A/N- A VERY packed chappie for u guys (and gals) hope u enjoy it!
remember:
'Moon Child thinking'
'Moon Child speaking'
Thinking
"Speaking"
Kai gripped the bed railing in a grasp so tight that if one more bit of pressure was added, the railing would've been dented beyond repair; the Russian could've ripped it cleaning off the bed if he wanted to. His knuckles were white from his hold and his pupils were almost slits from shock as he stared at his redhead.
"Tala…" His voice was raspy from holding in the tears. "What… what's going on…?"
He reached forwards and brushed the strands out of his face, but they stubbornly swung back into place.
"Stubborn… just like you Tala…" He bit his lip as the tears spilled into his eyes; but they did not fall. He softly stroked his cheek, the backs of his fingers barely grazing the porcelain skin. "Please, Yuriy… don't do this to me… not now…"
But he knew what was happening to his lover. He had overheard his grandfather talking once about the other experiments for the cyber mind… none had survived. He choked back the tears, furiously trying to stop them from falling. He swallowed to try and remove the lump in his throat. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He knew what to do; he knew how to save Tala.
"Yuriy, goodbye, my love. But not for long…" He laid a kiss on the redhead's lips, pulling back slowly. "I will be back… and that's a vow I shall never break…"
And with a swish of his scarf, he left the room by the means of the open window, glancing back at his lover just once more before leaping out onto the outstretched branch of a great oak, climbing out and running into the nearby alleyway.
Ray breathed out a shaky sigh and snuggled closer into Bryan's chest, gripping the Falcon's shirt in his clenched fists, never letting go.
"He can't…" He breathed. "He can't just… die… not now…."
Bryan didn't reply, just allowed his hold around his Tiger to tighten.
Soul mates are supposed to stick to together… Ray thought… And if Tala and Kai aren't soul mates… I don't know what a soul mate is, then…
Many a day passed in the Japanese city. Tala made no progress… Kai didn't return… and Ray was slowly withdrawing from Bryan for a reason that the Falcon couldn't think of. For most of the day, one would always find the Tiger on the windowsill of the Wolf's room, staring out the window wishfully, as if waiting for Kai to return and wake Tala up; he laughed inwardly at that one; it sounded just like Sleeping Beauty.
Many a time, one or more of the Blitzkrieg Boys would enter and sit with him; sometimes they'd try to talk to him. He'd only flash a smile or add a comment or two, not engaging in the conversation fully.
Ray had noticed that Ian had taken to talking to Tala. He had heard that it works; talking to a person in a coma, I mean. As if it wakes them up…
But Ray knew that this was no coma. Tala's mind was slowly shutting down; like a normal person going brain dead. His organs would be healthy and would work perfectly on a life support machine… but he'd never wake up…
"Stupid boy! Think you can sneak in here and save your precious Tala? You're even more foolish than I thought!"
Kai's body fell to the ground in the dank dungeon, his grandfather's laughter echoing until he heard the metal door clang shut. He panted, coughing a little, his body stinging from the whip marks…
He had gone to Russia; gone back to Abbey labs… he knew that his grandfather was behind the whole thing, since Boris was in jail, under high security. Tala wasn't like the other experiments; those died, but Tala's mind was perfectly crafted to be… well… perfect. It was tested and it was proven that it would not ever shut down… only if it was activated by a remote control.
Kai had found the control. He had stuffed it into his pocket just in time before he was hit in the base of the neck by something hard and metal. But he was so weak now after the beating that he couldn't move a muscle…
But he'd do it for Tala…
"No animals in the hospital, young man!" A nurse shouted at Ray, pointing at the grey furball in his lap named Moon Child.
He just looked back at the nurse coolly. "Sorry, she needs to stay."
"And why's that, young man? Listen, is Mr Ivanov- if that dog stays in here, Mr Ivanov might catch an illness. He needs cleanliness!"
"She's not a dog." Ray pointed out.
"Then what is she? And over sized cat?"
'Watch it, bitch…'"She's a wolf and Tala needs her."
"A-A- what?"
"A wolf…" A voice rasped nearby. Heads snapped in Tala's direction to see him looking at them with cold, icy, half-lidded eyes. "And Ray's right… I need her…"
The nurse gasped and ran out the room, making her way to find the doctor. Tala held out a hand, as if reaching for Ray.
"Ray…" He muttered, voice small.
Ray placed a shocked Moon Child on the 'sill beside him and made his way over to the redhead. He took Tala's hand in his and smiled.
