Blood Runs Out

•two•

☃️⛄☃️

The kid, Kiaan, should have left their place by now. It has been 2 days. However, Shivam has strictly forbidden it. The kid should at least rest for a few days to recover. So, he is still here, as fearful of his surroundings as before. The Venom didn't have the heart to kick out a sick child, as heartless as they seem.

They have clearly misjudged his age. Now that he is clear of dirt, he looks like a 14 year old, too skinny 14 years old but the note that he has written says otherwise. Surprisingly, he turned 17 a few months ago. The boy refuses to write his full name though, no matter how much Arjun scares him. It makes all of them think that whatever happened to him has some connection with his name. 

Venom knows they shouldn't trust someone with minimal information. However, here they are, still tending to his wounds. It doesn't help that he looks like a hurt puppy and Venom has more sympathy for animals than human beings. 

"You look good, kid." Manav says, taking a seat beside the boy who is ready to curl himself into a ball. 

Kiaan looks at him briefly before averting his gaze on the table, too afraid to even hold a gaze. He plays with the hem of his t-shirt, which actually belongs to Arjun and which also hangs loose on his body so much that he looks like a skeleton with clothes on. The sight would be comical if the situation weren't intense. Kiaan does his best to avoid Manav and waits for breakfast to come. 

He doesn't know when he developed this toxic relationship with food. Oh, but he knows why the habit was built. It was rather very agonizing and terrorizing for him. 

"Breakfast is ready." Arjun says, bringing pancakes to the table. 

The scene looks domesticated to a certain extent. They don't look like the people who will kill without a second of regret. Kiaan steals a glance of Arjun. Out of these four, Arjun is the most terrifying to him and it needs no explanation whatsoever. However, Arjun looks anything but a lethal gangster right now. Instead, he looks like a man who will make a great husband. Wearing a pink apron he gives off the vibe that he's making breakfast for his wife and kids. 

Kiaan's mouth waters as soon as Arjun sets the plate of pancake on the table. He wouldn't lie. He would try to run away for his life if he had a life outside in the first place. But here, it doesn't seem so bad. He gets to eat food, he gets to sleep on a comfortable bed and no one hits him or jeers at him for being a retard or homeless though it has some negative sides as well. Avinash's suspicious looks, Rajeeb's uncertainty, Manav's friendliness and Arjun's anger to name a few. But hey! Nothing is an unmixed blessing in the world. 

"What the hell is this shit? Where's paratha?" Manav makes a disgusted face as soon as his eyes fall on the food. 

Who wanted this rotten American food? Certainly not him. 

Anger may be the driving force of Arjun. However, he isn't a sadist. He might be to people who deserve it but for now he doesn't have any reason to bring the kid in that situation. If anything, the kid forces him to bring himself to the olden days when he had nothing and no one left with him. It didn't go past his eyes how much it bothered the kid to eat liquid food. He was dying to have something solid, that actually feels like food. He made porridge earlier which the kid didn't like that much. His disinterest in food was something new. 

Therefore, putting his arrogance for once, he decided to make Japanese jiggly and fluffy pancakes. It's light as a cloud so he thinks it wouldn't hurt his tongue to eat.