Marcus/Rocco
Waking up after dying was… strange.
Not dramatic. Not life changing in the way movies made it seem.
Mostly? It was exhausting.
The hospital room smelled too clean. The steady beep of the heart
monitor filled the silence while the pale morning light spilled softly through
the curtains near the window.
Everything should've felt normal. Instead-
I couldn't stop staring at the silver-haired man standing beside the
hospital window. Hands loosely behind his back.
Golden eyes calmly watching the city below.
Morning light spilled across his pale features while faint chains rested
against his wrists like shadows.
He looked less like a person standing inside a hospital room, and more
like something temporarily tolerating reality.
He noticed me staring.
"You humans blink too much after near-death experiences."
I rubbed a hand over my face slowly. "You're still here."
"You say that as though I wandered into the wrong room accidentally."
"I thought maybe you'd disappear."
"That sounds optimistic."
Very.
I carefully pushed myself upright against the hospital bed. Pain still
lingered faintly in my chest, but nowhere near as bad as before.
Actually- it healed absurdly fast.
Too fast even.
The hole Cassian stabbed through should've killed me instantly.
Instead, after only a few weeks- all that remained was a long scar
stretching across my chest just below the collarbone.
The doctors called it a miracle.
Seraphina looked way less enthusiastic about it.
The silver-haired man followed my gaze toward the scar.
"Hm."
"What?"
"You survived better than expected."
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
"It was not intended to."
Great. Fantastic.
The hospital door suddenly opened. I nearly jumped.
The silver-haired man didn't move at all.
Seraphina entered quietly holding coffee while Ella followed close
behind carrying a paper bag filled with snacks.
The second Ella saw me awake- her eyes narrowed instantly.
"You nearly died."
Straight to the point. Nice.
"Good morning to you too."
Ella marched over before punching my shoulder hard enough to hurt.
"Ow!"
"That was for getting stabbed!"
"Fair honestly."
The silver-haired man observed the interaction silently before speaking
beside me.
"She is very small and surprisingly violent."
I nearly responded out loud. Caught myself barely in time.
Ella frowned. "What?"
"Nothing."
"You made a face."
"No, I didn't."
"You absolutely did."
The silver-haired man looked faintly amused.
This was going to ruin my life.
Seraphina sat near the bed quietly before studying me carefully.
"You're healing unnaturally fast."
Straight to the point too, apparently. I glanced away slightly.
"Lucky me."
Her eyes narrowed. She definitely didn't buy that answer. For a few
seconds silence filled the room. Then Noah snorted awake loudly before jerking
upright.
"Huh?! Is it attacking?!"
Riley didn't even look up from her phone.
"You were drooling." Noah blinked once.
"Again?"
"Aggressively."
The silver-haired man observed Noah thoughtfully. "That one survives
entirely through confusion."
I bit the inside of my cheek hard trying not to laugh. Unfortunately,
that made Riley suspicious instantly.
"Why are you smiling at the wall?"
Crap. "I'm not."
"You literally are."
"I'm relieved to be alive?"
"Suspicious answer bro," Noah muttered.
The silver-haired man's expression shifted slightly. Not quite smiling.
But close enough to feel dangerous.
The next few weeks passed strangely.
Slowly. Normally. And somehow, completely wrong.
Physically, I recovered much faster than anyone expected. Within days I
could walk properly again.
Within two weeks, the pain became manageable. Within three- Seraphina
allowed light training again after arguing with literally everyone first.
Especially Callie.
"You died," she snapped one afternoon while helping me wrap the
still-healing scar across my chest.
"I got better."
"That is not funny."
"It was a little funny."
"No, it wasn't."
Okay, maybe not. Callie's hand slowed slightly against the bandages.
For a moment, her expression cracked. Fear slipping through beneath
frustration.
"You stopped breathing," she whispered quietly.
The crack in her voice hit harder than the wound itself. I looked away
slightly.
"I'm sorry, sis."
"I thought I lost you again."
I looked at her this time. Knowing exactly what she meant. I hugged her.
Before the silence could become too heavy.
The silver-haired man appeared leaning quietly against the kitchen
doorway nearby, arms crossed calmly.
"You humans apologize constantly," he observed. "Very inefficient."
I almost threw the bandages at him. Callie noticed my expression
immediately.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You keep doing that."
Doing what?
"Oh look mysteriously disturbed at empty spaces," the silver-haired man
offered with a snicker.
I hated him already. Except…
Not completely. And honestly?
That realization bothered me more than anything else.
The silver-haired man appeared everywhere now. Not constantly, but
enough.
Sometimes I'd wake up at night and find him standing by the window
staring silently across the city lights.
Other times he'd be seated calmly on the living room couch while Noah
played video games completely unaware someone ancient and terrifying was
silently judging him.
Once, Riley nearly walked directly through him in the hallway and he
looked deeply offended afterward.
"You humans have no regard and respect. She made no effort to avoid me."
"She can't SEE you."
"Still rude."
The worst part? I was slowly getting used to him. That felt dangerous.
One afternoon, after finally being discharged from the hospital
completely, I stood outside the entrance staring quietly at the city skyline.
The scar beneath my shirt barely ached now. But still a reminder.
Cassian's claws. Callie screaming. Blood on the pavement. Deaths.
"You are brooding again."
I glanced sideways.
The silver-haired man stood beside me now with both hands resting
loosely inside his coat pockets.
Silver hair shifted softly in the wind while people walked directly past
him without noticing anything. Like he wasn't there at all.
"I almost died."
"Yes."
"You say that way too casually."
"You survived."
"That's not the point."
The silver-haired man studied me silently for a moment.
"Humans fear death because they measure life emotionally."
I frowned slightly. "And you don't?"
"I measure usefulness."
Right. Inhuman ancient realm entity. Forgot for a second.
We started walking slowly down the sidewalk together.
Well, I walked.
The silver-haired man somehow moved bedside me with unnatural
smoothness, silent enough to barely seem connected to the ground at all.
After several minutes of silence- I finally asked the question bothering
me most.
"Do you actually have a name?"
The silver-haired man glanced toward me.
"You require one?"
"It'd be less weird than having to call you 'Creepy silver-haired realm
guy."
"That is disappointingly long."
"Then give me your name."
For a second, he looked strangely thoughtful. Then finally-
"…Valen."
The name settled strangely in the air between us. It felt sharp. Simple
and ancient.
"Just Valen?"
"You are asking many questions for someone who recently died."
"That sounds like a yes."
Valen's mouth curved faintly.
"That sounds like enough information for now, Rocky."
Definitely suspicious.
We continued walking quietly after that. Cars passed. People moved
through the streets. Normal life continued around us. And I felt disconnected
from it all now.
Like I stood slightly outside the world everyone else belonged to.
Maybe Valen noticed. Because after several moments, he spoke again.
"You are thinking too loudly."
"That's not a thing."
"It is for you."
I rolled my eyes slightly. "You know, for someone trapped inside an
ancient prison realm, you talk a lot."
Valen looked genuinely thoughtful.
"That may be true."
Then very slightly- he smirked.
"But to be fair, Rocky, you are the first interesting thing I have
encountered in a very long time."
That should not have sent chills
down my spine.
Absolutely not.