Homecoming [powered_otaku]

[sweetsalome]

    He had silently entered his own house the night before, when no one was there to greet him, to make a fuss over him.  Standing in the front foyer, he looked around slowly, not a thing out of place, the great walls and ceiling as silent as a tomb.  Like a giant cat he had stalked through the house, making sure everything was as it should be.  A massive shadow, gliding over chairs and carpets, all seeing, all knowing.  The shadow beast settled himself in one of the massive high back chairs in the living room, glass of scotch in hand he listened, he waited.  He waited a long time before this, there was nothing wrong with waiting a little more.

   

    Salome thought she had been wrong.  Maybe he wasn't coming home that day, or maybe he had just decided that it wasn't worth it and just left town.  Maybe Santa was real and this year she would finally get that pony she always wanted for Christmas. 

There's nothing wrong with being wrong, just expect the consequences of not being right.

He called her into his office, summoned her, as if some sort of employee, if she was nothing but a serf on his estate.  She sat in one of the big high backed chairs across from his desk, the one with the slippery leather that squeaked every time she moved or shifted.  Palms wet, heart racing, two works away from a panic attack as he fixed her with those eyes of his, eyes she had only seen from behind the safety of bullet proof glass.  There was a high likelihood that she was going to either die or throw up on his Persian rug.

She did neither.

He spoke to her softly, asking how she had been, how Jonba was and how her summer had gone at her grandparents.  The more they talked, the more she relaxed, until she was left only slightly weary, her palms now dry.  Maybe she had made a mistake, there was no threat here, just a man she had missed while he had been gone.  Someone who had changed when no one thought he could.

He asked her for a hug.

Standing up, she walked to him and lent forward to give him a gentle hug around his shoulders.  For a moment that was enough, but when she started to pull away, he grabbed her by the hips and yanked her down into his lap.  Despite the struggle, despite the fight she didn't do any damage, except smack her foot against the desk drawers.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me two hundred times. . . Maybe I might be asking for it.

    "I heard you've been bad," he whispers into her ear, hand at the back of her neck, holding her still like some wild animal.

    "I heard that you've been telling lies about me," his fingers tightened, applying more pressure.

    "I even heard you found a play thing, and he believes you.  How long do you think that's going to last?"  With his free hand, he reaches for the ring on her left hand and twirls the band around slowly.

    "How long before he gets tired of you?  Before you come crying back to me because he doesn't love you any more. . ."  He stands up with her and starts to move to the door, dragging her along as she struggles in his grip.

She doesn't fight as hard as she could have, she knows that if she did it would hurt, a lot.  She doesn't want to get hurt, she doesn't have the defenses for it any more.  This needs to be over, this pain, this humiliation, this feeling of being so filthy and disgusting that she can't even look at herself in the mirror.  Somewhere, between the study and the bedroom, she takes over, and mercifully, Salome doesn't feel a thing.

She picks up the phone and she sends the text message after a shower.  There is no need to delay the inevitable any longer.

Comments

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

When the ring is on her finger she whimpers, her fingers wrapping around his and clinging to him tightly. She tries so hard to be strong, she can't cry, big girls don't cry. Girls that cry aren't pretty, and are just a burden. "I'm going to be brave, but I am scared, Hiro. Please tell me it's going to be okay, please tell me you'll come back."

She's shaking again.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"It will be ok. It will be hard for a little bit, but I will be here soon and I will help you through this. I will only be gone long enough to come here by regular means. This is my alibi if they think I did it. After all, how could I do anything to your father if I was all the way in Japan?" He slips the ring completely onto her finger. "You are my love, sun goddess. I will be here for you."

The cops are banging on the door. "I love you, Salome." He kisses her, steps back with a very deep sigh of regret and vanishes.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Salome sits numb, allowing the soft words and kisses, they comfort her, but not enough to hold it together when she hears the banging. He's gone, she's alone, and that means she can break down. Sobbing helplessly, she staggers to her feet and all the way down the stairs, to be greeted by the police.

It's going to be a very long night, but a familiar one. She just wants it to be all over.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro frets as he reappears in Japan about 10 minutes after her original text message. It's not a stretch for him to act like the nervous fiance who is on the way to America to help his betrothed after receiving a text message. He's worried that she's not ok and that it may be too much for her alone. He considers vanishing from the plane bathroom to see how she's doing, but to appear so suddenly in the US is only going to ruin his plan. He has the Blackberry he used to get the combination from the safe and that he tied into the house cameras the night of the party.

