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This was it. The final act. The final stand. The last chance. No matter what you decided to call it. It was the point of no return. From here on you would either succeed or your life would come to an end. There was no in-between. The entire world was on the line and all that was standing between the survival of the world and its downfall was you and this little group of people. Everything was at stake and the outcome of the last confrontation was still embedded in your mind; memories of pain, despair and death.
A sense of dread made your chest feel heavy. Has something changed now? Have they made progress? What would be different now? Did they even stand a chance now? Everyone has been through their own personal hell, the wounds and scars still showing the strain of the last hours and days.And yet, your mind was solely focused on that young, slender man. It hurt to see him like this, to hear him like this. His last words echoed in your head, and you closed your eyes to escape the imagery and implications from your mind. You couldn’t explain it. You barely knew him, barely knew anything from what he was openly showing you. And even then, so much was still hidden in the shadows. And yet, you cared. You were worried. From his hunched over posture, his skin seemingly cracking and fading, his sunken eyes, to the pained sounds he made whenever he ends a demon’s life. Everything just screamed that he shouldn’t do this, that he should stay back, that he shouldn’t risk his life when he was more dead than alive already. You felt horrible seeing him like this. But what could you do? He made his decision, and you understood him. You know why he made that decision, you know why he put himself through all this, why he had to see this through. But it still pained you because there was nothing you could do. You weren’t close. How could you be when you barely knew him? Fighting side by side, talking through the nights about what was happening, about what to do. Yes, you bonded over that, it was what made you so intrigued, so interested in him, but also what made you so worried. You were closer to him than you were to any of the other ones but what could you do? To make it easier, to help him, to take some of the pain and burden off his shoulders…
You seemed to have spaced out because suddenly Dante and Nero were walking back towards the van to gear up again. So that was it now.V was still standing with his back hunched over, his weight resting on his cane, he didn’t move. You were contemplating on what to do. You cared so much, you worried so much, and you wanted him to know that. You didn’t want him to walk past the point of no return without knowing that he wasn’t alone in this, that someone cared about him, that someone wanted him to make it through, that someone trusted him despite what occurred earlier.You sighed barely audible and made a step forward until you were close enough. A bit hesitantly you reached out your hand, brushing your fingertips along his left hand that was hanging limply at his side. V’s head slowly rose and turned to the side just to see you walking around, your hand still barely holding his tattooed fingers, until you stood in front of him. You closed your eyes for a moment, gathering up the courage to go through with this despite the hell around you, despite a couple of eyes watching you. When you opened your eyes again and looked up into his face you could feel your heart sink yet again. He looked devastated, a nearly empty – dead – expression in his eyes if it weren’t for the surprised and wondering spark in those green eyes.
Your heart started beating faster, a nervous feeling starting to spread through your body, but still you slowly reached up your hand to his face, and oh so slowly and barely touching coming to rest on his cheek. V didn’t move. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t even twitch when your hand touched the cracked skin. He let it happen. He just stared silently at you.Your thumb gently stroked along the skin under his eyes, where those dark bags from a lack of sleep made his condition seem even worse. His skin was dry, and you could almost feel how straining it has to be for him. Your eyes followed the movement of your thumb closely as you slowly lowered it to his lips and even more softly stroke along his lower lip, slightly frowning when you traced the most prominent crack of the skin there. V opened his mouth, so slightly you barely noticed it, but no sound left his lips.“Does it hurt much?”, you whispered, your eyes finally locking with his. V exhaled softly and there was just the slightest shake of his head, just a few strands of black shiny hair swinging to the side.“No”, you didn’t think you’ve ever heard that voice of his sounding so soft, it ran a pleasant shiver down your spine, and the answer brought some relief to the dread and anxiety you felt just by looking at him. You knew he may be lying, that he just didn’t want to admit to it, but you ignored that possibility.You nodded, a small smile appearing on your face and you thought you saw a bright spark crossing his sunken, green eyes. For a moment your smile grew wider before you decided to be a bit bolder and cautiously wrapped your arms around him. You just cared too much and before this opportunity forever passed you rather took the chance you got. The leather of his coat felt cool, almost soothing under your skin as your arms enclosed his hips. You sighed audibly and allowed your forehead to rest against his chest. V didn’t move at first, but you could feel his body becoming tense at the sudden contact, the gesture unexpected and probably unknown to him. From what you knew about him, any form of affectionate or intimate gestures were something he knew about but never experienced himself. And you really shouldn’t be surprised.
The fact that he didn’t push you away, that he didn’t say anything was already enough. You didn’t say anything, you didn’t do anything else than just stay close to him like this, enjoying the moment and hoping he understood the message you were trying to convey to him. That you cared, that you wanted him to be safe, that he could find shelter within your arms if he needed and wanted that.And still, when he finally moved and very slowly laid his left arm around your shoulders, pressing you all so gently closer to his body, a warmth erupted in your chest that you didn’t think was possible. It felt nice. Nice and warm and safe. You were grateful for no one interrupting you. No one was saying anything, not even Griffon had a sassy remark to the situation, and you silently thanked him for it.
But it was also so bittersweet. Because you were still surrounded by hell, so much was at stake, and yet you found some comfort here in each other’s arms, basking in the warmth the other emitted and you prayed to the heaven’s above that this would end in something good. That this wasn’t the beginning of the end but more the beginning of something good.