[Week 14, Day 2 Late Night | Dream]
The hot water felt soothing. It always did, really.
Lenalee was used to the hot springs at the Order, and usually preferred them. She could happily spend far too much time relaxing against the hot rocks there, breathing in the steam or sometimes chatting with Miranda, if they happened to be off missions at the same time. But showers were nice too, hot water beating all of the knots out of her back. They reminded her of the ship on its way to Edo; the good parts. Hands far softer than her own brushing out her hair, offering words to help her believe that people could still be out there somewhere, even if they were out of sight.
Showers were nice.
Lenalee lifted her arms to run her hands through her hair- short, so much more manageable now, but not the same. It had always been a hassle brushing it out after missions, but she would grow it out again anyway. She owed both of them that much.
Two arms suddenly wrapped around her ribs, just under her breasts, pulling her from her thoughts. One warm and fleshy, the other smooth and cool. She smiled as a nose and then lips brushed against her neck, tilting her head to better expose it.
"Allen," she breathed, relaxing against him. The light suction against her neck was his confirmation, and she arched her back against him in response. Everything below her chest felt warm, in a not-quite-solid way; nondescript, but nice. Her mind wandered as soon as she had thought of it and she turned to face him, lips immediately meeting his. She felt him smile against her as his arms dropped to curl loosely around her waist. Lenalee hummed contentedly as his lips made their way down, trailing across her jaw and back to her neck again. She turned her head, and immediately froze.
The curtain was pulled aside, revealing That Man standing ramrod straight against the wall, watching them. Suit perfectly pressed, face wrinkled a bit with age but severe and frowning in disapproval; always disapproving. A thrill of fear ran through her at the sight of him, as it always did- her hands clenched against the back of the boy still teasing her neck.
"Allen," she gasped, caught between pulling away and clinging to him harder. "He's watching."
"Who?" the white-haired boy mumbled against her. Lenalee scarcely noticed his words or ministrations, unable to tear her eyes away from the stern man on the other side of the room. Who was, likewise, still staring at them.
"Lenalee," he said at length, voice deep and displeased and above all sinister. "What do you think you're doing?"
She tugged helplessly at Allen's hair, feeling too bare and trying to make him stop; didn't he feel the wrongness of this?
"Do you think that this behavior will be tolerated, Lenalee?"
No, it wasn't that, but-
"You'll have to come home eventually, you have work to do."
Yes, of course, she wanted that. She did. This was-
"Do you think that he will allow this?"
He-? Her head jerked to the other corner of the room. A man with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and straight bangs stood across from the first spectator; younger, but equally rigid. Oddly unflustered by her situation, but equally disapproving of it.
"He is under my supervision, Miss Lenalee."
She buried her face against Allen's shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut. No. She didn't want him to go back to that.
"Are you alright?" the lips against her asked. Lenalee shook her head, pulling him with her as she took a small step back and let the sound of rushing water fill her ears. It was all wrong now, but he didn't seem to see it. So she clung to him anyway.
"You can't hide from this, Lenalee."
Yes she could. None of them had any place here. If there was one good thing about this world, it was that. Her mind blurred for a moment as the mouth started working against her again, teeth teasing her skin. She couldn't find the words to tell him to stop, and wasn't sure that she even wanted him to despite everything.
It was quiet now. Cautiously, Lenalee raised her head- nothing. She glanced to her side- both men were gone. Maybe…
She gasped as lips suddenly made their way down her chest, and leaned back to rest her shoulders against the cool tiles of the shower. The temperature made her jolt, but she tried to relax into the touches, despite the words still swirling in her head. It was hard not to remain tense, after seeing That Man here. She glanced to her side again, a little paranoid, and choked. It was somehow even worse to see a Japanese teen with his black hair in a high ponytail glaring at her, and she could have taken his glowering but the look of utter disgust on his face was too much.
Please, please don't look at her like that. It- it wasn't like that. She looked at him more fully, pleadingly; begging to let her explain. It wasn't- she loved him.
"You think that makes it okay?" Lenalee flinched at the new voice, glancing around frantically. Now a red-haired boy with an eye patch was watching her, expression far too solemn. Pitying. Lenalee gripped the shoulders against her harder- too hard, pressing bruises into his skin, but he didn't seem to notice. No, they couldn't see her like this.
"I see everything," the redhead reminded her, pointing across the room. "And so will he."
No, no, he can't-
Unwillingly, her eyes followed the line of his finger. And there he was. And she didn't care if she disappointed That Man, for as much as she feared him, but disappointing this man was-
It was worse than dying.
"Brother, I-" she started, but what could she possibly say? She would have said anything to wipe that hurt expression from his face, done anything not to disappoint him like this. Her eyes prickled, and she was still clinging to the scarred boy and he was still working his tongue against her breast, and they were all watching.
