“You were supposed to meet me twenty minutes ago (Name). You know I’m not fond of tardiness.”
Flinching from his curt tone, you hurriedly turned your head away, hoping Nines had not spotted your blotchy face yet. Subtly trying to clear your throat, and stifle your shaky breathing, you felt your fingers tighten on your bag strap.
“S-Sorry, I got held up a-and—” you choked out hurriedly, swiping at your face again. “It won’t happen again.”
“(Name).”
You flinched, curling further into yourself at the iciness suddenly bleeding through Nines’ usually smooth baritone. Sensing the danger, you tried to hurriedly take few steps towards the exit before you felt a jerk on your coat. His strong arms pulled you back, your back bumping into his chest. Squirming in his unyielding grip, you turned your head away, hiccuping as you tried to hide your tear stained face.
“Look at me,” he ordered firmly. “I said look at me (Name).”
Shaking, you sniffled weakly before gazing up at him. Nines’ face was blank; a smooth, perfect canvas to be rearranged however he saw fit. But his eyes—
“Who did this?” his voice was low, and so soft a shiver of pure terror crawled up your spine. You knew that tone, and you knew that it rarely ended well for anyone who managed to force it from him. “Who hurt you?”
A blade—a terrible, sharp blade that was seconds away from tearing flesh, from destroying, that’s what he was right now.
“N-No one,” you whimpered, your voice heavy and throaty as you forced more tears back. “I’m overreacting—you know how I am. Stupid h-human…with stupid human emotions—I—”
You pressed your shaking fingers against your face, hiding your face in shame. Nines was always so composed, so untouched by anyone or anything. He always openly mocked and teased humans for their pettiness and emotions and—
You jumped when you felt his colder fingers wrap around your wrists pulling your hands down, and revealing your tear-stained face to him again. “What happened (Name)? Do not make me ask again,” he spoke coolly, his eyes like two dour glaciers as they froze you in place.
“My—my supervisor…h-he hates me,” you muttered, choking on your tears. “He really d-doesn’t like me. He thinks I’m awful at my job—but I try so hard.”
His response was immediate, sharp, “His name?”
You rubbed your eyes with the back of your hand, shaking your head clumsily, “No, p-please,” you breathed shakily, “I want—I need—please stay. I need you here. With me.”
You hadn’t realised he backed you against the wall until your back gently bumped against it. His tall, imposing frame boxed you in, the powerful set of his shoulders immediately becoming like a harbour of safety. His cold fingers traced up your neck, lingering against your pulse before cupping your jaw and tilting your head up slightly.
To a stranger, Nines’ face would have appeared like the same unfeeling mask; stripped bare of any signs of humanity. But you knew his face intimately; knew it in a way that meant you could read his rage in the silent way he subtly clenched his jaw, in the way his brows were furrowed more harshly than usual and then there was his eyes—
A thing to be feared, to be observed and respected but never angered, stared back at you.
Not human.
Just a monster that wore human skin and made it his home.
His lips were featherlight when they touched your wet cheek. They hovered, occasionally brushing against the heated skin as he glided his nose slowly up your jaw.
“I should break a bone for every tear that pathetic excuse of a human made you shed,” he whispered pitilessly, darkly, against your temple as his fingers tightened briefly. “It is only by the grace of your mercy that he still draws breath. You need me. But I will repay him in kind one day.”
For once…you could not find the energy to argue with him.
You shuddered feebly, slumping against him clumsily, and pressed your face against his solid chest.
He didn’t hug you back. Instead his hand travelled up your spine before coming to rest at the back of your neck, his thumb slowly drawing soothing circles. For a brief second you felt his mouth press against the crown of your head.
“Let’s go home, please,” you pleaded with a shiver, for the first time that day feeling completely at peace, secure with him around you.
~My Tumblr Back-Up And Stuffs~ 