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

Warm, soft light spread throughout the space. Light blue chiffon fabric appeared darker than it was, and the outside world barely was noticeable with the curtain's covering. What probably felt like clouds to her covered her delicate body, and her eyes were closed due to her being in a peaceful sleep. Slightly, her lips were parted as light breaths of air escaped her when she exhaled. Framing her face were silk-like strands of (h/c) hair.

A smile met his lips at the sight, and his heart beat steady even if it felt like there were butterflies in his stomach. That conversation with her had been eye-opening and wonderful. He learned so much, and he understood where she stood. She accepted how she felt even if she hated it. The fire that was in her had sparked back to life.

Before she had drifted back into sleep after crying with him, she had muttered that she wanted Callest gone. She didn't want him being a threat anymore in their lives. Despite the exhaustion in her voice at the time, her tone also held a strong conviction to finish him. He wouldn't mind granting that wish of hers; he desired to tear the male apart too.

For now, he would continue to watch over her; he always would protect her. There would be no more games with her; he simply would be by her side, and she now accepted that. In fact, she wanted that, and he couldn't be happier to oblige. His smile remained on his lips, and he glanced out towards the night outside. Ether's eyes noted that there was no one suspicious, and he relaxed at the thought, but he still kept up his guard. Even if the environment was soothing on the inside of the home, it only would take moments for Callest to disturb that peace if he truly wanted to.

Slowly, a frown formed on his lips. A horrible feeling grew in his gut, and the urge to gut the a**hole grew greatly, but he had to watch over (f/n). He couldn't leave her side, or she might get taken again. That, he couldn't allow under any circumstances. No more of Callest's punishments would grace her fragile form.

His thoughts, though, were interrupted when he heard the door open quietly behind him. Briefly, he looked back and saw Nick there. Dyed pitch black locks were swept to the right and were wet. A grey long-sleeve v-neck, black lounge pants and black slippers covered his form. Probably, he had finished a shower due to his hair and the fact that Ether had heard water running earlier. Without a word, Nick walked over to the other chair in the room. He sat down by the table and table lamp before a quiet sigh parted from him.

The creature stared to him as he leaned back on his chair. "Is something wrong? Deidre usually comes in." Ether saw Nick nod his head before his brown optics looked over to (f/n). He furrowed his brows before he stood back up and brought his chair over to Ether.

Once there, he seated himself again. "I want to talk with you." Ether raised a brow and made a motion for him to continue. His expression was neutral, and his desire to kill the human male before him remained locked away presently. He had helped save (f/n) even if he had taken her away from him; however, he wouldn't hesitate for a second to kill the male if something happened to (f/n), or the human tried to harm either of them. Still, he didn't like the human, but he could tolerate him ... for now.

"All of us ..." Nick averted his eyes from Ether. There was a tinge of fear in his eyes, and Ether instantly knew what he was about to discuss.

"You heard my conversation with (f/n)." Ether locked his gaze with Nick's when Nick faced him again. "The crying ... Everything." Steadily, Nick nodded. An annoyed sigh parted from Ether. "Well, we weren't exactly quiet, and we're sharing a house with you. It's to be expected." Raising a brow, Ether asked, "Is that why you came in here? Why you're being more casual with me? You think that I won't kill you."

"No. I know that you're still capable of that." Nick diverted his eyes over to (f/n), and he resisted the urge to smile softly. "What we heard was meant for (f/n), not us. I just wanted to let you know that we heard it, and," he intertwined his fingers over his lap, "we still fully know well what you're capable of. We're only alive because (f/n) is and because Chris helped save her."

"You came in here just to let me know that?" Ether giggled quietly and quirked a brow, though; his face held a darker tone to it too. "There's something else that's bothering you. Or rather," Ether leaned over slightly, and Nick leaned back to create some distance between them, "multiple things." A threatening gaze overtook Ether's expression. "Some include (f/n)." Tilting his head, Ether questioned, "Are you jealous because of what you heard?"