"Are we going to have to teach you again, Lenalee?" That Voice asked.
No, she wasn't going back to that. Not ever. She, they both had to run. "Allen, we have to-"
"He is not going to stay with you, Lenalee." Calm, practical, as if explaining the way things are to a small child. She held the boy in her arms tighter. But the porcelain wall behind her was gone, and despite her hands scrabbling to hold onto his back there was a dizzying jolt, and she was falling.
"No-" She was cut off by black tendrils wrapping around her mouth, gagging her. More came as soon as they had tightened, wrapping around her entire body like cloth, and she kicked and squirmed but they still came until she was completely covered with her arms stretched out to either side, as if tied to something she couldn't see. She landed on her back with a soft creak, mattress giving a little under her weight. With nothing more than a quick glance, she recognized the room. Her breathing was quick and shallow, approaching hyperventilating. A hospital bed. That hospital bed, with That Man standing over her, a small tube and long needle in hand and no, she couldn't do this again. She was past this. He was just a man, not the demon she had made him out to be as a child; only a man. She was stronger than him.
But she was still breathing too fast and struggling against her restraints. The sight of his expression, stern and unapologetic, still sent a thrill of fear through her chest.
She might have still been a scared little girl, for all it mattered when it came to That Man.
One of the black tendrils was suddenly painfully tight around her upper arm. His eyes finally left the needle then, and a whole new wave of panic washed over her as he bent over. A finger pulled the skin at her inner elbow taut, and she tried for all she was worth to pull away but the appendage didn't even budge.
There was a prick. Slightly painful, but mostly alarming, because she knew what came next.
"You still can't escape this place. It's your home, Lenalee." Something stuck to her arm, making the needle twinge, and she recognized that unmistakable smell before she felt another jostle indicating the tube's connection. She imagined that she could feel the sedative seeping into her vein.
"You keep disappointing us, Lenalee."
No… She wanted to speak, wanted to struggle, but already her eyelids were drooping and it felt as if her mind was filled with cotton. She was…
Everything was white- she could just barely hear him.
"You will have to learn to behave."
[Lenalee woke with a jolt, pulse racing as she struggled to wake completely. It was another minute before she was aware of her surroundings, breathing a little less shallowly. But her expression was no less terrified. Her gaze focused on a point past the Hitomi, as if she didn't even notice the device. Her voice cracked when she spoke, nothing but a whisper.]
How are you here?
Lenalee was used to the hot springs at the Order, and usually preferred them. She could happily spend far too much time relaxing against the hot rocks there, breathing in the steam or sometimes chatting with Miranda, if they happened to be off missions at the same time. But showers were nice too, hot water beating all of the knots out of her back. They reminded her of the ship on its way to Edo; the good parts. Hands far softer than her own brushing out her hair, offering words to help her believe that people could still be out there somewhere, even if they were out of sight.
Showers were nice.
Lenalee lifted her arms to run her hands through her hair- short, so much more manageable now, but not the same. It had always been a hassle brushing it out after missions, but she would grow it out again anyway. She owed both of them that much.
Two arms suddenly wrapped around her ribs, just under her breasts, pulling her from her thoughts. One warm and fleshy, the other smooth and cool. She smiled as a nose and then lips brushed against her neck, tilting her head to better expose it.
"Allen," she breathed, relaxing against him. The light suction against her neck was his confirmation, and she arched her back against him in response. Everything below her chest felt warm, in a not-quite-solid way; nondescript, but nice. Her mind wandered as soon as she had thought of it and she turned to face him, lips immediately meeting his. She felt him smile against her as his arms dropped to curl loosely around her waist. Lenalee hummed contentedly as his lips made their way down, trailing across her jaw and back to her neck again. She turned her head, and immediately froze.
The curtain was pulled aside, revealing That Man standing ramrod straight against the wall, watching them. Suit perfectly pressed, face wrinkled a bit with age but severe and frowning in disapproval; always disapproving. A thrill of fear ran through her at the sight of him, as it always did- her hands clenched against the back of the boy still teasing her neck.
"Allen," she gasped, caught between pulling away and clinging to him harder. "He's watching."
"Who?" the white-haired boy mumbled against her. Lenalee scarcely noticed his words or ministrations, unable to tear her eyes away from the stern man on the other side of the room. Who was, likewise, still staring at them.
"Lenalee," he said at length, voice deep and displeased and above all sinister. "What do you think you're doing?"
She tugged helplessly at Allen's hair, feeling too bare and trying to make him stop; didn't he feel the wrongness of this?
"Do you think that this behavior will be tolerated, Lenalee?"
No, it wasn't that, but-
"You'll have to come home eventually, you have work to do."
Yes, of course, she wanted that. She did. This was-
"Do you think that he will allow this?"
