of hatred

S: “I have feasted so long on pain and sorrow. It is difficult to recall sweeter taste. Except when you are in my arms.” M: “Then let me never be from them.”

Focusing on anything but her voice was damn near impossible. With every word she promised him paradise, but Scar knew all to well he would end up in hell. Each muscle  t e n s e d  under his skin, breathing became increasingly more difficult. With eyes barely open and lips almost touching, a low growl slithered along his aching tongue. “Get the fuck out, Zira~”

“Aren’t you sweet, thinking I’d really leave? I won’t and you know it”, both her hands placed on his chest, nails gently pressed against his body. Scar’s body, like most men, spoke volumes. And if there was someone used to his reactions, it was Zira. Besides, she could not say her own body was against all of this. On the contrary, she loved it. Facing him, she leaned forward a little and, using her teeth, scraped his chin. “I ain’t leaving, dear.”

“What’s the matter? You sound a little bit too desperate. Almost like you missed me.” Well, missed certain parts of him, anyway. He fought the urge to lean in. Damn her. Always showing up at the worst time, distracting him from what he should be doing. “Yeah, two out of three ain’t bad.” 

“Desperate? It’s like you don’t know me at all, isn’t it?” She leaned in and placed her mouth against the base of his neck, under his ear. “But I almost missed you, like you almost missed me”, she told him, her breath hot against his skin. “I can always leave again, if you don’t want me here, Scar. Just say the word.”

“Maybe them being dead wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” Scar was joking, of course. Sort of. He would be lying if he said he’d never thought about it, and lying is what he did best. Not that it meant anything when Zira was nearby. She was a bullshit detector. 

“Aren’t you a bit too old to play ‘daddy’ again, Scar? Although the practicing is not bad at all”, she answered, once again moving closer to the man who had just almost hit her. “Besides, we have a couple of good ones”, she added. They needed more training. A lot more, maybe. A good pounding to get them where they needed to be. “They just need... some refining.”

       ❛ How’s dad? I assume you’ve talked to him. ❜

“You did not need me? I am your mother! I can do anything I damn well please!” Her answer was short and to the point. Zira had given her life, she could take it away, it was within her grasp. At least, that was how she saw things. But that tongue of Vitani’s, she knew well who she got it from - herself. “Your father sometimes doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground, so I had to see you myself. Despite what you may believe, I care about you.” She did, or at least, cared more than Scar ever did. In the most unconventional ways. But she did, deep down her guts.

The man huffed, revealing a small smirk in the corner of his mouth.  “You’re bat-shit crazy. It’s a miracle the kids didn’t turned out worse.” Finally his posture became more relaxed, though his jaw twitched ever so lightly.

This was their game, their thing, their insanity. They would be at each other’s throats for no reason and then at each other’s bed, a minute later. “What do you even mean? We are the best parents. Look around us. They would be dead a long time ago without us shaping them for this world”, she answered, proud of surviving on the worst places, of accomplishing so much, when she had nothing to begin with. A survivor, a fighter.

     ❝ What happened between you and my              father? I don’t mean Scar; my real father. ❞

The question had honestly surprised Zira, although she did her best not to show it. A sigh of resignation escaped her lips, and their eyes met then, curiosity of her own showing through them. Zira wondered the reasoning behind his question. Scar? Maybe. “What did Scar do to you this time?”, she questioned back, not avoiding his own inquiry...                            at all.

   “wha— OH! no, it’s just scar keeping me around for the fun of it, heh. he’s been introducing me to a LOT of crazy stuff lately, so.” kiara folded her arms carefully as the other seemed both intense and sinister. but then again, who DIDN’T scar hang out with who wasn’t moderately creepy?

“Is that so?”, the older woman inquired, as she analyzed the girl before her from head to toes. ‘This could be fun’, Zira thought, a smirk growing on her lips. “Then, by all means, tell me your name. A guest of Scar’s is a guest of mine, with pleasure”, she replied, a growing smile now appearing on her face. “Crazy stuff? Sounds like fun!”

Heavy breathes escaped his mouth, the grip he had on her loosening with each one. Zira really did bring out the worst in him. “I swear, one day we’ll end up killing each other.” Scar’s voice was low, almost gentle in a way.  “ — And it will be your fault.”

Zira breathed in and out until her heart stopped racing. His words caused her to laugh honestly for the first time in a long time. It was probably true, what he had said, which was why it was funny to her. “I am sure we can do better things with one another, other than killing ourselves, Scar”, she answered, her voice still somewhat hoarse.

The sass was unnecessary, but also something she obviously had inherited from a certain someone. It was just the way she was — especially when her SLEEP got interrupted. Vitani was not even sure if she had sobered up properly yet, placing herself on the edge of her bed to check if her body even functioned.

A quick glance at her watch, and Zira had her eyes once again. She was aware of her daughter’s life -- superficially, of course --, she knew what Vitani did for her father. Long hours, no doubt. Still... “You do realize it’s almost three pm, don’t you? It was about time you woke up, Vitani.” Her daughter’s remark was answered with a mere cold chuckle. She was her father’s daughter, no doubt. Quick to engage her in any way, shape or form, because why not? The whole family did so, it was almost a tradition. It ran in the family. Or rather - it galloped. Amongst other things... “Oh, you are far from perfect, I know. Aren’t we all?”, she replied, not moving. “But I came here to see you, not to have you cook me lunch. I am capable of doing that by myself.”

He kept his back turned, fists clenching as she called him weak. Ziva’s tone of voice only made his body tenser. Maybe he was the bomb that would go off first. And there it was again. WEAK. Before she knew it, Scar had a firm grip on her jawline. His eyes were on fire and every fiber of his being radiating of hate and anger. “I don’t know where they are and I don’t give a shit either. I never wanted those vermin in the first place.” Each word got hissed ferociously into her face. Barely five minutes in a room together and the world was already on  f i r e.

“Much better!”, she managed to reply, his strength on her jaw making it that much harder for Zira to speak. It was not something that hadn’t happened before or that wouldn’t happen ever again. She knew him too well - and knew herself too well - to know that the two of them were bound to fight all the time. “Now you are the Scar I’ve known”, she muttered, unable to say more than that without feeling a lot of pain. She disliked it, but she was on his mercy.