[Atlas Tower]
Inside his office, General James Ironwood remains seated, upright with his arms resting on the armrests of his chair. At his side, Winter stands firm, not taking her eyes off the screen projected in front of both of them. Neither of them says a word, focused on the images shown by the cameras installed inside the core chamber.
Ironwood observes every detail of the interactions between Weiss and Daniel, evaluating in silence, though he cannot avoid noticing the obvious flaws in the setup. The core chamber had been prepared in a hurry, and the rushed camera work had caused failures. As a result, they had no sound, only video. Even so, it isn't hard for either of them to deduce what's happening.
Weiss had managed to enter the core because Daniel let her pass when he recognized that she was carrying his rapier. At first, he seemed genuinely happy to receive his weapon, but the situation took an unexpected and fast turn.
"Ah, no…" Winter murmurs , bringing a hand to her face and letting out a sigh when they see on the screen Weiss accidentally breaking Daniel's rapier, splitting it in two.
"Maybe it was not that important." Winter's voice sounds hopeful, but that illusion lasts little.
On the screens, Daniel's face transforms into pure horror and his scream, although inaudible, is so evident that the general could swear he can hear it despite the distance. Winter lowers her hand, resigned.
"It seems it was," he comments calmly.
His mind already evaluating how to handle the situation. Considering that he could give him a new rapier or even look for a way to repair the previous one, in case it had sentimental value. It is not his obligation, it has not been his fault, but a gesture of goodwill can always serve to maintain a stable and professional relationship with Daniel.
Winter, on the other hand, looks visibly worried. "Come on, Weiss, control the situation…" her voice sounding almost like a prayer.
To the surprise of both, Weiss takes a step forward, as if she had heard the plea, trying to calm him. Her movements are clumsy, almost desperate, and they seem to have no effect… until suddenly, Daniel falls silent. Ironwood perceives instantly that his silence is not due to Weiss's attempts to calm him.
Daniel's expression changes in a way that is too sharp: from absolute horror it shifts to sudden disbelief and, in a matter of seconds, to a contained rage that, surprisingly, he does not direct at Weiss but at the broken rapier lying on the floor.
"What is he doing?" she asks , frowning as she sees Daniel picking up the fragments.
Ironwood leans forward, focused. "It looks like he is examining them."
Both remain attentive while Daniel begins to break the pieces again and again, reducing them until only tiny remains are left. Finally, he lets them fall to the ground and breathes deeply, as if seeking to recompose his self-control.
Weiss approaches and asks him something they cannot decipher. Daniel's response takes her off guard; the sudden surprise on her face makes it clear she hadn't expected that answer.
Ironwood truly regrets not having audio, but he does not take his eyes off the screen. He watches as Daniel takes out his scroll and makes a call. His explosive fury seems to have transformed into something different: a tense calm, a contained rage that does not disappear, but remains, serene and dangerous.
Ironwood cannot avoid bringing a hand to his chin, thoughtful, still watching the screen.
"What do you think?" he asks in a calm tone, casting a sideways glance at Winter, who watches the screen a moment longer before clearing her throat and answering.
"If I have to guess… I would say that rapier was not what he expected. Maybe it was an important order and the quality was not at the level of what he had asked for."
The general nods to himself. It was not a bad assumption. From the way the Hawk boy had handled the weapon, it was clear he had no training. His movements had been clumsy, insecure, probably it was the first time he had tried to use something like that.
Ironwood remembers the investigation reports. Before closing the deal for the blueprints, Daniel did not have much money. It had been confirmed that his record was fairly clean: a simple life in a small town, until he moved to the city and worked as a delivery boy. It was not hard to imagine that, with resources so limited, he had tried to get a simple weapon out of curiosity, only to end up being scammed by not finding a quality weaponsmith.
Life had its irony. The boy had enough intelligence to design extraordinary inventions, but not the means to make them real. GLaDOS was a good example. According to the information Winter had obtained from Weiss, that project had started with a few chips and a simple potato. It sounded ridiculous, but the evidence was there, and everything indicated that it was true.
The general cannot avoid wondering what wonders the boy could achieve now that he has the necessary resources to carry out his projects. The idea pulls a slight smile from him, imagining a more promising future.
His reflections are interrupted when they see Daniel finish his call. It was short, too short to draw conclusions. Weiss approaches immediately, trying to comfort him, and surprisingly it seems to work. The boy's face relaxes, leaving behind the anger. Ironwood makes a mental note: he has volatile emotions, but also a certain ease for recovering.
The scene continues, Daniel and Weiss conversing, and soon the interaction becomes closer.
"They are a tender couple," comments Winter as she sees Weiss hug him with confidence and receive the same response. This time Ironwood notices that she says it with a sincere smile.
