Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Arctic air. Clears the head, doesn't it?”

Bell was following Adler as he led the two of them along the cliffside. They were still exhausted from the fight at Solovetsky, the adrenaline crash leaving them barely standing. Still, Bell would follow Adler where he led them. Everything felt weird between them now. Bell had been happily trailing after Adler for months now. Doing what he asked had felt as easy as breathing. 

Apparently it was supposed to feel that way. An easy partnership had been artificially implanted in them. Bell’s mind still wanted to please Adler in whatever way that meant, but that desire was soured by the knowledge of what the man had done to them. They didn’t have it in them to respond to Adler, barely nodding at his back. He turned to face them, the sun glinting off of his sunglasses.

“Bell, you made two extraordinary sacrifices to stop Perseus. One was without your knowledge. The other... you made that decision of your own accord,” said Adler as he took a drag from his cigarette. “I just want you to know that this little thing that's happened with you and me... It was always for the greater good.”

Adler tossed his cigarette away and looked off at the glittering sea. Bell’s heart dropped to their stomach as they listened to him speak. Where was he going with this? Had nothing between them been real to Adler at all? He’d kidnapped them and brainwashed them; Bell had been coming to terms with that reality for hours. The undercurrent of hope hadn’t abandoned them, however. They didn’t want to think that every kind word, every soft look had been fake too. 

“You're a damn hero, you know that, kid? Heroes have to make sacrifices. That's why when I ask you for one more, I hope you understand... it was never personal.”

The fuck did that mean? Bell didn’t have long to wonder before Adler was spinning around to face them, his gun drawn from his waistband. They panicked at the sudden movement, pulling their own pistol from its holster. Their mind was screaming at them to stop but they couldn’t let Adler kill them again. An eternity stretched as the pair aimed at each other. 

Clamping their eyes closed against reality, Bell squeezed the trigger.

Two gunshots rang out in the cold air, twin grunts following almost instantly. Both of them toppled backwards as the bullets hit their tac vests, neither shots proving fatal. With the wind sufficiently knocked out of them, Bell felt more than just physical pain rushing through them. Adler tried to kill them. Again. There was a bullet hole in their vest where their heart was thundering, a serious bruise undoubtedly forming underneath. 

Shit, Adler.  

Bell lifted their head from the rocky ground to look for Adler. It didn’t make sense– Adler had just tried to kill them, he’d brainwashed them and stolen their life away. They shouldn’t be worried about whether or not he was alive, and yet here they were, trying to scramble to their knees to try and see if he was still breathing. 

Apparently Adler had the same idea, as he was rolling onto his side and trying to brace an arm against the soil to lift himself up. Bell groaned and crawled over on their knees, every beat of their heart sending more pain radiating through their chest and abdomen. Fucking bastard was a good shot– they had at least a couple cracked ribs underneath their vest. 

When he heard the gravel crunching under Bell’s hands and knees, Adler began moving faster, doing his best to get upright before they got to him. Before he could get his legs under him, an angry weight slammed into him, knocking the air out of his lungs again. He was forced onto his back, both hands coming up to grapple with Bell’s hits. 

Adler knew better than most that Bell was damn good at hand-to-hand, but right now, their palms were shaking in their fingerless gloves, blood caked beneath their nails as they tried to avoid his grabbing hands. Bell threw a half-hearted punch, the strain from the gunshot showing in the weakness of the hit. They both knew Bell could knock someone out, but they were still reeling and trying to cling to consciousness. Staying upright was its own battle right now. 

With his forearms, Adler blocked another attempted punch, grabbing at one of Bell’s fists with his opposite hand. They anticipated the retaliation, their other hand clocking him in the temple and bringing his head back to the ground in a daze. The temporary lapse in his defense allowed Bell to wrap their hands around his throat, squeezing enough to keep him there but not enough to cut off his full air supply. Yet. 

Adler knew all too well that his life was in their hands, especially with his ears ringing and their weight coming to settle over his waist. He could fight, but the buzz in his head from the hit was making thinking difficult, much less fighting. He was so tired.  

"You fucking cunt." Bell snarled. “How could you?”

"I can't trust you," gasped Adler, Bell’s hands tight on his throat.

"You made me."

"I didn't have a choice, it was orders."

"Oh we all have a choice, Russell. Fucking orders, since when have you ever given a fuck about those before?”

