Bend and Break(poly)(bxb)

Fifteen

Finally. The sun.

It doesn't just reflect off of Seven's skin, blinding and blending tones of peach and lemon. It soaks in and dilutes. Softens him. Smooth on his jaw and dewy on his lips. Gentle on his eyelids and delicate on his collarbones.

He leans back on his hands, the fabric of his sweater shifts as I lay against him. The warmth stays the same. We share a cloudless sky. A comfortable silence. He plays with my hair and I hold his arm. Trace the veins at the back of his hand, before intertwining, sliding our fingers along each other.

"I missed every part of you...so much." I speak and expect to see my breath in the air, cotton clouds right in front of my face. But the air is affected by us too. It's getting warmer.

His eyes grow wider, dreamier, before he looks at me. "Really?" He starts, voice light and weary. "I don't scare you?"

I shake my head, nuzzle it closer to him.

"I scare myself... I scare them too."

The backdoor creaks when it's opened. Chilled metal against white painted wood.

L emerges with a thick cardigan and two cups of tea. He sits one beside each of us, temporarily blocking the view as he places a pill beside Seven's cup.

Seven spares it one glance. Then his eyes are back on the sky.

"Please," L says.

Seven swallows it without the tea.

"Good b— uh, you're doing good." L stammers as his back meets with the wall. He's towering above us as we sit on the porch bench. "Ready to tell me about how it went last night? Whether or not you got hurt–"

"I'm fine." It's rushed from Seven's lips. I squeeze his arm tighter. "It just feels good to be outside," he confesses.

"I saw you limp your way out here."

"My muscles are a bit sore. I had to carry the idiot I was sent with so of course. It's nothing major."

"How did he die? We need something to tell Diana."

"We were almost, almost done but when I turned around he was on the ground. I finished things off by myself then when I came to see if he was breathing I realized he wasn't. No pulse. Dead weight."

"He had skill. I feel bad that the last thing I said to him was so mean," I admit, pulling my legs up to my chest.

We were expected to accept him into the gang despite our differences, just like the guys had with me. But I couldn't. And now he's dead.

L reaches over and rubs a hand along my back. He makes me feel warm again. "It's not your fault," he says to both of us. "Even if you tell me what happened, Seven, I will not blame you. You still haven't opened up about what happened before."

"What exactly do you want me to tell you, L? I said stop tiptoeing around me so spit it out. Do you want me to tell you what they made me do or what they made me watch? The men or the women? The–"

"I don't want you to tell me anything you don't want to tell me." L reassures, he moves his hand from me and onto Seven's shoulder blade before pressing in deep slow circles. "I'll tell the others they can stop coddling you... I'm still going to though."

Seven groans out as he rolls his eyes.

L laughs, his smile pretty and blinding. He sits on the bench beside Seven, the two of us being so small he has more than enough room.

Romero joins us outside next, chaotic energy further corrupting the moment.

Seven sniffles at the breeze that rolls in. The backyard really is beautiful. It's cleared out and spacious for yards then surrounded by a dense yet contained forest. Every shade of green imaginable when spring officially begins. The only animals living in there are maybe squirrels and bunny rabbits.