Upon the Gaze (Ghostface X Reader 18+)

CHAPTER 28 - The Law of Love Lifted

I stepped into the house quickly. Closing the door on the chilly breeze blowing outside.
"Welcome back!" Danny waved with a smile, sitting on the couch in the living room. The news was playing on the TV. I slowly walked over behind him. My focus was on the reports of a murder in the area.

"Brent Hopkins. A beloved officer of the Borose police department. Found dead on Sycamore road last night. Autopsies show he had close to thirty stab wounds, and was left on the side of the road. Three teenagers found the body-"

My mind hazed a bit. I zoned out on the sound of the female reporter talking. I turned slightly to view Danny. He had a slight smile on his face. One I might describe as content. He seemed pleased with himself.

"You did that. Didn't you, Danny...?" I spoke without giving it much thought. I continued to stare in his direction. His gaze didn't leave the TV, but his smirk grew wider, and in a playful tone he said, "maaaybe."
I didn't laugh, or smile at this. After some silence took over the room, he finally looked in my direction.
"What? What is it?" He asked me, seemingly confused and curious.
"Why did you kill that man?" I asked bluntly, some pain in my voice.
"(Y/n). You're kidding right?" Danny had a somewhat surprised expression, but it gradually contorted into a slightly devilish grin. "Sweetie, I'm a murderer. Remember? Besides, really it's thanks to you that I knew who was leading my case. This will keep them off my tail for a while until they find someone new to take old Hopkins position."
My face scrunched slightly in displeasure at his worlds. "I wouldn't have told you about him if I knew you were going to go after him." I retorted quietly.
He looked at me, the grin had faded. He rose up from the couch slowly, and something about his posture had a threatening vibe. He walked over to me, and stood looking down at me before leaning in close to my face. I tried to avert my gaze at first, but he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him directly.
"(Y/n), if I hadn't killed that man, they could have found us by now."
"Us..?" I questioned.
His smirk slightly returned.
"You're not exactly a saint yourself anymore, you know." He said darkly.
My eyes widened, remembering my wrong doings. I clenched my fists tightly.
"...my father wasn't a good man. He got what he deserved. But the man you killed...he was just doing his job. He was a good man, and people liked him." I explained.
"(Y/n), come on, you of all people should know this by now." He said. I felt somewhat confused, and I'm sure he could see that in my expression. He grabbed my face with both his hands, and said, "think about it. People probably thought your dad was a good man too, right? That he was just doing his job? But whatever he did to you, to make you do it, that wasn't all for nothing. You had motives. I was only doing what I had to. I was keeping us safe!" He smiled darkly down at me. I gently grabbed his wrists. I felt conflicted and confused.
"Danny...I dunno." He brought me into himself, kissing me deeply. We parted and he said, "come on (Y/n), don't do this to me. Stay by my side." He gently caressed my cheek with his thumb. The confliction grew within me. What was I supposed to think? Of course it was horrible that he killed the man, but Danny also said he was keeping us safe? However I knew the psychotic, manipulative habits of men and murderers alike. They would tell you anything to get you to agree, to make you feel as though you could trust them. But this wasn't just anybody telling me this...
"Danny." I began, "what are we?" The moment seemed to pause in silence. He stared at me for a moment, then down to the floor before he spoke in return.
"What do you want us to be?" He asked. It was my turn to go silent. What did I want us to be? Did I want to know he cared for me? Did I want to know if he loved me? Even if he said something of the like to me, would I even really believe him? He already told me 'I loves yous' weren't allowed. I bit my lip. It wasn't as though titles mattered. We were never seen out together. I couldn't talk about him to anyone. It was truly a forbidden relationship. I suppose my pause was too long, as he leaned in to kiss me once more, this time biting my lip. I gasped slightly in surprise and slight pain. He withdrew, then whispered,
"what do you want, (Y/n)? Do you want me to make you mine? Do you want this to be permanent?"
Permanent? How so I wondered. What could be more permanent than the situation we were already in? I honestly never thought of pushing away, but more so him just deciding to leave eventually. His tone began to shift, as he suddenly backed me into the wall and lifted my arms above my head. His grip was tight on my wrists.
"Do you want me to hold you down, and do what I please? Do you want me to whisper sweet nothings into your ear, tell you you're beautiful? Do you want me to have you every night? To wake up to me every morning? ...Could you honestly fall for a murderer? And are you sure you really want a murderer in your house forever? Can you really trust me? Could you ever really love me?"
I stared into his eyes. It was hard to know what to say. "Danny...I don't know exactly. I just know I don't want you to go." His expression softened, his grip loosened, letting my arms fall down. He pulled away from me slightly, but I felt the need for his closeness. I grabbed onto his coat, and clung to him, keeping close to his body. He seemed surprised at first, but brought his arms around me, one of his hands holding the back of my head.
"You already know somewhat about what I've been feeling, I know you do, but I have no idea how you really feel about me. It's confusing." I explained. "I want to trust you, and look passed what you do, but it's hard. How can I just ignore you hurting innocent people?" I tried to keep myself from becoming emotional.
"But this is just what I am." Danny said.
I pulled back slightly to look at him.
"I know..." I said softly, trying not to cry.
"It hurts being in love with a man who kills." His eyes widened at my comment, and he gripped me slightly tighter.
"Do you really mean that...?" He asked me.
"What?" I said, wiping the forming tears from my eyes. "Love me?" He said.
I stopped for a moment, mentally cursing myself for letting it slip again.
"I'm sorry. Just forget it-"
"No, tell me. Do you mean that?" He asked more persistently. "You said...I couldn't say these things." I told him. His grip loosened, but his hands raised to my arms and softly caressed them with his thumbs before he leaned down, and pressed his face close to mine. "Tell me." He said.
Tears pricked at my eyes as anxiety swelled within me. I shook slightly from nervousness. Why was it so easy to say when I let it slip, but not when I was focused on saying it?
"I love you, Danny." I admitted softly. He immediately pressed his lips to mine, kissing me passionately for what felt like several minutes. Gradually he guided me to the couch and we sat clumsily. He pulled away again slightly.
"Say it. Tell me again." He instructed.
"Danny...I love you. I love you." I whispered shakily as his hands began to trail up under my shirt, and he kissed my neck.
"More. Say it more." I repeated the phrase like a three word prayer.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

That was it. I knew my fate was sealed. He caressed, kissed, licked and fingered me on the couch, all the while demanding I continue to chant those words. They grew sloppier in statement as his attention continued. Finally things settled after I let myself come to his hand again. He licked his fingers clean and curled up beside me on the couch, pulling me into him.
"You belong to me." He whispered into my ear. "You can't leave me then." I whispered back. He chuckled slightly and responded with, "wouldn't dream of it." He kissed my cheek and we readjusted into a spooning position. I dozed off listening to the droning of the television and Danny's breath gently flowing down my neck from behind.