Rain swept across the fields of Infernity in cold silver waves, flattening the tall grass beneath the weight of the growing storm. Thunder rolled through the distant heavens with enough force to rattle the old shack behind them, but Tanya barely noticed any of it. At that moment, the world may as well have consisted solely of Orguz standing before her with her hands clasped tightly within his own.
Her Minotaur lover's fur was soaked through from the rain, dark curls plastered against the immense muscles of his chest and shoulders. Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the broad curve of his horns and the tenderness in his grey eyes as he stared down at her.
“You shouldn't have come, you'll be in great anger if anyone sees you here,” Orguz said quietly.
Tanya felt her chest tighten painfully. “I know,” she admitted. “My father would rather have me marry some distant noble cousin than let me be with a commner. With a-” She looked away in shame.
"With a beast," her lover finished dejectedly.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "It's... they all think like that. They just don't know the truth! That you're so much more!"
Orguz’s expression darkened slightly at that, though more with sadness than anger. “I will never understand Devils,” he muttered. “You speak endlessly of power and freedom, yet your lives are ruled by chains you bind yourselves in.”
Tanya laughed weakly. “You speak so profoundly.”
“I practiced saying it before I arrived.”
Despite herself, she smiled. Lucifer, she loved him.
Orguz stepped closer and lowered his massive head slightly so their foreheads nearly touched. “When I am with you,” he said softly, “I feel alive in a way I never have before. You make the world feel… brighter.”
The sincerity in his voice nearly broke her heart. Tanya’s eyes watered as she stared up at him while rain rolled down both their faces.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Orguz inhaled sharply, as though the words alone had struck him harder than any weapon ever could. His large hands tightened around hers.
“Then run away with me.”
Tanya blinked.
“Leave all of this behind,” Orguz urged. “We can go beyond the outer territories. Somewhere distant. Somewhere peaceful. Somewhere your family can never find us.”
“My family would never forgive me,” Tanya said weakly.
Orguz snorted. “Your family doesn't care for you! Not like I do!.”
She laughed despite herself, covering her mouth.
“I am serious,” he insisted. “What has your House ever done for you except decide how you should live? How you should dress or talk and walk?” He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a near desperate murmur. “Pick your own happiness, Tanya. Pick me.”
The storm rumbled overhead while Tanya stood frozen in place, trembling from something far deeper than cold. Every lesson drilled into her since childhood screamed at her to run from this madness, yet when she looked into Orguz’s eyes all she could think about was how exhausted she was of being told who she was allowed to love.
Finally, after one long moment, she let out a near silent whisper.
“Yes.”
Orguz stared at her in disbelief. “Yes?”
“Yes,” Tanya repeated, laughing through falling tears. “I’ll go with you.”
The Minotaur let out an almost boyish sound of joy before sweeping her into his arms and spinning her around beneath the pouring rain. Tanya squealed as the world blurred around her while thunder cracked overhead like applause from the heavens themselves.
“I swear I’ll make you happy,” Orguz promised once he finally set her down again.
“I know you will.”
Reluctantly, Orguz stepped back. “Wait here. I’m going to head into the city and secure us passage beyond Infernity. By tomorrow night, we’ll be gone forever! Into our new lives!”
Tanya nodded eagerly as he turned and began jogging down the dirt road cutting through the endless field. Halfway down the path, Orguz suddenly turned around and waved both massive arms over his head.
“TANYA!”
She burst into laughter and waved back. “What?!”
“I LOVE YOU!”
Her cheeks burned bright red. “I LOVE YOU TOO!”
Orguz grinned so widely it looked almost ridiculous on a creature his size.
And in that moment the sky shattered.
There was no warning beyond the sudden violent roar of thunder. One moment Orguz stood there smiling at her beneath the rain, and the next a colossal blue dragon burst down from the clouds with terrifying speed. Tanya barely comprehended what she was seeing before enormous jaws and rows of fangs closed around the Minotaur’s torso and ripped him screaming from the earth.
Mud and shattered stone exploded across the road beneath the force of the impact as gigantic wings beat once against the heavens.
And then both dragon and Minotaur vanished into the storm above. Tanya remained standing there in complete silence, one hand still raised numbly in mid-wave.
A single sandal fell from the sky a few seconds later and landed in the mud beside her.
=======
Ichigo glanced upward as lightning flashed past the windows and proceeded to immediately sigh.
Setting his book aside, he rose from his chair and walked toward his girlfriend and stared right into her cold, serpentine eyes. He conjured a napkin into existence and gently grabbed her chin before wiping away the blood.
Honestly, she was such a messy eater.
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A/N: Idk, this randomly popped into my head as I was working on chapter 78. I found it funny as hell.