[EPILOGUE]
The morning sunlight bled through the gaps in the cheap apartment blinds, casting harsh, bright lines across the messy, tangled bedsheets. The room was heavy with the lingering scent of sweat, friction, and a quiet, profound exhaustion.
Max slowly opened his heavy amber eyes. He blinked several times, trying to adjust his vision to the brightness of the morning. His entire body felt strangely drained, a deep, satisfying ache settling into his core muscles that had absolutely nothing to do with his usual morning calisthenics or intense combat training.
He shifted his weight slightly on the mattress, feeling the cool air hit his skin. He realized immediately that he was not wearing any clothes.
"Ho—how did it come to this?!" Max whispered into the quiet room, his voice raspy and laced with a sudden, rising panic.
He slowly turned his head to the side. Lying right next to him, sleeping soundly and peacefully under the thin white sheet, was Bellatrix. She was also completely unclothed, her blonde hair spread out in a wild, chaotic halo across the soft pillows. She wasn't doing anything; she was simply resting, dead to the world, a faint, contented smile gracing her lips.
Max pushed himself up, resting his weight on his elbows, and took a closer look at her. As the fog of sleep cleared from his brain, the physical evidence of the previous night came into sharp, undeniable focus.
His amber eyes widened.
Scattered across Bellatrix's pale skin, running continuously from the base of her neck all the way down toward the soft curve of her boobs, were numerous dark, distinct hickeys. They were vivid shades of purple and red, standing out starkly against her fair complexion, painting a violent map of what had transpired in the dark.
'Di—did I actually do that?' Max asked himself inwardly, a sudden wave of nausea hitting his stomach. 'Did I really go way too far on her last night?'
He reached up and rubbed his face with both hands. He had a chaotic, fragmented blur of memories from the past night playing on a rapid loop in his head. The heat, the skin, the aggressive friction, the heavy, desperate breathing.
He pushed himself up further, sitting fully upright against the wooden headboard. The blanket slipped down a few inches, revealing the delicate skin of Bellatrix's throat.
Max stopped breathing.
Clearly visible on the sides of her neck were faint, unmistakable hand marks. They were the distinct, bruised fingerprints left behind from getting choked.
He widened his eyes to an impossible degree. He brought his hands up and violently clutched the sides of his head, feeling a massive headache forming behind his temples.
"ARGH!" Max let out a low, muffled groan of sheer disbelief, gritting his teeth so he wouldn't wake her up.
The fragmented memories finally pieced themselves together into a coherent, undeniable timeline. He remembered exactly what had happened last night. He remembered giving in to the tension, and entirely losing his strict, assassin-level self-control.
He could not believe that he had actually done it. He had treated her exactly the same way he used to treat Emhy when they were having intense, unrestrained sex in his past lives. He had engaged in hardcore sex with Bellatrix—a rough, highly dominant mix that included heavy, restrictive choking and intense physical demands.
He was a master assassin. He was supposed to have total, flawless control over his physical strength and his dark impulses. But last night, that control had vanished entirely.
However, as his memories came rushing back with vivid clarity, trying to assign all the blame to himself, one specific, echoing sound pierced through his guilty thoughts. He remembered the exact word that Bellatrix had eagerly uttered in the heat of the moment.
"DADDY~"
The memory of her high, breathy voice saying that word sent a sharp shiver directly down Max's spine. He widened his eyes again, staring blankly at the wall.
She had called him that. She had looked up at him, her gray eyes hazy and completely lost in the overwhelming pleasure, and she had called him "daddy." It was a classic pet kink name. And the craziest part was, she had called him that exactly as he was heavily choking her, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was actively loving every single second of the rough treatment.
Max just touched his temples, his mind swimming in deep confusion as to how he had gone too far on her body. He had just done hardcore sex with her, and what made the guilt worse was the undeniable fact that she was a virgin at that time.
He slowly lowered his gaze and looked at the wrinkled bed sheet beneath them. There were distinct spots of blood on it.
"Sigh…" Max let out a long, heavy breath, dragging his hands down his face.
