Beauty and the Beast (DRAMAtical Murder fanfic) (Boyxboy)

Chapter 16

It was hard to say when I began to feel quite like myself again. Somewhat like waking from a dream, my senses returned in pieces. When the last one fit into place, and I was made aware that the longing in me had subsided, I was quite warm.

It only took a few moments to understand why. I was lying in the afternoon sun on the veranda, my furred head towards the gardens. There was a weight against me, that briefly brought the thought that I'd curled up with my child. It dissipated quickly, however, at the light smell of something akin to cinnamon.

Koujaku.

He was with me, leaning against and into the curve of my body as I slept internally. Now that I was awake upstairs, I made care to not move and jostle him. Touching, even merely amicably, is a joyful thing for me. Most especially when the one touching you is your future mate that even on a good day probably hates your existence.

I shift my gaze to see what he's doing. There's a deep frown on his face as he reads a book unfamiliar to me. It smells faintly of Taiko, though, so I don't pay it much mind. I study this human man instead. Human eyes and faces speak vibrantly, able to express a thousand different feelings at once within a single twitch. Right now he seems focused, but I'm able to hear his heartbeat in the silence between us. It tells me he's disturbed, and possibly in pain. I focus my attention on the scents nearby, and I'm able to pick out the faint smell of blood coming from him.

I have a faint memory of fighting, and then being very warm and happy.

I'm almost afraid of what that could mean happened. Without really thinking about it, I lift my head and look out towards my father's tree. It seems fresh in my mind. There? Did it happen there?

"You seem better."

Oops. I turn my head to look at him, not bothering to suppress the light chuff that leaves me. His crimson eyes are fixated on me, book closing automatically. The movement shifts the lapel of his kimono, and I can see the stark white bandages beneath.

He's quick to notice my gaze.

"It wasn't you."

"Mm?"

"You didn't hurt me."

How did he know what I was thinking? While it is a relief to find that I haven't hurt him, at least physically, I now worry. My expression as a fox should be too animalistic for me to express myself enough to where one knows what I'm thinking.

"Mnn."

"I know you can speak like that. Quit it with the lame responses."

He's grumpy. Or maybe the pain just makes him frustrated. It's hard to tell with humans. He fixes his clothing, then moves to stand up. I follow suit, unfolding my long legs from under me. Somehow I seem to have taken on a somewhat larger form than I remember, as I tower over Koujaku by a good foot. The way he stood up leaves him facing towards me, and I find myself doing something I hadn't expected to do.

I step forward, bringing my furred chest very close to him, and lean my head down over his shoulder, my chin pressing into his back. He's stiff in my 'hug', but after a moment I hear him sigh heavily. It gives away more pain and exhaustion than I had thought he was harboring. It does not prepare me at all for his next moment either. He hugs me back, wrapping his arms around my taller shoulders and tangling his fingers into the thick fur there as he leans into me.

There's a moment of enjoyed silence, and I don't move even when a wide-eyed Fuyu leans around the open doorway of the tea room to watch. His presence, however, reminds me of something.

The Council had summoned me just before my version of Antou had begun. I will need to go see what it is that they wished for, as soon as possible. All of the elders that make up the council are far too old to be afflicted by the effects of Antou, so I needn't worry about disturbing them.