Chapter Text
(Chance's POV) + [November 24th, 1:04am]
I had always been curious why people who ask a lot of questions are annoying. Maybe it was because I was that kid growing up or perhaps because I never had to deal with an avid question asker until now.
Mafioso is eye candy. He has a nice body and is proportionally tall. Under his coat, it was clear to me that he wasn't all too mean and scary as he looked with it on, maybe because it hid his rather puppy-looking face or because his demeanor became less confident without it. Either way, I'm not here to ogle at his looks, even with that raven black hair that swoops over his hairline, and that perfectly chiseled face putting on a sorry look.
"Are you checking me out?" He said, sitting in the corner of the living room. Originally, he had pleading eyes, but once he realized I wouldn't pull my gun away, he took on a more devilishly sly smile.
"--and puking at the site." I mutter and shuffle to loosen my tense body. How did we end up alone together? His body was draped on the floor while he clutched onto his abdomen, and mine was slouched on a couch holding the same gun I shot him with. What happened again?...
...*Many hours prior*...
"We need to talk." The second time he said it, I swore we made eye contact. It would be impossible given his fedora that shadowed over his gaze, but I swear I felt it on mine. He stood over me as usual. God, I just wanted him to take the money and leave me alone. My entire body trembled. If he could break a rib from just holding me tightly, what would he do with the chance to rope me into owing him money. I'm rather rich in my own currency, but the corrupted coin is worth 3x the amount of our Points.
I nodded my head to agree. I didn't know what else to do but stare up at him and wait for his command. I wasn't powerless, but what could I say? He knew I was human, and if he called it out, I would be dead in seconds, trials over the border don't go easily, and I doubt my team could get a penny out of anyone responsible. His nose was bleeding, and every time he wiped away a pool of it, more dripped down onto the grass. I heard him swear under his breath.
He reached for my wrist, but I stumbled back in caution. His firm arm clasped around my waist, and suddenly, I was closer to him than I would have been if I had just let him grab my hand. It was an awkward position for him, I could see the way he tangled his body to fit around mine. I had a smaller figure, nicely shaved, but nonetheless skinny. I have muscle, of course, but never the type that showed dramatically. For me; however, I was as comfortable as I could be. It was a nice, firm, cold pillow to be forced onto, and honestly, I was snuggled quite perfectly under him, if it weren't for the embarrassment of being so close I wouldn't have shoved him away. Or at least I attempted to do that, I felt my first try at pushing fail, and on the second, I could humiliatingly tell him to let me go and only grunted to make me feel better. What a jerk.
"It would be bad if you were caught." His voice held some sort of arrogance.
"Could say the same about you." Even with the bar being a front for the mafia he leads, he is still surrounded by the guard. He's been on their most wanted list for years, or at least ever since he became the successor.
For a moment, we stand at a stalemate. He said we needed to talk, yet we haven't left this spot. We didn't need to. My eyes watched his body language as he desperately held his gaze on me.
"May I?" He finally asked after what seemed like years. He held his hand out, at the least he learned not to grab me, I placed mine in his. He wraps his cold fingers around my hand and leans down to present me with his smile. His warm, terrifying, but still warm smile. Along the broken path we went, into the grass and away, he began his speech by saying he only wanted to talk about what I owed. I noticed every time I sighed or took a sharp breath of air he stopped speaking, in fact he did more than just stop, he changed his tone to something lighter. "You seem like a respectable man, enough to know what I want, yes?" His nose never stopped bleeding, even as I nodded my head in offset agreement and focused my eyes on the blood he continued on. I tried dropping bigger hints but no matter what I said or did he continued on about ways to pay off a ten dollar drink. Some would think he's a stickler for money and wants to extort me for more, us smart people know he wants my attention. I felt exhausted of course, it seemed like there wasn't such things as cars or even old timey carriages, everyone walked everywhere. We walked a yard past the bar, into a field of grass that headed slightly further from the border. I made sure to keep within a few miles of the other side for safety but it oddly felt safer to just walk with him. His topics about money never shifted to anything else, he wasn't scatter-brained or messy with his words, he just lingered on with what he wanted.