The flight is pure torture. He really is beginning to hate regular travel these days.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

The whole thing should be routine, the questions by the paramedics and then the detectives. This time she doesn't have to lie for her father, she tells the truth, that he beat her, he abused her, and when he was done he forced her to take a shower and dress. She doesn't know why he left, but she wasn't going to wait for him to get back. This seems to satisfy the questions from the detectives, for now. The physical exam is the worst part of it all, she has to strip down, they take pictures of her bruises and preform a rape kit on her. It's so cold, so clinical, and she feels sick to her stomach as she is dressed in scrubs since they have to bag her clothes for physical evidence.

She should learn by now to bring her own change of clothes.

The questions start getting more intense when they can't find a single reason for why Liam Collins left. No cell phone calls, no credit card activity, nothing. The malfunctioning video doesn't seem to help. But there is no sign of foul play, and if she's so tiny, how could she have killed him by herself?

Salome feels like she's going insane. She just wants to go home.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro finally lands at Kennedy, gets through customs quickly since he isn't carrying anything. Anyone seeing him today will tell the police that he was quite upset and not carrying anything more than a Blackberry and his passport (which has a lot of stamps on it. He signals a cab as soon as he's out the door and gives the address to the townhouse.

Fidgetting something fierce, the cabbie tries to chat him up, but Hiro's way too tense to make any kind of small talk.

As soon as they get there, Hiro throws money at the man and rushes up to the house to find a couple of uniforms waiting. They give him a look that tells him that they're extremely unsure of why they should let him in.

"I am Salome's fiance," he tells them. "She sent me a text yesterday...today...yesterday in Japan. Today here." He really is getting flustered because he's scared now that leaving her alone was the worst possible thing he could do. "Please let me in."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

When the detectives can't get anything more out of her, they release her, but they post the uniforms outside her house, in case he comes back. They still think that he just ran when he saw what he did to his daughter. She could tell them that Liam Collins could really give two shits about what he did to his daughter.

That's the reason why there are uniformed officers outside her house, and of course with the police comes reporters. They snap pictures, and try to get in Hiro's way as he gets out of the cab.

Salome is hiding out in the den, the most private, roomy place in the house. When she hears the commotion at the door, she looks up and ventures out of the room to peek at the front door. She catches one of the cops eyes and nods desperately, already hurrying out to greet him as the cops let Hiro through.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

He rushes in and gets her immediately out of range of the cameras by blocking her from their view. This is not something she should be subjected to. He gently walks her into the study and shuts the door.

Gently he takes her face in his hands. "Are you all right?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Nodding quickly, she puts her hands over his and took a deep breath. He's here, he's back, he's not going to leave. She was worried, in all the questions that had been flying at her, she managed to find time to be scared that he wasn't going to come back to her. "I - I'm fine. You came back. I thought . . ."

Putting her hands on his face, she pulls him into a deep, hard kiss. She needs to feel him, just for a little bit, to feel good again. Maybe she just wants to make sure he's real, that he doesn't find her repulsive.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

He kisses her back deeply. He gently directs her to one of the chairs - not the one behind the desk and sits down in it and holds out his arms to her. He knows she needs reassurance and cuddling in a chair is as good as it's going to get until she feels comfortable enough to go upstairs.

"I am here, okasan. You need me and that is all that is important."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Climbing into his arms and on to his lap, she folds herself around him, tucking just right, in that perfect spot where she feels completely surrounded and comforted by him. Her hands slid over his arms, to his face, his hair, touching his rumpled clothing. He smells like airline and day old clothing, but it is the best smell in the world to her. Even though her body hurts, her head aches, she can forget all about that with him here.