Though he felt immense guilt for what he did to her, his rational mind reminded him that she was heavily at fault too. She had explicitly told him, right before they started, that she actively wanted to get dominated by a DILF like him, even though he firmly argued that he was not that old yet. She had pushed all his buttons on purpose.
He still remembered the chaotic details of that night. He remembered losing himself in the heat and even using heavy dirty talk, openly calling her a "crazy bitch" and a "masochistic chemist" right to her face as he pinned her down. And instead of crying or getting scared, she had only begged for more.
He sighed heavily again, wallowing in disappointment with himself. He was genuinely in shock that he had done this again for the second time in his existence. He had engaged in hardcore sex with a virgin like her, and the intensity mirrored exactly what had happened when he was in his very first time with Emhy many regressions ago.
He simply shook his head to clear the swirling thoughts. He leaned his head back against the headboard and just looked up at the blank ceiling of her bedroom as he sighed again.
***
[BEFORE IT HAPPENED: LAST NIGHT]
The city outside was dark, the streetlights flickering against the brick walls of the apartment complex. It was already late at night.
Max stood in front of his apartment door. He reached out and opened the heavy metal latch with a dull click.
—CLICK!
Max slowly walked inside his dark apartment, closing the door behind him. He looked incredibly tired, his shoulders slumped, and his amber eyes swimming in pure, unadulterated confusion.
He didn't bother turning on the main lights. He just walked over to his living room, letting his heavy body fall back onto the soft cushions of his couch. He stared into the darkness of his own home.
"Sigh…"
He rubbed his face vigorously, trying to scrub away the lingering tension of the day.
"…Why in the living hell did she even say that?" Max asked the empty room, his voice echoing slightly. He constantly questioned why Bellatrix had said those words to him in the hallway.
He was deeply confused, of course. Even though his tactical mind could easily theorize that she likely had some romantic or physical feelings for him based on her blushing and awkwardness, her execution was baffling. Instead of asking him to go on a normal date, getting coffee, or doing literally anything that regular humans did to court each other, they literally shortcut the entire process. She had bluntly, directly asked him about having sex right then and there.
That was exactly why Max was in such deep confusion. Why did she say that? Like, why would a woman like her—someone he firmly thought was just a normal, albeit slightly quirky, scientist person—act like a borderline nymphomaniac? Directly asking him to have sex with her in the middle of a hallway was something that had already gone way too far past his current, reformed conscience.
Max sighed again, shifting uncomfortably on the couch.
"I mean, I was definitely used to being asked blunt things like that by Emhy, but…"
His mind drifted back to the dark blue-haired elf.
"…I thought Bellatrix was just a normal person. Sigh. And here I am, sitting in the dark, overthinking why she even said something like that! Like, why do we even shortcut from zero straight to doing the deed?! Like shit, is she really a 'crazy bitch' like that mercenary warned me about? Like, was that guy actually right that most highly educated scientists like her are just so much more intense, and have such a high libido that they simply can't resist their urges anymore once they latch onto someone?"
Max spoke his thoughts aloud as he looked up at his ceiling. He truly couldn't understand any of it. Worse, he was simply not used to being directly asked to have sex with a modern Earth woman, and worse, a civilian woman like her who had no experience in the dark world he came from.
"Even Emhy was not this horny nor this much of a nymphomaniac right out of the gate?!" Max argued with himself.
He was used to being asked by Emhy, yes, but he was used to it because they already had a deep, established relationship forged in the fires of a magical war at that time. Even in his many, many regressions, he always built a relationship with her first.
And Bellatrix? He didn't even know her true personality yet. Hell, he was not even that close with her emotionally, since he had just newly met her a couple of days ago.
To Max's traditional assassin logic, asking a man you just met to sleep with you, without even having any emotional closure or at least confirming mutual romantic feelings for each other, made her seem like a nymphomaniac. It made her seem like a terrible person who couldn't control her urges when it came to her intense horniness.
Max sighed for the tenth time that night. He needed an outside perspective. He couldn't figure this out alone.
He pushed himself off the couch, walked over to his desk, and turned on his encrypted computer. The screens flickered to life. He booted up the dark web relay and started to contact the only person he considered a friend in this world.