By a little bit, a pained smirk hit Nick's lips. "Maybe, but I know my place." His brown eyes displayed sorrow but no regret. "I can't give her what you can. She told me everything back in Faller's Grove." Ether looked slightly surprised, but the expression disappeared within less than a second. "Your deals, what happened in the tunnels, all of it. And, I stayed with her, but I can't forgive her even if my old teammates hadn't been the best. I just can't give her the support that she needs for her past decisions like you can." A bitter chuckle parted from him. "Like what she said to you, you're the only one who can accept everything she's done. She needs that, especially after what Callest did to her."

"But, you do love her," Ether mentioned without any hesitation. Nick couldn't avert his eyes from him, and Ether let out a rough sigh. His left nails combed through his nearly white locks, and Nick was tempted to scoot his chair away. Noticing, Ether let out an amused giggle. "I'm not going to stab you. Sure, it pisses me off, but you just admitted that you don't plan to take her away from me." A dangerous entertained grin met the creature's lips. "So, you saved yourself. Good job."

Nearly, Nick released a nervous chuckle before he coughed it away. "No, I don't intend to. I have my team members to look after, especially since two of them are getting ... married." He was hesitant mentioning the word since (f/n) had told Ether that she might never love him. Probably, the creature would love getting married to her, but he knew that most likely only would happen in his dreams.

"It's fine. (F/n) and I established where we're at. I'm satisfied with that." Nick saw for a moment a soft smile grace Ether's lips, and the expression really did look odd on him ... but in a good way. "As long as we're with each other, I'll be happy. She knows that, and I'm glad that she wants to be by me now even if she despises that fact."

"It baffles me," Nick admitted, leaning forward. His forearms rested on his knees. "That side of you that we heard. Even if it wasn't meant for us, hearing it still was ..."

"You still see me as the monster that killed your team members in Cankerfell." Ether shrugged. "I'm not apologizing for my actions. You know that, and I don't expect you to forgive me for them." A few giggles left him. "Honestly, your reaction is natural. It's hard to see me as more than a murdering machine, but," his tone grew somewhat lower, and Nick felt his heart clench from terror, "I am." He lifted his left hand, and Nick felt glued to the chair even though his legs wished to bolt from the room.

Touching Nick's forehead with his left index finger, Ether wore a blood-chilling grin. "Just make sure to remember that. I hate humans thinking me as less than them." Ether drew his finger back, and Nick slowly nodded. A cheerier, if that was the right term to use, grin formed on the creature's lips. "Good." The grin fell shortly after, and Ether focused back on (f/n). "There's more on your mind, though."

"... Yeah. It's about the subway." Ether looked to Nick out of the corners of his eyes, signaling him to continue. "Why did you take all of us out? Chris was the one who pushed Callest, not us. You hate me, and you could care less about Ren and Deidre, at least at the time."

"You mistaken my feelings towards Deidre. I respect her, and I'm grateful to her for helping me with (f/n). But, that's it. If I need to kill her to protect (f/n), I will. The same goes for any of you."

Holding back a gulp, Nick nodded. "Right. But, that still leaves the question. Why take all of us? You risked (f/n) dying by bringing us all along. You could've asked me for the location of the vet, taken (f/n), Chris and the bags and bolted off." Nick pushed back strands of wet hair. "I don't get it, especially when your emotions were so ... so ... Well, you ..."

"My mind was occupied." Nick nodded. "As for why, I ..." Ether released a drawn-out sigh. "Maybe, some part of me knew that I would need the extra help down the line to take care of (f/n). Or, I might've wanted to guarantee that you weren't lying to me about the vet's location." Shrugging, Ether tapped his left nails against the arm chair, and Nick's eyes watched them carefully. "But, I think that I also did it for (f/n)."

Anger entered his optics, but it wasn't directed at Nick. "After what he did to her, I didn't wish for her to see any more pain, any more blood. I wanted her to recover and know that no one else had died for the time being." Steadily, the rage subsided. "If she had woken up and learned that I had left three of you to die in the subway, she might've not told me the truth. She might've not told me about my parents. She might've been broken completely."

"... I see." Nick smiled a little, and a light chuckle parted from his lips. Ether gave him a questioning gaze. "That's why I never can fill your shoes. I don't know if I ever could be that considerate of her." His smile morphed into a somewhat worried expression. "But when she wakes back up, how do you think she will act after she has time to think about her conversation with you?"