his ribs were moments from breaking. Jaws looked at him for a moment, waiting to see if he still could fight before moving to leave.

Remus grabbed onto the fabric of his pants in a desperate attempt to stop him. He didn't get up from the ground. He was unsure if he could. But he looked up at his brother while refusing to let go.

"Ro please" He begged.

Jaws didn't listen. He shook his hand away and swiftly stamped his foot down on it. Crushing his fingers under his foot while staring down at him. Remus let out quiet whimpers.

He grabbed ahold of the agent's shoulders and forced him up on his feet. For a moment their eyes meet. Remus' was red from crying. Jaws' were as empty as before.

The metal teeth glimmered as he opened his mouth. His grip tightened as he leaned in to kill him. Remus panicked and moved his gun up to Jaws' chest. To a point where he knew he could shoot to make him injured enough to pass out but not enough to kill him.

It was silent for a few seconds. Tension hung like ice in the air. They both looked at the gun. Remus' hand wouldn't stop shaking. He could end it. He could-

"I'm not hurting you" Remus let the gun slip from his fingers and fall down on the ground.

Remus closed his eyes and moved his arms his brother. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he hugged him.

Jaws stood still in confusion for a moment. But soon enough he bit down into Remus' neck. Right where the skin had just about healed itself after the last time the teeth had torn it open.

"It's okay Roman" He assured.

He moved his hand up and down his back to soothe him as the teeth sunk fully down. It broke apart muscle and flesh. Pain shot through every vein in his body.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you more"

Jaws dragged his head back, making the teeth start to pull the flesh away from the bone. Blood pooled out. His muscles twitched uncontrollable. Whimpers left his throat.

"I wish I could have hugged Remy one last time as well"

His body went completely limp and if it wasn't for him leaning against Jaws he would have fallen down onto the ground. He couldn't move. His sight was all black and he couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

His eyelids were so so heavy. He could feel how close he was to passing out. He coud feel that if he passed out he wouldn't wake up again.

It was okay. He accepted it. Jaws continued to tear into him but it was okay. Everything was fuzzy and far away but it was okay. He welcomed it. He swore he could hear Remy's voice calling for him. He relaxed into the hug and-

"Jaws stop!" Virgil shouted.

He stood staring at the nearly identical people with horrified eyes. He went up to them and tugged in Jaws' shirt while giving him a stern look.

"Stop! I don't want you to hurt him! Bad Jawsie!"

Jaws looked at him before slowly moving his teeth away from Remus' neck. He took a step away making the agent collapse onto the floor, completely unmoving. He leaned down so he and the teenager were face to face.

"I want to stay here" Virgil mumbled out "I want you to stay here as well"

"Hurt" He trailed his hand over the bruises covering the teenager's face "They hurt you. I need to protect you"

He put his hand on top of Jaws' "They will hurt me at home as well. They will hurt you. It's safer here. It was only a one time thing I promise. They won't hurt me again. We have to stay here. Please"

"Theo-"

"Theo will be fine! Please Jawsie. Stay for me"

Jaws obediently nodded. He couldn't say no to orders.

Virgil shone up into a smile and took his hand in his. "Great! Then let's go back to my room okay? We can stay there together. No one will force you to kill anyone ever again I promise"

He guided him towards the cell while continuing to list all of the things they would be able to do together. Read books, draw, sit on a cozy carpet. Jaws had grabbed onto Remus' ankle and was dragging him with them.

Once they got into the cell Virgil made sure to close the door so Jaws couldn't run away. He could hear the click of the lock going off. He sat his friend down on the bed and showed off his plushie.

"Look it's a shark! He has the same name as you! Jaws!"

Jaws held the plushie in his hands as if it was a weapon he had no idea what to do with. Virgil cuddled close to him and closed his eyes. He let out a sigh of relief at feeling his cold skin against his again.

Remus had been left on the floor. He coughed up blood and stared up at the ceiling. Everything was far away, even the pain. But his brother was there. His brother who couldn't remember him, much less recognize him, was safe. He couldn't help but smile at that.

Tears of happiness formed in his eyes as he forced his shaking hand to press a specific point on his watch to call Patton. He moved the watch up to his cracked lips.

"p-patton I-I need medical assistance in Virgil's cell.....and some handcuffs"

Chapter Text

It had been a long while since Logan had such an intense night as when he suddenly at 2 am got a call from MI6 to create a special type of hand and mouth cuff for a serial murderer with metal fucking teeth.

He managed to get the handcuff to Patton in under 3 hours and with only 4 coffees in his stomach. He got to the cell only to see Jaws laying tied on the bed. He had been heavily drugged to the point of not being able to move. Virgil sat beside him, gently combing through his hair to keep him calm.

It took 2 people to position him right so they could get the handcuff on correctly. The only type of information they found when searching Jaws' clothes was a note stuck in his pocket. It read:

'I told him not to kill anyone. I'm sorry to everyone he hurt. He'll play nice as long as he or Virgil aren't threatened. Please keep them safe. If a single one of you lay a hand on Virgil I won't let anyone at MI6 leave alive

- Theo'

The only people more stressed out at MI6 aside from Logan was the nurses. 9 heavily injured people had suddenly been cast into their care during the night shift. Remus was one of the worst cases.

They had had to force him away from Jaws, which hadn't been hard since he passed out almost instantly. He stayed passed out for almost 28 hours. Which was good because then the nurses got time to patch him up without a bitchass Bond talking to them.

For a brief moment when Remus woke up everything was blurry. He couldn't remember where he was or why he was there. His sight was out of focus so he could only make out the shape of a person laying next to him in the hospital bed.

Then all at once the memories swelled in. He let out a whimper as tears formed in his eyes from remembering it all. Remy being gone, Roman not recognizing him, everything. His heart hurt and so did the rest of his body. It felt like burning needles being stabbed into his skin over and over.

Logan was laying beside him in the hospital bed. He'd cuddled up next to him once the nurses had finished with their job. He woke up as soon as Remus started to stir.

"Are you alright? Do you require a higher dose of painkillers?" He said in his own tone of affection. He gently cupped the agent's cheeks.

"It hurts" Remus cried out.

"Yes. Yes I know. I'm sorry" He combed a few strips of loose hair behind his ear.

"Where's- where's Roman?"

"He's okay. He's in the cell with Virgil"

"I have to- have to see him. I have to make sure he's fine" Remus mumbled out through chapped lips.

His eyes were still half closed. He felt so heavy. But he forced himself to try and sit up. Logan ever so lightly held him down by his shoulders.

"Remus Octopussy Bond Smythe you are in no shape to even sit up! Much less get out of bed! If you wait a day or so I can see about helping you into a wheelchair so that you maybe can go see him"

"I-I need to-"

"He's not hurt. You are. He would want you to take care of yourself"

His eyes closed "Mhm" Tears pressed on behind his eyelids "It hurts" He whimpered.

"I know"

"It hurts so bad"

Logan hugged him. He didn't let go. He wouldn't until his friend was okay "I know"

His sobbing echoed through the nursery room. It was a hollow cry. He didn't have the energy for anything more. Logan gently rubbed his hand up and down his back. He didn't try to wipe Remus' tears away, he let it go on for however long he needed to.

Eventually Remus cried himself to sleep. Logan stayed by his side. He looked at his friend in silence. He missed Remy so much. He closed his eyes and fell asleep while holding his hand.

--

Some of the guards at MI6 trained Jaws like a dog. It started of with virgil leaving the cell for a minute or so (while under surveillance of course). The guards had to hold Jaws back as he went wild and fought to try and go after Virgil. When the teenager returned unharmed he quickly checked up on him and kept him protected from the guards, but he did calm down.

They kept going for the next 2 days. Virgil leaving for longer and longer. 5 minutes, 15 minutes, a hour. Until jaws stopped turning violent at simply not being with him.

Keeping them separated would be better for interrogations of course, but during the rest of the time they got to be together. There was always guards in the room with them. Virgil tried to cheer his friend up by reading to him and showing him the new plushies Patton had given him (a big fluffy spider, a round dog and a second shark plushie).

Right around the time they'd trained Jaws well enough to stop growling at the guards just for looking at virgil, Remus was able to sit up in bed without passing out.

"Is..is Roman still doing okay?" Remus asked to Logan just like he did every day.

"Last time I checked Virgil was drawing himself, Roman and a tall man I did not recognize as vampires and other assortments of halloween cliches which seemed to delight your brother. So yes I think he is doing well. Patton told Virgil about Halloween. I think he enjoys the idea quite a bit.....I saw him attempt to glue paper to his teeth to look like fangs yesterday"

He sunk down into the bed "Good....good.......if Roman survived so many years of torture Remy should still be alive right? RIght?"

Logan tensed up "I...I....Yes...For sure...That seems very incredibly logical. Yes. They are definitely still alive"

Remus nodded along. He was close to passing out again. Logan helped him move so he was laying comfortably. He pressed a kiss to his friend's forehead.

"Where's Remus? Remus Octopussy Smythe?"

Remus heard the voice saying it across the room and instantly got startled awake. He sat up and looked around the room. His eyes met with his mother's.

Octavia sent him a shaky smile before hurrying up to his bed. They met in a hug. Remus let out a wince as her arms pressed onto the injuries but he didn't let go.

She took a step back and squished his cheeks while she looked him up and down for injuries "Logan called me about Roman being here. Are you alright? Who hurt you? Was it-"

"Yeah. Yeah it was. He would have gone back to Mr. Impur otherwise"

She kissed his nose "You did so good honey" She looked over to Logan "You can take me to my son right?"

"Of course ma'am. I'm unsure if you would want to though....he-"

"He will recognize me" She cut him off "I'm his mother" She glanced over to the wound on her son's neck left from her other son's metal theeth. She tried to ignore the negative thoughts swarming her head "He. Will. Recognize. Me"

Logan forced a hopeful smile "Sure ma'am"

She pressed a kiss to Remus' forehead before leaving with Logan to her son's cell. They were gone for half an hour.

Remus had never seen his mother cry before. Not after she saw him hurt after a mission for the first time, not any of the times she'd ended a relationship, not while telling him and Roman about their father. She always had an immense look of sadness on her face but she never cried.

When Octavia came back from seeing Roman for the first time in 6 years there were tears rolling down her cheeks. She collapsed next to Remus on the bed.

"He was looking through me. It was like he'd never seen me in his entire life"

Remus leaned his head close to her's and moved his arms around her. She comforted him back. It was the most shared grief they'd ever had.

"I know mom. I know"

"He didn't- he didn't-" She kept crying out.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"

--

"I want to talk to him. Alone. Please" Remus told the guard outside Virgil and Jaws' cell.

He was leaning on a cane and his breathing was heavy from just standing up but at least he was standing.

The guard nodded before opening the door. Virgil flinched by the sudden sound and Jaws stuck out his arm in front of him to try and protect him. Viv tensed up even more when he saw Remus. The bruises from him had only barely gone away.

"Kid you gotta leave the room for a litte bit"

Virgil glanced over to Remus, his hands shook a bit. The agent looked away. At least the teenager knew he wouldn't hurt Jaws so he forced a smile as he looked back at his friend.

"Don't worry Jawsie! I'll be back soon"

The guard took a firm hold of Virgil's hand so he wouldn't be able to run away before leaving the cell. Jaws stared at the door even after it'd closed. He had the handcuffs and mouthcloser on. He couldn't speak even if he wanted to.

There was a heavy feeling in Remus' chest. He stood still in the middle of the room. There had been so many hours of grief where all he had been able to think about was what he would do if roman was alive again. Of what he would say. Of how many hugs he would give him. But now he could barely even move.

Then again....it wasn't really Roman anymore, was it.

"I'm sorry they put that on you. I'll stomp them all down with a horde of undead bisons if they try to handcuff you up even more!!" He tried to say it in the happy chainsaw like voice he usually talked in when he was with Roman but it sounded so incredibly forced.

He slumped down on the bed. His brother was unmoving. His glazed over eyes was still pierced on the door.

Remus carefully reached out and cupped his cheek. He moved his head so they were eye to eye. He tensed up, waiting for Jaws to lash out and attack. But nothing happened. His brother stayed docile.

"You won't hurt me" It sounded like a question "I'll help you get that off"

He moved his hands to the back of the mouthpiece and slowly unlocked it. He took it off and put it down on the ground before taking off the handcuffs as well.

He sat still and waited for his brother's reaction. All he did was stretch out his sore jaw and wrists. They were red from the metal pushing into them. Long strands of unkept hair was going down past his shoulders.

"You used to have long hair when we were younger as well. Mom was always the one helping you braid it but I could try if you want? Maybe it will end up looking horrible but that's good! Because then I can laugh at you!"

When Roman didn't react at his hair being touched Remus began to braid it. It was as stale as hay from years of barely being washed. He winced a few times from the hair being tugged too hard but he didn't move.

It was a simple and messy braid but Remus had managed to get it together. It easily reached down to his shoulder blades.

"There's the princey look I'm used to" Remus chuckled while moving some stray pieces of hair behind his ear "Gotta be careful before witches come to try and steal our handsomeness!"

Remus of course didn't get a reply. He sighed.

"Want to watch a movie? If you don't kill me we can even maybe look at some bootleg musicals afterwards!" He pinched the bridge of his nose "What the fuck am I even doing. If you can't remember mom why the fuck do I think you would recognize some stupid movie" He mumbled out to himself.

He forced himself to take his laptop out of his bag and set it in front of them. He thought for a moment before choosing Aladdin.

Remus leaned back against the wall as the first scene started playing. Jaws didn't react to anything happening in the movie, he didn't even sing along to the music or act out dialogue like he used to do, but he did turn his head away from staring at the door.

He wasn't quite watching the movie, his eyes weren't moving, but he was looking at the screen. Good enough!

"Girl Aladdin should have really really died there. Just smoshed his whole body full force into that wall and splattered into millions of tiny bloody pieces" Remus commented during the scene where Aladdin was trying to escape out of the cave.

He waited for some sort of comment from his brother. An annoyed sigh or a exclamation about how gross his imagination was. But nothing came. He kept trying. He said his usual disgusting gorey ideas all throughout the film just to hope that maybe he would get some reaction. Nothing happened.

Until finally they were at the scene Remus always annoyed Roman about the most. The one where Aladdin nearly drowns. Jaws still didn't react.

Remus leaned his head in his hands. It felt like he was suffocating. Like with every second that passed without his brother not Really being there he was coming closer and closer to drowning.

"He always liked this scene" Roman mumbled out.

Remus froze. His eyes were wide open as he slowly turned to look at his brother. He had the same emotionless expression on his face and the same stiff position on his body. But he'd talked. He'd talked as if he could remember something.

"Who? Who liked that scene?" Remus frantically asked.

No answer came.

"ROMAN! Roman please tell me who liked that scene! Please!"

He grabbed ahold of Jaws' shoulders to the point of his nails digging down into the skin. Tears filled his eyes. He just wanted to hear his brother say his name again. He just wanted to be given hope that his brother could one day remember him.

"Please- please- who- who was it?" He was on the verge of sobbing.

Jaws didn't even look at him. He was still staring at the screen. Quiet mumblings that sounded like him trying to mimic the music came from his lips.

Remus buried his head against his brother's chest as he continued to hopelessly sob. He couldn't breathe.

"please- tell me- tell me who- please- please remember me. Please remember me"

Chapter Text

Remus couldn't even remember the last time he had had a good nights sleep. He didn't think passing out counted as good sleep. He didn't think constantly waking up gasping and sweating from nightmares counted either.

The only time he was able to fall asleep before his whole body had started to go numb was by being near Roman. He would sit outside the cell, sometimes he would look in through the one way mirror but mostly he just sat there. He was still trying to process how many moments he could have had with his brother that were now lost forever. He thought and grieved and processed until he fell asleep on the cold tile floor.

Usually when he woke up Logan had put a blanket over him, or sat some juice or food beside him. Sometimes he'd left a note about how he had to eat more. Remus kept forgetting. He never felt hungry anymore.

One early morning he woke up flinching as he felt someone poking at his shoulder. In an instant his whole body was ready to fight. He was up on his feet before he'd even opened his eyes. He aimlessly threw out his fist.

"008 don't be dramatic" Janus said druly while easily ducking from his fist.

"Weren't you off protecting your kids or something?" Remus yawned out while rubbing his eyes. He suddenly tensed up "Has something happened? Has something happened with Roman? Remy? Anything?"

He frantically turned to look into the cell. Jaws was still sleeping in the bed. Virgil was cuddled up on top of his chest like a kitty. The handcuffs and mouth restraint had been forced onto him again.

"Not quite. I heard that Jaws had indeed been taken in and I thought that it would be for the best if I gave a try on interrogating him" Janus replied.

A chill went up Remus' spine. He'd never seen Janus interrogate anyone but he had heard the stories of how the one being interrogated would look afterwards. How destroyed they would be, both physicaly and mentally. It was like he sucked them dry and left them with nothing but a shallow husk of themself once he'd gotten the answers. He'd heard the screams shake the walls.

"You. Are. Not. Hurting. Roman" Remus nearly growled out.

"Oh please 008, you can not honestly believe I bring out my worst to every person I interrogate. I only do what is necessary and I don't suspect your brother to be that hard to get answers out of, nor do I think he is such a horrible person he deserves the treatment I give to really atrocious people"

"I want to be there! I won't let you do it unless I'm there!"

".....Sure" He sighed "You can watch through the mirror. But I work alone"

two guards were called to help keep Jaws under control as Janus stepped into the cell. He motioned for the guards and 008 to be quiet. He hunched down next to the bed and oh so carefully touched Virgil's shoulder.

His whole demeanor changed as the teenager slowly woke up. He got a calm expression on his face and his shoulders relaxed. It was the first time Remus had seen him be....gentle.

"Goodmorning kiddo" He gave Virgil time to fully wake up.

"Is- Is something happening? Did I do something bad?" He whispered to Janus while anxiously glancing to the guards. He pressed himself closer to the still alseep Jaws without even knowing.

"You have done nothing wrong, I promise. Would it be okay if I took your friend for a short while? I would really like to talk to him. I won't hurt him"

Virgil hesitated. He didn't take his eyes away from the guards.

Janus leaned closer "Kiddo you see I am Patton's husband and as you know my husband hates violence so obviously I will never do anything to hurt you or your friend"

A rush of a feeling Virgil couldn't quite name went through his body. Maybe it was happiness. His heart beat faster. His husband. Janus was just like him.

"Oh- oh okay. Of course!"

He quickly sat up and gently shook Jaws awake. The instant he woke up he was already tensed up and ready to protect his small friend from the guards. Virgil whispered in his ears until he calmed down.

Jaws willingly stood up and held out his hands. He didn't flinch when one of the guards pulled in the chain of his handcuff to force him out into the hallway. Janus stood up and playfully ruffled Virgil's hair.

"Thanks kiddo"

"He doesn't want to hurt people. I promise. Please don't make him hurt anyone"

"I know. I won't"

He locked the cell and Virgil stayed sitting on the bed. He curled in on himself and held onto his stuffies like his and his friend's life depended on it.

As soon as Janus got into the hallway his expression turned back to cold and emotionless. He walked first while the guards followed along with Jaws pulled between them. Remus walked a bit behind, just looking at his brother made him feel nauseous.

They brought him into a small room. The walls and floor were made out concrete. A drainer was installed in the floor, it was tainted red from blood. A metal chair sat in the middle. The chair and a few places in the floor and roof to connect chains to were almost the only things in the room. In the corner stood a few yellow cat carries, the fluffy pillows inside them stuck out through the caged front.

Jaws was dragged into the room and was sat down on the chair. His hands were chained down into the floor and a chain hanging from the floor was put around his neck before they carefully took off his mouth restraint. So now he could talk but he couldn't move his head.

The guards left and took Remus with them. They went into the small room next to the tor- interrogation room. It had a table, a few chairs and a one way mirror so the agent could see everything and the guards could intervene in case Jaws turned violent.

Janus looked down at Jaws. He was sitting perfectly still, his back was straight and he was staring with empty eyes into the mirror. If it wasn't for him breathing he could have been taken for a corpse.

He traced his fingers over Jaws' cheek, down to his jaw and slowly opened his mouth until his metal teeth were fully visible. No reaction came.

"What's your name?" Janus asked. He always started with basic questions to see if the person could be tricked into starting with easy information and moving onto more important things.

No reply came.

He moved his hand up under his chin and forced Jaws to look up. He started to stare up at the ceiling. "What's your mission?"

He didn't say anything but for a moment he met eyes with Janus. There was a hint of fear in his gaze. He glanced down at his chains before looking over to the door.

Janus forced his head back so the chain pulled at his neck harder. "Why are you here?"

Jaws repeatedly blinked. He didn't move. Didn't say anything. He kept rapitly blinking. Remus stood up so fast the chair fell behind him. He knew that was always how Roman stimmed distress out when he couldn't let other people know he was stimming.

He dashed to the door. He had to stop it. He had to protect his brother. The guards took ahold of his arms and held him back.

"LET GO OF ME! HE'S BEING HURT! HE'S IN DISTRESS! LET ME GO!"

The guards cast him back onto the floor and kept him there. He fought back but he couldn't move them a single inch. He was supposed to be strong wasn't he. What was wrong with him.

"He's barely even being touched. Calm down. We gotta get his info" One of the guards grunted.

Janus walked over to one of the carriers and took out a long green snake. He pressed a kiss to it's nose before laying it around his shoulders. He walked behind Jaws, his breathing had fastened ever so slightly.

"Do you even recognize any other names except for Virgils anymore" Janus murmured into his ear while moving his hands around his shoulders.

The snake slithered down it's owners arm until it got to his hand. It leaned towards Jaws' neck and bit into it. His body didn't move. Didn't flinch. Didn't tense up. He didn't even breathe. He just let it happen while he kept blinking.

It took a few seconds but then his eyelids started to droop and his mouth hung slightly open. His bdoy relaxed and if it wasn't for the chain his head would have fallen down to lean against his chest. His eyes kept rolling up into his skull.

