Chapter 32

An unfamiliar name graced Nephis senses in the dark and well sound proofed castle of pillows that Sunny and Nephis were laid in. Sunny's brow was furrowed, his expression laced with regret and despair upon uttering the name as Nephis looked at him with a worried expression.

"Who's Mordret? Have you ever met him?" Sunny shook his head, his frown deepening as he felt his mind force him to answer the questions. "He's... Morgan's older brother. He killed half of Valor on his own for no apparent reason and left before Anvil could arrive, he's also the reason I exist."

Nephis raised an eyebrow further as an unreadable expression settled itself across her face. "The reason you exist?" Nephis mumbled. She felt Sunny lightly begin to shiver as she squeezed him on the arm to calm him, allowing him the opportunity to gain the composure needed to offer a reply.

"Morgan wanted me to be... a weapon. A weapon to restore Valor back to its former glory and kill Mordret. If he didn't do what he did maybe I wouldn't have had to suffer. It's his fault, it's all his fucking fault!"

Nodding solemnly, Nephis ran a hand to Sunny head and ran her hands through his silky locks, she continued to do so until Sunny relaxed on top of her with a slight smile, releasing low hums that brought Nephis great amusement as she looked down at him.

'Is he purring? Oh my god, he really is a cat! He's so cute, I can't take it anymore!' she squealed mentally before shifting Sunny's body, so his head laid on her chest, a blush fought its way onto Sunny's face due to the close contact as Nephis shot him a teasing grin.

"Something on your mind, Sunny?" she asked, a smile creeping onto her face as she pushed Sunny's head into her chest lightly, Sunny's blush only increased further as he managed to stammer out. "N-nothing that you should know about."

The two spent long into the night exchanging pleasantries, with Nephis telling Sunny all manner of stories that she had heard while scrolling the internet as well as watching a few videos on her phone for entertainment. As she understood it, Sunny couldn't handle horror movies.

Constantly restraining Sunny to inhibit his attempts at crushing her phone upon seeing something scary had been hilarious and watching him shudder slightly in her arms at the ambience only served to make Nephis fall in love with him all over again.

Soon enough, the two lay on their backs, Sunny's head resting on Nephis stomach as he thought to himself. 'I can't be the only one getting teased, it's time for a counterattack!' as the thought formed, he found himself moving unconsciously, planting a kiss on Nephis stomach that caused her body to jolt.

"What are you doing!?" she hissed silently, embarrassment creeping onto her voice as Sunny continued his assault. 'His lips are so soft!' Nephis screamed internally as she lightly attempted to escape Sunny's ticklish attack. Finally, the onslaught receded as Sunny smiled at her pleasantly.

"That's revenge for tickling me." He mumbled as he shifted his body and scooped Nephis into his arms, pulling her close to absorb the full extent of her warmth. Nephis shifted her body too, wrapping her hands around Sunny's back and enveloping him into the hug she knew he needed.

"Sunny?" Nephis voice pierced through the comfortable silence as he only grunted slightly in response, so Nephis pressed further. "Are you... ok? I feel like you're repressing something you don't want me to know about. I'm here for you; I always will be no matter what happens so please don't be afraid to share."

Upon concluding her statement, she felt her shoulder slowly being soaked as she pulled Sunny closer. He was crying. Regardless of how emotionless and unfeeling he was, he still cried like any other human, bled like any other human did.

Feeling his chest tighten, Sunny placed a hand on his chest as his breathing became more hitched, his eyes bulging open as Nephis sat up and stared at him with a look of panic. 'He's having another panic attack!'

"Sunny! You'll be fine, look at me, just control your breathing." Turning his head, Sunny investigated Nephis eyes for a few moments, his hitched and erratic breathing slowly calming itself down as he stared at her emptily for a few moments.

"I don't feel I belong here, with you." Sunny wheezed out, Nephis squeezed his palm gently, urging him to continue further as he sat up shakily and stared her in the eyes. A small frown appeared on his face as tears continued to cascade from his eyes, Nephis stretched her hand out to wipe them from his face as Sunny shifted away out of reach.

"I don't think I'm allowed to be happy, to enjoy life with you and the rest of your friends. You're normal people, you're innocent, you haven't been defiled! B—But I'm different, I've killed more people than most of the others here! And here I am deluding myself into thinking I deserve to be happy, why do I deserve it if they don't!?"

Burying his head in his hands, Sunny continued shakily, a look of anger flaring through his face as he glared at Nephis. But she knew it just as he did, he wasn't angry with her, he was angry with himself, disgusted in himself.

"I'm a loathsome, odious, worthless butcher who only knows how to kill! I don't deserve what I have yet I laugh continuously and delude myself into thinking I do! Hell, I don't even remember the faces of the last thirty people I've killed, how pathetic is that!?"

Before Sunny could continue, Nephis grabbed him by the shoulders roughly before pulling him toward her, enveloping him into a kiss, pressing her hands against the back of his head, she allowed him no room for escape as Sunny tentatively returned the gesture.

Pulling backward, she stared at Sunny with a dazed expression, licking her lips to remove the lingering saliva that connected their mouths as her eyes remained fixed on his form. "If you only know how to kill, why are you so damn loveable then!?"

Nephis didn't know what she was doing, but in a matter of moments she had tackled him onto the soft pillow laden floor as she stared down at his face, still stricken with pain and self loathing. Sunny attempted to hide his face from view, yet Nephis arms pinned his to the side with a scaling gaze that left him no room for resistance.

"You said you love me; you saved my life, you got hit by a car for me, you got stabbed for me, you did all of this for me! So don't tell me this bullshit about how you're only good for being a killer because that's not true, you're good for so much more!"

Sunny's gaze softened upon hearing her words, as Nephis panted slightly at her outburst before taking a deep breathe, preparing to continue. Her gaze continued to pierce through the walls that Sunny had built up between the two of them as her lips finally parted, allowing her to continue.

"So what if you've killed more than the rest of them, who's to say they wouldn't kill even more than you if they were in your shoes! How many people have suffered like you did! You were the one who got branded, you were the one who got abused and you were the one who got defiled! Not them, nobody else has the right to judge what you went through!"

Finally, Sunny moved to retort, however Nephis slapped her hand across his mouth gently, stopping him from continuing his statement as her gaze flared with fury. "Shut up for a second! Look, I don't care if you've killed, I don't care if you've been tortured, I don't care what they did to you. To me, you're not normal and that's ok! Why do you need to be normal? I love you as you are, I don't need you changing to fit some bullshit standard!"

Removing her hand from his lips, Nephis shifted off him as she pulled him into a seated position, the two sat opposite to each other in silence for a few moments, but it was clear that Nephis had more to say, more love to portray. Intertwining her fingers with his own, Nephis squeezed his hand gently as she stared at him.

"Sunny, you're enough."

Three words. Just three words was all Sunny needed to hear. Words he had been waiting to hear all his life yet far too afraid to recognise about himself, yet the woman he had come to fall in love with helped him recognise that fact in a matter of moments.

Sunny didn't know how to react, words attempted to form themselves in his mouth, yet they failed on arrival. Instead of speaking, Sunny found himself slowly edging toward Nephis as a surprised smile arrived on her face. "Really? Here?" Nephis whispered to herself as Sunny gently pushed her onto the floor.

The two found themselves enjoying the soundproofing far more than they should.