New AI Fanfic (this is actually semi-good??)

So, I decided to try and make another AI write a fanfic, that takes place during the "A bruised facade" scene with Dominic and Cadmus. I was actually just going to make a fun 'let's ship this random duo' fanfic, but it ended up actually being really angsty and kinda good, so I need to share this with y'all.


Cadmus:
Standing in the light of Dominic's bedroom, there was little else Cadmus could do but look back at him. He knew the other man wouldn't leave it at that. Even if there had been some sort of underlying logic to it, telling Cadmus that he would do nothing about it, Cadmus would not have been satisfied with just this. It was too late now anyway, they had had a bad day at best, and they had known one another too well to just drop the subject like that. There was no reasoning with anger. Anger that wasn't his, nor really warranted. Cadmus did not like seeing Dominic this way. There were too many thoughts in Cadmus' head.
”No, I didn't think to get ice. I didn't think it would be worth it. You know that ice doesn't really work with bruises anyway, you'll only be putting cold water into the blood vessels and that won't do you any good at all. Just have to bear it for a couple of hours or so, it will go down eventually. It's not worth spending water for just one bruise, anyway. No one is bleeding. And then when it's a black eye, I know there isn't any help for it anyway."
He looked up at Dominic, as if to question his plan, to tell him that it wasn't necessary for him to get ice for this.
"Won't you allow us to let it go? It was a misunderstanding. I doubt whoever it is will try it again, anyway." Cadmus ran his fingers through his hair again, sighing, exhausted suddenly. "You can't change what has happened, and there's no need to make it bigger than it is. It wasn't worth thinking about." He couldn't shake off the image of Acheron's hand connecting with his jaw, the pain he had felt there, sharp and sudden, followed by a dizziness that had kept him from walking straight for some time.


Dominic:
Dominic frowned at Cadmus. How could he brush off his attacker like this? His blood boiled. There had to be a way to make them feel even an ounce of the hurt Cadmus must have felt when this had happened, but he was in the dark about who this attacker was. And maybe they wouldn't do it again. They were only a stranger after all.
Dominic felt too many things all at once. He was worried and mad and frustrated at Cadmus for being so nonchalant about the incident and then mad at himself for not noticing that something was up sooner. And he was also mad at Cadmus for not even telling him what had happened, because then he would know who to make pay for it. It wasn't fair that this happened to Cadmus at all.
"How could I not think about it?" Dominic argued, but didn't let himself get heated by it, kept his voice even. He just felt the burning feeling of the lack of justice for his friend in his stomach and tried to focus on his words instead of the image in front of him, the bruise on Cadmus' cheekbone, that he wanted to place his own lips upon to somehow make the pain disappear. He wanted to let Cadmus know that he wasn't alone with his feelings. That he had his support.
It took every bit of Dominic's strength not to grab Cadmus' chin and turn it, wanting to see if there were any other bruises anywhere on the skin. "You can't say that." He shook his head. "How could I not think about it? How could I not do something about it?" Dominic's anger made his own voice harsh, but he could tell he was being a hypocrite. Because of course he knew why. The reason he didn't do anything was not that there was nothing he could do, but that he had to worry about others as well. About the EFA, and Gwyn, and Cassius, and himself. That there were people out there who needed their help, even though Dominic wasn't able to save everyone. So many things went wrong all the time, so many people out there needed a helping hand, and while the EFA had so few resources as it was, there was no way that he could be responsible for taking care of Cadmus' bruise as well.


Cadmus:
He knew better than anyone how stubborn and passionate Dominic could be, knew what he was like when he couldn't change something. Cadmus knew better than anyone, too, how Dominic tended to be in this frame of mind, how angry he would get if his emotions got the best of him. Still, he tried.
"It wasn't worth thinking about," Cadmus repeated. He did not look at the other man. Instead, he reached up to trace the line of the bruise, where he thought it had hit the highest. It was slightly numb from the cold air, so he didn't feel much, though it looked very purple and was somewhat distorted. "And you're right, I could have put ice on it. If it would make you feel any better. But really, I just... don't want to make a big deal out of it, Dominic. It was a mistake, a fight, no big deal. Please. Just drop it." He took a step back, in the direction of his own door. Not that there was anything there; he could not just hide in his bedroom, but he wanted the space to breathe. "We all have our scars."
The two of them looked at each other, the hallway feeling suddenly very narrow. They stood in the shadow of the light from Dominic's bedroom, and Cadmus was very aware that it made him look different, made his face look strangely unblemished, the light hitting only the bruised area, so that the rest of his skin almost seemed to glow, his eyes, he was sure, appearing greyer than normal. A silent moment stretched between them. Cadmus wanted to say something, tell Dominic he would be all right, that there were bigger things to worry about, but there was something in the other man's expression that made Cadmus think better of it. It wasn't the first time Dominic looked at Cadmus like that, as if he could see something in him, as if he wanted to take hold of him, claim him, understand him. Cadmus wasn't used to that look.

