[ A pause. A wet, shuddering breath to try and get her tears under control. And finally; ]
. . . Okay. [ Again, as her fingers curl into his cloak. ] Okay.
[ She'd be more of a liar than she always is if she tried to say she wasn't scared. Giving up is easy. Giving up means you can't be disappointed. If he promises he can do this for her, then that means she has to hope again - and that hope could just as easily come crashing back down. She doesn't know what she'd do if it did.
Maybe it's because neither of them can lie here. But somehow... just this once, Ai wants to believe him. ]
[ The truth can be such a pain, Oberon thinks. He's spoken his conviction, his resolve... but now he has to ensure that his words become the truth, ensure that they don't become a lie. He can't die, he can't disappear, not until her wish has been granted.
The world around them begins to fade, the wind picking up as the bright pink sky fades to black around them. The ground vanishes, and Ai starts to fall again...
...but this time, she falls with his arms still around her, holding her close as the curtain falls around them, fading into that same comforting darkness.
As they do...
"What is it you want, Oberon?"
"...I'm looking for Titania. Remember? Oberon's queen from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'? Titania, the Faerie Queen. The only one who could ever love the obstinate Oberon. I'm hoping to see her, if I can. Though of course... I know that's impossible. Titania's a fictional character, she doesn't exist in Proper Human History. She can only ever exist within the confines of a story."
Perhaps it's just a leakage, memories and words leaking out as the dream comes to an end, but...
"Everything I say is a lie. You shouldn't believe any of it. Peace in Britain... Artoria's mission... I didn't care about any of it."
"I'm sure you didn't, but even so... what about your own star, Titania?"
"...That is exactly what I hate about you."
Titania. His queen... and yet he has no queen, for Titania doesn't exist. Yet still he searches, for he can't help but search... for the one who can love even the twisted Oberon.
And that's the last thing she hears before waking up... her head on Oberon's lap, having cried just as much in reality as she did in the dream. ]
[ When her eyes open, Ai feels entirely different. She feels no different at all. She feels worn down to the bone and well rested all at once. Her eyelashes are still wet with tears and she has the brief, foolish thought of how strange it is that the tears she cried in a dream would have soaked her face in reality as well.
She stays where she is for a long, quiet moment, her head still spinning and her heart still lodged in her throat. It really does seem too good and too awful to be true all at once and she can't quite make herself believe she'd seen or heard any of it.
Me too. I've been dead all this time too.
What a miserable tragedy. It even moved a corpse to tears.
Finally, slowly, Ai sits up. As she rights herself on the sofa, a few remaining tears break free and make their way down her face but she dries them with a swipe of her sleeve over her eyes. ]
... You're horrible, you know. Horrible. Making a girl cry like this.
[ It's a joke to try and break the tension, even if she can practically feel how flat it falls. Even after all that - or maybe especially after all that - she can't quite bring herself to meet his gaze just yet.
She wonders just what sort of face she'd made as she cried. ]
[ It falls so flat. In fact, it's so bad, that Oberon can't help but let out a dry laugh in response. ]
Hah... well, if you expected anything else from me, then that's a damn shame.
[ Part of him still wonders if he made a mistake, if he yet again let his emotions get the better of him and do something even though he knew he shouldn't.
Why had he done it? Was it because of what she said? "Right. It must sound easy to someone like you"? Well, of course it sounds easy to him. Compared to him, who lives with a curse rooted at the very premise of his existence, a fundamental "rule" that everything Obeorn the Faerie King says is something that was never worth believing...
Was that really all it took to get him to finally make her understand? Even if it required her to see the grim nature of his birth? Understand exactly why it was him that she summoned instead of anybody else?
[ Another dry laugh. What a fucking mess they are, huh? You'd think that a summoning based entirely on compatibility would have better results, but apparently even that can backfire, huh? ]
Hmph... my sincerest apologies about that.
[ They probably went a little further in terms of talking than Nagiko wanted, and whether that was a good thing or not is still up for debate, but...
...god he wants to avoid it. It might even be easier to avoid it than he thinks. Things are emotionally charged enough as is, after all. Why make it worse?
"I mean, next time someone picks a fight - 'cause it's gonna happen, guaranteed - what're you gonna do about your magic? You can't ask for another Command Spell if she's only got the one, so whatever else you had to do, it's not gonna be a one off! Didya even think about that for a second?"
"Don't disappear. Please, don't go. I'm- I'm irresponsible and I'm dirty, I'm hopeless as a Master. I'm no good as a person. I know all that, but I..."
...god, this is the worst. ]
...
