Title: Nothing To Count On.
Fandom: Loveless.
Warnings: Seimei being... Seimei.
Characters/couples: Seimei/Nisei.
Summary: “I'm not interested,” Seimei tells Nisei. “Soubi is the perfect fighter. Why should I settle down for less?”
Rating: PG.
Notes: Written for
springkink: Loveless, Seimei/Nisei: testing the limits - “you will squeeze the life out of me”
Nothing To Count On.
I hold the invitation in my hand
You smile and I don't understand
When you tell me the writing ain't yours
You were the one thing I could count on
“Ever”, Emilie Autumn
Seimei is silent as he looks at him, hands inside his jacket, his expression calm, blue eyes impossible to read, the snowflakes slowly falling around the. Nisei makes himself to stay still, even his tail, even his ears, even though he wanted to fidget.
Yes, he had heard that Beloved had a fighter already; yes, he had heard the reputation of the team. But Beloved's fighter was a fake, and so Nisei wasn't worried. He was sure that Seimei could feel it, that bond between them, the line that Nisei had been following for all of his life, perhaps more.
Then Seimei smiled; such a sweet, clear gesture and Nisei thought he would die right then and there: such a perfect moment.
“I'm not interested,” his should-be-sacrifice says, voice gentle and calm, his eyes on his. “Despite some of his faults, Soubi is the perfect fighter. Why should I settle down for less?”
Ice fills his stomach, spreading steady inside him, down his arms and legs, making it hard to draw a breath. Nisei can feel his ears flattening against his hair. It takes him a few moments before he can find his voice, and then it's trembling, uncertain.
“But... I'm the Fighter for Beloved.”
Seimei shrugs a little, takes a hand out of his jacket to brush the snow off his shoulders.
“And you arrived a little too late, don't you think? What use would I have for such a careless fighter?”
Nisei feels himself trembling and knows it's not the cold, not the snow, not the way he can feel his hair getting damp. Shouldn't Seimei be able to feel this? Their link? Nisei clenches his hand where his mark appeared just a few days ago and he tries to remain calm.
“I can be stronger than him,” he says, hating how his voice sounds, as if he's begging. “I am stronger than that blank.”
“Is that so?” Seimei asks, sounding bored, but he takes a step closer. Nisei's still taller than him, and he wonders if he should bow or kneel or something.
But no. He hasn't been ordered and he needs to prove that...
“Would you do anything for me?” Seimei asks then. He's still getting closer.
“Yes, master.”
Nisei doesn't dare swallow when Seimei stops close to him, close enough that, if he wanted, he could touch him. But Nisei keeps his hand by his side and he just looks at his sacrifice's eyes, at his face, and hopes he can feel this: his mouth is a breath away. Nisei waits, his throat closed, choking with Seimei's presence and power and their bond so close.
But then Seimei moves apart, turns around and Nisei feels-- kicked, perhaps, frozen over. Standing is suddenly the most difficult thing he has ever done.
Before he goes back inside, Seimei turns to look at him, his face carefully blank, even with the smile on his lips.
“I suppose you could be useful,” he says finally. “I'll let you know when I need you.”
And then he's gone back inside, no other orders, no explanations, no nothing.
Nisei takes a slow, deep breath and rubs his neck, and he wonders how is it that he can almost feel the spell of restriction there.