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gloxym · 19 days ago

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a/n: I didn't think i'd do a part 2, but here I am. Namely, I did it right after this one, but I just finished it now. The ending is a bit disjointed and I admit that it feels a little rushed. Though, I also just wanted to finish it, so I hope it's okay. It was a fun time and it's not proof-read and there are definitely some mistakes, sorry about that.

Zayne POV | OC [Yin Zhao] x Zayne

warning: slightly more nsfw; sorta angst; implied mutilation

Zayne never considered himself an oblivious man. He was fully aware of the world around him, observant towards smaller details that most would miss. It’s what led him to being one of the best cardiologists in the country, where people came in droves to be seen by him. So, when she came into his life, he saw the twitch as she glanced at a couple who clearly were maintaining a distance, both drained and bitter from something. He saw the way she focused on something in the air, her expression sullen as she fiddled with something in her pocket, debating over a decision she could only consider. Even with their retreating backs, she turned to look at them, watching them leave with a sympathy he couldn’t quite understand.

With a resolve settled inside her, she pulled out a pair of pristine, gilded shears and calmly walked over to them. He had only been a few meters away when he saw her, his mind considering the possibility that she’d attack one or the other couple, rushing towards her to prevent a potential attack. He had called out to them in warning, the startled look of all three of them turning towards his direction. The woman, hair unnaturally blue with the shears in her hands fumbled a little, flustered by his call, before steeling herself and snipping at the air between them. The couple had become furious at her, insulting her as she held her hands up in defense, the weapon in her hands dangling from her middle finger as she claimed that it was a mean-spirited dare to scare them.

Even as he approached the trio, his eyes transfixed on the woman, she only continued to defend that she meant no real harm and accepted their anger towards her, apologizing for her actions. Yet, his eyes couldn’t help but notice a sense of relief on her face at her crime, the crease in her eyes softening as they hurled one final insult towards her before thanking him for warning. Even as they left, her shoulders relaxing as the shears were put away, she continued to watch their retreating form with a tender smile. He could only wonder why she would look satisfied over a prank, her eyes meeting his hesitantly before glancing briefly at his hands with a flash of confusion before she apologized.

Yin Zhao was her name and to say she didn’t pique his curiosity would be an understatement. Despite her appearance, she was only a year younger than he was and the shears in her hands were simply a gift given to her by someone. She dodged most of his questions about them and her actions, nervously telling him an excuse that he believed she rehearsed many times beforehand. As if she had to, going on instinct rather than conscious thought. Zayne couldn’t understand why he was fascinated by her, but he felt drawn into her. So, he made up an excuse to continue interacting with her, claiming he was simply keeping an eye on her for any mean-spirited pranks she may inflict on others. If he caught her doing something displeasing, he’d have to report her to the authorities, her expression faltering into annoyed defeat before accepting.

He knew she was trying to keep her distance from him, glaring at him from time to time when he so happened to show up at places where he just so happened to see her acting suspicious with her shears. Yet no matter what, even if he warned her that he would report her, she still seemed intent on completing whatever ritual she deemed was necessary, snipping at the air near someone who looked near the end of their relationship. The people she snipped at were always a couple who seemed tired of their relationship, like she was capable of seeing something that they didn’t. Her quiet sense of accomplishment each time the blades severed a tie he was never meant to see made him want to learn more about her.

So he pursued it, asking her to join him for meals by offering to pay for her share. She was always reluctant, but soon began to warm up to him as she sat down to eat, her appetite seemingly endless. Yin told him that she usually forgets to eat, so when she actually takes the time to have something, she eats more than what most people would normally consume. She warned him that she’d bleed him dry if he kept offering to pay, her attempt to dissuade him from pursuing something with her, so he took the chance to continue contacting her under the guise that as a doctor, he must see to it that she eats every day. Morning, noon and night, he’d ask her to video call him to ensure she was eating. She was against the idea of doing it, however the alternative he provided — to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with him — had her changing her mind to accepting.

The more he learned about her, the closer he felt to falling in love. She was adventurous, branching out quite beautifully with her interests, be it the types of food she ate or the hobbies she enjoyed. For someone who seemed crazed with a pair of shears, she never struck him as someone who let the little things bother her. Every detail of her life she willingly shared with him as they spent time together had him wanting more. Physical affection was her language, her hands finding ways to touch his hair or rest on his arm, his heart racing when she hugged him in spite of herself wanting to keep him at arm's length.

He was falling hard, enjoying the sound of her voice as she told him about her day. The way she’d laugh at his jokes, a snort leaving before the actual laughter had him smiling. When she’d tease him about the animals that scurried away, only to pat him on the head when he felt upset about it made him melt into her touch. He craved more, wondering what her lips would feel like against his own. He wondered what she’d sound like when they woke up in bed together. He wanted to know what she’d feel like in his arms, to hold her so close and bury himself in her scent. Even when others approached him with flirtatious undertones, his eyes would find her looking away with a jealousy that had his ego swelling just a little. No matter how hard she tried to deny she wanted more than a friendship with him, he saw clearly how she’d unknowingly shown how much she yearned for more.

She never knew how much she expressed herself, but he did. He saw it all from the way she looked at him when she thought he wasn’t watching. How her teasing teetered on the edge of flirtation. How she made more excuses to touch him, be it to straighten out his tie or the way she was simply brushing lint off his clothes. He was patient, letting her overcome a fear he was certain was there in her heart. Even if he wanted more, he would never push her to follow his pace. He would wait for her to come to him, even as it drove him mad.

His colleagues were beginning to notice her more when she stopped by the hospital. They commented on how beautiful she was, complimenting the way she seemed to have such a warm and inviting personality. It irked him when he’d hear how they spoke about how she’d be in bed, a jealousy burning within him each time he assigned them extra shifts under the guise of the hospital was more likely to receive more patients as winter approached. Each time she appeared, he’d subtly push her into his office and keep her away from prying eyes from seeing more of her than he’d like to share. He didn’t want to share her. He didn’t need others falling for someone he had already fallen in love with. Even as doubt creeped into the back of his mind at the plausibility of her fears preventing a relationship to form between them, he kept himself grounded with the knowledge that she searched for him before acknowledging anyone else.

Greyson was the one that presented him with a joke gift, a box of condoms just in case, as he admitted to inviting her to the dinner they were all going to have before Christmas. He was the one that noticed that something was brewing between them, so he thought he’d at least give them both a little nudge, Zayne disregarding his attempts to play matchmaker. He wasn’t going to push her. He knew that, even as he placed them in his coat and headed out. He wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want to do, afraid of scaring her away from something she seemed to deny so fiercely.

He wasn’t.

Seeing her at the dinner had stolen the air out of his lungs when she walked in, the vibrant blue strands of hair draping around her face, the blue dress she wore exposing her skin so elegantly. It was not a dress for winter, yet she stood there, unbothered by the cold outside, her smile radiant when she found him. She teased him when she approached, his heart skipping a beat at the scent of her perfume hitting him when she took her seat beside him. It was one he had commented he quite enjoyed on her, one day. He dared not to believe she wore it for him. He knew she probably thought it was one that would fit the setting of the restaurant, with a more elegant atmosphere. But he hoped she wore it for him. He hoped that she dressed up for him. She was beautiful.

So much so, that his colleagues had renewed vigor in trying to woo her as she politely laughed at their attempts, shifting in her seat uncomfortablly while her hands searched for something to occupy her mind with. She was nervous, not wanting to be rude, so he did what he felt was right to do. His hand reached over hers, silently conveying that she was off limits with a quiet claim. They knew to back off, their eyes darting over to him as he calmly spoke to her about what she’d like to order for dessert. She didn’t flinch away from him, didn’t move her hand to her side. She settled in her seat, relaxed as she would share with whatever he picked. He allowed himself to enjoy her touch, simply getting lost in the way her hand felt in his. That gentle squeeze she returned, however, had him aching for more. He wanted her so much more now than ever before.

He offered to take her back to her place, putting his coat on her when the winter chill settled around her. No matter how used to the cold she was, not bringing a jacket was simply irresponsible. Even as his pulse quickened when she pulled it closer to her, feeling safe. When they stood at her door, he was certain that he could control himself. That he wouldn’t push her. That he would respect the boundary she placed around herself. Yet, he couldn’t help glance at the way her lips shined from her lipstick, glossy and plump. So kissable, he wondered if she’d let him. He was leaning in before he even realized, pausing to reign in some control and hold himself back. He didn’t get the chance to pull away, her hands finding themselves on his shoulders as she pulled him in to close the distance.

A fraction of a second was all he allowed himself to be surprised by her. It was all he needed as he slid his arm around her waist to pull her closer, his desires overwhelming him as they kissed. He pushed her inside her home, shutting the door to allow this moment to happen as she pulled him in further. He felt her hands everywhere, spurring him further to continue as he pushed her into the wall, swallowing her moans. The kiss was feverish, dizzying, his hands roaming all over her body and relishing the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips. She moaned so beautifully, his tongue slipping into her mouth to wrestle with her own. The control he had claimed he had snapped fully when she pulled back and tilted her head back, his lips trailing down to kiss the new flesh offered to him. He sucked a patch of skin, daring to mark her for his own ego. He didn’t want someone thinking they had a chance with her, not when he was finally granted a chance to be with her so carnally.

He wasn’t sure how he got his head between her legs, but somewhere along the way, he hiked up her dress and was tasting her directly. He became drunk off of her immediately, making quick work to find the best ways to rip the moans and cries from her lips as she dug her fingers into his scalp, uncertain if she should pull him back or push him closer. Once wasn’t enough, his hunger ravenous as he continued to worship her body, his mind in a haze as the actions he did were fueled by animalistic desire to have more. Her legs buckled, but it was only a moment for him to put her legs over his shoulders, holding her weight up against the wall as he continued to feast. The second time he brought her over the edge wasn’t enough to satiate the hunger, realizing that she really seemed to enjoy being at his mercy, the whimpers and babbling of his name fueling him to push further. The dress she wore was discarded at some point, he wasn’t entirely sure if he was the one that did it or if she did, but it didn’t matter as he held her by her thighs and continued to devour her until she was falling apart on his tongue one final time.

He licked his way up to her, paying special attention to her breasts as he ground the painful tent in his slacks against her, groaning at the sounds escaping her. Another thing to take note of, his mind mentally filling out the checklist of her likes as he continued. They didn’t even make it to her bedroom, the burning ache that consumed him pushing him over the edge as he thanked Greyson mentally for giving him the stupid gift. He won’t admit that it was because of the man that they were in a position for the condoms to be used, but damn did it come in handy as he shed his clothes and quickly rolled one of them on before returning back to her. He was careful, relishing the way her body responded to him as he slowly pushed himself inside until he was fully inside. He saw the way her body writhed beneath him, the shimmering of tears in her cloudy eyes as she watched him, her hair spilled around her. Beautiful was the only thing he could say, letting his baser desires control.

He internalized every single moment, locking it deep within his soul. Every mark on his back, the bites on his flesh, the way her voice sounded when he hit a particular spot, it was all catalogued for the future. He would not let her go, not now. Not ever. This one night, she belonged to him. She was solely his and no other would dare have her. He would not let them. He couldn’t.

Nothing would ever get in the way.

He wasn’t sure when they had moved to the bedroom, but as the morning light shone through the curtains, he was satisfied that she was in his arms, curled into him, he felt complete. She was made for him and he didn’t plan on giving up so easily anymore. Even if she denied that it meant anything as they sat together for breakfast, the shirt she wore did nothing to cover the bruises on her neck, mirroring the ones she didn’t seem to realize she did on his. Even if he went to work the following day and she was meeting him in his office, chewing on her lip and lingering around despite only being there to drop off refreshments, her eyes brimming with desire that she was painfully unaware of. He found it cute, too cute even. He caved and kissed her, only to have her beneath him with her legs wrapped around his waist as she laid out on the top of his desk.

And once again in his car when he offered to drive her to dinner another night. This one time thing she insisted so desperately kept happening, Zayne couldn’t really see her believing it. He simply provided the excuses she was seeking, letting her talk about how he’s insatiable when it was only half true. He did want her, truly, but she teased him constantly with the cues he learned to pick up on quickly. She was quite bold and adventurous, something he was aware of, but something about public sex truly did something to him when he had to cover her mouth to prevent the moans he purposely coaxed out of her with a hushed whisper of warning that they’d be caught.

Despite the fun, he felt content when they spent the night together, watching something on TV, her head resting on his shoulder as her hands absently stroked patterns on his hand. She had come to terms with something in her mind, overcoming a fear that he knew plagued her for so long. She was the one who confessed her love for him first. He was overcome with warmth, her quiet confession whispered in the dead of night as they laid together in his bed. He felt complete in that moment, accepting her love with a soft admission of his own love to her. He loved everything about her, from the bottom of his heart. He vowed he’d always be with her, no matter what.

But he knew that fear inside her still lingered, with the hesitation on her face as she glanced away from him confirming that she still had reservations in fully believing in him. He would show her that he meant it. He would prove himself until the doubt in her heart fully dissipated and she had no room for it any longer.

When she asked him about red strings of fate, he could only imagine that in the way she spoke lied her doubts about his love. The soft sorrow as she spoke, as if something in this universe could dictate and govern over their autonomy was ludicrous to even think about. He knew he didn’t believe in it, only taking her hands in his and telling her with all the affirmation he could possibly convey that his beliefs were in the bonds forged between two people with choice. He chose her because he wanted to, not because something or someone made the choice for him. He loved her. It was as simple as that. Her resolve in him was enough, her eyes shimmering as she revealed the reason why her little quirky habits were actually something important. She was a Gardener in this world, someone who may or may not ever have a red string of fate connect her to someone. It wasn’t unheard of, just simply an occurrence that she hadn’t seen. The revelation had taken time for him to come to terms with, though the sincerity in her voice and eyes were enough for him to believe that it mattered to her.

The people she used her shears on looked weathered by their relationship, yet incapable of leaving it over something they weren’t certain of. If it were true, Zayne knew that he would put a stop to it if it ever appeared for him. He wouldn’t let something tell him who he was meant for. He knew who he loved and told her if she ever saw one appear on him, to cut it. Even if it tied to her, he wanted his choice to remain his and his alone. He wasn’t going to let it control his life.

She agreed to it, believing in him and their new found system. It was all that mattered to him.

And yet, she lied.

He knew the moment that she entered his office, something was wrong. He knew the moment her legs threatened to give out from under her, there was something she’d seen that he couldn’t. There was a string he couldn’t feel or see around him and she was fully aware of it. Even as he held her, looked over her, he could see the despair she was trying to hide. His heart broke at the sight of her, seeing her try to remain strong for him as he soothed her worries. Whatever it was, he trusted she’d make the right choice. He told her to, to snip his supposed fate and give him the ability to remain himself. He saw it all, even if she believed he couldn’t. He didn’t need to see the string to know that when her hands shook, attempting to sever around something unseen before relenting and moving a fraction upward in the air to snip the tie, that she lied.

He closed his eyes, the betrayal burning with him as he listened to hear lies, his hands smoothing over her back softly. He didn’t understand why she couldn’t do it. He didn’t know how this entire process worked, he just knew his heart felt torn as he pulled her in closer. What hurt worse was knowing what she was resigning herself to. He knew that she’d had to watch him leave her, truly believing in her that he was making the choice on his own. The fact that she was willing to stay by his side to watch him leave… it sickened him. His eyes stared at his hands, namely the finger she found herself lingering on often, his eyes burning with an anger that he could only feel but not show.

If whatever old gods she spoke of thought he’d let them run his life, then he would do anything to prove he was the one in control. Nothing was going to stand in his way from the love he worked on with her. Nothing.

It was a sacrifice he was willing to make, all for his love.

a/n: inspo from @dark-night-hero who wrote a beautiful reader x zayne piece. Red String of Fate AU here to check it out.

it's a little altered, but I still liked the theme!

OC [Yin Zhao] x Zayne

warning: slight nsfw, angst a bit rushed for sure, wrote it while sleep deprived but I hope it's still enjoyable

Yin accepted her life the way it was. She was doomed. Cursed. She was the inbetween, with no one to call her own in the universe as she found herself constantly without a string to connect to. It wasn’t unheard of to have people who didn’t connect, they served a purpose to cut the ones that were too damaging to each other. Toxic relationships. Obsessive. Ones where the love tread over into hatred, where neither party could fight without some divine intervention.

She accepted it was simply the fact of life for her. Always around. Always near. But never chosen.

Yin denied her chances to start a romance. She turned away others who sought her out, with their strings slowly pulling them to the ones they were truly meant to belong with. The brighter the fiber, the stronger the bond. It was only a matter of time when they would find themselves being pulled along to their chosen fate.

But he decided she was worth pursuing, despite her protests. She wanted to shove him away. To push him back, yet he persisted in a way that had her believing that maybe he was like her, too. Did he simply exist to aid in the universe?

Zayne Li, a medical professional in the field of cardiology. He was truly exemplary, yet she couldn’t fathom why he insisted on remaining by her side. Their initial meeting had been nothing short of floundering, with her getting caught in the act of severing a string that had begun to fray and ink into black. To outsiders, she simply looked like a lunatic with a gilded pair of shears, ones she was meant to find since childhood. No matter how often she threw them away, burned them, destroyed their very existence, they always appeared right back into her possession. To a doctor, she appeared crazed and dangerous, using them to snip at the air of something unseen.

Yet, he found himself curious over her, much to her dismay. He hadn’t formed a connection — not yet. She hadn’t meant to let him get close, and had insisted on maintaining her distance to him for her own sake. Yin didn’t believe she could allow herself the tiny bud of hope that one day, she’d find her love. She most definitely refused to believe that he was the one that she’d connect to.

He never persisted in a way that was overwhelming or needy. He was quiet, like a chill that descended into her bones with a whisper. He seemed concerned over her habits and hobbies, always living her life dangerously. She didn’t think so, constantly telling him that her hobbies weren’t so minacious that she’d teeter on the edge of life and death for a gamble. She simply enjoyed the things she could do unfettered. If the universe made her a Gardner, then she could at the very least enjoy the pleasures of having an adventurous life. It was the very least she deserved.

So he lingered, reminding her of meals that she’d normally miss. He’d chide her over her sleeping habits, see-sawing between too much or too little. Yin hated how he’d message her, just to check in. She grew frustrated when he found ways to weave himself into her life, his touches lingering a second longer. A gaze that softened just a bit more than a friend she emphatically believed that it was all they were. She refused to believe she missed him when she didn’t see him for a day. She looked away from her jealousy when he was approached by others, their eyes brimming with desire and want for a man that had everything and more. Yin didn’t let herself yearn for him when they spent nights eating at some restaurant that held an air of romance in its walls.

When he covered her hand as they ate with his colleagues, a man of which showing his interest in her as the string wrapped around his pinky, leading him to someone far away and unseen, she pretended not to notice. His quiet claim on her sparking something she denied was there along with the way his thumb stroked the top of her hand. His fingers curled around hers, she didn’t acknowledge the way her own hand simply returned the gesture with a soft squeeze. Even outside, where the icy wind danced along her exposed shoulders, his wordless gesture of draping his coat over her to keep her warm, she pretended it didn’t mean anything more. That their walk back to her place was platonic.

Yin didn’t allow herself to feel anything when he stood before her door, her shoulders shrugging his coat off and returning it to him, his eyes lingering on her lips with a silent question. She denied the butterflies in her stomach when he leaned in. She made an excuse as to why she didn’t pull away and remind him that they were only friends. She lied to herself when she met his kiss half-way and felt herself sink into him, deepening the kiss with a feverish desire.

Always the gentleman, truly, as he pushed them both into her open home, shutting the door with a kick of his foot as he let his hands pull her closer to him. He was ensuring her privacy, that was all. Even as his kisses trailed down her neck, her head tilting back to give him more access, she continued to deny her wants. She had to, because it was dangerous. It was against the laws set in place for her. Her fingers raking through his air, her heated pants against his skin were waved off. Even when he pushed himself against her, grinding into the spreading warmth blooming between her legs, she found a way to deny that it was happening.

It didn’t mean a single damn thing when his head between her legs took her into heights she never thought possible, his voice sinful as he breathed how sweet and delectable she tasted, drunk off of her. How he went back for seconds and thirds, her legs both on his shoulders as he held her up against the wall, his tongue absolute magic as she was brought back to the pinnacle of her orgasm over and over again. How she was spent and he still hadn’t finished, with a languid lick up to her breasts, sucking on them while he ground his erection against her, the fabric his suit pants staining from her arousal, it was all nothing. Meaningless.

Even when she laid bare beneath him, his clothes cast aside as the hilt of his member pressed against her, fully sheathed inside her heat, she pretended it didn’t matter. It was all part of something else, when he made her see stars, his pace aiming to hit all the good spots inside her and bringing her over and over to the brink of insanity. The condoms in his coat were simply a precaution, she was sure of it. He hadn’t planned this, even as he flipped their position and entered her repeatedly, her voice husky and low with moans of encouragement spurring him to continue. It was easier to believe the lie when the truth was too painful to face.

Even as he laid next to her, chest heaving as the fever between them faded into quiet pants, she knew it was all just a figment of her imagination. The bruises on her hips, the stinging of her bum and the copious liquid spilling out of her was just something she could explain away as another part of the facade. None of it was real. None of it meant anything. A one time thing, she was sure of it.

A one time thing that happened more frequently than she expected. A one time thing that had him lingering in her home well past the night, his smile a teensy bit smug at her stumbling form while he laid out breakfast for them in her kitchen, as if he belonged there. A one time thing that had her intimately resting her head on his shoulder as they watched documentaries in her home, the scent of him lulling her into a comfort she didn’t deserve.

But, maybe she did? Maybe she deserved it and he was one in the same as she was. Yet, each time she snipped the strings of fate that thinned into measly strands, he never commented on it. He never acknowledged her habits as something she had to do. She was simply a little quirky, with a fascination of snipping her shears — that were too gaudy for plants— around people that were none the wiser.

Curiosity burned within her, she told herself it was only that, when she voiced out the probability of fates tied by string. That true love was written in the stars, woven from old gods that played a hand into the way their subjects interacted with each other. He denied it was possible, looking at her with a tenderness she found herself melting into too easily. He believed in forming bonds with someone. He believed in love forged between two people, not something as mythical as a tiny piece of string that claimed it knew better.

She dared to believe him, whispering quiet words of love as they found each other in this world written by the unseen. She dared to believe what they had, his lack of string, was simply that he was an anomaly in this world for Gardeners such as she. Even as she revealed the truth to him, trusting in her new belief that they were forging their paths together, he didn’t waver. He reinforced his belief that they were meant to be. That no matter what fate decided to connect him to, he would not be easily swayed into a life he did not choose.

Yin believed in it. She truly did, from the bottom of her heart, that he’d choose her. And if the one chance that maybe a string appeared on him, that it didn’t connect to her, she were to cut it. His gaze was firm when he told her, his hands steady as they held hers in his. A firm demand that she do not hesitate, for a second, that if one ever so happened to wrap around his finger and she was not the choice, she would defy the universe for him and end the inevitable pull towards someone else. It was not his choice, therefore it wasn’t important enough to respect.

She vowed to him that she would do it. That no matter how vibrant the strand appeared, she would snip the tie and let him live with his autonomy. Yin chose to believe in him. She chose to believe he was destined to find her in a way that didn’t rely on the crimson strands. And he believed in her, putting his faith in her succession.

They chose each other. That’s all that mattered.

