Excerpt:
Stanley followed him in, and made sure the doors shut behind them. He caught his breath, and said, 'Please, just... could we talk for a minute?'
Maxwell whirled on him, making him jump. Hands connected flat with his chest and shoved him back. 'You take another step and you're talking to my fist!' Maxwell snarled at him.
'Okay. Okay.' Stanley put his own hands up, palms out and open. 'I deserve that. But there's no point getting yourself into trouble over this. Please, just-- just go back there. I'll get out of the assignment.'
'I don't need your helpful advice.' Maxwell's mouth was pressed into a thin, grim line. He stepped in, this time, slowly crowding Stanley back into a row of lockers. 'Go back to the big boys. They'll protect you. You people always protect each other, huh?'
'My people?' Stanley's back touched metal, and he stilled.
'Yeah. The ones you were with while they were beating the living shit out of me.' Maxwell was in his face now, close enough for Stanley to feel the heat radiating off him, unable to look away from malevolent eyes glaring him down. 'I remember you,' Maxwell said. 'You were the one at the door. The one who watched the whole fucking time without lifting a finger.'
Too Many Angels
- Author: tb_ll57 and Marsh
(2xOMC, past 6x2) 38k
The odds of Preventers making one big, happy family out of ex-Rebels, ex-Ozzies, ex-soldiers were never high.
My notes: 95% of the time, the fics I rec have happy endings. This fic is a harder read (CW for suicide, attempted suicide, past physical and sexual assault, and untreated PTSD.) Moreover, half of the fic is an outsider OC's POV, which is not always popular. Duo has to work with a Preventer who was present for an incident from his past, and the two can't help circling around each other, keeping the scabs from healing, and no one in their orbit seems to know how to break the cycle either. This is a good fic for days when you want it to hurt, to know someone else out there is hurting.