Chapter Text
It was getting late, and Mina Ha was getting tired of pretending not to be better than all the pitiful, sniveling, but unfortunately filthy rich people wandering around the 30th floor ballroom of one of many Fairfax buildings. Just the 30th floor ballroom, not even the 50th floor ballroom! What an utterly pointless party. She was only there to promote her latest clothing line and show face so people didn’t forget her, but nobody in the room had a good fashion sense, and even fewer of them were worth her time talking to. The only way that this thing could ever end up being worth her while is if Mr. Fairfax himself decided to make an appearance, which was an exceedingly rare event in recent months.
At the moment, some snot-nosed, pig-faced “investor” was talking to Mina about the dress she was wearing. Supposedly he was the CEO of a wealthy investment firm, but she didn't recognize his face, his name, or his company, so “wealthy” was probably an overstatement. Trying to ignore her disgust for her interlocutor, Mina nevertheless promoted her latest collection.
“The piece I’m wearing right now takes inspiration from the traditional robes worn by vampire lords 500 years ago in Transylvania, combined with the aristocratic, sleek looks that you might find in a ballroom today. The interior lining is velvet, so it’s not lacking in comfort at all, either. This is my favorite piece, but there are plenty of other designs. If you stop by my atelier, I could fit you for one of my men’s outfits - there’s a three-piece suit that I based off of the exact garments worn by Count Dracula himself before he was slain, and it would be absolutely perfect for your body type,” she lied. He would probably look tacky and out of place - the gothic look is hard to pull off, especially in high society. It was even harder if you weren’t actually a vampire.
The old slob said something that sounded interested, which Mina barely heard over the grating of his voice. Ever the actor, Mina leaned in like she was going to tell him a secret, before glancing around to see if anyone was eavesdropping. She knew they wouldn’t be. Time to go in for the kill, she thought, closing in on her prey.
“Let me tell you a secret: this new gothic line is already my best-selling collection, and it’s only getting better. Even more special? There are rumors that a second Maelstrom might hit The Cursed Apple in a month or so. If there’s a resurgence of the supernatural, paranormal styles like this are about to be all the rage.”
Her victim seemed to take the bait, whispering something back to her that seemed excited. She still couldn’t bring herself to care what he said. She was done with this stupid party, or “shareholder social” or whatever stupid name they were calling it, and she was hungry too. She wanted to get a quick bite and then get home so she could wipe off all the sweaty, sticky makeup she was wearing to hide her gray skin.
Mina drifted over to the large window that made up one of the walls of the room, sipping casually from a glass of red wine as she walked. She couldn’t get drunk anymore, and humans tended to age their wine much less than vampires, so the wine didn’t even taste good. The only reason she drank it was for posturing; the same reason she seemed to do everything nowadays.
Mina took a break and watched over New York City’s night skyline. Far beneath her on the street, the eternal flow of traffic formed rivers of light between the tall, towering buildings. She spotted a police car far down the street, only identifiable by its flashing lights that stood out from the rest of the headlights. In the buildings that defined those canyons of light, she could make out silhouettes shifting and lightbulbs flickering. It wasn’t terribly late - she checked her watch and found that it was a quarter until midnight. Lights were still on and sidewalks were still full in the city that never sleeps. She could stare at it all for hours - New York City. Her home. Her feeding grounds.
Just a few blocks down, the Empire State Building towered over the rest of the skyscrapers. It was the tallest building in the whole world, and probably would be for a while. She imagined herself standing at the very top of it, looking down over her city. She could definitely get up there by flying in as a bat, but she would be seen, so instead she pouted about not getting to do what she wanted. What she would give if she could just have it all…
Much closer to the Fairfax building, the Baroness Hotel was the second most prominent building that she could see. Its highest floor was just barely above the 30th floor of the Fairfax building, where Mina stood right now. A huge array of windows, many lit but many dark, covered the side of the building that faced her.
Mina continued to gaze out over the city, transfixed by the spectacle of the city that never sleeps. She had lived in New York her entire life, but it had never lost its lustre.
She was pulled out of her trance by a pang of hunger.