But the universe had funny ways of making her remember what it actually was like.

Yin didn’t think it existed, though other long forgotten tales speculated that there were not just crimson strings of fate, but ones spun of rose and gold. That the fates of those chosen by the golden strings were absolute. No Gardener possessed the ability to cut them, their fibers stronger than the shears they were given. They were not only meant to be, but they were hand chosen by the old gods that their match was incontrovertible. No one she knew had ever seen it, yet it was passed down through word of mouth of other Gardeners who believed in the legends. She didn’t think she’d ever see one in her lifetime.

Yet, as she walked into Zayne’s office, a bag of sweets in hand, she felt the stab of betrayal right through her chest. Her beliefs were shattered at the sight of the golden string wrapped around his pinky, his fingers typing away at a report, blissfully unaware of what was decided for him. His hands stilled at the sight of her, his brows furrowed with worry at her frozen stature, cautiously rising to his feet with a voice that wavered ever so slightly to ask if she was alright.

She was far from alright, her legs wobbling under the cruelty of the universe. She stumbled, unable to school her face into a believable lie when he rushed to her side. His hands, those wonderful hands that were too dry at times from his constant need to sterilize for his job, held her steady. She held his shoulders, her eyes misty as she tried to prevent the painful sob threatening to escape past her lips as she let herself feel him. It was ironic. It was unfair. It was cruel.

Too cruel.

He sat her down in one of the chairs, kneeling before her with concern as he checked over her temperature. Those loving eyes, ones that looked at her like she mattered to him in ways that no one could defy as his truth. Those eyes that always brightened at the sight of her, like the day would never start properly without her, stared into hers with a silent question. A question she could not answer. He was an anomaly, just not one meant for her. He was meant to be with someone truly made for him. One chosen by the rosy golden strands that mocked her for daring to believe in something.

His voice was firm when he told her to simply cut it. If it didn’t go to her, then it didn’t matter to him. It was unimportant and against his will. He touched her cheek, gently, grounding her to him. She leaned into his touch, her eyes shedding the tears for him and herself. She couldn’t tell him that she couldn’t cut them. She couldn’t tell him that she was never meant to be with him. His choices were no longer going to be ones he made for himself, not anymore. No matter how much he wanted her, his feelings were going to wane as the pull would push him for his perfect match, no matter how much they fought against it.

It was a mercy to allow him to believe it was his choice.

So, she lied. Her hands pulled out the shears, weighing so much heavier with a burden. The blades enclosed around the string and felt the resistance as they dulled immediately at her attempts. She couldn’t cut them. She knew that, yet she still wanted to try. Swallowing, she let out a small laugh, too hollow to feel real as she excused the fact that she missed and moved the shears away to snip at the air above. The lie was complete, her body sagging into his to hide her face as she whispered that it was done. That he was not bound by anyone and he was still free to make the choices he wanted.

His shoulders relaxed, his arms tight around her as he whispered his adoration and love into her hair, soothing her back. Her body trembled, her throat tight as she wrapped her arms around him, allowing herself to believe in lies he didn’t know he was telling. He would fall out of love with her, she knew that. He would find himself drawn to his match, no matter how strongly he believed in his love. Their love would not last.

And even if it meant dooming herself to watch the only person she allowed herself love fall out of it to her, she was happy that she did. She would cherish the moments she had with him, engraving them into her heart and her memories until he was no longer by her side. If it meant he believed he was making the choice for himself, then it didn’t matter to her.

A love without sacrifice didn’t truly exist after all.

#gloxym fanfic #lads fanfic #lads oc #OC x zayne #love and deepspace zayne #lads zayne #lnds zayne #zayne li

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gloxym · 25 days ago

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a/n: inspo from @dark-night-hero who wrote a beautiful reader x zayne piece. Red String of Fate AU here to check it out.

it's a little altered, but I still liked the theme!

OC [Yin Zhao] x Zayne

warning: slight nsfw, angst a bit rushed for sure, wrote it while sleep deprived but I hope it's still enjoyable

She accepted it was simply the fact of life for her. Always around. Always near. But never chosen.

They chose each other. That’s all that mattered.

But the universe had funny ways of making her remember what it actually was like.

Too cruel.

It was a mercy to allow him to believe it was his choice.

A love without sacrifice didn’t truly exist after all.

#gloxym fanfic #lads fanfic #lads oc #OC x zayne #love and deepspace zayne #lads zayne #lnds zayne #zayne li

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gloxym · 26 days ago

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Imagine being Zayne’s non-mc significant other. Red String of Fate AU

Imagine being born with the ability to see the red strings of fate. The ones that tied people together. Lovers, soulmates, the people meant to find each other.

Imagine some were strong. Some were gentle. Some were ugly and sharp. And you... you could cut them. Not to play with people's lives, but to help. You only ever cut the ones that hurt. Obsession, possession and the pain pretending to be love.

Imagine never once had a string pointed at you. Never. Not once.

but Imagine you tried to love anyway. Quiet, careful tries. But each time, they were already tied to someone else. So you let them go. You always let them go. You told yourself it was enough to help others. That not everyone gets a string. That maybe you weren't meant to belong.

Imagine then came Zayne. He didn't have a string at all. Nothing pulling him toward anyone. Not even the hint of one waiting to appear. Just stillness.

Imagine the way he looks at you was like you weren't anything. Like you weren't broken or forgotten. You didn't fall fast. You didn't rush. You built something slow and steady. And for the first time, you wondered if maybe love didn't need fate. Maybe it just needed someone to stay.

Imagine he knew what you could do. What you could see. So one night while you were sitting beside him, your head on his shoulder, he asked gently.

"If I ever get a string and it's not for you. I want you to cut it." You hesitated. Just for a second. "Alright." And he nodded. He trusted you.

Imagine weeks have passed then months. Still no string. Still just the two of you. Happy in the quiet way. The kind of happy that doesn’t shout or shine. It just lives in the little things. His sleepy voice in the morning. Your laughter when he made tea wrong again it was super sweet like what in world-. His hand finding yours under the table. Yours holding on, always. Until tonight.

Imagine you were visiting him at the hospital. The two of you were heading to a restaurant after his shift when you saw him come out. And there you saw it. A faint glow. Scarlet and soft. Spinning from his ring finger like a whisper, like a promise. And it wasn't pointing at you.

Imagine it heads down the hall. Past the sterilized white walls of the hospital. To Room 212.

Imagine you have seen her before. A patient. Someone Zayne has cared for, carefully, gently. A kind girl with a tired laugh and too many paper cranes tucked under her pillow. You never sensed anything romantic. You never even worried. But the string doesn't lie.

and Imagine its there now. Shimmering. Real. And for the first time in your life, your heart aches not just for someone else but for you.

Imagine, strange enough. Your heart didn't drop. It didn't crash. It just stilled. Like everything inside you went quiet at once. And you stood there staring at the string that wasn't yours.

Imagine the way he saw your face change. He stepped closer. His voice softened. As if he was trying to figure out what's wrong.

"What's wrong?" He asked, holding you gently by the arm. "Nothing." You smile at him. He did not buy it. "Did it happen?" He asked. "Do I have a string?"

Imagine the way you looked at him. The man you loved. The man who had been yours. Not because fate said so, but because he chose you. Every day. Again and again. And you said. "No. Not yet."

Imagine you lied. Because if this was fate choosing for him. If this string led him to happiness. You wouldn't take that from him. You loved him too much.

so Imagine you smiled. Let him pull you into his arms. Let him hold you like nothing had changed. You let him, the way he kiss the crown of your head. You savour it.

Imagine you close your eyes. Then you blink. But you could still see the string. Bright. Alive. Stretching toward someone else. And you didn't say a word.

because Imagine, love isn't always holding on. Sometimes, it's letting go quietly. Even when no one sees the breaking. Just loving someone enough to lie, so they never have to feel the weight of goodbye.

[ⓒdark-night-hero] 2025°

: karma's a bitch cuz I literally was about to passout at the local market. I'm so embarrassed. Thou shall not set foot on the market for at least a month XD

: also if you know my reference for this one and the last one. I see you're a people of culture;)

#dark night hero #lads zayne #zayne love and deepspace #lnds zayne #the pain #the suffering #love it all

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gloxym · 27 days ago

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Jealousy, Jealousy with Sylus

Plot: Reader becomes jealous of Sylus and MC's closeness, distancing herself and seeking comfort in another LI. Sylus notices her growing distance and takes action. Based on this request. Pairing: Sylus x Non MC reader Content Warning: Insecurities, injuries, mention of blood, jealousy, angst, hurt/comfort Note: Reader is not the MC of the game. I think I got quite carried away writing this because I am a sucker for angst. [ A disclaimer note - Please be respectful of the request ]

The faint hum of the air condition echoed through the Onychinus base, its opulent, luxurious atmosphere doing little to distract from the knot twisting in your stomach. You stood across from Luke and Kieran, their crow masks tilted slightly as if to gauge your reaction.

"Boss isn't here today," Luke said casually, his hands tucked into his pockets. "He’s in Linkon, Boss man’s got other things to handle."

Kieran, his mask tilted slightly to the side, gave a confused grunt. "But I thought he was meeting with her...?"

Luke raised a brow, correcting him. "No, no, he was meeting with Miss Hunter."

Miss Hunter.

The words hit you like a sledgehammer, even though they shouldn’t have. You were a hunter too, an informant who had been feeding Sylus critical intel on the association’s movements for two years now. But she was different. Special.

Captain Jenna’s star pupil, with her rare Anhaunsen-class Resonance Evol, was someone Sylus had spent weeks trying to connect with, both literally and emotionally. You weren’t blind to the necessity of it; resonating with her was crucial for his goals, ones he hadn’t entirely shared with you but that you trusted him to pursue.

Trusted him. Loved him.

You forced a tight smile. "Thanks for the update. I'll let you two get back to it."

Luke and Kieran exchanged a glance, but you were already walking away, the echo of your boots swallowed by the hum of the base.

The ride back to Linkon was supposed to clear your mind. It didn’t.

The cool wind whipped against your face, but all it did was sting the tears pooling in your eyes. The road stretched endlessly ahead, yet the pressure in your chest only grew. Sylus hadn’t seen you in two months. Two months of unanswered calls and messages reduced to half-hearted responses when they came at all.

You understood why he was focused on her. She was crucial to his plans. She was everything you weren’t: poised, pretty, powerful, and, most importantly, someone he needed.

But understanding didn’t make it hurt any less.

The world blurred around you as your thoughts spiraled. You had always known your place in Sylus’ life. You were the informant, the quiet insider who helped him stay two steps ahead of the hunters. Somewhere along the way, though, you had fallen for him. For the man who wasn’t as cold and calculated as others believed. It had been two long years since you started working with Sylus. Two years filled with secrecy, lies, and hidden truths. But over those years, you'd found yourself tangled in emotions for him that you couldn’t shake. Sylus, with his cold authority, his dangerous smile, his complex nature… He was all you could think about. He wasn’t as dismissive as people thought. He had a way of looking at you when no one was watching��a fleeting softness that you cherished, even if you couldn’t be certain if it was real.

And now, it felt like you were losing him.

Your bike screeched to a halt near Meow’s Café. You hadn’t planned to stop, but the sight of the familiar storefront tugged at you. Perhaps a coffee and a moment to breathe would help.

The glass windows glinted under the midday sun, and your breath hitched as you looked inside.

Sylus was there. With her.

They sat at a small table, a deck of Kitty cards spread between them. He was leaning back, his smirk in full display as she laughed at something he said. It was the kind of laugh that reached her eyes, the kind of moment you had only ever dreamed of sharing with him.

You froze, your hands tightening on your helmet.

For a fleeting second, you wanted to march inside and demand answers. To ask him why he had time to play cards but couldn’t return your calls. To tell him how his absence had hollowed you out.

But you didn’t.

He looks so happy... you thought bitterly, swallowing the lump in your throat.

The truth gnawed at you. Every interaction, every ignored message, every unread notification on your phone—it was because of her. Because Sylus had more important things to do. She was the one who mattered now. She was the one who he had to resonate with, had to bond with, had to make fall for him.

And you? You were just a pawn, a tool—forgotten. And there you were. Alone. Watching through a window, the warmth of the cafe contrasting the cold, empty feeling in your stomach. He hadn’t even bothered to let you know he was back. He was with her. You couldn’t bear to watch any longer, but you couldn’t look away either. It felt like the world was spinning faster than you could catch up, and you were left stranded, dizzy, and abandoned.

Instead, you turned away, your chest tight and vision blurred. The world felt suffocating, the weight of your unspoken feelings dragging you down as you climbed back onto your bike.

It was for the best, right?

You couldn’t keep doing this. You couldn’t keep waiting for him, couldn’t keep fooling yourself that there was something real between you two. He was busy. He had her. And you.. well, you didn’t even know why you bothered anymore.

The ride back to your apartment was a blur of taillights and muffled engine noise. The city’s glow that usually brought you some sense of comfort felt glaring and alien tonight. By the time you made it inside, the suffocating silence of your small space was overwhelming.

For someone who prided herself on being strong and independent, you barely made it to your couch before the sobs overtook you. Hot, angry tears streamed down your face as you clutched a pillow to your chest, trying in vain to keep your cries muffled. It felt as though something within you had been ripped apart, leaving an aching, hollow void that throbbed with every thought of him.

You replayed the image of him at the café in your mind, over and over, as if some part of you wanted to punish yourself further. His smirk. Her laughter. The ease of their interaction. It contrasted so sharply with the heaviness that now weighed on your heart.

Every chime of your phone made you flinch, hope briefly sparking to life, only to be cruelly snuffed out when the screen lit up with messages from others—work updates, pointless notifications, or friends checking in. Nothing from him. Of course, there wouldn’t be.

You wiped at your face, your chest tightening as you scrolled through the last few conversations you’d had with Sylus. They were short, clipped responses. A "thanks" here, an "I’m busy" there. You’d convinced yourself for weeks that he wasn’t brushing you off, that his focus was just elsewhere. But deep down, you knew. You’d always known.

You weren’t as important to him as he was to you.

That realization settled over you like a heavy blanket, suffocating and final. And yet, you tried to convince yourself it was okay. He doesn’t owe me anything, you told yourself, though the thought only twisted the knife deeper. He’s free to choose who he spends his time with.

But it didn’t stop the tears.

The days that followed were a haze of exhaustion and numbness. You threw yourself into your work, spending long hours tracking and confronting wanderers. The physical exhaustion helped, even if just a little. At least when you were in the middle of a fight, the pain in your chest was drowned out by the adrenaline coursing through your veins.

Still, the nights were the worst. Alone in your apartment, the quiet crept in like a suffocating fog. You tried to distract yourself—reading, cleaning, even organizing old mission reports. Anything to keep your mind from drifting back to him. But it was impossible.

Each time you saw his name in your contacts, you hesitated. Your thumb hovered over the call button more times than you cared to admit, but the fear of hearing his indifferent voice stopped you every time. What would you even say? That you missed him? That you wanted to see him? That you’d fallen for him, even though you knew it would never be mutual?

No. You couldn’t do that to yourself.

You worked harder, pushed yourself further. Every wanderer you fought became a stand-in for your frustrations, your insecurities. You told yourself that if you could just stay busy enough, the ache would go away. But no matter how many missions you completed or how many late nights you spent staring at your phone, the weight in your chest never fully lifted.

By the end of the week, you were exhausted—physically and emotionally. But you were surviving. Barely. The bell above the door jingled softly as you pushed into the chocolatier’s shop, the rich scent of cocoa and vanilla wrapping around you like a warm embrace. The day had been grueling—hours of chasing leads, a narrow escape from a particularly aggressive wanderer, and not a single bite of food since morning. Your stomach growled in protest, a sharp reminder that you’d been running on fumes for too long.

Rows of meticulously crafted chocolates gleamed beneath the glass counter, their perfect swirls and shimmering finishes almost too beautiful to eat. Almost. You leaned forward slightly, scanning the display, your reflection ghosting over the pristine surface.

Dark chocolate truffles. Raspberry ganache. Caramel hazelnut clusters. The options were overwhelming, and your indecision felt heavier than it should’ve. Your chest still ached from the lingering emotions you’d been suppressing all week. The quiet joy of the shop felt alien, like stepping into a world you no longer belonged to.

Just pick something and go, you thought, your fingers tightening on the strap of your bag. But the choices seemed endless, each one whispering promises of sweetness you weren’t sure you deserved.

"If you’re struggling," a soft, measured voice spoke behind you, "the pistachio crème chocolate is an excellent choice."

Startled, you turned, your gaze falling on a man standing a few steps away. Tall and lean, he exuded an understated confidence that was both intimidating and captivating. Dark hair fell in against his forehead, and sharp hazel-green eyes, softened by gold flecks peered at you from behind thin-framed glasses. His white doctor’s coat was open, revealing a simple black shirt beneath, and he held a small paper bag in one hand.

You blinked, caught off guard by both his suggestion and his presence. "Oh, uh… thank you," you stammered, trying not to sound as flustered as you felt. "I’ll… I’ll try that."

The shopkeeper nodded and carefully packed your selection as you stole another glance at the stranger. There was an air of calm authority about him, a quiet assurance that made you feel oddly exposed, like he could see straight through you.

He waited patiently as the shopkeeper handed you your bag, but just as you were about to leave, his voice cut through the quiet again—this time, more direct. "Chocolates shouldn’t be your first meal of the day."

The statement was delivered without malice, his tone stoic and matter-of-fact, yet it hit like a stone to the chest. Your lips parted in shock, the question forming before you could stop it: How does he know? But before you could say anything, he was already moving toward the door. The bells jingled softly as it closed behind him, leaving you standing frozen in place. The stranger’s words lingered, intertwining with the rest of your messy emotions. Your fingers clenched the small bag of chocolates as you tried to process the brief encounter.

A soft gleam on the floor caught your attention, breaking your spiraling thoughts. A wallet, its sleek leather worn but well-kept, lay just inches from where the man had stood. You knelt and picked it up, your heart thudding as you opened it to check for identification.

The name embossed on his hospital ID was like a jolt: Dr. Zayne. Your eyes widened. Doctor Zayne? The name was familiar—a renowned surgeon whose skills and precision were legendary, often described as a miracle worker. You’d imagined someone older, more weathered, not… this.

For a moment, you stared at the ID, piecing together the puzzle of the composed, enigmatic man who had called you out so effortlessly. You tried the number listed on a card tucked into his wallet, but it rang unanswered, the sterile monotone only adding to your frustration.

"Of course, he wouldn’t answer," you muttered under your breath, chewing your lip as you debated your next move. The idea of keeping his wallet overnight felt wrong, and leaving it here in the shop seemed equally careless.

That left one option.

The hospital loomed ahead as you approached, its towering structure illuminated against the evening sky. Anxiety gnawed at your insides, twisting with every step you took through the sterile white halls. You weren’t sure why you felt so on edge—maybe it was the overwhelming sense of inadequacy that had been haunting you lately, or maybe it was the lingering impression of Zayne’s knowing gaze.

At the reception desk, you hesitated, gripping the wallet tightly as you cleared your throat. "Hi, um, I’m here to return something for Dr. Zayne. He… accidentally dropped this."

The receptionist barely looked up, taking the wallet with a polite but indifferent smile. "Dr. Zayne isn’t in right now. I’ll make sure he gets this when he’s back."

"Oh," You nodded, murmuring a quick thanks before retreating back toward the exit. You thought nothing of this interaction as you left. You did what you thought was right and left the hospital back towards your apartment.

The days blurred together in a haze of work and routine. You buried yourself in assignments from the Hunter’s Association, throwing yourself into dangerous missions with a single-minded intensity. Anything to keep your mind occupied.

Sylus messaged you once during that time, his tone professional as he asked for updates regarding a lead he was tracking. You’d responded quickly, sticking strictly to business. No pleasantries, no banter—just the information he needed. He didn’t press, didn’t call you out for your uncharacteristic coldness. Maybe he didn’t notice. Or maybe he did and chose not to say anything.

That night, you jogged through the dimly lit streets, your breath fogging in the cool air as you tried to exorcise the restless energy gnawing at you. The rhythmic slap of your sneakers against the pavement was grounding, steady. Jogging had always been your go-to, a way to clear your head and silence the endless stream of "what-ifs" and "if-onlys" that plagued your mind.

But no amount of movement could completely shake Sylus from your thoughts.

His voice, his presence—it clung to you, even now.

Why didn’t he ask how I’ve been? Why didn’t I?

You shook your head, annoyed at yourself. There was no point in dwelling. Sylus wasn’t the kind of person to give you what you wanted, and even if he did, could you trust it? Could you trust him?

The sound of skidding tires yanked you out of your spiraling thoughts.

“Look out!”

Before you could process the warning, a cyclist veered wildly toward you, their momentum too strong to stop. There wasn’t even time to brace yourself. The impact hit like a freight train, and suddenly, you were on the ground, tangled with the bike and its rider. Pain blossomed sharp and hot in your knees as the asphalt scraped them raw.

For a moment, you just lay there, stunned. The world tilted unsteadily, the city lights smearing together like a watercolor painting.

“Hey, you okay?” The cyclist’s voice snapped you back. They were scrambling off you, helmet slightly askew but otherwise unscathed. You shook your head to clear it, wincing as you sat up. You pushed yourself up, shaking the dizziness from your head, and checked on the cyclist who had crashed into you. They were already scrambling to their feet, looking slightly dazed but otherwise unharmed, their helmet and guards having done their job.

“I’m fine,” you managed, even as your knees throbbed in protest. “Are you?”

“Yeah, thanks to the gear,” they said, pulling off their helmet to inspect a small crack along its surface. “Guess it did its job.”

Relief washed over you. “Good. Let me just—”

“Wait.” A different voice cut in, firm but calm. You stood there, still trying to regain your bearings when a figure appeared beside you, moving with a grace that immediately caught your attention. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw who it was. Dr. Zayne. The same man who had crossed your path in the chocolatier's shop just days ago. His sharp eyes locked onto yours, and for a split second, everything else seemed to vanish. His expression shifted from mild surprise to something more concerned as he took in your state.

Without saying a word, he immediately began assessing you, his gaze narrowing at the blood now staining your knees. You winced, feeling the sting of the cuts that had begun to bloom with a fiery intensity, but you were determined not to show it. You were used to pain—used to the sharp discomfort that came with being a hunter. You didn’t need help. You could handle this on your own. You’d always been able to.

But Dr. Zayne wasn’t having any of it.

His voice, low and steady, broke through the haze of your thoughts. "You’re bleeding. Those need first aid," he said firmly, his frown deepening as he glanced at your scraped knees. "Sit. Wait here. I’ll be back in a minute."

You opened your mouth to protest, to tell him you were fine, but the words caught in your throat. He wasn’t asking. His tone, though gentle, was authoritative—demanding in its own quiet way. There was something about the way he carried himself, that calm, unflinching presence, that made it impossible to argue.

"I’m fine, I am a hunter." you managed to say, your voice rougher than you intended. "I can handle it at home. Really." You tried to force a reassuring smile

“Is this a hunter thing?” he interrupted, one brow arching skeptically. “Are all of you this stubborn about basic care, or is it just you?”

The words should have been biting, but his tone was almost... patient. Like he was accustomed to dealing with difficult people.

You flushed, suddenly hyper-aware of the sting in your knees and the heat of his gaze. “I’m not being stubborn,” you muttered. “I just don’t want to bother anyone over something so small.”

