Promise // Mullette

chapter 20

- Hercules -

We dropped Alex and John off as the sky began to darken, thanking them profusely for helping us find and safely get to Laf. And then, it was at last time for me to be alone with Lafayette.

I was almost afraid to touch him, not knowing the full extent of what had happened to him during his time with that monster King. I felt like I was a bull in a china shop, like he was made of glass and if I approached to quickly, he'd shatter. I didn't want to send him into a panic or set anything off.

We got back to my apartment and he engulfed me in a hug. I held him as tightly as I could without hurting him, breathing in his scent. It was a bit off from what it usually was, what with being gone for a while and probably not having any of his usual colognes or shower products or whatnot. But his scent still remained, at least a little.

I made him some dinner, just quick and simple, and he scarfed it down. I had noticed that he looked a little more frail, a bit skinnier than he had before his disappearance. While he ate, I sat and quietly made some calls to call off the searches and to tell the police to drop the missing persons report as he was no longer missing. They suggested we go into the station the next day with Laf and his identification so they could make sure everything was all over with the search.

Once Laf was done, I suggested we watch a movie on the couch, wanting him to be back in my arms so much that it made my heart ache. He agreed and soon enough, he was laying with me against my chest.

I could feel his heart beating against me. It felt so good to have him back here with me. By the time the movie was nearly over, his heartbeat had slowed along with his breathing, and I knew that he was fast asleep. Feeling more at peace than I had in weeks, I let my eyes close as well and drifted off.

I was not expecting to be awoken a few hours later to the sharp movements of Laf pulling away from me, nearly shouting in panic.

"Get off me, get off me!" He cried, yanking himself out of my arms and away from me.

"Laf, it's okay," I began, but he almost couldn't hear me.

"I don't want this, King. You're hurting me. I want to go home." He continued to cry out. He must've been having a nightmare. I tried to slow my racing heart. I let him move as far away from me as he wanted to, staying silent until his shouting and crying out had ceased.

"Laf, it's not King. It's me, Hercules." I told him as softly as I could. He tilted his head before suddenly realizing where he was and remembering what had happened.

"Oh. Oh." He said, rubbing his eyes and continuing to look around. I held my hand out to him carefully and he took it, crawling back into my arms the way he was before the nightmare.

"It's alright. You're safe, okay? You're okay with me here. Let's breathe, okay? Deep breaths." I told him. He nodded and I felt his chest rise as he breathed in time with me.

"I'm sorry, Hercules." He whispered after quite a while of these breathing exercises. I shook my heat at him.

"It's okay, alright? Don't be sorry. You went through so much, I know that. We can take our time recovering from this. I'm here with you, every step of the way." I said, continuing to breathe deeply to guide him. He followed as he listened to me. I ran my fingers through his hair and continued to guide his breathing until he drifted off again.

I didn't want to fall asleep this time. I didn't want there to be a possibility that he would wake up again and I wouldn't be available as fast to try to calm him down. I needed to be here for him, the way I told him I would be.

I knew this transition back into normal life was probably going to be a difficult one. I knew that there would be a lot of hiccups and struggles along the way, but it wasn't anything we couldn't get through, right?

I pondered these thoughts as I lay there with him on the couch, listening to his slowed breathing. Before I knew it, my phone began to buzz over and over again. I picked it up, expecting to see someone calling me with all the frequent buzzing. Instead, there were a bunch of texts from and unknown number.

unknown: i saw your car
unknown: you really think a place that big doesn't have external cameras?
unknown: i may not know exactly who you are
unknown: but you should know that i have my ways of figuring out every last thing about you
unknown: i can easily find your address
unknown: i know you have him.

Well, shit.

a/n: uh ohhhh that's not good is it