“The world was at stake, or did you forget?!”

“You shattered my whole world! You made me a new one and now you want to take it away too?" Bell’s hands shook as they held Adler down, the palms trembling against Adler’s bobbing throat. 

"Alish-"

"You gave me a name have the fucking courtesy of using it!"

"Bell, please just listen-"

Bell’s hands squeezed even harder, reducing Adler’s voice to a rasp. The two of them were beyond frustrated. Bodies aching from the gunshots, hearts shattering into pieces. Bell was trying not to tear up from sheer frustration and anguish at being betrayed. 

"My heart has wanted to trust you even though my brain has screamed at me to not. I could have lied to you. Told you Duga and led you to your death. I didn't. And now here we are,” spat Bell. “I gave you everything and you tried to kill me?!” “It was nothing personal, I couldn’t let it be personal.”

“You’re a bastard, Adler! After everything you put me through, after us, you have the fucking gall to look me in the eyes and say it’s not personal?!” Bell was screaming at him, rage and fire and deep pain in their eyes.

"What do you want me to do, Bell? Huh? Want me to give up my commission, betray the CIA to what, wine and dine you?”

That shocked Bell out of their rage for a moment, leaving only echoing sorrow and betrayal.  "Is that what you want to hear? Yes? Yes, I wanted you to go beyond using me and actually see me? You give away too much, old man. Say it then. Say that you only ever saw me as the monster you created and we can end this."

"You're not a monster. But I can't give you what you want. I don't even know what the fuck you want!”

Bell leaned down, face by Adler’s ear, their weight keeping him in the grass. Their voice was low, barely heard over the wind. "I wanted you ."

Adler scoffed, disbelieving what he was hearing. “You shouldn’t.”

“I didn't follow you around the fucking globe like a lost dog only for your cause. You imprinted yourself onto my very fucking soul. How could I not?”

“You’re a fucking idiot,” said Adler, surging up against the choking pressure to kiss Bell.

Lips met in an angry clash of flesh and teeth. Neither knew if this was hello or goodbye. It was sparks hitting gunpowder, it was the first rumblings of an avalanche. Teeth set into lips and tongues took what they wanted without care. It was pure passion, rage and lust in equal measure. Bell broke away first, their eyes wild.

“I hated you. I loved you. I should kill you,” they spat.

“Then make it a good death.”

One hand left Adler’s throat so Bell could reach between them to grab at their erection. They could barely pull themselves out; their heartbroken rage made their hands shake. Adler struggled beneath them to do the same, buckles jingling loudly. The man hissed as he wrapped his hand around heated flesh. The two didn’t grind against each other, they only focused on their own selfish pleasure. Adler sunk his teeth into the meat of Bell’s shoulder. The pain made them cry out, their shouts lost to the wind.

Bell squeezed Adler’s throat tighter. Dark spots formed on his vision, the lack of air making him lose himself in the pure physicality of the moment. His oxygen-starved mind wanted Bell to feel the same. He wanted the two of them to be lost in the narrow tunnel between life and death, between pleasure and pain. Adler reached his free hand up to their throat, grasping just as tightly as they were doing to him. Bell leaned into the pressure, their face inches from him. 

"Say it. Say that I'm yours, I don't care if you don't mean it,” they rasped. 

"Bell…"

"Russ, fucking say it!"

"You're mine. You're fucking mine Bell. I made you, I own you.”

Bell snarled in rage at the words before diving down for another kiss, the meeting of their lips more teeth than anything else. They took Adler’s bottom lip between their teeth, biting down hard enough to draw blood. The sanguine taste only fueled both of their desperation, the ghost of Bell’s knuckles moving against Adler’s erection between his own frantic pulls. 

The extra friction had the CIA agent far closer than he realized, but some spiteful, hateful part of him refused to fall over the edge first. He squeezed his free hand harder around Bell’s throat, a cracked gasp lurching from their throat at the added tension. Both of them stroked faster, Adler raising one of his knees between Bell’s thighs to press beneath their balls in an almost-painful pressure. 

Another growl bubbled from Bell’s throat as Adler’s knee pressed underneath them, their hand twisting around their erection almost violently. They squeezed down one final time, putting nearly all their weight on Adler’s throat before their orgasm hit. The first stripe of salty cum streaked across Adler’s chest and hand, slicking his own strokes even further. Despite the grip around their throat, Bell choked out a moan, the sound resembling something like Russ.  