[ ...it's even worse that he has no idea how to fucking start that conversation. ]
[ He's not sorry at all. She'd be able to guess that no matter how good he was at lying. Whatever that was, it was a convenient enough excuse to not talk about the thing they were supposed to talk about, wasn't it?
... How are they supposed to now? Now that she's fully bled her heart out all over him? Now that she knows -
Well. She's going to do her best to not think too hard about all of that. Just because she's done her best to understand doesn't mean she has to like all of what she's come to know.
(Besides. Even if he was stupid enough to ask, the last thing someone like Ai could give him - or anyone - is love.)
(Somehow, thinking about it like that makes it easier to start talking.) ]
We can try... other ways.
[ She blurts it out quick, like she wants to get it said before she loses her nerve. ]
There have to be others. I know Nagiko-chan and Hibiki-chan have something that works for them, so...
[ Surely there must be plenty of pairs in the same situation - compatible as Master and Servant but not necessarily as people. At least not like that. ]
I'll figure... something out. I won't let you disappear.
[ They are the most infuriating pair, aren't they? Sure, they'll bleed their hearts all over each other, but actual intimacy? Terrifying. ]
Oi, you better not start thinking of those two as the standard. Their whole deal makes no goddamn sense, even to me.
[ The lie being that Oberon has some idea of how it works. It's clearly something on her Master's end, whose abilities are already ridiculous and unlike anything he's seen before. Still, that just reinforces the fact that it's far from the norm.
Still, he looks at her again, turning silent at her words. She'll figure something out? Don't make him laugh. Even he can see the fruitlessness of that. Granted, it's not like he of all people should discount the possibility, but... ]
...and how long will that take?
[ He won't disappear. He can't disappear. That was his promise, his oath to her. Loathe as he is to admit it, especially concerning an author, but Nagiko is right. What will he do when shit goes south again? Something that's guaranteed to happen eventually no matter what. He must win, he must continue to win so that Ai's wish is granted... but he can't do that right now.
...should he just take her, right here, right now? The thought is so repulsive it almost makes him laugh. That's probably the exact opposite Nagiko would have wanted to happen when she talked to them both. ]
[ At the sound of her name, she flinches a bit and falls silent. She ducks her head a little - she can't bear to meet that piercing gaze of his, especially not right now. Not when she knows that he's right.
She might be an idol, but it's not like she's pure. She's told him over and over by now that she's dirty and hopeless and if he can see through her that clearly, he must have some idea of what that means.
And it's not like selling off her body to anyone who'll have it is new to her. Just how much money has Strawberry Productions made off the promise of her hands, her smile, a few minutes worth of basking in her presence? That process of buying and selling pretend intimacy is exactly what being an idol is about. Isn't this just more of the same? A necessary transaction of intimacy? ]
I...
[ So why is she hesitating? ]
I know. I don't know. [ an empty, self defeating answer. ] I mean...
[ She swallows hard. ]
We both know it won't stop there. It won't be that easy.
[ It's disgusting. All of it. The idea that he's taking part in just another transaction. To be compared to every other disgusting human being who's taken part in exactly that makes him want to puke. Threatening to throw up in disgust is a common thing for Oberon to say, but he well and truly means it regarding that.
On the other hand, though, who the hell does she think she's talking to right now? She knows what he is now. You can call him whatever you want... doomsday device, a force of nature, the death throes of a long-dead country... well, all of those are true. But at the end of the day, he's just an insect born from sludge.
With that in mind, something pure would be too good for him anyway, right? ]
Yeah...
[ She doesn't have to worry about meeting his gaze. He's looking down, unable to bring himself to meet her gaze either. ]
...I still think you shouldn't. Not with me. However, to keep my words from becoming lies...
[ He can't allow himself to fall. He can't allow himself to disappear. Not until her wish is granted. ]
[ Her heart lurches, so hard that it makes her words stumble as they come out of her. ]
I- r-right now is -
[ Not while her face is still wet with tears. Not while she's so fragile, whether he's rough or gentle with her, she'll certainly break.
But it's not a rejection. And for the first time, it's not quite a retreat, either. Not now isn't not ever.
It takes a second for her to steady her wavering breath - but once she does, she inches a little closer to him on the sofa, just barely enough for their knees to touch and hesitantly peeks up at him.
He's pale. Sickly looking. Like her, he's a thing walking around just tricking his heart into beating. But from up close, he looks just like any other person. ]
[ He doesn't retreat either... and as she nervously peeks up at him, she'll find him doing the same. Is that shyness in his expression? Of all expressions to be on his face, that's the one he has? Shut up, he can't help it.