“Small injuries have a way of turning into bigger problems,” he said, folding his arms. “And I’m not bothered. As a doctor, I’m asking you to wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Without waiting for your protest, he turned and strode off, leaving you no room to argue.

You sat stiffly on the bench, gripping the edge as the minutes dragged on. The ache in your knees was nothing compared to the gnawing discomfort blooming in your chest. Anxiety clawed at you, whispering insidious doubts.

He’s wasting his time on you.He probably thinks you’re pathetic and weak.Why couldn’t you have just gotten up and left?

Your fingers curled into fists, the tension radiating through your body.

The sound of footsteps interrupted your spiraling thoughts, and Dr. Zayne was back, carrying a small first aid kit. He knelt in front of you without a word, his hands steady as he cleaned the cuts on your knees. The gentle pressure of his fingers as he worked felt almost surreal. His silence wasn’t uncomfortable—it was just… calm. You found yourself drawn to it, to the quiet that seemed to settle around him.

"You’re lucky," he said, glancing up at you as he bandaged your knees. "That could’ve been a lot worse."

You nodded, the words caught in your throat. There were so many things you wanted to say, things you wanted to ask him, but you didn’t know where to start. So you remained silent, watching as he finished his work, his hands moving with the practiced precision of someone who had seen too many injuries to count.

When he was done, he straightened up and met your gaze. "You should be more careful," he said softly, his voice a little lighter than before, though there was still a note of concern underlying his words. "Next time, don’t run so late at night. You never know what could happen."

You forced a tight smile, the words feeling like they were coming from someone else. "I’ll keep that in mind," you said, your voice quieter now.

Dr. Zayne took a step back after finishing the bandages, his sharp gaze softening ever so slightly as he packed the first aid kit. You glanced at him, your mouth opening to thank him, but before you could get the words out, he said, almost in unison, “Thank you.”

Both of you froze, the simultaneous expressions of gratitude hanging awkwardly in the air. A surprised laugh slipped out of you, breaking the tension.

“You first,” he said, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

You swallowed, trying to ignore the heat creeping up your neck. “I was just going to say thank you for… you know, helping with this.” You gestured vaguely toward your knees, the bandages clinging to your skin. “You didn’t have to.”

The moment stretched between you, awkward yet somehow comforting. Zayne gave a small, almost amused smile at the simultaneous gratitude, but his gaze softened when it landed on you, his concern still present.

"Thank you for returning my wallet," he said, his tone steady but with a hint of appreciation.

His words caught you off guard. “Oh, right! That. It wasn’t a big deal, really.” You fidgeted with the hem of your sleeve, avoiding his gaze. “I found it at the chocolatier shop. I figured it was better to bring it to the hospital than leave it lying around.”

He nodded thoughtfully, his eyes lingering on you for a moment longer than necessary. “I appreciate it. Not many people would go out of their way like that.”

You tried not to let his kindness throw you off, but it wasn’t easy. There was something about Zayne that made you feel... small in a way you didn’t like to feel. He was kind, yes, but that kindness made you wonder if you were deserving of it. Why should you be the one he cared about?

But before you could dwell on that any further, his voice cut through your swirling thoughts.

"Have you eaten today?" His tone was light, but there was an edge of sincerity beneath it, one that made your stomach twist in a way that had nothing to do with hunger. It reminded you of that conversation in the shop, of how he had so effortlessly read through your tiredness.

The sheepish look that crossed your face must’ve been obvious, because Zayne sighed, the sound so deep that it almost felt like a reprimand. He pinched the bridge of his nose in a gesture that was both familiar and surprisingly endearing.

“You’ve got to take care of yourself,” he said, his voice almost too gentle for the weight of his words. “It’s not healthy to go without food, especially if you’re going to keep running around like you hunters do.”

You opened your mouth to protest, to tell him it wasn’t a big deal, but Zayne didn’t give you the chance.

"There’s a diner close by. It’s the least I can do to thank you for returning my wallet."

You shook your head instinctively, trying to backpedal. "It’s really not necessary," you said, but Zayne wasn’t having any of it. His eyes were firm, and there was an undeniable warmth behind them that almost made you feel guilty for refusing.

"Yes, it is," he replied, his tone steady but with a hint of finality. "Now, come on.”

You hesitated for a moment, the unease building in your chest like a brick wall, but the thought of Zayne’s calm, commanding presence made it impossible to say no. So, with a quiet sigh, you relented.

"I’ll pay," you muttered as he led the way, the words almost reflexive. You always felt like you had to pay your way—like it was your responsibility to do so, especially with someone who had helped you, even in the smallest of ways. You were used to standing on your own two feet.

Zayne only gave you a side glance, his lips quirking up in the barest of smiles. "No, you won’t. It’s my thank you, remember?"

The diner wasn’t far from where you had been, a cozy, low-lit place with a soft hum of quiet conversations and the clink of silverware against plates. The familiar scent of warm food—steak, mashed potatoes, and the unmistakable aroma of fresh bread—immediately filled the air as you stepped inside. You followed Zayne to a small booth in the back, the vinyl seats creaking under your weight as you slid in.

You wanted to say something—thank you, maybe—but the words felt stuck, trapped somewhere in the pit of your stomach, along with everything else that had been piling up for weeks. Zayne didn’t seem to notice, his focus already turning to the menu as he gestured for you to pick something.

You wanted to ask him more, to understand him in the same way you understood the empty streets you ran through, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that you’d just end up looking foolish. So, instead, you stared at the menu in front of you, unable to focus on the choices, as your mind churned with questions that had no answers.

Zayne ordered for both of you, his voice low as he made his choices, and when he looked at you, you caught a flicker of something—perhaps curiosity, or was it concern? It was hard to tell.

"You should eat more regularly," he said again, as though the words were a reminder he had to repeat for his own peace of mind. You nodded, letting the silence fill the space between you for a moment.

The food arrived, warm and satisfying, and you took a bite, surprised at how hungry you were despite the earlier denials. Zayne watched you for a moment, his gaze softening as you ate, but you couldn’t bring yourself to meet it. His concern, his care—it felt too much. You weren’t used to people worrying about you.

But as the meal went on, you found yourself starting to relax, the initial tension loosening from your shoulders. Zayne was easy to talk to, his calm, steady presence settling you in a way you hadn’t expected. By the end of the meal, you felt... lighter.

"Call me Zayne," he said when the check came, his voice quiet but sincere.

You blinked, a little caught off guard by the request. "Zayne?" you echoed, testing the name on your tongue.

"Yes," he replied with a small, patient smile. "It’s easier than 'Dr. Zayne,' don’t you think?"

You blinked, taken aback. “Are you sure? I mean, you’ve earned the title—”

“And I’ll still have it in the hospital,” he interrupted, amusement flickering in his eyes. “But here, it’s just Zayne.”

You nodded slowly, testing the name in your mind. It felt strange, almost too personal. But there was something grounding about it, too.

By the time dessert arrived, the knot of anxiety in your chest had loosened considerably. The warmth of the diner, the steady cadence of his voice, and the shared laughter over a poorly made joke had a way of pulling you out of your own head. For the first time in what felt like weeks, you weren’t obsessing over your failures or doubts.

As you finished your meal, Zayne pulled out his phone and slid it across the table. “Here,” he said simply. “Add your number. In case you ever need anything.”

You hesitated, the gesture feeling far more intimate than it probably was. But his expression was patient, expectant, and you found yourself entering your contact information before you could overthink it. When you handed the phone back, his lips twitched into a faint smile.

“Thanks again for returning my wallet,” he said, his tone lighter now. “And for the company.”

You felt your cheeks flush, but this time, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. “It’s not a problem,” you murmured, a small smile tugging at your lips.

As you stepped out of the diner and into the cool night air, a strange sense of calm settled over you. Zayne walked you to the corner where your paths would diverge, his presence steady and reassuring.

“Take care of yourself,” he said, his voice softer now, almost intimate.

“You too,” you replied, your voice barely above a whisper.

The diner’s warmth lingered even as you stepped into the cool night air. For the first time in what felt like weeks, your chest didn’t feel as tight, the oppressive weight that had been bearing down on you now lifting slightly. You still felt the ache of Sylus’ absence—a hollow, gnawing sensation that seemed to creep in whenever you let your guard down, but it wasn’t as suffocating as it had been. Instead, a new sensation fluttered in its place, tentative and fragile: excitement. It was strange to feel this way, to look forward to the possibility of a friendship formed under such unlikely circumstances. Zayne’s calm demeanor, his steady presence, had surprised you.

As you walked, the sound of fluttering wings caught your attention. Instinctively, your heart skipped, your mind jumping to Mephisto. You tilted your head to the dark sky, half-expecting to see the telltale silhouette of his familiar. But it was just a cluster of pigeons, their wings catching the faint glow of the streetlights as they soared away.

Right. Of course. It was unlikely that Sylus was watching you tonight.

You exhaled, a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, and forced your thoughts away from him. Zayne had offered you a rare moment of normalcy, and you weren’t about to let your memories of Sylus overshadow that.

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The following weeks were a blur of activity, and before long, you found yourself stationed at an outpost on the outskirts of Linkon. A metaflux surge had disrupted the area, and the temporary makeshift hospital was bustling with injured workers, hunters, and even a few civilians caught in the chaos. The air was thick with tension, the metallic tang of metaflux faint but persistent, a reminder of the unseen dangers that lurked just beyond the safety of the encampment.

Zayne was assigned as the doctor for the outpost, and you often found yourself crossing paths with him. At first, your interactions were brief—a nod here, a shared glance there—but over time, you began to talk. It started with simple pleasantries, discussions about the metaflux readings or the influx of patients, but it wasn’t long before the conversations deepened.

You learned that Zayne had a dry sense of humor, his sharp wit often catching you off guard. He’d tease you about your stubbornness, and you’d retort with a quip about his overly serious nature. Despite his professionalism, there was a warmth to him, a quiet compassion that made him easy to trust. And though you’d never admit it, you found yourself looking forward to those moments of shared laughter, those fleeting glimpses of something lighter amidst the chaos.

But even as your friendship with Zayne grew, Sylus lingered at the edges of your thoughts, a shadow you couldn’t quite shake. The conversations you had with him were sparse and strictly work-related—updates from the Association, bits of intel you passed along to him. It felt transactional, a far cry from the intimacy you once shared. Yet, every time his name appeared on your screen, your heart still raced, betraying the fragile boundaries you’d tried to set.

One evening, a message from Sylus broke the monotony of your routine.

‘Come over tomorrow night, Darling. I have an exquisite wine I’d like you to try—procured it during a recent deal.’

The invitation was simple, almost casual. For a moment, you imagined it—the rich scent of wine filling the air, his sharp yet alluring gaze fixed on you as he poured you a glass. But reality quickly crept in, dragging you back to the present. You couldn’t go. You couldn’t risk it. Not when your heart was still so fragile, still aching in ways you didn’t want to admit.

You stared at the screen for what felt like an eternity, your fingers hovering over the keyboard as your mind raced. The truth was, you wanted to see him. But you knew better. You had to keep your distance—for your own sake, if nothing else.

‘I’m tired..'

You typed, the words feeling hollow as they formed.

'Busy day tomorrow. Maybe another time.’

You hesitated before hitting send, the weight of the message pressing down on you. When his reply came, it was as simple as his invitation.

‘Okay.’

The finality of it hit you like a brick, and for a moment, you felt like your breath had been stolen away. He didn’t push. He didn’t argue. That empty “okay” hung in the air, leaving you with the quiet realization that, once again, you had lost yourself in the haze of someone else’s world.

You tried not to read too much into it, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that he had already moved on. That he didn’t care enough to fight for your attention. Instead, it felt like you were just a passing thought, like an aftertaste that wasn’t worth savoring.

Miss Hunter. The words echoed in your mind. You squeezed your eyes shut, willing the tears to stay behind your eyelids, but they pressed hard, a sting that never seemed to fully fade. You rubbed your forehead, trying to push away the thoughts. But even as you did, you couldn’t escape the suffocating feeling in your chest—the one that always came when you were reminded of how little you meant to him. You felt foolish, but you couldn’t help it. It was like you were always waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to come back, to pull you back into his orbit with that practiced charm, that voice that made you feel wanted, if only for a little while.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dinner with Zayne had been a welcome reprieve. It had been two weeks since you last saw him, the demands of work pulling both of you in different directions. But tonight, seated across from him in a small, cozy bistro, you found solace in the familiar rhythm of your conversations. The mellow lights softened the sharp angles of his face as he recounted a mishap earlier in the week involving a particularly irritable patient.

His dry humor, paired with the subtle lift of his brow, drew a laugh from you—a genuine, light sound that felt foreign after the weight of recent days. For a while, the world outside blurred away. You weren’t Miss Hunter; you weren’t anything other than a person sharing a meal with a friend.

As the meal wound down, Zayne looked at you over the rim of his glass, his expression calm. “You’re doing better than when we first met.” he remarked softly.

You blinked, momentarily caught off guard. “Am I?”

He nodded. His calm demeanor always had a way of grounding you, and tonight was no exception.

The meal wrapped up with the two of you trading small updates and light banter. You paid for your half of the meal, Zayne insisting it wasn’t necessary, but you’d insisted back. There was a sense of normalcy here, something you weren’t willing to let go of easily. When you parted ways outside the diner, the night air was cool and quiet. Zayne’s warm farewell echoed softly in your ears as you waved goodbye and headed back toward your apartment.

As you walked, you felt lighter somehow. The stress of the past few weeks hadn’t vanished, but Zayne’s steady presence had reminded you of something important—moments of peace still existed, even in the chaos.

The faint scent of lavender greeted you as you unlocked your apartment door, a hint of the candle you’d left burning earlier. The lights were off, and the air felt too still—unnaturally so. Your heart skipped, the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end. A lump formed in your throat, panic curling its fingers around your chest.

You flicked the light switch, and the sudden brightness flooded the room, revealing the figure sitting on your couch. Sylus.

You froze. Your body stiffened, caught between fight or flight.

Your yelp of surprise filled the space, your pulse racing as you clutched the doorframe for support. “What—Sylus? What are you doing here?”

He was sitting on your couch, one arm draped casually along the backrest, his other hand resting on his knee. The dim light of the room softened the sharp edges of his face, but his expression was anything but gentle. His eyes, sharp and unyielding, tracked your every movement as if he were dissecting you with just a glance.

“How—what are you doing here?” you stammered, your voice shaky as your pulse raced.

Sylus didn’t respond right away. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze dragging over you slowly, deliberately. His silence was louder than any words he could have spoken, and it made your skin prickle.

“Darling,” he finally murmured, his voice low and smooth, laced with something you couldn’t quite name. “You look… exhausted.”

You blinked, still standing frozen by the door. His tone was soft, almost tender, but it was the way his jaw tightened, the way his fingers tapped against his knee, that betrayed his underlying tension.

“Y-yeah,” you stammered, your voice wavering as you took a cautious step forward. “It’s been a long day. What are you doing here?”

Sylus leaned back, the leather of the couch creaking faintly under his weight. “A long day,” he echoed, his lips curving into a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yet you had time for dinner.”

“I…” you faltered, scrambling for a response. “It was just…”

“Just dinner,” he interrupted smoothly, his tone unreadable. “With… someone else.”

The air felt thick, charged with a tension that made your skin prickle. You opened your mouth to respond, but the words stuck in your throat. His eyes narrowed slightly, his expression still calm but his body language telling a different story. The way his fingers drummed against his knee, the slight clench of his jaw, the flicker of something dark in his gaze.

Your heart pounded, your thoughts racing. Why was he here? What did he want? And why did his presence—his very existence in your space—make your chest ache in that familiar, suffocating way?

“I didn’t think…” You stopped yourself, your voice trembling. “You didn’t say you’d be coming by. You can’t just—”

“Can’t just what?” he asked, his voice dangerously soft as he rose from the couch, his movements fluid and deliberate. “Show up to see what’s wrong?”

Your breath hitched as he closed the distance between you, his height and presence suddenly overwhelming. “Nothing’s wrong…”you managed to say, your voice barely above a whisper.

“Is that so?” he murmured, tilting his head slightly, his eyes boring into yours. “Because from where I’m standing, it seems like you’ve been avoiding me, Darling.”

The accusation hung in the air, sharp and unyielding.

“I’ve been busy…” you said weakly, your voice lacking conviction.

“Busy,” he repeated, his gaze flicking over you again, this time with something close to disdain. “Too busy for me, but not too busy for… him.”

Your hands fidgeted at your sides, your breath coming in shallow bursts. You wanted to move, to put distance between you, but your legs felt rooted to the spot. “I didn’t think dinner with a friend would..”

“Friend?” he interrupted, the single word slicing through your sentence. His lips curved into something that might have been a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Your heart pounded painfully against your ribs, the anxiety swirling in your chest mixing with something else—something raw and painful that you didn’t want to name. The memories of your last exchange with Sylus came flooding back—the curt messages, the unspoken finality of his “okay.” You had tried to convince yourself that it didn’t matter, that you didn’t need his validation. But standing here now, under the weight of his gaze, you felt every crack in the fragile walls you had built to keep him out.

“I don’t understand what you want from me,” you said finally, the words trembling as they left your lips.

His eyes softened slightly, but the tension in his posture didn’t ease. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something, something important, but the moment passed as quickly as it came. Instead, he reached out, his fingers brushing against your cheek in a gesture so gentle it felt almost foreign.

“Don’t make me feel like I’m a stranger to you.” he said quietly, his voice carrying a hint of vulnerability that made your chest ache.

Don’t make me feel like I’m a stranger to you. The words echoed in your mind, repeating, twisting, until all you could hear was the raw edge of betrayal laced in his tone.

You let out a bitter laugh, the sound sharp and bitter, a little too loud in the quiet of your apartment. Your chest tightened, and for a moment, you felt the space around you grow smaller. You couldn’t breathe—couldn’t think. All you could feel was the heat of anger building inside of you, raw and unrefined.

“That’s rich,” you scoffed, finally managing to find your voice. “That’s really rich, coming from you of all people.”

Sylus blinked, a subtle flash of surprise crossing his face, but it quickly masked over. His lips tightened, his brow furrowed ever so slightly, but it wasn’t enough. You had to push, you couldn’t hold back now. The words were tumbling out before you could even stop them. Your breath hitched, a strangled sob lodged somewhere in the back of your throat, but you refused to let it spill. You wouldn’t let him see you break—not like this, not in front of him. You knew the truth. He knew the truth. It hurt, yes, but you weren’t the one to blame.

“You've been treating me like a stranger for months,” you continued, your voice trembling with anger you hadn't fully realized was there. “Barely responding to my messages, not answering my calls, and when I do see you, it’s like you can’t be bothered. You don’t even see me.” You felt the weight of every unreturned message, every unanswered call, every promise left in limbo. “I’ve had to hear from Luke and Kieran that you’re in Linkon. But you couldn’t even make time to see me.”

You felt the ache deep in your chest, that familiar, suffocating knot forming. He didn’t deserve your pain. Not anymore. You wouldn’t let him have that. Not this time.

You took a shaky breath, suddenly feeling raw, exposed. “You don’t have to feel obligated to check on me, Sylus,” you said, your words clipped and cutting through the thick silence between you. “You don’t have to feel pity for me. I know where I stand. I know my place in your life.”

His expression, that unreadable mask, cracked for the briefest of moments. His lips parted, his gaze flicking to your face, then back down to the floor. His jaw clenched. But his eyes… They weren’t the same as they’d been earlier. The hardness was gone, replaced by something far more dangerous, something even more intimate. The storm was gathering, but it wasn’t just in the air—no, it was inside him too.

“You know where you stand?” His voice was quieter now, but there was an edge to it, a slight tightness you hadn’t noticed before. He took a step forward, his body closing the space between you, like a wave of raw energy crashing toward you. His proximity only made your pulse race faster, but you couldn’t back down. Not now.

“I’m just an informant, right?” you bit out, every word feeling like it sliced through the night air, cutting through the tension like a blade. “You don’t have to pretend you care, Sylus. So don’t stand there with that look on your face like I’m some important thing you need to check on.”

The air between you grew heavy, thick with unsaid words and stifled tension. Every inch of your body was telling you to get away, to shut down, to stop this before it tore you apart. But your feet felt heavy, stuck in place. Sylus’s presence was like gravity, pulling you toward him.

"You think that's all you are?" he murmured, his voice dangerously low, like the calm before the thunder. The way he said it made your heart stutter in your chest. It was both a question and an accusation or a challenge.

But there was something else in his voice. Something you couldn’t quite place. His eyes were intense, too intense, and they searched yours like he was looking for the answer. The truth.

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” he continued, his words clipped, as though they were difficult for him to say. “But I couldn’t....couldn’t make sense of it. Of you.”

It was the first time that he seemed genuinely vulnerable, and it left you breathless and confused. You had always wondered if there was more beneath his cold exterior. You had always told yourself that he cared. But you had never dared to confront him.

His hand was close enough now to reach out, his fingers barely brushing the edge of your wrist. The air between you was still thick with everything unsaid, everything unhealed. And yet, despite the words that had been thrown between you, there was something undeniably magnetic in the tension. The ache in your chest, the rawness, the feelings of betrayal—they didn’t wash away just because you said them out loud.

God, you hated him for this.

But part of you yearned for him. That part that still felt tethered to him, despite the distance.

Sylus’s fingers hovered over your wrist, his touch like fire against your skin. For a moment, the storm between you calmed, leaving only the faintest echo of it behind. The weight of his gaze, the force of his presence—it seemed to drown out the rest of the world.

He said nothing for a moment, his lips parting as though he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words. His eyes darkened further, not with anger now, but with something you couldn’t quite define.

You took a breath, your body suddenly feeling too small beneath his gaze. The storm was still inside. You had to move away. Your heart pounded as if it were trying to escape your chest, desperate to flee from whatever was stirring inside you. You couldn't—no, you wouldn’t—let yourself get caught up in whatever this feeling was. You were not some fool, ready to throw everything away for the temporary pull of his presence. You knew better than that. You had to.

Every instinct screamed at you to retreat, to put some distance between you and the mess of emotions bubbling under your skin. His sharp gaze was enough to make your knees tremble, and it took everything in you not to look back, not to let him see the quiet devastation that flickered inside you.

“You need to leave… Sylus.” You whispered. You staggered back a few steps, your breathing shallow, desperate. Your feet felt like lead, yet you forced yourself to walk away. You turned your back to him, willing your legs to move, hoping to escape before you got sucked into whatever dark vortex of feelings he was drawing you into.

He didn’t move. Instead, you heard the familiar click of his boots against the floor as he took a single, deliberate step forward. “Why?” His voice, low and curious, sent a shiver down your spine. It was almost too intimate, as if he were searching for a piece of you, trying to understand what you couldn’t explain.

You didn’t want to look at him. Didn’t want to see the quiet confusion on his face—the faint flicker of disappointment that stung like salt in an open wound. You couldn’t let him see your weakness, couldn’t let him know how badly it hurt to be around him, how badly it hurt not to be around him.

“Is it so you can run back to your precious ‘friend’?” The words dripped with something unspoken, something that made your stomach twist.

You couldn’t look at him. You couldn’t. Not when his voice—that voice, the one that threaded through the air like silk—was digging into your mind like this. The word echoed in your ears, almost mocking you, and you felt something fragile snap inside you. The weight of the years you’d spent keeping distance, of guarding your heart against him, against whatever he made you feel, started to unravel. But you couldn’t let it.

