In The Name Of Love [Erek / Closed / AO]

Anger. Relief. Love. The emotions swirled through his mind like a vortex-- and he knew it was all her god damn fault. He also knew that right now, in this moment, he didn’t care-- all that mattered was making sure that she was alright. That she was healthy, he sensed no Hollow energy training her, and the communication orb pulsed in his back pocket briefly. He wasn’t going to let her have that of all god damn things.

Within a few minutes, they had landed in his room in the primary Blackmore fortress now that it had been built. It was effectively a small home built into the residential floor, and as he entered the suite, he gently lowered her onto the bed-- without hesitation beginning to check her body over carefully with his hands, ensuring that she wasn’t cut or injured anywhere-- but there was only bruising from her own usage of her reiatsu. Used to early, too soon.

Slowly, a sigh passed through his lips as he fell back, resting his face in his hands as he stared down at her through his fingertips. Now that the relief was finished-- he felt it, the rage. Like a tidal wave he was trying to stop and stem with his bare hands-- and finally, he cursed, hurling the communication orb to bounce off the wall, shattering the glass and denting the stone wall before thudding to the floor.

His hands lowered, his body bending over a bit as he leaned heavily on his arms that rested atop his thighs and knees-- staring down at the floor. He loved her. He knew he did, or he’d never act like this, lashing out randomly, but the fire burned in his chest like satan was having a fucking party inside him. She could have died. He could have lost her, over a foolish mistake that she had promised him she wouldn’t make.

His eyes flickered toward her, figuring the broken glass would have awoken her-- and his jaw set slightly in anger, letting her speak first, knowing it was clear he was absolutely livid with her.

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Tags: Seraphina
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Her slumber was brief, the dreams interrupted by the sudden grunting and shattering. Her body didn’t jolt awake as if under attack or if the glass was a sign of threat. Her eyes simply began to open, her hands gripping the sheets. She was afraid to open them and see the man near her.

She was afraid.

”I’m sorry, Erek…” Seraphina’s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, and it was clear as day why she was such. Her energy had begun to restore itself, the inner reserves of her reiryoku beginning to naturally replenish, though it would have taken days to get where she was before the meeting with Shinku.

[111]

Erek’s eyes locked onto the woman as she apologized, her voice was small, her tone was gentle-- and he knew why, he knew her past, he knew an angry man standing over her had to be one of the most fearful things she could experience. But god damn it he was struggling to care right now. Slowly, carefully, he raised a hand and rubbed it across his face slowly before he turned himself on the bed so that he was looking down at her.

“Do you realize, why I’m so goddamn angry?” his words were short and firm as he stared down into her eyes, wondering if she had a grasp on it. He was sure she realized he was angry at her, but could she wrap her mind around why? He wasn’t certain, he sure as hell hadn’t of been able to a few hours ago-- and yet here he was, fully intending to pour his heart out in the next few words, because she had scared him.

She’s scared him more than he’d ever been in his life-- gunfire, bombs, hollow, nothing came even close to all the close calls that he’d endured. Nothing came close to this feeling of almost losing her-- of almost losing someone that he loved.

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Seraphina flinched as he faced her, yet refused to move. He wouldn’t hurt her. Part of her knew it. Not because she was his woman. Not because she was a woman. But because she knew he wasn’t angry enough to lose her by his hand.

”Because I fucked up.”

[49]

He released a sigh of frustration at her simple way of putting it, and slowly leaned back, before his gaze leveled on her once more-- his hands opening as he scooped her up gently into his arms, his hands slowly wrapping around her as he set her in his lap. Leaning back gently with her so he could look into her eyes, calm-- he had to calm down, or he wouldn’t be able to explain himself properly at all.

“Yes. You fucked up. But that’s not the problem-- you promised me, Sera,” he murmured the words with obvious pain in his voice, his hand cupping her cheek gently as he looked into her eyes his other arm, slowly wrapping around her.

