Doctor/Patient Confidentiality

[lafeae]

It was almost a good thing that Li didn't have the chance to tell her goodbye, or that he loved her, because the words caught in his throat, and he was left staring at the plastic received, worried, alone, tired...any plethora of feelings that shouldn't have been mixed. He set the phone and the end table and curled up, years pricking at his eyes but manhood demanding he not cry.


All the while, Kong kept the smirk on his face until Athene came and punched it right off him, filling his mouth with blood and boiling his blood in more than one way. He leapt, even as he was dizzy, and pinned her to the wall. "Why don't you just keep flirting with me, missy? Give the hubby more reason to hate you."

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Athene had, at first, expected him to just take the punch and say something snappy back to her. That's how he always seemed to deal with pain- let it sink into his skin and then just laugh it off. She wasn't ready to take off and flee back into the bathroom before Kong had her pinned, head smacking against the drywall just enough to hurt like hell, but not enough to punch a hole in the wall.


"God dammit, Kong, shut up!!" she practically screeched at him, trying to flail and kick in anyway possible not only to get away, but to keep him away from her stomach, too, "That was four fucking years ago! Drop it and stay away from me!"

 

[lafeae]

Oh, oh that was funny! The smile that came to Kong's face was near priceless, with the smile widening, and the blood between his teeth standing out wildly. There were so many things he could have do to her in such a vulnerable state.


"Oh you still think I love you. Isn't that cute," his nails dug into her arms and he pulled her from the wall, having their faces almost too close before dragging her along and throwing her onto the couch. To hell with her. "Id be wise and watch your mouth before you talk yourself into a miscarriage." The lunacy, and the semi-lust, devolved into something darker than was normal. Souless, black eyes gazed on her, and he tempted her to say anything else.

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Athene shrieked as she was easily dragged by him, focusing less on her flailing and more on keeping the tiny baby safe as she was flung onto the couch. For a second, she remembered how she looked in the mirror. How all her badassery was just an act and below that, she was nothing more than a forgetful, epileptic hypochondriac, desperate for someone to save her from the huge hole she dug herself. She wasn't a fighter. She was a victim.


But no. She still lacked a filter between her head and her lips, and without even realizing it, she was snapping right back, "No, I think you're a psychotic sociopath who's incapable of giving a fuck about another human being!" she shouted at him, eyes wet with tears once again, "Shut up, Kong!! Shut up, shut up, shut up!!!"

 

[lafeae]

Well, she was half right. And though Kong didn't like taking order from her, he was done talking. She'd given him enough amusement for now. Crying, screaming, scared hopefully, but fear didn't crop up on people's faces for very long. She had a much harder road now, without him involved.


Kong rolled his eyes and shook his head, a little titter of laughter escaped him again. Because it was all funny--or maybe it was because it annoyed her. Spitting the collected blood into the floor, he took the seat across from her, crossed his legs, and picked up a paper setting on The end table. This was going to be a long day.

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Even though she wouldn't admit it, she was scared of him. He was psycho. He needed mental help that he likely didn't want and wasn't going to get. And, of course, he just threatened to beat her until she miscarried.


She curled up into a ball, turning so that she was facing the back of the couch and just sobbing her poor eyes out. As she did, she felt a hard piece of metal in her pocket press against the couch- Ivan's switchblade. In case of emergency. That was...comforting, at least. But she wouldn't be truly comfortable until she finally got to sleep in her own bed, with none other than her husband.

 

[lafeae]

But Kong did nothing. The intimidation was enough to subdue her, and he knew it. With a smirk on his face as the day progressed, he was more than happy to leave somewhere close to dinner, and switched shifts with a very silent Ivan.


"You going to fuck her again?" The psychopath asked. Ivan had brought something with him, smelling distinctly like something edible.


"Piss of," he shoved Kong, and the door closed. Expecting her to be harsh, he sine sat down a plastic platter of take out in front of her, as well as a drink, and leaned back in the chair, looking at the ceiling. Whether or not they talked, he didn't care.


"Your man's on his way," Ivan mentioned absently. "Didn't say much more than that."!

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Athene sat up from where she laid on the couch, looking at him with what seemed to be a...saddened expression. Like she had just been defeated. Surprisingly, she didn't even look mad at him. Just...solemn. She sighed as she reached forward and took some of the food, eating it in small bites.


"He already knows," she mentioned, avoiding eye contact with him as she finally got some food in her system, "I...called him, right after you left earlier. And I told him everything."


Sighing again, she pulled her legs up close to her, looking up at him, "...I wasn't always so...stupid, right? I mean...what was I like, when you met me for the first time?"

 

[lafeae]

There was a groan that ripples through him, though mostly inaudible, where he don't really know how to answer her question. But at least she was eating, which was good.


