The first rays of sun were just peeking out through the windows whenever Rion finally stepped through the threshold of the shared apartment, already releasing a heavy breath from her lungs as she slumped against the front door the moment she shut and securely locked it behind her. She smelled like a mix of cigarette smoke and blood. A combination that the girl was getting all too used to.
โLizzy-โ She breathed out before she could even hear her footsteps creeping into the room.
โItโs daylight.โ Her voice cracked, eyes almost as red as her hair as she watched her hands clench into fists.
โI donโt need you on my case.โ Rion brushed off, a gasp halting in her throat the moment she saw her smaller figure rushing towards her in a way that almost reminded her of a dart.
โItโs fucking daylight outside! Daylight! Do you have any fucking clue how long I sat there by that door just waiting on you to walk through it- h-hoping that you would walk through it and not somebody else?! Because if somebody else walks through it then I know what it means!โ Rion felt so pathetic any time she yelled at her, and to think she was an assassin for crying out loud. Trained for years on nothing but but death. She was a killer- a demon- an oxygen thief. With one look at you she could know every possible way to end your life and every other possible way to make it look like an accidentโฆ or a message, whichever one she preferred.
Yet here she was- flinching at the one thing that would be the death of her.
Nevertheless though she remained stoic, even though Eliza had been with Rion long enough to know everything that expression held. Battered and bruised with bandages and cuts scattered over her body. An expression of guilt, defeat, maybe even a hint of longing.
โI know-โ Rion murmured, the slightest crack in her voice as her eyes briefly flickered towards the floor. Almost as if she was afraid to meet her gaze.
โYou know?โ She began, that same shift in her eyes that Rion always noticed whenever she was about to go off again. โYou- You know? No, you donโt! Rion! Y-You donโt know what itโs like to feel as if youโre constantly losing the love of your life every single fucking day-โ
โYou donโt think I feel like Iโm slowly losing you every time I walk out that door!โ Rion finally snapped, throwing her arm towards the door for more of an emphasis but it only made her wince in pain, sucking in a deep breath at the aching muscles and grinding bones. God she had never realized how sore she was after every mission.
โRi-โ She watched Elizaโs face shift into something softer, still red and soaked with tears but this time flooding with something more. Her hands trembling but feeling like warm compresses the moment they encircled around a scarred bicep. โRiriโฆโ Her voice cracked on the nickname causing an ache to bloom at the center of Rionโs chest. Almost like she was causing a fatal blow just from the way she said her name alone.
โBaby-โ Rion whispered, calloused fingers brushing against her cheek finally the moment she felt Elizaโs own tangle up into the straps of her white tank top. How was it not soaked in blood by now? She had held off on touching her, if only just for the fact that she didnโt think she deserved to. How could she deserve to lay hands on something so precious after all of the atrocities she had committed? After all of the times she had slowly watched the life bleed out of someone elseโs eyes? After all of the times that she didnโt make it quick- instead opting to make sure that it hurt instead.
God, did it hurt.
Eliza pressed her cheek to her chest the moment she felt the cold touch of Rionโs hand finally pulling her in, voice soft, free of any anger that had lingered in it before. Now it sounded more like a plea instead. โPromise meโฆ promise me you love me more than them. More than every single one of them. Sakamoto, Nagumoโฆ even Uzuki. P-Promise me.โ
Rion let out a soft breath, one that made her feel like she was learning how to breathe for the first time all over again. โMy sweet Elizabeth.โ She murmured, fingers tangling into her thick expanse of red hair. โThereโs nothing on planet earth that I will ever love in the way that I love you.โ
Credits: art by the ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY @nykur0h & dividers by @strangergraphics
