*Artwork by: @060satt on Twitter. Please ask this artist for permission before reposting their work.*

(Sorry this took so long to get published. I was seriously doubting myself and this dialog. Really sorry for the uneven paragraphs. I hope this makes sense, and is not cringy. Enjoy!!!)

*Huge thank you for those who responded to my question a few days ago. It really helped me out.*

*SETTING: PARKING LOT OF ASLYUM.*

   I led König by his hand, and out of that cell with a big smile on my face. Horangi was there on the other side waiting for us. "Well aren't I glad to see you again." He said to König as he strode up to him with his arms sprawled out wide, simulating a hug. I chuckled as König seemed visibly disgusted at Horangi's request. They were so silly together, it was honestly adorable. We made our way back through the increasingly challenging, and claustrophobic tunnels with König occasionally getting himself stuck in certain tight areas along the way. He had to semi-crouch the entire time, so when we made it back to ground level it was an honest relief.

   "I'm going to go and sign you out König, you guys can go find the car, and catch up a bit." I said, waving before parting ways with the two men. Surprisingly, König didn't put up a fuss about me leaving him behind, when just a while ago he was clinging onto me like an asthmatic person does with their inhaler during pollen season. 'Maybe his clinginess was just a temporary thing? Maybe him being alone with people he didn't know really put him through a scare; therefore he attached himself to me as a way to cope? Eh, it's whatever.' I told myself as I continued on to the front desk.

3rd person pov:

   "You should be on your hands and knees thanking me right now, not showing me attitude. I brought her back to you after all." Horangi said, crossing his arms, and leaning on the hood of his jeep. "Oh yeah? I should, shouldn't I? I guess I should also thank you for wrapping your arms around her right in front of me, too. Heh, if that's the case, Danke Horangi! Danke!" König spat, dramatically throwing his hands up in the air. "What? What are you talking about?" Horangi asked, seeming genuinely confused. König, however, stayed silent; not even bothering to answer him. "Are you talking about when she was crying?" Horangi asked, after a considerable amount of time had passed; faint traces of sarcasm lacing his tone. "Don't play dumb with me." König growled, raising a finger, and pointing it at Horangi.

    "König she was crying, literally sobbing.-" Horangi started before being cut off. "I don't CARE. You keep your hands off of her, Horangi." König warned. "Ok, seriously dude what the fuck? If I didn't do anything you would be all like; 'Oh Horangi you're such a bad friend~ why didn't you comfort my wife, she was sad, why didn't you do something?' Now you're getting mad, because I just barely hugged the woman? You're losing your damn mind dude." Horangi said.

   Seemingly unprovoked, König launched himself at Horangi, slamming him down onto the hood of his car. "You calling me crazy now?" He asked, gripping the collar of Horangi's uniform with one hand, and semi-choking him with the other. "What? No! What I'm trying to say here is you're fucking delusional. Your obsession with this woman....it's getting out of hand." Horangi said, pausing for a brief second to catch his breath. "When the hell did it get this bad, man? I got you all worked up over a tiny hug that I gave her-" Horangi started before getting cut off again. "WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" König screamed, tightening his grip on Horangi's neck, choking him. "MINE. SHE'S MINE HORANGI. YOU DON'T GET TO FUCKING TOUCH HER." He said, repeatedly slamming Horangi into the hood of his own car. Shocked wasn't the correct word to describe how Horangi was feeling.

   As König was yelling at him, all Horangi could see were the pin-drawn dots of König's pupils, and as much as he hated to admit it, this was one of the times that König was actually scaring him. Over the years, he'd seen both sides of König; his obsessive side, and his dormant, quiet side. But this, this was new. Though, no matter how modish König's behavior was right now, it wasn't all that much of a surprise to Horangi. Occasionally, König would explode in unwarranted anger whenever he was overwhelmed, but.....there wasn't anything around to trigger him. 'Could this all truly be just him being posessive?' Horangi asked himself. Sighing, he took in a deep breath. "I won't touch her ever again. I- I- promise." He said, raising both of his hands in a surrendering type manner. "Good." König said, immediately stopping his aggressive behavior towards his bestfriend; the corners of his eyes crinkling, suggesting he was smiling.