"You're wasting my time." I mumble as I witness him wipe a stripe of blood from his face with the fabric of his suit. "..You're bleeding." This must have been the sixth time I said it, but at this point it came out as a whisper of annoyance or a plea for him to care enough about it to do something.
"So you've mentioned-.." He too looked annoyed. Why? He was the one walking me through this field. It must have been twenty minutes he's been going on about a measly ten bucks. By now the bar was a small square to the human sight. The shopping district was busy but it seems he was taking me around it, possibly to avoid foot traffic or to get me alone and secluded in order to finally off me. "If you care so much you can fix it."
"Hm?" I stare down at my feet as I walk.
"Honestly I do have ulterior motives then nagging you about buying me a drink." He was so annoying, we both knew that this was a game of following the leader with one babbling king and his servant who just wants him to get to the point.
"Which is?"
"Allow us to walk more, I want you to see for yourself." For a moment I tensed, I don't want to die though I do doubt he has that intention with me, I don't want him to hurt or threaten me anymore but at this point turning back wouldn't be an option. Apart of me, the shaking, panicking, reckless part of me wants to follow with no questions. I want to see why he needs me, why a corrupted such as himself wants to talk with a human like me, and more importantly why he's choosing to do it so respectfully.
As we walk some more, possibly another ten minutes, I hear the blaring sounds of sirens. My head turns back in a sharp turn and I feel my body be pulled. I'm tugged back to the position I met him in, my back to his chest, except this time he didn't bother to cover my mouth or hold my hands. He just hugged me with a tight grip. We slinked behind a tree, it wouldn't hide us long if that was his wish, I lifted my head in a feeble way to stare at him.
"Let me g-"
"It's for you," He whispered in my ear, "-..the sirens are for you." My heart sank as I tensed my bones and attempted to break his barrier. Did they know I was human? Did he rat me out? I felt weak, uselessly small compared to him. He could kill me, or worse, drag me to the shopping district and allow hundreds of corrupteds to tear me apart. Although, if he wanted to do that he wouldn't have brought me away from the district, no if he wanted to collect some bounty or have them torture me to ruins he wouldn't have dragged me behind this tree and held onto me like this. Does he want to kill me hims-..
..
I felt a crack, no, I heard a crack. I didn't feel much. I felt the trigger on my finger, I felt his arms let go and I saw him stumble. But that crack wasn't his, it was mine, I remember, my vision blurred. I remember us running, no, he was running. I was in his arms, bridal style, weak with enough consciousness to hear the sirens blasting. They felt closer than before. The noise was louder, or perhaps I was dizzier. I saw blood, but for some reason, I couldn't tell if it was his or mine. And all at the same time I was still shaking, did I chase this? How long do I plan to go for the thrill, to place myself in these situations for the feeling of fear? Ah..oh well, if I was going to die, at least I would die reckless and afraid, just like he said I would.
..
"..tch....SK...Ow..." A couch, a green one, comfortable and stiff. My body lay still on it, I wanted to move but when I saw him I froze. He wrapped a band or two or gauze around his bleeding waist. I wasn't shaking. His face winced every time he pressed down on his abdomen. I wasn't shaking anymore. Was I dead? Was this my karma? Having to watch him live while I sit here, dead and..well, if I was dead would my heart be beating so loud? Would my head be ringing? His head lifts and I watch his gaze focus on me, his eyes are hidden but even through the darkness shaded over his face I could see him stare at me. Why aren't I quivering in fear? "You're awake?" He takes a step forward, I don't move, he takes another and dares for a third but still I stay without movement. I watched him clear the distance between us in seconds, he stared down and I noticed he took his coat and shirt off, he has a nice body I'll admit, better than mine.
"Unfortunately." My words sort of slipped out, I could have sworn I wasn't suicidal anymore, perhaps it was sarcastic towards his words. At this point my subconscious spoke for me, I was in some form of pain in my side that clouded my thoughts completely. His hand shifted from his abdomen to my face, he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and I suddenly began to shake again. I trembled like the day I met him and reacted on my own as I sat up and punched him in the gut. He hissed and folded to hold himself. I patted my side for my gun but found it oddly laying on a small desk-like table near the couch, in an instant it was pointed at his head. He stumbled backwards when the weapon was in sight and fell to the floor.