The green text box appeared on the black screen.
M: Hey Maester, good evening.
The cursor blinked on the screen for a moment. Then, the status indicator changed.
Information Maester is typing…
Max watched the screen, waiting for the old man to respond.
Information Maester: Hey, M. Good night. It's already the dead of night, M, not the evening. Also, why the hell are you contacting me at this ungodly hour? I was literally supposed to be going to sleep five minutes ago.
M: Yeah, got it. Good night, Maester. And sorry for the sudden disturbance, but I really need your help with something.
Information Maester: Help? What kind of help, M? Did the Gild Killer track you down? Do you need an extraction team?
Max sighed, his fingers hovering over his mechanical keyboard. He started to type his response.
M: No, it's not the killer. I need your help with a personal dilemma of mine.
Information Maester is typing…
The typing indicator lasted a bit longer this time, implying the broker's confusion.
Information Maester: What kind of dilemma, M? There are many different meanings to that word in our line of work.
M: The advice one.
Information Maester: I see, I see… so what exactly is this grand dilemma of yours that you are desperately asking my personal advice for at this hour, huh?
Max took a deep breath and quickly typed out the situation, keeping it vague enough to protect Bell's identity but accurate enough to get a real answer.
M: Sigh. If you are asked by a girl that she wants to have sex with you, and worse, you and her just completely shortcut the entire dating process, and she asks that shit immediately right in front of you... and that shit caught you completely off guard. What would you do?
Information Maester is typing…
The green indicator flashed. Max sat back in his chair and waited. He waited for one minute. Then two minutes.
After like three long minutes of absolute silence from the broker, the Information Maester was still taking his time.
"Was that really a difficult question?" Max muttered to the glowing screen.
Then, after another agonizing two minutes, the Information Maester finally replied.
Information Maester: Max, tell me the absolute truth right now. Are you currently dating a fucking prostitute?
Max sighed heavily, dropping his forehead into his hand.
'What?! Why the hell did he just instantly reach a dark conclusion like that?' Max thought, feeling highly insulted.
He aggressively typed his angry response.
M: Maester, I swear to God I'm gonna fucking kill you. Why the hell did you reach such a massive conclusion like that?! Also, I don't even date prostitutes! You're right about me being a virgin, but I am not that fucking desperate to get laid, you fucking old bastard.
Information Maester: Hey, chill out, M! I'm sorry, alright? It's just that, in my experience, only a literal prostitute says something so blunt like that to a man she just met. And fair enough, I know you're not the type of person to even date one. You have standards. Sigh. Tell me who the hell said that to you, then.
Max sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I swear I'm gonna fucking kill this old man first, right before I kill that serial killer," Max grumbled out loud.
M: It was my goddamn neighbor. The one who is currently helping me right now with the chemistry stuff. You know, the blonde niece of the landowner of the apartment complex I was hiding in.
Information Maester: I see, I see. So… what's the problem exactly?
Max stared at the screen, utterly baffled by the Maester's casual response.
M: What's the problem? What's the problem?! Are you seriously asking me that shit right now?!
Information Maester: Yeah, because you are massively overreacting to a blessing. If I were you, I would take that golden chance immediately. I would even get her pregnant in the process since I don't mind settling down.
M: Of course you would say some degenerate shit like that, you fucking old pervert.
Information Maester: Hey! Being called old already hurts my pride, but a "pervert"? Now that's taking it too far, M. Also, as I said to you, you are completely overreacting. Do you realize this is literally a 1 in a million chance?! Being asked out so directly by a normal, civilian woman who is not a prostitute, and who already knows where you live?! You should be buying lottery tickets!
Max sighed in sheer exhaustion. He truly couldn't understand the old man's fucking logic. He viewed the world entirely differently.
He then replied, typing slowly.
M: Sigh. This twisted logic of yours… I shouldn't have even asked you for advice.
Information Maester: Hey, sorry, alright? It's just that you're so fucking lucky that I am literally envying you right now from my dark bunker.
M: Yeah, yeah, apology accepted or something. So, can you at least put your brain to work and give me a proper piece of advice on how to handle her tomorrow?
