FVN Chapter 43 Threatened
Chapter 43 Threatened
Woodhull Private Hospital…The warm sunlight lit up the compound and gave it a calm and cheerful vibe. Patients, visitors, and staff were scattered around, enjoying the peaceful day. A few patients sat at shaded tables under big umbrellas, playing games like chess and Scrabble.
Some kids, who looked a bit pale but happy, ran around chasing bright balloons that swayed in the gentle breeze.
Their laughter was at least comforting.
Nurses and caregivers walked between the groups to help out when needed or joining in on the smiles and conversations.
Seated in a wheelchair, Scott looked distinctly out of place among the jovial scene.
He wore the standard patient's uniform, though his lean, muscular build made it look less like medical wear and more like casual loungewear.
Scott's face showed mild annoyance as Emma playfully pushed him forward down the path.
She had such a cheerful grin on her pretty face.
Vastly different from Scott's more skeptical look.
"Alright, Mercury…"
He tilted his head back slightly to glance at her.
"Explain to me again why I'm in this wheelchair? I'm fully recovered. Dr. Rosen said my vitals are fine. I don't need this thing."
Emma chuckled a little impishly.
"Because…"
She sounded a little too proud.
"I've always dreamed of this! You know, being the devoted girlfriend, pushing my injured boyfriend around the hospital garden, feeding him—"
She pointed to the rotisserie chicken in his lap.
"It's so romantic!"
Scott's lips twitched, but he refused to smile.
"First of all…"
He started unwrapping the foil around the chicken.
"I'm not in a life-threatening situation. Second, I'm not your boyfriend, remember?"
The words lingered in the open for a moment.
Emma's grip on the wheelchair handles hesitated, and the cheerful energy she carried seemed to fade. Her smile disappeared, and she lowered her head just a little. She stayed quiet as her silence felt heavier than the cool autumn air surrounding them.
Oblivious to her reaction, Scott tore off a piece of chicken and took a big bite, chewing with evident enjoyment.
He gestured at the meal with one hand.
"Okay, but seriously. How did you know I'd love this? This is perfect."
Emma's voice was soft when she replied as her eyes were focused on the path ahead.
"On your second stream… someone asked you what your favorite food was. You said anything heavy in protein. So, I thought this would be a safe bet."
Scott paused mid-chew as his eyebrow arched in surprise.
"You remembered that? Wait—how many of my streams have you watched?"
"All of them…"
Emma spoke very quietly, but this time she didn't blush at all. She wasn't embarrassed about being caught watching his stream, nor did she feel the need to hide it. She had no shame in admitting it.
Scott stared at her for a moment, taking time to process what she had said. He took another bite of chicken and chewed slowly as he watched her. The path around them was quiet, with the sounds of the other patients becoming distant in the background.
Emma finally looked down at him. Her smile was back, though it was smaller than before.
"Why? Is it strange?"
"Huh…?"
"Your streams… I mean, do you think it's weird that I watch them so much?"
"…"
"I didn't mean to make it awkward. I just enjoy watching because it's… well…"
"Actually, I think it's kind of nice. It makes me feel important when someone like you takes an interest in my streams. Not in the sense of being a hero or anything, but just as a person."
"Really? It's not weird?"
"You're weird… but I think I like you that way."
"…"
Whether he realized it or not, Scott kept giving Emma reasons why she couldn't help but love him. The things he said to her now, along with the things he'd said before, always made her feel special in ways he probably didn't intend. But that was exactly what made the feelings she hoped he'd have for her feel more real.
"Sco-, Nightwatch…"
She paused for a moment.
"What's wrong with me being your girlfriend? Don't you… like me?"
The question hung in the air… soft and vulnerable.
It was a confession she didn't intend to make out loud but couldn't help.
And as the words left her lips, she held her breath.
Scott froze mid-chew as he stared into her eyes.
He could hear the sadness in her voice, the way it held a quiet desperation, a strong need for an answer he wasn't sure how to provide.
Before he could react, before he could stand up or apologize for the confusion, Emma's hand rested on the top of his head, gently pressing him back into the chair. Her grip tightened for a moment, but it wasn't out of frustration. She was just trying to keep him close.
