Captured by the Yandere Space Pirates

beep beep beep beep!

Syn's heart pounded, his hazel eyes wide. The sterile hum of the medic room faded as Mia's face shifted.

Her shapeshifter guise melted away.

The maid's features—his old crush, her sharp cheekbones, her coy smile—dissolved.

Long black hair, a delicate, cut face, and soft brown eyes he hadn't seen in years appeared.

"Olivia?" he gasped, his voice cracking. His body tensed on the medical bed, wires tugging at his arm.

The beeping of Mia's—no, Olivia's—ventilator was a sharp reminder of reality.

His childhood friend, the girl he'd raised in the Backdrop, was here.

He'd left her behind for the army. Vera and Pako said she was lost, presumed dead.

"You were a shapeshifter all along?" Syn yelled, his voice raw. His hazel eyes searched her face, his mind racing, struggling to connect the dots.

Olivia's brown eyes flickered, her pale skin flushed with a faint blue tinge. Her shapeshifter nature was bare, her bandages stark against her fragile frame.

She shifted, wincing, the tubes in her arm pulling. Her voice was soft but steady, her honesty a quiet storm.

"I didn't know, Syn," she said, her long black hair spilling over the pillow. Her brown eyes pleaded, her shapeshifter heart open., "I thought I was the same as everyone, a human."

"One day, I just… realized I could change, shift," she continued. "I kept it secret, didn't understand it myself until the shapeshifters infiltrated the pirate base."

"I saw them, recognized them instantly—all those doppelgangers, my kind. That's when I knew," she said. Her voice trembled, her flush deepening, her memories a fog.

"I don't know how I ended up in the Backdrop, or how I survived so long before I met you" she added. "I never cared about my roots, Syn. Being a shapeshifter… it let me follow you, watch you, without hassle. That's all I wanted."

Syn's chest tightened, his hazel eyes dimming. The weight of her words sank in—Olivia, alive, a shapeshifter, his childhood friend hiding in plain sight.

"Why Mia?" he asked, his voice low. His hands clenched the bed's edge, his trauma with Ila a quiet shadow. His heart was torn between relief and confusion.

Olivia's brown eyes dropped, her flush a soft blue. Her voice stuttered, her shapeshifter vulnerability raw.

"I… I watched you, Syn," she said, her words halting, her bandages shifting. Her heart was bare.

"I saw how you looked at Mia, the maid, with those eyes, that longing," she confessed. "She was a bad person, Syn, cruel, manipulative. I hated her, hated how you wanted her."

"But… I wanted you to look at me like that," she said, her voice breaking. Her brown eyes glistened, her shapeshifter face trembling. Her confession was a knife. "So I… took her place."

Syn froze, his hazel eyes narrowing. His breath caught, the medic room's hum a distant pulse. The beeping of Olivia's monitor grew louder, faster.

"Took her place?" he said, his voice sharp. His heart pounded, his trauma a quiet weight. "Did you… kill her?"

Olivia's brown eyes lowered, her long black hair framing her face. Her nod was slow, honest, her shapeshifter truth a burden.

"Yes," she whispered, her voice barely audible. Her flush faded, her brown eyes wet. Her guilt was a shadow, her love for Syn a fire that burned through shame.

"I'm sorry, Syn," she said. "I couldn't let her hurt you, couldn't let you want her."

Syn's breath hitched, his hazel eyes wide. His mind reeled—Olivia, his sweet, innocent friend, a killer. Her shapeshifter powers were a weapon, her love for him a motive.

Mia's death was a twisted act of devotion. He leaned back, his medical gown shifting. His thigh wound throbbed, his heart torn.

Memories of the Backdrop flooded—Olivia's laughter, her brown eyes bright. Her tiny hand in his, his vow to protect her, his guilt when she vanished.

His grief when Vera and Pako said she was gone, dead, was a scar.

Her survival was a miracle, her crime a wound. Her love was a chain he couldn't untangle.

Silence stretched, the medic room's air heavy. The ventilator's hiss was a steady rhythm. Olivia's brown eyes searched his, her shapeshifter face vulnerable.

Her bandages were stark, her heart racing.

Her fear of rejection was a quiet scream.

Syn's hazel eyes softened, his voice low.

His trauma was a shadow, his gratitude a light.

"Olivia," he said, his words calm. His heart was heavy, his love for the girl she'd been a fire that burned through shock, through betrayal.

Her brown eyes lifted, her long black hair trembling. Her shapeshifter flush was a soft red, her breath catching. Her fear was a weight, her hope a flicker.