Information Maester: Yeah, I can do that. Though, the only real thing I could advise a stone-cold killer like you to do is…
Information Maester: …Have some genuine, honest talk with her. Also, it's not a bad idea to clear up any mutual misunderstandings before you take your pants off. Find out what she really wants.
As Max read the final piece of advice, he slowly nodded his head. It was basic, but it was exactly what he needed to hear. He had to face her and talk it out like an adult.
M: Thanks, I guess. But I have one last question for you before you sleep.
Information Maester: Sure, what is it?
M: What if the one who asked you was a crazy bitch scientist and a massive nymphomaniac?
Information Maester: ….
The typing indicator flashed briefly, and then the Information Maester typed his very last chat of the night.
Information Maester: Nahh, you're fucked. Goodbye, M. Good luck surviving.
Then, the prompt flashed. Information Maester goes offline.
M: Hey, wait—!
Max slammed his fist onto the edge of his computer table.
"Goddamnit…"
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes.
"…Sigh, I really shouldn't have said that last part!"
***
[THE NEXT MORNING]
It was already late morning. The clock in the hallway read 11:23 AM.
Max was currently standing in the quiet hallway, right outside of Bellatrix's room. He sighed again, a heavy, nervous sound. He had already sighed many times earlier this morning while trying to psych himself up for this encounter. He gathered all of his remaining resolve, clenching his fists at his sides, and opened his amber eyes wide.
"Hooooooohhhh," Max exhaled a long breath. "All right, Max. Let's do this! Be a goddamn man and face that 'crazy bitch' head-on!"
He raised his hand and pressed the buzzer.
—DING DONG!
He waited a second, wiping a bead of sweat from his palm.
—DING DONG!
He stood there in the silence.
Max raised his eyebrow, a sudden wave of cowardly relief washing over him. "Is she not here right now? Thank God, I guess. She must be busy with her science fair stuff. At least I won't have to confront her right now."
He turned around, fully prepared to retreat back to the safety of his apartment.
But God was clearly not on his side today.
—CREEEEAAAAKKK!!!
The heavy door behind him unlocked and swung open.
Max widened his eyes in mild panic. He slowly, agonizingly turned his head back around to look at the doorway.
"H—hi Bell. Good morning, I guess," Max said, his voice cracking slightly.
'Goddamnit, why is this my tone?!' Max inwardly yelled at himself as he visibly gulped. 'I am an elite assassin! I am not at fault here anyway! Why am I the one acting terrified?!'
Bellatrix didn't wear her heavy PPE this time. She was simply wearing her white lab coat over a plain t-shirt and jeans. Her hair was slightly messy.
She didn't greet him warmly. She only stared at him with an unreadable, intense expression. Then, after a long, agonizing minute of absolute silence in the hallway, she let out a heavy sigh.
"Sigh. Just get inside already…" Bellatrix said, stepping aside and gesturing for him to enter.
"Th—thanks, I guess," Max mumbled, shuffling past her into the apartment.
He walked into the living room and sat down stiffly onto her comfortable couch. As he settled in, he heard the heavy wooden door close behind him. He looked over his shoulder and watched closely as Bellatrix didn't just close it; she reached up and firmly locked the heavy metal latch, securing them inside.
He narrowed his eyes and asked her cautiously. "Ahh… why exactly are you locking your door right now?"
Bellatrix didn't reply to his question. She simply walked over and stood directly in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest, staring down at him sitting on the couch.
Then, they spent another five grueling minutes in total, suffocating silence. The air in the room was thick with the extreme awkwardness of what had happened yesterday in the hallway. Neither wanted to make the first move.
Finally, Bellatrix was the first to gather her courage to speak again.
"Are you really this incredibly dense, huh, Max?" Bellatrix asked him, her tone a mix of frustration and genuine disbelief. She truly thought he was just a dense protagonist who couldn't read the room.
Max sighed heavily. He was absolutely not dense. It was just that she constantly gave him completely mixed signals, and what was infinitely worse was the blunt, shocking nature of what she had said yesterday.
"Sigh…" He raised his hands and touched his temples, closing his eyes as a fresh headache started to pulse.
