Flash in the Dark [Closed]

"Understood." Selena was going to be a truer part of Reapers life very soon and she loved the thought of it. By inviting her to join his group, she was another step closer to fulfilling that promise of hers. She told him he would want to be friends with her. This was just proving her point. She was just another step closer to keeping that promise. It was silent for a bit, besides a tiny bit of humming Selena did. When the silence was broken, Reaper asked for her assistance again. Apparently, he had discovered his need for a bath. Selena wasn't going to say anything, so thank god he noticed it first. In fact, she could use one herself. Her out fit was just more airy than his armor was.

"Alright, I can help you out." Selena stood up and stretched a bit, following him back to the bathroom. For a few moments, the two argued about exactly what was going on. She didn't like being given this strange choice! Her first instinct was to jump into the tub with him. Even if he had given her that option, the idea of his opinion of her lowering because of some impulsive action bothered her. Finally, he just gave her an order; that was the Reaper she was used to. It took her a moment to realize what the order was though. She blinked a few times when it registered in her mind and then blushed. Before heading in, out of curiosity, she did make her way to her stuff and put on her glasses.

"Thank god he can't see right now..." Selena thought, knowing her face was probably red. As he began removing his clothes, Selena took note of all of the scars. He must have been in a lot more battles than she even imagined to get all of those. Either that, or it was a few extremely intense and difficult ones. Either way, Selena caught herself almost moving to touch his back, but pulled away before she could. Shaking her head, she removed her own clothes, not exactly shy since the man was blind at the moment. He went in first and she made sure to help him so he wouldn't slip. After he was settled, Selena stepped in and sat on the opposite end, stretching her legs out toward his side.

"Wait, shit..." she thought to herself when she realized something, "I didn't get to see it, damn it." Selena pouted momentarily, trying to glance through the water, but ended up blushing and turning away, as if he could see her. She sat there still for a while, not sure whether bathing at the same time would be okay with him. Wasn't that the point of this? Agh! She didn't know! Selena was broken from her thoughts when he spoke up and asked her to find the soap. She looked into the water and saw the white bar. "Of course, that's where it's at..." she gulped and glanced up to him, "No problem, but remember my powers are a little more difficult in water, hun." Yes, this was her excuse.

Selena reached forward and grabbed the soap. As she did this, the back of her hand rubbed along that before she brought the soap up. "Here ya go..." she reached out and grabbed his hand, placing the soap in it. The moment it was no longer in her hands, she blushed even worse. She had actually seen the lightest hint of pink appear on his face. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god." she thought when she heard the bloop again. She quickly grabbed the soap and handed it back, but he kept dropping it. Part of her wondered whether that little moment had caused him to be a little more clumsy than usual. "Cute." she thought and then picked up the soap again, "Here, let me do it for you."

Selena slid along the tub and moved to the other side. She'd help him slide forward a bit so she could get an easier reach of his back and then began to wash his back for him. She would be a liar of she said a thoughts of hugging, kissing, and full on sex with him did not pass her mind, but other thoughts that she had made her not want to disrespect him in that manner. If he wanted her in that manner, that was different, but there was no way she'd take advantage of his vulnerable state. Once she was finished, she washed wherever else he needed and then moved to her own body. Something about this actually relaxed her enough to let out a soft sigh; it was actually pretty unexpected.

"Would you like to rinse with the shower?" Selena asked and stood up. She stepped out first and set a few towels along the floor as he answered, "If you can help me with my balance, yes." Selena smiled and made sure the towels were straight. She walked over to the shower, turned it on so it'd get warm, and then went back over to him. She took the plug out of the bath to let the water run down the drain and then put her hand on his shoulder. "I put some towels on the floor, so lift your feet a bit higher while you walk." she helped him to his feet, out of the tub, and then over to the shower. She made sure he didn't trip over the slight step up into the shower and then stepped in too.