He-? Her head jerked to the other corner of the room. A man with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and straight bangs stood across from the first spectator; younger, but equally rigid. Oddly unflustered by her situation, but equally disapproving of it.
"He is under my supervision, Miss Lenalee."
She buried her face against Allen's shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut. No. She didn't want him to go back to that.
"Are you alright?" the lips against her asked. Lenalee shook her head, pulling him with her as she took a small step back and let the sound of rushing water fill her ears. It was all wrong now, but he didn't seem to see it. So she clung to him anyway.
"You can't hide from this, Lenalee."
Yes she could. None of them had any place here. If there was one good thing about this world, it was that. Her mind blurred for a moment as the mouth started working against her again, teeth teasing her skin. She couldn't find the words to tell him to stop, and wasn't sure that she even wanted him to despite everything.
It was quiet now. Cautiously, Lenalee raised her head- nothing. She glanced to her side- both men were gone. Maybe…
She gasped as lips suddenly made their way down her chest, and leaned back to rest her shoulders against the cool tiles of the shower. The temperature made her jolt, but she tried to relax into the touches, despite the words still swirling in her head. It was hard not to remain tense, after seeing That Man here. She glanced to her side again, a little paranoid, and choked. It was somehow even worse to see a Japanese teen with his black hair in a high ponytail glaring at her, and she could have taken his glowering but the look of utter disgust on his face was too much.
Please, please don't look at her like that. It- it wasn't like that. She looked at him more fully, pleadingly; begging to let her explain. It wasn't- she loved him.
"You think that makes it okay?" Lenalee flinched at the new voice, glancing around frantically. Now a red-haired boy with an eye patch was watching her, expression far too solemn. Pitying. Lenalee gripped the shoulders against her harder- too hard, pressing bruises into his skin, but he didn't seem to notice. No, they couldn't see her like this.
"I see everything," the redhead reminded her, pointing across the room. "And so will he."
No, no, he can't-
Unwillingly, her eyes followed the line of his finger. And there he was. And she didn't care if she disappointed That Man, for as much as she feared him, but disappointing this man was-
It was worse than dying.
"Brother, I-" she started, but what could she possibly say? She would have said anything to wipe that hurt expression from his face, done anything not to disappoint him like this. Her eyes prickled, and she was still clinging to the scarred boy and he was still working his tongue against her breast, and they were all watching.
"Are we going to have to teach you again, Lenalee?" That Voice asked.
No, she wasn't going back to that. Not ever. She, they both had to run. "Allen, we have to-"
"He is not going to stay with you, Lenalee." Calm, practical, as if explaining the way things are to a small child. She held the boy in her arms tighter. But the porcelain wall behind her was gone, and despite her hands scrabbling to hold onto his back there was a dizzying jolt, and she was falling.
"No-" She was cut off by black tendrils wrapping around her mouth, gagging her. More came as soon as they had tightened, wrapping around her entire body like cloth, and she kicked and squirmed but they still came until she was completely covered with her arms stretched out to either side, as if tied to something she couldn't see. She landed on her back with a soft creak, mattress giving a little under her weight. With nothing more than a quick glance, she recognized the room. Her breathing was quick and shallow, approaching hyperventilating. A hospital bed. That hospital bed, with That Man standing over her, a small tube and long needle in hand and no, she couldn't do this again. She was past this. He was just a man, not the demon she had made him out to be as a child; only a man. She was stronger than him.
But she was still breathing too fast and struggling against her restraints. The sight of his expression, stern and unapologetic, still sent a thrill of fear through her chest.
She might have still been a scared little girl, for all it mattered when it came to That Man.
One of the black tendrils was suddenly painfully tight around her upper arm. His eyes finally left the needle then, and a whole new wave of panic washed over her as he bent over. A finger pulled the skin at her inner elbow taut, and she tried for all she was worth to pull away but the appendage didn't even budge.
There was a prick. Slightly painful, but mostly alarming, because she knew what came next.
"You still can't escape this place. It's your home, Lenalee." Something stuck to her arm, making the needle twinge, and she recognized that unmistakable smell before she felt another jostle indicating the tube's connection. She imagined that she could feel the sedative seeping into her vein.
"You keep disappointing us, Lenalee."
No… She wanted to speak, wanted to struggle, but already her eyelids were drooping and it felt as if her mind was filled with cotton. She was…
Everything was white- she could just barely hear him.
"You will have to learn to behave."
[Lenalee woke with a jolt, pulse racing as she struggled to wake completely. It was another minute before she was aware of her surroundings, breathing a little less shallowly. But her expression was no less terrified. Her gaze focused on a point past the Hitomi, as if she didn't even notice the device. Her voice cracked when she spoke, nothing but a whisper.]
How are you here?