"Good boy" Janus trailed his hand over his cheek again and this time Jaws ever so slightly leaned into his touch "It feels so good to be calm doesn't it? You can keep being calm, all you have to do is tell me a few things. No one will be hurt"

Nothing came from him. He leaned into the comfort and closed his eyes. Janus pulled his hand away making Jaws' head fall forward so the chain choked him. He grabbed onto the prisoners hair and tugged his head back.

"What's your name?" He repeated.

Once more, nothing.

Janus took out another snake. He stroked his finger along it's skinny body. It was short enough to fit around his lower arm but powerful nonetheless. He had lovingly matched snakes until a snake with venom that made people unable to lie was born.

He let the snake slighter across Jaws' body while he kept patting the longer snake. Eventually the truth snake decided on a spot to bite him. Jaws still didn't react. Janus gave him a few minutes to make sure the venom had set in.

"Are you still unsure of what your mission is?"

Jaws looked over to him. His eyes were red and his mouth agape. He didn't even look like Roman. He looked like a mangled doll.

He slammed his head back not only so he choked but also so the back of his head hit the metal chair. He slammed over and over. Janus shot forward to make him stop. It was a simple technique of making himself pass out to not risk saying anything. MI6 had even trained him to do it.

Janus held his head still. He looked into the mirror "We're stopping for today. You two can take him back to the cell can't you?" He asked the guards "He probably can't walk either way"

After the guards had taken ahold of Jaws Janus left the room without another glance. Remus quickly stormed after him.

"What the absolute fuck was that!?" He yelled.

"My job" Janus replied druly.

"You can shove your job up your ass then!!!"

"Oh gosh 008 don't ask me to take your brother up my buttocks please, how dreadfully vulgar. I'm a married man!"

"You know that isn't what I meant!!"

Even if Janus only walked Remus could barely even keep up with him. He went through long hallways until they got to his office. Weirdly enough there were guards right outside the door. They nodded at their boss when he came through.

"No swearing in the office today" Janus said to the agent before opening the door.

For once the office was filled with light, Remus had never actually seen the windows not be closed off before. Patton was sitting crosslegged on the floor while several snakes slithered around him. A girl, at most 10 years old was cuddled up next to him. She was hugging a giant snake as if it was a teddy bear.

"Dad!" A younger girl, 4 years old or so immediately ran up to Janus.

He got that gentle expression on his face again as he hunched down so she could throw her arms around him. He even smiled as he hugged her.

The older girl looked eerily similar to Janus, aside from not having vitiligo, having shorter hair and having a rounder chin they looked nearly the same. The younger girl looked like a perfect mix of the two men. She had the same smile as Patton and the same hooked nose as Jan.

"Are you done with work? Are we gonna go back to the farm now? I wanna show pappy the cows" The younger daughter asked while bouncing up and down on her heels.

"Sorry sugarpie, I still have some work to do. Don't worry I'm gonna fix the best room I can find for my lil snakelets"

"Actually I'm a baby cow!" She corrected.

"Well baby cows still get nice rooms"

(Janus had gone to the house they normally lived at, the one that was written to his name. Every room had been destroyed, every piece of furniture had been turned or thrown. Impur's men had even been to his daughter's school. He wouldn't let anyone hurt them)

He picked her up and sat her down next to her sister. He and Patton sent each other such a knowing look, like they'd just had a whole conversation without saying anything. When they kissed each other Remus had to look away because it felt like seeing his parents kiss.

The 10 year old squinted at the agent "Is that uncle Remus!?"

"Yep"

"Woooow. I thought you'd just made him up to teach me to not eat inedible stuff"

Remus leaned down to whipser to Patton "You've told them about me???"

"Of course!" He sent him a bright smile "Now when you know we are married you are legally needed to come and celebrate christmas with us!"

"......Only if I can be krampus"

"Obviously" Janus replied. He was combing his hand through his daughter's hair. The same hand that had pulled in his brothers hair only a few minutes before.

That familiar anger stormed up inside of Remus. He grabbed ahold of Janus' shirt sleeve and forced him out of the room. The older man looked at him with a calm expression while motioning for the guards to leave.

Remus pushed him up against the wall "You're a fucking bastard bitch dickarse fucker!" He growled right into his face.

"How mature"

"You- you- Okay first of where the hell did you get those kids?! Did you genetically create them in a fucking factory or something? Is that a side business of MI6 or what?! How do they look like you two??? You're gay! WHat the fuck!?"

Janus once more looked at him like he was the stupidest people alive "008 I am once more reminding you that I am a trans man"

"..oh.....OOOOH...Well you are also a huge bitch!!!! And I despise you! You can't just go around being all emotionless while you hurt My brother and then turn around and get to be happy and sweet or whatever with your family! I can't do that with my family right now can I?! It's not fucking fair!"

"Darling it's not like you act the same when you're killing people as when you're with Remy right? It's just work"

"It's bullshit! This whole thing is fucking bull-"

In an instant Janus had pinched a specific point in Remus' back. His whole body went numb and he collapsed onto the floor. The numbning effect disappeared after a few seconds but he was too tired to move.

Janus looked down at him "I expect to see you tomorrow for another interrogation"

--

A week went by. Jaws got interrogated every day, sometimes twice a day. Janus kept changing up how much venom he used, what kind, what questions he asked, if he was nice or harsh. Nothing worked. Jaws stayed silent. He didn't even make a sound.

If Janus used his normal methods (aka physical and mental torture) he knew he would easily be able to get everything from Jaws. But he couldn't. Not just because Remus stood in the other room....but because every time Janus looked at Jaws' face all he saw was the 18 year old boy still with pimples on his face who had asked for a job as an agent so he could be a hero. He simply couldn't hurt him like he hurt others.

It was early morning when Janus woke Remus up. He'd fallen asleep on the floor outside the cell again. While the agent shook himself awake (and mumbled insults) the older man looked into the cell.

Virgil was sitting on the edge of his bed. Jaws had his head laid onto his lap and was looking up at him as he read aloud from a book. He couldn't speak but every time the teenager turned to him he visibly got ready to respond. He did his best to motion in response every time he got asked anything.

An idea formed in Janus' head.

"Please be dear and take mr. Jaws to the room" Janus said to the guards and Remus as soon as they got into the cell, just like he'd said the other days.

But after the others had left he stayed behind with Virgil. He sat down next to the teenager and sent him a calm smile.

"Your friend has been doing a really good job" He lied.

"Every time he comes back from whatever you do to him he's tired and out of it. You are hurting him aren't you?" Virgil mumbled back while fiddling with his sleeves.

"Oh of course not kiddo! Though..." He gently placed his hand on the teenager's shoulder "You could help if you want to. I'm sure if you helped out just once we would never have to take your friend again"

Virgil shone up "Really?"

"Yes, I promise"

"If it's for Jawsie I'll do it!!"

"Thanks kiddo"

Janus stood up and reached out his hand. Virgil looked unsure before taking it. He led him out through the halls. When they got to the interrogation room the older man told him to wait for a bit.

He returned later with an earpiece he told Virgil to put in "You will go into this room okay? And you will hear my voice through this okay? Just repeat what I say okay? I will be able to see everything so don't worry about anything going wrong. I will keep you safe" He explained.

"Oh o-okay"

Virgil got ushered into the interrogation room and the door got locked behind him. He gasped when he saw Jaws sitting chained up just like before. When Jaws saw his small friend he let out a whine.

"It's okay Jawsie! I'll get you out of here! Don't be scared! You should only be scared of the ghosts under the floorboards at 3 am!!" He rambled out in a panic while pulling at the chains.

"He is fine. Ask him what his name is" Janus' voice came through the ear piece. He still had a gentle tone.

"What? No! He's-"

"Kiddo I've made sure he isn't hurt, I promise. Ask him what his name is"

Virgil glanced around the room to find an exit, somewhere to hide, some way to protect himself by sheer instinct. He moved his arms around his friend to hug him and leaned his against the slope of his neck.

"What...what's your name?" He mumbled out.

"Jaws" He replied in an instant.

Janus let up into a small smile. It'd worked. He looked over to Remus. The agent glared back at him.

"Good. Ask what his mission is"

"I- why is this necessary?" Virgil asked.

"Just trust me kiddo"

"....What is your uh mission?"

He stared forward in silence.

"Jawsie please" He tightened the hug "Say what your mission is so we can get out of here. Then I can keep reading the book if you want"

He began to speak as if he was reading of a text "Main mission: protect the kid. First side mission: kill Friedrich Bolgewich. Second side mission: kill Laura Melvis and her husband. Third side mission: kill-"

"Okay. Okay. Thanks Jawsie" Virgil started to feel sick.

"Ask about Mr. Impurs location" Janus continued.

"M-my dad? Why would Jaws know- Ehm do you- Do you know where my dad- Mr. Impur is?"

Jaws' expression changed into a sneer at hearing the name. Even his eyes were filled with rage. His hands turned into fists.

"Mr. Impur was skinned alive by my teeth in my dream"

Virgil tensed up "Oh- oh okay. But- uhm Jawsie do you know where he is?"

"Mr. Impur got his eyes taken out first. He did not pass out"

"Can- I don't like this question-" Virgil looked over to the door. He wanted to get out. He wanted a hug from Theo "Please I don't like this"

Janus let out a sigh. He thought for a moment before saying "Ask in what facilities 00 agents are held?"

Virgil moved even closer to Jaws. It felt like the walls were being pressed in on him. Remus looked to his brother. Without knowing it Jaws was staring directly at him.

"Agents? Like the-" He stopped himself from talking about Remy. He hoped they were alright "Jawsie um in which- do you know in what place 00 agents are held?"

All the emotion drained away from Jaws' face again, leaving him his usual emotionless husk. He stayed silent.

"I don't know why you would know but it would be great if you did"

Still no response. Janus sighed and decided to try an aimless idea "Ask him specifically where agent 009 is held. Can you do that kiddo?"

"009...." Virgil gulped.

All he could think about was how hurt they had been. Their malnourished body. Their bruised ribs. Their missing finger. He stepped away from Jaws. It all felt wrong. He didn't want to talk about this. He didn't want to talk about what he'd seen.

"Virgil! Ask Jaws about it" Janus edged on.

A choking feeling filled his throat "I don't-"

"It's just one more question then you can go back to your room okay? I promise"

His hands were shaking and he gritted his teeth together to hold memories and tears back "Jaws- do- do you know- Do you have any idea where a-agent 009 is being held?"

Silence.

Virgil moved to the door "I asked it! I asked the question! I did what you wanted! Let me go back please!"

He started to bang his hands against the door. So hard his knuckles hurt. He just needed to get out. He couldn't breathe. He swore he couldn't breathe. All he could think about was pain. Watching as Remy got forced under water over and over. Feeling his father's cane against his back. Seeing Roman for the first time.

"Please! I want to get out! I did what you asked! I did everything right! Let me out! Please! Please!"

"Voice on radio. After I finished a mission there was a voice on the guard's radio before he made me unconcious. He said. Agent 009" Jaws kept staring right at his brother "49.46772, -34.57230"

For a moment after he had said it everything was dead silent. Janus looked at him in bewilderment. The guard's glanced at each other before shrugging. Remus took a step closer towards the one way mirror.

"Those-" For the first time in months Remus let up into a genuine smile of joy. Tears brimmed at the edges of his eyes "Those are coordinates!! Janus those are coordinates! Remy could still be there!"

Janus slowly shone up into a smile. "Go ask Logan for new ammunition, we are going on a mission as soon as possible"

Chapter Text

Remus was working on nothing but coffee and some left over sandwich Logan had insisted on him to eat. Ever since the coordinates had been said he'd been too caught up in the newfound hope over finding Remy, and the anxiety of finding them dead or not finding them at all, to even think about food.

Logan had quickly converted the coordinates into an actual place. It was a random part of the atlantic ocean, but when he looked it up it did say that Enfuel had bought that specific part of land- or well ocean- a few years back.

"Are we there soo-" Remus began to ask but Janus moved his hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet" Janus hissed back under his breathe.

They sat cramped together in a mini submarine. Janus had given more space to his snake carriers than to himself and the agent. Logan sat in the front, right by the only window of the submarine, steering it.

"008, M, you might want to see this" Logan whispered.

The two men moved closer and glanced out into the deep ocean. They had to be at least 50 feet underwater. They had just come into the part of the ocean which Enfuel bought. The water was grim and hard to see through.

"Oh holy hell" Remus let out when he saw it.

Not so far away from them a building towered. It was completely underwater, it would be impossible to see it from above. It was tall and dark and parts of the building seemed to extend like limbs. The top of the building was shaped weirdly, like a circle with windows in strange positions.

The entire building had been built like an octopus.

"Your mother isn't invovled right?" Logan asked.

Remus looked at him with a deadpan expression "More than one person can use octopus symbolism Lo"

"Noted"

He scanned the building and found a loading dock at the end of one of the 'limbs'. The submarine was quiet as it drove towards it. A part of the limb opened when they got close so they could dock.

Remus shut his eyes and took a deep breathe. In the background he could hear Janus reload his guns and whisper to his snakes. He could hear Logan check so the engines were still working well. His hands shooks. Everything had to go perfect. He had to find Remy again.

Logan laid his hand on his shoulder to make Remus look at him. He sent him a, in Lo standards, warm smile "Good luck. I will stay here and make sure you have a quick escape way in case anything goes wrong"

"Nothing will go wrong" Janus replied. He loaded a gun before holding it towards the agent so he could take it "008 you have a licence to kill, use it"

"Of course" Remus took it and put it inside his holster.

He had on a simple dark green long sleeved shirt and loose pants. He had 2 gun holsters on either side of his chest and enough places to put knifes, gadgets and other weapons it was almost kind of ridiculous. The seamtress people at MI6 really deserved a raise.

Janus went first. He swung the backdoor of the submarine open. He already had a pistol out. The two guards looking over the loading dock didn't even have a chance before the man on the right had been shot in the knee. He hunched forward out of pain but Janus was already right in front of them.

He slammed the back of his elbow into the hunched over man's head, knocking him out. He moved seamlessly from slamming him to kicking the other man in the face. The guard immediately fell to the floor passed out.

"Clean cut" Remus commented, coming up behind him.

The agent took ahold of the guard closest to the door and dragged him over to it and used his finger to unlock the door. Janus swept out into the hallway and glanced around. A few silent gunshots were fired before he motioned for Remus to follow. Several guards laid littered over the floor.

The hallway was wide, probably to drive carriages through. The walls were a dim blue and the floors a grey concrete. The light in the roof were so light it hurts Remus' eyes just to look around. The hallway went off into two different directions.

Janus had put down a few of his snakes on the ground, the rest were still slithered around his torso and arms. He was whispering to them and patting their lil snake heads. He'd trained some of them to rattle their tails if they smelled other people coming towards them.

"So uh De- Jannie which way are we going? Are your snakes like dogs? Can they smell Remy? Or cocaine? Both?"

"I'm going to the left, you're going to the right. I understand that you are here for Remy but I have other business to attend to"

His hands closed into fists "Oh of course you have! Rescuing the agent You let get into this whole mess in the first place couldn't be enough for you of course!" Remus spat out in a bitter tone.

"Please 008 this whole mission is obviously much bigger than just 1 agent! When we're here I have to look for all of the information I can! And" His hands were shaking "And I have to know if they have any information on my daughters. I have to destroy it. I have to protect them"

Janus sent him a last look before turning towards the left hallway. He whistled and the snakes immediately started to follow him.

Remus was left alone in the desolate hallways. He collapsed onto his knees. He forced in deep breathes while clamming his arms around his stomach. The only reason the nurses at MI6 hadn't stopped him from going on the mission was because he'd bribed them.

He knew he hadn't healed nearly enough from the injuries Jaws had given him. He could barely even walk for more than 5 minutes at a time. All his hope laid on his muscle memory and bursts of adrenaline doing everything for him if he got into a fight.

He leaned his arm against the wall and forced himself to stand up again. The gun laid unsteady in his shaking hand as he walked down the right hallway. Everything was eerily quiet. Sometimes he heard footsteps but he didn't see anyone.

There were lots of doors but Remus didn't check any of them. They looked like storage closests or meeting rooms. All he was focused on was finding the cells. A scream was heard. The kind of muffled half begging scream someone let out during torture. He followed the sound.

The agent turned a corner and caught sight of someone in a long laboratory coat standing in the middle of it. She was playing candy crush on her phone while downing a coffee. Remus got ready to sneak up behind her and very nicely make her pass out, but as soon as he took his first step another person in a similar coat ran up to her.

Remus pressed himself close to the wall. He held his breathe as his heart beat out of his chest. If he'd been a second slower the person would have surely seen him.

"Lee! There's a fucking vampire in the building!!!" He overheard one of them say. Probably the person running up to her.

"Please we're scientists!! We're smarter than believing in vampires!.......Was it a hot vampire? Big boobs?"

"I didn't actually see the vampire! But- but I-I came down the hallway and Gustav he was just- he was just laying on the ground so I checked on him and there were bite marks on his neck! Like a-a vampire or a snake! You know something like that! Is Mr. Impur creating interdimensional portals behind our backs??"

"I hope the vampires eat his head off. He still hasn't given me the healthcare benefits I've asked for!"

"Okay. Okay. Okay. There are vampires in the building what do we do?? Theo! Theo will know what to do! He always knows! C'mon lee. Go go go!"

Quick footsteps were heard leaving. Remus let himself breathe again. He checked so the hallway really was empty before following where the scientists had been going. He muttered under his breathe about how Janus should have hidden the bodies better. Now he would at least get a chance to shoot Theo.

It was hard to move his feet in the way he needed to to stay as quiet as possible. The wound at his neck kept aching. He liked to think every time it ached it was because Jaws was thinking of him.

He heard a single sound and his entire body immediately went into action. He pointed his gun and tensed up, ready to see Theo coming towards him. But no one was there.

There was a door though. A heavily locked one. It looked like a cell. It looked like a cell! All of the logic left Remus' brain as he stumbled towards it in the fastest pace he could muster.

Stupidly enough he pulled in the handle. Obviously it didn't open. He started banging on the door "REMY? REMY ARE YOU THERE?"

There was some sort of keypad next to the door. When all else fails: Gun! Remus pointed the gun towards the keypad and was about to shoot when he heard a gun load behind him.

"Please Remus couldn't you have choosen any other days than a monday to do this?" Theo asked sarcastically.

He had a tired look in his eyes as he aimed the gun directly at the agent's head. He only stood a few feet away. All Remus could do was slowly turn around to face him.

"You sure are quiet for a 00 agent right now" Theo had a smug look on his face "Jaws got your tounge?"

For a few moments everything was still as they both looked at each other, waiting for the other to do something. If a needle had been dropped they both would have shot it.

Remus suddenly burst forward. He took out a knife and threw it far away to the left. Theo glanced to the knife for just a second out of instinct. Enough time for the agent to get up to him. He punched Theo in the face with the back of the gun.

The guard stumbled for a moment but quickly regained his ground. Remus pointed his gun towards Theo's knee and was about to shoot when Theo grabbed him by his hair and flung him to the ground.

The agent landed in a roll and quickly got up on his feet again but just as he was about to fully stand up Theo was already in front of him. He slammed his knee into Remus' stomach, making him gasp for breathe. But that wasn't enough. Theo lifted both of his elbows and rammed them right into the wound on Remus' neck.

Remus fell to the ground. Theo put his foot on his neck and held his gun to his forehead. The agent tried to get his gun but it'd already been kicked far away from him.

"You're weaker than I remember" Theo said coldly.

"I hope your toes get torn out you sick fuck" Remus spat back.

No matter how much he moved his legs or tried to force the guard away with his arms nothing happened. He really had gotten weaker. He looked up at the cold metallic barrel of the gun.

He opened his mouth to let out another insult, some snarky comment. Instead a weak sob came out. He couldn't die. He had to protect Remy. He had to.

Theo looked down at him, at his crying shaking form and sighed. He didn't move the gun away. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand and shook his head.

"Why are you here?"

"You know there is only one reason for why I would ever be here!" Remus forced out between shallow breathes.

"Yeah.....yeah I know.....You know 008, I'm supposed to go see my family tomorrow....My daughter is having a theater showing at her school....My wife has sounded so excited about it during every phone call"

Theo let out another long sigh. He put his gun back in his holster and moved his foot away. He even held out his hand to help the agent up.

"You were completely wrong with the cell just so you know" He said with a tired smile.

Remus let out a choked sniffle before taking his hand. Just standing up made him dizzy so Theo let him lean on him. He followed along as the guard started to walk through the hallways that he knew like the back of his hand.

"Is Virgil doing okay?" Was the first thing Theo asked. He kept looking around for other peple just in case, he didn't want to have to fight one of his coworkers.

"Who cares! Where's my partner? They're here right? In this building? Tell me they're here!"

Theo squinted at him "They?"

"They!"

".....Oh....Oh I have done many mistakes. I won't say anything about them until you tell me if Virgil is okay! For all I know MI6 are a bunch of fuck ups drinking child blood for fun!

"He's doing finnnnee. He misses you but that's it I think"

"And Jaws?"

"Last time I saw him he and Virgil were playing uno"

Theo let out a breathe of reflief "Oh good. I've been worried they would have been forcibly separated" He grimaced "Virgil must be so anxious about being forced to stay at MI6. I wish I could have come along with him"

"Who cares about that! What the fuck have you done t-"

Remus got forcibly shut up as Theo clamped his hand over his mouth and slammed him chest first into a wall. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw guards walking by. He could feel Theo's warm breathe against his ear as he also hid.

"I thought spies were quiet" He whispered as he checked the hallway.

"Yeah well I thought you were gonna blow my brains out. It's a day of surprises!"

He grabbed onto Remus' wrist to make him follow him as he swiftly dashed through hallways "I haven't been keeping tabs on them, your husb- partner, too much lately. It's been quite busy. The bitc- Mr. Impur and the others are planning something, I can tell. I think most of the torture stopped once they gave us the information Mr. Impur wanted. Some of these people....they're real sadists let's just say that so maybe your partner has kept being hurt. I've tried giving them some food now and again but not much more than that"

Bile rose in his throat just hearing it "Are they- they remember me right? RIght? They haven't become like Jaws r-right?"

"No. No. I- I still have nightmares about what they did to Jaws. They're not- nothing of that sort has happened to them as far as I know"

He suddenly stopped. He let go of Remus' wrist. They were in a hallway lined with cells.

