A/N: [WARNING] Talk of past trauma/non-consent, and abuse against women. It's only short but might trigger some. Skip if it might be so. 

Trauma like this is serious and takes many years to get over. I know first hand. So, I know this can be triggering, but I want to do the character justice and normalise that this takes time and support in order to recover. We don't just get over these things, even women as strong as Violet. 

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Shadows and light flickered, taking turns dancing across Violet's face. It disturbed and roused her, even as she fought the effect. Blinking away her exhaustion, she watched the twinkling dance of shadow and red sunlight as day gave way to evening. Even without the daily event, she knew dinner was near; her stomach didn't lie. 

A groan forced its way from her throat as she unceremoniously rolled over in the giant bed. Pain greeted her following the movement, and a long hiss escaped as her lips cringed. Aches and pains were in several areas, but none more so than between her legs. Despite the discomfort, it prompted flashes of the less-than-angelic actions she participated in hours ago. 

She sighed. It was so good. Best sex I've ever had. God, I feel guilty for having liked it! Why would I want something like that?

Dampness saturated her hair, prompting her to take a few stands between her fingers. She ran her fingers across her skin and found it dry but fresh with cleanliness. Taking a bundle of hair, she brought it to her nose and found vanilla and Hisoka's shampoo wafting from her strands. 

Hazy memories of washing after sex emerged. She recalled barely being able to stand as Hisoka helped her wash. Oh yeah... We did bathe.

Heat coursed through her cheeks as she remembered how tender and slow he'd been with her in the shower. His touch had been so different from their sex, careful and, dare she think it, kind. 

The desire of the hours before continued to rumble beneath the surface. There was no denying she would do it all again and almost longed for the next time with the murderous magician. How she could be so smitten at all, let alone with Hisoka, remained a mystery. She had never been interested in anything remotely romantic in her past. But there was no denying the shift since she'd grown closer to the Grim Reaper of Heaven's Arena.

Why the change? Why now? It's like I hit puberty or something. So frustrating. 

A thought shattered her rosy post-sex relaxation like a machine gun creating harrowing cries in its wake. Her blood formed a frozen glacier state. A gasp escaped as she shot upright. The shrieks of her disapproving body followed with a vengeance to warn against such rash movements. It was the furthest thing from her mind, which suffocated under the weight of her horror-filled realisation. 

Her hands clamped around the small of her back and dug into her skin. The attempt was feeble and useless. But the need to hide the scar was far stronger than any reason. Horror was pushed off to be replaced with inexplainable pure terror.

The positions! He saw. There's no way he didn't! No, no, no! He saw it. No, no!

Visceral panic overwhelmed everything as images of the failed werewolf slaughter flashed through her brain. Her body reacted beyond conscious control, remembering the horror Jason subjected to it. 

Irregular breathing overtook her as the fight or flight response tried to occupy and dominate every bit of her conscious mind. It was an attack of opportunity. He could never do that to you again! Not with the Nen. You're safe, Violet. Calm down! Calm down!  

Still, her mind screamed for her to flee. Control of the panic failed as an unbeatable struggle worsened. Throwing the blankets off, she attempted to stand. However, her legs failed in their jelly-like state, and she collapsed under the physical weight of her body. A loud thud from her fall vibrated along the floorboards as she released a cry. 

A sigh from the doorway caught her attention, and she spun to face the new threat. Hisoka filled the bedroom entrance, and his face held a deep frown, painting his exasperated features. She could only imagine what a dishevelled mess her appearance was as she fought to free her naked body from the entanglement of the bedsheets. Even as she struggled, her hold over the scar never lifted. 

The magician walked over and squatted to meet her in the nightmare zone, where she remained trapped. "Darling, I've seen the scar. A few times now~" 

Blinking, she tried to process what he was saying through her panic. Reaching out, Hisoka's thumb gingerly ran under the corner of her eye to wipe an unshed tear away. He then braced her by the arms to return her to a temporary sitting position. Snaking his arms under her knees and back, he lifted her exhausted body back onto the bed. 

"You don't have to fret over such a trivial thing. Battle scars come with the territory for people like us."

Violet opened her mouth to respond, then snapped it shut before looking away. The panic had settled since he entered the room, but it still clawed at her consciousness and fought for control. 

Hisoka sat on the edge of the bed beside her and gently hooked her chin, turning her face so their eyes locked. "Even if there is something nastier under that scar, such as its story, I will not judge you for such a meaningless thing." He offered a genuine smile, and it affected Violet in an instant, resulting in further placating of the discomfort.

"I-it's not meaningless to me..." She loathed how her lips quivered. She pulled the sheets over herself to cover the bare skin, returning her decency or what remained of it. 

"No, I don't imagine it would be. Quite the opposite," he responded. "But I don't want to give it any power. It doesn't deserve that from you."

