Luciel tried to comfort (Y/N), tell her that everything would be okay, but the devastated look in her eye left the redhead at a loss for words. That was Ray? He thought in disbelief. That person was mental! He spoke like a psychopath!
In seconds, though, (Y/N) had pushed her way past Luciel and was speed-walking out of the door. From her shaking shoulders, Luciel noted with sympathy, she was crying.
He felt sorry for the girl. He knew himself how hard it was to abandon people you love; he couldn't begin to imagine the pain she must have felt as that 'Ray' person spoke to her with so much hate.
If Saeran ended up hating me the way Ray seems to hate her, Luciel thought, I don't think I'd be able to handle it.
Luciel shook his head, sighing at the situation. He glanced at the laptop on the bed. From the way the machine sizzled and popped earlier, the redhead knew that Ray had managed to overwork the device and fry its insides in that terrifying 'pop' he heard earlier. The laptop was on (Y/N)'s lap, Luciel realized, Her legs must be in a world of pain right now.
Work could wait. Following (Y/N) out the door, he didn't need to see her to know where she had gone.
"Hey," He called, pushing open the door to the cabin, his eyes scanning the ground before settling on a blob of white and magenta on the ground, a little off in the distance.
(Y/N) didn't respond or acknowledge him, but Luciel climbed down the steps and joined her regardless. "You, uh," Luciel scratched the back of his head, "Want to talk about it?"
Yet again, the boy was met with silence, but Luciel was relentless. He wouldn't give up. "That's okay. We can talk about something else." The boy looked down and thought for a moment. What could he say that wouldn't further hurt you? "How about that questions game we played earlier? I think it's your turn. Ask me anything, (Y/N), I'll answer it."
Yet again, (Y/N) was silent. It was a different kind of silence, though. She was thinking.
"How...." Luciel's ears perked up, relieved to hear her voice. "How did you know I'd be out here?"
Luciel chuckled. "Although we're wedging five people into that cabin, it's really only meant for three. There aren't many places you can really go, not with the Mint Eye lurking in these same forests."
"Oh."
A temporary silence followed while Luciel tried to think of an innocent question to ask that wouldn't stir up any emotions or memories. He was careful. He didn't want to accidentally hurt (Y/N). "Uh, what's your favorite food? There aren't many ingredients up here, but I'm a decent chef if I try."
"I haven't had food in years. The Mint Eye gives people a diet of pills and elixirs. What about you?"
"When I'm not on a mission, my diet's mostly chips and sodas."
"That can't be healthy for you," (Y/N) giggled, a small sign that she wasn't thinking about Ray as much.
Luciel grinned, her smile like a victory lap for him. "Still, you haven't answered my question. I'm sure you've had something you liked from before you joined that cult."
"It's not a cult..." (Y/N) sighed, pausing her words. "My orphanage used to give cookies to the well-behaved kids. I had a couple...they were really delicious. I've always wanted to try them again."
Luciel smiled, relieved.
Back when he still looked after Saeran, his little brother would crave cookies and other sugary treats nearly every day. Luciel had spent months mastering the technique behind baking the perfect chocolate chip (alongside a dozen other sweet treats). He hadn't honed his skills in nearly a decade, but he was confident he could give (Y/N) the best cookies of her lifetime.
"My turn," (Y/N) said, before continuing, "Is that your natural hair color?"
Luciel chuckled, "Yeah. It's nice, isn't it? How about yours?"
"I had it bleached at the Mint Eye. I think my hair used to be (h/c)...honestly, I can barely remember what I used to look like." (Y/N) trailed off, her eyes distant once more. "I'd say I looked better before the bleaching."
"It's hard to imagine you getting any prettier than this," Luciel blurted, not realizing how embarrassing his words were until they were delivered.
"Thanks,"(Y/N) murmured, a pink blush spread across her cheeks. "Now it's my turn. Tell me, did you always know you wanted to be a hacker? That you wanted to work with computers?"
Luciel's smile dropped from his face, remembering how different he was from his childhood self. "When I was young, I wanted to be the perfect gentleman. A knight in shining armor for every person who crossed my path. I called myself the defender of justice."
