There was a pain in my neck, the room was dark, and my hand was being squeezed. I heard two voices speaking to one another. My eyes were still closed but I gently squeezed the hand back. “You're awake!” Liam whispered with excitement. I was in a hospital bed with sheets covering my legs. I still had the loose-fitting gown on and noticed an oxygen ventilator mask covering my nose and mouth. He hovered over me as I slowly opened my eyes. Liam looked relieved. His scent was comforting, but at the same time, I sensed someone else. I tried to convey my discomfort to him by squeezing his hand and he must’ve understood. Liam stood up from the chair next to the bed and I tried to move my neck but found that it was being held in place by a sort of cast. The scent became stronger until finally, another man stood above me. He was the spitting image of Liam only older. I squinted my eyes at him, my brain taking moments to process who he was. Then before Liam could say anything, my eyes went wide with realization. “This is my dad,” Liam said.

Liam POV:

Nickel looked shocked and I couldn’t blame him. He was drugged up for one and wasn’t expecting my dad’s presence. Unfortunately, I also hadn’t intended on seeing him but after talking with him over the phone and explaining the situation he thought it necessary to meet the person I was talking about. “He’s certainly small for a hybrid,” he commented. I rolled my eyes. Nickel may not have been stronger or taller than either of us, but he could still pack a punch. 

“He’s not,” I said. Dad gave him a cold glare, his eyes seemingly piercing through him. He was overprotective of his only child. I guess he thought I was getting myself into trouble by doing so much for Nickel. Luckily enough though it seemed Nickel drifted back to sleep while my father studied him. It also wasn’t too surprising he already had negative thoughts regarding Nickel. He was constantly surrounded by hybrids of the more “elite” class. Those with strength, talents, and skills could match no other. He didn’t see Nickel for who he was only for his capabilities. 

Then, Dad suddenly smirked. It was both surprising and concerning. “When he’s out of the hospital I’d like to speak with him. I’ll arrange for that apartment I bought for you to be cleaned and properly furnished. Be there in two weeks from now. No exceptions.” He straightened his tie as he readied to leave. I felt all of the stress from the day and anger towards his unexpected visit accumulate. I took a deep inhale before even daring to speak. 

“What!” I nearly shouted, despite my attempts not to. “Why don’t you just come to the cabin? I’m not staying in that apartment. I told you I was fine on my own and I don’t need your money,” I fussed. “And you can’t just suddenly expect Nickel to be ok with this. He has no clue who the hell you are!” He gave a hard pat on my back. “You’ve always been so stubborn. Just like your mother. I’m giving you two weeks so therefore it won’t be sudden for him,” he looked through his phone before continuing. “Also, I’m not having my son stay in some measly hotel. The apartment is much safer with better security. And don’t you think that boy should get to know me? I am your father after all.” I rolled my eyes again understanding for once how Nickel felt. “

“I always pay the rent for it so really you’re just wasting my money,” he said. “Well, no one asked you to do that,” I growled. He smiled at me and got his suitcase. “I expect you and the cat to be there. I’ll message you some more details, but I have to catch a flight now. I have a meeting at 8 this evening. Honestly, you should be happy I took time out of my day to fly all the way out here.” I sighed knowing there was no use in arguing. He would find some way to make me go and I didn’t want him involving Nickel. It was best to just do as he asked. “Oh, and Liam,” he started before walking out the door. “What?” I asked in an agitated manner. “Love you, son,” he grinned before leaving. I scoffed and said it back under my breath. 

My dad was a good parent and tried his best to care for me though he was rarely even home. He was annoying, controlling, and didn’t take no for an answer but still, he was my dad. The least I could do was go along with whatever he was asking me to. I sat next to the bed again to see Nickel’s eyes half-open. “Kitten, I’ll explain all of this later ok?” He weakly gave a thumbs up. I sat back down in the chair next to the bed and held his hand. “Get some rest babe.” The nickname slipped out and before I could correct myself, Nickel’s grip softened. He was already falling asleep and I just hoped he hadn’t heard me. Perhaps he wouldn’t be angry but I didn't want to take the risk. Despite that, I smiled. “Babe,” I whispered to myself again, rubbing his hand with my thumb. 

Nickel POV: 

I spent three days in the hospital recovering with a stupid brace on my neck. On the fourth day, I was able to leave but I was given a neck brace to sleep with. “He’ll need to take this every morning and if he’s in a lot of pain some ibuprofen would help,” the nurse said, handing Liam the medication. It was the same man from the first day and I had to hold back from growling at him for even looking at Liam. “Thank you so much,” he said, wrapping his arm around my waist squeezing it gently. “Let’s go,” he said, smiling at me. I nodded my head and we finally left that dreaded hospital room. As we walked down the hall, I fiddled with the string of the baggy sweatpants Liam gave to me to change into. When we got to the parking lot I realized just how cold it was. Liam quickly opened the door for me and luckily the car was already warm when I entered. He entered from the other side and turned to look at me. “Are you ok?” he asked. I gave a thumbs up. “Tired,” I mentioned, pushing the seatback to relax. Liam started the car and I let out a sigh. “I kind of wanna take a hot bath when I get back and I never like baths,” I laughed. Liam turned to me while the car was finally out of the parking lot. “Really now.” I gave another thumbs up. Nodding my head too much made my neck hurt so I tried to refrain from doing so. “ A soak might help my bones. That bed was so uncomfortable, but I guess it wasn’t all that bad since you were there,” I smiled. “Glad I could provide some assistance,” Liam grinned in return. 

