A D Tier's Breaking Point

Chapter 22

Morgan did not need anyone to tell them that they were being ridiculous right now. The combined voices of Katie, Janice and Barnaby were rattling around in their head to say as much, turning over every single thought, rational or not, and leaving Morgan feeling frazzled. Clearly they hadn't had enough caffeine yet.

They were leading Alex through tall white and steel corridors, barely paying attention to the bemusement on their friend's face as he examined the holographic attempts at decor. And trying to work out what the hell had just happened. They were used to their family and Barnaby ganging up on them at this point (and it actually being successful occasionally) but that was something the minions had steered clear of doing. Or maybe they tried and Morgan shut it down so quickly they didn't actually notice it.

When Morgan had teleported back to the lair in the early hours of that morning they had expected the teams to be in some state of panic or disarray, putting out fires as quickly as they were appearing, and that Morgan could get them back on track to some extent. But when they arrived in the main operations room everything was relatively smooth. Monday's operations were being covered, there was a separate team working on fixing Monday's hardware, and on the main meeting table waiting for Morgan were a series of reports. Which had contained, in no particular order, a full diagnostic of Monday's broken hardware, a series of reports from Team B complete with the debrief done by Louis and Rachel, a diagnostic of the bracers, and records of the key information picked up during and after the battle about both hero and villain's reactions and movements to the potential return of S tier. In short, everything that Morgan was thinking to pick up, and more, was already done and waiting for them.

Which was about the time they sent the team on Monday's consoles for a break (or reallocated the stubborn ones to other jobs) and took over on fixing and replacing the hardware. Until dawn broke and the other teams began to filter back in. Morgan did manage to give the heist team a direct debrief, laying out the next sets of plans and immediate instructions. They also managed to ignore how that loosened the knot of anxiety in their chest, until Joey appeared, half asleep but otherwise ready for work. So Morgan sent him off with a letter for Alex (because Alex would worry, as Rachel pointed out) and on getting Alex access to the lair. And since Joey was busy with that, Morgan figured they would be the best person to keep fixing Monday.

It was ridiculous. And they knew it was. But they didn't expect the minions to form up so seamlessly to stop Morgan from doing their actual job. It didn't matter that they trusted Joey and Rachel with their life, or with the running of the lair, Morgan was the boss. They had the authority and the responsibility, they shouldn't dump that on other people. And they definitely shouldn't cave so easily to their team's attempts, regardless of how effective their distraction is.

Said distraction technique was currently admiring the hologram version of a very ornate portrait that Morgan was walking past, 'Why holograms?'

'Huh?' Morgan looked at the hologram, finally broken from their thoughts, 'Oh, they're trophies. Reminders of the heists.'

'I figured as much,' Alex said, 'But then why not put the real ones up?'

Morgan looked at the painting Alex had stopped in front of and smiled, 'Depends on if I keep them or not. That one was a job with Ohio.' Alex's frown vanished as understanding set in. 'There was an art thief stealing paintings from museums, keeping the originals for themselves and selling counterfeits on the black market.'

'Ah,' Alex said, rolling his eyes fondly, 'So, Ohio got the originals back to wherever they were "supposed to go", and you...'

'Tracked down the customers that bought the counterfeits and sold them information on the con, the thief, and their details.' Alex laughed at that, and Morgan shrugged as they continued down the corridor, 'Hey, it's not my fault the idiot decided to con other villains now.'

'Wow, the things you do for Barnaby's boyfriend,' Alex said.

Morgan froze then, turning to Alex properly. 'Not boyfriend.' Alex looked at them confused, until Morgan beamed, 'Guess which one of them finally proposed.'

Alex blinked, stunned for a moment, before laughing again, 'Absolutely Barnaby. Without a shadow of a doubt. But only because Kotetsu persuaded him to.'

Morgan laughed, 'Yeah pretty much. The wedding's in a few months, should be interesting.' Alex opened his mouth but faltered, making Morgan frown, 'What?'

'Just, are you going? I mean, are you invited?'

'Course I am,' Morgan said, looking at Alex confused, 'What's Barnaby going to do without his best man there?'

'What?'

Morgan grinned, 'Yeah he asked me to be best, well, best "man." I argued he could call me Made of Honour but according to Ohio I don't have any so...'

Alex's eyes went wide at that, 'I thought Kotetsu would be the best man.'

'We're splitting the duties,' Morgan said. 'Kotetsu's formally the Chief Ringbearer, and I'm doing the speech.' They looked away, so Alex wouldn't be able to see the blush rising up at the admission, so they could only hear Alex burst out into giggles. 'What? I can do a speech.' Alex opened his mouth to say something, but he could barely take a calming breath before he snorted and doubled over. Morgan scowled and folded their arms, 'Carry on with that attitude and I won't invite you to be my +1.'

That made Alex quiet. And staring straight at Morgan's back as they finally stopped in front of an unassuming door that led to their personal apartments. 'Really?' Alex asked, and Morgan turned back to look at him. The teasing humour was gone, and was replaced with surprise and something that looked a little bit like hope.

Morgan shrugged and nodded, 'I mean, yeah. I wouldn't want to invite anyone else.'

Alex was suddenly in front of Morgan, wrapping them up in a hug that threatened to break bones. But Morgan didn't even flinch, sinking into the embrace far too quickly, quicker than they did with anyone else. Had they gotten used to Alex being back that soon?

'Wait, no,' Alex said, 'That's too tight.' He moved to pull away, only for Morgan to follow after his solid warmth. Maybe not getting used to then. 'Morgan? You okay?'

Morgan opened their mouth, but couldn't think of what to say. Couldn't meet Alex's eyes as they clung to Alex like an anchor. Oh, that's the opposite of helpful , they thought as there was a growing urge to fall back into Alex's arms, to wrap all their senses in him just to prove that the past 24 hours was definitely real. Just in time for Monday to wake up and for their team to potentially really need them as they moved from emergency measures to the proactive stages of putting together the next plan, the next attack, the next heist, the next-

'Morgan?' Alex said, cutting through the spiralling thoughts in their head. 'Do you need some space?'

There it was, the out. Alex was holding Morgan's arms, ready to follow Morgan's lead. All they had to do was nod and step away, open their apartment door and carry on like this hadn't happened. Like it wasn't taking all of their effort to keep their hands from trembling and hold back the tears that were starting to prick at the corners of their eyes again. They felt Alex slowly squeeze their shoulders, and that was all it took for Morgan to shake their head.

When Alex stepped back in his embrace was gentler but steadier. Morgan's hands tangled up in his shirt again, face buried in his shoulder as Alex rubbed small circles between their shoulder blades. There was no one else around to see Alex's eyes close as they rested their cheek on the top of Morgan's head, or to hear Morgan try and hold back a sniffle as they willed themselves not to cry again.