At the sound of his name being groaned out in such an injured way, Adler couldn’t stop his own climax. The cum from Bell aided the slide of his hand as he fucked his hips up, thrusting only twice before he couldn’t hold back anymore. His orgasm whited out his vision, the pressure around his throat only making the white void seem more appealing. Every cell of his body felt light, his legs trembling in their place beneath Bell. 

Far too soon, the pure bliss of orgasm faded into cold reality. Adler was covered in cum, still half-choking Bell, and pinned on a cliffside. As his arm trembled in its place, he silently wondered how long he had before Bell would finish the job. He couldn’t read the expression on their face. Bell sat back up, looking down at Adler, their eyes wide and blown out. Adler didn’t chase after them as they pulled away. In his heart he knew there wasn’t a winner in their clash; whatever cold fate awaited him was exactly what he deserved.

Bell looked down at their cum-covered hand. A part of them didn’t quite believe what had just happened. Bell wiped their hand off on Adler’s chest, streaks of white left behind on the blue of his jacket. The last dregs of their orgasmic high abandoned Bell. They were left with nothing but an aching void in their chest. Adler was supposed to kill them. The CIA had gotten everything they needed from their little science experiment and it was time to euthanize the lab rat. Bell spied their gun sitting in the grass. They grabbed it and held it out to Adler. 

"Get it over with," they spat. 

Adler took the weapon from them without a word. Bell sat down heavily. They looked out over the cliff side; it was too difficult to look at Adler while he killed them. Instead, they looked at the sea, at the sun, at the birds flying and diving. At anything other than Adler. They tried to steady their breathing. Bell didn't want to face their death shaking and crying. They had saved the world, after all, Bell could at least pretend to die bravely. 

Adler stood, the weight of Bell’s gun impossibly heavy in his hand. Why? He couldn’t fathom why Bell had willingly given him the weapon. They had the upper hand, they had the gun, and he had come to terms with his end. What had made them throw it all away? Adler had a job to do; he knew that. He needed to dispose of Bell. Adler had his orders.

Adler cocked the gun and pointed it at Bell’s head. They flinched minutely at the sound but they didn’t move or even turn to look at him. Bell only stared out at the sea. They looked so small. No matter what Adler did he couldn’t stop his hand from shaking. The gun wobbled back and forth in his shaky grip. Pull the trigger, Russ, just get it over with. He had killed so many people in his lifetime it was hard to keep count. Bell should just be another tally mark on his soul. His finger twitched on the trigger but no matter how much he screamed at himself Adler couldn’t pull it. 

He had a job to do. 

In a split second, he made his decision. Adler would figure out how to regret it later. He reared his arm back and threw the gun over the cliffside. Bell barely had time to react before Adler was reaching down to grab them. He grasped the straps of their vest and hauled them up to their feet.

"Damn you,” said Adler.

Chapter Text

It was several weeks after the cliff. Several weeks after Adler tossed the gun into the waves and made what he was still half-convinced was the dumbest decision of his career. He had taken Bell from the seaside, filed a formal death report, and stashed them in one of his safehouses. 

Unlike most of his hidey holes, the CIA didn’t know about this one. It was a cabin tucked deep in the Virginian woods, more bears and bobcats around than people. All in all, it was the perfect hiding spot for a fugitive that he definitely didn’t want Hudson sniffing out. With how remote the cabin was, the only way Bell stayed fed was with regular deliveries from Adler. 

That was where he found himself now. His truck bed was loaded with food, nonperishables and produce alike in wooden crates and paper bags as he drove through the trees. The red door of the small house stood out against the green backdrop of the woods as he pulled up, the cabin looking closed and uninhabited like it always did. 

Turning off his truck and pocketing the keys, Russell walked up to the door and opened it without bothering to announce himself. It wasn’t locked– he’d have to talk to Bell about that…again. They were lying naked on the narrow bed, staring dead at the ceiling while they smoked. Like usual, Bell didn’t bother looking at him or even acknowledging his existence. Some thanks for saving their life, he supposed. 

“You gonna help?” he sighed, tossing the keys onto the counter. 

Bell didn’t answer, instead just lifting a lazy hand and flipping him off before going back to smoking. 

“Yeah, fuck me for keeping you fed. Should just let you hunt your dinner since you’re so desperate to be independent,” he mumbled as he walked back out. 

