Love & Pain (BTD Strade x Reader)

Ren

My eyelids fluttered as I awoke. I had no idea for how long I had passed out and honestly, I didn't cared. I squirmed a bit, trying to move my arms, as they were starting to feel quite numb. My legs were also both hurting me. I looked down and noticed that my previously injured knee was wrapped in a bandage. Did...Strade do that ? But as a part of me was grateful he had treated it, it was quickly replaced by hatred when I remembered how he pushed the drill into my flesh, for his own pleasure. I trembled, the pain still fresh in my mind. My throat was also dry, demanding some water immediately. It hit me that I didn't drink anything since the night I was abducted. No wonder I was starting to get dehydrated...

Suddenly, I started to hear something coming from the floor above me. The sound of footsteps. At first, I didn't pay any attention to it, since it was probably just Strade. But then I noticed how...light they were, as if the person responsible was tiptoeing around.

Those weren't Strade's.

Strade's footsteps were heavy and loud, not like those. My mind went in full alert, trying to follow the sound and where the person above was going. Did Strade live with someone else ? Did they even know I was in here ? Or maybe they were an accomplice. So many questions, but no answer. My blood ran cold when I heard the basement door slowly creaking open, letting the light of the moon enter into the darkness. I couldn't see who was slowly descending the stairs since my back was facing them. I quickly closed my eyes, pretending to sleep. I tried to calm my nerves as the light footsteps came closer to my position, accompanied by a quiet clicking sound on the cement floor. I sat, not moving a muscle as the person responsible for the footsteps moved in front of me. Then, I heard something weird. It was like something was sniffing the side of my head, like an animal. Wait, an animal ? Was it a dog ? No, a dog or any animal couldn't open a door by itself. This made me feel even more uneasy. I decided that I had to see what it was that stood in front of me. It couldn't put me into even more trouble that I already was in anyway. I twitched and opened my eyes in a sudden movement and I was baffled by what was in front of me.

- "Y-You're alive ?!"

It was what seemed to be a small child, with short ginger hair and orange eyes that illuminated his face behind red glasses. He wore a white tank top and black shorts. On his neck, there was some sort of metal collar, a small red light beeping in silence on it. What was a child doing in a place like this ? Then I noticed...was...was that a fox tail and ears I saw on him ?! Could they be fake ? They looked real to me though.

I closed my opened mouth, finding my composure back. At first, I wanted to beg the fox child to be freed immediately, but this little guy looked as if he was ready to run away at any moment. I probably scared him. I would need to stay calm and friendly to get him to trust me.

- "Are...Are these...real ?" I asked the child in a soft and gentle voice, trying to not stare too much.

- "Ah, um these ?" his ears moved up and down. "Well...I'm a..." he paused. "I-If they make you uncomfortable I can hide them !" he said in a shaking voice, mumbling something else to himself as he looked away.

- "It's fine, I don't mind them. It's just surreal to me..." I smiled. "My name is (F/N)."

This seem to calm the little guy down, as he introduced himself as Ren. He told me that it was nice to meet me, although he didn't seem sure of it.

- "I-I'm sorry if I startled you earlier. It's just that...he doesn't keep people that long...And when he does, they don't look...too good." Ren apologized.

He...So he meant Strade. This made me hate him even more when I noticed the many scars covering Ren's body. How dare that man capture a child and do horrible things to him ! My blood was boiling, but I needed to stay calm to not make Ren run away.

- "Ren...Please...You need to help me." I looked at him, pleading and tugging at the ropes holding me in place.

- "I can't let you go." Ren spoke, looking quite sad.

What did I expect...This kid was probably terrified of Strade and had clearly suffered many beatings. Who knows what Strade would do to him if he learnt that he had let me go. Also, it's not like I could run away with injured legs.

- "I-I'm sorry, I would if I-"

- "It's okay, I understand."

This made Ren look at me puzzled, like he expected me to scream at him for his refusal to help me.

- "I can see why you wouldn't disobey...and I don't want you to get hurt because of something I caused."

I truly wanted to beg for his help, I really did...but no way in hell I would let a child get hurt because of me. Ren looked away, before asking me in a shaking voice that he could get me a glass of water. I accepted his offer without hesitation. I saw Ren as he scampered off behind me, followed by the sound of water running and some shuffling.

- "Here you go--Oh..."

He was about to give me the glass of water, but then remembered I was tied up. He kneeled in front of me, holding the cup to my lips. I drank to entire contents in no time, to cold liquid quenching my thirst.

- "Thank you Ren." I thanked him.

- "It's okay !" he tail switched happily.

Ren then looked at the injuries on my legs. He examined them briefly before speaking again.

- "Your wounds are healing pretty quickly." he seemed surprised.

I looked down and saw that the knife wound that had been stitched up by Strade was almost completely healed. It would leave a scar though.

- "I was always a fast healer." I told Ren. "Helped me a lot when I was younger since I was quite clumsy. Once, I when I was eight, I broke my arm by falling down the stairs and it healed in record time. The doctors were baffled by it, so were my parents and I. At that time, I thought I had some sort of a super power." I laughed weakly to myself.

- "T-That's good then."

Ren chuckled a bit, before saying that he should go, since he was not supposed to be doing here. I nodded, sadden to the fact I would be back to being alone in the darkness of the basement. As he left, I looked down. At least I had someone else to talk to other then Strade. I slowly drifted back to sleep, hoping that Ren would be okay and that this nightmare would end soon.