Welcome to the sequel to Help From An Unexpected Place, ladies and gentlemen!
Disclaimer: I do not own these marvelous characters and the universe they live within, which are all owned by Sabrina Contugno, while Jekyll and Hyde is owned by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Warning: This story contains violence, swearing, mature themes, and feels...lots and lots of feels.
ENJOY!
(Jekyll's POV)
Another night of carnage and chaos was about to begin, with myself, or rather Hyde, soon to be at the centre of it all.
It would not be much longer, before I would be nothing more than a shadow, a gentle voice inside the madman's twisted mind, until the first light of the next day finally came for us both.
But the thing was, that I was not truly prepared, for the absurd events of the night, that would soon fall upon my counterpart's shoulders.
Neither of us were.
Another day of tremendously tiresome, tedious and troublesome work had finally come to an end, as I was now finishing up the last bits of paper work for the day, running my eyes through them multiple times before I signed them off and placed them aside.
Once I was finally finished, and I was absolutely certain that everything had been completed to the best of my abilities, I relaxed back in my chair and let out a long and quiet sigh of relief.
But that relief quickly fizzled up and died, the second I realized what was to happen next.
"Time to switch, my dear doctor~" My counterpart purred from the mirror, in that sly and sinful voice, that I had come to both loathe and hate, but at the same time...after that one night, and the month that had followed...I had secretly grown an insane liking towards Hyde's voice: how every word uttered seemed to be full of pure sin and emotion, as if everything he said were meant to seduce me further and further into madness, while at the same time, those rare moments of softness brought a strange comfort and reassurance to my heart and soul.
But I knew all too well, that that softness from my counterpart, was as rare as a solar eclipse, so no matter the situation I would make sure that after that night, I would secretly embrace and enjoy the moment from the first second to the very last.
I did not speak a word in reply to Hyde, and simply stood up out of my chair, and then began to once again create and consume the concoction of science that I had dubbed: HJ7.
The tedious transformation was agonizingly slow as always, as if it were trying in vain to delay the inevitable chaos that was to fall upon London, yet not once had the pain ever become dull in my eyes, as it ripped loud groans and cries from my quivering lips, while my body shifted and morphed and twisted, into the vicious and sly monster that was my dark counterpart.
The familiar blackness wrapped itself around my form, pulling us apart for mere seconds...until the transformation had been completed...and I was now within the mirror, staring through the smooth surface at Hyde's messy and short form, on all fours on the floor as, what appeared to be the formula, streamed down his pale face from both his slightly parted yet grin covered mouth, and his mischievous emerald eyes, the substance dripping down onto the carpeted floor beneath him, as the only sounds that filled my quarters were the heavy and exhausted breaths and pants, that were leaving both mine and Hyde's slightly parted lips.
Once the madman's strength returned to him, he slowly got back onto his feet and wasted no time with grabbing his top hat, cane and cape, placing the last two upon his person with a twisted grace and elegance about his movements. But even though I snorted at what he was doing, and the way in which he went about it, inside I could feel a part of myself smiling at such a ridiculous yet alluring sight.
But I would rather burn in the deepest circle of hell, before I would ever dare let Hyde know of such thoughts willingly...or atleast that's what I had thought, before the both of us were through the doors of The Society, out into the night, and up high upon the rooftops of London.
Something was about to change.
Soon the usual routine had commenced: the madman jumping from one rooftop to another, going into his favourite bars and generally having what he himself called a good time...but that dreadful vibe still ate at me from the back of my mind.
Yet it still didn't make any sense to me.
Nothing had been out of the ordinary yet, so maybe it had just been the stress of work, that had made me think such things.
I finally decided to watch on from the shadows, as my counterpart was leaping and dashing over a line of rooftops within...what the bloody hell is he doing in Bethnal Green?!
"You shouldn't be here, Hyde! Get us of here this instant!" I shouted from aside my counterpart's speeding form, who leaped over to yet another rooftop, before he finally came to a halt, turning to look at my shadowy form with a defiant expression upon his pale features.
Another argument was to play out.
"What's the matter, Jekyll~? Is Bethnal Green too frightening for the poor poor doctor~?" The madman teased, his hands resting upon his hips and his upper body bent forward, making it look as if he was roaming those piercing emerald eyes over my entire being, from top to bottom, and inside and out.
"I am not frightened of Bethnal Green. Don't be so ridiculous." I retorted calmly.
"Oh really~?" He purred curiously.
"Yes really, Hyde. Bethnal Green is not frightening to me, and i'm certain that you are no different." I snapped sternly at the madman, glaring darkly at him.
But Hyde simply chuckled, his eyes wandering back up my body, until my eyes and his finally met.
"I do believe that you're not being completely honest with-"
"No! Get away from me! Somebody help me!"
Both myself and my counterpart quickly turned our attention to the terrified female voice, that had screamed those words from a nearby alleyway, not too far from Hyde's position, our conversation quickly fading away for the moment. I had honestly feared that something would have gone horribly wrong, if the madman had finished that sentence...but maybe I would have told him the truth. I was most certainly frightened of him, positively terrified of Hyde...yet I knew that it was not for the reasons that I suspected he thought them to be.
'I'm terrified of what I think of you, Hyde. Terrified of what I feel when I look at your form. I'm terrified of what I feel when you utter even the simplest of words, or let out the cruelest of sounds.'
But to me, such a thought had to be metaphorically swept under the rug, hidden away until it decided to finally destroy everything I stood for. And with that I quickly composed my dark form upon the tialled roof.
"Alright Hyde, don't mess this up. Get over there, find this woman and save her before something bad...Hyde?"
I looked this way, and then that, but the basterd was nowhere to be seen.
"Hyde! Where the bloody hell have you gone?!" I shouted out to him in pure anger, but no form of a response came back to me, urging me to rush and rush forward, searching and searching for that madman.
That insane, irritating, cruel, moraless and down right sin encompassing madman!
A monster that should burn in the bloody pits of eternal...!
"I'll get you for that, you little blonde shit!" Called a gruff and furious voice, as the owner of said voice ran out of the alleyway that I had just come across, holding his bleeding nose while his right eye had been punched quite viciously and he seemed to be limping upon his left leg as he uttered that threat.
And I saw this just as I had entered the alleyway along the right brick wall, stopping as my eyes followed the bulky man rushing off and away from whoever had caused harm to him...but I knew exactly who had caused said harm, and I was ready to deal out justice to him when I got my hands on him.
But the thing was...that what I saw was the exact opposite of what I had expected to see at the bottom of the alleyway.
It was my counterpart: my sadistic, cruel and moraless counterpart, who was making sure a woman was alright and was unharmed? He even seemed to be genuine in what he was doing, and letting off a trusting and calm demeanor as he did so.
