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You were having a mid-morning nap after a particularly exhausting night shift when a loud crash suddenly woke you up. You looked around, feeling incredibly disoriented and confused. You could hear laboured breathing and it seemed to be coming from inside your flat. You jumped off the sofa with a grunt and went to look for the source of the strange noises. You were walking across the living room when you saw him. A tall man dressed in all black with strange smoke drifting off of him, hunched over near the vase he had apparently just knocked over. When you came closer you realised that it wasn’t smoke at all, it was as if his entire form was constantly disintegrating and being put together again. You glanced at his face and were met with a scary looking mask in the shape of a skull.
Who was this stranger and how did he get in here? You looked over to the front door but it was closed and you saw no signs of forced entry. He seemed to have noticed that he wasn’t alone and lifted his head to look at you with terrifying crimson eyes. You hastily took a step back and lifted your hands up in the universal sign of surrender. Maybe he was just lost and would leave you alone if you showed him that you were harmless and unarmed. “Where am I?” he asked in the deepest voice you’d ever heard and you had to swallow a few times before you were able to answer him. You told him the address, leaving the “in my apartment” bit unsaid. He groaned in pain and you could tell from the way he was holding his ribs that he must be wounded.
Your desire to heal trumped your fear and you slowly moved closer to him, while keeping your hands up. “Let me help you,” you announced softly but the only response was another grunt. You kept walking towards him and suddenly you had an arm full of dark fabric as he collapsed onto the floor. You couldn’t hold his entire weight but you made sure to lower his head as gently as you could to avoid further injury. You had time to wonder about where he came from later, right now this man clearly needed help. You briefly considered calling an ambulance but somehow you knew that it would cause you and him more trouble than you could handle. You grabbed your medical supplies and crouched beside him to evaluate the damage and the most urgent wounds.
You took a moment to find the clasp for his mask and then gradually lifted it from his face to allow him to breathe more easily. You gasped when you saw what was hiding behind the skull. His face was covered in scars and burn marks and his eyes and nose seemed hollowed out like a corpse. What had happened to him? You quickly leaned in to confirm that he was still breathing and then started undoing the upper part of his armour. You could see a lot of blood and you assumed he had at least a few broken ribs. When you had finally shed all layers and were looking at light brown skin covered in blood and other fluids, you noticed something peculiar. The black smoke you had seen earlier seemed to rise directly from his body and it moved like it was alive.
Whatever had been done to this man was way beyond your understanding of science and you silently observed the dark tendrils for a moment before continuing to investigate the wound. He had lost a significant amount of blood but strangely the damage did not seem as severe as it should have been. You wondered if the dark vapour had anything to do with this. Maybe it contained self-healing capabilities? You shook your head in astonishment and started cleaning the wound. It was a deep laceration but it didn’t look life-threatening and after wrapping a bandage around the area you were pleased with your work.
You wanted to put him into a more comfortable position but he was too heavy for you to move his unconscious body. You grabbed a cushion from the sofa and gently lifted his head to prop it up slightly. Since his upper half was exposed, you spread out one of your many blankets over him and tucked his sides in. Now he looked less like the dangerous shadow you had first encountered and more like a tired little burrito. You laughed at the image and got up to make yourself some tea. There was nothing to be done until he woke up and hopefully didn’t decide to kill you.
You had noticed the gigantic shotguns attached to his hips but you didn’t dare remove them. His legs didn’t seem injured so you thought it best to leave them as they were. You took his blood soaked clothes and flung them in the washing machine on a quick cycle. Afterwards, you felt too jumpy to go back to sleep with this intimidating stranger in your house so you decided to watch TV instead. “Where is my armour?” you heard as if through a haze and you realised you must have fallen asleep despite the danger. You opened your eyes and the stranger was towering over you, mask back in place but naked from the waist upwards.
“It’s in the washing machine,” you mumbled, still trying to come to terms with being awake. He just stared at you, red eyes glowering behind his mask, and you swallowed hard. You quickly manoeuvred towards the bathroom, painfully aware of his eyes on your back and grabbed his now clean but still decidedly wet clothing. “I don’t have a dryer,” you added with an apologetic smile, “but I can hang them up for you.” He nodded and the whole exchange felt strangely domestic. When you returned to the living room, he was sitting on the sofa, staring holes into the air. You held up a large jumper from an ex flatmate and offered it to him. He looked at you for a long moment but then took it from your shaking hands and put it on.
“Do you want something to drink?” “No” was his brusque response. “Okay, no worries. Can I ask you - “ “No” he stated again, louder and angrier this time. You chuckled nervously and responded in what you hoped was a reassuring voice “Got it. No questions.” You turned around to pick up your mug and when you looked back at the sofa, he was gone. You wondered if he was somehow able to teleport, it seemed like the only reasonable explanation for him appearing and disappearing without a trace. The rest of the day you couldn’t stop thinking about this unusual man and you caught yourself more than once thinking about how adorable he had looked in the cosy jumper.
