Unmasking

5. Moving (pt1)

"Good morning" A soft voice woke Nina up. And while at first it made a small smile appear on her face when she got a bit more conscious she jolted her eyes wide open. The first thing she saw was Michael with his hands up in the air. "Hey, it's just me. Sorry for startling you" He quickly added lowering his hands.

"What time is it?" Asked the woman looking around. The room was still pitch black thanks to the shutters that let almost no light in.

"It's noon. I was getting kind of worried, so I decided to check on you" He replied with a small smile. "You alright?" He asked then with a small frown.

"Yeah..." Replied Nina who was already moving to sit up on the bed while swallowing any whimper that threatened to leave her. Everything hurt. Especially her chest but she wasn't really surprised about that. "How are your eyes?" She asked standing up and softly smiling when Michael reached out lightly in case she needed to steady herself.

"Well they are doing just fine." He smiled leading her out of the room. "James is still sleeping, but don't worry I don't think we'd be able to wake him up even if I placed my boombox straight above his ear and started playing some heavy metal." He smirked going into the kitchen. For a moment Nina was tempted to turn around and take a look but decided against it. They offered her so much, she wasn't about to break the only rules they set for her.

"Not a very morning person is he?" She chuckled looking as Michael warmed up a pan.

"Well I could say the same thing about you" Smirked the blonde. "So since you're obviously not from the US. I will give you special treatment" He hummed and at the faint smell of pancakes Nina smiled delighted. "Also we've been working up till late yesterday and he needs his beauty sleep you know?" They both chuckled at that. "ah!" Michael moved to face Nina. "All your cloths are in the drier. I just opened the door to it so they would dry till the end"

"Michael you are the best of the best. And I mean it" Smiled Nina. It was so nice that he didn't touch her cloths (especially undergarment), it was so considerate of him. "I'll be right back" She hopped off the stool and walked to change.

While putting on her shirt the woman had a chance to look at the bruise and she gasped lightly. It looked... hideous? Like now she understood why she was in so much pain. And that looked like something that would take some time to heal. She sighted lightly before coming back her eyes landing on a plate full of pancakes and maple syrup . "Hey, are you Canadian?" She asked with a small chuckled while sitting down and smiling at the delicious looking food.

"How did you guess?" Smirked Michael giving her a plate and cutlery as he sat next to her. "I hope you'll like it." He spoke softly taking a bite before his expression turned a bit more serious. "We'll be probably moving soon so after breakfast I can either call you a cab back to home or, knowing you, I'll just accompany you to the protests, sit you in a safe space, probably ask some people to keep an eye for you, roll you into some foam and then leave." He spoke between bites.

"Really?" Nina looked at him already finishing two pancakes. They were so good, she just couldn't help herself. "That's a shame... but you're leaving the city?" She frowned slightly confused. She couldn't just guess the reason why. These two looked like they could defense themselves easily if they wanted.

"Yup, we have some work to do and we'll be moving for some time..." Replied the man with a small chuckle as he saw the pace at which Nina was eating. "Boring stuff really. But I guess I'm leaving NY in good hands that will n o t get themselves killed anytime soon" He put pressure on the word not and Nina laughed lightly.

"I can't make any promises, but I think you should know it's not that easy to kill those hands" She smiled softly taking her fifth pancake. "But I won't lie I had a mom friend to mom me during the protests." She chuckled. It did upset her a bit that they wouldn't see each other anymore.

"You don't need a mom friend you need a bodyguard!" Laughed Michael and patted her. "Don't worry. We can still reach out to each other. I work in the IT so if you let me I can always keep an eye on you." He offered.

"Wait IT? Then why do you have to move if you don't mind me asking?" Couldn't they just work from home? In this day and age it was better to just stay inside, so why did they have to move?

"Well..." Michael seemed unsure of what to say. "Have you ever he-" A loud punch to the table made Nina yelp and cut through Michael reply. The woman could feel someone reaching from behind her for one pancake. She recognized those hands she wanted to draw, but compared to yesterday she did actually smell James faint scent of cologne. He felt warm against her back and Nina bit her lip softly.

"Good morning" The man spoke groggily, sending Michael a death glare. Michael only smiled.

Nina tensed lightly. She wasn't sure if she should turn around to look him in the eyes or just plant her eyes on her plate. Finally she looked over at Michael and smiled lightly. "Good morning"

"Good morning. I think that's a new record for you to get up so fast" He smiled and then Nina couldn't see anything for a moment as James large palm covered her eyes. "Really man?"

"Safety measures Michael." He replied sending his roommate another glare, while Nina sat still and waited. She could hear the faint clatter of a plate, cutlery and she just waited until James took part of his breakfast and uncovered her eyes.

"Wait! Why did you take so much!" She raised her voice lightly.

"I am tall and have to eat a lot. You are small I have no idea how you even managed to keep on eating after the first one" She could hear James joking but now she could only see the back of his head as he headed toward his room. "I'll bring her to the protests Michael." He added before the doors closed and it was the two of them again.

"Can you imagine! That tree is making fun of my height!" Huffed the woman but there was a small smile on her lips.

"I wouldn't blame him I mean being that far up his oxygen supplies must be low" Smirked Michael and you both laughed. "But I hope we get to meet each other again. Should we exchanged numbers?" He offered and Nina smiled lightly.

"Sure! And even when I fly back home you are welcomed to visit. My roommate won't be wearing a mask at all times" She smirked and Michael nodded.

It felt like it was too soon as she stood at the entrance door being gently hugged by Michael. "Anything happens you call alright? Preferably all the anythings will be positive ones, but I got you fellow mom friend." Smiled Michael and pressed a kiss to both of Nina cheeks while she did the same.

"Same goes for you, okay? Please take care of yourself. And you're eyes as an IT you might be needing them" She chuckled putting on the helmet.

"Noemie come on, I can't have you chat here all day" Reminded her James and both she and Michael sent him a small glare. "You know your timing is kinda eerie sometimes." He sighted from behind his mask.

She waved Michael goodbye and followed James. He seemed to be doing his best and walk at a pace comfortable for her. "Uhm, James... Thank you for borrowing me the bed" She spoke softly looking up at the man as he put on his hood.

"And pajama too." He pointed out which made her raise her brows. "Don't worry about it. You were a injured guest that saved that cheeky bastard eyesight. I'm not sure if it was one but I had to return the favor somehow." He replied looking down at her. "How's your back?"

"Doesn't hurt that much" Replied Nina. While Michael was openly nice, James was like a closet nice. She wish she could've spent some more time with both. Just watching them interact was entertaining to her.

"And honestly?"