Holy buckets, it's been a while, eh? Welp, we are back with a spicy new chapter of everyone's favorite Outlast couple written by no one's favorite ginger!

Gonna be a lot more frequent with updates during the new year! 2020, baby. God, I'm gonna be 20?! Crazy! Anyway, enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a review to tell me what y'all think!

Thanks again,

~ Flannel

X X X

Blake waited to start his escape attempt when it was finally nighttime. Well, at least when the feeling in his gut told him it was nighttime came anyway. As quietly as he could, Blake maneuvered his chained arms around until he was able to get a good grip on the key and keep it steady as he unlocked the first chain cuff. Wasting no time he freed his other arm and stood up, his legs grateful to be able to be stretched, the feeling returning to his joints.

He carefully made his way up the stairs, praying that one didn't squeak or creak and give him away. Luckily the steps were quiet and he was out of the basement, eyes scanning his new surroundings as he saw he was in a dimly lit hallway. Several smaller hallways branched off, leading to other rooms in Val's house but Blake was only interested in finding the exit out of this nightmare. He tiptoed around the house, trying to find the front door before Val found him. After a few tense minutes of searching, he found the front door and nearly cried to happiness, he was free! Blake grasped the doorknob, turning it and pulling it. . .

Only for it to stay shut. Blake's heart racing, he pulled again harder this time. Didn't even budge. Blake cursed softly at his luck, of course, Val locked the door. He looked around, muttering to himself as he went back into the main hallway.

"Okay, no need to panic. The keys gotta be around here somewhere."

Blake quietly made his way through the hallway and it's smaller branched off corridors, checking every room he passed. Rummaging through desk drawers, looking under beds, and even digging through a small waste bin, Blake searched nearly every nook and cranny of Val's many rooms only to come up empty-handed each time. He was at the second to last room of the whole house and if the key wasn't in here, then he knew Val had it in her room. But he was going to check here, better safe than sorry. Blake pushed open the door, gritting his teeth as it creaked slightly.

He entered the room, seeing it was the smallest of the rooms in the house. The only furnishings in the small space were a wooden desk and chair in the corner, a lamp on the table was lit. He went over to the desk and started rummaging through its drawers. He stopped himself when he noticed a book laying open on the desk's surface, pencils and pens sprawled out on it and spilling onto the desk. Blake noticed right away that it was that sketchbook he had seen Val have at her table whenever she visited the bakery. Curiosity getting the best of him, Blake sat down and started thumbing through the book's pages. He frowned as he slowly flicked through the pages before his heart stopped as he realized what he was seeing. The book was filled with hundreds of pages of drawings. . .

Of him.

Every single picture was of him. Blake in his bakery uniform. Blake wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and his glasses. Blake and Val hugging, kissing. Blake chained up to a bed. Blake naked with Val on her knees and-

"You're not supposed to be in here."

Blake was pulled from his thoughts and eyes tore away from the book as he heard the whispery voice of the psychotic lover herself. He jumped up from the chair and whirled around like he had been shocked, eyes wide and heart pounding. Val was standing the doorway, wearing a nightgown. Her blue eyes were cloudy with sleep, yet there was that dangerous glint alongside it that terrified Blake. Val crept into the room, as Blake walked backward trying his hardest to distance himself from her until his back hit the wall and he found himself trapped between the wall and Val.

"Here you are, unchained and snooping at my pictures," Val chuckled, as she pressed her body against Blake. Her hands grabbed his shaking hands and she lifted them above the man's head, pinning him against the wall. Her head craned upwards and her lips grazed his ear as she whispered, "How very naughty of you, Blake."

"I-I'm sorry," Blake stuttered, terrified and figured he better started saying anything that might diffuse the potentially dangerous situation he was in, "I was. . .lonely. So when we kissed, I grabbed your key to free myself so I could. . .so I could. . ."

"So you could what?" Val lowered her face to his and pressed her against his, her nose poking Blake's own. Her eyes hungrily watched him as he lied, smiling wide as she eagerly waited for his answer.

"So I could. . .find you. But then I got lost trying to find your room and I stumbled into here," Blake tried to ignore his pounding heart and hoped Val didn't catch it either as he continued, "I saw the sketchbook and was curious, so I looked through it."

Val now seemed nervous as she muttered out, "And. . .what did you think of my work?"

"I think you're a fantastic artist, Val."

Val didn't answer right away, instead doing something that really surprised Blake. She let go of his arms and turned away. He could see her smile was gone and her cheeks were red. Blake reached out, touching her shoulder and she whipped around, hugging the man and nearly sending him to the ground with the amount of force she used. Val buried her face into his chest, and he could hear her muffled voice crack with emotion as she murmured softly.

"Thank you, Blake."

Val let go of him and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the room. Blake, however, stopped outside the room as fear clutched his chest as he briefly wondered if she was going to drag him back down to the dark and cold basement. But his fears were unwarranted as she instead entered a room across the hallway, beckoning with a wave of her hand for him to follow. He walked in and saw Val was in her bed, under the covers and waiting. She gave him a soft smile and patted the bed, signaling for him to come here. Blake was still very nervous and slightly terrified of Val, but he mustered up the courage to crawl into bed beside her. The two laid down together with Val snuggling up against Blake as he pulled her closer with his arm, once more the sound of silence was all that was heard from either one until Val whispered to him.

"Goodnight, Blake."

Blake didn't answer at first, too tired and scared to really form a word, let alone a full sentence. It wasn't until hours later, as he laid there wide awake while Val slept on that Blake whispered to the room and to himself alone.

"I love you, Val."