Massive Disaster II-17 (Patreon)

The overhead lights were too fucking bright.

Zedd sat on the edge of the exam table, arms crossed, legs stretched out, boots tapping a steady, absent rhythm against the metal frame. The med bay was too clean, too sterile, too bright, and the hum of equipment felt louder than usual. 

Adele worked in silence. Methodical. Her hands moved with the precision of someone who had done this a thousand times before. Scanner sweeping over bruised ribs, readouts blinking in sharp pulses. No wasted motion, no hesitation.

Nina, on the other hand, hadn’t let go of his sleeve since they got here.

Zedd glanced down. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his jacket, knuckles pale from the pressure. She wasn’t even looking at him, not really. Just staring at the scanner, brow furrowed, tension pulling at the corners of her mouth.

Zedd sighed. “You know, if you wanna rip my jacket, just say so.”

Nina didn’t laugh.

Didn’t even react, really. Just tightened her grip slightly and kept staring.

Adele exhaled through her nose. “You’re lucky you didn’t break anything.” 

Zedd smirked, sharp and lazy. “I make my own luck.”

Nina’s head snapped toward him. “You almost got kidnapped, Zee.” Her voice was too sharp, too raw, like the words had clawed their way out before she could control them.

Adele, still focused on the scanner, adjusted the settings like she wasn’t watching the whole interaction out of the corner of her eye. “And now he’s here,” she said, dry. “Stubborn as hell, but in one piece. Barely. Dev and Kay aren’t gonna let you live this one down, by the way.”

His tongue met his teeth again as Zedd shook his head. “Yeah, I know, don’t go anywhere without my security, but we went out a couple days ago, and it was…” he let out a sigh, “it was fine, then. Besides, it’s weird having them guard me all the time. House is one thing, but they’re my friends.”Adele shot him a tired look, bored expression barely shifting. “And? It’s their job, like this is my job.”The young man shook his head again. “I already brought it up to Kira a while back. I’m looking for a personal 24-7 guy.”

“Good luck with that.” The medic rolled her eyes as she leaned in and clicked something on her omni-tool. A second later, a soft, cold sensation spread across his side as the auto-injector dispensed a dose of medigel. Zedd barely flinched.

His ribs still ached, but it was a distant, familiar thing. He’d had worse. The pain wasn’t a problem. It never was.

What was a problem was the way Nina still hadn’t let go. Not the action but what it meant.

She wasn’t shaking, wasn’t crying, wasn’t even saying anything else—but she was holding on like she didn’t trust the ground under her feet.

Zedd wasn’t sure what to do with that.

“Boss,” ADAM subvocalized in his ear, the speakers he installed in his aviators still working just fine after the fight. “You seem to have acquired some… parts… for car maintenance… in addition to an extension to the size of your garage.”Zedd blinked and let out a slow hum, but said nothing. Later.. I’ll deal with weird shit later, he decided to himself, even as his hand roamed in his jacket to palm the weird vial he had gotten less than an hour earlier.

Adele moved on, scanning the shallow cut across his side. Superficial. Not even deep enough to warrant stitches. She smeared more medigel over the wound, her touch brisk, efficient.

“Painkillers if you need them,” she said. “I know you won’t take them, but I’m prescribing them anyway.”

Zedd rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Doc. You always know how to make a guy feel special.”

Adele gave him a flat, unimpressed look.

Nina, finally letting go of his sleeve, muttered, “He doesn’t need his ego getting any bigger.”

There was something in her voice—something strained, but trying to be normal.

Zedd recognized the effort.

Adele finished up, stepping back, tapping out something on her omni-tool. “You’re clear to go. Try not to get stabbed again in the next twenty-four hours.”

Zedd hopped off the table. His body felt loose, light, still wired from the fight. The sharp edge of adrenaline had burned off, leaving behind a strange kind of clarity. The world felt crisper.

He liked it.

Nina, though, was still watching him, eyes flicking over every bruise, every scrape, like she was cataloging the damage herself.

Zedd met her gaze. Smirked. “See? Good as new.”

Nina didn’t smirk back.

Didn’t say anything.

Just exhaled softly and grabbed his hand.

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –​

The smell of caf and eggs filled the kitchen, thick and warm, wrapping around the quiet like insulation. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, catching on the edges of countertops, turning the polished steel surfaces into soft gold. The whole place felt too normal.

Too quiet.

Zedd sat at the table, one leg stretched out, chair tipped back just slightly, plate in front of him. He wasn’t eating yet. Just watching Nina move around the kitchen.

She hadn’t said much since they woke up.