   He let go of Horangi's collar, but kept a good grip on his neck. "I won't have to remind you of this ever again, right?" König asked, earning a near silent 'no' from Horangi. "Good! Good! Because, I won't hesitate to put you six feet under, just like I did those three other men before you." König spilled through gritted teeth. Horangi took a hold of König's wrist as best he could, and tried to lift it up, and off his neck to give himself more air. Seeing that he was failing to free himself, and in a fit of frustration, he let out a snarl. "Shit. You are fucking crazy." He mumbled. Bad mistake.

Bad,

Bad mistake.

   Horrified at what had come from his own mouth, Horangi watched as König's pupils shrunk even more; if that was even possible. König rounded back his free hand, and latched it onto Horangi's neck. He then began to squeeze, hard; effectively strangling Horangi. Horangi tried his hardest to claw, and pry off König's hands, but to no avail. He still had his gloves on, and was struggling to be able to get a good grip on König's sweaty fingers. The more Horangi struggled, the tighter König squeezed. It was becoming more and more evident that this time König wasn't trying wasn't to scare him, but was actively trying to kill him. "I'M CRAZY, HUH? I'LL SHOW YOU CRAZY. I WILL RIP YOU APART JUST LIKE I DID THOSE OTHER MEN. YOU THINK I CARE ABOUT OUR STUPID LITTLE FRIENDSHIP?" König yelled, manically laughing at the sight of Horangi's color-draining face. "It won't matter if you died right here and now.....she would forgive me. I know she would." He snarled, gritting his teeth from the force he was using to strangle Horangi.

   In a last attempt to save his own life, Horangi raised a half-limp arm, and pointed it in the direction behind König. Surprised Horangi even had any strength left, König's grip loosened just a tiny bit, allowing Horangi to gasp in a tiny amount of air. As König looked behind him, his eyes went wide, and he let go of Horangi's neck completely; resulting in an exaggerated coughing fit that broke out from Horangi as he struggled to take in more air than his lungs could manage. König's stomach dropped, and his mouth went dry. His worst nightmare had come true. She'd seen him.....ALL of him.

   He backed away from Horangi, clenching his sweaty hands, gaze fixated on her. He wasn't just scared, he was terrified. She was going to judge him, become scared of him. She'd seen just how much of a true monster he was; strangling his own best friend to the brink of death for calling him crazy. 'Maybe he truly was messed up in the head. She was going to leave him. She was going to abandon him. No, she can't leave him....she WON'T leave him, she said she wouldn't. She promised.' He thought to himself, trying to think somewhat positive. But that all changed when he glanced up at her face....Belle's face. She'd seen everything, and he could tell she was far from pleased.

    He huffed a shaky laugh, and fell to his knees, cradling his head in his hands. His chest started to tighten, and his hands began to tremble. All he could think about when he closed his eyes was her face, and how scared she looked. 'She was scared of him. He was a monster. Why did he have to be like this?' He thought, only pushing himself farther, and farther into his panic attack.

Earlier~ 1st Person POV:

   Getting to the front office was surprisingly not hard. There was no over the top security measures, and no long and overbearing tunnels to navigate through. I caught up with the doctor who oversaw König, and asked him about the patient sign out process. "Ah, you don't have to worry about that. I did it for you, hope that was okay." The doctor said, scratching his arm nervously. "No, no, it's totally fine! I really appreciate it." I said, brandishing him a small smile. "The pleasure is mine. Say, about König's mental state, I was going to send him home with some withdrawal medication to combat the side effects of the calming meds we give here, but I doubt he'll need them. He has you after all." The doctor said, bearing a smile of his own.

