Coming of Age -- Ending Two of Four is up!
folder
Original - Misc › -Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
10
Views:
4,703
Reviews:
30
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Original - Misc › -Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
10
Views:
4,703
Reviews:
30
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of pure fiction. These characters belong to me. Any resemblance to actual people, living ro deceased, is a complete coincidence. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Metamorphosis
Chapter 7, yay! I know it's a little shorter than normal, but I'm trying to be suspenseful.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jin watched the way the moon rippled above him, the way it seemed to break apart for a moment, shivering, then still and become whole again. The slow, constant shift of the lake surface kept the illusion playing for him, and he tried to focus on that rather than on the pins and needles agony in his body as something within him changed. He floated, head tilted back, arms outstretched, and waited for this all to be over. Instinctively he knew that with the change in him would come a change in thought, as well, a shifting of his perception, an adjustment of his view on the world. He welcomed this now, and prayed to his nameless, numberless gods that it would make him stop caring.
He’d ran, as hard and fast as he could. He’d ran from Quinn, who had wanted to hurt him just for daring to exist. He’d felt so much anger, so much violence, towards the boy. The realization that this… child… would dare to condemn him, when he had lived so very little and Jin had lived so very long had filled him with something he’d never truly felt before… hate. Hate was fire, red and hot and pulsing, and it both scared and disgusted Jin. He wished to never feel it again.
He’d also ran from what he knew would be waiting for him, should he allowed Connor to take him back. The doctor’s name… he remembered it for when they’d pulled him out of the lake. He remembered what the doctor had done, the needles and the samples and the tests. He remembered the agony and terror, and the horrible day when that doctor realized just how quickly Jin could heal. He remembered the scalpels, and the feel of his own blood coursing down his back, and the murmurs and laughter from those the doctor had called to watch his little experiment.
More than all of that, more than the threat of death or pain, he’d ran from the look in Connor’s eyes. The hard, distant look, the disgust, the fear. He’d known what was coming as soon as Quinn took out the file, but he’d hoped to delay it, at least until he could find a way to show Connor what he truly was, what he truly wanted to be. Then everything fell apart. He’d pushed that thought into Connor, the idea of happiness and contentment and wholeness, because he wanted to be remembered that way. He’d wanted Connor to hold on to what Jin had worked so hard to create between them.
He’d ran, for how long he couldn’t say. He’d been almost mindless, the only thought in his head was of getting away. Then he’d caught a tiny scent, like minerals and cold and algae… a lake. He’d found it just as the sun set, and the sight of it was like a great weight off his chest. He didn’t know where he was, or what he would do, but the water, its depths and darkness, was enough for now. But when hit slipped into the water, the change in him had started immediately.
Now, hours later, as his body shifted and mutated and became something more, his thoughts went to Connor. As painful as it was, he knew that if the change brought on him forgetting what they had, he would hold onto it as long as he could. So he filled his head with Connor, with the sweet, warm tone of his hair and the way it felt on Jin’s fingers, the deep depth of his eyes and the way they crinkled at the corners when he smiled. He thought about the feel of him, so warm and big and soft again him, the texture of his lips, the sound of his voice…
Jin closed his eyes against the light of the moon, which suddenly seemed too much, too painful. He thought that it must be terribly hard to be a human They lived such short, hectic lives, like lightning striking, and they filled it with so much emotion, pain and sorrow and hate, and love. He wished it was over, he wished that the change would finish with him, and these things he felt would just wash away. He felt so foolish for believing, even a little, that he could have kept Connor, that the world would be kind to him. So he kept his eyes closed and asked again of his ancient, secret gods to make it stop.
