Chapter Text
Conia shifts uncomfortably.
Her new Admin, Onyx, was probably her least favorite she’s been paired with. That’s saying something given she’s dealt with Agate’s intense silence and Sango’s destructive habits.
They already retrieved the information they needed from this mission, which is to say Conia watched Onyx physically threaten their target into telling them what they wanted to know. She wonders what she was even brought on this mission for, making sure he didn’t finish the job? It wasn’t in her contract that she’d have to stop her boss from mortally wounding people.
She shudders remembering how Onyx had held the guy’s chest with two hands and threatened to squeeze, Garganacl looming nearby. A small consolation is her Golduck’s type advantage, but she’s not sure how applicable that is in this situation.
“That concludes my report” Onyx’s voice is low and betrays no emotion.
“Thank you, Master Onyx. You are relieved”
Onyx pockets his Rotom-phone. She’s met Hamber a few times, and she can’t say she approves of his decision to pair her with half of all the Explorer’s Admins. Still, she knows better than to air her complaints. Especially after the show Onyx put on.
Her Admin doesn’t immediately move after concluding his report, so she speaks up,
“Shall we get going, Onyx-sir?”
He looks at her like he forgot she was there. She wouldn’t be surprised if he did. There’s heavy silence with how he stares at her. She feels increasingly uncomfortable. He’s destructive and unpredictable. Would it be in her best interests to leave now? No, she doesn’t want to lose this job so quickly. She can tough it out.
“Conia, right?” she nods, words stuck in her throat because it’s not good to be addressed like that, “tell me,” there are hands on her shoulders and Conia is acutely aware there’s no one else around, “what made you end up with the Explorers?”
Deep breaths, Conia. She doesn’t like this physical closeness, not after watching Onyx nearly crush a man’s ribs like a soda can. Just answer the question,
“It seemed like a position that aligned with my skills, and I feel my labor is adequately compensated for”
Not a lie, the pay is great. Onyx sighs when she said that, like it was the wrong answer. Ah, he’s not going to crush her ribs for answering wrong, is he?
“Unfortunate, I had hoped you had more . . . interesting reasons to join the Explorers”
Interesting reasons. He seems to enjoy wrecking havoc alongside the other Admin, Sango. He probably wanted her to join because she likes causing problems. Conia glances around at the building Onyx half-destroyed in the process of getting the information. She’s not a huge fan of destruction.
“Apologies, Onyx-sir”
She doesn’t know what else to say. Hands are still on her shoulders. There’s a glint in his eye that makes Conia feel like cornered prey, and the hands move from her shoulders to hovering on her ribs.
“Hmm. I’m sure you can still be fun”
That doesn’t mean he’s going to crush her ribs, right? Damn it, she should’ve run when she had the chance. Maybe he’ll just threaten to crush her ribs and not follow through. Is he the type of person who just likes watching people struggle? She’s not overly fond of the idea, but she can struggle if it means not having her ribs broken.
Hands close around her waist and Conia can’t help the undignified squeal that escapes her. She screws her eyes shut and hears a chuckle. He’s . . . laughing? It takes a moment to notice that her ribs haven’t been crushed.
With a slight smile on his face, he lifts up Conia like she were weightless and sets her against a ledge in the building. Her back is to the wall and Onyx is standing right in front of her, still looking at her like she’s an interesting toy to play with. This feels weird. Conia isn’t exactly short, so it’s been a while since someone picked her up like that. She doesn’t like how effortless it was.
Any hope she had that they might just head back now that their mission is done disappears. Does this place even have an HR? She doubts it.
“Onyx-sir, can I ask what you’re doing?”
He leans forward to rest his head against her neck. She tries hard not to shift away from the uncomfortable feeling of his breath on her skin. It’s worse when he speaks,
“Entertaining myself”
She’s grateful when he leans back to look at her, no longer taunting her neck. There’s an odd expression on his face.
“O-” the moment she opens her mouth to speak, there’s a hand on the back of her head and a tongue in her mouth. She goes stiff. Don’t fight it. The last thing she wants is to piss Mr. Rib-breaker off.
He didn’t strike her as the type . . . maybe she should’ve figured it out based on his tendency towards destruction and lack of regard for others safety. Yeah, that’ll do it.
Conia tries her best to relax, despite how uncomfortable she is. The hand on the back of her head loosens its grip on her hair and she breaths a sigh of relief. Onyx takes this as a sign to continue.
Strong hands are pulling her hips forward against his, before boxing her in against the wall. She turns her head slightly, but a hand on her cheek guides her forward again. He’s really intense about this.
She keeps her eyes closed. Maybe it would be easier to pretend he’s someone else? Someone Conia trusts. She tries to imagine it’s Zir cradling her cheek and Zir’s hand on her thigh, but everything about Zir is gentle. Soft words, careful touch, he wouldn’t be pressing her back against concrete foundation or trying to lick the inside of her teeth, at least not unless Conia asked him to.
As uncomfortable as she is right now with Onyx trying to taste every inch of her mouth, she’s more annoyed this means she’s going to have to leave her job. Unless Hamber reassigns her again. But, she’s already been to 3/5 admins and she’s not sure some magical Explorers Admin with morals and a good understanding of why power dynamics and consent don’t mix is going to show up out of nowhere and be her saving grace.
Finally, after what felt like minutes of a rather one-sided makeout session, Onyx steps back. He lifts her off the ledge and sets her on the ground next to him. He doesn’t look any different than he did five minutes ago.
Was all that just a power flex, or did he really just want to see what would happen?
A guiding hand rest on her back,
“Let’s get going, then”
Not even going to talk about it. She’s fine with that. She’d prefer it never happened to begin with, but not addressing it is the next best thing. She debates whether or not she wants to tell Zir.
—
“Master Amethio has requested you transfer to his supervision, would you like to accept?”
Conia looks up at Hamber. Master Amethio is the teenager, right? She’s only seen him a handful of times. She’s not sure why someone so young is working for the Explorers, but he seems to have his head straight. Unlike Onyx or Sango.
“Yes, I accept. Did he mention why he wanted me to transfer?”
A figure steps into the doorway.
“Why don’t you ask me yourself?”
Despite the word choice implying a degree of annoyance, Amethio doesn’t seem to hold any malice in his words. Hamber bows slightly and leaves the two of them alone.
Amethio steps into the common area where Conia had retreated to after her mission with Onyx and takes a seat. He’s seated a respectable distance from her.
“Not to make you uncomfortable with any conclusions I’ve come to, but Onyx doesn’t have a great track record with how he treats his employees. If you’d prefer to leave the organization, I can help you facilitate that move. Otherwise, I can claim priority of up to two subordinates to prevent you from having to partner with any other Admins”
A magical Explorers Admin with morals and a good understanding of why power dynamics and consent don’t mix, and they said miracles don’t happen.
He looks at her, patiently waiting for a response,
“You said you can claim priority of up to two, is there anyone else on your team right now?”