A/N: Hi lovely people! I'm posting this in a rush, so I'll keep this short and sweet. I hope you're all well and staying safe, wherever you are 🦋
This is unedited.
Chapter 12.
"Where's Yas?" Kim whispered and the body against him tensed.
"He is..." Chilla spoke reluctantly and Kim twitched, anxiety flooding back in a rush.
A polite knock sounded on the door and Milly entered with a tray, pointedly averting her eyes from their bed. "I brought some refreshments."
"Thank you, Dr. Fowler." Chilla sounded relieved and he sat up, adjusting Kim's pillow and easing the smaller boy back against the headboard. The anesthetic was doing its job and Kim only felt mild discomfort when his stitches pressed against the pillow.
"Here you go, darling. You need to drink lots of fluids." Milly handed Kim a cup of apple juice and set a plate with a sandwich and a cup of fruit on his bed table.
"Thank you." Kim sipped his apple juice and found he was extremely thirsty. He gulped it down and Milly refilled his cup, smiling in approval.
"W-where's Yas?" He asked again and the woman's smile faded.
"Ah, he's alright." Milly darted a look at Chilla and the two seemed to have a silent conversation, that Kim clearly wasn't a part of. The redhead looked between them, eyes wide.
"Yas saw Jonathan chase you in the corridor and he shifted." Milly finally spoke. "They got in a scuffle, but Yas is fine. He's currently in isolation."
"W-why?" Kim's hand trembled and Chilla took the cup from him.
"He just needs some time to himself. Yas is a very strong shifter and he lost control. He's resting a few doors down." Milly explained simply. Too simply.
Kim didn't think Milly was lying, but she might withhold something to spare his feelings. Kim didn't blame her for it, his emotions were all over the place and his eyes were filling with hot tears.
"W-w-what kind of s-shifter i-is he?" Kim sniffled.
"Hey." Chilla murmured and reached for Kim's hand, squeezing his fingers in gentle reassurance.
Kim clutched Chilla's hand and stared up at Milly. He wished he could get a grip on himself and just calm down, but everything that had happened had been too frightening, too fast, too soon.
Milly watched him a moment, expression soft with sympathy.
"He's a hybrid, like Charles." Milly flashed the headboy a small smile. "Charles was assigned as Yas' guardian. He's also a hybrid and has excellent control. Yas had a rough start and it hasn't been easy for him to settle in, but he's been making tremendous progress."
Kim listened with a pounding heart and rising frustration. "B-but what is he?"
Milly met his eyes soberly. "He's a reptile. A mix between a python and a rattlesnake. His kind is very rare."
A snake. Kim's eyes went wide. Snakes slithered through the dark, silent and deadly. They struck with lightning speed or coiled around you like iron ropes, slowly crushing the life out of you in your sleep.
Kim had slept in Yas' deadly arms nearly every night since Chilla had found him. Why hadn't anyone told him? He could have been crushed. He could have died. Deep down he'd known that musky smell wasn't right.
His throat was closing up and he was having trouble breathing. A cup pressed into his shaking hands.
"Here you go, darling. Drink some tea and remember the steps I taught you." Milly's warm hand cupped his cheek, anchoring him back to reality. "Focus on one thing you can smell, one thing you can hear and one thing you can taste."
The rim of the cup was urged to his lip and he sipped, inhaling hot herbal steam. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears, but outside of his skull was the gentle buzz of the AC, recycling late August air and turning it cool. The tea was sweet, burning his tongue a little.
"Very good, sweetheart. A bit more." Milly's voice was soft and coaxing. The cup was lifted to his mouth again and Kim automatically drank. Chilla's arm was around him, hand rubbing his shoulder soothingly.
They were both being so kind and patient, his eyes filled with grateful tears. The fact that anyone wanted to deal with him felt like a miracle. The cup was becoming heavy in his hands and someone took it from him.
He turned into Chilla's chest, burying his nose in a soft cotton t-shirt, as sleep took him.
.....
Kim was sitting up in bed, drowsily eating a tomato soup with a few slices of buttered toast. It was around two in the morning. He'd woken up a short while ago, feeling as though his back was on fire.
Chilla had roused immediately, maybe he hadn't slept at all, and fetched Kim painkillers and food. The silver haired boy was next to him now, scrolling through his phone and stroking Cassius' head absently. The blonde had only stirred once to nuzzle his head into Chilla's lap. He was a heavy sleeper.
Kim hadn't thought he was hungry, until he started eating. Now his appetite was back with a vengeance and he munched on toast, tired eyes closing for long moments.
When his bowl was empty, Chilla turned off his phone and gently lifted Cassius' head from his lap. The blonde inhaled sharply through his nose and rolled to hug a pillow, exhaling and relaxing.
Chilla took Kim's tray and left to bring it back to the kitchen, steps fading down the corridor.
Kim yawned and sniffed the air. Yas' scent was faint. He hadn't returned that night. The redhead blinked and his mind sharpened. He remembered what Milly had said; Yas was still in the clinic, because he had helped Kim escape Jonathan.
Kim's heart quickened at the memory, but he was calmer now, safe in his dark nest full of familiar smells.
Now he remembered that Chilla was a predator too and the most responsible person he had ever met. He had slept with two predators for weeks. They could have hurt him at any time, but they hadn't. Even though so many other people had.
Yas was so gentle and timid. In some ways he seemed just as broken as Kim. It was only when they were intimate that his demeanor changed, revealing a hint of who he might have been, if his life had been different. Kim had yet to find out what had happened to Yas to make him the way he was.
