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"What's the matter, Medkit? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Medkit inhaled sharply as he splashed cold water sloppily onto his face, shutting his eye closed as hard as he could. His head span as he slowly opened his eye again, glancing at the image of himself in the mirror.
They steadied themself by putting their hands on either sides of the sink in front of them. The facet continued to run quietly in the background while Medkit studied the face staring back at him from the mirror.
Gods, they looked terrible.
Their hair was disheveled, and her bangs were damp. There was a delirious look in his eye as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her cheek. The usually steady, bright, and shining crystal, held between Medkit's two horns, was now dull and ever so slightly trembling, while the fur on the deer ears placed on either side of their head was ruffled.
He felt goosebumps form on the back of his neck. Medkit swore they could feel someone breathing, standing there right behind him, reaching a hand up to grab them, to--
...but when he spun around, all that greeted him was an inphernal with pastel blue horns stepping out of a stall. She scoffed to herself and rolled her eye, which only earned a harsh glare from the other in the public washroom.
Shutting off the tap, they raked their hands through their hair and readjusted the golden ring that adorned their teal horn. Cursing under their breath, they put themselves together again, if only to make for a quick exit out of the bar. They reached for the steel handle of the washroom door.
After spending Father knows how long in the washroom, the sudden transition from quiet bliss to loud chatter and laughter from many drunk inphernals almost made Medkit turn around and retreat back to safety.
But whatever — she wouldn't be here for long anyways. She simply needed to weave her way through the rather obnoxious horde and she could be on her way. Coming to this bar was a stupid idea. Everything was now, since Subspace had moved to the Crossroads and always seemed to be just around the corner of wherever Medkit went. He could never catch a break; even when he was simply out for a quick drink.
He just needed to reach the exit doors, which were now in sight, and he could leave without having to even share a glance with Subspace. The moment he noticed her enter the vicinity, they made a beeline for the washroom to hide away.
Subspace was the last person they wanted to encounter at the moment.
Medkit had already had a long enough of a day, and the thought of her breathing down his neck didn't sound very appealing to him.
However, just as he was about to push the doors of the bar open and greet the night air, his eye caught onto the very scientist he was actively running from. Medkit quickly pulled away his gaze, only to do a double take once the image registered into his mind.
Subspace was slumped over a table near a secluded corner of the bar, his head wrapped in his arms, and a half-empty glass vaguely quivering in his hand, dangerously close to tipping over. He looked twice as worse than Medkit had a moment ago.
As badly as Medkit wanted to forget the image set into his mind, to go home to his apartment and ignore this encounter (if you could even call it that), a twinge of pity settled its way into their mind as they hovered by the exit doors.
"Watch yourself," muttered a familiar inphernal with blue horns making their way out of the bar, shoving Medkit to the side with their shoulder sharply. He complied, moving to the side and instead lingering just beside the doors.
They threw another glance at Subspace, still with her head in her arms. Medkit had two choices. Go home and pretend he was never even here, or confront the Blackrockian he had sworn to forget about.
Before they had even made a conscious decision, though, he could feel his feet moving against his will. Despite almost every fibre in their mind screaming at them to go back, they didn't make any move to turn around.
He wouldn't be doing this if he hadn't had a few drinks.
When he reached the hot pink horned inphernal, it occurred to them they definitely didn't have a plan to go through with. This was a horrid decision. They stared down at Subspace and studied his current posture.
He noted that they were missing their usual gas mask and their eyepatch was absent — if he was honest, it was a disgusting sight to behold, the way her flesh was rotting away, barely holding her face together in some areas.
Medkit began reaching a hand down to grab onto him, before retreating and redirecting it. Subspace only mumbled something illegible and nuzzled his head further into his arms. It was clear to Medkit they had ten too many drinks, and her... situation, so to speak, was most certainly not helping.
She didn't even look up until she felt the heavy weight of a suit jacket settle itself on her shoulders.
Tilting his head just enough to see the inphernal standing over him, he squinted, trying to steady his dizzying head. When they finally got a grip of the inphernal's image they were half sure that the alcohol had gotten to their head.
His eye widened and he suddenly felt wide awake at the realization. Drawing in an unsteady breath, Subspace managed to murmur, "..Medkit?"
Medkit sighed. "Blame it on the alcohol."
Subspace raised their head up to look Medkit in the eye, but was struck with a searing pain shooting through their head. She winced and reached a hand up to rub her forehead in an attempt to soothe the ache. Quietly, she grumbled something under their breath, before letting her hand fall back onto the table.
They glanced up and made eye contact with Medkit. "You should go," Subspace unexpectedly spoke up. There was a look in his eye that showed his words clearly betrayed his mind, however.
The other hesitated for a moment, clearly heavily debating the newly opened up option. But he ended up simply shaking his head from side to side. They shifted their gaze downwards.
"No. I'll at least... take you home. You're drunk out of your mind." Despite being very aware of the risks that posed with the proposal, she offered it anyways.
Subspace opened his mouth to speak, but shut it closed again before any words came out.
Without another word, he stood up- or more so attempted to stand up. He grabbed onto the wooden tabletop to catch himself as he stumbled forwards, earning a scoff from Medkit. They clenched their jaw, but brushed it off, turning around and readjusting the suit jacket laid onto her shoulders.
