A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

He pushed up his sunglasses with the back of his right wrist and set down a piece of Haley into the storage. His partner's eyes glanced to the deceased girl momentarily before they landed back on him. The creature's smirk only widened as she grew closer. "You've finally come to see me work. That's unusual, (f/n). Has Haley's death given you a change of heart?"

The creature faced her fully. His right hand rested on the storage unit lid. "Or, should I close this?" He didn't receive an answer. Rather, she stood before him and locked her eyes with his. Not understanding what she wanted, he closed the lid out of courtesy and crossed his arms. "When I heard you move around, I thought that for a moment you would try to escape."

"That would be stupid." Her tone was harsh and unforgiving. It caught the creature off guard, and his smirk faltered a bit. "I did consider it, though, but I realized that it would be foolish. Unlike Haley, I'm not about to rush into more punishment."

"Then, did you come out here to tell me your plan?" He tried to analyze her gaze, but it was unreadable. Her (e/c) orbs were lit with fire, yet frozen over with some emotion that was being hidden by the flames.

No verbal answer greeted him. Instead, she tugged on his hoodie. Puzzled, he doubted that she wanted to hug or kiss him, though; that would've been immensely pleasant. "What is it, my little helper?" She pulled on the fabric again. Maybe, she was initiating her plan to kill him, but the conditions were severely against her.

Sighing, he leaned down to her. Her lips were really close. Perhaps, she was going to kiss him. Her warm breath touched his face, and it caused him to smirk again. The smell of human food, though, wasn't too appealing, but she dealt with the metallic smell of death from him, so he figured that he had no reason to complain.

As he was about to move closer, he felt the breath knocked out of him. His hands traveled to his midsection where he presumed that her knee had made impact. The creature leaned forward more, and she took a step back. When his head fell below her shoulder height, a fist collided with the right side of his face, and he was knocked onto his side for lack of balance from the previous hit.

Snow puffed up around him. The creature healed swiftly, though; he didn't stand. He looked up but not as much as he had expected. (F/n) had collapsed to the snow. She was on her knees, and she was rubbing her left fist. His partner had given him a good punch. Normally, he would've taken his dessert right then and there, but his mind shut out the idea upon noting her condition.

There was no possible way that he had broken her. The fire in her eyes proved that, but her body looked as though it could crumple into a ball of paper. He was nervous to touch her lest she shrivel up and die. "My ..." Her eyes darted onto him and pierced his gaze. His words stopped.

"Don't." The creature didn't respond. "I don't care what relationship you formed between us and how many levels there are, but just don't call me any of your nicknames right now. Just don't." Her head hung, and her fingers clenched around her pants, which the snow was beginning to soak.

"What ..."

"You shouldn't have to ask that. You know why. You know what's wrong." She looked to him again. Her left thumb pointed back to the cabin before she glanced over the area around them. Her eyes landed back on his. "This whole thing is wrong, and I'm tired of it." (F/n)'s eyes became watery, and she stared down at the snow. "I'm so f*cking tired of it. My life is ruined right now, and I-I ... I ..."

One, then two droplets fell. More followed. The creature was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to do, but for once, he wished that he didn't have rapid healing. In that moment, he desired to feel the pain of her punch so that he could focus on that rather than her.

His partner inhaled deeply before she exhaled. Her breath was shaky, and his chest hurt. That was something that he could pay attention to, but he didn't raise a hand to his chest. "I-I ... I don't even know if I can get back what I had before. Haley had made that evident." She glanced back at the storage container before she returned her focus to the ground.

"She had showed me that everyone might just think of me as a plague. I had brought you out of the tunnels, though; that had never been my intention. I just simply had wanted to live, but I believe now that no one in the town sees it that way. I'm the one who had brought you out and the one who had brought suffering to them. To them, I might as well be you."