After his late-night conversation with the Information Maester, and the broker's final, chilling chat saying that he was completely "fucked," Max couldn't remove the anxiety from his mind. He couldn't try to forget it, because if what the Maester—a man who analyzed human behavior for a living—said was true, then Max was indeed in a highly fucked-up situation.
"…Can we please just talk about what happened yesterday evening?" Max finally asked her, still rubbing his temples to soothe the pain.
Bellatrix sighed, letting her arms drop to her sides. "And here I actually thought you were here for another chemistry lesson…. fine. Let's talk about it."
Max gathered all of his remaining courage and summoned the last shred of his shamelessness left in his body. He looked up at her and asked her directly.
"Are you completely insane?!" Max demanded, his voice rising. "Asking me out of the blue yesterday in the hallway… 'let's have sex'?! Just like that?!"
He stood up from the couch, needing to be on equal footing.
"Bell, what did you eat yesterday that messed with your head? Are you really alright? Also, what do you even see in an old fart like me? You are right, I am old and I've lived a hard life. But that doesn't mean that you should just ask me about doing sex with you and completely shortcut the first, basic process of starting a relationship! And furthermore, are you even sure I have romantic feelings for you in the first place?"
Bellatrix widened her gray eyes in pure shock as she heard his final sentence. "Are you even sure I have feelings for you?"
Her heart plummeted into her stomach. She had genuinely thought, based on his protectiveness and his warm smiles, that he really had underlying feelings for her. But hearing him say it like that made it seem like he only truly saw her as his platonic friend or a convenient chemistry tutor.
'Haah, why did I even hope for anything else?' Bellatrix said inwardly, a wave of profound, crushing sadness washing over her. She ran a shaky hand through her blonde hair, looking away from him. 'Of course, no one would ever actually love me. A weird nerd and a non-interesting person like me? Having a handsome, heroic guy actually falling in love with me? Hah. Not a goddamn chance.'
She felt the familiar sting of rejection. She then started to sulk, her shoulders dropping defensively.
"I see…" Bellatrix whispered, her voice cracking slightly.
Max sighed internally. His assassin's instincts easily read her shifting body language. He saw the immediate sadness in her eyes and realized his blunt phrasing had caused a massive emotional misfire. It seemed she had immediately jumped to another terrible misunderstanding again.
"You know…" Max started, his voice softening considerably. He took a step closer to her.
"…I am completely open to going on a date with you," Max confessed, ensuring his tone was gentle and sincere. "Since you are a beautiful person, you are a literal genius, and hell, you are even highly talented in your field, which actually happens to be my exact type of woman. And, including the fact that you always smile at me when I see you."
Bellatrix snapped her head up, widening her gray eyes as she heard his confession. The sadness evaporated instantly.
"Re—really?!" Bellatrix gasped, her voice full of sudden, desperate hope.
"Yeah, really," Max confirmed with a warm, genuine smile. "So, if you want, we can officially start to date. We can take it step by step and clear up this massive misunderstanding of ours, Bell. Since I already take a deep interest in you."
What he said was entirely true. He was genuinely open to going on a proper date with her, understanding her complex mind more, and at least learning who she truly was behind the lab coat and the awkwardness.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix's highly analytical mind went completely haywire as she processed what he just said.
'He said it! He said he is actually willing to go on a real date with me! He said it out loud!' her internal voice shrieked in joy. 'Do—does that mean I actually have a real chance with him?!'
'EEEIIIKKKKKK!!!!' Bellatrix inwardly screamed, her heart doing backflips in her chest.
However, despite her internal joy, Bellatrix suddenly shook her head side to side, her expression turning stubborn.
"Huh?" Max asked, completely derailed by her reaction. "You don't want to have a date with me, Bell?"
"Nei—nein! No!" Bellatrix panicked, waving her hands. "Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love to go on a date with you! It's just that…."
"What is it, then?" Max asked her, his patience wearing thin.
Bellatrix looked him dead in the eye, her cheeks burning red, but her resolve unbroken.
"I—I want to have sex first!" Bellatrix demanded loudly.