(Y/N) turned her head to him, "And now?"
Luciel chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm a hacker. I'm one of the bad guys. You can hardly call me a defender of justice, with all the sins I've committed." Luciel glanced down at his neck, where a silver cross had hung for almost as long as he'd lived. "I'm okay with going to hell, though. Even if I didn't get to meet my dream of being a protector for everyone, I at least know that the one person I care about most is safe."
"Who?" (Y/N) whispered.
Luciel hesitated. Should he tell her about his Saeran? How he had given his little brother to Rika so she could protect him when Luciel couldn't?
"It's..." Luciel trailed off. "Not your turn." He stuck his tongue out at (Y/N), laughing at her exasperated expression.
"I swear, Luciel, you're impossible." (Y/N) rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go inside. It's colder than I had thought."
"You're obviously going to be cold if you wear a dress like that," Luciel murmured, gesturing toward the sleeveless, backless fabric that did a poor job of insulating the body.
"It's not like I had anything else to wear," (Y/N) laughed, picking up her dress as she climbed up the steps to the cabin. "And hey, I did bring a robe with me."
Luciel rolled his eyes, pulling the door open for her, "Yeah, and then you fell from forty feet into a bush. Very ladylike."
(Y/N) laughed, flicking the redhead on the cheek, feigning offense, "You said you wanted to be a gentleman, right? Well, a real gentleman would have offered me his coat, wouldn't he?"
Luciel rolled his eyes, closing the door behind the two of them as they both paused and basked in the heat of the cabin. "Will that jacket still be necessary? Or is this fireplace enough?"
"The fireplace, thank you very much." (Y/N) stated, holding her head up high and acting overly snooty before bursting into a fit of giggles, unable to hold the facade, even jokingly, for more than five seconds.
Luciel grinned at (Y/N), pulling her onto the couch by the fireplace where the two of them laid still, relaxing on the surprisingly comfortable material. "I don't think I ever apologized for how I treated you back at the Mint Eye," Luciel said, thinking out loud.
"No need to apologize," (Y/N) smiled, pulling her body up to make eye contact with him. "If I were in your position, I don't think I'd have trusted me, either."
Luciel chuckled, yet again pleasantly surprised at how selflessly understanding (Y/N) proved herself to be. "If you stay so considerate of everyone, people will walk all over you."
"Luciel, less than twenty-four hours ago, I was one of the Savior's council members at the Mint Eye, of all places. I've already been walked all over."
(Y/N)'s words were blunt, blurted in a moment of honesty, spoken without any expectation of sympathy or attention. Perhaps that was why Luciel found himself so torn as she said them.
"That's not fair..." He said, more to himself than to her. "You're too good for this world, (Y/N)."
For what felt like the first time, Luciel looked into (Y/N)'s eyes, and she looked back into his, the two studying each other without exchanging words. In the periphery of his vision, Luciel noticed how soft her hair looked, and how well her body fit into her purple dress.
"One last question for our game," Luciel whispered, bringing a hand to (Y/N)'s cheek, savoring the sensation of her soft skin against his fingertips.
He felt an overwhelming desire to kiss her.
"May I...?"
Even if he didn't finish the sentence, there wasn't a single doubt in his mind that (Y/N) understood his question. And his words were sincere. He wouldn't move an inch forward until the snowy-haired beauty in front of him explicitly told him he could.
It felt like an eternity before she responded.
"Yes," She whispered, and then the space between their lips disappeared entirely.
The first moment was sweet. It was gentle and tender as Luciel kept his touch light against (Y/N)'s lips. As soon as they broke for air, though, they both returned to each other, hungry for more. The kisses turned rough and passionate, fervent with desire for each other.
Luciel pulled (Y/N) onto him, so that the girl was straddling him with her legs on either side of his lap as she sat in it, Luciel softly angling her head downward to further indulge himself in the sweetness he found inside her mouth.
