The Wicked King

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Mason & Elliot

[mason-chase-blog-blog]

Cal tipped his head slightly as he listened, subconsciously running the tip of his finger along the bloody surface of the body. His eyes flickered over to Elliot’s cold, blue ones. Head still tilted, he brought his gaze back to the other boy, finger still mindlessly, listlessly wandering. He shook his head. “See, I’ve never ‘aimed for people’s seconds’ because I’ve never met anyone else who kills for pleasure. But no, perhaps I’ll stick to my own. I like keeping them alive long enough to do my business… their suffering before their last breath makes it worth it.” He shrugged lightly before looking back down, digging his finger back into flesh, this time moving it around, experimenting. He laughed slightly - more like a huff of breath being let out through his nose - as the other boy analyzed him. He had to admit, it was certainly new - getting examined by another killer, one who was so different, yet so similar. He suddenly ripped his finger out of the flesh and turned back to Elliot. “Perhaps I am those things. They’ve worked for me thus far. Perhaps I get a little… motivated.” He let out a cold smile toward the other killer in the room, tracing a pattern of blood on the sheets in the shape of a cross. He sighed, his eyes going unfocused for a moment, thinking of his memories. “Yes, I suppose it was one of the boy’s stepfather’s friends. The man ever found out it was me, though. Nor did Mason.” He shrugged again, but couldn’t help a hint of a smile from playing out on his lips. The first kill would always be the one that sent the biggest rush. His eyes met Elliot’s once more. He was curious, really, how the other boy worked. He had to admit, it was certainly interesting to finally encounter someone who enjoyed to kill as he did. They had different techniques, different thoughts, and were different on almost every front, and yet, their main fondness was found in a similar place. Two sides of the same coin. “And how old were you when you first killed?” He continued to outline the cross on the white sheets, but looked at blue eyes now, interest flickering within his own hazel ones.

[elliot-waits]

An all-knowing smile twisted onto his lips, because he knew that right then, he found the boy's weakness. A step-father's friend being his first could only be due to a select few reasons, and he didn't need half a brain to figure out what they were. Organised murderers always felt superior to the reckless ones, and Elliot was no different, because Elliot had no weakness—none of which he knew of, anyway. "My first human, nine; but who cares about the dozen pets before that. You'd think that should've been enough of a warning" he mused as he watched him stain his sheets with a calculative gaze. "He stuttered too much, spat too much when he spoke. It really couldn't be fucking helped. And so I told him!" He sat up with a boisterous grin adorning his lips."that I'd cut off his tongue if he ever spoke again. He was a mute for a good two months, but then he had to fucking cry about me pushing him out of a tree. So seeing that I had no scissor around, I had to improvise." He clicked his teeth together repeatedly before snickering to himself. "I didn't expect so much blood to come gushing out, but oh well, Caleb eventually chocked, gurgling on his own spit and blood. Seeing that my parents lost one son, they couldn't possibly imagine losing another. So I got out of it scot free. Ignorant fuckers." He laughed, feeling genuinely elevated by the memory. Indeed, nothing could ever compare to a first, but hell he made sure the ones after would come damn well close to it. That was the main reason why he never killed the same way twice, he loved first times, he wanted him entire life to be composed of them.

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Mason & Elliot

[mason-chase-blog-blog]

"Good. Wasn’t looking for permission." He gazed over at the blond boy for a moment, before looking back down. Honestly, the corpse held his full attention, his eyes flickered around the blood and swelled flesh, the smell of the fresh kill lingering in his nose like a home cooked meal. He suddenly smelled a new burning scent, and peered upwards to see Elliot pressing his cigarette into the man. Cal lifted his head momentarily, allowing the smell to engulf him as he kept burning with his lighter, making a trail now, down the man’s side. His eyes closed for a mere moment before he looked back down. He released the trigger on the lighter, storing it back in his pocket. He reached out his hand now, into the most severely burned area, the pink flesh pulsating and swelling. He dug his nails into the flesh and allowed himself the enjoyment of listening to it react, squishing and resisting. He finally broke it, though, and he ripped a small piece of flesh away. He examined it, the pink and red veiny substance like a fatal temptation to his mind. He brought it up and took in the scent. It was true, the closer the flesh was, the better it smelled. This one was a good piece, too, not one of the shitty ones with barely any meat and all ligaments. His face remained stoic as he rubbed his thumb against it, bloodying it up a bit before sticking his finger carefully into his mouth, draining the liquid in a second. It wasn’t as nice and warm as blood from a living person, sure, but at least it was still pretty fresh.

