Golden Future (Prince Nuada fanfic) Hellboy 2

One; a meeting

Content warning: attempted (sexual) assault.

Stef dragged me along by the hand as we turned the corner.

"Isn't this exciting?" he asked, grinning. We were underneath the city, in the intricate subway system. Rats scurried away to the darkest corners of the tunnels. "The history behind these tunnels is so rich..." he continued on with the story he told on the way, unable to trump his enthusiasm. This was our first date, although the thought of dating Stef makes my palms clammy. He's in a few of the same classes and helped me with one of the finals – in exchange for an afternoon together. Like our lives are a bad 90s sitcom.

The tunnel opens to a larger area where several paths come together. In a wave of mild panic, I realised we are well and truly alone and I couldn't remember the entire way back. Now that he was no longer dragging me, he tried to interlock our fingers, but before he could, I pulled my hand back.

"Well, what do you think?"

"Yeah," I cleared my throat. "It has a certain industrial charm."

I walked further into the light that fell through the grating above our heads. The ceiling, if you could call it that, was higher than I expected. It's true Stef and I have something in common; we both enjoyed exploring placed that are often forgotten.

Stef reached out again, coming closer with a confident step. "It's like we're alone in the middle of the world." He said, his voice low.

"Not that alone." I said. He came even closer, a hand grabbing my shoulder, the other around my waist. "Don't you dare. I'm not interested in you."

Hurt flashed in his eyes, was quickly replaced with anger. Fingers dug in the skin even through my woollen jacket. For less than a second, I closed my eyes to collect my thoughts. Fear gripped at my throat. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine, suffocating and moist. My eyes shot open. His face looked ridiculous this closeup. A sound echoed through the tunnels, loud and close by. The sound was that of a metal object, like a pipe, clattering against the concrete floor. With a jerk, Stef looked up, and without hesitating – I kneed him in the groin, followed by an elbow in his abdomen and twisting an arm behind his back.

He grunted in protest and only fought back after the initial shock had passed. I twisted the arm further. A scraping was heard, and I looked towards the sound.

A man stood in the openings of one of the tunnels. A horizontal scar marred his face, over his nose. His hair was white and he wore an expensive garment. What fully made me realise he was not a man after all, was the spear in his hand. He had picked it up from the floor.

Our eyes met in a moment of silence.

"What are you standing there?" Stef grunted, out of breath from how I kept him in an awkward, bent-over position. I twisted his arm further without breaking eye-contact. "Help me already, she- she attacked me."

He made no move, simply staring at us.

"Sir," I started, unsure. "it was him who attacked me first. Could...." My voice trailed off, not knowing what kind of request to make. Call the police? Keep him there so I could get away, but then having to face him again in class? Show me the exit of the tunnels?

"Do not worry, woman," he spoke the last word with heavy disgust. "I have seen what happened."

My arm was getting tired, but I tightened my grip on Stef's wrist. "Do you know the exit, perhaps?"

He pointed the way he came and stepped closer to us. He was tall, and build athletically. He stopped when he was within an arm's length. I was unable to look away. This close his eyes were golden, and his voice still resounded in my ears. He spoke again, softer now. "I'll take it from here. Keep going left."

He leant the spear against his side, but I was so confused with the rest of his appearance it didn't seem that odd. Then his hands replaced mine at Stef's wrist and arm. Our fingers brushed. His were rough, yet his fingers slender.

"A- alright. Thank you, sir." I said as I stepped away. Let out a deep sigh and flexed my fingers, that still felt a little warm from his touch.

He gestured with his chin to the path that he previously pointed out.

With a few hesitant steps, I left the open area, and didn't look back.