The water was already warm, so Selena made sure he was able to rinse himself well. In fact, she grabbed some shampoo and ended up instinctively helping him wash his hair as well. As she rubbed the soap into his hair, she ended up doing to him what she does to herself and massaged his scalp. "I went through this too..." she spoke up, "My sisters were sick and needed a medicine only found in Aria was their only chance... I pushed myself to the breaking point and my powers ended up activating... The adrenaline kept me going until they were safe, but the moment they were, I passed out and woke up completely blind... It took six months for my Arcana to normalize, then it took me over a year to fully understand everything I was seeing and how I was seeing it... And it took me even longer to realize I could control the movement of anything I saw... It was hard, and I got angry about it too."

Selena finished with the massage and washing of his hair and gently pushed him under the water so he could rinse, which she helped him with that too. Selena kept one arm around him the entire time, trying to make sure he didn't lose his balance or bump into anything. "But I got through it... I had my family by my side and they helped me with everything until I could do it all on my own... It's what people who care about you do..." Selena turned the two of them around so she could start rinsing herself, but never let him go, "And you've got me now, so please... if you can help it, don't feel so alone, don't feel embarrassed or frustrated... I'll be here for you every single step of the way."

The past two weeks were very different for Selena than they were for J., which was odd since they were practically inseprable. Selena was stressed, worried, concerned, and holy shit was she tense. And it wasn't the kind of tense that most people think of. How many times had they gotten close to each other? She had to take how many showers with this man? Well, she didn't have to. She did enjoy it, but each time these thoughts rushed through her mind and she used willpower to prevent herself from doing anything. After a while, you just can't keep fighting it and it was getting closer and closer to that point. She had to though. She was here to aid him, nothing more could happen.

It was morning and Selena was still asleep. She always slept with a bra and underwear on; her clothes were too uncomfortable and she didn't own pajamas, so this is what she was stuck with. She felt a shove on her shoulder and opened her eyes. She raised her head and turned over onto her back, since she usually slept on her stomach, and looked up to Reaper. With a loving smile, she wiped her eyes and spoke up, "You okay?" And then he said those words. The first two, 'it's over', took her by surprise and confused her. Those didn't go well with the dream she just woke up from. When he reached over her and grabbed his mask, she understood what he meant and smiled widely.

"I can see." Selena closed her eyes for a moment and then reached over passed where his mask was. She picked up her glasses and put them on, ignoring the pain it caused and then looked back up to him. She sat up and sighed. "I don't care if I get in trouble for this..." she said, shaking her head. Selena smiled again and put her hand on his cheek, another on the hand that was holding his mask so he could not block her. With out a single ounce of hesitation, she leaned forward and placed her lips against his. She leaned further into him for a moment and continued the kiss for a second or two before breaking it. "Don't scare me like that again." she told him and then turned away.

She never hesitated. Not once would she either. If he wanted her to do something, she'd do it, even if it was confusing, frightening, or broke her heart. There were only two things that Selena would never, ever, ever listen to him on. The first was him telling her to harm her family. The second would be harming him. She had become attached enough to Reaper that hurting him was out of the question. It broke her heart seeing him vulnerable and needing help, harming him would destroy her. And through the past two weeks, this is what she realized. She really could not hurt him; he was precious to her. So when he told her to strike, she did. When she was told to dump this bastards body in the lake, she did. She dragged him out their, used some big rocks and rope to weigh him down and bloop.

Selena returned to the cabin, stretching her arms. Once she stepped back in, he called out to her and she went back toward the room. She could only smile, especially when he was able to look at her. The look in her eyes was softer than he'd remember too; she was officially falling for him, not just trying to get him to want her around as a friend, but as his woman. He told her he appreciated her help and her smile grew, but then he offered to repay and it faded. She closed her eyes and thought. What exactly could she even ask from him? Wasn't becoming a member of the Night Nine enough, or was that just him feeling she was a good asset? Since he was offering repayment, Selena came to the conclusion that the membership really was him just wanting her on his side. Mission: Accomplished.

