The Silence Of Metawin.

Irresistible

If time was the slut who screwed everybody, then déjà vu was an unforgiving mistress.

Bright waltzed in as if he owned the place (which he did, but still) carrying a tray piled high with food for his impromptu patient in care. For all Win knew, that food could be drugged. He knew that this was quickly spiraling into a game of cat and mouse, but that didn't mean he had to play his part and fall for the cheese.

"My dear Win, it appears you have rejoined the land of the living. You must be ravenously hungry, having slept so long." He positioned a chair to face the bed, just as he had done last time. He gently set the tray next to Win and looked at him expectantly. Win had never noticed before how crucial his cooking was to this man, it was practically a weak spot. His need of approval of his food was just enough to resemble one of his dogs looking to be petted, and it made a part of Win want to take a bite just to wipe the look of vulnerability off his face. A predator such as he should never look so vulnerable, it just looked wrong.

"How did I get here, Dr. Vachirawit?" He meant to ask something that implied more 'Why am I not at my own house?' or 'Why did they call you to come get me?' but his subconscious was so accustomed to ending up in strange places that the question came across more like 'Did I sleepwalk here?'

Bright smiled. "In Mr Tawan's eyes, I am still your psychiatrist. The episode you had at the crime scene that he described to me sounded like a mild seizure, but I assured him it was nothing I couldn't handle." His eyes flicked down to the tray of food and back up to him. Win kept the eye contact and made no move to start eating. "Did you dream while you were rendered unconscious at the hospital? Or was it nothing but thick, grey void? Many people have different recollections from their near death experiences. It's not everyday you get to flirt with death, and I would be honored if you were to share the experience with me." His tone was whimsical with an underlying nostalgia, as if they were swapping childhood adventures once more.

Win shivered and twiddled his thumbs. He had been meaning to share the dark thoughts that had been bouncing around in his head, knocking over the pieces of fine China that held his sanity- that were already far and few between to begin with- and making them crash to the ground and shatter, making a mess of his mind palace. And who better to share these thoughts than with his psychiatrist? Even though he wasn't officially his psychiatrist anymore, nor had he ever legally been so in the first place, this man still knew more about him than anyone and he soon felt the words slipping out of him with a natural ease and familiarity.

He took a deep breath. "I had these, visions, while I was sleeping. At least, that's what it felt like- sleep, equipped with an array of different nightmares. I saw through the eyes of the Tooth Fairy, for instance. It felt as if I became him: I had his reasoning for taking the lives of families down to a science. Each murder was not only justified, but a necessity."

He was in full psychiatrist mode: eyes watching his every move and nodding every so often. Win could tell all of his senses were focused on him, and if it wasn't an involuntary bodily function he would've neglected to breathe.

"And did you find yourself empathizing with any other killers, besides the Tooth Fairy?"

He shook his head. "No. But I did have these... other dreams. I was being chased by this big, black wolf-like thing." He shivered again and clenched the bed sheets around him, grounding him. "I- I'd rather not talk about those."

Bright nodded and skillfully changed the subject.

"How did it feel to empathize with a killer to the point where you believed his actions were your own?"

"I was never scared, although I believe I should have been. Instead, I embraced it. I felt like I was doing very important work- I wasn't killing them, I was simply changing them- I was making them better than what they were. It was for everyone's benefit that I did my work and it felt... right."