They snorted in derision at his answer but didn’t reply, instead just lying there and finishing the cigarette before lighting another. Every time Adler hauled in another box or looked at them too long, an almost disgusted look crossed their face before they raised the cig to their lips again. After a majority of the food and supplies were brought in, Bell sighed dramatically and finally turned their gaze to Russell. 

“Did you at least get Cap’n Crunch?” 

“Yeah I got your fucking cereal,” Adler sneered. “You know that shit’s no good for you.” 

“Ha, like you care.” Bell turned and snuffed their cigarette in an ashtray on the nightstand. They were still naked, still almost acting as if Adler wasn’t even in the room. Before they could lie back down, the operative slammed the box he was holding down and stomped over to the bed. 

“You’re right, I don’t. Roll over.” He was already pulling at his belt, unbuckling it and tearing it from the loops as he spat the words at Bell. 

“Fucking make me , Russ,” they sneered back, finally meeting his gaze, nothing but hate flooding their eyes. 

“Punk fucking bitch,” Adler snarled, grabbing at their thighs and turning them over onto their stomach. He pulled them toward the edge of the bed until their legs were hanging off the edge, their hands gripping at the blankets for some sort of purchase as he finished unbuckling his pants. 

He didn’t bother getting properly undressed, didn’t bother grabbing lube or stretching them out. If it hurt, it hurt. They both craved the pain anyway. Bell spat a curse at him when he stroked himself to full harness behind them, one hand on their spine keeping them pinned to the mattress. When Adler spit in his hand and smeared it around his cock, Bell went still for a moment before trying to buck back into his hold. 

“You gonna fuck me or just stare? Pussy fucking bitch .” 

Russell knew they were trying to get him riled up, but he didn’t care. He grabbed a fistful of their hair and shoved their face into the bed before fucking in, not bothering with slowness or tenderness. Neither of them had the patience for that anyway. If Bell whimpered at the stretch and tore at the blankets under their fingers, that was their business. Adler was just here to feed them and get off; it wasn’t his fault they had to make things so difficult. 

“A little- ah - appreciation would be nice,” he snarled as he set a harsh rhythm. 

Bell fought to bring their face out of the blankets, gasping in a frantic breath before turning their head and growling back at him. “For what? Not killing me?” 

“As a fucking start .” 

“I was just fine dying on my own in Turkey.” Despite the venom in their words, Bell couldn’t help the whine that attached itself to the end of the sentence as Russell fucked into them at a harsher angle. 

“I should’ve left you on that airfield to bleed out.” 

“You should have,” they started, trying and failing to get leverage to rock back onto Adler. “Fuck, fucking harder . I can go find Hudson or Woods if you can’t keep it up, old man, you’re fucking pathetic .”

“You didn’t tell me you were suicidal now. Should I lock up the kitchen knives? They’d kill you on sight– I’m the only one who even knows you’re alive.” 

“Oh, you’re doing me such a fucking favor,” Bell mumbled, their face smashed back into the blankets for a moment before they fought to get air again. “Maybe I should let them kill me. It would at least save me from the pathetic excuse of a fucking you give me when you’re here.” 

Adler snarled, the hand that wasn’t buried in Bell’s hair slapping across their ass hard enough to leave a deep red mark. “Shut the fuck up you stupid slut.” 

He pushed their head into the bed harder, making Bell fight for every breath they took. In response, they stood on their tiptoes, leaving their ass up for the taking. The angle hurt their neck, hurt their spine, but the pain was mixing with the pleasure into a heady toxin. Bell felt like they couldn’t breathe and that was exactly what they wanted. Maybe one of these days, Adler would actually kill them and they could haunt his stupid ass. Until then, they’d shudder and cry around his cock and berate him for not giving it to them right. 

Russell refused to loosen his grip on their hair, keeping his fist tight in each soft strand. Bell had no leverage, but they were still trying to fuck back on him. The longer he held their face into the bedding, the more they went limp and fought to breathe instead of complaining. Finally, blissful quiet.

“Can’t talk much now, hmm? Just take it, that’s all you’re good for anymore anyway,” he sneered, spitting onto their back and watching his saliva drip toward their shoulder blades. 

