Archive of Our Own

The honmoon was sealed – no, in fact they created a whole new honmoon. When Zoey had always thought the glimpses of gold had been the prettiest she ever saw, she didn't know how to describe the incredible colours of the iridescent.

It was beautiful, shimmering everywhere and seemingly intensifying every now and then with the cheers of the fans. Happy fans, happy honmoon, indeed. She couldn't get enough of the view.

Everything was perfect. Rumis hand in hers, their bond stronger than ever. Sure, they still needed to talk about everything and there were things to work through, but they were all three together, that was all that counted.

Except the small sting in her heart when she thought about the previous battle. They had seemed like good demons. She still stood by that thought. They hadn't ever done anything to them besides possibly annoying the shit out of them. At least before they started attacking them properly a few minutes ago. Even then it didn't really feel like they gave their best though. It possibly should've been way harder to fight them when it was two against one. But it was almost easy to defeat them.

While they were slowly walking backstage, barely able to tear their eyes away from each other and their new honmoon, Zoey also suddenly remembered his eyes. The short glimpse of the most perfect face she had ever seen. A shame he had kept it hidden the whole time. She knew he had been pretty, but it was downright criminal to hide. Not that she'd ever tell her thoughts to the others. Maybe some day, when everything wasn't as fresh and raw and hurting. Zoey didn't really want to think about it too much either. They were gone, and perhaps it was best to not dig too much on what these feelings actually meant.

The only thing that should count now was the defeat of Gwi-Ma and that they were back together as three, the only way it should be. Everything else was secondary and could wait until they were home.

Technically it was that easy. Zoey just wanted to take a really long, hot bath and eat extraordinarily amounts of kimbap before a really long nap. Mira and Rumi looked like they'd definitely agree. Before she could propose said idea to the girls though, she saw some movement in the corner of her eyes.

"I'll be right back, I think I lost an earring and I really want that one back.", Zoey told the girls after a hesitating thought and smiled brightly at them, before she let them go, staying behind until they were out of sight and earshot. She just needed to know if she actually – saw what she saw or if somehow the control of Gwi-Ma made her go crazy.

She took a look around, making sure neither the girls nor the staff followed her, before she went down the stage. It was dark, the light quite dim, the noises of some fans and the staff distant. She shouldn't take too long, she didn't want to leave Mira and Rumi waiting in this... mess of a situation. They had too much to talk about.

Zoey rounded carefully another corner, squinting into the darkness. There was something. She wasn't going crazy after all – right?

Slowly she walked closer, one of the shin-kals ready in her hand. Even if she didn't expect there to be any demons left – she barely finished the thought when something moved again and suddenly a yellow, glowing eye fixed on her.

Zoey froze in her tracks and stared back. Her eyes slowly got used to the darker surroundings and she'd recognize that lavender mop of hair everywhere. She stared at it often enough in the past weeks. "What are you doing here?", she asked in a hushed voice, not daring to speak any louder. She thought the demons were gone. They should be gone.

A low growl was the only answer she received, a slight shift of the movement and at first Zoey thought he'd try to attack her again, but instead it looked like his legs had given in. Zoey did one mistake – one she really needed to rethink later, because maybe approaching an injured demon which showed every sign of an panicked, injured animal working purely on instinct wasn't exactly a smart choice. In this second though she didn't think at all and took a step forward to him without hesitation, catching him with a tight grip.

The faint light revealed the ugly cut on Mystery face which clearly came from her Shin-Kals, the blood a much brighter red than it should actually be. There was also blood seeping through his clothes from a wound she couldn't see and which she didn't even know where it came from. That was definitely not her fault. There was already a small puddle forming on the ground, Zoey realized. They both stared silently at the blood slowly spreading, her boots leaving behind prints in it, splashes of it already across the clean white.

Perhaps it was that moment when Zoey realized what they had done. Perhaps she had hoped that the consequences would look different. That the demons would simply be banned to the underworld. That they wouldn't bleed out over her hands. It made her sick to her stomach. What if they judged them all too early? After all things seemed to be a lot different now that Rumis secret was out.

