ʏᴇʟʟᴏᴡ ∆ ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀ ᴢᴇᴘᴘᴇʟɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ∆

∆ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ɴɪɴᴇ∆

Please don't kill me ;)

Caesar Zeppeli POV :

“Oi, blondie,”

I looked over my shoulder, spotting Vex as they walked into the room, hands in their pockets like always. I glared at them, scoffing at the nickname that they stuck on me.

“What do you want?” I asked pulling the strings on my boots to tighten them.

“First off, what are you doing?” They asked, watching me carefully. Ruby eyes followed my movements as I walked to the closet to retrieve my jacket. I frowned when I found my black zip-up jacket was missing. I chose a different one instead.

“Getting ready, what do you think?” I replied, looking back at them as they walked into the room Y/n and I had been staying in. Vex dropped into the chair in front of the desk, picking a random pen from the desk as they twirled it around their fingers.

“Should you be doing that? Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet,” I held back the urge to roll my eyes.

“Now you sound like Y/n,” I grumbled.

“Don’t let her catch you saying that,” They hummed. “But are you?”

“I’m fine. It’s been long enough. I need to help everyone out,” I replied, shrugging on the jacket.

“Well, don’t push yourself too hard,” They said, standing up. “And, your girlfriend was looking for you.”

“Where is Y/n? She wasn’t in bed last night,” I asked, turning to face the shorter vampire as they walked to the open door.

“Outside, last time I checked. She was up all night watching Daniel and me fight in the courtyard,” They replied, throwing a hand up over their shoulder with a shrug as they walked away, and I trailed after them. “She doesn’t realize that I know she’s there.”

“Can I ask something? You seem to be getting to her more than I am,” I asked, making Vex look over their shoulder at me before shrugging as a confirmation. “What’s wrong with her?”

“What do you mean?” They asked, twisting around a sliver of sunlight poking through the blackout curtains lining the halls.

“She just seems...stressed. She won’t talk to me either,” I muttered, remembering the last time I tried to talk to her, and she’d quickly excused herself before running off.
“That’s something you’d have to ask her,” Vex scoffed. “What do you think I am, her therapist?”

“N-no...just forget I asked,” I said, shaking my head.

“Planned on it,” They said. “See you, lover boy.”

“Pallida cagna,” I said under my breath. Vex flipped me off as they walked away. I shook my head and pushed the door open. I immediately spotted Y/n standing alone a few feet away. She was leaning against the wall, her hands in her jacket pockets. Or I should say my jacket pockets. She was wearing my black jacket. I smiled a little.

“Caesar,” She said, pushing off the wall as she spotted me.

“Hey, is everything okay?” I asked, frowning as she shifted her weight nervously.

“I actually wanted to talk with you, if you have time,” She said. Her tone was anxious, making my fingers twitch in my pockets. I reached forward and brushed some of her soft h/c hair back from her face.

“Yeah, I have time,” I said. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” She swallowed hard, looking down at her hands as she picked at her nails, chipping off some of the f/c nail polish. Why was she so nervous? “I’ve been thinking about something, for a while, but...before I tell you, you have to promise you won’t hate me for it.”

“I could never hate you,” I frowned, grabbing her hands, making her anxious actions cease. “Y/n what’s wrong with you? I’ve never seen you this nervous before.”

I had to admit, her behavior was beginning to tick my nerves. Y/n was an anxious woman by nature, she has always been, but this was nothing compared to her now. She couldn’t look me in the eyes, looking everywhere but my face. She couldn’t stand still, and she was shaking. I was afraid something had happened to her.

“I…” She took a deep breath, and no matter how many times I would think, I don’t think I could ever prepare myself for the next words she spoke.

“I want you to go back to Italy.”

Finally, she looked at me in my eyes, shimmering e/c orbs doused with determination. She set her jaw in place, the grip on my hands tightening as I looked at her in pure shock. I felt my eyes widen, my lips parting as I loosened my grip on her hands. She…

“What?” I whispered, furrowing my eyebrows.

“Go home, Caesar,” She snapped, screwing her eyes shut. “I want you to go back.”

“Why?” I found myself asking, my tone matching hers. What the hell was with this suddenness?

“Look at yourself!” She exclaimed, making me jump from her voice rising. “You got hurt because of me! For fuck’s sake, you were dead at one point! Don’t you get how that feels? I don’t want you to die over this!”

“I’m not going to die,” I growled. “You should have more faith in me, Y/n.”

“I lost faith in you when I was standing over your body, looking down at all your fucked up organs with your blood staining my hands,” She said, making me tighten my jaw. “I gave you my faith, Caesar. I believed that you would do what you said, but I got proved wrong. If you’re here, then there’s no guarantee that you won’t be sent back to Italy in a body bag instead of a plane seat.”

“Y/n…” I mumbled, my throat tightening.

“I don’t want to be responsible for your death,” She said, taking her hands from mine. “You sent me away when I was hurt to protect me. Now I’m doing the same. I can’t save you in battle.”

“You’re a fucking idiot if you think I’m just going to let you do this by yourself,” I snapped, grabbing her wrist as she began to turn away from me. “You’re the one who’s going to die if you do.”

“I’m not going by myself,” She said, pulling her wrist from my grasp again. “So you don’t have to worry about that. Your ticket had already been paid for.”

I felt my heart sink into my stomach. I felt my chest tighten. My hands began to shake as she pulled away from me, briefly glancing over her shoulder at me. Her e/c were glazed with tears. I knew she didn’t want to do this.

“Your flight leaves at 4 tomorrow,” She said quietly. Her eyes softened for a brief moment before she turned away fully. “I’m sorry, Caesar. But I don’t have a choice.”

“Consider this payback from four years ago.”