Damien

I headed towards Natasha’s room to see if she was already at the hospital, when I noticed that Daxon was following closely behind me. He had barely made a sound, but when I turned down a hallway corner, I noticed him out of my eye.

“She left already?” he asked me.

I nodded. “She insisted on being there extremely early. You know how my sister is.”

Dax chuckled. “Yes, I do. She is one of the most irritating people ever.”

“You’re not even related to her.”

I stopped at her door, hoping that he would take the hint to leave now. He didn’t.

“You think I’m going to let you snoop on your sister alone?” he challenged. I raised my eyebrows. I haven’t known him for long, but I have watched enough of his training sessions to be unsure of which one of us would win in a fight.

“Fine.” I swung the door open, and he pushed his way in front of me. I watched as he spun around in his chair and easily accessed one of her computers.

When he saw the confusion on my face, he said, “I have needed a way to keep track of her.” He pulled up the security cameras of the hospital she was at, and the view from a camera planted on her clothing. “She would never allow me to be there in person in case anything ever happened to her, so I plant cameras on her every once in a while.”

I chuckled, suprising myself. “I could see myself getting used to you, even despite you being extremely annoying.”

Daxon smiled impishly and then shrugged. “I grow on people. Take your sister as an example. I used to annoy her a lot, but eventualy she got used to me.”

I cocked my head to the side. “What happened all those years ago?” When he frowned, I added, “When Natasha nearly burned down the world to get me back.”

I shuddered, remembering the night the people took me away from her. The way she tried to claw her way to me. The fear that resonated through me until she found me again.

Daxon bit the inside of his cheek nervously. “I don’t think your sister would appreciate me telling ou something she should tell you herself.”

I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. “I’m not still a little kid. I’ve grown up.” I gestured to the room. “My name is on this institution, Daxon.”

“Yes. Your sister currently is in charge of it though,” he pointed out. “I’m not trying to get on her bad side yet.”

I groaned, ready to throw him out of the spinning chair and out of the room.

“You really think snooping on her rescue mission isn’t going to irritate her?” I snapped.

Daxon eyed me up and down. “You’re not going to tell her.”

“Oh yeah?” I challenged. “And why do you say that?”

He smiled and focused on the camera screens again. “Because you already know how stressed your sister is right now, and no matter how irritated she makes you, you wouldn’t want to add more on her plate.”

I grumbled and pulled a chair to me. “I can see why you annoyed her, Daxon.”

“It’s Dax.” He held his hand out to me. “That’s what my friends call me, at least.”

I didn’t shake his hands. “I wouldn’t call us friends yet. Maybe associates would work better in our situation.”

“Maybe.”