Image credit @Tava_tavatic
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TW: Sexual Harassment
Kevin started approaching, and the door closed in a loud thud behind him. I had to take a second to register the intrusion. Once the shock had passed, only anger remained.
"What the fuck Kevin?! Get out!" I shouted in disbelief.
"So I was right, huh? You're with him?" he asked plainly, ignoring my order as he continued to walk toward me, gaze empty, limbs vacant. He seemed almost hurt—even his usual smugness was absent from his face.
I felt a rush of cold air licking my back, quickly followed by an overall eerie sensation.
"Kevin, this is absolutely not the place to have this conversation, leave!" I ordered again.
He scoffed and moved closer, looking almost like a predator closing in on its prey. He was visibly shaking, his nostrils were flaring up and his eyes... They were fixed on me with a stare so full of hate and disgust it was almost frightening.
I've never seen him so furious before; he always looked dumb, cocky or arrogant, but that... That was totally new.
"What does he have that I don't? You can't even see his face for fuck sake!" he snarled while his fists clenched to the point his knuckles paled under the strain, and so every muscle in my body tensed.
Ooh, I'm not liking this, not one bit. He was clearly in a dark state of mind, the anger he was emitting was so intense you could almost touch it.
As he was in between me and my only way out, my brain panicked with different scenarios while fight or flight reflexes were kicking hard. But even I know my limits, so I settled for safety over trying to talk or fight my way out of it: I pivoted and dashed toward the showers as I knew its door had a lock.
Yet, unsurprisingly, my exhausted self couldn't compete against a fit, young man full of resolve. He rushed and grabbed my wrist almost immediately, his grip so strong it hurt on the spot. Despite my efforts to struggle, his height and stature made him the indisputably stronger one of us.
"Let me go!" I shouted in a reflex.
"Answer me" he hissed, his voice dangerously calm, his jaw tensing up with each syllable. The grip he had on my wrist tightened again, to the point it became painful. In a desperate attempt to free myself, I grabbed his collar with my free hand and tried to unbalance him with a foot sweep, but he instinctively blocked my legs in between his thighs as he pushed me against the wall of lockers.
Shit—after all the training bouts we had, of course the bastard knew my every move by heart now!
I managed to maintain my face blank, bearing no expression, although an underlying concern quietly infiltrated my thoughts. I always saw Kevin as a harmless incompetent—but now, I wasn't so sure of that fact anymore.
"Do you realize what you're doing is beyond inappropriate?!" I yelled, forcing my head up to look him in the eyes.
He scoffed, almost refraining a laugh when he spoke again. "You talking about inappropriateness while fucking a superior is what's beyond me!"
It left me baffled for a moment—I believe it's the first time I heard something relevant coming out of Kevin's mouth. But fuck—there's not a world where I'm reasoning him; I tried to come up with some ideas, but none of them wouldn't end up with him madder than he already was.
Well, he leaves me no choice. Kevin chose violence?
So be it.
As I looked at him furiously, Kevin shot back the daggers I was sending him. So, I suddenly shifted my gaze to the back wall and bore a surprised expression, as if something, or rather someone, had appeared behind him. He slightly lessened his tight hold as a confused look claimed his face and, slowly, he turned his head to see what could have possibly caught my attention. Well, guess he's still an idiot after all.
"What? What is i—?"
I didn't let him finish his sentence as I granted a wish I had since a long, looong time ago: with my free hand still grabbing his shirt, I forced him down while I shoved my knee in his crotch. I kicked him with all the force I could muster, right where I knew he would suffer long enough for me to get away.
The strike knocked the breath out of him and he folded over himself, grasping his genitals like his life depended on it. Within the few seconds he took to process what just happened, his look of surprise turned into one of pure agony.
I couldn't help but to let out a deep sigh as Kevin crumbled in pain on the floor, grunting so loud it reverberated onto the tiles of the room. And to think that I could easily beat the shit out of him now, if only I wasn't already at my limits... But, given the circumstances, the prize of leaving him like this was enough. For now.