"I think they fit quite well…" she adds, although her voice fades little by little as she sees what happens next.
The initial gesture was innocent, a brief and tender kiss. However, in a matter of seconds it intensifies until it becomes something much more passionate. Clearly they had forgotten they were being observed through the cameras.
Winter looks visibly disappointed by her sister's behavior.
"I apologize for this spectacle, general…" Her voice sounds loaded with regret as she rubs her head, clearly with a headache.
"I will take care of talking to her… and they are already taking their clothes off…"
Her voice fades slowly. Ironwood watches a few seconds more, then shakes his head and turns off the transmission. "I think it is better to give them some privacy."
"I truly regret my sister's behavior," Winter manages to say, but he stops her with a simple gesture.
"It is also partly my fault," he admits.
After all, the plan to send Weiss had not been Winter's alone; it had also been his. What he forgot to consider, and what was fairly obvious, was that, besides being an heiress and a future huntress and a young man with a talent for engineering, they were still teenagers.
"Although I would suggest they have separate rooms," the general comments, obtaining a nod of confirmation from Winter.
"I am already on it…"
[Atlas Tower – Core Chamber]
Daniel lets himself fall into the chair, breathing a little calmer, while Weiss walks toward him with confident steps. When she stands in front of him, she slips her hands under her skirt, easily finds the edge of her panties, and lets them fall to the floor without bothering to take off the dress completely.
With a simple movement, she climbs on top of him, settling her hips against his. Daniel feels the weight of her body pressing down on him, and far from being a nuisance, he enjoys having her so close, sensing her warmth and her presence.
[Image]
His hands slide along Weiss's legs, lifting the fabric slightly until reaching her bare ass. He squeezes firmly, enjoying the smooth softness of her skin beneath his fingers. Weiss does not stay still, leaning down to shorten the distance until her lips crash into his in a deep kiss. Their tongues tangle in a wet and eager movement, twisting while both of their breaths mix.
She begins to move her hips, rubbing impatiently against him as the kiss prolongs. Their tongues keep brushing, searching for more, until finally they part. A line of saliva hangs between their mouths before breaking.
"So that was not your rapier?" Weiss pants, her gaze clouded and her breathing uneven, though she does not stop the slow rocking of her hips.
"No, it was not," Daniel replies, watching as she lowers her hand to unfasten his pants. In seconds, his erection is freed, hard and throbbing.
He takes the opportunity, releasing her ass to slide his hands up to her waist and then to her neckline. With a simple pull he opens the dress and exposes her breasts, firm and soft, almost begging to be touched.
"It was a vile copy," he growls, with contained annoyance, not really wanting to remember the forgery. Even so, he leans in and traps a nipple between his lips, sucking firmly while his free hand squeezes her hip.
"Ahmm…" Weiss moans loudly, trembling from the roughness, though her fingers tangle in his hair, caressing him as if she wanted to comfort him at the same time as she urges him to continue.
"Are you… hmm… sure?" she whispers between gasps, watching how his tongue plays with her nipple and feeling the heat running through her body.
"It did not seem to me that you were capable of telling them apart," she murmurs in his ear while lowering her hands, delicately wrapping his erection. She begins to stroke it slowly, her warm and soft palms enveloping him with a rhythmic movement that makes him tense with pleasure.
Daniel pulls away from her chest with a strong suction that stretches the nipple before releasing it with a slight "pop."
"It was a pretty realistic copy," he admits reluctantly, letting out a bitter laugh while Weiss's hands increase the pressure and rhythm on his cock.
"Same weight, same texture… but its durability could not compare with the original. If you had not broken it, who knows how long it would have taken me to realize it was not mine."
He clenches his jaw, frustrated, while one of his hands moves up again, finding the other breast. He plays with it, rolling the nipple between his fingers, squeezing and tugging it firmly.
Weiss arches with a trembling moan, twisting from the wave of pleasure that forces her to stop the hand that had been stroking him.
"Ahmm…" she moans with broken breaths, bracing one hand on his shoulder to steady herself as she lifts her body slightly. With the other, she takes his cock, guiding it to the hot and wet entrance of her pussy. Her body trembles with anticipation, her thighs tense as she feels the tip brushing against her.
"I am glad to know I did not break your rapier," she murmurs, adjusting herself as she looks at him with a mix of lust and mischief. "Why would someone go to so much trouble to create a copy?"
She lowers herself slowly, letting the head of his cock push and spread her tight entrance. Every inch forces its way in with slowness, filling her little by little, her wet and tight pussy swallowing him with difficulty. Daniel does not take long to lose his patience, placing his hands on her hips and slamming her down at once, burying himself completely inside her.
