Puppet {ManxMan}

CHAPTER 30

When I woke up the next morning I was still draped over Kailas like I was a blanket, or a shield, or both. We were both still completely dressed, and when I rolled my head I noticed Kailas was still fast asleep, and I didn't want to wake him up, so I moved slowly as I rubbed at my eyes and pushed myself up a bit.

The room was still a little dark, it was probably early still, no need to get up just yet. I carefully laid back down and stretched my body over Kailas', grunting as I settled back down and rubbed my cheek against his chest. For a fully grown man with hard muscles he was a surprisingly soft bed.

It took me a few minutes to fully wake up and realize I hadn't had any nightmares that night, and Kailas had held me the entire time without me having a breakdown. Whether it was luck or progress, I wasn't sure, but I was grateful for it, because that had to be the best night's sleep I'd had in weeks.

I was wondering how long we had before we had to leave when Kailas started to stir. He winced from under me, and I quickly pushed myself off of him, worried I was crushing him, but he didn't seem to notice as his hand went to rub his chest, grunting and peeling his eyes open, smiling when he saw me leaning over him.

"Morning," he greeted in a rough morning voice that sent a shiver down my spine, and I frowned.

"Are you hurting?" I asked dumbly, and he frowned, pushing himself onto his elbows.

"I'm fine. The scar acts up sometimes, it's nothing to be worried about. Arthur's told me before I'm supposed to work at the tissue by massaging it but sometimes I forget."

He probably forgot last night because of me...

"Let me," I decided, pushing him down gently so he was lying on his back again, "Just tell me if it hurts and I'll stop okay?"

He looked startled at first and I felt incredibly proud of myself for being the one to leave him speechless for once, but he recovered easily and nodded with a smile, struggling to pull his shirt off so it didn't get in the way. The scar on his chest had my throat closing up, but I fended off the memories at the back of my mind so I could concentrate on easing away whatever pain he was feeling.

I wasn't one to give massages, my hands were meant for destruction, but the way Kailas' eyes shut with a hum made me believe I was doing something right, so I just kept up with the firm circular motion of my thumbs around the scar.

"Does it hurt a lot of the time?" I found myself asking, and Kailas hummed.

"Not so much now," he promised, "It gets really bad when it gets cold, but usually keeping myself loose and relaxed helps."

"Should you be leaving the base if it's acting up?" I asked, genuinely concerned, and Kailas peeled one eye open to watch me, "I'm just saying it could hinder your movement."

"Nice try," Kailas said before shutting his eye, "I'm going and it's decided."

"You're a stubborn ass."

"Love you too."

I was probably sitting there massaging around the scar tissue for around thirty minutes before there was a knock on the door and it swung open. That was confusing on many levels. First of all, who the hell would just barge in on the leader of the rebellion? That was insanely rude. Second, Kailas usually locked the door of the waiting room just outside the bedroom, how the hell did they get in? Third, it was still ridiculously early, why would anyone else be up?

Turning my head, I was able to see Dakota standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips, one eyebrow raised as he watched me expectantly like he was waiting for something. Took me a minute to realize what he was looking at. Me, straddling a shirtless Kailas on the bed. Kind of a compromising position if there ever was one.