Mina focused her eyes in, her sight enhanced by her new physiology. Now, instead of just enjoying the view, she had a task: to hunt. She scanned the windows of the Baroness, and noticed one in particular that most likely hosted a perfect victim. It was one floor above her, all the lights off, with the window cracked slightly open. Awesome! If they left the window open, they were practically inviting her to come in. If she rationalized it that way, she could enter the room without any difficulty. She could simply step out of the party, fly over to that room and prey on a helpless, sleeping victim, then return to say her goodbyes and finally be done with this stupid night.
Mina excused herself, handing her now empty drink off to a butler who scurried away with it silently. Silent and unnoticed, she slinked out of the room licking her lips in preparation of the meal she was soon to enjoy.
She had spent plenty of time in the Fairfax building, so she knew her way around it well enough. The corridors were easy to navigate if you were a guest, but the target she had in mind required a few more left turns and a quick climb up through the stairwell. While she snuck through the hallways to get to a window that she could escape out of, she recalled the first time that she was here. It was about five years ago, she came here to meet her would-have-been-betrothed, Arin Fairfax. She had been here even before that, but that was the first time she really got to explore the building. The two of them were supposed to eat dinner together, so that they could get to know one another at least a smidgen before they were married. The night had gone fine, but Arin was quiet. Really quiet. They had just… sat there, while Mina tried to ask them questions. So awkward.
She sighed quietly to herself, grimacing as she remembered what was stolen from her. This could have been her home, if that idiot hadn’t gotten themself killed. What a perfect life she could have lived, being filthy rich and coming home every night to that adorable little Fairfax… it made her hot with rage just thinking about how it was stolen from her.
After some navigation at length, Mina finally reached her destination: a tucked away room on the 31st floor with a sliding window that she could easily sneak out of to consume her meal. Impatient and famished, she transformed into a swarm of bats, flying out into the dark, cloudy sky of New York City.
Mina’s wings flapped faintly as she snuck through the window into the hotel room she had picked out, making only the faintest of noise as she transformed back into her vampire form, her heels landing softly on the luxurious carpet of the Baroness. With her night vision, she could tell that it was a small room. There was a lonesome bed to her left, and a bathroom door in front of her to her right, with the door to the hallway standing right in front of her. She heard a heart beating in this room, but… it was beating fast. Much faster than she would expect if her prey was asleep. As she oriented herself, she noticed that the bed was completely empty. Shit, she thought for just a second before a white-hot flash of pain erupted across her back, a spray of shotgun pellets originating from beneath the window that she had mindlessly flown past.
Mina’s vampirism gave her far greater durability than any mortal, but it still hurt like hell, and if another shot like that went to her head, she could actually die - sunlight and stakes used to be the only ways to kill a vampire, but the invention of the firearm created a few more avenues to exorcise creatures of the night.
The force of the buckshot threw Mina off her balance. She stumbled forward, away from her attacker, still off-guard. Wasting no time, she leapt behind the bed right before another shot riddled the door of the room with holes. Surprisingly, no more shots came. The room was pitch black, except for the slightest blue-tinted moonlight coming through the window, and now a few pinprick rays of yellow light from the hallway shining inwards but illuminating nothing. Mina’s vampiric night vision made the lack of light no problem for her, granting an edge over her opponent who, she guessed, couldn’t see anything in the dark room. They had probably lost track of her after the second shot.
Mina made no sound. Her breathing was practically indistinguishable from the natural churning of the air, thanks to her undeath, but her opponent was not so lucky, their heavy breathing giving away their hiding spot lying underneath the window. Hoping not to cede her advantage, Mina slowly moved her arm down to her thigh where she had strapped New Money, her pistol. Silently, she moved her skirt aside and laid her hand on the holster. She wrapped her thumb around the grip of the pistol and inched it out of its holster, bit by bit, careful not to make a single sound. After a minute of slowly drawing her weapon, she finally removed it entirely from the holster.
As she placed her finger on the trigger, it made the slightest tick as the metal shifted into place, and suddenly Mina heard a swift movement from the window and the ratchet of a firearm’s mechanisms. Damn, they heard that!? She ducked down, curling her head against her legs as buckshot flew past her just an inch above her head.
Spotted, Mina immediately transformed into a bat and flew underneath the bed that she was hiding behind, reappearing on the other side of it, nearer to the window and holding New Money aimed towards the space below the window where she could sense her assailant. She barely had time to notice a ghostly presence floating across the room before she pulled the trigger.
At the moment she fired, her target vanished, teleporting to the door where their hand was on the light switch. Suddenly, the whole room was lit up by a soft orange light that surely would have made for a great atmosphere if both of the guests weren’t currently trying to kill each other.
