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You could hear the door to your room start to unlock before you saw either of your captors. Twelve deadbolts, all lined-up vertically, lightly worn from both your efforts to break them and normal wear-and-tear. You briefly considered getting up and attempting to hide in some dark corner, but one glance around the small, cramped cell freed you of that possibility. Maybe it would’ve been better if you had some closet to lock yourself in, or a window to crawl out of. Instead, the only comfort you had was the small, paper-thin mattress, laid next to the books Tamaki had been kind enough to give you.

Forcing yourself into a corner, you pulled your knees up to your chin, hiding your face the best you could. You could vaguely hear the door crack open, Tamaki and Kyoya stepping inside, but stopping before they reached you. You knew they were whispering, but neither of them had ever been good at that sort of thing.

“…she’s not eating,” Tamaki said quietly, the harshness in his voice still coming through clearly.

Kyoya sighed. You could almost see him rubbing his temples, in only out of habit. “I know, love. I can see as well as you can.”

“Well, what are we going to do?! I swear, if you say-”

“We aren’t going to do anything, and that’s final. Things will work out, you’ll see.”

There were a few seconds of tense silence, before Tamaki huffed, taking a few hesitant steps towards you. A hand ran through your messy hair, smoothing it out. Or trying to, at least. You knew he was kneeling in front of you, that damned smile still spread across his lips, but you didn’t dare to look up. You only shifted when his palm pressed against your cheek, the warm skin a stark contrast against the cold room.

“Hey there, darling. Are you alright?” He asked, almost sweetly. Gently, he tilted your chin up, forcing you to look at him. Both he and Kyoya were still dressed formerly, like they’d just gotten home. Half of you was touched that the first thing they did was come visit you, while the other half wanted to beg them to leave. “Why aren’t you on your bed? Is something upsetting you?”

You choked down a sob, trying to keep your voice as neutral as you could. But, acknowledging your situation while maintaining the unfulfilling level of emotion you wanted to display was… difficult, to say the least. “You kidnapped me. I’m never going to be ‘alright’ again.”

Finally, Kyoya stepped forward, putting his hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “I think what he’s trying to say,” Kyoya paused, glaring down at his counterpart. Tamaki took the hint, letting go of you and slotting himself into your side. “Is that we’re trying to make you as comfortable as possible. Is there anything you need, (Y/n)?”

“My family,” You stuttered out, frantically. You’d already tried asking to go outside, to leave your room, to roam around while they weren’t home, but all you’d ever gotten was disappointed stares and a lecture on how you had to be good before you got any privileges. Small things got a response, at least. “Are they looking for me?”

The two exchanged a look, but only for a moment. Tamaki nodded, and Kyoya gave up trying to stand, just sitting in front of you. He took your hand, and for once, you didn’t resist. As long as he told you what you wanted to know, he could do whatever he wanted. “Not exactly… I mean, I wouldn’t call it looking.”

“They filed a missing-person report,” Tamaki added, optimistically.

You pursed your lips, squeezing Kyoya’s hand, coaxing him to continue. He averted his eyes, dropping the empathetic pretense. “They don’t care. But, that doesn’t matter. You’re home now, with us. You shouldn’t have to care about anyone out there.”

At that point, you couldn’t take it anymore. You felt Tamaki wrap an arm around your shoulders as you started to tear up, pulling you closer when you actually started to cry. You didn’t try to push him away, too busy with trying to cover your mouth and retain the growing break-down that you’d been putting off for weeks, now. Kyoya rubbed circles into your back, seeming hesitant to touch you. 

But… you were glad they were there. This wasn’t ideal, not in any sense of the word, but you didn’t want to be alone, either. 

~

“You’re getting heavy, (Y/n),” Tamaki laughed, pulling you further onto his lap. Despite the new cot they’d gotten you, he still didn’t like you sitting on something so… lower-class. Whenever Tamaki visited you, your feet never touched the ground. And even when he wasn’t nuzzling into your side, a vast collection of pillows and stuffed animals easily made up for his absence. “Guess this is what sitting around all day gets you. I’ll barely be able to lift you, in a few months.”

You punched him playfully, too light to actually prove anything. It took more self-control than it should’ve to keep from smiling. You missed domestic moments like this, badly. But, you didn’t let yourself fall into the illusion. Your arms are around his neck for support, you told yourself. It would be too much trouble to push him away. Playing along was easier. “Shut up! You don’t get to keep me in the same room all day, then complain about me gaining weight.”

“I could never complain about you,” He purred, bringing up a hand to pinch your cheek. “I’m just observing.”

Kyoya cleared his throat, dragging your attention towards him. The boy was sitting cross-legged next to you, back pressed against the nearest wall. The distance was normal, his affection more reserved than Tamaki’s. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss the feeling of his hands brushing hair out of your face, or the tiny, genuine smiles that just made you feel so special… But, you couldn’t want those things anymore.

You couldn’t want Kyoya anymore, or Tamaki. You weren’t allowed to want any of this.

“So, you’ve been well-behaved, lately.” The words sounded practiced, like he’d been waiting to say them for a long, long time. You didn’t mind. You’d been waiting to hear them for a long time, too. “We’ve had a room for you, one of your own. It would be nice if you could share with us…” He paused, fighting back a few choice words. “But, we’ll live with it.”

“I’m getting my own room,” You mumbled, not bothering to repress your grin. You tried to move forward, already eager for the change. “Does it have windows? Do they open? And a computer?”