It took several long seconds, but she began blinking away the last of her panic and relaxed under Hisoka's gaze. A pleased expression entered his eyes, and she wasn't certain why her softening feature would cause that effect. 

"What would you judge me for then?" Violet asked with a soft voice. 

Hisoka chuckled. "Your fighting skill. Possibly, your sex." He smirked as heat rushed to her frowning face. "Don't worry, your latter is well on its way. We'll work on the former while you recover here with me~"

"I'm a prisoner then?"

He shook his head and released her chin. "No. If you want to leave, you can. But..." He paused, and the corners of his mouth twitched as his eyebrows moved between furrowed and relaxed. Finally, he settled and continued, "I want you to stay...but—"

"I want to stay," she said, surprising even herself. But the look of flickering joy in his eyes was worth it. "I want to stay with you, Hisoka."

After spending a lifetime running and hiding, she opted to do this one bold thing: stay with Hisoka Morou, the Wild Card of a man. Instincts purred their agreement to the plan as much as other areas of her body concurred. And she would do just that, for now.

He departed the room shortly before returning and placing one of her forgotten shopping bags on the bed. "It's good you went shopping earlier ~"

She rolled her eyes but opened the bag to reveal the few outfits and lingerie purchased for her Yorknew trip. Hisoka watched her shuffle through, deciding what to wear.

"If the scar bothers you. Why not remove it?"

Violet raised an eyebrow and gave a playful smirk. "Scars, by nature, are permanent, Hisoka. You cannot remove them or heal from them, physically anyway." She turned back, rifling through her shopping to remind herself of the haul's contents and see which items survived the bounty hunter's attack.

"Biologically true, but you can change them or cover them."

She hummed a response without focusing on his face. "How so?" 

"You could have a tattoo placed so it would never show again." 

"Is that what you meant by 'cover'?" Violet frowned and looked at him once more. "A tattoo is permanent, too. I suppose anything is better than what's there now. But..."

Hisoka smirked. "What do you know about my abilities?" 

"Well. You are tricky with your Hatsu. I used the knowledge of your technique to prepare for our fight. You have an obsession with gum and named your technique aft—" She gasped, covering her mouth as everything clicked together. Forming a fist, she pounded it into the open palm of her other hand. "That's the smell! Bubble Gum. That's been annoying me for fucking months!"

Hisoka burst into laughter. "If it bothered you that much, you could have just asked me, kitten," he jeered. "I would have happily provided the information. I love explaining my Bungee Gum." 

Violet 'tsked' his response with slight annoyance and a touch of mischievousness in her expression.

He raised his index finger and began the explanation. "It's not bubble gum. It's Bungee Gum. It was my favourite gum as a child and now. My family was poor." He relaxed his hand and sighed before running his fingers quickly through his hair. "I lived in the slums of a city known as Glam Gas Land. It once formed the world's pinnacle place for oil. But when the reserve dried up, the city moved to casinos and entertainment options, catering to the rich and meeting the needs of others in more nefarious and flashy ways. This fractured the population into rich and poor."

"Why did you stay if you lived in such harsh conditions?"

"The level of poor we possessed was a destitute one. There were no means to escape. In addition, my mother could turn card tricks like no one else and yearned to make her debut on the circus circuit, where all top-notch performers aspired. Once they made it to the circuit, they were set for life." He paused to pounder, and flashes of something darker and almost sad flickered in his eyes. "I suppose it was her best option to get us out of starvation. When I first tried Bungee Gum, I loved it. Any time I gained even a single piece, I chewed it long past the point it lost all flavour." 

Violet blinked and listened sincerely to his explanation, soaking up every word with an interest akin to greed. I honestly thought you just have existed like this forever. What were you like as a child? 

"My first Nen technique is based on the gum itself. Bungee Gum. I also call it 'Elastic Love'." 

Heat rushed to her face at the secondary name and travelled far enough to cover her neck and ears. His expression softened to a wide grin with dark eyes, and she knew she would hear the name Elastic Love in the future. Jerk. But I like him all the same, so who is worse, him or me? 

"It, of course, has the properties of both rubber and gum."

"Yes, I've experienced it enough first-hand to figure that out. You seemed to be able to adjust how rigid it gets."

He nodded in affirmation. "It's highly versatile, so it doesn't matter if anyone knows the details. I can attach the technique if an opponent hits me or I attack them. In addition, I can attach it from a distance."

"I know. You did it to me in our fight and the one where you lost our arm." She shuddered slightly, remembering his forearm loss. It made her guts hurt in a way they hadn't the night she witnessed it happen, but she couldn't understand why. "Then there is no way to defend."

"I'd have agreed before our fight. But you found a way." His eyes shone, and she turned away, nerves flaring under his gaze. 

"I don't know what I did that night... It just... happened."

