𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

Promise - Caine Soren

A/N: Wow, I've been really inactive recently. Sorry about that, I'll try to get back in the habit of updating this frequently. I can't believe I used to do this twice a day sometimes! Just to clarify, Gaia isn't Caine's daughter in this.

You were startled by the knock on your front door.

You weren't expecting anyone, and it wasn't like you were getting parcel deliveries in the FAYZ. In fact, there weren't even that many people left in town, seeing as a lot of kids had gone up to Lake Tramono with Sam. You'd stayed, of course. You'd stayed for Caine. Some great decision that was. You'd always had a soft spot for him, and for some strange reason you couldn't bring yourself to leave him to join Sam, Astrid, Edilio and the rest. No matter how much you loved your friends, you just couldn't leave Caine's side.

Well, it wasn't as if you were even on speaking terms anymore.

You two had always bickered throughout your relationship. It was normal for you both, and Caine wasn't exactly 'Boyfriend of the Year'. Eventually you got fed up of the way he treated people and got into a huge, explosive fight with him about it. You couldn't sit idly by his side anymore and watch him rule Perdido Beach with an iron fist. He was cruel, manipulative and ruthless. You knew that. You also missed him with every fibre of your being.

Sighing, you stood up and made your way over to the door of your small Spanish-style house in Perdido Beach – one of few houses that hadn't been burned to ashes by the Human Crew. You heaved the door open, expecting to see Quinn or Sanjit or even Lana.

Standing on the step outside your house was a very irritated-looking boy. It took you milliseconds to recognise the handsome face in front of you. 

"Just my luck," you murmured whilst rolling your eyes.

Caine looked up at you and took a deep breath.

"Hello, Y/N. It's nice to see you. It's been a while."

Skeptically, you raised an eyebrow at him and began to shut the door, hastily saying, "Look, Caine, I don't have time for this right now. So why don't you go and-"

The boy reacted quickly, moving swiftly to grab the door before you could close it.

"Please, Y/N. Just hear me out."

"You know what? Fine," you told him reluctantly, "You've got five minutes. I have stuff I need to do."

Caine huffed at your harsh tone, but you could tell he was grateful that you were giving him a chance.

"Edilio wants me to go with Sam to hunt down Gaia."

That definitely caught your attention.

"What? Edilio and Sam are here? Are they ok?" you asked with your eyes wide open, "Wait, does this mean you're leaving?"

You tried to hide the disappointment in your voice. As much as you hated to admit it, you wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that Caine was out in the middle of nowhere with Sam, putting his life on the line to find Gaia. You knew he could take care of himself, and that Sam was with him, but he was still vulnerable in multiple ways.

Caine looked at you, his expression unreadable as he confirmed your suspicions.

"Yes, Y/N. I have to leave Perdido Beach. Edilio will be running things here while I'm gone."

You breathed a sigh of relief at that. Edilio was a good leader, and he was kind and trustworthy. Perdido Beach would be in good – better – hands in Caine's absence.

"Since when have you listened to Edilio anyway?" you teased in a snarky tone.

Caine shifted on the doorstep, and embarrassment flooded his features as he informed you, "Long story short, he pointed a gun at me and threatened to blow my– um... you know... off."

You stifled a giggle.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here. At my house. Taking up my time. My very valuable time, might I add."

Caine looked annoyed at this, and said, "I came to say goodbye."

"Really?" You asked, "Because it doesn't look like you showed up here just to say goodbye. We're not together anymore, remember? You wouldn't even speak to me for months. As far as I could tell, you stopped caring about me the second you stormed out this door."

A mixture of hurt and frustration crossed his face.

"Okay, so you're really going to make me say it out loud," he muttered angrily. He paused for a few seconds, staring down at the floor, and then added, "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I left without making things right between us."

He waited for your reply with his head still facing downwards. There was silence for a few moments.  You knew you couldn't hold back any longer. You ached for him, and you didn't want him to leave, and possibly die, when the two of you were on bad terms.

"Caine... I don't know what to say. I miss you so much. You can't go, Caine, you can't! What if something happens to you?"

Suddenly, you hugged him, wrapping your arms around the back of his neck and holding him tight.  He didn't say anything, but he buried his face in your shoulder and moved so that his hands were around your waist.

You stayed like that, and Caine said, "I can't believe you think I stopped caring about you, Y/N. You're probably the only person in this world I actually care about. I missed you like crazy when we weren't talking." His voice was muffled, but you could still make out what he was saying. You felt something wet on the fabric of your shirt around your shoulder. Was Caine crying?

You said nothing for a good few minutes, just holding each other like that. You let go of him and stepped back, placing your hands on his shoulders.

"Promise me you'll come back," you demanded, looking into his now bloodshot eyes, "I need you to promise me."

It was then that Caine kissed you. It was urgent and passionate, with him still holding you by the waist and you moving one hand to the back of his head. It had been so long since the two of you had kissed. It felt so good, so right.

"I've got a while before I have to leave," Caine told you with a small smirk, one foot already in the door.

"Well then, King Caine, how about you come inside?"