"Are they-" Remus began.

"Stay quiet. And be quick!" Theo instructed.

He took out a keycard from his pocket and put it against the keypad to the closest door. The door swung up into a pitch black room. He motioned for Remus to go in while he stayed outside.

Mold had started to grow next to the water tank in the corner of the room. It was so dark it was hard to see more than a few inches in front of him. The floor had been stained with blood and puke. No kind of cleaning could take those stains away at this point.

A whimper was heard. "not again. not again please"

Remus' eyes filled with tears at hearing their voice. Remy's voice. "REMY! It's okay! It's just me! It's Remus. I won't let anyone hurt you again!"

He hurried forward to them and hunched down next to them. They were laying on the ground, facing away from him. Chains were keeping their wrists and ankles together. He could see every single bone through their bruised skin. Their hair had started to fall out in clumps and parts of their left leg was bent the wrong way.

He so so carefully moved their head so they were looking at them. He cupped their cheeks. Even with bits of old vomit on their cheeks and enough grime on their face to make their skin look gray he still looked at them like they were the most precious thing on earth.

Remy looked at him. Their mouth slightly agape. They couldn't believe he was real. It had to be a hallucination "No. No. No." They cried out "I can't be dead. I can't be dying. Remus can't find my corpse. No. No. I have to- I have to-"

"Shh. Shh. Honey. Honey I'm here. I promise. I'm here. I'm real. I'll take you home okay?"

Their eyes widened. They tried to move their hand to touch him but the chain held them back. They started to sob "Remus?"

"I'm right here dear"

"I knew it. I knew you would be so stupid you would try to rescue me. I knew it"

"I could never even think about not rescuing you"

Remus quickly forced the chains open. Remy tried to sit up but their arms were to weak to even hold them up. He wondered how many of their bones were broken. Some of their ribs stuck out wrong. Some of their fingers looked mangled. Some of their teeth had started to rot.

Their husband gently moved them into a hug. He pressed their foreheads together and held his arms around their shaking shoulders. They painstakingly moved their hand up to his cheek, to really make sure he was real.

(He saw that one of their fingers were missing. That just a stump was left where it should have been. He felt sick, but most of all he felt rage)

"Did they hurt you?" Remy quietly asked.

"No. No honey. They never even got to me. You protected me. You made sure I wasn't taken"

They smiled for the first time in months "I've- I've been so worried"

"I know honey. I know. It's okay"

For a few moments they sat in silence. Just feeling each other's bodies pressed close together again. Their tears got mixed together. Remus leaned in and finally kissed them. It felt like it'd been years.

"Okay honey, we have to go. I'll carry you okay?"

Remy let out a whine and sunk further into the hug. They had a feverish look in their eyes, like they were on the edge of delirium.

"We have to. You'll be home in no time I promise"

They cried out in pain as soon as he picked them up. He mumbled apologizes while pressing a kiss to their forehead. They leant their head against the crook of his neck as he carried them bridal style out of the cell.

Theo rolled his eyes when he saw them "There you are. We gotta go. I got a call from one of the other guards that a spy had been spotted"

He didn't even give them a chance to respond before he'd started to walk. Remus followed close behind. He kept his gun in one of his hands in case he had to protect his spouse.

"..Virgil...we have to...we can't leave..Virgil..he's..Impur is abusing him...babe we have to- we have to find him- I haven't seen him in a long time....worried he's been hurt so so bad...we have to" Remy slurred out with half open eyes.

"It's okay. He's already at MI6. He's safe. You're safe" Remus assured.

"mhm...I'm so tired babe"

"You can sleep. It's okay. Everything will be okay"

Remy gave him one last exhausted look before leaning closer to him and promptly passing out. Their husband held onto them even harder. They were so easy to carry, too easy.

"Get out of my way!" Theo yelled.

Remus got startled away from focusing on Remy. He saw Theo pointing his gun towards another man. He had on a pristine suit and a grey ring. He didn't look like a guard.

"That's the 00 agents isn't it? You're crossing sides now?" The man shouted back.

"Just look away! The agents aren't hurting you in any way if they leave! Or if I leave! I mean Virgil is gone, Jaws is gone, Really my work is done!"

The man cocked his gun "We've put too much time into this for you to suddenly backstab us. Sp-"

He never got a chance to finish his sentence. A shot was fired from behind him. The bullet went perfectly through his brain. He fell forward onto the ground, dead. Janus blew the steam from his pistol.

"Who's he?" Janus asked while pointing to Theo. He didn't even seem surprised to see Remy.

Theo dropped his gun and held up his hands above his head "Theo Gundersen. Affiliate of Mr. Impur. I am willing to work with MI6 as long as-"

Janus snickered "Oh great. I was worried that I hadn't found any useful information at this place but it looks like I actually have"

He let out a low whistle and one of his snakes immediately bit into Theo's ankle. His eyes rolled back into his skull before he passed out. He almost looked harmless where he laid.

Janus looked at Remus as he started to drag in Theo's sleeves to force him with them "What are you waiting? Move! We tooootally have all day!"

"Oh- oh right"

He turned a corner and there it was. The loading dock. They'd made it. Remy let out a whine in their sleep.

Logan was already ready to drive as they got into the submarine. His eyes filled with tears of happiness as he saw Remy but he forced his attention back to the steering panel. Janus pushed Theo onto the floor of the submarine before counting his snakes to make sure no one had been left behind.

"Drive!" He ordered.

Remus sat in a happy flutter of shock. He was still holding Remy. One hand on their back, one behind their head. He had so much to explain to them, so much about Jaws. But for now all he did was sit and watch as the building the light in his life had been tortured in for months slowly disappeared out of his sight.

"I love you" He mumbled as he kissed them on the forehead.

Chapter Text

Lucia was trying to read in the living room. It wasn't any sound that was keeping her from reading. The house had been mostly quiet apart from mumbled conversations and crying for months now. It was more that she hadn't been able to focus on Anything ever since she got the news that Remy, her child, had been taken and she couldn't know if they were ever coming back.

She could hear Róse in the kitchen. She baked when she was stressed, which was good because no one else had the energy to cook. They'd pretty much survived on half finished bread and cookies for months.

A knock came on the door. She put down her book and moved her robe tighter around her before getting up to open. No matter how depressed she was she wasn't going to make someone probably just selling some cookies or a newspaper wait.

She opened the door, tears filled her eyes.

"Hi mom" Remy greeted. They were home. They were finally home.

They were in a wheelchair and Remus stood next to them with a nervous look on his face and most of her child's body had been wrapped up in bandages or was bruised and they looked so thin and cold and shaky and exhausted. But she didn't think about any of that.

Her shaky hands reached out to cup their face. A tear went down her cheek "My baby" She choked out "Y-you're here"

Remy nodded "I'm here"

The sound of a plate being dropped came from the kitchen. Róse came running out into the living room. Her eyes widened when she saw her child. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

She pinched herself before taking a few staggering steps towards them. She threw her arms around her child. Remy let out a shaky sob while hugging her back.

"Lucy! Fray! R- our- they- they're home" Lucia called out into the quiet house.

Nearly in an instant both of the moms had hurried down to make sure Lucia wasn't hallucinating. They bundled up into the hug as well. Remy accidentally fell out of the wheelchair but they just landed in their mother's arms.

"Oh my honeybee. My sweet RemRem" Lucy mumbled out while pressing kisses to the top of their head.

All of them were crying. It was a mixture of cuddling, happiness bubbling over into laughter and relief flooding the room. Remus stood still in the doorway. He didn't join the hug. He didn't deserve to.

--

A few hours later Remy had fallen asleep huddled up with their moms in the biggest bed in the house. The mothers had carefully talked to them, like they would break apart if they said a single thing wrong. They didn't ask about what they'd been through. Just the hint of a question about it had made Remy start to shake and cling onto Remus.

Now Remus was in his spouse's room. It was dark but unlike the rest of the house it was clean, like the mothers had only bothered to clean this room in all those months. He was setting up a stand for an IV bag. Remy had been passed out or completely lucid while the doctors patched them up but as soon as they were awake enough to move they had demanded to go home to their mothers. So some hospital equipment had come home with them.

"What you doing hun?" Lucy asked.

The sudden noise made Remus flinch away. He turned around to see her standing in the doorway with two coffee cups.

"...nothing much" He mumbled out "umh the doctors gave them a meal plan they have to follow for a while. It uh seems like they were starved so if they eat too much at once it could ehm hurt them. Also uh some meds"

"Mhm" She sat down on the bed and took a sip of her coffee. She held out the other cup towards him "Here kiddo, you're looking tired" Remus hesitantly took it but kept standing "And it also doesn't look like Remy is the only one who hasn't been eating enough"

"No. No no you got it wrong. I just haven't been exercising regularly. It's really easy to lose muscle" He babbled out.

"Honey you've lost weight. You have to take care of yourself okay? It's important to me, and to the others"

Remus took a sip from the coffee to avoid responding.

Lucy traced her hand over the sheet's of her child's bed "It's pretty silly but I can't sleep. I'm so scared...I'm so scared that if I sleep someone will come take Remy again. Or I will wake up and realize them coming home was just a dream. And I will never see them again"

He gulped "Yeah. yeah I uh have the same problems"

"Understandable. I called one of those MI6 people about them sending a therapist here for sessions with Remy. I can help you get in contact as well. I'm sure it would help. Fray has already been talking with us about seeing someone, for at least a few session"

A guilt ran up his spine, like a cold shock "No uh no I don't think I need it. It was- It was my fault anyway they even got captured. You shouldn't even let me stay here. I-I got them hu-"

"Oh shush kiddo"

Lucy patted the place next to her on the bed. He sat down but kept his distance. She looked over at him with such warmth in her eyes it made him feel even more guilty. She gently put her hand on his shoulder.

"You weren't the one who hurt them. Those horrible nasty people did. All you did was get away which made so we at least knew what had happened to them. Do you realize how much worse it would have been if you and Remy just suddenly disappeared?"

"I should have done something more"

"Honey" Her hand traveled down to his hand. She placed hers on top of his and met his eyes "You brought them home again"

Remus' shoulder started to shake as tears rolled down his cheeks. He couldn't look at her "I-I'm sorry I didn't talk t-to any of you. I- I was so afraid you would hate me for not being better"

She wrapped her arms around his shoulder "It's okay kiddo" Tears filled her eyes as well "Tomorrow we'll have a nice breakfast and some nice sleep and they'll heal and we'll heal and everything will be alright. I promise"

"O-okay" He hugged her back "Okay"

--

The days went by slowly. Remy didn't eat much. Didn't talk much either. They slept most of the time. They were kind of like a cat actually. They were pale and shaky no matter how much cuddles or care they got.

It was late afternoon. Remus still laid with his spouse comfortably sleeping on top of his chest. They were still snoring. He'd been awake for hours. He inch by inch tried to move them away and slowly got up. He stretched before putting on boxers and a t-shirt. He moved to the door.

"Don't leave!" Remy sounded downright terrified.

They had sat up in bed and their eyes were wide open. Even after all the sleep they still had eyebags from exhustion.

Remus stopped "I was just going to the kitchen"

Remy forced a smile even as their body kept shaking "Sorry babe. I'm like tots a wreck. I- yeah I can- I can be alone for a little while. I can. I totally can" They mumbled the last part.

He went up to the bed and held out his arms "Come here you big baby bug"

They let him pick them up and they leant their head against the crook of their neck. His hands held them up by their thighs. Their nails dug down into his skin, as if they were afraid he would vanish if they let go even in the slightest.

"You're hurt" Remy mumbled "Did it happen when you were like saving me?"

"That really isn't important"

"It's important to me. You've got that big nasty like injury on your neck y'know. It's like kinda hard to miss. And you look like you've been sleeping less than like even me. And I'm usually the insomniac here!!!"

"Well you smell worse than I normally do! How you feel about that! Besting me the stinky goblin man at smelling like alligator shit!" Remus joked back.

"Alright then" Remy smacked him on the ass like a horse "Take me to the shower then! And then we'll like have a super cute breakfast 'cause you need your fat tits back so I can like use them as pillows! Or else my sleep schedule will never be normal again!"

"Oh what terror!"

The bathroom was free and smelled of apple shampoo. Remus sat his spouse down at the edge of the bathtub. Most of their bandages were made to get wet but he had to take off some of the really thickly laid on bandages around their leg. The bruises he saw made him sick. He couldn't stop looking at the purple and blue hues going over their skin.

"Are you waiting for me to do a strip tease or something?" Remy joked.

Remus quickly shook his thoughts away and forced himself to look away from the bruises. Remy held up their arms so he could pull their t-shirt and sport top off. They leant their arms around his shoulders to be able to stand up long enough to get their underwear off. Remus quickly got off his clothes as well.

"Girl!!! Your thighs are so much smaller!!! wtf!!! They're barely even thick!!! I mean obviously you still look good. Great. Tip top. But thighs!!" Remy motioned wildly even if it made their arms hurt.

"I think you have more important things to focus on" He murmured while leaning down to kiss them.

They wrapped their arms around his shoulders "But I've been away from my Remmu-bae for so long"

"And I've been away from my Bean-boo"

He picked them up so their toes barely didn't touch the floor anymore. He went into the shower and continued to hold them up. Their back got pressed against the wall. They had a bright smile on their lips as they kissed. He cupped their cheeks and pressed kisses to their sunken in cheeks, eyebags and sharp jawline while they let out giggly breaths.

They moved back into the kiss. Remus fumbled after the crane. As soon as the water turned on Remy froze. Their eyes went wide and their fingers dug down into his skin.

Even though he was the one who was ace he for a moment assumed he'd gone too far somehow. He gently sat them down on the ground before moving so he wasn't touching them. The water was still running down on them.

"Are you okay honey? Did I do something wrong? Oh god did I hurt you? Oh no I should have thought about your inju-"

Remy didn't answer. Their eyes had glazed over as if they were somewhere completely else. Tears pressed on but they didn't fall, like they'd trained themself not to cry. Their body kept twitching and they kept gasping for breathe.

"Babe please talk to me. It's me. It's Remus. Please. I don't understand what's wrong"

He reached out to comfort them. Remy flinched back and screamed.

Or they would have screamed. Their mouth was open and their expression looked like they were screaming but no sound came out. Their body shook even harder.

"d-don't- not the- not the- I can't breathe- not with the- the water" They gasped out.

A cold feeling crawled up Remus' spine as he realized what was going on. They were having a flashback about being waterboarded. He instantly wanted to murder whoever had done it to them so many times, so harshly, so they got this afraid just at feeling water against their skin.

He quickly turned off the water but Remy didn't even seem to notice. Their eyes kept darting around the room while looking horrified. He got up and took a towel. He gently sat it around their shoulders but just the light tough of fabric made them silently scream again.

"Okay honey" Remus positioned himself right in front of them so he wasn't touching but they couldn't not look at him "Can you please just follow my breathing? I won't hurt you I promise. You're at your mother's house, in the bathroom and it's just you and me Remus here. Okay? So please breathe in with me"

Remy let out a choked sob and immediately covered their mouth as if just that sound was too much. They fingers tangled together with the strings at the end of the towel.

Remus kept talking to them in a much sweeter tone than his usual. He kept showing them how to take a deep breathe. He kept forcing himself to not pull them into a hug and kiss all of their tears away.

"Please dear. You will be okay as long as you breathe. Please"

They gulped before forcing in a shuddering breathe. They held it in until Remus motioned for them to breathe out. They kept letting out uneven breaths but it was a start.

"You're doing great hun!" He assured.

"r-rem" They let out through broken cries.

"Yeah it's me hun. I know. It's okay"

He reached out his hand. Remy clammered onto it. They moved their arms around his upper arm and leaned their head against his shoulder. They closed their eyes tightly and kept forcing themself to breathe in and out when he told them to.

"it- it was so horrible- i- i thought they were doing the same to you- o-or worse- i was so scared- scared you were dead- scared- scared i would die- i would never see you again" They sobbed out.

Remus pressed a soft kiss to the top of their head. Their hair was damp from water. "Dear I'm right here. You don't have to be scared anymore. Besides if I was a ghost I would be super fucking hot! Ghost penis!"

Remy couldn't help but laugh at that. One of those relieved half delirious laughs that happened after holding in tension and worry for so so long all you could do was laugh.

So they sat curled together on the cold shower floor. Their laughter mixed together into a flutter of giggles. And when Remy got all of the laughter out of them they cried, not because they were as deep in the flashback as before, just because they had to cry eventually. Remus held them even closer and whispered sweet nothings and promises of all of the dates he would take them on once they'd recovered a bit.

Remy let out a final sniffle. Remus pressed another kiss to their lips. It was a bit salty from the tears.

"You will go to therapy right? Lucy told me about it"

"Only if you go as well. Like girl I know this must have messed you up about Roman again" Remy mumbled back.

Remus choked for a moment. He hadn't decided how to tell them about Roman- Jaws- yet. He forced a smile "Sure. If my Beanie-boo tells me to go I'll go"

"Mhm. I'll hold you hand all through it. I promise"

--

The next day, in the late afternoon, after Remus had spent all day helping Róse dust off the house and helping Fray book a meeting with one of MI6's therapist. He went to his spouse' room to chill the fuck out.

As soon as he opened the door he saw Remy sitting by the desk, it had a big mirror in the middle and all of their make up had been spread out over the table. He could see that their boney shoulders were shaking in the dim light.

"Hun you good?" He asked.

"Yeah. Tots good. I just like thought some like make up would cheer me up but.."

Their words trailed off. They held an eyeliner pencil in their right hand. Their dominant hand. The hand where their middle finger had been cut off.

Remus took a few steps closer and moved to comfort them but they flinched away "Not right now babe. I'm like looking horrible" They mumbled.

"Aww honey. You couldn't even look horrible with a cut off pig head on your face and a bunch of blood and organs and all that around your neck. Actually you would look really really good like that!"

Remy let up into a short chuckle. They looked at him with an unsure look. They'd put make up on around half of their face. Sure the eyeliner wasn't as sharp as usual, the foundation was a bit less blended, maybe their eyelashes didn't look as long. But it still looked great.

He took a moment to think of the best way to comfort them out before sitting down on the desk. He leaned his feet on either side of their thighs and picked up one of the lipsticks. He cupped his love's cheek to bring them closer.

"Would it be alright if I did the other half?"

"Sure babe"

He stuck his tounge out to look concentrated as he moved the lipstick across their upper lip. He had watched in awe as they did this sort of stuff for hours (it was calming and made his heart all fuzzy) so he had some idea on what to do. They'd even painted him a few times.

"Am I useless?" Remy suddenly asked, their tone so serious it was surprising.

"Of course not dear. Nothing is really useless. Rotting corpses can even be used for good"

"I guess"

He skipped the foundation and instead went directly to highlighting and putting some pink stuff on their cheek.

"How long do you think it'll take until I can walk again?"

"You've seen how long it takes for me and this is only what? your third broken leg? It'll be fine! I'm sure! You'll be running around time doing yoga in no time!"

"Babe you don't run during yoga"

"Same difference!"

He moved on to their eyes. He choose a bright blue and smeared it over their eyelids before moving the black pencil thing near their eyelashes.

Remy kept looking down. Normally they were so excited when make up was involved. Chatting up a storm of gossip and make up advice. Now it was just nothing. They bit their cheek and drummed their fingers against the chair.

"It's just- I can't shower without panicking, I-I can't eat normally, I keep feeling injuries that aren't there a-and hands and it's like I'm still there. Like I'm still sure I will die and- it- it hurts- and I- I can't even do makeup! I can't do something I enjoy without ruining it! My whole body is ruined. I'm ruined"

Remus put down the eyeliner. He cupped both of their cheeks and leaned their foreheads together. His eyebrows furrowed together.

"Honey I don't care if all of your limbs and your tounge would have been cut off. As long as you're my Remy, which you are no matter what, you are not ruined. I don't even know what that means!! I have bogers for brains!"

"...But I-"

"No buts! For once! I love you! No matter what! You will recover from this and even if you didn't I would still love you! Because you love how I eat your lipstick when you're not looking and how I stink garbage and how I choose gorey movies at every movie night so I end up holding you when it gets scary! And if you can love that I can love you even if you're traumatized for VERy understandable reasons! B I T CH!!!"

Remy let up into a small smile. Their hand went up and they held it against their husbands's hand "Thanks babe...I just....I don't know how I'm supposed to keep living after this. After-" They looked at the hand with the missing finger "After everything that happened"

"Well" He had a soft look in his eyes "I didn't think I could keep living after Roman disappeared....but then I met you...and I survived...If you can make me survive I will make sure you survive!"

"Yeah" They closed their hand "Yeah! Besides I can like get a fake finger right? Logan can make one? A finger with lipstick in it! Or a finger that is secretly a gun! And I can get meds and sleeping pills and learn to deal with triggers with like therapy I guess??!"

"That's the spirit!!!" Remus exclaimed "And hun I promise you're not as 'ruined' or whatever you were going on about as you think you are! Just look-"

He moved out of the way of the mirror and Remy actually saw what a trainwreck Remus' make up attempt was in comparison to theirs. It looked like a swarm of clowns had taken over. The side they'd painted looked like it was a met gala look next to it.

Remus pointed between the mirror and their face "You're still great!! You fucking dumbass!!!"

"And you still suck you fucking bastard" Remy teased back.

"Aww I'm your lil bastard" He moved in to kiss them. Their lipstick got smeared onto his lips but he didn't mind.

"You'll always be, 'cause you'll never stop being a bastard. Literally"

"Damn right!!"

He moved in for another deeper kiss but Remy stopped him. They wanted to (and they will) but first "Y'know babe you can vent to me just like I do to you right? Even if I'm a bit like messed up right now I can still comfort you"

"I know"

"Yeah. I've just been thinking that like me disappearing and maybe being dead must have reminded you of...Roman...and I'm like- you can vent about it. We can visit his grave again if you want. I don't want you to bottle up your feelings for my sake"

Remus went still. His throat tightened as he thought of how to tell them. They'd never even met him. He tightened his hold on their hand. Their scarred shaking hand.

