Things Unwanted

On the way back to the base, Kera hadn't taken her eyes off him. She was staring a hole in his face. Levi was avoiding looking at him all together and Mattias was almost oblivious to the uncomfortable air in the small vehicle. However, Rexton was watching him just as much as he was watching Rexton.

Mattias drove them back—Rexton was still blatantly drunk which no one brought up. Cassius thought it was funny that they were so loyal to their general that they wouldn't even question him getting drunk at a time like this. Kera kinda did have a point about him needing to be protected. At least, that was what Cassius gathered from the way she'd practically threw herself to "save" him from the impending danger.

They didn't have the supplies on them to jump into the Veil, so Cassius couldn't fault them on that. They wouldn't have gotten a good reading of where they were in the Veil even if they tried. They had been in the Third Eye. They probably didn't notice they were in danger until he and Rexton were inside the Third Eye, in a place it was hard to detect.

Right now, he and Rexton were standing inside Rexton's room. He couldn't help it when he stared at the bed, picturing himself tied there. His heart ached in his chest. He swallowed down the caught breath and walked to the headboard. 

The wood was smooth under his touch. 

Rexton threw his jacket onto the desk that was by the door. He stood there. Cassius could see him out of the corner of his eyes. He leaned against the desk, hands in his pockets.

He was watching Cassius. 

Cassius paused his hand on the frame, fingers softly digging into the wood. 

"How long?"

Cassius let his hand drop to his side. The room felt like it was a hundred degrees.

He licked his lips. "Since forever."

He just knew what Rexton was thinking. It was like when they were in the Third Eye together they had connected. He could almost feel Rexton's thoughts like he could feel the temperature of the room.

"You?" The question felt intimate. This conversation felt intimate. He couldn't look him in the eye because he just knew that Rexton was feeling the same thing he did. 

They were closer because of what they knew now. 

The pain in his back decided that was the right moment to flare up. He hissed, placing his right hand on his hip and hunching over. The pain was like fire lapping over his already exposed skin. He swore he felt hands running along over the burned flesh, making it worse than it was before.

He fell onto the bed, holding onto the side with his left hand. He gritted his teeth.

"Let me take a look." Rexton was right beside him. He didn't know how he'd gotten so close without him realizing it. He tried to stretch out his magic, but it was being weighed down by the pain. 

He could feel Rexton's. It wasn't overbearing like it usually was. It was tolerable.

Cassius shook his head. "Don't touch me."

Rexton's hand hovered over his shoulder. "You can barely move."

"Neither could you. Fuck," he moaned out. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He collapsed by the bed, head placed down on the bedding and hands splayed out. 

It hurt so much. So much more than anything else and that wasn't making sense.

As if things couldn't get worse, Rexton was still hovering. He got down on his knees beside Cassius. 

Cassius glared at him. His hair was sticking to his forehead. His lips parted and he panted. It was getting too hot in here. It was unbearable. 

"Well, you couldn't do anything about that. I can help you."

When Cassius focused on Rexton's face, he was struck by the look. Rexton was worried. His brows were furrowed and the hardened look that he always wore was nowhere to be found.

"Why would you do that?"

Rexton ran a hand over his face. He looked exhausted. He didn't look like he was drunk anymore. It was just another thing Cassius would have to remember to investigate.

"Ah!" He pounded his fist on the mattress. Something was terribly wrong. 

Rexton clenched the blanket. His hand was close to Cassius's. 

"My secret's out of the bag, isn't it?" 

Cassius groaned. "What are you going on about? Don't you see I'm in pain, here?"

Rexton gave a low laugh. "I never imagined this was how it would go when anyone found out."

"Shut up."

"Then let me help you."

Cassius stared at him for a moment. He shouldn't trust him. He should just let the pain pass though it felt like it wasn't going to be gone for a while. 

But he had a feeling that Rexton wasn't going to leave him alone until he gave in.

He let his head fall onto the bed. He groaned. "Fine. Help me then."

Rexton wasted no time. He placed his hand on Cassius's shoulder. It was a light touch, one that he could have missed if they weren't alone in a room together. He pulled Cassius back so that he could reach the front of his jacket.

His hands hesitated on the buttons. He looked down at Cassius's face, waiting for Cassius to do something. But Cassius was over it. He was done trying to fight against Rexton's help. He just wanted the pain to be gone and if Rexton was going to be the person to do it, then he was fine with that.

For now, at least.

"Stop staring and get on with it." He tried to shove Rexton, but his arms were too weak. 

Rexton didn't laugh. He licked his lips and looked back down at the buttons. He swiftly unbuttoned them, revealing Cassius's undershirt. 

Just that alone helped with the heat. The cold air wafted in and Cassius sighed. He leaned into Rexton, not fully knowing what he was doing, but seeking comfort where he could find it.

Rexton stiffened.

It was unbearable. The heat, the sticky sweat down his back, and the need to get closer to Rexton. He didn't know where it came from or how to make it stop. He was losing his head.

