Corpse Bride || Haitani Brothers/OC

:)

"good morning, love," he mutters softly.

Ran wraps his arms around Hikari's shoulders from behind as she sat on the couch, eyes trained on the television. he presses his lips against her neck, basking in her warmth, her scent.

the rain had stopped, but the skies were still dim. like so, the penthouse was gloomy.

"Ran," Hikari quietly says as she looks up at him.

there was a sickening feeling at the pit of his stomach as he stared back at her dark eyes. he hides it by walking over to her side, sitting on the arm of the couch as the girl leans her head on his lap. he strokes her hair, eyes on the screen. the news was on.

"this is the 13th victim this month. police say that this is no work of your standard criminal, but a psychopath killer is actually on the loose—as much as I hate to say it folks, even authorities have no clue what they're doing. he leaves not a trace behind. as of now, what we know about this psycho is that he chooses women as his victims. and he has a certain type—dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin."

"why do they assume the killer's a he?" Ran asks, eyes scanning the side of Hikari's face as she blankly stares ahead.

"he targets women."

"women can target women."

Hikari looked at him, an unreadable expression on her face.

"he targets women who resemble me."

Ran clicks his tongue. "that's not good, doll. maybe I should kill that fucker before he touches you."

"no, don't kill him," she whispers, wearing that sad smile she wore so often now. "how about you save him, Ran?"

before he could respond, the news says something more alarming.

"all of his victims, undressed and shot repeatedly in the head. stabbed through the heart. autopsy reports indicate that his poor victims always die from the gunshots in their skull to the point that their faces become unrecognizable. thereafter, he stabs their heart uselessly. if this isn't proof enough that he is a psycho, I don't know what i—"

the tv shuts off, Ran's finger pressed against the power button of the remote.

"some lovely news you're watching early in the morning," he muses.

"what do you think about the killer?"

"I think he's deranged. come on, I'll make you coffee."

the man handsomely grinned as he scoops her up in his arms. he could feel her breath against his neck as she wraps her legs around his torso, her arms around his neck. it was yet another peaceful morning of their marriage life. mundane and ordinary. lovely.

he places her on the countertop. before he could pull away to prepare coffee, the girl encloses him in her arms. he stills, hesitantly holding her waist in surprise. his soft chuckle then fills the lonely space as he embraces her tighter.

"are you going to work today?"

"perhaps. do you not want me to?" Ran asks, finally untangling himself from her as he moves to the side.

Hikari wordlessly watches his hands as he brewed the coffee, its smell calming in the air.

"should I not go to work?" Ran repeats.

"you should. then go home afterwards."

"you mean come home?"

"go home."

"you're being weird today, Hikari," he tells her, "am I not home?"

"this isn't our home anymore."

he halts his movements, setting the mug on the surface as he looked at her. she looked pale. paler than usual. she looks up at him over her lashes, and as their eyes meet, the woman before him was suddenly in a white dress, blood seeping through the wretchedly glorious material, sourcing from where her heart should be.