Interesting (AfterDeath)

Chapter 14

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Geno P.O.V

Reaper set me down as soon as the door to the interrogation room clicked shut behind us.  Slight disappointment worked it's way through me, but I pushed it away.

"So where are we going?~" Reaper asked, smiling gently as he wiped my tears away. I managed to return his smile.

"Well, you just missed the start of lunch, you can go eat if you want," I suggested, even though his company was something that I loved to have.

"You're not coming?" He asked, sounding slightly surprised. I shook my head.

"I'm not hungry, not after..." I trailed off, but Reaper seemed to get the point, and gave me a quick hug. I gave him a small smile.

"Thanks," I whispered. Reaper grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Anytime," he responded quietly, and I could tell from his expression and tone that he was serious. I gave another teary eyed smile, and squeezed his hand back. "And I think that I'll stay with you - if that's alright," he added nervously.  I nodded, and he gave a relieved smile.  When we started walking, he didn't let go of my hand, and I didn't let go of his, and so we were walking down the long hallways hand in hand.

Not that I minded, of course.

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Reaper P.O.V

I let Geno lead me down a series of hallways. His touch was like a drug - warmth and fuzziness spiraling from all places of contact.  His hold on my hand was only light, but it still inspired a spark of nervousness within me, and a touch of heat at my cheeks.  As we walked, we encountered more and more people, and Geno dropped my hand quickly. Hurt and disappointment flashed through me, but I ignored it.

Eventually, we reached my cell. I raised a suggestive eyebrow as I leant against the wall. Geno caught my look, and instead of blushing - like I had hoped he would - he crossed his arms, and started shivering. I frowned, and drew him into a hug, which only made his shivering more prominent.  We were both quiet for a long while.

"I would never do anything to you if you didn't want it, okay? You don't have to worry about that," I murmured eventually, even though it stung to know that he thought that I would do something to him against his will. Slowly, Geno relaxed into my arms.

"I-I know, it's just-"

"Do you? Do you really?" I asked sharply, cutting him off. Geno fell silent, but his grip on me tightened. I gave a soft sigh - not out of agitation, just a sigh - and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his skull. I didn't speak for a short while, then decided to get the chat that we were bound to have over with.

"...  Who was that guy in the interrogation room," I asked as gently as I could manage, stroking the back of his head.  Despite my efforts, Geno tensed, then started trembling.  I tightened my grip around him, and he eventually stilled, taking a deep breath.

"My ex," Geno whispered into my shirt after a long while.  I jolted in shock, and pulled back from him to stare at him in disbelief.

"You're kidding," I muttered.  Geno forced a bitter chuckle.

"Can we skip the 'you're kidding' bullshit?  We both know that I'm not," he hissed.  I winced at his tone, but nodded slowly.

"What was his name?"  I queried after a long silence.  Geno sighed, leaning against a wall, and sliding his back down it so that he was sitting on the concrete floor of my cell.

"Classic," he responded quietly as I joined him on the ground.

"...  And what happened between you two?"  I questioned when he didn't elaborate.  Geno turned to face me, his eyes showing great tiredness - tiredness that no amounts of sleep could cure - and pain.  So much pain that it made my heart ache.

"I'd rather not think about it," he whispered.  I nodded, and he smiled a slight, thankful smile, then turned his face so that he was looking at his hands.

Suddenly, a thought struck me, making my blood chill, and my limbs tense.  I took a deep breath before asking the question that I so needed to ask.

"...  Is he why you freaked out when I hugged you a couple of days ago..?"  Geno stilled, almost as if he had been caught out doing something that he wasn't supposed to be doing, then turned back to face me.

"Yes," he intoned, tears framing his eyes.  I swept him into a hug, and pulled him into my lap.  He didn't protest, just started to sob softly into my shoulder.  He pressed himself as close to me as possible, one leg on either side of my body, arms wrapped around me tightly.  I felt my cheeks grow warm, and rested my chin on his shoulder, tightening my grip around him.

"It's okay, sweetheart, it's okay.  You're safe; I won't let anyone hurt you anymore.  You're safe here.  I will protect you.  With everything I have.  You're safe with me, I promise." 

'I'd trade my life for yours.'

I meant every word - unspoken or otherwise.  I'd trade my life for his in an instant if it came down to it.  I didn't even care that we had known each other for far less than a month, or that he was a cop, and I was a criminal.  None of that mattered, because I was so hopelessly and helplessly in love.  I was so in love with the person in my arms that it was ridiculous. 

This new 'love' was so much better than the usual 'LOVE', the one that used to be the only sort that I knew - it was such a fuzzy feeling, so different from the cold, detached sensation derived from it's namesake.  'This capacity of feelings shouldn't be possible,' I thought, 'They're going to overflow.'

But I couldn't let them overflow - as much as I wanted to.  Geno wouldn't be able to take that, not in his fragile state.

I sighed softly, and kissed his head softly, silently resigned from doing any more than that.

Of course, I had no idea that he felt the exact same way about me that I felt about him.

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I finally have an actual plot for this :D