"For the past two weeks, I've helped you eat, walk, and even bathe..." she said with her eyes still closed. She didn't exactly need them anyway. "I've honestly been worried sick that you might end up like me, but without the arcana to compensate..." Selena sighed and raised her head, opening her eyes and looking toward him. She walked over and sat down next to him, picking up her glasses and putting them back on. She had to take them off to attack the guy before. "I was also scared you were going to hit me a few times, excluding the time you decided your crystal should try breaking my nose." she smiled at the memory, giggling about it a bit. She wasn't mad then, nor was she mad now. She just knew it all frustrated him. She was glad he was back to normal though; no more blind Reaper is good.

"And um... I hated it. I didn't hate helping you; all of that was fun and the view was pretty nice at times too, but I hated seeing you in need of help." Selena said, crossing one leg over the other and then looking toward the floor, "The man I knew as strong, independent, and driven was feeling so... lost. Seeing you shake with anger... It broke my heart. I wanted nothing more than to make it better. I wanted to do something, no matter what it was... just something to make it easier on you. I didn't want to treat you like a baby, which is why I did certain things the way I did. I didn't want you to feel helpless, so I stayed by your side. And I wanted you to keep realizing that this wasn't going to last forever. I wouldn't have let it." Selena stopped talking, turned her head away and then sighed.

"Anyways... J." she cleared her throat and took a deep breath, "I learned one thing over the past two weeks. Just one. And that is that there is only one thing that I would ever want from you..." Selena said and turned back toward him with a sweet smile, "And at this point in your life, you're either not willing... or not able to give it, so please... don't offer me anything until you are." She leaned in and placed a light kiss on his cheek. There was a short crack in her voice while she spoke. "I don't think I could handle the heartbreak of being told no..." It was the first time Selena ever felt an actual love toward someone and she assumed that it would never be returned. So the easiest way of dealing with the rejection was by making sure it never happened. If she never asked for his love, he'd never say no.

"So, something tells me the impostor didn't call the people you asked him to call two weeks ago, so... should we take care of that?" Selena stood up, wiping her face while having her back to him. She turned back to him and pulled the glasses off, setting them to the side as she started feeling a headache come on. Two very different types of pressures in her head, one from trying not to cry and the other from her glasses pushing Arcana back, were causing a little too much pain in her head. "Also, is there any place that I can send some money out? My sisters are probably worried sick after not hearing from me for so long and could also probably use a little bit of extra gold in their pockets, so..." she pulled out a bag of her own coin and shook it, "I'd like to get this to them as soon as possible."

"I can see." Three words that she couldn't have been happier to hear. These three words were followed by a kiss, one that meant a hell of a lot more to her than the man she gave it to. Stubborn bastard, but it was her fault. She knew what she was getting into from the beginning, but she foolishly thought that she could show him what it meant to be cared for and what it meant to have somebody watch your back. She had learned to care for him and watched his back, but beyond that, she had learned to love him. It was probably one of the dumbest things she could have done and she was hating herself for it. It was like she had set herself up for heartbreak and even did it knowingly.

Day four after J's recuperation and Selena wasn't feeling any better. She needed something to occupy her mind. She had actually been avoiding J recently, keeping conversations short and even slept on the floor instead of right next to him. She had to deal with her own mind somehow, and her way of dealing with pain was distancing herself from it. When day four came, though, Selena decided that there was something she wanted to do. "Training. I don't want that shit happening again, so I want to train you how to fight without relying on sight." It wasn't too hard to convince him, so once he agreed, they started that afternoon; he was going to have to get used to using her blindfold.

During their training, she put her glasses on. If she hadn't, she'd naturally see with her Arcana anyways. At least with this, she could actually train him and remember how it was to fight blind as well. Lesson one: listen. The slightest sounds always mean something. From clothes rubbing against each other, the stretching of muscle, the sound of breathing, and the most important was the movement of air. Selena explained to him that it was almost like creating a sixth sense. He had to feel and understand what was normal and then realize when that normalcy ended. Every now and then, she'd toss a sack of something his way: coins, rocks, cotton, or paper, for him to dodge.

