The Arrangement

Luis gave a long, relieved exhale. The madness completely uncoiled now, it's grip on him released. "Hit you?" He wondered out loud, as his mind returned to some sort of normality. "I'm not going to hit you... I wouldn't dream of it." He said remorsefully, his tone of confidence degrading into something less steady, and much less loud. "You should have more confidence Raya. You're better than you give yourself credit for..." His eyes wondered in a moments thought. "If I ever hit you Raya-... Just make sure Lord Death, or one of the teachers knows about it..."

Raya sniffled as tears streaked down her cheeks, and she wiped her eyes. "You looked like you were about to," she whispered, her hands finding their way over to her chest. Her heart felt... broken. It was really hurting. "I wouldn't tell anyone if you hit me, because if you tell on people and they hear about it, then they'll hit you harder next time," she mumbled, taking a step back from him. "And... and besides... you probably won't hit me," she murmured shakily. "You don't hate me, do you?"

Luis gave a light smile. It felt odd to have someone that genuinely cared about him... Or maybe it was just that she sought emotional validation. Proving to herself that she wasn't worthless. Was that?... Self gratifying crap? Luis shook his head. He wasn't fit to be this girls partner. She deserved someone with more control than him. "I'm never gonna hit Raya..." He began a half hearted chuckle, but it couldn't even live up to that. "I couldn't hate you if I wanted to."

Raya blushed just a bit when he told her he couldn't hate her even if he wanted to - that meant he liked her at the least. She suspected he loved her, too, but wasn't sure how to find out. She stayed still for a moment or two, shifting on her feet before she reached over to take one of his calloused hands in her own soft, small one. "I love you," she said finally. "I would still love you if you did lose control and hit me." Then she fell silent for several moments, looking down with a heated blush on her cheeks. "Do... do you love me, too?"

Luis' mind froze a bit at the question. He had never been asked that. ". . ." At least, not that he could remember. How outrageous. He wasn't sure he had enough grasp on the word. There was a long silence, he would use to play with the girls hand within his own, rubbing his thumb up, and down it. If it meant someone he would forsake everything for then-... ". . . Yeah kid. Yeah, I guess I do."

Raya just stood there, smiling as she watched their hands. She would take her thumb and play around with his as well, until he spoke. Then she looked up at him, blue eyes round. She smiled a bit and squeezed his hand a bit. She opened her mouth to speak, but then it was her turn to draw a blank on what to say. She kissed the palm of his hand very lightly before pulling away with a smile. "You're the first person I've ever loved, Luis, and the first person who's ever loved me, too. Thank you," she said in a quiet voice.

Luis pulled Raya into a hug, being unsure of what else he could actually say. In his mind, this girl had made a mistake in choosing him. There was no way he would pass up the opportunity now though. As long as this girl was everything she seemed to be, and not like the witch in his past, this would be the first real relationship he had ever had... Whatever the relationship was. While he had never felt this light, he had also found that he felt... vulnerable.

Raya's eyes widened when he hugged her, and she slowly wrapped her arms around him as well. She closed her eyes and buried her face into his shoulder. The twelve year old looked up at him with round blue eyes, hiding her mouth and nose in the fabric of his shirt to hopefully cover the small blush that was spreading over her cheeks. She couldn't help it - she was overjoyed that he loved her and now that he was hugging her. It wasn't like she had a real crush on him or anything - she was far too young for that - but she did feel something for him. Maybe it was that he reminded her of her father, or that he was so nice, but honestly she wasn't sure. She pulled away to kiss his cheek lightly and smile up at him. "What's wrong?" she asked, tilting her head to the side when she saw something akin to uncertainty in his eyes.

Luis froze for a moment. This girl was getting to know him too well if she could read his discomfort like that. What WAS wrong? He had to wonder a moment before the answer came to him. "Yeah. I'm just adjusting I think." He answered in a soft but plain voice. "That's probably it." He reassured himself out loud. With his thoughts clearing, a guilt set in from what he had done, and then more from what he could have done. "I'm sorry about that." He said referring to the event that brought them here. "I don't know what happened to me just then."

Raya blinked slowly at him and tilted her head to the side. "Why are you apologizing? That could've just as easily happened to me and I could've tried to hit you instead. I'm fine, so you don't need to worry about it," she assured him, still holding his hand. "Let's go to bed, okay? It's late, and I'm tired. I don't want you to worry any more about it, okay? It's nothing, and I don't think it'll happen again," she said, tugging his hand so that he would follow her inside, hesitating before letting go of him and shifting a bit, glancing at her bedroom and then to his. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

Luis thought about it for a bit. In a way he wanted to say yes. In spite of all the childish feelings it might imply, Luis did want Raya to sleep in his room. That way he would know she was safe. An old habit was rearing it's head though. He had to take care of himself. He couldn't forget how to bury his emotions. For all he knew, it was Raya eroding his mental shell that brought whatever he had felt to surface. He wouldn't let it happen again. "No, I'll be fine Raya." He said standing back to his feet, and re-entering the building. "Sleep would be pretty nice though."

