When I awoke, I was in my bed again. I lay still in the darkness for a moment, wondering how much of the previous day was real and how much was just a dream.

And which would I prefer? To have lived through yesterday, or to have woken alone again?

I felt something soft brush against my nose. I brushed it away with my hand and met with…fabric? I felt around my face, unable to make contact with the skin.

"Good, you're awake~"

It was Kabuto's voice, but it sounded strange. Dry, unused…inpatient. I groped at the fabric on my face, unable to find its edge.

"What's going on now?"

"I've been waiting for you to wake up. Drop your hand, you won't be able to remove that hood yourself."

"And why, pray tell, am I wearing a hood?"

"I wanted to see you."

I let my hand fall on the mattress beside me. By the feel of it, I could tell that this was definitely my own bed.

So at least I know where I am.

I waited, allowing him time to explain himself. He did not.

"But why the hood?"

"Things have…changed…since you've last laid eyes on me. I've changed."

"Okay…?"

"Just give me some time to work a few things out, I'll allow you to see me when I'm ready."

"When you're ready!?"

Anger flared up inside me, and I was unable to stop myself from shouting.

"You left me here alone for weeks! And now I can't even see you?"

Now that my eyes were adjusted to the darkness, I could see pinpricks of light shining through the hood. The fabric was too thick to see through, but I could see the shifting of the light as I sat up and turned my head around the room. It wasn't enough, I wasn't able to find him.

"Our most authentic meetings have always been in darkness, Melo. How is this any different?"

His voice came from close beside me. I reached for it, but felt only an instant of soft fabric against the very tips of my fingers. I immediately remembered the burgundy fabric I had seen hurrying down the hall the way before.

"We could continue talking about it, or…I could repay you. I do feel indebted to you, after you were so useful yesterday."

I sat up stiffly.

"What do you want from me?"

"So formal sounding. That's fair, I suppose. I had hoped for better, but…"

He sighed, then continued.

"If this upsets you, I can go. This isn't part of testing anymore."

I'm angry but…I don't want him to leave.

I heard him start to step away from me.

"Stay."

He returned, and placed his hand against my cheek. It felt cold through the thin fabric of the hood, nothing like the warm touch I had known before.

"Be still, Melo."

He wrapped my blanket around my shoulders, then pushed me onto my back. He tucked the blanket underneath me, pinning my arms to my sides. I tried to turn towards him, but I was unable to guess his location.

"Keep your arms where I've placed them. Comfortable?"

"Yes…"

"You sound so hesitant."

The memory of him lying in the dark next to me flashed into my mind. I felt my anger melt away as I remembered how he shook as he explained himself.

He panics when he feels constricted. He can't handle being held. Is this what it takes, for him to feel safe?

"It's fine, I'm just getting used to it."

I can handle this. Even if I can't see…or smell…or taste…or feel anything other than coolness and weight…

He shifted me around to rest my head on my pillow, then I saw a shadow move above me. His weight settled on the bed between my legs, the only exposed part of me. He trailed his hands over my pants, towards my hemline. He hooked one finger under my pants. I felt the smoothness of nitrile against my skin.

"Gloves?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

He grabbed the fabric and yanked it down. I lifted my hips to allow him to remove the garment.

"That's better…"

He ran his gloved hands over my skin. The chill of his skin was unnatural, freezing. Goosebumps raised along the path he took. He laughed darkly.

"Still so cute."

Since he can't see my face, I don't have to guard it.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes when he complimented me, letting his appreciation lift me towards that warm place it always brought me. His hands traced soft circles down my legs, towards where I was exposed.

"I can't see your blush, but I know it's there."

"Nuh-uh, I'm totally fine."

"You're a bad liar, Melo."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, I-ahh~"

He rolled his thumb quickly over my clit, rocking his bent knuckles back and forth against my entrance.

"You were saying? Something about how calm and collected you are, I presume?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I ah~!"

He laughed and pressed against me harder, sending an almost painful shock through me. He repeated his motion a few times, then removed his hand. I could tell by the way his arm rested against my leg that he was holding his fingers to his face.

"You're so wet already for me. But let me help."

He returned his fingers, wetted with his saliva, to press against me. His middle and ring fingers tapped against me, working their way inside. I spread my legs further apart, allowing an easier entrance.

"Needy little thing…"

He pressed them inside of me, then made a hook shape and started sliding them in and out of me. I felt myself start to move against his hand, trying to speed the motions. He obliged, moving his hand a little faster. I let out another soft "ah~~".

"Be patient. You'll get what you need."

He bent down over me, bracing his weight against the wall above my head. He lowered his face to mine, still working his hand in and out. I gasped against the hood. He pressed his lips to the fabric, just beside my mouth. I moved my head to catch his lips as well as I could. The fabric made the kiss feel rough, and kept me from tasting him the way that I craved. He shifted his weight around again, then removed his fingers from me. I felt something hard and thick press against me, wrapped in more nitrile.

"Is that your…"
"Shhh…."