She swallowed while attempting to ignore the throbbing of her head and stabilize herself by leaning against the furniture behind her.
Medkit, yet again, let out a heavy sigh. "Just get on my back. I'll carry you home," He volunteered with an edge of annoyance to his tone. In response, Subspace froze up and stared at him, his mouth slightly agape.
Noticing the look she gave Medkit, he further clarified, "Just don't make it.. weird. And only if you agree for neither of us to ever speak of this night again." A lopsided grin formed on the other's face. "Mmm... alrighty then, Meddy, come and carry me away," she taunted, her words slurring together as she tipped her head to the side.
Medkit only cast her a glare, before turning around and making the possible worst decision of their life.
The scientist happily complied and unsteadily sauntered forward, hopping onto the other's back. Medkit took hold of each of their legs and shifted them until he could hold them comfortably. He was lighter than expected for an inphernal his age.
Making sure Medkit's suit jacket stayed put on her shoulders, Subspace wrapped her arms around Medkit's neck loosely, letting them fall and settle against his chest. They buried their face into Medkit's neck, practically breathing down it.
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After walking a couple blocks, Subspace was basically asleep on Medkit's shoulder. A soft exhale left the latter as they stopped walking for a moment and looked to the cement beneath them.
It was cold out, but not to an uncomfortable extent.
He shifted his gaze upwards to study the sky. The moon was full tonight, causing it to illuminate the earth and cast long shadows onto the ground.
Medkit was able to feel and hear Subspace breathing quietly right next to his ear. This was stupid. And the only way Medkit could send the blame was towards the alcohol in their system.
A sudden breath of wind rustled the leaves on the nearby trees. Medkit adjusted Subspace on his back, lifting her up and shifting his hold on her legs, causing the inphernal to grumble and wrap her arms around just beneath his chest. Small goosebumps formed on his neck at the very deliberate hand placement, yet Medkit merely pretended not to care.
"Where do you live, anyways?" They spoke up as they resumed walking with their footsteps gently thudding on the ground.
"...The apartment just behind Thieves' Rest," Subspace mumbled in response, nuzzling against the other for a moment, before his eye flitted open and he rearranged his head in order to analyze the church member's face.
Their eye was trained forward, and it had an unreadable emotion in it. As always, of course, their face was blank with an indifferent expression laid onto it.
Subspace's line of sight trailed across her features before settling on the eyepatch situated on her left eye.
An inkling of guilt sunk into his chest, until he smothered it out as soon as he identified it. It wasn't his fault — everything that had happened was Medkit's fault. Believing anything else would only lead to more and more complications. He redirected his gaze and, again, began to roam over the doctor's appearance.
Medkit, still walking through the night air, tilted his head slightly in order to see Subspace in his line of vision. "You know of your staring problem, I assume?" He surmised, before quickly recasting his focus forwards.
Subspace only let out a short burst of slurred, gentle laughter.
"I'm aware."
She tightened her grip around Medkit and began quietly brushing her fingers up and down the fabric covering the flesh on his ribs, earning only another piercing glare from him.
Ignoring any signs of protest from Medkit, they closed their eye and buried their face into his neck. As tempted as he was to drop her right there and then, they put up with it. Subspace was reveling in his attention. It was obvious to both of them, and Medkit didn't have the heart to take it away from her.
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Medkit continued making his way through the silent city, carrying Subspace on his back. "Hey," They said in a level tone when they came to a halt. The scientist opened his eye slowly, shifting his head in order to look forwards. "We're here."
Subspace grunted before reluctantly letting himself slide off of the other's back. The sudden movement dizzied him for a moment as they hit the ground, a wave of nausea overcoming him, and a sharp pain shooting through his head.
He grabbed onto Medkit's shoulder in order to steady himself, his claws digging into the fabric on their shoulder. His other hand went to grab at his stomach.
"Gah..." She sputtered with a clear tone of mild disgust. Medkit rolled his eye, then reached his own hand up to lift Subspace's off of his shoulder.
Making eye contact with the other, he held it in his own for a moment — possibly longer than most sworn enemies would — then gave it a short squeeze and dropped it. They reached for the jacket they had temporarily given Subspace and slipped it over their own shoulders.
He split their shared gaze and turned around. Before beginning to walk away, Medkit only murmured a simple, "Good luck."
Watching his old coworker leave, Subspace stood there rigid.
And he hadn't even looked back.
Again.
Even if it was expected this time, an overwhelmingly gross amount of fervor engulfed her. A strange mix of anger, resentment, desolation, and... yearning.
It was abnormal for her, to feel this many emotions at once, and she didn't know how to handle it. So, for only the second time in her life, she decided to give her emotions full reign over her decisions.
She abruptly rushed forwards, stumbling towards Medkit, and grabbed his wrist forcibly before he could move any further. "Wh... w-wait," He stammered, the sound of his heart thumping in his ears as he looked down as to only focus on the doctor's arm in his clawed grip.
Medkit gave Subspace a sharp stare and attempted to regain control of their arm, but to no avail. Subspace only tightened his grasp. Medkit clenched his jaw.