Raya looked a bit crestfallen, but nodded anyway and went to go brush her teeth before she got her pajamas on and moved to get in her own bed. She was disappointed that Luis didn't want her to stay with him, but in a way, she understood. He was very independent, and she didn't want to smother him. Still, she hoped that she wouldn't have any nightmares. It seemed fairly likely, as she had had a pretty traumatic experience that would most likely haunt her dreams. It was just a scary prospect, that Luis almost hurt her.

Raya fell asleep quickly, her eyes closed and lips parted. Her dreams were nice at first - she and Luis were going to get some ice cream, and she got her favorite type. As in most of her dreams, Luis was an almost princely figure, and at least ten times more handsome than he was in real life.

She and Luis were going to get ice cream, and he bought her a cake batter on a waffle cone. She sat down at one of the outside tables and enjoyed the cool, sweet food. She wasn't surprised when dream-Luis walked over to bend down in front of her and kiss her cheek, and instead of blushing or anything, she held a queenly manner and lifted her nose a bit in an almost snooty way.

"Sir Luis, fetch me a napkin, please."

Now, in most of her dreams about Luis, he would've gone right away to get her a napkin. But not this one. Instead of doing as he was asked, he took her wrists. Expecting another dream kiss, she looked at him. She did not expect his eyes to be blazing red instead of their normal color. Her own blue eyes widened and she tried to pull away, but his bone-crushing grip on her wrist kept her rooted to the spot. Tears sprung into her eyes as he slapped her across the face and pushed her off the table and onto the concrete. The dream world had taken on a reddish tint to everything, and the darkness of the nightmare scared her to death. She cried out as Luis started snarling out something animalistic and hitting her over and over again, before he took a knife and started to cut across her stomach, right over where the scar was...

In real life, she was screaming and thrashing in her bed, sweat drenching her small body as another cry ripped itself from her raw throat. Her skin was pale, her blood running cold but her external temperature way too hot from the exertion. She wasn't screaming words, just purely shrieks of terror and pain as the covers and sheets engulfed her, tangling her in a suffocating web that she couldn't get out of.

Luis was barely asleep when he was forced back into awareness by the blood curdling screams that polluted the house. Firing from the bed, he rushed into Raya's room with a bladed hand at the ready. "Raya!?" He called, to see her squirming beneath her sheets. Morphing his blade back into a hand, he rushes to uncover the girl. "Raya, you're alright! It's just a dream!" He cautioned her, trying to stop her tossing, and turning.

Raya jerked awake when the hot, stifling covers were removed from her body and the sweat covering her body chilled her. She gasped roughly, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sat up, her blue eyes round and terrified. She hiccupped and covered her mouth with one hand, then threw up all over the bed and herself. She choked a few times, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to calm herself down. The sound of his voice was scary, but thankfully he had a different scent and looked quite different than he did in her dreams. Her vision still blurred by tears, she looked up at him, still looking panicked.

Luis' calm expression didn't change with Raya's accident. He simply moved a hand to rub her back softly. "You're okay now. Let it out..." He spoke in a still softer tone. Despite the filth, he pulled Raya into another hug. "We'll get you cleaned up, and in new sheets." He spoke, and shortly after broke the hug, and headed to run her a warm bath.

Raya shivered a bit at her rapidly cooling body, though she did relax just slightly when he rubbed her back and even more so when he hugged her. She sniffled, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment before he pulled away from her. She looked a bit scared again and got to her feet, her thin legs shaking as she followed him to the bathroom, not wanting to be by herself in the dark. "I'm sorry," she croaked, coughing when her raw throat made itself known.

Luis smirked to himself as the girl followed him, but quickly returned to the serious expression he was so known for. "You got nothin' to be apologizing for. You got no control over that sorta thing." He said in a reassuring tone, and turned the knobs of the bath to begin filling it with the comfortably warm liquid. "Now relax." He added, moving to get the girl a change of clothes, and one for himself as well.

Raya nodded and looked at the water as it filled the tub. She watched him leave and started to wrestle her dirty clothes off, making a face at the gross bile. She waited for the water to get deep enough and then got in, hugging her knees to her chest. She was shaking, and she had bruises growing on her pale skin where she'd hurt herself when she was thrashing around. She was clearly uncomfortable, gritting her teeth and whimpering quietly as she waited on him to get back. In her mind, she had still done something worthy of punishment or reprimand, and she didn't know how to handle this. He was being so nice to her, which she hadn't expected at all.

