#⁺˚*𝑜𝒻 𝐿𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 & 𝒬𝓊𝑒𝑒𝓃𝓈*˚⁺ - dioxnina

[icecoldwilliams]

For a man whose trauma taunted him with the horrors of the darkest oceanic depths, how quickly he willingly basks in the water with a siren...

Dio practically called to her, over and over asked her to sing her macabre song. Kept her by his side, played the keys, and even sung the tune to his own doom without a care in the world. – All while his supposed killer sat there, showered in the sheer affection and idealism embedded in his verse, and the stupor it all reaped.

Really... He dared sing of a smile that rarely reached her eyes. Distance only lived twice... not to mention presence only experienced for less than a week.

....Why?

Even now, could the vampire even answer one simple question: was the light beneath her glasses a genuine sign of life? ...Or the glint off a knife targeting his back?

— And yet... what's a siren without her nature?

The notes off her tongue were hesitant, defiant, but steady. Ever sultry. Effortlessly meshing with that deep baritone of his and it's high and mighty lilt as it worked to penetrate her heart. Lyrics of a bond and vulnerability... finding none in the frozen artifice ; ricochetting off an organ emotionally and purposefully shut down before it could step out of line.

For the sirens own sake. For her would be prey. — Her voice wouldn't match the visceral emotion in his own, just the image painted with his final line.

Case in point, with a minute of silence, her body followed suit. Standing up, grabbing her bags, and merely brushing her bangs out of that stone cold face.

❝We should go. If we wait any longer a rabbit might get in our way..❞

He could feel it, the turmoil of emotions within her, doubts and…could this be guilt? Oh how he wanted to rid her of such negative emotions, how he wanted to fill her with nothing but joy and happiness and yet the lion gave it some thought and realized something, he has only a few precious hours left, if he was to spend them with her then it be best to make memories that would last a lifetime in case his time on this earth was truly running out. “The sun may have set but…the night is always sweeter than the day for a being such as I~” he said with a teasing smile as his hands moved to the keys of the piano.

He took a moment to visualize in his mind what he wanted to convey and his hands began to move, touching the keys and playing the harmony of the song he wanted to sing with her. His hand movements were a lot more fluid than before, as if he was no longer trying to impress her but instead just trying to convey his feelings. The blonde then opened his mouth and began to sing the lyrics, softly but with emotion behind them, a soothing passion as he sung about loving her smile and how he feels when she’s not with him.

Dio hopes this might ease some of the turmoil within by reassuring her that life without her has no meaning for him anymore. She has shown him just how happy and meaningful each moment of eternity can be for he had lived longer than any human could ever hope and yet it wasn’t until she walked into his life that he truly felt like he was alive. After the first chores is when she should join him, would she? Or would she simply listen? Ether way was fine by him for just being with her was enough.

[icecoldwilliams]

𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫 | ✲・*:✲・*:･ﾟ

Six inches in length, barely a centimeter deep. It was a clean gash, nothing any professional worth their salt hadn't seen before. All but mimicking a myriad of past close calls, long petrified into adorning scars.

In truth, Nina didn't know what was more painful: The sting of the chlorhexidine? Or the immortals chiding? — One breaching apathy with mere pursed lips, threatening to pinch between her brow, while the other made azures roll.

Careless and rash were definitions assigned to amateurs, certain brunettes, all but morons... but never found with her name ; never applied to her skill and calculation. Even hiding beneath an ivory shoulder blade, amidst traded bullets, the merc still attempted to patch the cut once out of harms way. ...Her only so called 'mistake' was not anticipating the pesky mark on her reputation would bleed through it's first bandage before she could sneak off to her room...

❝Maybe something, or someone's turning me soft...❞ The twist of muscles needed to turn his way may have stung, but it was well worth it to catch a glimpse of those crimson pools behind her. For her lips to near his own. Make sure her sultry flattery met it's mark... underhanded or otherwise. ❝Why be careful when my vampire dotes on me as soon as I get home?❞

|| @diotheworldus ✲・*:✲・*:･ﾟ

[icecoldwilliams]

It had been a tiering day, she had just arrived home after a rather bothersome mission but to her surprise she found something on her bed. It looked like a present, wrapped in yellow paper with greet strings. On it was a note that read “I’ll be home in a few hours but I wanted to give you something just in case I ran late. Happy birthday my love, thank you for being born and filling my life with happiness.

On the inside was a luxurious tight fitting violet dress as well as a pair of snowflake shaped earrings. Of course this wasn’t all he planned for her but Dio would have to return to her to give her the rest in person.

𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝟐𝟑𝐑𝐃 | ✲・*:✲・*:･ﾟ

A time wielding vampire seeking control across the globe from the shadows, and a mercenary at the side of their likeminded rivals within the light.

Who the crueler they may never know.