"Don't you think once was enough?" I noticed his side, he had been clutching it dearly and I could only assume from his words that I put a bullet through him.
"I shot you.."
"Really?" He smirked, "I had no idea." I jutted the gun towards him and he raised his hands in defeat. He pressed his body into the corner of the living room and smiled. He gave off a pleading look, he had a puppy face for sure, it was almost as if he was begging me to put down the gun. I wouldn't, no, I couldn't. Every fiber of my being couldn't stop shaking, a blanket was resting on top of me (now half-fallen due to my sudden movements), did he put that there? My eyes flicked up and down him, he was a nice looking ma-
"Are you checking me out?"
"..And puking at the sight." I rolled my eyes, he was still annoying.
"Put down the gun, I'm not going to hurt you." He stopped his smiles, grins, smirks, and any other action revolving around his mouth curving up.
"You could. I need to get h-.." I look around to the unfamiliar sight, "Where am I..?" His head lowered as he started to explain the shelter was owned by a friend of his. Apparently his ally wanted a family but had to practically murder their child, they built this cozy home to live a life outside of bloodlust and crime but it failed miserably. It was a shame, this house was next to a beach, it was soft toned and held some sort of beauty in it.
"I brought you here to heal."
"Heal?"
"You passed out," He whispered, "Right after you shot me." He seemed salty about that last part and I can hardly blame him.
"Well thank you but I must go now-" I attempt standing but as I do I feel myself become light headed. I fall back onto the couch and heave my body forward to prevent throwing up.
"You freaked out and ran into the open," He started explaining, "You were hit with an Entangled Sword." I tilt my head for him to explain what I already know. A sword can be enchanted if deemed worthy with Entanglement, it forces a poison on the victim to be practically paralyzed even while in control. I am trapped with him until the effects wear off. I looked out the window, I couldn't see past the curtains but I can tell it was dark outside.
"What time is it?"
"Around one in the morning." He yawned and stood from the corner. He followed the same pattern as before, one step after another.
"Stop, stop moving!" I threatened with my gun but by the time I said anything he had already placed his cold hand around the muzzle. He tilted the gun down and gave me a stare that screamed, "You won't do it." He was right, I wouldn't, he was harmless so far and we both know I couldn't find my way back without him.
"We should sleep." He announced, I allowed the gun to slip out of my hand and into his, which I assume I only did due to the drowsiness of the poison. He placed it right back on the table and leaned down to pull out what seemed to be more couch space.
"What..?"
"Rest will help get rid of the paralyt-"
"No, what are you doing?" The couch pulled out to be a bed, my face hesitated before shifting into a confused manner that he understood very well.
"The owner forbade us from going anywhere but here and the bathroom," He sighed, "You don't suggest I sleep on the floor do you?"
"You can sleep outside for all I care, but you are not going to-" My voice muffled, it seemed like he did whatever he wanted because he had already sat down. The horribly firm couch seemed like a normal soft pillow for him. The natural strength and muscle that came with being a corrupted also accounted for a slightly natural weight increase.
"I don't bite." He pleaded once again and this time I looked at the space he requested we shared. It wasn't small, in fact if we both slept in a respected position we wouldn't have to touch at all. It would still be a tight squeeze and neither of us would be entirely comfortable but perhaps it was inhumane to ask the man with a bullet in his waist to sleep on the floor. I sighed heavily and nodded at him to lay down, we turned away from each other, I was scooted towards the edge with most of the blanket while he slept near the base with no blanket. I couldn't sleep, or at least it felt like I wouldn't, a corrupted was right next to me. The very thing I swore up and down I would hate for the rest of my life was sleeping so peacefully just inches away. My eyes locked onto the rug below, it was quite a nice design. The Entanglement must have made me very compliant because if it weren't for me actively falling asleep I wouldn't have let him turn over and wrap an arm around me.