Another growl reached her ears when he tried to push her hands away, but he could barely stand without her help. The lavender hair had fallen over his eyes, hiding them and most of the cut as well.

"Let's sit down, okay?", Zoey suggested quietly, ignoring the growl and flashed tusks at her. He looked like he'd fall over anyway if he tried anything else but concentrating on standing. It wasn't like Mystery had any other chance.

That was the only reason why Mystery agreed. And because his legs gave in this time fully. It was just his luck that he had to run into her arms again. He was pretty sure she'd end him this time. It would be easy. His vision nearly blacked out several times already. He sat on the ground, hunched over while coughing out a scarily amount of blood. Trying to hide his tusks and fangs nearly gave him the rest, colours exploding in front of his eyes that surely did not belong to the honmoon.

Zoey tried to get out of reach, but some drops of blood splattered across her skirt too. "Sorry.", he muttered, briefly looking up at her. "Don't worry. Can hardly wear the same outfit twice on stage, can we?", Zoey joked half hearted at the lack of knowing what to do and being overwhelmed at the same time. She helped him sitting up, her hands tightly on his arms, as if it was the only thing keeping him upright. Maybe it was.

"Okay, so –", Zoey started and glanced down between them, blood seeping out with each labored breath. "We need help.", she decided then. "That's – a lot of blood where blood isn't supposed to be."

"No.", he growled and with his last strength reached for her wrist. He was sure he was beyond saving anyway. Probably had been for hundreds of years already. "Just end what you started.", he muttered and met her eyes. They were so big and full of worry and he didn't understand for what. She had the upper hand here. All she had to do was finally finish it.

"I – can't.", Zoey slowly shook her head. The single shin-kal she had pulled out was long discarded on the floor. She had dropped it when she caught him. He was right. She should just end it. It was supposed to end like this the whole time. She didn't hesitate to raise her weapon earlier, so why now?

Mystery slowly sat back, leaning against one of the metal pillars of the stage, eyes still fixed on the huntress. "Why?", he asked, because he wanted to hear her voice and not think about how the sudden silence and lack of Gwi-Mas voice in his head gave him an uneasy feeling. He should be relieved that it was gone.

Zoey shrugged faintly and came closer, sitting down next to him. "Because things changed, I suppose. Also you're hardly a threat right now.", she decided to justify it. She carefully reached out and under his attentive gaze, she used the fabric of his clothes to hold it against the slash across his side. He let out a pained gasp but let her anyway. They found their faces way too close to each other like that.

Mysterys eyes felt so heavy already, but he didn't want to look away. He leaned his head back against the pillar, his hair falling to the side again. He could feel her gaze on him and he met her eyes.

"We really need help.", Zoey tried to negotiate with him and already took his hand, so he could apply the pressure himself and she could leave to get help. But instead he grabbed her wrist once more with every bit of strength he could still muster.

"No. Stay.", Mystery murmured so quietly, he wasn't sure she could hear him. It was too late but he didn't – he didn't want to die alone. He wanted to look at her pretty face and her wonderful kind eyes. Maybe she could tell him a little more about whatever. She had such a soothing voice. If he finally got to decide for himself without being under constant control – he wanted this to be the last things he saw and heard.

Zoey felt her throat closing and she swallowed hard. It shouldn't affect her so. He was a demon. They wanted them gone for years now. Yet when he looked at her like that, it made her wonder if anything they had learned about them was remotely true. He didn't look like he had no feelings. His gaze was strangely intense.

"Okay.", she whispered and snaked her wrists out of his hold, taking his hand instead. "Okay, I'll stay.", she promised him.

It seemed to work, because he sunk back against the pillar, his hands letting go of her. A few labored breaths long they sat there together while Zoeys thoughts raced on at least ten different lanes to try and come up with a plan.

"I can't get us help like this though.", Zoey stated and looked up at him. His hair had fallen to the side, a few strands still across his face. But it revealed enough to meet his eyes. The glowing of them was surprisingly dim. Zoey was sure they hadn't been like that before. "I know.", Mystery just replied and tilted his head a bit, his eyes wandering over the floor covered in blood. If he had a bit more strength left he'd ask who she wanted to get anyway. As if the other hunters would suddenly come to rescue a demon. He knew the answer. He didn't have to ask her.

