Lyn leaned against the door and closed her eyes. After taking a few seconds to calm herself down, she gave Cydney a weak smile.

"It's alright now, Cinna, don't worry. No more questions for you, so it won't hurt anymore." She glided her hand through Cydney's hair. "We'll just wait in here until the truth serum is out of your system, and then we'll start over, okay?"

Cydney looked at the door with a curious expression and a knowing smile. "No, it's alright, Lyn. Is there... a commission for me, or something? Are you guys supposed to be questioning me about Blood Magic, and if I'm a Blood Magic user?"

Just hearing about the commission made Lyn's heart clench in agony. "It's a bullshit commission, don't worry about it. I never believed in it anyway. I'm- I'm just going to report to Brendan that you're... that you're not, and be done with it."

"You shouldn't lie to them, Lyn. I... I have done Blood Magic."

Cydney lowered her gaze, but the fear in her eyes was quickly replaced with confusion when Lyn squeezed her cheeks.

"See? I was right. The truth serum is faulty. You're lying right now and you're completely fine."

"Lyn, I'm not..." Cydney let out a soft, exasperated chuckle. "Listen to me, Lyn, I've... I've done Blood Magic before, a- a long time ago. I didn't know what I was doing but I did it, accidentally. I- I would never do it again, but they're right, I've... really done it."

Lyn was unfazed by the confession. "My Cinnamon Pie, lying to me again. It's okay, I know this faulty truth serum is forcing you to lie about everything. Don't worry, Cinna, I won't believe a single word."

"Lyn, come on..." Cydney sighed in frustration. Then, her eyes lit up. Looking up at Lyn with the utmost sincerity, she said, "I love you, Lyn."

The words were uttered in such a sudden, matter-of-fact manner that they knocked out all the air from Lyn's lungs. It took a few seconds before she remembered how to breathe again, and then she just laughed nervously.

"It's- It's okay, Cinna, I know that must- must be a lie too, and- and I'm fine with it, really. You know I'll still love you even if you don't love me back—"

"Lyn, I love you," Cydney repeated calmly. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me since I came to this world."

Lyn's eyes fluttered. "S- See? Now, that's a blatant lie. What about your parents? Your friends, your boyfriend, your brother? How can I be the best thing in this world?" She shook her head. "Truth serum, my ass."

Cydney burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at, Cinna? This is serious stuff! The QA fucking gave me a faulty truth serum and was going to make me ask you all kinds of fucked up questions! I'm pissed. I'm going to find Brendan tomorrow and give him a piece of—"

Lyn was cut off when Cydney yanked her on the collar and planted a kiss on her lips.

Her body froze as though she had been struck by her lightning, while her heart thrashed against her chest. Ever since that fateful day when she had first mistakenly kissed Cydney, she had never dared to kiss her again. But never in a million years would she have expected Cydney to initiate a kiss, especially at a time like this. When the two parted, she stared at the petite woman, mouth agape and struggling to form words.

"C- Cinna...?" she managed; her voice came out like a meek whimper.

Cydney tugged on Lyn's shirt and tip-toed as high as she could, such that her lips were only an inch away from Lyn's.

"Now, your turn. I want you to kiss me, Lyn," she said, with a small smirk and an expression that seemed to say, "I dare you to call that a lie."

Lyn gulped. Her heart was beating so fast that she could barely hear herself speak. "I- I know that that's a lie. I'm... I'm not falling for that."

Wrapping her arms around Lyn's neck, Cydney pulled Lyn even closer. Their lips were a hair apart now.

"Kiss. Me," Cydney challenged again, her warm breath sending shivers down Lyn's spine.

And this time, Lyn lost the challenge.

Her knees buckled and she leaned into Cydney for another kiss. It started soft and gentle, but with Cydney tugging on her neck and egging her on, it slowly became more passionate and ferocious. Soon, they staggered onto the bed, and Lyn found herself pinning Cydney down and ravaging her mouth, like a starved puppy who finally got the treat she had been waiting for.

Her hands slipped under Cydney's shirt, but she quickly pulled them away. The roughness of the scars pricked her fingers, and regret washed over her once again.

"S- Sorry, Cinna," she said in between gasps. "I- I won't do it again, I promise."

Cydney was also panting heavily, but she grabbed Lyn's hand. "No, no, it's fine."

With a reassuring smile, she took off her shirt and tossed it to the side.

Lyn stared at Cydney's bare torso in both awe and anguish. She finally got to take a proper look at the absurd amount of scars on the otherwise smooth and beautiful body—except for the recent scar on Cydney's shoulder, the rest of them were old scars that appeared to be inflicted deliberately, with each stroke slashed in a similar direction and force. Some were much older and faded than others.

Tracing the scars with a trembling finger, Lyn whispered, "Who did this to you?"

Cydney's smile was cheerless and wistful. "Isn't it so ugly?"

"See? Lies again," Lyn chided. "You are the most beautiful person in the whole world."

She wrapped her arms around Cydney's waist and proceeded to give every single scar a light kiss. The never-ending scars made the process feel like an eternity. When she was finally done, she let out a long, shaky sigh.

"Oh, my poor Cinnamon... How many scars are there?"

"Two hundred and forty-four. There's more at the back."

Lyn was not expecting to hear an exact number. "You... counted?"

"I counted, yeah."