"Hun...I...I need to tell you something"

Chapter Text

Remy pressed their fingertips ever so lightly against the glass. Their breathe got stuck in their throat. They wanted to reach out and hold their husband but they couldn't move, couldn't take their eyes off who they were looking at it. It didn't feel real.

"He....He does really look like you...." Remy finally mumbled out.

"Yeah. That's what being twins is all about" Remus replied.

They were standing outside Jaw- Roman's holding cell. He had been interrogated today so they put him in an isolated room until he had calmed down enough so he could go back to Virgil. Roman was sitting on the ground. He was flapping his arm in a robotic almost twitchy way. As if he could remember that doing this used to make him calm down but he didn't remember how he used to do it.

"Can- should I talk to him?" Remy asked.

He shrugged "He's not much of a talker right now. I...I can barely get through a moment with him without crying"

"Oh honey" Remy reached out and took his hand.

Remus squeezed their hand and sent them a small smile. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand to get some of the constant exhaustion out. "It's fine. He doesn't seem uhm...dangerous...unless ehm someone hurts him or threatens Virgil-"

"Oh shit Virgil"

"Yeah. So uh if you want to I'm pretty sure you could talk to him. Ehm Roman I mean"

Remy suddenly looked over to him "What about Virgil? Hun you said Virgil was here right? So I can like say hi right? He must be so anxious. I can't even like imagine-"

"Now?"

"No next easter. Of course like right now babe!! Let's go! Let's go!" If they hadn't been sitting in a wheelchair they would have already been pulling for him to lead the way.

Remus cast one last look to his brother before forcing his eyes away. He pressed a kiss to his spouse's forehead before grabbing onto the handles of the wheelchair. It was a quiet day at MI6. Everyone had something to do so no one was really paying attention to them. He wondered if they'd made any progress in interrogating Theo.

The hallway where Virgil's room (Patton had told him not to call it a cell anymore) laid was barren. Remy tried to hide some of their worst bruises and injuries by pulling their sleeves and pant legs down. They didn't want to worry the teenager even more.

"I can go in on my own. Kay babe?" Remy said.

"Oh uh sure. I'll just be busying me by polishing my thong collection then" He kissed them on the lips long and hard, in the way that always made them giggle, before letting go of the wheelchair.

When the door opened Virgil quickly sat up in bed. The plushies and blankets he had been buried under moments before fell down around him. A smile shone up on his face.

"JAwsie? Are you hurt? You've been gone fo-"

The words died in his throat as he saw Remy. They calmly closed the door behind them before looking around the room. They felt relieved as they saw all the books stacking up over the floor, at the drawing spilling over the side of the desk, at the plushies on the bed and the empty plate on his nightstand. At least he seemed to be well taken care of.

At last their eyes met Virgil's. They sent him a chill smile "Sup girl. You doing good?"

"A-AGENT 009?!??"

He threw the blanket away from himself. He quickly combed back his hair and checked his breathe before getting up from bed. His cheeks were bright red as he got up close to the agent and blinked at them.

"You- you're uh- hurt" He mumbled out. He couldn't stop staring at the new prosthetic finger they had gotten from Logan. He couldn't stop remembering the sight of their newly cut off finger. it plagued his nightmares. All of the their pain did.

"But I'm here ain't I" Remy replied.

"YEAH! Yeah you are! That uh that means-" He shone up even more "It worked didn't it? I gave dad the info he wanted so he let you go right!? I knew it! I knew it would work! I got taken here when I like got the info but it's okay because now you're here too! And JAwsie! We just need Theo! And then we can go help dad so he gets happy again and he calls me a good son and everything will be fine and he won't hurt people ever again! Okay? Okay!"

Remy didn't have the heart to tell Virgil that nothing he had done had helped them. They reached out and ruffled his head "Totally kiddo. You did great"

Somehow he blushed even harder. His hands clammered to hold onto anything so he awkwardly fiddled with the fabric of his hoodie while biting the inside of his cheek.

"So gal it must have been kinda like uuuh fucked to like get forced here so you-"

Virgil suddenly got down on one knee. His eyes were as big as an overly excited kittens as he looked up at them. He reached out and took their hand in his. He squeezzed it a bit too hard.

"Ehm so uh A-Agent 009 now wh-when you're uh here would you would you want to ehm go- or- uhm- go on- on a date with me? T-This is how people uhh ask others out on d-dates right?"

It took a moment of Remy staring at him before they let up into a soft giggle "Oh girl. Can you like help me over to the bed?"

Virgil was practically vibrating from nerves as he quickly stood up and nodded. He let Remy lean on his shoulder so they could move from the wheelchair to sitting on the edge of the bed. He stared down into the floor as he sat down.

"Kay kid that was like adorable but I'm sorry to disappoint. I'm like literally 27 and you're what? 15? 16?"

Virgil shrugged.

"Either way that would be like tots fucked. I'm okay with you like crushing on me tho. I get it. You don't got any friends your own age right?"

He shook his head.

"I didn't either when I was 15. Don't worry I'm sure with your personality you're gonna get super many besties. Besides my first crush was on my gym teacher so like I really do get it" Remy reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "So I see you've got some books here. Wanna like tell me about them? Or your drawings? They're real pretty. Real Picasso shit"

Virgil suddenly glanced up at them. He was clearly trying to hold back tears. "Your n-name?"

"What?"

"You uh never- you never told me your name. I just- I just wanna know please"

"Smythe. Remy Smythe"

On the inside they were writing adoption papers at the way Virgil got a nervous smile on his lips "That's uh really pretty. I'm Virgil! But uh yeah you already knew that"

"I did know that yeah"

"So uh you- ehm you're not leaving right??"

"'course not! I gotta spend time with my fav kiddo!"'

"Oh okay then" Virgil quickly got up and grabbed a few drawings before hastily throwing them into Remy's lap "I can uh explain some of my ehm art? Patton- he's a guy that works here- got me pens"

"Coolio"

At least an hour went by. Virgil explained every drawing. Every character and story he had thought of. Most of it was horror. Spiders and blood and vampires in tight black goth clothes and sunglasses. Some of it were portraits. Theo, Jaws, Patton and Remy. Shaky scribbles of people Remy didn't recognize. Maybe his father. Maybe guards who had hurt him.

(Some of them had been drawn by Jaws. They all were in black and white. Most of them showed sketchy drawings of....Remus? It could be. It was hard to tell)

His hands shook slightly when he showed off a paper that had been filled with color so it looked like the pride flag "Patton uh helped me with choosing the colors. Theo had told me there was a flag but I-I didn't know what it looked like"

"Ahh girl!!! Your first flag!!! I remember when I got my first trans pin! And then when I got an even better trans pin from my mothers. Gah! It was great! You'll get yourself a real one soon enough! One out of like fabric! A big one!"

He flapped his hands " That does sound ehm very good"

"Yeah once you get outta here you'll get one. I'm sure"

"......I don't think that's gonna work.....I'll go back to my father won't I?...I don't think he'll....like it"

Remy took a moment to choice their words so they didn't upset him "Okay...well if you didn't go back to him- hypothetically- aren't there some other choices you have? You like the people here right?"

He fiddled with his thumbs "Patton is kind......Living with Theo would be nice- but he- he uh already has kids. I don't think he needs another"

"Good plans. Great plans. But like gal all people here have been nice right? No one has done anything bad rigth? 'cause I will fuck them up" Remy just had a creeping feeling something was wrong.

Virgil forced his smile to stay. His hand moved up to his eye for a moment. Where he'd gotten a black eye.

".....Someone....did hit me....B-But he had good reasons!"

Remy thought they would feel rage but instead all they felt was sadness for him "Oh honey" They gently put their hands on his shoulders "There is never a good reason. Even from your dad kay? So please tell me who it was so I can make sure he never sees you again"

"...It...It was the other Agent....the...r-remus" He nearly whispered out "BUT IT Was weeks ago I promise!"

"Remus..."

Remy took a deep breathe and forced themself to hide their anger. They let go of his shoulders and moved the drawings so they were neatly sitting on the bed. They sent him a short smile before moving back to the wheelchair.

"Kay kiddo. I'll see you soon. Just gotta go talk to Remus first"

"Oh- okay"

Virgil slumped down onto the bed. He kept his shark plushie close to his chest as he waved them goodbye. As soon as Remy had left the room he whispered out their name to himself. Just to feel it on his tongue. He let up into a flutter of happy flaps.

There was a 50% murder chance for anyone who tried to look at Remy right now. They quickly rolled through the corridors while glancing around for their goddamn husband.

They were practically fuming when they ran into Patton. The secretary had a whole stack of papers in his arms but he still did a bad attempt at hugging them as soon as he saw them. There was a huge grin on his lips.

"Remy!! Are you feeling any better? The therapy going well? Both the physical and mental I me-" He asked.

"Have you seen Remus?" Remy interrupted.

"Oh uhm....yeah! I saw him like an hour ago. I told him to go help with Theo. You know Theo?"

"I know"

"Yeah. The interrogations with him hasn't gone well so I thought maybe if he saw a uhhh familiar face- like Remus! We would get some answers! Smart right?"

Remy forced a smile "Thanks Pattio! I'll.....I'll go talk to him then"

--

Theo had fallen asleep with his forehead leaned against the cold metal table. His hands were chained to the middle of the table. There was no light in the interrogation room. No warmth.

The sudden sound of the door opening startled him awake. He somehow rolled his eyes more than any human ever had rolled their eyes before when he saw Remus coming in. The agent did double finger guns that morphed into double middle fingers.

"Hiya bitch. We meet again. FUcker" Remus greeted while laying himself over the table.

"Oh no not the agent I easily could have killed. I am so frightened" Theo replied sarcastically "They should have gotten your dad to do the job instead"

"Sorry he's missing, just like he's missing from paying for the child support. And the info we need is missing from your mouth- Ugh I worded that weird. Just tell us what we want. Please. I think we deserve some after you and your guys cut off my spouses' finger"

Theo let out a sigh "Could I get some coffee? They've been keeping me here for days and all I've gotten is stale??? soup and tea"

"No. You can not" Remus said with a shit eating grin. He leaned closer. His expression turned serious "Really Theo I thought you would help us when you gave yourself over willingly. What happened?"

He leaned back in his seat and glanced away "I fucking hate Mr. Impur. Of course I want to help....I just need to make sure Virgil is alright first but no one is letting me see him! They say they can't trust I won't try to escape with him! Why the fuck would I do that?! So he can go back to being abused by his dipshit father?? They're probably gonna ship me off to jail once they get the info anyway! Which I understand- I-I've done horrible things- I just need to make sure my family is alright first, my whole family"

Remus took a moment before responding "Virgil is okay....I promise....Why....Why did you even work for Mr. Impur if you hate him so much?"

"Do you seriously think Impur just walked up and asked me directly if I wanted to hurt people for him???" Theo leaned his head against the palms of his hands "I used to be a bouncer at different night clubs" He mumbled out "My wife...we were going to have our first baby...and she got sick right after getting pregnant....I couldn't lose both her and our child...I just needed the money and Impur's men contacted me about a job. It payed well and I was desperate. I didn't- I never wanted to hurt anyone"

"...I...I believe you....My spouse never said you physically hurt them. You're still an asshole though"

"I know" Theo lowered his voice "I really did try to protect your brother"

Remus froze. He opened his mouth but no words came out. He felt so stupid for still reacting like this.

"When I started the job I was assigned to be your brother's main guard. I stood in his cell and watched as horrible people eroded his mind and body until...until...." He didn't finish the sentence "I was able to talk to him sometimes. When we were alone. When he was still Roman. He was lovely really. I never understood how kind he could be to me even after I never was able to help him more than getting him bandages and extra food"

Theo looked up and met Remus' eyes.

"You were the last thing he remembered. After months of the torture, even after his eyes glazed over and he got the metal teeth. Even after he didn't respond when I said good morning. He would still look at me and tell me he had a brother. He couldn't remember your name. He would just repeat it over and over. That he had a brother"

A tear rolled down Remus' cheek.

"That's when I met Virgil as well. His father forced him to watch people be tortured as a punishment. At least once a week Virgil got sent to watch Roman be hurt. I- I didn't know Impur had a child- I.....I've never felt as much anger as when I realized what Impur was doing to Virgil. He was 10! He- I could barely stand being in that room! I covered his eyes and comforted him but...but he still heard it....he still saw Roman afterwards...Even if Roman was kind to him as well....I would let them talk for as long as they wanted to...We shared meals....Your brothers laugh was something special. I promised myself to protect them, to get them out of there and it took me until fucking now to do it! I'm horrible!"

Remus still couldn't respond. All he could think about was his brother being hurt for all those years.

"After they didn't need to torture Roman anymore I was able to get promoted to Virgil's bodyguard so I could at least tuck him into bed at night and make sure he ate and that none of those GOddamn guards hurt him. I should have escaped with them. I was just so scared that Sp- they- they would kill me or my whole family"

The agent shook his head to try and regain focus. He didn't bother wiping away his tears. Theo had seen him at worse.

"You do realize that we're pressed on time right. We don't know what impur is planning but he's been steadily buying more land. We know you got the info that could help us stop him" He sniffled out "Just Please say it"

Theo shook his head "The only thing important to me is my family, That includes Virgil. I don't give a shit about what happens to anyone else. Let me see him. That's all I want"

Remus reached out and placed his hand on top of Theo's "I'll see what I can do about getting Virgil here okay? And I'll help if some bitches try to send you away to jail for all eternity. You'll get out of here. I promise"

He let out a breathe of relief "Thanks 008. You're still a bastard though"

"And you're a dumbass" Remus let go and got up "I'll get you some coffee as well!" He waved goodbye before leaving.

As soon as he got out into the hallway he shone up into a relieved smile as he saw Remy waiting for him. It was perfect timing. He could really go for some kisses and cuddles after hearing all that about his brother. Maybe he could even use a shoulder to cry on.

"Hunbun!" He exclaimed. He walked up to them with open arms.

"Did you hit Virgil?" Remy asked coldly.

"What" Remus stopped midmotion. His smile slowly turned less genuine as he dropped his arms. They hang lifelessly at his sides.

"He told me you had hurt him"

"I- well-" He sighed "I won't deny it and I won't try to say it was okay. I was just stressed because I'd learnt that Roman was alive and you were gone. it felt like it was Virgil's fault. I just got so angry...I took it out on him. Just one time"

He'd never seen Remy look at him like this before. With that rage in their eyes. It felt like his insides shriveled up.

"YOU WILLINGLY HURT A CHILD?!"

"I- I'm sorry"

"Remus he's been abused all his fucking life! Do you understand what you've even done!? Finally he gets out of the abuse and you come here and confirm to him that all of the pain was normal! That adults everywhere are willing to hurt him!" Remy practically yelled it all out.

"I really didn't mea-"

They pinched the bridge of their noise "This would be fucking horrible of you either way but to think that you would stoop to the same level as my biological mom is just so- How- I didn't think you would- You being stressed doesn't excuse this! Never!"

All he could do was crook out another "s-sorry"

"Have you even apologized to him!?"

"I-I didn't think he would want to see me again after I- I've tried to stay away"

Remy looked away "Apologizing is the least you can do" They turned around "I'll stay over at my mother's house. You can sleep at our apartment. I don't want to see you right now"

Remus was left alone in the hallway. With his arms still hanging aimlessly at his sides. His expression blank from shock. Tears filled his eyes.

Chapter Text

"Ocean" Jaws mumbled to himself.

He sat on the floor of the holding cell after another interrogation. They'd asked him about Mr. Impur but he couldn't answer. He couldn't physically answer. Even if he wanted to his body wouldn't let him.

His hands were chained to the wall. Normally they were only chained together, along with his usual mouth chain, but after he'd gotten distressed worrying about Virgil they thought it would be safer to chain him to the wall. There was literally no furniture in the room so it wasn't like he could do anything anyway.

The headache wouldn't go away. Everything felt so out of focus, dizzy. Everything he looked at felt like a photo even though it was right in front of his eyes. The photo was grainy. Somewhere at the back of his mind he felt like he had been to the ocean. He didn't know when.

The door creaked like someone was about to open it. Jaws stared mindlessly at it. He was so dissociated from his own body pain didn't really bother him (unless it was the dizzy pain that came with remembering) since he never really felt connected to his own body. His own brain. He wasn't Jaws. Jaws was still him even if he didn't him to be.

A person he didn't recognize came in. They were leaning on two crutches and had a friendly smile on their face. A relaxed one. They looked injured so Jaws didn't understand what they could possibly be here to do with him.

They....they felt oddly familiar.

"Jesus fuck girl I'm almost feeling as like nervous as I did when meeting his mother for the first time" The stranger mumbled while painfully sitting down on the ground, a bit away from him as to not stress him out. "Hey...Jaws?...If you prefer to be called Jaws I will like call you that. I'm Remy"

Jaws blinked at them. Remy cringed at the sight of the restraints.

They ever so carefully moved forward until they were sitting in front of him. They slowly moved their hand up to his cheek. A subtle flinched went through his body but he didn't try to escape. They traced their finger over his cold skin. He leant into the gentle touch by sheer instinct. He yearned for any trace of kindness.

Remy let up into a soft smile as they met his eyes "You're not going to hurt me are you now"

Jaws still didn't respond. They checked his mouth restraints and was able to take it off. They chucked it away onto the ground before moving onto the chains around his hands. It took a bit more fixing with that but they could easily unlock it with their hair clip.

"That must have been like soooo annoying to have on. Can't be easy to speak with that on either"

He stretched his wrists and repeatedly opened and closed his mouth before shaking around a bit. It felt a bit weird to be near someone who wasn't nervous to be around him. Usually everyone was scared of him aside from Theo or Virgil.

Remy reached out and patted his arm "It must have been rough as fuck...this whole....like....life. I uh- I was actually hurt by the same people you were" They showed off the hand where they now had a prosthetic finger "So I kinda get it but like I can't imagine how much fucked up shit you've gone through. So now- when you're gonna be freed after this whole like mess of a mission is over what do you want to do? do you have any dreams? any goals? Any like hehe crushes?"

It took a long while of thinking before Jaws quietly let out "protect Virgil"

"Oh- Oh that's like- that's tots like sooo cool girl. I just ummmhhhh how do I say this...I'm like arguing with your brother right now so I'm not really speaking with him but before that we were talking about that you could move to the floating palace. It's where you grew up y'know. If you want to. I mean like you can do anything. Like yeah sure you could keep hanging with Virgil, I'll respect that but like is there nothing else?"

Once more he thought long and hard before responding "protect Virgil"

Remy held back a grimace "Okay. Cool. Cool. Cool. Well uh Remus- your brother has told me like a lot about you. Like a super lot. That you like musicals and romcoms and overdramatic knight tales"

Jaws just stared at them. Like he was seeing right through them.

".....I'm going at this the wrong way ain't I? you're not much of a talker. I am tho. Girl lemme talk your ears off"

Remy began to talk about whatever came to mind. About the movies they wanted to watch. About the newest dress they bought. About how cute rats were. They talked as if they and Jaws were old friends. Like he....like he was anyone else....like he wasn't a monster.

Oddly enough Jaws relaxed. He let himself be soothed and didn't sit as tense as he usually were.

"Dress?" He asked.

"What?"

"What other dresses have you?" It interested him. He didn't know why.

"Oh bitch I got a ton!! Lemme tell you-"

They went on for at least 15 minutes. Jaws eagerly listened the entire time. He even nodded along. They talked about a pretty blue dress they owned and Jaws suddenly blurted out.

"glass shoes"

"Uhm? That doesn't sound safe to walk in? Sorry gal?"

He shook his head. His brain tried to tell him glass slippers and a blue dress were connected somehow but he didn't get why. He stared down into the floor. He wanted to cry. But he wasn't allowed to.

"...you....you're not alone. Right Jaws?" Remy asked. They sent him a gentle look "Your brother always talked to me about that. He was soooo totally worried you were lonely in the afterlife without him there. He was worried you didn't have enough to do. that there weren't enough like plays or movies or painting to keep you happy until he got there"

"Virgil" Was all he responded at first "Theo" He added.

"That's good" They smiled and moved their hand on top of his hand "When I married Remus, your brother, he made sure that there was an empty chair for you there. There was like a nameplate for you at the table and everything. Okay?" Remy met his eyes "Believe me on this. There was never a single moment, even before you met Virgil or Theo, where you were truly alone. Where you weren't loved. You better remember that some day. I hope"

Jaws was confused by that whole thing, they could tell, but he still nodded at them and patted their hand. Even though their skin was as cold as a corpses and there was scars all over his fingers there was still such warmth radiating from him. Even with his glazed over eyes Remy could see the Jaws in front of him be the same person Remus had told them about. The same person that used to play dress up and create paper crows with him as a kid.

Remy got up and opened the door before motioning for him to follow. "C'mon Jawsie. You want to see your Virgil don't you? It gotta be scary being around strangers who see you as a freak all day"

Jaws stared at them for a long while without moving before he finally pointed at the handcuffs.

"I'm dangerous. You must put them on"

"Pff" Remy let out a laugh "Oh come on girl. Why would you hurt anyone. You're clearly not that type of guy. C'mon it's a short way to Viv's cell. You can hold onto my like sleeve or something if you want"

They held out their hand and Jaws- if a bit unsurely- got up and took it. He stared down into the ground and didn't move a single muscle aside from moving his legs to follow Remy. It was like he was expecting to be hurt if he stepped out of line in any way.

Everyone in the hallway stopped and looked at the two of them. Some agents even took out their guns and pointed it at Jaws. Remy just smiled and waved.

"see? you're doing great" Remy mumbled to him. They squeezed his hand ever so slightly "I promise you there's more in life for you than living only for Virgil. Even if you've like lost a few years you can still like continue living for yourself"

Jaws glanced at them "Ocean...I....I want to see the ocean....with Virgil"

Remy smiled brightly at them "Don't worry gal. I can fix that easily!"

Jaws continued to look at them for a little while. And then he ever so slightly smiled. Just for a moment.

When they got to the hallway where Virgil's ce- room was it was absolutely swarmed with guards. At least 5 stood armed around the door. All of them got ready to shoot when they saw Jaws. He didn't even seem to see them. Remy tightened their hold on their new friend as they went up to one of the guards.