Zoey shook her head and looked back the direction she had come from. "It's not too far, come.", Zoey got up with a surge of urgency. She reached for his arm to pull him up. Mystery humored her and let her pull him up. He was surprised about how much strength could fit into such a tiny human body. Even in his current situation a small smile crossed his lips for a few seconds.

They didn't make it far. It only took a few steps before Mysterys vision swam from pain and blood loss, this time blacking out for good. Even if it was only a few seconds, it ended the saving plan immediately. Zoey caught him and sank back down on the ground with him in her arms, trying to stop him from hitting the floor.

His breath came short and for a moment she was scared he wouldn't open his eyes anymore. Zoey gave him a small slap against the cheek, the one that wasn't covered in her cut. It took a few tries until he opened his eyes, the usually glowing eyes barely comparing to a bad flashlight.

Mystery took a moment to understand where he was, until he realized that Zoey still held him. "Hey.", she whispered and her voice was laced with something he couldn't place. "Hey.", he spoke quietly, voice barely audible. She looked so scared and he wished he could protect her from whatever it was that she was afraid of.

Zoey brushed his hair slowly out of his face, as if it would bring back the colour in his eyes or face. He was so scarily pale. She swallowed again around the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry.", she said quietly, not daring to speak any louder as if it could bring her back to reality too fast.

Mystery shook his head faintly and inhaled sharply, when she bedded his head on her lap. It was as if she acted on instinct when her hand came up, caressing slowly through his hair.

Dying wasn't so bad, when he did it here in her embrace. Maybe it was simply about time, he had been here for so long, he didn't even remember how to be a proper human.

Zoey noticed his gaze slowly slipping from hers and she cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at her properly again.

"Talk to me.", she demanded softly as if she could stop the inevitable with it. They both knew the end of this.

"I'm a little busy right now.", he murmured and a small grin curled his lips when it brought a wet chuckle from her, but it sounded too close like a sob. He gathered all his will and reached up, hesitating before he brushed his fingertips over her cheeks. They were wet of a few tears that had slipped.

"I think – the past weeks I've been thinking ", he started before having to stop again to catch his breath. "– maybe under different circumstances..." "Maybe.", Zoey whispered. "Maybe in another life, we'd – you and me, we would be... normal."

Zoey couldn't help the tears escaping her again at the thought and Mystery carefully caught them, brushing them away. "I would like that.", Mystery murmured and gazed at her still. Maybe he could take Zoey out on a date in this other life. When he wasn't a demon and if she didn't want him dead.

He hadn't realized that he had closed his eyes. Only when Zoey shook him nearly violently by the shoulders, did he pry them open again. He blinked at her, trying to keep them open. But it was so hard.

"I'm tired.", he muttered, not sure if she could hear it. He hadn't been so tired in for so long. But maybe it was better than spending his days as a demon. He couldn't remember the last time he had a proper sleep without Gwi-Ma constantly filtering through his mind and thoughts. He didn't really remember what it was like, being human, but he liked to imagine that this tiredness reminded him of it.

"Mystery..", Zoey said firmly, trying to get him to focus on her. His eyes kept drifting away, somewhere in the distance. His cheek was cold when she cupped it.

She was half curled around him, leaning down to make sure she could hear him still breathing. It was ragged and irregular, but he was still breathing. If Mystery had enough strength, he'd ask her to continue to talk. He didn't mind what about, she could talk to him about the current weather for all he cared. He just wanted to hear her voice. He forced his eyes open once more, realizing how they had closed again. Mysterys head still laid on Zoeys lap and he gazed up at her. "Talk to me.", he muttered weakly and Zoey met his eyes. The glow in his amber eyes had almost dimmed completely. For once she didn't know what to say, but she wanted to comfort him somehow in a way. She suddenly remembered a song her mother had often used to sing to her to sleep when she was little.

Deep down Zoey knew they were running out of time with so much things left unsaid. There was no time to ever find out what could have been. And it would change nothing for him to know what was going on in her mind. Zoey reached up and carded slowly her fingers through his hair, while she quietly started to sing.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine –" , Zoey sang quietly, her fingers still curled into his hair, meeting his eyes openly. Mysterys eyes were fixed on her, on the quiet words. It calmed him, slowing down his ragged breathing as well. She brushed her fingers slowly through his hair while she continued quietly.