"I will kill the person who did this to you."

There was a small pause before Cydney said with a laugh, "I don't know, I don't think you're able to."

"Another lie. I can't believe you, Cinnamon Cake."

Cydney laughed again as she pulled Lyn in to continue where they left off. After a while, Lyn's clothes came off as well, and the two of them caressed and massaged each other's body as they kissed—fiercely, intensely, passionately.

When they broke off, Lyn moved downwards, kissing and nibbling on Cydney's neck, drawing sharp gasps and soft moans from the petite woman.

"Lyn... I... I'll miss you..."

I'll miss you?

Lyn's mind went blank. Desperation hit her, and she went on a rampage—kissing, touching, kneading, tasting, everywhere. She had never been more determined to memorize every scar and every bump on Cydney's body, to make her call out her name as much as possible, to watch her wriggle and writhe under her, to let her utterly destroy the bedsheet, the pillow, the bedposts...

And the more Cydney screamed, the crazier—and more desperate—Lyn got.

When they both slumped onto the bed in exhaustion, Lyn locked Cydney in a tight embrace while planting kisses on her hair. She tried to stop herself from falling asleep, as she somehow knew that if she were to, Cydney would disappear.

But alas, Lyn did fall asleep eventually. It was the break of dawn when she next opened her eyes, naked and alone on the bed.

Her heart sank into an abyss. She had been right: Cydney did disappear.

She yanked up her bedsheet and wrapped herself in it. It smelled like Cinna.

Taking a deep breath, she allowed memories from last night to flood into her: Cydney's soft, supple body; her breathy voice as she gasped for air; her large round eyes shimmering in the moonlight; her long, silky hair draped across the bed; her taste, sweeter than any cinnamon pie Lyn had ever eaten...

And she was gone.

Lyn closed her eyes and buried her head in her pillow. And then, for the first time in years, she cried.

ϟ☁ϟ☁ϟ

The door creaked open as Lyn trudged out of the room. She headed straight towards the coffee maker to pour herself a fresh cup of coffee.

Irene, Millie, and Raph were lying on top of one another on the couch. They must have fallen asleep while waiting for Lyn.

Irene was the first to wake.

"Lyn?" she croaked, heaving herself up.

Millie and Raph opened their eyes as well, scowling at the noise of grinding coffee beans. The trio looked at one another, and then at Lyn, and then all around the room.

"Where's Cyd?" Millie asked.

Lyn stared blankly at her cup. "I don't know."

Irene frowned as she stood up. "What do you mean, you don't know? She was with you! Fucking screaming your name all night!"

"I don't know. She's gone now."

"What do you mean, she's gone? Where did she go?"

"I don't know."

Irene stomped towards Lyn, glaring daggers. "Lyn, we have a commission from the QA! The Quester's Association, Lyn! We're supposed to ask her questions and keep her here! Where is she?"

Lyn did not reply. She merely lifted her cup and sipped her freshly-made coffee.

"D- Did you let her go?" Raph probed. He was scanning the apartment as if Cydney was going to appear out of thin air at any moment.

"Let her go? Look," Irene continued, "even if she's not a Blood Magic user, she still needs to go to court! You can't just let her go like that! We still need to ask her the rest of the questions that Brendan wanted—"

"She admitted," Lyn said, as nonchalantly as she could manage. "She admitted that she did Blood Magic."

Silence ensued. Lyn focused on finishing her coffee as the other three gawked at her.

"No... No way..." Millie was the first to break the silence. "C- Cyd really is..."

She stumbled backward and was about to collapse on the ground when a shell-shocked Raph managed to hold onto her.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Irene shook her head, her face contorting with confusion. "I don't get it. She admitted that to you, and then you let her go? Why the fuck would you do that?"

Lyn took another sip of her coffee. "I don't know."

"You don't- I... What the fuck..." Irene tugged at her dreadlocks. "This is bad, Lyn, this is really, really bad, you know that? It's Blood Magic, and the QA. Why would you just let her leave? I know you love her but, this is... this is the highest level of crime! How the hell would you... What are you going to... How are you going to explain this..."

Letting out a long sigh, Lyn finally let her sadness sleep into her voice. "I don't know," she muttered.

There was a long pause before Irene exploded into a frenzy. "Lyn, you fucking idiot!" she screamed, whacking Lyn on the shoulder with every word. "You stupid, dumbass, biggest fucking idiot in the world!"

Lyn did not flinch, but Irene broke into tears by the end of it. Slumping onto the table, the black woman sobbed, "Why would you do that... What is going to happen to you now, you stupid idiot..."

Millie was also crying into Raph's arms. Once again, Lyn found herself stuck in the middle of a cry fest.

"Stop crying, you guys," Lyn said exasperatedly.

"It's all my fault," Irene mumbled, her head buried into her arms. "I shouldn't have complained to you back then, we shouldn't have left the guild, you shouldn't have broken up with Emily, we shouldn't have created this team, we shouldn't have gotten involved with her..."

Lyn chuckled. "What the hell are you talking about, silly? How is any of this your fault?" Placing her empty cup in the sink, she gave everyone a reassuring grin. "Don't worry, you guys. I'm going to find Brendan now to take care of this. Meanwhile, take care of the apartment for me, alright?"

And with that, Lyn left the apartment and did not return.