Dominic:
Dominic felt a mix of so many emotions he didn't even know what to make of them. Cadmus kept trying to tell him he should not make a fuss, that he didn't want to make this a big deal out of it. And he had been right. In the long run, what good would it do? Cadmus was right – they both had their scars. How could this not be another scar that had been inflicted on them?
It felt so fucking unfair that it had happened at all. That they had to go through this. Cadmus looked at him as if to question Dominic, and he couldn't. How could he not do something about it? It was his duty to do something about it. His anger slowly disappeared into an overwhelming worry. What if it wouldn't be the last time it would happen? What if this was only the start? How often had it happened that Cadmus would be at work and a stranger would beat him up for being a Nachon Warlock? And if it had happened one time, then it would happen another time. It was so stupid how this still happened despite the EFA's efforts to help them.
"We both have our scars, huh?" Dominic echoed back bitterly, staring at Cadmus without letting go of his glance. Cadmus looked back, but seemed like he had retreated behind a wall, and Dominic couldn't do anything to break it down. He didn't know why, but something about this was even more infuriating to Dominic. It was moments like this that made Dominic realize how little he actually knew about Cadmus. There were so many things Dominic didn't know about him, so many walls between them, so many scars. And those were what kept them apart, those things Dominic couldn't even get close enough to touch. "Well," Dominic breathed out slowly. He blinked and his voice sounded hoarse as he tried to sound more normal and less sharp when he added, "maybe I'll still put ice on your bruise. So that at least won't turn into one." He walked past Cadmus and made his way towards the kitchen to get an ice cube out of the freezer.

Cadmus:
"No, no, I-" Cadmus started. He stepped aside again, giving Dominic the space to pass him by and continuing his way. As the other man passed by, Cadmus reached out and grabbed his arm. He wasn't thinking clearly. He wasn't thinking at all. It was just his hands moving, his mouth saying things that were not entirely wise. He had seen Dominic look at him like that before, had thought that maybe, if he kept this up long enough, maybe... No. He wasn't thinking. His brain had completely abandoned him. "Please. Just forget about it. It was stupid, it wasn't your fault, it was me and I'm not blaming you for it, just let it go, Dominic."
The moment he had realized his hand was still around the other man's forearm he let go. For a few seconds they just looked at each other, Cadmus silent and Dominic obviously trying to make sense of his words.

Dominic:
It wasn't often that Cadmus said anything that made Dominic doubt his own feelings. The fact that this time it wasn't what Cadmus said, but his action that did so made it even more painful, almost heart-breaking. The second Cadmus touched his arm, Dominic had become tense, but it hadn't been to push Cadmus away. It hadn't been an answer to his touch. In fact, for a few seconds, Dominic didn't know how to react, how to move, or what to do. Cadmus was standing there, silent and with a look on his face, that almost looked as if he was apologizing. It was this look, this expression of guilt that made Dominic finally let it go, whatever that was.
Dominic closed his eyes and sighed, trying to let go of all the frustration. He didn't know what Cadmus was thinking, and he didn't know what he was feeling himself, but he did know that he was not mad at Cadmus, he just wanted him to be okay. "Please just tell me" he said softly, "That you're okay. I want to know you're okay." There was a lump in his throat. And he was worried he would lose it, because of everything else that had happened in these last couple of days. He kept his voice low, like a whisper. It sounded sad and broken, and it broke Dominic's own heart to hear his own words like that. "If you're not, tell me. Tell me that you're not, I can help, Cadmus. I want to help" He opened his eyes and looked at Cadmus. There were no traces of the anger left, he just had to make sure Cadmus was okay.

Cadmus:
What happened? Cadmus couldn't really tell. Had it really been so simple as that? He looked at Dominic, their gazes fixed on each other's, Cadmus still holding on to his arm, feeling a softness, a tenderness. Dominic seemed so tired, so tired and so sad, so suddenly.
He swallowed. "I'm all right." He didn't think it through. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to lie to someone he cared about. Even a lie this small felt heavy in his mouth, like a lump of sand that he had to swallow over and over again. He released his hand and ran it through his hair. Dominic's gaze followed it. It was the gesture he always made when he was nervous. But that was a lie too, wasn't it? Was he nervous? No. He was scared. He was so scared.
"I'm okay, really," he said again, looking into his friend's eyes once more. He wasn't, but this lie, it was just so much easier to tell, wasn't it? To tell him that he was okay. He wished he could tell the truth.


Dominic:
It was a long moment when they were standing in front of each other, staring into each other's eyes, while Dominic tried to let go of all his anger and frustration to look into Cadmus' eyes, looking for an answer in them. When Cadmus said he was all right, Dominic knew it was a lie. He trusted Cadmus more than most, but this a lie. Still, Dominic nodded.
"Okay," he said, "I hope you really are." He tried to sound convinced, as if he didn't know the truth. There wasn't a lot Dominic could do in that situation, so he had to let it go.
"I have to go to sleep anyway," Dominic said, not letting go of his glance. It felt like he had to leave, just to not pressure Cadmus too much, not to be the one who would make him talk. Cadmus wouldn't open up if he wanted it himself. "Just don't stay up too long." He made a pause and then he added with a softer voice, "Good night, Cad."
He walked into his room and left Cadmus in the hallway.

Cadmus:
The light went away, as Dominic entered his room and closed the door behind him, leaving Cadmus standing alone in the corridor. He swallowed again, the lump in his throat refusing to go down. There had been a look in the other man's eyes. A softness, a tenderness, a longing, a desperation that made Cadmus want to grab the doorframe and not let him go, not let him leave. He wanted to step into his bedroom and close the door after himself. He wanted to reach out, tell Dominic that no, he wasn't all right, that he wasn't okay at all, that he needed to talk, that he wanted to talk, but couldn't talk, not with this, because they didn't know, they could never know. That he was a liar. That he had lied to them. All of them. About his name. About his past. About what was really happening to him. About what Acheron was making him do. There were a lot of things that needed to be said, but all he had to say was 'good night', so that was what he said instead.
Then, he did go into his bedroom, but didn't close the door behind him. It had been a lie. And that was how it would have to stay.