#❝ 𝙘 . 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 ❞ ╱ 𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚝

[saccharinexvenom]

oh, baby, i could love you 'til the day i die until the oceans start to run dry use my last breath just to call you mine i could love you for a whole lifetime

[saccharinexvenom]

FEATURING    ›     caio & iris ( @wcvenwcb ) LOCATED AT    ›     holiday charity gala

tired of running ; the words hadn't stopped moving through his thoughts. infiltrating each one, as if all he could think about was her. it certainly didn't help that the time between then and now had been chaotic. a mixture of needing to attend to his own organization, before shit really started to hit the fan. it also didn't help that amid a crowd of what could be estimated to be hundreds. she had been the first that drew his attention. that had his gaze held firmly, expectantly. as he watched her enter, with some prick on her arm. the anger that was so often barely contained threatened to boil within him. like a dormant volcano eager to erupt once more. and so, to avoid an eruption, caio excused himself to the bar. where he waited for the damn bartender to finally make his rounds .

yet, it seemed relief would not so easily be garnered. when the familiar scent invaded his space. his senses. and he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that iris was near him. " so i guess that's what you meant when you said you were tired of running . "

[saccharinexvenom]

i could have showed you all the scars at the start but that was always the most difficult part see, i'm in love with how your soul's a mix of chaos and art and how you never try to keep 'em apart

[saccharinexvenom]

FEATURING    ›     caio & iris ( @wcvenwcb ) LOCATED AT    ›     a bar somewhere

the bar had been the type of solace he had needed. the base of the music ... the carried voices ... it all helped to drown out the voice that lingered in the depths of his mind. that questioned ... that argued ... that demanded the answers that he would probably never hear. never know, from the one person that had become a ghost in his life. disappeared with the rising sun, as if she were nothing more than a dream he had been unable to hang on to. or perhaps a nightmare ...

the very one that now stood before him, after the crowd of people had parted. maybe it had been the liquor in his system, that played tricks on him. or maybe it were his mind, and its wishful thinking that she were still here. as it were, there was nothing more than venom on his tongue. " you know, it's not too late. the door is right there, if you'd like to run . "

[saccharinexvenom]

caio was tired. of seeing ghosts. of being reminded of days that had come and gone. of the life that he could have had. had even a speck of those paths been slightly different. a rock, a twig ; a goddamn bone been given to him after the family that he had been born into. the anger that had been etched into his very core by the god of war himself. as if caio would forever be fighting a battle, a war ; the end of times. as if those burdens alone rested upon his shoulders, and the only reprieve had been the moments where he had come home to her. while they hadn't shared one, while only a handful of his things had been at her place. and vice versa. it had been enough. more than. and he would have traded everything ... anything to be able to have one more day, night as they once had .

there had been heat behind her words. confirmation that there had been nothing between her and the date that she had brought. her boss, as she had all but yelled at him. which caused his brows to crash together, for the creases to form so intricately along his forehead. " merda, alright, jesus . " he spit out. if only because he had been caught off guard. by the choice of words. by the sureness behind them. that despite how it may have appeared to all those on the outside, it had been anything but. though, the words hadn't ended there. as iris continued, as she bit back at the words caio had unfairly thrown her way .

you are my punishment .

the words had been like a slap. a punch to the gut, unlike any he had taken in his career. one that would have left him gasping for air. but he remained as stoic as he could be. as his fingers curled into the roughness of his palms, nails pressed in tightly. he had never needed to be her punishment. he could have been everything that she had ever wanted. yet, he couldn't find the words. for a moment, as he focused his gaze upon her. on those ever familiar features that haunted his every sleeping and waking thought. " punishment , " he tested the word upon his tongue. as if it were so much more than it seemed. as his hand lifted, fingers uncurled so that he could rub his hand against his jaw. as if he truly had been slapped. " you made me that, when i never had to be . " his eyes were set on her features, unwavering. " this ... " his hand dropped from his face, indicated the invisible line that still connected him to her. and vice versa. " had been it for me. you had been it for me . " and despite how his words marked a past happening. caio couldn't help the fact that she was still it for him. even after he had woken up to an empty bed .

𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐋𝐘, 𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑 with the feeling of a lack of pride. with it comes a lack of fight for what she truly deserved. but, she had grown to understand just how much she had lost because of it. that after all these years, she didn't have to be alone. and while she would understand if caio hated her with every second he had left to breathe, he bound within the fabric of her vertebrae. with every moment her heart beat, his beat too. she had tried to fill his place with temporary people, but the high would always eventually fade. and she'd be left with the same emptiness as before. thus, she had come to terms with the fact that if it wasn't him, she'd be chasing the same feeling forever. the effect of his face, his smile. his laugh danced through every inch of her apartment. his hair in every crevice. she found his toothbrush in the first days after and cried on the cold tile of her bathroom floor until she simply couldn't breathe anymore. desperately wishing she could take it all back. what scared her the most? that regret had never dicipated.

frankly, she wouldn't quite believe her either. and yet -- she feels her anger surge when he doesn't. what he doesn't know, is that she wears him like a scar. she sees it every day worn across her heart -- next to the places he used to know so well. the crevices of skin he used to touch. and then there was the wreckage of them. she was picking up a new shard every day. something in her wants to walk away, find donovan, and burn this conversation down with yet another glass of wine. but, while she may have done that years ago -- she knows better now. besides, she needs to stay as sober as she can stand before the show. information she had only divulged to donovan and francesca.

no, i didn't. why does this cause her to relax, when she has no right to? even if he had brought someone else, she knows she has no say. even still, her own anger does not let up. she drew the first blood. and yet, it's he who approached her. he could have left her well enough alone, gone home with some girl who could have given him everything she couldn't. and she would have to live with that. yet, he was still here. " i'm not fucking my boss, caio! " she eventually speaks, eyes locked on his in a show of truth. a show of unity between syndicate members made sense, considering the appearance that they had to give of neutrality. " i never expected you to wait for me, and i never asked you to. i live with myself and my choice every fucking day, and i know i deserve it. " all because she woke up one day, looked at him, and wondered if he'd join the list. the list of every man in her life, who had inevitably disappointed her. left her behind for in their eyes, something better. " that is my punishment. you are my punishment. "

[saccharinexvenom]

the poets of old had once claimed that love were a stain upon the heart. that once felt, it could never be rid of such a feeling. and perhaps that had been true. for caio had never quite found himself able to rid himself of her. to cleanse his heart, his soul of the reminders of her. from those that he passed upon the streets of the city. to the very smell that continued to assault his senses. even in the middle of the night, that smell would be a reminder. as if it manifested itself from thin air simply to ensure that her mark did not fade. that he would never be rid of her presence in his life .

business partner ; the thought was almost laughable. perhaps at himself. or perhaps at the notion that she expected him to believe such a thing. to write off the way they looked walking in together. the pure ecstasy that seemed etched into each of their faces. and perhaps that could be boiled down to the friendship shared. or perhaps something else nestled beneath it. something that she wished to hide from him, in the hopes that she could excuse herself from this conversation. from the very place that she had unknowingly carved into his life. into his soul .

his hands had been upon the bar counter. and as the thoughts spiraled within his head, his fingers curled against his palms. nails bit into the rough surface of his palms. anger had always been his weakness. his main flaw. and in that moment, he didn't know where to direct it. at her, for leaving him in the first place. or perhaps for finding someone else, as if caio hadn't meant anything to her at all. or at this business partner, for taking up the space that caio thought would be his own. for that night, and every single one that followed it. " no, i didn't . " he bit out the words, as his gaze finally shifted to find her. as it always would, in any crowd. " but i wasn't the one that threw this away. or did you expect me to wait around until you changed your mind ? " had he been that obvious ? that he would have waited a lifetime. for her .

𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 since their sudden, chance encounter ( which still amazed iris to this day -- that in a sea of millions, they could manage to find their way back into each other's lives ), iris thinks of little else but him. not that she had ever stopped. wondering if his grip on her would ever be released, wondering if she ever wanted it to weaken. if she could go back, she never would have let him go. she would have screamed at the voices in her head until they were rendered silent, and went right back to the bed they once shared together. perhaps it was because he had such power over her, the ability to make her forget everything that came before him -- that she had worried such euphoria could be taken just as quickly as it had been given. of course her eyes fall on caio as she enters with donovan, just for a fraction of a second. it takes that long for her to know. she doesn't want to make him jealous. no. that's not what she came here to do. she came her to support donovan. she needs to get to him. explain that she's here to support one of the closest people she has to an anchor right now.

it's you, her heart screams. if only the words could spill from between her ruby red lips, but all she does is wish that her heart could be audible. it's always been you.

he's quickly lost amidst the sea of partygoers, and her heart sinks. perhaps that means he's gone forever. she needs to go to him. fight instead of run, like she had once before. but then, the crowd parts once more -- like the sea that she wishes would swallow her whole as she takes in the scene in front of her. he's here with someone else. thus, she decides to leave him alone. perhaps it's better this way, that he's happy with someone else -- someone who wouldn't implode them like she once had.

" what? " she questions, her voice coming out in a strangled scoff. it's not that she's angry at the thought of feeling anything towards someone like donovan, but it's simply just not the case. he was there when i shut you out. " he's my business partner, for your information. " she wants to ask the question that hangs in the air, desperately. because even if that's not her intention, it means something she both wanted and feared: he still cared. " you didn't come alone either. "