Affliction - Book One - Man x Man

Chapter 17

I don't know what time it is when I wake up. I resist the urge to leap up when I wake in an unfamiliar room yet the smell of the woods, the warmth brings me back to the events of yesterday. I realize I'm in Stefan's house. 

How many days did I hide out here in my youth? 

He is one of my oldest friends in the realist sense. I glance carefully over my shoulder and see my warlord is still asleep. He must be worn out as he never was one to sleep in. I can't help but wonder how much sleep he got last night, summarizing that it couldn't have been much.

Slowly, I slip out from under his arm and stand up. 

My whole body hurts, my hand is bandaged and I'm glad because I don't want to see it though I vaguely remember that it looked better than it did in the chamber. My stomach flips and I stop my thoughts as I go to the closet and raid it for clothes. 

Finding a nice long sleeve, vest and some trousers, I pull them on, grateful for Stefan's fashion sense. For the first time in a long time, I don't scramble into my shirt and assure myself that no one noticed. Even in my lonesome, I couldn't bear to see myself but today I find I'm either too tired or too overwhelmed by my situation to care. 

There is a lack of mirrors in here, maybe that's it. 

I steal a glance at the sleeping man, he hasn't moved. His tangle of gray hair shields his eyes but he's to still. There is no chance he's awake, I wonder if I have ever seen him asleep and if I have, it's only been fleeting moments. 

I resist the urge to go and touch him; I need to let him sleep because I know when he wakes up there will be more discussion about what happens to this book and what that means for all of us. 

Sighing, I make my way downstairs and find that I feel so much more comfortable here than I do in my own home. I grew up here, I would ride from my home and in exchange for some blood from my horse I could remain as long as I liked. Stefan was always so intriguing, he had the best stories and he never treated me any differently for he was a prince as well. Or at least, at one point he had been.

I start when I see Tonic is already awake and he's wearing only a pair of pants though I see that he's a bit too tall for them. I smile, my savior crammed into pants like a boy who has outgrown his clothes. I walk up and sit silently next to him and find that he looks different. Relaxed, tired, and older. 

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." I break the silence and cross my arms to rest my elbows on the table. He shrugs, his cheeks redden. "Tonic, I don't think I can ever thank you enough for what you did for me. For what you continue to do for me. I hate that I put you in danger but I wouldn't have wanted anyone else there beside me. You truly are one of my closest friends." 

"I was just doing what was right Nicolas, it wasn't anything special." He has always been the most humble.

"It was for me," I tell him firmly but gently. It was my life. Something that my own family didn't even care about. I wonder if anyone has really, truly, saved my life with nothing to gain. I can only think of Tonic.

He offers me a shy smile and I smile back, unfolding myself to hug him. "How did you sleep?" I ask him, how often does one get to have an idle conversation in this world?

Tonic flushes deep to his core and immediately looks down. "I um. Fine. Fine. I slept fine. Better than- well not the best but fine. Just fine." His stammering takes me off guard, which is strange even for Tonic. I blink a few times and straighten.

"So it's fine then?" I question with a small laugh. He nods almost too quickly and I feel the urge to pry. "Do where did you sleep?" I gesture around the house, it wasn't down here.

 There is no evidence that anyone has been down here. He shrugs and glances at the stairs; flushes again only to look down once more. He almost seems to shrink before me and I frown. I don't like this; I want my happy confident Tonic back. Then it begins to dawn on me all at once. "Or.. Who did you sleep.. with? " I test the words and he freezes like a statue. I gasp; he panics and looks away.