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Racing through the halls, Rumi’s heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. Her breath came in stuttered pants, unable to decide if she needed to scream or weep until her heart shattered. Which honestly wouldn’t take much as she could already feel shards of it lacerating her chest. She wanted to rip the thought of Jinu from her mind, but he was all she could think about in her frantic search. Mira and Zoe’s looks of utter betrayal would haunt her forever. How could he do this to her? She had to find him, she had to know.
‘Jinu? Jinu! Where are you?’
Skidding around the corner she came to an abrupt halt, locking eyes with Jinu where he stood, waiting for her. He stood quiet and still, eyes their usual deep brown but purple markings covered his skin. Not wholly demon but not wholly human either. His handsome face was blank, showing no signs of any emotion and he was backed by… Mira and Zoe? It was them but not them, their expressions cold and cruel, their eyes softly glowing in the dim light.
Rumi stalked towards him, feelings of fury and betrayal churning in her gut. ‘Say you didn’t do this?!’ She winced at the note of pleading in her voice, mentally hardening herself against him.
His response was a snap of his fingers, and the not-Mira and Zoe wavered, transforming into the demons these versions of them had been all along, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Rumi staggered towards him, and he barely moved as she shoved at his chest with all her strength.
‘How could you do this!’ Her voice was frantic, pleading, hoping it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.
‘It was all a lie.’ That’s all he said, all he gave her in a voice utterly devoid of emotion as he looked at her, eyes cold and distant. She searched his face, and saw nothing of the Jinu she had come to know looking back at her.
‘It was real! What we had was real, I know it was!’ She couldn’t hide the pain in her voice, begging him, fighting for him, and his next words hit her like an arrow straight into the heart.
‘The things I said? I just needed you to trust me. That’s all.’ He said it on a sneer, his voice remaining emotionless. Still, his face fought hard to betray nothing as he went to turn away from her and she could see it there, flashing so quickly she almost missed it, the flicker of pain and regret deep in his eyes. Latching onto that small kernel of what she knew was a vast amount of feeling she pressed on, reaching out and grabbing his arm. ‘No! No, I know your story, you were a good person, and you still are. You just made a mistake!’
‘I LEFT THEM!’ Without warning he spun around, eyes flashing golden yellow before returning to his usual color as they fixed on her, no longer cold but wildly burning with his inner turmoil as he finally let go. Rumi could only look into his eyes, unconsciously taking a step back as he continued, breathing heavily. ‘That’s right, I lied to you. I only made a deal with Gwi-Ma to get myself out of that miserable life. I left my sister, my mother, alone, while I slept on silk sheets in the palace with my belly full every night! I left them.’ Sorrow and pain flickered across his face, and it was devastation in his eyes as his voice cracked on a broken whisper. “I left them.” A single tear slid down his face and he stared at her with his helpless gaze.
Her heart ached to wipe it away, to comfort him, but her own breaking heart stopped her from reaching out to him. ‘But that’s not all you are. This is just your demon talking, you have to fight it’. Because if he couldn’t, how could she?
‘That’s not how it works!’ A flash of pink flickered through the honmon around them at his outburst, his fists were clenched now and his body shook with emotion as his voice deepened to a growl.
‘Yes it is!’ Rumi froze at her own voice, the demon growl of it, as an even more intense flash of color radiated through the honmon around them. Their emotions were feeding off the other, and feeding into the honmon. She could only look at him then, arms loose at her sides as she tried to come to terms with whatever this was, whatever she was. Whatever he was trying to convince her they were.
‘Listen to yourself. Is it working?’ His voice was quiet now, subdued as if he had given up fighting had nothing left to give. His eyes began to lighten to a soft gold as he seemed to slip a bit and lose some of the control he kept on his inner demon. The coldness returned as he continued. ‘You’re a demon, just like me. All we get to do is live with our pain, our misery. That’s all we deserve.’
‘That’s not true and you know it. I’ve seen how you’ve changed over these past weeks. How you’ve changed me. You are more than your demon Jinu.’ Rumi could only watch as he tried to rebuild the walls between them, the aura of his pain flaring to match her own. She knew what he’d said wasn’t the truth, she knew how deeply he felt, had seen it and shared in his happiness. How could he lose hope so completely?
