Within

10

Warning: This fic contains vore, slash, emotional distress, physical injury, mentions of rape, lots and lots of crying, and is generally for a mature audience. Read at your own discretion.

Heyo what's up peoples? This chapter is a bit of a doozy. And hey, there's no shame in asking for reviews, so I'd really like to hear from all of you who are faving and following but saying nothing. (Maybe you just don't wanna be associated with this who knows XP)

Anyway, this chapter contains the scene that is the main reason for the rape warning, so look out those who are sensitive to that. It's marked with a "X~X~" on both ends so you know where it is. It's nothing graphic, but better to be safe than sorry.

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10

Dimentio didn't come back for a long time. Luigi's stomach growled at him, but he ignored it. The future looked more uncertain than ever. He didn't know what had happened, why he had gotten so angry. It was a really stupid idea to goad your captor into hurting you.

He tried to sleep for a while, but the hunger pangs were fierce. He called for Dimentio, but he didn't come. He kneaded his bed sheets nervously, trying to decide what to do. Eventually, he decided that he didn't have to put up with Dimentio's emotional bullshit.

He sat up, considering how best to proceed. He twitched his toes and rotated his ankles, testing. They were incredibly stiff, but didn't really hurt anymore. He'd healed almost completely over the past month. Thanks to Dimentio's careful nursing, the burns had gradually turned into scars, which had subsequently faded to a transparent network of white lines all over his body that you could only see if you knew to look for them. Thankfully, he'd been able to start wearing clothes again, though they were baggy now. He'd lost a lot of muscle mass. The worst thing was the mental scars, which could be added to the pile of horrible experiences he'd had over the course of his life.

No, all that was left was physical therapy, really. He knew Dimentio was delaying, procrastinating on purpose. So why not start it himself?

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat there, feeling the strain on his back. This was going to be difficult, but that wasn't going to stop him. He put a tiny bit of weight on his feet, and added more and more, until he was almost standing. He turned over and clutched onto the bed, leaning on it for support even though it wasn't really at a good height for that.

After a moment, he stood all the way, legs shaking violently. His atrophied muscles protested very much, but he was determined to continue. He took an uneven step. His legs gave out and he fell forward. But he didn't hit the ground.

Suddenly, Luigi found himself in Dimentio's arms. The jester had caught him. There was no warmth in the hold though, only stiffness. He was gently pushed back on the bed, where he sat down heavily.

"Are you trying to hurt yourself? Because you will if you try that again," the jester said curtly.

Luigi blushed, realizing that the impeccability of his timing probably meant that he'd been watching the whole time. "No, y-you didn't answer me..." His stomach growled, making it unnecessary to say he was starving.

Dimentio snapped his fingers, causing dinner to appear out of thin air. He handed it to Luigi, who began to eat slowly. Dimentio was making him nervous, with the way he was just standing there, staring. He paused and looked up at the jester. "...What?" When Dimentio didn't respond, he continued, "Why are you staring at me? It's really kind of..." He trailed off, wringing his hands anxiously.

"Why did you try to get up?"

"Look," Luigi said, holding out an arm and tracing the thin white lines on his skin. "I'm all healed now, right? So... D-Don't you think it's time to start physical therapy or something?"