   "Doc, I don't understand when you guys say I'm his cure, I'm this for him, I'm that for him. What does it all really mean?" I asked. "Ah, my apologies for not going into grave detail. Allow me to explain." The doctor said, crossing his arms. "König- maybe it happened over an extended period of time, maybe he was born like this, or maybe a tragic event happened somewhere in his life, and he had a psycotic break, but either way he's classified as a little crazy. It's the best way I can put it as I have never seen anyone so disconnected from reality." The doctor said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The conscious is a man's compass. Without it, he's forever lost, and is always left wondering the difference between right and wrong. A man with nothing left to loose is just as dangerous, and König is both. Now, what we mean by you being his cure is simply the fact that he has developed an attachment to you, more or less an obsession. You may have pieced this together by now, but an obsession can be deemed as a weakness to even the most heartless of people. Which is exactly the case between you and König. He has something to loose, and it's you." The doctor said.

   I stood there bamboozled, jaw hanging open and everything. The doctor chuckled upon seeing my face. "You have ultimate control over that beast. Hell, he'll do anything you ask of him with no questions." He said. "Wow." I mouthed. The doctor simply laughed. "I know I've asked about this countless times before, but what about his obsession....is there a way to cure it? I'm sure he doesn't really want to be attatched to me like this." I said, grabbing a bit of skin on my elbow and pinching it. The doctor stayed silent for a moment, seemingly thinking about his answer. "Well, to know how to fix his problem, or rather stop it's progression, you need to know what kind of obession he harbors toward you." He said. I nodded, taking in this new Information.

  "Obssesive disorders manifest themselves in many different ways, some being less hazardous than others. In König's case, he is obsessed with a person, which is you. He doesn't display anger, or envy towards you, but instead acts as your "protector." The doctor mumbled, pinching his chin, and scanning over my face. "Aha!" he said, snapping his fingers. "Okay, it's called 'OLD' or obsessive love disorder." He said, and maybe it was the look on my face that caused him to also chuckle a bit. "Ok, ok. Yes, it sounds stupid, but trust me it's a real thing. This disorder mainly stems from people with abandonment issues. It usually starts off as an initial, overwhelming attraction. Which then turns into obssesive thought's that stem beyond the point of control. Pathological jealousy, and controling behavior usually sets in a little later. Long story short, they gradually become obsessed with one person, and one person only. The sad thing is they usually doesn't even truly love the person they are obsessing over." The doctor said, sighing dramatically.

   I hummed in acknowledgment, but deep down I felt my heart throb. 'So this entire time-....fuck. No, stop it Belle. Save this for later.' I told myself, swallowing the ever-growing lump in my throat. "I see, and it's called obssesive love disorder?" I asked, trying to distract myself from my on-coming sadness. The doctor nodded. "Yes ma'am. Now, keep in mind you can't exactly just make a person stop their obsession, it takes time. Alot of time, and patience. Constant reassurance is key, it helps to build up their confidence, which would eventually lead to independence. If you can, let him be as close as he wants to you. Only do this if you're comfortable enough. Also, don't force yourself to give in to his wants, and desires. He still needs to respect you, but allowing him to be as nearby as he wants will cut down on his anxiety alot. And with due time, you'll also find that you'd be able to leave him by himself for longer periods of time without him going crazy." The doctor said. I nodded. "Reasurrance, and allow him within close proximity of me. Okay, that sounds do-able." I said, brandishing a toothy grin towards the doctor. "Exactly, and like I said, in due time you should start to see the changes." He said, flashing me a smile of his own. "Anything else?" He asked. I simply shook my head 'no.'

   "Alright, well I hope I helped, and thank you for being such a caring lieutenant. A lot of people usually turn a blind eye to the mentally ill, especially when they are of no government use. I've seen alot of soldiers, good ones too, get striped of their titles when they fail a mental health evaluation. So it's nice to see someone who cares. Oh, and by the way, your relationship with him, König I mean; It's not as simple as you're making it seem." The doctor said, tilting his head to the side. Caught of guard by the sudden shift in the conversation, I sighed, and shut my eyes. 'Guess there's no point in hiding it anymore.' I thought to myself. I opened them again, and huffed a small laugh. "All right, you caught me. You're right doc, there is a bit more to it. Though it's true that we haven't done anything that involves intercourse, I- .....I do harbor some feelings for him..." I said, fighting against my trembling voice that was threatening to break.