He shook his head, his lips curving into a small, sad smile. His voice was a broken whisper as he said ‘I thought so too, once upon a time. I’m sorry, Rumi. For what it’s worth. I never wanted to hurt you,I did want to trust this’ He stood straighter, and his body tensed in a way that she knew meant he was about to fade away and leave her alone in this darkness.
In a moment of panic she reached towards him, grasping his wrist much like he had grabbed hers that day on the wall. He froze in place, and so did she, both of them looking down at where she was holding him and what she felt around his wrist. The bracelet, the blue knot bracelet the old lady had given during that beautiful, kind of a date, kind of awkward evening when their hearts had started to open just a little bit to let the other in. She hadn’t seen him put it on, assumed he had tossed it or dropped it after she left.
He still hadn’t moved, his wrist strong and warm beneath her fingers. Slowly her eyes rose to find his already on her face, steady and guarded. She had a flashback to the day in the bathhouse when he had held her for that split second that was forever imprinted in her mind and body.
‘You kept it’ her voice shook a little as she said it, unsure how to navigate this closed off version of him.
‘Yes’ was all he said in response. He shifted his wrist and she made to pull her hand back but he grabbed and held it instead, running a gentle thumb along her knuckles as if he couldn’t help himself.
‘Why?’ It came out as barely a whisper, and she held her breath, waiting for an answer she perhaps didn’t want but also needed more than she had ever needed anything.
He looked at her for a long moment, still warring with himself, and she watched as conflicting emotions flickered over his face. Taking a steadying breath she thought he would pull away but he surprised her by slowly reaching his other arm up to hover near her throat, close enough that she could feel the warmth but not quite touching her skin. He was always so, so careful not to physically touch her. Her heart and marks reacted just the same, flaring bright in response to his nearness. His eyes followed the wave of light moving across her skin, returning to her eyes as he took a slow step forward.
‘Because’ his voice was low and quiet as he took another step, bringing their bodies close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off of him. Careful. The fight or flight in her body was changing, warming and settling somewhere deep in her stomach. As she stared into his depthless eyes, she found it getting harder to catch her breath. That became next to impossible as he slowly leaned over her and tucked a spray bit o hair behind her ear. She shuddered as his fingers brushed her ear, and traced a bath down her jaw. She put both hands on his chest to steady herself, breath hitching at the brush of his fingers over her lower lip, tracing the contours of her face with such gentleness, like he was coming the lines to memory.
‘Because’ he started again, his voice softer now as his eyes zeroed in on her mouth, eyes flaring as she licked her bottom lip in nervous anticipation. ‘In all my 400 years I have never held anything as precious as this bracelet. Something so small but meaning so much.’ Bringing up his other hand he cradled her face in his hands. “Until now.’
He leaned closer to her, close enough she could feel his breath ghosting across her lips, and she realized she had never wanted anything more than she needed him to close that distance between them. Their eyes met for a moment of absolute clarity, charging the tense air between them with all their unspoken words, before he brought his lips to hers. Rumi realized then, that despite everything that had happened, everything between Mira and Zoe, the honmon, even her own self, that it was this moment right here with Jinu’s lips on hers that would be the moment to forever change her.
It was slow and sweet, his lips moving over hers in a kiss so tender that she could feel the anger, the barriers around her heart melting away. Her pulse pounded in her throat and he brushed his lips over hers one last time before pulling back slightly and resting his forehead against hers. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath either as he breathed a simple ‘sorry’. Sorry for kissing her or for everything that he had done, she wasn’t sure, but before she knew what she was doing her hands were around his neck and gripping into his hair, and she rose on her toes to meet him as she brought his lips back to hers.
He met her with a groan and this kiss was different, hungry and desperate, a kiss between two broken souls who had finally found their match. He tasted of something dark and forbidden, a taste blossoming into an addiction she knew she would be chasing for the rest of her days. As one hand slid back to cradle the back of her head, his other moved to grip her neck, and he used his thumb to tilt her chin up as he took control of the kiss, deepening it and tasting her like a man starved. Which she supposed he was in a way, and even in her inexperience she knew that whatever was happening between them was something neither of them could come back from. Still hanging onto each other, he walked them backwards until her back hit something, a wall maybe. Gripping the backs of her thighs he hiked her up until her legs wrapped around his waist, never breaking the kiss as one hand held her to him while the other returned to cup the back of her head, cushioning her as he pressed her back.