"Are you alright, madam?" He asked the terrified woman, who was on her knees with her clothes in a mess that could have only come from being attacked by a cruel man, the very man I had seen rushing out of the alleyway moments ago, yet she was still able to give a shaky nod as the madman held out a hand to her...and she took it without even a touch of hesitation to her action.
She trusted Hyde.
The woman trusted someone who she should have been running away from in pure terror at even the sight of him!
But she still didn't do anything like that!
I floated closer to the two, my eyes never leaving Hyde's form as I watched the bizarre scene play out before my very eyes. The woman smiled at my counterpart, who smiled back in a gentle manner, letting go of her hand as he looked the poor woman over.
"What was he going to do to you?" Hyde questioned softly, his arms folded in front of his chest as he stared at the woman, while I myself couldn't stop the smile that graced my lips at the soft tone that I had not heard from him in quite some time. I slowly floated behind them, knowing that the lady would not notice me, in order to get a good look at the damage that the madman might have possibly obtained from the fight that had broken out between him and the other man.
From what I could see he didn't look too bad. He had definitely came out with less harm brought upon him that the man he had fought. One of his eyes had, along with his now bloodied nose, been clearly punched during the fight, and tarnishing the madman's pale and alluring features.
Oh for goodness sake why on earth am I thinking such things at a time like this?!
"H-He tried to come onto me...he was a b-bit drunk...but I s-said no...and...and he quickly got v-violent...and...and then...and then you...you s-saved me." She explained through terrified tears and sorrowful sobs, and her voice was the kind one would hear from someone, who had just been through something horrific or even traumatizing.
The woman then looked my counterpart in the eyes, and I could just see a smile appear upon her pretty lips as she stared into those piercing eyes, that had not but ten or fifteen minutes ago, been looking so intensely over my shadowy form, yet were now staring back into the woman's pretty eyes.
"T-Thank you." She stuttered out softly and gratefully, the blonde chuckling at the praise thrown at him, yet he looked to atleast acknowledge that he had, for once in his life, actually done something that would truly be considered right.
He had saved another's life.
And as bewildering and as unexpected as it was to me, I could not deny that I was indeed impressed by Hyde's heroic act, yet a very strange part of me was ready to congratulate the madman on a job well done right there and then...but I could not do it at that very moment, atleast not while Hyde was still in public.
"You're very welcome, madam." The madman responded cheerfully, seeming to be quite proud of himself, his hands now resting upon his hips as he looked around, yet his attention towards the woman seemed to have quickly faded away as he seemed to be searching for something else.
For a single moment.
A single and fleeting moment, that had rushed over me before I had quickly shut it down like a faulty machine.
I thought he had been searching for me.
But I was actually, and unfortunately, proven correct when his emerald eyes stopped upon my dark body, throwing a subtle smirk at me, as if he had been reading my mind throughout this entire situation, and knew everything that I had thought from beginning to end, sending an unseeable shiver up and down my spine at the thought.
Then he spoke to me...but his tone was quite serious...and even more soft than it had been with the woman.
'Are you proud of me, Jekyll? I've finally done something right.'
What was I supposed to say to that? What could I possibly say to such words coming from him? Why was he even asking me? And why...why did Hyde, of all the people in this world, care about what I thought about what he had done?
'Hyde...I...I...'
"There he is! There's the monster who attacked me! He's even trying to attack a poor and defenseless woman!" A sudden and familiar voice bellowed out viciously from behind the woman and my counterpart, grabbing all of our attention as we looked to the opening of the alleyway, and my eyes widened in pure shock at what I saw before us all.
There was a large and vicious mob.
A mob that was made up of a group of men from within Bethnal Green, all looking extremely infuriated at what they thought they were seeing before their very eyes, as they blocked off the only exit out of the alleyway.
The man from before, the real monster in this situation, the one who had been so cruel towards the poor lady that Hyde had rescued from his clutches, was the one leading the mob with his deceitful lies.
But the madman still stepped forward in defiance, while the woman backed away to the end of the alleyway as both myself and the lady watched on in suspenseful silence, wondering what Hyde could possibly do to get himself out of the situation he was now in, when that man had easily convinced those people that he was the true criminal.
Yet Hyde seemed to be unafraid of this intimidating and infuriated mob, and I could easily imagine the wide and snarky grin upon his pale face, the way his eyes would be fired up with passion and determination, as he would hold an expression that was specifically made to challenge and scare them without him having to utter a single word, as he slowly moved closer to the man.
Was he going to attack the man?
Would another vicious fight break out between them?
And what would the mob do, now that they had cornered Hyde?
But at first it didn't look as bad as I had feared that it would be, the man just laughing at my counterpart, before a few of his followers joined in, yet Hyde didn't seem to care or be fazed by their mocking laughs as he continued to glare at the man.
Nothing seemed to be completely wrong at the moment, though the laughter was definitely the kind that could only come from malicious and cruel mouths, and the moment looked to be something that Hyde could definitely deal with.
That is until the chaos began.
"Look here! Blondie thinks he's a bloody tough guy!" One of them called out above all the others, their laughter growing louder from that ridiculous insult, and I could feel the anger suddenly starting to radiate off of Hyde's form, as I thought it best to remain at the back of the alleyway with the woman, who watched on with me.
Yet a sudden and sharp spear of concern pierced my heart, when one simple and poor insult, turned to a multitude of profanity and cruelty, that were like bullets aimed directly at the madman.
Every single word they spoke was pointed at Hyde and Hyde alone.
"He's just a fucking freak!"
"The blonde thinks he can do whatever the bloody hell he wants does he?!"
"Yeah! He's a bloody demon!"
"Another monster that needs to die!"
"Freak!"
"Demon!"
"Monster!"
They just kept coming and coming and coming, not letting up for a single second against Hyde, without any kind of remorse for their actions. Only spite and hatred came from their mouths, yet I was no better a man by just watching on in pure shock at the vicious verbal beating, leaving my counterpart to try desperately at blocking all their voices out, his fury growing worse and worse with every passing second as neither I nor the woman did anything to stop it.
I could just barely tell that Hyde's mouth was moving, seeming to be muttering the same two words over and over again, as his hands were clamped tightly over his ears to block their words out.
"FREAK!"
"DEMON!"
"MONSTER!"
Hyde was clearly a ticking time bomb, that was just waiting to explode at any moment if nothing was-
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP YOU FUCKING BASTERDS!"
Silence swiftly came back to the vicious and cruel mob. The lady had reared back in clear horror at my counterpart's sudden yet inevitable outburst. Yet all my heart dared to feel was pity, sorrow and anger at all I had just seen play out before my very eyes.
But why? Why on earth was I feeling such things towards him?