"Bitch what's going on here?" They very bluntly asked.

"Agent 008 took the captured bodyguard into the kid's cell. He said it was important. We're just doing safety precautions in case the bodyguard tries to break the kid out" He motioned to Jaws "Bringing that thing into it will probably only make it worse"

"He's not a thing!" Remy slammed their hand into the wall next to the guard's head "I thought I told you all to not let agent 008 into Virgil's cell! Ugh!"

"Ooooh is there marriage issues going on" The guard taunted with a big grin.

"Get out of the way or I will pummel your face in. And my new finger was was made by Logan so you know it will hurt!"

"Lots of talk for someone who can barely walk right" The guard said while moving from the door.

Remy sneered at him. They held onto Jaws even harder as they slammed the door open before closing it behind them just as hard. Most of their thoughts were about how they would chew their dear but very incredibly stupid husband out later.

All their angry thoughts stagnated as they saw Theo hugging onto Virgil. The bodyguard had hunched down, his knees leaning on the ground, and his arms were tightly wrapped around the teenager. Virgil was pretty much engulfed in the hug, Remy could only see his head sticking up to lean against Theo's shoulder.

"My kiddo. My sweet kiddo" Theo mumbled out while gently moving his hand up and down Virgil's back. There were tears in both of their eyes.

Remy looked over to see Remus stand right by the door. He was looking down into the floor, as if even he felt a bit ashamed to see such a private moment. The partners met eyes. He tried to send them a smile but quickly stopped when he saw their sneer.

"Jawsie?" Virgil's voice broke Remy out of their focus.

The teenager shone up into a bright smile when he saw his friend. Theo didn't let go of his kid but he turned to look at Jaws. A genuine grin formed on his lips as he opened his arms. Remy only hesitated a little before letting their grip on Jaws go.

The shy smile from before was nothing compared to the way Jaws' eyes glimmered of relief and happiness as he collapsed into Theo's arms. He relaxed even more as he had Theo on one side and Virgil on his other.

Remy really didn't want to destroy the moment so they slowly moved over to Remus "Why the fuck are you here?!" They hissed out "I thought I told you not to even look at Virgil until you'd apologized for hurting him! And girl I know you well enough to feel that you haven't yet"

"He's not really a part of my family anymore is he. He- that- those are his family now" Remus mumbled out. "I already lost him- I- I thought I'd gotten him back- I haven't have I"

They couldn't help but soften a bit, no matter how mad they were they still cared more for their husband than anyone else. "Oh come on. Like babe obviously you can't like expect it to be the same but I talked to him-"

Remus looked over to them, there was a small glimpse of hope in his eyes "You did!? Fuck I wish I could have been there. I uh I know we're fighting right now and I know you have ever right to be mad but y'know I've just- I've been imagining you two meeting for so- I- how was it?"

Remy reached out and gently placed their hand on his arm "He was lovely. I get that for you- you've known him when he was Roman so the difference between that and- and Jaws must be tremendous. But like babe I promise from what you've told me, what you've said about his kindness and all that, even if he isn't like he used to be he's still there, dear. He's still there somewhere. In some ways. Like I'm sure you can get to know him again. He'll remember you some day. I'm sure"

"Thanks honeysuckle. You're the blood vessels in my heart" Remus sent them a soft smile, a tear was brimming in his eye.

"No prob hun" Remy let go of his arm and instead gently slapped his arm "Now why the fuck are you near Virgil!? Why are you here!?"

He moved his hands up to look innocent "I didn't wanna be near Virgil either okay. I don't want to remind him of what I did. But Theo would only give us the information we need to fucking murder Mr. Impur if he got to see Virgil. I had to! Besides look how happy they look"

They sighed "....Fine....I guess it was worth it"

"Yeah! And as soon as we get Mr. Impur behind bars we can shut down his company and give back all the land he's bought and Virgil will be free to find a new home and therapy and all that. And Roman can live with my mom at the floating palace!"

"I..I do want this whole thing to be over as soon as possible as well" Remy could still feel a hand holding them down under water every time they closed their eyes.

Remus glanced away "I promise I will apologize to Virgil when the time is right. I promise"

"I know hun. I know. I'm still angry though"

"I understand why. It's okay"

Both of them went back to being quiet. Neither of them looked over to the others. It still felt too private. Jaws had his head in Theo's lap while the bodyguard still had his arms gently wrapped around his kid's waist. Virgil was proudly showing off some of the drawings he and Jaws had done while Theo was gone.

"This one is of us in the snow see?" The drawing showed 6 figures standing around in white fluffy snow "I've never actually touched snow so I hope I still made it realistic enough. Here's Jawsie, and there's you and me and Agent 0- Remy and dad and-" His finger hovered over the last figure "This...This...I uh know I've never actually met her....but this....this is how I imagine mom looks like....wherever she is.....See? She has my hair and uh she also likes purple, just like me"

Theo's smile looked a bit forced as he ruffled Virgil's hair "I'm sure she would put it on her fridge if she was here. Right Jaws?"

He nodded "talent"

Remus fake coughed to get their attention. Virgil immediately flinched and moved closer to Theo when he remembered the agent was in the room. He buried his face against the bodyguard's shoulder.

"You're not taking me away yet" Theo said calmly, like he was in charge.

"I'm not!" Remus once more held up his hands to look innocent "I just- we're kind of short on time. We don't know what Mr. you-know-who is planning so it would be real good if you could tell us where he most likely is. Like my mom has been sending out her best spies to a lot of his company buildings but he's never ther-"

"Oh jeez do you have to look at me while you're speaking" Theo glanced down into the floor "Having both you and Jaws in the same room is freaking me out"

"Just answer the question. please. Tell us- kindly- where He is"

Theo was quiet for a while. He didn't smile. He didn't grimace. He just looked away while moving his fingers through his kiddo's mess of a hair.

"....I don't know" He finally let out.

Both Remus and Remy reacted. For a second they glanced at each other, like it was second nature to see the others reaction, before they both turned to Theo.

"What? But you said if you-"

"I was worried about Virgil okay!? I had to make sure I got to see him and Jaws before-" He didn't want to say that he was going to prison in front of Virgil. Not right now.

"So you know nothing?!"

"I can tell you most of the guard's names and half of the scientists! I can tell you all those if you want me to! I can describe the face of the every single fucker who ever put their hand on- I'm just a bodyguard okay!? Sure I'm quite high up among the guards but It's not like I'm even close to Mr. Impur or his little buddies. They could kil- I don't know where he is. I've never even been to the headquarter, nor do I know where it is. I'm sorry. genuinely"

"Oh fucking hell" Remus did a facepalm while Remy pinched the bridge of their nose. Virgil looked between the agents and Theo. He got the urge to tell his dad they were after him, even though he knew his dad already knew that.

"I...I know one thing" Theo suddenly said. The agents looked over to him "I know there is a headquarter and I know that's where Virgil lived before I met him. The first 10 years of his life and all that. It makes sense right? If Mr. Impur spends most of his time there then he would keep his son there right?"

Suddenly all eyes were on Virgil. Theo held him closer. His fingers gripped onto the bodyguard's shirt out of anxiety. Remy moved to hunch down in front of him. They lightly put their hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Viv. Do you remember anything about the place you grew up in? How it looked outside and all that?"

"You are going to hurt my dad" He replied "I'm not stupid. I know you all think he's evil"

"We..." Remy glanced around to everyone else "We just want to have a little talk with him. It's not like we can book a meeting. You trust me don't you?"

He looked down into the floor. He didn't want to be hit for saying the wrong thing "....yes.."

"Then could you please tell me anything you remember from when you were little?"

His whole body was shaking. He didn't want to be hit. He didn't want to. He didn't want to.

"snow" He whispered out.

"Snow?"

"I uh...the windows we're always uhm closed so I never saw out. it was just hallways and cells and the classroom and guards. Over and over. Every day. Or gun training. Or dad showing me dead bodies. Or watching torture. Or dad teaching me a lesson. Over and over. Never saw outside. Until...." He quieted a little.

"Until what Virgil?"

"my...my teacher was taking me back from a lesson and uh one- one of the windows it wasn't closed properly. I could see out. For the first time. I uh I knew I shouldn't have. but I ran to look and- Snow. It was all snow. White and fluffy and- and just wonderful. The teacher told my dad of course and I uh- I was- He- It hurt...but it was worth it.....I got to see snow"

Remy gently cupped his cheeks "You didn't deserve that. I promise. I'll make sure you see snow again soon enough kay girl?"

He had started to blush from having their hands on his face "Y-yes"

"Good" They turned back to their husband "Do you know any facilities Mr. Impur has in regions where it typically snows?"

"Honey he has a LOT of facilities. Sure this takes it down a bit but it's still a lot of-"

"The clinic" Jaws blurted out while staring out into space.

Everyone turned to him.

"What was that Jaws?" Theo asked. It could just be him wanting to make noise to make sure he was still real.

"The main facility in Swiss. He called it the clinic. Many meetings where I stood by. They think I don't listen. I have to. It is part of my job to listen. I have to listen. Even when it hurts I have to listen. Old building. The clinic"

Theo moved his arms around Jaws to tightly hug him "Oh you're brilliant Jawsie! Absolutely brilliant!"

That made Jaws smile, if only a little. He enthusiastically patted Theo on the shoulder because he was pretty sure that was what he was supposed to do when he was complimented. Theo looked over to the agents. He met eyes with Remus. They both knew.

Remus grabbed onto Remy's wrist, gently, and started to pull them along to the door "Come on we gotta talk to Janus about this! This is our chance!"

"can we leave the three of them alone like this?"

"Oh come on babe. If Theo wanted to kill me or anyone else for that matter he would have done it by now! Same with escaping!"

He dragged them with him through the door. Leaving the three behind to hold onto each other like it was the only thing they had left. As soon as the door had been closed Remy slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me! I'm still mad at you!"

"Sorry. Bad habit. Did you forget your crutches? You can still lean on me if you want to. You can hit my shoulder while leaning on me if that makes you feel better" Remus earnestly suggested.

"I can tots walk without them! Logan' lil machines work wonders on wounds okay! I'm fine! Even without you!" Remy snarled back while struggling to not collapse as they walked.

"If you say so" He kept himself close in case they fell "I am going to apologize to Virgil I swear. Just wanted to remind you"

"Just shut up. We're focusing on the mission"

The two of them continued in silence to Janus' office. Patton wasn't sitting by the desk outside so they just barged into the office. The leader of MI6 was sitting on the floor talking to his snakes when they came in.

"You're interrupting important discussions here" Janus snarked sarcastically without looking up from his snakes.

"We think we might know where Mr. Impur is!" Remus exclaimed.

"What? Oh- Holy hell you actually found something! Tell me everything!"

They quickly went over what Jaws and Virgil had told them while Janus moved to sit behind his desk. After they'd told him he was quiet for a long while, with his head leant on his palm he thought.

"We have to send someone out to take Mr. Impur in as soon as possible obviously" He said "We don't know what he's planning, just that he's planning something. We need someone who can infiltrate the clinic"

"My thought exactly!" Remus responded. Remy nodded along "We have always worked great as a team! We can handle it! This whole thing started with me and Roman. He deserves us finishing this!"

"Oh yes" Janus nodded "You're definitely going Remus. You and Virgil"

Both of the agents stared at him as if he'd gone insane. They started to ramble over each other on why it was bad. On how horrible it would go. Janus shushed them down.

"Remy you're injured. You can't possible go. Virgil already knows the clinics interior. He can help you find everything you need to. As long as we keep him in handcuffs it should be fine"

Remus sputtered "This! This is insane! You're fucking with us!! Stop fucking with us!! This isn't the time!!"

Janus looked between the both of them "I'm not joking. The mission needs to happen as soon as possible. I'll give you 3 days to prepare"

Chapter Text

"I have tampered with your gun so it should be able to hold more bullets at a time" Logan said while holding out one of Remus' guns to the agent "I'll come with you to Swiss, I assure you that. Someone has to make sure you'll be alright if Remy isn't there"

He took the gun and placed it in the holster under his jacket "Thanks Logie-bear"

"No problem. Just let me check up on your injuries again and then you can go prepare for the mission alright? If you're gonna pass out during work it should be your own fault after all"

Remus let up into a low chuckle "True"

The agent leant his forehead against Logan's shoulders as he checked up on his body. The healing ribs. The new scars on his knees from scraping the skin off. The wound on his neck left from Jaws.

"I wouldn't say you per say look good but you should be able to go through with the mission" Logan concluded. He hesitate for a moment before pulling his friend into a hug, light enough to not press on any of the wounds "It'll go good. It has to. Or else I will be very Very mad at you"

Remus hugged him back "I know Lo. I'll do my best. And if I die I'll just come back as a sexy super horny demon man now from hell. Horny because horns you get it? Huh?"

"Yes. Very funny" He replied in a monotone tone. "I'll be waiting in the car okay? The plane to Swiss leaves in 1 hours, 15 minutes and-"

"Coool. I am looking forward to it as much as I look forward to stabbing my own feet with shards of glass!"

Remus stayed in the hug for just a bit longer before getting up and putting back on his work clothes. Right now some loose black cargo pants and a dark green hoodie. He left the Q branch part of MI6 and went to where most of the cells were.

The past 3 days he'd been busy discussing plans with Janus and fixing up his weapons with Logan but he knew some other agents had been interrogating Theo. He'd willingly given them pages of names of guards and workers. He knew as soon as he said the last name, as soon as he stopped being useful his time was up. Remus knew that too.

He hesitated before going into the cell. Theo was sitting on the bed attached to the wall. He sent the agent a toothy smile "Oh great. I had just started to get bored. How kind of MI6 to send in a clown to entertain me"

"Haha" Remus rolled his eyes as he sat down beside Theo "Gonna entertain you with some bad news"

"Damn. Are you murdering me?"

"Yes. Pucker up motherfucker" Remus pretended to stab him a few times. "I uh actually" His expression turned into more a grimace, a forced smile. He looked won at his hands as he dragged in the end of his shirt "Actually I'm here to...to.."

"It's okay 008. You can say it. I already know I'm in deep shit. At least now I get the news from the failed son of James Bond. Kinda funny"

Remus still didn't look at him "I really did try to talk to the higher ups, you telling us all the names you know have been helpful so I thought that that would help- and it did- but uh you- I'm sorry but you- you're still going to have to go to prison for at least a year and a half"

Theo blinked at him a few times before letting out a breathe of relief. His shoulder slumped down as an exhausted laugh left his lips "ONLy a year and a half!? I was expecting so much worse! And after that if the mission goes well Mr. Impur will be gone from my life?! I'll be free? I won't have to be worried they'll kill my family?"

"Yeah uh that is the plan"

He hit Remus' shoulder, a bit too brutishly, while grinning "Oh this is great! I've already been feeling trapped for years. Either I've been with my family or with Virgil and Ja- your uh brother. I've never been able to protect both" He rolled his thumbs. His smile still looked a bit nervous "I'll be able to contact my family right?"

"I mean it's a prison. You normally can that??? Right?? I've never been to one" Remus, the idiot, replied.

"Makes sense yeah"

"Yeah!"

Theo went quiet for a little while before grabbing onto both of Remus' shoulders "Do you know what will happen to Virgil?"

"I...I haven't thought about it"

"He's already told me you're planning on taking Jaws to the floating palace so" His grip tightened "Could you take care of Virgil as well? At least until I get back? I've already talked to my wife about it a lot and she is okay if Virgil moves in with us or if we like adopt him after that I'm just worri-"

"I don't know if I'm the best guy for that" Remus blurted out.

"Well I hate you. And we're not friends. But I respect you! You fucked me up in fights! And I know Virgil trusts your partner. So...please"

Remus could practically feel his heart shrivel up inside of him out of guilt "..S-Sure. I'll do my best. He uh- you'll probably be uhm...in jail by the time Virgil is back from the mission so uh do you want to like go say-"

"Oh yes please. C'mon"

Theo stood up and went over to the door. Like he was expecting Remus to just let him wander through MI6's halls without any sort of safety measures. Which is of course exactly what Remus did. The pair hurried along to Virgil's room in pretty much silence.

The bodyguard stood back as Remus opened the door, slowly as to not scare the teen. Virgil was sitting on the bed and Remy was beside them. They were very carefully showing of how the different parts of a gun worked. They wanted him to be able to defend himself if it came to that during the mission. Virgil actually looked annoyed for once.

(Jaws was sitting in the corner, his eyes didn't move from staring at them for even a second. The moment Remy had taken out the gun his instincts to protect Virgil had completely taken over and he'd shoved the agent up against a wall with his hand around their neck. Remy had simply looked into his eyes and calmly told him he was better than this until he let them go)

"Okay and then this part is the magazine release" Remy explained while pointing at a specific part "So when you click on-"

Virgil pulled the gun away from Remy while letting out a frustrated grumble. He unloaded the gun and took out the magazine in a few seconds "Yes I know what it does! My dad has drilled this sort of stuff into my brain! You don't have to show me! I'm not 5!!"

Immediately after saying it he curled in on himself and tensed up. He stared down into the floor as the annoyed look disappeared into worry. He wasn't meant to speak back. This was bad. This was bad-

"Okay kid. Sorry I should have asked you if you knew 'bout it first. Being seen as stupider than you are can like tots be annoying, trust me I know that feeling real good" Remy said "Can I please get the gun back now?"

Virgil handed it back without looking at them "I'm sorry I really shouldn't have I'm sorry that was really rude and bad and-"

"It's fine. Really" The agent looked up to see the pair standing in the doorway "Oh the Theo dude is here"

"Theo!?" Virgil pretty much ran to hug him. Jaws hesitated a bit and gave Remy one last cautious look before also moving to embrace the bodyguard.

Remy got up and went over to their husband who was still standing by the door "I think we should give them some privacy" Remus whispered to them.

"Anything bad happened?"

"Just saying goodbye before the mission y'know"

Remy didn't respond to that. They simply moved out into the hallway and let Remus close the door behind them. They crossed their arms and leant against the wall. There were still bruises on their skin from the torture that hadn't quite healed.

Remus sat down on the ground with his back against the wall. He twirled his wedding ring between his fingers, it usually helped to calm him down. Remy moved down so they sat beside them, not even close enough for their shoulders to touch. Neither of them said anything.

Remy silently reached out and took his hand. Their fingers intertwined.

"You have to come back alright" Remy said it so quietly it was nearly a whisper. As if the words were delicate enough so they could break.

"I'll try my best"

"You have to! Even if I'm mad at you, you have to come back so we can make up and we can watch more of your stupid horror movies and you can be forced along to another stupid shopping trip and I can kiss your stupidly ticklish mustache again! And you better also bring Virgil back okay!! "

Remus leant his head against their shoulder "I promise everything will go good. I'll be back before you can miss me"

"Oh honey" Remy sighed and moved closer "I'll miss you as soon as you leave"

Neither of them said anything more. They sat there together. Remus held onto the fabric of their shirt as he buried his head against their neck. Remy closed their eyes and felt his hair move against their cheek.

If one or maybe even both cried, well no one had to know.

10 minutes went by. Then 20. Then 30. It was just them holding each other in silence. But Remus knew he had to leave. Logan was waiting in the car.

He broke away from them and forced himself to stand up. He held out his hand to help them up as well. It turned into a hug.

Remy looked at him, fully trailed their eyes over every inch of his face. Before they leant in and kissed him. He cupped their cheeks and managed to smile as they kissed.

He kept holding their hand as he opened the door to the cell. Virgil had curled up in Theo's arms. Jaws sat beside the two of them, Theo was ruffling his long hair. There were tear streaks on the teenager's cheeks.

"We should go" Remus blurted out.

Theo held Virgil closer. He mumbled something to him. The teen's lip quivered but he nodded and mumbled something back.

Virgil got up. He clenched his shark plushie close to his chest as he went up to the agents. He let Remy move their free arm around his shoulder. He glanced back to Theo and Jaws and waved.

"You ready to go?" Remy asked to which he nodded.

The moment it become apparent they were leaving Jaws tried to follow but Theo held him back. He told him over and over that Virgil wasn't going away forever, that it was okay, but Jaws kept calling out for him. Like a miserable human dog. Even after the door closed.

As soon as they'd left Virgil clinged to Remy. He pressed himself to their side and kept his eyes on Remus as if the agent would lash out at any second. Remy held their arm around him as they walked to where Logan's car was.

"So you're gonna take a car ride to the airport and then it's like a 10 hour flight to Swiss. You need any reminders 'bout the misson?" Remy went on in a gentle tone.

"I know what I'm supposed to do" Virgil clenched his teeth as he said it.

"I know you're gonna do tots great! Just like listen to the like agents around you. They'll know what to do" Remy shot a look to their husband as they continued "They'll protect you"

Virgil glared at Remus. He didn't get how the agent would protect him. Or from what.

"Heya Logie!!" Remus exclaimed while slamming the car door open. His friend was sitting by the steering wheel so he slumped down in the passenger seat.

Remy hunched down before pulling Virgil into a tight hug "You'll do great"

"...Sure"

The teen got into the backseat and pulled the hoodie down over his face. He crossed his arms when Logan tried to give him a star trek magazine to keep him entertained.

Remus leant out the window. He reached out for his spouse. Remy leant in and kissed him. He let out a surprised little sound before kissing them back. They kept kissing until Logan reminded them they had a plane to catch.

"I'll take care of Jaws until you come back" Remy mumbled to him. "You better come back in one piece"

He traced his thumb over their cheek and have them another quick kiss "I'll take care of Virgil until we're back then. I love you"

"I know you do" Remy took a step back from the car "Love you too"

They waved as the car drove away. It soon disappeared out of their vision.

--

It was a private plane they were taking. The plane was sectioned off into the cockpit, a large room with some chairs and a mini bar (how else would the 00 agents survive) and a smaller room with only two lounge sofas.

As soon as they had gotten on the plane Virgil got as far away from them as possible which meant he pretty much locked himself in the small room. Logan had knocked and asked if he wanted a book or maybe some toothpaste if he was planning on sleeping. He hadn't even gotten a reply.

Logan had gone back to his chair and started typing on his laptop again. His eyebrows were furrowed so you know it was serious. Remus had pushed two chairs together next to him and was laying on them. His friend had given him a blanket.