He leaned against my lips as he pushed into me. I whimpered as he stretched me open, pressing me down into the mattress. When he had worked the head of his cock in, he leaned up and away from me. I felt him moving, and then fabric dropped onto me. The darkness was complete now.

His cloak?

It settled onto me, pressing the fabric of my hood against my face. The spot he had kissed me through was wet. I licked at it eagerly, trying to find a taste of him.

His taste, or his scent, or his skin…I need it. Just a little…please?

He gripped my legs tightly with his gloved hands and held them apart as he rocked into me. I couldn't feel his skin there, either. I started mirroring his movements, trying to match his tempo. He paused.

"None of that now. You lay back and take it."

Yes, sir.

I felt a shiver travel through my body, ending in where we joined. He must have noticed me clenching around him.

"You like it when I order you around?"

Yes.

"No."

He laughed, then continued in a taunting tone.

"You liar."

He pushed my legs further apart and started moving again.

"You don't get to move, you get to lay there while I do as I like with you."

I felt another involuntary shiver.

"See? Liar."

"Shut up."

He rubbed against that sweet spot inside me, and I moaned.

"You like that spot?"

I didn't answer. He pushed into it again.

"Answer me. Now."

"Yes…"

He started grinding against it, and I felt my breath speed up. As I began to breathe deeper, his scent reached me. It sank down from his cloak and worked its way through the hood, enveloping me in his essence.

He's so thick~ I've never been with a man who felt like this..

"Yes~!"

"That's what I thought."

I was glad for the multiple layers of fabric covering my reddened face. I heard him groan as he fucked into me. The sound made that familiar tightness start to form in my stomach. I started moving under him again, trying to draw more from him. This time, he didn't stop me. He began to lose his rhythm as he moved, his breathing growing more audible.

"Please don't stop~"

He groaned, missing a beat entirely as he readjusted over me.

So my voice has that effect, too.

I let myself be more audible for him, releasing another soft "ah~" every time he slammed into me and made contact with that spot.

"Melo, I'm…"

He's close, for me?

I tried to picture the way his face must look as he pounded into me, how it would look when he finally came. My own mouth hung open, gasping. I felt the tightness in me grow to unbearable levels. My body began to clench and unclench on its own.

"Fuck, Kabuto, you feel so good."

"Cum for me, Melo. I want to feel it."

I was undone by his command. My whole body stiffened and shook, and I felt him start to shudder against me. He pulsed inside me, still twitching, when we finished. I heard him slowly bring his breathing under control before he withdrew.

"Be still for a moment."

He pushed my legs down to the side, then grabbed his cloak and wrapped it back around himself. I heard him remove his condom and drop it into the trashcan by my bed. The blanket was unwrapped from around my shoulders and pushed onto the floor. He then laid beside me and pulled me onto his cloaked chest, wrapping his arms around me. I still couldn't feel his skin, but I could feel his weight, and that was enough.

"Do I still need the hood?"

"A little longer…"

A silent 'please' seemed to follow that response. I tucked my arms against myself and curled into his chest, resting peacefully. I was nearly asleep when he spoke again.

"You know Melo, you're not needed for testing anymore. You should really leave."

I was growing used to the chill of his skin, but the chill in his voice was entirely unexpected.

"When we part in a moment, I'll have my puppet escort you to the exit."

I felt my throat constrict.

Does he really think that I could go anywhere without him?

"No."

"Did you not understand me? You're free to go."

I pushed myself back against him. I reached up and pushed his arm tighter against me before returning my hand to its original spot in front of me.

"I'm not going."

"This place isn't safe for you."

"I don't care."

"I'm not safe for you."

"I don't care!"

He sighed heavily.

"I hurt people, Melo. You know that. That's why you were brought here in the first place."

"I know."

"I hurt…I hurt you."

"I know that, too."

"I'm not going to be able to stop hurting people for a while, maybe ever. That's not the life you deserve."

"I choose my own destiny. I'm staying."

He pressed his lips against the fabric covering the back of my head.

"If you stay now, there will be no going back."

"There's nowhere else for me to go, anyway."

And nowhere I'd rather be.

"I can help you get set up somewhere, I've made people disappear before. It's not hard."

"Don't send me away from you. Please don't bring this up again. I love you."

He was silent for a while.

"That can't be important to me now. My focus needs to be on my other experiments now. I don't have time for visits like these, really."

If an appeal to emotions won't get me anywhere, maybe I can help with his work?

"Speaking of your experiments, I haven't seen my children since they hatched yesterday. Where are my snakes? Something will need to help feed them, care for them…I could be of assistance."

His arms tightened around me, and I found it hard to breathe. I had to loosen them myself after a minute passed.

His voice was unsteady, shaking with uncertainty.

"You want…to help?"

"Please let me help you, sir. You need help."

And I need you.

He pressed his face against the back of my head. It sounded like he was crying.

"I wish…I should have come to see you sooner…"

"I'm here now."

"If you're really sure…"

"Yes."

"...I love you too, Melo. Stay as long as you like."