Qrow.

Chapter 75 | Lavender

Sixteen gently lifted his love's chin to meet their eyes. "I know you trust Jasper, but I... I'm still wavering. I don't trust that he won't try and brand you again. Please, I'd like your permission to brand you, simply just to protect you. I wouldn't treat you as property." 

"I wouldn't really mind if you did." Knox responded, snaking his arms over his shoulders. He turned his head slightly to bring his lips closer to his boyfriend's. "I like the way it feels to belong to someone, to be the toy of a greater being."

He smirked, "You haven't changed a bit. Aside from the fact you've gotten so thin." He ran his hands up Knox's sides. "Even through your clothes, I can feel your ribs. Have you been that depressed?"

"No, that's not it. I just get very... numb. The days just go into each other and I hadn't realized that I hadn't eaten in awhile. Even when they started to allow me at the dinner table, the food didn't look appetizing to me. It was like I was staring at nothing."

"What do you mean once you were allowed at the table?" He asked.

"Patients in the criminal ward aren't allowed to eat with the others. I was there when they first brought me here. After my death, I was unstable for awhile. I did some regrettable things. Needless to say, you're not the only one with sins to bear anymore. I don't want to talk about that right now, though. I just want to enjoy having you again. I want you to take advantage of me, the way you used to."

"It's certainly been awhile, but I definitely still have it in me." Sixteen gently pulled his partner's gloves off. He held his hands as delicate as a flower, intertwining their fingers.

Hesitantly, Knox pulled away. "Wait. There's something I should warn you of, first. My psychical form is stuck looking the way it did when I died. The wound that killed me, I still have it. It's... Not a sight for the faint of heart."

"That doesn't bother me, my dear." Sixteen grasped his hands again, pulling their chests against each other. "I've seen far worst, trust me. After your death, Carmella was surprisingly generous enough to allow me time with your body before she disposed of it. I've already had time to accept the damage she gave you. You're beautiful to me regardless."

The smell of lavender and vanilla swirled in the air. For a demon, Sixteen had always been so graceful and beautiful; Everything from the scent of flowers he emitted to the petals that always seemed to dance around him. His brought his lips down to his love's. Their eyes slipped shut as they both tumbled into bliss. 

Sixteen wrapped his hand around the back of Knox's neck, up into his hair. Within a flash of a second, they were suddenly on the bed. White rose petals now trailed from where they once stood to the sheets they laid in. They fell along the comforter like snow. Knox found his breath quickened for the first time in a long time. His numb soul had finally found a spark of emotion.

They only bothered to break their lips apart to remove their clothes. Other than that, they were stuck to each other like flies on honey. Knox was still hesitant to let his shirt come off. His chest was covered in lash marks from a whip that he could never remove. The bullet wound on his heart was smaller, nothing like the big hole that Marci had in her stomach. Regardless, he still dawned it with shame.

"You know, you're not the only one who's sustained some damage." Sixteen spoke as he removed his shirt. There was a noticeable set of scars across his stomach that looked like an animal had clawed him. 

Knox traced his fingers over them, feeling how thick the scar tissue was. "What happened?" 

"Tesla found me far before Jasper had. He tried to convince me to join them. When I wouldn't, Lumi attacked me to prove a point. I didn't want to fight, so I simply left. At that point, I thought I had nothing left to fight for. I was wrong. I still have you, my sweet little bat breath." He tilted his head in, sucking on the vampire's neck softly.