Why did my heart ache so badly at the sight of Hyde? Seeing him driven to the edge of rage by their cancerous cruelty!
I had so many questions that I needed answers to, but my body simply had other ideas, as I had already rushed down the right side of the alleyway and to my counterpart's side, or atleast as close as I could be to him in that moment.
But in the state I was in...it just wasn't close enough for me.
"Edward! Please calm down!" I pleaded to him shakily and desperately, dropping my usually stern tone towards him, for one that made more sense to this dreadful situation he was in.
But as I moved a touch forward upon the brick wall, in order to get a better look at my counterpart's expression and form, what I saw didn't even come anywhere close to what I had expected from the angered madman, nor was the expression one that I wanted to ever see upon his pale features again.
Animalistic teeth were tightly gritted together, emerald eyes blazed with pure rage as they glared at the mob, while his fists were clenched tightly at his sides.
His lower lip was quivering, his body was shaking like an earthquake had just taken hold of him, and small tears could be seen building up at the corners of his eyes.
It deeply saddened me the moment my eyes laid upon it.
But the mob did not appear to share the same emotions towards such a sight, as I myself did when faced with it, and instead just laughed even more at Hyde. Who finally took action. And with a roar of pure and uncontrolled rage, he sprinted at the leader, his fist raised and ready to send a punch at the man's already injured face in retaliation of their cruelty.
But it was all part of their plan.
I could tell that their goal was to get a physical reaction out of my poor counterpart, doing so through whatever means necessary, until Hyde finally made his move and fought back.
And then played right into their hands.
The punch was easily blocked as silence once again filled the alleyway, all of us watching on with baited breaths for either man's next move, my eyes wandering to the man and then to Hyde, as his slightly small and pale hand was held in a vice like grip by the leader's bigger and more muscular one, both hands shaking for two very different reason.
One painfully captured and the other looking ready to break the captured fist.
"Your a pathetic little shit, you know that?" The man taunted viciously through gritted teeth, and I could tell from the pained expression on my counterpart's face, that he was slowly tightening his hand around Hyde's fist as he spoke.
It felt as though that same muscular hand was tightening it's unbreakable hold around my heart, as all I could do was watch and hope for someone to stop this.
The madman harshly bit down upon his lower lip at the pain.
"You only beat me the first time because you got the jump on me, but not this time, because this time me and my buddies are gonna make you bleed, like the piece of shit you are, before the cops have a chance to take you in." Explained the man in a vengeful and sickening tone, as a sadistic smirk appeared upon his lips that went from ear to ear on his face, while the entire time, he stared into my poor counterpart's tear filled and blazing eyes, as Hyde tried not to let out any sounds that would have shown his pain.
But we all knew what was unfortunately coming next.
And in seconds, an ear piercing scream was ripped from Edward's mouth, echoing through the alleyway as in one swift and brutal movement, the man threw one powerful punch at my counterpart's unprotected stomach, while at the same time, he finally let go of the madman's aching fist, allowing for Edward to instantly drop to the ground in agony as he clutched his stomach with his left hand.
"Edward!" I cried out to him as his body clearly shook in pain on the floor, blood dripping from the broken skin of his lower lip, as previously held back tears were now rolling down his face.
But even then, he still chose to try and get back up, as if nothing had truly happened.
'I'm perfectly fine, doctor! I can handle this!' The madman shouted, as he slowly tried to rise up off the ground, as he seemingly tried to sound harsh, yet it came out in a breathy and shaky voice that was undeniably pained.
How could he possibly win against this many men?! He was clearly outnumbered by them and yet he still wanted to fight!
But a vicious kick to the chest from the leader instantly sent Hyde back down on his back, unfortunately proving my point to be correct as he was now exposed to the hate and ruthlessness, and in even more agony than before.
"Stay down and take your punishment like the little shit you are!" One of the men at the front spat, as some of the more physically violent ones stepped forward to join their leader in what followed. Using both hands to muffle my gasp of pure shock, as I watched the brutality with now watery red eyes, unable to look away at what they were doing to Hyde.
They were beating him...they were surrounding his vulnerable form and beating him.
But it was clear that they weren't going to kill him, though it was only so that they wouldn't be seen as the real criminals by the police, and instead would make it look as if they were simply dealing out justice, to someone who they considered to be a cruel rapist.
Hyde might have been a monster, a monster that I myself had created, but I knew deep down because of his previous actions of the night, that my counterpart was far from a bloody rapist.
He had done nothing to deserve such cruelty!
Yet here he was, on the ground at the height of agony as those men encircled his short form, punching him and kicking him in false revenge as my counterpart cursed and cried and screamed in excruciating pain from it all. But the ones who didn't take part were no better, as they simply pointed and laughed like school bullies on a playground, mocking Edward for being quote-on-quote weak and unable to fight back against them.
I was thankful that my tears could not be seen by anyone, as they slowly rolled down my face like little drops of fresh rain water, while I was unable to rip my eyes away from the inhuman act taking place before me.
Dropping to my knees, as one of my hands fell into my lap, my other hand tried to reach out as far as it possibly could towards Edward...but it was not physically possible in the state I was in.
Useless was the perfect word to describe me in that very moment.
"Stop it! He's done nothing wrong! Stop it!" A familiar woman's voice screamed out to the men, as the woman who Hyde had saved rushed at the nearest man and leaped onto his back, distracting them as she attacked the man's face with a few punches of her own, while three more men went to try and help their fellow basterd.
With the opening made I backed up to see what damage they had already dealt upon the madman.
Frozen in place, I hovered upon the brick wall, my wide eyes locked upon Hyde's pained and beaten form, his hat now lying somewhere on the floor and his clothes dirtied, ruined and ripped in some places to reveal unprotected flesh. There were definitely bruises that I could not see upon his legs, chest and arms, that were hidden underneath his tight clothes, yet the ones upon his face were far from hidden by his trembling hands as marks were scattered across his pale features.
But it seemed that life took pity on us, since as all of this chaos was playing out: the woman attacking one of the men as the other three tried to get her off of him, the remaining men brutally beating my counterpart into submission and the remaining part of the mob enjoying it all...familiar voices came closer to the mob of vicious men, and I felt a strong level of hope awaken within me.
"Alright everybody! Break it up! Break it up now!" One of the constables called out, stopping the brutal men in their tracks as they all froze in surprise at the sound of the officer's gruff and commanding voice. And with that the vicious men finally backed away from Hyde's trembling form.
They returned back to the mob that their leader had created, though the man that the lady had attacked's face had been left a tad bruised, but she had removed herself from the man as soon as the constable's voice had echoed through the alleyway. Every member of the mob looked quite disappointed and annoyed, at the fact that they weren't able to continue their brutality, without any form of interruption getting in the way. But I was extremely far from either of those two emotions, as I quickly wiped my tears away and got back onto my feet.
