Complacency (MxM)

Follow My Lead (3)

•TW•

Blake didn't know what to make of Deimos. He found him weird, out of touch, maybe even slightly unhinged. Deimos looked at Blake as if he were something to be dissected. As if he were some mystery waiting to be discovered.

It made Blake's skin crawl. He didn't know how to feel or interact with him. They had only met briefly in the woods. And then again when Blake woke up to Deimos watching him, studying him. Just the thought gave him chills.

Blake knew that that trail he left would come back to bite him, even if who found him wasn't quite who he was expecting.

But maybe it's a good thing that it was Deimos and not Callin. Blake internally cringed at the thought. Callin wasn't someone he remembered fondly. Or wanted to remember at all, really.

And on top of that, Deimos acted as if being around Blake was the most comfortable thing. Reaching out and touching him as if it were as natural as breathing. That made Blake even more uncomfortable. Deimos had no sense of personal space.

Blake had been alone ever since he got away from Callin, constantly on edge and wondering where he was going to sleep for a night or where his next meal would come from. Looking at Deimos now, the fire casting a glow in his eyes, a shadow on his face, he doubted Deimos ever struggled for food.

His arms looked buff, his coat disregarded on the floor. The way the fabric of the long-sleeved shirt clung to his skin easily showed off said muscles. Seeing Deimos so closely like this, Blake couldn't help but think back to Micah, his first mate. Micah too was taller and stronger than Blake, his eyes were a light blue and his hair a light brown. He thought that, as similar as Deimos seemed to Micah, there was also an odd contrast between the two that he couldn't place his finger on.

The more Blake looked at Deimos, the more he realized that Deimos actually rivaled Micah when it came to a lot of things. For one, he's definitely taller. His shoulders even broader, the muscles in his chest protruding slightly from his shirt. The scar on the right side of his jaw seemed to offset the slit in his left eyebrow, creating a symmetry to his face, whereas Micah didn't have any blemishes to speak of.

Blake shook his head as if to clear it, pulling away from the hold Deimos had on him, not wanting to feel the sensation of Deimos's touch or think of Micah any longer. Those memories were painful. Micah was the bitter taste of what Blake thought to be freedom. And when you get a taste of that, nothing else seems quite as sweet.

"So what now? What are you planning to do?" Blake averted his eyes, realizing that he had been staring at Deimos. But Deimos didn't even seem to notice, his eyes also drinking in the sight of Blake. How long had Deimos been holding his face? Blake's lips tugged into a frown, how could his touch be so comforting? It made him uneasy.

"Well, you could come with me. I can't imagine you're staying here because you want to, no? And, I'm sorry for this, Bird stole your rabbit. So you have no food." Deimos actually looked sincere in his apology, scratching at the back of his neck as he glanced away from Blake, his eyes locking on the dying embers of the fire before them.

Blake too looked into the fire. If he were to go with Deimos, would that really be a good idea? His first impression of him wasn't exactly ideal. And, not to mention, Blake didn't know how long Deimos had been here, watching him sleep. It caused goosebumps to rise on his skin, uneasiness settling in his stomach like a rock.

But, he doesn't really have many options. Deimos is right, this building could come down around them at any time. And the added restraint of having no food didn't sit well with Blake, having planned to eat some more of rabbit tonight and tomorrow.