He meets her gaze, his cold blue eyes somehow less piercing than usual... maybe because right now, there isn't as much for it to pierce through. ]
...I got scolded for that, you know.
[ Well, lightly scolded, but it'll definitely be more than that if he bites open her lip again while it's barely even healed from the last time.
[ Her breath comes out in a soft laugh and her mouth settles into a smile. It's still hesitant, still unsure - but it's a proper smile. ]
It was kind of your fault.
[ She turns to face him properly, pulling her legs up under herself on the sofa so she can rise up just a little to meet him. Her hands drift up and after just a moment of hesitation, they cradle his face.
Jeez. She's acting like a schoolgirl fluttering over her first kiss. What does it say about her that this was easier when it was pure necessity?
She swallows again, as if the taste of blood still sits on her tongue and before either of them can flinch or second guess themselves again, she leans the rest of the way in and kisses him. ]
[ Her hands cradle his face, soft hands on pale skin, and his voice can only trail off as he looks down at her.
The feeling is mutual, if it makes Ai feel any better. How embarrassing is it that he feels like his heart is beating out of his chest like a hormonal teenage boy?
His breath hitches, and suddenly, their lips are against one another once again. ]
Nn...
[ Aah... he's so, so fucked.
For a moment, it's actually a normal kiss. His lips press against hers, and he can feel the way her lip had begun to heal from the abuse they had both done to it the other night. At first, he shows mercy... allowing himself to lean in and return the kiss.
But of course, eventually, it happens. She knew what Oberon was going to do, and Oberon managed to find some delight to take away from doing it.
After kissing her gently, indulging in the simplicity of just kissing without thinking of the underlying need to transfer mana for just a brief moment... he bites her lip, immediately undoing all of the natural healing it had been doing all day.
Fucked up couple has to have a fucked up kiss, Nagiko. ]
[ Honestly, doing it like this is a little scary. If it's just a normal kiss then it's a little too close to admitting that they both want it for the sake of wanting it and nothing else. Not that there's any point in pretending that's not the case anymore.
So it's almost a relief when his teeth catch on her lip. The skin is tender enough that it immediately splits and Ai makes a thin noise - a sharp little inhalation that's only mostly a protest.
Only mostly because even she can hear that it sounds a little... needy, too. As embarrassing as that is.
Their lips part, but only for a moment. She doesn't go far - she's close enough that when she lets out a little huff of annoyance, her breath puffs against his mouth. ]
... At least warn me before you do that.
[ Not that it seems she's all that annoyed because she's going right back in for another kiss. This time, her blood isn't quite so bitter, somehow. ]
[ The noise she makes... Oberon may feel like a schoolboy with the way he's handling this kiss mentally, but he can still hear the neediness in the noise that she makes, and unfortunately... it really does something for him. ]
...what, and spoil the surprise?
[ Maybe if he wasn't busy giving her a retort, he'd have been more prepared when she immediately goes back in for another... to which he can only respond in-kind as he finds himself leaning backwards as the kiss intensifies. Their tongues mingle, he can taste her blood once more, and he can feel the mana that flows into his pitifully-empty container again.
His arms wrap around her and pull her in, holding her close as he drinks the blood that flows from her lip... even going as far as to bite her lip again, this time aiming for a spot that hadn't been split open so as to mark them even further. ]
[ She'd thought it was embarrassing enough the first time around, doing this where just about anyone could see them but as it turns out, this is so much worse. At least then, there was every excuse to not escalate things but if it's just the two of them, then what excuse can she even make? Especially now she's practically in his lap - h-hold on, when exactly did that happen?! - and he's kissing her so hard it feels like all the breath is being pulled out of her lungs.
Another bite. This time, the noise that wells up from her throat breaks into a whine. ]
Oberon... [ It bleeds into her voice, too. She wonders just how it sounds to him - because she certainly can't tell if it's protest or encouragement. ] That hurts.
[ He's definitely getting greedy but the prospect of him being greedy for her... isn't the worst thing in the world. ]
[ The more he indulges, the more he feels his control slipping. It showed in the first bite, and it's showing even more now with the second. She keeps on saying she's dirty, that she's hopeless, yet here he is... unable to contain himself, wanting her all for himself.
The whine she makes... whether it's protest or encouragement, it doesn't really matter. It's just one more thing that's pushing him over the edge. Maybe it's a given that he, a dirty existence in his own right, would want her so badly.