You took another step away from him. One more step, you told yourself. Just one more. You didn’t need this.

Dark tendrils wrapped around you as you move, pulling you back. He was using his evol to pull you back. You didn’t need him pulling you in again. But then it came. That touch. He pulled you to him, forceful yet intimate, and your breath caught in your throat. You were too close. Too close to the edge of losing yourself, of falling into his presence.

His hands...no, his fingers—snaked around your waist before you even knew what was happening. You gasped, body going stiff in surprise, but his grip tightened, pulling you back into him. You tried to keep moving, tried to pull away, but it was useless. His hold was ironclad, his presence consuming. His grip tightened slightly, but there was an almost comforting pressure there, a subtle reminder that despite the dispute between you, there was something undeniable between the two of you.

“Why are you running?” His voice was a whisper against your ear, the words smooth like silk, but there was something jagged beneath them—something urgent, raw.

You struggled to hold yourself together, but the more you fought it, the more it pulled—this unbearable need to lean into him, to give in to the chaos that his proximity stirred in you. You knew you shouldn’t, but everything in you wanted to. You felt the ache of wanting something you couldn't have, the sting of the distance you had put between you and the thing that was somehow both poison and relief.

His hands tightened slightly, his thumb brushing over your ribs in a movement that sent a jolt through your entire system. The words you wanted to say, the reasons you needed to get away from him, all felt so small and pointless now. How could you possibly explain this? This tension, this pull? How could you say that being near him felt like the most excruciating thing in the world, but also the only thing that made you feel alive?

“You’re not just an informant to me,” he breathed, his words slipping under your skin, curling into the tight spaces of your chest. “I didn’t realize I was hurting you this much. That you’d want to distance yourself from me...” His tone softened at the end, but it only made everything worse. The tenderness in his voice—his tenderness—was like a dagger in your side, making the blood in your veins freeze. You wanted to say something, anything, but all you could hear was the deafening rush of your own heartbeat. You tried to stay composed, but the words were caught in your throat, and your body was still pressed so tightly against his, your breath shallow, your pulse thudding painfully against your ribs.

Why was this so hard? Why couldn’t you just say it—say that you couldn’t let him get close again? That you couldn’t survive another wound, another aching, empty feeling in your chest because of him? But the way his hands tightened, the warmth of his body against yours, made everything you were feeling a little too real.

You could feel his heartbeat against your back, the rhythm in sync with your own, and the pull of him was growing stronger. You could feel your anxiety bubbling up, the gnawing fear at the pit of your stomach. Was this just him toying with you? Was he trying to pull you into his world of darkness and manipulation? Or did he really care?

Your head was spinning. The emotions warred within you—anger, confusion, guilt, and something else. Something that made your heart race faster and your thoughts scatter like leaves in the wind.

“Let me go,” you whispered, your voice barely audible over the storm that raged around you.

But you didn’t pull away. You didn’t push him off.

Sylus' grip on you tightened, his arm like a steel band around your waist, pulling you closer until there was no space left between you. His chest rises and falls against your back as his breath brushes against your ear, warm and heavy. It’s as if he’s afraid, like if he lets go for even a second, he’ll lose you forever. You can feel the tension radiating from him, but also something softer, something desperate.

“No, Darling,” he murmurs, his voice low and thick with emotion, his tone possessive, as though the very idea of you slipping away shatters him. “You’re not going anywhere and neither am I.”

"You’re going to stay," He pulls you even closer, his lips brushing the shell of your ear as he speaks again, quieter this time, but laced with something raw and vulnerable. "...and you’re going to listen to me. I won’t let you walk away from this."

You can hear the flicker of something beneath his words—regret. And then, his lips ghost over the sensitive skin of your neck, lingering just a little longer than necessary. He slowly spins you around, to face him. His voice softens, almost apologetic. “I know I was a dick. I know I didn’t respond to you, and I’m sorry for that. I didn’t know how to handle it… handle us. It confused me, and instead of facing it, I pushed you away.” His breath catches slightly, and you feel his chest tighten against your back.

His hand moves to cup your cheek, tilting your face slightly toward him, his thumb brushing over your skin as though it’s a promise, an apology. The weight of his gaze is intense, but there’s also something tender there, something that wants to pull you back in, closer. “I know you’re still hurting, darling. I see it. And I... I’ll spend a lifetime making up for it, because that’s what I want. A lifetime. With you. Not as some informant or some... thing, but as my beloved. You. By my side. Always.”

He pauses, letting his words hang in the air between you. His voice drops, the quiet sorrow of his confession sending a twinge of guilt through you. "I don’t have the right to ask this of you, I know," Sylus continues, his voice thick with emotion. "But seeing you push me away… It’s harder than I ever thought it would be. Harder than I want to admit." He presses his forehead lightly against your temple, his breath shaky. "I’ve never needed someone the way I need you, and I didn’t know how to tell you that. But I do. I need you."

You can feel him tense slightly, the shift in his demeanor telling you that his thoughts have turned darker. His voice lowers, the jealousy evident in the way he speaks, though it’s wrapped in a softness that almost makes it harder to bear.

"And Dr. Zayne... I can’t stand the thought of him being so close to you," Sylus adds, his voice low and thick with a possessiveness that unsettles you in its intensity. "It kills me, you know? Watching him with you, hearing you laugh like that with him, as if I don’t even exist." His arm tightens again, almost painfully, as if he needs to remind you, remind both of you, where you truly belong. "I know I have no claim on you... but... I can't help but feel like there’s a part of you that wants him in a way that... I can't compete with." His voice hardens, jealousy dripping from every word. "It eats at me, knowing he has a part of you that I’m fighting for."

"Sylus..." Your voice cracked slightly as you repeated his name, your breath hitching, caught in the tension between you. His name felt heavy on your tongue, like it was both a question and an answer. You had never said it so quietly, so vulnerably. The memories of earlier came rushing back—him with her, that delicate smile he gave her, the way she leaned into him just a little too comfortably. It had burned in your chest, the jealousy creeping in with a venomous ache.

The words tumbled out before you could stop them, too fast to gather, too painful to hide. "I felt the same... when I saw you with her," you confessed, swallowing thickly. "I felt so... so useless, Sylus. When I saw you with her, it felt like... like she was everything you needed. Better than me. And that... it broke me, Sylus. I felt like I wasn’t enough, like I wasn’t... worth it.”

The words stung, bitter and unrelenting, but the weight of them was finally lifted as you let them spill out. You felt exposed, naked in your insecurity, but somehow, it was all you could do to stand there and wait for him to respond. You could feel the weight of it, of how small you’d felt in that moment, how unworthy you had become in your own eyes. The self-doubt gnawed at your insides, each thought of her with him twisting like a knife in your gut.

Sylus’s expression softened, his features melting into a tender sadness, as though he were seeing you for the first time, truly seeing you. His hand reached out slowly, almost hesitantly, as if afraid to shatter the fragile space between you. His touch was a gentle comfort, his fingers brushing against your cheek, his voice a low whisper, "Darling, you're none of that... none of it, I swear."

You shook your head, feeling the tears threatening, but you couldn’t let them fall, not yet. His words were kind, but the ache in your chest was still there, an unhealed wound.

He continued, his voice steady but thick with something deeper. "I didn’t know you felt that way... about her, in the same way I feel about Zayne." His gaze met yours, and for the first time tonight, it wasn’t uncertain. It was so gentle, so soft, tender. "But you need to know, you're it for me, Darling…" he murmured, his fingers curling around yours, grounding you in the quiet storm of your emotions. "Yes, I want help from her, but..." He paused, as if weighing his words carefully, "...I need you more." His words were a balm to the wounds that had festered within you, but the tenderness in his eyes was what finally reached you. His hand slid down to your shoulder, his thumb grazing the skin there. His warmth surrounded you, and you let yourself sink into the comfort of his words. The jealousy, the insecurity that had burned so fiercely in you when you saw him with her, melted in the face of the tenderness he was offering now.

You swallowed, trying to steady yourself as your heart raced, the intensity of the moment almost overwhelming. “Zayne… Zayne’s just a friend,” you said, your voice fragile but firm, “someone who helped me... helped me see past the stuff in my head. After everything, I just... needed someone to remind me that I’m not broken.”

Sylus's eyes softened even more, the depth of his gaze sending shivers down your spine. He nodded slowly, his expression filled with understanding. The tension between you didn’t disappear entirely, but it was now laced with something more tender. More real.

“You’re not broken, Darling.” he repeated, and there was a quiet strength in his voice, something that made you believe him more than you ever had before. “You’re everything I’ve ever needed... and more.”

"I... I’m sorry," you whispered, a lump in your throat as you looked up at him. "I never wanted to make you feel like I didn’t care. I just... I was afraid you’d choose her over me."

Sylus’s fingers brushed against the nape of your neck, pulling you closer, his forehead pressing gently against yours. "You never have to apologize for that, Darling." he murmured, his voice warm, his breath mingling with yours. “It was my fault and I accept that.”

The room was quiet, save for the soft sound of your breathing, as Sylus stood before you, his face drawn with intensity. The flickering light from the lamp cast soft shadows across his features, but his gaze... his gaze was sharp, focused entirely on you.

"I love you, Darling" he said, his words lingering in the air as though they were the first time he had allowed himself to say them out loud. "I’m in love with you," he confessed, his voice steady despite the raw emotion that tinged it. "I’ve been in love with you for a while now, and I’ve tried to deny it. Tried to hide it from you and myself, but I can’t anymore. I won’t. I love you, and I need you to know that."

The breath you hadn’t realized you were holding caught in your throat. Everything in you froze, then splintered. The confession, so pure, so vulnerable, hit you with a force you hadn’t been prepared for. You stood there, unable to move, a mix of surprise and relief flooding your chest.

He loves you. Sylus. The one you had longed for, yearned, and hoped for in silence. Your heart stuttered in your chest, the world around you growing impossibly still.

"I…" you whispered, voice trembling, and you had to stop, had to steady yourself before the words could spill from your lips. "I’ve love you too," you said, your voice barely more than a breath, but it carried all the weight of everything you had kept inside. "I’ve loved you, and I never told you because I was afraid. Afraid that I was asking too much. Afraid of the rejection. Afraid that I wasn’t enough."

Sylus’s expression softened, his lips curling into a frown as he stepped forward, closing the space between you. His hands reached for you, but not in the way you had feared or expected. They were gentle, his touch a plea for understanding. "Oh, darling," he whispered, shaking his head slowly. "I’m so sorry. I’m sorry you ever felt like you needed to hide it from me."

He reached up, brushing his thumb along your cheek, and you flinched slightly, your emotions suddenly overwhelming you, raw and untamed. "We’re both idiots," he continued, his voice almost tender with the weight of the admission. "We’ve been skirting around each other, afraid of saying the one thing we both needed to say."

Your laugh came out soft, almost fragile, the tension in your chest breaking for the first time since Sylus had walked into your home. It was a quiet sound, but it was the first time you’d laughed all night, the first time you’d allowed yourself to feel something other than fear or uncertainty in the past few weeks with him involved. But that laugh didn’t last long. As soon as it came, the tears followed, the ones you had been holding back for so long, finally slipping free. The dam you had built up crumbled, and before you could stop them, hot tears streamed down your face. before you could even reach up to brush them away, his hand was there, steady and warm against your cheek.

"Don’t," you whispered, your voice thick with the ache you could no longer hide. "Please, don’t look at me like this. I’m—"

"Stop," Sylus interrupted softly, his hand holding yours gently, his gaze unwavering. "Don’t hide from me. I want to see all of you… everything you’ve been hiding. I know you think I don’t see it, but I do." His eyes locked onto yours with such intensity that you couldn’t look away. "I see it when you think I’m not watching. I see the way you pull back, the way you hide the parts of you that you think I can’t handle. But I am looking. I’ve always been looking. And I don’t want you to hide anymore. Not from me. And I’m here and I want all of you."

His words were a medicine to the parts of you that had been bruised, the parts that had feared being exposed, vulnerable. But in his eyes, there was only love. No judgment. No pity. Just... love. And it was enough. It was more than enough.

The tears that had slipped down your face slowed, but they didn’t stop. You didn’t try to wipe them away this time, allowing yourself to be seen for the first time in ages. The sobs that followed were soft but trembled with relief, with something finally breaking open inside of you.

Sylus’s arms were around you in an instant, pulling you close, holding you in the kind of embrace that made you feel as though you could finally breathe, as though the weight of everything you had been carrying could finally be set down.

"I’m sorry," you whispered, almost broken. "I’ve been so scared, Sylus. Scared of this, of being cast away... of losing you."

"You’ll never lose me, Darling." he murmured, his voice firm and unwavering as he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

You tilted your head back slightly, your face still damp with the remnants of the tears that had fallen, and through your wet lashes, you searched his face. Sylus held you close, his arms wrapped around you in a way that made you feel safe, even as the doubts lingered in your heart. You wanted to believe him, but the fear, the uncertainty, was still there, buried deep beneath the surface.

He must have seen it in your eyes, the way you still hesitated, the uncertainty you couldn't quite shake. Sylus made a half-frustrated sound in the back of his throat, his hands tightening around you for a split second, before they slid up to cradle your face. His thumb brushed against your cheek again, a tender, pleading touch, before he leaned in, his lips finding yours in a sudden, urgent kiss.

The kiss was unlike any other. It wasn’t slow, it wasn’t soft. It was intense, filled with desperation, as though he needed you to understand just how deeply he felt for you, just how much you meant to him. His hands cupped your face, holding you as if you were the only thing that mattered in that moment, as if the world had stopped turning just for you. His lips pressed against yours with a kind of fire, but it wasn’t angry, no. It was passionate, desperate in its own way, like he wanted you to feel how important you were to him, how much you had been wanted, loved.

Your hands trembled as they reached up, gripping the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer, wanting to bridge the distance between you, as though the kiss itself could erase every lingering doubt in your heart. Your breath hitched when you felt his pulse quicken under your touch, his heartbeat matching the frantic pace of your own. Each breath you took seemed to echo in the stillness of the room, mingling with the heat of his kiss, our lips moving together with a quiet urgency, the world beyond the two of you fading into a distant blur. You felt everything—every brush of his fingers, every subtle shift of his body against yours, the way his chest rose and fell beneath your palms, how his breath felt against your lips as if he couldn’t get close enough to you.

Your chests rose and fell together, the world spinning around you. You could feel the heat of him, the urgency that still lingered in his touch, the way he kept you close, almost as if he were afraid to let go.

Breathing became an afterthought, both of you gasping for air when the kiss broke, but neither of you pulled far enough away to lose the connection. Sylus’s forehead rested against yours, his breath hot against your lips as he whispered, voice still heavy with emotion. “Every day, from henceforth, I will work to make sure you never feel the need to doubt yourself. Not in my life. Not with me." His words, slow and deliberate, sank deep into your heart like a promise he would keep.

The intensity of the moment hung between you both, the room still, save for the soft sound of your breathing as you both slowly came back to reality. But in his eyes, you saw nothing but certainty—certainty that you were enough. That you always had been.

His hand found yours again, fingers weaving with yours, and he gave it a gentle squeeze, as if the simple touch was a quiet reassurance.

"You are everything to me," he murmured, his voice steady now, grounding you as much as his embrace. "And I’ll make sure you never forget that.”

Your eyes fluttered shut for a moment, absorbing his words, his warmth, his certainty. In his arms, you could feel the truth of his promise, somewhere deep inside, the doubts began to fade.

For the first time in a long time, you believed him. And when he kissed you again, this time softer, it was like the beginning of something new.

[ A disclaimer note - Please be respectful of the request ]

AN: reblogs, feedback and opinions are appreciated!

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#love and deepspace #sylus love and deepspace #lnds sylus #love and deepspace sylus #sylus #lads #oneshotswithlina #love and deepspace fanfic

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gloxym · 28 days ago

Text

Chapter 4

Not gonna lie, didn't think I'd keep going, but it was nice. My skills will improve in time but for now, I'm sorry.

“Please, you gotta come with me!” Meiqi was in her apartment, cuddling a plush toy she won from the claw machine earlier that day with Xavier, begging the other woman to tag along to a gallery show for Rafayel. Yin, who was in the kitchen preparing a lunch for the two of them to eat, scoffed at the women’s suggestion.

“For the last time, I’m not going to a gallery show for your artist friend.” There was no doubt in her mind that Rafayel and her were on friendly terms. Xavier and Zayne made a little sense, but the remaining three men were completely out of the picture. They had to be. Based on the way Yin’s life was catalogued in her mind, she had closer access to the previous two because of her profession and proximity. Rafayel was not someone she’d probably meet in passing. Sylus was in another city that was off limits and Caleb was… Well, she wasn’t sure where Caleb was at, but the man was secretive and elusive as all hell, so she was sure this Yin never even knew of his existence.

“Come on, you’ve been cooped up here in the apartment for so long. You gotta go out and get some fresh air.” Meiqi whined, clearly wanting her to go.

“I have not. Just the other day, Xavier and I went to eat at the restaurant down the street. And the day before, I played pool with Zayne for a couple hours.” It was some socializing, so it was enjoyable. “And, I’ll have you know, I should be back to work in a few weeks. I can do push-ups again.”

Meiqi scoffed, settling back into the cushions with her plush. “Yeah, but you nearly fell after the second set.” Okay, that was low and Yin shot the woman an annoyed look.

“Better than before, I’ll say.” There was no real bite in her words, it was just playful banter.

“I still think you should come. It’d be close to the ocean and you’ll get to see all the great art that Rafayel painted. It’s really beautiful.” It was an opportunity that she didn’t get in the game. She never really saw the artist’s work, only speculated based on the descriptions the game prompted. To be able to see a genius at work as a fan of the game? God, it was tempting.

But, she didn’t really wanna go. Parties like these weren’t her style, even in her previous life. She attended some parties that were for birthdays or weddings, but most of the ones she actually frequently went to consisted of clubbing somewhere. Maybe she was overthinking it. Rafayel had a devil may care attitude about these events anyway, so she could blend in the background, enjoy some art and drink.

“Hey, Yin, are you okay?” Yin sighed heavily, turning to face the girl who sauntered into her kitchen, looking hopeful. Damn you, Rafayel.

“Fine, I’ll go.” The girl cheered, pulling Yin into a hug.

“Great. You don’t need to dress super fancy, just wear something nice. I’ll try to keep you company, but I’m still a bodyguard first, so I’ll probably have to keep Rafayel from collapsing with artistic burn-out.” Or keep him entertained as he pretended to care what a bunch of humans thought of his art. Then again, Yin was not supposed to know his Lumerian side, as it’s a closely guarded secret.

“You said it’s later this week, right?” It should give her a couple days to find something suitable for the party. There wasn’t an outfit in the closet that she could use to at least blend in comfortably. Meiqi was lucky she had her uniform and didn’t have to worry about dressing up.

“Yep. In the evening. I’ll pick you up so we can go together.” It seemed like everything worked out, their lunch just about finished as she filled the last summer roll and let it rest with the others.

“Is there a dress code?” Yin set the plate down on the coffee table, settling next to Meiqi who sat back down on her side.

“Hm, I don’t think so? I mean, I didn’t think there were dress codes for gallery openings.” Damn, that meant she had to guess what to wear rather than following a specific system in place.

“It’s in the evening, right? But, would it be in some museum or is it somewhere else?” Meiqi hummed in thought, checking her phone and texting someone. Had to be Rafayel, if he was the one attending it. No, probably Thomas, considering the artist himself rarely put his attention on trivial events he had no interest in.

“Okay, so there is a dress code. Smart casual. Nothing that really pops out, since the point in these events was to admire the art, not the attendee’s.” Yeah, so most of her outfits in the closet were out of the question. She entertained bothering Zayne to go shopping with her, since his outfits fit the theme more, though they weren’t as close. If her other friends existed here, she would already have been in their home, raiding their closet for pieces of an outfit she could put together.

Meiqi was too short for the poor girl to offer anything she could wear. “Oh, by the way, it’s at an event venue near the beach. It might be a little chilly, so make sure you dress a bit more warmly.” That was curious, but Yin didn’t really question Thomas’s train of thought. Maybe Rafayel’s piece was Lumerian inspired again, so he figured it’d fit the theme. Or maybe there already was a buyer, so the event was just an unveiling of his piece to admire before they wouldn’t see it again.

Then again, it was mere speculation based on a theory. Technically, Yin had never met either of them nor even knew their names. She was only going based on the stories she remembered from the game, however faded they started becoming the longer she was in this world. It wasn’t like they were actively escaping her mind, just simply getting harder to focus on with the anxiety and stress pushing them to the side while she tried to live in the world.

“Alright, I’ll keep it in mind. I probably won’t be there that long, anyway.” She’d stay there two hours at most, knowing the rest of the party would be just mingling with a bunch of fans of his work. It wouldn’t be an issue under other circumstances, but this was for Rafayel and it’d be a lie to say she wasn’t concerned in meeting the man.

“Oh come on, I wanted to introduce you to Rafayel.” Yin nearly choked on her roll, coughing painfully at the obstruction in her throat before swallowing mouthfuls of water.

“You want me to meet the artist?” She turned her head to stare at Meiqi, the other girl confused by her reaction.

“Y-Yeah? I don’t really see the problem.” No, technically there were no issues from her perspective. Yin wouldn’t know him, so why would she react like she was asked to do the impossible? There wasn’t an excuse to give her, either.

“I just don’t really think I should, y’know?” Yin shifted in her seat, nervous at the idea of being in contact with the sea god. It wasn’t like he’d care about her presence, but she already knew she’d get caught staring at him, remembering the way he looked in his God of the Tides outfit. God, the markings on his hands were absolutely gorgeous and she had gone out of her way to get some of them tattooed on her skin in her world. That man was fine as hell, so she was just nervous to talk to him without staring at his hands and thinking horrible thoughts about them.

“He isn’t the most sociable, that’s for sure, but since you’re good at making friends, I thought it’d be nice for him to at least have someone to talk to.” Or bother the fuck out of, based on the text messages he sent to the player. Then again, he only bothered the player because he was madly in love with her since she was his bride. She doubted the man would even spare a glance at her.

“Uh, well,” Yin rubbed her palm nervously, more concerned in how she’d behave around him rather than how he’d act around her, “that’s if we hit it off, y’know? Just thinkin’ that we probably wouldn’t really chat much.” She was also just worried she’d flirt with him unconsciously. She caught herself a few times when she was around Zayne and Xavier, but Rafayel seemed the type to tease her back and she was not about to get suckered into a challenge that was borderline dangerous.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Plus, I just need him to socialize more.” She let out an exasperated sigh, clutching her plush tightly to her chest. “I called him out about not having friends and he got all pouty.” The deeper meaning behind it was probably because he was afraid of being abandoned, with everything he had gone through. Or guilt for pushing his people to the brink of extinction. Yin couldn’t really be certain what it was, and analysis videos she used to watch were too fragmented to piece together.

“Listen, I’ll give it a good shot at extending a friendship, but if he denies it, I won’t keep trying.” Was she actually going to, hell no. Meiqi could find other friends for him, Yin was gonna stay out of his radar after the initial meeting and keep it at that.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Her smile was so sincere, Yin almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

“Sure.”

Yin rubbed her hands together, feeling a bit nervous around a bunch of strangers that looked like they were from old money, mingling around and chatting amongst themselves about Rafayel’s latest masterpiece. She had gone to at least three different stores, in search of something that would be a bit more suitable for her without sacrificing her style too much, each sales associate playing dress up with her and having her model a few things for them like a show dog. Others wanted to hide her more muscular physique in favor of bringing out her femininity and others wanted to make her appear approachable and shorter.

