slightlyoffchilt | - IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

It is important, Raina. Everything about you is important -- including your abilities. [It was flabbergasting to him, that she would downplay her own transformative power. After she so effusively admired the power and capability of others? There was something to be pried open, something she frantically sought to avoid.]

I -- I can appreciate your reluctance. To discuss.

[He eyed her halfway nude form, the distraction slicking over his agenda. Chilton swallowed again, and rubbed his palms up and down his thighs. He knew this was an intentional disruption, he identified her haste and strategy. He stared at her svelte, toned body.]

Because. Power can be so. Personal.

[ Raina's brows were knit together, nimble digits dancing their way over Chilton's shirt and picking apart the buttons one by one before she parted the fabric and reached out, touching his bare skin -- her hand resting right on one of his surgical scars. She looked up at his face right then. ]

We all have our scars. The dark things we want to keep locked up inside. They heal but they leave their marks on our skin, in our hearts, on our souls. Yours, you can see. But mine...?

[ Raina let out a huff of breath, looking away from him. ]

This world gave me a chance to hide my scars. So let me keep hiding them. The way you hide yours from me. The same way you always avoid the topic when I ask.

[ Her tone became desperate. Raina was raw, open, and emotional right now. It was weakness, but it was real. ]

Please, Frederick. Just forget about it. Or at least pretend to forget about it. Humor me and I will never ask about your secrets again.

[ She brought his hand up, making an X over her chest. ]

Cross my heart.

[He looked down at his exposed torso, having put up absolutely no resistance to Raina's whimsical fingers. When she touched the dissection scar, he winced -- not because it caused him pain, no, Chilton had long grown numb to the faded ache of a split stomach. The damage was done, the cells that had remained were healed as much as they were ever going to be. What caused the wince was the fact he couldn't deny what she already knew, he couldn't blind her to what she had already seen.

When she pleaded with him, when she made the X with his hand brought up to her chest, Chilton's brow furrowed.]

You're right.

[The concession came after a heavy beat.]

I do hide my scars from you. My history. And perhaps -- perhaps I needn't to, especially if you're going to expose yourself. If I'm asking you to do so.

[Raw, emotional, vibrant Raina.]

[ Raina blinked. No. No, no, no. That wasn't how this was supposed to go. If he told her now, where would her bargaining chip go? If he exposed himself now, then she would be obligated to do the same. As long as they could both hide behind that curtain, hide behind their scars they were on equal ground.

Raina made the move to get closer, to crawl onto his lap. ]

You don't have to tell me.

[ She reassured, her eyes on his belt as she pulled at it. ]

You don't...

[ Tug, loosen. ]

...have to--

[ Unziiiip. ]

--tell me.

[ Raina's eyes met his. ]

I don't want to lose you, Frederick. And I'm afraid I would. Thorns are ugly, protecting the rose but it's the rose you want. No one wants to date the thorns. I told you, didn't I? When we first met -- that SHIELD had reason to be afraid of me.

[ She took his hand and guided it to her cheek, tilting her head to lightly kiss his palm. ]

I don't want you to be afraid of me. So you keep your secret. And I keep mine. Is that something we can agree on?

Raina -- Raina, goodness.

[She was a like tsunami surging -- no, she was a thunderstorm, an electric sexual force of nature illuminated against him. He couldn't say no to her fingers, he couldn't deny the way her eyes looked at him. He moved to hold her face between his palms, to calm that storm for just a moment.

Raina, you are remarkable. How could anything remarkable ever be considered unattractive? How can that be conceived?

[His fingers stroked back her hair. Gently, attentively, his motions controlled.]

Thorns aren't just a defensive mechanism. They can insulate, too. They manifest designs unknown to others.

You don't understand.

[ And he wouldn't. Not unless he saw it. Raina closed her eyes against his touch, savoring the warmth. ]

People are always so afraid of monsters, but they don't realize it's worse to be one.