In that brief moment of separation, he can't help but grin smugly... as if to say "what are you going to do about it?" All while taking in her blood and the mana that comes with it. ]
[ It lasts entirely too long. Much longer than Ai means it to. She keeps telling herself to pull back for a breath, for any excuse at all but she can't quite make herself do it. Maybe because the moment it ends, she'll have to reckon with just how quickly this stopped being about transferring mana, if it was ever even the point in the first place.
She's anchored in place by his arms, but she doesn't feel trapped at all. She feels alarmingly steady, frighteningly comfortable and it's a little to easy to imagine staying here for a little too long.
It's out of pure necessity when she at last pulls back for a breath. It shudders into her lungs and as she goes, her gaze drops again. Her face is burning all the way up to the roots of her hair. She can't let him see her making... whatever face that would be. ]
... you really are horrible.
[ When it's that breathy, it's hard to take it as an insult. ]
[ There might be some comfort in the darkness of the living room, an excuse to say that the burning of her cheeks is less visible... but that'd be a lie. Oberon can see her clearly, and he knows that if he looks at that face for too long, he'll cross another line.
He shouldn't go further, this is just a mana transfer. Even if it's inconvenient and slow, it shouldn't go further than this. It can't go further than this. He keeps telling himself this, over and over...
Yet as he looks more upon her... face flushed, lip bleeding... ]
Hmph... sorry about that.
[ He leans forward, and suddenly, not only is he kissing her again... but Ai is on her back, and he's on top of her, drowning himself in her even more greedily than before.
They knew this would happen. They both knew this would happen. They could tell themselves that it would only go as far as a kiss, that they could stop before it went further, but in the end... this was inevitable, wasn't it? ]
[ You're not sorry at all, you liar. is what she means to say - not that there's any point to it - but before her mouth can even start to make the right shapes, he's kissing her again. Once more, it feels like all the breath is being pulled out of her lungs but she's not sure she'd protest even if she could.
It's funny. Their positions have totally reversed, haven't they? Last time it was him flat on his back and now Ai's the one pinned under him. Not that she's trapped in the least - right now, this is exactly where she wants to be. ]
Oberon, ah- [ Even though she's the one breaking away to speak, she's also the one kissing him again between all those fragmented words. Like she can't bear for them to stop for more than a few seconds at a time. ] My mouth... if you keep doing that, it won't...
[ It won't heal. The marks he's leaving will be so obvious that there'll be no way to cover for what they are.
It occurs to her a split second after she speaks that she maybe could have chosen her words a little better if her aim was to discourage him. ]
[ Ai had been on top of him last time, but considering the fact that Oberon is just a few inches short of being a full foot taller than her, this feels more right, doesn't it? With the way he's pinning her, if she had a mind to escape it might occur to her that she couldn't...
...but she continues to kiss him, continues to feed him her blood, gasps out words in a voice so sweet it drives him crazy.
Even if she chose the wrong words, you would think that Oberon would still understand when the aim is to discourage him... but knowing the truth doesn't make him any less him. She'll be able to catch the brief flicker of a grin... before he bites her lip for a third time, thoroughly marking her lip as if he were marking her as his.
...well, if she really has a problem with having her lip like that, he can always heal it. She'll have to convince him first, though.
At this point, their kiss is even bloodier than the first one they had after that battle. Three seperate splits from which Oberon is able to greedily consume her blood, her mana. Seriously, at this point he's not much better than an actual vampire. What are they called again? Dead Apostles? Eh, not that he cares. ]
[ His teeth really are sharper than she'd first thought. Or maybe he's just biting down that hard - it sure feels like that's what he's doing and even though it stings, even though she's complaining, it's still making her nerves buzz under her skin. And yet, the truth under her words isn't necessarily a protest - though with how breathy and sweet her voice as gone, it doesn't take any kind of magic to tell that.
She has to break away for a breath and to give her stinging mouth even a moment of relief - and so she can try to wipe the garish streak of blood that's making its way down her chin and streaking along her neck. ]
You really are awful... If all you were going to do was chew my mouth to pieces like that, you could've warned me...
Hmph. I might fix it later if you're really bothered.
[ "Might" being the key word here... and the fact that Ai doesn't look bothered at all. Or Nagiko will latch onto him from behind and bite him if he doesn't. In any case, he pulls back just enough to allow Ai to wipe away the blood and have a brief respite from the abuse he's done to her lips.
It occurs to Oberon that, as much as Ai is driving him crazy, this could be a chance to back off... to throw down the metaphorical flashbang as if they haven't already crossed the point of no return.
...but he doesn't. Instead, he sees the blood running down her chin and onto her neck. The blood on her chin is wiped away easily enough, but the blood on her neck...