"You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away."

Zoey didn't know when the song stopped being a simple lullaby, but turned into something that was about them. Somehow. Zoey didn't even have time to understand, let alone process anything. And Mystery barely thought about anything. He listened to her voice, the soft melody, her hands in his hair. The edges of his vision were already blackened.

"The other night dear, as I lay sleepin'

I dreamt I held you in my arms – "

Zoeys voice broke a little off, her fingers brushing through his hair. His eyes were almost closed and his breath had slowed down. If she didn't know it better, she thought he was sleeping.

"When I awoke dear, I was mistaken

And I hunged my head and cried."

Mystery opened his eyes again, gazing up at her. Something wet dropped onto his cheek and he realized she was crying. He didn't want her to cry. He wanted to lift his hand and brush the tears away. He didn't know why he felt like that. But he didn't want to stop feeling it.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine – " 

Mystery could barely feel the pain anymore. He breathed out again, his eyes slowly closing.

"You make me happy when skies are gray – "

Zoey watched him take another breath, her hand never stopping to card through the lavender hair.

"You'll never know dear, how much I love you – "

Mystery breathed out again. A long, slow breath. His eyes completely closed now.

"Please don't take my sunshine away."

Zoey leaned her forehead against Mysterys. He didn't breath in anymore.

"I'll always love you and make you happy

If you will only say the same

But if you leave me to love another

You'll regret it all some day."

Zoey once read that people who were dying could still hear, that hearing was the last sense to leave them. She didn't know if it applied to demons too. But she couldn't stop. Not when there was still the possibility that he could still hear her.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away."

Zoeys voice was quiet, so quiet that she was sure no one else could hear her. She knew she needed to go. The girls were probably looking for her by now. She was covered in blood.

"You told me once, dear, you really loved me

And no one else could come between

But now you've left me and love another

You have shattered all my dreams."

Mystery didn't want to shatter her dreams. He wanted to tell her that he could still hear her, that he was here. But everything was dark and his thoughts were fleeting. He couldn't feel anything anymore. He felt a kind of peace he hadn't ever felt before. No voice in his head that was not his own or a voice he wanted to hear, like Zoeys. Nothing. Not even the sorrow and grief of losing his human self throughout all those hundreds of years of being a demon. The not knowing what it had been like. It was simply gone. Mystery let himself fall into it.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine –" 

Zoey choked quietly on the words but she wanted to finish it. She wanted to finish it before she had to go. No one could ever know about this. No one ever had to know about it. He was gone. Zoey was still curled around him, foreheads touched, while his head laid on her lap. She didn't get to be sad about it. It was her fault they were here now. Maybe if they had more time, maybe they could've found a different way. To get to know them. To realize they weren't only bad demons.

"You make me happy when skies are gray –"

Zoey had her eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheek uncontrollably. She didn't see the first tear hitting the floor, melting into the puddle of blood, the faintest spark of the new honmoon coming through.

"You'll never know dear, how much I love you –"

Zoey also didn't see how the spark slowly spread around the honmoon around them, the lines slowly starting to wrap around Mysterys legs, a faint flare of pink patterns turning into iridescent, how it started to spread until it reached Mysterys face. She was still cradling him in her hands, her eyes closed. She hadn't noticed the scratch along her wrist earlier either. He must've left it when he tried to stop her. 

"Please don't take my sunshine away."

She didn't notice the way the new honmoon closed the wound on Mysterys cheek, how it turned into an angry pink pattern before it became iridescent, melting together with his other patterns.

But it didn't stop there, it started to spread along her hand, the one she still used to hold his face, slowly circling her wrist and closing the scratch which half disappeared under her outfit. Probably one of the reasons she hadn't really taken notice of it earlier. When both wounds were healed, the flare of iridescent became brighter until it dulled all of a sudden and in Zoeys case almost disappeared fully.

If one used her hand to cup Mysterys cheek, their patterns aligned perfectly.