She ended up settling on one of the outfits with black jean overalls over a dark gray turtleneck, just so that she could blend in a little better. Though, with the venue full of stylish strangers, she probably stuck out a little more as the only one in dark colors. She knew she should’ve gone with more khaki or beige colors, her fingers gripping onto the edges of her black coat to adjust over her form a little more.

Meiqi had been called away by Thomas, whom she was introduced to when they arrived, with an emergency. She could only guess it was to get Rafayel to the venue, since the artist in question had been MIA. Wouldn’t be Rafayel if he showed up on time, after all. Though, if he didn’t show up at all, it would be preferable. She didn’t know why she was so anxious to meet the man, though with everything that happened between her, Xavier and Zayne, she didn’t really think she could really add more men to her collection that belonged to another woman. It felt a little scummy on her part, like she was messing with the storyline by spending time with them.

It was ridiculous to even entertain, considering their devotion was solely fueled by their past love. She wouldn’t be able to change the fate of their lives, she was absolutely certain of it. So, why did the past version of herself spend time with them enough for them to worry over her? It was too confusing. Enough thinking about it, she was going to enjoy the party and if she was lucky, she’d see one of Rafayel’s paintings and sate her curiosity and spend the rest of the night in the apartment.

Carefully weaving through the crowd, she found the open bar and ordered something for herself, her fingers drumming along the counter as the bartender set to work. She was set, drink in hand, and glanced around to see if there was anyone that she could start making small talk with.

“My, don’t you look out of place.” Her hand twitched, slowly turning over to see some man in his thirties leaning by the counter. He was attractive, sure, but the crinkle in his eyes as he smiled set off a red flag in the distance.

“Hm, even if I did, it wouldn’t really matter.” She sipped her drink slowly, shifting her gaze back to the people, feigning boredom so that he’d take the hint she wasn’t interested in engaging with him. But, men like these rarely took the hint, instead finding a challenge in the game they believed they were playing. He slid himself closer, her brow twitching at the audacity.

“My, my, aren’t you a cautious one.” Shit. If she didn’t want to cause a scene, she’d have to play along. “Relax, I’m not here to bite. I just wanted to offer some advice, since you seem like you don’t frequent events like these.”

“How generous of you, however I think I’ll manage.” She continued to avoid looking at his direction, plucking imaginary lint off her coat. He only chuckled in response, ordering a drink of his own and settling a little closer to her, his arm brushing against hers.

“Lemme guess, you’re here to catch a glimpse of the famous artist?” The irreverent tone wasn’t missed, Yin sure that he was probably jealous of Rafayel and his success. “Every woman here wants to catch the attention of the brilliant genius that is Rafayel, so willing to be his muse. I just wanted to know if you were like all the rest of these little lambs.”

Yin suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, knowing that if she denied that she was trying to catch his attention, he’d double down and try to hit on her more. Well, she could play the game and put him off. Finishing off the drink, she set it down and turned to face him again. Ugh, he was so close, but she forced herself to plaster a smile. “Everyone wants to be the muse to such a remarkable talent, how could you not? His artwork is one of a kind, truly, only using natural pigments to create his masterpieces. He doesn’t take the easy way out, using manufactured colors, because they don’t mean anything towards his artistic process. Anyone can get the colors they want from a seller, but how many are willing to painstakingly extract the pigments from nature? To allow their natural beauty to show themselves on the canvas?”

Pushing further, she let out a dreamy sigh as she gazed off into the night sky. “It’d be a dream come true to have him notice me, even for the briefest of moments. God, the chance to see him in the flesh is more than enough for me to have fulfilled one of the many fantasies I’ve had.” Damn, this felt wrong on so many levels. As someone who met many famous actors and actresses, only three were ones she actually gushed over at the idea of meeting in person. But, even then, she played it cool and didn’t geek out so hard around them! She did that in the privacy of her home.

“Oh, and what other fantasies do you have about me?” Oh god. She didn’t even think about turning around, her body frozen in place as her expression shifted to one of acceptance. Of course he’d hear it. Of course he’d be there if she turned around after making a fool out of herself. Of course, because this life was full of backhanded slaps and low blows.

“Oh, if it isn’t the man in question.” The other man’s voice shifted to a friendly tone, as if he wasn’t judging her earlier for being the same as all the other girls. Granted, she was, but not in a superficial way. Meeting Rafayel in her world would have been an insane achievement, but he was a character in a game she played. Not a real person, like the one behind her right now. “Seems like you have another fan willing to throw themselves at you.”

She turned to look at the man, her expression darkened with cold hatred at the thinly veiled insult. Shifting her body to face the thirty something year old, she leaned in close to whisper darkly in his ear. “Fuck off, prick. No one needs your fucking petty, jealous ass here.”

The man stiffened at the insult, his eyes narrowing as he glared right back at her, peeved. They both stared each other down for a brief moment, until another familiar voice chimed right in. “Hey, Yin, I’m back— Whoa, what’s going on?”

“Seems like your friend here was fawning over me, which I completely understand, and this gentleman over here didn’t really find it appealing.” Yin continued her little standoff, fingers curling into a tight fist. She could punch him right now, for every woman in the world that had to deal with guys like this. Just because some girls wanted to be noticed didn’t make them less than any other woman. They just wanted a chance to meet the person they idolized, respected, liked and so on, so there was nothing wrong with that.

“Seems like she’s just embarrassed that the man she idolizes so much had to listen to her fantasize about meeting him.” Oh, that snarky ass tone had her wishing she met him on the street.

“Hey, that’s not nice. She’s just here because I invited her to come. And even if she wanted to meet him, you have no right to be rude about it.” Meiqi pushed herself between the pair, glaring up at the guy.

It would be comical, having the shorter woman act like her guard dog, but she was too annoyed to find the amusement in it. Before the man could say something, Rafayel interjected. “As much as I enjoy people fighting over me, this is such a drag. You’re ruining my unveiling, so could you just leave my body guard and her friend alone?”

The guy pushed himself away, shooting one final glare at Yin, before leaving. Yin scoffed, reaching up to pet Meiqi’s head briefly before ordering another drink. “Geez, that was a scary look you had on your face. Did that guy really bother you that much?” Yin sighed, sipping the drink once it set down.

“Mnm, we didn’t talk much, but I could tell what type of dude he was. Got that attitude about him that he thought he could pick me up by getting me to deny that I wasn’t like all the other girls and that I went against the grain.” Yin scoffed once more, shaking her head in disgust.

“Oh, so that’s why you said I could fulfill your fantasies. If you denied you were here just to see me, he’d continue trying to bait you that you were one of a kind.” The artist himself leaned forward, closing the distance between him and the MC as she stood between them. At least he seemed more attached to her than the other two. That was a good sign; it meant that she didn’t have to make the effort of keeping a respectable distance like she tried with Xavier and Zayne.

“That's right.” She turned to face the protagonist, offering a polite smile. “Thanks for showing up. If it kept going, I might have jumped into the ocean to cleanse myself. Or been in jail.”

“Oh come on, that would have been fun. Hearing how far you’d go to keep lying through your teeth.” His smile was teasing, Yin biting back a dry retort. “Considering Meiqi talked about how we should meet, I think it would’ve made for a great first impression.” Yin spared a glance towards the Sea God, his expression clouding for a brief second before his mask returned.

‘I’m overthinking it. No way I met him, he was probably thinking about something else. Yep, that’s what I’m going with. Not gonna lose my peace of mind.’ That was that. She wasn’t going to think too much into the possibility of having met another love interest in the past. Clearing her throat, she sipped at the new drink in her hand.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Yin Zhao.” Rafayel hummed, turning around.

“Obviously you know who I am, but to properly introduce myself, I’m Rafayel Qi.” They didn’t really need to shake hands, simply acknowledging the other’s introductions was enough. Plus, she didn’t really want to put a feeling to the dirty thoughts she had over the characters.

“So, the unveiling is gonna be in about an hour, so after getting this lazy bag of fish bones here, I figured we could all talk and get to know each other better.” Yin nearly choked on her drink, expecting him here at the very last second to unveil his latest masterpiece before dipping. He got here an hourish early?

“I could hardly call what I did a masterpiece. It was something I just did on a whim that Thomas wanted to use. Hardly worth the effort to even appear, but cutie over here wanted me to come to meet her friend.” Cutie? Oh damn, did that mean they were closer here? Good. Yin smiled lightly that she wouldn’t have to really spend time with the god whose heart actually belonged to another.

“Oh come on, Rafayel, it’s good to get out of the house. You spend so much time cooped up in your studio, you barely interact with anyone.” Meiqi put her hands on her hips, glaring up at the artist.

“I interact with people. Just the other day, I spoke with the man who delivered my food.” Yin snorted slightly at Meiqi’s groan.

“That doesn’t count. I mean socializing with others, having a conversation and hanging out. You don’t really do that sort of stuff and you really should.” Rafayel smiled to himself, staring down at the Huntress.

“It would cut into the time we hang out, though.” Oh, the shameless flirt, right here. Yin let herself relax, turning over to look at the crowd. There were some onlookers who murmured amongst themselves over the famous man, but most were still mingling with themselves.

“I can’t be everywhere at once, and it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have someone else you can call.” The two started to talk, seemingly forgetting Yin’s presence as she started to slowly tune them out to focus on the music. Vibe was great, truly. Aside from the little issue with that man earlier, the rest of the party was pretty chill, she almost forgot that they were there for Rafayel’s unveiling.

Glancing at the pair that were bickering playfully with one another, Yin slipped away silently to get a better look at the band. She had to find new artists to listen to now, so her music list was basically empty. A lot of work she had to do to recover the thousands of songs she had on her playlist, along with artists that she had attended the concerts for. The real issue she had was the indie artists that were definitely not going to be here in this world.

The band itself was really good and she managed to flag down a waiter to ask for the band’s manager to see what types of events they play. She even got around to chatting with fellow music enthusiasts and started chatting about different genres and probabilities of clubs that they might have frequented. However, most of them kept the locations of said clubs to themselves, Yin no stranger to another one of those gatekeeping types that didn’t think she was worthy to know, but it wasn’t too much trouble for her.

The time flew by rather quickly, Thomas standing near the veiled artwork and getting everyone’s attention. “Okay everyone, now that the artist himself has graced us with his presence, it’s time for the unveiling!” Excited cheers erupted from the crowd, Yin slowly weaving herself past the crowd to get a better look.

Rafayel stood by his work, grinning charmingly at the crowd and soaking up the adoration of his fans. “Without further ado, here is my latest masterpiece.” Oh, he was playing up to the crowd, his hands pulling the sheet over the canvas and revealing to the onlookers a beautiful landscape of a beach during a sunset.

It was rather intriguing, Yin listening to the crowd applaud and rave over the artwork that he painted. She wasn’t an artist buff, but even she was capable of seeing the hype about it. She wondered how many hours it took to portray it, her eyes scanning over the detail of the water, the sun’s rays reflecting off the surface. Definitely pretty, Yin clapped along with the others as he labeled his piece “Peace before Everlasting Dusk”. It did seem rather peaceful.

Even after the hype dwindled, Rafayel making his way off the stage to receive the congratulations of his work, Yin continued to admire it. Now that she was closer to it, she let herself see every detail he added poured into the whim he claimed it was. Whether he cared for it or not, it was still remarkable that he was every bit of the genius she read about. She was even able to see the sea foam lingering on the water’s surface.

‘Wait, sea foam? Why the hell does that sound so familiar?’ Yin bit her lip, her brows furrowed in thought as she tried recalling why the sea foam was important. Something about his myth involved it, but the more she thought, the harder it was to pinpoint. It was clearly important, however she couldn’t quite catch it. The longer she stared at the piece, the more she saw that the clouds above the sun made an eerie shape. It was almost like it was… an eye. She continued to stare, taking a few cautious steps backwards to really see the eye shape formed from the sun setting beneath the water. Like, it was welling up with tears.

“Oh fuck.” She remembered his myth, how if he didn’t receive the player's heart as the Sea God, he would plummet his entire kingdom into ruins and he would fade into sea foam. Looking at the piece far more clearly, she could make out that the sun represented a crying eye, watching the foam gathered on the surface. Peace? No part of this was peaceful, the profound sadness of turning your back on the people that relied on you for a love that you were doomed to lose.

Yin swallowed thickly, the tears spilling from her eyes as she desperately tried not to sob at the sight of it. It was heartbreaking, sure, but why did it feel so close to how she felt? Did she see her own situation in his work? Did she see herself crying over the loss of her own life? Was she seeing her body in the foam? Did she see it through eyes that didn’t belong to her? When she looked in the mirror, her reflection hers but not quite, did she feel like she mourned herself?

“Hey, are you okay?” Meiqi managed to free herself from Rafayel’s side long enough to check up on her, her hands firmly gripping onto her biceps to steady her feet.

“I-I’m fine.” She choked out, trying hard to avoid looking at the protagonist’s face. She doubted she could really explain her sudden emotional state, knowing the truth behind the sick tragedy in a lore she was never supposed to know. Seeing her face would only make her more emotional, Yin reaching up to wipe her eyes on her sleeve, unbothered by the make-up ruining the material.

“You don’t look fine.” She was persistent, but Yin didn’t expect any less from the stubborn girl as she led her away from the landscape and towards a much quieter spot away from the others. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong.”

Yin chuckled weakly, finding a spot nearby to sit at with clenched fists. “Just overcome with the sheer beauty of it, that’s all.” She hoped it was enough to convince her to stop prying, but Meiqi knelt before, pushing the blue strands from her face. She didn’t buy it.

“Did it make you remember something painful?” Oh, if she only knew. Swallowing the lump caught her throat, Yin shook her head.

“Nah, nuthin’ like that. Just thought the landscape art was a little sad, that’s all.” Meiqi tilted her head, clearly confused by her words, though she seemed to finally accept the unspoken plea Yin gave her.

“Okay. Well, if you want, you can head home. I got some stuff I need to do, so I’m sorry I can’t take you back. But, if you need anything, give me a call.” Well, she wouldn't be the protagonist if she didn’t have a kind heart. Offering her a smile, the MC left Yin’s side to return to Rafayel’s side.

She couldn’t enjoy the party any more, slowly picking herself back up and deciding to simply walk towards the beach. She didn’t care that the sand would be annoying to clean off her clothes later, she just needed to get away from the noise. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to breathe through the tears that wanted to fall, her mind racing with anxious thoughts as they continued to drift back to the artwork.

Did he really make that on a whim? Was she overthinking it? She died before playing any of the updates that were coming out, but the rumors of his new myth was just that to her. A rumor. Was there more to it? Of course there would be, but Yin wouldn’t even know. What she did know was that every romantic interest was stricken with tragedy over a love that never panned out well for them. Now they all exist at once while the focus of their love had to live in blissful ignorance to the hell her previous incarnations created. So, there was a possibility that his artwork was something derived from the new myth added to his lore.

None of that really mattered to her, her heart breaking for another reason that was solely hers. She found a much quieter, secluded area at the beach and chose to sit her ass down on the sand, her coat in her lap and her boots cast off to the side while she stared out at the open waters. It was beautiful, tragically so. Out in the distance, she could almost make out a piece of driftwood floating on top, isolated as it had no choice but to follow the whims of the waves.

“If I was a poet, I’d probably be able to write something about relating to that piece of bark over there.” She closed her eyes, the emotions she was desperate to keep at bay rose to the surface, her teeth clenched tight as the tears spilled. She had no choice but to allow herself to sob over her loneliness. She brought her knees to her chest, crying over the loss of not only her own life, but the life she stole from this world.

Even if she looked similar to her old self, it wouldn’t change that her eyes were not seeing her, but another version. Her hair was the same color she dyed it, but it wasn’t hers. The hobbies she had were similar, but they weren’t hers. She wasn’t the one who lived this life, who had reasons to why she did the things she did. She wasn’t the one who found the songs she liked. She wasn’t the one who loved the foods she experienced through trial and error. This wasn’t her life. It was similar, but not the same.

She was an imposter. A fake. The real her was dead and she stole a woman’s life who may have been simply waiting for it to restart once more. She didn’t even know why she was here, why she was brought here into this world. Was there an actual plot she had to uncover? Was there a lesson she had to learn? She didn’t know. She was lost, much like that driftwood bobbing up and down in the distance, simply following along with the current of the waves that may or not show mercy to its existence.

Should she drown or let herself be carried to places unknown? Yin lifted her head, staring at the cold waters. For a brief moment, she entertained the possibility of plunging into them to see where it led her. For a brief moment, she wondered if it would be okay to defy her morals and let whichever deity judge her once her mortality ended.

No, she wouldn’t. She made up her mind to live out her life, no matter how difficult it would be. She owed it to herself. And she owed it to Yin. Settling back, she stretched her legs out and used her jacket as a pillow as she laid on the sand, staring at the night sky above her while. She’d return when she was ready, but for now, she let herself simply enjoy the peace.

The chirping of the seagulls woke Yin up, her eyes scrunching tight as the sun’s rays bled over the horizon. Oh shit, she fell asleep outside on the beach, the waves reaching her legs before receding. She was more surprised no one had noticed her lying on the beach, having only walked a short distance from the party, right? Slowly, she pushed herself up, looking at the direction where the party was held and noticed it was actually quite further than she anticipated.

“Oh shit, I didn’t even realize how far I went.” It explained a lot.

“Mnm, you definitely must’ve really hated that place for you not to notice.” Her body froze at the voice on the other side of her. She knew who it was without turning around, but she had to be sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her.

Slowly, she dragged her body to turn to the other side, the man she didn’t expect to see lying beside her, inspecting a shell he found as he held it up to the light. He was oriented opposite of her, his head pointing towards the ocean rather than away from it, the purple hue of his hair shimmering from the sun’s rays. When she didn’t speak, he turned his head to look at her, eyes narrowed. “What, no word of thanks for keeping you company to avoid anything bad happening to you?”

Yin was shocked at the news, mouth falling open in a gape. He sighed at her reaction, turning his head back upwards to continue inspecting the shell between his fingers. “You’re a lot more rude than I remembered.”

Snapping out of her trance, Yin licked her lips to get moisture back into the dryness and shook her head. “Thanks, really. Sorry you had to do that, how long have you been here?” Yin was cautious, uncertain if he really spent the whole night watching over her. And if he did find her, why didn’t he wake her up?

“The whole night once my bodyguard left. I was taking a walk and just so happened to see some odd colored driftwood on the shoreline. Imagine my surprise when it turned out it was just you.” How long after she left did Meiqi stay, then? Did she call her to make sure she made it back to the apartment? Checking her phone, she realized even if she had called, she would only get the automated message, since the device was dead in her hands. Fuck.

“Why not wake me up, then?” She tucked it back into her pocket, returning back to her supine position and staring at the shifting sky above her.

“I thought about it, but you were crying in your sleep and I didn’t feel like playing therapist to someone in case they wanted to talk about it.” It didn’t explain why he just stayed to watch over her, then. Sensing her thought, he let out a sigh. “But, that didn’t mean I was gonna let you stay here all vulnerable. Who knows, maybe a crab would have crawled up to you and snapped at your toe.”

Yin let out a snort, chuckling softly. “At least I would have been awake to throw it back in the water after cursing its entire lineage.”

“How cruel.” Rafayel made no move to move from his spot and neither did she. It was comfortable, to say the least, Yin closing her eyes to bask in the warmth of the sun as the night had chilled her body too much. She wasn’t going to suffer from hypothermia, but she definitely could feel the pins and needles in her limbs.

“You really did forget, didn’t you? I almost didn’t believe it when I was told by my bodyguard, yet you really had no clue when you saw me.” Well, it wasn’t like she didn’t expect that it was a possibility, but damn did that suck on her part. For Rafayel, it must’ve been annoying, considering his beloved bride also forgot about him.

“Must be a curse. Although, it’s hard to say which one of us is the one who has it worse.” Yin rested her hands on her stomach, her eyes closing to the world around her. “So, are you gonna tell me how we met, or are you going to keep it to yourself because it’s safer that way?”

She could hear him shift beside her, though she didn’t expect the shadow that loomed over and the presence directly above. She peeked her eyes open, holding her breath when his face was so close to hers, brows pulled together in annoyance. God, she understood why he was the face card of the game, because he was truly stunning. He was a pretty boy, through and through, with those iridescent eyes so much more prominent than they are in the game. Definition of breathtaking, she found herself drawn in at the colors.

“What do you mean by safe? You act like you know me, but it’s as clear as day that you forgot who I even am.” There was a hurt that peeked through, but he quickly recovered and kept the irritation at full force.

Yin almost felt sorry for him, her eyes softening a little as she stared at him. “You’re right, I don’t know you. But, if I were in your shoes, I think I’d find it safer for me to avoid saying anything to someone that forgot me.” She smiled sadly at him, understanding his abandonment issues. “If it were me, I wouldn’t tell them if I wanted to protect myself. The person they are now, though the same to you, is not the same at all. They’re an entirely new person, experiencing life differently. Even if you tell them everything about themselves and who they used to be, you have to learn that they may never be the person they were in your memories. Their feelings may change. Their values may shift. Like the tides crashing along the coast, you have to live with the fact that they slowly erode the memory of who they once were to make way for something new.”

He remained silent, his eyes dark with emotions that he probably didn’t want to acknowledge. A thought must’ve crossed his mind, his face shifting into a blank boredom, as if protecting himself, while he pushed himself away from her. She fully expected him to walk away from her, not wanting to be around her anymore, but when she felt him settle once again beside her, she was surprised.

“We met here on the beach. Not quite this spot, but one a little further down, where more of the sea animals gather. You were looking at a shell that I needed for the pigment and when I asked you to give it to me, you refused. You wanted to keep it as a souvenir. I walked away from you, but stopped when you called out to me, saying if I was just gonna give up so easily. If I really wanted it, you were happy to trade something for it.” It sounded nice, but Yin couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t just keep walking?

“Did you end up trading with me, or did you give up?” She didn’t remember any shell in Yin A’s apartment, so she was sure she either had it someplace else or maybe it was really traded.

He huffed beside her, as if annoyed by her question. “I asked you what you wanted, but you just told me that I’d have to think of something of the same value. I even offered to buy it off of you, but you insisted you wanted something personal, not something that could just be bought.” Yin couldn’t say she agreed with that, knowing she’d have definitely taken the money. Or simply given it to him if he really wanted it. “So, I offered to sing a song to you and you happily accepted. We sat on the sand and I sang to you. Once I was finished, you had this look in your eyes, like you were sad about it. I almost thought you were disappointed, but you said it was beautiful yet sorrowful. That I sounded sad over something truly heartbreaking.”

Did she know? Did the other Yin know he was in pain over his past? Did she see past the facade or was he really unaware of his own emotions at the time? “I told you you were imagining it, clearly. The song was a happy one, so why would you even think it was sad in the first place? I didn’t get it, but you gave me the shell with a sad smile on your face and told me you wished me the best before leaving.” His tone softened at the end, reliving the moment he only knew about. “It’s kinda funny, seeing that same smile on you earlier. You gave me the same look you did back then.”

It was deep, her head turning to look over at him, the shell in hand gone as he rested his own hands on his stomach, looking up at the sky. She didn’t really know what to say to him, her mind racing with possibilities of at least showing she understood. Her brows furrowed, her words incapable of really conveying something sincere and meaningful, relenting into the only way she knew how.