Was it her? The frigid woman who at times wielded the distance in tormenting her love further, who's phone calls came via burner phones in the dead of night. Leaving nothing but the desire for more come sol's rise. – Or was it him? The man who brought an ice sculpture to life, and carved new definitions into a glacier aside undefined sentiment. ; He who dared show her the unsettling depth of emotion and all they may hold.

Like the hollow pit that brewed with each click of her heels against the mansions marble. Each step gone uninterrupted to her quarters just a sign her typically quick to greet her Dio was nowhere near by, and leaving a dismal aura in it's wake. Breaching the hired helps comfort, chilling their spines. ; A force to be reckoned with... all stunted at the sight of her Lions consideration.

Today of all days Nina found rest could wait. Exhaustion and the mundane defied by a hummed melody as she turned and admired her reflection. Smoothing out the new violet garment a tad, before applying gold diamond snowflakes to her ears. Matching yet all too familiar crystal and gold vile around her neck the finishing touch.

A makeover to brighten her day, and simultaneously torment his.

Plan already at work with the arms she felt creep around her waist, welcomed and igniting a rare warmer curve to coquette painted lips, already lingering towards his own.

❝Hello, mo chuisle~...❞

The 'You're late.' seeped between the lines, left unsaid. | ✲・*:✲・*:･ﾟ

[icecoldwilliams]

“We’ll look at that, bingo~” ❤️

𝐍𝐈𝐍��'𝐒 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄 ( 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 ) ✲・*:･ﾟ✲･ﾟ:*  ˚ₓ

Naturally... The silly little notion known as fate could truly be crueler than the cold, at times more brutal than the mercenary's own cynical tongue. — To think, her supposed ideal type is nothing short of an undead vampire with a target on his back.

Her finger belonging to the trigger.

How sickeningly theatric... Familiar coquette painted lips just cracked a smile in return for the irony. His Ice Queen resting her head upon his polarizing warm shoulder. Merciful hand swiping the same weapon put to use in this new game of theirs.

❝Wow look at that.. I suppose this is the part where I start believing in all of those soppy whispered nothings my Lion used to muck up my ear..❞

And yet while punctuated with a pinch & dash of snark & a sigh, her tone for once was almost... serene. Acquiescent. Wicked mind far more preoccupied with two simple strokes of ink she drew on Dio's palm. One south east, one south west, both meeting in the middle.

Cordiform, just for him.

|| @diotheworldus ✲・*:･ﾟ✲･ﾟx

[icecoldwilliams]

From cold glass to marble tile, every fiber in Nina's body couldn't be bothered to care. – The kind of kiss Dio was giving her ; that slow, mesmerizing meeting of lips.. It was the kind practically designed to lower guards. A firework setting off against ice, melting, overwhelming the senses. Every overworked muscles cries with each step drowned out among the best kind of haze.

Right alongside the assassins control, slipping from her firm grasp. Hesitantly, yet... willingly relinquished.

Even when the shower rained upon them and the memory of sweet oxygen snapped her back to reality, the wicked gleam peeking past the azure fog didn't speak of danger, wounded pride or anything of the sort. It shun with mere intrigue...

A frozen Queen giving her Lion a chance at the lead.

One who later would likely never admit to how she shuddered a bit under his touch, at the thought of his little 'threat'. Or to the subtle swallow preceding the breathy whisper from her lips.

Her sensitive folds be damned.

❝'Fully'..?❞

Even thou Dio knew that this may be the last evening they spend together they still had alot more time and he would make the most of it. Whatever happens tomorrow, whatever she decides he knows deep down that he will be satisfied for she has given him the best time of his life.

As her back met the cold glass of the shower door His body pressed tight against hers, the vampire unable to resist soon begins to kiss her soft lips tenderly, taking his time, letting the kiss flow naturally as he somehow opened the shower door and guided her inside without breaking the kiss. Soon here back met the shower wall and with a quick movement of his hand Dio turned on the water and it soaked both of them with its perfectly balanced temperature, not cold but just warm enough to be comforting.

The blonde then broke the kiss only to cover her neck in light pecks as one of his hands moved between her legs and two fingers found there way within her folds. “I made such a mess down here…there’s still some leaking out…I’m going to have to take my time and fully clean you my beloved~” he whispered in her ear as his other hand grabbed a bottle of lavender scented body wash, getting ready to use it.

[icecoldwilliams]

𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫 | ✲・*:✲・*:･ﾟ

His hand skid smooth fishnet stockings like amusement skid across cold cyanic pools. Observing him. Luring him... Drowning him and every sweet worded buoy tossed from his mouth.

No reprieve from his little faux pas now ricocheted off a beautifully wicked brain.

❝Alright... Secretary~..❞

Bystanders could call her what they'd like. The diminished title just another key to playing their naivety like a grand Steinway . — But when uttered by the same ally sitting with her, side by side at the bench.... It rung.. frayed.

Attention seizing yet as off kilter to her ears as the title likely was when wielded against his own. Whether with truth or mirth. ; Apathy, or the smirk now painted across ivory as she leaned back against the oak, even tilted her head.

