Just Like Animals

№ 9

Ricky had spent two full days in isolation.  His meals were delivered at all sorts of weird hours during the night while he slept, he was given a bucket for bathroom purposes, and just one singular blanket so even if he froze to death, he wouldn't solidify into a brick of ice.  The experience was miserable to say the least. He was always cold, always a bit hungry, always dozing off, always waking up, and always paranoid.

While getting away from Chris was nice, it was absolutely horrible to be all alone with nothing to do.  It was even worse knowing that he had books and art supplies upstairs waiting for him.  He didn't necessarily want to be upstairs since then he'd have to interact with Chris, but he did want his things and he missed the warmth of the fire.

"Are you done with time out?" Chris asked as he came down the stairs into the basement, walking slow and precisely so the stairs wouldn't creak. It was the same way he managed to drop off food for Ricky without being heard. He had assumed Ricky had caught onto the trick, but from the sound of panicked shuffling, Ricky was still clearly surprised by his presence.

Laying on his little mattress, Ricky thought for a moment before relenting, wrapping himself in his blanket and standing up.  The positives most certainly outweighed the negatives and even though he wasn't willing to admit it, he missed having a bit of company. Ricky stood up and waited patiently, staring down at the floor while Chris let the chain down from the ceiling, begining to walk Ricky upstairs.

"I'm sorry for being upset." Ricky whispered. Although he didn't feel like be really owed Chris an apology, he knew it would help him get back into Chris' good graces.

Chris acknowledge the words with a soft nod, directing Ricky into the den again. Things had been cleaned up and organized, Chris having spent quite a bit of time dwelling on his thoughts and needing a distraction.  Clothes had been folded neatly and tucked away depending on the type of garment, books had been stacked by genre, and art supplies had been tidied up as much as possible when nothing really fit into categories.

Ricky sat in his usual spot where all his blankets still lay, letting Chris chain him to the bracket behind the sofa before scooting as close as possible to the hearth in the hopes to warm up quickly.

"If you'd like, I could clean out a spare bedroom for you." Chris offered as he sat on the opposite end of the couch and put his feet up.

It didn't take long for Ricky to think about it, quickly shaking his head 'no'.  "That sounds permanent and I really hope this is more of a temporary thing. I mean... Either you let me leave or you kill me, right?"

The words lingered in Chris' mind for a moment and he tried to search for something to say but he couldn't find an appropriate explanation or excuse.  He knew Ricky saw things in black and white, but to him, it was all so grey.

"What would you like for dinner?" Chris asked, changing the subject and hoping Ricky would drop the previous one.  The two exchanged eye contact for a few minutes, Ricky being rather caught off guard.

"You're gonna kill me... Aren't you?" Ricky mumbled, looking down at his hands.  He couldn't help but think of everything he'd wanted to do and had yet to accomplish, even just the normal life milestones he would never see.  Of course he had wanted to marry Jaime, maybe have a couple kids, expand his business, and grow old and grey with the love of his life and the thought of it never happening made his heart ache.

Chris got up and moved closer to Ricky, stopping when Ricky started to actively pull away from him. "Listen, I can't just let you leave right now.  You know very well why not.  But I don't want to kill you either." Chris sighed softly, slowly reaching a hand out to Ricky as to not startle him and setting it on his knee, "You can be an annoying little brat at times but having company is refreshing, so we'll just stay put for now. Okay?" He patted Ricky thigh a few times before standing up.  "If it ain't broken, don't fix it, and this is working just fine for now."

Ricky felt the smallest little sliver of relief, but he knew that if anything changed, he would end up dismembered and in a ditch somewhere or best case scenario, taking a relaxing nap at the bottom of a lake.

As plain as day, Chris could see the anguish on Ricky's face. Maybe Chris was heartless, but he wasn't immune to feelings of pity.  He took a blanket and opened it up, sitting back down as he wrapped it around Ricky's shoulders.

The stress and emotions that had been eating Ricky alive finally hit the point of critical malfunction and Ricky rested his head on Chris' shoulder, closing his eyes and trying not to burst into tears again.

It was the first time that Ricky had initiated contact with Chris and it left Chris a bit shocked.  Again, maybe he was heartless, but he wasn't a complete asshole, so he sat patiently, letting Ricky lean against him.

The more Chris thought about it, it wasn't just the first time Ricky had ever touched him, it was the first time in nearly a decade that anyone touched him.  His parents weren't very warm and fuzzy when he was growing up, he was always more of a loner throughout middle and high school.  During his years in college he experimented quite a bit, but nothing serious came of any of the relationships.

After half an hour or so of just quietly sitting and thinking, a soft, sleepy groan left Ricky's lips.  Chris glanced down at his face, noticing that his eyes were shut and mouth open slightly.  He was just about to push Ricky off of him when he felt him snuggle in closer.  Chris' stomach was filled with butterflies and his face went red. He would've let Ricky continue to lay on him but it felt morally wrong. Like he was taking advantage of Ricky somehow.

As carefully as ever Chris gripped the blanket that was wrapped around Ricky, supporting his head as he lowered him down onto the blankets.  He fixed the pillows and made sure Ricky was all tucked in before getting up, leaving Ricky to sleep.

Chris hadn't had dinner yet, so he decided to heat up some left overs for himself.  While eating in the kitchen, he heard Ricky groan again, most likely waking up. He grabbed a box of crackers, some granola, and some cookies for Ricky, returning to the den.

"I'm sorry for falling asleep on you." Ricky mumbled through a quiet yawn, his eyes barely open. Chris just shook his head, setting the snacks down on the coffee table.

"It's okay. Go back to sleep." He coaxed, tucking Ricky back in and brushing his hair out of his face, making sure he was all cozy and giving him a kiss on the forehead.

Ricky had gotten so little sleep the past few days that as soon as the words left Chris' lips, his eyes were closed.  With the fire, blankets, and how gentle Chris was being, he felt so incredibly safe in that moment.

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