Sorrow | 18+

22 Warmth in my skin

A song to listen to: Paint me by Mamamoo

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Vivienne

The coldness woke me up. My blanket was gone when I blinked my eyes to a complete darkness. I looked for the blanket which was almost dropped to the floor, crumbled on my feet. Instinctively, my hand reached for Zero but after patting around I realised his side of the bed was cold and empty as well. My phone showed 3:47 on the bedside table, so it wasn't morning enough yet.

I got up, the cold floor making me search for socks before I left the room for another search. Zero had come to the bed with me and he hated waking up early, even though he did most of the mornings. Still, three in the morning was weird to be out of bed for him and my body refused to continue sleeping without him.

No lights were on the hallways as I walked slowly onward, my feet a bit unsteady as I was still probably half asleep. I wished I had wrapped a blanket around me to keep some warmth in my skin. I trailed down the stairs and to the right wing of the mansion as Zero's office was the first place I knew to look for him. A small relieved sigh came out of my mouth as his white office door was ajar and dim light was breaking the darkness. I opened the door carefully to get in.

The office was larger than in the apartment, but very similarly furnished. A big wooden bookshelf was on the back wall and Zero's massive desk in front of it. He had a comfy looking dark brown sofa in front of a window and extra shelves filled with papers next to the office door.

Zero was seated on a stool, not in his usual office chair, with his hair on a messy bun. The strong hand was holding a brush and making elegant, delicate strokes to a huge paper arc that was rolled over the desk. The black ink had smeared his hand a bit and he was fully concentrating. Not noticing me at all.

I took small steps towards him and his eyes snapped up, his gaze harsh before he realised it was me. He gave me a sleepy smile, laying the brush down and closing the lid of the ink.

"You weren't in the bed" I almost whispered as I rounded the desk and stood in front of him. Zero wasn't wearing a shirt, only his sleeping pants that hang too low. Fuck, he truly is dreamy. As I slightly shivered with only his shirt and my socks on in the cold mansion, I couldn't understand his choice of clothing. Zero opened his lap for me and grabbed me with his hands, the warmth of his skin warming mine.

"Couldn't sleep", he murmured as his head dropped to the crook of my neck and I opened his bun. I stroked the black strands while sitting in his lap, soothing him.

"Something bothering you?" I asked while looking at the sheet of paper with several unknown characters drawn in black ink. "What are you doing?"

"Calligraphy. It helps me to calm down", he answered and took his head from my neck, to look at the result of his strokes.

"Why?" I inquired. His drawing was pretty, no wonder his handwriting was equally elegant. I couldn't understand the characters he had drawn, some seemed difficult, with several strokes to connect in elaborate shape.

"My mama, she taught me that I needed some not-so-violent ways to ease up", his voice was tired. He had come home today with some blood in his clothes. Usually he hid it better from me, but I was there earlier than he had thought. He didn't say anything about it, just headed to the shower and tossed the clothes to the trash. In silence he let me inspect his skin after cleaning it so I could make sure there weren't any wounds or scratches on him.

"You can also speak to me if you need", I whispered and his eyes flashed with protectiveness. I couldn't describe if it was towards me or himself. If he wanted to keep me safe from the gory details or not ready to share this part of him, keeping it as a secret. His hands grabbed my hips to keep me still, close to him however.