"I said I would walk you home, and that's what I did. Both of us are intoxicated right now." He looked away. "It would do neither of us any good if I stayed."
The grip that the scientist had on his wrist loosened, but he felt her get a hold on his other one as well, forcing him to face her. Medkit complied and Subspace raised his head to meet their gaze.
Now they were standing on the pathway leading to the inside of Subspace's apartment complex, just the two of them.
Subspace took a step closer. "Please," She rasped, the words tumbling out of her mouth like a dam breaking free. "Just one night, nothing more. I don't need any more. You can leave as early as you want. We can pretend like we're younger again, like we're still in Blackrock, and.. we..." She trailed off, unsure of what else to say. They didn't know what they wanted. She allowed her mouth to fall closed.
Her eye flitted between the doctor's features as they stood there quietly. Medkit opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out, so he closed it again and trained his eye downwards.
"One night," Subspace repeated softly.
The church member swallowed heavily and closed her eye. He stood there silently for a few moments to take in his surroundings and come to a decision.
A gentle breeze rustled the nearby trees, causing a few leaves to fall from their branches and settle on the ground. It was a pleasant night. Every once in a while you could hear a bird call out, and there was always the quiet underlying sound of crickets chirping.
And there was Subspace.
She waited for a response, hushed, letting Medkit take their time. Patience was never one of their most prominent traits, but she seemed content with waiting for as long as Medkit needed in the moment.
His wrists were being held in the Blackrockian's rough hands while the night embraced them.
Alongside the faint smell of beer emanating from his breath, the sound of Subspace's uneven breathing carried through the air, even without his gas mask amplifying the volume. Medkit could hear the slight struggle with every breath.
He, himself, could feel the beat of his heart thumping in his own chest slow down as he calmed his senses. Taking a deep breath, Medkit opened his eye, and they finally uttered, "...Okay."
Unsurprisingly, Subspace's eye lit up immediately, and another wide, slanted grin found its way onto his face.
Becoming his usual self again, he pulled Medkit closer. "I knew you'd agree!" They boasted loudly. Slinking his wrists free from their hold, he gently pushed them away to create distance.
"Yeah, whatever..." She mumbled, the smallest of smiles slipping its way onto her lips. "Just go clean up or something. You reek of alcohol and look like you're about to throw up. I'll wait out here."
Subspace furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you not coming inside?"
Noticing her confused expression, Medkit pulled out a pack of cigarettes. In response the other gave him another bout of giggles. "You still smoke those things?! Aren't you meant to be a doctor?" Subspace grinned mockingly, earning another harsh glare.
He rebutted with, "Says the one who's out drinking while chronically ill." Backing off, Subspace shrugged and put his hands up as if to surrender. "Eh, guess we're both guilty then," He said while spinning around and striding towards the entrance to his apartment.
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After around 15 minutes, Subspace emerged from the building in more comfortable clothing with half her hair tied up, seemingly more in the right headspace. Medkit had found his way onto a nearby bench seated next to a tree, leaning back and looking at the stars with a cigarette placed between two of his fingers.
He only averted his gaze when Subspace began to approach him. The fuchsia horned inphernal, who was honestly shocked his ex-coworker hadn't ditched him, took a seat next to his supposed sworn enemy without a word.
They sat there quietly for a bit, simply (surprisingly) enjoying each other's company, and watching the stars dance and swerve while the smoke surrounded them.
Once a few peaceful moments had passed, Subspace blinked and turned to face Medkit. "Are you gonna share, or are you just as stubborn as you were a decade ago?" She asked with a tint of playfulness coating her tone.
Medkit, who was taking a long drag from his cigarette, lowered it and shifted to look toward Subspace. They hesitated for a moment. Subspace was very obviously deteriorating, and they didn't want to necessarily contribute more to that than they already had... until they realized she most certainly deserved it.
He parted his lips in order to blow out the puff of grey smoke — right into her face. Taken aback, Subspace coughed heavily, waving her hands to clear out the cloud of fumes.
"..S'pose I'm still stubborn," They hummed while they watched the Blackrockian attempt to regain his composure. She futilely threw her hands through the air, trying to swipe away the smoke and prevent it from going further into her fragile lungs.
Once he collected himself, he sent a bitter glare Medkit's way. "Unnecessary much," He grumbled.
A small laugh escaped from the doctor for the first time that night before they brought their cigarette towards his mouth for another drag. This time, Subspace seemed to be watching Medkit very intently, which didn't go unnoticed by them.
A mischievous smile slipped from her lips as she watched the deer-like inphernal carefully. It was obvious there was an idea forming in their mind.
Her finger tapped on her knee impatiently while she narrowed her eye, studying Medkit, waiting.
When he finally released the cigarette from between his lips, Subspace wasted no time in reaching her hand up to his cheek in order to keep his head steady while she brought her face up against Medkit's.
Pressing her lips up against their own, she straight up robbed their nicotine filled air with no signs of shame. Shocked by the sudden action, a faint flush appeared on Medkit's cheeks and his deer ears turned backwards, while he almost dropped the cigarette held between their two fingers.