"Thank you, Olivia," Syn said, his voice warm.

Olivia's brown eyes widened, her face stunned. Her heart raced, the monitor beeping faster.

Her bandages shifted, her surprise a wave.

His gratitude was a gift she hadn't expected. Her guilt was a shadow, his warmth a light.

"Syn?" she whispered, her voice trembling. Her long black hair spilled, her brown eyes searched.

Her love was a fire, her fear of his anger fading, her hope soaring.

"I mean it," Syn said, his hazel eyes tearing. His voice broke, his medical gown loose. His thigh wound was a dull ache, his trauma with Ila a quiet weight.

His love for Olivia was a childhood vow reignited. "You had my back, Olivia. You kept me alive in the Kingdom, followed me, saved me from Ila."

"I… I can't thank you enough." His tears spilled, his hazel eyes locked on hers.

His heart was raw, his guilt a wound. Her survival was a miracle, her love a chain he didn't want to break.

"I'm so glad you're here, alive," he said. "When Vera and Pako said you were gone, lost, I thought you were dead. It broke me, Olivia."

"Months, years, I blamed myself," he continued. "Thought I failed you, that I was a bad person for not returning to the Backdrop, for breaking my promise."

His voice cracked, his hazel eyes streaming. His hands trembled, memories of her flooding—her laughter in the glum backdrop, her brown eyes bright.

Her tiny hand in his, her games he let her win. Her warmth was a light in the Backdrop's gray—his grief a scar, her presence a balm.

"I thought I lost someone so cute, so innocent, so kind," he said, his voice raw. His hazel eyes pleaded, his love a vow, his gratitude a fire.

"But now, seeing you, I just… I want to hug you."

Syn shifted, wincing, his thigh wound protesting.

His medical gown brushed her bandages, his hazel eyes locked on hers.

His heart pounded, his trauma a shadow. His love was a light. He leaned forward, his arms wrapping around her.

Careful of her tubes, her bandages, his embrace was fierce, protective. His warmth enveloped her, his tears wetting her shoulder.

His smell—antiseptic, sweat, Syn—was a comfort.

His love was a vow, his gratitude a chain. Her shapeshifter heart raced, her brown eyes wide.

Her long black hair trembled.

Her surprise was a wave, his touch a dream she'd only dared to imagine.

Olivia's breath caught, her body trembling. Her brown eyes streamed, her tears a mix of joy, sadness, guilt, love.

Her heart was unsure, her mind uncaring. Her focus was on Syn, his arms, his warmth, his tears.

His love was a fire that burned through her shame, her crime, her fear. She hugged him back, her bandaged arms weak but fierce.

Her long black hair tangled, her shapeshifter flush deepened. Her monitor beeped wildly, her love a vow, her tears a release.

Her childhood dream—his touch, his care, his heart—was a reality. Her shapeshifter truth was a bridge, her human guise a lie.

His embrace was a truth she'd die for.

They held each other, the medic room's hum fading.

The ventilator's hiss was a distant pulse. The monitor's beeps were a wild rhythm, their tears mingling.

Syn pulled back, his hazel eyes locked on her brown ones.

Her shapeshifter face—Olivia's face, her true face—was a comfort. Her beauty was a spark, her crime a wound he'd forgive.

They leaned in, their lips meeting, soft, tentative, then fierce.

A sensual, passionate kiss, their hearts racing.

Their tears mixed, their love a vow.

The medical bed creaked, her tubes tugged and wires pulled.

Their kiss was a light, a promise, a fire.

The medic, a wiry man in a green robe, sat at his console. His glasses glinted, his eyes averted, his face flushed.

His hands fidgeted, the room's drama a storm he'd seen too much of lately. The medic room, meant for healing, was turning into a lover's haven.

Its sterile walls were witness to kisses, tears, confessions. Its beds were a stage for raw hearts, its air thick with passion.

Its future—naughty fantasies, tangled sheets—was a whisper he dreaded. His professionalism frayed, his sigh a quiet protest.

His heart warmed despite himself.

Syn and Olivia's love was a spark he couldn't ignore.

They kissed longer, their lips parting, their breaths mingling. Olivia's bandaged hand grazed his chest, her shapeshifter touch a milestone.

They pulled back, their foreheads touching.

Their tears dried, their smiles soft. Their hearts were open, their past a scar.

Their present was a gift, their future a promise.

The medic room's hum was a lullaby.

The ventilator's hiss was a rhythm. Their love was a quiet defiance, their kiss a vow to face the Kingdom, Ila, the King, together.