With the last sung note the bright light of the honmoon slowly disappeared, the lines shining weaker until they were gone before anyones attentive eyes could see them.

Zoey didn't know how long she sat there, but she knew with every passing minute the chance of the girls discovering her here got bigger. And she couldn't let that happen. Zoey blinked her tears back before brushing them away with the back of her hand, letting out a quiet sob.

Slowly she lowered the limb body of Mystery onto the ground, putting him down into the puddle of dirt and blood, which made her feel even more bad. Only now did she notice how his patterns had suddenly changed. Almost similar to Rumis, but the hue leaned more into pink. She furrowed her eyebrows, brushing her fingers slowly over his cheek where the cut had been previously. There was nothing left. No wound, just dried blood.

Yet his skin was cold, no life left in his pale cheeks. Zoey brushed her tears angrily away with the back of her hand. She needed to think. She could hardly leave him here.

Perhaps she could still tell the others, but – twist the reality a little. She could tell them he was already dead when she found him. No one had to know what she was doing here. She slowly got up, taking a deep, shaky breath. That was a plan. The only plan she had and the only answer she had to why she took so long.

Without a last glance Zoey turned around to leave, but she didn't make it far.

It was more like a distant call, a tugging on her hand which at first she didn't even really notice. She thought she had been accidentally caught up in her costume, perhaps in her belts hanging by her side.

When she took another step, it felt like warmth spreading around her wrist like a bracelet, a weird itch she couldn't place.

On her next step a rather violent gasp filled the silence around her, but it did not come from her throat. Yet she was alone, only the sounds of the people in the distance, working to close down the stadium. Rumi and Mira were still waiting for her.

Zoey slowly turned around, almost afraid of what she was going to find behind herself, which was ridiculous, really. They had been fighting demons for so long, nothing that lingered in the shadows should scare her like that. Usually those demons didn't stare back though after they had killed them.

Yet here she was – half turned around, her eyes meeting two glowing, yellow eyes, one of it half hidden behind a mess of bloody and dirty hair. Eyes which had closed just a few minutes ago, lifeless and cold. Now they looked like molten gold in the low light.

"What the – ", Zoeys eyes widened in shock and she stumbled a few steps back. "You were dead. You are dead." She pointed at him and squinted her eyes in confusion.

Mystery didn't reply at first, seemingly just as confused as Zoey, perhaps even more. He scrambled for words in his head that made sense, before staring down at his bloody hands. "I guess I was dead?", he slowly stated then.

"What do you mean?? How did you do that?", Zoey huffed angrily. She couldn't believe that he'd do all this just to end up not dead. Well, technically she was relieved that he was not dead, but in the end it made things suddenly so much more complicated. Complicated in dimensions she hadn't even dreamed of.

"I – would tell you, if I knew.", Mystery promised and reached up to touch his face first and then the wound at the side which had lead to his ultimate demise. Gone, as if it had never existed, as if they had imagined it. The blood on the ground and clothes, as well as Zoeys shocked face were the only evidence that it had not been of their imagination.

Mystery cleared his throat again, his hand sinking back into his lap. "I'm – certain I was dead.", he added then and realized he was still sitting in his own blood. He wrinkled his nose a little, carefully pushing himself up.

Zoey reached out almost automatically when he swayed a bit, but pulled her hands back immediately once he looked stable. "So was I.", she admitted and looked him over. She wondered if it had been some sort of demonic intervention. Some trick that made her believe he was dead.

It would be more believable that it was, when Mystery wouldn't look as confused as he did. Like a lost puppy left behind in an alley.

"So I suppose it's not...something you demons can just do.", Zoey stated, but it sounded rather like a question. She was trying to come up with an answer herself, what this meant.

They still stood there, unmoving, in the dimly lit light. Zoey could swear some lights had already been turned off. She rubbed her temples with a sigh. They were running out of time, it could only be a matter of minutes until the girls would search for her. They might've already started looking for her.

"I don't think so.", Mystery admitted and shrugged faintly. "I don't think I've seen any dying and coming back like that yet." He worried nervously on his bottom lip with his teeth, before glancing down at his hands again, turning them slowly under his gaze. He could feel his fangs nagging him, taking everything in him to control them. He didn't want to scare her off. Not after what she had done for him. It was a wonder they hadn't come out when he was dying. He wondered if it was because Zoey had been there too.