A huge, agonizing shudder ran through him, making his back arch. Everything hurt, his bones, his skin, even the roots of his teeth and his eye sockets seemed to be on fire. He screamed, feeling something in him twist and break, and as he lost consciousness, he heard Connor’s voice, somewhere in the back of his head, but he couldn’t understand the words.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lila glanced at Quinn, who was curled up in the passenger seat beside her. Shortly after Connor had left, he’d started to complain about the wounds on his face itching. At first Lila had thought it was normal, cuts itched. But as they drove, keeping a good distance behind Connor’s car, Quinn had started to look sick. Lila had reached over and felt him, and he was painfully cold, but he kept complaining that he was hot. He was pouring sweat and gasping, as though he’d just run for his life, and there was an unhealthy pallor in his skin that made him look like a corpse. He’d started rubbing at the bandages they’d put over the cuts, repeating that they were on fire, that he was dying.
Lila wanted to call Connor, to tell him exactly what was happening to his brother while he was busy chasing around a monster and deluding himself into thinking he loved it. She tightened her fingers on the steering wheel, her knuckles white, and grit her teeth. She hoped Quinn knew what to do when they finally found this thing. She hoped he knew how to kill it.
Quinn moaned, his head tossing against the back of the seat. “Pull over.” He whispered, and she watched his lips crack and bleed as he spoke. “Please, I’m going to be sick…”
She stopped on the shoulder, and Quinn pushed the door open and rolled out onto the dirt. She stared out the window as Quinn’s retching slowly dissolved into sobs. “Lila, help me…” he fumbled at the door, trying to use it as leverage, and she leaned over to take his hand, feeling how much his temperature had dropped. She pulled him back into the car, and he curled against himself again, sobbing.
“It was water.” He whispered. “What came out of me, it just… water and… and ice.”
Lila suddenly felt sick herself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connor stood in front of his car, uncertainty making him hesitate. He didn’t know, he couldn’t possibly be sure, but he felt that this was right. He felt Jin here, somewhere. He closed his eyes, willing his doubt away.
He needed Jin. He would do anything for him, to get him back, to keep him safe. He knew now that whatever Jin was, he'd somehow known he wasn't human. He'd always known. He didn't care. It didn't matter, all that mattered was finding him, showing him that he needed him. He opened his eyes and studied the lake.
The lake was strangely smooth, from this distance it looked like glass. He made his way down towards it, to the dock that jutted out onto it, and realized as he stepped onto the old, wet wood that the lake was smooth… it was frozen. It was a thin layer, perhaps not even half an inch thick, and he could hear the sharp, muffled cracks as the waves beneath it pushed and broke it. He was right, he knew. Jin was here, down under the ice. He walked to the edge of the dock, sat down, and began to take his shoes off.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lila helped Quinn out of the car, his freezing, shuddering body so heavy in her arms. He hacked and coughed, water running from his nose and mouth. He’d torn the bandages off of his face, and the wounds beneath them were swollen and infected already. She didn’t think that was possible, to develop such an intense infection so quickly. The skin around the wounds was black and dead looking, like very serious frost bite.
“We have to hurry.” She told Quinn. “Please, try to walk. I’ll help, but you’re so heavy.” Quinn groaned, his head lolling on his neck, and tried to move his feet. “Quinn, please, we found it. Hurry. You have to tell me what to do.”
They stumbled towards the lake, passing Connor’s car. He hadn’t even turned the engine off, and the driver’s side door was open. Lila pulled Quinn along faster, her heart pounding, and tried to keep going as he doubled over, ice and water erupting out of his mouth and down the font of his legs. She was crying, she realized, the fear so strong in her that she thought she might explode.
She saw Connor, standing at the edge of the dock. He was just a dark silhouette against the lake. Lila realized in horror that the whole surface was a sheet of ice. “Connor!” She screamed, but he didn’t turn, and she couldn’t move any faster. Quinn moaned in her arms, slipping to his knees, and she nearly fell. “CONNOR!”
“Let him.” Quinn mumbled, lying back on the ground, his limbs flopping like a rag doll’s. His eyes rolled in his head, and he choked on another mouthful of water. Lila turned his head for him, and he coughed. “Let him go, he’ll bring it up…”
Lila turned back, wiping her face to clear her vision. “I’m so scared.” She whispered. “He’s going to die.”
