Cal looked up slowly, not wanting to meet the other’s eyes. Turned out not to be the best idea, though, as his eyes lingered on muscles along the way. “I’m fine,” he said, but the words were near inaudible.
Caspian watched him, raising an eyebrow at the way his eyes seemed to roam over his exposed chest before moving upward. “Like Hell you are.” The shadow manipulator was always a stubborn fellow. “Look…Cal…” His voice softened and he took another step closer. “I—…I don’t want to see you hurt okay? I guess…if you really don’t want to talk about it…fine. But I just want to help. I care about you, you know.”
“I know… I’m just too used to being nothing…” Saying the words aloud only reinforced what he had known all along. No one had ever considered him anything more than a puppet or play thing. “I’m not used to someone caring.”
“You were never nothing.” It broke his heart to hear the angel say these things. “People may have treated you like nothing, but you were never nothing.” He inched closer, looking up at the other when they came close enough that he could feel the body heat radiating off of Cal. “We can take this one step at a time, but I’m not going to stop caring about you. You’ll get used to it; you just have to stick around me and relax. I won’t hurt you. I won’t touch you unless you want me to.” He smiled softly, delicately. “We’ll get through this.”
Cal looked up slowly, not wanting to meet the other’s eyes. Turned out not to be the best idea, though, as his eyes lingered on muscles along the way. “I’m fine,” he said, but the words were near inaudible.
Caspian watched him, raising an eyebrow at the way his eyes seemed to roam over his exposed chest before moving upward. “Like Hell you are.” The shadow manipulator was always a stubborn fellow. “Look…Cal…” His voice softened and he took another step closer. “I–…I don’t want to see you hurt okay? I guess…if you really don’t want to talk about it…fine. But I just want to help. I care about you, you know.”
Cal took a shakey breath and had to look away again. Why did Caspian have to be so damn good looking? As if that wasn’t enough, he had to go and mention wanting a shower. “Um… it’s still early. Dawn at the latest. I doubt they’d interrupt you…” He folded the clothing netatly and picked them up again. “It’s your choice,” he said, and despite his great efforts to hide it, pain resonated in those simple words. Even before the demons and the enslavement, someone else had always had the say. Someone else always made the choices, gave the orders. Cal hated thinking about that, so every time it did come to mind he tried desperately to conceal it. Because if anyone saw, they would ask. And if he refused to talk, he would be punished.
So he put on a fake smile and said, “What shall it be?”
“You’d be surprised at what they do when I don’t get things done.” Cas looks up and notices the other looking away. Then he heard the pain. Had he said something wrong? Maybe the other was waking up with a bad start too. But that smile…He had to ask. “Hey…Are you okay?” His voice was gentle, comforting as he took a step forward. The robe slips further down his shoulder. He doesn’t pay any mind to it.
Cal returned to the bed with some clean clothing. “There is no other way… if you bought me and freed me, they would take me…” He looked at him, his perfect, near-naked, physique… looks down again. “It may not be ideal, but it is what it is…”
Caspian closes his eyes and lets out a breath. “Yeah…Yeah…” Swallowing, he shivers before making to stand. A wince escapes him as bruises from the previous fight and torture session are revealed. “I-I should…uh…” He wobbles at first before walked over to the closet to get a robe. After throwing it carelessly over his shoulders, he picks up the clothes and thanks the other. “I want to uh…shower, but I guess I should get to the paperwork first. I don’t want them…you know….interrupting me if I don’t get this done.” He tries to smile, the robe loosely opened and hanging off his shoulder slightly.
Cal could tell something was wrong, but if years of slavery had taught him anything, it was to not question. So, despite his worry and fears, he ducked his head obediently. “I’ll get you some clothes…” he said softly. “The sooner you sign the papers, the sooner it’ll be finalized.” He stood up out of the bed and went over to the closet before Caspian could respond.
Cas blinked and reached out, but the other was already at the closet. Sighing, he laid his head back on the pillow below him and inhaled deeply, taking in the lingering scent of Cal. He didn’t want to get up, but knew he had to. “…Are you sure you want me to…to own you?” It sounded so vulgar in his mind. Own a person? Disgusting. He looked over to the other as he sat up, wiggling skillfully before slipping his pants off and tossing them aside. “I…wish there was another way….” His voice was soft as he looked down at his lap.