Well If the vampire couldn't play nice and share the key bed, then his Queen would just play his nerves like treble strings all her own. One- ❝Why do I get the feeling someone just wants to hear me call him 'boss'..? Or no wait... I know..❞ - after the other.

❝He prefers 'My King~...' ❞

| @diotheworldus ✲・*:✲・*:･ﾟ

[icecoldwilliams]

How is an ice sculpture supposed to survive under these conditions? – Frigid, meticulously crafted crystalline form, face a la Mona Lisa, beautifully enigmatic and cold. ...All threatening to melt in the growing humidity ; beneath her Lions touch.

Something structural... restrictive, starting to fracture within. A gasp and softer moan it's desperate cry as her back suddenly crashed against the wall. While with every lick, every rough thrust, and every sensation of his hot breath against her skin, he practically molded his frozen Queen anew. – All that was chipped away dripping down muscles and curves as sweat and slick, all but coating his length. And he had the audacity to try and steal the remaining oxygen from her lungs right along with it.

— His lips devoured hers ; her tongue tangled with his while her nails etched his spine. Only parting for a minute to catch her breath ; A task challenged by the stifled moans she tried to keep down.

Yet her Lion could radiate like the only the light in her life, he could steal her breath, her sanity, and everything she knew.... This glacial beauty still wasn't going down without a fight.

❝S-So... this is how my Lion really likes it... look at you... f-fucking me raw like it's mating season..❞ It was as if their personified blend of hot and cold even manifested in her gaze, trapping azures behind a haze. All while an amused hum mangled itself within their own little chorus of pleasure. Further spiting the coil winding tighter.

❝ Y-You're just a pathetic beast in heat.. aren't you? ❞

He stared into those eyes, getting lost in the ice, every second felt like an eternity as her body remained still while his demands motion and yet he remained still for the tables had turned. Then he was suddenly brought back to reality as she spoke, her words melting the ice and setting his very soul ablaze. This was different than there usual game, tonight they were equals who each wanted nothing but to fully enjoy the other to the fullest. It just so happens that enjoyment entails them fighting for dominance in a way only they knew how, there own personal dance. Some might call it there love language, if asked Dio would simply call it devotion.

He was about to comment but all that came out of his mouth was a moan as she moved her hips painfully slow with a motion she had perfected after such a long time together with her lion. Her words painted a future he would love, to be together for her eternally, to indulge in the drinking of blood of not only prey but eachother. Her words had an effect as his shaft grew harder and larger within her right folds, and then her lion out his hands on her hips and used them to move her harder, faster, all while his crimson eyes looked deeply into hers, not longer seeing ice but instead a boiling ocean.

“I…want nothing more…you as one of my kind…I might fall for you thrice over~” her lion then licked the blood off her neck, cleaned all of it while moaning and then as soon as the last drop was gone he picked her up and pushed her agaisnt the wall with a quickness that was sure to take her breath away. “In that future..we could be as rough as we want, go as hard as we want for as long as we desire. Passion that no one has ever experienced before…let me give you a taste right now~” her lion then unleashed a barrage of deep powerful thrusts, all sending shockwaves through her body as he held her tight agaisnt the wall, his eyes staring deep into hers, only closing when he claimed her lips in a deep passionate kiss that he did not want to end.

[icecoldwilliams]

Near literal golden mane, supernatural fangs, and eyes that threatened to pierce her very soul in search for their crimson kin... Her Lion was a peculiar one indeed. – Fierce, better yet, feared. Powerful... yet his sense of survival was a tad skewed. Soured by sop and rose tainted vision.

Here, right now, did he even notice the way his love eyed the remnants of his tears? How she smiled at the flattery, but then for but a moment shaded azure seas froze into something far more colder... sheer apathy watching it trickle down her finger as the star of his devilish musings again came into view. – And even still, Dio... only held her. Embraced her. Kissed her so tenderly as if she might break. No thought nor care spared for common sense, or how one can't possibly expect a multi timed proven viper to forgo what she knows best. No matter the surprise and confusion peeking out from the cold.

Slender arms snaked around his shoulders, silently, hesitantly returning her preys abrupt affection. The beautiful killer even found comfort in the crook of his neck.. This split second repose , sanctuary from the all encompassing reminder inhabiting that wicked brain of what would come on morrow, what she would have to do.

Anyone else... if her Lion was only anyone else, this would be so simple.. all but too easy. Nina could already picture the knife in her hand, one meticulously planned stab to a mortal.. this would all be over.

One plunge of steel to the vampire however... It wouldn't kill him, but it risked his soppy heart, the breath and utter betrayal from his lungs. More tears, perhaps even ire.... Like the song he chose, right now in spite of it all, that was the last thing she wanted to steal.

It was a melody she knew well. One the charming eejit probably even thought himself sly in choosing. As if the lyrics weren't an admission to everything he ever wanted to hear from her lips...