I let out a sigh of pure relief, before I shot a dark glare at the mob, and though the knowledge of being unnoticed by them was very much there within my mind, I honestly didn't care whether they noticed my harsh expression or not.
'They should consider themselves lucky that I wasn't able to get the police there sooner.' I thought to myself, before I finally turned my gaze back to my counterpart's still trembling form, my expression softening as the woman kneeled at his side.
But when she gently touched him...I could have sworn that I saw Hyde flinch quite badly away from her touch, letting out a groan of pain when he did so.
Yet when she spoke to him, reassuring him that she would not hurt him, he finally allowed her to touch his beaten body as the woman helped to get Hyde back onto his feet, though she was clearly having to use all her strength to lift him back onto his feet without dropping the madman back onto the ground.
'Are you...alright...doctor?'
His voice was broken and filled with pain, practically breathing those words out to me as he tried to keep himself on his feet.
I smiled at him and nodded, not ready to trust my own voice just yet until we had finally gotten out of this alleyway, and back to The Society, where I was certain that I could talk things out with Hyde and him to recover from the night.
'I...can handle that...it will...be a piece of...of cake.' He suddenly breathed out, as a sudden and very missed smirk came back to his slightly bloodied lips, and with it, along with his words, my smile had somehow widened even more than seconds ago, before he stood there and watched as Hyde put his plan into action.
The madman was okay, and that was what mattered to me...or atleast...that was how it had looked in the alleyway.
"Not much farther now, Hyde. The Society is within our reach." I cooed softly to my sprinting counterpart, as my shadowy form rushed alongside Hyde's tarnished and wrecked body.
His breaths came out ragged and pained, and he had had to stop a few times to catch his breath, while at the same, he also allowed his aching legs to rest for a little bit before he would start up again, like a wolf trying to return back to it's cave as fast as possible, sweat visibly dripping off of his body like rain, staining his tight clothes with dark patches.
I had tried to tell him multiple times to take it easy, but of course he wouldn't listen!
It seemed that he only wanted to be back within the walls of my quarters as fast as possible. It simply baffled me to no end as to why he would choose my dark quarters, over the much more useful infirmary. But I did not bother with trying to get an answer out of him, and I wouldn't bother to try, until the both of us were safe and sound within The Society's walls.
Only a few more roofs, that separated us from home, needed to be jumped. Then after that, Hyde would have to carefully use a few ledges on the final house, in order to land on the ground without further injury towards his legs.
The last few roofs were jumped, before the madman had to once again stop and breathe in the cold night air. Hyde's hands clutched tightly at his knees, shakily breathing in and out as he was doubled over in clear pain from his running.
"The night is still young, there is no need for you to push yourself, Hyde." I explained softly to him, yet he simply glared at me as if I had pointed out the obvious, and before I could question him over such a glare, he was off again and jumped off the edge of the building.
Rushing off after him, I saw him clutching tightly at the top right ledge of the house with both hands, as the madman checked underneath himself, making sure that he was above the next ledge, before he quickly repeated what he had already done.
My breath quickly caught in my throat as I watched him fall, yet I let out said breath in a long sigh of relief, once he finally gripped at the second ledge and looked up at me.
I simply rolled my eyes at him, as he dropped the small height down to the ground, finally landing carefully on both feet as The Society was now before us, the many warm lights of our home soothing me to the core as I went down the front of the house, across the ground and to the large double doors of my magnificent building.
"Come to me, Hyde." I cooed to my counterpart.
The madman silently walked across the silent and deserted road, his form slowly coming further and further into the light, as I watched on with a gentle yet sorrowful smile on my face, as the unsettling and saddening aftermaths of his beating, once again became all too clear, and all too real to me.
I would definitely be paying a visit to London's police the next day, to make sure that those men got what they deserved, for all they done in that alleyway.
Soon he was standing before the doors of The Society, and with his visibly shaking hands, slowly pushed them aside as I floated to the nearest reflective surface, my eyes locked upon her even as the lodgers came rushing into the hall at my counterpart's return.
But their gasps of shock, pushed me to witness the whole picture, as I saw them all, looking on with horrified and shocked expressions upon their faces.
"Mr Hyde! What happened to you?" One of them asked as said madman finally stepped inside, before he hurriedly closed the doors, in what could have only been described as pure but controlled panic.
The lodgers cautiously stepped closer to Hyde and my eyes quickly locked upon him once again.
"I'm perfectly fine!" He suddenly gritted out before, without any kind of warning, he sprinted down the hall, past myself and the lodgers, up the stairs and into my quarters. The sound of doors slamming and a lock being clicked into place echoed through the thick silence of the hall.
Not a single one of us moved.
Not a single one of us spoke.
"I wonder what's happened to him?"
"Well there's no point trying to get any answers out of him tonight."
"Agreed. We can ask Jekyll about it in the morning. Goodnight everybody!"
They all shouted those two words, back and forth with one another, until the hall was empty and silent. But for me...the night was not yet over. For as my eyes walked their way down the middle of the hall, from the closed doors of The Society, to the locked doors of my now occupied quarters, my heart begged for me to do something instead of just staying there...and I would not disappoint.
I returned to my shadowed form, and I rushed down the hall and slipped underneath the sealed doors of my quarters, before I dashed across the floor and into the mirror, before I finally stepped through the smooth surface of the mirror, allowing me to finally appear before Hyde in a slightly more solid form.
At the moment, Hyde appeared to be searching for something within the many cabinets of my quarters, in order to help ease his pain...but all he was doing was making quite a mess of said quarters, his cape and hat no longer upon his person as they were now lying haphazardly on the couch.
Luckily for him, I knew exactly what he needed for such a situation.
"It's in the right hand cabinet behind my desk, Hyde." I explained softly as I pointed over to said cabinet, where the potion to ease his pain was safely kept away for eventual use. With the madman's attention grabbed, he turned around from the cabinet he was going through to look at me, though only for less than a minute, before he slowly stepped over to the cabinet and opened it up, finding the vile with little hassle.
But while he was quick to consume the potion and throw away the vile that which had contained it, my thoughts wandered back to the alleyway, and back to the brutality I had witnessed.
Every powerful punch and every powerful kick they had thrown, every vicious word they had uttered to him, and every sound of pure agony they had ripped and yanked out of Hyde!
Yet I couldn't get any of it out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried.
Something could have been done! I could have done something! Anything!
"Jekyll..." Hyde suddenly spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts as I looked this way and that for the madman, unclenching my suddenly tight fists as my eyes locked upon him, as he was now standing right in front of me with a curious and confused look upon his bloodied and beaten face.
