He paused there, though, looking uncertain. Cullen inhaled slowly, relieved that he was dressed below the waist at least. Though the familiar sight of his baggy blue sweatpants had his heart giving a painful throb.
“H-hey.” Walker finally choked out, his hands curling and uncurling nervously at his sides. Cullen knew he was probably debating whether it would be necessary to reach for that sharp dagger that gleamed on the table.
“Hi.” He whispered, biting back the jealous, pointless rage so that he could do this goodbye properly.
After all, whatever lingering feelings there may have been…well, they didn’t matter. Not when he had
Leviathan waiting for him at the top of the hill outside. Shit choices be damned. They needed this moment.
“You’re really here?” Walker whispered, shifting on his feet. “This isn’t…a dream?”
Somehow, Cullen doubted he had actually dreamed of reuniting with him this way. Though Cullen couldn’t count how many times he’d imagined it.
“I’m here.” He murmured, keeping his eyes very carefully away from the boy that remained hunched in on himself on the bed. “I came to see you.” He paused. “To say goodbye.”
“Goodbye?” Walker echoed, stepping a little closer. Cullen tensed but did not move away. “Why goodbye? You escaped him, didn’t you?” Excitement flickered in his eyes. “You killed him, right? So now you can come home and we can–”
“I didn’t kill him.” He interrupted quietly. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Walker flinched as if he’d been smacked. “I…I don’t understand…”
He hesitated, his eyes flicking to Ryan’s face. “Can I talk to you alone?”
A dull realization grew on his face as he spun to look at Ryan. Cullen saw the flush come to his face, saw the look the two boys exchanged, and somehow realized this had been going on for quite some time. Maybe just after he’d been taken. Maybe before that.
Pain and rage tore through him, bringing the edges of that darkness with it, but he pushed it away, just as he had last night when he’d bit his own heart. The pendant pulsed in his chest, as if it was reminding him who waited outside, and then fell silent again.
“Go stand in the hall.” He told Ryan, his hands curling into tight fists. “And don’t even think about calling for Dom or any of the others.” He let a dark smile fall across his face. “Leviathan is here. And he and I will kill you before you get the chance.”
The tang of fear filled the room, pulsing off of both the other men, but Ryan moved, scurrying off the bed in nothing more than his boxers. Cullen saw him reach for a pair of pants–and his shadows reacted on their own, slicing at his arm. Ryan fell back with a cry of shock, cradling his now bleeding arm to his chest. Cullen smiled again, though thetinge of blood brought that darkness creeping even closer.
“You don’t need clothes to stay in the hall.” He said quietly.
Ryan bared his teeth at him. “You always were a bastard, Cullen.” But he made no objections as he scurried across the room, keeping close to the wall to stay as far away from him as he could.
The moment the door closed again, Cullen’s eyes flickered back to Walker’s.
He was looking a bit pale, a bit guilty, but a hesitant smile grew on his lips. “I missed you.”
“Did you?”
He flinched. “It…it’s not what it looks like…”
“It doesn’t matter.” He raised his chin, fighting back the tears that burned in his throat. “I only came to–say goodbye. I thought…you would want that.” He grimaced. “Or maybe I was wrong.”
“No!” Walker jerked towards him, but stopped several feet away. “No, I wanted to see you. To talk to you. When I saw you at the parade I…” He hesitated. “I was really happy to see you’re okay, Cullen.”
“How could you tell I was okay?” He asked quietly. “Did you think there would be visible signs if I’d been harmed?” His shadows flickered at his sides, giving away his inner turmoil. This wasn’t going how he’d thought it would.
“Well…I…” He shifted uneasily. “You were smiling. And…you seemed okay…”
“I am.” He said quietly. “But that doesn’t change…what could have happened.” He’d meant to come here, to tell him he had chosen that life and maybe even explain how his body had betrayed him long before his heart had given in but… it didn’t seem like Walker deserved any of it. Cullen wondered how he could have ever thought he did.
“I’m happy with him.” He said quietly, forcing his gaze to Walker’s face. “I’m choosing him.” He saw the shock grow, saw the horror and the disgust before it was all carefully hidden away. He wondered if Walker had always been so good at hiding his emotions.
“You…you can’t mean that…” Walker said quietly, shaking his head. “You’re confused…”
“Confused?” He asked softly, his shadows pooling around his feet as anger began to seep into his voice. “I’ve never been more clear headed in my life.”
