A Month Of Kaider

Fifteen: Bittersweet Circumstances

A/N: Warning: child abuse

Cinder curses.

She fumbles with the latch on the window, briefly wondering when it was put there, before finally just giving up and knocking on the glass.

Kai smiles at her as he shakes his head and quickly unlocks the window, his hair messy and unkempt for some reason.

She gasps when she sees Kai's face properly, his mouth pursed and his smile strained, his eyes dull and tense compared to his usual glow.

He has an alarming set of angry purple bruises littered on his arms and his split lip still looks painful. Not to mention the exhaustion evident on his face and the way he looks ready to fall asleep at any moment.

But what's worse is the hurt in his bright copper eyes. Somehow, he manages to keep bringing back his smile.

"Hey Cinder," he whispers softly.

"Kai... What happened?" She asks, settling on his window ledge like she usually does.

He opens his mouth to reply but, before he can say anything, his eyes widen and he pulls her off the windowsill, pushing her inside his wardrobe with a small smile of compunction.

She doesn't say anything, knowing that he must have a reason.

"Kaito, you better have finished my report." A deep voice booms.

Kai flinches but stands tall as the door opens. "Yes sir."

"Good. Did I hear someone talking?"

Cinder internally curses herself for being loud.

"No sir, I was talking to myself," Kai lies.

The sound of a fist hitting flesh echoes in the room and Kai gasps, stumbling backwards. His back hits the wardrobe and firmly shuts the door so Cinder can't see anything anymore.

"You are not allowed to do that."

Kai cries out quietly a few times before the man leaves and slams the door shut, locking it behind him.

She's frozen with disbelief for a few moments, not knowing that to do until she hears her boyfriend stifle a groan.

At which point she shakes her head and pushes aside he'd anger, wanting nothing more than to help Kai and make sure he's alright.

Cinder quickly shoves the door open and tumbles out of the wardrobe to see Kai sitting propped up against the bed, clutching his stomach.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he murmurs.

"I'm so sorry." Cinder pulls him into a careful hug.

She doesn't want to hurt him but he looks so small that she can't resist trying to hug his smile back into him.

"No, Cinder, it's not your fault," he manages to say.

She gasps as he reaches up to brush away the tears rolling down her face.

She hardly ever cries.

It's close to never, as if she simply can't.

It's something her recently - rediscovered sisters haven't stopped teasing her about, joking that her brain just doesn't work properly or that she isn't human.

But for Kai...

He gently shakes his head, brushing the tears away, and she smile, still crying but laughing at the same time.

He sucks in a breath as he shifts, slamming his eyes shut for a second before meeting Cinder's gaze.

"He's horrible," Cinder whispers.

Kai shrugs, "Today's a good day."

Cinder's eyes widen. "What?"

Kai gives her a warm smile. "It's not that bad today."

"Kai..."

"It's okay, I'm okay."

"No, you're not."

"I am."

"Kai..."

"Cinder."

"Kai!"

"He just has a strange way of expressing his emotions." Kai looks uncertain himself so it's not a shock that Cinder glares at nothing in particular as she silently fumes.

"I'm here if you need me," she murmurs after a while, running a hand through Kai's hair.

"Of course not, I live a 'perfect' life, remember?"

Cinder cringes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that..."

His grimace softens and he leans into her touch, sighing; she kisses his head.

"It's alright, you couldn't possibly have known. How about starting that book we found the other day?" Kai grins, running his tongue over the cut on his lip.

"Sure."

Cinder gets up only to grab said book off his table before sitting back down beside him, the two of them settling into a comfortable rhythm as Kai teaches her all about the stars.

After he explains the zodiac constellations to her, she frowns, pausing.

"Your window?"

"Yeah..." Kai pulls a face. "He's strict."

"You refer to him strangely," Cinder comments, wondering why Kai doesn't calm him 'dad' or 'father'.

"Would you do any differently?" Kai asks, shrugging.

"He does this a lot?" Cinder asks, not sure if he'll reply.

"Daily, for the most part," Kai replies.

She could swear her heart breaks.

She can't believe that anyone would willingly hurt Kai, even if she has seen the bullies around school. But even that's different to an actual family member...

Cinder stops and puts a hand on Kai's cheek. He frowns slightly but she tilts her head and leans forward so that she can softly kiss him, her lips brushing the cut and a sparkle of warmth shooting across her skin.

It's nothing like before, this gesture small and quick, meant to reassure rather than establish.

It's lazy and gentle, Cinder running her hands through his hair as she takes charge of the moment.

Eventually, they separate, both breathing heavily and leaning on each other for comfort rather than support.

Kai's face had lit up and he hasn't stopped smiling yet, so she grins, poking his dimples, relieved that he's at least somewhat bubbly again.

"I love you," she admits, her voice softer than she thought could be possible.

Kai's eyes widen, his beautiful copper eyes full of love and joy. Cinder wishes she hadn't been reluctant to admit it before, cursing herself for missing the look of pure happiness on his face.

Kai opens his mouth to reply but she shakes her head, putting her index finger over his lips, "No, I have a lot of catching up to do."

And that's what she does, murmuring the three words over and over again for the next who knows how long.

Eventually, she stars to nod off, Kai having fallen asleep with his head on her shoulder.

She smiles down at him, gently pushing his hair back and running her finger over the bags under his eyes, the bruises he usually hides and the cut on his lip.

She knows she can't stay - it would be a nightmare if they were found together - but she can't help wishing that she could.

Maybe someday.

Hopefully.

Sorry this is a little late, my WiFi died, got replaced and died again - I'm literally on borrowed Internet, and by that I mean I [technically hacked?] correctly guessed the password for a random WiFi near me and I'm going with that one even though I kind of feel bad ;p Hope you enjoyed and see you tomorrow / laterz!