"And what do you normally do with the bodies after your shows? Wait for them to get cleaned up?" He only looked at Elliot for the first couple words before throwing his vision back down, the flesh tempting him even more now that he had gotten a taste.

[elliot-waits]

Dull steel orbs chased after the vermillion tainted finger until it disappeared behind closed lips. Swallowing, he could the metallic fluid run down his own throat, warm and saline with a distinct hint of iron. The question distracted him, pulling his eyes back to hazel ones. "Depends" he answered him with a distracted mind. He was too captivated by the beast before him to realise his words were effortlessly rolling off his tongue. "Not just anyone deserves to be consumed by me" he made it a point to use the word 'me' always believing he was above everyone else. "Although I see you have no problem with that—do you always aim for people's seconds?" he wondered out loud, trying to irk the alter for his own hidden agenda. Knowing that he was in a disadvantage in his current position, he still had no means of moving. "You're unorganised, impulsive...I take it your first kill was an act of passion. Who was your first?" He asked him with curiosity flickering in his dead eyes. There was no denying the fact that Elliot was captivated by the monster, he was everything he wasn't and yet they both found pleasure in the same thing.

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Mason & Elliot

[mason-chase-blog-blog]

"Yeah, well. I wanted to experience the lovely sight for myself. Good job. If that’s the congratulations you’re seeking." He stepped leaned back against the wall, taking his lighter from his pocket and flicking it on, observing the flames. "More of a show, hm?" He dropped his pointer finger to the flame and held in there, allowing the flame tochar the edge of it before moving to the next finger. "I give a show when it suits me. Do you think now is a good time?" He lifted his eyebrows disinterestedly, a smile playing on his lips as he continued to slightly burn each finger, one by one, until all ten had a stinging sensation dancing upon them. He walked over to the corpse and leaned down, using the lighter to begin to burn a small section, smoke rising quite quickly as flesh burned along with a page that was nailed to him. His gaze rested on the charring flesh, and he realized just how long it had been since he felt the sweet taste on his tongue.

[elliot-waits]

"If it was praise I was looking for, I would've dragged you here myself" he smirked to himself as he tapped off the excess ash and returned the gasper back to his lips. His eyes followed Cal as he moved closer, glazing over indifferently as he watched him play with his leftovers. "You don't need my permission" A cloud of smoke wrapped itself around his words as he spoke. Cal was something that sparked his interest, and he hardly ever found the appeal in anyone at this point in his life. He extended his arm a bit, pressing the tip of his burning cigarette into the man's flesh; not really expecting to get a reaction out of him, he was just curious, that's all. 

[harryvincent-deactivated2014061]

Coming from you? Thanks mate. I’ll be sure to recommend the welcoming committee.

[elliot-waits]

You do that.

[harryvincent-deactivated2014061]

This is the fucking shithole I’ll be living in?

[elliot-waits]

You'd think you would've grown used to what a crinkled fucking anus looks like with that face of yours. Like we need more melodramatic bitches in this place.

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Mason & Elliot

[mason-chase-blog-blog]

Mason’s eyes kept flashing on and off. He could tell that Cal was trying to come through. And he was succeeding, for seconds at a time, before Mason would pull him back. He was growing better at this, but as he felt Cal growing more adamant, his worry began to surface. As soon as Elliot said the name - Cal - Mason could feel something nearly physically slam against his head, as though Cal was actually fighting his way out. He rubbed his temple for a moment, but was taken off-guard as he felt sudden pressure pull him forward, and he was face-to-face with Elliot again. He averted his eyes, trying to fight himself. Doing anything he could to fight himself. “En.. enjoy… what?” He whispered. His voice was shaky, worried, as he could feel the bliss of blackness threaten to overcome him, the pressure forming even heavier in his skull. “Killing?” At that word - kill - it was like someone ripped a knife through the fabric of his brain. He felt himself come undone for a moment, before blackness overtook him. ”I’d say we all have our own preferences, Elliot. You’re quite the exhibitionist, aren’t you?”