“Yes,” Cal spoke softly. “Just stretched my wing wrong… I’m fine. Are you?” His eyes revealed how worried he was. “You look like you’re gonna be sick.”
“Do I?” He must look pale. He feels sick, like just rolling over and throwing up his kidney or something. The dream really affected him a way he didn’t know he could be affected. It scarred some part of his heart and burned itself inside his skull. He’d have to be careful going to sleep now.
Cas pulls himself away and looks up at the other. He’s really looking at the angel, eyes searching, analysing, decomposing and reassembling Cal’s profile. It’s all a distraction to buy him some time, for he’s not all that confident that he can successfully lie to the man’s face. “..I’m fine."
There were no windows in Caspian’s room, and Cal hadn’t noticed a clock, but his internal timer told him dawn was breaking. Somewhere beyond the bleak, gray haze the demons kept the camp surrounded with. He hadn’t slept that night. Every noise seemed a threat to end this tiny peace he’d found in the shadow manipulator. He also hadn’t moved, for fear of waking the other.
But it was time. The longer they waited, the more chance they would take Cal away. He shifted slightly, trying to awaken stiff muscles. His arms had surrounded Caspian, a protective embrace through the night. The one under him had fallen asleep several hours before and was numb. The free one on top moved to Caspian’s shoulder with the intent of waking him. However, on instinct, his wings stretched out behind him before he remembered the broken bones therein. A hiss of pain escaped through his teeth.
Caspian wasn’t one to dream. No, he was always glad by the fact that almost every night of his life had been filled with an emptiness that would entertain him for hours but only feel like a few seconds. Tonight was different though. Perhaps it was the circumstances, or maybe the pain, or most likely the close proximity to which he laid against the other. Either way, he had a dream, one that both surprised him and terrified him.
It was dark. There wasn’t much he could see. He heard Cal’s voice though, soft and soothing. “Then no one can take me away.” The sentenced seemed to bounce off the walls. “I want to stay with you…–make it up to you…” Everything was getting disorientated though, and quieter, like Cal was moving away from him. Then he heard silence. “Cal…?” He might have muttered the phrase out loud while he was still asleep.
“NO!” The scream caught him off guard and he flinched. “NO, PLEASE!” Pain was evident in the angel’s voice. He looked around, panicking in the darkness to find the other. The same thing kept repeating, over and over, overlapping and echoing in whatever empty place his dream put him in. It was killing him, slowly driving him insane. “Stop…just stop…” He couldn’t take it anymore. Feeling helpless and unable to help the person he cared for…it gave him a horrid feeling. He wanted to kill himself rather than continue this torture.
Then a touch and a hiss.
Jolting awake and wincing, he panted lightly as he looked around, it taking a moment before he realized he was just in his room. “Cal…” He breathed out, eyes darting around before they rested on the other’s face. He’d never been so happy to see another person in his life. Feeling like crying, he shook his head, taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes again. Trembling hands moved to touch anything that could prove the other was there and safely in his grasp. He felt smooth skin, a scar here and there, then the softness of feather to which he gently caressed. Then the hand went back to the skin, and he opened his eyes to find himself gently cupping the other’s cheek. Blinking back tears, he snuggled deeper into the other’s chest, the blush on his cheeks the only evidence to him finally realizing how close he laid beside the angel. “…Are you okay?” It was the only thing he could manage to say.
Cal nodded and murmured, “Ok,” before climbing in the bed. He laid facing Cas, only partly so he could let his wings hang off the side of the bed. He was tired, but the dreams surfaced in his memories, and so he was afraid to go back to sleep. At least the view would be nice, watching Caspian sleep.
Cas watched the other climb into bed, a soft sleepy smile on his face. Without thinking, he snuggled himself into Cal’s chest and sighed contently at the warmth. “Goodnight Cal.” He murmured softly, his breath rolling off the other’s skin. “I’ll…take care of…you in the morning…”