I at least delivered one last, strong foot kick to his side before I left him there, going around his body as if it was mere garbage strewn on the floor. I hurried back to my open locker and gathered my belongings as fast as possible, shoving them in my bag before slapping the thin metal door shut.
I quickly made my way out of the room, but not without earning some of Kevin's flowery language which echoed behind me like a bitter aftertaste.
When I harshly opened the door to get out, I crashed into something huge and stiff right at the doorstep. Being pushed back inside by the strong collision, the thing grabbed and pulled me against it swiftly. As I lifted my gaze up, that's when I understood I had run into König just before he was about to enter, probably alerted by all the commotion. His eyes were wide open as he tried to comprehend what was going on.
Since my hand was holding my bag strap over my shoulder, he grabbed it as soon as he saw the red marks coloring my wrist. And, as Kevin's swearing could still be heard in the background, König frowned, putting 2 and 2 together almost immediately.
He softly shoved me toward the gym before entering the room himself. He was greeted by the sight of Kevin on the floor, hands desperately holding his balls while cursing his lungs out.
"You stupid bitch! When I catch you, I'll make you pay!" Kevin cried out loud, face resting on the ground, not able to see what was coming for him.
The door closed on itself again, rendering me blind of the scene that unfolded there; although the loud punch noise, followed by grunts of pain, then swears (or threats?) in German, and then another punch, gave a clear enough hint of what happened. No other sounds came from the locker room before the door opened again on König.
He softly took my wrist and inspected the marks again, not saying a word for a moment. I twitched my fingers unintentionally, itching to leave this place, and it made him finally react.
"Come with me, let's get out of here" he said in a neutral voice as he kept my hand in his. I followed him without any resistance, feeling so much relief I didn't even bother to argue.
I got entangled in a web of thoughts as I let König drag me around, graphic thoughts about how I could definitely rip Kevin of his manhood—after all, no kid on earth deserves a dork like him as a father, it would be providing a service to the community at this point. When I paid attention back to our surroundings I almost didn't recognize the walls of our barracks. Something was off, the doors weren't on the right side of the corridor...
Oh. That's because we're in the superiors' quarters.
Once in front of König's room, he placed his hand onto the small of my back and guided me inside, and I went in without any objection. After closing the door, he took my hands in his again and inspected the marks, eyes roaming for any other signs of injury.
"Are you hurt... elsewhere?" he asked under his breath.
"I'm alright, it's nothing, really," I answered confidently, eyelids fluttering as I attempted to meet his gaze within the dimly lit room. Although, trying to appear unfazed seemed useless since my hands were trembling a bit, the rush of adrenaline still not quite completely out of my system yet. Without uttering a word, his arms gently wrapped around my body to draw me into a tight hug. The lingering scent of the forest was clung to his uniform; it invaded my nostrils, dissolving worries and anxieties clean while a feeling of immense solace washed away my troubles.
I wrapped my arms around him like it was the most natural thing to do, and I allowed all the exhaustion of the day to slowly drift back to me, relaxing my limbs completely, leaning into him as if we could just melt together. He took a deep breath and one of his hands went resting on top of my head, locking it against his broad, warm chest.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone..." he apologized, remorse lacing his tone.
"Hey, I can handle myself, you saw it yourself," I reassured, my voice completely muffled as I stayed all snuggled up against him.
He hummed before pulling away slightly. His gaze finally locked with mine as he lowered his head at my level, grabbing my cheeks with hands to keep my chin up to him.
"I'll go take care of his case, and you stay here while I'm gone, ok? I'd be more at ease if you took your shower here rather than in the common ones."
I nodded and my lips slowly curled upward. He roughly brushed the top of my head before guiding me to his personal bathroom—as being one of the higher-ups had its advantages, to he quickly retrieved some towels from the undersink cabinet.