She felt out of control, in a freewill of want and unknown desire, their hurt and anger towards each other and the hand fate had dealt them fuelling the kiss. Her tongue tangled with his, hands tugging at his soft hair until he let out a growl and nipped her lips in retaliation. The feel of his fangs made her shudder and liquid heat pooled low, forming an ache she knew only he could sate. She rocked against him, movements uncertain but instinctual as she could feel him between her thighs, hard and surely aching as much as she was. He broke off the kiss with a hiss through his teeth, pulling back to focus on her eyes as their pants filled the charged air between them. She realized then that they were both glowing, eyes gold and markings vibrant, her iridescent blending and merging with the purple glow of his.
‘Rumi, I..” he broke off, seeming to struggle to find the words, eyes flitting between hers as if hoping she could hear what he wasn’t able to put into words. That he was sorry, so sorry for everything. That he had lied, but not in the way he tried to have her believe. That he had lied to himself about what this was, what she was to him and he was to her. That this, she, was the most real and precious thing in his long and dark existence.
‘I know’ she gave him a soft smile, voice choking on emotion as she reached to brush his lips with her fingers before grabbing the hand he had holding her neck, twining her fingers with his as she held them to her chest, over her heart. ‘I know Jinu’.
He gave her a shaky smile, the emotion in his face softening but not dampening the hunger in his golden eyes. Eyes that held an unspoken question that she answered with no doubts in her heart by leaning in to kiss him again. He went to meet her but stopped, looking around them as if just realizing where they were. He looked down at her and gave her a mischievous smirk, making her heart clench at the glimpse of the Jinu she had come to know, and with a snap of his fingers they were no longer under the stadium but in her bedroom. She was still wrapped around him as they just stared at each other, the moon shining in through her tall windows luminating the space and softening their edges. The flickering of the broken honmon over the city was ignored by them both as they focused wholey on each other. He gave her a soft kiss before setting her feet on the ground, and she watched as he dropped to a crouch in front of her.
‘Jinu, what..’ He cut her off by reaching for a foot, resting it on his knee as she reached out to steady herself with a hand on his shoulder. He began unlacing her tall boot, pulling it and her sock off and tossing them aside, pressing a kiss to her knee before setting her foot back on the ground and reaching for the other. Tossing aside the other one boot, he palmed both of her calves and looked up at her. He looked into her eyes for a long moment before slowly getting to his feet, running his warm hands up her legs and over her hips before coming to rest on her waist. They just stood there for a moment, taking each other in and she realized just how tall he was now that she was barefoot. He leaned over her, his broad shoulders and glowing eyes filling her vision, becoming her whole world.
‘I am happy just being here in the quiet with you Rumi. Even if it’s just for a little while.’ He said softly, letting her know that he was not expecting anything from her.
She gave him a soft smile, mind made up well before they even got to this point. Neither of them knew what would happen now or after, all they had was this moment and she would not waste it. She reached for her braid, bringing the end of it up so she could remove the tie and he watched as she slowly unraveled her hair. The tiny jewels woven into it pinged onto the floor, neither one of them looking away from the other as she finished and soft waves framed her face and fell to the floor. She grasped one of his hands and walked backwards, pulling him towards the bed. ‘Stay with me Jinu, please’
His breath left him in a rush, like he had been holding it waiting for her decision. He followed her backwards and when the backs of her knees hit the bed he reached down to grip her thighs, wrapping her around him as he moved onto the bed and laid her underneath him, settling himself between her legs. She looked up at him, unafraid, and she could see herself reflected in his gaze. Her eyes and marks were glowing softly and her hair was fanned all around her. His eyes traced over her face, taking in everything as he brought his hand up to grip the star shaped zipper at her throat and slowly tugged it down. Their soft pants and the sound of the zipper were the only things that filled the space around them, adding to the anticipation thick in the air. Reaching the end of the zipper, Jinu sat up on his knees and gripping the edges of her top. He started to bring it up and over her head, giving her ample time to stop him, as if she ever would. She sat up and raised her arms over her head for him to pull the top off, and he didn’t break his gaze from her as he tossed it to the floor. They both barely seemed to breathe as she laid back down, keeping her hands above her head and buried in her hair to try and hide the trembling.