"Hey dork. Shouldn't you sleep?"

"Not immediately no. I still have some things to conclude. The flight is approximately 10 hours. I only need about 6 and a half hours of sleep before the mission since I will be sitting by the computer all day. You whoever is still healing and is going to run around all day so please do sleep. I do not want you bleeding all over those clothes. I ordered them specifically for you"

"Awww. caring little log bog" Remus reached out and poked him in the cheek just to annoy him.

He rolled his eyes before focusing on his work again. If he let out a small snort neither of them said anything about it.

Remus glanced over to Virgil's room. He gulped. He had to apologize. He had to try.

He got up with the blanket still around him and slowly went up to the door. He hesitated and thought a bit of what to say before knocking. No response came. It was eerily quiet really. Remus leant his forehead against the door.

"Hey Virgil? Virge? Bro? Duder? Kid? It's uh me Remus. I just....I wondered if...if maybe you wanted to talk...before the mission I mean....."

Still nothing.

"I mean it might be good if you tell me the basic outline of the place before we go in"

Nothing.

"Okay. Fuck it. I really just wanna say sorry. I shouldn't have hit you. No adult should There's no- there's no reason I can even come up for it that won't be a lying excuse-"

The door opened. Remus nearly feel forward into the room. Virgil quickly moved back to his couch and pulled his big blanket around himself. He looked up at the agent through his bangs.

"It's fine really. You don't have to apologize" He mumbled out.

Remus stood there awkwardly before sitting down on the couch. A bit away from him. It was mostly so they got on the same eye level.

"It's not. You've flinched at me. You shouldn't flinch from anyone much less- much less me. I-I should....I should have gotten that you were just a kid....it shouldn't have take me hearing Theo tell me about your fucked up conditions to get that you didn't have any choice or control in any of this....I shouldn't have thought you were ever hurting Roman...Jaws....Whatever he wants to be called.....If anything you helped him when I couldn't.."

Virgil fiddled with the strings of his hoodie while looking down. Remus bit his tongue for a moment.

"I..." Remus glanced away "I had a pretty shitty dad too y'know...He's this real famous guy- at least in MI6- and...he...he was never there. Never even met him. Me and my brother we...we wanted so long to be like him....everyone except for our mom talked so highly of him. I thought if I was like him I would be good....everyone would like me.....everyone would be proud of me"

He gulped.

"I- I thought maybe if I was like he him he would come back....he would look me in the eyes and say he loved me.....that he was proud of me..."

Virgil glanced over to him "did he?" He said it so carefully, like the words would break.

Remus let out his usual chainsaw like laugh "Of course not! I could have talked to god and that fucker still wouldn't have given a shit about me!"

"...oh."

"It doesn't matter tho. I still got a family without him. Like life goes on. Who cares about some bio parents. Remy doesn't either. We'll survive without their approval"

Virgil went back to being quiet.

Remus tried to send him a gentle look, which was quite hard because he is a gremlin. "I'm sorry. That's all I wanted to say. I'm sorry for hitting you. It was a real REal dick move of me. You don't have to forgive me but I have to apologize. You don't have to forgive anyone"

"I...I do forgive you....really..."

He shone up into a small smile "Thanks"

Virgil put on an overly extra pout before continuing "I still hate you tho! For being married to Remy! Gonna have to fight you for that one!"

Remus just looked at the teen for a moment before bursting out into a laughter. He clutched his stomach from how hard he was laughing. He could hear Virgil nervously letting out a few chuckles as well.

"Oh yeah kid! It's gonna be the bloodiest battle the world has ever seen! I'm talking spears! Bombs! WAR ELEPHANTS! The whole shaBam!"

Virgil nodded along. He was still fiddling with his hands and there was a slight blush from anxiety on his cheeks.

"It will be so glorious the world will never forget it! Nor Remy!"

"certainly not remy heh" The teen added.

Remus pretended to wipe away a tear from laughter before fully turning to him "So kid are you gonna sleep any time soon? Do I gotta stab some monsters under the bed or something"

He shook his head "...just...not really uhm sleepy"

"Okay. Do you want me to keep hanging out?"

He nodded.

Remus grinned "Okay I got just the thing! You see when I was a humble teenager I was obsessed with the occult and weapons and bloody horror movies and I'm still like that! BUT! I also had an-" He snorted "An emo phase. The most teeny ass music ever" He took out his phone and started scrolling "I think I should still have some songs downloaded if you wanna hear. I can't imagine you've had much music variety"

Virgil hesitated before nodding. Remus had to scroll really far before finding a song. He clicked on the first one he saw.

'Long ago....Just like a hearse you die to get in again'

As the first part of Helena by My chemical romance played Virgil's eyes went huge like a kittens upon seeing a ball of yarn. At first he sat completely still and slightly tensed while listening but when he saw Remus vibe along and bang his head to the music he tried to mimic the agents movements.

He showed the teen some more of the classics. Fall out boy. Sleeping with sirens. Brand new. The used. All that. Remus reminded himself to ask his mom if he had any old CDs still laying around at the floating palace.

Right as he was about to show Virgil some Pierce the veil, the teen yawned. He tried to hide it behind his hand but it was very obvious his eyelids were getting heavy.

"Time to sleep?" Remus asked "I bet you have lots of revenge fantasy dreams to return to"

Virgil quickly shook his head. He fiddled with thumbs "I uh...I...ehm...sometimes I have a tad bit..problem with uh sleeping....and uhm....sometimes having Jaws....helps" He nervously looked to Remus "You look like him"

"I do. I do" He replied "Don't worry kid. I can stay here. I can take the other couch?"

The teen nodded and cuddled down under the blanket. He made himself small as he crammed into the corner. He hugged onto his shark plushie. Remus let some of calmer songs play as he also got himself comfortable in the other couch.

"Goodnight kid!"

"goodnight"

Soon enough Remus could hear calm snores. He turned off the music and closed his eyes. Under his pillow laid his gun, in his brain paranoia droned on.

Chapter Text

The car slid into a stop at the end of the road. The driver in the front seat turned to Remus and Virgil "We're here"

"Thanks" Remus replied. He rechecked all of his guns one last time before getting out of the car. Virgil hesitated before following after him.

They stepped out into the snow. The agent had on a slick white jacket and white pants to hide among the snow, the teen still had on his hoodie and jeans. Virgil stood still and stared down into the snow, he didn't move. He was still a bit afraid about not following orders, not being 'good'.

"Do you wanna touch the snow? Just don't eat it" Remus asked "Cause kid it looks like you're dying to try it"

Virgil didn't even hesitate before just fucking falling forward into a snow pile. All of him disappeared into the fluffy whiteness. Remus almost got worried for him before he heard a bubbly laugh come from the snow.

The teen sat up so his upper body stack up from the pile. He was absolutely covered in snow but there was an unusually big smile on his lips "Snow was the first thing I saw outside of the base!! I've been- I've wondered for so long what it feels like. It's so soft!"

Remus grinned "Yeah it sure is" He hunched down next to the pile and took some snow in his hands "There's a lot of cool shit you can do with snow. Just look"

He formed the snow together into a round ball and showed it off. Virgil wowed. While he was still staring at the snow ball Remus took the chance to throw it at him. Right at his shoulder. He chuckled but the teen just titled his head and looked at his shoulder.

"It's a game. You throw snow at each other. It's fun I promise. Me and...and Jaws used to love doing it when our mom took us skiing"

"I just throw it at you?"

"Yeah! I won't get mad"

"Oh uhm okay"

Virgil carefully scooped up some snow and formed it. He glanced between it and Remus. The agent did an encouraging thumbs up. The teen proceeded to do the weakest little throw right into his face.

"Sorry" Virgil immediately blurted out afterwards.

Remus broke up into a big laugh as he wiped some of the snow off his face "Good start"

That nervous little blush appeared on his cheeks again. He made another snowball but this time he just threw it onto the ground. Remus stood up and wandered a bit away. He looked over the ski lift not far away from them. The driver had driven them to a quite popular ski resort with this being the longest lift. It was one of those where you sat down.

When he gazed up at the mountain he could hint a building up at the top of it. Farther up than where the lift would take them but it was a good start. The building, owned by Mr. Impur and the place Virgil had grown up, was on the outside an exclusive hotel resort only for the richest but Remus trusted what Theo had said about this building being the headquarters.

His hand felt against the holster hidden under his jacket. It made his blood boil whenever he thought about Virgil being trapped in that place without any love for 10 years.

"You feeling ready to go?" He asked after a few more minutes.

Virgil looked up from the tower of snowballs he'd been making. He held back a grimace as he stood up and dusted the snow off. He did a big thumbs up.

Remus did a thumbs up back "Cool"

The agent began to walk towards the lift. Virgil followed along like a duckling to it's mama. Remus pretended not to notice that the teen grabbed onto the end of his jacket for comfort as they got into the crowd of people.

They got into the ski lift. Virgil awed at the view as they went up. He still didn't recognize that the building at the top was where he'd grown up. When they got off the lift they had to walk up one hell of a slope to get too the entrance of the 'hotel'...Wait fuck shit it actually did look like a hotel. What the fuck.

"Okay kid. We're on a business trip. You're my rebellious teenage son who would throw a horrible orgy party at my house if I didn't force you with me" Remus whispered to him as they went in.

"Uhhh okay uhm" Virgil put on a sour look and crossed his arms "oooh I am so rebellious....Fuck.....Shit even"

"Perfect"

The lobby was big and extravagant. There were fancy couches lining the walls and a bar to the right. Chandeliers hung in the ceiling and when Remus looked up he nearly got dizzy looking at the intricate design of the floor. Golden carpets went up the staircase and a long one went from the entrance to the front desk.

The people around them became white noise. Rich people trailing skis or bags upon bags along all while chatting. Couples sitting and taking a drink. Someone arguing with the workers by the desk.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Virgil suddenly whispered.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"It doesn't sound right. I remember them taking me outside once or twice- because I dunno gas leaks or something- and when we went back in it didn't sound anything like this. They covered my eyes but I remember the sounds at least"

"How did it sound?"

Virgil closed his eyes and tried to remember "It....it sounded like wind...and crunchy...Like the snow! We went directly from snow to inside the building without" He stomped his foot against the floor "Without any of this sound"

"Okay. Thanks kid"

Remus was about to walk to the exit when he froze. His head veered to look around the lobby. A chill went up his spine even though he couldn't see anything in particular.

Someone was watching him.

He forced himself to shake it off and moved to the exit again. Virgil followed along. They stood by one of the windows. The agent took out a cigarette and put it up to his mouth so it looked like he was smoking but then he clicked on a button. Boom. It was actually a way to call Logan.

"Is everything going well?" Logan immediately asked.

"It's...not going bad. Can you see if there are any other entrances into the hotel aside from the front entrance. Viv is saying it's wrong"

"Give me a second"

Remus could hear distant tapping on a keyboard. He looked down to see Virgil curled up to his side. The teen was staring with wide eyes at every person that passed in and out of the entrance.

"According to satellite pictures and research there should be a back entrance for service workers and the likes. Just at the other side of the building" Logan said.

"What would I ever do without you my bloody lil heart lump"

"Die"

"Yes. Very die. Very often. Thanks"

Remus cut off the call and placed the cigarette in his pocket again. He motioned for Virgil to follow him. The teen forced his gaze away from the crowd of people and lightly grabbed onto the agent's jacket.

They went off the hotel's path and down into the deep depths of the snow. After about 15 minutes they'd managed to get around to the backside. In the grey cement that held up the otherwise fancy building from the snow, a just as grey door had been installed. There stood a guard with a shotgun by the door. A few other workers with scooters had driven up to the door and was going in with packages, probably food or utilities for the guests. The guard had to press his thumb against a keypad and put in a code to open the door for the workers.

Remus took off his jacket and gently laid it around Virgil's shoulders so he would be more hidden among the snow. It left him in a tight white shirt with his holsters on full display.

"Virgil" His voice was a bit more serious "Could you stay here and cover your eyes and ears until I tell you to follow me again? Please?"

"....Sure" He curled up under the warm jacket and held his hands over his ears. He turned away from the entrance.

"I'll be back in a second"

He could feel the adrenaline kick in the moment his hand took out the gun from the holster on his chest. In one swift motion he'd moved over the snow drove Virgil was hiding behind. Luckily the snow had hardened from the cold making it easier to move.

The guard and the two workers that were still lifting off carriage noticed him almost immediately. Remus saw out of the corner of his right eyes as the two workers in a panic dropped what they were holding and fumbled after their guns. The guard however aimed at him with learned preciosity.

A moment before the guard could shoot Remus raised his gun to the guard while running to the right. His shoot fired. Blood splattered out onto the snow as the guard dropped his gun. His shaking hands went down to try and hold the blood back. He fell onto the ground. The snow became red around his leg, the bullet had hit right above his knee.

Remus didn't stop for a single moment. He could see the two workers getting ready to fire. He slammed his knee into the stomach of the worker closest to him before immediately moving into a spin to avoid a punch from the other. He used the back of his gun to punch the worker over the face. They collapsed onto the ground. The other one was clutching his stomach. Remus slammed his elbow right into his face. It was enough to make him fall down as well.

The agent quickly checked so they were properly passed out before turning to the guard. He was trembling and holding onto his knee. Blood seeped through his fingers. Remus hunched down in front of him and took out some bandages from one of his pockets. The guard veered back and grunted something out in french.

"It's okay dude I promise. I made sure not to shoot directly into the knee. You should be able to walk again in a few weeks. Or I mean" He held his gun "You should be able to walk again as long as you help me. Open the door"

The guard just stared at him in frozen fear.

"Right. Shit. French uuuuhhh Remy was always more of the language one...ehmm...ouvre? el uhm porte?"

There was still a look of fear in his eyes as the guard leaned back and managed to put his hand against the keypad before typing in the code. The door opened. Remus jumped up and got ready to fight again but no one was in the hallway as far as he could tell. He grabbed onto one of the objects the worker has been holding it and propped it into the doorway to hold the door open.

He picked up both of the workers and dragged them into the hallway so they wouldn't freeze to death and made sure to tie their hands and feet together. He also helped the guard in and properly bandaged his wound.

"Désolé" Remus mumbled out before taking the guard's outer uniform.

He tied the guard up as well before punching him at the back of the head so he would also pass out. He checked again so the hallway seemed safe. It was just a short one which led off into multiple other paths, to kitchens and scrubs and hotel rooms. But there was also a long staircase with an stairlift to help transport heavy items.

Remus went out into the snow again. He got that feeling of someone watching him again but he shook it away as probably just being Virgil.

"Kid? You still here? You can come out now"

Virgil's head popped up from behind a snow pile. He kinda looked like a confused kitten with how big his eyes were. He quickly returned to his position of following Remus as closely as he could.

"I heard uhm painful sounds. Are you-"

"Oh yeah everything is good. Just come along"

They went into the hallway. Virgil tried not to make it obvious he was staring at the three passed out people tied up in the corner. It was still very obvious.

"They're just sleeping, I promise" Remus assured.

"...oh...okay.."

Virgil's hands kept nervously trailing down to the small handgun hidden under his hoodie as they went down the stairs. His entire body was trembling. There was a stench in the air, like rotten mold and blood, it seemed to seep out from the walls. It almost felt nostalgic. Just like how the metallic walls and concrete floors were nostalgic. Though it felt weird to not walk barefoot on the concrete like he'd used to.

It seemed like they got down into a hangar of some sort. Big wooden boxes were strewn around the place. Big pipes hung in the ceiling, weird gurgling sounds came from them. The big room went off into several smaller corridors.

Remus looked down to Virgil and to his surprise saw that he was teary eyed. He reached out to comfort him but hesitated.

"Anything wrong?" Remus tried to say it as nicely as possible.

"I just- I just realized that we're under the hotel. I- My entire life I thought I was all alone out in nowhere- But I-I was close to so many people all this time an-and dad just never let me out of here. I- I was just so alone"

A few tears rolled down his cheeks but no sound came aside from his shaky voice. No sniffling or sobbing.

Remus hesitantly moved his arms around him, when Virgil didn't flinch away he fully hugged him. "I'm sorry your dad is such a shithole. If uhh if being here is too much I can call another agent to come pick you up. I'm sure I can manage the mission on m-"

"It's fine" Virgil mumbled out.

"...If you say so"

He kept holding him in a hug until Virgil stopped trembling as much. Remus took a step back but held out his hand.

"Will it feel better if you hold my hand?" He was quite sure he'd seen Theo hold his hand before.

Virgil didn't respond but he nodded and let the agent lightly take his hand.

"And kid?"

"Mhm?"

"As long as me and Remy are around we'll make sure you're never alone again. I promise"

Virgil looked away but he gave another shy nod.

"We uhm we should probably go this way" he pointed to a specific hallway "If I remember right I mean"

"Okay thanks"

They went through the hallways. Remus put the gun back into the holster under his now uniform jacket, but kept his free hand close to it just in case. Even though Virgil was the one who knew the way the agent still kept it so the teenager was walking slightly behind him. A few workers passed them by but they didn't seem to react. One of them nodded at them. Remus nodded back.

Virgil suddenly froze and stared at a door "This was my room"

It was just another identical door in a hallway of identical metal doors. On one side of the walls there were clearly windows but they had all been boarded up with planks and metal. Virgil stumbled towards the door and pushed it open.

It was a small room. It was dusty and filled with random junk and boxes. Virgil squeezed Remus' hand while staring into it.

"They....They must have turned it into a closet after...After I moved buildings..." He mumbled out.

"Huh. Looks like my room" Remus joked back to try and cheer him up.

Virgil let out a small chuckle "..I guess"

Remus got that feeling like someone was watching him again. He glanced back but could only see some workers and a guard passing by. He did his best to hide his nervousness.

"Okay kid, do you know where your dad's office is? In this building I mean?"

"Uhm....Yeah..." Virgil paled a little "I think so"

"Show me the way then. Please"

Virgil seemed to be a bit more hesitant as he walked through the hallways. His eyes kept glancing around. His mouth was closed so tightly the inner part of his lips turned white. He held onto Remus so hard it hurt just a bit.

They came to a large door with another keypad next to it. Virgil stopped and looked away. A few people passed them by but none of them went through the door. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry today.

"Uhm this door should I mean if I remember right this is-"

He shut his eyes to keep out memories of being taken through the door by a guard every time he'd done something bad. Every time he hadn't been a 'good enough' son. When he'd been yelled at. Beaten. Told that he Had to be better. Getting dragged to watch more people be tortured or watch more people die afterwards. Getting forced to do more shooting practices. More fighting. All to make him a better son, so he'd been told.

"This should be the door" Virgil's voice was shaky. "I don't know the code. I- I'm sorry. I'm really sorry"

"No. It's okay. I'll find a way. Thank you"

Remus let go of his hand and looked around the room. When he squinted he could see a small vent in the corner of the wall. He quickly went and got some of the boxes they'd passed by and stacked them on top of each other. People kept hurrying by him, chattering nervously to each other, but no one paid him any mind. Stress was in the air.

He climbed up on the boxes and used his knife to carefully unlock the bolts. He took out the vent grid and placed it in his lap.

"Hey kid. Do you feel more comfortable going first? Or should I go first?"

"Uhm I can go first"

Remus made space for him. Virgil was in that weird stage of puberty where all his limbs were unproportionally long but still skinny so he fit just about. The agent crawled in as well. He put the vent grid back after him.

He noticed pretty quickly that he was just a bit too big so the sides of his arms scraped against the metal. He bit his teeth together and ignored the pain as he followed after the teen. He could faintly hear voices from the rooms they passed.

Virgil suddenly stopped. He was staring down through a vent grid. Soft lightning was shining up at them. Remus moved closer. He could hear ice moving around in a glass.

He looked down through the vent and saw a fancy office. There was a wooden desk. A few papers were strewn around on top of it. On the wall behind the desk a tapestry with a symbol on it was hung but Remus couldn't see it clearly from this angle. A man walked back and forth across the mattress. Mr. Impur.

The agent thought of what to do. Maybe stay and listen for information? Wait for the right moment to jump down and corner him? Continue on and see where the vent ends?

A weird sound was coming from near him. He looked away from the room under them to see Virgil desperately trying to take out the bolts with his hands. There was a mix of fear and guilt in his eyes.

"Kid- Virgil, what are you doing?" Remus tried to ask it in a calm tone.

Virgil didn't look at him "i'm sorry"

In a second Remus had taken out his gun. He reached for Virgil but before he could stop him Virgil slammed his foot into the vent grid making it collapsed down into the room. And with it he and Remus also fell down.

Remus landed on his back. The air got pushed out of his lungs. He gasped for breathe. The room seemed to spin around him, but his grip on his handgun stayed strong. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Virgil getting up and running to his father.

"Dad! Look! I uhm captured an agent- Kinda- It's uhm it's 008! He's the son of Bond I think! I did it for you!" Virgil rambled out. He had a desperate look on his face as he looked up to his father. His whole body was trembling. "Did I do good??"

Remus didn't bother to listen to the response. He moved to stand up but a heavy foot landed right on his neck. It pressed down until it was hard to breathe. He looked up and saw a guard staring down at him.

He geared his arm up to shoot but before he could fire the guard had taken ahold of the gun and teared it out of his hand. He threw it aside before grabbing ahold of Remus' wrist. He moved his foot away from his neck just long enough to turn the agent over to his stomach. He placed his knee against his back to keep him down and held his arms behind his back. He held back a wince as his arms were bent.

Mr. Impur had a cold look in his eyes as he looked on "Oh good. You brought another 00. The agents have always been too emotional when it comes to kids" He patted Virgil on the head "Good thing I am not"

He grabbed a fistful of Virgil's hair and threw him to the ground. A scream came from him but he soon quieted as his father slammed his foot down against his skull. Virgil's body went numb as he passed out.

"I'LL SHOOT YOU!" Remus yelled out without thinking. He struggled against the grip "I WILL FIGHT MYSELF FREE AND SHOOT YOU! I SWEAR!"

"Oh Remus, you will do no such thing"

Mr. Impur motioned for the guard and the guard loyally punched Remus hard enough for him to pass out. The last thing he saw was Virgil's unmoving body.

