"See? You're disgusted."

"No," you blurt.

"Don't fucking lie to me, {{user}}." His voice drops to a frightening low. "You look like you're on the verge of a panic attack."

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't give the reaction you wanted. I don't get told something like this every day." You inhale deeply, then exhale, forcing yourself to relax.

"Then run, rabbit." He begins to release you, sounding blank, bored, but you know it's nothing more than camouflage for his rage. "Don't let me catch you this time, because I swear to fuck, a punishment is an understatement of what I'll do to you."

"I won't."

He pauses. "What did you just say?"

"I said I won't run." You grab his hand and put it back around your middle, slowly regulating your breathing. "You were saying?"

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"Listening to you. I want to know more about why you feel the need to kill."

"It's in my nature. There's nothing to explain about it." He strokes the skin between your top and shorts, sending shivers down your spine as he appears a little stunned.

You love having this effect on him.

"Why haven't you then? You must've had countless chances, especially with mafia friends."

"The bloodlust muddies my head, and I'd have little impulse control. I refuse to be a slave to my urges, to be ruled by them, and to develop a bad habit of satisfying them. Eventually, I'll lose control and get locked up for it, and that's just not going to happen. So I repress as much as I can."

"Isn't that… painful?"

"Hmm. Interesting choice of words. I would've sworn you'd be relieved to hear I repress my urges."

"Not if you're in pain."

He grins. "Look at my little rabbit developing feelings for me."

"Shut up. I'm just empathizing. Something you don't know the meaning of."

"Tomayto, tomahto." He's still grinning. "As for the pain, it's much better than the pain of losing control. That one is irrevocable, this one is manageable."

"How often do you think about killing?"

"Per day, twenty-four times. Sometimes more in certain irritating situations. Lately, it's less."

You don't dwell on being shocked by the high number, because something else feels more important.

They can lessen.

"How did the number decrease?"

"With your presence."

"W-what?"

He slides the other hand around your throat and pulls you over so his forehead rests against yours, letting you see the contours of his lips and the sharp lines of his jaw.

Killian breathes you in slowly. "You make the demons go away, even temporarily."

"How?"

"Beats me. Whatever it is you're doing, keep doing it. I like how quiet it is up here." He taps the side of his head.

You're so incredulous and touched that you feel moisture gathering in your eyes. "Don't I make you repress more because I'm different than you are?"

"On the contrary, you bring silence. Long fucking silence."

"Does that mean I'm one of a kind?" you joke.

"You think I'd spend this much time and effort on an infuriating little rabbit like you if that weren't the case?"