A muffled “uckyouu” was bitten into the bed before Bell tried and failed to push back against him again, all the fight fucked out of them at last. Adler had barely paused to pull his cock out before he mounted them like a bitch– every thrust of his hips left a red scrape along their inner thighs from his zipper, the skin getting raw and tender the longer they fucked. 

Adler could feel himself getting close. For all the taunting and shouting, Bell was sinfully tight and hot around him and only getting tighter as they approached their own orgasm. He could tell when they tipped over the edge, their hole spasming and a grunted shout vibrating through the mattress. Instead of working them through their orgasm, Russell pulled out and took his hand off their back, the only point of contact between them being his hand pinning their head down. 

As their partially-ruined climax waned, Bell sobbed and writhed on the bed, trying to get close to Adler for any sort of contact to prolong the pleasure. He snorted a derisive laugh through his nose and jacked himself off with his free hand, making sure to groan louder than usual as he came all over their back. Adler’s pearly white spend mixed with the spit already there, leaving Bell a filthy mess. 

He unclenched the fist from their hair, letting Bell take a desperate gasp of air before their chest started heaving in an effort to regain coherence. They glared at him as they tried to come back to themselves, legs shaking from the intensity of their stunted climax even as Russell’s cum dripped from their spine. 

A moment of emotion came over Adler as he looked at Bell. It was tenderness completely coated over with guilt. Bell looked pathetic like that and Adler hated it. His high had left him and all that remained in him was the intense shame he knew that he deserved for what he’d done to Bell. He was self aware enough to recognize that he was a fucked up bastard but Adler wasn’t going to change his behavior. Bell was his , certainly. His creation, his damnation. Adler had built them in his own image.

He guessed that hatred of himself had translated over to them too.

Bell hadn’t quite found themselves yet. Adler reached forward, wiping his cum off of their back with his sleeve. He didn’t say a word to them, what the fuck was he supposed to say? He turned away from the bed to return to his task of stocking up the cabin’s food supplies. He stuck his hands in his pockets, remembering in an instant the fresh pack of cigarettes he’d brought up for them. He tossed them over to Bell, not really caring that the pack hit them in the face rather than being caught. 

Bell scoffed and grabbed the pack, not even looking at the label. “It’s the wrong brand,” they said snidely.

“It is not!” Adler knew for a certain that it wasn’t the wrong fucking kind. He didn’t even need to check when he’d bought them. The two of them smoked the same brand. His heart had ached when he’d realized that fact the first time they’d asked him for cigarettes. Had they smoked before him? Had this been the kind they liked before he’d shattered them to pieces? Neither of them would know the answer. 

Bell scrutinized the package, their jaw set as they read the words emblazoned across the front. “...No it’s not.”

No it’s not, mouthed Adler. He knew how to read a fucking shopping list. “Can I at least get a fucking thank you for making sure you don’t starve?”

Bell blinked at him slowly. “That depends. Are you staying up here or vanishing back down to civilization and taking human contact with you?”

“Jesus Christ, do you want me to stay?”

Bell held out a cigarette and raised their eyebrows at him in a mockery of an answer.

“You’re fucking impossible, you know that? At least let me get shit in the fucking fridge.”

His fists clenched tight before he walked out the door to his truck. He needed a second before he said anything that he’d regret more than usual. The last of the bags were set onto the table. Bell still didn’t make a move to come help unpack the groceries that Adler had specifically brought up for them- his anger spiked before he took a deep breath to steady himself. Just unpack, Russ, don’t get into a fucking fight right now. He could be a gentleman and put away the things he’d brought up without shouting at them.

His rage diffused into something more manageable by the time he’d put the last of the food into the fridge. Adler looked over at Bell who had been watching him work the entire time. They still hadn’t made a single move to get off of the bed, or get dressed, or anything. The fuck was even up with them? Was the isolation driving them crazy, or was this just more stunting for his attention? Adler wasn’t going to admit to himself that if it was the latter, it was working.

“You’re welcome, by the way. Food delivered and put away, I even fucked you. Full fucking service.”

“Wow, Russ, you’re really doing me such a favor here. What would I ever do without you?” Bell’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Adler couldn’t help but dig at Bell a little, their tone just pissed him off. “You wanna explain to me why you were already naked when I got here? Can’t you manage to do the laundry anymore, or are you just developing an exhibitionist streak? Summer isn’t going to last forever; you're going to get sick if you keep that shit up.”