Zoey nodded slowly, trying to take a deep breath to stop herself from panicking. "Alright, okay.", she muttered to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You need to leave.", she said then. "Quick. They're probably already on their way to look for me. I don't know what they will do if they find you here."

They would probably try to kill him again. Zoey couldn't let that happen. "You need to get away. And never come back.", she quickly added and went a few steps closer to him again. They were so close now, if only one of them would reach out, they would be able to touch the other.

Mystery took a look around, nodding slowly. He knew that this was his only shot at getting out alive.

He didn't want to leave. And by the look of Zoeys watery eyes, it seemed like they shared the same thought. "Okay.", he agreed quietly, because he feared he'd lose it when he spoke up too loud. He tried to contain himself, the confusion about what happened, everything.

Zoey took a step back and took a shaky breath. It had only been the moment of Mystery dying, they had both been carried away by it. It didn't mean anything, especially not that something had changed between them.

Mystery nodded again before taking a step back too, before walking off into the other direction from where Zoey had come from. His steps were still slightly off, feeling dizzy and as if everything was still far away. Maybe going through death and a resurrection at almost the same time wasn't so easily digested.

Mystery didn't get far though. He was perhaps ten steps ahead of Zoey, when he was almost violently pulled back. He was so taken aback that he struggled to stay upright, a deep, inhumane growl ripping from his throat in defensive confusion.

At first he was sure the other hunters got him, but there had been no physical contact. He was immediately high alerted by Zoeys pained gasp as well and he turned around so fast, he was sure his head spun another round without him.

"Zoey?", Mystery called out while blinking rapidly, trying to stop his sight from getting blurry. Zoey held her left wrist, but her face wore the same confusion.

Mystery just took a small, miscalculated step back to steady himself and immediately the honmoon pulsated visibly between them, almost angrily.

Zoey furrowed her eyebrow, holding her hurting wrist against her chest. Only then did she realize that one of the lines of the honmoon had wrapped around her wrist, like she somehow had gotten herself tangled up. Slowly she let go of her wirst, hand sinking down while she followed it. The line ended up around Mystery, sneaking up his leg and around his waist, down his arm until it ended curled around his right wrist.

"Are – is that –", Zoey started and pointed at the connection between them, staring at Mystery. "How?"

Mystery held up his hands in defeat, slowly taking a step towards her again, feeling like he was being pulled forward. Immediately the honmoons light started to dim, slowly dissolving back into thin air.

Out of reflex Zoey took two steps back so quickly, it nearly threw Mystery off his balance, stumbling forward while trying to catch himself, the honmoon once again angrily lit in its iridescent colours, the faint pink light dominating between them.

"Fuck.", Zoey whispered because it was really the only word she could currently think about to describe their situation.

"We're bound together.", Mystery finally spoke out loud and stared at his own wrists. "I don't think that's supposed to happen."

"Oh, really?", Zoey asked and threw her hands up. "I wouldn't have been able to come to that conclusion myself." She stopped herself with a heavy sigh. It wasn't Mysterys fault, if anyone's, it was her own. And he looked again like a kicked puppy in the rain, which didn't help at all.

Mystery stayed silent and bit his lip, his hands shaking from the effort of keeping his calm. He couldn't, he wouldn't lose it, not when Zoey was this close. He could feel the fangs begging to come through and for a brief moment he wondered if he could just rip that connection apart.

Even if he could, he didn't want to. He didn't want to risk hurting Zoey when they both had no idea what could happen.

"Did something like that ever happen before?", Mystery asked eventually and he was surprised about how calm his voice sounded.

"You mean, if a huntress ever bound herself to a demon ever before?", Zoey repeated and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Rumis mother and her father came to her mind, but they didn't know anything about them. "I'm not sure. I don't think so. I don't know."

"Me neither.", Mystery admitted and for a few seconds they only stood in silence, the blood dried on the floor by now, the only indication of what had happened before.

