An Unlikely Duo - A Way Out AU Fanfic

Unpleasant First Encounter

"Thanks so much for the help Emily, you really didn't have to stay so late".

"Oh it's no problem, Vince. I'm glad to help".

As Vincent sat at the office desk looking over the schedule and other papers, Emily grabbed her things and headed out, since it was way past the end of her shift. The two friends said bye, and Emily left, leaving Vincent the only person at the preserve. There were other workers in the office, but only for a few more hours. It was 9:30 pm when Emily left, and after looking over a few things, Vincent made his way to the Winged's enclosure with a plastic chair.

Once there, Vincent saw Leo sleeping on the ground with his back facing the glass wall, partially getting covered by some tall grass. Not thinking much of it, Vincent placed the chair and sat down, facing the enclosure. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed silently, allowing his eyes to slowly close from exhaustion.

About 3 minutes later, Leo's ears perked up, and he slowly looked behind himself, smirking proudly when he saw the man was sleeping. He quietly propped himself up and cautiously walked over to the very far corner of his large cage, where the vent was. He breathed out a nervous huff of air and stared up at the intimidating height of the busted vent.

It wasn't even that high... maybe about 9 feet off the ground, but it was definitely enough to make Leo anxious. "I don't have all night... that stupid guard could wake up at any second" Leo thought worriedly, also thinking about his wife and kid waiting for him back in the woods "Okay, Leo. Just remember. Alex and Linda are waiting for you. It's just a stupid vent... you can do this" the nervous Winged spoke to himself in a shaky whisper as he turned away and grabbed onto the fake tree, sinking his jet-black claws into it.

Using pure strength and the occasional light flapping of his wings, Leo uneasily climbed up the artificial tree, desperately grabbing on to its sturdy branches. Finally, he made it to the branch that was just across from the vent. Now, all he had to do was crawl over to it and make his escape.

Easier said than done...

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Vincent suddenly awoke with a start when he reailzed he was sleeping. When he saw that Leo was nowhere to be seen, he grew paranoid. The Winged easly could've just been hiding, but the fact that Vincent was sleeping on the job just meant that he had to check, just in case.

Grabbing his flashlight, Vincent stood from his chair and hurried to the cage's backdoor, quickly unlocking it and stepping inside, making sure to lock it from behind. Knowing that winged humans are equipped with claws and sharp teeth, Vincent quietly and carefully looked around as he walked deeper into the fake forest.

"Oh shit!" Leo started to freak out as he saw the guard walking closer to the tree he was on. After regaining his balance from almost falling, Leo removed the vent covering and purposefully tossed it towards Vincent, hoping it would knock him out or something. It definitely did hit him, but all it did was knock him down and cause some pain. Oh, ...and a small, bleeding gash in his head. Wincing and grunting in pain, Vince stood up and rubbed his wounded noggin, feeling blood on the minor, but worrysome, wound "Oh fuck" he muttered under his breath as he watched the Winged's long, striped tail slip into the ventalation.

"Haha! Stupid fuckin' guard!" Leo proclaimed confidently as he hurried deeper into the vent. But just when he thought he was home free, Leo came across two different paths. Just wanting to get home already, he panicked and picked a way without really thinking.

Crawling just a little further, Leo eventually made it to another vent and proceeded to push it open. Seeing green, he figured he was finally outside! He looked down and slowly climbed out, breathing a sigh of relief when he firmly, but gently, hit the ground to safety. Or...so he thought.