But one thing he knew for sure was; he thought about the albino everyday. He knew Yas liked to sleep in, he liked cuddling, studying and basking in the sun, if he felt safe enough to go outside.
Kim missed Yas terribly and he was no longer able to sleep without him.
The redhead quietly pushed past the curtain and climbed down the ladder. Each step stretched the sore skin on his back, but he bit the inside of his lip and stepped to the dresser, pulling on a t-shirt and shorts from the drawer he shared with Chilla and Cassius.
It was unsettling to wander through the halls at night. Kim's eyes weren't made for low lighting, but his hearing was keen and he'd visited the clinic many times before. He stuck close to the wall and moved as quickly as his stitches allowed.
He reached the medical wing and walked down the hall, looking uncertainly at the doors. The thought of entering Jonathan's room by mistake, nearly made him turn back. But his eyes fell on a sign that read isolation.
He hesitated, then stretched up on the tips of his toes and peaked through the observation window. The room was small and dimly lit, with a single bed and nothing else. Yas was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.
Kim's heart leapt and he tapped on the glass. The albino either didn't hear him or he ignored the sound. Was the glass soundproof?
Kim's nerves jittered and his back ached from the stretch. He lowered his heels back on the floor and stared at the handle. Suddenly he felt nervous and eager at the same time.
Chitters were building in his throat and he moved in a quick circle. What if Yas wasn't himself? Maybe he needed more time alone. But he was here because he had protected Kim and he looked so forlorn. This room was practically a cell...
Kim swallowed tightly and pulled on the handle. It was locked. He frowned and looked above the door, heart leaping when he saw a small transom window open a crack. A person couldn't fit through it, but a squirrel might.
A familiar bubbling warmth grew in his gut and spread outwards, heating his cheeks and feet.
In the next instant he was small enough to shimmy up the doorway and wriggle through the gap. He darted down on the floor and hesitated.
Yas was dressed in a simple white t-shirt and sweatpants, head bowed so that his long hair fell forward, shielding his face.
Kim's heart twisted with sympathy.
Yas?
The boy stiffened and slowly lifted his head. A chill washed over the squirrel's skin. Yas' eyes were wide and empty, pupils thin reptilian slits.
Kim's mouth went dry and his heart started beating in triple time. He wondered if Yas was actually seeing him or processing anything at all. It took all of his willpower to summon up the heat inside and shift.
"Y-yas?" Kim tried again, voice cracking.
The albino just watched him unblinkingly, tongue flicking out between his lips. His musky scent was everywhere, damp and cool. Decaying leaves and copper.
Kim's instincts screamed at him to run, but he forced himself to move a step forward. Then another. And another. Yas wouldn't hurt him. They knew each other. They cared about each other.
When the redhead was an arms distance away, he stopped. Yas' pale face was so lovely, Kim ached to hold him. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was so stressed, only a chitter escaped.
The albino blinked and his expression changed, twisting into something like terror and regret. He scrambled away from Kim and huddled on the bed. Clutching his knees, Yas started to rock, as if he were in pain.
Kim stared a moment, confusion and worry blooming in his chest. He thought about finding Milly, but he didn't know where she slept and he didn't want to leave Yas in this state. He climbed onto the bed.
"Yas." His voice was stronger now and he reached out to touch the albino's hands. The boy's skin was ice cold, not just the cool temperature it normally was. "What's wrong?"
Yas was making choked hissing sounds as he rocked and Kim couldn't stand to watch it anymore. He gripped Yas' arms and climbed into the boy's lap, feeling a wave of hurt when Yas flinched away from him.
"It's me. It's Kim." He was starting to cry and he reached up to cup Yas' icy cheeks, angling his head to slant his lips across that soft red mouth. Like he had done so many times before.
In the next instant, arms crushed into Kim's back, trapping him against the taller boy's chest. Yas was squeezing him so tight, he felt his bones creak and his squeak was muffled between their lips.
The albino's mouth opened and Kim's tongue ran across sharp fangs. He felt a sting and then blood was gushing into his mouth.
A rattle rumbled through him and Yas' kiss hardened, crotch grinding against Kim's, making heat wash over his skin.
He didn't try to pull away. He knew he couldn't and he didn't want to either. Yas was in control now and Kim could finally let go.
His troubled mind went blissfully quiet and he relaxed. His arms felt heavy and clumsy, but he managed to wind them around the albino's neck, fingers burrowing into the cool silk of the boy's hair.
The mouth on his tore away, leaving him gasping, and then it was at the joint where his neck met his shoulder, fangs sliding easily into his skin. Smooth as needles. A cold hand fumbled at his shorts, pushing them down his hips.
A feline growl sounded and then hands were on them, pulling and clawing frantically. "Yas, stop!"
Kim's eyes flew open at Chilla's voice. He caught a flash of panicked red eyes and then he was sent sprawling back against the bed, staring dazedly up at the white ceiling.
He could hear Yas crying and he pushed shakily up on one arm, blinking as black spots danced before his eyes. Chilla was hugging the boy, rocking with him, and stroking his pale hair. "Shh. It's ok. It's ok."
"I'm h-horrible. I c-couldn't s-s-stop. I w-wan-ted t-to..." Yas was hiccuping through his tears, clutching Chilla's arms with white knuckled hands.
"You did stop. That's what matters." Chilla interrupted firmly and kissed the albino's brow.
Shock was beginning to set in and Kim felt his bottom lip tremble, tears running down his cheeks. The silver haired boy turned his head, flinty grey irises cutting into the redhead for an instant, before they flicked away.
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