His mind went blank as he was flooded with old memories of the occasional times they had shared cigarette packs. Gods, he knew he shouldn't have expected Subspace to act any more decently, but even the slightest bit of respect would have been appreciated.
When the scientist pulled away a sly sneer was situated across her face. Redirecting her hand off of his cheek, she placed it on the other's arm, and opened their mouth to mockingly breathe the puff of smoke onto the doctor's face, just as Medkit had done not too long ago.
For the short moment that they had made contact for, Medkit found the taste left in his mouth revolting. Disgusting. But that's what happens when you supposedly kiss a half rotten corpse, he supposed.
Now it was his turn to cough and try to batt away the cloud in front of him, forcing Subspace's hand to slip off of his upper arm. He knew he wasn't exactly a saint, but at least Subspace had done more than enough horrible things in her life to deserve a simple coughing fit.
Upon regaining his bearings, he spoke hoarsely, "Of all things... that was unnecessary." Medkit flicked the now empty cigarette butt onto the ground beneath him and stomped it out. Subspace only cast him a grin as they resettled themselves.
She reached for Medkit's now free gloved hand and tugged it towards her, holding it in her hands. She etched his fingers along the golden trims of their dark teal gloves, following them with her eye closely.
His touch was surprisingly light compared to his bold actions from just a second ago.
There was still a faint, teasing smile stitched into their face, but their expression had softened significantly. They began gently pulling off Medkit's glove.
Despite expecting some sort of protest, or at least any form of opposition, the church member stayed still, simply watching their old coworker act as they wished. Subspace placed Medkit's glove in her lap and brushed her coarse fingers over his soft skin.
They stayed like that for a minute, until the Blackrockain scooted closer to the other inphernal on the bench, pressing their arms together. With a bitter look on his face Medkit turned his head sharply, about to scold her; but he stopped himself before any words left his mouth.
Subspace wasn't even looking at him. The sneer had fallen off her face, and there was no signs of any mockery left in their expression as they admired the starry sky.
It was a rare sight to see, the often boisterous, obnoxious scientist, letting his guard down and being silent. Medkit's expression softened and a gentle sigh slipped through his lips.
Shifting in his seat, they pulled their hand out of the other's grasp, reached the arm that was closest to Subspace outwards, and slid it around his waist to pull him closer. A quiet yelp escaped from them out of surprise, but of course, they made no move to pull away.
Instead, she almost immediately melted into Medkit's hold and rested her head against his chest. She brought one of her hands up to rest on their shoulder. Closing his one eye, Subspace shut up for possibly the first time in a decade to solely relish in the doctor's unusual affection.
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"...'M cold," Subspace mumbled. Her face was now buried in the church member's chest, and Medkit's free hand had found its way up and was lightly caressing the base of one of her horns.
It was such a simple touch, yet Subspace seemed to be cherishing in it as if he hadn't seen another inphernal for years.
Pulling his line of sight away from the night sky, he looked down at the scientist held in his arms. "We can go inside any time. Unless you need me to carry you again," They added, a lighthearted smile appearing on their face. Subspace only scoffed in response.
Reluctantly pulling away from the other, she lifted herself up and off the bench, tossing Medkit's glove back to him. "C'mon. It's chilly out and I'm freezing," She said, already beginning to walk away without waiting. How greedy and ungrateful she was.
A short moment later, Medkit herself stood up, quickly catching up with the Blackrockian.
They made their way through the corridors of the apartment complex, passing through hallways of rooms and rooms until they reached Subspace's.
Upon stepping through the entrance they were immediately greeted by a giant mess of a room.
There were piles of random scraps in some corners, inventions in progress were scattered throughout the room, and there were even a couple of scratched up Biografts shut down and laid on the ground.
Medkit raised an eyebrow as he witnessed Subspace navigate the mess of his own apartment. Muttering, "This is- uh... wow," They wandered inside, maneuvering through the clutter. "Do all of your labs look like this too?"
Subspace laughed obnoxiously in response. "Once you abandoned Blackrock, I had no reason to continue keeping everything neat and tidy like you always told me to," She divulged, finding her way onto the couch placed near the left of the doorway.
Draping her limbs across the furniture, she leaned her head back and closed her eye.
The other inphernal walked towards them, sitting on the opposite side of the couch. He felt awkward. It wasn't every day he stayed the night at his sworn enemies apartment.
After a moment of silence between the two, Subspace inquired, "So, what've you been up to since, y'know, you ditched Blackrock and joined that cult, or whatever?" He opened his eye and tilted his head in order to look in Medkit's direction, gauging their response.
Medkit fidgeted with the gloves on his hands mindlessly as he attempted to form a response. "It's been... fine. I've just been trying to survive," They replied in an insouciant way with the slightest hint of passive aggressiveness.
Subspace leaned forwards, propping his elbow up on his knee and resting his cheek on the palm of his hand. "Mhm," She hummed, yet again trailing her eye over the doctor's face. Medkit could feel her gaze boring holes into his being, while his was cast downwards.
Shooting them a quick glance, swallowing, then doing another short double take, they muttered, "Stop looking at me like that." Her gaze was patronizing.
Naturally, Subspace grinned that same grin he had given to Medkit countless times that night. "Like what??" He shifted his head slightly, causing wisps of his bangs to fall over his face.