"You're awake…"
"…No duh…" Tala chuckled softly.
Ray smiled even more. "I see your sarcasm never seems to fail you, cap'n."
"Who you calling captain?" Tala laughed, before gesturing for Moon Child. She leaped off the 'sill and rushed over to the bedside. Ray lifted her up onto the bed and she padded up to Tala's face. "Hey girl… Miss me?"
'Damn you, you silly bastard! You had me worried sick!'"I'll take that as a yes…" He looked up at Ray. "Where's… where's Kai?"
Ray averted his gaze. "He… I… I don't know, Tala. I haven't seen him for days…"
He could feel Tala's gaze turn away sadly, even though he couldn't see it.
"But he'll be back, Tala… he will…"
"Yeah… he will…"
Tala was sitting up in his hospital bed, his back up against the pillow rest, stroking Moon Child peacefully, the little(ish) wolf sleeping. If anyone saw the redhead, they would have thought him oblivious to the conversation outside between his two friends… but they were wrong…
"What do you mean, Ray?"
"I just think we should… we should have a time out. Until Kai comes back to Tala. I just feel like it's unfair on Tala that we're happy and he's not… I hope you understand…"
Ray sniffed back the tears and walked into Tala's room, leaving Bryan in the hallway, feeling almost empty. He closed his eyes and sighed, before walking away…
"Ray…"
Ray didn't look away from the window as he sat in his usual place.
"Ray, look at me."
Still no movement or reply.
Tala sighed. "Listen, Ray, I know what's happened and I know why you've done it." A pause. "You don't have to be sad, Ray, because I'm not. I know that Kai will be back. Soon." Ray looked over and the tiniest of smiles appeared on his face before it disappeared. "Just because Kai isn't here and I feel lonely, doesn't mean you have to be lonely yourself. You have Bryan. He's been hurt in the past and it's a wonder that he opened up to you so easily; so don't break his heart again; don't shun him away; don't withdraw… be grateful for him." He smiled reassuringly and Ray gave a small, soft smile in return. Tala's smile turned into a smirk. "Now go be the Tiger you are and track down that Bird before giving him the most breathtaking kiss ever."
Ray laughed and nodded, standing and walking out the room. When he was sure that Ray was gone, Tala turned to Moon Child who was looking up at him expectantly.
"Go and look after those two, Moony." He stroked her head and got out of bed, putting on his (clean) jumpsuit, boots and gloves. Moony nodded at him, a feral look in her eyes. "I know Moon Child; Kai's saved me. So now it's time to save him from Voltaire. Now go. Be well, Moon Child."
Ray ran as fast as he could out of the hospital grounds. He was heading to the Blitzkrieg Boys' hotel first… he needed to find Bryan before something happened. He skidded around a corner.
"Huh? Moon Child!" He laughed as the Wolf ran next to him. "Oh, so it's a race, then?"
They ran, racing through the streets, laughing (well, Moony was yapping). People were stopping and smiling at the two, making them run faster. But soon, luckily when no one was around, both of them stopped. They weren't out of breath, no. Something was lacing the air.
"That smells like blood…" Ray whispered, looking around, sniffing. He watched as Moon Child sniffed the ground and wandered slowly over to an alleyway. "In there?"
Moon Child nodded and rushed in.
"Wait!" Ray rushed in after but stopped dead, eyes wide. "Bryan!" He cried, running over to the lavender haired boy who was leaning against the wall, panting. He reached the Falcon and brushed strands of pale hair out of Bryan's face. "Bryan, say something!"
"Took your sweet time…"
Ray felt like crying with joy. He hugged Bryan close, burying his face in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry, Bryan. I should've never said that! I never want to be without you!"
"Shhh, kitten, I understand…"
"What-What happened?"
"Hunters…"
"Hunters?"
"They want Moon Child…"
"So they beat you up to get you to tell where she was?" Ray was horrified and angry. "How hurt are you?"
"I don't know the full damage, but it's my gut that's killing me. I think I might've cut my shoulder in the fall…"
"Come on." Ray said, helping Bryan stand. "Can you walk?"
"Yeah…" Bryan panted, leaning on the wall; he smirked at the look that Ray was giving him. "Fine, no I need some help."
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Ray said, looping one arm around Bryan's waist and holding Bryan's arm that was around his neck.
Moon Child trotted in front of the two teens, keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious looking. They slowly made their way down the streets, their progress made slow because of Bryan's injury.