[elliot-waits]

"Amongst other things" his grip loosened, slowly let his limbs drop back down to his sides. He pulled out yet another cigarette, setting alight with a flick of a match. "You, yourself must be somewhat impressed, I didn't even have to hurt the boy this time" he complacently voiced out. Twisting around, he leaned back into his bed, listlessly watching the smoke crawl and curl its way towards the ceiling. His head contorted so he could observe the man, still. His arm fell limp to his side, letting the cigarette burn gradually without his inhaling lungs. "I was hoping you'd give me more of a show" he muttered before letting his head fall back, gluing his eyes onto the ceiling as bored sigh left his lips. It was only in his silence did the boy looked ethereal, with his golden hair and halo around it. 

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Mason & Elliot

[mason-chase-blog-blog]

Mason’s eyes shifted throughout the room, unsure of what to make of any of this. He inwardly flinched as Elliot spoke of Mason’s own “kills” and “defiling”. His breathing grew shaky once more. “She was-wasn’t… I wasn’t…” He shook his head as he found himself stepping into the room a bit more, cautiously. He had no idea why. The pounding in his head create a small ring behind his ears now as the smell, the presence of the blood began to grow unbearable. “Um, h-how… how many people have you killed?” He was taken aback as he realized his stuttering had disintegrated, and his tone even held some excitement woven through it. That wasn’t his voice. It was too calm, too… thrilled. He cleared his throat and stared back at the corpse. His voice came out again, and yet, somehow, it wasn’t his own. His face looked defeated somehow. “What’s your favorite way to kill someone?”

[elliot-waits]

A flicker of excitement flashed in his glacial eyes, noticing the change in the boy's character. "It's about quality, boy. No one cares about the number of people you hack off. Look at Dhamer, Fish, Gacy, Helter fucking Skelter...Quality" he repeated the word, emphasising every syllable before he dropped to his knees, the mattress cushioning his abrupt movement. "I don't repeat my methods, where's the fun in that, Cal?" He mused nonchalantly with his head leaning towards the side. Calloused eyes scrutinised the boy with apparent interest, if only cracking his head open would give him a better understanding of him, but no, he had to sit and observe—or not sit at all. His hand shot out as he pulled the other towards him by his shirt, his free fingers curled around his collar as he pulled him even closer. Fixing his eyes onto his before he spoke up "Do you enjoy it?"

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Mason & Elliot

[mason-chase-blog-blog]

Mason’s breaths quickened as Elliot’s words entered his ears and sunk in, making his hands shake. He wrung them together, his knuckles quickly turning white as the blood rushed from them. The details of the man’s murder made the pounding in his head worsen, but no sounds came from his lips. At least, not until Elliot closed any distance left between them, so close that his warm breath released goosebumps along his skin, and a shaky breath left him, uncontrolled. He tried to shake his head, but it barely came out, just a small few twitches as he closed his eyes, trying to wish himself away. Why the hell would he come here? Demons. The word forced his eyes open, slowly trailing to Elliot’s cold, empty ones. He flinched slightly from the cold touch against his face, but stared at Elliot still. His head was lowered slightly, submissively, but his nervous gaze didn’t leave Elliot’s face. “I… I- w-what do y-you wa-want?” His voice was barely a grainy whisper, his shaking making the words vibrate a bit. “I w-won’t tell any-anyone…”

[elliot-waits]

"What do I want?” he asked him with an elevated brow “I’m not the one that asked you to come find me, am I?” his questioned carried out in smugness. “Frankly, I don’t give a shit about what you do tell them, I’ve already left them a glorious piece in the art room. Fucking Crass doesn’t believe in solitary confinement” he mumbled as he pushed himself away from the boy. He waltzed back to his bed, stepping back onto it as he simpered impishly at his plaything. “Watch me make the messes of men. You should really up the fucking ante, Chase. Because I was really hoping you be more fucking promising than petty kills and defiling cunts” he uttered with a hint arrogance attached to his words, before he flicked his dead cigarette in his general direction. “You should see my guard” he scoffed as he let his eyes run over the corpse one last time “now that was a fucking masterpiece; trapeze swinging exhibtionist. Has an appeasing fucking ring to it, doesn’t it?”