"Why are you crying?"
I stared at him in sheer confusion, wondering what my counterpart was talking about, before I raised two fingers up to my face and gently caressed them underneath one of my eyes...my fingers were wet from the tears I had quickly picked up.
With eyes slightly wide in surprise, I stared at Hyde, unsure of what to tell him.
But as I stared at the madman, I saw a few tears at the corners of his own eyes, and it wasn't hard to see that Hyde was trying desperately to hold them.
Unfortunately, I was not so lucky, as I felt multiple tears rolling down my face, and before I could do anything to stop myself, my arms were wrapped around the madman's shorter form and I had pulled him flushed against me in a sudden yet gentle embrace.
The madman froze like stone in my arms, thoughts most certainly running through his mind over what he himself was meant to do or say in retort, yet I didn't give him a chance to utter a single word before me.
"I wish I could have done something to help you, to make things right, to make them go away and stop them before it all got out of hand but I couldn't, I couldn't do a damn thing about it! I swear if I could have stopped them I would have done so without a second thought, Hyde!" I told him, tears running down my face and into his messy and dirtied hair, as my embrace tightened unknowingly around him...but he still hadn't pulled away from me.
Why wasn't he pushing me away in anger?! Or even from the pain I was surely giving him! I was in the wrong for not doing a single god damn thing to help him!
Just push me away, dammit!
But thankfully, hands finally began to push against my chest, and I allowed them to push me away from Hyde...unfortunately they only pushed me far enough away, so that he could look up at me and into my eyes, yet his expression was not what I would have expected to see.
"Hyde why aren't you-?"
"Lessen your damn grip, Jekyll." He ordered in a strangely quiet voice, his features gentle, even though all the cuts and all the bruises, yet his expression still looked pained, while he slowly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back against him. Now it was my turn to become stone in another's arms. He wasn't against the embrace. He was only against my sudden tightness when embracing him.
But such thoughts were quickly cut down, when my ears picked up small sounds coming from the madman.
Restrained in volume and minimal in quantity were these sounds, yet I could not have mistaken those sounds for anything other than the sorrowful sobs of the poor madman.
Oh Hyde...
My counterpart tightly fisted the material of my clothes with both hands, burying his face deep within my warm chest as I could imagine the wet patch his tears were leaving upon me, his sobs growing louder and more frequent, while his sorrowful face was hidden by his soft and wild blonde hair.
"Oh Edward. You've had such a horrific night." I muttered softly and understandingly to him, a frown upon my lips, as my arms quickly and gently wrapped themselves around the sobbing blonde, as my hands caressed up and down his back, his entire body trembling tremendously in my arms, while I cooed as many caring and reassuring words to him as humanly possible.
I held him like that for quite some time, thoughts of his own cruelty and evil fading from my mind, leaving only those hidden feelings for the poor madman in my arms behind, as such thoughts of pining and care and possible love, were now allowed to grow and take up even more space within my mind. The hours of sleep I had given up, in order to simply drown myself and to give into those thoughts, were far too many to even try and count.
Should I finally take that dangerous leap? I may never get another chance to say it.
My heart pounded rhythmically in my chest, and it was not a stretch to say that Hyde could have surely heard it through fabric and flesh, for as my aching heart, and my logical mind battled it out, my counterpart had began to relax, and then finally quietened against me.
This was the closest Hyde had ever been to my heart.
Should I allow him to get even closer?
"Are you feeling better now, Hyde?" I asked him softly, as I rested my cheek upon his head, the pace of my movements upon his back lessening to that of a crawl.
He silently nodded.
Pulling away from one another, I stared down at my counterpart's face: with his single black eye, bruises swollen and cuts clear, his eyes bloodshot and tear stains dry upon his cheeks, that mixed with the smears of dry blood painting his face.
But his lips...
Once rough looking and devilish in the shape of an alluring smirk, were now a touch swollen and visibly chapped, a small cut or two upon his lower lip, as blood stained the right corner of Hyde's mouth, that was now in the shape of a timid and pained frown.
I frowned deeply at the sight, yet I was unable to tear my eyes away from those tarnished lips, desperately wanting to feel them against my own, to give the madman something that wasn't pain or hatred.
"Hyde..." I muttered nervously, as my eyes finally darted back to meet his own, my cheeks warm with a blush, while my face unconsciously inched closer to the madman's own. But he appeared to be quite unsure of what was happening, as he stared at me with a confused look in his eyes. Maybe he would stop me before I even got the chance to do anything.
My arms unwrapped themselves from around Hyde, as my hands trailed up his beaten and messy body, caressing over his stomach, then his chest, and finally up my counterpart's neck as I gently cupped his cheeks in my hands.
I held his face carefully, yet still no single form of protest came from Hyde, and instead he silently and slowly moved into my touch, like a kitten would do if it's owner cupped the animal's face and caressed it's fur, bringing a small smile to my lips as I just watched, entranced and relieved to see him leaning into my touch.
But when I moved even closer to my counterpart, whose eyes were still open wide enough to see me...Hyde stared back at me in fear of what I was going to do.
Did the madman think I was going to abuse him? Did the madman think I was about to take advantage of his vulnerable and pained state?
"Edward. Please don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you." I cooed quietly and reassuringly to him, as my soft and unharmed lips, were now an inch or so away from his abused and dry ones...but I stopped for a moment, as I gently pushed some of his hair back and out of the way, in order for me to stare lovingly into his tear filled eyes, readying myself for my counterpart's reaction.
And then it finally happened.
My soft lips were upon his, my eyes remaining open as I kissed him passionately, like I had done so many times in the welcomed darkness of my bedroom, where no one would know about my insane fantasies but I, as my lips gently moved against Hyde's own. But as I had easily expected...the madman didn't do anything in return. His eyes were wide in pure shock and fear, and his lower lip quivered as a small gasp of surprise was muffled by the kiss, that I myself had brought upon him without giving him much of a warning. Still kissing him, I carefully caressed his cheeks, trying to relax him, trying to silently tell him that everything was going to be okay, trying to say that this was only an innocent kiss and that nothing more would come of it if he reciprocated the action.
And after a moment, my counterpart relaxed and his beautiful eyes slowly fluttered closed, along with my own and though the movement was minimal, his dry lips finally began to move against my own, small sounds of enjoyment escaping the madman yet he allowed me to lead the way as I wrapped my arms around his waist, and his arms wrapped themselves around my neck.
God I never wanted this to end! I just wanted to hold him in my arms and never let him go! To kiss him! To heal him! To protect him!