They finally reached the Liberty Hotel, ignoring the looks of the staff, and got into the elevator. Ray gave Bryan's hand (the hand of the arm that was looped around his neck) a squeeze as the doors opened with a 'ping!'.
Upon entering the penthouse suit, they made straight for a bedroom (not for that, dirty people…) and Bryan sat, with a sigh, on the bed.
"Jeez, Bry, how large did you want that cut?" Ray commented, upon spotting the long, thin, still-bleeding incision that ran from the top of Bryan's left shoulder, along his shoulder blade and down, reaching the middle of his back; just overlapping his 'spine' scar; he could see it clearly through the layers of clothes.
Bryan chuckled. "It's bad, I'm guessing?"
"Jeez… hell yeah. If I had that wound on my back, I'd most likely be unconscious from the pain… aren't you in pain?"
Bryan hissed in discomfort, as the Neko helped him ease his jacket off his body, since he moved his shoulder blades, therefore stretching the cut. "Only a little… You any good at sewing?"
"Huh? Yeah, kinda…" Ray was puzzled. "Why?" Then it struck him. "Hell, Bryan, you want me to…"
"Yup. There is no way I'm letting a random woman stitch that up."
"But Bry, it'll hurt without an anaesthetic!"
"I've had worse, Kitten. Just trust me and do this for me… think of it as a repayment for making that temporary-break-up."
Ray pouted. "Fine… but I wasn't breaking up with you… just needing some space…" He added, walking into the huge bathroom and finding the first-aid kit.
Opening it, he found a needle, thread and some anti-septic wipes, along with a cushioned pad to place under a bandage, which he found too. He walked out again, and bit his lip as he sat on the bed behind the Falcon, who had managed to remove his shirt without aid. Ray cleaned up the wound of excess blood first, before threading the needle with the thread that would dissolve into the Falcon's skin after a while. He swallowed and slowly inserted the needle into the Russian's skin at the top of the laceration. He was amazed that Bryan didn't gasp or flinch or cry out, though he did feel him tense slightly.
He tried to ignore the fact that he was poking holes in his boyfriend with the tiny needle by concentrating on getting the stitches perfectly aligned.
But as soon as he reached the skin that went over the gap between the shoulder blade and rib cage, he heard Bryan inhale sharply.
"Shhh, sorry…" Ray whispered, trying to be gentle with the Falcon.
He knew that it would hurt, especially at that point ion the back. It was a real sensitive part in everyone.
Around five minutes had passed when Ray finished, tying the thread and snipping the excess off. He cut the cushioned pad into long strips and taped them over the wound. Next was the bandage; he wrapped it around Bryan's torso before working his way up and wrapping it over his injured shoulder and under the other, making it look like a sash. He moved round to face Bryan. Brushing loose strands out of the Falcon's face, he smiled.
"There… that wasn't so bad, was it?" Bryan said, opening his lavender eyes to look into Ray's amber orbs. He lifted a finger and pulled Ray towards him, placing his lips over the younger's.
Pulling away, Ray smiled. "You better get better soon, mister. I don't want to have to tell your captain that you managed to get beaten up and injured."
"Hey, they all had guns. I wasn't gunna do anything drastic, was I?"
"Excuses, excuses, Falcon…" Ray replied sweetly, packing up the first aid kit.
But he gave a yelp of surprise when he was tackled and pinned to the bed by a smirking Russian, his wrists held by the sides of his head and Bryan straddling his hips. He pouted.
"I was only joking, Bry."
"I know…"
"Hm… fine… but you've got to rest."
"Yeah…"
"… so get off me Bryan…"
"No." Bryan replied, rolling over and bringing Ray with him so that Ray landed on top, Bryan's arms securely round his waist, not letting go.
Ray got the idea and smirked. "Fine… you win… just don't strain your shoulder… I don't want to have to stitch it again." Ray sighed, snuggling into Bryan's chest and burying his face into the crook of his neck.
Moon Child padded along the bed and lay down next to the two teens as they drifted off to sleep.
'Sorry, Pack Leader, but I'm going to have to disobey one of your orders. Yuriy tells me that he senses trouble, so tomorrow… we're coming after you and Gravel Brains… whether you like it or not.'
A/N- that's actually the longest chappie ever of Wolf Love… I hope appreciate it because my fingers bloody hurt! It took me just over an hour to write this!
Anywho, Review!