Tamaki moved with you, draping himself over your shoulders as you kneeled in front of Koyoa. With his chin propped on your shoulder, the blonde interjected. “I had to convince Mommy that you wouldn’t run away, but there’ll be windows. No laptops, radios, or phones without our supervision, though. We aren’t that dumb.” You felt yourself cringe in disappointment, but there wasn’t much you could do. Not now, anyway. “Besides, there’s nothing but trees around for miles. Why would you want to look at any of that, when you have your loving, handsome partners right here?”

Kyoya nodded in agreement, and you clenched your fists, trying to shrug Tamaki off of you. “There’s a balcony, too. We knew you’d want one.” He slowly reached over, laying his palm over yours. It was a sweet gesture, until you tried to pull away. You forced yourself not to look down as his nails dug into your wrist. Seeing the blood the drew so often would only make not fighting back harder. “But, the cameras are staying. I know you don’t like them, but it’s for your safety.”

“Fine…” You smiled, moving forward and out of Tamaki’s arms, letting him fall. “I won’t complain, as long as I get a twin-sized bed. Nothing bigger.”

“Queen-sized,” Kyoya compromised, finally letting go of your wrist. “You don’t want to see Tamaki cry again, do you? Personally, I don’t think my eardrums would be able to take it.”

Muffled rebuttles came from the blonde, but you just narrowed your eyes. “Twin sized,” You repeated, more sternly. “Or else I’ll start crying, too.”

With an exasperated groan, he relented. Tamaki pouted, find his way back to your waist. You got the feeling that he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. “Fine, but I’m getting you a collar.” 

“Don’t you mean a choker?”

“No.”

~

As time passed, you found yourself lingering in the hall between the two bedrooms more often. Running your fingertips along the walls, curling up in the huge bay windows that you might’ve been able to jump through, making conversation with passing maids and butlers… the normal stuff. But, at night, you would trail through the hall, pauseing outside of Kyoya and Tamaki’s door before talking yourself out of knocking. Ultimately, you’d drag yourself back to your bed, berating yourself for ever considering something so desperate as an option.

But, your little ‘method’ got harder to keep up as weeks turned into months, the advances of your captors growing more… accepted, something you’d come to expect whenever they came home. Tamaki’s whines and shameless compliments grew endearing again, like they had been before he went off the deep-end. Kyoya’s gentle, soft gestures were something you started to crave, enough to behave well if a reward was promised.

And worst of all, you started trying to ignore their worse habits. You’d sit quietly and distract yourself while they argued about what you would wear on any given day. You didn’t bother asking to go outside anymore, sympathizing with Tamaki’s ideology of ‘there’s nothing worth seeing unless we’re with you, so there isn’t a point’. You stopped trying to avoid the view of their security cameras, just settling into one of your marked blind-spots whenever you wanted real privacy. Even that only happened once or twice a week, now.

You could feel complacency wrapping its hands around your neck, but there was nothing you could do. Not unless you wanted to get yourself killed, or be locked in that awful, awful room again. You’d tried once, screaming at Tamaki to stop touching you and to let you go, but he’d just frowned, asking if you really wanted to let Kyoya hear you say something like so heartless. After that, you’d stopped forcing yourself to be mad at them. It just wasn’t worth the effort, not for the response you got.

It was a dark, stormy night when you finally broke. The rain wasn’t loud, but the constant noise was enough to keep you awake, enough to keep you uneasy. Suddenly, the room you thought you’d gotten used to was too big, too open, too empty. Without thinking, you swung your legs over the side of your bed, standing as soon as your feet hit the ground. It took three minutes to find their door in the darkness, and four more to convince yourself to open it. As you slipped through the narrow entrance, Tamaki stirred, sitting up completely by the time you found your way to his bedside.

“I… the rain kept me up,” You lied, rubbing the back of your neck. Tamaki eyed you suspiciously, but luckily, kept his mouth shut. “Your room is practically in the center of… wherever we are, so I thought it would be quieter.”

He reached down, tilting your chin back up to face him. He was smiling sleepily, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes. “You know you don’t have to lie to me, darling. Everyone gets lonely.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but he shushed you, taking your hand in his, guiding you onto the bed and next to him. The sheets were soft, silkier and more comfortable than yours. Between them, the house seemed warmer, safer. More sheltered than it had been since your arrival. “I’m not lonely,” You whispered, firmly. “I just can’t sleep. There’s nothing else going on.”

Aw, I’m sowwy your cwients wiww haaave to waaait~. ❤️

— Stolas baby-talking Blitzø

I love how baby-talking can be used to express affection and bully someone, but Stolas uses it for both. 🥰 I also liked:

Stolas’ eye crease as part of his faux “exasperation,”

How in-character this is for Stolas as a fatherly figure,

Stolas gradually leaning in instead of doing it all at once,

How Stolas draws his eyebrows up tenderly at the end, and

How small and confused Blitzø was before trying to seem cool.

The way that Stolas so flippantly regards Blitzø‘s livelihood and struggles is delicious. I guess that it makes sense. If Blitzø lost everything, Stolas would ‘rescue’ him, so it does not seem like a problem. But the power and control~! ❤️

I miss Stolas’ first actor. His deep drawl really sold that angle despite Stolas being a power bottom. It was a new concept for me!

Bonus:

(More on Bum’s manner of speech towards Sangwoo below the cut)