here is how these things go.
with precision , command . in the clutch of blood - stained palms . in the echo of a prior atonement , yet to be reached , yet to be granted . jace's words almost cut him lovingly . they almost caress him . bitter confessions . the elder almost wants to speak --- but lips stay sealed . his protests , considered unworthy --- it's taste too close to the plea , he colors his prayer with . the younger doesn't understand , doesn't see . but tony neither claims the right of setting him straight --- what had it all been worth , truly ? if all his presence evolved into , remained woven into the world , that tried to bury its claws into his legs anew ? his mind , littered with unknown , faceless , nameless threats --- he knows far too well , in this war --- it came in waves . knocking one down , drowning them again and again . he dares not to raise his gaze . wants to hide that starless sky , born into his eyes . dull --- dripping in thick ink , a soft frown weaving itself across the elder's features . he shakes his head , barely --- trying to swallow his concern . oblivious , as jace was --- it could cost them much more than merely a shared dinner meal . more than the mutual shove of separating their burdens so intricately --- the phantom echo of guilt yet to be lived . for once , jeongmin rejected , to be thrown back into havoc and war , to be pushed and torn by the current . who was tony to deny him such ? he turns on his heel , wordlessly leaves without glancing at the other's face --- firm , determined to leave the younger his peace . inside --- brooding . his mind shifting itself , to forget , to erase --- deviate his focus onto catching whoever hid themselves behind the witnessed assault . to step back into the beast's den , revive a demon he wished to eternally have sealed away -- how naive , he thinks . to be convinced , to truly believe . . . controlling a man's fate lied in his power . he disappears into this maze of an underworld — . . .
merely a handful of days pass --- sleepless nights for the elder . time , a thick molasse with no beginning nor an ending . full ashtrays , heavy exhales . another set of concerns , pressing and urging him to return to jace and scoop him up on the spot . but the male simply cannot bring himself to go back , let alone face the other after such a short timeframe anew . empty handed , with promises and words that were hard to believe , leaving his lips --- even for tony himself . his reflection , reminds him --- each time he believes to have forgotten .
jace's reflection however --- on the screen of his phone , black -- merely illuminated by the stark light of the hallway , outside of his apartment . bouncing off --- blurry lines , no beginning , no end . if only he had tilted his phone slightly lower , if only he had thrown a glance over his weary shoulder --- " errand boy . we need you to be good and come with us . " , the small group of men cast a shadow , stretching into a mountain range . drown jace entirely , trap him between his locked door and their bodies . a determined shake of his head , declining any invitation almost too eagerly --- as the thread snaps in the fragment of half a second . bare fists , brute force --- until the younger's protests and efforts to escape turn into pants , coughs -- with a ringing in his ears , from the repeated collision with the door frame of his very own apartment . it is too precise , the timing too convenient to be anything but a revisit from the same group , having come for tony . jace is handled like a sack of potatoes , thrown and handled with little care , blindfolded , cuffed --- kept silent , in what feels like an endlessly stretching drive in the back of a van . by the time , he is hauled into a chair --- dusk breaks . footsteps echo , in this large hall . occasional mutters , the click of something mechanic . until the estimated group of people quicken their pace of walking --- closer to the corner in which jace remains planted .
the blindfold is torn off with no prior warning , painfully pulling at the strands of his disheveled hair . a naked lightbulb tears at his vision . bruised lips , dried blood around his nose , the side of his head --- sticky and cold . the first thing , his strained eyes must lay themselves on --- is the towering presence of a tall stature , clad in velvet --- jeweled gold , catching in the cold illumination . red - maned , widened hues --- a warm smile , as if offering a welcome . " little sapphire ! still with us ! you look awful . . ah , just awful . " , a shake of his well kept hair . the male's tone resembles a song , a melody bouncing between the beat , following the rhythm of complete silence , than any usual tact . the male figure remains standing , so close that his legs almost brush the younger's --- the straight posture of an arrow , a flickering glimmer unburying itself within hues , as they drink the tied up figure --- with an infernally starved curiosity , a hunger poorly satisfied . amusement drips from a countenance , inhabited by sharp features , a long shape to frame it --- slender fingers holding onto his burning cigarette . " any idea , why you have ended up here ? " , heart - shaped lips pout with an accompanied frown , theatrically absurd , " you are in college , are you not you ? " , the male slightly bends , legs kept straight --- leaning closer into the other's personal space with no regard for its concept at all , " do you think you are smart enough , to figure this one out ? " , eyebrows raise --- in an excitement , solidifying itself in his intense gaze . rotten , widened eyes --- his quieter , intimate tone dripping with a temptation , a lust utterly unholy --- and absolutely shameless .