[ Raina's eyes opened again and she worked Chilton's jacket off of his shoulders. ]

If I show this to you, then you owe me. A secret for a secret. You had your chance to back out. So now it's time to truly weigh the worth of your scars against mine.

I said I would tell you.

[He leaned over, offering a kiss to her lips. But even a kiss couldn't mask the smug smirk he wore; it was emblematic of Chilton thinking himself the victor.]

About what happened to me. What was done to me.

[Abel Gideon was not an avoidable topic. Better that he explained it with control, better that he carved out the terms of agreement.]

[ Chilton could be such an asshole. Raina furrowed her brows at the smugness of his expression, how he seemed to think he had just won something here, and how he just wouldn't let the subject go until he got his way. Even his bargaining chip of sharing his secret came with a self-satisfied edge. Raina needed to knock him down a few pegs. ]

I suppose it's only fair that I tell you. After all, I already told Harvey. And he told me he didn't think I could be more beautiful than I already was.

[ She attacked his insecurities and ego. Raina had confided in Harvey before she confided in Chilton. More than that, she would have never told Chilton if she didn't have to. But Harvey still would have known because Harvey could appreciate the ugly side of things, couldn't he?

The truth was, Raina told him because he was to be her lawyer -- her representative, the man who would help her take down Skye. He had to know the story, the full story. But Chilton, who had whined and begged and been so quick to cut Harvey down to nothing didn't need to know that. ]

You -- what?

[Chilton slouched back, his spine falling into the cushioned arm rest and away from Raina. The crestfallen expression cut across his lips as Chilton quickly adopted a sullen, suspicious mood.]

You're in conversation with Harvey Dent? Still?

[It landed a sharp punch, just as Raina had intended. Chilton crossed his arms over his bear chest, and pricked up his shoulders. The very image of her confiding with Dent, of them probably laughing together over coffee in a posh yet accessible coffeehouse -- that image gnawed at him.]

Just this past Saturday.

[ Raina answered airily. ]

He showed me his office.

[ She got up when Chilton moved away, pacing a few steps before removing her shoes and socks, setting them to the side. Then, with her eyes on his, she reached behind herself to unhook her bra. It slipped off her shoulders easily and fell to the ground. The matching lace panties followed suit, and she stood before him -- nude and natural. Still beautiful. Still unmarred by her thorns. If Chilton really wanted to see it, then he was going to see all of it.

And if he didn't immediately leave her after seeing it, then she knew he would be worth it. If not, Harvey Dent could very easily replace him. ]

And Frederick, if you so much as flinch in disgust when I show this to you, I'm walking out that door and never coming back. This is the risk you're taking. Are you sure you still want to go through with it? It's not too late to back out.

[ Please back out. ]

I'm not going to back out.

[He said this while staring at her, catching himself gazing. She was lovely, so lovely. It was easy to get distracted by her beauty, and the psychiatrist was aware of that face. He was aware that she knew this fact, and utilized it to her advantage. That was, too, what made her so exquisite.

Chilton's body language relaxed, and he unfolded his arms -- once more exposing his dissection scar. He looked down at it, frowning, and rubbed his finger over where his left kidney used to be.]

I don't have an organ there, any longer. Abel Gideon took my kidney. He took a few other... Bits. As well.

[No need to expose the details of a circumcised intestine, or the months of touting around a colostomy bag. That wasn't particularly sexy a discussion.]

He escaped from my hospital. Kidnapped me. Drugged me. Strapped me to a gurney and proceeded to... Perform extraction surgery on my body. Gideon took out -- [Chilton swallowed, looking away.] He took out everything, and forced me to hold it all.

[Gift basket. That's what Gideon had called him, a gift basket for the true Chesapeake Ripper.]

I survived it. I can survive your secret, too.

Edited 2015-05-24 21:11 (UTC)

[ Raina's expression became drawn with surprise and concern at his confession. Her eyes flickered down toward that scar again and then back up at him. ]

Frederick. That's...that's incredible. Not that such a horrible thing happened to you, but the fact that you survived it. It takes someone truly extraordinary to not die from the shock alone, and someone with an extreme strength of will to pull through the recovery period.