[gailbernath-hh]

Serein || Gail & Elliot

[gailbernath-hh]

[Her body reacted to him on its own accord; legs wrapped around his hips, fingers dug into his hair, teeth nibbled on his lips. Gail knew—felt that this kiss was different, but for now it would have to be enough. It had been too long; too long since she got to touch him like this, too long since she’d tasted the mixture of nicotine and something else she couldn’t put a name on, too long since the last time he held her like he wanted every last inch of her body. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards in a crooked grin] Likewise, W—Waits. [what started as a sarcastic remark turned into a moan, low and craving for more. She arched her neck, in the meantime making quick work of his shirt, popping buttons open while she had the patience]

[elliot-waits]

[As soon as his name rolled off her tongue, an untameable hunger gnawed at his skin. He pulled her away from the closet, placing her on the bed as his lips never broke away from the kiss. His body latched onto hers, and even if it wasn't his lips locked on hers, then his hands kept the contact; working on her pants, he swiftly pulled them off for he was in desperate need to feel, kiss, and sink his teeth into every square inch of her delicate skin. As soon as he stripped off the constraining fabric, his skin returned to seek the warmth from her naked form. It was funny, when he wasn't around her, all he could think about was mutilating her, but when he was with her, he could never tear his hands away from her—and not in the way he was planning on]

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Mason & Elliot

[mason-chase-blog-blog]

Mason tilted his head, horror spread across his features as the other boy examined - or, rather, admired - his work. He swallowed and shook his head. “Who is… who is that, Elliot?” His eyes were fiery with concern yet disbelief still remaining still, the only moving bit of him was his palpitating within his chest. He furrowed his eyebrows and ripped his eyes away, settling his hazy gaze onto Elliot, who was reciting a disturbed text from pages he ripped from the carcass. As he drew closer, though, Mason’s vision submissively shifted downward, not daring to look the sadistic boy in the eyes at this near of a range. He let out a small whisper before he could catch himself, eyes flickering to Elliot and back at the floor. As the stench of blood grew, so did the familiar pounding coming from the inside of his skull. He tried to will it away, and didn’t even realize that he was whispering again. “So y-you… you w-wish your m-mother had kill-killed you?” He regretted speaking immediately as he tried to back off a step, but found himself frozen, planted where he stood. He prayed silently to himself that Elliot didn’t ask trick questions. “I’m… um, n-no. I’m not.. I’m n-not religious.”

[elliot-waits]

Placing the limp cigarette between his lips, he inhaled its poisonous fumes, taking his time before he chose to answer his questions. After he exhaled the smoke to the side, not wishing to distort his vision because he was getting too much of a kick out of the boy before him, he spoke up. "A religious zealot" he muttered with a lack of enthusiasm coating his words "I'd tell you his name, but he wouldn't stop begging 'aah please don't kill me'" he mocked the dead with both hands flailing at his sides, letting them drop before he continued "Seeing that he was a religious man, I told him to pray; pray to his god, pray that he'd come save him, fuck I wanted lightning to come crash down upon my fucking skull. Nothing" he grinned pitilessly. Elliot diminished the space between them as he rested his arm against his shoulder, and his head leaning upon it, so that his lips would almost brush against his little toy's flesh. "Don't we all want to hear ourselves gurgling on our blood? Blow off our heads just when we're our about to climax?" he snickered "You'd be damned if you were, because you've got one too many fucking demons" he whispered as he listlessly ran his fingers along the side of his face; the dying cigarette still tucked between his fingers as it barely grazed him.

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Mason & Elliot

[mason-chase-blog-blog]

Mason could tell something was off. The intense smell of nicotine mixed with the brutal silence filling the air made him uneasy, yet, somehow, he found himself walking toward the tension. It was as though his legs were detached from his body, his mind reeling and telling him to sprint the other way. Yet, his feet continued, his stomach churning on itself. He found himself at one of the rooms and peered inside: his heart dropped and his stomach plummeted to his feet. The remains of a boy sat nailed to the boy - Elliot’s - bed, crucifix style. The pages holding scriptures and religious teachings littered his body, and suddenly, Mason could smell the stench of rotting death. He covered his nose and mouth with once hand as he looked disbelievingly back down at the blond boy, sitting there, so smug. So pleased with himself. It took Mason a full minute before he could choke any words out. “Wh…what did you do?” His voice was at a hoarse whisper as he tried but failed to avert his eyes from the lifeless body.

