Trigger warning ahead, please be cautious if you have any kind of sexual trauma. I wrote this with my own experience as a base, so it comes from a real place.

I'm not ready to let you go.

The air grows still, and the room quiet. Rin's wide blue eyes just continue to stare at Mikuo with confusion.

"...Mikuo?" she repeats. There's a soft rasp to her voice from the sickness, but she forces herself to speak clearly.

The flowers still linger near her face, but he's returning her gaze across the vibrant petals, piercing and unflinching. His fingers are taut against the plastic wrapping.

"May I come in?" he asks.

A sliver of something icy shreds down her spine, and she feels… wrong. His arrival is unannounced and random, but something about this feels calculated.

"Oh, um, this isn't a good time," she finally says, gripping the edge of the door. "I'm sick. You should probably go home."

The corner of his eye twitches, and he lets out a warbling sigh.

"I brought you flowers," he says, glossing over her comment and extending the flowers toward her so that she has to lean away to avoid them. "Yellows, oranges and reds. I figured they were your favorite."

She waves her hand in front of her face, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but… I don't much care for flowers. And, like I said, I'm feeling sick. I'm not really sure that will help with a stuffy nose. Could you come back another time or something?"

She knows she's being rather curt with him, but her patience runs thin and her headache is starting to act up again. That and this very strange exchange, it's not making her feel any better.

His eyes grow harder, and he takes a step into the door.

"Rin, please. Can we talk for a minute?"

"Mikuo, I've already said-"

She finds herself moving backward, unwittingly allowing him entrance to her home. He steps in, and before she can do anything, quietly closes the door behind him with a click. She frowns as he lowers the bouquet.

"You need to give me some of your time," he coaxes, more of a demand than a request. "I want you to hear what I have to say. You have to hear me out."

She crosses her arms, her chest tightening with uncertainty.

"I really don't." Her words are sharp, and she reaches for the door again. "Please leave."

His hand snakes out and seizes her wrist, and Rin sends a weird look his direction. His grip only tightens in response.

"Mikuo, let go."

His mouth sets into a thin line. "No."

That icy feeling returns, setting deep within her heart and leaving her core heavy. She tries to yank her hand out of his hold, but he stays fast.

"What do you mean, 'no'? I said let go. What is wrong with you?" she exclaims angrily. "I don't know what you want, but you need to leave right now."

Rin again pulls her arm toward herself, but instead of releasing her, he moves forward and invades her personal space, nearly chest to chest with her, looking down on her with unreadable eyes.

The bouquet flutters to the floor, the flowers shedding across the wood and becoming a crumpled mess as his other arm snakes around her waist, tugging her into his chest and forcing her closer still. A note of nausea bubbles in her throat.

"I want you," he breathes, his exhale fanning across her face. The sickly scent of mint invades her nostrils, making every inhale painful. "I need you to know that. I need you to know that you have me as an option."

She struggles, fighting to pull away. Alarm bells are going off in her head like crazy. "What are you talking about?!"

He's like an iron vise, refusing to let go.

"You don't need an android to show you love, Rin," he promises her, leaning down to slide his lips across her cheek, directly into her ear. "Let me do it. Give me one chance and I will show you everything you could ever want and more."

The ground feels like it's giving way all of a sudden, and her already weak body grows lightheaded. Yet she still registers when he starts to drive her backwards, forcing her to move with him.

"Stop… Stop it! Let me go! Mikuo, stop!"

Her voice is so hoarse, it hurts to cry out like this, but it's all she can do as he begins to kiss the side of her face, trailing down to her neck. She pushes at him, trying to loosen his hold or do anything to make him pause, but he continues.

"You crave touch, don't you?" he claims, and her legs knock against something— the side of the couch. "That's why you bought that fucking android. That's why you're lonely enough to need a robot. Why bother with something fake when you can have something real?"

"Len is real!" she shouts, shocking the both of them for a moment. "Whatever you think I need, you're wrong! I don't need you!"

"Yes you do!"

He shoves her backwards and she trips over her own feet, falling back against the couch cushions painfully. It knocks her thoughts around in her head and disorients her for a moment.

She can't get up before he's climbed on top of her. He pins her between his legs, looking disheveled with one side of his pressed shirt pulled from his waistline, both her wrists gripped tightly in one hand above her head, the other tracing the hem of her shirt. Her blood runs cold.

"You need me, Rin," he cries. "Because I need you. Because we need each other. This world is filled with lifeless androids, but we don't need them when we have what we desire right in front of us. I have you. I want you. Let me give you what you crave and you'll see the truth."

"Stop! Stop it!"

She wriggles wildly under him, trying to throw him off balance.

"Len!" she screams. "Len, help!"

"Shut up!"

Without missing a beat his lips come down on hers with an intense, violent desire. It makes her sick to her stomach, helpless, afraid.

Her fingers crawl under her shirt, and to her absolute horror he begins to travel upward toward her chest. She flails even more, whimpering against his mouth until he finally parts from her to speak, breathless.