It was fun hitting him with rocks every now and then. It was a cute away of getting her revenge, but also getting the point across. Once he was able to hear everything and zone in on certain sounds, Selena explained that they'd move to moving while blind, not just standing there and dodging. Unfortunately, this was going to take a while, but it did give them something to do. After a few hours of training, about thirty minutes before the sun was going down, a certain someone had to take a break. Selena went over to the river and sat down. She took off her shoes and set her feet in the cool water to relax a bit. It had been a long time since she had done any training, let alone teach.

She kicked the water about a bit and began to relax, so she stretched herself by raising her arms and stretching her back. Unfortunately, she gave her current stalkers the perfect point of target. She heard a strange click, but saw nothing. Suddenly, this overwhelming rush of pain shot through her entire torso. She could hear the crack and felt her rib re-break. This strange four pronged hook slammed into her body, sending her flying backwards and wrapping around her torso, under her arms. Like a fish caught on a hook, she was suddenly pulled when the attached chain began retracting and dragging her along the shore toward a small boat that had not been there five minutes ago. The hit was strong enough to completely take her breath away; Selena didn't even get a chance to scream or fight back.

The pain was nothing less than brutal. Selena's body created a dirt trail as she was dragged along the ground. She struggled against the pull, but this metal grip seemed to tighten and it hurt her more. Within moments, her eyes caught the quick glimpse of Reaper jumping over her. Finally, she was no longer being dragged through the dirt. Half of her hair lay in the water of the lake as she struggled against the claw that had itself wrapped around her torso, digging into the skin as it crushed her ribs back into their previously broken state. Selena panicked, kicking her legs to try and loosen the grasp. She grabbed onto the metal, using whatever strength she had left to attempt to pry this constructs talons from her body. With each try, she failed and it seemed to tighten around her even more.

It was tightening, but not in the manner one would think. No. It was squeezing her, crushing her in it's hold. She didn't even hear Reaper's interrogation. She didn't look to him. She tried to call out for him, but the lack of air and zero room for her lungs to expand was preventing that one hope. By the time Reaper got to her, Selena's eyes were wide and dilated in panic. He could hear the short gasps, her lungs desperately trying to pull in the smallest amount of air, but not an inch of progress was made toward her being able to breathe. She was suffocating. She barely heard his words, but could not move herself. Her mind began to fade. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head until they closed and her head fell to the side. Her body fell limp as he was turning her over and she fully passed out.

Selena did not know the minute that passed her by as Reaper removed the three talons that this metal claw had holding her in place. The only thing she knew was her bodies sudden intake of air. That precious breath brought her back to life, her back arching upwards as her chest raised. She tried regaining her composure, but she was being dragged out of the claw. Pain. A heavy pain shot over her like a wave overtook the shore, as her ribs brushed against the remaining metal. She took in a deep breath to fight screaming when that happened, but when Reaper picked her up to take her in, that pain only intensified. Her body tensed, her jaw clenched, a tear fell from her eyes, and she grabbed onto his shirt with both hands and screamed into his shoulder. Her body was shaking at this point.

Inside of the cabin, she was laid down and the pain kept making her lose her breath. Now that she was still, laying comfortably on the bed, she tried concentrating on her breathing. As he left the room to find the pain medication, Selena grabbed onto the mattress below and squeezed it so tightly that she was hurting her hands and shaking even worse. He returned with pain pills and some water and tried handing them to her. She gave a momentary glare, but that changed to an almost defeated sigh. "J... I can barely move..." she said in a breathy and pained voice. He nodded and helped her take the pills and it quickly became obvious that swallowing was painful as hell. She didn't yell out this time, but she completely froze until the pain calmed and then she could lay into the pillow.

"This might tide you over. I am no doctor, as you know, but tell me where you are injured. If you know the extent of your injuries as well, it would assist me in treating you." Selena's eyes darted from side to side as she tried as hard as she could to figure out where the pain was. She just shook her head over and over again before finally taking a deep breath. "My ribs... I don't know anything beyond my ribs..." Selena was crying and she was not even attempting to hide it. She just kept shaking her head, sniffling, and clenching her jaw together. Not once did her hands release the mattress either. "I don't think I've ever been in this much pain..." she said through one of her sobs and half-turned her head toward him, "Who the fuck were they? And I do hope they're not longer among the living."

