A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

A near silence existed between the two of them. Quiet tears dripped down his cheeks, and his breathing mixed in with the sound created from her own breaths. Ether sat up straighter and lifted up his arms as though he intended to race forward and wrap his arms around her, but they fell back down and hesitated in lifting up again. All tiredness from before left her, and she finally could feel some of her fear of falling back asleep diminish. At last, her questions could be answered; they could talk about what had happened, yet her words were stuck. His lips parted, and words finally broke the quiet between them. "... You're awake," he muttered in seeming disbelief. He blinked as though she would disappear before his very eyes, but she remained there when they opened back up. The creature didn't bother wiping his tears, and a relieved smile met his lips.

"... Yeah," she spoke out softly as her voice worked again. It felt weird hearing herself, especially with such a quiet tone. Before, she was screaming, begging or crying out anything she said. Noting that his eyes remained locked on her, some shock evident in his gaze, she wanted to divert her optics elsewhere, but she didn't; she had to keep her ground. She couldn't let what had happened in the subway cloud her mind too much, but she couldn't deny things either. They were out in the open now, and she didn't have the strength to hide them once more.

"It's so good ..."

"We need to talk," she cut him off. The firmness in her tone surprised her, and she almost sat up in the process, but her weakened form stayed practically flat against the bed. Ether didn't say anything immediately, and his eyes stared down to his own lap. A slight frown fell upon his lips, but it wasn't directed at her. Rather, it came from the memories of recent events. Maybe, she should've waited longer to bring up the subject, but they might've never gotten to it otherwise given how intense everything had been back in the subway.

"I know," he finally replied, bringing his gaze back to her. "How you were back there ..." He trailed off and shifted his optics away from her before they fell back onto her (e/c) orbs. His eyes searched hers. "Even now, I can see the pain; that fire in you ... It has gone practically cold." The creature clenched his hands on his knees, and she noted that his nails stabbed into the palm of his left hand a little. "What Cal ..." Instantly, he noted how she winced. "What he did to you ... Nick told me what that worthless a**hole told him." Ether looked over her covered body, and she knew that he had seen all of her scars and bruises. Shame entered his optics. "I'm sor ..."

"It's not your fault." Immediately, he locked his eyes onto hers again. She averted her eyes elsewhere. "I made the deal with him; I trusted him." Ether looked ready to argue when she met his optics again. "I betrayed our deal, and I," a new fear filled her eyes, "failed." (F/n) couldn't help but close her eyes as the reality of her words finally hit her. Sleep didn't try to consume her, and she felt tears tickle the corners of her eyes again, threatening to cause another torrent of them. "Y-You're still alive, and I-I-I ..."

With the threat carried through, tears started again down her cheeks. She heard movement at the side of the bed, and she heard his soft footfalls, but she didn't open her eyes. "And, I-I-I ..." Her words stopped when she felt a weight on the left side of the bed. The sheets were moved aside a bit, and she felt hands gently guide her to her left. Nails glided across her, but they never cut into her skin.

"You're seriously worried about that?" he asked, a quiet giggle leaving him. Something wet mixed in with her own tears as she felt her head being placed onto what probably was his lap. "Don't be." Her heart seemed to give a pause. "Yes, you agreed to have him kill me. Yes, you broke our agreement that you're my murderer ..."

Opening her eyes, she stared up at him and sobbed out, which cut him off in the process, "And, I-I n-n-never wi-will b-be." She hiccupped and wanted to hide away, but she also didn't want to leave his lap. Her conflicting emotions were consuming her again, and the calmness she wanted to have during the conversation flew out the window horribly. His lips parted, and she honestly admitted, "I c-can't k-kill you any-anymore."

She tried to bring up her hands to grip his out of frustration, but she only could slightly hold onto her shirt. "I hate myself for it," she managed without stuttering. "If I had been able to, I would've ... I would've ..." Again, she hiccupped. Anger at herself and misery at the crippling truth caused her tired voice to strain itself and cry out, "You would've been dead in Faller's Grove!"

Her fists wanted nothing more than to beat him, to pound into his chest, but she could only lie there on him. The months of torment dawned upon her already tumultuous mind, and it was as though all of her hatred and pain towards Cal ... towards him consumed her. "B-But, you're the only ... the only ..." A scream nearly left her, but he stopped it from hitting the air when he covered her mouth with his right hand gently.