“I told you that you weren’t ready, and you agreed to wait. What the fuck possessed you to do this?” Slowly, his head lowered, his forehead pressing against her own as his eyes slowly closed.

“I could have fucking lost you before I even managed to realize how much I--” his words halted suddenly, he’d clarified it to himself once already. He’d said it mentally, but he hadn’t said it once verbally, he hadn’t addressed it. He’d been so angry that the realization hadn’t really hit him-- he was still angry, but it was a different level now.

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Seraphina allowed her body to limply wrap around his, sitting in his lap and allowing him to explain. His questions burned into her soul, and she couldn’t find the answer. There was no reply as she listened, beginning to speak only when his statements ended.

”Realize… what, Erek?”

[48]

"Realize what?", she asked. He knew the answer-- he knew the words and yet saying them felt like such a damn struggle. It was like a damn weight pushing down on him from above--, closing his throat, forcing him to say nothing, and he knew the sensation-- this one, he was familiar with.

Fear.

Slowly, he lowered his hands as he stared down into the big amber orbs that he comes to hold so dear without even realizing it. She was different, unique-- and he loved her. He could think it, but the words themselves weren’t so easy to admit. Love meant weakness, today proved that, more than anything.

If she had died, he would have been crushed. If she had been captured, he would have thrown all reason to the wind and hounded Shinku to bring her back, and likely have lost his own life or the lives of others in the process due to his loss of logic. Love was a weakness-- and his instincts screamed that loving her was beyond dangerous. Yet-- he couldn’t help the truth. Slowly, he released a single breath as his forehead gently pushed against her own, and the words came forward-- strong, and earnest.

“That I love you, you damn fiery, sultry, idiotic, stupid hothead that goes rushing off to get herself killed,” despite his harsh words-- his tone was still firm, and a determined edge hinted at it as he sighed, and glared down into her eyes.

“I love you, Seraphina.”

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His words took her by surprise, and it seemed to resonate on every level of her being.

Her reiryoku seemed to come to life, the pounding of her energy beating against the two, causing the room to fill with a light mist and the smell of salt. The life force of her spiritual self pounded against her physically, causing bruises to form slowly as it seemed to resonate with her quickening heartbeat.

The heartbeat. It was speeding, and it was rough. With her chest pressed against his, she could’ve allowed him to feel her heart pounding away with each passing moment, then even more as he fully admitted the feelings he felt.

He loved her.

She let out shaky breaths, as if panicking, though she had yet to lose total control. She briefly glanced down at her wrists, where black and blue began to take over her caramel skin, until soon her entire arm was bruised. Immediately, she tried to regain composure, forcing her life to fall back under her control. The reiryoku within her tempered, halting its devastating attack on her body, and the reiatsu seemed to linger in the air, though none seemed to manifest from her.

Then, she looked up into his eyes. ”You… what?”

[208]

He felt the shifting of her energy, and his eyes narrowed on her own. He was about to speak, to tell her to calm down-- but as his lips parted for him to do so, her energy slowly calmed around her, swallowing itself and settling back into her being-- though her skin was now freshly bruised, causing him to suck his teeth in annoyance.

He’d have to fix that later. For now, he would instead turn her, laying her on her back-- firmly against the bed as he stared down into her eyes. He knew damn well that she had heard him, and he also knew that she was trying to egg him as she always did. He was angry-- still incredibly so, but the feeling was mixing with others.

Relief, happiness, fear, understanding-- she’d done something overwhelmingly stupid, she’d broken her promise to him, she’d nearly been lost to him. Yet-- he couldn’t deny the happiness that was churning slowly in his chest, the sensation that he could now identify firmly as love.

“Say please,” he murmured, his words a reflection of a conversation that they had nearly a month ago, his eyes staring down into her own as the back of his hand gently caressed her along her cheek.

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Sera felt her body shift, until she was horizontal and the man was near her, his tender touch welcome on her flared skin. She felt her body still throb with her heartbeat as she opened her mouth, only a tender voice coming out, her words cracking as she admitted what she wanted him to say all this time, from the first night they began this crazy adventure.

