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You don’t really know how or when you got here, but by the time you come to your senses, you find yourself standing in front of the door to Sylus’ mansion in the N109 Zone, drenched from head to toe in the rain. Sylus is now standing before you, but instead of his usual smirk and amused greeting, today he doesn’t say anything. All he does is take your hand in his, tugging you gently into the shelter of his home and pulling you into his arms as he shuts the door, leaving only the sound of raindrops falling from your clothes and your ragged breathing between you.
“It’s not every day I see you like this, kitten,” he murmurs, squeezing your hand in his. You don’t realise it’s trembling and cold until his warmth blankets you and eases the ache in your chest just a little. “Go take a hot shower. I’ll get your clothes—”
“No.” Your fingers dig into his leather jacket, pulling him close to you and not letting go. “I don’t want to.”
“You’ll catch a cold.”
“It won’t kill me.” On the contrary, if Sylus were to let you go now, you might just shatter into a million pieces, right on his ridiculously expensive carpet.
“But Linkon City would be in danger without a certain hunter protecting it for a few days.”
“It can burn, for all I care.”
Surprisingly, you mean it. You could leave it all behind if you could; running away would be far easier than having your heart shattered at every step of the way as you dig your way to the truth.
There’s a moment of silence, presumably as Sylus contemplates what to do with you. You consider storming out if he tries to get you to talk, or forces you into the shower, but then all he does is place his hand on the back of your head, pressing a kiss to your forehead.
“Alright,” he concedes with surprising ease, “I’ll take you to bed. It’s late.”
You don’t protest when he scoops you up in his arms effortlessly, only mumbling an apology into his shirt for getting him wet. He hums as if to say he doesn’t mind it, and you let him carry you through the familiar dark hallways towards his bedroom. On the way you hear faint caws from Mephisto as he trails behind, until Sylus whistles for him to leave you both.
The doors to the bedroom open, but as Sylus attempts to set you down on the bed, you stubbornly cling to him like a petulant child, shaking your head as a whine of protest leaves you.
“You don’t want to lie down?”
“No. Hold me.”
“It seems I have a koala on my hands tonight,” Sylus comments with a lighthearted chuckle. He proceeds to sit down on the bed while still holding you in his arms. “You’re in luck. My schedule is clear for the night so I can entertain you until you fall asleep.”
You shake your head. “Can’t sleep. Don’t want to sleep.”
“Then we can stay like this. And if you want, you can tell me what compelled a stray kitten to brave the rain all the way into the N109 Zone.”
“Mephisto should have told you about it by now,” you say.
Sylus doesn’t deny it, only running his fingers through your messy wet hair and carefully undoing the knots and tangles in them.
“He only told me you made contact with the Farspace Fleet. I’m not privy to the details beyond that.”
Your fingers ball into fists. You had figured as much; that Sylus would know about it already. It’s the main reason you’re here, because you’re not sure who else would understand. Everyone else would think you’re crazy, bringing up a dead man and claiming to have seen him again, months after the fact.
“He’s alive. Did you know about that? Before this, I mean.”
He pauses for a second. “I see you’ve met then.”
So your hunch was right. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you try to steady your trembling voice. “How long have you known that he was alive?”
“Sweetie, my intel is not as comprehensive as you think it is.”
Your voice rises sharply in warning. “That’s not an answer.” You don’t have the patience or time to deal with his cryptic non-answers today.
Sylus sighs, and you feel his breath fan out across your shoulder. “I found out not too long ago myself. It seems he was in hiding for a while and was only recently promoted to captain.”
“You said something about it before. That— that maybe it’s the people closest to me who want to kill me the most.” You pull back slightly, in order to meet his eyes. “Were you referring to him? Does… does he want me dead?”
He sighs, a cynical smile lifting his lips. “Would my answer change anything?”
“I… I don’t know. But I want to know. Tell me.”
“Unfortunately, kitten, the answer can’t come from me.
“Why not?”
“It’s only speculation on my end — like I said, the information I have isn’t complete. And, in my experience,” his eyes fall on you with a frightening chill in them, “it’s only after you’ve been betrayed that you’ll accept it as the truth. Up to that point, it’s easier to believe in the lie that they’ve always been on your side.”
His words are harsh, and the sting of the truth in his words prompt angry tears to fill your eyes. You look away, fighting the urge to punch him, or anything that will direct your mind away from the truth that maybe you never truly had a family to begin with.
“But when that time comes, you’ll have me.” He tips your chin up to meet his gaze again. “Whatever it is you desire: blood, revenge, or destruction — just say the word. I’ll make it happen.”
Blood? Revenge? You consider it for a moment, and the image of your beloved grandmother and older brother — what was once your family — has your heart breaking all over again. You’d do anything to have it all back, to go back to the time when you knew nothing about the secrets and darkness lurking underneath it all.
“No,” you tell him, “I want something else.”
“Tell me.”
Your fingers dig into his shirt, nails finding his skin beneath the fabric. Your grip tightens as you bite down on your lip to keep the tears from falling.
“Don’t betray me. And don’t leave me. Ever.”
Sylus flashes you a small smirk, before wrapping his arms around you, and holding you so tightly you feel like you might stop breathing. You close your eyes, leaning into him and breathing in the scent of his shampoo.
“Of course. I can never betray you. Even if the world burns and turns against you, I’ll always be by your side.”
Soulmates . You can almost hear the word on his tongue, even though it’s left unspoken.
“Promise me.”
“I promise.”
He releases you slightly then, enough so that he can run his fingers through your wet hair and to tug on your wet sleeve.
“If you’re feeling better, will you take a hot shower now? Or someone’s going to wake up with a fever.”
“It’s warm enough like this.”
You lay your head back down in the crook of his neck and close your eyes. The darkness consumes you whole as Sylus hums a broken melody in an effort to help you fall asleep faster.
It’s not as effective as he thinks it is, but you fall asleep eventually, still holding onto him and his shirt.
The next morning, you wake up to find that you’re not alone, and that a certain man’s shirt might be irreparably wrinkled now.