It draws him in, and against his own better judgement... his own rational mind, he leans in. Except he goes lower than her lips, he brings his head down to her neck, where a streak of blood has run down the side of her neck... and bites.
Whether his teeth are sharp or if he's just biting that hard is up for debate, but when he bites down on her neck, like a predator would with his prey... he's at least not crazy enough to damage her neck the same way he did with her lips. His teeth sink into her neck, deep enough to leave a visible mark on her skin... but only just barely drawing blood at the same time. ]
[ Once again, Ai only realizes what he's about to do in the split second before his teeth close on her skin and so she doesn't quite have the time to try and control the sound it wrenches out of her. She doesn't even know what her own reaction is going to be and even as her voice crests in a high, wavering and unmistakably needy noise, she's stunned by it.
Was her voice always capable of coming out of her like that? More importantly, how does she make sure it never happens again?! ]
Aaah- ah, ah, wait, wait-!
[ She squirms under him. At some point, her arms had looped around his neck and now one of them thwaps pathetically at his back. It's a halfhearted, entirely spiritless protest, made even more transparent when her wait, wait, wait comes shot through with notes of please, please, please instead. ]
H-how are you supposed to get any mana like that...
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no subject
. . . Okay. [ Again, as her fingers curl into his cloak. ] Okay.
[ She'd be more of a liar than she always is if she tried to say she wasn't scared. Giving up is easy. Giving up means you can't be disappointed. If he promises he can do this for her, then that means she has to hope again - and that hope could just as easily come crashing back down. She doesn't know what she'd do if it did.
Maybe it's because neither of them can lie here. But somehow... just this once, Ai wants to believe him. ]
Then it's a promise.
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[ The truth can be such a pain, Oberon thinks. He's spoken his conviction, his resolve... but now he has to ensure that his words become the truth, ensure that they don't become a lie. He can't die, he can't disappear, not until her wish has been granted.
The world around them begins to fade, the wind picking up as the bright pink sky fades to black around them. The ground vanishes, and Ai starts to fall again...
...but this time, she falls with his arms still around her, holding her close as the curtain falls around them, fading into that same comforting darkness.
As they do...
"What is it you want, Oberon?"
"...I'm looking for Titania. Remember? Oberon's queen from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'? Titania, the Faerie Queen. The only one who could ever love the obstinate Oberon. I'm hoping to see her, if I can. Though of course... I know that's impossible. Titania's a fictional character, she doesn't exist in Proper Human History. She can only ever exist within the confines of a story."
Perhaps it's just a leakage, memories and words leaking out as the dream comes to an end, but...
"Everything I say is a lie. You shouldn't believe any of it. Peace in Britain... Artoria's mission... I didn't care about any of it."
"I'm sure you didn't, but even so... what about your own star, Titania?"
"...That is exactly what I hate about you."
Titania. His queen... and yet he has no queen, for Titania doesn't exist. Yet still he searches, for he can't help but search... for the one who can love even the twisted Oberon.
And that's the last thing she hears before waking up... her head on Oberon's lap, having cried just as much in reality as she did in the dream. ]
no subject
She stays where she is for a long, quiet moment, her head still spinning and her heart still lodged in her throat. It really does seem too good and too awful to be true all at once and she can't quite make herself believe she'd seen or heard any of it.
Me too. I've been dead all this time too.
What a miserable tragedy. It even moved a corpse to tears.
Finally, slowly, Ai sits up. As she rights herself on the sofa, a few remaining tears break free and make their way down her face but she dries them with a swipe of her sleeve over her eyes. ]
... You're horrible, you know. Horrible. Making a girl cry like this.
[ It's a joke to try and break the tension, even if she can practically feel how flat it falls. Even after all that - or maybe especially after all that - she can't quite bring herself to meet his gaze just yet.
She wonders just what sort of face she'd made as she cried. ]
no subject
Hah... well, if you expected anything else from me, then that's a damn shame.
[ Part of him still wonders if he made a mistake, if he yet again let his emotions get the better of him and do something even though he knew he shouldn't.
Why had he done it? Was it because of what she said? "Right. It must sound easy to someone like you"? Well, of course it sounds easy to him. Compared to him, who lives with a curse rooted at the very premise of his existence, a fundamental "rule" that everything Obeorn the Faerie King says is something that was never worth believing...
Was that really all it took to get him to finally make her understand? Even if it required her to see the grim nature of his birth? Understand exactly why it was him that she summoned instead of anybody else?
He's still not sure. ]
...I won't say those words again.
