𝖍𝖝𝖍 𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖘

Save him ~ Illumi Zoldyck

Top!Illumi (pretty sure theres no smut lol)

Author: hisokapegger (on ao3)

(short and sweet)

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A soft pounding sound could be heard inside the young woman's small one-bedroom apartment. The noise startled her a little as she wasn't expecting anyone today. She quickly made her way over the front door to open it.

She raised a brow at the strange but cute sight in front of her and big black eyes stared back. Standing there was Illumi, his silky long hair beautifully cascading down his shoulders. Whenever [Name] saw him she couldn't help marveling at his singular beauty. Despite his impassive look she still felt some kind of warmth whenever he was close to her. Seeing the puppy in the young man's arms she wondered if the small animal felt that way too.

"Come in and let me hold that cutie!"

The assassin came in and let her do so as he closed the door behind him. He watched her as she started talking and petting the overjoyed animal. She looked just like a kid and somehow it warmed a little the young man's cold heart.

"Where did you find that puppy?" she asked as Illumi let the dog nibble his fingers, still in [Name]'s arms.
"He started following me on my way over here. So I thought I'd bring him to you. I'll get him water and something to eat."

The girl agreed and put down the animal. She then sat on the floor wanting to play more with him. But the puppy ran off to Illumi instead. So she joined him. It seemed the dog really took a liking to the assassin since he wouldn't leave him alone.

Illumi let him jump on his legs and was careful to avoid him as he was filling a bowl of water and breaking small pieces of bread to feed the dog. [Name] watched the unusual sight silently, her mouth curved into a smile. It was odd seeing the young man like this. The light atmosphere, the way he played with the animal seated on the marble floor, the slight glimmer in his eyes, everything about that scene was unnatural but it felt so right.

"I didn't know you liked animals," she said breaking the comfortable silence.
"Is that so? We have a few guard dogs at the mansion. They are quite different from normal dogs but I always liked spending time with them," he explained with an absent-minded tone.
"Seems like this little one likes you a lot. Do you attract animals often?"
"I think I do. But that's probably because I like to feed them, especially birds."
"Who would have thought?" she teased.
"I don't know. Animals are easier to understand and deal with than humans. They don't care about who you are or what you do. As long as you're good to them they love you. It's that simple."
"But isn't that the same with humans too? I mean, as long as you're good to them, they love you too."
"No. Humans complicate everything. Most of them don't even comprehend what's good for them," Illumi stated.

[Name] wondered what greater meaning those words had. Illumi didn't open up much. So it was always a guessing game with him. The fact that he always appeared so devoid of emotions made it hard to believe that he could actually feel anything at all. But with every bit of information [Name] was able to gather, she liked to believe there was in fact more to him than just darkness.

Maybe she was insane. But there was something about him that called for her love and care. She knew it was dangerous. Illumi was dangerous. More precisely his controlling and suffocating love was. But no matter how irrational that thought was she still believed that if someone was brave enough to show him what real love meant he would be saved.

[Name] didn't know much about love herself but she knew that what he did to Killua wasn't. That was just Illumi's twisted idea of what that feeling was. A twisted idea his parents must have engraved in him. So what were the odds she would be able to change him? Honestly, they were pretty low. But even then, not trying would kill her.

"[Name]?" he asked, bringing the girl back to reality.
"Yeah?"
"We have to bring him to a shelter. He might be lost."
"Yeah, you're right. He doesn't seem like he wants to let you go, though," she pointed out.
"He will have to. Let's go," he ordered as he picked up the puppy.

The young woman followed after the assassin, picking up her phone and the apartment's keys on their way to the door.

"You know, people say good hunters are well-liked by animals."
"I am not a hunter. I am an assassin," Illumi replied, reminding [Name] about the hard truth.

That simple answer, which was merely the truth, definitely saddened her more than it should have. Did Illumi ever wonder what his life would have been if he wasn't an assassin? Did he ever feel the desire to become something else? [Name] doubted he did. But even so, would he acknowledge that desire? Probably not. So there was no use asking.

Still deep in thought, the young woman locked the door behind her and silently walked next to the eldest of the Zoldyck siblings. He was gently petting the dark fur of the puppy and she honestly felt like taking a picture of them. But she refrained from doing so.

"Is something troubling you, [Name]?"
"Oh, no, not at all," she answered half truthfully.
"Are you sure? You seem rather lost in thought," he insisted.

She was. But she doubted the assassin would understand why. Still, she attempted to explain.

"Well, it's just, it was nice seeing you do normal things I guess."
"I see. Would you like us to do normal things more often?"

[Name] let out a little laugh.

"No. It's not that. You were just really cute with that puppy. That's all."
"Maybe we could adopt a dog once you move into the mansion," he suggested with his usual tone.

The Nen user's blood ran cold. That could have been a sweet proposal if it didn't mean she would have to give away everything about her current life. In fact, moving into the Zoldyck's mansion was a step in their relationship she wasn't ready to take. So Illumi casually mentioning it without them even talking about it first frightened her all the more. But [Name] was aware that ultimately their relationship could only lead to one thing: her taking the assassin's last name.

Still, she was planning on preventing that from happening as long as possible. Well, at least until she was able to soften a bit Illumi's heart. But what if she couldn't? Would he really take no as an answer? Would he understand that she didn't want to be part of an elite assassin family? That she didn't want her kids to become killing machines? The honest answer to that question she knew it already. But wasn't there any other way?

"Yeah, we should do that," she answered with a smile.

Illumi didn't say anything. Instead, he kissed her on her temple while [Name] wondered how long she would be able to keep him waiting.