Upon returning, Luis placed the fresh clothes on the sink for her, paying careful mind that he didn't look at her. After taking care of the dirty clothes, he returned to sit in the floor, just outside of the bathroom door. He knew that the girl didn't want to be alone right now. He wasn't sure that he could blame her either. He wanted to say something clever, and comforting, but that just wasn't the kind of person he was. He had no idea what he could do. That is, other than simply being there, which he hoped would be enough for now.

Raya looked over as he left the room, her blue eyes round. "W-wait, stay here," she pleaded, trying to lean over the bathtub rim. "I don't want to be by myself." Then it occurred to her that he might be grossed out by her, and she sank in the water a bit. "U-um... can you at least talk? Or sing?" she asked, sniffling as she picked up the shampoo to wash her tangled white hair with. She glanced over at the door again, still shaking a bit as she rested in the water, her body starting to get sore from the exertion of the nightmare.

Luis extended a hand from the door-way. "I'm right here kid. You aren't alone." He assured, his arm dropping back to his side at the end of the sentence. He shifted a bit at the girls request. "Yeah, talkin's just fine by me... Singing though." He trailed off, looking at his feet for a moment. "Nah, I never was much of a singer. might hurt ya if I tried."

"That's okay. I wouldn't mind if it did," she assured him. Raya rinsed her hair out and then quickly washed the rest of her before getting out and putting on her fresh clothes, then ran out of the bathroom with her long white hair still dripping wet. She hurried over to bury her face in his chest shakily, needing to be held very desperately. She was shivering, not only from the cold but because she was still scared. "Do you need a bath, too?" she asked, sounding a bit worried.

Luis was caught off guard by the hug. He had felt some sort of animosity from her earlier, but he was obviously wrong. "Nah. I didn't really get any on me, so I just changed clothes." He spoke, catching some of her wet hair in his hand. "In a hurry?" He said, as he lead her to a towel, and began to finish the job of drying off for her. "Maybe sleeping alone was a bad idea tonight. We've had an eventful week." He explained in a monotone, still kneeling in front of her.

Raya sniffled and nodded, letting him dry her hair. "I was so scared," she mumbled, putting her hands on her lower stomach, where the scar was. "It seemed so real. They always do," she mumbled, crouching down so that he could get all of her head. She glanced up at him with round blue eyes. "You were in my dream," she informed him, pulling her pajama shirt a bit in anxiety. "You hurt me in my dream. It was horrible," she whispered, standing up so that his head was still lower than hers. She planted a kiss on top of his head. "But I don't think you'd really do that to me." She smiled a bit. "I trust you."

Luis' face morphed into one of extreme worry. That dream could only mean that some part of her feared him. Without a warning to either of them, his subconscious pulled Raya into a firm hug. He had to reassure her, and maybe even himself of his intentions. Whatever happened today must NEVER happen again. It was comforting though. Knowing that someone regarded him, as... Well anything. The concept was beautiful to him now. His fear felt far away.

Raya looked a bit surprised when he hugged her tight. It only took a few seconds for her to relax and hug him back, her face buried in his neck. Her little hands rubbed his back gently and she pulled her head away just a bit to touch her nose to his. "I love you," she told him gently, her big blue eyes round as she watched him. "Don't worry, please. It was just a dream, and it won't happen, because you love me and I love you and you don't hurt people you love," she said with a sweet little smile.

Luis gritted his teeth, trying to decide what to do with that sort of feeling. Instead of saying anything in direct response, he stood, and began a walk outside of the bathroom. "So, we can get you something to eat, or just go to bed." He spoke plainly, choosing to ignore the feeling for now. "I can imagine you're pretty hungry after that."

(( What feeling? ))

Raya looked a bit disappointed when he got up and left her, and she shivered once her warm, protective shield was taken away. She walked after him and looked thoughtful before she nodded a bit. "I am hungry," she admitted quietly, walking to the kitchen to go get herself something to eat. She settled on a bowl of soup and warmed it up, heading over to sit at the table to wait on it. "Is something wrong?" she asked Luis, blue eyes concerned.

((I'll keep you guessing >w> ))

Luis took a seat across from Raya. He wanted to just lay down again, but she apparently still didn't want to be alone. "Just a little tired I guess." He said, only half lying. His mind continued to wonder back to what was happening. In a way it made him just a little confused. Why would this girl pick him? It had to be more than the way her dad looked.