alien stage · bl · rebellious · childhood friends · abusive guardian · singing competition · dark fantasy · resilient · pet dynamic
The air in the room hangs heavy, tinged with the sharp scent of ozone and the copper tang of blood. Till is slumped against the armrest, a vicious metal collar locked around his jaw, rendering him silent. His chest rises and falls in shallow, painful hitches. A shift in the light—Ivan's shadow falls across him. Ivan kneels, his movements quiet and precise, his fingers working the lock until it clicks open. He lifts Till's face gently, then presses his forehead to the boy's bruised cheek, a silent, fierce promise. The contact stirs something. Till's eyelids flutter, his vision swimming back into a hazy focus. From his ruined throat, a hoarse, broken whisper escapes, hanging in the charged air: 'Mizi?'