   I let my gaze fall to the floor. 'Why was this so embarrassing?' I thought to myself. "Hm, so I was correct all along. Well, no worries. When I said that people with OLD usually don't even love the people that they obsess over, I was not talking about your situation. I have to admit I only said that to get a better look at your reaction, for that is simply not true regarding this case. König is truly in love with you sweetheart, you should see the way he looks at you; like you're the only light in his dark, secluded world. It goes a bit deeper than just his obsession, and I can see it. I also feel like if you work with him long enough, you both can work things out, and turn his attraction into a less toxic one." He said, brandishing me with an all-knowing smile.

   I rolled my eyes at him, and felt my lips curve into a tight, but genuine smile. "Thanks doc." I said. "No problem, don't hesitate to call whenever you need some adivce." He said. "Oh, and don't get all happy now. Let him come to you first, let him tell you about himself, and let him tell you how he truly feels." The doctor said, raising a finger and pointing it at me; I nodded in response. We exchanged contact info, and went our separate ways. As I walked through the lobby, I could feel the muscles in my face tightening into an overexaggerated grin. I was so happy. The thought of König possibly liking me back was enough to send me back to my high school days, gigling like a true schoolgirl. As I stepped out of the Aslyum, and began my journey to the parking lot, loud banging noises followed by screams woke me up from my little happy fit. I stopped dead in my tracks, and looked around. At first, I didn't see anything as the parking lot was nearly empty. That is until I spotted Horangi's jeep, and the horrifying sight that came with it.

   Not believing what I was seeing, I neared closer until I could quite literally hear the sounds of Horangi choking on his own spit. Sure enough, I had seen right. Hörangi was on the hood of his car lying on his back with König in between his legs, choking him. The sounds Horangi was making was nothing short of horrid. Beyond shocked, I stepped onto a nearby median, and called out. "König...?" I shouted. No answer, he didn't even budge as he continued to choke Horangi. I began to panic as I had no idea how long this entire thing had been going on. My brain was in scrambles, and my mouth was hung open in silence as nothing would come out. I just couldn't wrap my head around what was happening right in front of me. I tried to think of possible reasons as to what the hell was going on, but to no avail. 'Was this for real? Is he strangling Horangi? He isn't dealing with withdrawl, is he? How am I going to get him off of Horangi? I literally left for ten minutes, what could've happened-' I tore myself from my thoughts as I watched Horangi raise a semi-limp arm, pointing it in my direction.

    The commotion seemed to pause for a second as I watched König peered over his shoulder at me. Upon seeing me, he immediately let go of Horangi, who then began coughing agressively to compensate for lack of air. 'So....this was for-real.' I thought to myself. König locked eyes with me, and in a swift motion, turned to fully face me. I don't know what expression I had on my face, but it had to have been one that wasn't pleasant. He started to slowly take tiny steps towards me, causing me to snap out of my trance immediately, and shuffle backwards. He must've noticed my hesitation, because he stopped dead in his tracks. Before I even knew what I did, I watched in horror as König dropped to his knees. He began bunching up his shirt, seemingly clenching it in pain. It was almost as if he was silently suffocating. Even though I was a good couple a feet away from him, I could even see the trembling in his hands. 'He's having a panic attack. Help him.....I need to calm him down.' I thought to myself.

   As I ran over to him, I quickly glanced up to see Horangi's condition. He had rolled off the hood of his car, and was on the ground still heaving while laying on his back. He had evidence on him suggesting that he had thrown up at some point. When I made it over to König, I carefully reached out, and rubbed his shoulder, the same way as I had done earlier. "Breathe König, just breathe." I told him. I started soothing him as best I could, while glancing up from time to time to check on Horangi. Eventually, his shuddered breaths stopped, and his breathing returned to normal. "Liebling...I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" he started, before I cut him off. "Save it for when we get to base." I said firmly, before standing up, and making my way over to Horangi. "You alright?" I asked, looking down at him. "Yeah, never been better. Holy shit, you saved me." He rasped, rubbing his hands over his concealed face, and nervously chuckling. "Yeah, well I didn't really do anything. You just got lucky. Hate to admit it, but I froze up back there. I'm sorry." I said, extending an arm out to him.