But I knew that that would not be possible, as both myself and the madman quickly needed to breathe. Slowly, and almost hesitantly, we pulled apart for air, the both of us panting and blushing as my arms remained loosely around his waist. Our eyes met and I couldn't stop myself from smiling down at him, and Hyde slowly did the same, smiling back up at me.
"I know that you might not be interested, Hyde. I know that you might not want to be with me, the way I want to be with you. But atleast for tonight...just let me live in this beautiful fantasy." I pleaded softly to Hyde, my cheeks hot and my hands shaking as I stared deep into his eyes.
But he did't say a word, didn't correct me, didn't even look as if he was about to protest against any of what I had just said to him.
Hyde only nodded and smiled in agreement.
It had taken just over two hours to clean my counterpart's almost naked form, easing his wounds and cleaning up all the cuts that were littered across his body.
But almost every time I had laid even a single finger upon one of his wounds, Hyde had flinched away from me. On top of that, he had also bit down hard upon his lower lip, which had only lead to even more pain. And every time he had pulled away from my touch, my hands quickly found the nearest piece of unharmed flesh, and lovingly caressed that spot, as I softly whispered reassuring words into the madman's ear like:
"Shh it's okay. Just relax, Hyde. It will all be over soon."
"I know it hurts, but I promise you, it will get better once I've finished."
"I'm here for you, Hyde. Your pain will fade and then you'll be able to finally rest for the night."
After that, I had wrapped up most of his body in soft bandages, covering over his arms, chest, stomach and legs, allowing the wounds to properly heal without the risk of any of his wounds or cuts being infected, though it would mean that the job of changing them every so often would be mine and mine alone.
But unfortunately for Hyde, leaving The Society would now be off limits for atleast a couple weeks...which he had been quick to protest against. But it had been quite a poor protest, compared to his usual outbursts of anger towards me, whenever I had proposed such an idea. We had then quickly come to an agreement, that it would just be best for him to remain at The Society until he felt better, and then after that, Hyde would be allowed to take small walks at night, and only for a few hours instead of the entire night, just to satisfy his desire for freedom, while at the same time, not risking the chance of him coming into contact with another beating.
My counterpart had visibly shuddered at the thought of another vicious encounter.
But as I had been healing his wounds and cuts, my hands had gently wandered over his bare legs and arms, pressing down every so often to check for any signs of discomfort or fractures in the bones. And I had been quick to find out, that his right arm had come out of the alleyway in a terrible, yet subtly harmed state. Though thankfully with a quick trip down to the infirmary, I was able to obtain all the necessary items to carefully get his right arm into a protective sling.
It had succeeded, in making my desire to protect the madman, even stronger than it had been before.
And now that the procedure had been completed, and all of the equipment had been returned to their rightful places, both of us could finally take it easy and relax.
I was resting upon the couch, my back against the comfortable and soft fabric as I smiled down at my counterpart, who's head was sitting contentedly and quietly in my lap, while my delicate fingers ran lazily through his hair, smoothing it out and trying to feel each strand against my skin.
Hyde himself was, of course, also lying down upon the couch with me, though he was resting sideways instead of sitting up straight like myself, his expression soft and devoid of any discomfort. His slightly heavy sling was resting above his heart and, along with the numerous bandages covering his body, it made him look as if he were a man who had gone through some kind of disastrous war. And though he had come out of the fight with many, many scars, the madman was still alive.
We both sat there in silence, with a warm light to our left, placing the both of us almost half within the damning darkness of my quarters, and almost half within the loving light of the lamp, that illuminated my counterpart's beautiful and peaceful features.
"I imagine that those men are already behind bars for what they did." I commented, trying to hold back the venom that wanted to sneak itself into my words, at the mention of those foul men.
But Hyde simply rolled his eyes at my comment.
"No they won't." He muttered quietly.
Raising an eyebrow at his retort, I stared down at the madman, silently asking for him to elaborate.
"They won't be behind bars, because the police will believe what those basterds say, even if that woman tells them otherwise...nothing will change that." Hyde explained, anger thick in his voice and contorting his features into disgust, before his face softened and he breathed a quiet sigh of defeat.
"They will have a portrait of me on a wanted poster, on every street and in every bar in London, before the first light of tomorrow." He hopelessly added, and my lips dropped into a frown at his defeated and sad expression, like he had quickly decided to give up on any chance of the police seeing him as innocent.
Scotland Yard couldn't possibly believe their lies, couldn't possibly allow them to walk free without some form of conscience for their vicious actions!
They needed to pay for what they did to that woman and to Hyde!
The attempted rape, the verbal abuse, the brutal beating, all of it!
As my head lowered and my gaze left my counterpart's face, I gritted my teeth together as anger rose from deep within my soul, while my remaining hand became a trembling fist of barely controlled rage.
"That won't happen, Hyde." I muttered quietly in a low and angered tone.
"I'll make sure of it, I swear to you, Hyde! Even if I have to sweet talk all of Scotland Yard, I will make sure those men are behind bars where they bloody belong!" I spat out venomously, my entire body shaking, but not once did I ever meet my counterpart's gaze, knowing that all he would see was barely controlled rage.
But the madman didn't say a single word in retort.
Taking a few deep, and shaky breaths, I slowly and cautiously raised my eyes back to Hyde's face, as apologetic words were already on the tip of my tongue. But they were turned to dust, when my crimson eyes, took in my counterpart's shocked expression, his beautiful eyes wide and his sinfully alluring mouth agape as he stared up at me.
My cheeks burned like miniature blazes, the words I had just uttered coming back to back hand me across the face, hard, as I stared down at him in shock and embarrassment, and then quickly looked away.
"I'm sorry, Hyde. I didn't mean to say such ridiculous-"
"Would you really do that for me, Jekyll?"
He stopped me in my tracks with that question, and I quickly turned my head back to stare at him in surprise. What a ridiculous question to ask! How come he couldn't tell that I would actually do that for him, push aside everything for him to prove his innocence.
Gently cupping his face with both hands, I stared deep down into Hyde's emerald eyes, my expression soft with affection and a loving smile.
"Of course I would do that for you, Hyde. You did nothing wrong and you don't deserve to be on a wanted poster for a crime you didn't even commit." I quietly answered, honestly thick in my words.
But I could see in his eyes, that there was still one more question, that he desperately needed answering, yet he appeared to be a touch hesitant to actually ask me the question.
He looked away from me, seeming to be thinking over his words, before he looked back up at me again.
"But why would you do that...for me?" Hyde questioned curiously, yet he was still in utter disbelief, that I would do that for him of all people.
The madman waited quietly for my answer, one that possibly went along the lines of: I'm a gentleman and that is what I must do, or, my reputation would be damaged if I didn't do the right thing.
But I would have been lying with every word that I dared to let out, if I had decided to walk down that path.
The truth had to be told.
