Jasper didn't really know how to describe his relationship with his father.

Elijah hadn't been the most present during Jasper's life, the two of them had never been close and had never dabbled in traditional activities you'd expect a son and father to partake in. Instead, Elijah had chosen to initiate Jasper to politics and administrative matters at a young age, teaching his son the ropes of public affairs.

It was clear what Elijah expected of his son: to one day take over his position as mayor and do a good job at it.

Still, this didn't mean that Elijah didn't care about his son, as apart from being his sole successor, Jasper was also Elijah's own flesh and blood. The fruit of his intense and pure love story with his wife. And although Elijah wasn't very good at telling his son how much he cared, Jasper could clearly see it in his father's actions.

Taking him to every therapist around the city in hopes of finding what was 'wrong' with him, introducing him to various activities in the hopes of him finally finding an obsession and being a 'functional obsessive', scheduling meetings at the Uninfected Community for Jasper to finally find his Darling... Or like now, setting up a yearly Community Bonding ball at the town hall as an excuse for Jasper to meet people and hopefully his Darling.

And before he met (Y/n), Jasper used to wish his father wouldn't have been so involved in his well-being, and wouldn't have been so involved in pointing out how different Jasper was from other Obsessives. Because the more Elijah sought out solutions for Jasper's 'problems', the more Jasper felt like an oddity.

Now though, Jasper was kind of glad for his father meddling in his private life. And he was well intent on making this meeting as well as the Community Bonding ball work in his favour.

"So, do you have any ideas for this year's ball?" Elijah asked, sitting at his desk and idly twirling his pen between his fingers.

"Let's make its attendance mandatory." Jasper proudly stated.

A proposition that had Elijah choking on his own spit.

"What?"

Jasper heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair. "Father, how do you intend to strengthen our community if half the citizens don't attend? Plus, the more people are there, the easier for me it'll be to find my Darling."

Obviously, Elijah had no way of countering this, as his son finding a Darling was the main reason for these balls in the first place. And it's not like consent was that big of a thing in the Infected Society anyways.

Whether that went for relationships or politics.

"I guess you're right." Elijah relented with a soft smile, happy to hear his son finally verbalizing some interest in finding his one true love. Something Jasper had never done before.

"Good, I'll make sure everyone gets an invitation." Jasper said with a determined nod.

Not that he cared about anyone else than (Y/n) though. It could be just the two of them attending and he'd be in heaven, and actually that would be a much better scenario. But alas Jasper still didn't feel too confident in telling his father about his Darling yet. He didn't want to rush things in case (Y/n) would want to take it slow.

Which, guessing by her attitude towards him, she probably did. She was still tugging against the undeniable bond that united the two of them, but it was fine. Jasper was a patient man, though said patience was slowly waning.

That was exactly why Jasper had offered to make the ball attendance mandatory in the first place, to make sure that his sweet darling wouldn't be tempted to miss the event and hide from him.

Because (Y/n) didn't know it yet, but she really had no way of running from him. This would be their night. Jasper would make sure of it.



























































One thing Penelope hated was being interrupted when she was working on her law lessons. And her maid interrupting her to deliver a love letter from none other than Artty made it all the more insufferable.

Penelope heaved an exasperated sigh, making quick work of breaking the wax seal and opening the letter. The sooner she read it, the sooner she'd get rid of the burden this represented on her mind and be able to get back to studying.

Something about this letter seemed off though, and Penelope probably wouldn't be able to shake it off as easily as she had thought.

Artty had always been a persistent asshole with no sense of decorum. But usually Artty liked to ramble, to go on and on about how fucked up his perception of love was and how much he loved her.

This time his letter was very straight to the point, and not to Penelope's greatest pleasure.

Hello kitten,

I'm still longing for an answer to my previous letters and I'm running thin on patience. I know you're incredibly busy, so maybe I should just ditch writing and consider meeting with you instead.

