«on hold»
» Rie, your friend and a chocolatier, tells you that a creepy guy has been stalking her recently, so you, a famous writer with no inspiration lately, decide to take her on a trip where you end up discovering what your long time friend actu...
As I worried for the late notice to Lin and how they would be handling my sudden absence back in Chiaroscuro, Rie was happily chatting with the hotel staff that was dealing with our check-in.
"You know I had never heard of Aeclos until today, in the news they mentioned a man from there died, tortured to death, horrible really... Did you perhaps know him?" The concierge, an older man whom despite his stoic looks, seemed to be enjoying the frivolous chatter immensely.
"Oh my marbles, the city isn't as safe as it used to be, Marcus, we didn't get to see the news this morning... did they name the poor fellow?" Marcus, stopped typing on his thick keyboard and adjusted his half-moon reading glasses to look at Rie.
"Oh... I can't figure out the name... Kito? Hito? It was something like that... Old age really is taking its toll on me..." He laid his arm on top of the monitor, check-in forgotten. I sighed, leaning against the counter as the chat continued, there was no way we'd be getting this done anytime soon. The name Hito did ring a bell though... Oddly close to my neighbour's name. Surely that couldn't be it. Yeah, he was a creep but... Who would torture someone to death? And why?
"Oh! I know who he is now! He's Y/N's neighbour! Oh, what a small world." The attention turned to me, both looking at me with expectant eyes. "Were you close?"
"Uh... Not really no, he had recently moved there, never had the time to –" Apparently that was all they needed to continue with their own gossip. The hall had an open door to the large living room, all moss and forest green coloured, if I had caught it by the corner of my eye I'd confuse it with a tiny forest, it looked quite relaxing somehow. Homey even.
"He had been showing up more often at my shop," Rie continued, and I dozed out a bit more, staring at the carpet that looked like fresh grass with a new found interest for interior design, "a polite man..."
I heard the words chocolate and grandchildren as I moved closer to the door, wishing to see the entirety of the room. Eccentric but inviting. The perfect ratio of quirky and delicacy.
"But yeah, Aeclos is showing a lot today huh, we also have another guest from there." Someone else? With the way things are going I wouldn't put it behind me that it is someone known. There is no way this many coincidences can happen though... Aeclos is a decently sized city. Rie squealed, asking about the guest's identity.
My eyes landed on green hair, moss, golden tan skin and a pair of beige eyes behind thin round glasses. "Fuck me-" Recognition hit me like a truck.
"Oh, not even a hello first? Though I must say... gladly, Y/N." What was up with the insane number of coincidences, what kind of glitch in the matrix-
"Mr. Redthorne just as I was talking about you." His thin shiny lips stretched into his annoying smirk, Rune was such a pain in the ass-
"Wait a moment, you-" His left arm snaked to my waist and pulled me towards him, smashing our bodies together as his right hand came to tilt my chin up, smile never leaving his lips yet his eyes were telling me to shut the fuck up before I ruined his facade.
The fucker was using my fake name though. My fake name. The fake name used on my library's papers, Damien Redthorne. The audacity, the rudeness... His thumb trailed my bottom lip as he drew closer to my ear, "Let's be good shall we darling? Just because I'm in debt to you for now doesn't mean you get any say in what I do."
"Marcus, what were you saying about me, you sneaky old man?" Only his face turned to meet the concierge, arms still effectively trapping me in place.
"Was just mentioning that there was someone else from Aeclos staying here. How interesting that you all checked in today." Rie was gazing dreamingly at Rune, ah... that's how he gets them. Fake little snake.
"Before you say what a happy coincidence this is... I gotta say, it's no coincidence at all~ I came early to surprise my Y/N here." I rolled my eyes, stepped on his toes and grabbed his white hoodie.
"Such a lovely surprise, Damien. Please don't prolong it, me and Rie have a plan." My S/C hand patted his shoulder as a sweet smile filled my lips.
"Oh but he could stay! The more the merrier, I wouldn't mind at all." Fucking hell. My eyes went from orange to beige as I mentally begged Rune to say no to Rie's offer, hoping that he had mastered telepathy since the last time I had seen him.
"Of course I'll stay, thank you for the kind offer..." His grip loosened, he took a step back and turned his whole body to face the tan chocolatier. "Rie, right? I'm Damien, it's truly a pleasure... Y/N never allows me to meet the friends... what a shame, don't you think?" Rie's coral short bob dandled with her effusive nod.
"Maybe there's a reason for it, Damien." All that Marcus seemed to be lacking was the popcorn as he watched with amused eyes.
"Nonsense." Rune walked closer to the other two, patting Marcus as he continued, "Let's get you guys checked in, these are going to be the best holidays you've ever had."
Trouble, that's what Rune was spelling as he leaned over the counter, interested in the whole check in process on the computer screen. Rie rushed to me, face flushed, eyes sparkier than ever as she whispered "How come you never told me about that man? Damn you, writer, hogging all the good ones for yourself."
I sighed, seeing no way to escape the doom that these holidays were about to become. "He's not around much."
"How did you two meet?"
"It's a long story."
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> Author's Note: Guess who showed up? Rune boy that's right- (DELIGHTFULers who know, know). What do you think could happen next? The art belongs to (@ Nase_Nikyuu on Twitter) I used their OC creator in Picrew to create this wicked man.