Leaning back on the couch, I removed my hands from Hyde's face, bringing one up into his hair, slowly running and caressing my fingers through it, while the other hand searched for my counterpart's remaining hand, that was resting unused at his side. I took a deep breath, once I had finally rested my hand upon his, feelings his unbroken knuckles and bones underneath my palm, his hand still and unmoving beneath my own.
And then, certain of what I was about to say, I finally began to explain myself.
"Do you remember that night, all those months ago? What happened within this very room?" I asked my counterpart softly as my eyes wandered all over my quarters, taking the room in, as the old and familiar scene played out before me.
And in return, Hyde simply and silently nodded upon my lap.
"You saved me when no one else could. You ripped me away from the poison, and threw away the blades before I could do anymore harm to either of us. I couldn't have been more grateful for your existence, than I had been on that unforgettable night. The rest of the month only made me grow more fond of you, Hyde."
I remembered every night of that month, each one more fondly than the last, seeing myself sitting upon the floor in front of the mirror, with Hyde's arms wrapped around me like a warm and protective shield, as if he felt that anything around me could kill me, as if the whole of London was about to suddenly turn on me at the drop of a hat, and the only thing between all of that and myself...was Hyde.
"Every night, no matter how much you wanted to be rushing through all of London, drinking and sinning like you always did, you instead stayed here...with me...and that's when it all started, the attraction and the fondness and the want, my secret need to be near you for as long as possible on those nights, just so I could feel that I wasn't alone with my own thoughts, left to my own devices in the darkness of my quarters."
Tears were now stinging my eyes, as those memories, along with the scene playing out before me, faded away.
"But then it all stopped, and everything returned to normal...but I just...I couldn't forget what had transpired, nor could I tame the feelings that had grown within me, no matter how hard I tried to erase them from my mind, so instead I..."
My voice had become weak, tears rolled down my face in little groups of two, and my hand trembled above the madman's own, as I tried desperately to find the words, that would somehow justify my actions after that month had unfortunately ended.
But as I tried to get my next words out of my mouth, I suddenly felt movement beneath my hand, and before I knew it, Hyde's warm, slim, and moonlight pale fingers had slipped between my shaking ones, instantly grabbing my attention.
"You weren't the only one holding back, Jekyll." The madman muttered solemnly, as he gave my unmoving hand a strangely soft squeeze, my crimson eyes locked upon our entangled hands as I quickly shut my mouth, allowing him to continue, even though my brain was telling me to question him right there and then over such a statement.
"At first, I was simply doing what I did; to keep the both of us alive and to not let the only challenge in my life slip through my fingers...but by the end of the month, my reasons had been quick to change. Something had been ignited within me, and it only got stronger with every night I stayed with you, never leaving for a single second, even when I denied them. I didn't dare go through with anything it wanted...I didn't go through with whatever my heart wanted. I saw it as stupid and utterly ridiculous." The madman explained, and even though I was surprised by what he was saying to me, my heart ached profusely within my chest as the words ran repeatedly through my head.
You did it too, Hyde.
We both fought against what we desired...what our hearts desired for us, but now there was no where else for either of us to go...but towards each other.
"I thought: He wouldn't even feel the same if I decided to tell him what I was feeling for him, it would just be better to forget these feelings." Hyde said, his tone rising and twisting with old anger and denial, as my gaze turned to his face, just before he let out a deep and short sigh, closing his eyes as if he were reminding himself of the saddening events after that blissful month.
"I didn't even know what it was that I was feeling in the first place." He quietly added.
His eyes slowly opened, as our gazes locked in a regretfully shared look, and I gave his hand a gentle squeeze of understanding.
"I continued to hurt you, Henry."
"And I snapped at you, Hyde. I threw everything I could at you without showing a single shred of regret towards my actions...but we did regret what we did, what we had said, even if we never showed it...and we've both tried to make up for it." I interjected softly, as my fingers ran through his blasphemous blonde hair, the dry blood of my counterpart bringing small shocks of crimson to it.
He sighed and slowly pushed back into my touch, his eyes closing, as our hands tightened around one another, neither of us wanting to let go for a second, while the both of us sat there, as if the rest of London, the rest of the world, outside of my quarters didn't even exist in our eyes.
I allowed the silence to drag out for a little longer, my eyes running up and down my counterpart's body. The bandages I had placed upon him, concealed his tainted flesh as he laid there before me, peaceful and content after all the night had put him through. My smile seemed to widen, if only slightly, and more little tears rolled down my face, at the thought that no matter what was thrown at him, Hyde would survive and soon come back as if nothing had happened.
He was so much braver than myself...it was just another reason to love him.
"Edward..." I whispered as I rested my hand upon his forehead, Hyde humming curiously as his eyes reopened to greet me with their breath taking shine, that the light of the lamp brought upon them.
"You promised to look after me, to hold me every night until I was back to my old cheerful self. And not only had you succeeded in such a promise, you had done so much more for me than that. You gave me affection, feelings and love, that I never thought I could possibly gain from one such as you...but it happened." I started honestly, as my breathing became shaky and my heart quickened, as the next words I was utter ran around in my head.
"And now...I want to return the favour. I promise you, that I will look after you, hold you and care for you, until you are fully recovered and ready to hand back control of our body over to me. And once that is all said and done...if justice has not come to claim your innocence...than I shall go directly to Scotland Yard and do it myself." I explained softly and lovingly to my counterpart, as I watched his expression turn from curiosity, to shock, and then finally to pure and unadulterated amazement, as the tears that had built up throughout my promise, began to run heavily down his pale face like two miniature waterfalls painting his features.
They glimmered and shimmered down his cheeks, his face visibly contorting, his lower lip quivering and his cheeks turning a light yet visible shade of scarlet.
My hand hastily rushed to his cheek, as the second they fell, I gently wiped his tears away with my thumb, while once again, Hyde tried to stop said tears of joy, along with the sounds deep hidden within his throat, from flowing out in front of me.
But as much as I would have liked for that not to happen...it was impossible to stop them once they finally started.
The tears fell in higher frequency, as small sobs finally escaped past the madman's rough lips, as he twisted his head into my stomach as he hid his face deep in shirt, once again staining the fabric with his warm tears. Pulled my hand away from his cheek, I brought my fingers into his hair, caressing through mop of blonde in soothing and loving motions.
Silently I waited. Waited for him to calm down. Waited until his sobs and cries had simmered down to nothing but small whimpers. And waited until his joyful tears had finally lessened to nothing but wet stains upon his face.
Finally, my counterpart removed himself from my stomach, looking up at me.
"You still didn't answer my question...why are you doing this...for me?" Edward questioned quietly, his expression twisted and puzzled as he stared up at me, waiting for my answer.