He nodded again. "I assumed, or you'd have been using it more consistently. It may be another Hatsu technique for you. It's worth looking into as it's stunningly powering. But remember, I pridefully brag about my Bungee Gum because of its versatility. Keep your Hatsu a secret. If others understand it, they can counteract it. This puts you in danger. It's well understood that those with Nen keep the specifics about their individual techniques hidden."

"Hey! You asked me about it in the restaurant the first night we met. What an asshole move!" She poked his arm three times aggressively. 

Bursting and friendly laughter filled the room from his throat, and she couldn't help the way her heart danced. He ensnared her wrist and brought his lips to her palm, then down to her wrist, and a small whimper escaped her mouth. He smiled in return before she yanked her arm back. 

"All part of the charm, darling. However, inside the gum from my childhood was a small cartoon insert. I based my second technique on that. 'Texture Surprise' is the name I've given this one."

He has another technique? Her eye widened momentarily before asking, "How does it work? Can I see?"

His lips beamed while his eyes twinkled. Without delay, he produced a magician's cloth out of thin air. A smile wouldn't be held at bay, and there was no way she could deny how much she enjoyed his magic acts. There was a child-like innocence to the magic tricks, in addition to a pure adult skill. 

But what followed was far more than a sleight of hand. As he ran his hand over the cloth, it turned colour, an exact replica of her skin. He placed it over her forearm and used his Bungee Gum to adhere it in place.

Violet gasped in marvelled shock. Moving her forearm around, she found no imperfections in his work, at least on sight. Once she ran a hand over the area, another small gasp sounded. 

"You have this on your back." That caused the magician to freeze. "The first night we slept together. I felt it when I was... digging my nails into you..." She flustered, which saw the return of his grin. "But! I felt it. It was different to your skin. I thought maybe you had a plaster or something there at the time, but it was this Texture Surprise?" 

Hisoka nodded. "Excellent attention to detail, darling. I'd expect nothing less." He removed the cloth from her skin. 

"You used it in your fight with that guy with the stick up his butt... what was his name?"

She paused but couldn't recall his name. She remembered his long hair and self-righteous attitude, though. That and one other thing... "So then you never actually lost your arms? It was an illusion?"

"No, he did cut both my arms off at the forearm. Machi, the Nen specialist I mentioned, has a technique that allows her to create Nen stitches. She can stitch you back together as low as the cellular level. But she can use the same stitches to remove a human in moments."

She swallowed hard at the thought of what a power like that could do, and then her chest ached. You would find someone like that very attractive, wouldn't you? A frown flowered across her lips like a venomous desert orchid. 

"Don't fret, darling." With a soft swoop, he held a playing card in front of her downward-cast gaze. The ace of spade she used on him during the fight sat within his hand. The blood still stained its face. Gingerly, she took the offered card. "She is unlikely to ever cross paths with you. Steer clear of the Spider troupe or Phantom troupe, and you'll be fine. But in case, keep this card. It's more yours than mine now. It can defend you in times I cannot."

Lifted from the depths, she held the card tight, and a soft smile lit her lip, lightening the anchor weight on her chest. Looking towards him once more, she asked, "But you used Texture Surprise in that fight?"

"Yes. You missed the end of the fight. I used Bungee Gum to stick my torn arm to the ceiling and wrapped cloth around it, hiding it with Texture Surprise. I then used Elastic Love to make the crowd believe my hand had regenerated." He rubbed the area where he lost his arm. Then, he slowly removed a cloth that once looked like his skin. Underneath the fake skin, he revealed a faint line that still healed where he'd lost his arm. "It should heal fully in the next few weeks. I can create over a thousand illusions and use them to distract and throw my opponents off."

"This is what you think could be on my back?" she asked. 

"Until you can decide on a tattoo you like most. I could even design tattoo options so you can try them with the Texture Surprise before choosing the one you like most." A soft expression with a smile lit his face while he watched her, and her heart hummed. "But for the time being, decide if that's something you'd like. I won't force it. The main point is that when you're creating a Hatsu technique, it must be something unique to you. The more emotional strength, the stronger your technique will be. Try to remember that while you're creating this new Hatsu." Standing, he smiled and said, "Now. Change. I'll take you out to dinner ~ ♥"

Excitement prompted a quick return to choosing an outfit. Yes! Amazing restaurant food. I wouldn't even care if it were a back-end street vendor right now. 

Hisoka leaned down and tapped twice on a green dress with white flower patterns near the base of the skirt. He winked at her before leaving the room. 

Well, the outfit is sorted, now for the lingerie... She paired the dress with black kitten heels, white stockings, and a light sweater. Throwing everything onto her body, she scampered into the living room. Content happiness coursed through every part of her body for the first time in years, and she never wanted to let it go, even if that meant walking into hell with the Wild Card.  

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A/N: What did you think? 

Is it really smart for her to become so comfortable with the psychopath? How do you think he'll take her wanting to leave for York New?

Thanks for all your support and continued reading! It really does brighten my day with every comment!