Turning over on the couch, seeing where she regressed into herself somewhat, he said: "You're not stupid now. You just...have a different set of skills, instead."


To the latter part of her question, Ivan replied, slow: "I....you were stubborn, spoiled. But...you knew what you wanted and you went for it full force. You were powerful. It was intimidating; it was attractive."

 

[ValentineIllusion]

A little scoff came out of her mouth, shaking her head and looking down, "Ivan...I am stupid. I am ridiculously stupid. I spent all of last night drinking and you and...and I'm pregnant. And my head's too far up my ass to stop fighting and actually give a shit about keeping me and my family alive."


She looked up at him, letting her head rest on her hands, "Kong...threatened to make me miscarriage. And you know what I did? I yelled at him."


She looked back down. It was so weird, like he was talking about a complete stranger that was familiar to her but wasn't actually her. It was hard to believe, to say the least. But as much as she despised him at the moment, he knew more about her than even she did.


"...When Li comes in, give us at least a minute to make out, then we can talk," she said, resting her legs on the couch as she finished the rest of her meal in silence.

 

[lafeae]

As she spoke, Ivan couldn't help the memories that flooded back to him, because there were moments that were so tender. Reliving the taste of her lips was as delicious as it was resenting. And now, hearing her worry if her past and her present were the same person...


"You called the fuckers bluff, that's all. He's all steam and no water," Ivan said. Little to make her happy, but maybe something to raise her confidence. "If you hadn't he'd probably have had more fun messing with you. Only thing he cares about is getting his own jollies..:fuck worrying that he's going to hurt you."


Ivan hoped that she saw that, and that Athene somewhere sensed herself being somewhat comprised of her old role and the new.


"When he comes back you two can do whatever you want--I'm sure he wouldn't come back unless it was good news. But yeah...sure," and he left the room, not wanting to look at her, standing outside the door and waiting for the husband.


Within two hours, they were escorting Li up to the room, and Ivan knocked on the door before opening it to the man who propelled himself through, and watched the door close.

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Athene supposed that, after everything that happened, the two of them would have to have some sort of long, emotion filled talk about everything possible and everything impossible and just...everything. But she was too miserable, too filled with insanity of her own after not being able to see him for so long, to waste time on talking like that. Instead, she simply rushed forward and kissed him, hoping he still felt that something between them, hoping he wouldn't just push her off and refuse to even talk with her.


And of course, she cried. She cried and cried and cried and cried, her arms tangled in his hair, just desperate to know he was there.

 

[lafeae]

Remembering that they were both hurt came back to Li in a jolt; her hugging around him, feeling his back pinch, made him wince. He tried his best to keep quiet about all of it, because there was no reason to make it worse, but it was somewhat audible. Still, he kissed her back, and let her settle her head on his shoulder as he set his hands on her back, curling her shirt in his fingers.


"It's okay," Li breathed out, finally gathering words as the pain subsided. He hitched her up so she wasn't putting so much pressure on her wounds, and let her sit in his lap. "Everything's fine now. I promise." And he kissed her again, long, before pulling up his shirt sleeve and wiping away her tears.

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Just as easily as she breathed out her annoyed sighs and scoffs, she sucked in shaky hiccups, sobbing and sniffling even as he wiped away her tears. Her walls had crumbled and fallen on top of her, and it hurt. She got drunk and she hurt herself even more, and hurt the people trying to save her from the rubble. It was miserable, so she cried.


"I-I'm sorry, L-Li..." she whimpered, laying her head back down on his shoulder, "I'm so s-sorry, I'm s-so s-s-sorry...I just...I want to go h-home, p-please..."

 

[lafeae]

There was only Ivan on the other side of the door, and he knew that there was no reason for Mai and the rest of them to be keeping them. He'd made his peace with them--though in the end he'd felt like he'd sold his soul. But all of that would come in due time. Coming home, first, was the priority he had. He wanted it to be like they had simply turned around from the ice cream parlor, went home, and enjoyed themselves before going to bed and getting back into routine.


To her pleas, though, Li couldn't sum up any words. Just listen. 'I'm sorry' was going to be branded in his ears until they formed calluses. Until he found it in himself to get beyond what happened, there was no way that he was going to actually hear what she was saying. Only process it like he were staring at a blank wall. "We're going home, sweetheart. Everything's alright." Though he felt like an automaton in the matter. "Let's go, okay?"

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Athene hardly cared if he sounded like he was talking to nothing, because she knew he just had to be talking to her and she was too tired to even think it was anything else. He promised to take her home, and that was all she needed to hear, no matter how he said it.


She pulled herself up, rubbing at her eyes as she tried to gather herself, "C-Can we just talk in the car? I just...I want to leave..."