While on bed rest I would go into sleep for long periods of time due to the medicine. I awoke when Liam’s dad was there and then drifted back to sleep while they talked though I picked up some of the conversations. It didn’t seem like his dad liked me, but he also wanted to speak with me. That was going to be bothersome though because I really didn’t want to have to talk with that man. I also heard Liam call me “babe” which came as a surprise. Normally I would get flustered and tell him to shut up but I didn’t have the energy to. On top of that, the more I thought about it the more I realized how much I actually liked it. I was even becoming accustomed to “kitten”. 

“What’s on your mind?” he asked. I turned to him slowly, so as to not stress my neck. “Nothing,” I said. Liam grinned and grabbed my hand. “Come on just tell me,” he begged. I hesitated not sure of what to respond with. “Um… I was thinking about what you said.” He seemed confused at first before coming to a realization. “Oh, you heard some of that conversation with my dad then?” 

“Yeah,” I said. He gently squeezed my hand. “I’ll explain everything in good time, alright? Right now we just need to focus on making sure you get some proper rest. Was that all?” Without thinking I asked him the other question weighing on my mind. “What...what are we?” Liam seemed confused at first. “I mean….are we a couple? You called me babe... in the hospital,” I mumbled. He seemed shocked initially before his face returned to its normal, warm smile. “Were you ok with me calling you that?” I refused to look at him but slowly nodded. “At first I think I wanted to slap you but I didn’t have the energy,” I laughed, “and then the more I thought about it the more I actually liked it.”  I felt his warm lips press to my hand. “So you’re saying I can call you that now, babe.” My heart pounded at the term and I tried to play it off cool but I knew he knew. “Um, yeah… that...that’s fine,” I said in an indifferent voice. Liam leaned closer pressing his soft lips against my neck. His breath tickled and I felt a blush spread from my neck to my cheeks. “So is this ok too?” he asked before I could question what he was doing. While I became embarrassed he only continued to grin, clearly excited with the sudden progression. “It’s fine,” I said again. Liam leveled our faces and looked at my lips. “Then if I kissed you here often it would be ‘fine’ right?” 

His minty breath ghosted over my face and I became flustered. “Um,” I began but no words came out. I only nodded carefully and anticipated the feeling of his lips against mine. I reminisced the first time we kissed and my eyes fluttered close.  

When nothing came, I opened my eyes to see Liam smirking. “Were you expecting something?” he asked, snickering. He knew exactly what he was doing. “That’s not funny,” I grumbled, my face still red. Liam tapped his upturned lips with his pointer finger. “Then if you want to kiss me why don’t you go ahead and do it.” I rolled my eyes in annoyance. I grabbed his face and pulled him closer to me making him stumble over the console. “You’re a bastard! Seriously you can be so annoying!” I fussed. Before he could say anything or I could change my mind I leaned up to kiss him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as though he would separate from me at any moment; and brought him down closer to me. Liam took my chin between his pointer finger and thumb to tilt my head upwards. His hands were warm and slightly calloused but at the moment I was only focused on his lips. It was familiar but at the same time different. Unlike the first time, it felt as though there was a hunger behind the kiss. It felt greedy, borderline possessive, almost as though he was claiming me. Even though I would never say it out loud, I loved the idea of forever being his as he would forever be mine. That’s what I truly wanted. I thought perhaps Liam wanted the same thing as his scent became more prominent and made the atmosphere heavier. 

I took a deep inhale through my nose, immediately feeling my body relax. It was the same scent that had been comforting me in the hospital, masking the smell of hand sanitizer and old people. Like the kiss we shared it was slightly different, I realized while our lips pressed against one another in slow, but passionate movement. I wasn’t sure what it was about it but I felt hot and the urge to be coated in his scent took over.  I pulled Liam as close as possible wishing the console wasn’t in between the seats to allow me to press our bodies together more. Liam pulled away slightly to allow the both of us to breathe and while I worried it would end he very quickly placed his mouth back on mine. I felt his tongue licking my bottom lip and before thinking I parted them. His tongue slipped in and he began to venture throughout my mouth. I tightened my arms around his neck, unsure of what my tongue was supposed to do. I tried to copy him and keep up but I’m sure Liam could tell I was struggling. His lips slowed in motion and he pulled back again. 

I opened my eyes to meet his. In some way, they seemed darker than before. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand still looking into my eyes deeply. “You don’t understand how much I’m holding back right now,” he whispered. My face grew hotter. “Don’t,” I said in nearly a whisper. “Don’t what?” he asked. Liam, as always, knew what I was talking about; but wanted to make sure I understood what my words would entail. “Don’t hold back,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster. I knew that if I didn’t tell him then I would never be able to tell him. “Ok,” he said. That was it. He didn’t grin or flirt or even give a proper response. All he said was “ok” and leaned back into his seat looking out onto the road. His response wasn’t much but it was enough for me to anticipate the upcoming time we’d spend together. It also somewhat answered my previous question. I smiled to myself with the idea that we were in some kind of relationship. I didn’t really care what kind of label was put on it but as long as Liam and I had the unspoken agreement that we both wanted to be with one another in a romantic sense then I was more than happy.