[ "You know why." ]
no subject
[ Her mouth struggles to make the shape of a smile. It's a visible effort and it comes out worn and lopsided but somehow, it's not remotely a lie.
The movement makes the mark on her lip pull tight and she wonders - had it been there while she'd cried in that dream, too?
But she supposes it doesn't matter. ]
If you say so. ... You're just as bad as me, you know.
[ Somehow, it comes out sounding like a compliment. Not that she'd ever wish being like her on anybody else.
She rubs her face with her sleeves again - her eyes are sore and puffy, her cheeks still wet - and finally, she manages to look up at him.
No wonder she'd always felt like she was being flayed alive in his gaze. She's never hated anything more than meeting her eyes in a mirror. ]
Aah... This probably isn't what Nagiko-chan wanted when she told us to talk.
no subject
Hmph... my sincerest apologies about that.
[ They probably went a little further in terms of talking than Nagiko wanted, and whether that was a good thing or not is still up for debate, but...
...god he wants to avoid it. It might even be easier to avoid it than he thinks. Things are emotionally charged enough as is, after all. Why make it worse?
"I mean, next time someone picks a fight - 'cause it's gonna happen, guaranteed - what're you gonna do about your magic? You can't ask for another Command Spell if she's only got the one, so whatever else you had to do, it's not gonna be a one off! Didya even think about that for a second?"
"Don't disappear. Please, don't go. I'm- I'm irresponsible and I'm dirty, I'm hopeless as a Master. I'm no good as a person. I know all that, but I..."
...god, this is the worst. ]
...
[ ...it's even worse that he has no idea how to fucking start that conversation. ]
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... How are they supposed to now? Now that she's fully bled her heart out all over him? Now that she knows -
Well. She's going to do her best to not think too hard about all of that. Just because she's done her best to understand doesn't mean she has to like all of what she's come to know.
(Besides. Even if he was stupid enough to ask, the last thing someone like Ai could give him - or anyone - is love.)
(Somehow, thinking about it like that makes it easier to start talking.) ]
We can try... other ways.
[ She blurts it out quick, like she wants to get it said before she loses her nerve. ]
There have to be others. I know Nagiko-chan and Hibiki-chan have something that works for them, so...
[ Surely there must be plenty of pairs in the same situation - compatible as Master and Servant but not necessarily as people. At least not like that. ]
I'll figure... something out. I won't let you disappear.
no subject
Oi, you better not start thinking of those two as the standard. Their whole deal makes no goddamn sense, even to me.
[ The lie being that Oberon has some idea of how it works. It's clearly something on her Master's end, whose abilities are already ridiculous and unlike anything he's seen before. Still, that just reinforces the fact that it's far from the norm.
Still, he looks at her again, turning silent at her words. She'll figure something out? Don't make him laugh. Even he can see the fruitlessness of that. Granted, it's not like he of all people should discount the possibility, but... ]
...and how long will that take?
[ He won't disappear. He can't disappear. That was his promise, his oath to her. Loathe as he is to admit it, especially concerning an author, but Nagiko is right. What will he do when shit goes south again? Something that's guaranteed to happen eventually no matter what. He must win, he must continue to win so that Ai's wish is granted... but he can't do that right now.
...should he just take her, right here, right now? The thought is so repulsive it almost makes him laugh. That's probably the exact opposite Nagiko would have wanted to happen when she talked to them both. ]
...Ai.
[ They can't keep going like this... ]
no subject
She might be an idol, but it's not like she's pure. She's told him over and over by now that she's dirty and hopeless and if he can see through her that clearly, he must have some idea of what that means.
And it's not like selling off her body to anyone who'll have it is new to her. Just how much money has Strawberry Productions made off the promise of her hands, her smile, a few minutes worth of basking in her presence? That process of buying and selling pretend intimacy is exactly what being an idol is about. Isn't this just more of the same? A necessary transaction of intimacy? ]
I...
[ So why is she hesitating? ]
I know. I don't know. [ an empty, self defeating answer. ] I mean...
[ She swallows hard. ]
We both know it won't stop there. It won't be that easy.
[ "It won't be just mana transfer." ]
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On the other hand, though, who the hell does she think she's talking to right now? She knows what he is now. You can call him whatever you want... doomsday device, a force of nature, the death throes of a long-dead country... well, all of those are true. But at the end of the day, he's just an insect born from sludge.
With that in mind, something pure would be too good for him anyway, right? ]
Yeah...
[ She doesn't have to worry about meeting his gaze. He's looking down, unable to bring himself to meet her gaze either. ]
...I still think you shouldn't. Not with me. However, to keep my words from becoming lies...