Mina whipped her arm around, and immediately she was aiming down the iron sights at someone tall, black-haired, and wearing a… was that a Kelsey Evans jacket? They carried a briefcase in one hand and a revolving shotgun in the other, pointed straight at Mina’s face, both of their gun’s barrels creating a perfectly straight line of mutually assured destruction.
Mina’s breath caught as she hesitated, unable to pull the trigger and kill the prey who stood across the room from her. She recognized them. And she saw, from how their eyes suddenly widened despite the light now flooding their senses, that they recognized her too.
Simultaneously, they both fired their weapons and dashed towards the bed, desperate to take advantage of what little cover the small hotel room provided. Both of them missed, putting even more bullet holes into the walls, destroying the already slim chances that the security deposit would be returned for this room. Now, they both sat with their backs to the bed, clutching their weapons. Mina’s target sat where she was taking cover just a few seconds ago.
“What the fuck!?” Mina yelled. “Who are you and why do you look so much like Arin fucking Fairfax!?” she continued, clutching New Money and waiting for any sign of an opening.
"No one to worry about, Mina,” they replied.
“You know my name!?” Mina shrieked as she transformed once again into her bat form, quickly dashing over the bed and above the Arin lookalike.
When she shifted back, New Money aimed downwards at where she hoped her target’s head would be, she instead saw only their briefcase, glowing a pale blue from between the cracks.
All at once, the briefcase exploded open with energy, coursing over Mina and electrifying her, as she groaned from the pain and sudden light.
The tall person in the Kelsey Evans was suddenly beneath Mina again, with their gun pointed up towards her. Fighting through the pain of the blast, she kicked their gun away with her heel, a bang sounding out and shrapnel ruined yet another good patch of wall in the room, when Mina quickly lined up a shot with New Money and fired.
When the gunshot rang out, Pocket was certain it would be the last thing they ever heard. Their eyes were squeezed shut, having flinched from the explosion of the firearm going off just above them. However, they found themself confusingly alive after the sound of the bang. Their ears still ringing, Pocket slowly opened their eyes to see the barrel of Mina’s small pistol pointed directly at their forehead. Pocket was lying on the floor, the upper half of their back propped up against the bed frame. Mina stood with one foot on the ground and one on their chest, her heel stabbing into Pocket right next to their scar. In their peripheral vision, Pocket could barely make out their shotgun, The Black Sheep, lying on the floor in pieces, a bullet hole piercing straight through it right above the trigger mechanism. It certainly wouldn’t be firing again any time soon.
“The only reason you don’t look like the walls do right now is ‘cause I want some answers. So start talking. Who the fuck even are you,” the girl standing over them asked.
“Exactly the person you’re thinking of,” Pocket groaned.
“Bullshit. That asshole Arin Fairfax was dumb enough to get shot 5 years ago and ruin my life. They’re dead.”
“According to most people. But here I am. And I go by Pocket now.”
Mina’s eyes narrowed at this. Careful not to let her gun slip from its place against Pocket’s forehead, she crouched down to take a closer look. For somewhere around five minutes, the two of them stood perfectly still, Mina’s eyes picking apart every inch of Pocket’s face, and occasionally glancing down to their neck. It was weird having her look them over so closely, especially with the gun still pointed at them. However, they decided to return the favor, and studied Mina’s face as well. She was definitely paler than the last time Pocket had seen her, which was admittedly 5 years ago. She had grown a bit, but clearly less than Pocket had. Her stare of intense focus gave a shine to her eyes, which Pocket was helplessly getting lost in. For a moment, the two of them met each other’s gaze, but as soon as they recognized it, both of them swiftly looked away, Pocket blushing.
“Fine. Maybe you are Arin,” Mina finally declared.
“Pocket, now,” they scowled back at Mina.
“Really? Pocket?” Mina asked with a slightly disgusted tone.
“You’re right about one thing. ‘Arin Fairfax’ is dead. Pocket’s not.”
“Ugh. Fine. Why can’t nonbinary people ever choose a normal name?”