"You don't need to get up. We can just talk like this."
"Uh, alright…"
Scott blinked, a bit surprised.
He furrowed his brow, wondering if this was just another attempt at creating a romantic moment, something to fit the scene or the mood they were building together. But as he looked up at her—her face so close, yet so far away—he saw something he hadn't expected.
The sadness was unambiguous, and it wasn't fake.
She was hiding it from him. And from herself, too.
"So, am I… unattractive?"
"Have you seen your body?" Scott joked.
Emma wasn't in the mood. "By your standard, I mean."
"I don't… I don't think it's about that. It's just that we only just met. I don't—"
Emma cut him off with a trembling voice.
"So you're scared? Scared to date someone who barely knows anything about you?"
She smiled, but it was a bit forced, too wide, like she was trying too hard to make the situation seem less serious.
"I understand. I know that it can be difficult, especially when you have preferences and things you don't want to share right away, but communication… communication can fix all that."
Her smile didn't quite match the sharpness in her voice. She moved closer, her face just inches from his, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity he couldn't escape.
"I know your favorite color. Your favorite foods. Your allergies. Your hobbies, even what types of movies and novels you like! Isn't that enough? Shouldn't that be enough for two people who want to be together?"
She leaned even closer.
"That should be enough, right?"
Scott stared at her without saying anything, his eyes shifting between her eyes and her cherry-red lips. She was so close, and her voice carried a sense of urgency, a fiery energy that was completely different from her usual calm demeanor.
There was such a raw emotion.
『This is…』
It was a strange feeling.
『She's putting my own concerns before her own…』
As much as Maya would do that, there was something about the way Emma did it that felt more.
Special…
Scott swallowed and shifted slightly in the wheelchair, feeling his chest tighten as her breath brushed against his face.
There was such a simple way to respond.
But before he could find the right words, she moved even closer. Her cheek lightly brushed his, making a shiver run down his spine. For a moment, they were so close, and all Scott could focus on was the warmth of her skin and the uncertainty in her voice.
『I should say something…』
Her face was just inches from his now, and he could see the shimmer of hope in her eyes, despite the way her cheeks were tinged with pink.
And in that moment, Scott leaned in just a little more.
"Boop…"
His nose pressed gently against hers as his breath mingled with hers in a soft, hesitant exchange.
"B-, Boop?"
Emma raised an eyebrow, almost snickering.
But at the same time her cheeks went pinker, and for the briefest of moments, she lost herself in the closeness of it all.
Finally, the tension was less.
Scott could now talk.
"What I meant to say… is that I don't know anything about you besides what the television tells me."
Emma blinked, confused. "What?"
He gave her a lopsided smile.
"It would be superficial to rush into dating you just because you're a well-known face on the Internet."
Emma paused, eyes wide, then slowly a smile dragged at the corner of her lips.
"Pffft──You're a jerk."
And with that, she finally let out a small, genuine laugh.
She leaned in to kiss the side of his head before turning back to the path ahead.
"You better date me. I'm not going to waste my time doing a 30-episode shenanigan with you just to get a slow burn kiss that only lasts two seconds, alright?"
"You're watching a little too much K-Drama, Mercury…"
Just then, the System pinged in his mind.
Scott could sense the change—she had accepted it, laughed it off. But there was something about the quiet space between them that made him think more.
It made him question if he had been wrong all along.
[Master Scott, you can learn everything about Miss Mercury by running a level 5
[@NightwatchFanClub: @NightwatchOfficial, PLEASE… no one wants to see Mist hurt, not like this. You've got to save her!]
[@DoomedAgain: (replying to Nightwatch's comment): Dude, are you really joking right now? Mist's literally in danger and you're out here fakin identities and throwing emojis? ????]
[@NightwatchFanBase (Trending Chirp): You don't need to tell us twice. We trust Nightwatch, but even we know this is serious. Please don't let us down. ???? #SaveMist]
[@CrashOutGuy: I swear if anything happens to Mist I'll never watch any of your streams again!]
---
Both Scott and Emma were reading this.
The two looked at each other in shock.
Nightwatch was being called out.
━ ━ ━ ━
Note: Next few chapters will be very interesting if done right, trust me ^-^!!