Max blinked his eyes slowly. He let out a long, exhausted sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Bell. Sex is a highly serious matter," Max tried to reason with her, using his most rational, mature voice. "What if we make a mistake and I get you pregnant? And also, tactically speaking, if that serial killer somehow finds out about my intimate relationship with you, or worse, if that bastard sees us having sex through a window or something... I don't even want to know what horrific things that person is gonna do to you to get to me."
Bellatrix didn't care about his tactical logic. The emotional dam burst, and she let all of her deepest, most embarrassing frustrations out.
"BU—BUT I WANT TO EXPERIENCE IT FIRST!" Bellatrix screamed at him, her voice echoing off the walls. She took a step toward him, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides.
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE! I AM A 25-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, AND I DIDN'T EVER EXPERIENCE ANY NORMAL DATES, OR AT LEAST GETTING ASKED OUT PROPERLY IN MY YOUTH! AND IT'S ALREADY SO INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING THAT EVEN MY OWN YOUNGER SIBLINGS ALREADY HAVE SERIOUS BOYFRIENDS AND LIFE PARTNERS SETTLED FOREVER!"
She repeatedly gasped for air between her loud, emotional sentences, tears of frustration prickling the corners of her eyes.
"OF COURSE I AM DESPERATE FOR THIS! I WANT TO EXPERIENCE SEX WITH SOMEONE I ACTUALLY LIKE! AND ALSO, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT THAT YOU ARE SO INCREDIBLY HANDSOME, YOU GODDAMN OLD MAN DILF! YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA HOW MANY TIMES A DAY I HAVE TO MENTALLY RESIST MY PRIMAL URGE TO JUST JUMP YOU IN THE HALLWAY! SO IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT FOR TEMPTING ME!"
Max just stood there, completely stunned, looking at her red, tear-streaked face. Her logic was entirely flawed, highly emotional, and completely absurd.
He then stood up straighter, looking down at her, and asked her gently. "Are you really sure about this, Bell?"
He couldn't hold it back anymore. A small chuckle escaped his lips. "Also... I'm deeply sorry for being too handsome for my own good. Hahahaha."
He said it as he started to laugh freely, the sheer absurdity of being blamed for his own genetics breaking the tension.
Bellatrix pouted fiercely. She stepped forward and repeatedly punched his solid chest with her small fists.
"Argh! Stop it! Don't laugh at me!" Bellatrix whined, her punches having absolutely no effect on his muscular frame.
Max sighed, looking down at her frustrated, blushing face. He felt his own resolve crumbling. He was a man, after all, and she was beautiful, willing, and fiercely demanding his attention.
He just said inwardly to himself, 'Sorry, Emhy. It seems I really have no other choice, huh?'
Max caught her wrists, stopping her weak punches. He pulled her slightly closer, his amber eyes darkening with a sudden, intense heat.
"Fine…" Max whispered, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous rumble that made her shiver.
"…Let's have sex right now. But after that!" Max commanded firmly, leaving no room for argument.
"Let's go on a proper date so we can actually understand each other emotionally, and so I could at least figure out exactly why you are such a goddamn nymphomaniac. Also, take a serious note of this!"
"A note about what?" Bellatrix asked him, her breath catching in her throat as she looked up into his dark eyes.
Max leaned down, his face inches from hers. The relaxed neighbor vanished entirely, replaced by the dominant, terrifying presence of a man who had conquered worlds.
"Don't ever push me into my absolute limits," Max warned her, his tone deadly serious and laced with dark promise. "Like insulting my pride by being gentle to you. Because you really don't want to see how mad and rough of a person I am when it comes to having sex."
Bellatrix widened her gray eyes as the sheer, terrifying gravity of his warning washed over her. She felt a deep, instinctual thrill shoot straight to her core. She slowly nodded her head up and down in agreement.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. I will definitely take note on that," Bellatrix whispered breathlessly, her heart pounding.
But as she looked at his dominant posture, Bellatrix then inwardly laughed, a dark, thrilled excitement taking over her rational mind.
'Hehehehe,' Bellatrix said inwardly to herself, already anticipating the rough treatment. 'Yeah, I'll definitely take note on that. Bring it on, daddy.'