Moving their head to face the other, Medkit glared at them. She almost resembled how she did 10 years ago. The church member's breathing wavered slightly at the comparison.
He shot up from the couch, turning his body to fully face his old coworker, annoyance etched all across his face. "Like- like nothing's happened between us!-- Like we're how we were a decade ago," Medkit growled, raising his voice, his arm shooting out to the side for emphasis. Clenching their jaw, their ears twitched — almost the same way they did 10 years ago.
Highly unbothered, Subspace copied their movements, picking himself up and leisurely walking towards him until there was only a foot or two of distance between them.
She lifted her hands up and rested them on the base of the other's neck, earning a flinch from them.
Medkit let his hand fall to his side as she fawned a worried expression and whined, "But Meddy..."
A small, sly smile appeared on her rotten face, and she stepped closer, as to lean in so the doctor could feel her breath on his ear. They paused for a moment. It was quiet, the only sounds being their breathing, until he whispered the words Medkit had been dreading to hear.
"I love you."
She pulled her head away and stared up at the other through a half lidded eye. A shiver passed through Medkit's spine and his breath hitched in his throat.
He hated how easily she could shift the entire aura of a room through simple movements. How she could control everything happening through simple commands.
He hated how in almost a matter of a few seconds he could feel all of his previous frustration being drained.
He hated how she always knew exactly how to manipulate him, what sickly sweet voice to use, which smile to spread over her toxic lips.
He hated her.
They reached their hands up to brush over theirs, before shakily redirecting them so one was holding the back of the scientist's head, and the other was supporting her cheek.
They buried their fingers in her hair as their eye flickered between his intact eye and the rotten side of his face.
"Don't say that," He said, his voice quiet and quivering.
"...Don't do this to me."
In response, Subspace stepped dangerously close, sliding his hands up to hold the sides of Medkit's face with his thumbs on the base of their teal horns. He brought his face closer, tilting it until there was only a few centimetres of air left between their lips.
But this time, he didn't move forward right away. He only lingered there and waited for the other to make the first move. The doctor froze there for a second, his heart thumping in his ears as Subspace hovered right in front of him.
He swept his hand from Subspace's cheek to gently hold over his decaying mouth, pushing him back a little. The other's eye seemed to sadden vaguely at the action. Medkit resented her. He wanted to push her away and leave.
Yet, they did love her.
No matter how hard they tried to move on.
And they could feel themselves cracking from the intimacy of the setting, a moment that they hadn't shared since before the incident. And as a spur of the moment decision, he carried his hand downwards to hold the back of Subspace's neck, and leaned forwards, closing the remaining distance between them and surrendering to the emotions that he had buried for years.
Shutting his eye, he brought his hands down to hold the scientist's hips, attempting not to gag. The taste and texture combined of Subspace's mouth was as repulsive as the first time they had kissed, and, now that Medkit was reciprocating, it seemed all the more disgusting.
Even so, he made no move to pull away — instead, he found himself pressing his lips harder against the other's.
Snaking his arms fully around Subspace's waist, he stepped slightly closer, diminishing the very last remaining distance between them and pulling their bodies flush against each other. Subspace maneuvered one of his arms under Medkit's to grip onto his back.
Digging her claws into their shoulder blade, she tilted her head slightly in an attempt to ease the slight sting she felt from the rotting side of her mouth. It wasn't like it was going to kill her, but it was uncomfortable enough for her to notice it.
It had been a decade since they had last done this familiar dance. However, a decade ago, they both had either of their eyes, and one wasn't half of a walking corpse. After a solid minute of pressing against each other, only pulling away for short seconds in order to catch their breath, they twisted apart.
Untangling their limbs, Medkit trailed his hands back down to the other's hips. Subspace rested her hands near the base of the doctor's neck. She looked downwards, keeping her line of sight focused on Medkit's collarbone as she panted faintly.
She was out of practice, and yet, when she turned her gaze to face Medkit's, there was undeniable hints of hunger. "Please," They whispered, their voice rough. "Use me. Hurt me." In response, Medkit tightened his grip on the other's hips, jabbing his claws into the fabric covering their skin. "You're sick." His expression was firm when he spoke.
Suddenly, in a flurry of movements, Subspace found her body being pressed down onto the couch by none other than Medkit themselves. She gasped from the sudden impact.
Cold hands reached up to hold her jaw in place, and before she could properly react, lips were being forced against hers. This one was more aggressive than the one before.
Subspace sat there helplessly for a split second as her lips were ravished, before bringing their arms up, tangling them around Medkit's waist and pulling him closer.
Both of the church members legs were wrapped around Subspace's hips, with their chests pressed tightly together. He messily moved his lips in rhythm with Subspace's rotten mouth. The other inphernal tilted her head in an attempt to reach deeper into Medkit's mouth, easily finding an entrance to slip her tongue through her lips and glide it along their teeth, silently asking for consent to go further into their mouth.
The doctor submitted, sliding his own tongue between the scientist's lips as a sign of acceptance. Pressing against each other, they only split apart for short moments, gasping for just enough air to keep going.