"Stop." Her eyes didn't leave his. His tears didn't grace his face anymore, but his expression didn't bear an ounce of happiness. If anything, her state was agonizing him and tearing him apart internally. "Breathe." She didn't nod, but her body relaxed a little, and he removed his hand. "You're still recovering, and I don't want you hurting yourself." (F/n) didn't protest, but the tears continued.

"Let me make this clear, (f/n)." His tone held a firmer quality to it, but it wasn't harsh. It was gentle and reassuring; it shocked her a little, and it admittedly ... soothed her. "You broke our deal. I could kill your parents and lock you away, but I'm not going to." Her eyes widened to a degree. "Sure, I was pissed off in the beginning, but that didn't compare to how ... how terrified I was. And even if you say it wasn't my fault, I led you to that point."

Diverting his eyes from her, he admitted, "All of my selfish actions drove you to trust another of my kind to kill me, yet I ..." Roughly, he released a sigh. "I still don't regret forcing myself into your life because otherwise I," he painfully smiled, "wouldn't be here with you, and I only want you." A giggle parted from him, but it slowly morphed into a quiet chuckle. "And, my love for you has made me realize that I can't commit myself to ... certain things."

Eyes still wide, she wanted to sit up and observe him better, but she couldn't. Her tears continued to trail down her cheeks while bewilderment and remaining fear dominated her eyes. "T-then," she managed to choke out between a sob, "t-the g-game?" She tried to search his eyes for an answer. "You keeping me ignorant." Her voice became clearer. "The truth that he kept telling me about."

"You were going to tell me how I'm the only one who truly can accept everything you've done." (F/n) broke her gaze from him, ashamed. He could tell that she felt like she was betraying her friend Laura, but she had told him something similar back at the cabin. Still, she only now was realizing the entirety of that implication, and how it had prevented her from killing him. That she had ... No, that was for her to decide. "Well, the same ... goes for me."

Upon his lips, a small, somewhat nervous smile formed. When her eyes caught sight of it, she froze. It touched a part of her, and it made her emotions all the more chaotic. "You're the only one who can tolerate everything I do even if you hate it, even if you despise me for it. You respect me and treat me as an equal; you fight against the things I do even though you fear me. You're truly the only one I can have all of these genuine experiences with, and I don't want to lose that."

Once more, tears formed in his eyes, and it was as though pieces were falling off of the wall he had built to hide his secrets. "I've been so ... so ..." Ether looked away, but his hands didn't move away from her. Instead, they rested over her shoulders lightly, but she could feel them trembling.

"Scared?" she asked almost inaudibly. His gaze snapped back to her, and she visibly winced, which pained her sore body. The creature stared on before he giggled, but his giggles weren't his terrifying, amused ones. No, they sounded as though he had been wounded several times over.

"... Yes." He shook his head and stared out the window momentarily. "That you would leave me after you saw how weak I was. I didn't want you to escape; I didn't want you to see the true effects you were having on me." His left hand reached up and covered his face as he giggled into it. "Why do you think that I truly stalled the game so many times?" Again, he shook his head. "Yes, I was enjoying the journey with you; I loved playing with you, but I also ... I also ..."

More giggles consumed him, but she wasn't ... terrified of him for once. If anything, she felt her heart clench, and that was what horrified her, but after everything Ca ... he had done to her, she couldn't tuck it away. She was realizing what he had been getting at the entire time she had been tortured; the conversation between Ether and him made more sense. "That d*mned kid had helped me keep the charade up longer; he had given me a reason to terrify you even more. That game had caused me to become furious at you like I hadn't been in a long time." He giggled again. "I thought that maybe I could suppress that part of me, but it came soaring back when you hadn't killed me. And, I was so d*mn happy."

Gradually, his hand slipped from his face. His nails sliced into his skin a little bit. She saw his tears fully again as crimson mixed in with them, and she saw the frightened smile upon his lips. "The truth is (f/n) ... It's that the whole game had been to give me time, to hide the fact that I will never force myself upon you even if it means giving up my chance to have a child with you."