"Rex…" His eyelids slowly drifted down. 

"Hey." Rexton lightly shook him. "Stay awake."

Cassius mumbled something not even he could make out. "It's so hot…"

Rexton moved him so that he was turned away from the bed. They had slid down to the floor where Rexton was keeping him from falling face down to the floor. He removed as much as Cassius's jacket as he could without disturbing his wound.

Blood had soaked through the material. What was left of the jacket was frayed and was matted from the burns. Rexton peered over Cassius's shoulder. 

"Okay. Brace yourself."

Cassius grabbed onto Rexton's bicep. He squeezed as hard as he could, but Rexton showed no signs of feeling any pain. 

Rexton peeled back the layer that was stuck to Cassius's skin. He gritted his teeth, clutching tighter to Rexton as his skin was pulled away from him. 

"Wait," he gasped out, but Rexton didn't stop. With one fluid tug, he ripped the jacket from Cassius's back. Along with it, his black undershirt ripped as well. 

"Ah! You fucking piece of shit!" He beat his fist against Rexton's chest. 

"That's it. Let it all out." Rexton tossed the trashed jacket to the other side of the room. He pulled Cassius's closer so that he could see his back more clearly. 

Cassius hid his face. Tears were falling down his face, but he wasn't crying. He was pissed. Pissed at that fucking Mekiah that had done this to him. He was almost as pissed at them as much as he was pissed at Rexton for acting so nice.

"How bad is it?" He just managed to get out. He was on the verge of passing out. He could feel him teetering on the edge, but he kept thinking about what could go wrong if he let his guard down around Rexton.

Rexton hadn't done anything since he ordered him to be whipped, but that didn't mean that he had another plan up his sleeve. Still drunk or not, he shouldn't be too keen on trusting Rexton at this point.

"Uh…" Rexton continued to stare at his back. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"God dammit! Just tell me!"

"Fine, fine. Lay on the bed. I'm going to try and lift up your shirt."

Cassius slumped onto the bed. He craned his neck to try and see Rexton, but he couldn't make out much like this. 

Rexton crawled up above him and sat on the back of his thighs. "It's going to be as bad as before."

Cassius just answered with an angry sound. Or as close as he could make it sound angry. He knew it didn't intimidate Rexton.

When Rexton's hands touched his hips, he almost jolted right off the bed. He let out a high pitched sound that didn't sound at all like him. He opened his mouth, gasping for breath as he was overtaken by another wave of heat.

The heat traveled from where Rexton's hands touched his skin and up to his neck. Exactly where the demon had bit him, he was hit with a pounding heat that was like someone had pressed a hot iron to his throat.

"Motherfucker!" He grabbed onto the sheets and tried to pull away from Rexton.

"What's wrong?" Rexton placed his entire hands onto Cassius's naked skin. That made it ten times worse.

"Y-Your hands—" Another shock of pain went through him and then it subsided. "Hurry up!"

Rexton grabbed the end of Cassius's shirt and yanked it up. 

"Ah!" The pain wasn't as bad as the pain in his neck, but it was still horrible. But when it was done, the cold air wafting on his charred skin made it feel much better.

Rexton fell down to his side. He had a worried look on his face. It didn't look at all right.

Cassius licked his dry, chapped lips. "Water."

Rexton nodded. He leapt from the bed and to the bathroom that was connected. Water ran and it was just a second later when he was by Cassius's side once again.

His vision was blurry when Rexton put the glass to his lips. He drank it down, worry long forgotten as the fever took over him. He was noticing a pattern. The closer Rexton got to him, the worse the pain got, but when he was away, it lessened. 

But it was his own treacherous body that wanted to be near Rexton. Even when it was in pain, it wanted him.

The glass was empty, yet he was still trying to get one more drink. Rexton pulled the cup away, a strange look upon his face. Cassius gazed up at him, unsure if what he was seeing was actually real. He wanted—for a brief second—to reach out to him and touch his fingers to his face. Rexton looked so young when he wasn't frowning. When he was relaxed like this, it was hard to think that he wasn't a teenage boy. 

Cassius knew the truth. He had been on the other side of that truth, under the weapon of that truth. He closed his eyes and focused on the pain. That seemed to be the only way to get his mind off letting him fall into the trap that was Rexton. 

"So…" He wiped the sweat away from his face. The pain had lessened, thankfully. He didn't think he would be able to talk if it hadn't. "You can communicate with it?"

Rexton was kneeled by the bed, but he was right by Cassius. His concerned looked had changed to something a little more awkward. It looked like he was a second away from flying out the door and never coming back.

Cassius wasn't quite sure whether he wanted that to happen or not. He was at odds with himself right now and his blurry thoughts weren't exactly helping him make good decisions.

"Yeah."

"For how long?"

The room was really quiet. It felt like it was getting smaller, moving in on them. The distance between them wasn't that much, but it wasn't just that that made Cassius's stomach twist in knots. It was the way Rexton looked. He looked…good.

Rexton gave a hesitant laugh. "The same as you. Forever."