"Mmhm…" he growls at the feeling of Weiss's walls squeezing him tightly, throbbing around his entire length. "I told you my stalker was crazy," he pants, staying still for a moment, both of them breathing heavily with their bodies pressed together and their lips just centimeters apart.
"Maybe that is why it took her so long to return your rapier… she was making a replica," Weiss comments between gasps, still leaning on his shoulder. When she adjusts to his size, she starts to move her hips gently, swaying on top of him.
"She sounds crazy…" she moans, riding him back and forth with a rhythmic motion, slamming down on his cock again and again, each time bolder. Daniel slides his hands over her ass, guiding her in that slow, provocative rocking, savoring the sensation of her hot, tight insides wrapping around him completely.
"She is crazy, and she stole my indestructible rapier," he growls with frustration, squeezing her ass.
Weiss rolls her eyes with a muffled moan. "I still do not believe it is indestructible…" she replies as she speeds up the movement, leaving behind the gentle swaying to begin bouncing harder.
"Ahm… ahm… ahmm…" she moans repeatedly, her breasts bouncing with every thrust even if they are not large, the movement obscene, exciting Daniel even more as he watches from below without moving too much, enjoying seeing her work.
"Believe what you want, the point is that it is a very special rapier," he murmurs, sliding his hand up to caress her abdomen. Even though the dress is still in the way, he feels the heat of her body and the rigidity of her muscles tensing with each movement.
"We should sue… AH!" Weiss manages to say, but a sharp scream escapes her as Daniel thrusts his hips upward with force, slamming into her depths and striking her cervix.
"Mmmghh!" she moans loudly, clutching his shoulders as her body trembles.
Daniel is no longer passive. His hands squeeze her ass firmly as he stands up, lifting her without pulling out of her. He takes steady steps, each one provoking a bounce that makes Weiss writhe, her juices running and dripping down her thighs until they stain the floor.
"There is no need," he answers in a deep voice, walking toward the nearest table. There he sets Weiss's ass down and lets her fall onto her back, keeping himself inside her. "I can take care of it."
Without wasting time he begins to thrust into her harder than before, using the table for support to penetrate her fast and deep. The sound of his hips slamming against her fills the room, accompanied by the wet smacking of her soaked pussy.
"Slap, slap, slap…" the impacts resound, each one more intense.
Weiss grips the edges of the table tightly, her knuckles tense as she moans uncontrollably. Her voice echoes throughout the core chamber, clear proof of how much she is enjoying it.
"Mhmm…" she moans as one of his hands slaps and squeezes her breast firmly, the thrusts continuing relentlessly.
"Do you not think that… mhmm… you overdid it a little?" she asks between gasps, her body arching against the table as he accelerates his movements, more erratic and aggressive. A smile spreads across her face even as her pussy trembles in spasms from every hard thrust she receives.
"I do not know what you mean," he jokes, breathing heavily as his eyes lock with hers.
Weiss lifts her head with effort, trying to maintain a serious look that breaks quickly, transforming into an expression full of lust while her insides keep swallowing Daniel's cock without giving him rest.
"You threatened them with death!!! Ahh… ahh~" she manages to cry out between ragged moans.
Daniel does not stop. He releases her breasts and braces his hands on the sides of the table to drive himself harder, his hips slamming over and over into Weiss's. He feels her pussy squeezing him tighter than before, refusing to let him go, each contraction a clear signal that she is about to cum.
"My threat will help them make a better decision," he murmurs, leaning over her, their lips just a centimeter apart, their breaths colliding with intensity.
"If they do not, I will see what I have to do… but I do not want you to get involved. This is my problem, understood?"
"Slap, slap, slap…" the rhythmic sound of his hips against Weiss's body echoes, mixing with her moans.
Weiss cannot respond with words, too close to the limit. She only nods, breaks the distance, and kisses him with desperation, her legs wrapping around his waist, pushing him even deeper inside. Daniel thrusts hard, tearing a muffled scream from her as her body shakes in an intense orgasm. Her fluids flow without control, running down all over Daniel's cock.
He does not take long to follow her. He feels his cock throb inside her and finally releases, spilling his semen in waves that flood her womb, coating every corner of her insides. Both remain still, trembling in the same position, enjoying the moment as the table and the floor beneath them are stained with the mix of their fluids.
Only when the contractions begin to fade do they separate their lips, breaking the kiss with ragged breaths.
"Hehehe… it was fun doing it while we were talking," Daniel pants, still inside her, enjoying the warmth of her body without moving. "We should repeat it."
"Yes, it was fun," Weiss admits, her gaze blurry but satisfied.
Neither of them separates, staying pressed together, enjoying their closeness. However, Daniel's mind is already somewhere else, drifting toward a problem that carries the name Ruby.
