Frisson (Diabolik lovers)

XXVI. Together with you

A few days have passed since the dungeons incident. Sakamaki brothers were acting as if they haven't tried to kill me just a couple of days ago. To protect me from another possible near fatal attack, Reiji decided to make me sleep in his room... It was easier said than done.

"Reiji, don't you think that things are moving forwards a bit... you know... too fast?" I mumbled shyly. We were standing at each side of the bed, facing each other.
"I don't see a single reason why you should be worried about anything." Reiji fixed his glasses.
"Well yeah, but... You know... sleeping in the same bed already might still be out of my comfort zone..." I said, feeling how my cheeks were getting more and more red with each passing second. I couldn't help it! Shuu would sometimes fall asleep on my bed, but Shuu is Shuu. I didn't like him the same way I liked Reiji... Who am I kidding, I didn't like Shuu or any of the other brothers at all. I could tolerate them, that's all.

"Shizuka, I'm not a thoughtless brute like my brothers, now get in." He pointed at the bed.
"I think I'm fine using your armchair." I tried to pull off the only blanket from the bed, but Reiji grabbed a corner, not allowing me to take it.
"I can't allow you to sleep there. It's not comfortable, especially when your health is still so bad." He tugged the blanket towards himself. I almost let go of it, but I managed to grip it tighter and pull towards myself.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be fine. I mean, I survived a bear attack, ice water and almost drowning and I'm not even talking about that incident in the-"
"You could have drowned if I wasn't there!" Reiji tugged so hard it made me lose my balance and I stumbled into the bed while letting out an embarrassingly high-pitched squeal. Reiji used my moment of vulnerability to wrap the blanket around me so tight I couldn't pull my hands out.

"Now listen. My brothers are not me - they won't hesitate to kill you even if that reason is no reason at all. You saw what happened so far and if you think they'll stop trying to get rid of you - you're wrong, "Reiji harshly whispered while pressing me down to bed like a bad behaved kitten. "Understood?" I wanted to say something, to protest, to assure him that I'll be fine on my own and that I didn't need him, but... We both knew I'd be dead if it wasn't for Reiji. Hell, I even tried to get to his better side to secure my survival here... It's just... I fell for him. If he found out about my selfish plan, I don't know what would happen.

"Okay..." I whispered. "I won't go against this. I'm sorry I was acting like a stubborn brat." My eyes met his and the crease between his eyebrows slowly disappeared. I was aware of how close we were to each other, that our bodies were touching, that his arms were still tightly wrapped around me. Even through the blanket I could feel the heat radiating from his skin and I was sure he could feel mine. But I didn't mind it. I felt at peace, as if his embrace was where I was meant to be.

"If you keep on staring at me with such a lewd expression, I might actually do something." Reiji leaned towards me, his breath tickling my skin.
"What, if I wouldn't mind it?" I glanced down at his slightly parted lips already imagining how they'd feel on mine. Reiji must have read my thoughts - he gently brushed his thumb against my lips, parting them for his own. I closed my eyes in anticipation. I wanted to touch him, to feel his hair in between my fingers, but my hands were tightly wrapped up, leaving me completely at his mercy. I had enough time to take a shallow breath when his lips softly pressed against mine, taking the little air I had in my lungs away. It felt like eternity that was still too short.

"To make me lose my composure like that... You're really something..." Reiji whispered, sounding slightly out of air himself. Our kiss was short... Too short. I wanted more. I could see the same in his eyes.
"Reiji..."
"Shhh, we should get some sleep." He started to slowly unwrap the blanked, releasing me from my sweet jail.
"I guess you're right..." How was I supposed to sleep after this? My heart was still beating like crazy, my lips could still feel his warmth.

Reiji lay down, covering himself with a blanket. I still didn't move not wanting for the moment to end. My thoughts were racing like a long distance train. I couldn't believe our feelings were mutual... I was starting to feel guilty. Reiji had risked his comfort and life to save me multiple times and what was I doing? Trying to deceive and use him for my own selfish needs. I... Am such a horrible person.

"Shizuka, what's wrong?" I felt his hand gently squeezing my shoulder. His soft touch made these feelings even stronger. I was deceiving him, using him and...
"It's nothing it's just..." It was getting harder to breathe. Please, not now...
"Calm down, it's okay." Reiji pulled me into a hug. As much as I wanted to push him away, I couldn't. His hand was gently rubbing my back in soothing circles. Surprisingly, I found myself calming down and slowly, I drifted off to the land of sweet dreams...

When Reiji noticed that the human girl in his arms was asleep, he gently tucked her in and walked out of the room. He still had a few things to do, one of those - calling his father.

Karlheinz picked up right away.
"Which one of my dear sons am I talking to?"
"Father, it's me. I need to discuss something about Shizuka's situation." His eyes lowered down.
"And what would it be? Do you perhaps need more time? If so then consider yourself a failure since Nadia doesn't have much time left." Reiji's eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't need more time. She's... She trusts me already. I need a copy of that contract that you and Miss Nadia have signed."
"Oh? And why would you need that?"
"I have figured out a way how to get full ownership of the company." Reiji heard his father chuckle in delight.
"I'll send it to you right away."
"Thank you, father." Just like always Karlheinz said nothing and hung up.

Reiji came back to his room where he found soundly sleeping human girl that he once despised yet came to love. It was still hard to admit that he fell for a human like Ayato did, but Reiji felt happy. For the first time in his life, his hard work paid off - she also had feelings for him. Slowly, Reiji slipped back to bed and wrapped Lauren in his gentle embrace.

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PLEASE READ EVERYTHING FOR IMPORTANT INFO!
Omg I'm back! *nervous laughter*
So... Another school year is about to start and I wasn't active this summer - I sincerely apologize! Life, physical and I guess mental health prevented me from writing.
This chapter is short but it has a fair amount of fluff so I hope I will be forgiven...

My first year of studying at university is going to start soon, so I can't promise regular updates, but I'll try my best though!

ALSO! The cover for this chapter has been created by my dear friend Aya. Their Instagram is aya_takona please check out their artwork!

Stay tuned to read more about our fang-gang!