”Please… say you love me, Erek.” Her hand reached up to his neck, keeping him close as she began to feel her eyes sting. She could see her vision blur in the bottom of her sight, and then her face burn as tears began to stream from her face like the beginning of a rainy season.

”Please say it, but only if you mean it, Erek. Don’t you dar--“

[136]

Erek’s lips found her own before she could say another word, molding to her own as he pulled her close to him, his fingers trailing through hair as he pulled her body against his own. His eyes falling shut as his tongue invaded her own, he wasn’t sure how many minutes ticked by, his tongue exploring her mouth, his lips gently molding to her own as his eyes, finally would open.

Burning down into her eyes, his voice finally came-- firm, and without any hesitation, as he ran his thumb gently along her lips.

“I don’t ever lie,” he murmured firmly, staring into her eyes before he continued, and finally spoke the words she was so desperate to hear.

“I love you, Seraphina. I probably have a for a while now, but I couldn’t tell, I wasn’t sure-- not until I realized I was about to lose you.” Slowly, his head pressed down, kissing the side of her throat softly, as his jaw clenched, his voice having cracked midway through the last words he had spoken, the idea of losing her overwhelmingly painful.

“It’s your turn,” he murmured softly into her ear, nuzzling gently into her neck, something that he already knew as well-- he supposed that she was wearing off on him. Even though he knew, he still wanted to hear it-- hear her say it. Know that those feelings that were so foreign to him were returned.

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Seraphina listened to him, her lips wet from the kiss, and decorated with the taste of salt from her sweat and the reiatsu manifesting as a salted wind between the two. She swallowed, looking directly into his eyes as her own continued to let loose tears that ran down her temples and into her hair, staining the pillows she rested on.

”Of course I fucking love you, Erek. Why the hell do you think I want to be around you? Why do you think I let you do the things you do? I’m not scared of you or afraid if I don’t, you’ll beat me like my father. I do it because I want you to be a part of my life, Erek.”

She took his hand in her own bruised, nigh bloody hand, and held it as tight as her pain threshold allowed. ”You’re the first man I’ve wanted to be with in my entire life. I’ve had chances, to have boyfriends or even husbands. But none of them made me feel as safe as you do. None of them make me feel so weak or so strong like you do.

Mi corazon, you are my heart. My love.”

[200]

Tears, something that he never wanted to see on her face-- and yet, in this instance he didn’t mind. They were different from the tears he was so used to seeing, happiness was their origin, and perhaps a bit of pain, he realized glancing at her hands and how severe the bruising had truly become.

However, before he could focus on that-- she distracted him with her words, which poured out like a river, causing his eyes to soften as he slowly leaned forward, his arms wrapping around her slowly as he looked into her eyes. Listening to every word-- and it was hard to accept, he had expected an I love you-- but wanting to spend her life with him?

With someone like him?

It was-- difficult, to accept. Yet, he also knew she wasn’t lying-- it was terrifying, in a way just how easily she could grasp his heart and prove her point with her words and expressions alone. Slowly, he sighed before her last words filled his mind as her bruised, damaged hands grasped his own-- and he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against her own, gentler this time as he would open his eyes slowly.

“I’m glad,” he murmured to her, gently, firmly, his words completely serious and earnest-- he didn’t know what else to say. Thank her, for loving someone like him? But it would feel wrong because he felt the same-- she made him feel so damn strong, and yet so fucking weak, without any time to realize he was enduring such. She gave him fucking emotional whiplash.

Slowly, he leaned his head down, pressing his lips to her own-- and this time, pushing forward with more effort, before he would slowly sit up, there was a lot more he wanted to say, do, touch, everything-- but for now, she needed medical attention.

The Hispanic quincy clung to his lips as if they held her last breath, only letting go when he began to move.

“Stay,” he commanded firmly as he gave her thigh a soft pat, before he wiped the tears gently from her eyes and hauled himself up to his feet, moving toward the door and exiting for a few moments, returning shortly after with a single slim cylinder of glass, taking off the cap revealing a slim needle.