 

[lafeae]

"Yeah, of course," Li said. As if that would work well. They were going to need more than a car ride to deal with it. He manuevered, opening the door and Ivan moved out of the way. Li could only glare at the man, smirking down at him.


But they were lead back downstairs, going out to a car they had brought him in, since he hadn't drove himself. At least the person in the car was nondescript. He let Athene in first. After, he was helped in, and it barely took a beat to ask: "what do you want to talk about?"

 

[ValentineIllusion]

"You," she said quickly, trying not to come off as confrontational, but trying to avoid the subject of what happened to her and what she did herself, "I...I'm fine, for the most part. You can probably give me a lookover at home so I don't need to go to the hospital. But I have no clue what happened to you and...I just want to know why the plan is so I know what to do."


She reached over and held his hand tight in hers, looking up at him with a smile that was both weakened by her captivity and happy she was out of it, "No secrets, right, Li?"

 

[lafeae]

Nodding, staring forward as they headed towards their destination, before he looked back over to her. "No secrets," said Li, repeating it. Not that he wanted to. "While I was there, I overlooked someone, did a small procedure. They're going to need follow-up; when I'm better, I'm going to be doing favors for them from time to time. That's it." Said Li, not really knowing what else to say to it.


"And I need a favour from you: I need you to be my assistant when I'm in the middle of all this. I figure it's not asking too much." Especially since, he figured, guilt was riddling her. Why wouldn't she agree?

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Athene sucked in a breath, clearly hesitant as she took all that info in. Small favors were better than the huge jobs he was doing before, at least, but he would still be guilty by association. She was free, but they were still ordering him and commanding him like he was another one of their gang members. He had never even asked for this!


And she remembered the one job she accompanied him on. She hardly did anything, aside from being the subject of their sick video; She never knew what they did with it, and she didn't want to know.


But what choice did she have?


"...Alright. Fine. As long as it's bother major."

 

[lafeae]

"It keeps stupid things like this from happening again, so I'll deal with it, alright?" Said Li. He figured if he kept Devils at bay, nothing much else worse could happen. Then again, he shouldn't be so sure--their luck told him better. Yet he was still pretty confident that they had most of it figured out. "Anything else you want to talk about, since we're airing out issues?"


It felt like he didn't know her; did he trust her still, sure, in spades, but that was because he relied on her. Mentally and physically. That was love, wasn't it? Relying on the other person.

 

[ValentineIllusion]

Athene sighed, hanging her head low as she looked down at her feet. There were a lot of things they should probably talk about, none of which she wanted to talk about. Especially that one big thing that she was hoping they could just sweep under the rug and pretend it never happened. They still had Lissa, they still had their future baby, there was a lot to be happy about.


Looking back up at him, she gave him a small smile, pulling his hand towards her and resting it on her stomach, "I don't mean to alarm you, but there's another person in the car with us."

 

[lafeae]

Li was surprised as she ended up taking his good hand and setting it on her stomach. He could feel the change in her, though subtle. Feeling what was probably his mind deceiving him into believing that baby was already moving despite it being so early. And he couldn't help that the smile broke over his face. Pure joy. Euphoria. His heart beating fast in a way that was finally good. "Well, I mean, you keep telling me those secrets and everything's hunky dory...."


And maybe that was one of the things that would actually make Li come around. Because she still wanted to have the baby...the baby was still their's. And it would end up being like a new light in their life. A new leaf. "Are you as excited as I am?" he asked, and felt as the car began to come to a stop, less than a block away from their house.

 

[ValentineIllusion]

A little giggle escaped Athene's lips, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, "You wouldn't believe how excited I am," she said quietly, watching at the car slowly came to a stop, "A new leaf...I need one of those. I don't want to be a fighter anymore- I just want to be...I don't know. I want to take care of everyone, live life like a normal person...shit like that, I don't know."


She shrugged, still smiling as she got out and helped him out, "How are you feeling, Li? How are your legs?"

 

[lafeae]

Smiling at her wants, it seemed unsurprising, considering the line of work they were both in. Somewhat. Except last time she started working for him she ended up almost dead---it was safer to stay at home, take care of the kids. But was that where Athene became trapped? He didn't want that.


"Limp as noodles," Li said. Shifting his legs out of the car, raising one by the knee and letting his foot hig the ground, he showed her. The impact was felt everywhere, but he couldn't force of. "I think I can maybe wiggle my toes...at least on the one foot. I dunno." After, he adjusted himself back in the chair. "If you want to help people, you can volunteer. That way you get out of the house."


Make it easier for them to get a grasp on how they were. "When you're better. I'm gonna give you a look over when we get inside. Make sure they didn't hurt you too badly." That...that was scary. He still didn't want her hurt .