There was just something about the strength in that albino.

Cutter had watched him come back literally from the brink of death. Watched him fight for his life lying lifeless in that bed for weeks, barely able to render the strength to speak. Watched the light return to those crimson eyes.

He remembered how he had looked when he first wandered into the shop. Cutter hadn't known human beings could be that thin and still ambulate. He had been able to smell the infection from his wounds from across the counter. He knew he was sick, but hadn't anticipated caring for the poor sickly man like he had. Hadn't expected to take one look into those eyes and see so much pain and hurt he felt sorry enough for the man standing in front of him to offer him a job. One of the scariest moments of his life thus far had been finding him lying on the floor of that abandoned apartment. He was convinced Otis was dead until he knelt beside him and had a gun pressed to his head, the quaking albino barely able to hold the weapon. He felt his heart ache when he picked Otis up- alarmed at how little he weighed.

It had taken months for him to recover, but here he was. Finally a healthy weight, wounds healed and infections cleared, a light in his eyes Cutter had never seen before. The pain and fear was still there, but it was clouded by happiness. Living with the Firefly family had certainly worn well on him. Being loved looked good on him.

"Hey, man, where do you want me to put this?" Otis asked, holding part of the new exhibit he had made.

"We'll figure it out tomorrow, kid. I'm bushed. I wanna go home."

Otis shrugged. "Alright." He settled it where he had been working.

"Just because you can work forever and ever until you literally die at our house and someone has to bring you back doesn't mean we all want to work that way." Cutter teased.

He scoffed, then paused. "You gonna come see Baby?"

Cutter sighed and hung his head.

"She really misses you, man."

"I know. Eve and I splitting up has been rough on her."

"You two are still friendly enough. You could come over. She'd love it. Baby would, I mean."

"I know. I miss my babygirl, too." He wandered out around the counter, reaching to pat Otis on the shoulder. The younger man flinched away, swallowing heavily. "Hey, you're alright." Months living with them, and Otis still flinched whenever someone tried to touch him. He had explained to Cutter that he had been abused as a child- long into childhood, actually, until he was 13 and broke away from his parent's cruel hold. But he hadn't gone into much detail. He had let other members of the family touch him, but not the men of the family. Not unless he was too weak to have a say, and in those cases, he was especially frightened. Cutter assumed the abuse stemmed away from the physical and had ventured into sexual, but he didn't want to prod.

Otis glanced away, embarrassment crossing his features.

"Hey, come here. Come on. Relax. You know I won't hurt you."

"Please don't touch me..."

"I want you to know that it's alright."

Otis stared back, swallowing heavily.

Cutter smiled and nodded at him. "That's okay. You've come a long, long way. You don't need to rush anything."

"S...See you tomorrow, then, yeah?"

"Okay. I might stop by later tonight, anyway."

He nodded. "Th...Thanks, Cutter."

"For what?" He smiled. "Go, get some dinner."

He ended up venturing over to the farmhouse to visit Baby. They talked for a few hours, until Baby's eyelids were too heavy and she padded up the stairs.

Another set of footsteps came down, sitting next to Cutter on the couch.

"Hey."

"Hey, kid!" Cutter bellowed. Otis flinched. "What's up?"

"Just workin' on a sculpture...For the new exhibit, y'know."

"Damn, Otis. Do you ever sleep?"

He shrugged. "Gotta be tired to sleep."

"You're like a vampire, man. Stay up all night, never go into the sun. You have a reflection when you look in the mirror?"

"Unfortunately..."

He felt a twist in his heart. Otis's self-esteem was at rock bottom, but they were working with him. All of them were. "Guess you're not a bloodsucker then, huh?"

"No." Otis chuckled. "I guess not. Hey, thought you were tired? Isn't it late?"

"Yeah. I was just getting ready to go home. Sorry to leave on you."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm not offended. I came down for a beer."

"You gettin' drunk and workin'?" Cutter smirked.

"Hardly." Otis stood with Cutter and walked him to the door.

"I'll see you around, kid-" Cutter raised his hand to pat Otis's shoulder again. Otis flinched, but didn't recoil entirely. Cutter slowly, gently placed his hand on the albino's shoulder. He could feel Otis tremble slightly. "You're alright. You can defend yourself now, remember? You're strong enough. I won't hurt you..." He found himself gently stroking the flesh under his thumb, trying to comfort him. Sparks ran through his fingertips- or at least, the sensation of them. What was this? The last time he had felt that sensation was the first time he kissed Eve, so long ago. Once he had touched Otis, he felt himself incapable of letting go.

Otis smiled slightly, nodding.

"You're doing so good, Otis. I"m so proud of you."

"H...Huh?" Otis's head jerked up, Crimson staring into chocolate.

"You're doing so well. I'm proud of you."

"P...Proud?"

"Yeah...? Hasn't...Hasn't anyone ever said that to you?"

Red pools of light danced away from his as his gaze fell to the ground. "No...If I'm being honest, I never thought I would hear it. I always wanted to, though..."

"Well, I am proud of you. You've come really, really far kid. And you're going to be okay. I promise."

"Th...thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything..."

"Ain't nothin' but nothin', kid. You'll be good here. You always belonged here. It just took you a while to find us." With another gentle tap on the shoulder, Cutter left, confusion clouding his brain.

Why did he feel this way? What was it about that albino? What the hell was going on in his head? What was wrong with him?