Of course, this Harker who entered the room first was no other than Harker 2.0.
He laid in bed. "Looks like he's too busy at the moment. Lucky bastard. But at least he wasn't able to look into what I was doing with his other buddies."
He thought about the taste of Joan's lips and soft skin, biting his own finger hard until it drew blood. He moaned at the thought of tasting the blood of that woman instead.
Harker would never have anticipated that the clone he created wasn't really the exact replica of him. Sure they were the same physically and mentally. But holistically speaking, Harker 2.0 was his more instinctual side.
It was the side of him that dreamed of ravishing and feeding on Joan. It was the side of him that every so often comes up to feel joy at the pain of others.
Harker 2.0 was pure Id, except he also has Harker's empathetic skills. He was really good at acting like the original, but of course, only when he wanted to. He doesn't really care for Roland being wary of him, and thought it would be pretty fun to have someone investigating him like a detective would to a criminal.
He's not doing this because he bears any ill will to Harker or any of his companions. There was no purpose to it all besides chaos. Pure, simple chaos.
But….
"If his main girl won't let her take a side piece…." Harker 2.0 grinned wide. "I'm fine with taking the leftovers myself."
--------------------
As the clone thought about the tasty leftovers, the original was rather preoccupied with how things had turned out with the 'main girl'.
"Mina…. What's this?"
He found himself suddenly cuffed to the bedpost! Since when did Mina even have handcuffs???
"I need you to be honest with me, Harker." She said seriously, her eyes narrowed dangerously like a wildcat's.
"I will be honest with you! But is this really necessary for that?" Harker was utterly baffled. "I don't see why we have to—"
"Do you love her?"
There wasn't even a bit of hesitation in her voice. Mina had always been a straightforward girl, which was one of the things Harker loved about her. But right now this trait was giving him quite a hard time.
And the question sounded more like a threat. The problem was that Harker couldn't tell whether it was a threat for him to be honest, or give her the answer she wanted.
But he did promise to be honest, and so in the end.
"I…. I think I'm developing some feelings for her."
Mina raised an eyebrow. "Some?"
"It's only been three weeks, Mina. Three weeks, and before that, I only saw her as an annoying lazy teacher. I never would have even thought I'd care about her as much as I do now." Harker said.
Mina scowled. "And how much do you really care about her, Harker? Even more than me?"
"Of course not!" Harker exclaimed. "Mina, I am still very much in love with you. There wasn't a day that we were apart that I didn't miss you, and everyone knows. Even her. I made it clear to her how much I still love you—"
"But you also love her too." Mina said with a softer, pained tone.
Harker closed his mouth. He never really thought that there would be a moment in his life where he would fall for two people at the same time.
When he was younger, he never really had any 'crushes'. Sure, he found some female classmates attractive. But he never had that urge to ask them out, or fantasize about them being his girlfriend.
He does have fantasies of going on dates with a lover, like watching movies or riding on roller coasters and Ferris wheels at a theme park. But it was a vague idea, there was never a clear picture of who that woman with him was.
But when he met Mina, that was when he felt this for the first time. This desire to spend happy moments with her, to get to know each other and to share this 'romance'.
He never truly understood that word until she became his girlfriend. But now when he thinks about romance and being in a relationship, it is her face that comes up.
However, something new came with Joan. Something different.
It wasn't a bubbly feeling of wanting to go on dates. Though he wouldn't mind that either, what he felt with her was more like a quiet winter night than a bright summer day that he does with Mina. He didn't feel the need to get to know her at all since he already knew her for 4 years now, not to mention…..
He knew intimate things that probably no one else alive in this world would know about her. It was mostly thanks to Legion, but it was also because of this trust that Joan put on him when it comes to talking about her deepest sides.
They were two very different types of love. But for Harker, none was more superior than the other.
He shared with Mina many of his firsts, and with Joan, he shared things that should have been the last to be shared in a relationship. Comparing which weighs more than the two would be pointless.
He tried to express all this to Mina as best as he could. It was a long explanation, which ended with him giving every last detail of what truly happened during the trip. Every last one.
He wanted to show Mina that he was really being honest, and that he trusts her very much. That he respects her right as his lover to know these things. Once he was done, Harker had almost run out of saliva, and the swirly hands of the analog clock in her room both pointed to 12.
Mina listened without interruption. Once he was done, she bowed her head.
"So that's how it is. I understand now why you would have fallen for her after everything. You two have basically shared what would have been shared by a couple within a lifetime." She said solemnly. "But…."
As she lifted up her eyes, it was full of golden streaks.
"But even if I do understand, it just makes me even more envious and angry with myself. So angry that I left without us even having that kind of connection. Where we share our past scars with no restraints, and carry each other's burdens through hardships. I wanted to have that too…. Sob…."
Harker was pained by her crying, but he felt better now that he heard this from her. That she acknowledges her anger and envy.
"There's nothing wrong with feeling that way, Mina. And we have a whole lifetime to spend doing that. There's no rush, because I wanted to do that with you too." He said. "I want to share my deepest parts with you too. And we can take our time."
He leaned to kiss her cheek, wishing he could touch her to push the tears away but settled with gently kissing them.
"We can take our time, my love. One day, you won't have to be jealous of her anymore. Whether you decide to let her in our relationship or not, it's fine with me. Because what matters to me is that I get to show the people I care about how much I love them. And I'm fine with just showing that love by staying true by their side, by being someone they can rely on."
Mina wiped her tears away, and kissed Harker for a long time. But it was a rather soft and gentle kiss, where they simply pressed their lips together to feel each other.
As she moved away, she softly said.
"I want you to….. do it with me too. See my past, see what has happened to me these past few days. I want to share my pain with you, Harker."
His eyes widened. "Are you sure? It won't be comfortable for the SS cells to enter your brain and reach through your memories."
"It's fine. I want to experience what she did, becoming one with you in mind." She said, as she took off her clothes. "Just as we become one in body."
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