"Don't you see it? Don't you feel it, Rin?" he softly whispers. "You want to know what it's like to be touched by a real person, right? Let me be with you. I'm in love with you. This is what real love can feel like. Like this."

On cue, his hand squeezes her breast, and she cries out, trying to nudge her knee upward enough to hit him where it hurts the most. He adjusts himself though, and ends up holding her even tighter to the couch.

"Why do you keep fighting me?! Can't you fucking understand?" he growls, pinching her wrists so hard between his fingers that she squeaks. "If you're with a real, living, breathing, feeling person, we can get rid of the androids. We won't have to live in a world full of fakes anymore."

Gripping the fabric of her shirt, he yanks it forward, pulling her off the couch with the force of it and tearing a huge hole right through the front of it, revealing her milky skin. Her face burns.

"What is wrong with you?! What are you doing to me?!" Rin shouts out. "I don't want this!"

Her heartbeat is erratic, like a bird trapped in a copper cage, and she sees no escape in sight. Her head is pounding, her figure can't keep holding up this struggle, and she can't stop staring at the look of resolve in Mikuo's eyes. He isn't backing down. He isn't going to let go here.

I'm not going to be able to run away from this. I'm stuck here. No one is coming to help me.

I can't do anything. I'm so useless. Why am I so helpless?

Why have I always been so helpless?

Seeing no end in sight, her body reacts on autopilot, and with one last ditch resolve, she crashes her mouth against Mikuo's, shocking him with her vigor. Though surprised, he moves with her, opening his mouth to hers and letting his tongue slip inside the wet confines.

This is my last chance. I can't give up. I have to do this.

It's all I have left.

Rin clamps her teeth down hard on his tongue, feeling blood gush from the punctures. He screeches against her mouth, and grips the back of her head with his free hand, yanking her away with such a rush of anger she gasps like a fish out of water, the taste of metal lingering in her mouth.

"You bitch! This could have been perfect, but you're ruining it!" He speaks with a lisp, but holds her head down against the cushion, moving to press his entire palm flat against her cheek, splayed enough she can't speak or turn, forcing her to look away from him and painfully shoving her further upon the cushion. "Give me a chance!"

"N-no…!" she barely manages.

He leans in to her chest, pressing fury filled kisses down her neck and over the gaping hole in her shirt, even daring to nip her in spots and cause her to cry out. Her face burns with embarrassment as he violates her skin, making her feel dirty and disgusting. She's never felt so weak. Even her best effort was met with unyielding resistance.

Len… please… where are you?

Please, please… help me!

The world is crumbling and she's terrified, unsure, and the feeling of being useless to help herself floods her entire sense of self. She screws her eyes shut, not wanting to see what happens next, not wanting to imprint the sight of those seasick eyes in her memory any longer.

Why? Why did this have to happen?

Somewhere in the background is a crash, something scattering across the floor.

"Agh!"

The weight above is suddenly gone, allowing her to breathe again, and Rin's eyes peek open in confusion.

Mikuo screeches in front of her, his hands reaching back behind his head, and to her utter shock Len stands behind him, one hand tangled in the tealet's hair and the other bending his arm backward at an unnatural angle. Agony crosses Mikuo's expression, whilst Len's is unbridled fury. Rin has never seen him with such a raw look of pure anger before, painfully realistic. Yet still, the relief that fills her body is immeasurable.

"What are you doing to Rin?"

Those words ring out over anything else, powerful and vicious, and there's something utterly unforgiving in the android's dark blue eyes.

"Let me fucking go!" Mikuo yells out, trying to loosen Len's hold on him, but Len slams his face down on the top of the coffee table. Rin lets out a yelp, gathering herself into a ball over the couch cushion and cradling her arms against her chest, unable to tear her eyes off what's unfolding.

"What were you doing?" Len asks again through grit teeth, leaning down with his hand flat down on Mikuo's head, keeping him uncomfortably tight against the wood. "I heard her screaming. You were hurting her, weren't you? Tell me!"

"Fuck you!" Mikuo spits in return, and Len spins him around so that the tealet meets the blond's eyes. Despite his nasty tone and demeanor, Mikuo still shows fear as Len closes the gap and picks him up by his collar.

With a heave, Len slams Mikuo down into the floor, the sound of cracking wood and bone meeting the surface resounds in the small room. Mikuo has no chance to escape before Len closes both his hands over his neck, squeezing and getting to his knees to prevent a struggle. The man begins to gasp, turning paler by the second.

Oh my god. Len is going to kill him. There's no remorse in his face, no concern, or a shred of doubt.

What do I do?

"How dare you touch her?" Len growls, his fingers gripping harder and beginning to crush against Mikuo's windpipe, eliciting harsh gasps and rattling sounds. "I told you to stay away. You have no right."

"L-Len," Rin barely coughs out, holding her knees to her chest and trembling. Her whole body is a ball of nerves. "Len, stop! You have to let go!"