Turning over, she extended her hand, after ensuring her hands were free of sand, and stroked his hair softly. The gesture startled him, his eyes widening before he sat up quickly, turning to look at her. Oh, she might have crossed a line, her hand flinching lightly. “S-Sorry. It was the only thing I could think of, but it was rude of me.” He turned his head away, brushing his fingers through the soft locks.

“I’m not some pet for you to pat on a whim, you know.” That was true, he did get a little huffy when she used to try to pet his head in the game. Wrong approach, obviously.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I promise.” She offered an apologetic smile, but he didn’t seem to take to it right away, turning his back to her. Sensing the awkward tension, Yin figured it was a better time than any to make her leave and leave him alone.

“You patted Meiqi’s head, too.” Yin hummed in response, wondering where he was going with the comment. “She said you do it a lot, like a reflex. Sometimes she wonders if you even know you’re doing it.” Yin chuckled to herself, gathering her coat and her boots.

“I probably don’t realize it often enough. I used to get in trouble a lot in the past. Got told by lots of people that I shouldn’t be touching people, especially guys. I always kept the boundary, really, but it still ended up getting me in trouble.” She laughed softly, slowly rising from the sand and brushing off her overalls. Her turtleneck wouldn’t be so easy, the material acting like a magnet for all the tiny particles, but it wasn’t a big deal. “I wish I could stop, but physical affection has always been something I did. Even when my parents were busy, they never stopped giving me hugs or kisses and I just always felt happy whenever they did. To me, it meant they cared. To me, no matter how busy they were or how far away they were, they would always love me.”

Fuck, she was feeling the tears gathering in her eyes, her vision blurred as she stared out at the waves. Would her body even be put together enough for them to say goodbye? Would they be able to kiss her forehead to bid her farewell? It was so depressing, her hand reaching up to wipe the corners of her eyes, not wanting to show her vulnerability again. “It was just something I picked up, but it doesn’t mean that I should do that to people who don’t like it.”

She was met with silence. Did he leave? She wasn’t sure she would hear it if he did, too caught up in the imagination of possibilities of what might be happening in her world. She was about to turn to leave when a hand stopped her in her tracks, stroking the top of her head softly. “I didn’t really hate it, but if you’re gonna get all sentimental about it, then I guess it’d be cruel of me to expect you to stop something that is coded in your DNA. Rafayel, you’re being way too generous.”

Her brain definitely wasn’t working. Was he really patting her head to respond at her attempts for comfort? She assumed he’d only do it for the player character, his true love. Not with her, of all people. Someone he only met once for a brief moment in time? Her eyes watered, lower lip quivering ever so slightly. It was sweet; it was home.

“Thank you.” Her voice was hushed, almost like a whisper with a silent reverence. She didn’t expect him to hear it, but he did anyway, showing her through his actions as he brushed the sand out of her hair.

“We hung out a few more times, you know? You listened to me vent about anything and everything I was feeling over a meal. You never really treated me like you were trying to get something out of our meetings, just let me rant away and make jokes afterwards.” Rafayel set his hands to his sides after he was sure that most of the sand was brushed off, her head angled to look at him as he gazed off once more into the distance.

“So, if we hung out, why didn’t you tell Meiqi that you at least had a friend?” He seemed disturbed by the comment, his face scrunching up in offense that she would even say that to her.

“I can’t believe she told you that. Ugh.” He shook his head as he turned to walk away from her, Yin following a few steps behind.

“Sorry?” She offered, his tongue clicking in annoyance.

“I didn’t feel like telling her that I was friends with someone in general after she asked if I had any. It was just plain rude at that point.” Yin snorted softly.

“So you were being dramatic.” He sharply looked over his shoulder, glaring in her direction. She only smiled, holding her hand up in defense. “Go on.”

“You got busy with your Hunter test and sooner than later, you couldn’t stop by to hangout anymore.” Oh. She had gotten busy and once again, he must’ve felt abandoned. She did feel sorry for him, even if it was something out of her control. Quite literally.

“I see. It must’ve been rough on you, then. Sorry about that.” He stopped in his tracks, his shoulders straightening out with tension until he relaxed and smoothly turned to look at her with a smile.

“Puh-lease, I wouldn’t be bothered by something like that.” Oh, he was mad. At the very least, he was upset by her insinuation. Her brows furrowed lightly, though he spun around to keep walking as she followed him back.

“Right. My mistake, clearly.” The pair continued down the path, the heat starting to creep in further as the sun made its way over the horizon, their walk starting to feel more endless. Walking on the sand was so much more difficult, the uneven surface forcing her to focus on her balance. Being hungry and dehydrated, more so with the alcohol of last night’s party, had her feeling far weaker and sluggish.

She didn’t even notice Rafayel was quite a few steps ahead of her until she had to stop to catch her breath, chest heaving with a tightness from the exertion. Damn, she knew Yin was fit, but the weeks of bed rest meant her body wasn’t used to the amount of energy she was expending. “You can’t tell me you’re tired already!” She heard the man shout towards her, having realized she wasn’t right behind him as she had been earlier.

She waved him off, signaling for him to keep going without her. She could find her way back, somehow. Maybe a kind bystander would offer her a lift and she could just make her way back home that way. She just needed a break, a moment to catch her breath and maybe take off her damn sweater. The night was a faded memory, the sun taking its rightful place in the sky and making it her problem for not just going back to the apartment immediately.

Fuck it, she started removing her shirt from underneath. She had bra on, anyway and with how parched she felt, having the material around her neck with sand felt like torture. By the time she was done, she turned to see if Rafayel was much further along, only to jump back a little when he stood before her, arms crossed with an amused smile on his face.

“Stripping in front of me? If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought you were trying to flirt with me.” She rolled her eyes, folding the shirt and tucking it with her jacket and picking her boots back up.

“It’s getting hot and I’m hungry and thirsty. I’m not about to walk all the way back to civilization feeling miserable.” She motioned for the artist to keep walking, the man rolling his eyes and continuing on.

“Don’t expect me to carry you on my back after I spent the whole night making sure you weren’t whisked away by some sand crabs. My generosity has limits, you know.” Yin only smiled at that.

“Sure, sure. As a thank you for his highness’s gracious deed, may I offer to buy you a meal? Surely, you haven’t eaten either, having to take care of a wayward soul such as myself.” He angled his head back to look at her, a playful glare shot at her direction.

“It’s the very least you could do.” Yin could only laugh, the pair walking back to the venue and hopefully somewhere she could afford.

‘Thank you, Rafayel. Really, thank you.’ She kept her sincere thanks to herself, grateful that even if he probably was hurt by her sudden absence in his life, he was still willing to set aside enough care to at least make her feel a little bit better.

#gloxym fanfic #lads isekai fanfic #lads fanfic #lads oc #love and deepspace fanfic #chapter 4 of gloxym fanfic

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gloxym · 1 month ago

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Chapter 3

Thank god they weren’t matching, because Yin doubted she’d have been able to handle walking side by side with the man if they wore matching outfits. He settled on something a little more classy, but nevertheless relaxed as he guided her through the town. She was more curious how he even knew where to go, considering he had a tendency to be forgetful. His advanced age probably didn’t help with the memory, either, since things change and for a near immortal, what would a few decades mean to him?

God, that was depressing to think about, Yin breaking her mental rule about physical intimacy as she rubbed his back softly. He shot her a confused look, but she ignored it and slipped her hand back into her jacket pocket and kept letting him guide her around town. He taught her how to use the public transport, how to use the GPS signal on her phone and the Hunter Association issued watch and took her places she requested.

“Well, looks like I can find my way back to the apartment.” She said when they both decided to relax at the park, her legs crossed as she took in the scenery before her. It was comforting, almost like her old world, with kids playing tag, their parents watchful but conversing amongst themselves. There were owners playing with their dogs, soaking up the sunlight and birds chirping happily in the trees above.

“That’s good to know.” Xavier smiled, Yin grateful for the man to do this. He didn’t have to, and with how notoriously sleepy he was, she assumed he would have preferred relaxing at home.

“Thanks, really.” Turning to look at him, she was reminded again how angelic he appeared, with the softness of his features illuminated by the sun’s rays. She probably would’ve fallen for his charm if the circumstances were different, but she knew about his life more deeply than he even knew. She knew how he felt and she wouldn’t interfere between what was written in the stars. It wasn’t her place.

“How long do you need to rest before you can return back to work?” That was a good question, Yin humming thoughtfully, her eyes glancing over to the fountain.

“Dunno. I’m guessing I’d have to go through training again, since I don’t know how to use my Evol anymore. Apparently, I’m a Claymore user, too, so I gotta figure out how to use it all over again.” It sounded like a pain in the ass, really, Yin not looking forward to it. Then again, the chance to do some cool ass shit with a claymore sounded really appealing. She was torn, but money was a necessity and she figured that she’d have to go back at some point.

“I can help you with training, if you’d like.” A kind gesture, albeit quite baffling. Leaning back on the bench and placing her arm behind Xavier, she tilted her head to the side.

“Why would you go that far for me? I know we’re friends, but this feels awfully generous.” Tapping her fingers along the back, she frowned a little when a thought crossed her mind. “Is it because you feel guilty over what happened to me?”

Xavier frowned in response, turning his head to peer off into the distance in contemplation.The silence ticked by, his jaw tensing before he shut his eyes and let out a soft, little sigh. “We’re friends, so I don’t mind helping you, but, I admit, I’m not really sure it is out of guilt. What happened to you was just a result of poor timing on my part.” He turned his head to face you, a quiet remorse shining beneath his eyes.

“Poor timing, huh?” Yin didn’t really know why he felt that way. Simply survivor guilt? “Like I said, it’s not your fault, really. What happened to me…” She trailed off, her mind clouding over what actually happened versus the version he was aware of. It was tragic, really, but nothing they could do about it, really. “It’s just something written in the stars, I guess.” She finished wistfully, her hand reaching up behind him to stroke his hair absently.

“Written in the stars, you say?” He looked up, unbothered by the physical intimacy that he claimed he was used to. “I don’t really think the stars would really do something like this.” He would know, the prince of a far off planet. At least, that’s how she remembered his lore.

“Who knows.” With a soft pat on his head, having enjoyed the way his hair felt between her fingers, she settled her hand back as they both watched the world around them move. Yin figured that an immortal being such as himself, he’s watched this world change time and time again, seeing all the different ways life continues to grow, in spite of whatever tragic events may befall. For herself, well, it was something familiar. No matter where she went, society would still be that, society. War and peace went hand in hand, each one finding a way to break through the mold of the standard.

Standing to her feet, Yin stuffed her hands into her pockets and angled her body to look over at Xavier. “Come on, prince, let’s go get something to eat.” She didn’t miss the way his body stiffened at the nickname, the way his eyes widened in utter surprise at the casual way she rolled the word off her tongue.

“Prince?” He was startled, cautiously looking at her like she said something forbidden. Well, it wouldn’t be her if she didn’t at least tease him a little.

“Mhm-hm. You got the face for it. Just put a crown on your head and you’d fit the part.” A wide grin split across her face when his eyes narrowed, his lips puckering into a small pout.

“Not funny.” Yeah, it probably wasn’t to him and yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel guilty. It wasn’t like he’d suddenly be suspicious of her knowing his true identity, anyway. In his mind, it would be impossible for her to know, so she indulged in the playful teasing, for now.

“Yeah, yeah. C’mon, I’m hungry. Let’s go wherever you wanna.” Xavier huffed softly, but he stood up and took the lead, Yin falling in step with him as a comfortable silence fell between them. Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to spend time with the first romance option of the game.

The next day was more irritating, Yin realizing that her arms were actually seriously straining just doing some regular exercise. It wasn’t as if she was lifting weights, but push-ups were proving rather difficult, the muscle fibers in her arms screaming at her to cease the action before they tear and she’d be back in the hospital. She still needed rest, it seemed, so she was once again on her own in the apartment.

She made herself a little more familiar with the home of her previous version, checking for any documents that she might have had lying around and seeing if she had any way of accessing any passwords for certain applications. Thankfully, Yin A seemed to have everything in a place Yin B could find, so she felt she was set for any future issues that were mostly financial.

The MC did swing by, letting her know that the Association was still willing to let her recover with paid leave, but to check every few days with Dr. Greyson to make sure everything was alright with her. An appointment was already made for today, hence why Yin was working out. She just wanted to be able to accurately tell the doctor how she felt and what she could do in her spare time to speed up the recovery process. At least, that’s what she told herself.

Yin didn’t really want to admit that she had possibly wanted to worsen her condition so that she didn’t return to the field. She wouldn’t know shit about how to fight a Wanderer and if she saw on in person, she’d probably run away. Stunts were easy by comparison compared to fighting some cosmic being that was the type to shoot first and ask questions never. She’d basically have to retraumatize herself just to be able to fight them.

‘What a drag, really. But, it’s what Yin chose as her profession and it’d be rude as hell just to toss away all the years of work and training she did just because I don’t wanna fight some fuckin’ wanderers.’ It was her job, so she had at least give her the honor to see it through.

By mid-afternoon, Yin was once again back at Asko Hospital. Meiqi insisted she tag along, but she declined the offer, saying she had to learn how to do this stuff on her own. Amnesia or not, Yin was capable of doing something as simple as going to a doctor’s appointment all on her own. Right now, all she was doing was waiting in the lobby, some children’s cartoon playing on the screen as she slumped in the chair, pondering what she was gonna do later on when she got home.

“Ms. Zhao, you can come in now.” The receptionist, Yvonne, she thought, pointed to the direction of the door where a nurse awaited. It was a simple procedure, answering questions and checking her BPM and weight before she awaited in the examination room for Dr. Greyson to appear. Seems like things don’t change too often, her leg bouncing to keep her occupied as she scanned the room, rereading the same poster over and over again.

When the door opened, she turned her head, expecting to see Dr. Greyson, but to her horror, she saw Zayne in his stead. Oh shit, did he get the wrong room? No, he was too professional to do that. Did she get the wrong room? Did the nurse fuck up? So many questions raced in her mind as to why he was there, since he wasn’t her primary care physician. It was Dr. Greyson, right? But, none of that mattered as he waltzed right in, the door shutting behind him with a click as he smiled politely at her.

“Greetings, Ms. Zhao. I’m Dr. Li and I’ll be evaluating your condition for today. Unless, you prefer me to show proof of my identity, once more.” Oh, he had jokes. Yin shook her head, scoffing lightly as a tinge of red appeared on her cheeks from the embarrassment.

“Sorry ‘bout that, doc.” God, it was bad enough that he saw her in her pitiful state, but he was mean to call it out like that.

“No need, I understand it was a distressing time for you. Your actions stemmed from the panic of simply not knowing where you were or who the people around you were.” At least he wasn’t mad, so that was a plus.

He took a seat nearby, instructing Yin to sit on the examination table rather than the guest chair she was currently at before beginning the routine check-up to ensure her physical health was okay. Once settled, he returned back to his seat and checked over her files on his tablet.

“How have you been coping with the muscle contusion in your arms?” Yin leaned back, resting on the table rather than sitting up.

“I tried working out earlier, doing some push-ups to see if my body could handle it. Turns out, it still hurts a lot just lifting my own body weight. Fighting still seems out of the question.” Not that Yin was gunning to go back to work.

He nodded his head, looking over something before he settled the tablet down on the counter and turned to face her. Yin hesitated looking over to him, her palms sweating at the idea of seeing his face and really getting a good look at him. She had avoided making too much eye contact when he was examining her, but she was still a little nervous around him. A few seconds passed, the young woman working up the courage to face him.

God, he was gorgeous, her eyes drawn in by the color of his eyes. No pixelation could compare to seeing the shade of green of the real thing before her, his features sharp and masculine. Xavier had more of a cuteness with his softer appearance despite his age, but Zayne was almost the opposite. He was the pinnacle of a matured man, weathered by the responsibilities that weighed on him. Good thing he wasn’t donning his Dawnbreaker outfit, or else Yin felt she might really be in trouble.

What really took her by surprise was the sound of his voice, so much clearer in person rather than the speakers of her phone or the high audio fidelity headphones she purchased just to hear the actors speak the lines. She hadn’t had the chance to really appreciate it the first time, but it was distracting when he was speaking with her earlier. She liked each romance option a lot, but to deny Zayne’s voice tickled a part of her brain would be an outright lie.

“You’re staring.” Flustered at the fact that she was caught marvelling at the man, she tried to casually turn her head to face the ceiling, hoping he’d buy that she wasn’t ogling him mere moments ago.

“Just wondering if you had anything to say, since you’ve been quiet.” She tried to play it cool, but the heat she felt on her face was dismissing her facade.

“You really don’t remember me, do you?” Surprised, Yin turned her head back to face him, pushing herself up a little with the back of her arms.

“What?” Had they known each other? “When you introduced yourself the other day, I was under the assumption that we had never really met before.” He sat up a little straighter, his eyes shifting away ever so slightly.

“I had planned on speaking with you that day about how you were feeling, but when I entered the room and saw the look on your face, it made me change my approach. You looked at me as if I were a stranger, rather than someone that used to be your primary care physician.” He was her PCP before!? What the hell happened!? He seemed to see the obvious expression of shock on her face, his eyes softening ever so slightly from the professional mask he wore.

“You really didn’t remember, it seems.” No the fuck she didn’t. She couldn’t really understand why Yin A would not want the best doctor in the damn hospital.

“Why did I change you from my primary? Why did I choose Greyson over you?” Zayne seemed to pause at the question, his brows furrowing slightly with his gaze shifting off to the side.

“I don’t really know the answer to that, myself. Your explanation was that I was too valuable to constantly take care of your injuries. You seemed to habitually arrive with some new scrapes and bruises, your body over exerting itself constantly on the field when you fought.” So, by Yin A’s logic, she was trying to lighten up his load if he was constantly being pulled away from his work to check on some booboos. But, what about the more intensive injuries? What if she got hurt way more brutal than before? What then? Well, a PCP would still just be that, a PCP. If she needed surgery, he would be the one to do it, after all.

“I must’ve cared about you a lot, then.” She sighed softly, leaning back onto the table, staring at the ceiling once more. “I probably just wanted to lighten your load, or something.”

He seemed to tense at the explanation, but Yin couldn’t really say if it was the truth. It was the truth she felt was right to her, but there was no reason for the other to know how busy he was. Were they friends here, too? Did she get close to the doctor? Wait, were they close? If Greyson was her doctor, then why did Zayne want to check up on her?

She shot up from her inclined position, gaping at him at the idea that they might have actually hung out at some point. “Were we friends!?” He moved back slightly, startled by her sudden movement and loud voice, recomposing himself quickly as he straightened out his tie.

“I wouldn’t say we were close, but we bonded over a game of pool. I made a comment on your technique, to which you turned to me and said you knew what you were doing before proceeding to make a fool out of yourself.” The amusement in his tone made it seem like it was a fond memory but Yin couldn’t believe that she had actually been able to make a friendship happen between them.

Pool, though? Oh god, her face heated up at the memory card she had played on loop when she first obtained it. That man was a fuckin’ freak, doing that intimate act in public with the player character. God, his voice lines had been so damn sexy, too and she covered her mouth to hide the smile and suppress the urge to giggle. Damn, it was like she was a teenager, giggling over some fictional man.

“Is everything alright, you seem feverish.” God, she was feverish, but for an entirely different reason than he thought. Before he could reach out to her, Yin waved her hand and sat back, heaving a heavy sigh to try and calm her giddiness out. She didn’t have a particular favorite in the game, but Zayne definitely tickled her fancy. That, or she had Daddy issues, which she vehemently denied. Her father was a good man, just busy, just like her mother.

“Just reliving a memory somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind.” It was a half-truth, so she wasn’t exactly lying. But, she couldn’t quite explain to him that he was the subject of her memory, remembering the way he was laid out on the pool table, being teased in public so unabashedly.

Clearing her throat, Yin managed to compose herself a little bit more. “So, we played pool together, huh? I’m guessing it was every now and then, since you were busy with the hospital, right?” It would only make sense, since she was aware that the man was notoriously busy being the hospital’s best. He was an absolute workaholic, to boot, so his free time was precious.

“You would be correct. However, since you were my patient at the time, there were times you’d come over with a snack or a drink, chatting with me over some of the hobbies we both shared. Seems you were a master at snowboarding and thought I should tag along when I had some vacation days.” Oh yeah, she remembered now it was something that was a skill he had. Truthfully, she wanted to see that side of him, more now than ever before.

“Really?” The excitement was obvious, her body leaning forward towards him. “We should really go, I bet it’d be fun. Damn, I love skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding a lot. I spent so much time trying to learn all the cool tricks people did.” She started laughing from a memory that crossed her mind. “You should’ve seen it, too. The trick I did took so many bruises and falls, but the point was to essentially play jump rope while I was in the air in the middle of a kickflip. It was just one loop around my body as my feet landed on the board and I swear, I twisted my ankle before I finally nailed it. But, once I did, I was so freaking satisfied.”

It was such a tremendous achievement in her life at that point, her friends cheering and clapping, making a whole scene that she nailed it after days of blood, sweat and tears she poured into getting it down. It was probably the starting line for her interest in her career into being a stuntwoman. It was so damn cool and satisfying being able to complete all the cool things they did in movies and she wanted to be a part of that. It was brutal work, with every injury a painful reminder that her work wasn’t just for spectacle, but real hard work that could result in a fatality.

Much like the one she did that ended up transporting her into this world to begin with. Fuck… she really did die in her other world. The excitement she felt faded quickly, the light in her eyes dimming as she settled backwards on her arms, the painful sting a reminder that this Yin was lucky to get away with injuries that could heal. Even if she didn’t die, maybe simply got suppressed or booted out of her body, the sad reality was that she was the one that was dead in the other world. That her family was the one mourning her death. Her coworkers had to pour one out for her. The paramedics had to scrape her remains off the pavement.

Fuck, she was dead. She was dead and there was nothing to go back to if she completed whatever cosmic reason she was in this world to begin with. Shit, this fucking sucked and there was no one she could confide in anymore. The ones who would understand, she didn’t think it’d be wise to speak to them about how their world was a video game in hers.

Just before she could start spiraling down, a soft touch brought her back to reality. Teary eyes turned to Zayne, his hand resting on the top of hers in a small attempt at comfort. He didn’t pity her. He was sympathetic over her situation, expressing his remorse over the turmoil she was feeling inside. It was a bit out of character from him, but he was always kind to his patients, so it wasn’t too far off if he thought it would help make her feel a teensy bit better.

Reaching up with her free hand, she wiped her eyes softly and swallowed the tightness down in her throat. “Sorry ‘bout that, doc. It just… sort of hit me all over again that I’m lost in this world.” He didn't judge her for feeling her emotions, simply extended a comforting gesture to let her know that she wasn’t alone.

“It’s natural to feel the way you do. I was going to ask how you were handling your new situation, but it seems that you’re still in the beginning stages of processing your grief. Losing one’s memory is a lot more painful than most people may realize, the ability of not knowing who you used to be and the way people might see you can be painful and hard to face. Each person you’ve met knows a piece of you that you’ve forgotten, only filling a puzzle piece of your life while you’re stuck trying to see the full picture.” Yin wondered if she mirrored the protagonist of this world, a woman who also was missing pieces of herself she had forgotten. Did he speak from experience? Did Meiqi confide in him about events that happened in the game?