It would be quite the show. And he could deal with figuring out her motives behind entertaining it all his own.

For now, she merely pulled away and brushed a few stray strands of blonde behind her ear. Adjusting her glasses as she glanced towards the darkness growing outside the halls grand windows.

❝Our daylights spent, love... I'm not one to judge how you spend your night.❞ Just whether or not it would truly be his last.

He was stuck in his mind, resonating with the melody and then he was brought back to reality by the music stopping and the words of his beloved. Dramatic? What could she mean? He was only joining her as she played, but then as he felt her fingers brush away the single tear he realized. “Oh…I’m sorry that came out on its own. I’m alright it’s just that…your singing voice is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.” He said softly while looking into her eyes.

Dio knew she wouldn’t elaborate on things if he asked, her pain and sorrows are a burden she wishes to carry alone but maybe if he makes it clear he is with her then just maybe she can let him carry some of that weight. “How about we play something together from the start, we play together and sing together. I even have a song in mind.”

The vampire flips through some sheet music and finds the desired piece a song titled “Broken”. He then placed an arm around her and held her for a moment. It felt different than before it was like Dio needed to do this, like he his body would not allow him to continue unless he held her in his arms for a moment. He then gave her lips the most gentle of kisses “I love you. I want to fully enjoy this time together with you.” He then gave her a tender hug.

He couldn’t keep trying to save her from her pain, instead he has to be with her, accompany her through it all and make sure she knows that she’s no longer alone.

[icecoldwilliams]

The eye of the beholder is a mercurial little thing. A particular problem residing in the perspective of her so called King. - Blood tinted, crimson and all but piercing through the tundra. In her melody his eyes saw isolation, pain and hidden suffering ; a damsel to be rescued's cry of agony.

Yet Nina Williams was no damsel... If anything she was a fatal dame. Trading her victims feeble pleas for momentary semblance of peace ; For a short sung epic to instead grace the banquet hall and haunt the ears. – Because in her own eyes if anything there was the slightest pinch of joy and mischief to be found in the haunt. In dissecting her companies sense of ease like a cadaver. - As a matter of fact, right now in her eyes there was nothing to see at all. Just the backs of her own eyelids, and an imagined frigid structure blocking out the whole world as she played on.

Keystrokes and notes ricocheting off intricate icy walls, with only faceless phantoms of memory and their long past diluted teachings tarnishing her otherwise tranquil abode.

It was.... solitary. Serene.

Delusion however fragmenting to bits with her vampires silken voice creeping inside to join them. Harmony even broken by a misplayed note on the killers part as azures distracted, not only again captured him, but a sole foreign streak down his face. Mucking up the Adonis' profile like a streak of the wrong shade of paint ; mucking up her own by casting a hook to her brow. ❝ A little over dramatic.. don't you think? ❞

Words, no longer lyrics, asked softly as a likewise touch brushed away her vampires own pain. His sorrow and unwelcome pity, all gathered in a tear wiped out with a single stroke of her thumb.

There was no place for it here. Not now. - It's as the story goes. Pandora so infamous for the evils she released from her complex prison, the path of destruction she walked and the crimes she inflicted upon humanity... Pandora whose wiles and earned ire completely shrouded what little light she still kept within.

Hope. Comfort.

The side to her that Dio would never be able to understand, that would slip the grasp of men all together if he only focused on breaking it free, and couldn't realize the rare opportunity of being welcomed inside right alongside it instead.

❝ ...Are you alright? ❞

He knew that she knew, he wanted her to know just how much he wanted this. Even her attempts to play coy didn’t work, she wouldn’t get out of this. With a large grin he spoke “I’ll fill it to the brim then~” his hands moved to his side to allow her full use of the piano and he simply waited for her to begin.

Time passed but Dio didn’t make a sound, she would play when she was ready and not a second sooner, he wouldn’t dream of making her hurry. His patience was soon rewarded as her hands met the keys and began to play a melody. An almost haunting tone that was as beautiful as it was threatening but nothing prepared him for what would happen once he heard it…her voice, soft and like a whisper and yet he could hear every single word as clear as day and that’s when it happened, almost like a trance his eyes widened and the world disappeared before him and all that remained was the music and her voice.

In the middle of an impossibly huge glacier was a woman frozen in ice. But there was a man desperately trying to break her free, clawing at the ice, melting it with his fiery determination until he finally set her free and then her shape changed to that of a winged devil, attacking the man and ripping out his heart, devouring it whole while the man saw the life of what used to be a woman, twisted and changed by her life, leaving death and harm wherever she went, keeping all away for there own safety, at least for those she cared enough to keep safe. He didn’t listen to the warnings, continued regardless and now he payed the price. Was this to be his fate? The love he felt so strongly would be his doom on the end. Was there no other alternative? Dio stared at the vision and then the man embraced the devil, held her even thou she had eaten his heart, even thou he should be dead he still held her, his warmth returning her shape to that of the woman in the ice, they continued to embrace together as Dio saw them change again to them, him and his beloved queen. Yes there’s hope, he will save her from this ice, pull her out of the cold and open up Pandora’s box and fill the world with ruin if it will give her the happiness she was robbed of.