Quinn touched her foot, and the pain of his icy skin through her shoe was enough to make her snatch it away from him. “Let him go.” Quinn mumbled again.
Lila heard a loud, resonating crack, and watched Connor disappear under the surface of the lake.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jin watched the way the moon rippled above him, the way it seemed to break apart for a moment, shivering, then still and become whole again. The slow, constant shift of the lake surface kept the illusion playing for him, and he tried to focus on that rather than on the pins and needles agony in his body as something within him changed. He floated, head tilted back, arms outstretched, and waited for this all to be over. Instinctively he knew that with the change in him would come a change in thought, as well, a shifting of his perception, an adjustment of his view on the world. He welcomed this now, and prayed to his nameless, numberless gods that it would make him stop caring.
He’d ran, as hard and fast as he could. He’d ran from Quinn, who had wanted to hurt him just for daring to exist. He’d felt so much anger, so much violence, towards the boy. The realization that this… child… would dare to condemn him, when he had lived so very little and Jin had lived so very long had filled him with something he’d never truly felt before… hate. Hate was fire, red and hot and pulsing, and it both scared and disgusted Jin. He wished to never feel it again.
He’d also ran from what he knew would be waiting for him, should he allowed Connor to take him back. The doctor’s name… he remembered it for when they’d pulled him out of the lake. He remembered what the doctor had done, the needles and the samples and the tests. He remembered the agony and terror, and the horrible day when that doctor realized just how quickly Jin could heal. He remembered the scalpels, and the feel of his own blood coursing down his back, and the murmurs and laughter from those the doctor had called to watch his little experiment.
More than all of that, more than the threat of death or pain, he’d ran from the look in Connor’s eyes. The hard, distant look, the disgust, the fear. He’d known what was coming as soon as Quinn took out the file, but he’d hoped to delay it, at least until he could find a way to show Connor what he truly was, what he truly wanted to be. Then everything fell apart. He’d pushed that thought into Connor, the idea of happiness and contentment and wholeness, because he wanted to be remembered that way. He’d wanted Connor to hold on to what Jin had worked so hard to create between them.
He’d ran, for how long he couldn’t say. He’d been almost mindless, the only thought in his head was of getting away. Then he’d caught a tiny scent, like minerals and cold and algae… a lake. He’d found it just as the sun set, and the sight of it was like a great weight off his chest. He didn’t know where he was, or what he would do, but the water, its depths and darkness, was enough for now. But when hit slipped into the water, the change in him had started immediately.
Now, hours later, as his body shifted and mutated and became something more, his thoughts went to Connor. As painful as it was, he knew that if the change brought on him forgetting what they had, he would hold onto it as long as he could. So he filled his head with Connor, with the sweet, warm tone of his hair and the way it felt on Jin’s fingers, the deep depth of his eyes and the way they crinkled at the corners when he smiled. He thought about the feel of him, so warm and big and soft again him, the texture of his lips, the sound of his voice…
Jin closed his eyes against the light of the moon, which suddenly seemed too much, too painful. He thought that it must be terribly hard to be a human They lived such short, hectic lives, like lightning striking, and they filled it with so much emotion, pain and sorrow and hate, and love. He wished it was over, he wished that the change would finish with him, and these things he felt would just wash away. He felt so foolish for believing, even a little, that he could have kept Connor, that the world would be kind to him. So he kept his eyes closed and asked again of his ancient, secret gods to make it stop.
A huge, agonizing shudder ran through him, making his back arch. Everything hurt, his bones, his skin, even the roots of his teeth and his eye sockets seemed to be on fire. He screamed, feeling something in him twist and break, and as he lost consciousness, he heard Connor’s voice, somewhere in the back of his head, but he couldn’t understand the words.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lila glanced at Quinn, who was curled up in the passenger seat beside her. Shortly after Connor had left, he’d started to complain about the wounds on his face itching. At first Lila had thought it was normal, cuts itched. But as they drove, keeping a good distance behind Connor’s car, Quinn had started to look sick. Lila had reached over and felt him, and he was painfully cold, but he kept complaining that he was hot. He was pouring sweat and gasping, as though he’d just run for his life, and there was an unhealthy pallor in his skin that made him look like a corpse. He’d started rubbing at the bandages they’d put over the cuts, repeating that they were on fire, that he was dying.
