Darling Little Creature [Yuri Briar x f.Reader - SPY x FAMILY]

Tame

This goes on for two or three weeks before you make progress. It had gotten to the point where you wondered if she was really happier being abused than being with you.

Hence you ask her to sit with you on the sofa one evening after dinner. She obliges hesitantly, keeping as much distance as she can manage on the love seat.

Setting an arm over the back, you turn to face her. She meets your gaze briefly before staring off towards the window.

"Bunny, you know I love you... right?"

"Hmpf!" She crosses her arms. "Not enough."

"I really do. If the sea were ink and the sky were paper, it wouldn't be enough to write out how much I love you."

"Very poetic," she huffs and glares at the outside world again.

"Darling, you're so precious that I wouldn't trade you for all the diamonds and rubies in the world."

She rolls her eyes, and you know she thinks you're being cheesy.

"Even if I were offered all of Europe, I wouldn't hand you over to anyone."

"Why not? If you had that much power, you could just get me back and lock me up again," she quips, a new acidity on her tongue.

"Wouldn't you feel betrayed if I sold you off - even knowing I could get you back? Wouldn't you be disappointed that I would consider letting you go at all? Wouldn't you never trust me if I gave you up once for power because I might do it again?"

Tucking her legs up under her chin, she finally looks at you - a frown creasing her pretty features. "Not even if you could be the head of the secret police?"

"No! Darling, you're not an object with a worth to be dictated by the people around you! You're a priceless human being. No matter how high the offer, you aren't something to be traded! I would never want to make you think you're only as good as the value you provide."

Resting her cheek on her knees, she asks softly, "What if you could eliminate every bad person in the country in one day?"

Leaning into the armrest, you ponder the whirl of the ceiling fan for a moment before meeting her anxious gaze.

"I suppose if it would guarantee your safety, and thus your happiness... I would let you go if that's what you wanted... but I would never willing trade you... What would be the point if I lose the one person I want so dearly to protect...? Maybe I'm just selfish... but I still wouldn't let anyone take you from me."

Sitting up, she stares blankly at you for a minute before repeating, "You would let me go... if that's what I wanted?"

Just the thought weakens your voice, turning your words from a statement to a whisper. "As long as your safety is assured, I would let you go if that's what made you happy... regardless of whether I could get rid of all the trash out there."

The deep pools of black in her eyes draw your attention as she relaxes for the first time in weeks. "You... really do love me... don't you?"

With a doleful smile, you tell her the truth you hope never comes to fruition. "Even if you resent me for keeping you here, even if you tell me you don't love me anymore, even if you hate me... I will still love you and do everything I can to ensure your safety and happiness."

So, please... Please don't hate me for wanting to keep you safe. I only want you to be happy... Now that my sister has her own family, I'm alone. You're all I have...

Lost in your own thoughts of how much it would hurt if she ever said those words, you don't realize your gaze has shifted - downcast - until she calls your name gently.