ToRA (Kekkai Sensen Fanfic)

Chapter 11

By the time we exited the fourth store, I wanted nothing more than to go back and take a long nap. Thankfully, this was met with us being quite close to the entrance, and where I could see him standing there. He was on the phone, pacing in slow circles, and it was at this point I decided I was just too tired to continue.

She didn't seem to mind that much. In fact, the entire time she seemed to be having an absolute blast. Though he asked for her help, I get the distinct feeling she would have done it anyways. With or without me being present. We made our way over to him, and once we were close enough I broke my contact with her. The second I was within reach, he picks me up and settles me into one arm.

And without a thought or a care, I slumped against him and fell right asleep.

~~~

I woke to nothing.

Nothing in the sense that nothing in particular woke me up. It was the middle of the night. Quiet, dark, serene even. I was laying in those same dark navy sheets, nearly about to fall back asleep again when it occurred to me.

I don't wake in the middle of the night. Not even before I came to live here with him. Perhaps if it wasn't an external thing in my environment, it was something internal? It stirs me a little more into wakefulness, making me more awake of the presence of him asleep behind me. Back to back, never touching. That's how we sleep. Usually, like tonight, I'm still a child. I sit up, letting my ears rotate quickly to catch any abnormal sounds at all. There are none.

There is, however, an extremely faint smell. My eyes narrow, and I growl as a threatening gesture. It growls back from empty air, canine, this something I sensed enough to wake. He stirs behind me, and I don't need to look to be able to tell he's watching me. I switch to my adult form, which drops the tone of my growl into a much deeper, more powerful sound. I snarl, almost half a roar but quieter. The other growl falters, before stopping completely.

Something shifts. The feeling of that other presence, perhaps. Once I'm certain it's gone, I stop growling instantly. My ears are still pinned back, and there's a long moment of stillness before the sheets rustle and I feel his hand on my head. Just repetitive motions, combing my hair with his fingers. Trying to calm me down, maybe. Still, there's a good chunk of time I spend still sitting up, listening and checking the air for anything off. When I do finally feel relaxed enough to divert my attention elsewhere, I find myself shifting to lay my upper torso against his side and abdomen. I cross my arms and lay my chin down upon them.

Mine.

I'm coming to terms with it, slowly. Without a receptive imprinting back, I expect merely a relationship of protectiveness. I am the beast that guards and covers, and his is the voice and touch I will always mind. His hand doesn't leave me. When he falls back asleep, it rests between my shoulders.

It's still there when I slip into dreams myself, when the sunlight comes peering through the closed curtains.

~~~~

It wasn't difficult to guess what had gotten Kuja so agitated in the middle of the night. Anything coming too close was a threat, but add in something he can't see and something he might already be adverse to and that was especially a threat in his world.

The only canine who could be invisible to the naked eye and who Kuja would instantly dislike. Chain. It wasn't the first time she'd made visits while I slept, visits I rarely experienced but could tell from security logs. But it was certainly the first she'd done it with Kuja being here. I'd always assumed she did it with everyone, to check on them. But a short conversation with Gilbert said otherwise; she never visited Klaus, Zed, or even Leo in the night. This kept me from saying anything publicly.

I didn't want her waking us both up by setting off Kuja's imprinting instincts, good intentions or otherwise. Today she's been exceptionally good at avoiding me.

No doubt because of Kuja's presence. I brought him with me to see what would happen if he was with me all day. So far, nothing but sleep. He didn't even wake long enough for breakfast. He's been a bit of a distraction though, especially for K.K., who I'm sure has been devising some ploy to get him away from me. Zapp has been the most... irritating distraction. Noisily making assumptions and noisily reacting to the real answers. Even Leo seems tired enough to take a nap along with Kuja.

Who has remained completely unbothered by any noise or movement. The only times he's awoken, to just peek open an eye, have been when Chain comes and goes or when Klaus gets up from his desk. I'm not entirely sure why he feels that they are a threat. In fact I can't pinpoint an exact moment from memory of when he and they got on the wrong foot. Aside from the time they came over to the apartment, in which Kuja only seemed afraid of Klaus.

At least, for the time being, today is fairly quiet.

And no sooner do I think it that several bug-oriented Beyondians come smashing through the windows.