A Little Lethal

| Chapter 11 |infatuation|

We're getting deeper in the woods,
It's getting darker under foot,
Things can happen in the woods
And never knowing that they would,
We're getting deeper in the woods
It's getting darker under foot,
Caution's in the wind.

~~

Waking up, Jasper felt warm and safe. Feelings that were always so fleeting for him, it was almost like a dream.

He didn't want to wake up.

Behind him, he heard a groan, the arms that surrounded him clutched him tighter and a face nuzzled deeper into his neck. The warm breaths hitting his skin made him feel fuzzy and the beard tickled him ever so slightly. He sighed, sleeping this way most definitely topped anything he had ever wanted to do.

However, he couldn't stay like that for the whole day.

He had to get up and out before Kyros woke up and things got awkward between them. Only recently had they been getting along well and Jasper didn't want to throw that to the drain.

Kyros had been quite reserved for the first few days they were here, but they had bonded over bitter broths and mutual silence. After that almost fight, Jasper was sure they wouldn't ever stand a chance, but Kyros had broken through the barriers he had managed to build in that time.

Then yesterday, the way he had comforted him, held him and then kissed him. Jasper could only imagine where they would stand now.

So, as silently and stealthily as he could, he gently picked up the heavy arm on his chest and slid out of the embrace he wished he could stay in forever. He sighed in relief when Kyros didn't wake up. He grunted once more, making Jasper still but the sleeping man just shifted a little so he was hugging his hard pillow instead.

Something had changed, Jasper noted. It was lighter in the cell, not dark and mouldy as it usually was. He felt warmer, and as a result happier. Jasper gasped when he noticed the streak of light coming in through the other side. His feet automatically took him there and he found the hole Kyros had punched in the wall.

Heart palpitating, he peeked out and saw blinding light. He smelt fresh air and heard a bird's loud chirp. It cut through the gloom in his mind like a razor.

He could be a part of nature now, however small.

Though unknowingly, Kyros had gifted Jasper the only thing he had wanted since imprisonment. He walked back to the sleeping man, viewing him in an entirely different perspective.

His heart stuttered.

He couldn't make sense of his feelings.

He had left them unchecked and now they had grown too fast for him to comprehend. He had to make sense of it and had to correct it before Kyros became distant again. That man was a complete riddle, with many scabs of past wounds. Peeling those scabs away would be extremely painful- for both of them.

Jasper heard sharp footsteps coming his way and felt guilt surge in when Connor smiled his usual smile and walked in. He knew he hadn't been kind to the first person who had helped him in this miserable place.

"Hey." He whispered, so as to not wake Kyros and Connor's eyebrows raised up.

"Hey J," He sounded unsure, but continued anyways, "I brought some food, I know the sentence said no food for three days. I hope you like snickers."

"Chocolate for breakfast and in bed too?" Jasper's eyes were gaining back their shine, "You're spoiling me."

Connor just smiled and shook his head, "I'll just keep them here."