"Hm." He took a shaky breath. It was starting to get harder to keep his eyes open. 

Then, Rexton touched his shoulder. It was a light touch, nothing sinister behind it, but it was so sudden that Cassius was taken off guard. The pain bloomed back in his neck. He hissed and back away from the hand.

Rexton pulled his hand back, his brows furrowed. "Sorry. The wounds have to be treated. They're really bad."

Cassius shook his head. "It's not that. It's…"

Could he really say? Rexton knew nothing about the bite. He knew about Cassius being able to connect to the Third Eye, but it wasn't like he was going to out himself just to punish Cassius. Or would he? He couldn't actually be sure.

But when he looked at Rexton, he was fooled into believing that he could trust him with this. He didn't know what was happening to his body, what the demon wanted, and what that girl had to do with all of this. The pieces were too small to be creating a big picture right now. 

"You were right about me lying."

"Lying?" He wished he could have taken joy in Rexton's shock. That was all he ever wanted before things had changed. Before he knew what his feeling for Rexton meant, he would have loved to see that look on his face.

Now, it felt empty. He didn't feel anything about that face. He just wanted Rexton and that was a whole lot worse than anything he'd wanted before. That included murder.

He wished he could disappear into the mattress. He wished that Rexton would stop looking at him like that. He was looking at him like he was a human being and not some Mekiah he was ordering around. Everything was fucked up between them. He didn't know how the hell they were going to go back to how it used to be. 

"On my first mission, the demon had come after me." He should stop there. He shouldn't even think about talking about this. It could get him killed. 

"It bit me."

There was a beat of silence. 

"It…bit…you…"

The silence went on for far too long for it to mean anything good. The way Rexton said it seemed like he didn't believe it. 

Cassius didn't believe it. He didn't know what it meant. He'd never heard of anyone being bitten by a demon or anyone being able to contact the Third Eye for that matter. But here they both sat. Both people who could connect to the Third Eye and who were neither Exteru.

"Does it hurt?"

Rexton touched his neck.

"Of course it hurts!" He shoved Rexton's hand away. "Every time you get near it hurts!"

It might have been the wrong thing to say. Rexton didn't know anything about the demon, he didn't know anything about the girl, so why would he know anything about the bite? Cassius was again at a crossroad where he had to make a decision. Was the only reason he wanted to tell all this to Rexton was because he was tired of keeping the secret all by himself?

Rexton cocked his head. 

"Stop doing that." Cassius glared at him.

Rexton looked even more confused. "Stop what?"

Cassius growled. He didn't think before he touched Rexton. It wasn't a shove or a quick hit of his hand. He grabbed Rexton's arm.

He didn't know what he was planning on doing after that, but even if he did, he wouldn't know what it would have been after the fact. The pain in his neck was so harsh that he almost fell back. Rexton had no fucking clue was going on, Cassius could see it on his face, so he made the worse mistake by grabbing onto Cassius's like Cassius was holding onto Rexton.

And it was like fire was in his veins. He seized, gasping as the pain seared through him. Their magic combined flooded his body. 

Time was suspended, yet he could still feel it. None of it made sense, not when he was going around in circles of pain and magic that seemed to be taking over his body. It seemed to all come down to one person: Rexton. And Cassius didn't know how he fit into this. He didn't know how he fit into this. 

The pain blossomed and then it stopped. The ache was there and so was the magic. It seemed to be fading now.

"Is that better?" Rexton met his eyes. He was out of breath too.

"What did you do?" He had a firm grasp of Rexton's arms. Rexton held the same pose as him. 

They were so close. Rexton was almost lying right on top of him. 

Their chests heaved. 

"I just pushed." He shook his head. "Our magic is still connected. I just sent mine to you. At least, I think."

"Yeah," he tried to pull away, but Rexton wouldn't let go. "I felt it."

Rexton pulled him forward so that he could look at his back. "It's healed."

Cassius tried to look as well. "Already?"

Rexton placed pressure on his back. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but enough to get his attention. "Don't strain yourself."

Cassius met Rexton's eyes. "What are you doing?"

Rexton snorted, looking away. "I'm trying to help you."

"Which is exactly what you shouldn't be trying to do."

"Do you want me to leave you like this?"

"It's a lot easier to deal with than you trying to pretend like you care."

Rexton pressed his lips together. He backed away. "Okay. I won't try anymore."

He stood from the bed. He walked to door. When his hand was on the handle he turned around.

"We still have to talk about…you know."

Cassius gave a firm nod. 

Rexton sighed. "Okay. Tomorrow. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

He slipped out to the hall, softly shutting the door behind him.

Cassius stared for a moment. When Rexton didn't come back, he slid back onto the bed. He didn't lie down and he didn't try to get comfortable. He sat in the middle, back to the wall, and waited for Rexton to come back to do something. He didn't know what it would be or what it would entail. He just expected for Rexton to have a plan.

But when nothing actually happened, Cassius was even more confused.

He understood nothing at all and it was driving him insane.