Zoey's mind was going once more at least a hundred miles per hour, trying to come up with an idea, but that string of thought was ended before she could come to a conclusion.

Distant steps grew louder and suddenly Mira's voice cut through the heavy silence between them. Zoey almost flinched at it, wildly looking back at Mystery.

His hair was still out of place, a yellow eye staring at her through the strands. It shouldn't be filled with such worry – and understanding. He was a demon after all.

Zoey wasn't supposed to hold him either while he was dying. There was never supposed to be such sadness when he had been gone.

And yet, they were both here. Standing so close together, Zoey barely needed to reach out to catch him by the sleeve.

"Let me do the talking.", she decided quickly.

"What are you even talking about?", Mystery asked with a furrowed eyebrow. He was clearly in a trap again. This time there wasn't even a possibility to leave. It was either the pink haired huntress killing him or possibly the honmoon, if he moved too far from Zoey. He was so tired of fighting for so long in a life that never rewarded them in any way. No memories of a past life, more demon traits than humans if one looked close enough.

"Well, obviously you can't run away and neither can I get away without you.", Zoey explained and shrugged. "We'll figure this out together. But not under the stage in a pool of dried blood."

Together., the word echoed through Mysterys mind and it still lingered on Zoeys lips.

She didn't regret deciding so. She wouldn't let them get Mystery. She had no idea what the hell they were going to do, but she would absolutely not watch him die again.

Mysterys mind was racing. He didn't know why Zoey would even suggest such thing. Sure, it was nice to think about it, to imagine how things could be if they left behind what had happened. If his mind wasn't full of Gwi-Ma but instead of just – Zoey.

"It's not worth it.", he whispered then and shook his head. "They won't believe you. I'll only get you into trouble more."

Zoey shook his head and reached for his hand with her own, the one that was apparently bound to him through a simple scratch.

"It's always worth it if you actually want to try.", Zoey replied and looked up at him, meeting the half hidden eyes. It wouldn't be easy to convince the others, but at least she had the advantage that she was bound to him.

They had to listen, if they wanted or not. And they couldn't easily try and kill him again. Until that was possible – if that was possible without harming her – she was sure she had convinced them already by then.

That was the plan. Perhaps a little shaky and crooked, but a plan.

Zoey squeezed his hand. Her hand was so warm and small in his. He realized it was still a clawed hand, but he didn't have the strength to change it back as well. It already took everything in him to hide the fangs and tusks.

And yet, Zoey didn't care. She still held his hand, intertwined their fingers even. It was a grounding feeling.

Mystery nodded slowly and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, before his face softened again.

"Use your words.", Zoey scolded him softly, but urgently and a small smile spread over her face. She needed to know if he was on board with this. If this thing between them was worth to be protected and nurtured.

After a moment of surprise Mystery nodded and answered: "Okay. If you say that it'll work."

Zoeys smile brightened and Mystery thought that he had never seen anything prettier. He couldn't remember his life before being a demon, but he couldn't imagine that there was something worth competing with Zoeys smile.

He was so glad that she had been the last thing he saw when he died. And the first thing he saw when he woke up.

Together.

The words still echoed in Mysterys mind when Zoey held his hand even tighter and she turned towards the approaching girls.

Zoeys heart was beating unbelievably fast in her chest and she felt almost light headed, but she wouldn't let go.

It was a strange sight, Zoey and Mystery, both in a pool of dried blood and dirt, Mysterys clothes ripped and full of dried blood as well, the smaller huntress in a broad, protective stance in front of him, the iridescent stage outfit specked with bright red blood.

But the really strange thing was their smiles, the bright, perhaps just a tiny bit crazy smile of Zoey and the weird smile of a demon, that had forgotten how to properly smile in all those years.

The honmoon wavered around them just as brightly as soon as the other girls were close enough, the connection shimmering more than ever, wrapped around each wrist.

The new honmoon wasn't just sealed, it made sure to clarify that this was something new, something different.

A place for everyone, a place for second chances, a place for those who knew where they belonged to. Even when some of them needed a hint or two.

The only thing Zoey had been wrong about, Mystery thought later, was that he was not her sunshine. Because if there was one sunshine in his life, it had always been Zoey.