Pocket rolled their eyes, but let the comment go. Mina, tired of crouching over them, sat down on both her knees, straddling Pocket’s waist. Her thighs rested just above Pocket’s belt, and they could feel her calves pressing slightly against their sides. She shifted New Money to right beneath Pocket’s chin, facing upwards so the bullet would travel through their jaw and into their skull if she decided she was tired of talking. She rested her hand on Pocket’s neck as she settled down, sitting snugly on top of them. She was cold, really cold, but Pocket still felt a little sparkle rise in their chest, and their cheeks got redder. Even if she was trying to kill them, Mina was still a beautiful woman sitting on top of them. Anybody would’ve had the same reaction, right?
“And anyways, how the fuck did you survive? I watched the news, you know. The bullet went straight to your chest, right by your heart. Pronounced dead on the scene.”
“It missed my heart, actually. Just an inch to the left. I escaped, and got lucky running into a very kind mole who nursed me back to strength.”
Pocket cringed internally. They probably shouldn’t have mentioned Mo, the moleman who had saved them and who was now keeping them safe in a tunnel system under New York. Mo and Krill were the closest thing to family that Pocket had for the moment, and they didn’t want to endanger their hosts by giving up any information about them.
“The rest of the story the news gave was fake. The paramedics didn’t even get to see me - I was taken in by Fairfax doctors before I ran.”
“Duh, that much was obvious from the story. You said you were saved by a mole!? Like… the mole that sells those knockoffs of my dresses?”
Pocket recognized the knockoffs as one of Mo and Krill’s side hustles, but maintained a neutral expression to avoid giving anything away.
“No idea. I only stayed for a month or two - I’m still working out who tried to kill me, and staying in one place for too long is risky. I guess it wasn’t you though, if you didn’t know I was alive.”
“Dumbass, of course it wasn’t me! I was supposed to be a Fairfax, but you and your stupid assassination had to go and take that from me!” Mina clearly grew angry as she remembered the circumstances. She pressed her gun deeper into Pocket’s skin, the cold steel an ever-present reminder of the danger of their situation. She leaned forward, and spat through tense teeth. “You don’t know what you took from me, you asshole. You ruined my life.”
Pocket tensed up as Mina’s mood shifted. Suddenly, she was dangerous again.
“How could it be my fault!?” Pocket retorted. “I didn’t ask for this either! I didn’t want to go on the run. I didn’t want to get shot. I didn’t want this life, not at all. We both lost a lot that day. I wish we could’ve gotten married instead of all this bullshit.”
Mina’s frustration remained visible in the snarl she wore across her face. “Well I didn’t want this either. What the hell happened to all that stuff you did earlier? With the teleporting jacket, and the suitcase! Clearly, you’re more than capable of dodging bullets. You should’ve tried harder.”
“Fuck you, Mina. I was barely learning how to control my magic back then. Most of what I know now I learned from practicing on the run these past five years. Some people still knew I was alive, even if you didn’t, and the first assassin certainly wasn’t the last. While you were off living in your ivory tower, I was crawling through the streets, and I had to fight every day to see another sunrise.”
“You should’ve come to me. If people knew you were alive, we could get you put back in your rightful place as the Fairfax heir. My Fairfax heir. And if you were careful, you could dodge any other random assassins. It’s not like I don’t have people gunning for my head too, and I do just fine. Better, even, because I don’t live on the streets,” Mina growled, with extra vitriol.
“It’s not as simple as that. The life you wanted, where we were married, was impossible. I’m still working on some leads, but I think it was my father that ordered the hit. No place close to him would have been safe for me.”
“Yet here you are, in plenty of danger,” she said while digging her gun into their skin, “no more than a couple hundred feet away from a party being hosted by the Fairfaxes. So clearly, you’re fine dealing with danger.”
“That’s different,” Pocket replied. “I’m here because of that party. One of the attendees - Henry Howard, might have had something to do with my assassination. I was going to watch him leave and figure out where he went, before you got here. He’s up to something suspicious.”
“You were watching!? What a creep! Such a stalker, ugh! I should kill you right now for that.” Mina leaned forward, pressing her gun in more. At this point, the pressure of the barrel pushing into their skin would definitely leave a mark on Pocket, and the pressure of her hips on their waist might as well.
“Not you, Mina. Howard.”
“So you didn’t even spare a glance for the beautiful woman who was going to be your wife!?” Mina accused.
“Alright, I watched you a bit! But you aren’t a suspect. You benefitted too much from our marriage - I knew from the beginning that you had nothing to do with it.”