"You sure you don't want to take a shower with me?" I coaxed as I looked around, trying to grasp every little detail of the small room. It was clean, spotless, no clutter protruding that could have given me hints about König's dirty little secrets. The only odd thing here was his imposing body compared to the cramped space—and yet he moved around smoothly, not bumping into anything as he made his way back to me.
"You know I'd want to, but we'll keep that for another time" he dismissed as he gave me the clean towels.
"So there will be other times?" I quizzed with an arched eyebrow and a playful smirk, heart racing already.
He only rolled his eyes as a response before the back of his fingers hovered over my cheek, almost grazing my skin. I caught a glimpse of his reddened knuckles, a silent testament of the recent confrontation.
"Why do you ask when you already know the answer, Schatz?" he almost whispered right next to my ear, his hand lingering as he gently rearranged a wild strand of my hair.
And with that, he left me alone. In his room.
The desire to snoop around was there, but the need for a shower was too and far greater. When I took a step further inside, I saw my reflection in the mirror and noticed the disheveled state of my hair, the rosy hue on my cheeks, and the overall sweaty aftermath of my training session. A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over me. König seeing me in this less-than-flattering condition made me squirm with self-consciousness, and I hurried myself under the soothing spray of the shower head.
As water trickled down my spine, I took a moment to inspect my wrist and the marks on it. The more I looked at them, the more uneasiness took over me. I can't help but wonder—what would have happened if I hadn't been able to neutralize Kevin by myself? Well, König was right around the corner—but what if he wasn't? Would Kevin have gone... further?
I recall details about the assault I suffered back when I was in the police; how nobody was around to hear my struggles; how the gripping bruises on my body didn't leave me for days; how no one tried to defend me when it all resulted in my dismissal...
No, now is different. König is here, by my side and he supports me. I'm even guessing that's why he was so adamant to take care of Kevin right away, so this bastard wouldn't distort what happened.
After my shower, I threw on only the comfy clothes I could find within my bag. I didn't even bother with the lacy bra—it's not like I'm in a mood to support uncomfortable lingerie anyway.
I sat on König's bed's edge, letting my gaze roam around his room as I was nervously twisting some of my humid hair strands in between my fingers. The place itself felt like a glimpse into König's world, a space that reflected his pragmatic and uncomplicated nature. Like his bathroom, it was clean and nothing felt out of place. It wasn't bare, just... simple. No pictures or decorations. Just what he needed on a day to day basis. The room held an air of comfort, a sanctuary that felt strangely intimate even in König's absence.
As I continued my exploration, my gaze landed on a duffle bag on the floor which was a bit overfilled with what seems to be only his laundry. I wondered what insights into his life I might find within the dresser behind it, but it's not like I was going to invade his privacy just to feed some misplaced curiosity.
So I switched my gaze to the desk beside his bed. My eyes traced the orderly chaos on it and I couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of it all. Then some water drops fell on my shoulders, it sent a strong shiver right down into my spine, rudely interrupting my train of thoughts. But it also made my eyes land on a hoodie hanging on the desk chair.
I didn't ponder the matter more than it needed to: I got up, grabbed it and quickly threw it on. I settled into the oversized garment, relishing in the warmth it provided. A soft sigh escaped my nose as I sank onto the chair, the one now missing its sweatshirt, and my fingers traced over the fabric mindlessly. Its scent enveloped me, making my eyes close for a moment. I imagined his presence beside me while a warm, fuzzy feeling began to bubble in my chest.
I glanced around one last time, and my gaze finally stopped on his bed. It beckoned, inviting me to surrender at the weariness clinging to me.
The softness of the mattress felt like a cloud when my back fell on it. I turned and wrapped myself with my own arms, not even feeling hungry, frustrated, sad or anything, just... completely drained out.
As exhaustion weighed on my eyelids, I involuntarily allowed the scent of familiarity to lull me into a peaceful slumber.
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