Subspace was the first to fully pull away, panting heavily and painfully digging his claws into Medkit's waist. The doctor moved their hands to rest on Subspace's shoulders.
She breathed heavily for a short period of time before regaining her bearings. Trails of saliva dripped from the corners of her lips, going unnoticed by her due to her lacking nerves. Medkit brought up a hand to gently swipe them away before returning his hand to her shoulder.
Laughing shortly, Subspace retracted one of his hands to rake through her hair, taking one more deep breath to cool herself down. Medkit swirled his tongue around his own lips, effectively cleaning up any of Subspace's leftover saliva from their previous kiss.
Knowing that, despite possible disagreement, the scientist needed a short break, he shifted his focus to finding different ways that he could give his attention to her.
They brought their face closer to the side of Subspace's neck still enveloped with skin, carrying up a hand to tug the collar of her clothes away. She shuddered at the sensation of the warm breath spilling over her neck.
Bringing her hand back down, she wrapped both her arms around the other's waist, sneaking them under his shirt simply for more direct contact. Silently begging for more, they pulled them as close together as possible.
Medkit carried his face downwards, lightly hovering just above his skin, still hesitant to continue. "Medkit," Subspace breathed out. She tightened her grip, and lightly prodded at the other's waist. "Please."
This earned an eye roll from Medkit. It seemed as though Subspace really hadn't changed. She was just as needy as she was 10 years ago. But, despite their slight annoyance, they continued, leaning down until their lips were pressed against the base of the Blackrockian's neck.
He pressed a soft kiss against the skin, before parting his teeth and lightly biting down.
The other gasped sharply in turn, then settled down and rubbed his cheek against Medkit's fondly, similarly to a cat. It was clear they were deprived from inphernal connection and revelling in the attention given to him. Medkit almost pitied her.
Slowly, they moved their lips upwards, finding a fresh area on Subspace's neck. Again, he opened his mouth, and pressed his teeth into the other's skin — this time with more emphasis.
Subspace let out a quiet cry from the pain, his body more sensitive than the average inphernal for a variety of reasons. The doctor ignored him, finding a new spot on his neck to bite down and suck on.
He was attempting to act nonchalant and unbothered by the interaction — he didn't want to give Subspace the satisfaction of knowing he missed her almost as much as she yearned for him.
He didn't want her to know about the repeating nights he had silently weeped for their old relationship.
Yet, now that they were trenches deep in this interaction, they couldn't find themselves able to stand up and walk away. He was virtually as desperate as his old coworker.
Subspace, on the other hand, decided that if she dropped dead in the next second, she couldn't be happier. Medkit began lightly nipping around the marks he left on the scientists skin, sending cold shivers down her spine... and a sound unmistakably identical to a whimper slipped through their lips.
Digging her claws into the church member's skin, she bit her bottom lip, and buried her face into their neck. In response, Medkit gave her shoulder a light squeeze, and found another unmarked area on her neck, this time closer to the start of her jawline.
He opened his mouth, parting his teeth in order to go in for one more bite. Lacking any signs of mercy, he sunk his sharp teeth into the other's neck, biting down more firm than the other times.
Subspace drew in a sharp breath, inhaling cold air, then let it out in short, gentle sobs as Medkit's teeth pierced his skin.
His body began slightly, uncontrollably trembling, both from pleasure and the abnormal sensation. Furrowing his eyebrows, Medkit increased the pressure of his bite, until he could taste the tang of iron. Subspace groaned in reply, but only buried his face further into the crook of the other's neck.
When the doctor raised his face in order to assess his work, his eye flitted over the various red marks left on the Blackrockian's skin. The most recent one he had left was rimmed with scarlet.
It began very slowly pooling in small dots before trickling down her neck. The sight of the blood, lightly oozing out of the bite, his bite, filled him with thousands of conflicting emotions. And, despite being a doctor, instead of caring for them as a professional should — they found themself lapping up the extra blood with their tongue. The iron stung as it embedded itself into his tastebuds.
The scientist shivered at the contact. She wasn't used to Medkit literally licking her, and she especially wasn't used to the feeling of his saliva beginning to drip down her collarbones. She let out one more quiet cry into Medkit's neck.
Lifting his head up, he got a hold of Subspace's horns and gently tugged her head away from his neck, meeting her eye. Her eye was glazed over, and her pupil was ever-so-slightly smaller than usual. She swallowed timidly from the eye contact.
Medkit brought his hand from her horn to her chin, pulling her closer and meeting their lips together. Subspace's sense of taste had dulled significantly since their disability had taken root, but she could still subtly taste the salt and zestiness of her own fresh blood as Medkit forced their mouths together.
The action caught Subspace off guard; it seemed highly uncharacteristic for them. But who was she to complain, when she was finally getting what she wanted after years of longing? And-- in all honesty-- she could even admit she was into this.
Splitting apart, Medkit settled one of his hands on the base of Subspace's horn, leading the other to brush over her marked up skin. He hesitated for a moment, their thumb crossing over the various spots, before shifting their positions.
He backed up a bit to hold himself up on his knees, and gently pushed Subspace to be laid down, her back pressed against the couch cushions. The scientist made no attempts to protest as she allowed herself to be repositioned.