Secretly, Pocket knew that “a bit” was an understatement. How could they help themselves from noticing Mina at that party? Even among the snobby members of high society, she had a commanding presence about her. Pocket couldn’t read her lips from this far away, but they could certainly look at them. And of course… she was pretty. Cute, too. Pocket had noticed her even back in their Blackmore days, before their families were really involved. She was small, but feisty. She was bitchy, but Pocket found her rough edges… attractive. To say the least. It was hard not to look at her at the party, even more so now, with her sitting on top of them, their faces so close together, and her hand pressing against their neck…
Pocket couldn’t get distracted right now. Mina was talking.
“Good, so you at least noticed my beautiful self. That’s a start. But why were you watching that stupid Howard anyway? As soon as the wedding was announced, he started seriously sucking up to me, that annoying prick. No way he had any idea about the assassination plan.”
Well damn. That was good information. Pocket filed that away in their mind and crossed Howard off as a potential member of the conspiracy.
“Well, I didn’t know that. And thank you Mina, for telling me. I won’t waste any more time on this false lead.”
“Ugh, you’re welcome, I guess. You’ve got prettier things to be wasting your time on.”
“You’re saying you’re a waste of my time?”
“Gh-. No! Of course not, stupid. You know what I meant.”
“Mhm,” Pocket teased. “Would you mind getting off me now, if you aren’t going to kill me?” they said, eyeing the handgun that still pressed into their flesh.
“Whatever,” Mina conceded, holstering her weapon. Pocket breathed a loud sigh of relief.
“I’m glad I missed all my shots… would’ve been bad if you were an assassin, but…” Pocket hesitated. “It’s nice to see you again, Mina,” they smiled. A dangerous warmth was taking hold in their heart as they looked at her.
From the subtle shifts in their body language, and the way their lips curved into a gentle smile that she had never seen before, Mina could tell that Pocket truly meant what they had just said. Even better, she had been paying attention to them during the entire conversation. She had noticed them blushing, the way they had moved closer to her when she sat on top of them… they were into her. It would be an easy advantage to press. If they thought they had a chance, they would be easy to control.
Of course, she also couldn’t afford to let them know that the feeling was reciprocated.
“You’re sweet, but don’t think I’m gonna go feeling the same way. You still shot me, asshole.”
Pocket’s eyes widened. “I… what!? Shit, where!? Are you bleeding?” They scrambled to sit up and look over Mina’s petite body, trying to find the wound on her back from where she took the shotgun blast.
“God, you’re so worried for no reason, fuck. Forget about it! It didn’t even hurt that much.” A pause. “You do owe me for the dress though,” Mina taunted.
“...What?” Pocket said, a deeply confused look covering their face. “Didn’t hurt that much!?”
“Oh.” Suddenly, Mina giggled. “I guess you don’t know, do you?” Mina asked, a smile beginning to spread across her face. She leaned forward, bringing her face very close to Pocket’s, who began to blush even harder. “I’ve changed too.” She broke into a wide grin that showed off her vampiric fangs, sharp and shining in the light.
At this, Pocket looked petrified. Some of the fear that had vanished during the conversation returned to them, and Mina heard their heartbeat quicken. She loved how they squirmed, moving their hips back and forth to try to wiggle out of her grasp. Their eyes were wide with panic, finally realizing the danger they were in being trapped underneath a vampire. As they tried to use their elbows to shift upwards, Mina squeezed them tight between her legs, trapping them right where they were. Pocket went still, even though they probably could have wriggled out if they kept trying. It was adorable how they squirmed… she absorbed every last bit of it.
She leaned in closer, to where she could feel the heat radiating from Pocket’s face. “You’re cute,” she exhaled, eyeing their neck. “You really think you can get away from me?”
Pocket had no words to respond. They looked up at her with the wide, terrified eyes of a prey animal - exactly what they were.
“You wanna pay me back for ruining my dress?” Mina asked, a devilish glint in her eye. Pocket remained silent. Time to go in for the kill.
She moved even closer to them, her cheek brushing up against theirs as she moved towards their ear. They were warm, really warm. “I’ve been so hungry all night,” Mina whispered. She softly put her teeth on the lobe of Pocket’s ear, prompting a soft “aa” from them as she closed in. “Mind if I take a bite?”
Pocket froze completely. Mina’s quiet, shallow breath was the only sound in the room, her teeth still clenched on Pocket’s ear. “M- mhm…” they murmured back.