"It just makes it easier on my endless line of gentlemen callers. You understand, don’t you, Russ? That way they can just come in, fuck me, and leave! Just like you!"

Adler’s mouth flattened into a thin line as he glared at them.

Bell rolled their eyes and scoffed. "It's just a joke! Jesus. I don't know, Russ, okay? I just fucking woke up like this today. You're telling me that you’ve never woken up naked on the bathroom floor before?"

Adler searched Bell’s face for any hint of a joke at the question. Bell’s expression was deadly serious. "God, you're not joking, are you?"

“...Why would I be joking?”

"I don't know, Bell! To fuck with me! This happen before?"

“Only a couple times? Thought I was sleepwalking. You stayed over once and I thought you moved me.”

Adler braced himself on the table, running his hand over his face as he tried to process what Bell was telling him. “Jesus fucking Christ, you gotta tell me when this shit happens!"

"What, you want me calling every fucking time something weird happens to me? Want me calling you about nightmares every single fucking night?”

“Yes!” 

“‘Oh, Russ, I’m running after the scary red door again, I need you to drive up here and save me!’ Get fucking real, we both know you wouldn’t even pick up the fucking phone. You getting soft on me, Russ?”

“Absolutely not. Something could be going wro-“

“Wrong with my programming?” Bell stood from the bed and stalked over to him. “I forgot that’s all this is: you protecting your precious investment. Do you fuck all your other experiments too? Or am I just that special?”

If Adler could come up here once without a fight it would be a fucking miracle. "Is that what you want to fucking hear? That you're my one and only? God, are you ever going to get sick of the same song and dance?" 

“Not until you get tired of singing and dancing, pretty boy.”

“Fuck you, Bell,” said Adler.

Bell looked up at him, a mocking grin splitting their face. “You already did. You’re not so young anymore, Adler, I don’t think you can get it up so soon.”

Do not strangle them when you went through the effort of saving them. Do not strangle them when you went through the effort of saving them. Adler shook his head, choosing to let Bell win the fight. He could keep arguing with them or he could leave here without getting slapped. Adler preferred the second outcome. He instead nodded at the door in a weak attempt at a peace offering.

"Do you want the pizza I brought or not?”

Bell looked fifty kinds of smug at his surrender. “What kind is it? I’m allergic to mushrooms, you know, or are you going to try and kill me via anaphylaxis?"

"It’s just pepperoni and cheese. Yes, I do in fact remember that you're allergic to mushrooms, Bell. Not gonna fucking poision you.”

"Fine then. I'll suffer through the Hut,” they shrugged.

They ate in complete silence, shooting dirty looks at each other with every bite. Adler was getting sick of looking at Bell's face screwed up like that. Did they want him to stay up here or not? He would have been more than happy to drive off and eat the pizza he bought with his food budget by himself. "I can leave. It looks like you want me to leave.”

Bell stretched their arms above their head. “You could at least blow me before you do. Give me something somewhat pleasant to remember in my exile.”

"You act like this is a prison,” he said.

"Is it not?"

"I can't stop you from walking out that door.”

"Like you wouldn't hunt me down if I did.”

“You’re right. I can’t have government property running around, can I?” He was only half joking. Adler would never turn Bell back over to the CIA; they’d kill him for keeping them alive. He wouldn’t let them disappear off into the woods either. The noble reason would be because it was dangerous out there. The dark twisted part of him knew it was because he didn’t want to let go of them.

“Oh that’s rich coming from you. All of you in your monkey suits are what, exactly? You go where you’re told, do what you’re told, die when you’re told. Sounds like ownership to me.”

Adler glared at them for that. He couldn’t quite formulate a response that wouldn't let Bell instantly win, and he’d be damned if he lost two arguments today. "Shut up and eat your pizza."

Bell managed a few bites before going back to lay on the bed. Adler stared at their half eaten slice and shook his head. Bell was still naked, having never bothered to put clothes on. They rolled over to face the wall, putting their back to him. Adler huffed at being shunned halfway through lunch, Bell not responding at all to the sound. He sighed and grabbed the abandoned slice, sticking it back in the box with the rest of pizza. Adler stuck it in the fridge with the rest of the food he’d brought up.

"This better not be in the garbage when I come back,” he said. Bell didn’t respond to him at all. So much for arguing, the new flavor of bitching was now sullen silence! “I mean it. You’re not sneaky. I see you throwing away shit when it’s still good. You do know I gotta spend my money on your food? I'd rather you not waste my efforts.”