Lila wanted to call Connor, to tell him exactly what was happening to his brother while he was busy chasing around a monster and deluding himself into thinking he loved it. She tightened her fingers on the steering wheel, her knuckles white, and grit her teeth. She hoped Quinn knew what to do when they finally found this thing. She hoped he knew how to kill it.
Quinn moaned, his head tossing against the back of the seat. “Pull over.” He whispered, and she watched his lips crack and bleed as he spoke. “Please, I’m going to be sick…”
She stopped on the shoulder, and Quinn pushed the door open and rolled out onto the dirt. She stared out the window as Quinn’s retching slowly dissolved into sobs. “Lila, help me…” he fumbled at the door, trying to use it as leverage, and she leaned over to take his hand, feeling how much his temperature had dropped. She pulled him back into the car, and he curled against himself again, sobbing.
“It was water.” He whispered. “What came out of me, it just… water and… and ice.”
Lila suddenly felt sick herself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connor stood in front of his car, uncertainty making him hesitate. He didn’t know, he couldn’t possibly be sure, but he felt that this was right. He felt Jin here, somewhere. He closed his eyes, willing his doubt away.
He needed Jin. He would do anything for him, to get him back, to keep him safe. He knew now that whatever Jin was, he'd somehow known he wasn't human. He'd always known. He didn't care. It didn't matter, all that mattered was finding him, showing him that he needed him. He opened his eyes and studied the lake.
The lake was strangely smooth, from this distance it looked like glass. He made his way down towards it, to the dock that jutted out onto it, and realized as he stepped onto the old, wet wood that the lake was smooth… it was frozen. It was a thin layer, perhaps not even half an inch thick, and he could hear the sharp, muffled cracks as the waves beneath it pushed and broke it. He was right, he knew. Jin was here, down under the ice. He walked to the edge of the dock, sat down, and began to take his shoes off.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lila helped Quinn out of the car, his freezing, shuddering body so heavy in her arms. He hacked and coughed, water running from his nose and mouth. He’d torn the bandages off of his face, and the wounds beneath them were swollen and infected already. She didn’t think that was possible, to develop such an intense infection so quickly. The skin around the wounds was black and dead looking, like very serious frost bite.
“We have to hurry.” She told Quinn. “Please, try to walk. I’ll help, but you’re so heavy.” Quinn groaned, his head lolling on his neck, and tried to move his feet. “Quinn, please, we found it. Hurry. You have to tell me what to do.”
They stumbled towards the lake, passing Connor’s car. He hadn’t even turned the engine off, and the driver’s side door was open. Lila pulled Quinn along faster, her heart pounding, and tried to keep going as he doubled over, ice and water erupting out of his mouth and down the font of his legs. She was crying, she realized, the fear so strong in her that she thought she might explode.
She saw Connor, standing at the edge of the dock. He was just a dark silhouette against the lake. Lila realized in horror that the whole surface was a sheet of ice. “Connor!” She screamed, but he didn’t turn, and she couldn’t move any faster. Quinn moaned in her arms, slipping to his knees, and she nearly fell. “CONNOR!”
“Let him.” Quinn mumbled, lying back on the ground, his limbs flopping like a rag doll’s. His eyes rolled in his head, and he choked on another mouthful of water. Lila turned his head for him, and he coughed. “Let him go, he’ll bring it up…”
Lila turned back, wiping her face to clear her vision. “I’m so scared.” She whispered. “He’s going to die.”
Quinn touched her foot, and the pain of his icy skin through her shoe was enough to make her snatch it away from him. “Let him go.” Quinn mumbled again.
Lila heard a loud, resonating crack, and watched Connor disappear under the surface of the lake.