A single tear ran down his face, he felt it, her pain, what she hid from him, tried to hide from everyone, it was there in the music and unable to stop himself his hands went for the keys and he began to play with her, complimenting her notes but somehow with a warmness to them but not only that he added his voice too, soft and like a whisper he sang with her trying to reach her within the ice.

[icecoldwilliams]

Truly a dog with a bone.... more like a Lion with a carcass. Again sinking his fangs into a glaciers fissure and not letting go.

The vampire and his charisma could try and coat those needle teeth with a numbing agent all he'd like. She could still feel them piercing beneath her skin, searching for her veins. And yet... when compared to the many who sought her secrets to their graves, his search was seemingly... genuine. Purposeful, beyond confinement or her own demise, and to the extent of even a noticeable, excited twinkle in his eyes... It was sweet.. almost cavity inducing.

Of course, it still didn't erase the skepticism from her own. A look shot like a bullet, inscribed with the sole blatant message of "I know what you're doing." And given a moment, fingers dancing across three little notes acted like salt to the wound. ; C , D , E , then retracting. – Toying with him. Based on the tilt of her head and feigned coyness across her face as she looked at him, that was more than clear.

An act however, that met it's demise within another couple minutes. A mere sigh the culprit. ❝ Fine. ...But my tip jar only takes hundreds. ❞

Two minutes spent hesitating, then three. Knuckles idly cracked, azures raking across ivory, before soon enough digits followed. – In daring to trade her ally in silence, notes flowed quarter to whole... in a melody titled "Pandora".

Unlike his own, gracious adoration couldn't be found throughout the bar. Emotion lay only in flavors of a haunting melancholy. Like a killer singing her victims soliloquy... of the danger behind beauty.

And yes, singing... hauntingly soft voice yet kept below a whisper, barely escaping her lips on instinct as if she were refamiliarizing herself with the song, or perhaps the act itself.

Unintentionally audible, yet gracing his ears nonetheless. And soon as the song flowed, growing louder with his Queens comfort. ; growing as the cold familiar walls closed in on the assassin's own little macabre world.

For once too focused to recognize the intruder beside her, also enclosed at her side.

If this had been just a few days ago he might not have noticed, not seen how she hid her emotions, or how she desperately tried to close herself off but not today, the vampire saw it all but he didn’t comment on it or make a move to break open her walls, he knew better than that. Thou he couldn’t stop his heart from racing as she took her seat right next to him, there thighs touching as she grabbed his hands and helped him take proper form. “I see, thank you, it has been a bit over a century since I last had lessons after all.” His tone was kind and thankful, his fingers moved with her help, playing the same melody but this time it sounded better, the correct pitch, proper rhythm, they were now making music together.

“Your very skilled, you know the keys by memory and your fingers flow like water, could you perhaps bless me with showing me how to properly play this magnificent instrument?~” he spoke lovingly but with devious intent, he would not let her escape, not fully, he wanted to hear her voice, but if he couldn’t have that he wanted to experience her music and perhaps see her in a completely new light.

“Of course if you would rather play something else I can help with that too, I’m proficient with a guitar.” His smile never left his lips nor did he make any effort to move his hands away from hers in fact quite the opposite, almost getting there fingers intertwined as she guided them.

[icecoldwilliams]

Rose colored glasses resolute and unwavering even faced with threats.

Foreign warmth practically stung like a blaze, unfamiliar and dangerous to an ice sculpture a little too hesitant in retreating it's hand so as not to get burned. Lying in his touch, gaze and his wishes were the flames licking at her frosted over bones... just barely igniting smoke from what hid beyond the skeletal cage.

And was it's captor now looking anywhere but the vampires eyes simply to scan the room? Or further dodge his doting assault?

She left him out in the cold. Even that familiar tempest casting him aside as she again oh so effortlessly tortured her love with silence.... Her gun, her vest. Sparse steps to the side to finally shatter it her bullet, her knife, as she took a seat beside him. And one sole sigh her prides white flag.

It's trojan just to bolster itself and that beautiful wicked brain further in the long run.

❝...Your pitch was unsteady, and your pinkies were extended as if you were drinking tea.❞ Like an addict, frigid hands hovered over the same pair that nearly dealt their demise. Gently curving his fingers via example. ❝The key.. is to relax.❞

Tensity, pressure and arm stance all fixed as the killers touch and subsequently, it's chill, lingered across his skin. – With knowledge evident, and touch briefly breaching the keys in it's venture, she carefully maneuvered the veins in his wrist and his request alike.