"Anata. My love, my soul." She whispers against his mouth, inhaling deeply she hugs him tightly. He's here now, and they can be together, everything is going to be okay.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"You are all that is important," he says. He is touching her gently, letting her senses fill with him. He kisses her lips, his tongue gently caressing them. She will need to be grounded. "Aish'teiru." His hands caress her, play with her hair, brush her cheek. He makes certain one arm stays around her to let her feel anchored.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Her fingers move through his black hair, pushing it away from his forehead as she opens her mouth to him. She tastes him, his tongue and flavor, it feels like it has been ages since she had him like this. Groaning weakly, she lets her fingers move over his cheeks to his bottom lip. "Beloved. My beloved." Bowing her head she nuzzles his ear, down to his throat, cuddling and holding him close.

"You complete me."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

His tongue caresses hers, tasting salt and dryness. She has cried herself until she had nothing left. His arm tightens around her a little more.

"We complete each other, sun goddess. I am the moon to your sun, yin to your yang, gentleness to your strength."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

When Hiro's arm tightens around her, she groans and whimpers into his mouth. His grip presses against her bruises, but she doesn't want him to stop, in fact she falls deeper into the kiss.

"I don't know what I would do without you. He would have killed me, he would have hurt me until there was nothing left. You are my hero."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro is reassuring himself, too, as he shifts a bit under her to press her closer to him. She's scared and he wants her to feel better. He lets himself fall into the kiss, relishing her mouth and nimble tongue.

"I could not let that happen. He is long gone, never to return."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Breaking the kiss, she gasps for breath and presses her forehead against his. Finally she peppers his face with kisses, his eyelids, his cheeks and then his lips once again. "Handsome, beautiful, Hiro. I love you." Her lips find his again, and she is seized by the need to make love to him, but holds herself back, uncertain.

"I know, I believe you, I trust you. You will protect me."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"You know it here," he points to her head, "but you are still not sure here," he points to her heart. "He has terrorized you for so long that you still expect to see him around every corner. Especially here. Perhaps we should go to my apartment in Manhattan so that you can be close, in case the police need more information, but far enough that you will not feel his ghost near you." He suddenly reaches into his jacket and pulls out the blackberry. "This is the combination to the safe." He hands it to her with the numbers showing on it.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

He is right, so very, very right. She hates this place with every part of her being. Looking at the blackberry she smiles with relief at the code and sags against his shoulder. "I will get it when the police are gone, I can't go through it now. I want to go to your apartment though, I don't want to stay in this place any longer." Very slowly starts to move of of his lap, careful to keep in contact with him at all times.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro dials his driver with the Blackberry. "Is there a back street near here that he can pull up and we can escape through? It would be best to avoid the press vultures."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"Yes, the garden is walled, it leads to an alley, I don't think I saw any reporters out there." Taking a deep breath she brushes bangs away from her eyes and moves back out to the hallway. She looks for her shoes, and then when she finds them she pulls her hair up into a pony tail and reaches for her sweater.

"Let's go."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

He takes her hand and follows her out of the town house to the alley. In a few minutes a black limo with darkened windows shows up. Hiro opens the door to let her in. Inside it's dark and cool.

"Did the person in charge of the police give you a card?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

In the cool darkness of the limo she pulls her sweater up around her shoulders. It has that new car smell, that smell as if it hasn't really ever been used, maybe it hasn't for all she knows. Her head on his lap, she reaches under herself and pulls out a card from her back pocket. She holds it up between two fingers, laminated hospital ID bracelet still on her wrist.

The card is white, embossed with the New York Police department shield, with a name and a number on it. There's a pager number on the back. Her face presses into his thigh, lips against the fabric. The car makes a soothing noise as it moves.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

He gently strokes her hair when she puts her head in his lap and dials the number on the card. After a minute or so, the phone rings. "Detective, this is Miss Collin's fiance. I am taking her to my apartment. Yes, I have a residence in New York." He gives the man his address, then clicks off the blackberry. He continues to stroke her hair, letting her relax. He thumbs the comm to the driver and says something in Japanese that Salome doesn't recognize. The car continues on, taking a detour through Central Park to add a little more time.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"I like when you say that, when you call yourself my fiance." Her fingers curl around his knee and she arches her back up slightly, like a long blond cat that has taken up residence next to him. She feels safe here, in the dark of the limo, taking her far away from that place, keeping the outside world, out. Her hand moves up his thigh, and she sighs, hair spilling over his fingers, his leg, it's grown long over the summer, almost white.

"Talk to me in Japanese, don't tell me what you are saying, just talk, please?"