"Hyde I..." I stammered out, the skin of my cheeks growing hot from ear to ear, as I nervously attempted to pick out the correct words to express my love for him.
Should I even tell him how I feel?
I already stated that I wanted to remain in this 'fantasy' for just one night. But then again he...he said that something had been ignited within him...he didn't push me away when I embraced him...and he even kissed me back as well.
Maybe there was still hope for us yet.
"Edward...I...I love you." I finally answered quietly, shutting my eyes, as I waited for the madman's answer. My heart was practically pounding in my chest, my body shaking with anticipation. My hand tightened slightly around my counterpart's own.
"Open your eyes for me, Jekyll."
I quickly did as he asked of me, since I didn't hear a single shred of anger in his voice, and I opened my eyes to stare down at him. And neither anger, or hatred, nor disgust, was evident upon his pale features as he looked up into my eyes.
Neither of us dared to break eye contact with each other.
"You don't have to be nervous. I may have been beaten into the ground...but that has done nothing to change what you ignited within me all those months ago. You helped me...because you love me. And now that you've said it...I guess I have to say it too to make things fair." Hyde explained gently with a small smirk on his gorgeous lips, the first that I had seen upon his face for quite a while. And it seemed that my heart longed for that smirk, just as much as I myself did, for once the madman had finished speaking, I shifted slightly on the couch before lowering my face down to Hyde's own, until my soft lips were gently brushing against my counterpart's rougher ones in a ghost of a kiss.
He wanted me! Edward Hyde wanted me just like I wanted him! My love for him was reciprocated!
But I needed to hear it.
Gripping tightly at the nearest arm of the sofa with my left hand, I stared deep into his entrancing emerald eyes, while he too, stared up into my soft ruby orbs, an unhinging, loving and soft smile upon my slightly quivering lips.
"Say it, Edward...tell me that you love me." I pleaded in a whispered tone against my counterpart's lips.
And finally, after all those months of painful denial, secret pining and regretful hatred...Hyde whispered the words that I had longed to hear coming from him, the words that sent my heart fluttering like a million butterflies in my chest, that made tears of pure joy and happiness come to my eyes, and that finally released the both of us from the chains that our past actions had locked upon our minds, bodies and hearts.
"I love you too, Henry."
The words ran through my mind over and over again, more tears coming to my eyes with each time that I heard those five words running around in my mind, until I couldn't stand it anymore, and my lips were upon my counterpart's own in mere seconds, kissing him hotly, passionately and lovingly. Hyde quickly kissed back, almost as passionately as myself. It was oh so different next to our previous kiss, which had been slow and soft and new to us both, while this one, oh this one was even better! It was passionate and desperate and unchained by my previous worries and concerns!
Nothing was in our way anymore, as soon our tongues were dancing together within my counterpart's mouth, our now warm and wet lips connecting and disconnecting with small wet pops, when the need to breathe became too much for either of us.
But neither me, nor Hyde, dared to cross the invisible red line set out before us...atleast while the both of us were still in new territory, and my counterpart was still in the process of healing.
I wouldn't dare try to take advantage of my madman's dreadful state.
After a little while longer, the both of us able to finally enjoy one another's touch and love and affection for the very first time, we pulled away from each other, breathless and panting, my face warm and stained with tears as I looked down at him in pure relief and satisfaction.
"That was...absolutely...amazing...Edward." I breathlessly commented between pants, a grateful smile upon my face, while my counterpart softly smirked up at me, our warm fingers still intertwined together at my madman's side, just like they had been before we had become so enraptured in kissing the much needed breath out of each other's lungs.
Hyde nodded in agreement, before we pulled apart from one another's forms. I rested my back against the couch, while my counterpart once again rested his head in my lap, my fingers quickly beginning to run and caress through my madman's devilishly messy hair.
But suddenly, a loud and tired yawn escaped past Edward's lips, his eyes half opened, a clear sign that a certain someone needed sleep. I couldn't stop myself from chuckling at the sight.
"Are you tired, love?" I curiously and softly asked him, with a warm and gentle expression on my face, though it would take quite some time for that word to become second nature upon my tongue.
Edward tiredly nodded.
Another loud yawn escaped him.
Tilting his head into my stomach, he slowly began to doze off into peaceful sleep in my warm lap. It seemed that he had preferred for our hands to remain intertwined for the rest of the night. Of course I was far from against the idea, and I simply cradled the back of his head in my remaining hand, as I whispered an old and beautiful lullaby to him, that my mother had once sung to me when I was but a mere child...though with a small change here and a small change there.
"Sing me a song
Of a sweet precious lad,
Say could that lad, be you?
In my arms you belong
Where you'll never be sad
This I promise to you.
Don't speak a word,
Hush now and rest,
Let my words caress you.
Deep in your sleep,
Warm in my arms,
I'll never let go of you.
Sing me a song
Of this sweet precious lad,
Now rest in my embrace."
And soon enough, loud yet minimal snores were all I could hear from my counterpart's now sleeping form, as my fingers slowed their movements within his hair, Edward's chest rising and falling at a relaxed pace as he slept upon the couch.
He looked strangely content like that.
My heart finally calmed itself and my body relaxed on the couch, as I stared down at Edward, the madman that I had bared my very heart and soul to. But it had not backfired, and he himself had even bared his own heart and soul, two things that I had once claimed that he never possessed, to me and me alone. It felt as though I was in just another one of my secretly sweet dreams, and within mere moments, I would suddenly awake in my bed in a cold sweat, panting and gasping as if I had almost drowned in the dreamworld, until all I had witnessed came back to me...and it would become just another night of pining and sorrow.
But nothing of the sort occurred.
All of what I had seen and all of what I had felt throughout that night, no matter how much I had desperately wanted for some of the events of the night to not have happened...all of it was well and truly real for both myself and Edward.
And as I finally drifted off to sleep, my feelings and my heart now finally released from the chains of denial and hatred, a single thought of revelation came to me.
'The change was never going to be so obvious. It wasn't a change that could have be seen by anyone around me, around us, no matter how hard they looked. The change was not in front of us, but within us...within our hearts.'
THE END
And that was A Change Within My Heart, ladies and Gentlemen!
It took a lot of time to create this story, thanks to a few delays I had within the real world, but with the much needed help of my fabulous beta: EdwardTheBadass, A Change Within My Heart has been finally delivered to all you lovely people.
You can all check out her amazing work on Tumblr, and thank her for the beautiful cover and fanart she made for this story.
(Note: The sweet lullaby was written for this fic by EdwardTheBadass, which was inspired by a Robert Louis Stevenson poem, known as Skye Boat Song.)
Give her some love, everybody!
But anyway, don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment box below, before you go!
BYE! BYE!