hannyakoma | mother's protection [cowt10 | week 03

Prompt: Luna nuova (neonato/a)
Word count: 836
Rating: sfw
Fandom: Originale
Note: Mild violence nella seconda parte, I think?

The first time he found out about the experiments, he wasn't really concerned in the least. He knew his colleagues had been searching a way to isolate the genetic code that brought up the mutations in the mankind and destroy it, but he didn't really think much about it.

Not up until now.

Now that he married one of the "mutated" humans without knowing.

Dunya was the sweetest woman he ever came across. Kind, amiable and most of all so passionate about the smallest of things. Also, the fact that she was the one pursuing him first, like a fiery huntress with her prey, had also been part of her charm.

The long and the short of it, he fell in love, married her and, well. They were a family of three, now.

It was the happiest he's ever been, as cheesy as that sounds, with an adorable wife and a lively little girl as his first born: Irina had definitely taken after her mother in looks and Vladimir could already see that she was bound to grow up as a very gorgeous woman, even as a baby.

(he might also be very partial, but still)

"We're lucky, right? Our little Iri is very cute, isn't she?" Dunya's voice sounded softer than usual as she spoke to him, holding the little girl in her arms. Said little girl raised one hand to grab the long strands of hair dangling before her--he probably should consider getting a cut soon, but the smile on his daughter's face more often than not stopped him from just doing that.

Vladimir sighed quietly, hugging his family with a contedness he never knew before. Life was good.

His day at work was almost over when he received that goddamn call. Dunya's voice was far from the usual softness: hiccups, heavy breaths, too many pauses between a word and the other. He could tell she was panicking.

Of course, Vladimir literally rushed home to see himself what happened--he got that someone attacked his family, but if Dunya was able to call him then maybe the situation wasn't as bad. Maybe the men he put on protection duty had already done their job.

He almost broke the door when he basically threw himself inside his house and froze at the show before his eyes. Three men on the left side of the corridor, two on the right. Far cries of a baby shook him into action.

Where was his family?

Were they alright?

(God please let them be, please please please--)

He ran. Passing rooms and stairs littered with broken furniture and glasses, from where the photo holders fell. Bullet holes looked like constellations on the walls. But the cries continued and he hoped and pleaded so much, until he got to the room the cries came from.

He opened the door and froze.

His eyes fell on the nine--no, ten lifeless bodies on the floor. In front of them, holding their child tightly in her arms, Dunya sat. She was on the little armchair near the window, whispering reassurances to her daughter while cuddling her.

"What-" He almost choked on his words when he felt a surge of pure terror, like an invisible hand grasping his heart and squeezing slowly, until it couldn't beat anymore-

A loud gasp left Dunya's mouth and at the same time that terrible sensation left. As if it was never there. She moved slowly, tentatively, towards him and he had to control the urge to step back. His instincts and his desires stood one against each other for the first time in ages.

"Dear, I'm… I'm so--so sorry, I didn't even… realize i-it was you… and I almost…"

His arms closed around her waist and shoulder after hearing her voice. Broken by sobs, shaky, but also with a lot of relief.

"Dunya, did you… do all of this?" He was answered with silence. "Love… It's fine, I know it will be."

The man's voice sounded more strained that he meant it to and he knew. He couldn't reassure his wife for real.

She was a mutant. She could kill with her ability, that much was clear if the dead bodies with no bullet wounds--the tell tale sign of the organization's hitmen doing their job.

He realized then.

The organization will kill her if they find out.

And his daughter. Could it be that she was one too? If she grew up and developed an ability, then--

"Vladimir… Please… At least her… I don't care for myself, but Iri… I beg you, keep her safe from them…"

Selfless, loveable Dunya. He had no doubt she meant what she just said. His mind locked down for a moment, thinking about the possibilities of saving both his wife and his daughter.

He looked at the bodies.

The only witnesses were the two (three) of them.

He could work something out. To protect his family, even if it meant betraying the Brotherhood.

"We'll be fine. You'll be fine."

I've got this.