The vampire knew it, because of the time they have spent together, the deep unbreakable bond they share, he could feel how her heart moved in a way that was unfamiliar, it became even more clear when she put his hands on his shoulders, he never intended for his song to make her feel this way but he knew her enough to not mention it, he simply placed one hand over hers as she placed it on his shoulder and he looked at her eyes, at that glacier that once again tried to freeze him solid, a coldness that he would challenge and never fully succumb to for he had already given himself to the small flame at the center of the cold.

“I didn’t lie…I simply undervalued my abilities. I’ve never done that in front of anyone before, your the first to hear me sing.” He then chuckled at her other comment, “perhaps…my love do you want to give it a try? Sing any song you like and I’ll play you a tune, like those songstresses of old who sang so close to the pianist, some even laying on the instrument itself, I have a feeling you would be a natural.” He was trying to get her to enjoy and perhaps indulge herself a little, he knew she had an ear for music, the way his song made her feel was proof of that as well as how skillful she is at dance.

Then came something he didn’t say lightly, something he has only ever said to her and no one else. “Please?” The warmth from his body seemed to transfer to hers from his hand, the way his eyes looked into hers without looking away and the soft tender tone he used to say the word, this wasn’t a command or begging this was a heartfelt request from a man who truly and deeply loved her. He hoped that his feelings would overcome the blizzard and reach that candle deep in her heart.

[icecoldwilliams]

Pity. Pity for others she rarely held. Pity in the sense of compassion, sympathy.. in this case even disappointment she held none. No, her tongue uttered the rarer breed of the word. Not attached to genuine sorrow or disappointment, but dripping apathy and nonchalance. – After all, contrary to belief, she had no hope or expectation to hear more of the vampires voice.

As incredulous as it was in but a weeks time, and pride dismayed as it may be, his killer.. knew him. As if their little rooftop tango never came to an end, continuing with every conversation, every touch. In sync to the bone. To the soul. – She knew when he would sweep, and she would follow suit. When he would to and fro, dip and close.

...When he would attempt to sweep her off her feet with a tsunami of sentiment. Only for them both to lose their tempo when she'd misstep in the one move she couldn't reflect.

And just as predicted, when all was said and done Dio would find his ice sculpture, standing there. Off guard and arms crossed. Shifting her stance from one foot to the other as the cold and mechanical again whirred in an attempt to process a response.... But he wouldn't find her eyes. Azures refusing to meet scarlets, at best only shifting towards his fingers adorning the instruments keys when she finally glanced his way.

❝...Wow..❞ It was the least she could offer when even the block of ice in her chest could recognize the misfired effort on his part. Her tone low. ❝I must say... you tell me you aren't familiar with modern music.. you tell me you can't sing...❞ Brief slip aside, back to the to and fro. To the graceful steps taken to his side and hands placed atop his shoulders.

To what she knew. Emotional waves chilling against glacial walls, and a new foreign speck of pity, embedded in a veiled warning.

❝Didn't anyone ever tell you that lying so blatantly can get yourself killed...?❞

With any luck Dio would pick up on the hint and the compliment. ; The reminder of the dangers twilight brings. – The twilight he sung so passionately of was a woman in shades of blonde and purples, golds only found in jewelry and handles of the daggers she was hired to stab through his heart.

Her Lion sung of how not even his fatal enemy in the sky would stop him... to the woman who was supposed to lead him to his demise.

So many different emotions passed through him as she touched the piano, something about her body language and then the way she said her words, she would have liked him to sing. The vampire in truth had a bit of a hobby for singing, he would do it often when bathing or when alone but he had never done it for anyone to hear, he feared his voice would not be worthy of her ears and yet he felt that now he had to try. He walked to the piano and took his seat, slowly getting. The grand instrument ready.

“Twilight, it’s a song I heard a while back. Please take a seat anywhere you like and enjoy.” His voice was calm but with a small hint of nervousness, an emotion only she could bring out from him. He took a deep breath and then began to play the soft melody , his fingers dancing over the keys with great skill capturing her attention just enough for her to not expect what would come next, his voice.

Deep and melodic, perhaps from his love of theater and opera, he sang the emotional lyrics with care, pouring his emotions into every word hoping to express to her what she had done to him, how now he wants so much more out of life, how easy it was to close himself, to reject what could be but she came along and shattered the dealing he had placed on himself, on his life, now not even the sun will stop him, now he will love for what makes him happy for he has seen it in her eyes, he has seen the darkness and the light, the twilight of love.

As the song came to a close he played off the melody for a few more seconds and then took a deep breath, not knowing what face she was making, he had been too focused to even open his eyes during the performance, fearing he would miss a note or that his pitch would waver. What would she think? How would she react? He turned his head to see her and find out.

[icecoldwilliams]

Designer shades didn't give way to the vampires gaze. They stared back lifelessly in their duty to shroud the azure orbs underneath ; the prevailing yet withering coldness in her eyes. Even the brief flash of confusion as Dio again rushed to show off, phantom-esque and seemingly appearing at her side in a blink of an eye. Her luggage suddenly in hand. - All they failed to hide lied in the clear whip of her head and instinctive step back.

