freaks of nature - stenbrough

-10-

TW: mentioned murder. child abuse

——

Bill wasn't upset about being with the MHA or being their lab rat. He was upset because every time Stanley broke down, he could sense it. Every time he got upset or overwhelmed, Bill would feel uneasy and would find it hard to focus. His head would pound and his hands would shake. The worst thing about it was knowing Stanley was hurting and Bill couldn't do anything to let him know he still cared for him...or that he was even alive.

After spending the entire day locating mutants in countries he knew the MHA wouldn't be able to touch, he sat in the corner of his room with his fingers dug in his hair. He rocked back and forth, sweat dripping from his forehead. His heart was racing in his chest as his headache pounded. Stanley was breaking down across the facility and Bill knew it.

"I'm sorry I c-can't be there for y-you," he whispered.

Bill remembered when he found Stanley in the junkyard. He remembered Stanley pressing his forehead against Bill's and listening to his breaths evening out as he slowly calmed down. He remembered how Stanley's hands felt clutching the back of his shoulders. He thought about the night they'd spent together before everything went down hill. Stanley's face buried in the crook of his neck as their legs were softly wrapped around each other's. Stanley's arms were softly draped around his waist with his hands resting on Bill's shoulders. He thought about Stanley pulling himself closer and pressing his chest against Bill's. He loved Stanley, he was sure of it now. All he wanted was to have in his embrace and Bill would do anything to have the feeling back.

"Wait...I can't c-control the agents," he whispered to himself, "b-but maybe I...I could try t-talk to Stan..."

——

"Leave me alone!" Stanley screamed.

He pushed himself as far in the corner as he could, trying to back away from the agents.

"I didn't mean to kill him! I swear! I didn't want to hurt anyone!"

Stryker walked up to Stanley and grabbed his collar. He pulled him away from the wall and slammed him back against it. Stanley whimpered from the pain, but held back his tears.

"You murdered one of our best agents!"
"You murdered Bill!"
"Shut it! Rumlow was just trying to help you be able to control your flighty mutation!"

Stanley let the tears fall from the corners of his eyes and roll down his cheeks.

"Oh, you're gonna cry? You murdered a man in cold blood!"
"So did you," he choked out, "I loved him."

Stanley was shocked by his own words. He knew he'd had this feeling for a while, but he hadn't named it yet. He let out heavy, shaky breaths as his eyes widened. Fear swirled around his eyes as he was met with Stryker's angry ones. Behind the anger, there was hurt, real, genuine hurt.

"You loved him, didn't you? Rumlow?"

The anger in Stryker's expression fell for a second revealing his pain before he regained his anger and pushed Stanley against the wall for a final time.

"Don't say his name."

He stepped away and took his hands from Stanley's collar. Stryker stormed over to the door and shot Stanley a look of pure hatred. He slammed the door and locked Stanley in the cell all alone. Stanley rubbed his shoulder as he walked over to the wooden frame and thin mattress. He sat still and felt the hurt build up in his chest until it was too much. A broken sob fell from his lips as his right hand came up to cover his mouth. He felt himself come undone as he thought about Bill. Salty tears streamed down his face as he laid down. Stanley rolled one his side and brought his knees up to his chest and cried, harder and harder. The MHA had removed everything metal from his room, and it's a good thing at that. He knew he would've hurt himself.

"I'm sorry I let them hurt you, I'm so so so sorry, I shouldn't of let them take you away from me," he whispered.

Stan, I really hope this is you I'm taking to, Bill's voice echoed in his mind.

"Bill?" Stanley whispered.

Thank god, Stan, I'm okay. I know I promised to never read your mind, but I wanted to tell you that you needed to calm down. It's okay, they're not going to hurt you as long as I keep doing my part.

"You're dead, you're gone, I'm just hearing things."

No you're not. I'm okay. Just...be careful. Don't do anything without permission and do what they say...I will find you. I promise.

"Bill...I hurt some people...I hurt them bad...I didn't mean to," Stanley sobbed out, "please don't leave me alone."

I know you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose. Your mutation is controlled by your emotions...don't let them get the best of you. I'll talk to you soon, Stryker is coming coming towards my room. Be safe.

"Bill don't, don't, leave me...please..."

Bill didn't respond. Stanley sobbed even harder. He didn't know how to feel. He didn't know if his mind was playing tricks on him or if Bill was actually okay. Either way hurt just as much.

"Please, Bill...please don't leave me alone," he sobbed, "Bill...Bill come on..."

Stanley pulled his knees closer to his stomach. He closed his eyes and tried to even out his breathing, but with the thought of Bill being out there somewhere, alone just like Stanley was, scared him. He didn't want Bill to be working for the MHA. He didn't want Bill to be working for the MHA for him. All he wanted was Bill close to him, physically, but he knew it wasn't going to happen.

"Don't leave me alone," Stanley cried, "no no no no no..."

Stanley wrapped his arms around his stomach and hugged himself. A while of crying drained whatever energy he had left in him. He shut his eyes right and waiting for sleep to overcome him. What he wasn't expecting was hearing Bill scream from across the facility.