The Cost Of Silence (BL)

He was running as fast as his legs would carry him, breath tearing out of his chest, silent tears blurring the corridor ahead. His feet slipped. His knees buckled. He hit the floor hard.

Hands seized him from behind before he could crawl away. Another grip forced his face up, fingers tangled painfully in his hair, holding him still. A voice in front of him curved into a smile he couldn't see but could feel.

"Oh, dear," the man said softly. "You know I don't like it when you try to run."

Another presence loomed closer, close enough for him to feel breath against his skin, "So scared," the second voice murmured. "You always are." He leaned down towards his neck and sniffled him and murmured,"Mm... You smell so nice, just like... wet soil after rain."

His body began to shake uncontrollably. Tears spilled freely now, unchecked, soaking into his collar. The struggle drained out of him-not because he wanted to stop, but because he no longer had the strength to keep fighting.

His fingers loosened around the fabric of his own shirt.

Not surrender.
Just exhaustion.