Selena's breathing was slowly down, but not because the pain was going away. She was controling her breath to the best of her abilities. Breathing to fast caused her sharp pains all over her body. Controling it made the pain gradual and less overbearing. When Reaper told her she could scream and explained why, she smiled rather widely. She turned her gaze toward him and giggled. Taking in a breath to allow herself to speak, she spoke with a strained voice. "You know... You're cuter than you know. I can scream, huh?" she said before closing her eyes again and giggling again, "Ahaha... don't make me laaauuugh..." She was whining a little bit, but that was because the laughing caused harsh movements in the exact place she did not want to move, "And no, I won't scream..."

"Philip Arderne..." she thought. That name. She knew that name. And a moment later, she remembered that name. Her eyes momentarily opened, a look of hate and disgusted practically shined through any pain that she felt. Her lip even twitched into what seemed like a partial snarl. "Arderne... His son was a disgusting little worm that ran a prostitution and sex slave scheme out of one of the villages near Varedia." Selena closed her eyes and just relaxed to the best of her ability, "He went on kidnapping young women and children to sell them off later on as slaves and whores. They'd be shown off in his brothel and people would come in and choose who to buy. For every day the women were not bought, they were drugged, raped, and then put on display again the next day."

"Virgins were never seen again..." was the last comment that Selena could muster about Philip Arderne's son and it took her a second to even say it. That one was a little more personal for her because she had been caught for a day and was going to be sold at 'top dollar' because she too was a virgin. "I brought that bastards empire to the ground in one night... stripped his body nude, cut off his dick, and hung him to bleed to death on the same street he sold those girls..." Selena smirked and chuckled at this, "Bastard shouldn't have taken off my glasses." She took in a deep breath and cleared her throat. No matter how it was put, she was proud of that day and it was showing. She'd never take it back. "I guess his Dad wants revenge... He's observed me enough to know to attack from water..."

"I don't like that. If they've been watching me, they've been watching you." Selena clenched her jaw out of pure anger this time, "I never even sensed them. They've been following us and not once did I catch a single glimpse..." Selena didn't seem to be able to tell, but this low rumble began moving through the entire house. "I've been putting your life in danger this entire time." That rumble was getting louder, and a large crack suddenly appeared in the wall above their heads. "I'm so fucking stupid, I should have seen them coming..." At that moment, Selena's chain flew across the room, by passing Reaper completely, but practically aiming for her when it sliced along her forehead and stabbed the bed to the side of her head. Selena whimpered and raised her hands up to hold her head.

"If they're anywhere around here, I can hold them off. Pitting them against the ambush party the imposter gave might just prove possible. Or at the very least, our vengeance won't be cast alone." The rumble began to lessen until it finally faded completely away. "Besides... they don't know what I can do. Don't worry." Selena removed her hands from her head and looked over to Reaper with a drained expression. "You shouldn't have to deal with them. That's what's pissing me off." she said in almost a whisper, kind of not wanting him to hear, but knowing he would. And then she realized something and smiled. "Told you that you're cuter than you think..." she said, placing a hand on his chest, "Trying to comfort me? Sweet... I knew your heart was in there, just got to keep digging."

"I'll find it J... If I have to climb into Aether or Nether to do it... I will help you remember what it means to be loved and to feel it." Selena smiled and removed her hand from his chest, "You deserve it... And don't you dare respond to what I just said..." She shot him a playful glare, pouted a bit, and looked away, "You'll only say that you don't deserve it because you're not destined for something like that... or something along those lines. And no matter how many times you try to beat that into my brain, I refuse to believe it. Because if I believe it, that means you're not allowed to be happy and the only gods, that I know of, that would actually destine someone to be unhappy... are one's that I know that you would never follow." Selena hmph'd and put a pillow over her head, pouting.