His hands trailed down from her neck to the base of her back, fingers deftly flying over where he knew her body was cut from treating her wounds earlier. He settled one hand on (Y/N)'s waist and the other on her thigh, pressing her body into his as much as possible as he finally allowed himself to stop resisting and take what he wanted to make his so bad.
Luciel flipped her around so that (Y/N) laid down with her back pressed to the couch with Luciel was on top of her, hungrily staring down at the girl before attacking her lips once more. He left a trail of kisses down from her lips to her ear where he sucked on the tender flesh, (Y/N)'s quiet moans only further edging him on as he moved to barrage her neck with kisses and licks, searching for that one weak spot.
"L-Luciel!"
Found it, Luciel grinned to himself before flooding the spot with sensation, biting and sucking and nibbling until the skin looked raw.
He pushed a handful of white hair out of the way, admiring how soft it was for a moment before continuing to mark (Y/N)'s neck. Barely a few seconds had passed before (Y/N) was wrapping her arms around his neck and moaning Luciel's name out, the syllables never having sounded more seductive than as they rolled off her tongue.
Luciel let himself be pulled into another sensual kiss as (Y/N) tugged his head down toward her, her long fingers tangling themselves in his hair.
Their shared passion was intense, a session of heat and intimacy that they had both been deprived of their whole lives, but it was cut short.
"You fucking idiots!"
Begrudgingly, Luciel pulled himself off of (Y/N) to glare at Vanderwood, who had not wasted a single moment in grabbing him by the collar and pushing the redhead against the wall.
"Woah, woah, woah, boss," Luciel joked, the situation before him utterly unintimidating, "I know I'm attractive, but if you wanted to make a move on me, you really should have done it before I sta-"
"I told you not to fuck around with her!" Vanderwood shouted, pushing Luciel further up against the wall.
Luciel frowned, now mildly uncomfortable as Vanderwood tightened his grip around his neck. "Why should you care? The mission was completed, it's over. It doesn't matter what I do now!"
Vanderwood growled, further angered by Luciel's words. "No! I gave you an order, and you were supposed to follow it! If I were anyone else in this goddamn agency, I would have killed you for directly disobeying me! I'm your handler, not your babysitter—you should be heeding my every command!"
"Slow your roll there, boss," Luciel chuckled, "You sound kinky."
The brunette man groaned, utterly frustrated with Luciel and his utter inability to take anything Vanderwood said seriously.
"What's really the issue here, Vanderwood?" (Y/N) asked, her voice hesitant.
Vanderwood didn't respond, the scowl on his face unmoving. "Luciel, go to V's room."
"Why should I-" Luciel began, only to be interrupted.
"Just go!" Vanderwood hissed, turning to (Y/N). "You, stay with me."
Luciel glanced at (Y/N) hesitantly, slightly worried for the girl's well being. Luciel knew he could handle Vanderwood (especially a pissed off Vanderwood), but others weren't as skilled in the art of manipulation.
Then again, Luciel knew the stubborn look in Vanderwood's eyes all too well. His boss wouldn't be leaving any time soon. "Fine." Luciel offered a sympathetic glance toward (Y/N), mouthing 'good luck' as he headed to V.
He hadn't even closed the door when the blue-haired man spoke, "Luciel, there's something you need to know."
Luciel arched an eyebrow. V was a serious person, especially with MC being captured and then having to be rescued from the Mint Eye, but his tone was more than that.
Pressing. Grave. Fearful?
"You'll want to be sitting for this," V said, but Luciel made no motion to do so. "Alright, then. I was just speaking to (Y/N), maybe half an hour ago...and she told me about the Mint Eye. Specifically, the people in the Mint Eye."
"And?" Luciel asked, bracing himself for the worst. But even that wouldn't be enough to prepare him for V's next words.
"Luciel, we've found your brother."
Word count: 2.3k
Notes: Aahahhh I'm sorry for being late in updating >.> I took a nap yesterday when I was exhausted, and I'd planned to wake up and publish this but then I slept through all my alarms. My bad!
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Next Update: 2/03/20
I do not own the rights to Mystic Messenger or any of the characters within it.