Shock.. whether by his showmanship or sentiment, dwindling to skepticism with the explanation off his silver tongue.

Ice succumbing, yet still unyielding.

— Nina took her purse from him, precision too gentle for a killer. Overseeing it's contents before turning her interest over to the grand instrument daring to demand her attention in the center of the room. ; Her.. admittedly welcome surprise, in spite of her lingering silence. Cold, but like a machine refusing to turn on, to properly function in the face of foreign warmth... A point she hoped to make clear via a mere passing brush of her hand against his, then hers against the mahogany.

Fingers delicate, admiring. Like a petrolhead with his Bugatti, and only the sound of her purse being set on the ground aside it's leg and select words to finally nail musings in place. One, ❝ Pity. ❞ then eventually a few.

❝...What song will you play? ❞

Something was wrong, this much was more than obvious, her mind was focused on something else but what could it be? After she asked why he had brought her here it finally clicked in his head, she had her things at the lobby. “Yes but before that…” in that moment Dio used the power of his Stand The World in order to stop the flow of time. While within frozen time Dio moved quickly, going to the lobby with the use of the stairs and gathering up all of her things with ease, taking care to not see anything she did not want him to see. Once he was back at her side he allowed time to flow again and simply said “where would you like me to put your things for now?” Her luggage in his hand as well as her purse in the other.

“As for why I brought you here we’ll, I felt like showing off a bit, play you a song on that piano, it’s been a while but I am proficient in playing, something I picked up in my youth.” He spoke softly with a kind expression on his face. “Thou sadly I’m not much of a singer so I can’t go all out and sing you a song while I play” he lamented for a moment as his eyes never looked away from hers, as if trying to melt that ice once more and make up for forgetting her luggage at the lobby.

“I also have something else I want to show you but that’s for later when we are ready to return to my home”

[icecoldwilliams]

Autumns chill personified. Not quite a raging blizzard, but a cold front moving through the lobby. Whisked away and unimpressed.

– Despite appearances, it wasn't the idea of the vampires staff speaking ill of him that concerned her.

The assassin, supposed to be discreet, doing nothing but her best all week to avoid too many eyes. Suddenly witnessed with her would be victim by all in that lobby hall. - All it took was one person, just one nosy enough and who recognized her, to complicate an already complex situation leaving a crook in her neck.

And the potential nail in the coffin, in a rush they were now left with all of her belongings. Clothes, makeup, tools of the trade... All sitting unguarded.

❝Whatever you say...❞

Forgive the statue for chilling the compact box. Slipping her hand from her Lions paw with little regard in favor of folding her arms. Of aligning again with silence, and a wicked brain reviewing damages across various scenarios. The cost in euros to replace essential's, the cost in lives should there come a need for more casualties...

Behind framed and tinted SR-91, those azures he loved still strayed. Lingering not on him, but forward on metallic doors. All but staring right through them as if willing them open before their very eyes.

Eyes that then scanned the new open setting meticulously ; almost robotically with each step taken further in. – Noting embellished columns fit for shielding foes, grand windows designed for an ambush... and a piano, placed perfectly to lure attention.

Promptly ignored before turning towards Dio.

❝Care to share why we're here..?❞

He let go of her gently, not saying anything just simply nodding as he held her hand and walked with her to the nearest elevator. Once inside he pressed the button of a floor she had never been on before and the doors shut. “I apologize for that. But I assure you all of them will quickly forget what they saw. It’s not that I trust my staff, I don’t, which is why I’ve made sure they know what will happen if they ever say anything about me to anyone outside of this hotel.” As he spoke his tone was that of the merciless vampiric boss of this hotel, speaking as if his word was law because when it canes to those that worked for him it was. A large contrast from the way he talked to his beloved.

He still held her hand within the elevator, a firm her gentle grip that she could escape with ease if she so desired. “There’s something I want to show you. I was thinking about it before I fell asleep earlier. It’s something that will surely soothe us both.” He says noticing she’s still tense from what happened in the hotel lobby. Would she have reacted differently if they had been alone? Something deep in his heart tells him she would have.

“I…don’t want others to see it…” his tone was back to normal, kind and gentle, full of adoration for her with every word. “I don’t want anyone else to see what only i am allowed to see.” He’s talking about her kind side, her tenderness, she can be so loving when she wants to. Within a few more seconds they had arrived at the right floor and as the elevator opened they saw not the usual hallways that led to rooms but a large open floor usually reserved for parties and other festivities. In the center of the room there was a large pianoZ “Th is what I wanted to show you”

[icecoldwilliams]

Taunts seek reaction, even those rooted in concern longed for riposte, and over the years hers and their precision have garnered a wide array. Sadness, ricocheted sass, irritability, fury. So much fury. Silence, resignation...