I...I don't know why you were afraid to say anything before now. [ She moved to the sedan, sitting beside him and taking his hands in her own. ] I couldn't be more attracted to you than I am in this moment.

[ Because she always thought Chilton to be a bit of a coward. His words and promises of protection could only go so far because he wasn't a fighter. And she doubted he had ever even faced anything truly horrifying. But he proved her wrong. He got sliced and carved up as a part of someone else's sick and twisted experiment, and he lived.

She reached out, running her finger lightly along the scar. ]

You are amazing.

[ And she lavished him with true awe, her arm wrapping around the back of his neck as she pulled him into a kiss. ]

I certainly like to think so, yes.

[Ever modest. He wrapped his arms around her hips as she pulled him into that kiss, and he echoed her actions with equal fervor, his opened shirt slipping back so as to let their bodies touch skin to skin. It was an intimate breed of heat, and Chilton considered the maneuver both sincere and a distract tactic.]

Won't you tell me now?

[He asked, whispering it against her ear. A few kisses -- and a lick at the lobe -- tried to mitigate the depth of his request, but Chilton had his agenda to adhere towards. Nevertheless, a slow burn wasn't beyond his antics; his lips moved along her neck, savoring the taste of her flawless flesh. He kissed her collarbone, looking up only momentarily, in an attempt to seek permission for additional exploration.]

[ The kiss lingered -- heated, passionate, and intensely wanting. In some way, Chilton had proved his worth. It might have been strange that hearing about Chilton being dissected was such a turn-on, but you know. This was Raina.

When his lips were on her ear, she took the opportunity to divest him of his shirt -- smoothing it down his arms before she was in his lap again, leaning into his wonderful mouth, fingers moving up to slip into his hair while he explored her collarbone. ]

What? And ruin the mood?

[ She sighed when he kissed near the center of the clavicle which happened to be a particularly erogenous zone for her. But he shared his story. And he wanted to know hers. And it was only fair to tell him. ]

I'm not entirely human. We're inhumans, they call us. My grandmother always told me about our family being special. She said I would undergo a transformation and become an angel, that the blood in our family was intertwined with another race -- an alien race. And when the time was right, that DNA would awaken inside of me. And it was the only thing I ever wanted in my life, to be special, to be something more.

So I went through life, doing what I could to work toward this goal. And finally the stars aligned and I was able to put everything into motion. The thing you need to understand is Skye is also an inhuman. She and I shared the same fate, and when I went down into the temple to put the ritual into motion, she followed me like I knew she would. She claimed it was to stop me. But I know the truth -- she wanted to know who she was and what she would become just the same way I did.

[ Raina lowered her eyes to his open slacks and the palm of her hand skirting over the center of his undergarments. ]

So there we were, a piece of alien technology placed on a pedestal in this temple. It opened up to reveal these beautiful crystals. And I remember being so excited, thrilled to finally know the truth and to have my grandmother's stories become a reality. From the crystals escaped a mist that hit both Skye and I, and then we were encased in some kind of chrysalis. It spread up my arms and quickly surrounded my body, and my final thought was one of fear and confusion.

[ Raina sighed, finally pulling back from him and putting distance between them. ]

The stone broke away, and Skye emerged just as beautiful as ever. She became everything I wanted to become, everything I thought my grandmother had meant for me when she told her stories. And I became....this.

[ She closed her eyes, willing her human form to give way to the thorns. They poked through her skin, growing out of it and surrounding her from head to toe. Her fingernails became claws, her hair faded in favor of becoming sharp and pointed barbs. And when she opened her eyes again, they had changed color -- now a golden amber. She watched Chilton quietly, worriedly, looking for any sign of horror or disgust. ]

- IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

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idk if this is necessary, but CW: nonsexual nudity~

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