BOND

35.

'Cause darling, I get scared for you

And I'm not busy anyway

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Trigger warning: Panic attack

Elena woke up to the sun blazing halfway across the sky, the heat seeping in from the windows she hadn't opened. Groggy, she took note of her surroundings, making sure that nothing was out of place.

The clutter of dishes finally slowed down her increasing heartbeat. If somebody had broken in, they wouldn't be cooking breakfast, or lunch since it was past noon.

"Oh, for God's sake," an irritated voice filtered up to her and she smiled in recognition.

Slipping on a T-shirt three sizes too big and the comfiest pair of socks she could lay her hands on, she padded downstairs, to the background noise of curses.

Chase was in the kitchen, with his back to her, and whatever he was making was giving out thick black smoke and an acrid smell. She stayed back, letting him do what he was trying to.

She watched as he grabbed the container of oil and not the water bottle next to it and poured it over the dish.

"Chase!" Her wail coincided with a louder than ever hissing noise from the stove.

Chase jumped away from the ridiculously ruined falafel he had been making, careful not to burn himself worse than the food itself.

They waited for a minute for the flames to dial down a bit, before moving in with a small fire extinguisher. Another couple of minutes later, with breakfast and the kitchen an extraordinary mess, they took out a bowl of ice cream from the freezer and settled down on the couch.

This had been a usual Sunday morning/afternoon routine with them in London. She was almost always alone at home and he could always be counted on to show up on the doorstep with the biggest tub of cookies and cream he could find.

Flipping through the channels, he settled on the first rom-com he came across, not even having to confirm her opinions.

Well through half the afternoon and the whole of the ice cream, they switched off the television, deciding that it was about time to get off their asses and actually do something.

"I have a flight in two hours," Chase said, stretching himself over the armrest his feet nudging against her thighs which she quickly swatted away.

"Thank you for the heads up," Elena scowled at him, starting to miss him already.

"Don't worry, all you have to do is get in with another gang member and I'll be back before you can blink," Chase shot back dryly, hiding his unwillingness to leave behind indifference and jokes. His protective instincts were on an all-time high regarding her situation with Joey.

He found the boy good enough, but he also knew what he was capable of. Whether he had no choice in the matter because that was the only thing he had ever been taught, or because he actually didn't want to let it all go, the only thing on Chase's mind was Elena's safety.

She laid where she was, talking to Ben who confirmed that Joey was still asleep, while Chase packed up his bags.

She headed out with him, pressed to his side as they walked over to the end of the driveway where Christopher was already ready with a car.

Chase turned around to face her before getting in. "Pumpkin."

"Pepper," Elena grinned back, completing the long running joke.