Hesitant kiss, dark and DA
You have been quiet, scarce, ever since you came back. Since you moved into the manor and out of your prison.
It was to be expected, sure, but Dark still worries. His memory of trapping you there is vague — he had been new and Celine and Damien were still desperate, still their own beings within him. He remembers being angry, hurt. Mark... Mark had taunted Damien, he thinks, pushed him over the edge.
Celine had been practically gone, dormant to her rageful brother who crafted the reins. He had been more in control, while having no control at all.
His early days are confusing. Being both himself and Damien and Celine. They weren’t in control, not since his birth, but they could influence him some.
At the time, Damien hadn’t cared for the consequences of leaving you behind.
Dark had run on emotion and instinct, than. Running on anger and fire and magic. He’s calmed, since, learned the perks of control and patience. Quieted the voices in his head, old souls.
He’s separate from them now. They influence nothing because they are nothing. They’re just an origin story, puppeteers of his birth. Nothing more.
So while technically, he was your captor, he had little say in the matter at the time. So he guilts and regrets what he had done. He worries for what it did to you.
He raps on your door softly. He’s been watching you, but he’s been too scared busy to talk with you before.
“Come in.” Your voice is weak, but less bland than it was when you first got here. You’ve warmed up to the egos some, breaking your shell of isolation.
Despite having thought about talking to you for weeks, he never came up with a good greeting.
You look better too, less sallow and boney. Healthier. Happier. Something still hangs over you though, a dark ghost clutching at your shoulders and staining your eyes.
He sits in a chair, hating the tense air of the room. It’s because of him, he knows. Earlier, he heard you laugh at the Jim’s antics. So your tenseness has to do with him.
Which was to be expected. He was the one who had trapped you in your prison, after all.
“I hope you’re settling in well.” Why is he being so awkward? Usually he’s better tongued, more charismatic. He chalks it up to lack of experience in this type of situation.
“I am, thank you.” Your eyes are fixed on your lap and he thinks that you might be afraid of him. Of course you are.
He shifts nervously, altering his position as none of them feel comfortable. “I’d like to apologize,” he says, voice quiet and not backed by his ringing like it usually is, blue predominant in his aura. “I realized that I haven’t properly apologized for what I did, back then, and I’d like you to know that I am sorry. I was... new, then, and things were... chaotic. I wasn’t in my proper mind.”
“It’s...” you shift, looking off to the side, no doubtedly remembering his face when he shoved you out and trapped you. “It was crazy.”
“It was. And I’d also like to say that I won’t do anything similar again.” You look at him now, something hiding in your eyes — hesitation?
“I’m not the same person I was then. It’s... repulsive that I did that and I would like to make amends.”
Your mouth drops, shock overtaking the hesitation in your eyes. You hadn’t pinned Dark as the type to apologize, but an exception was made for you.
He’s not Mark. He’s man enough to know when he crossed the line and has to apologize. He’s man enough to feel regret and still move forwards.
(Mark was a coward. Hiding behind his self-made sheet of being a Hero. He never apologized or showed his vulnerability.)
“I...” You’re at a loss, knowing his apology to be sincere but still remembering the stark hate in his gaze after he’d turned the lock on your cage and left you to rot.
“Damien was... he was more in control in that moment than I was. I’m not trying to make excuses, nothing can excuse that, but I would like to start fresh with you.” He doesn’t want you to fear him. He doesn’t know why he cares if you fear him or not.
You look at him, wondering if this is a farce or if he’s being serious, if he means it. You remember Damien’s sweet words, now lost to the emptiness of the betrayal he’d succumbed you to. But this... this isn’t Damien. So was it fair for you to hang him for his mistakes, regardless on if they shared a body?
You decide to trust him. To believe him. If only for the fact that you don’t want to look over your shoulder wondering what he’ll do to you next.
Plus, you’ve been here for weeks and he’s acted nothing like Damien would. (Not that you’ve been watching him, you’ve just been afraid. Right?) It’s hard to accept — despite his betrayal and your anger — Damien was still a friend, and him being gone still hurt.
“Alright,” you whisper, looking at his solemn face. “Let’s start over.”
He looks up at you, relief in his gaze, aura settled and in one piece. His eyes are dark with an emotion you can’t place, but one that seems familiar. You have a feeling that you could look at him like this for forever. It’s just because it’s softer than the face of his you had when he left. It’s bordering on kind, this face, and you like how it looks when it’s kind.
You scoot forwards, placing a hand on his and smiling gently. “My name is Y/N,” you say, wanting to brighten him up, for him to lose the sad edge of his expression. “It’s nice to meet you.”
He actually chuckles a little at that, surprised. “Dark,” he says, making a show of shaking your hand and then holding it in his.
The two of you stay like that, knees touching, hand in hand, unsure of the next step but free of fear, relieved. The air is still tense, tight with some string linking the two of you.
“I can’t do this. I know you too well to be a stranger.” Dark leans down, voice quiet and intimate.
“Yeah.” You laugh. “It was a dumb thing to do, anyways.”
He hums, tilting his head and staring at you through his fringe. “No,” he says, “it wasn’t dumb.”
You gulp, blinking at the intense power of his gaze, breathing shallowing out a little. Why are you out of breath?
“No?” Your voice hitches with the small word, the small question.
“No.” He leans a little closer, his breath now blowing against yours, brushing against you like a cool summer’s breeze. “Not at all.”
He stops there, hovering inches, centimeters, away. His eyes narrow some, but not in a way of anger, just partially closing at the proximity, but he still stares at you from his lowered lids.
He’s waiting for you, you realize. He came here to apologize and he won’t cross any boundaries, any lines, without your permission. It’s sweet, in a way. Nervewracking.
You close the final inch, pressing your mouth to his and sliding your eyes shut, hoping he takes the lead from here as you have no idea what you’re doing.
He does, tilting his head and cupping your face with a hand, angling you better to heighten the pleasure.
It’s terrifying, kissing him. Like walking the edge of danger and there’s a part of you that thinks that this is just a ruse, but you don’t think that he could fake the emotion in his kiss.
There’s hesitation, some fear of his own that you can only guess at. He’s so confident usually, in control. You don’t think that he’d give that up just to play with your heart.
It’s also sweet. Behind the fear, there’s warmth, something you’ve only seen glimpses of up to now. It’s soft and gentle and it reminds you of velvet sheets.
It’s too long and not enough time later when you pull away, gasping for air you had forgotten you needed. His kiss had wiped away any thought, any rationality you had. Mind melting, you think it’s called. His kiss was mind melting.
He moves on instinct, beaten lungs not hungering for air like yours. He moves to the curve in your jaw, pressing a chaste kiss there before he leans away, features softer than they’ve ever been.
His hand thumbs at your cheek, an attempt at a soothing, gentle show of affection. “I’ll leave you to think,” he says. “But thank you.”
You blink dumbly at him as he stands and leaves the room, wondering what had just happened. You knew that you’d speak to Dark at some point — it was inevitable, living in the same house.
But that was not what you expected.
Still pretty long for a prompt, but when do I do anything short? Hope you liked this!! It’s not often that we get to see soft!dark.
Also just gave this a title cause it fit. And plot because who doesn’t love plot in a prompt. Jk, I just added plot trying to figure out how they kiss.