“I believe that you’re someone who has the capability to overcome this adversity you’ve been dealt with, however strenuous it will become later in the future. Even if your memories don’t fully return to you, you’ll still make do with the life you’ll carve out for yourself, because you’re a strong willed woman. I’ve seen the spark in your eyes and I admire the determination you’ve shown, be it from learning a trick shot in a pool game or conquering a Wanderer out on the field.” Those were all the previous version’s accomplishments, yet there was a warm sincerity as he spoke that actually made the overwhelming weight in her chest lighten up.

She accomplished a lot in her old life. She pushed against her parent’s desires for her to join the medical field and pursue her dreams. Every stunt she did was hundreds of hours of hardwork and failures that had her visiting the hospital more times than she could count. Each night she sobbed in her bed, every bout of frustrating screams, every painful injury were all to make her stronger to hold her head up high with pride. She was a fighter, through and through.

Turning to face Zayne, his hand returned back to his side, she reached out to stroke his hair. “Thanks, Zayne. You’re a really great doctor and I’m glad we were friends.”

He seemed to fluster a little at the act, but made no move to back away. “We are friends, even though I'm not your physician anymore.”

She laughed at that. “Sounds like you’re jealous.” He let out a soft laugh in response.

“I’m the one that’s sitting here, not him.” She rolled her eyes, leaning back and feeling a bit happier than she was before.

“Why are you here? Were you worried?” Zayne rose to his feet, preparing to leave.

“I was concerned, yes. Greyson is a suitable doctor, though he doesn’t know you as well as I do. When you arrived in the hospital, you were already in a comatose state. There was no way of assessing your condition from the injuries you sustained by x-rays alone. Cranial trauma rarely shows itself in the scans, even if you didn’t show signs of internal bleeding.” He paused momentarily, caught in a thought he wasn’t sure he should voice out.

“There was also another issue I wanted to ask you about, however with your current condition, I don’t think I’ll be able to evaluate the results. Your Evol is power that can harm you if you’re not careful. The theory I have is that you may have harmed your body further with the overuse of your power.” That sounded scary as fuck, Yin blinking owlishly at the young doctor. Meiqi mentioned briefly that her Evol was an element type, much like Zayne’s and Rafayel’s. Hers was lightning, which sounded hard to control. If Zayne feared his power and Rafayel mentioned in the game that his power can burn him, though she wasn’t sure if it was true or not, did that mean hers furthered her own injury?

“It’s not something you should concern yourself with right now. Focus on your recovery and take it day by day.” It wasn’t something she wanted to think about, anyway. Her head was already a mess from the other shit she had to deal with, this one could simmer in the back burner for a little while.

Hopping off the table, Yin smiled at Zayne as he stood by the door. “So, does that mean I’ll be seeing you the next time?”

“No, Dr. Greyson will have his job back.” She chuckled at that, still grateful he took the time to worry over her. “But, when I have some time, I would enjoy playing a game of pool with you.”

Now that was something she could get behind. With a big grin, she playfully smacked his back. “Sounds great, I’ll look forward to it.”

Even if Zayne was a romance option for the protagonist, the fact that she was able to at least bond with him made her a little happy. Xavier was a good friend and now Zayne seemed like a good friend, too. Even if she didn’t spend that much time with the player character in this world, she was still happy that she was a kind woman that stayed with her when she was here.

‘At least you weren’t alone, Yin. Even if I’m the one in your shoes now, you got some good people around you.’

#lads fanfic #lads oc #gloxym fanfic #lads isekai fanfic #chapter 3 of gloxym fanfic #love and deepspace fanfic

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gloxym · 1 month ago

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Chapter 2 of my fanfic. Better than leaving it to waste away in google docs, y'know?

The next few days were stressful as she spoke with doctors about how they could help regain her memory and that sort of stuff. She was slowly adjusting to her surroundings, finding some strength in her to at the very least carve out a life for herself here. She didn’t want to give up and wallow in her misery any longer than she needed to.

It was a struggle, finding out that her body was also slightly different from what she was used to. Her tattoos were gone, her piercings minimal to how she had them before. Her muscle mass was a bit more prominent, but she guessed it was because this Yin was a Hunter and not a stunt double for some actress. She was also capable of an Evol, which meant she had to learn how to use it.

The most surprising part of all of this was the fact that Yin learned that the Meiqi chick that was speaking to her the first time she arrived into this world was none other than the protagonist of the game. It was something that startled her, a face to the player character. She wasn’t bland, by any means, she recalled the default character model from wiki sites, though it was still pretty jarring.

Evidently, she was a neighbor and friend to Yin, who lived in the apartment below Xavier’s. However, Yin learning she was the one that lived next to the protagonist’s love interest was another shocking discovery. She would have preferred they swap apartments, if they could. Yin didn’t think it was a good idea to be living next door to a romantic option, considering she wasn’t sure her purpose of existing in this world.

Meeting Zayne at her lowest point was already too much, but what if this version of herself was close to Xavier? She had known all her neighbors back in her previous life, so what if this Yin was more sociable too? No, Xavier was a kind soul, but it wouldn’t really cross the line of simple neighbors. There was a chance that the current version of herself wouldn’t have to deal with him as often.

It was all too exhausting to deal with and Meiqi was instructed to take her home after they concluded that the memory loss was probably caused by the traumatic event and that she simply suppressed her memories. It was all temporary. But, Yin felt like scum that the person she was now was not the person they believed her to be.

The car ride was filled with Meiqi’s elaboration of Yin’s life, explaining in detail who she was and what she used to do. She wasn’t part of the UNICORNS, that was a relief, but she was still a Hunter working in the Association. The incident was a freak accident, apparently, and Xavier had swooped in to defeat the Wanderer, remorseful that he hadn’t gotten there in time to avoid her from getting injured. Yin speculated he was also there mostly for Meiqi, but she kept the comment to herself as she tiredly stared out the window, getting familiar with her new environment.

By the time they reached the apartment complex, Yin was ready to just sleep the rest of the day away, the burden of her life hitting her with every story Meiqi explained. They weren’t overtly close to one another, so her stories lacked necessary details like her hobbies and her interests, even familial ties were left in the dark, but she tried to do her best. It was appreciated, truly, but Yin just wanted the girl to stop speaking. It was bad enough she didn’t know who she was in this world, but knowing that other people would be hoping to see the version they knew was lost? The pity would be unbearable.

“This is your place.” Meiqi awkwardly stood, Yin’s tired gaze falling on the young woman who was waiting for her to open the door. She wasn’t familiar with the way they did things, no lock or keycard present to her. “You put your hand on the scanner, here. It scans your biometrics to know it’s you and you walk in.”

“Fancy.” She said, dryly, as Yin put her hand on the scanner and the door’s bolt mechanics clicked open. Walking in, she was hit with the stale air of the apartment, a creeping dread that she’d have to live in this metaphorical tomb. She felt like a stranger in this apartment, despite the odd familiarity she felt as she saw the decorations scattered around.

It was overwhelming, to say the least, her steps cautious as she intruded in the apartment. It was a comfortable size, decorated in a way that Yin would have decorated it, if she had lived here. Perhaps their interests weren’t that far from each other, however, there were more plush toys than she would have had. It was stylish and sleek, from the accent wall painted a deep cerulean, posters of various movies or bands, she couldn’t tell, framed on the wall. The shelves held various frames of pictures of the former Yin’s life, her heart beating erratically at the sight of them.

She cautiously stood before one frame, of a younger Yin surrounded by family and friends on her birthday, a big smile on her face despite the remains of a cake painted on her face. She was happy, with her family, here. Here, in the life that she stole from her. Too much. It was too much. Frantic, she started flipping the frames of her previous incarnation downward, unable to face the fact that she was just an imposter living in a dead woman’s body.

“H-hey, are you alright?” Meiqi’s voice was garbled as Yin’s blood rushed to her ears, fearful at the eyes of people she didn’t know staring at her. Did they judge her? Did these pictures carry their souls in their eyes as they bore into her? Did they know she was a fake?

Heaving every breath, as if she ran a marathon, Yin staggered backwards into the leather cushions of the sofa, trying to regain some of her sanity that threatened to leave. How was she supposed to be okay? How the hell was she supposed to live like this? ‘Get a fucking grip.’ She chastised herself, not at least keeping up with the facade. She never really acted, but she had to act in a few scenes as a body double for actresses, so it wasn’t like she hadn’t had some experiences.

“I’ll get you some water.” Water wouldn’t do anything, but it would be a welcome relief to how dry her throat had gotten, the sweat beading down the side of her face in her panic.

Glass in hand, Yin took it from Meiqi’s hands and gulped it down like it was her lifeline, trying to soothe her nerves. It did, barely, and she was still left more exhausted than she had been before. She stared at the ceiling, fearful to continue seeing how the previous version lived her life. How the previous version was gone and all that remained was a husk stolen by a parasite.

A knock on the door startled the woman out of her spiral, Meiqi waving at her to stay seated and that she’d answer it. Upon answering the door, Yin felt her heart stop at the sight of Xavier in his casual appearance. One she had really enjoyed, with his white jacket and black shirt and pants. It was probably one of the nicer outfits that he owned that wasn’t something she had to spend money on. ‘Come on, just leave. MC, player, whatever — Meiqi, tell him to leave. I can’t deal with this right now.’ Yin prayed that he’d just go, not even bother questioning why he even bothered to come here anyway. Shouldn’t he be sleeping somewhere, or something?

To her dismay, Xavier didn’t seem to be leaving. Rather, he seemed to enter, bag in hand as he carefully made his way through the apartment and set the bag down on the coffee table. His blue eyes cautiously looked over her disheveled appearance, concerned and clearly feeling a bit of remorse over the incident that she, supposedly, went through.

“I’m sorry for coming here without your permission,” he started his eyes shifting away from her with guilt, “but, Meiqi asked me to bring you something to eat.” Xavier stood there, Yin unable to process what to even do.

“Yeah, I thought you might be hungry. The doctors said you hadn’t had much of an appetite, but Dr. Greyson insisted that you had to eat, even if you didn’t feel like it.” Meiqi appeared behind him, apologetic at the obvious intrusion she let in.

Yin couldn’t even believe this, slumping further into the seat as the confusion washed over her. She couldn’t follow this wild pacing of her current life right now. Rubbing her throat, she dared think about clawing it out for a brief moment, before just giving in and letting herself process the emotions she was feeling inside over the situation at hand. She’ll deal with it later, for now, she just wanted to distract her mind.

“Thanks.” Her voice was rasped, clearing it doing nothing for the tightness she felt. “Can you get me some more water?” Meiqi nodded her head, retrieving the glass and leaving to refill it.

Yin tiredly looked up at Xavier, his expression clouded as he waited for her to speak. To tell him to go away. “You can go, if you wanna. You look uncomfortable.” He definitely did, but his eyes glanced up at her, worried. Afraid.

“I just don’t know what to do. I feel guilty for not helping you in time.” Yin laughed, still as hollow as it did the other day with Zayne.

“S’not your fault, really. Shit happens and sometimes we have no control over it.” Sitting up, Meiqi returned with the glass of water, she drank it slowly and tried to clear her throat again. “You came all this way, eat if you’re hungry. If not, you can leave. The choice is yours, truly.”

Xavier looked troubled, but Yin no longer paid it any mind as she mechanically started to pull the plates of food out, opening each container and setting it around the table. It dawned on her, as she stared at the meal laid out for her, each one had been unnaturally familiar to her. The dishes were clearly from the same place, but the choices in appetizers, entrees and even dessert was all a perfect mirror to her own tastes. Something she’d order and love.

“Are you alright!?” The urgency in Meiqi’s voice made Yin turn to look at her, the concern clearly evident on her face. “You’re crying.”

Reaching up, Yin touched her cheek, the tears gathered on the tips of her fingers when she pulled them back to inspect them. She didn’t even realize she was crying, the tears spilling freely of their own accord. How irritating. Wiping her eyes vigorously with her sleeve, she shook her head to try to reel some control back. “S’nothing, just… didn’t expect to see my favorite foods here. That’s all.”

Xavier sat on the chair nearby, his hands clenched tight over his knees, eyes clouded. “I heard about your amnesia, so I looked it up online. An article I read talked about how reminding someone of their favorite interests might be able to jog something to the individual. When Meiqi asked me to bring you something, there was a restaurant you liked that we went to occasionally. You always ordered the same thing, saying you’ve already tried the whole menu and these were the best ones.”

Sounded about right, Yin’s knack for venturing out and expanding her horizon. But, knowing that Xavier knew about the things she liked baffled her more than comforted her. How often did they hang out? She was more of a social butterfly, but to be able to get this guy to open up and talk to her? It sounded impossible. Then again, he was always a kind man. The anecdotes were enough to paint the picture that Xavier mostly lived in his own little bubble, but was capable of interacting with others on some level.

“Wow, so you actually hang out with other people. News to me.” Meiqi sat down next to Yin, her eyes fixated on the blonde.

“She’s been my neighbor for a few years and she is a natural conversationalist, so it makes sense we would hang out on occasion.” Yin paused from reaching for the container, brows rising in disbelief that she’d be hanging out with Xavier of all people.

“How many times do we hang, then?” She turned her head to look at the blonde hunter sitting there, his eyes avoiding hers as he fixated on the food before him.

“A few times a month. We usually go somewhere to eat and we talk about different foods we’ve tried.” He paused, contemplating on something, before shaking his head. “We don’t talk about anything serious, we just keep the conversation light. Music, movies, hobbies, things of that nature.” Damn, it meant Yin would have to ask him about those things later on.

“Oh, that’s perfect, then. With her amnesia, you could help her remember the things she forgot.” Meiqi smiled, turning to Yin and patting her on the back. The other woman simply nodded absently, taking a bite of the noodles. It was delicious, savory and with a kick from the chilis. Definitely would hit the spot if she was in a much better mental state, but the food simply made her realize that she was not supposed to be here anymore.

“You’re crying again.” Xavier’s voice cut in softly, laced with worry. Yin didn’t spare him a glance out of fear of seeing pity in his eyes.

“It’s fine. Just ignore it. I know I am.” Crying while eating felt pathetic to her. When others cried when they ate, she always found them so brave when they did. They tried to find comfort in something small, even in the moment. However, Yin could not grace herself with the same courtesy. She found herself pathetic if she cried emotionally while she ate.

There was nothing she could really do about it, slurping up the noodles but no longer able to taste a single bit of it. Even the spice of them was muted, the lingering burn on her lips the only indication that her body was simply reacting. For some reason, that felt worse and the tears continued to spill as she mechanically started reaching for another plate of food.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to hold back. This must be extremely difficult for you.” Meiqi was a good soul, truly, but nothing could ever explain the difficulty that the life you currently were living was someone else entirely. Yin understood that the current events of the story were set, knew the tragedy each person in this room carried, with the protagonist unaware that the life she lived was forged by past actions of someone else. It was why she didn’t get mad at her, simply because she sympathized with her.

But damn, it was hard.

“It is, but I’m too exhausted to feel more depressed over my situation.” There was something definitely missing with all this food, something missing to help her keep her mind off of everything. Beer. Alcohol in general, but mostly beer. If this version of her, Yin A, if you will, was anything like Yin B, then she would have beer.

Sitting up, she set the food down, ignoring the stares of Xavier and Meiqi as she beelined towards the kitchen and opened up the fridge. It was a little depressing seeing meal prepped food in containers, clearly for the future, but the bubbly drinks were definitely there.

‘Here’s to you, Yin.’ Taking a few bottles out, she set them on the counter and popped the top off with the edge of it, settling back and downing the entire bottle. With a satisfied sigh, she took the others with her as she made her way back to the table, her two guests looking at her curiously.

“There’s more beer in the fridge, if you want any.” Settling the bottles down, she nestled back into her seat and began eating once more, Xavier and Meiqi sharing a look with one another.

“Seems like the amnesia didn’t affect you that badly.” Xavier piped up, Yin glancing at the blonde.

“I like drinking, huh?” It was more curious that Xavier knew about her drinking habits. How often did she drink around the Prince of Philos?

“You always commented that good food needed a good drink, so you usually dictated on what to drink depending on your order. But, every single time we went to this restaurant, it was always beer. Not tea or a soft drink, only beer.” How often did they really hang out? Yin didn’t think he was the type to really branch out. Sleeping was his hobby.

“Wow,” Meiqi interjected, “you guys definitely hang out more than I thought.” The jealous undertone in her words caught Yin’s attention, her eyes glancing at the protag curiously. Was it because she was sharing Xavier or simply that she spent more time with him than she did? Judging by the look the man in question gave towards her, it had to be the latter. It wasn’t so much that Yin A was stealing him from her, but rather that they seemed to hang out more.

Which begged the question, how far did they go? How far was this set up in this world? The protagonist should have met each romance option already, so it wouldn’t be far-fetched that she was up to date with the current events in the game, but what about affinity? Did the affinity matter? Yin was certain she had the Devotion affinity for each one of them, but that was only because she liked the story of each man. Their lore was utterly fascinating and she was sucked into the predatory gambling mechanic just to learn about them. Did her previous actions matter for this particular world?

“We simply meet by chance, so we share a meal.” At least there was some context, but did the look he shot her way meant she was supposed to understand a double-meaning? Oh god, what did that really mean?

“Seems so.” Yin said, drinking to distract herself, staring at the television screen. Licking her lips nervously, Yin was curious about how often the protagonist spent time with the prince. Did they do the claw machine dates? Did they hang out with them often? “Don’t you guys hang out, too? Like… going on those claw machine dates?”

The look of surprise both of them had on their face was some indication that she probably said more than she should. “You know about those?” Meiqi’s voice hit another octave higher, clearly flustered.

Xavier turned his head away, shy as his face reddened ever so slightly. Was he embarrassed because he was called out or was it because she revealed something he confided to her? It was hard to tell and Yin really didn’t know if this question was supposed to help her figure out how the world worked. Mentioning the other men would only raise questions, so she kept her lips sealed until the time was right. No sense pissing off the current romance option sitting with her right now.

“They’re not really dates, we just hang out.” Xavier was the one that piped up first, his nervous eyes glancing between Meiqi and Yin, the latter more confused by his admission.

“Yeah, we just hang out. He usually just pops up randomly when I’m headed there to see if there’s something I want.” Well, it made sense. Common knowledge that each man teetered on the edge of stalking when it came to the protagonist. But, did that mean she spent more time with Xavier? Or was she spending more time with Caleb? Rafayel would want her attention more, but Zayne was her PCP so did they hang out more? Sylus was an entire behemoth of his own in terms of how he felt towards the protagonist. It was confusing.

“S’cool, just curious.” Yin felt the awkward tension buzzing in the air, so she waved it off and glanced at the TV again. “Xavier, do we ever hang out at each other’s place?”

“Um, once in a while.” Fascinating. It seemed the pair didn’t stop at just eating at restaurants, then.

“Cool, put something on. I wanna say I remember how to work this thing, but for some reason, I’m drawing a blank.” It was believable, considering she was focused on select amnesia for the time being. She really just didn’t know how advanced this world was. What if she needed some special fingerprint ID to turn on the TV? Or to access some apps to watch something? She wouldn’t know what the previous Yin would use for a password, so that was out of the question.

“Are you sure? We’re almost done, so we’ll be out of your hair so you can rest.” It would be preferable for them to go, but she was in the middle of figuring out how close she was to her sleepy neighbor.

“Just put a movie on, anything you think I’d like.” The man hesitated a moment, before he went to grab the remote and worked on putting a movie on. It was an action film, Yin suppressing a dry laugh at the idea that her previous version would like action movies, too. They weren’t so different, it seemed. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t find a small comfort in knowing that they weren’t complete strangers after all. Almost like a sister.

Instead of sitting down in his usual seat, Xavier gathered his container of food and settled next to her, her eyes narrowing slightly at his choice of seat, but decided against voicing out her question that threatened to spill out. It was confusing, really, but maybe it was just because he was nervous sitting beside Meiqi after the awkward question earlier. Was he simply trying to avoid admitting something?

In her peripheral vision, Meiqi didn’t look like she minded, settling in her spot on the other side, the three of them watching the film. It was curious. Yin didn’t know if they had progressed to any secret time events. Was that possible? Then again, if they did, the secret times of the others would put any relationship in jeopardy. It was puzzling, that’s for sure.

Half-way through the film, Yin felt herself drifting, her eyes heavy. The film was relatively fine, just a bit hard to follow since she couldn’t really understand the terminology they were using. Basis was simple, some retired Farspace Fleet agent going rogue and uncovering the secrets of his former workplace. No different from a retired cop revealing the shady politics behind the scenes in her world. Action scenes were pretty stellar, however they didn’t mean anything to Yin who was already buzzing with the alcohol in her system and the exhaustion from earlier.

Before she knew it, she was resting her head on Xavier’s shoulder, vision blurry and the lulling scent of his cologne pulling her further into the sandman’s embrace. “Sorry.” She murmured, already knowing that she wouldn’t last long, so she could at least apologize for using him as a temporary pillow before the world went dark.

The next day, Yin groaned at the light shining through the window, hitting her directly in the eyes. Her head hurt, her mouth dry as she pushed herself up. Instead of the couch, where she was sure was her resting place, she was in bed. The sheets were pulled over her, her hair braided so that it wasn’t in the way as she slept.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Yin sighed softly to herself, still feeling dreadfully exhausted. It would be so easy to simply lie in bed, just to rot away from the misery of living another person’s life. It wasn’t her life to waste away, though. Yin A might be gone, but Yin B had to ensure that she did her best to live the life she was given, even if she truly didn’t want to.

Pushing herself up and heading to the bathroom, she took a good look at her reflection. A real look, stripping off her clothes and staring at her form in the mirror. Aside from the bags beneath her eyes, she noted her eye color was different from her former life. Heterochromian eyes, one amber and the other red were both natural. It didn’t seem like they were contacts, either. Yin also realized that her natural hair was actually the blue teal hair color that she dyed back in her world. What were the odds? It was a little jarring, but it was the natural color. Was that possible? She figured Xavier and Sylus’s hair color was just another type of blonde, not actually silver. Her eyes inspected her body, noticing that she was indeed fit, her arms more defined than she previously had them. Maybe she worked out her arms more in this world? She was no muscle mommy, but when she flexed, the muscles were definitely there.

It wasn’t too far off from how she was, though she was mostly trying to retain a similar body shape to be able to swap for the actresses she doubled for. Definitely no tattoos, something Yin may or may not remedy later down the line. Opening her mouth, she checked her teeth, knowing one of them was a filler from when she lost it, her tongue pushing at each individual tooth. Seems that this Yin didn’t lose any, which was nice to know. Meant she had to make sure that each one was well taken care of, at the very least. After the inspection of her body, Yin figured it was high time to shower and get ready for the day.

The closet consisted of various clothing, Yin filtering through each one of them with little interest, until she landed on a jacket that looked oddly familiar. Holding it out, she nearly laughed at the sight, her fingers pressing against the denim. It was Xavier’s jacket, sort of. It was shorter in length in the arms and torso, making it appear more of a crop jacket instead, but it was clearly a version of his. Did the previous Yin like his jacket that much? Or did he like her jacket and found one similar? Oddly enough, Yin decided to wear it, finding a black compression shirt and black jeans to put on underneath. It looked alright, definitely missing some extra jewelry. Finding a few accessories, she felt it was complete with rings, necklaces and some earrings.

