𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: he can't stay with you as long as the war underground calls to him. to stay with you he has to leave, not returning until three years later.
𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒: angst, lots of resent and crying, but then hurt/comfort, malachi is reader's adopted son with laurance cause i said so
𝐂𝐖: none?
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"please come back with me. you don't have to do this."
your chest hurt. whether it was from the man in front of you or the unbearable heat, you weren't sure, but you found yourself choking on the air, lungs constricting and heart rushing cold blood uncomfortably fast through your veins.
you could tell he was angry that you came here. not at you. no, never at you. but the fact you came alone and risked your safety for him again had him nearly spiraling, his jaw clenched and hands gripping uncomfortably tight against your arms.
it was still him, you reminded yourself, as you pleadingly looked up to the pools of blood red that pierced through you. it was an unsettling shade, the color startling against his face yet somehow dull and dark at the same time. it was so different from the steel blue before it, and the beautiful green before that.
yes, you'd seen him in many different ways, and though he was naturally taller, and the air around him sent an anxious wave down your spine, it was still him.
the same olive skin and caramel hair, though a duller shade.
the same shape of his face.
the same determination in his eyes.
the same urge to protect you, no matter how much this new form of his ached to do the opposite.
"i told you not to follow me. you shouldn't be here—"
"i couldn't just let you leave!"
he sucks in a breath, your name leaving his lips with a sense of urgency and irritation.
"...i can't go with you. you know i can't." his voice is tight, eyebrows furrowing at the sight of your eyes glossing over. "it would be selfish. i put you at risk just by being next to you."
you start to shake your head, but swallow down your next words at the way he says your name again, desperate for you to understand.
"he's in my head when you're near me. i can't keep you safe when it's just us, because it isn't just us. that calling clouds my mind and—he almost got to me, and you know it. i almost killed you."
you're silenced by this, knowing he was right. the horror on his face when he realized his blade was raised against you had set forward the timeline that got him here. he'd forever feel chained to this place unless he broke the chains himself.