The next day it almost felt like it had been just a dream but his black gear was still on the drying rack and the leftovers of the broken vase sat in a bag near the door. You folded his clothes as neatly as you could and placed them on the coffee table for when he would collect them. Which you assumed he would do, since they seemed high quality and custom made. This time he managed to teleport in without breaking anything but you almost jumped out of your skin when you caught his gravely voice behind you. “Jesus Christ, could you please use the door next time? You almost scared me into an early grave”, you exclaimed while throwing him an exasperated glare.
He kept staring at you and you uncomfortably averted your eyes. “Your clothes are next to the sofa,” you mumbled while trying to figure out what to do with your hands. Since he was apparently not about to kill you or even hurt you, his presence didn’t seem as daunting as it had the day before and you managed to calm yourself down. “Thanks,” he responded gruffly and you broke out into a smile. He took off the jumper in one fluid motion and you noticed he had taken your bandage off.
His skin looked like it had never been cut in the first place and you let out a disbelieving huff. When he turned his head you pointed it out and he made a sound that could almost be classified as a laugh. “My cells regenerate faster than the average human’s,” he explained and you were instantly intrigued. “Can you tell me more? I want to know how it works. You know, if it’s okay.” He appeared surprised at your lack of fear and disgust and it took him a few breaths to respond. “Fine,” was all he said and when he moved to sit down on the sofa, now fully dressed, you immediately joined him. He spent a short while describing the “molecular cleansing” process and you were listening with rapt attention.
You didn’t even know such things were possible and yet he was living proof that modern science had evolved in a fascinating, if slightly terrifying, direction. He indulged your barrage of questions with a surprising patience and you felt yourself relax in his presence. “That’s so fascinating, thank you for sharing. Are there any side effects?” you finally asked and he sighed audibly. “It can be very painful at times,” he admitted and you had to fight the urge to rub his hand in a soothing manner. You may have had to touch him when you were patching him up but now that he was awake and healed you wanted to keep a respectful distance.
Your stomach growled and you got up to make yourself something to eat. You offered to share your food but he declined, stating that only eats specialised rations for his condition. You were about to check the fridge for ingredients when his broad frame crowded you against the kitchen counter. “You have seen my face” His voice was low and dangerous and you felt apprehension rise in your stomach. “I had to make sure you were breathing”, he cocked his head at your response and you nervously continued, “I..I don’t know who you are, if it’s any consolation.” He took a step back and you hoped that your answer had satisfied him.
“I’m keeping my eye on you,” he said and his voice sounded softer than earlier so you allowed yourself a deep breath of relief. “Oh sure, uh, you know where to find me,” you stammered awkwardly and you could feel your face flushing a deep red. “I realised I never introduced myself,” you continued and told him your full name to which he replied that they call him “Reaper”. Of course the terrifying man had an equally terrifying name.
Reaper made good on his word and kept checking in on you on a regular basis from that point onward. He even managed to use the door sometimes and it seemed he was making an effort to announce his arrival as to not scare you half to death each time. He must have realised by now that you were no threat to either his identity or his work but he kept showing up and after a while you fell into a kind of routine. You always offered him tea despite him declining every single time and then you sat on the sofa together in comfortable silence. You told him about any funny or awful occurrences that had happened at the hospital that day and eventually he started sharing some details about his work.
He never revealed exactly who his employer was or why he was sent on these particular missions but he complained about annoying team mates and bragged about sneaking up on unsuspecting victims. He soon realised that you were entirely unfazed by descriptions of violence or injuries and he even explained how his shotguns worked. You didn’t know much about firearms but even you could tell that they were special issue and probably the only ones of their kind in the entire world.
You didn’t quite know when Reaper became a constant in your life but you noticed you were looking forward to his irregular visits and you missed him when he didn’t show for an extended period of time. Sometimes his missions would take him out of the country for days and weeks on end and you always worried for him. He was strong and capable but even with his rapidly regenerating cells he was not invincible and you were highly aware of how dangerous his work was.
One time when he hadn’t shown up for over a month you had already feared the worst until a gruff “Hello” interrupted one of your gaming sessions and you practically flung yourself at him. He reciprocated the hug and laughed softly in your ear as you berated him for worrying you. It didn’t take long for you to realise that underneath his distant and violent demeanour he was really just a touch-starved kitten looking for his place in the world. Not that you would ever tell him that, you had no interest in finding out what his shotguns looked like from the other end.
You made sure to casually reach out to him at any opportunity and you were pleased to notice that he instinctively leaned into your touch. He kept you up-to-date on his physical development and you learned that the person responsible for his condition – someone named Moira – was also working on ways to relieve his constant agony. On days when the pain was especially bad he seemed to radiate anger and resentment and this would sometimes lead to him shouting at you but you were never truly frightened of him. Today appeared to be one of those occasions and you patiently listened to him ranting about a dreadful decision one of his superiors had made that led to a number of wounded agents on what should have been a simple mission.
