"Isaac, what is wrong with you? I can't believe you did that."

He hissed as you applied the cool rag to his bloodied back, "I couldn't let him whip you for something that was my fault, that wouldn't be fair."

"Yes but you shouldn't have interfered, it only worsened everything you idiot."

"So what I should have stood by and watched as you got whipped instead?"

"Yes!"

Isaac didn't answer you, only flinched when you touched him to clean his open wounds. You flinched with him; remembering each lash that has marred his perfect skin, cut it open with the sharp metal tip and revealed the red blood that ran through his veins.

You sighed, "Sometimes I wonder if you have a brain in that head of yours."

Again, Isaac remained silent, now he didn't even flinch when you pushed the rough cloth through his tender wounds. He was numb and his mind was in a far off place and you didn't want to bring him back to the present, knowing you couldn't really handle seeing him in pain especially since now technically you're the cause of it. You swallowed past the growing lump in your throat, this was all your fault, you should have tried harder to stop him in the first place, more importantly you shouldn't be so easily swayed by pretty words from a boy you can't be with. You were only late by a few seconds with the wrong wine that you proceeded to drop on the new white bear hide spread on the floor, Isaac hot on your heels still trying to get you to take a walk with him later on and your mind was with him on that walk instead of in the room where you master was. 10 lashes were to be slashed into your back until Isaac opened his big stupid mouth and defended you claiming it was his fault and that he should receive the punishment not you, and he did, with an added 10 lashes and you were forced to watch every last one.

Bile rose in your throat and you pressed especially hard as you tried to get away from the memory causing Isaac to jump, "Easy there."

"Shut up," you spat at him, "You deserve it for your stupidity."

He turned his head to the side to look at you over his shoulder, watching as you intently worked on cleaning the wounds inflicted onto him and suddenly he didn't want to be careful anymore, he didn't want the only thing in his life he could have a say in slip through his fingers. Isaac straightened up, causing you to recoil back in surprise and look up at him with wide eyes, his face was a mask of determination, "I wasn't being stupid."

"The twenty lashes on your back beg to differ."

He stared at you a moment longer before turning away and focusing on the wall in front of him, "I wasn't being stupid, I knew what I was doing and I would do it again if given the opportunity."

Brows furrowing you focused back on the task at hand while you mind went into overdrive trying to figure out what his words meant. Mentally you brain kicked you, you knew what it meant but you were trying to come up with a different answer, this one being far too dangerous for the both of you. There are few ways this could end and out of all of them there is only one happy ending and it was far too out of reach for the two of you to even try and grasp onto. You closed your eyes and sighed, "Don't say such things Isaac, I can handle a punishment just fine and it's far too risky for you to think this way."

You felt his back tense at your words, "I know you can handle punishment but that doesn't mean I want them to happen to you, definitely not when I was the cause. And I will think how I want, it's the one thing I have control over in my life and if protecting you is what I want to think about then I will –"

Isaac."

"If wanting to be with you-"

"Don't."

"-is how I want to spend my hours then I will –"

"Please."

"- If being able to imagine your lips on mine is how I get myself to sleep every night then I will let my mind wander."

"Stop!" You threw the cloth into the bowl that held the water causing it to splash everywhere.

Isaac spun around, eyes burning with a mixture of determination, anger and want all focused solely on you. Your body tingled under the heady stare but this couldn't happen, nothing good ever comes of this. Shaking your head you gave him a pleading stare, "Isaac please, I can't do this, we can't do this. If our Master ever found out about our feelings he would separate us in an instant, either by sending one of us to another Master or by sending us to the underworld, neither of those options would be bearable to me."

"Our feelings?" You arched an eyebrow, your face portraying "are-you-kidding-me" but he ignored it, "You feel the same way?"

"Of course I do you idiot, why else would I be here cleaning your wounds? Why else would I be mad at you for taking the lashes? Why else would I be putting your life over my happiness? Because I feel about you more than I should. To be with you would make this horrible life we lead so much better but the risk of losing you is too great for me to take that chance. I won't lose you. You give me peace in this insane world and I can't lose that, this is the one thing I can be selfish about and I intend to be selfish! If there was a way for us to be together, I would do it in a hea-"

You were cut off, Isaac's lips on yours in a way that made it feel like you were the last drop of water on this Earth and he was a dying man. One hand was on the back of your neck anchoring your lips to his and his other was on your hip pulling your body flush against his naked chest, your own hands were clutching onto his biceps, nails digging into his muscle. His tongue was hot against yours, moving languidly against it so he could get to know the new territory he's never been able to explore before. Air was the last thing on your mind until your lungs hurt from lack of oxygen and when you finally separated from him Isaac didn't let you go far, resting his forehead on yours and his heavy panting wafting across your face.

"I hate you." Your eyes became glassy and your voice was rough from all the emotions running through your body.

Isaac only smiled as if he was high off a drug and he would say he was, he was high off you, "I know."

Your frown deepened, "I could've lived with my decision to just be your friend but then you had to kiss me like that and now I never want you to stop."

Isaac pulled away from you with enough room to rub his thumb against the skin between your furrowed brows as if he was trying to erase the lines, "I've been waiting to do that for the longest time. I knew kissing you would be addicting, I don't want to stop either."

"We have too and you know it."

"No we don't."

His voice was hard, making it sound like the end of the discussion but you couldn't let that happen, "Isaac, this isn't going to end happily for us. If Master ever finds out about us then we will never see each other again."

Isaac shook his head vehemently, gripping your face between his two large hands, "We can make this work, trust me to take care of you."

You stared into his blue eyes, wanting only to be able to drown in them…to drown in him forever, "I do trust you Isaac, more than I should, but I can't lose you."

"You won't." He kiss your forehead, grazing his lips at the skin there and whispered, "I swear you won't lose me." Isaac blazed a trail with his lips down past your temple to the apple of your cheek, "Trust I won't let anything happen to you." His mouth moved across the bridge of your nose to pepper little pecks on your other one, "Believe in me." Finally he made his way to your lips, his brushing lightly against your as he spoke, "Believe in us."

Your breath hitched in your throat and you didn't even hesitate with your answer, "I do."