With his hands propped on the couch near each side of the other's neck, and his knees positioned so Subspace was between them, he admired the inphernal underneath them. Subspace took her hands and held onto Medkit's forearms, softly brushing her thumbs against the rough fabric covering his arms. She stared back at Medkit, her one eye spilling pools of fondness and her hair sprawled across the furniture.
A quiet sigh left the doctor's lips. He took his left hand and placed it on Subspace's cheek as they held eye contact, both of them seemingly sharing a hundred words through simple silence.
Despite the fact both of them had never verbally admitted their emotions, and most likely never would, it felt like they had a perfect understanding of each other.
Subspace had nothing to hide.
Medkit, on the other hand, was quite reluctant around the idea of Subspace having any knowledge about his thoughts. Moving his hand off of the scientist's cheek, he redirected it to slowly trace the outline of her horns, causing Subspace's hand to slip off his arm.
"...You're pretty," Medkit murmured, their voice barely audible. As soon as the words left his mouth he immediately regretted opening it.
Subspace would probably never shut up about his words. He would most likely just ramble on and on and on. And, as expected, that signature grin they had given for decades found its way onto their face. But she didn't say anything.
Good for her, she knew that if she made too many teasing comments, she would most likely never get what she wanted from Medkit again. Let alone any time in the near future.
Subspace reached her free hand up to lightly stroke the surface of the doctor's deer ears, causing him to flinch and bite his tongue. They didn't often have other inphernals touch them there. Not since him and his old coworkers altercation.
It felt oddly intimate, seeing as Subspace had always been the only one to caress them the way she does. Nonetheless, they still found themselves melting into the way the other touched them, despite how triggering it was. He leaned into Subspace's touch, bringing the hand tracing her horn to lightly clasp her wrist.
If they were under any different circumstances, Subspace would be taunting him for months. But he knew she was just as desperate for this as he was. A shiver passed through his spine as Subspace continued petting his ear.
They took a deep breath, attempting to calm themselves and their rapidly beating heartbeat as they shut their eye. Subspace was still underneath them, but they could feel their eye yet again searing holes into them.
She had more control over him than he would've liked to admit. They grimaced at the thought of the scientist having them wrapped around her finger.
Subspace slowly began to become more daring, from tracing the rims of his ear, to lightly dipping her fingers into the edges, and starting to gently stroke the fur lining the insides of their ears. Medkit shuddered in reply, inhaling air through a gasp that ended in a tired groan.
He bowed his head, his eye still shut tight and his teeth clenched. Lowering his head, he wrapped his arms around Subspace, allowing himself a moment to be vulnerable. He collapsed, burying his face in the other's chest, letting his body rest on top of Subspace's with their legs tangled together.
Subspace laughed shortly, but made no other teasing remarks. She shifted in order to rest her head against one of the arms of the couch.
She continued to gently pet the deer's ear, but after a moment, they also carried a hand up to take hold of the glowing crystal placed between their teal horns. Stilling the movement on Medkit's ear, they forcefully took it out of its place, holding it between her fingers.
Medkit winced, his ears twitching backwards. It was a weird sensation. Over the years he had gotten familiar with the feeling of himself grabbing it, but when it was Subspace.. It felt like somebody was reaching into him, tearing a part of his core out of his very own body.
He opened his eye, but didn't bother looking up at the other. Every time Subspace shifted her hold on the crystal, or ran her thumb over it, he could feel tremors rushing through his insides. Subspace had the power to crumble his vitality. She had the ability to reach inside of him and grab ahold of his heart.
She could rip out his organs, let his blood pour through his open wounds as she simply sat there being pretty, laughing, while he coughed and gurgled on his own scarlet blood, begging for her mercy only through strangled noises.
She was the one in control. She had always been the one in control. Since the day they first met, to now, a decade later.
She had him wrapped around her finger.
He couldn't win then, and he couldn't win now. He had lost the first time he had fallen for her. He had always been under her sovereignty, a puppet being played on a stage.
Once again, they shut their eye tight, and tightened their hold around Subspace. Every time the scientist grazed her thumb over his crystal, a shiver passed through his spine.
He felt vulnerable. Pathetic, even, because he knew he still had the option of getting up and leaving. But he wasn't. Because despite the resentment he felt towards the other, he couldn't deny how at peace he was in the moment.
There was a strange sense of shared trust between the two enemies. Medkit could drift off to sleep right there and then, and he ignorantly believed that Subspace wouldn't be the one to bring a knife to his chest. Subspace found herself able to trust the same.
This was the one night each of them decided to accept their mutual yearning, and they were both aware of how many years either of them had been silently pleading for a moment like this.
Eventually, Subspace put the energy crystal back in its original place-- adorned between Medkit's horns. She rested one of her hands on the doctor's back, tracing her fingertips back and forth. Her other arm went to lay across the arm of the sofa.
Tilting her head backwards, she stared at the ceiling, as Medkit continued to rest on top of her, settling down and regaining his breathing. She took a deep breath. The one laying on her seemed to be starting to relax. His breathing had slowed, and he was no longer trembling, expect for the occasional twitch of his ears.
