Broken:

Alex shook as he stood holding himself up against the wall. His right leg was wobbling trying to support all of his weight. The feeling in his left leg had yet to return, though Yassen had been right that his toes did move. The leg also did not give out immediately on him if he placed the foot gently down and pushed some of his weight onto it. It was still too weak though to have him standing normally.

Sighing he glanced longingly back towards the bed. He shouldn't have gotten up, it had been a bad idea. He was certain he would crumble the moment he made a move, at the moment he was running on pure willpower. The embarrassment of possibly having to crawl back or worst being found like a broken doll on the floor.

"You shouldn't be standing." Jumping, Alex tried turning only to find his right leg completely locked up. This caused him to slide slightly sideways, the movement almost taking him to the floor. "They've taken you off the morphine, once it wears off you will be in a lot of pain." Alex only nodded catching his breath and steadying himself again. Glad that he had not ended up a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Cobra." The man nodded in greeting stepping completely into the room and closing the door.

"You should get back into bed." Alex would have laughed if he wasn't concentrating so hard at not falling.

"I would love to, but I seem to be stuck."

Cobra took in Alex's appearance, taking in the shaking right leg and the way his hip and upper body was pushed against the wall. His hands clenching tightly against it as if he was hoping it would some how hold him up.

Smiling he made his way over, placing his arm around the boy's waist before using his other hand to pull Alex's left arm over his shoulder. The moment he did this he felt the boys legs buckle beneath him and he became the only pillar holding Alex up. Laughing lightly at the embarrassed look on Alex's face as the boy buried his head and fingers into Cobra's sweater.

"Just get me back into the bed," the boy grumbled.

"Sure you don't want me to carry you out into the halls."

"Don't you dare." His glare was light, too exhausted from his little adventure to care if Cobra actually did carry him out or not.

Instead of answer Cobra swooped down and picked Alex up into his arms. The boys brown eyes locked onto his bandage covered hands, studying them for a while. "Your hands are.."

"Almost healed, more than I can say about you," Cobra finished, refusing to be fussed over by someone who was in a far worse state than him.

Having been finally placed back into bed Alex's relaxed back and closed his eyes in contentment.

"I'm surprised you managed to get up."

"Me too. I blame it on the drugs." Cobra nodded amusement clear in his eyes.

"I'm glad you are awake, for a moment I thought we had lost you." Staring down at his hands he ran them over his face, before looking back into Alex's brown eyes. Dulled again with not a hint of the clear almond he had seen just a little over a week ago. "I am sorry I wasn't able to help you."

Alex cocked his head to the side, confused at the sudden apology and slightly fascinated with the fact that Cobra did look rather miserable.

"Why are you apologizing? You were captured too."

"Yeah, but I wasn't the one being tortured." Cobra snapped. Flinching, Alex drew away.

Why don't you beg Alex.

Rough hands were back. The cool slide of steel across his skin, causing him to tense and shudder out an unsteady breath.

You will remember, won't you? Remember this pain.

The tears came without his bidding, a desperate plea for help that his mouth could not formulate.

Let me live on in you, I'll make sure you never forget.

A hot hand was placed on his face and he pulled away with a sharp cry, twisting sideways to escape the continuous nightmare. Instead of disappearing the hands came down like steel, locking his shoulders down. Expecting pain, Alex withdrew into himself, but nothing came and slowly the rushing in his ears withdrew enough that he could make out the sound of someone talking. But it wasn't the rough sneering voice he had been expecting. He could make out the panicky notes and it made him listen closer out of curiosity. Why would the person be in panic, he wasn't the one in pain.

Alex didn't know how long he drifted before he finally came back. The shake voice of Cobra babbling on above him. With strength he still didn't know he could muster up, he opened his eyes to the harrowed look of the young man.

"Alex?" Cobra queried. Eyes shifting uncertainly towards the door, before fixing upon Alex's own. "Should I go get Yassen?"

For a moment, all Alex did was stare, his brain sluggishly processing the information before he replied with an as even voice as he could, "No, it has passed. Sorry if I scared you." I scared myself as well.

"You certain. I'm not an expert on panic attacks, but Delta's hospital has therapists as well."

The information caused a small smile to form on Alex's face, "Therapists for the killers."

"You may laugh, Alex, but everyone knows that if you want to run a business you need sane workers. Or you know, as sane as anyone willing to kill can be." There was amusement in his voice as he entertained Alex's thought process.

It was a long awkward silence before Alex mustered up anything else to say, "I'm not broken," came out as if in repetition of what had happened earlier with Yassen. A mantra more for himself than the person in the room. Something desperate for him to hold on to, for someone to agree with.

"You're only as broken as you want yourself to be, Alex," Cobra answered. His eyes more gentle than Alex could remember ever having seen them. Staring down at him steadily, with an unnerving strength and belief, that he truly only was broken by his own mentality.

The subject was uncomfortable, the idea something he wasn't quite ready yet to hit upon. Instead he switched focus, taking in the bandaged hands still laid gently upon his shoulders. "What happened to your hands?"

"Lost a fight with a fishing wire."

Alex blinked at that, "Did you at least catch the fish?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I did," Cobra answered hesitantly, before lapsing into silence again. "You know, Yassen told me he went to pick you up to keep you safe. Yet, we failed rather miserably at that. I guess I couldn't see why he was so fixated on you. Yassen, who hates being a teacher. Yassen, who doesn't care about anyone else but himself. Yet there he was, teaching you, protecting you. It was childish of me to be jealous of you over something like that. Of disregarding you simply because I couldn't understand why Yassen never looked twice at me but was so willing to teach you."

A part of me feels like I failed him, by getting you hurt when Yassen was away. I was finally an equal to Yassen, but I realize now that that isn't true. I was deluding myself, hoping that my score record as an assassin would somehow even the fields between us. And in the end, I couldn't keep us from getting captured. Couldn't help you," He trailed of, eyes locked on the headboard of the bed.

"I don't think I'm understanding," Alex said softly. "I couldn't do anything either. I don't think I blame you," he ended lamely. Uncertain about his own wordings, and what the man wanted from him. Was Cobra apologizing about something? Alex didn't feel experienced enough with social situations to understand where all of this was coming from, and so suddenly.

He was still in pain, his head cottony and his limbs shook slightly still from his earlier exertion.

Cobra scratched his head, grimacing, "I guess what I'm trying to say is I wish I could have done something for you. You didn't deserve what happened to you. All in all, I wouldn't mind working with you in the future. So don't give up on yourself just yet, okay."

The steady stare was back, and if Alex had been in any better health he would have most likely flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm not gonna work for Scorpia," Alex declared, eyes hardening up in determination.

Cobra just laughed, "That's the spirit."

-Tsubasa-

Seriously, I am sorry that I never continued on this story. I guess slowly over time I started forgetting why I was writing it and every time I reread my previous chapters I itched to change how I wrote. This will be the end to this story. I hope it is okay, I feel I wrapped it up good enough, still lots of loopholes, but I leave that to all of yours imagination.

Thank you for reading.