Their breathing was ragged and shaky now, partly due to fear but mostly due to arousal. Mina took her time moving down to Pocket’s neck, her lips gliding along their supple skin as she drew near to her meal, Pocket quivering underneath her. She was beginning to shake too.
She reached a hand up to Pocket’s collar and pulled it aside, exposing their neck. Pocket was trembling now with anticipation, driving Mina’s hunger even further. Her face felt hot, and she could feel a tingling around her fangs, an excitement taking hold of her heart. She placed her fangs against Pocket’s neck, causing them to breathe in sharply. She couldn’t contain herself anymore. She sunk her fangs in.
“Aah~” Pocket winced, a twinge of pain in their otherwise aroused expression. Mina placed her lips on their neck and began to draw blood in through her fangs, delighted by Pocket’s squirming underneath her. Giving up on self control, Mina released a drawn-out moan as the blood flowed into her. “Mmgghhf… you’re delicious,” she whispered, prompting another whimper from her prey, who placed a hand on her waist. She started gently shifting her hips, creating some friction against Pocket’s trousers. She lost herself in the taste of Pocket’s blood. It was nothing like she had ever had before. She had tasted every blood type, drank from star athletes, professional nutritionists, five-star chefs, the living, the dead, from blood bags, and everything in between, but nothing compared to the delectable taste of Pocket flowing through her fangs. Pocket moved their other hand to her waist, holding her hips as she greedily drank from their neck. Pocket’s hands felt like a steamy shower, even through her dress. Her resting body temperature was so much lower than theirs that every inch of skin felt like a sauna, another sensation that she savored as she pressed her chest closer to theirs, reveling in the soft feeling of the two of them touching through fabric. She moved the hand that was holding Pocket’s collar further down, resting it against their chest with just a finger guarding their collar from flicking back onto Mina’s head. Mina swayed her hips, grinding against Pocket in ecstasy. Her lips were fully pressed onto their neck, where she began to lick them, prompting yet another moan.
“A- aah-... Mina… Mina!” Suddenly, Pocket’s voice grew tense and worried.
“I’m getting dizzy… you’re dr- ah- you’re drinking too much-” they continued. Mina furrowed her brow, frustrated that she would have to end her meal. Regretfully, she lifted her fangs out of their neck and licked the wound to taste the excess blood that began to flow from the two holes.
She lifted her head from Pocket’s neck and stared at them. They were so delicate underneath her, their eyes half closed and faint. They were fragile, sensitive, and oh so submissive. They were just… adorable. Mina found herself lost in fantasy, imagining what it might have been like if they had actually gotten married all those years ago. She said that she only wanted them for their last name, but that wasn’t completely true. Even back in her Blackmore days, before either of their families were really involved, Mina thought that they were beautiful. They had such fine features, and a calm, reserved demeanor that begged to be broken down. The two of them would have looked great together, and it would have been just perfect to have an androgynous model to drag around with her and display all her latest pieces on.
Mina returned to reality. Pocket was underneath her right now. Their eyelids were fluttering, clearly still lightheaded from losing so much blood, but wanting to keep looking at Mina. She remained on top of them, both of her arms extended to prop her up. She brushed their hair out of their face, and stared back down at their gorgeous eyes.
Mina kissed them.
Pocket’s eyes went wide as they felt the sudden sensation of Mina’s freezing-cold lips on their own. They had no time to respond before Mina pulled away, the kiss lasting no more than a second.
The room was still.
“Fuck.” Mina said.
Abruptly, Mina brought her hands up to her face, covering her eyes. “Fuuuuuuuuck. Ugh. Grrr. GrrrrhhRRRR FUCK.” Mina brought a hand out far to the side. “Fuck you!” she screamed as she slapped Pocket across the face, their head rolling to the side from the unexpected impact.
“What the FUCK am I thinking!? How was any of this a good idea!? God DAMNIT!” Mina shifted back onto her heels and began to stand up as she yelled. Pocket raised one of their hands towards her, reaching out to stop her from going.
“Mina wait, I-”
But it was too late. In a burst of bat wings, Mina Ha vanished out the window, back into the night from which she came.
Cold and alone on the floor, in a hotel bedroom ripped up by bullets (mostly their own), Pocket lied motionless. In their mind, they finished their thought: I have the room all night. If you want to… stay.