He stared down at her, hands framing her waist, fingers tracing the marks there and she could feel a slight tremor in his hands as he held her. ‘You are beautiful Rumi, every single piece of you’ he breathed, looking up into her eyes as he spoke. Her eyes began to burn at his words and he leaned forward to place a lingering kiss on her lips before sitting back and taking in the sight of her bare beneath him. He leaned forward to place another kiss, this time at her throat, before moving down her throat and across to her shoulder and back across her chest, and she realized that he was following the path of her markings, kissing along each one on his way down her body. His hands fanned up her waist to cup underneath her breasts and she tensed in anticipation, goosebumps peopling across her skin. As his mouth ghosted across her flesh, he moved to cup one breast as his mouth , gently squeezing as he took her other into his mouth. The feel of his hot mouth and hint of fangs had her arching her back and running her hands into his hair, crying out at the delicious shock of it. He hummed at the scrape of her nails on his scalp and the sensation of it sent a shock through her body straight to her core.
He was laying over her fully now, and the weight of him while he worshiped her body sent her head reeling. He shifted to her other breast, lavishing that one with attention until she was arching into his mouth with every hot pull. With a soft kiss to her nipple, he covered both breasts with his hands as he continued his way down her stomach, paying attention to every mark on the way and her body wound tighter the closer he got to her center. He reached the waistband of her shorts and looked up at her while he toyed with the hem, the hunger in his eyes sending a rush through her body.
‘Are you sure?’ His voice was gravelly with desire, and she knew that he would stop the second she asked, regardless of how far this went. At her nod her let out a shaky breath and started to pull down her shorts. She lifted her hips to help him and then she was totally bared to him, fighting her body’s need to cover herself from his hungry gaze. Her fingers drummed nervously on her stomach and he grabbed her hand in his to give it a squeeze while he reached out with his other hand and finally, finally touched her.
He was soft at first, stroked over her lightly and her breath caught as the first press of his fingers. He met her gaze and held it as he shifted and his fingers slid brazenly through the heart of her, making her cry out and arch into his touch. Her shocked gaze returned to his as he started to work her, stroking that spot that had her panting, and her eyes widened as he laid on his stomach, wrapping his hands around her thighs to keep them open. He kept his eyes on hers as he leaning forward and his name left her lips on a gasp as he licked up the center of her.
‘Gods Rumi, you are perfection.’ He closed his eyes and let out a groan at the taste of her, and her world narrowed to him and what he was doing as he worked her with his tongue. He was making her feel things she never thought possible, and she didn’t know how much more she could handle, but when he pressed a finger into her, curling it to hit a spot deep within her, it almost broke her completely. Working his finger in time with his mouth he brought her to the edge of something that almost terrified her with the promised power of it. Right as she was on the edge, he added in a second finger and the stretch of it along with a strong suck on her clit had her shattering, bursting into pieces as she arched and cried out, her body clenching around his fingers as he worked her through it. When she was limp and panting he pulled back, pressing a wet kiss to her thigh as he gave her a wicked smile.
She reached for him and he crawled up her body, pressing fevered kisses to her flesh before reaching her mouth in a devastating kiss. She could taste herself on his tongue and in a daze she realized that she was fully bared to him while he was still fully clothed. Reaching for the buttons on his shirt, she struggled to undo them, growling in frustration before he sat up to rip it over his head, buttons pinging onto the floor. He fell over her again, ravishing her mouth as she reached for his belt and began to shove his pants down his body. He lifted his body, bracing on a forearm by her head, not breaking the kiss as he reached down to help her with his pants, and then they were skin on skin, nothing left between them.