[ He can't allow himself to fall. He can't allow himself to disappear. Not until her wish is granted. ]
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I- r-right now is -
[ Not while her face is still wet with tears. Not while she's so fragile, whether he's rough or gentle with her, she'll certainly break.
But it's not a rejection. And for the first time, it's not quite a retreat, either. Not now isn't not ever.
It takes a second for her to steady her wavering breath - but once she does, she inches a little closer to him on the sofa, just barely enough for their knees to touch and hesitantly peeks up at him.
He's pale. Sickly looking. Like her, he's a thing walking around just tricking his heart into beating. But from up close, he looks just like any other person. ]
... It worked last time, so...
[ That messy kiss, tinged with her blood. ]
... Let me try it again.
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Shut up, he can't help it.He meets her gaze, his cold blue eyes somehow less piercing than usual... maybe because right now, there isn't as much for it to pierce through. ]
...I got scolded for that, you know.
[ Well, lightly scolded, but it'll definitely be more than that if he bites open her lip again while it's barely even healed from the last time.
Heh. Sounds fun, actually.]...so you had better take the blame this time.
[
Take that, Sei Shounagon.]no subject
[ Her breath comes out in a soft laugh and her mouth settles into a smile. It's still hesitant, still unsure - but it's a proper smile. ]
It was kind of your fault.
[ She turns to face him properly, pulling her legs up under herself on the sofa so she can rise up just a little to meet him. Her hands drift up and after just a moment of hesitation, they cradle his face.
Jeez. She's acting like a schoolgirl fluttering over her first kiss. What does it say about her that this was easier when it was pure necessity?
She swallows again, as if the taste of blood still sits on her tongue and before either of them can flinch or second guess themselves again, she leans the rest of the way in and kisses him. ]
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[ Her hands cradle his face, soft hands on pale skin, and his voice can only trail off as he looks down at her.
The feeling is mutual, if it makes Ai feel any better. How embarrassing is it that he feels like his heart is beating out of his chest like a hormonal teenage boy?
His breath hitches, and suddenly, their lips are against one another once again. ]
Nn...
[ Aah... he's so, so fucked.
For a moment, it's actually a normal kiss. His lips press against hers, and he can feel the way her lip had begun to heal from the abuse they had both done to it the other night. At first, he shows mercy... allowing himself to lean in and return the kiss.
But of course, eventually, it happens. She knew what Oberon was going to do, and Oberon managed to find some delight to take away from doing it.
After kissing her gently, indulging in the simplicity of just kissing without thinking of the underlying need to transfer mana for just a brief moment... he bites her lip, immediately undoing all of the natural healing it had been doing all day.
Fucked up couple has to have a fucked up kiss, Nagiko.]no subject
So it's almost a relief when his teeth catch on her lip. The skin is tender enough that it immediately splits and Ai makes a thin noise - a sharp little inhalation that's only mostly a protest.
Only mostly because even she can hear that it sounds a little... needy, too. As embarrassing as that is.
Their lips part, but only for a moment. She doesn't go far - she's close enough that when she lets out a little huff of annoyance, her breath puffs against his mouth. ]
... At least warn me before you do that.
[ Not that it seems she's all that annoyed because she's going right back in for another kiss. This time, her blood isn't quite so bitter, somehow. ]
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...what, and spoil the surprise?
[ Maybe if he wasn't busy giving her a retort, he'd have been more prepared when she immediately goes back in for another... to which he can only respond in-kind as he finds himself leaning backwards as the kiss intensifies. Their tongues mingle, he can taste her blood once more, and he can feel the mana that flows into his pitifully-empty container again.
His arms wrap around her and pull her in, holding her close as he drinks the blood that flows from her lip... even going as far as to bite her lip again, this time aiming for a spot that hadn't been split open so as to mark them even further. ]
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Another bite. This time, the noise that wells up from her throat breaks into a whine. ]
Oberon... [ It bleeds into her voice, too. She wonders just how it sounds to him - because she certainly can't tell if it's protest or encouragement. ] That hurts.
[ He's definitely getting greedy but the prospect of him being greedy for her... isn't the worst thing in the world. ]
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The whine she makes... whether it's protest or encouragement, it doesn't really matter. It's just one more thing that's pushing him over the edge. Maybe it's a given that he, a dirty existence in his own right, would want her so badly.