[elliot-waits]

"Hm?" he hummed lightly before tilting his head back and fixing his placid eyes on his quaint, little artwork. "Oh, him" his smile dropped in feigned grievance; swiftly shooting up from his bed as he turned to face the fresh carcass. Both hands pressed against the wall on either side of the hung figure, his head tilted to the side as he closely observed his mess. A smirk slowly slithered its way back onto his lips as he ripped off a few of the yellowing pages and stepped off his pedestal. "This one's a winner" he mused as he leisurely made his way up to Mason, oscillating the burning cancerous stick between his fingers as he read the torn up page, aloud "Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!" His eyes crept from the paper and onto Mason, whom was inches away from him. Stepping around him, he flipped to the next verse which he recited in low murmurs right beside his ear "She will hide from them the afterbirth and the new baby she has borne, so that she herself can secretly eat them...blah fucking blah" Flicking the ash off the burning gasper. "If only mother was a religious woman" he chuckled indifferently before stepping back to catch his eyes once more. "Are you a religious man, my little sinner?"

[elliot-waits]

Broken Halo || Open (Trigger Warning)

"Caught me" he uttered in a sonorously tantalising tone; his voice slipping beneath the other's skin, beckoning them to step into his domain. Elliot sat there in all enticing glory amongst the ruins; wearing a mixture of nicotine and blood, disregarding the stiff nailed above his bedpost as he smirked up amusedly at his visitor. Elliot was never a religious boy, but oh how he enjoyed taunting those bible thumping boozers. The poor sucker's only sin was being in the wrong place at the wrong time; and the sadist could only cleanse him of his sins by hammering him to the wall with his arms outstretched, and his feet overlapping. Pages of the religious book the patient had on him at the time were now nailed into his bones, almost covering the corpse itself. "I wonder, where is his God, now?" 

[gailbernath-hh]

Serein || Gail & Elliot

[gailbernath-hh]

N-No, thanks. [Her words were barely a whisper, any coherent thoughts left in her brain waving her farewell with every step he took. As he got closer, Gail stepped back, but of course that didn’t do her any good, her back hitting the cold wood of the closet a few moments later. Her breathing became ragged, desperate even, because, damn it, she could feel his breath on her skin, and could almost feel the taste of his lips―damn him. She didn’t dare give herself the time to re-consider and practically pounced on him, one arm wrapping around his neck to pull him closer, the other cupping his cheek as she kissed him with everything she had]

[elliot-waits]

[Innately, Elliot pulled her up against him, pressing her up against the close behind her as he wanted to feel every inch of her wrapped around him and moulded against him. His kisses were lustful and lacked any hint of the devotion that was apparent in their last one; they were savaged and eager for control. He was no longer aware of how hard he was pushing her into the cold wood, or how roughly his fingers dug into her skin; all he wanted was her.] You're sick [he stated with a smirk as he let his heavy lidded eyes run over her face before he averted them to her neck. Ardently, kissing and teasing her sensitive skin]

[gailbernath-hh]

Serein || Gail & Elliot

[gailbernath-hh]

Your guard?! [She yanked her shirt off forcefully, not caring if it ripped. She needed it off, and quick. In a haste, she moved toward her closet, rambling all the way there. There were no words for how disgusted she felt] Right, y-you killed your guard. Great, fucking great, I mean, not that I liked him, he was a complete asshole, but― [for the second time, Gail stopped mid-sentence. Frozen on the spot, her back to Elliot, she realized that she didn’t feel sorry about the news; it terrified her. She slowly spun on the spot to face the man, the cloth that had once been her top still in her hands, clad only in a black bra.] You killed him. [she stated, very matter-of-factly, as if tasting the words]

[elliot-waits]

[ His teeth were grinding up against each other, as he listened to the words he was already expecting to hear. He finally raised his eyes, locking them on eyes that he recognised so well. The fear alone excited him. A malicious smirk curled at the corner of his lips. ] Yes, I fucking killed him, hung him on a fucking trapeze bar with his lips stapled into a grin [ his voice tantalising as he spoke clearly and enticingly. Slowly, he was moving up to her until he had her up against the closet ] Then I just figured I'd fucking lay there and watch the fucking show for a couple of hours. I bet they haven't found him yet, I could show him to you [ He murmured as he deliberately got some of the blood off his shirt onto her skin ] 