At the first touch of his hardness against her she gasped, and he lifted his head just enough to look into her face. He was flushed, pupils blown wide so only a thin strip of golden brown was showing. With a shaky breath she reached down to grasp him and both their eyes widened at her touch, as she softly stroked him and swallowed thickly before admitting softly ‘There’s only been you, Jinu.’
His eyes softened at that, and he gently cupped her cheek as he kissed her before resting his forehead against hers. ‘Are you sure, love?’ He asked her once more, one more time to make sure that this, he, is what she wanted.
Her breath caught at the endearment, and she answered by guiding him against her, clumsy but sure. He pressed himself against her, and still cupping her cheek he reached down with his other hand for hers, twining their fingers together before laying them beside her head. Time slowed as he slowly pushed inside her, eyes never leaving hers, watching for any traces of discomfort. He paused at a wince she thought she could hide, and he leaned down to kiss away the tear that she didn’t even realize had escaped. It wasn’t because it hurt, it was uncomfortable, yes, and the stretch bordered on pain, but t was the the way he was looking at her, like he was looking into her soul and cherished what he found. Reaching up, she pulled him down to her and captured his mouth while twining her legs around his hips. She pulled him into her, gasping sharply into his mouth at the fullness.
He dropped his head into her neck with a deep groan, panting against her skin. ‘Are you okay?’ He asked breathlessly, his body shaking in full body tremors.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as she nodded and breathed through the deep burn. He stayed still while she adjusted, stroking his hands along her skin while peppering kisses along her throat and whispering praise into her ear before he kissed her, entirely destroying her with the soft thoroughness of it. Slowly the burn changed from uncomfortable to a deep seated ache that had her shifting her hips, rubbing against him trying to chase the feeling. He made a choking noise and began to move then, pulling out slowly before pushing back in with a muttered ‘gods’ and her back arched at the feeling. Each time built the ache inside her, and it settled deeper and heavier than before. He set a steady pace, one that she was able to follow and began to move with him and soon it had them both gasping, the sounds of them filling the small room.
She could feel herself reaching the edge of something so much different from before, and she fought it, not wanting this to end. Jinu could sense the change in her body and pushed himself up on his hands over her, muscles bunching and flexing. She looked down to where he moved in and out of her and the image made her body clench on him, making them both groan.
He kicked his head back to look at the ceiling, gasping out ‘Rumi, I don’t know how much longer I can take it love.’ He dropped his head and pinned her with his hot gaze. ‘Give it all to me’
His hand dropped down to cup her knee and he pushed her leg towards her chest, deepening the angle and he hit something inside her that had her eyes rolling. He gave a dark chuckle, slowing his pace to hit that spot again and again with devastating precision. He grabbed her hand, instructing her to hold her leg where he had it, and then his hand was between them, rubbing in slow circles that were sure to drive her mad. He leaned over her, ensuring all her senses were full of him.
‘You’re so close, I can feel you trembling around me’ he breathed against her lips, giving her a biting kiss and licking away the sting. With a wicked gleam in his eye, he leaned down and as he closed his mouth over her breast, he hit that spot just right and just like that her world imploded. Arching against him with a scream, her body and soul shattered into absolute bliss, giving her a high she knew she would never experience again unless it was with him. He rode her through it, kissing her as she sobbed his name into his mouth, her body clenching so tight he fought to move, his rhythm turning staggered as he chased his own oblivion. She pulled away enough to utter a whispered ‘stay, stay with me’ and with a broken shout he buried his face in her neck, pushing himself as deep into her as he could, pumping his release into her until there was nothing left.
They lay there wrapped around each other, shuddering and trying to catch their breath. He wrapped his arms around her, face still pressed into her neck as he held her as if he never wanted to let her go. She laid under him, stroking his back and his hair, content to not move ever again, both of them needing the closeness. Her face was damp with tears as much as sweat, and when he finally lifted his head to look at her, she saw that his was the same. Their unspoken truths passed between them and he pressed a lingering kiss to her lips before rolling to his side, taking her with him. Their silence was intimate, their touch saying more than words could ever say. They lay lost in each other in the moonlight coming through the window, patterns muted and souls content. Neither one realized that the broken honmon from earlier was calmer, as if their coming together had helped heal it as much as it had began to heal their souls.