In that brief moment of separation, he can't help but grin smugly... as if to say "what are you going to do about it?" All while taking in her blood and the mana that comes with it. ]
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She's anchored in place by his arms, but she doesn't feel trapped at all. She feels alarmingly steady, frighteningly comfortable and it's a little to easy to imagine staying here for a little too long.
It's out of pure necessity when she at last pulls back for a breath. It shudders into her lungs and as she goes, her gaze drops again. Her face is burning all the way up to the roots of her hair. She can't let him see her making... whatever face that would be. ]
... you really are horrible.
[ When it's that breathy, it's hard to take it as an insult. ]
You have way too much fun bullying me.
[ Or as disapproval. ]
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He shouldn't go further, this is just a mana transfer. Even if it's inconvenient and slow, it shouldn't go further than this. It can't go further than this. He keeps telling himself this, over and over...
Yet as he looks more upon her... face flushed, lip bleeding... ]
Hmph... sorry about that.
[ He leans forward, and suddenly, not only is he kissing her again... but Ai is on her back, and he's on top of her, drowning himself in her even more greedily than before.
They knew this would happen. They both knew this would happen. They could tell themselves that it would only go as far as a kiss, that they could stop before it went further, but in the end... this was inevitable, wasn't it? ]
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It's funny. Their positions have totally reversed, haven't they? Last time it was him flat on his back and now Ai's the one pinned under him. Not that she's trapped in the least - right now, this is exactly where she wants to be. ]
Oberon, ah- [ Even though she's the one breaking away to speak, she's also the one kissing him again between all those fragmented words. Like she can't bear for them to stop for more than a few seconds at a time. ] My mouth... if you keep doing that, it won't...
[ It won't heal. The marks he's leaving will be so obvious that there'll be no way to cover for what they are.
It occurs to her a split second after she speaks that she maybe could have chosen her words a little better if her aim was to discourage him. ]
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...but she continues to kiss him, continues to feed him her blood, gasps out words in a voice so sweet it drives him crazy.
Even if she chose the wrong words, you would think that Oberon would still understand when the aim is to discourage him... but knowing the truth doesn't make him any less him. She'll be able to catch the brief flicker of a grin... before he bites her lip for a third time, thoroughly marking her lip as if he were marking her as his.
...well, if she really has a problem with having her lip like that, he can always heal it. She'll have to convince him first, though.At this point, their kiss is even bloodier than the first one they had after that battle. Three seperate splits from which Oberon is able to greedily consume her blood, her mana. Seriously, at this point he's not much better than an actual vampire. What are they called again? Dead Apostles? Eh, not that he cares. ]
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[ His teeth really are sharper than she'd first thought. Or maybe he's just biting down that hard - it sure feels like that's what he's doing and even though it stings, even though she's complaining, it's still making her nerves buzz under her skin. And yet, the truth under her words isn't necessarily a protest - though with how breathy and sweet her voice as gone, it doesn't take any kind of magic to tell that.
She has to break away for a breath and to give her stinging mouth even a moment of relief - and so she can try to wipe the garish streak of blood that's making its way down her chin and streaking along her neck. ]
You really are awful... If all you were going to do was chew my mouth to pieces like that, you could've warned me...
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[ "Might" being the key word here... and the fact that Ai doesn't look bothered at all.
Or Nagiko will latch onto him from behind and bite him if he doesn't.In any case, he pulls back just enough to allow Ai to wipe away the blood and have a brief respite from the abuse he's done to her lips.It occurs to Oberon that, as much as Ai is driving him crazy, this could be a chance to back off... to throw down the metaphorical flashbang as if they haven't already crossed the point of no return.
...but he doesn't. Instead, he sees the blood running down her chin and onto her neck. The blood on her chin is wiped away easily enough, but the blood on her neck...
It draws him in, and against his own better judgement... his own rational mind, he leans in. Except he goes lower than her lips, he brings his head down to her neck, where a streak of blood has run down the side of her neck... and bites.
Whether his teeth are sharp or if he's just biting that hard is up for debate, but when he bites down on her neck, like a predator would with his prey... he's at least not crazy enough to damage her neck the same way he did with her lips. His teeth sink into her neck, deep enough to leave a visible mark on her skin... but only just barely drawing blood at the same time. ]
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Was her voice always capable of coming out of her like that? More importantly, how does she make sure it never happens again?! ]
Aaah- ah, ah, wait, wait-!
[ She squirms under him. At some point, her arms had looped around his neck and now one of them thwaps pathetically at his back. It's a halfhearted, entirely spiritless protest, made even more transparent when her wait, wait, wait comes shot through with notes of please, please, please instead. ]
H-how are you supposed to get any mana like that...
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