A/N: After reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, I kept thinking about Diego and how terrible his demise was that it could actually make him share his secrets with Riley as a bargaining tool. Although I never write (or read!) Twilight fanfiction, I had to put my thoughts into words. Enjoy this very short drabble.
Crossfire
Crisping, crackling, caustic-
He'd always thought himself strong, even before his transformation into his second life. When his (no good) father ran out on him, who'd comforted his mother? When his (weak-willed) mother perished to the AIDS virus, who'd moved onto the streets without a backwards glance? He didn't need super speed to always be running from the looming cloud of black that had been following him his entire life; he didn't need super hearing to sense that misfortune would trail in his footsteps if he didn't keep moving.
-blistering, broiling, blazing-
But with her there, ripping him apart piece by piece, fueling the flames with his forgotten appendages, he feels weaker than he ever has before. Weaker than the day he transformed into a (monster) demi-god. 'Tell us,' the twisted pair - her and her deluded Romeo - spit with venom, but he can't (shan't) ever betray his souless love. He'll bite through the pain; he'll summon a Herculean effort. He's a better being than this malicious duo. He's stronger than fire and fiercer than pain.
-scorching, searing, sizzling.
It only takes thirty minutes of this torture and two minutes of a panicked confession for Diego to realize that he's the weakest coward to ever live. How ironic that in his fragile and flawed first life, he'd been stronger than his (nearly) unbreakable second form. '