Don't try to avoid me, it's useless, as we both know! You can always try though, you know I like a good game of hide and seek~

A chill ran down Penelope's spine and she let out a shaky exhale. No, she had no idea how fond Artty was of hide and seek, simply because in her opinion no information concerning him was worth remembering. He was already a pest in her by his mere presence in her life and she wouldn't give him any more importance than necessary. Now that she thought about it, maybe she should have guessed that toying with her would be one of his kinks.

Sadistic freak.

And although Penelope really didn't like the possibility of Artty popping up in front of her, she certainly wasn't going to answer his letters. The last thing she needed to do was show him that his silly threats had any influence on her actions, that he had any control over her.

Still, it was the first time one of Artty's letters lingered in her mind long after she had read it. And not in a good way.

Unfortunately for Penelope, not answering was actually the worst thing she could have done this time. And things would only get that much more complicated from then on.

















































Tobias hated how clueless and naive (Y/n) could be sometimes, but today was the first time he actually found himself grateful for it. Because he'd sooner be dead than let her know he was currently observing her like a lowlife stalker.

She had just gotten off work, along with Lupita, and her smile was the most blessed sight Tobias had seen in a while.

He wasn't stalking her though, Tobias had made good on his promise to stay as far away from her as possible and break any relationship the two of them had. Tonight was an exception, he was just making sure she was safe. Nothing more, nothing less.

The last two weeks had been excruciating, his own brain driving him crazy with thoughts of (Y/n) and all the things that could happen to her without him by her side to protect her. And although Tobias knew this was his Infection speaking, he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, his Infected thoughts were right.

(Y/n) was an Uninfected in an Infected city, a woman at that. Anything could happen to her at any time, it was only fair for Tobias to worry so much about her when he loved her, right? Why was it so bad for him to want to protect her and preserve her? Wasn't it what loving someone meant, to cherish and protect them? Tobias couldn't understand why Marcus had been so keen on keeping him away from (Y/n) anymore.

What was so wrong about wanting to protect the woman he loved by any means necessary?

Along the way, Tobias had gotten so lost in his own thoughts that he had completely forgotten how to differentiate his Infection from his own self, and what he had previously thought as sick and twisted now seemed like the norm for him. His sanity was hanging by a thread and he wasn't even aware of it anymore, already dangling his feet in the shark water.

And he was so sick and tired of fighting against his own thoughts, against himself. Of treating himself like an anomaly when truly he hadn't done anything wrong and had always had (Y/n)'s best interests at heart.

Keeping him away from the one person he had ever loved and had ever craved for wasn't fair. Keeping him away from the only person that made him happy and feel less like trash wasn't fair.

Tobias didn't want to stay away from (Y/n) anymore.

No, I said this would be a one time thing. Still, the rational part of him subsided in his mind, trying so hard to keep him grounded.

And it's true, the reason Tobias had caved in and came to see (Y/n) was because he wanted to see for himself that she was alright and convince his Infection that she could handle herself without him. But the more Tobias looked at her, the more he watched her walk away from him so careless and happy... The more he ached to protect her.

What if it hadn't been him watching her? What if it had been an Infected creep whose intentions were far from pure? Would she have noticed then?

Once again (Y/n) was showing him that she was way too pure and innocent for her own good. And this was exactly why he needed to protect her, because she failed at protecting herself and he would sooner die than let anything happen to her. Because he loved her.

Because she was his Darling, his one and only lover-

No. No, I'm not going there. Tobias tried to reason with himself once again, but the simple act of calling (Y/n) his Darling was way too tempting for his Infected mind which had already invaded the better portion of his mind.

It was too late now, too late for Tobias to try and save himself. And he wasn't even aware of it, wasn't even aware of how his mentality had slowly started to change and fit into his Infected narrative.

Tobias still had some time ahead of him though, before he finally lost himself to his Infection wholly. Which is why, this night, he was rational enough to go back home without following (Y/n) and Lupita much farther.

Still, his Infected mind had already shaped a good part of his thoughts, and in Tobias's mind one thing was for sure: his mission had always been to protect (Y/n) and love her.

And whoever got in his way, would have hell to pay.