‘I look ready to go out. Too bad that this isn’t me and there isn’t anywhere I know where to go.’ The thought was enough to put a damper on her mood, her sinking back into bed and sighing as she stared idly at the ceiling. Reality was settling in on her once again, her time in the shower letting the hot water pelt her endlessly before she had swapped it for the chilling cold to get herself to move at least was for nothing. Doing her hair was for nothing. Getting dressed was for nothing.

She turned to her side, curling in on herself as she realized that she didn’t really know what to do. It felt like she was a child again, not knowing what she wanted to experience in life. Did Yin feel the same things she was feeling? Did she also not know what she wanted out of her life before she decided to be a Hunter? Were her parents just as busy as hers was? Did she have friends she confided in? Or was she alone in this world? She couldn’t know, because this wasn’t her life and she didn’t know anything about it. The MC didn’t seem to know her very well, so she couldn’t ask her. Xavier? He mentioned they didn’t hang out too often, kept their conversations light, so asking him if she said anything about her family situation or about her life seemed out of the question.

Turning on her back, she stared at the ceiling one more, debating if she should even leave anymore. Minutes ticked by, her vision blurring as she contemplated her choices until the doorbell sounded throughout the apartment. Confused, she slowly dragged herself methodically out of bed and made her way to see who the visitor was.

Upon opening the door, she was shocked it was Xavier who was dressed in his more relaxed attire, his own eyes showing his surprise as he took a good look at her appearance. “Wassup?”

“You’re wearing the jacket.” His voice was low, incredulous as he stared at the garment on her.

“Am I not supposed to?” Yin tilted her head, cautious at his reaction when he continued to stare. He shook his head, turning away as his hand covered his mouth to hide his expression. Was he happy? Upset? Bewildered?

“I find it a little funny you chose the jacket to wear at all, all things considered.” He turned his head back, his gaze softening a little as the corner of his lips quirked up a tiny bit in amusement.

“What do you mean? I liked yours when you wore it yesterday, so I think my former self must’ve liked it, too.” Yin pulled at the ends, inspecting the design a little before turning her head back to him. He smiled lightly, as if lost in a memory.

“Yeah, you did. You begged me to tell you where I got it, wanting one for yourself when you saw me in the hallway.” He turned his head towards the hallway in question, reliving a memory that she wasn’t aware of. “You got mad at me when I told you I didn’t know, accusing me of gatekeeping it before insisting that you were gonna search for it one way or another.” That… sounded about right. Yin rubbed the back of her head, chuckling at herself for having felt the same when other people didn’t tell her where they got their clothes. Though, in those cases, the actresses were actually gatekeeping them because they didn’t want people to know where they got them. Brand names they pushed were the ones that they spoke about, but the ones where they weren’t sponsoring were the ones they held onto tightly.

“Sorry about that, then.” Yin raised an eyebrow when he turned back to face her, his smile still just as soft as he gazed at the jacket.

“No need to apologize. You just really liked it, so I tried to remember where I got it, before giving up and getting one made for you. I had messed up, ordering the wrong size, so yours ended up shorter.” That explained a lot, Yin believing it was just because the style suited her more. “You said you loved it either way and offered to buy me dinner for the next month.”

There was a lingering thought in the back of her mind, curious over the idea that he’d have gone out of his way to do something this nice for her. He was a nice man, truly, but to get a jacket made for someone because they liked it a lot?

“How close were we, actually?” Xavier’s eyes shot up to stare at her, her own eyes staring back at him curiously. He seemed nervous, shifting a bit in place as he averted his gaze.

“I’d like to say we're friends.” He admitted softly, shifting away ever so slightly.

Yin was surprised, to say the least, but she figured as much now that it was out there. She was friends with her neighbors back at her world, too, after all. She knew their names, offered to help them with groceries and baby sat some of their kids. So, this version of herself wasn’t too different either, if it wasn’t already becoming obvious. So, why was he nervous if they were simply friends? Oh no.

Narrowing her eyes, she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. “Don’t tell me I flirt with you a lot. I have a strong feeling like it’s something I’d do just to tease you.” Her jaw nearly hit the floor when his cheeks reddened ever so slightly, his embarrassment becoming clearer and clearer with each passing second. ‘Yin, you bad girl! You may not know it, but this man is already spoken for, for god sakes!’

“You don’t do it often, but you like getting a reaction out of me.” Oh Jesus, girl. Yin covered her face, groaning loudly as she felt her own face heat up in embarrassment. Damn her former self for being so much like her. She loves teasing her friends with flirtatious comments, just living off the reaction they’d give her when they were too shy. It was simply for entertainment, but she was chastised often not to give people the wrong idea.

“I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t believe it, flustered and shameful.

“It’s fine, I knew you were joking.” His cheeks were still reddened, but the smile was sincere. The urge to tease him tickled the back of her mind, but she squashed that feeling like a bug beneath her shoe. He was off limits, no matter what. Each one of the men she spent money building the affinity for were. Off limits, for sure. Besides, each one of them were obsessed with the protagonist in their own way, so it wasn’t like she was out to steal them away from her. Not that she could, anyway.

“So long as it’s fine, then I’ll accept it. But, I won’t be doing it again. I’m not about to get in trouble with Meiqi over this.” The air stilled as Xavier tensed at the mention of her name, his eyes shifting away from her once again, his expression clouded. Did she step on a landmine?

The silence between them stretched a little too long, Yin clearing her throat and changing the subject. “So, I’m assuming you’re here to check up on me? Making sure I wasn’t rotting away in bed? Or just rotting?” His eyes narrowed, his expression serious as he stepped closer to invade her space.

“You wouldn’t do something like that, would you?” The implication in his words were clear, his tone sharp as he stared down at her. Yin realized she wasn’t that short compared to him, able to be near eye level with this man who was only a few centimeters taller than she was. Her height definitely came from her father’s genetics, that much was for certain. But, his face so close to hers, she was able to really see the man behind the pixels.

He was a prince, that much was for certain, but he was utterly gorgeous. They all were, really, and if she met Zayne under better circumstances, she’d have marveled over how gorgeous he was, too. Cute face, but still stunning as the hair just past his eyebrows gave him a softer appearance. His eyebrows were rather neat, his lashes longer and his pores absolutely flawless. God, what did this man do to have the genetic gene pool be in his favor so much?

Without much thought controlling her movements, she reached up with her hand and tenderly touched his cheek, marvelling at the smooth softness beneath her fingertips. “Beautiful.” She whispered in awe, her words seeming to catch him off guard as he pulled back, flustered.

It was enough to snap her out of her daze, her hand retracting back as if burned, as she turned her head away from him. “S-Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” She really didn’t, but she was grateful he wasn’t looking in her direction, either. Taking a step back, she furthered the distance between them, needing the space to compose herself.

“You used to compliment me a lot, but you never called me beautiful.” She probably said he was sexy or handsome or even something more vulgar to tease him. Biting her lip, she took a deep breath to calm herself down as she breathed through her nose.

“Didn’t mean I should touch you without your permission, so I’m also sorry for that.” It was rude, no matter how innocent it was. Though, his next words had her nearly gaping at the audacity.

“You did it a lot, so I was used to it.” Damn it, touching was her love language! Yin A’s love language too, apparently! Is that why he didn’t react when she touched his face and only when she complimented him? Did that mean he didn’t mind when she fell asleep on his shoulder? Damn, was she really like this? How often did she touch him? Did she hug him? Did she give him kisses? Oh, Yin was utterly mortified at the idea of kissing him.

It wouldn’t be on the lips, never crossing that line, but she did kiss her friend’s cheeks or the tops of their head. If he was used to it, how often had she done it? If he was used to it, was he okay with her linking arms with him and dragging him from place to place? How close were they, because she couldn’t get over the way his eyes looked at her when he explained himself in front of the protagonist last night.

A much more horrifying thought entered her mind, one she felt dread over. Did he harbor a small crush on her? No, no, no, no, no! Definitely, not. She had made friends develop a crush on her by her antics, which put her in an awkward situation when she had to explain that she was simply teasing them. It was a nightmare having to convince some guys that she was only a friend, hence the constant chastising from her other friends to stop with the playful flirting. But, this was Xavier for fuck sakes! Xavier, who sacrificed his freedom to help the protagonist find a cure for her disease! The man who spent years searching for her. The man who was still under the control of Ever with the damn collar around his neck suppressing his Evol!

Out of the question, entirely. He did not have any feelings, he was simply comfortable and knew she was simply joking with him. That was the end of it, she was certain. The thought was just there from the growing anxiety she felt. Getting the idea out of her mind, she finally turned her head to face him, his expression shifting to concern at her silence and probable inner turmoil. With a forced smile, she clasped her hands together.

“Seems like we stood out here, long enough. As you can see, I’m alright, so I won’t keep you any longer from whatever the hell you were gonna do.” Xavier tilted his head, still concerned over her behavior.

“My day is free, so I thought I’d at least offer to help familiarize you around the neighborhood. Meiqi said your amnesia was pretty bad, so you don’t really remember anything about this place.” What a sweet man, truly, but Yin was sure that she’d be nervous walking around with him. But, she also knew she really didn’t know where to go or how things worked around here and eventually she’d get to the point where she’d need access to her bank account and pay some bills or something. Having him show her around and how to get to places wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

“Well…” Taking a deep breath, she confirmed that it wouldn’t be too terrible. “I’ll accept your offer to be my tour guide, then.“ He smiled lightly.

“Sure, let me just get dressed properly and we’ll go.” God, why did this feel like a date? No, not a date. Never a date. Just two friends hanging out. Then again, one friend was a romance option for a protagonist that lived in this world and the other was a parasite that invaded the host of the body she was in.

This was so twisted, but Yin had no choice but to accept it for today. ‘This is gonna be quite the adventure, huh.’

#lads fanfic #gloxym fanfic #lads isekai fanfic #chapter two of gloxym fanfic #lads oc #love and deepspace fanfic

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gloxym · 1 month ago

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This is just some isekai'd story I started writing. There's no real plot, but it's just to keep myself busy while I struggle with writer's block on the other project I'm working on.

“Hey, can you hear me! Yin, please wake up, please.”

The voice speaking was unfamiliar to the woman named Yin. Eyes shut, she tried to come from the darkness of heavy sleep, her body feeling dangerously weakened and exhausted, however she had no real idea why. The sterile scent of a hospital filled her senses, at least painting a picture in her mind that she must’ve gone through something serious for her to be hospitalized. The beep of the heart monitor in the room was steady, so her pulse must’ve been fine, but she just couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes.

“Dr. Greyson, is she going to be alright?” That unfamiliar voice spoke again, worried over Yin, but she didn’t know who it was.

“She’ll be alright, all things considered. The wounds she sustained were nonfatal and the muscle contusion she suffered in her arms were from the way she overworked her body in her survival mode would heal with proper rest. The issue was simply the impact she suffered to her skull, causing the patient’s comatose state, however there were no signs of bleeding in the brain.” All that sounded really messed up to Yin, conscious of her surroundings but unable to open her eyes through sheer willpower.

“It’s been four days already, though.” Four days? That was not a good sign. What the hell happened to her and why was she comatose?

‘Think, girl. Think. What the hell happened to you?’

Yin tried recalling days prior to her sudden black-out. She was on set for a movie shoot as a stunt-double to an actress who would be riding a motorcycle down the busy streets of a city. The action scene consisted of a make-believe chase scene where the character weaves through cars before meeting a blockade of cops, waiting for an ambush. The character would then take a make-shift ramp from a spun out tow-truck and ride over the cops and land as she made her getaway. Simple enough, Yin was a trained stuntwoman, so she was capable of doing the stunt. But, when it happened, there was a mishap from the tow-truck’s position, where the ramp was slightly off center and when she was in the air, she realized rather late that the direction she was supposed to go had shifted and she’d crash right into another vehicle on the opposite side.

Yin didn’t remember much after that, the impact of her bike landing flinging her off and her body hitting the pavement with a sickening thud and she was in complete darkness.

‘Did I fucking die?’ Yin couldn’t really believe she died, since she was alive after all. But, if she had really suffered from that crash, why would she be relatively alright? If she was alive, wouldn’t she suffer broken bones and far worse than just a comatose state and muscle contusion?

She didn’t really understand it, her body not responding to her wishes as she desperately tried to open her eyes and see the world around her. She just had to know what was going on.

“I feel awful. If I hadn’t let her go off on her own, she wouldn’t be in this mess. That Wanderer wasn’t supposed to be there, it was out of character for its type.” Wanderer? Where the hell has she heard that from?

“I understand how you feel, but do remember that it wasn’t your fault. None of it was. The behavior of these Wanderers are completely unknown and unpredictable. You Hunters do us a service by dealing with them, so we’re all grateful for you. It’s our job to help you guys, when things get messy, so we’ll do everything we can to make sure your friend is okay.” The man, Doctor Greyson, spoke with kindness and understanding to your supposed friend. But, Yin wasn’t even aware of who this friend even was. She sounded familiar, the more she heard her speak, but no face ever came to mind.

Yin was at an absolute loss, trying her best to recall why these voices were oddly familiar, but the more she thought, the harder it was to pinpoint. Frustration washed over the young woman, the heartbeat monitor beeping rapidly from the response.

“Elevated heartbeat?” The doctor’s presence shifted to Yin’s side, his gloved hands resting on her shoulder as he leaned over. “Ms. Zhao, are you awake? Can you hear us?”

Yin wanted to speak up, to say something, but her body was still unresponsive to her will. She couldn’t move her body, but she could still feel everything happening around her. She could feel the doctor’s hands on her, checking to see if her body would respond to stimulation. “Can you feel this?” Yin couldn’t respond, but she could feel the way the gloved hand pulled at her fingers, her appendage twitching.

“Yin, it’s me, Meiqi. I’m so sorry about what happened, really. If you can hear me, please, just do something to let us know you’re awake.” Now, Yin was certain that she wasn’t familiar with the name. Greyson sounded a smidgen familiar, but Meiqi? Who the absolute hell was that? Yin knew no one by that name.

Nothing was making any sense and Yin started feeling more and more frustrated. Where was she? What happened? Who were these people? Why couldn’t she move her own damn body? The stress of not knowing started causing her body to respond, the heart monitor beeping rapidly from the increase of anxiety putting her body through a flight or fight response as Yin became desperate to fight her to move even a little on her own.

“She’s going into shock!” Doctor Greyson shouted, springing into action as nurses rushed in to assist.

“Yin!” Meiqi screamed before everything faded into silence.

Several days passed before Yin woke up again. She felt fatigued and weakened, but finally she was capable of moving, her fingers clenching and unclenching, her toes wiggling beneath the sheets of the hospital bed. Slowly, she opened her eyes, unfocused and blurry as they adjusted to the darkness of the room.

Definitely a hospital, that much was certain.

With a soft groan, Yin pushed her body up from her inclined position, sitting up a bit straighter as she took in the sights around her. Everything about it was off, yet there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that made it all eerie. It looked oddly familiar.

‘Why does this room, in particular, remind me of something? This shit is so weird.’ Yin couldn’t make heads or tails of any of this, her head spinning from the confused situation she found herself in.

“Seems our patient is awake and moving now.” A voice cut through the silence of the room, clinical and reserved. Yet, for some reason, that voice sounded so much more familiar, she was shaken to her core as to why it did.

Slowly, Yin raised her head to the source of the voice, her heart hammering in tune with the monitor as she stared at the one man she had grown rather familiar with in a way that wasn’t even remotely possible.

Doctor Zayne Li, Asko’s Hospital’s esteemed cardiac surgeon.

And romantic love interest in a video game titled Love and Deepspace.

There was no fucking way this was real. Yin was absolutely certain she was dreaming or was on the verge of death somewhere back on the set. It had to be. Because this wasn’t real. There was no way that she’d be seeing this man before her in any situation, unless she went to some convention. And even then, she didn’t really attend those because of her busy life.

“I apologize for startling you, but it would be in our best interest if you can calm yourself down. You’re in a safe environment and you are not in any immediate danger.” Zayne’s voice remained clinical, yet there was a warmth beneath his tone as he switched the lights on and made his way over to where Yin sat, the young woman in disbelief that he was even here.

“W-who are you?” Yin was convinced this wasn’t actually real and that Zayne truly wasn’t standing beside her, checking over her vitals on the monitor.

“My name is Zayne Li, but you can refer to me as Dr. Li. Apologies for not introducing myself, first.” Yin was sure this was all a lie. That she was being set up by some colleagues to mess with her for sinking so much money into a stupid little mobile game. That had to be it.

“Um… I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but are you truly Zayne?” Yin’s voice wavered, uncertain as she felt the creeping feeling of anxiety boil in the pit of her stomach.

Zayne’s eyes glanced up to stare at Yin from the tablet in his hands, the piercing green softening a tad at her haunted expression. He set the tablet down by the table near the bed, his hand reaching to his ID badge and holding it towards her for inspection.

“Yes, I am.” Yin’s hands reached for the little badge, taking it cautiously as she stared at the card in her trembling grip. His picture was on it, along with the Asko Hospital logo and his credentials. It wasn’t enough to convince her, knowing people could simply forge credible id’s for movies.

“I-I don’t really believe this.” She stuttered out, handing the badge back, her breathing labored as panic rose to her chest.

“There’s no reason I would lie.” His expression shifted to concern, his hands reaching out to steady Yin’s body, smoothing over her back in calming motions as he lowered himself. “Focus on me; breathe. In and out.”

Yin tried to follow his instructions, yet all of it was starting to get to her as she tried to make sense of everything. No, there was something they couldn’t fake on the spot, she was certain of it.

“Evol. Use your Evol. Prove yourself.” His eyes narrowed, lips tightening into a thin frown as he pulled back, clearly uncomfortable at Yin’s words.

“I don’t really understand how using my Evol would prove to you that I am who I say I am.” Yin bit her lips, not wanting to take no for an answer. She understood his reservation, really, but this was for her. This was because she knew no one could fake it and if he really was who he said he was, then it should be simple.

“Then, I don’t believe you. Or anyone, for that matter. I’ll refuse treatment. I’ll be stubborn and a difficult patient until you prove to me that you are Zayne Li.” Her voice trembled with emotion, the fear clawing at her throat with a sickening grip as she denied his existence. Minor annoyance flashed through his eyes, but he composed himself just as quickly, adjusting his coat.

“If it will appease you, I will use it. However, on the condition that you will be a model patient and do as you're told.” Yin nodded her head, firm in her beliefs that none of this was real.

“You can make snow that will never melt, right? Just make me something small, like a turtle or a fish or-” She paused, thinking back in that one little memory card from the game. “A seal. A little seal. I want to see one.”

She was determined, fiercely staring him down as he tensed with uncertainty, his eyes shifting off to the side. He was closed off, debating if it was worth using his Evol to create something he had made special for someone else. Someone else that Yin already knew of. Perhaps it was too cruel, if he really was the real Zayne. To bring up memories of something personal for something as trivial as to prove himself to a patient? It was rude of her. She knew that.

Zayne took a deep breath before extending his hand, resolved to put her mind at ease and he could continue on with evaluation. Snowy energy swirled around his hand as a small, round shaped seal formed in his palm, his other finger adding the small details of a face in the snow. His eyes softened slightly in reminiscence of his meet up with the player character of the game. But, Yin couldn’t focus on that. No, it was the fact that he actually made it, right there before her that had her heart hammering harder.

There was no way this was real. Not a chance, this was a lie. When he set the snow seal into her hand, she could feel the coolness of the figure. It was really there, cold and staring up at her with its blank eyes. Her throat closed, the swarm of anxiety and nausea hitting her harder at the probability that she truly was in the video game.

Zayne tried to speak to her, but the world started to blur as she felt a panic attack coming on, her heart rate spiking as sweat beaded at her forehead. The air was too hard to breathe, she was losing her senses as her throat felt like it was closing, every breath she took was not enough as she felt her body tremble. Such an overwhelming sense of dread washed over her, Zayne’s presence fading from her as she started to spiral further down into the idea that she must’ve died in her world and was now transported into some game.

The world felt like a blur, with Zayne calling assistance from the nurses as they tried to calm Yin down, his words kind as he tried to talk her through her attack and get her to relax. He kept insisting she was safe, however, there was no real safety. She was transported in a world she truly didn’t know and she had no idea if the world she came from would be a place she could return to.

Yin woke up sometime later, the sun filtering through the window and showing her the portion of the city she only knew in the game. Exhaustion was heavily weighing her down, her eyes barely able to stay open long enough before she closed them and let herself stew in the misery of her situation.

Her old life was gone. Her friends were gone. Her family was gone. She wondered if they missed her. She wondered if she really did die in her old world. If that was the case, then she should be grateful that she was technically alive today.

But, this life she was now thrust into wasn’t hers. It was another Yin Zhao’s life that was probably overwritten. Maybe this Yin died and she simply took over? The wounds she sustained weren’t life-threatening, so maybe she was booted out of her body like some spirit and she took the spot instead. All the probabilities in the world wouldn’t be able to change the fact that she’d have to adapt to her new world.

The door opened, yet Yin didn’t acknowledge the presence until she felt it standing beside her. Cracking her eyes open, she peered behind her lashes and saw Zayne standing there, looking over her medical report with a serious expression.

“Somethin’ the matter, doc?” She murmured, his eyes glancing up towards her pathetic form. She felt pathetic right now, it was only right to assume she looked the part.

“You’re awake, that’s good to know.” He set the tablet down, reaching for his tools to check her eyes with a little flashlight. “How are you feeling?”

Yin let out a hollow laugh, her eyes blinking from the sudden brightness. “Like shit, doc. Like shit.” She turned her head to look outside, finding it impossible not to feel sorry for herself. “I feel so lost and confused from everything that happened. I don’t even know who the hell I am, anymore.” Tears pricked at her eyes, her throat tight.

“Do you mind elaborating?” Yin didn’t want to explain herself, remaining silent. Zayne let out a quiet sigh, shifting a chair over and settling himself beside her. “Ms. Zhao, if I may, I would like to ask you a few questions about your condition. There’s a probability that you might have some brain damage our scans didn’t pick up and I have to evaluate if there’s a chance you could be suffering from any disorientation or amnesia.”

Yin didn’t respond, but she flicked her hand up, allowing him to continue. She heard him clear his throat before going down the list.

“What is your name?”

“Yin Zhao.” He checked a box.

“Your date of birth?”

“November 18th, 2000.” He paused behind her, clearly perturbed by her answer.

“2000? Ms. Zhao, what year do you believe it is?” Yin grit her teeth, her eyes welling up with tears.

“2025.” She whispered, her voice strained. She knew why he paused, knew why her answer made no sense to him. This world was well past the years she knew, however, this world’s technological advancements far exceeded the world she came from. So much so, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to fully grasp the concept of it right away.

He remained silent for a moment, probably marking down something in his notes, before continuing on with his questioning. “Do you know what your occupation is?”

Yin bit her lips, uncertain of how to answer him. Should she tell him what she used to do? No, it wouldn’t make sense to him, anyway. She let out a soft sigh, realizing soon that it would be easier to feign amnesia rather than explain that she’s from another world. Last thing she needed was to be locked away in some psychiatric ward until she was driven mad.

“No, I don’t know.” He marked something again.

“Do you know where you live?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you know if you have any relatives?”

“No,” she choked out, feeling more broken over the answer than she wanted, “I don’t.”

He continued down the list of questions, each answer further proving to him that she was dealing with memory loss. As he set down the tablet, he checked her vitals once more before leaving her alone to gather her thoughts. But, the last thing she needed was to gather any of them.

So, she cried. She cried quietly, curling in on herself and sobbing in the hospital bed — utterly and truly alone.

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