The Soul of a Bird Never Flies {boyxboy}

Chapter Forty-One

~Monday 29th October 2018~

Dove had grown accustomed to the dark emptiness he experienced every night. For some, it may have driven them insane. For Dove, it was like a Godsend. The silence and the peace and the lifelessness of it all, it was blissful to Dove after years of vivid dreams that woke him at all hours of the night. Maybe his complacency was the main reason he awoke shaking that morning, deeply disturbed by the nightmare that had wrought him.

He assumed it was a nightmare anyway, although he hadn't felt scared. It was distressing to be so tangled up in shadows, unable to move, unable to breathe, just frozen there to the spot in the middle of that white room. Yet he wasn't scared, per se. He was more perturbed, he would say, confused and dazed, no viable reason for such a dream to come to mind. Then again, the dreams normal people experienced weren't meant to make sense, they weren't meant to play out like old memories. Maybe that was just a normal, regular nightmare. Dove hoped so.

"What time is it?" Eryll murmured groggily through barely moving lips, tightening his grip on Dove's waist and pulling the boy closer into his chest. Dove rolled over to face Eryll, their chests pressed flush together, placing slow, long kisses to his lips, not even minding that he received little response.

"Early, go back to sleep," Dove whispered, running his fingers through Eryll's hair, pushing back the stray strands that had slipped from the bun he put it in.

"Are you dreaming again?" Dove smiled at the little frown that formed on Eryll's face when he dropped his hand back to the man's shoulder, returning it once again to play with his hair, wanting him to fall asleep so he wouldn't have to answer any more questions.

"No, just-" Dove stopped suddenly, frowning at the churning sensation that had appeared so abruptly in his stomach. Eryll's eyes opened, looking heavy with fatigue but alert enough to flitter over Dove's dismayed expression.

"Kitten, you look pale, are you-" knowing his body far too well, Dove leapt from the bed, sprinting to the bathroom and just about managing to make it to the toilet before emptying the contents of his stomach. In an instant, Eryll was crouched at his side, rubbing his back, looking more than concerned.

"Maybe you ate something that didn't agree with you?" Eryll murmured thoughtfully, whilst Dove leant his head on the wall, feeling awful, "maybe I didn't cook the chicken long enough last night, you could have food poisoning."

"Don't blame yourself," Dove smiled meekly, resting his arms over his stomach, "I'm fine now."

"Dove, you are most definitely not fine. People aren't just sick for no reason," Dove let out a hefty sigh, grimacing when another wave of nausea hit, thankfully not enough to make him throw up again, although he wasn't sure what was left to bring up, "I'm gonna run you a bath," Dove remained curled up on the bathroom floor, watching Eryll move around the bathroom, catching his eye on occasion. He was worried, Dove could see that, he didn't like it. He didn't want to scare Eryll, the man had enough on his plate without the possibility of Dove getting sick. It wasn't fair to put extra stress on him.

"Aren't you gonna join me?" Dove asked nervously as he settled into the bath, the hot water feeling nice when it licked against his tense flesh. It should have been relaxing, but with the thousands of thoughts bouncing around his head, relaxation couldn't even come to mind for the boy.

"I'm gonna go make you some breakfast, you stay in here as long as you want, OK?" Eryll leant down, pressing a soft kiss to Dove's forehead, "I love you."

"I love you too," Dove said with a feeble smile, watching Eryll stride from the room, leaving the door unlocked. If they had been alone in the penthouse, he likely wouldn't have even bothered to shut it at all.