   "No, no. It's not your fault. Just-....I don't know." He said. "You wanna take my hand or can you get up by yourself?" I asked him, feeling my arm grow tired. "Yeah, I can get up myself, thanks. I'm just....gonna lay here for a little bit. Let me know when you guys are ready to go." He said. "Ok, take your time." I said, retracting my arm. I turned on my heel to see that König had stood up. He had his back towards me, and was looking off into the distance. As much as I wanted to say to him, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew he needed reassurance right about now, but what was I going to reassure him of? 'How was I supposed to keep him in check without pushing him over the edge?' I thought to myself. As I opened my mouth to say something, the sound of Horangi's jeep roaring to life shut me up. König caught a glimpse of me, and instead of trying to talk to him, I motioned towards the vehicle, signaling that it was time to go. Without a word, I turned around and made my way back to the jeep. I threw myself into the passenger seat, followed by König who threw himself into the seat behind me.

Time skip: Arriving back at base...

   The drive back was eerily quiet, and with no signal for radio stations, it made the silence much worse. No one bothered to try and start any sort of small talk, nor did we even look at one-another. Occasionally, the silence would be broken whenever Horangi rasped a dry cough, or cleared his throat exceptionally hard. It was a dire reminder of the event that had occurred just a few hours earlier. During those long hours, me and Horangi alternated between driving. We silently agreed to leave König out of it. After my third hour of driving, we finally pulled into the dirt driveway of the base. I checked in with the security, showed them our badges, and continued on. I parked the car, and handed Horangi back his keys. "You should get your throat checked out. It looks pretty bad." I said, staring down at the now purple, and blue rings that lined his neck. "I will. Have a nice night." He rasped, before closing the door, and walking off.

   I turned around and poked König's exposed cheek with my finger, instantly waking him up. "Cmon, we're back at base." I said, turning back around, and stretching my arms up and over my head. I got out of the car, and so did König. I locked the doors from the inside, and began the trek to the dorms with König following loosely behind. At some point, I glanced up at the sky as we walked, and realized that It was already night-time, with the sun being completely gone from the sky. Deciding to take the doctor's advice, I stopped in my tracks, and spun around on my heel to face König, earning a tiny jump from him. "Do you need another mask?" I blatantly asked him. He thought for a moment before answering a near silent 'no.' I nodded, "Is there anything you need from your room? You're staying with me tonight." I told him, crossing my arms. I watched as his eyes popped before returning back to their usual sunken state. "Yes." He said. "Alright cmon then. Hurry it up." I said, turning back around, and continuing to the male dorms.

   We mostly walked in silence, with the exception of my soft humming. König hadn't said a word to me since we left the asylum, and part of me was thankful for that, but the other half felt truly bad. 'Was I too rough on him?' I asked myself. Being so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't realized that I had walked right past König's door. That is, until he yanked my arm, pulling me back towards him. He let go immediately after we made eye contact. "Sorry." He mumbled, before unlocking his door, and letting himself in. He left it open, and after standing out in the hallway for a considerable amount of time, I sauntered in, closing the door behind me. König rushed out of whatever room he was in, and just stared at me. I stared back at him, not saying a word. After a moment in silence, he finally spoke up. "I don't.....think it's safe for you to be around me anymore." He mumbled. I cocked an eyebrow at him. "And why's that?" I asked. He met my gaze, "You know why..... I might hurt you too." He said, dropping his gaze back down to the floor.

   Before I could even argue with him, he disappeared back behind the wall. 'Well, we've got alot to talk about.' I thought to myself.

'Alot to talk about indeed.'

(4367 Words)

✍ ( ◔◡◔ ) //I changed this entire thing at least 4 times. I was trying to teach myself how to switch POVs. I got one of my lines for the doctor from a fortune cookie. I had way too much fun with using all caps, too. So, how have you guy's been....?//