Vessel X OC/reader

Chapter 8

I wake up to Vessel tossing and turning in his sleep, and roll my eyes. If we actually end up married, I've got to deal with this shit forever?

"Keep still." I groan, exhausted and cranky.

He sits up, panting, and sweating, and he clutches his head tightly.
"Fuck." He hisses to himself, and I sit up.

"What, what is it?"

He looks at me, and looks shocked to see me for a second.
"Huh? I forgot you were here."

"Bad dream?" I ask him, in a baby voice, and he glares at me.

"Cut it out. You're not funny."

I feel a bit bad, suddenly.
"Do you always have nightmares?" I ask him, and he gives me major side eye.

"If you're expecting me to open up, I wouldn't hold your breath."

"It's not masculine to bottle everything up until you lash out and kill someone."

"And yet, I think that's the part of me you find most attractive."

I freeze up, and stare at him, in shock.
Oh, I have been called the fuck out. I quickly change subject.

"Want a drink?" I ask him, and he shakes his head, with cold sweat still dripping down his face as he continues to catch his breath. His hair had started to stick to his forehead, and though I don't like anyone being distressed, he looks good like that.

"Wanna talk about it?" I ask him, and once again, I get side eye.

"No. I don't want to fucking talk about it."

"I'm yet to see this soft spot for me that you claim to have." I say, with a sigh.

"I do. If anyone else gave me the same bullshit you did I'd tear their throat out." He snaps, and gets out of bed, heading I
to the en-suite. He splashes cold water on his face and dries it with a towel. When he comes back in, his hair's a mess, and he raises his eyebrow when he notices I'm staring at him. He brushes it off, and runs his fingers through his hair, trying to tidy it a little.

"It looks like I'm just making this worse. I'll go to my own room. If you wanna be on your own, be on your own. I'm done caring." I say, get out of bed, and head for the door. He watches me for a second.

"Just go and lie back down." He says, and I ignore him and turn the handle.

"Don't you dare walk away from me." He says, glaring at me. I freeze up, and turn to look at him.

Okay. Hot.

"Go and lie down, Gaia."

I do as he says, and he watches me, before lying beside me. He turns to look at me for a few seconds, before gently kissing my forehead.
"Good girl."

Oh, man.

I shut my eyes to try and sleep again, but I know he can't - and I can feel him watching me.

"I need a drink." I say, and groan, getting out of bed. "Want one?" I ask him, and he shakes his head.

I leave the room, and take a deep breath. The lights are all out, and I don't know the place well enough to know where the switches are, so I navigate in the dark. I pour myself a glass of orange juice, and roll my eyes as I hear footsteps.

"Vessel, you're fucking creepy."

"Am I?"

That's.. not Vessel.

Once my eyes adjust, I smile as fakely as I can manage.
"Oh, Felix. Hi." I try and get past him, but he blocks the doorway.

I roll my eyes.

"Can you let me through?"

"No can do." He says, and grabs my wrist.
I try not to react. I don't want him to think I'm scared, so I let him grab my wrist, and with my other hand, take a sip of my orange juice.

"Can I ask what you want?"

"Nothing. I'm working the night. I just bumped into you."

I groan.
"Don't fuck with me. I probably can't fight you, but if Vessel catches you threatening me he'll kill you."

"You think he cares?" Felix asks, and laughs.

"You've got a cat's name. You need to be a lot less confident than you are." I hiss at him, and he shoves me against the kitchen counter.

I groan, in pain, and smack the glass off his head. It shatters, some pieces get stuck in his skull, and blood pours down his face.
"You bitch." He hisses, and punches me in the face.

I yell, and shove him away, and Vessel practically marches in.
"What the fuck is going on?"

Unless I put on a damn good act, it looks like I'm the bad guy here.

I tear up and run up to Vessel, hugging him tightly. He wraps one arm around me, and looks up at Felix.
"Why is my fiancé crying?"

"I came to apologise to her, and she hit me with the glass."

Vessel looks at me, appearing to ask me if that was true. I shake my head.
"No. He hit me in the face, look at my cheekbone."

Vessel gently touches my cheekbone, and sighs.
"It's red hot."

I wipe the tears from my eyes, and Vessel lets go of me. He gets some ice, wraps it in a rag, and gets me to hold it to my face.
"Gaia, go back to bed. I'll deal with it. Keep the ice on."

I do as I'm told, and wait upstairs for him. I feel a little anxious, but soon enough, he shows up, and washes his hands in the en-suite. He dries his hands off, and kneels beside me. He moves the ice off my face, taking a close look.

"It'll bruise. Sorry."

"What happened?" I ask Vessel.

"Not much. I dealt with it."

"You didn't fucking kill him, did you?"

"What? No. You seem to think I'm some bloodthirsty psychopath. I beat him up, and sacked him."

I nod.
"Thanks."

"You want to tell me what that was all about?"

"Huh?"

"You. Crying and hiding behind me. It's not like you."

I shrug.
"PMS?"

He raises his eyebrow, and sighs.
"Get some sleep. I'll see you soon." He says, and leaves the room.