FINE [P. PARKER X OC]

chapter six

September 23nd, 2016
13:59
Prague One
Czechia
Planet C53; Earth

BLAKE HEAVED and heaved. Damn, she hated this.

Not the running, of course. She never minded running. It was like her drug of choice, perhaps. But a healthy drug of choice.

Which also burned all of her energy to smithereens but you know, there's always worse, right?

And it was the fear that drove Blake. The paranoia that almost suffocated her its grasp with no sorrow or regret. It made her insane. Blake's mid was filled with constant worries and her ears with weird noises and her body was tired of turning to see what's following her (if anything at all) with no ends.

And?

And, well, on top of that, she hadn't fainted in years. Not like that. Not since... well, HYDRA, maybe? Or was it the Kennedy assassination? Blake couldn't remember now, her memories were literally a blur. Faces, countries, voices; everything. It was all gone. Disappearing in the air, like dust to the wind. It reminded her of a book she once read, really. And she hated it.

Also, her brain hurt.

But that wasn't even the big thing, here! The big thing was that she was back! She was vulnerable and alone, in Czech. She didn't know anyone and while she hoped no one knew her she couldn't be one-hundred percent sure. She never could, after all. As soon as your guard is down they'll come. Everyone knows that.

Regardless, she was uncomfortable to say the least. Especially now.

"Um... Promiňte," She stuttered. "Kde je nejbližší letiště?" (Excuse me. Where is the nearest airport?).

Blake cursed herself in her mind. She knew countless languages, sure, but apparently Czech wasn't one of them. It seemed like a good idea at the time, I guess, but not anymore.

But also, the man in front of her was zero help. I mean, was her pronunciation really that bad? She didn't think so, but still...

"Um.. sir?" Blake said. Then, "Er... Vážený pane?" (Sir?)

Again, nothing. Until... "Who are you?"

Blake furrowed her eyebrows, What? "Wait," She said. "You speak English?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

"Uh... yeah," The man said. "Why? Who are you?"

Blake wanted to die then and there. (Well, maybe faint? Maybe dying is extreme, but still. I'm sure you've felt that way before. We all have, right?)

"Um, airport. I - I need directions to the airport."

"Oh," The man said. He paused for a moment, perhaps thinking, and then said, "Can't help you there. Sorry, kid."

Kid? KID?! Blake was not a kid! For all she knew, she was probably older than the man! Surely not a 'kid'! Wait until-

No. As she pressed her lips together, Blake figured the fight wasn't worth it. Not the attention, at least. Not in a place so unknown as here. It's the last thing she needed, really.

And now that she thought of it, Blake realized that she may as well indeed have been better off with Steve Rogers. Sure, she'd be locked up, but really? I mean, really, how bad was that? Surely it was better than here. Safer...

Right?

"Okay," Blake mumbled. "Thanks." Then, she turned and left.

She walked across the streets of Prague, and, for once, was not in her head.

So... perhaps that's why she went so easily.

  .

BONUS SHORT XMAS CHAPTER!!!
so... like... i only know one or two phrases in czech (other than a few curse words lmao) and basically i otherwise had to use google translate here. feel free to comment/dm corrections.
then, second, these chaps will get longer, i promise. this, again, was mostly a filler. thanks for reading!