“I’m okay. Just need a second,” I quietly murmur, distracted, but knowing he’s beating himself up and needs me to saysomething.
Exhaling a long breath before reaching behind me, I curl my fingers around his wrist before he can retreat too far. Gently, I tug his hand back up to cover my eyes, and this time I don’t react with as much anxiety. I focus on his scent, inhaling the comfort and reminding myself that this is Kahl, not one of the bastards from that hellhole. He’d never intentionally try to hurt me, wouldn’t try to strip away my senses and torture me just for sick thrills. He’s a good man, and I’m lucky to be a part of his flight.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers hastily, voice rough as he swallows. “I should’ve known better, I-” But I shut that down quickly, finding it far easier to assure him than myself.
“You’re fine, and so am I.”
He gently spins me around to face him, tilting my chin up despite my determination to not look him in the eye until I feel as confident as I sound. “You don’t need to prove anything to us, Saige. We’re happy to do whatever you think might help you, but don’t force yourself to do things that make you uncomfortable. I’ll make sure to remind the others so it doesn’t happen again, alright?”
Finally, I look at him, green eyes earnest and tumultuous as they scan my face for a hint that I’m lying or about to break down. And I despise it, hate that he thinks I’m so weak and need to be coddled. I’ve survived far too much to consider myself pathetic, though I’ll be the first to admit I adore how overprotective they can get, that they care. Everything I feel contradicts itself, the chaotic emotions spurring my heart into a rapid rhythm. So once more I draw in a deep breath, and on my next exhale I try and shove everything aside to get to the root of the issue, the quickest way to resolve things without exacerbating them.
“I don’t want you guys to have to constantly tiptoe around me. That’s no way for any of us to live. I need to get past my hang ups at some point.”
He snorts derisively before pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. “Bullshit. You don’thaveto do a fucking thing, Saige. You do what you need to cope and be happy, no matter what that entails. You went through hell and no one expects you to just get over it. If after all of that, you’re scared of the dark? Then we’ll leave the lights on from this point forward. A certain smell triggers flashbacks? Consider it banned from the house. It’s not a burden for us to have to adapt to change; lord knows we’ve all had to over the years. Nothing stays the same forever. Just bear with us as we figure things out together, okay? But never once do you have to feel like you’re not enough the way you are right now, because that’s a damn lie.”
He leans his forehead against mine, and my eyes flutter shut again, leaning into the warmth he radiates. “I love you far too much to hear you talk about yourself like that. You were enough as a human, and you’re enough now. Because you don’thaveto be anything but yourself.Trust me, we’d rather you tell us the things you don’t like so we can avoid them. It makes us actually feel like we’re helping when we’re so far out of our element here, so humor us, yeah?” He straightens up and starts ushering me down the hall towards the bathroom. “So be a good little mutant and take a bath already.”
Fluttering a hand to my chest, I side eye him with mock indignation. “You trying to tell me something here? I can’t possibly smell that bad.”
He shrugs a single shoulder while whistling innocently. I smack his shoulder and he breaks into laughter. “Hey, you’re the one that decided to beat the hell out of the bag, not my fault. But keep up training that hard and you’ll be able to knock Kaiden on his ass before you know it.”
Turning on the faucet, I start filling the tub as he brings me a change of clothes and sets them on the counter beside the sink. “Bet I could do that already,” I tease, though we both know there’s no way in hell I could win in a fair fight against anyone. I rely on cheap shots and the element of surprise, because if the rest of the world isn’t going to play by the rules, neither am I.
He smirks, heading towards the door and pulling it shut behind him. “Only if you cheat.”
I flip him off, but there isn’t any heat behind it. “You say that like it’s not a perfectly valid approach.”
“You fit in around here far better than you think, Saige,” he chuckles.
The door clicks shut behind him and I shed my sweaty workout clothes, submerging myself in the steaming water, audibly sighing at how good it feels. The heat soaks into my sore muscles, and my eyes involuntarily shut as I just relax into the blissful feeling.
***
“Motherfucker!”
I jerk awake when my wings burst out of my shoulders, flinging me half out of the lukewarm water. Just barely do I manage to keep from slamming my face on the tile, my newly formed claws scrambling for purchase on the sopping wet floor like a damn cat. I’m stuck hanging over the edge of the tub without enough of a grip to push myself upright, dripping water everywhere.
“What’s wrong?!” Kinsley bursts in seconds later, my naked ass in the air and the weight of my wings not helping matters. They make me too top heavy to easily right myself without just surrendering to gravity and falling, and knowing my luck, I’ll break a wing. He immediately looks at the ceiling, trying to be respectful, and I might just smile at the sweet attempt if I wasn’t too busy being embarrassed.
“You, uh, need some help there?” he asks, using a hand to muffle the amusement he can’t keep out of his tone.
I flatten my palms on the ground, able to hold my position, but the second I try to remove one from the tile to push myself up on the lip of the tub, I start to go down again. With my startled yip, Kinsley rushes over to help but wipes out, sliding across the floor into my outstretched arms.
Tumbling the rest of the way out, Kinsley cushions the blow as one of my wings slaps him in the face. He grunts, arms wrapping around me reflexively as we crash in a heap, then promptly lets go as he gets a handful of tit.
“I didn’t mean to, I, uh,” he stammers, eyes shut and face as red as his hair.
Rolling off of him and onto the chilled tile floor, I glare at the now empty shampoo bottle lying on the ground. After this, I’m going to have to rinse back off, completely coated in the slimy stuff, but it’ll definitely be a shower this time.
My wings wrap around me like a sapphire, reptilian towel. “Don’t worry about it, this whole mess was my fault. You can open your eyes by the way, just be careful of all of the soap.” He uses the tub to pull himself to his feet and I toss a few towels on the ground to keep us from bashing our skulls open.
“When you’re done rinsing off, I’ll hop in real quick and then can show you what I set up,” he offers, trying to smooth over all of the embarrassment. “You hurt?”
I shake my head, arms wrapped around my stomach behind the cocoon of my wings. “Just my pride,” I huff out with a laugh before hesitantly offering, “Want to save time and just jump in with me real quick so we can put this whole awkward mess behind us?”
My mouth clamps shut as I internally scream at myself, wondering what the hell possessed me to make an offer like that. I can’t even blame the horny dragon shacking up in my body; I’m starting to be able to tell when she’s awake and active, and right now all is quiet on that front. No, this was all me, and I’m not sure if I’m more horrified that I offered, or worried that he’ll say no.
“You sure?” he asks, looking nearly as anxious as I am.
