Kill Me, Kiss Me

TWENTY SIX

(WARNING, reader discretion advised)

"WHAT do you think you were doing?" Keir caged Theo into the car.

Theo furrowed his brow, "I was doing what you asked me to, having fun."

"Having fun?" Keir laughed, stoking the leather of Theo's leash, "You play a real good hand of poker, that little boy fell straight into your trap."

The breath stuck in Theo's throat, and a flash of cold seized him by the scruff of his neck. Did he hear their conversation?  Leo's promise to him? Had there been a listening device hidden somewhere in his clothes? He couldn't tell at all. He'd been too distracted to check his clothes. How stupid.

Keir leant in, beautiful eyes floating closer and closer through the stuffy air until their noses almost touched point to point. The barest hairsbreadth of space separated their skin, but Keir's breath puffed over his cheek like a feather's touch. The electric tinge across the gap, his heart pounding in his ears, he would've preferred it if they touched. Anything would be better than this, this strangling wait, those inky pools drowning him down, down in their endless depth.

    "Don't even think of playing a hand over me, it'll only end in blood and ashes." Keir muttered, gaze deep and unblinking.

    Theo stayed silent, pressing his lips together and returning Keir's stare as best he could without looking away.

    Keir titled his head, the shadow of his long lashes painting a fluttering dark butterfly that tickled the very edge of Theo's heart. Once, twice, thrice, it danced, tender over Keir's pale skin, a phantom of delicacy drowned out by the apathy, the bitten back rage.

    "What do you think I should do with a dog who sniffs up other people's trouser legs?" He whispered, dragging a knuckle down Theo's cheek.

    The hot air rushed back between them again like a promise.

    Theo's eyes hardened, this answer he knew all too well, "You'd kill them and throw them away."

    The corner of Keir's mouth twitched, and his midnight gaze swept over Theo's face so harshly, the air fled from Theo's lungs.

    "You think you know me so well."

    The words danced gently, so gently into his ears, they almost faded into the stagnancy around them.

    Ding!

    Without any warning, Keir leaned back and clicked open the glovebox. Quicker than his eyes could follow, Keir grabbed the holster of a gleaming gun, releasing the safety and jammed the end against the centre of his forehead.

    "Come on, tell me to pull the trigger!" Keir's lips splitting into a twisted laugh.

    He flinched against the chill of death that crawled through his head, down his face. Start again, he might as well start again, again, and next time maybe he could find out exactly what Wilhelm Somerset wanted. Next time, he'll dig out this secret about Keir, he'll make Leo say it.

    Theo's fingers tightened around the edge of the leather seat, "Pull it! Pull the trigger!"

    A spark of blank confusion ricocheted across Keir's face so quick that Theo barely caught it, but fast after, true darkness descended over Keir's sharp features. He tipped the gun upwards, finger pulling back on the trigger.

    A deafening bang pulsed through Theo's ears, and a faint ringing wheezed through the thunderous aftermath. There was no bullet hole, no devastation, the car was as it had been. Keir tossed the gun onto the dashboard with a viscous clang, starting the engine and shooting out onto the road without reservation.