If Bell wasn’t going to give him snide comments Adler was going to try to bait them into it. He’d risked everything to bring them here; the least they could do was pay attention to him. Bell didn’t even turn to look at him, staring pointedly at the wall. Maybe he could get them to respond to something that wasn’t such an obvious attack.

"Real fucking cute. Your hair's getting long.” 

When the CIA had taken Bell, they’d shaved their hair completely off. It was one less thing to worry about when they were programming them. By now it was starting to come back to its old fullness, waviness turning into a real curl pattern. Bell had never said anything to him about their hair being gone. Back in Berlin, however, they would run a hand over their skull and look confused, then upset. Like something was missing from the core of their person. Bell still didn’t respond to him, only minutely becoming more tense. Adler was getting angry, his earlier rage returning to him, burning even brighter.

“Really? Just gonna ignore me until I leave?” Adler was all but demanding their attention and Bell refused to give in to him. He slammed the fridge door shut and stalked over to the bed. He grabbed their hip and roughly rolled them onto their back. “You’re a fucking bitch, you know that?”

Bell spat in his face.

"Fuck you, Bell. Fuck you." Adler climbed on top of them again.

Bell clawed at him, a snarl contorting their face as Adler pulled his cock back out. 

“You really gonna make me work for it? We both know you take it better rolling over like a bitch in heat,” he said. 

Bell slapped him hard across the face. Insulted, Adler grabbed at their wrist and pinned it to the bed. His free hand squeezed at their throat, keeping their head against the mattress. 

"So fucking bitchy all the fucking time. Do you get off on being a bratty cunt? Is that it?"

“Fuck you, Russ! You just don’t know how to fuck someone properly.” Bell’s mouth moved to spit on him again, the hand Adler had holding their throat moving to cover their mouth.

“Do that again and I’ll make you regret it.”

Bell would make Adler regret everything he had ever done to them if they could. They bit down on the meat of his palm as hard as they could. Adler yelled out in pain, ripping his hand out from between their teeth. He flipped them over roughly onto their stomach. Bell writhed underneath him, pinned beneath his weight. Adler ripped his belt from its loops and yanked Bell’s arms behind their back. He made short work of tying their wrists together. 

“Fuck you!” Bell screamed, more angry than anything else. They didn’t want him off of them, not really, but the only way they knew how to handle him was through rage and anger.

“You stupid, fucking whore,” said Adler.

“That’s what you fucking wanted, Russ.”

He smacked the back of their head. “Shut up.”

“Should have programmed me not to talk then!”

Adler pulled his pants down to have more room between Bell’s thighs. They were still open enough, but not loose or wet. He didn’t care anymore. His blood boiled within him, rage at Bell’s ingratitude, rage at his own unforgivable actions. 

“If you want me to say sorry, I won’t,” he hissed.

“If you want me to forgive you, I won’t,” they growled back at him.

“Good.”

He didn’t deserve their forgiveness. Adler pressed his cock into Bell. It was too dry, too soon, and the burning ache made Bell’s legs shake. It was everything they wanted and needed, and they hated that about themself. 

“Fucking, God!” Bell screamed into the bed.

“That’s not my name,” taunted Adler.

“Fuck, Jesus in Hell, you,” they panted as they were stretched wide open. 

“Closer.” Adler pulled on Bell’s bound hands, their back arching painfully as he lifted their body off of the mattress. 

“I fucking hate you, Adler!”

“Close enough.” He wrapped the belt around his fist one more time and fucked in hard , barely giving them a chance to adjust or even breathe. Bell yelped once and then bit down on the blankets, effectively silencing the stream of cries flying from their mouth. 

Adler growled and pulled their wrists back again, forcing their body back and the blanket out from between their teeth. A quick whine fell from Bell’s mouth before they strained their neck downwards again and grabbed at the bedding, clamping their jaw closed again. 

That wasn’t going to fly, not with Russ. 

He dropped their wrists, wrapping his hand around the front of their throat instead. One hard pull forced Bell’s spine to curve harshly, their mouth opening and closing like a fish as they struggled to breathe. Adler didn’t slow his hips in the slightest– if Bell wanted to give him the silent treatment, he’d just make them scream instead. 

After all, they were his. His to fuck, and his to break .