troubled waters (FierroChase AU)

two

Alex stood at the exit of the airport, still, calm, and yet, what a wild storm there was inside, winds blowing, raindrops falling, branches crashing on the roads, heavy under the load of an atmosphere, that was full of static energy. Curious enough, she was able to figure what was going on inside of her, always able to imagine the pictures and movies, the forms and realities in her mind, to project them, to make them leave her head by bringing them on paper. Something she had not been able to do for a long time, as she now remarked.

At the age of 13, Loki had forbidden her to draw, an activity, a passion, that did not suit the prince of Chicago, heir to an empire. She laughed at the thought of him, Loki, when she had told him her plans of leaving his holy city, of going to the east coast, to live free, to breathe, to feel, to express herself, to create and to sense, things impossible that had just come into her reach lately. At 17, every Fierro could decide freely what to do with his life, where to go, could decide himself on the reasons to live. That was a tradition that had lived in their family for generations, even Loki had not dared to break it. In his opinion that was not even necessary, considering the quality of the education he had given his son. He always thought he could control everything, including the lives of so many people beneath him. In most cases, that was true. In normal cases.

But Alex Fierro was not normal. He had told Loki exactly what he was going to do and why he was going to do it. Loki had taken it for a joke first, for the attempt to find a weakness, to gain an advantage of whatever sort in the conversation that was to follow - this was the way Loki always had thought. But Alex had been serious. After the calm analytic part, there came the convincing, still calm, thoughtful, deliberate. And it was true, everything Loki had said, made sense, he had always the better arguments, he could force a man down on his knees just by the force of his tongue. But again, Alex was not everybody. He listened, looking straight in his father's eyes, challenging, brave. He knew how Loki would act, had anticipated every step, every move, every word.

He had sat there, seeming to listen, but having his mind shut closely, sitting somewhere in a café at the coast, listening to music, just enjoying the view, the wind on his face, the smell of the sea... Loki had begun to notice something was wrong, had gotten more and more in rage, and finally, as Alex responded to a question in a disrespectful way, had hit him. Once, twice. Alex still felt the impact of the two rings on her cheek, still remembered the feeling of stepping back from her father.

Loki had never hit her. Losing control was the worst thing existing to him, that was why he had become so successful in his business. Because a cold-blooded fighter will always beat the enraged one, because a calm strategist will always beat the impulsive warrior. He had taught this to Alex so many times, and Alex had listened. He had planned, staying cold-blooded and hit back verbally. Beating her father with his own arms. After that hit, Loki had never looked on her face again, he had turned around and left the room. A couple hours later, Alex had found her documents and some money on her desk, with a paper, that told only one thing: "Leave".

Alex had never hated her father. This response had hit her harder, than any blow, any word of deceit, any restraint she had ever gotten. So, she left. Now, she stood at the exit of the airport, leaving this memory behind her. For she had finally gained what she had longed for such a long time. She took a deep breath, made a step and exhaled. And with this expiration, everything past left her, rising up in the sky, spreading all over the city, disappearing behind the clouds or in the sea, in tree crowns and underground parking lots, far from her, for now at least. She was free. She felt free. And all the pressure, all the bad memories, the youth of criminality, the father she had disappointed, the years lost in training and learning, in fighting and plotting, all of this was forgotten now. For now, she took a new step. Crossing a threshold, she had been thinking of a long time. She entered the city of Boston. She entered her new life.