--

When Remus woke up again his head felt like it had been filled with cotton. His sight was blurry as he tried to look around. It was the same room but he couldn't move. Everything felt far away. He was sitting up. He looked down and realized he was tied to a steel chair. All of his clothes and weapons had been taken off aside from his undershirt and boxers.

He heard a quiet whine from beside him. He looked over to see Virgil tied up to a nearly identical chair. The teen kept his head down.

"You decided to come at the most inopportune time" Mr. Impur said. He was sitting by the desk, writing something on the papers "After the whole debacle of you destroying one of the underwater bases followed by my dear Jaws disappearing-"

"DON'T- Don't talk about him like that!"

"It's rude to interrupt. Though you are right, I did exaggerate with calling him dear. That brother of yours was never that good of a Jaws anyhow. I had always dreamed of having my own after hearing about the original Jaws but then all I got from your brother was a pathetic imitation who only cared about Virgil. But oh well, you can only break a mind so far"

"You're sick" Remus spat out.

"No. I am unlike you going to walk out of this room alive. It's your fault really. After all of that destruction you and MI6 caused we had to start our plans a bit faster. If everything goes right the first phase should start tonight. So really I do need you two out of the way. It will be such a nice change of pace to never have to be annoyed by either of you ever again"

Remus felt a cold chill move under his skin "I do not give a shit if you try to kill me or whatever but you will Not lay another hand on Virgil!"

"Of course I won't. I only discard of bugs who are of no use to me anymore. Like Virgil's mother. He however is very important to me-"

"What- What did you say about her?" Virgil spoke for the first time since waking up.

"About who?" His father replied, fully knowing who he was asking about.

"My mother! You- No one has ever talked about her before! What- She's okay right? Did she not like me?"

"Oh honey" Mr. Impur looked up from the papers and met eyes with his son "Your mother is dead. I payed her to carry you to term and she thought she would get to walk away with a mighty paycheck but like I said she was of no use to me anymore so I told one of the workers to get rid of her. To be honest I'm not even entirely sure how she died"

Virgil's body stilled. For a few moments it didn't even seem like he was breathing. Until a few tears pricked at the edges of his eyes. They rolled down his cheeks without a single sound.

"You- You kil-"

"That's not important. It was many years ago. It is much more important that you stay here and that you are unharmed. When the plan goes through the press needs someone to blame it on"

"Blame what on?" Remus nearly growled it out. His arms were fighting against the restraints to no avail. How he wished he could reach out and comfort Virgil.

"Phase one obviously. I haven't made my company buy a bunch of land for nothing. It is very deliberately chosen places. Most of them are a bit....underdeveloped economically...Near water. If someone perse orchestrated a wave of water poisoning the company or companies who swoop in to sell water and build new pipes for those very very desperate customers would earn themself quite the pretty penny don't you think. And of course it can not be My company who caused the leakage into the water, oh no I would probably end up in jail for that. It has to be somebody else's company" He glanced to Virgil "Somebody who just happens to commit suicide right before getting to speak to the press"

"You can't-"

Remus was cut off as Mr. Impur continued "Do not worry. You will go down in the newspapers as someone sympathetic. Just a young entrepreneur who got a bit too much to handle from his father at a bit too young age, who when he realizes the damage he has caused to people simply can not live with the guilt. And then his father comes in to help the poor victims, for a prize of course"

"You're a bitch. And a monster. And an asshole. And-"

"And you're being awfully childish" Mr. Impur checked his watch "I seem to be out of time as well. You understand it is a lot of planning that goes into destroying the water supply for hundreds upon hundreds of cities within the same time span. And hopefully the first cities and countries will be affected tonight"

He stood up and fixed his suit before rounding the table. He motioned for the guard standing by and pointed to Remus.

"Be a dear and take care of him. If he somehow survives but with some brain damage we can try and make him into a new Jaws. Do not let Virgil leave. He can not die yet"

He ruffled Virgil's hair as he walked past him. The kid let out a weak sob. He didn't dare look at his father. Mr. Impur left the room without another word, he didn't even bother closing the door.

The guard took his time. He took out his gun, changed the bullet, showed it off. With each slow step he got closer and closer to Remus. The agent reared back in his seat.

"Okay. Okay. Calm down big guy. We can talk this out can't we. How about-"

The man punched Remus over the face before taking his hands around the back of the agent's head to slam his face into his knee. A crack came from Remus' nose as blood began to pool out.

Everything was blurry again as Remus looked up. There was a ringing in his ears. He could hear Virgil sobbing beside him. There was a feeling of hopelessness filling his chest. He felt the gun get pressed against his forehead. He took a sharp breathe.

A shot was fired.

Chapter Text

Everything was blurry again as Remus looked up. There was a ringing in his ears. He could hear Virgil sobbing beside him. There was a feeling of hopelessness filling his chest. He felt the guard press the gun against his forehead. He took a sharp breathe.

A shot was fired.

The gun fell out of the guard's hand. His eyes rolled back into his skull as blood pooled out of the hole between his eyes. It took a second, a second of Remus being unable to take his eyes off of the wound going straight through his brain, before the guard's body went limp and he fell forward. His head landed somewhere around Virgil's feet. He suppressed a scream.

There came a voice from behind them "Are you okay?"

It was a wonder Remus hadn't at least teared up yet but when he heard that voice tears immediately started to roll down his checks. His voice was shaky as he let out "Remy?"

"It's me honey"

Remy came into view as they swiftly walked over the body. They had a bad limp even if they were leaning on a crutch, they had their gun in their other hand. They put it back into their holster so they could untie Remus. Once he was freed they cupped his cheek and kissed him.

Instead of staying in the kiss like he normally would have Remus quickly leaned back out of it and stood up. The entire room spun and it felt like he was going to puke but he pushed it away to lean down in front of Virgil. He was staring at the dead body in front of him.

"Virgil. Virgil look at me. Only me" Remus said while undoing the ropes around his wrists "Or close your eyes"

"It-it's fine" Virgil choked out in response. He couldn't take his eyes off of the brain splatter on the carpet "My dad- i've seen it all before- i've seen it all-"

Remus cut him off as he engulfed Virgil in a hug. The teen's face got churned against his shoulder. He moved his hand up and down his back to soothe him. When he felt Virgil press himself closer he tightened the hug.

"You shouldn't have to see this" He mumbled.

He could hear Virgil take in a sharp breathe that quickly turned shaky. Even more so when Remy joined in on the. They kept an eye on the door just to be sure.

"i'm sorry" Virgil nearly whispered it out "I- I let him trap you- I- if you had died it would have been my fault- I'm sorry-"

"Shhh. It's all good. If my dad would have come back when I was 15 and asked me to rat out some agent I'd only known for a little while I would have done it in a heartbeat to try and get that asshole's approval"

"Yeah kiddo. If my bio mom had suddenly told me when I was 15 she would stop abusing me if I did something for her I would have done like Anything to make the hurting end" Remy added in.

A small sniffle came from Virgil. He was shaking but was obviously trying to hide it. Remy pressed a kiss into his ruffle of a hair and it nearly made him break. The agents knew they didn't have much time. They knew Mr. Impur was going to go through with his plan any minute now. And yet comforting Virgil felt much more important.

"...he killed my mom.....he used me...he was...he said he was doing it all so we could live a better life...so we could be happy..as long as i was a good son......he used me...he was going to....he was going to kill me when my worth had been used up...just like mom..."

"I promise we're gonna make sure he can never tell you another lie again" Remy's voice was low as they said it. They threw a glare to their husband to tell him they wanted to kill that bastard. He gave them the same expression back.

"i...i don't understand why he...why he would do it...if i was better maybe he would-"

Remy grabbed onto his shoulder "Virgil there's no point in wondering Why he hurt you. It'll just lead to you making up excuses for him. There is Nothing you could have done to make him stop being abusive. He choose to do it regardless of you. He's the adult. He knows how it hurts you. It never mattered how much I hid my sexuality or my gender, my mom would have beat me either way. The sooner I stopped giving a shit why she did it the sooner I got out of there"

Virgil took a long sniffling breathe before nodding. Remy gently wiped his tears away before moving out of the hug.

"Okay kiddo. Time to get up. We got shit to do"

Remus let Virgil lean onto him as he helped him stand up on shaky legs. He ruffled the teen's hair before going over to pick up his weapons which the guard had left laying in a corner of the room. He smiled as he felt Remy press a kiss to his shoulder.

"you and Viv had a lil chat didn't you?" They whispered to him.

"Sure fucking did. I thought I hated kids! Apparently not" He stopped putting his weapons back into his holsters to kiss them on the lips. Hard enough to make them both slightly dizzy "Thanks darling. I literally would be dead without you. How uh how did you get here exactly?"

"Baaabbee c'mon" Remy trailed their hand up and down his upper arm "You and that lil Viv had been gone for like 2 minutes when I remembered you're both clueless without someone with you. I just had like a gut feeling something was gonna go bad. So I like got a flight and followed you bastards. I didn't like catch up totally 'cause that would mean we would all get captured if you did. And also my leg is all fucked still from...from the torture" They were trembling from fear, even if they were trying to hide it.

"I did notice someone following me" Remus intertwined their fingers and bonked his head against theirs "Don't worry honey, I will make sure Nothing bad happens to you!"

They snorted "Great reassurance from the man I just had to save from being shot"

"Excuse you. The man who almost got shot is also the man you married!!"

"Sure fucking is!" They kissed him again and once they leaned back from the kiss they had a shining smile on their lips. "Now let's go and finish this fuckery!!"

"Hell yeah!!"

Remus got the last of his stuff. One of his guns were gone but he shrugged it off as the guard haven lost it somewhere. He had plenty of guns to make up for it.

The couple continued holding hands as they went out of the room. In the other hand both of them branded handguns. Virgil was hiding behind them. As soon as they opened the door a buzz of noise washed over them. People were walking through the hallway, all of them in a hurry. Everyone was so busy no one even cast them a glance.

The agent quickly hid their guns again but continued holding onto each other. Remus reached out and took ahold of Virgil's hand and pulled him along as they followed the crowd. Remy could see a person in an oversized labcoat carrying a stack of chargers. Around his neck was a keycard hung. He diverted from the group and went off into another hallway.

Remy pulled the other two along into the hallway. The person fumbled with the keycard and pressed it against a keypad on the wall. A door opened and for a moment the agent could see an even larger room. Similarly dressed people where in the room. Typing on computers, discussing with each other, running around to quickly get stuff.

Before the person had a chance to get into the room Remy had grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed him up against the wall. The agent put the gun against his chest and looked into his now frightened eyes. Remus motioned for Virgil to hide behind him and cover his eyes.

"What's in that room?" Remy nearly snarled out.

"It's- Just- A control center- That's all- I- Their plan is quite complicated- we- we have to uhm- make sure the timing is right- and so- uhm- only- only the places- only the waters that they want get infected- Just a control center" The worker stammered out.

"And you are all just doing your job? You have no control in what's happening?" After hearing about Theo they had to make sure.

The worker gulped before quickly nodding. Remy still didn't let go. They glanced over to their husband.

"Okay. Thanks-"

"I saw him walk into the other room" The worker blurted out.

Remy froze for a second before responding "Who?"

"Mr. Impur. I saw him walk through the control room to the- the uhm room on the other side- it's- it's where it's actually activated- I think- maybe- He's an awful boss so uhm I won't stop you if- if you do anything"

"Oh wow. Thanks gal. 008 you check if there are any guards in there. Viv you stay out here until we come get you" They looked at the worker "Sorry 'bout this"

In one swift motion Remy made it so the worker had his back against the agent's chest with their arm holding him there. They pressed the gun against the side of his head as they kicked the door in. Remus followed behind, guns in both of his hands.

A few of the workers close to the door froze and quieted when they saw the agents come in but not everyone noticed. Remy jumped up on a table and dragged the 'hostage' with them. They shot a bullet through one of the computers. The noise rang through the room. Everyone turned to look at them. To see if any blood had been spilled.

There were 3 guards in the room. All of them had immediately pointed their guns at Remy. The agent was pointing their in comparison meek gun back at them.

Since the guards were distracted Remus had time to grab onto a chair. He flung it at the closest guard which knocked them down onto the ground. The agent ran forward and jumped onto the chair to launch himself higher into the air. He kicked his foot right into the face of the second guard before landing in a roll on the ground.

He got up on both feet and quickly fired a shot behind him. It went into the calf of the guard behind him. The guard in front of him had turned to him and was ready to shoot but Remus ducked down on all fours and swiftly kicked their legs so they fell down.

The guard landed on his back and Remus leaned down to punch his throat so he passed out. He stood up and looked around to see if anyone else would try to fight back against him. But nobody moved. He glanced over to his spouse who sent him a quick smile.

Remy clicked their gun against the 'hostages' head so everyone else would know they were serious "Hello people. We are here to fuck shit up! I need everyone, And I mean Everyone. The workers, the hotel personal, the guests. Everyone out as soon as possible. We're not here to hurt you. Just get out"

Remus had ran out and got Virgil while his spouse spoke. The teen was nervously holding onto Rem as the crowd of workers began to quickly leave. Someone started an alarm. It rang through their ears like thunder storm. All of the lights turned a deep red.

"I assume you can't stop the plan from within this room?" Remy mumbled to the worker while letting him go.

"Sorry. Only from Mr. Impur's office in there"

"Okay. Thanks anyway. Now get out"

Remy took out a mini explosive from their pocket and attached it to one of the computers. They hoped down from the table and limped over to their husband. He took their hand to keep them steady. He was shaking from nervousness too. They looked over to the door leading to Mr. Impur.

Virgil walked a bit behind them as they went to the door. Remy placed a few more explosives around the room on the way. Remus put his hand against the doorknob, it wasn't locked. He held up his gun and took a deep breathe before slamming the door open.

"GIVE UP YOU IMP-SHIT!" Remus yelled.

Mr. Impur stood at the other end of the room. He turned around to sneer at them. A wall of monitors were behind him. Remy joined in on pointing their gun right at his sniveling head.

The sneer on Mr. Impur's lips turned into a self assured smile. He held his hand up to show off the small controller he was holding. There was a red button in the middle of it.

"There's nothing you pathetic little agents can do. Everything is ready to start the plan. All I have to do is click. Even if you kill me afterwards my work will live on"

"Oh shut up!" Remy spat back "You're not some martyr! Just a rich maniac!"

"All I mean is that there are so many more people involved in this than you can imagine" Mr. Impur replied. His smile grew into a grin "They will finish what I started. There is N o t h i n g you can do to stop thi-"

His words were cut off. Replaced with a sudden wince of pain. Mr. Impur looked down and saw blood dripping down from his waist. He put his hand over the wound to try and cover it but the blood seeped through his fingers.

The grin had been wiped off his face. He looked over to the agents but neither of them had shoot. Remus and Remy looked around confused, before they turned back to look at Virgil.

Virgil was holding a gun in his shaking hands. A gun he had stolen from Remus. Smoke was coming from the gun, fresh from firing. There was a look of rage, and only rage, in his eyes.

"YOU LIED TO ME! YOU LIED TO ME MY ENTIRE LIFE!" Virgil yelled as he took a few steps forward. Remus reached to grab his wrist but Virgil shook him off "YOU USED ME! YOU USE EVERYONE AROUND YOU! YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE DOING ALL OF THIS FOR OUR SAKE! OUR HAPPINESS! TO GIVE US THE BEST FUTURE IMAGINABLE!"

Mr. Impur gripped onto the controller while forcing a nervous smile "Virgil, son, please you've misunderstood. Just calm down and-"

SHUT UP! YOU DID IT ALL FOR YOUR SELFISH REASONS! YOU HURT PEOPLE FOR YOUR SELFISH REASONS! YOU WERE PLANNING TO HURT ALL THOSE" He motioned for the monitors showing the various plots of land and cities he had bought up "PEOPLE FOR YOUR SELFISH REASONS! YOU WERE NEVER THINKING OF ANYONE ELSE BUT YOURSELF! NEVER! YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO CHANGE! YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO BE A GOOD DAD!" He took another step closer "I'LL NEVER LET YOU LIE TO ME EVER AGAIN! I'LL NEVER LET YOU HURT ANOTHER PERSON EVER AGAIN!"

Mr. Impur took a shaky step back. He couldn't hide how his body was trembling. Blood continued to trickle out "Son you're not thinking rationally-"

Virgil didn't let him finish his sentence. He yelled "THIS IS FOR MOM!" Before shooting him in the thigh.

A choked back grunt of pain left Mr. Impur's lips as he fell down onto the ground.

"THIS IS FOR THEO!"

He shoot him in his upper arm. The controller went flying out of his hand as his arm went limp.

"THIS IS FOR REMY AND EVERYONE ELSE YOU TORTURED!"

He shoot him in the shoulder. Mr. Impur's breathing had turned labored as he lost more and more blood.

"AND THIS! THIS IS FOR ROMAN!"

He shoot him high up on his chest, right between his collar bones. Mr. Impur coughed up blood. It dripped down from his lips down to his chin. Virgil went even closer. He looked down at his father as he reloaded the gun.

"Look dad, after all of that gun training and all those times you forced me to watch people get murdered I learned. I am able to keep you alive even after all those bullets. You must feel proud now. Especially since I will finally do what you always told me to do. I'll finally kill someone" Virgil pressed the gun against his father's forehead "Aren't you proud?"

The shoot fired. Mr. Impur's body went limp. His head lolled to the side, now with a new hole between his eyes.

It took a moment...And then...

Virgil dropped the gun. A scream left his lips. A horrifying blood curling scream as he realized what he had done. He fell to the ground, his knees hitting harshly against the floor. His hands were shaking, gripping onto his hair, as he continued to scream.

"Kid, Kid deep breathes. C'mon deep breathes" Remy mumbled out while huching down beside him.

They moved him into a hug. He buried his head against their chest. He continued to scream but the sound mixed with shaky sobs. Snot and tears left wet spots on their shirt but they didn't mind. They combed their hand through the back of his hair.

"sshhh kid. Just keep breathing. It's okay. Everything is okay. He will never hurt you again. Never ever. Just breathe"

Remus sent their spouse a look. They nodded back to him. He quickly stepped over Mr. Impur's body to take ahold of the controller. He made sure it wasn't set on a timer or anything before breaking it in two.

He looked around the monitors and control panels. There were lists and maps of all the areas where Mr. Impur's company would have destroyed the water. And every other piece of land he owned. He took quick photos of it all. He was sure Janus and Logan could use them later. Hearing Virgil scream made him do it all so quickly he nearly left without checking Mr. Impur's corpse for anything.

He saw something glimmering on the corpses' finger as he got ready to step over it again. Remus leaned down and took his hand. The skin had already started to go cold. It was a ring. He dragged it off the limp finger and looked at it.

There was an octopus symbol on it, with 7 tentacles. On the back of it was Mr. Impur's name engraved.

Remus forced back a feeling of nauseous. It felt like he should recognize it. He put it down into his pocket before standing up.

Virgil had stopped screaming. His voice had gone hoarse. He was still sobbing. It didn't feel like he could move. Remy was still whispering comforting nothings to him. They looked up to their husband.

"I'm not strong enough to carry him right now" Was all they said.

"It's okay" Remus leaned down and picked him up. He held him close to his chest. When he felt Virgil move his arms around his neck he held onto the teen even harder.

Remus pressed a kiss to his forehead and for a few moments the sobbing turned into nothing more than a sniffle.

Remy placed an explosive on the ground, right by the corpse. Before they stood up. They placed their hand on Virgil's upper arm so he would know they were there for him. They put the explosives on a timer, to go off in about 15 minutes. They met eyes with their husband.

"Let's go home"

Chapter Text

"Does this outfit make me look classy enough?" Remy asked while straightening out their skirt.

"It doesn't matter but yes, always" Remus replied.

"I just wanna look especially good when I see your mom. That's all"

The couple stood by the pier waiting for a boat to take them over to the floating palace that laid in the water like an island. Jaws sat on the ground a few feet away from them. It had been much easier to make him follow them than they thought. All they had to do was say that they wouldn't hurt him and he followed along, especially when he saw Virgil follow them as well.

The teen was curled up in Jaws' embrace. He hadn't spoken much since the mission. Hadn't eaten much. Hadn't slept much. He'd mostly clinged to Jaws. When Remy or Remus offered hugs he clinged to them as well. It was understandable, he had killed his own father after all.

After the mission Mr. Impur's company automatically became Virgil's. He immediately gave it over to MI6 so they could work out how to shut the whole ordeal down and sell back all the land. Janus, Logan and Patton were currently working their hardest to sort things out.

"OH! That's the boat!!" Remus waved at the captain.

He motioned for Jaws and Virgil to follow before taking Remy's hand. He carried both of their suitcases in the other hand. Jaws couldn't stop staring at the water as he got on the boat. He slumped down right next to the railing. Remus was one step away from pulling him back in fear of his brother trying to escape via the water. His spouse told him to relax but he kept an eye on his brother the whole trip just in case.

"...Do you think he'll remember?" He mumbled. He squeezed a bit harder onto Remy's hand. "I mean...Don't they usually suggest that people with memory problems go back to places the place they grew up? Don't they say that will help?"

"I'm sure he'll remember eventually" They titled their head slightly "But either way he's just as kind as he used to be isn't he? As long as he keeps his personality I am sure everything is gonna be tots fine. Memory or no memory it's still like Roman with his Romany personality ain't it? He'll find his way back to you"

Remus slumped closer to them. He leant his head against the nape of their neck "You're right"

"Always am!"

He trickled a few kisses to their neck which made them giggle, mostly from how it tickled "Yeah babe you're such a smartie. Overflowing with brain. It's gonna melt out of your ears like blood if you keep being this smart"

"Gross, but thanks!"

The boat slowed down a little as it got ready to dock by the floating palace. Remus got up and excitedly looked over to the small pier. When he saw his mom he shone up into a grin and waved. She waved back and so did the rest of the women who had gathered to greet them.

As soon as the boat docked he ran onto the mosaic stones that covered the ground and pretty much jumped into his mom's hug. The other's embraced him as well making it a big group hug. It became a big flood of exclaims of how happy they were that he was back and worried mumbles about if he was hurt and if he had eaten enough.