[gailbernath-hh]

Serein || Gail & Elliot

[gailbernath-hh]

[She couldn’t help a small whimper leaving her mouth, and moved to recapture his lips, but wasn’t fast enough. The girl watched him pace around with a confused look; had she done something? Teeth clamping onto her bottom lip, she glanced down at her shirt. When she spotted the red smudges, her head snapped up, and she strode toward him, trying to figure out where the blood had come from. The tremble in her voice betrayed just how worried she was, reaching out to touch his cheek without even thinking about it] A-are you hurt? What did you— [coming to an awful realization, she stopped, letting her hand drop to her side; her next words were firm and cold] Whose blood is this, Waits? 

[elliot-waits]

[Her words sounded muffled and disoriented, at first; it felt like he had two glass cups strapped against his ears, blocking out any unnecessary sounds. In this circumstance it was the concern that laced her words, but as soon they turned cold, his reddened eyes focused on her.] I-I...my fucking guard, who'd you think? [He quickly snapped back into his skin and broke his gaze away from hers, not really sure if he could put up with a look of dissatisfaction. Surely, he'd have his hands wrapped around her neck before he'd let her look at him that way. At least if he didn't have to look at her, he wouldn't have to kill her.]

[gailbernath-hh]

Serein || Gail & Elliot

[gailbernath-hh]

[Her eyes fluttered shut before he even touched her. For a moment, she was sure her heart had stopped, but it picked up speed as soon as his lips brushed against hers. It was running a thousand miles per hour now, every thud accompanied with the word more running through her head. More, more, more, more, more, more. This kiss was different than any other they’d ever shared, but she didn’t allow herself to dwell on that, nor did she want to; it was different, and it was perfect. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him like this forever―slow and soft and tender. Everything was this very kiss, everything she craved to tell him, everything she was terrified to, it was all there, in the gentle caress.]

[elliot-waits]

[Tearing away from her lips, his body swung to the side as he purposely avoided all eye contact] You've got blood on you [he announced beneath his breath, shining some light on the minute smudges of red that had been transferred onto her shirt from being pressed up against him. He pushed past her, not waiting for her to grant him permission to enter. His movements were uncalculated and more jittery as he paced inconsistently about he room. His mind was wrapped up with a trivial matter, he was questioning himself on whether he should've been there when she woke up at the infirmary, or even when she was released; hell, he didn't even know that she had been released, because really, he wasn't expecting anyone to answer the door. Why he was bothering himself with such enquiries, he hadn't the slightest clue—it wasn't like he noticed the thoughts to begin with.]

[gailbernath-hh]

Serein || Gail & Elliot

[gailbernath-hh]

[The knock startled her, just enough to snap back to reality. The disk had ended, and she stopped in front of the player, absentmindedly going through the process of raising the needle, removing the disk and flipping it, her movements deliberately slow. With a sigh, she walked to the door and opened it, ready to send the person behind it on their way; it was the perfect day to spend with herself, and it would be a shame to waste it on someone irrelevant. She didn’t expect to see the very person she had spent the better part of two weeks thinking of. Yet there he was; pale and eerie, with his steel, ice-like irises, exactly as she remembered him. She stood there, frozen in her doorway, forced to crane her neck to look into his eyes due to their height difference―unable to move, unable to draw a thought. She could barely register the music playing in the background.]

[elliot-waits]

[The calloused boy broke eye contact, unable to keep the deadlock stare that sent the feeble-hearted running. His entire persona was shaken, not resembling the man he was only mere moments ago. Swallowing hard, he forced his eyes onto the vision once more, he was unrehearsed, not really thinking this one through all the way and so there he stood there, speechless and frail. Disgusting. Even though his lips parted, he could form a single word, not even a sound of dismay or delight. He shouldn't have been there, he should've let himself get caught or even hand himself in; get locked up in iso or even transferred out of there. Anything, just not here with her. He lingered there, towering above her as he leaned towards her, his body acting out in survival mode. His hand brushed her cheek lightly before he leaned down, capturing her lips in a soft and loving kiss]