Hearing her voice, he finally turns to look at her, and the brutality in his eyes fades away to a more somber ice blue. As if she was all he needed to encourage him, he lets go of her assaulter, and lifts himself off his knees. It takes seconds before Mikuo scrambles to his feet, eyes ablaze with a thousand emotions and face bright red as he struggles for air.

"You…!" he yells, before gripping the side of his hair. "I… I don't… This isn't how it was supposed to-…! Damn it!"

He dashes to the front door, throwing it open and trampling over the flowers he had brought her, leaving them mangled on the floor. He disappears through it and slams the door behind him, leaving the two blondes in silence.

The air, thick with tension, stretches on unbroken for a few minutes, only the sound of Rin's soft strained breaths daring to break it.

Her heart is going a thousand beats per second, adrenaline coursing through her veins. It feels like she's run miles and the headache she had before is now a hundred times worse than it was before Mikuo came in.

What just happened? It was so fast, and I…

I was almost…

"...Rin?"

Len's soft-spoken voice brings her attention to him, and she finds him standing still before her, looking down at her with a strange poker face. He scans her weak figure.

"Your shirt is… ripped," he says quietly.

Reflexively Rin reaches up, her fingers meeting the torn edges of the shirt, and then she fists it tight in her hand, unable to drag her eyes from the floor. Words refuse to come to her.

"...Are you hurt?"

She doesn't answer, only shaking her head and pushing herself to get to her feet. She can't bear to look anywhere near his face.

Making her way to the kitchen, she feels like she's running away, every step she takes feeling shaky and uneven, like she might just drop to the floor and black out on a whim. At this point, feeling her consciousness drift away might be a blessing.

My thoughts are all jumbled. I can't make heads or tails of what to do now.

The events that transpired leave her feeling like a different person. She can't focus on any one thing.

I can't believe what Mikuo tried to do. Why did he do it? What did he have to gain from it? I don't understand, and now I…

What am I supposed to say to Miku now? 'Your brother is a disgusting pervert and Len tried to kill him?' I don't know if I can look her in the face after that. Still, I have to talk to her. I have to tell Miku because she deserves to know. Doesn't she?

Is that the right response? Am I supposed to be feeling something else?

She looks for her phone, trying to see if she left it in the kitchen before everything that happened, unable to remember anything from the moments previous. She has to call Miku, tell her, and…

"Rin."

Len again.

Please just leave me alone.

"Rin," he urges again, and she places both hands down on the edge of the countertop, her lips thinning into a line and her eyes closing to avoid having to pretend anything.

"Are you angry with me?" he asks, hidden behind her. "I was… uncontrolled. I just wanted to… to save you. I apologize for stepping out of line, but…"

She can hear actual regret now. Not because of what he's done, but because of how it's affected her.

She's barely holding it together.

Forcing herself with all her willpower, Rin finally looks his direction, her hands trembling as she crosses her arms over her chest, hoping to hide the result of Mikuo's attack but failing miserably.

"I…" It's so hard to form anything coherent. "I'm not.. I couldn't be upset, Len, because you… I…'

Where are the words she's looking for?

Like a waterfall, tears begin to stream down her cheeks, unstoppable. It horrifies her, but the shock finally begins to wear off to become what it truly was underneath; trauma. Anger, and hatred, and sorrow for the dignity and sense of self she almost lost.

"You saved me," she chokes hard, planting her hands over her face to try and staunch the endless stream of tears, but the sobs escape her throat regardless. "Len, I… I was so scared… If you hadn't been there for me, it could have been so bad. I could have been…"

Her throat closes up on her, and Len's already there to sweep her into his arms, pressing her cries into the crook of his neck and cradling her comfortingly into his chest. She crumples, her legs giving way finally with no strength left to keep herself up, and he slides down with her to let her emote.

"I'm sorry," he whispers into her ear, his embrace tight and warm, a necessary reassurance. "I won't leave you again, I promise. I won't ever let anything like that happen to you again."

Rin can't answer, lost in her emotions, and he lets her do what she has to in order to process her pain, her anguish.

It seems like every time things are looking up and finally starting to brighten, something happens to tear everything down again. When am I going to be allowed to live my days in peace for as long as I have left?

Will Len always be around to save me? What if it happens again? Am I always going to need him to rescue me, or will there come a time where I'll be all alone again?

Len was here this time, but despite his promises, he may not be the next.

What will I do if I can't stop him next time?

Her thoughts dissolve into meaningless gibberish. All she can do for a long time is sit there in Len's arms, trying not to be sickened by the comforting touch and what it reminds her of. She was so lucky this time, but it just reminds her of what could happen in the future.

I don't want this to ever happen again.

The whole time, Len simply holds her close, not saying a word, and she finds the most assurance in that.

At least, right now, she can be safe. She doesn't have to be afraid now.

Yet still that sense of nauseating disgust lingers, and the filthy feeling stays with her long after Mikuo's gone.