Apparently, Yang had said nothing to her sister about that "kind" message he had left her. How did he know? It had not been hard to figure out. If Ruby had found out, it was impossible she would still be with him. And if the relationship had ended, the system would already have notified him without delay.
"Ah…" he lets out a mental sigh, almost annoyed.
Now, with his head calmer, he begins to regret having sent that message. It was not that breaking up with Ruby would be the end of the world. She was not indispensable to him. But it would be an inconvenience. Without Ruby, he would only have Weiss, and the system's rewards would be cut in half. And that was a real problem.
After thinking it over a little more, he shrugs.
"I will deal with it later," he decides, downplaying it. Solving problems on the fly is something he is good at. Now the only thing he wants is to focus on collecting semblances as fast as possible. Just in case the relationship with Ruby collapses.
Several minutes pass before he and Weiss finally separate.
"I think this was a good break." Daniel fastens his pants calmly and in better spirits.
Weiss watches him, surprised by those words. She hurriedly arranges her dress, trying to put it back in order.
"That is not going to work." Her eyes narrow with severity. "You need to rest, eat, and sleep before continuing."
He lets out a short laugh, amused by her authoritative tone.
"I refuse."
The answer comes out immediately. He is not willing to waste time in Atlas. Resting would mean throwing away valuable hours he could use to obtain one of the semblances he still lacks.
"I wasn't asking you." She crosses her arms, firm, not giving up an inch.
Daniel smiles, watching her stand in front of him, trying to impose herself even though he is several centimeters taller. Even so, he stays calm. He knows there is nothing Weiss can do to force him to remain.
[Three minutes later]
The doors of the core slam open and a roar echoes down the hallway.
"NOOOOOOO!!!"
Daniel bellows as Weiss drags him by the ankle, moving forward without stopping. His fingers dig into the floor, leaving scratches in his desperate attempt to resist.
"NO, I WANT TO WORK!!! I LIVE TO WORK!!!"
His screams draw the attention of the guards at the entrance, who lift their heads, bewildered by the spectacle.
"You there!" Daniel points at them with a free hand. "Your job is supposed to be protecting me! HELP, YOU IDIOTS!!"
The soldiers glance at each other, muttering under their breath. A second later, they look away as if nothing is happening.
Weiss keeps moving forward, impassive, dragging him toward the elevator without slowing down.
"USELESS BASTARDS—!!!"
The shout reverberates just as the doors slam shut, cutting off his complaint completely.
"Stop wriggling so much." Weiss scolds, dragging him with effort in the direction of the dormitories.
"No!!! Let me go! I need to invent!" Daniel struggles with tears in his eyes, thrashing desperately even though he cannot break free from her grip.
In the middle of resisting, he notices something strange, almost alarming. His head feels lighter.
"Wait, Weiss! I forgot Aegis in the core!"
"Leave it, it'll be fine for a few hours." Weiss's reply is sharp, leaving him no room to argue.
She probably believes that if she lets him go, he will never leave the core room again… and she is not wrong. Daniel was already planning to barricade himself there and ask GLaDOS to alter the camera recordings to show him eating and sleeping from time to time—just enough to reassure them.
As he is dragged down the hallway, his gaze crosses with two familiar figures. Pietro and Penny are walking toward them.
"PIETRO! HELP! THEY WON'T LET ME WORK!" His cry echoes loudly, flailing as if his life depended on it.
Pietro stops, sighing heavily. He lowers his head for a moment before responding.
"I'm sorry, boy. I'd like to help you, but I've already been informed about your situation… and I do think some sleep would do you good."
"NO, NO, NO!!! I want to work!!!" Daniel complains furiously as Weiss drags him mercilessly, turning the corner until he disappears from their sight.
"Goodbye, friend Daniel!" Penny waves enthusiastically, a radiant smile on her face. "I hope you get better!"
The echo of his screams fades little by little, dissolving in the hallway until it leaves a sudden silence.
"Friend Daniel is a very particular person." Penny laughs softly, amused by the spectacle.
Pietro nods, with an expression that mixes amusement and a certain melancholy.
"Genius and madness often walk side by side, especially in those who leave their mark on the world." A warmer-than-usual smile draws across his face.
"And it seems he's going to leave a very big one," he adds with a chuckle.
-//-
Author's Note:
Someone asked me for a "mixed" chapter, and honestly I don't know what they meant by that, so I made this one… Did I get it right? I hope so. Honestly, I didn't like how I wrote this one or the previous chapter, I don't feel satisfied.
Anyway, I just hope to move the story along faster.
What else… Umm, as some of you know I don't really speak English, so imagine my surprise when I found out that the MC's last name, "hawk," means "Halcon." It was a shock. When I said the name was random, I wasn't lying.
Anyway, see you…
Kisses and hugs, fuckers! 💋