“Hold still, I’m going to heal you,” he stated simply as he fell into a seat on the bed, gently pushing the pant leg up slowly so that he had a clear target to inject the liquid into her skin-- the enzyme inside having been made from his own blood mixed with multiple other Soul-synthesized liquids in order to create a regenerative serum as strong as his own-- though only for a single burst of healing.

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When he returned with the syringe, she stayed still, though movement wasn’t her priority at the time. When the liquid began to fill her body, coating her skin and allowing her to heal briefly, she felt… serene. So this was what he felt when he healed himself. The Blackmore regeneration, built for outsiders.

She watched the bruising fade, restoring her tanned skin to its prime, almost seeming to reverse any negativity beyond the most recent. Perhaps with enough injections, she’d fit the body of a model. Maybe Erek would’ve prefered that.

”But why do you… love me, Erek?” Seraphina absentmindedly asked the question, as if it held no repercussions to mention it. Her eyes trailed up to the man and peered into his own, searching for some tell or facial expression that held a lie. Perhaps it’s what she wanted. To see if this was some dream to wake up from, or if it was truly the reality she wanted.

A reality where Erek loved her.

[166]

She held still once he had injected the enzymes into her, watching as the wounds rapidly began to repair themselves, her skin rapidly mending away as even old scars would slowly disappear smoothly. Lowering his hands gently he would check over her limbs, making sure everything was sealed and ready-- before finally relaxing with a brief sigh.

Then, the question came forward-- and he halted in his initial movement, having intended to toss the syringe away and instead set it down to turn and give her his complete focus. A brow arching slightly as he debated if she was trying to tease him again-- but her face was only full of earnest curiosity and confusion.

Slowly, he would sight as he hauled himself up-- his hand firmly pressing her back into the bed once more as he laid down beside her. Gently wrapping an arm around her waist so that his fingertips could trace over her skin slowly-- why did he love her? That wasn’t an easy question for him to answer, but he also knew that she needed him to give it.

Unlike him, she had been thinking about these things-- these emotions, for a long time. She’d given her reasoning and he hadn’t even asked for it, that she felt safe near him, comfortable, which was probably a miracle in and of itself.

He had to think about it, and so he rested his head gently against her own as he debated the question-- wanting to give her a completely honest response. He had to separate it all, lust, friendship, and love-- what was under the final category that wasn’t within the other two?

Finally, he would speak.

“At first, I was attracted to your naivety, I found it cute-- I wanted to corrupt you a bit, honestly,” that in and of itself, was odd-- usually, he just held back emotions. But he let that go, summarizing it up to the emotional changes he seemed to of been going through the past few months.

“But-- it eventually changed. You’re different from me-- you’re innocent, naive, bright, full of life-- and energy, like a sun.” his eyes softened slowly as he rested his forehead gently against her shoulder as he explained this.

“In a way, I suppose you amaze me. Even people with some of the easiest, brightest lives, struggle to have a mindset like yours-- you’re determined and strong-willed. Even if that gets you in fucking trouble sometimes,” he cracked a hand against her backside, showing he certainly hadn’t forgotten her foolishness that had led to this moment, but he settled down easily enough as he rested against her.

“So I suppose, I love your personality.” To others, that may have seemed like a cop-out, like he was avoiding the question entirely, but Erek didn’t have a mindset like others. He didn’t understand that usually, that was the cliche, that it was only something found after years of spending time together-- to truly love someone's entire “personality” was usually impossible, one's mind was too cluttered and full of things they liked or didn’t like, making it impossible to just accept everything for what it was.

Yet, despite disliking some of what her personality led to-- the insistent teasing, the idiotic actions that nearly caused her life to end-- Erek still loved that aspect of her. It was a part of her that he adored because it was part of that determination-- foolhardiness.