Yet never the vise of an embrace. ; Never a glimpse at sunlight among crimson furrows. Bright, warm, and challenging it's mirror image already submerged below the horizon. Leaving an apathetic heart bewildered under it's paradoxical light. – She didn't move, just stood there. In more contrast for once freezing at the vampires touch as his arms again ensnared her form. As meanwhile her arms didn't return the favor. Only raising slightly in the brief window between shock... and the caution that again bound them to her sides.

Origin within lingering stares broaching her radar.

Arctic pools captured each and every one the vampires figure didn't spare. Dooming them to drown beneath the swift thick frost, growing with each spotted victim... even her own Lion when his eyes finally met her own.

By that time, Dio would find himself face to face with azure ice fields. Faults in navigation not even belonging to the captain, but his crew.

❝...Seems the psyche is just as much an escapist from harsh realities when undead.❞ A brain eliminating a threat. How common. Rational, even primal. Like the split second glance towards their audience before she continued. Hint hushed to a lull. ❝Dio Brando. The trust you share with your staff must be impeccable.❞

— Did the renown villain find comfort in others knowing a softer side to him exists? His assassin didn't. Unlike him, they were far from worthy. Kept firmly outside the ice ; outside the shades eventually shrouding her eyes.

❝ Can we go? ❞

She met him halfway, she even felt concern for him, the vampire felt pathetic, how could he have let a simple nightmare have this kind of effect on him? Even still he couldn’t control himself anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. He was silent for a few seconds and then “I had a nightmare….a very vivid nightmare…something horrible happened to you and when I woke up you weren’t in the room my worry took over. I’m sorry for my weakness…just…let me hold you like this for a bit longer…”

He didn’t hide anything from her, saying it all and making it clear he had no secrets for his beloved. A few of the staff stared but they all knew better than to do anything more. Many trying to not even look at them knowing what’s best. Dio didn’t care, they could have been in the middle of a crowded lobby with strangers at every corner and he would have still embraced her like this. He would scream of his love for her on every rooftop if he could.

After a few more seconds Dio loosened his hold and looked into her eyes, that look was something new, happiness, he was happy to see her, to be with her, to hold her in his arms, she brought him happiness he had never known in a life before she knocked on his door, an assassin who did in fact kill him, she had killed the man he was and helped him be reborn into who he is now, all within a few days, all with the power of love, a power that may soon do similar things to her.

[icecoldwilliams]

It was almost out of place, how his killer blended in with the mundane. Seated comfortably in one of the lobby's chairs, phone face down on her lap, bags at her feet and gaze cast to the dimming horizon past the windows.. yet landing far further off.

She was an ice sculpture, captured in thought. Only thrown off her pedestal as the creeping sensation of crimson eyes brought neck strands of blonde back to life ; Only defrosting just enough to target the familiar Adonis new to the room.

In true seldom mercy, her lips even cracked a smile. Here one second, nonexistent the next as her Lions sorry state made itself known and soon had her on her toes. Even meeting him halfway across the marble entry hall.

❝Wow.. Still one night left and you're already looking the part.❞

The vampires ghastly pallor, his brisk stride. A choice found in a stairway over an elevator. All noted. Analyzed alongside a racing heart rate when the callous woman brushed her hand against his skin. Down his cheek, unfitting gentle touch lingering around a vital pressure point just below a chiseled jaw.... And all the while an unwelcome bitter poison contaminated her gaze, her tongue ; The subtle tilt of her head.

Not arsenic, nor anthrium — Concern.

Veiled behind a cliché.

❝You look like you've seen a ghost...❞

The vampire slept, wondering through a world of dreams, picturing that moment that was drawing soon, the moment when she would tell him her name and they could put an end to this game. He watched he’s as she spoke, revealing her name to him but…no sound came from her mouth, no this wasn’t right, she was saying it why couldn’t he hear it? Then he saw it, some unknown being that looked like something ancient people in Central America would worship, it put its dark claws on her head and pulled her into the darkness, he tried to love, tried to stop it but I’m trying he leapt into the darkness only to meet the sun right there in front of his face, as his skin burned and his life was forfeit he screamed for her reaching out as if hoping he could grab her from whatever place that thing took her but all he found was a familiar ceiling. He had woken up from the nightmare.

With a heavy sweat he got up and quickly noticed his beloved was gone. This sent a sensation of worry through his whole being but he knew what he saw was just a nightmare, nothing more. He closed his eyes and focused, there connection allowing him to sense she was still in the gilding, far lower down, but that’s all he could tell. Perhaps if he drank more of her life blood he would be able to pinpoint her exact location, perhaps she might be able to do the same with him. Dio got up and dressed himself, he didn’t now how long he had been asleep without her by his side but he didn’t want to be alone for another minute.

He quickly walked out of the room and took the stairs, going down to the lobby. The sun should be setting so it would be the perfect moment to give her that gift he had prepared for her a few days earlier. He arrived at the door to the lobby and opened it, what would he see behind it?