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Oh. Feeling a little guilty, Matt let the door open. It
made the pain in his head worse, and he closed his eyes
and groaned out loud.
He could feel Robbie's presence just outside of his
mind. It was a strange feeling, like a polite neighbor
who didn't want to intrude. Pietr somehow made it
easier, creating a soft barrier around Matt to protect him.
"How's he feeling?" Matt didn't even protest being
talked about as if he wasn't there.
"The headache is pretty bad by now, but otherwise
he's healthy. Our bond is strong." Matt could sense the
mixture of pride and reluctance to share him in Pietr's
voice, the unwillingness to let anyone get this close to
Matt.
"I'll give him a bit of this in his IV. It's going to take
almost immediate effect -- can you handle that?"
"I'll be fine. Could you hurry up? He's in pain." Pietr
was making a huge effort to stay calm. Matt could feel
Robbie working, knowing the danger, but still not
intimidated. The danger? Matt definitely had some
questions. As soon as he got a little better.
"It's coming. Here, this should make you feel better."
Matt felt the drug kick in, and finally the pain withdrew,
enabling him to breathe again. It also made him tired,
though, so he snuggled closer to Pietr. He rested his
hand on Pietr's stomach and let the Himiko feel how
nice it was to be free of pain and near his mate.
Pietr relaxed a bit and let Robbie lecture him about
food and drink before he very pointedly finished the
conversation. Finally, they were alone again.
I think I'm going to sleep a bit. Will you be okay? He
kissed Pietr's neck.
Himiko: Bonding - 53
I'll be fine. I'll watch over you. Somehow, that was
the sweetest thing anyone had said to Matt in a long
time. Thought to him. Whatever.
***
Matt felt really, really hung over when he woke up
next time. His head was pounding, his mouth was dry,
and he generally felt as if he had downed a bottle of
tequila and then run a marathon. Granted, running would
probably be difficult after that much alcohol, but that
was the way he felt, he chided his inner metaphor police.
You have inner metaphor police?
Well, in this case it would probably be inner simile
police, according to Matt's father. Who else would keep
all the bad tropes at bay? The world could use a lot
more of those people.
You're really, really odd, you know that?
It wasn't until then that Matt started to pay attention
to the fact that the voice was in his head. Oh, yeah, the
mind reading thing. He groaned out loud.
You're not freaking out, are you? Pietr was worried.
I only freak out when I have good reason to. So, no,
I'm not freaking out. He could feel the relief go through
Pietr's mind. But I really don't feel well.
Pietr wrapped himself protectively around Matt's
mind, soothing.
I need more painkillers. Otherwise his head was
going to burst open. And a lot more than bad metaphors
would come out then.
He could feel the reluctance in Pietr's mind.
It's just a bit of painkiller; it won't hurt either of us.
And I need it.
Himiko: Bonding - 54
Yeah, but HE has to give it to you. Pietr was as close
to a pouting nine-year old as the inner voice of a grown
man could be.
Himiko, not man.
Matt forced himself back on the subject of Pietr not
wanting him to have the drugs he needed.
You mean Robbie? Yes, he'll have to do it. That's his
job. What's wrong with that?
Don't want to share! Pietr had started to growl.
I won't share either, stupid. Be shared... whatever.
But I need my medicine, so I'm going to get him in here.
Pietr was still sulking. Tough luck.
Matt let open the doors and sort of... reached out for
Robbie.
"Christ, I'm coming! You really need to acquire a bit
more finesse when you do that. I nearly went through
the wall."
Matt felt a little embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I
guess I haven't really gotten the hang of this yet. Could I
get more painkillers? And why are we speaking out
loud?"
"Yes, you can, and we're speaking out loud so we
won't provoke big boy there." This brought out a rumble
from Pietr, who kept his arm protectively across Matt's
chest.
Robbie had kept as far away as possible while he
prepared the medication. Now he closely watched the
pair in the bed.
"I have to get near him, you know that. He's in pain."
"I know!" Pietr sounded furious now, his mind a
swirl of aggressive possessiveness. Matt raised an
eyebrow. Quite impressive with the macho-bodyguard
growl, honey. Pietr was too occupied to pay any heed to
the bait, though. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]