A Little Lethal

| Chapter 4 |mutilation|

If they say
Who cares if one more light goes out?
In a sky of a million stars
It flickers, flickers
Who cares when someone's time runs out?
If a moment is all we are
We're quicker, quicker
Who cares if one more light goes out?
~~

Connor came after half an hour to head them back into their cell.

Jasper tried not to think of the events that had transpired in the stall. But his mind was fixated on the way Kyros tried to never showed the pain in all the time they shared the cell, how he winced sometimes when he was asleep, how the scars on his skin ran so deep.

It made him wonder how deep the scars on his heart were.

Kyros was a very confusing man, and Jasper had unconsciously let him take reign of a few of his heart strings.

It was a dangerous territory, he knew it very well from past experiences, but he ploughed on unthinking, undeterred just because his heart said so. He wanted to give Kyros control of all his heart strings, but his past held him back.

Jasper had paid a hefty amount for listening to his heart, but he hoped it wouldn't disappoint him this time.

There was now an underlying tension in the way Kyros walked and it worried Jasper, he didn't want the man to become distant again when they had only started becoming friends.

After Connor left, Kyros finally broke the silence, "I'm sorry if I went too far by asking you to clean my wounds. It was just that I couldn't reach them myself and-" Kyros stopped, as if he were at a loss for words and Jasper had a sudden urge to hold that man close to his heart.

"Kyros, don't apologise, I didn't mind doing it." He tried to think of a pun to lighten the situation, but his mind drew up a blank.

Nevertheless, Kyros looked up and Jasper saw all that the man was afraid to say out loud, he saw vulnerability and he saw gratitude, and he saw a hint of a smile.

He loved that hint of a smile.

Connor's footsteps interrupted the moment. He came in and smiled uneasily, "Kyros time for work and Jasper, you've been called in as well."

"To work?"

"No, to see how it's done and then you'll be sent in when your wounds have healed more." Connor seemed more uneasy than ever, standing in the scrutiny of two intimidating men but Jasper had never seen him so frazzled.

He thought over his jailer's words and a sudden thought struck him.

Why was he given time to heal when Kyros was much more injured and was most definitely in pain all the time?

His eyes drifted to Kyros who was looking at the wall, face blank, eyes hard and unrelenting.

He also noticed Connor sneaking glances at Kyros, guilt clouding his features and he felt a pang hit his heart.

Something had happened between the two.

Jasper desperately wanted to find out, but it was not his place to do so. Kyros would tell him when he felt comfortable sharing the burden with him, because whatever it was, it didn't look good.

"Shall we go?"

Jasper looked up when Connor broke him away from his thoughts. Kyros was still looking at the wall like a statue.

"Kyros," Jasper called out, snapping his attention to himself, "Let's go?"

He nodded, looking as if his shoulders were still tied down by whatever burden he was lugging around, but his eyes sharpened, "Let's go."