DISCOVERY ➴ Chrollo x Reader

IX. Chrollo

The Spider fluffed his pillow and tossed the towel that rested on his shoulders aside. He finally decided to lay on his back, pushing the covers up to his torso.

"Do you have anything to say, Y/N?" His head turned to meet me, eyes seemed much darker up close. I shifted away only to feel the end of the bed. If I laid my arm beside me, it'd touch him. This had been a terrible idea. I wasn't ready to sleep with a stranger. I wasn't ready to go on a weird scary adventure with a thief, kidnapper and, if that poor old man back at the station was dead, murderer.

"I- I don't." I had many things to say, I really did, but I wouldn't tell them to him. I had wasted all my courage to stick to the bed and now the last thing I wanted was to trigger something and be punished for it. No. I needed a good night of sleep - next to this criminal, not an ideal place but... I couldn't ask for more. There were no carpets on the floor, there was no way in hell I could ask to take a blanket from the bed to the floor and... Was it that bad not wanting to sleep on the cold floor with no covers?

No. This had to work. I forced myself to take a deep breath, my back relaxed against the too soft mattress but it was enough to have all the sore spots hurting in the good way I needed.

I almost shit myself when the bed creaked under his shifting weight, he reached out for the light switch and with a snap everything turned dark. My loud quickened breathing was overwhelming in the darkness and the silence. An arrangement of creaks followed as the Spider laid on his back once more. After blinking several times, I could finally discern the faint moonlight coming from the only window. It didn't do much, maybe it did worse than pitch dark since I could now see the silhouettes of everything.

How could I even manage to rest? Maybe if I laid on my side, I wouldn't have to feel his skin barely touching my arm. I turned to face the bathroom door and I held back a wince as my back complained.

This could do it... I couldn't see the scary man, I wasn't touching him and taking aside the absolute dread of turning my back to the most dangerous being in this room... Yeah... I couldn't take it aside, my instincts were yelling at me. That had not been a good idea, how could I ever think that turning my back on him was a good idea. Pure horror filled me. Lessons are meant to be learnt be it by fear or experience. I could only pray that this fear would drive me to somehow live for just a smidge longer. Why was I wishing for a continuation of the horror? The idea of being stabbed in the back, or worse. Not seeing it coming... This could all end, I'd be freed of all the worry, pain and exhaustion...

Shifting to my back, I felt like hissing at the bed for being so noisy, so creaky and so, so small.
The ceiling in the dim light looked cracked, barely holding together. I knew it was cork but my brain was haunting me with images of being buried alive by large pieces of some dark stone. Right at the corner of my eye, the Spider's pale chest rose and fell peacefully. Such confidence. Envy was a bad thing, I knew it but I still felt jealous of his confidence, his carefree lifestyle, his power and possibility to do whatever he wished. What was it that this man wished?

My eyelids were heavy but I didn't feel like I could sleep, how could I? Alert mode was on. The minimal movement of his breathing had me scared and overthinking life. My right arm was against his, and my skin was burning, eating itself alive, raring to be anywhere but there. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and my mind flared up, insecurities, fears, discomfort... What if I laid facing him? My back wouldn't enjoy it, the mattress was too soft to sleep on the side and keep the spine aligned but I wouldn't be touching him, I wouldn't be feeling the slight movements, micromovements enhanced by my sensitivity and fear...

I held back a sob, the fact that my body was finally resting had my mind confused and relaxed. I couldn't cry, not here, not in front of The Spider. Who knew what would happen if he saw me having a mental breakdown? One more long shaky inhale followed by a calmer exhale. I focused on my breathing. Inhaling and exhaling. That was all I had to do, that was all I should think about.

Inhale...

Exhale...

Did he just shift a smidge?

Inhale...

When my consciousness faded away, I jumped back to it, hands flying to my face and a soft groan coming from the criminal laying beside me. Now that I was sitting, his face seemed more visible in the moonlight, emotionless, resting but aware that I had just jumped and bothered his sleep. I laid on my side this time, facing him. Hell would be damned if I couldn't at least rest my body.

"Is sleeping next to me that scary, Y/N?" His voice sounded deeper, croakier, a mere whisper.

"Sleeping next to a man whose name you don't know would be scary in most scenarios." Why was my voice so loud, so trembly...? I couldn't bare to think about that.

Inhale... Exhale... Yes, I'd go back to it...

"Chrollo." 

What? 

"Bother my sleep again and you'll be sleeping on the floor."

What did Chrollo mean? Was it his name? I kept quiet, focusing on my breathing, hoping that if I fell asleep, I wouldn't be assaulted by night terrors. Because I was in a shitty place, but I had no idea where Reah was. Maybe I had failed her and those entrails I had slipped on were hers...

No. I was going back to timing my breathing.

Inhale...

Art by 맛밤 (@ aktqka_sgsg on Twitter)

> Author's Note: Hello! It took me a while but I really wanted to capture the awkwardness and I didn't know exactly how to make it the way I wanted. I hope you enjoy this chapter ^^~ (my bad one bed and no sexy stuff is sad but it wouldn't make much sense with the plot)