Not that she’d been quiet—not exactly. She’d still gone through the motions, still talked about what she was cooking, still asked if he wanted his caf black or if he was in the mood for something sugary as hell.

But it felt… measured.

She was picking her words too carefully, like she was rehearsing normalcy in real time.

Like she was still stuck on last night.

Zedd let the silence stretch. He wasn’t good at breaking things like this.

He picked up his fork, finally started eating. The food was good, as always—Nina knew how to cook, and he wasn’t about to waste decent food just because the air felt weird.

A few more minutes passed. The caf machine let out a quiet hum as it finished brewing another cup. Nina set her plate down across from him, sat down. Didn’t eat.

Zedd glanced up.

She was staring at her hands, fingers loosely curled around the ceramic warmth of her mug.

Then—finally—she spoke.

“…I never thought I’d be that close to something like that.”

Zedd chewed. Swallowed. “You handled it fine.”

Nina looked at him. Something in her expression shifted.

“That’s not the point, Zee.”

Her voice wasn’t sharp. Just tired.

Zedd tapped his fingers against the edge of his plate, feeling the warmth from the ceramic, grounding himself in it.

She exhaled, shaking her head, shoulders rolling like she was trying to loosen something lodged in her ribs.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen violence before,” she said. “I grew up on the edge of the Terminus, remember? And with the Batarians, I—I knew what was happening. But they weren’t attacking here. They weren’t…” She hesitated. “It wasn’t close. Not like that.”

She finally took a sip of caf, setting the mug back down too carefully, like it was something fragile.

“I never thought I’d be that close to someone trying to take you.”

Zedd stayed quiet.

Because he hadn’t thought of it like that.

To him, it had just been another fight. Another time someone tried something, and he ended it. The context had changed, but the feeling? The rhythm? The way his body moved on instinct, the way his brain shut off in all the right ways and let him do what needed to be done?

That hadn’t changed at all.

But for her—this wasn’t just a fight.

This was someone trying to take him.

She swallowed, fingers twitching slightly before she clenched her hands into fists.

Then, quieter:

“…But you still made me feel safe.”

Zedd’s brain stuttered.

She wasn’t looking at him anymore. Just tracing the rim of her mug with her thumb, gaze distant.

“...I’m glad I could.”

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –​

The silence between them didn’t break so much as stretch thinner, settling into something that neither of them seemed interested in acknowledging. Nina still wasn’t eating, but she was drinking her caf at least, fingers curled loosely around the mug like it was anchoring her to the moment.

Zedd was almost finished with his food when his omni-tool pinged.

He barely reacted. Just flicked his wrist, pulling up the translucent display. Notifications scrolled past his vision. Mostly useless. ADAM was good at filtering the noise, so if something made it through, it mattered.

One message stood out.

Victory Innovations: Job Application Approved.

Zedd’s brows pulled together. A job application?

He barely remembered the opening. He’d set it weeks ago, mostly because Kira had bitched at him about how he shouldn’t be running around without some kind of security if he was gonna keep dipping out without them, even if he didn’t think he needed it.

ADAM was ridiculously strict about filters, per instructions, meaning most applications never made it past his security walls.

But this one had.

He tapped the notification, pulling up the file.

Kai Leng.

He stared at the name. …that sounds so fucking cool.

Shaking his head, he glanced down at the attached file. Military history. Criminal record. Former Alliance. Dishonorably discharged for… huh?

Nina shifted across from him and he blinked a little. She must have noticed that he hadn’t moved in nearly a minute. “What?” she asked, frowning.

Zedd didn’t look up. “…Nothing.” His voice came out slower than usual. “Just got a new employee candidate.”

Nina made a face. “For what?”

“Bodyguard position.”

She snorted. “And someone actually got past ADAM?”

“Yeah.” Zedd’s eyes were still on the file, scanning the details. His mind was already running, pulling threads together, weighing possibilities.

Nina huffed, taking another sip of her caf. “Well, shit. They must be impressive, then.”

Zedd finally looked up. Yeah.

That was one way to put it.

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –​

5k Words (100 FP)ROLL: Garage (100 FP) [Fast and Furious] {Vehicles}: "You have a nice garage and parts supply. With a few days and some elbow grease, you could basically rebuild your car or cars from the bottom up; you probably have enough parts to keep someone else's ride running or give it an upgrade, too.

Gives spare parts for any level of 'car' and the ability to upgrade any level of car too—whether it's a street racer, an off-road beast, or something more exotic. Might also have a time acceleration component, though not so sure about that."

Forge Points: 500