You were sitting on the sofa together, close enough that you could feel the warmth emanating from his constant cell regeneration. You had gotten used to the feeling of the smoke like tendrils reaching out to you when you got close and you often wondered what the mechanism behind that behaviour was. You had asked Reaper once but he had only denied everything and left soon after so you hadn’t mentioned it again. He finished his tirade with an exasperated sigh and leaned into your shoulder.
You decided to be bold and took one of his hand in yours to interlace your fingers. He always took his gloves, shoes and weapons off when you spent time together and you appreciated that he could be so relaxed in your presence. He turned to look at you, his crimson eyes wide and confused behind his mask. Since he didn’t object you simply smiled and enjoyed the feeling of his warm hand in yours. You sat in comfortable silence for a while before he got up to leave with an apologetic shrug. “I know, I know. Duty calls”, you grinned and helped him re-attach the gun holster to his hips.
He looked at you for a long time before he cradled your face with his gloved hands and you could feel his claws tickle your neck. He leaned in and your forehead ended up touching the top of his mask and you basked in this sign of affection that was so Reaper. Soon after he left in a cloud of smoke – he did like his dramatic disappearance acts – and you were left with a tingling feeling on your face and a rapidly beating heart. “Mama, I’m in love with a criminal,” you sang softly to yourself and then chuckled at the absurdity of the situation.
“I could use some help”, his low voice startled you out of a delightful daydream you were having and you immediately jumped up to enquire what he needed. It turned out that one of the cells his organisation, Talon you had learned recently, set up had been busted by a competing group and the members had to go into hiding. Reaper had been on-site that day as a delegate from headquarters and now his picture was all over the enemy’s radar. “Do you want to lay low here for a bit?” you asked as you softly pulled his gloves off and he nodded.
You prepared the guest bedroom and got more of your old flat mate’s clothing out so that Reaper didn’t have to sleep in his armour. “Are these your boyfriend’s clothes?”, the man in question suddenly asked as you were making the bed. You shook your head and responded “No, my old flat mate moved abroad and he couldn’t take much stuff with him. I kept a lot of his clothes because they’re quite cosy.” Reaper seemed pleased with that answer and disappeared into the bathroom to change. When he came out you had to put your hands in front of your mouth to prevent an embarrassing squeal from escaping.
He had taken his mask off and was looking strangely small and innocent wearing sweatpants and a loose hoodie. He had only shown you his face a few times since that first involuntary time and it always felt like a gesture of great respect that you valued highly. You had made it abundantly clear from the beginning that you were neither frightened nor repulsed by his scarred skin and it seemed that over time he actually started believing it. “If you need anything else later on and it’s not life-threatening, please wait until tomorrow morning because I value my beauty sleep”, you announced and turned to leave the guest room.
He stopped you by grabbing your arm and you gave him a questioning look. “There is something I need.” You nodded and waited eagerly for his response. Instead of continuing, he gently held your face between his large hands and you felt like you were drowning in a sea of scarlet. His eyes were much brighter without the mask and you tried to determine the emotions swimming in them. You didn’t have to wait long for the answer as his scarred lips descended on yours in the softest and most earnest kiss you had experienced in a long time. Your arms snaked around his torso to hold onto his back and push your bodies closer together.
His mouth was moving softly against yours and you felt like you were dreaming. When his tongue requested entrance you breathlessly parted your lips and a low moan escaped his throat. You wanted to take that sound and burn it into your mind so you could listen to it again and again. His fingers were caressing your neck with delicate movements and you were starting to feel light-headed. He tasted of ash and mint and something undeniably Reaper that made the butterflies in your stomach flutter around wildly.
When you eventually parted to breathe he kept your body close to his and you could see a warm smile appear on his face. Your insides were slowly turning into mush and all you could do was stand on your tip toes to smash your mouths together again. He reacted instantly and greedily swallowed all the needy noises you were making. Your tongues were moving lazily against each other and the warmth of his body was seeping into your skin like a hot drink on a cold winter’s day.
You moved infinitely closer to him until you could feel his hard chest and broad shoulders and he responded by further deepening the kiss. His lips were moving frantically against yours and you felt heat spread from your abdomen into your entire body. When he pulled back with a final sigh against your lips you were about ready to dissolve into a puddle onto the floor. “Wow,” you mumbled and his laugh was the most beautiful sound. “You’re very good at this,” you added with a grin and you could have sworn a blush formed on his cheeks at your words.
He looked at you with a solemn expression on his face and announced quietly “I will always return to you, my sunshine. I walk in the shadows but you bring me into the light.” You were thoroughly stunned by his confession and it took you a moment to remember how to form sentences. You gently laid your hand on his chest to feel his heart beat and finally settled on the words that had been dancing around in your heart for some time now: “I love you.”