Subspace's thoughts traveled over to Blackrock — before the two had gotten into their fight — and how they had sometimes shared moments like this.
Every once in a while, when neither of them had homework or extra studies to complete, they found themselves sitting in the same bed at night.
Their late night talks were already rare, but even rarer it was that they found themselves wound together like this.
Majority of the time they simply found themselves talking about trivial topics. Things that didn't really matter, but bothered them enough to sometimes distract them from their work. One time, Medkit brought up life outside of Blackrock.
He had mentioned that he wondered what it was like, and that maybe, one day, he would be able to take a week or so off of work to travel. Both of them knew it was unlikely.
The Korblox Administration was already strict about inphernals taking one day off, let alone more than two. And leaving their region simply for a vacation? That was practically impossible. But it planted a thought into Subspace's mind.
Subspace herself had no intent of leaving. She loved the administration, and would willingly devote all of her time to them. However, she was aware Medkit didn't fully feel the same devotion. Oftentimes they had complained about workloads, and had shown clear signs they didn't agree with many of the views that Blackrock upheld.
If he was ever given the chance, or a good enough reason to, Subspace knew that he would leave as soon as possible.
She just hadn't expected for him to abandon her so soon.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eye for a moment, pulling Medkit up closer to her collarbones. The doctor groaned in response, raising his head slightly groggily.
He opened his eye in order to get a decent look at the other. Now that they had both settled down, he could fully focus on and process the damage he had caused her. Blinking away the drowsiness in his eye, he admired the way the skin around half her face was actively rotting off, and her left eye was literally just... gone.
It was sickening, really. He knew he wasn't fully, entirely at fault. Subspace was the first to start the physical fight, that was basic knowledge shared between anyone who dared ask — except, he presumed, Subspace's higher-ups. Yet he really had no reason to go so far.
There was no extent he could go to, to be able to pay back the decaying inphernal. It was a burden he had been forced to carry for 10 years, and would continue to carry for the years to come.
He brought a hand up to cradle the healthy side of Subspace's face, shifting his position so he could more easily access the side covered in lesions. Raising his body, he tilted his head to begin silently sending his buried affection towards the other.
The scientist opened their eye, and the sight that greeted them was Medkit beginning to lean forward and press gentle kisses onto the deteriorating regions of her skin. Her first thought was of the horrible stinging sensation left over.
There was a weird mixture of numbness and pain. It sent unwilling shivers down her spine, and as Medkit continued to slowly press his lips against new patches of rotting skin, she could feel tears beginning to well up in her singular eye. But she quickly brushed the brief thought away.
Whenever the doctor reached a particular sensitive spot of exposed tissue, a quiet whimper escaped through her lips, and she found her hands gripping and clawing at Medkit's shirt. But she was loving the attention given to her, relishing in it.
As stupid as it was for her to admit, or even just think as a fleeting idea, she felt loved. For the first time in a decade, she truly, fully, felt loved.
She knew it would only last a night, and after this they would go back to hating one another, but for this one night, she would savour the doctor's presence.
Swallowing heavily, she took hold of Medkit's horns and reluctantly tugged his head away from her face. The other protested at first, attempting to press more kisses against the scientists skin (which, admittedly, made Subspace feel sick to her stomach), but eventually submitted.
Subspace stood up, finding her way out from underneath the other. Grabbing a hold of Medkit's hand, she lead him to the only other room in her apartment, which held a simple closet and a twin sized bed.
They mindlessly followed along, keeping their eye trained to the ground, watching Subspace's legs move forwards as she strode towards her bed.
Once they had finished crossing through Subspace's apartment, Medkit let his hand slip from the other's, in order to settle himself on the spaceless bed. Subspace followed his lead.
Almost immediately, she crawled into the other's lap, receiving a muted smile in response. Medkit wrapped his arms around her fragile frame while she made herself comfortable, nuzzling against the doctor and shutting her eye.
The church member brought a hand up to gently run his fingers through her hair. Medkit opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again after a moment of hesitation.
Both of them were aware of how truly stupid this incident was. Yet they still found themselves burrowing into each other with the same eagerness as a baby bird ready to fly.
They closed their eye and buried their head in the crook of the scientist's neck. After a moment of silence, he allowed the words that he had kept to himself for years to slip through his lips.
"I love you."
Subspace, who was lightly playing with the fabric covering one of Medkit's shoulders, slowed their movement. She almost wanted to laugh. Or cry. Medkit had given her the most sufferable look he could have when she had said those same words no more than an hour ago. It was almost ironic.
Her eyelids flickered open, and she stared forwards, breathing softly. Subspace thought of what to reply with for a moment. She could say anything; she could deny what Medkit said, or share her reciprocated feelings.
With her breath fanning over his skin, she settled on murmuring a simple,
"...I know."
--------------------------------------------------
The next morning, Subspace didn't even bother glancing at the area next to her when she woke up. She knew the spot next to her on her bed would be empty and cold, and there would be no signs anyone else had even spent the night there.
Half of her wasn't even sure anything had actually happened. She would have been fully convinced if it wasn't for the marks left over. Eventually, the scientist pulled herself together, preparing to do the act like they had never met. The one night she had been promised had ended.
Maybe they could try again in the next life.