Remy was just about to follow him when they noticed that Jaws was still staring down into the water and Virgil had tried to hide behind him. The enby hunched down beside them.

"Anything wrong kiddo?"

"nothing. it's just....just a lot of people.....we're gonna live with them aren't we?" Virgil's voice went even quieter as he continued "What if they don't like me?"

"Oh girl half of the people on this island are like 5 years away from granny age. They're gonna adore you. Don't worry, I can tell them to back off a lil until you've gotten comfy here" They taped Jaws' shoulder "C'mon big guy. Time to get off the boat. There's more water over there. Chop chop"

Jaws blinked at them before slowly getting up. He stared at the island in silence. His blinking turned a little slower. He looked around and stared at every single person. Before he suddenly shot away and ran off the boat. He nearly slid over the stones before stopping right by the edge of the island.

The small crowd had all stopped in silence. They were all hoping he had remembered something. They looked at Jaws in bathed breath. He proceeded to lean down and dunk his entire head underwater.

The crowd let up into a loud "NO!". But when Jaws leaned back up and shook his head around to get the water out before letting up into small, very small, laugh they all relaxed. Jaws waved for Virgil to come over.

The teen had never been close to water before so he just kinda stared at it. Jaws moved his hand down and splashed around in the clear blue. He wetted his entire hand before bopping Virgil on the nose which made Viv laugh.

When Jaws took off his shoes and rolled up his pants to splash his feet around Virgil did the same. Everyone else decided to leave them alone for a little bit.

The group all let up into shocked and worried noises when they saw Remy limping towards them. They all obviously knew Remy by now and they all knew they weren't usually this thin, pale and generally ruffled up. They also all knew they had been captured and tortured but none of them had thought they would still look this affected by it.

It turned into a big cacophony of the ladies pulled both the agent into cuddles, kissing their cheeks and ruffling their hair. All while going on about different recipes that would surely thicken them up, about how they had to be more careful and how they glad they were that they were okay.

It went on like that for a while. It left the agents dizzy with happiness after talking to everyone. That included the older woman that had been with Octavia from the start, the ones that had been like Remus' extra moms growing up, and the younger recruits that were working to continue on the duty of the Octopussy clan.

After a while it was just the agents and Octavia left (there was always something to do on the island after all). She pressed a kiss to her son's forehead before looking over to her other son. He was still sitting by the water.

"I've fixed up a room for Virgil, just as you asked" She said.

"Thanks! I guess we can show him the room while you keep an eye on....on Jaws?...I think he wants to be called Jaws....for now"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of him"

Remus sent her another smile before taking his spouse's hand. They went over to Virgil who was just about to start drinking the salt water. Remy reached out for his hand after (gently) slapping the water out of it. The teen took their hand and stood up. He looked just a bit nervous when they started to walk into the true palace without Jaws following.

"Uhm Where are we going?"

"To your new room!! It's my old one. Or well when me and Ro- Jaws got into our teens mom thought we would get separate rooms but I kept going back into Jaws' room every night to sleep since it felt weird to sleep without him there. So uhh the room hasn't been used much"

Virigl waved it off "It's fine. Like all of my rooms were unused prison cells. I'm sure this is gonna amazing. Hopefully you got some spiders in there. Maybe even roaches. GHOSTS!!!"

"HELL YEAH!!" Remus agreed.

"Stop with all that helling. You're not just gonna summon ghosts. You're gonna get like satan as well" Remy replied.

Remus and Virgil glanced at each other before in unison exclaiming "HECK YEAH!!" Remy rolled their eyes at them.

They stopped by a door. It was painted green with a silver crown on it. Next to it was a similar door painted red with a golden crown on it. Remus and Remy both showed off the green door while grinning. Remus even did jazz hands.

"Here's your room!! C'mon! C'mon! open it up. We can change room if you don't like it"

"Oh uhm okay"

Virgil reached out and nervously opened the door. He peered inside. The nervousness got obliterated as he looked. There was a big luxurious bed with a ridiculous amount of pillows. On the walls hung old posters of different emo bands and obscure horror movies, they mostly focused in on the pretty guy's faces. There was a whole bookcase absolutely stuffed with books. A small desk for him to sit at, maybe even draw. And a bean bag, it was a teen's room after all.

He glanced back at remus and Remy with a bright smile. The agents both let out breathes of relief.

"You like it?"

"Nah. I hate it. It's horrible" He replied sarcastically.

Remy brought him into a short embrace and ruffled his hair "Oh you lil fucker. Glad you like it!!"

Remus went into the room and looked around. He pulled out a box from under the bed. He put it on the desk and motioned for the other two to come over. The box was filled with old CDs. Most of them emo, punk or just straight up screaming. (And one that was 10 hours of Epic frog sound)

"It's my old collection. Aside from some real gems I don't really listen to none of this no more so if you want to you can have it"

Virgil's mouth was slightly agape as his hands traced over the CDs "Really??"

"Yeah! Someone has to carry on the torch of edgy teenage culture!"

His expression started to get a little woobly from being almost to happy "tHanks"

"No prob kid. OH!" Remus looked over to their spouse "Shouldn't I have some old pride flag here as well? The first one my mom got me I mean?? It's a bit old so maybe we should just buy a new one for Virg-"

"A PRIDE FLAG??? My own?? I- Uh- I-"

"Yeah. If you want to"

Remy nodded along "Oh yeah girl. Getting your first real pride flag is like such a nice gay milestone. We can like look online for one tomorrow, kay kiddo?"

Virgil looked like he was gonna explode. He kept flapping his fists around "YES! please !"

"We should probs like look for a phone as well. You don't got one do you?" The teen shook his head "Thought so. Gotta do it like soon 'cause I think if you got a phone you can call Theo during like calling hours"

"i can play the candy crush again. just like Theo had on his phone. i will become so powerful. my fingers will become so muscular from all the crushing" Virgil mumbled.

"Oh yeah kid. Can't wait until you try to battle Remus in some like arm wrestling and you fucking flung him into the wall with your like muscular fingers" Remy replied. They ruffled the hair "You like the room? No sarcasm this time"

Virgil quickly nodded. Nodded a lot. He wanted to make sure they understood how much he appreciated it. He didn't want them to get mad if he wasn- they weren't going to get mad. He had to remind himself.

"I like it...." He fiddled a bit with his hoodie "Just wondering....where's Jaws' room?"

The couple looked at each other and shrugged "I think we're letting him choose. The room he used to live in is right next to you-"

"Can he stay with me??" Virgil interrupted. "I just- sometimes he has nightmares- I don't want him to wake up alone. This bed is fine. I'm small. We'll fit"

Remus shrugged again "Sure. If he wants to" He checked his watch "Speaking of. I should probs go check on him" His chest was still bubbling over with worry.

Virgil made grabby hands for him so Remus gave him a warm hug before leaving. Remy proceeded to immediately pull out their emergency set of make up and start asking if the teen wanted to try out some black nailpolish, maybe even some eyeliner. Viv wondered back if it was edible which reminded Remy way too much of their husband every time they left him alone with their make up.

The agent hurried through the pathways. He knew every stone of this place like the lips of his spouse.

He came to the pier. Jaws sat on one of the stones with his legs still dangling around in the water. Small waves rippled around him. A choking feeling filled Remus' chest. He'd seen his brother site like that on that stone so many times before. He remembered he would always call Roman a boring bogie for being able to sit like that for hours but his brother always said there was no place better to daydream, to fantasize, to write up his plays and songs.

His mother sat on the shore with her eyes on her son. She looked tired. Remus never really noticed that she'd aged except for moments like this, it was like he could suddenly see all those years of wear and tear on her face before it faded a few minutes later as she noticed him. She sent him a short smile.

"Ro....Jaws.." She called out.

Her son turned to look at her but there was no recognition in his eyes. His eyes were still empty even if the water was reflected in them.

"Would you like to take a look around the island?" She continued.

He hesitated before pointing up to his mouth. He mimicked a lock being turned. "dangerous" The word came deep from his throat.

"Honey you're not dangerous. You don't need any handcuffs or mouthlocks. Remus has talked to you about this. No one is going to hurt you and we Know you won't hurt anyone else. Now please be a dear and follow along"

Jaws got up on his feet. He jumped between the stones without looking at them, as if he had them deeply memorized. He kept himself a few feet away from them.

"Oh let's show him the main garden. He always liked that place" Octavia suggested as she began to walk.

The garden was in the middle of the palace. A pool made out of ceramics was in the middle of it. Windchimes hung around pillars holding the surrounding hallways up. One of the pillars still had the markings showing Remus and Roman's varying heights as they grew. Green grass and trees made up the rest of it. There were places for flowers to go, for vegetables. A few people had started introduced a few new spices to the spice garden recently. There were a few ladies lazing around by the pool. With one look(tm) from Octavia they quickly left. She didn't want to make Jaws any more stressed.

Jaws stepped out onto the grass. The sun had warmed it. It made shivers of surprise go up his spine. He glanced around the garden for a long time. He eyed every little detail. Octavia and Remus looked at him with bated breath.

Then Jaws slowly made his way over to the closest trees. He continued glancing around to look innocent while stuffing his pockets full with whatever his hand touched, apples and peaches and ripe oranges. Before returning to his first spot.

Remus and his mother shrugged at each other "Maybe he's hungry" "Maybe he's gonna throw apples at someone to beat the fuck out of them" They said at the same time.

"Language" Octavia replied "We can show him the kitchen"

When they began to walk Jaws quickly followed behind. It would have been heartwarming if he wasn't probably just trying to follow orders. Every now and again he would stop to look into some room or to stare out to other parts of the palace. Every time they hoped he would have remembered something. It slowly became clear with him mumbling Virgil's name ever so often that he was just looking for his friend.

They got to the kitchen. It was buzzing with chatter as a few of the older ladies were showing two younger women how to make naan bread. A few others were gossiping while preparing for the dinner. Jaws stopped dead in the doorway. He blinked at the people. The sudden smells was a lot.

"You can take food if you want to bro. No one's gonna guillotine your fingers off" Remus commented. He lightly dragged in the fabric of his brother's shirt to pull him into the kitchen. He smiled when Jaws didn't flinch away.

He hesitated before taking one of the finished breads. He put it deep in his pocket. He glanced around before shoving down even more bread.

"uuuh your mouth works normally right? Even with the...cool death teeth....?" Remus asked. "You can eat...?"

Jaws stared at him as if he'd been caught "for virgil" Was all he got out.

Remus reached out and patted his shoulder "Hey you can go get food whenever you want to. Virge can as well. We make group dinners here y'know. But uh if you want to put food away you uh can I guess"

Jaws looked right through him, like he wasn't even listening. It made Remus sigh. But then Jaws leaned closer. He leant into the warm touch of his brother so Rem was patting the top of his head instead of his shoulder.

"Oh" Remus muttered out "Oh you cuddly bitch" He couldn't help but smile when Jaws started flapping his hands. "Do you wanna go look at your room now?"

His brother looked at him with a questioning look, but he did grab onto Remus' shirt when they started to walk. He walked closely while looking around. He tensed up every time he saw one of the pillars with octopus decorations carved out, or saw a painting of the Octopussy clan's logo. He held onto even harder to his brother.

they got to the room next to Virgil's. The one with the golden crown painted onto it. No one had lived in it since Roman disappeared over 6 years ago. Octavia still cleaned it once a month. She didn't let anyone else clean in there, she barely even allowed anyone but her and Remus to enter.

Jaws didn't seem to react to the door. It was only when Remus walked up to it and hesitantly pushed the door open that he even seemed to realize he was supposed to go in.

Octavia and Remus stayed by the doorway to give Jaws space as he looked around. There were still 2 beds on either side of the room. Still a window shining down onto the desk. Still drawings and poems and unfinished ideas for plays hung on the walls, by now the pages had yellowed. Still their childhood toys laying here and there. Still on the desk sat the wooden crowns painted silver and gold the brothers had made for themself with the help of their mother when they'd been 7.

Jaws stood in the middle of the room with his arms hung loosely by his sides. His eyes wandered aimlessly over the furniture. His eyes were filled with nothingness.

"he doesn't remember" Remus mumbled. The urge to cry pressed on in his throat.

"I've been looking for a therapist specifying in amnesia. Maybe she can help"

"it's not amnesia! it's just- his brain is just- it's destroyed- they withered him out! they made him hollow! i'm so tired of having to miss him even when he is right there!"

It was good that Jaws didn't seem to hear them. He was completely detached. Everything was washing over him like a brief wind in spring. He took a few steps deeper into the room to try and follow the orders better.

His eyes got stuck staring at the window. The sun was blaring in making long shadows go over the desk. He went closer and looked at the desk. The crowns were bathing in light. Jaws reached out and picked up the one painted silver. What felt like thunder hit his head, it was like his skull would split from the pain.

Roman turned around. His eyes wandered around the room in a panic.

"Where's Remus!?"

In an instant Remus and Octavia had gone silent. Remus let out a choked back sob. He moved forward and put his hands on his brother's shoulders. He looked right into Jaws' eyes.

"I'm right here. It's me. It's Remus" He didn't even dare to sound hopeful.

Jaws stared right through him. The crown slipped through his fingers and fell down onto the ground. There was no recognition in his eyes, not even a sliver of it.

Remus broke out into wave after wave of sobs, they racked his body. He leant his head against his brother's chest and moved his arms around him in a one sided hug. He could hear his mother doing her best to hold back tears.

"i'm right here. i'm right here. please just look at me. please see me. i'm right here"

He felt strong arms pull him into a hug. A hand stroked through his hair.

"There there. It's okay. Don't cry. I'll protect you" jaws said. It sounded hollow. Like he was just reciting stuff he'd told Virgil "I'll protect you until you stop crying"

Remus' entire body felt weak. He went numb in his brother's arms. Jaws slowly sat down on the ground and let his sibling curl up close to him as he continued to cry. Their mother sat down next to them. She stroked her arm up and down Remus' arm while leaning her head against Jaws' shoulder.

Aside from sniffling and crying and Jaws every now and then repeating 'there there' it was quiet for several minutes. Octavia managed to wipe her tears away and fix her posture.

She opened her words to say something that could brighten the mood, but she couldn't find a single word. They stayed in the depressing state, all looking away at something else. She decided to try and focus on something else, at least for a little while.

"Dear, you're tired. Let's go have dinner and then we can talk about this, I suppose. For now Ro- Jaws can go to Virgil, if he wants to" She turned to him "Want to go see Virgil, honey?" He nodded.

The three of them got up off the floor. The crown was left on the floor as they closed the door behind them.

Remy and Virgil was sitting on the teen's bed. Emo music was blasting as the enby put yet another cute hairclip into Viv's hair. He'd gotten a full makeover. Black nails, eyeliner that looked like bat wings, even some dark blush on his cheeks to make him look more like a Tim Burton character. He was already shining and he shone up even more when he saw Jaws.

Jaws embraced his friend tightly and let himself be pulled onto the bed so Virgil could sit on his lap like a small cat. Remy noticed the somber expression on their husband's face and quickly packed up their makeup. They sent Jaws a bright smile when they felt his hand patting their head. They let out an even quicker bye before leaving with their husband.

The three of them sat down in the garden. People had started to set the table. Remus explained in a low murmur everything that happened with Jaws. Remy held his hand the entire time. When he was done, he looked close to tears, but his spouse exclaimed.

"Babe!! That's great!!! He's so close to breaking through!!! He just needs to heal!!"

"You sure?" Remus didn't have much hope left to give.

"I'm like super duper sure. Octavia you got any ideas?"

"Well..." Even she had a hard time finding anything positive "....I have been looking for suitable therapists for both my son and Virgil"

"Even better!! He just needs helps. I'm sure of it!"

Remy's hope managed to light some sort of spark within the other two, even if it was only a small flicker. They spent the entire dinner discussing different therapists. About how to help them. About if they could ever take out the metal teeth. There was a sorl around them from the other people but they sat in their little bubble. The food came and went. The people came and went. Until the candles had been lit and the moon was about to rise.

Remus had his head in Remy's lap. He let out a yawn while mumbling out some response to a question his mom had asked. She was about to reply when she suddenly went quiet and looked over to one of the pillar's.

A head barely peaked forward. It was Virgil. He stared at them for a few seconds before stepping out onto the grass. He was holding onto Jaws' hands and was pretty much dragging him with him.

"....uh....hi...Madam....and you two......could we....uhm i mean....a nice lady asked if she should bring us food to our room....but.....Jawsie....he...uh...he told me...he wanted to eat dinner with you....uhm he's....the island is giving him really bad headaches......do you think uhm...apples helps against headaches? he brought a lot of apples...the headaches are making him feel weird he says...like uhhhh....weird feelings...uhhhh like he's gonna puke and stuff"

Octavia went soft, she always did that around kids. "Oh honey, don't worry we have some painkillers, I'll fetch some for him later. Of course you can eat here"

"Thanks ma'am"

Virgil dragged Jaws with him to the table. They sat a bit away. Jaws stared down into the table. The teen mumbled to his friend while pointing to each of the people. Remus could just about overhear him saying

"that's Remy. they're very cool and pretty and smart. and they can paint faces and shoot stuff. they're not single"

Jaws nodded along to all of it. He tilted his head at one of the pillars. He lowered his head and whispered something to Virgil. The teen held up his hand before nervously asking.

"Uhm ma'am....uhm Jawsie...he uh noticed there's a lot of octopuses around here....uhm is it like an organization....he uh....octopuses makes his headache worse...also his teeth start to hurt....uhm...yeah"

Octavia leant forward, she had a soft smile on her lips "It's a long story, if you'd like to here. but yes it is a sort of organization. My organization"

Virgil glanced over to his friend before nodding "We'd like to here the long story please"

She let up into a delighted expression as she started to explain the history of the Octopussy clan, all the way from her father to today. She intentionally left out the part about James Bond. Somewhere around the middle of the story Remy got up and mumbled something to their husband about helping out with the dishes before leaving.

By the end of it Virgil still looked interested even if his eyelids were drooping and his head kept lolling to the side. Jaws had nodded along the entire time even if his expression hadn't changed.

"That's so cool ma'am....Octopuses are so cool...they have so many arms....so many....so cool" He yawned out.

Octavia let out a chuckle "Thank you" She whispered to her son "It's been an eventful day hasn't it. We all should probably head to bed, before that hoodie becomes his bed for the night"

"Good idea"

Remus stretched before getting up. He held out his arms and let Virgil latch onto him like a lil koala. He looked over to his brother but to his delight Jaws didn't seem anxious over him carrying his friend.

By the time they'd gotten to the room Virgil had almost fallen asleep. Remus decided changing clothes and washing off the make up could happen tomorrow. He tucked the teen into bed and hunched down to press a kiss to his forehead.

Virgil managed to open his eyes ever so slightly "is every day like this? just...just eating together....talking.....not being scared...or is it jus because it's my first day?"

Remus lightly traced his thumb over the teen's hand "I promise every day is like this. Every day will be like whatever you want it to be"

"hmmm....Then....I want my day to be me to beating things with a bat and screaming along to the Gerard man!!"

"Oh I LOVe that idea!! I've done the same many a time. We can start immediately tomorrow! I'm sure there's some old toasters laying around!!" He let out an evil cackle. Virgil let out a tired cackle right along with him.

"I..I'm always so nervous before sleep...I don't wanna get nightmares" Virgil closed his eyes "...but i'm not nervous tonight...."

"Glad to hear it kid. Goodnight you lil bastard"

"goodnight stinky gremlin"

Remus stood up and let out a smile at the peaceful look on Virgil's face. Jaws laid down in the bed beside him, he hesitated before waving a goodbye to the person he couldn't yet recognise as his brother. His brother waved right back with a bright smile before quietly leaving.

All of Jaws's dream that night would be about him in a neverending field, chasing after a person in green he never quite could catch.

Octavia was just about to leave the garden when Remus got back. He'd stopped by the kitchen on the way there but Remy hadn't been nowhere to be found. He gave his mom a goodnight hug that lasted a bit longer than usual before asking.

"Any chance you'd seen my Remy?"

"I think I saw them go towards your room"

"Kay. Remind me to find toasters tomorrow" Remus turned to walk away but his mom tapped his shoulder.

"Hey son?"

"Mhm?"

"Everything will be alright"

"Yeah...I think I know that..I hope so"

Remus walked through the hallways. He and Remy had their own room for when they stayed over. Warm light was shining out from under the door. He stepped into the room and immediately let out into a dorky laugh.

"Wow" Was all he got out.

"Hi reeeemmuus baaabeeey"

Remy was laying on their bed with a bottle of champagne in their hand. They had on their red nightdress with finely embroidered details. The room was lit up by a few candles placed here and there. They got up at the same time Remus closed the door behind him. They picked up to glasses from the bedside table and filled them with champagne.

"I just thought we could celebrate. We did finish a mission after all"

"That you have right in"

They gave him a glass. The couple clinked their glasses together before both taking long sips. Remy put down the champagne bottle so they could grab onto Remus' shirt collar.

"So we'll celebrate in the only suitable way after such an important mission"

They pulled him closer and kissed him long and hard. His lips tasted like champagne and his mustache tickled them like always. When they pulled back a wide grin played on their lips.

"We're gonna play Mario Kart aaalllll night!!"

Remus lit up like a christmas tree "FUCK YEAH! I*m gonna beat your ass!! Your Peach is nothing against my motherfucking WALUIGI!!"

Remy let out a giggle "We'll see about that"

The tv got turned on along with 2 wii controllers. The couple continued to kiss while the game loaded. Remus moved his arms around their back to keep them as close as possible while they cupped his cheeks. They let out even more giggles as he littered playful kisses along their jawline.

"Oh Remus"

--

In another part of the word a hand was writing notes into a notebook that was held together by duct tape. The scribbles of notes were written hastily next to photos that had been printed out and glued onto the pages. Next to the notebook sat a stolen ring. A ring with an octopus marking engraved into it.

When the page had been filled the hand put down the pen to read through everything once more. Every single word on the page was about a person. Remus Bond Smythe. The hand traced their fingers over the blurry photos of the agent.

"Just another Bond. Just another horrid Bond. All I need is one more lead and I'll find that Remus. He should be grateful for the time he has left"