N0 B0DY, N0 CRIM3 | Bang Chan

Adore you

"I think the rest of it happened naturally. The next thing I knew, I wanted to protect you. When you fell out of the tree, not your brightest idea, I might have looked calm on the outside, but I was freaking out internally." 

Kiera grinned, "I think I've finally cracked you." 

"Excuse me?" 

"Deep down, right here," she leaned over and gently poked the part of his chest where his heart sat. "You're a big softie on the inside." 

"I'm not supposed to be a big softie. My dad tried to kill that part of me off, but it's always been there. It's why I don't react to a lot of things. Sometimes it's hard to feel things, it's like I've forgotten how to properly feel emotions; and then you showed up and..." 

"Are you saying I've helped you start to feel things again? That's so cliché." 

Chan shrugged, "whatever it's called, I'm not sure if I like it or not. Enough of me, what about you? How did you end up developing romantic feelings for your kidnapper?" 

"Stockholm syndrome." 

Chan's eyes narrowed at her and she laughed. "I'm kidding. It started the evening I woke up in the warehouse and I thought you were going to shoot me in my bed. Sure I might have thought I was going to die, but before my brain could process you had a gun, I was focused on you. I'd be lying if I didn't say I found you hot." 

Chan snorted and shook his head, "you're something else." 

She held up her hands, "I'm just being honest. We like each other and it's out in the open. What happens now?" 

"What do you mean?" Chan raised an eyebrow. 

"When two people like each other romantically, they usually start dating." 

"Oh, right." Chan blinked and paused for a moment. This was his first time doing this. He never experienced anything like this before. 

"So do you wanna date?" Kiera blurted out. 

"I thought I was supposed to ask you?" 

"You snooze, you lose. Is it a yes or no?" 

Chan let out a sigh, "I'd like to, but this is a lot. Someone could get hurt and I-" 

"Someone could always get hurt. That's nothing new. You learn to live with it after living with criminals for a few weeks. Murdering people, torture, intimidation, money laundering, the list goes on." 

"How do you know about money laundering?" 

"Felix." 

Chan rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Don't be mad at him," Kiera poked him in the side with her pointy elbow. "I asked how all of you seemed to be rich. He was responding and it's not like I'm going to tell anyone. Who would I tell? My father? My dead mom?" She let out a laugh. 

Chan's heart warmed at the sound of it. He tugged her closer towards him, so she was laying in his lap. Her legs were on the inside of his and her head leaned back on his chest. Chan wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders. Kiera's hands reached up and rested on his forearms. He let the point of his chin rest on the top of her head. 

"This is new to me," Kiera admitted. 

"You've never had a significant other?" 

"No. I had a few crushes on boys, but my mom shut them down quickly. My parents kept me under a strict curfew and kept tabs on my whereabouts. The few times I went over to my friends' houses as a kid, they'd call their parents to make sure I was still there. As I got older, I didn't really have anyone besides Jennie. That relationship soured after everything happened with her father and then she killed herself." 

"That sounds awful." 

"Yeah," Kiera let out a sigh. "Honestly, a few days before my mom was shot, I caught my parents talking." Chan's curiosity piqued. "It was an accident and I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I caught them talking about putting me in an arranged marriage." 

"What the fuck?" 

"I know! They were talking about my marriage and having kids." Kiera shivered at the thought. "Even as a grown woman, they still tried to control me. It's like I'm not a person to them, I'm their accessory. I never knew how to get out of it. It'd seem like we'd get along for a while and then I'd be walking on eggshells until my father exploded into a fit of rage." 

"I can't promise I'll be cookie-cutter perfect, but I'll try not to do the things your father did. I'm not going to control you either, at least, not when it comes to our relationship. You're your own person and I don't want you to change." 

"I don't want you to change either unless it's to better yourself somehow. We'll figure this relationship out together and we'll know, deep down, there will always be some sort of risk. Every relationship, romantic or not, has risks. Isn't that what the human experience is about? Taking risks, being brave, throwing yourself into the unknown to learn and grow?"  

"You've been hanging out with Hyunjin way too much." 

"You haven't rejected my proposal." 

"I don't want to reject it. I think it's fair, we'll figure it out together. Worse case scenario, it doesn't work out, but, at least, we tried." 

Kiera shifted her body, so she could look at Chan more. Without another word, she leaned forward and kissed him. This time she was prepared. The cool metal of his lip piercing pressed into her skin. Her right hand found a home on this side of his cheek. 

The two were so focused on each other, they didn't realize Chan's door had opened. Hyunjin clutched an opened sketchbook in his hand. He opened his mouth to say something and glanced up. His eyes widened at the sight of Kiera and Chan kissing. The sketchbook hit the ground with a thud.

He turned and flew down the stairs, eagle screeching and gagging. Kiera and Chan pulled away from each other. Kiera's cheeks were cherry red from the embarrassment of being caught. Chan let out a sigh, "here we go. I apologize for what's about to happen." 

Hyunjin's voice came out loud and clear from downstairs. 

"Kiera and Chan are upstairs in the process of making babies!"