“Eres mi sol,” the words were gentle but clear and earnest as his lips gently pressed to her cheek. For all her flaws and all the things that frustrated him about her-- he also loved them. She was the complete opposite of him, in so many ways, and it was something he never thought he’d see in any one person-- and perhaps that, combined with perfect timing to enter his life that she had, was the reason he could say that he loved her with such conviction.

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Her heart began to pound once again as she took shuddering breaths, listening to the man explain his affection for her. She could hear the sincerity in his words, despite sounding like some scene from a movie like The Notebook. Her tears began to roll down her cheeks once again as he continued, ending his note by calling her his sunshine.

Taking in another breath, Seraphina reached up to his cheek, caressing it slowly with a trembling hand. A part of her knew his affection, knew that he did more than simply like her as he stated in a time that felt so… long ago. But she didn’t know how he felt. How much he loved her. And honestly, she wasn’t sure he could explain it. The way he worded his affection, the way he always casually mentioned his desires or how he was so smooth and eased into the idea of flings or his otherworldly affection for her, it seemed as if she was the first… person. The first commitment.

”Eres mi luna y estrellas…” She softly kissed his cheek, threading her trembling fingers through his own calloused hand. Amber eyes trailed over his body, then up to his eyes. ”Say it again… please?”

[205]

The sight of her tears streaming down her face caused him to gently lift his hands, his thumbs gently pushing them from her eyes as he pulled her close and kissed her forehead gently as he glanced down at her when she began to speak, arching a brow. Her words brought a soft smile to his lips, he supposed being a moon shrouded in the darkness seemed quite accurate, actually-- that was a good way to depict him.

Then came her request, her voice small, and those orbs of amber staring up at him so eagerly as his own eyes softened-- looking down into them as he slowly lowered a hand to grasp her chin.

“Such a spoiled sun,” he murmured simply before his forehead gently pressed against her own, “--I love you, Sera,” and with those words, his lips would gently mold over her own as his fingertips gently traced along her jawline. He truly did-- he had absolutely no doubt of that in his mind any longer.

Though he wasn’t entirely sure that he understood all the implications of it all, he did know that he wanted to protect her, have her, claim her so that no one else could ever touch her. Slowly, he broke the kiss as he pushed her back slowly into the bed, his eyes burning into her own as his hands braced themselves on either side of her body.

“I’m still angry,” he stated firmly, though there was no anger in his voice or eyes-- he still was, just because he’d forgiven her and admitted his love didn’t mean he had magically just let it all go after all. Lowering his face to gently bite her lower lip, he then nuzzled his nose against her own, not really knowing what to do with his anger-- but knowing he didn’t want to let go of her just yet either.

Crouched over her, his eyes stared down into her own before he would lean down as he nuzzled into her throat-- teeth grazing her as he slowly straightened and moved toward the corner of his room to grab a slim box before he moved back toward her and placed it lightly on her lap, sitting down beside her.

“Open it-- it seems fitting, now that it’s official that you’re mine,” as he stated the last word, his fingertips traced along her jaw slightly with a smile, as if making the claim verbally had finally sealed it-- even if they should figure out official titles he was sure.

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Seraphina smiled softly as he admitted it once more. It was satisfying to hear him say those words.

When he mentioned his anger, she flinched ever so slightly, though his voice held no harshness. It felt as if his voice was decorated with desire, passion, and everything she both feared and wanted from him.

Watching him get up from their comfortable position and retrieve a small box, she raised a brown brow at the alabaster container. ”If this is what I think it is…”

Peeking into the box, her eyes narrowed into a glare, making it all the more difficult to see through her still blurred vision. Taking it from the box, the gift seemed to be a collar. It looked as if it would fit around her neck snugly, though she found it difficult to think of why she was to wear it. Surely she wasn't that submissive.

The collar, was a dark black, leather-- obviously having been made with great care, lined with golden chains with a single sun crafted from the same golden material of varying shades at it’s center. A single loop near the side made it clear a leash could be attached, but it was primarily just a form of jewelry. It pulsed with soft reishi-- clearly having been made through soul-synthesized materials.

[218]