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There were many things about Lucci that should have made you angry, but you excused all of them in favor of one thing.
Trust.
The man was extremely tactful, charismatic and had a silver-tongue that could make women swoon with only a few words. He was as skilled in lying as he was in killing, and that it is a heavily weighed comparison. Nonetheless, you trusted his words when the two of you were in private, and all you asked for was the same respect.
This was not the case.
He has questioned your purpose in staying with him before, and every time you counteracted with why he didn’t tell you to leave. You would hiss at him to drop it, but the man was extremely adamant and your avoidance with the topic only furthered his notions. It would escalate to yelling, to fighting, to someone having to separate you two and the process would repeat months later.
Unfortunately, tonight was one of those nights that it came up.
Your tail was cramped behind you as the Zoan pinned you tightly against the wall, staring down at you expectantly. You flicked your slit orbs at him and back down to the floor, only to have a clawed hand grip your jaw and force you back into place. An aggravated hiss left your lips, but his snarl quickly drowned it out, following a harsh slam against the wall.
“Damnit, Lucci, just fucking drop it! Do you not realize we go through this every few months and it gets us nowhere?! If it’s so fucking important, why don’t you tell me why you’d willingly stay with me?”
God, you were so tired of this song and dance with him. It never changed, but mostly because the two of you ended up trying to tear each other’s throats out. He would back you into a corner and force that fight-or-flight instinct to run in high gear, and you would always choose to fight back against him. You would choose to bare your fangs at the biggest, most constant obstacle in your life.
Not this time.
Pushing up onto your toes, you kept your arms straight and fought the urge. “So, why don’t you ever answer my question, huh? All you do is bark the same question at me, even after I give you reasons as to why we should just leave it be, but that just isn’t good enough for you, is it? Nothing or no one ever fucking is!”
His gripped slackened just a bit, so you took it as a means to jerk your arms free and continue.
“Why the hell do you want me around? Do you just find it precious to dangle bait in front of me and watch me break down, because you are the only one who knows what gets to me!? You demand an answer from me, but you are the one that bats at me like I’m goddamn squeak toy at every turn!”
You were beginning to lose your grip on your mind slightly, feeling every little emotion you’ve ever allowed yourself to feel for this man bubble to the surface. Unbeknownst to you, your claws were digging into the underbelly of your palm, blood dripping between the cracks of your fingers. It was such an odd sensation to just let your feelings flow like this, but you would be damned if you let this be like any other argument you two have had. You were going to even the score in some way or another.
“For all of your fucking intelligence, you have got be the biggest dumbass I have ever had the displeasure of being involved with! Are you just so fucking blind or do you get off on me struggling with the decision to put my heart on the line or not!? I’m sorry, but training didn’t exactly kill all of my emotions, so I’m really going to need you to stop pressing me for something I don’t think either one of us are ready to hear.”
You were frustrated with how weak this man had made you. After harsh training for most of your life, the only thing to make you feel powerless was this embodiment of all things awful. He was ruthless, cruel and sadistic, but you cared so much for him and it was enough to drive you insane.
Pushing yourself off the wall, you began to head for the door, but you were suddenly yanked back. Instead of the slam of a wall against your back, you felt long arms curl around your body in a foreign embrace. Unable to cling to your last sense of dignity, you pressed your face against his solid chest and gave a small hiccup, tears escaping your reptilian eyes. You cursed him and slammed your bloodied fists against his back, only to knot in the fabric as your body was wracked with repressed emotions.
Over and over, all you could manage was ‘I hate you’, and he chuckled into your hair.
The feeling was mutual.