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“Did you think you could take him and I wouldn’t do anything?” Anomaly’s voice rings out in the warehouse, and Jaing looks up, blinking through the black blood dripping sluggishly into his eyes. It’s been too long since he fed, and he feels weak and drowsy; it’s almost enough to make him forget the pain of the silver chains binding him. He can smell the magic in Anomaly’s blood, calling him - it smells like ozone, the crackling of electricity before a lightning strike, and his mouth is watering.
“You said he couldn’t find us-” one of the assholes hisses to the other, and Anomaly laughs. It’s not the sweet summer sunlight laugh Jaing loves; it’s a storm in winter, hard and cold as jagged ice, sharp enough to cut to the bone.
“You really thought I wouldn’t find him. You really- wow, I knew you were fucking stupid, but damn.” Anomaly’s eyes blaze like twin flames from beneath the brim of his hat, and his smile is a knife blade in the dark. Fuck, he’s hot like this. He holds up a hand. “Jaing, gorgeous, don’t move. Things are about to get messy.”
“You wouldn’t-”
Anomaly laughs again, his fingers poised. “You thought I was too good for this, didn’t you? You thought I wouldn’t fight back if you took someone I loved, because I’m a good guy, didn’t you ? Just because I don’t go around like you do, killing who I want just because I read a spell in a book and got myself all powerful, I’m a good person. Oh, honey . I’ve never been a good person. Not - even - a - little .” The sound of his fingers snapping sounds like a lightning crack, and Jaing closes his eyes at the blinding white light that surrounds them.
When he opens them, the assholes are gone, and Anomaly is crouched in front of him, the silver chains falling away with a wave of his hand. Jaing tries to stand, but Anomaly is there to catch him when he stumbles and falls, lifting him effortlessly. “Easy, gorgeous, come on. NJ is outside waiting - you can thank him for tracking you down - we’ll get you home and you can get a bite to eat.” He grins at his own joke, and Jaing laughs with him, soft and weaker than he’s ever felt. It scares him, and he can feel Anomaly shaking, and hear his heart beating triple-time - he’s afraid too.
“Thanks for coming for me.” It’s the most sincere thing he’s ever said to Anomaly, but he can’t help it
“You owe me, again .” Anomaly tilts his head, burying his face in Jaing’s hair. “I’ll always come for you, Jaing, always. I meant what I said. I’m not a good man, but I always take care of the ones I love, and gods, I love you.”
Jaing feels the faint flicker of what might be a heartbeat in his chest. “I love you too, ni runi.”