Her whole body looked like it wouldn't support her anymore. "Even if I succeed in killing you, I doubt that all of them will forgive me. I doubt that I'll ever be able to take over the funeral home now. None of them will give me their business. They might think that I'll bring death on their whole family sooner or some b*llsh*t like that." A bitter, broken laugh left her.

"I kept thinking that things would go back to normal, but they won't. Your death won't repair the consequences of the choices that have been made." More tears left her, and she needed a moment to catch her breath. He gave it to her, and he found that he couldn't look at her. The creature felt that even his gaze could shatter her.

"I don't even know if I have a home to go back to. Returning from this cabin, I might not even be received well by my parents. They might not want me there anymore. They'll think me too dangerous, and they're probably tired of my odd behavior. They probably even know that I have hallucinations but have been too kind to voice anything on the matter. They'll commit me to somewhere, and I don't blame them. I agree; I'm too much of a threat to their lives.

"If I fail in killing you, they'll die!" The creature and she met each other gazes, and his chest hurt all the more. Tears streamed down her face. "Even after seeing me like this, you'll still kill and eat them." He didn't say anything to counter. "I know that because I know that you won't break your word on our deal."

She laughed softly, and he thought that such a sound would kill him. His arms were weak by his side, and his head had a hard time staying up. "Yet even though I know all of this, I just want to go back. I want to go back to a time now impossible. I want my normal life back so d*mn much. I want to return home and have my parents hug me tightly and welcome me back.

"I want to smell the warm, inviting ginger cookies that my dad makes as I go make my future plans as a funeral home director. I want my phone to ring and to hear Laura's voice. I want to have coffee with her and laugh with her again." The creature saw her lift her hands to wipe her tears, but she couldn't reach. Her hands dropped back, but he didn't move. He didn't wish to touch her.

"None of that will happen, though. No, everything will be different even with your death, and I feel ... I feel so alone, yet ... I'm not." She stood to her feet and stepped up to him steadily before she seated herself directly in front of him. His heart picked up its pace a little, but he now didn't expect a kiss from her. He couldn't meet her gaze so closely, and he lowered his head. Another punch met his right cheek, and his glasses were knocked off.

"I have you." Another punch hit him again. Sorrow filled her voice. "The one that I want to kill is the only one who won't leave me." His face was struck again. "Right now, you're the only one I know who loves me!" Her fist pounded against him once more. "Like what the h*ll!" Tears stormed down her face, and her voice boomed in his ears. (F/n)'s punch had weakened that time. She was hurting herself in the process.

Spitting out blood, he felt his face heal. Her chest rose and fell swiftly. Another fist didn't meet him. She was exhausted, and her tears kept flowing. The skin on her hand was damaged, but it wouldn't take long to heal. (F/n) had caused her left shoulder to bleed a little from the strain.

Once her breathing steadied, she peered down at her lap. "I hate you so much, yet I need you." His ears didn't perk at that. A smile didn't even grace his lips. Even he knew that it wasn't the time for that. "I need you to take care of me while I recover, I need you to get out of this area and I need you to return me to the home that I probably don't have any more. Then, I'll kill you."

A heavy, shaky sigh escaped her. "If I'm alone afterwards, so be it. My old life can never return to me." Her tears continued, and now they were wiped away. She met his orbs, but they weren't focused on her own. Rather, he was taking her whole face in. His right fingers removed the tears, and he was silent.

Moving his head forward, he leaned his forehead against hers. (F/n) went to lean back, but his right hand trailed down to her cheek and cupped it. Before she could react, he kissed her. Like before, it was gentle as though a droplet of water fell onto her lips. He pulled away soon after and kept his face close.

"I'm not going to apologize for any of my actions, (f/n). We both know that." A light laugh left him, and the unusual sound froze her. He sounded human in that brief moment. "So, you better kill me if I've caused you this much grief. Otherwise, only more of it will greet you in your life because I will always be by your side until I die. Even in death, I will be but not physically, and that may give you some peace."